
Japan government to hold task force meeting following Trump tariff letter
A senior official of Ishiba's government said it views the letter as effectively extending the pause of what the Trump administration calls reciprocal tariffs, which was set to end on Wednesday.
The official said the government believes there is still room for negotiation, and that it will continue negotiations with the US with the aim of reaching a deal on a whole package, including auto tariffs.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NHK
39 minutes ago
- NHK
Lavrov meets North Korean leader during visit to Wonsan
The Russian foreign ministry says the country's top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to North Korea on Saturday. The ministry released a picture and footage of the two. The meeting came after Lavrov held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, in the eastern city of Wonsan. Lavrov is expected to hand Kim a letter from President Vladimir Putin.


Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
LDP lawmaker to quit as parliamentary committee chief over Noto quake gaffe
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yosuke Tsuruho plans to resign as chairman of a parliamentary committee to take responsibility for a gaffe about a powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan last year, sources said Saturday. According to a senior official of the ruling LDP, Tsuruho is poised to step down from the post of chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, following criticisms of the verbal blunder from both the ruling and opposition sides as well as by people affected by the Jan. 1, 2024, temblor. Tsuruho has already submitted a letter of resignation as Budget Committee chairman to Upper House President Masakazu Sekiguchi, the senior party official said. Tsuruho said in the city of Wakayama on Tuesday, during a campaign speech for an LDP candidate in the July 20 Upper House election, that "it was lucky that the earthquake occurred in Noto." The remark came as Tsuruho expressed hopes that the temblor would facilitate dual residency, or a lifestyle in which people have two bases of living — one typically in an urban area and the other in a rural location. Tsuruho withdrew the remark and apologized later Tuesday, saying that he lacked consideration for the disaster victims. He offered an apology again at a news conference Wednesday, and LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama gave him a stern warning. But the criticisms did not subside. Tsuruho is believed to have decided on his resignation to reduce the adverse impact on the LDP in the upcoming election. On Saturday, Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, renewed his criticism of Tsuruho, stating, "I have kept saying that (the remark in question) was beyond a slip of the tongue." Tsuruho "has finally made up his mind," Noda told reporters in the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. "It is natural for him to quit." Also on Saturday, the Ishikawa prefectural chapters of the CDP and two other opposition parties, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the people, sent a letter to Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba, in which they accused Tsuruho's gaffe and sought a severe punishment against him. On Friday, the assemblies of four municipalities on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture sent a letter of protest to Tsuruho over the controversial remark. The letter demanded that he step down from "a key post."


Yomiuri Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Eyes Huge Market with China Set to Resume of Japanese Beef Imports; Japan Govt Hopes to Nearly Double Beef Exports by 2030
With China expected to resume importing Japanese beef, it is a huge step forward for the Japanese government, which aims to increase exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products. A Japan-China agreement on an animal health and quarantine took effect Friday, paving the way toward the resumption of Japanese beef exports to China. However, it is still uncertain when beef shipments to China will actually resume, as the two countries have to hold further discussions regarding product safety and quarantine procedures. China suspended imports of Japanese beef following an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Japan in 2001. In November 2019, the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in animal health and quarantine, a necessary step before exporting livestock products. However, China did not take further steps to resume imports, so the agreement was not able to take effect. Ahead of resuming exports, Japan's food safety procedures need to be evaluated by China. It will also be necessary to finalize specific conditions for export products, such as the meat processing method and hygiene control. 'The conditions necessary to resume exports will depend on what the Chinese side asks for,' said an agriculture ministry official. 'It's still uncertain when we will be able to resume exports.' Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products exceeded ¥1.5 trillion in 2024. The government set a goal to more than triple the figure to ¥5 trillion by 2030. While beef exports stood at ¥64.8 billion in 2024, the government hopes to almost double the figure to ¥113.2 billion by 2030. By country and region, the United States was the largest importer of Japanese beef at ¥13.4 billion in 2024, followed by Taiwan at ¥11.2 billion, Hong Kong at ¥8.4 billion and Cambodia at ¥6.7 billion. Exports of Japanese beef has nearly doubled compared to 2019 as a result of the surging global popularity of washoku Japanese cuisine. It has been pointed out that Japanese beef still reached China through Cambodia following China's suspension of its import. If China officially resumes importing Japanese beef, it will become possible for Japan to export the product directly to China, a massive market with a population of 1.4 billion. The resumption may drastically increase Japanese beef exports. 'As China has such a large population, there will be a high demand for Japanese beef,' said an official of the Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council.