The conservative shift among South Korea's young men
NHK World's Kim Chan-ju reports on two men on either side of the divide.
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Lutnick: Japan's $550 billion will be directed by Trump
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made it clear that the $550 billion promised by Japan in the course of tariff negotiations will be real funding from Japan deployed and directed by U.S. President Donald Trump to serve American interests. 'What's going to happen is the investments in America are for the benefit of the economic and national security of the United States of America, driven by Donald Trump,' Lutnick told CNBC on Tuesday. His comments closely track and further support earlier comments by Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Lutnick himself. Together, they have described a pledge that involves new capital from Japan being invested in the United States with America in control and taking 90% of the profits. "It is their money," he added, "their money that's going to create these investments so that we can build the pipelines, we can build the nuclear, we can build semiconductors, we can build pharmaceuticals in America to protect America." Japanese officials view the handshake agreement reached on July 22 differently. They have said that Japan will provide loans, loan guarantees and equity investment up to the $550 billion total through financial institutions backed by the government, and that direct equity investment will be just 1%-2% of the $550 billion. They have also brought into question the governance described by the three U.S. officials. 'We can't cooperate on things that don't benefit Japanese companies or the Japanese economy," Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, said earlier this month. CNBC host David Faber pressed Lutnick — noting that Japan has said the money will mainly be in the form of loan guarantees to Japanese companies already operating in the United States — and suggested the possibility that there is no meeting of the minds between the United States and Japan on the issue. "No, no, no," Lutnick responded. "We're on the same page." U.S. officials have repeatedly said that the money is essentially a payment in exchange for lowering tariff rates — or raising them less than threatened — and that any failure in honoring the commitment could result in tariffs being increased. If the president is 'unhappy' with the progress, tariffs will 'boomerang' higher, Bessent has said. In the CNBC interview, Lutnick noted the connection between the money and tariff rates. 'Japan has offered to buy down their tax from 25% to 15%. They offered us $550 billion investment fund,' he said. Japan and the United States reached an agreement on July 22 to set the 'reciprocal' tariff at 15% and the auto tariff at the same rate. Lutnick said that the two countries are working to get the terms of the deal down on paper, and that progress is quickly being made. The lack of an agreement document has been a major issue in Japan, especially among politicians in Tokyo. "Every night and every morning, we are finishing the documents,' Lutnick said. 'These are weeks away for the Japan and Korea model, but the other models are set.' On Tuesday, SoftBank Group said it will purchase $2 billion worth of Intel shares, though the company declined to confirm whether the announced investment is part of the $550 billion pledge. U.S. tariffs are already starting the bite. Japanese exports to the United States in July fell 10.1% year on year, declining for the fourth consecutive month. Auto exports to the United States dropped 28.4% year on year in value terms and 3.2% in volume.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Modi hails China ties as Washington takes swipe at India's 'richest families'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed improved ties with China as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalated criticism of the South Asian nation over its purchases of Russian oil. Modi said he's looking forward to visiting China later this month — his first trip to the country in seven years — and meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Indian leader met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday in New Delhi. Wang was visiting India for the first time in three years. "India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other's interests,' Modi said in a post on X on Tuesday. "Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity.' India has been recalibrating its foreign policy more toward China and other members of the BRICS group after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to boost tariffs unless New Delhi stops importing Russian oil. Trump administration officials have singled out India for the oil purchases, accusing it of aiding Russia's war in Ukraine and undermining U.S. efforts to end the conflict. Bessent on Tuesday intensified the criticism, saying India was "profiteering' off the oil purchases. "We have planned to up the tariffs on India — these are secondary tariffs for buying the sanctioned Russian oil,' Bessent told CNBC. "They are reselling, they made $16 billion on excess profits — some of the richest families in India,' he added. Bessent also defended the administration's lack of secondary tariffs on China, which buys more crude oil from Russia, saying India only ramped up its purchases after Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China was importing 13% of its oil from Russia before the 2022 invasion, and now it's 16%, "so China has a diversified input of their oil,' Bessent said. The comments amount to an indirect swipe against Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest billionaire. Ambani's Reliance Industries, which runs the world's largest petroleum refining complex in western India, has been among the buyers of Russian crude, purchasing cargoes under long-term contracts. Reliance shares fell as much as 0.7% in early trade on Wednesday before reversing losses to trade little changed. Reliance is the nation's most valuable company and an index heavyweight. