Japan's united front on tariffs begins to crack as doubts raised
Since then, Japanese politicians and business people ― and, to a certain extent, the public — have largely stood with the prime minister's call for unity. They have been supportive, or at least silent, as the government has taken a firm stance in talks with the United States.
But after seven rounds of fruitless negotiations and a subsequent letter from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday indicating that most Japanese goods exported to the U.S. will be subject to higher duties than originally expected, the united front has started to show some cracks.
'They underestimated the determination of Trump,' Takeshi Niinami, chair of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives and chief executive of Suntory Holdings, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times on Tuesday. 'They thought time was on Japan's side. It was a big mistake.'
Niinami went on to say that Japan's stubborn insistence that the U.S. remove all levies on Japan may have left Trump feeling 'betrayed,' and that a 10% baseline tariff could have been successfully negotiated if more flexibility had been telegraphed. He added that Japan may have 'squandered' the legacy of Shinzo Abe, the late prime minister who had built a cozy relationship with Trump during the U.S. president's first term.
A spokesperson for the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, commonly known as Keizai Doyukai, told The Japan Times on Thursday that Niinami spoke for himself in the Financial Times interview, and that those remarks do not reflect the association's position.
As the leader of one of Japan's largest business lobby groups, Niinami also serves on multiple government panels dealing with economic and fiscal policy, and the prime minister and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief negotiator, also attend some of these panels.
Niinami's criticisms have been echoed by some politicians as a crucial Upper House election approaches.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Tuesday criticized the Ishiba administration's lack of progress in tariff talks, saying it should consider replacing Akazawa. He said Ishiba and Trump should talk things out face to face.
The CDP chief previously decided against submitting a no-confidence motion against the Ishiba government, citing fear of leaving a 'political vacuum' amid trade talks.
'The current Trump administration is more protectionist than before and is willing to exert pressure with a more aggressive stance,' said Ryo Sahashi, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia.
'There is no guarantee that top-level diplomacy would go well, no matter who conducts it,' he continued. 'Moreover, when someone like a top business leader suggests that Japan is divided, it could create the impression of domestic disunity and weaken Japan's negotiating position.'
Niinami's blunt remarks came only a few hours after Trump sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1. Japan's rate was set at 25% — one percentage point higher than what was originally announced on April 2.
Japan has already started to signal some flexibility in its position. In recent weeks, it has de-emphasized an early demand that all levies must be eliminated, though it still insists that a 25% duty on autos must be lowered.
At a stump speech Wednesday, Ishiba stiffened his tone toward Trump's tariff shocks. Japan will say the things that need to be said loudly and with integrity, even to an ally like the United States, he said.
'This is a battle for our national interest. Like hell we'll let them push us around,' Ishiba said.
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