Japan to "Refrain from Commenting" on Trump's Remarks About Policy Changes

Continuing Negotiations with the United States... Will Protect Mutual Interests
Difficult to Offer Concessions Ahead of House of Councillors Election

On July 14, the Japanese government stated that it would "refrain from commenting" regarding remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that Japan's stance in tariff negotiations is changing very quickly. This response is seen as an attempt to avoid escalating tensions between the two countries by not directly addressing President Trump's comments.

Reuters Yonhap News

Keiichiro Tachibana, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and spokesperson for the Japanese government, made this statement during a press conference on the morning of July 14. He added, "We will continue to hold consultations between Japan and the United States and will energetically seek the possibility of an agreement that protects our national interests and benefits both sides."

The Japanese government's decision to "refrain from commenting" is interpreted as an effort to prevent unnecessary friction with the United States and to indirectly clarify that the personal remarks made by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba do not represent the official position of the Japanese government as a whole. Last week, Prime Minister Ishiba made unusually strong statements toward the Trump administration, saying, "How can we tolerate being looked down upon?" and "Even with allies, we must say what needs to be said."

Previously, on July 13 (local time), President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C., "The EU wants to open their country. Japan is much less willing to open its market. As you know, Japan sells millions of cars in the United States, but we do not sell cars in Japan."

He added, "But all of them are changing their ways very quickly, and South Korea wants to conclude negotiations."

Although President Trump stated that Japan's stance is changing, with the House of Councillors (upper house) election scheduled for July 20, it is difficult for the Japanese government and ruling party to present any concessionary proposals to the United States at this time.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) pointed out that "it is highly likely that a landing point will be sought after the House of Councillors election," and noted that there is not much time left before the mutual 25% tariffs on Japan are set to be imposed on August 1.

The newspaper further explained that "future negotiations cannot be viewed optimistically," and suggested that Japan may need to prepare new measures that would lead to a reduction in its trade surplus with the United States in order to minimize the economic impact.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.