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index was flat. India's government has repeatedly defended its right to buy oil from the cheapest source, and has called the U.S.'s threat of higher tariffs "unreasonable.' On Monday, Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "friend.' In meetings in New Delhi this week, India and China agreed to facilitate bilateral trade and investment flows, resume direct flights and process more visas to boost exchanges between people in the world's most populous nations, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. China has also assured India of supplies of rare earth minerals, fertilizer and tunnel-boring machines, an official in New Delhi told reporters, asking not to be identified because discussions are private. India said separately that both sides had a "candid' exchange on border issues that led to the deterioration in ties following a deadly 2020 clash. They agreed to "jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas through friendly consultations,' according to a statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs. "I am very happy that in the last nine months, there has been an upward trend' in bilateral ties, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who met with Wang, said Tuesday. "Borders have been quiet, and there has been peace and tranquility.' Efforts to improve India-China ties have gained new urgency following Trump's tariff policy. Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. and threatened to double that to 50% by Aug. 27, to penalize New Delhi for buying oil from Russia. Beijing has loosened curbs on urea exports, India has reinstated tourist visas for Chinese nationals, and a growing number of Indian businesses have been seeking partnerships with Chinese companies for deals including technology transfers. Despite the thaw, however, thorny issues remain, including China's close relationship with Pakistan, India's neighbor and rival. China announced that Wang will be heading to Pakistan on Wednesday. "Our policy is to develop friendly and cooperative relations with both India and Pakistan,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing. China hopes the two nations can find a "proper solution' and is "willing to play a positive role,' she added.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
CDP softens stance toward LDP in bid to bolster political center
With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba facing strong calls from within his own party to resign, it would appear the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has the perfect chance to work toward forming a united front against his minority government — instead, the largest opposition party is inching ever closer to it. CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda, a former prime minister, has recently signaled that he's ready to take his conciliatory approach to the government to new heights, hinting that the time for clashes with the Liberal Democratic Party is over. 'Ishiba and I know each other very well,' Noda said in a recent interview with internet broadcaster Abema. 'We should settle what we can settle as long as our counterpart is someone who has some affinity with our feelings.' In a brief August parliamentary session — the first after the LDP-led government lost its majority in the Upper House — Noda refrained from submitting a no-confidence motion against the government. Instead, Noda proposed to Ishiba that the two parties launch discussions on the CDP's pet economic policy — a combination of tax cuts and cash handouts — and political reform. The CDP seems to have toned down its stance on the abolition of corporate donations to political parties — a long-time mainstay of its platform. An approach seen as too soft, however, is likely to ruffle some feathers within the party, where some have called for an all-out confrontation with the government. 'Failing to submit a motion when the opposition has a majority means the party's afraid of an election and lacks the confidence and responsibility to govern the country,' CDP veteran Ichiro Ozawa told a BS11 program earlier this month. CDP Lower House lawmaker Kenko Matsuki also expressed misgivings about any kind of cooperation with the government. 'We have to oust the LDP from power,' he said, advocating for a united opposition. 'If each party insists on doing only what it wants, nothing good will come out of it. Politics is about compromise.' The current makeup of the Lower House makes firm opposition unity an essential condition for a no-confidence motion. As the only party with more than 50 seats in the Lower House, the CDP, and Noda in particular, has sole authority over the motion. While a consensus was reached earlier this month on a bill to lower the gasoline tax, other issues — like the never-ending debate over the consumption tax — remain fraught with obstacles. But rather than trying to close the distance on their political platforms, opposition parties seem more interested in prioritizing their own dividends. Pushing through with a no-confidence motion — at the risk of failing to get enough support to pass it in parliament — is a gamble Noda seems hesitant to make. Even if the motion passes, there's no guarantee that it will help the CDP improve its standing in a potential general election, as the July 20 Upper House election has indicated. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba replies to a question from Noda in a Lower House budget committee on Aug. 4. | JIJI In last month's vote — originally framed by Noda as the second of three steps on the party's path to power — the CDP finished with the same number of seats it retained prior to the poll, 22. Under proportional representation, it sank to third among opposition parties, suggesting possible issues with its public image. Recent opinion surveys suggest the downward trend might continue in the coming months. A recent Jiji poll showed support for the party fell to 5.5%, third after Sanseito and the Democratic Party for the People. As Japan undergoes a transformation into a complex multiparty democracy and established parties bear the brunt of public discontent, the CDP hasn't been able to expand its popularity among the growing cohorts of unaffiliated voters. For its part, short of a majority in both houses of parliament, the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition has every interest in having opposition parties compete with each other for policy cooperation. Such an approach was fruitful in the winter session of parliament, when the government pushed through a vast majority of the bills it had submitted. Perhaps in response to observers who say the CDP spends too much time criticizing the LDP, Noda has recently started asserting the party should prioritize 'solution over confrontation' — admittedly borrowing DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki's trademark slogan. Whether that will help the party reboot will likely have an impact on Noda's future career, too. 'Our goal can't just be to bring down the LDP anymore,' Noda said in the Abema interview. 'Right-wing populism has grown too strong. Unless the center gains more strength, Japanese politics won't improve.'
