Latest news with #JapaneseEmbassy
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump announces 'massive' trade deal with Japan
US President Donald Trump says the US has agreed to a "massive" trade deal with Japan, one of the country's largest trading partners. The apparent plan will result in Japan investing $550bn (£407bn) into the US and paying a 15% reciprocal tariff, Trump said in a post on social media. He added that Japan will open its economy to US goods, including cars, trucks, rice and certain agricultural products. Japan has yet to confirm the deal or the details outlined by Trump. The BBC has contacted the Japanese embassy in Washington for comment. "I just signed the largest trade deal in history, I think maybe the largest deal in history with Japan," Trump touted at a White House event on Tuesday evening. "They had their top people here, and we worked on it long and hard. And it's a great deal for everybody. I always say it has to be great for everybody. It's a great deal," he added. Trump also said that a trade agreement with the European Union would be announced on Wednesday, with more deals due soon. In a letter sent to Japan this month, Trump threatened a 25% tariff on the country's exports to the US if there wasn't a new trade deal struck before 1 August. That was one percentage point higher from the 24% rate announced during his so-called Liberation Day on 2 April. The April tariffs plan, which included duties on many US trading partners across the globe, were paused for 90 days following worldwide market turmoil. It allowed Tokyo's trade representatives time to negotiate with their counterparts in Washington. The apparent deal comes as Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under pressure to step down after his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its majority in the country's upper house in elections over the weekend. The LDP had already lost its majority in Japan's more powerful lower house last year. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
CBS News
17 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump says he's struck a "massive" trade deal with Japan, calling for 15% tariffs
President Trump said Tuesday he has struck a "massive" trade deal with Japan that calls for 15% tariffs on goods the U.S. imports from the country. The president wrote on Truth Social that, as part of the agreement, Japan will invest $550 billion into the U.S., "which will receive 90% of the Profits." He also said Japan will "open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products." The 15% tariff rate floated by Mr. Trump is somewhat lower than the 25% that he proposed earlier this month. The Japanese government has not commented publicly on the reported deal. CBS News has reached out to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment. Japan is the United States' fifth-largest trading partner, according to federal statistics. Japan bought $79.7 billion worth of American goods last year, and the U.S. imported $148.2 billion worth of Japanese goods. "This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan," Mr. Trump wrote on Tuesday. This is a developing story; it will be updated.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Astellas employee won't appeal spying conviction in China
A Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma in his 60s, who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for espionage in China on Wednesday, has no intention to appeal the ruling for now, informed sources said Saturday. As China uses a two-tier court system, those who are dissatisfied with the first ruling can appeal to a higher court. In the Astellas employee's case, his sentence will be finalized if he does not file an appeal by the deadline in late July. A Beijing district court that imposed the prison sentence on the employee is believed to have found him guilty of espionage for providing information about Chinese politics and the economy to an intelligence agency. Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi and other Japanese Embassy officials were allowed to observe Wednesday's sentencing session. Kanasugi said that the sentence was "extremely regrettable," but he did not provide details of the ruling presented in court. The employee was detained by Chinese authorities in March 2023, when he was about to leave China after completing his assignment. He was indicted in August 2024. The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which places importance on national security, established an anti-espionage law in 2014 to enhance the detection of spies. Since then, 17 Japanese nationals have been detained for alleged espionage activities, including five who are still in custody. The Japanese government will continue to press for the early release of all of them.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japanese traveller anxiety soars amid China's espionage arrests
The arrest and prosecution of Japanese citizens in China is fuelling public anxiety and deterring travel, Japan 's government has warned, as academics and businesspeople said they were either taking precautions or avoiding visits altogether. Tokyo expressed its concern about deteriorating relations on Wednesday after a court in Beijing sentenced a Japanese employee of pharmaceuticals manufacturer Astellas Pharma to three years and six months in prison for espionage. The man, who has not been named but is reported to be in his sixties, was initially detained in March 2023 as he prepared to leave China after working in the country. He was indicted last August , and the first hearing in his case took place three months later. The sentencing hearing on Wednesday was not open to the press, but officials from the Japanese embassy in Beijing were permitted to attend, Jiji Press reported. 'It is extremely regrettable that a guilty ruling was issued,' Japanese ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi told reporters after the hearing. 'We will continue to call strongly for his early release while supporting him as much as we can.' Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi (centre) speaks to reporters in Beijing on Wednesday after a court jailed a Japanese man for spying. Photo: Kyodo Speaking later in the day in Tokyo, a foreign ministry spokesman said the arrest of Japanese nationals 'has become one of the major obstructive factors for people-to-people exchanges … and improvements in public sentiment', as quoted on Jiji Press.
Al Jazeera
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
China jails Japanese businessman for espionage, embassy says
A Japanese businessman has been sentenced to three and a half years in China for espionage, Japan's embassy in Beijing has said. The man, described by Japan's Kyodo News Agency as an employee of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. in his 60s, was first detained in March 2023 and placed under formal arrest in October. 'In light of the sentence, we have once again strongly urged the Chinese side for the early release of the Japanese national concerned in this case as well as others detained,' Tokyo's embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Wednesday. China should also 'ensure their legitimate rights and humane treatment during detention' and 'improve the transparency of the judicial process', the embassy said. Japanese ambassador Kenji Kanasugi called the verdict 'extremely regrettable' in remarks to the media after the trial at Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. Tokyo has protested a series of detentions of its citizens in China. At total of 17 Japanese, including the Astellas Pharma employee, have been detained since 2014, when China introduced a counterespionage law, according to Kyodo. Among those, five are still in China, according to the news agency.
