TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he won’t “easily compromise” in talks with Washington as Tokyo seeks to avert President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of up to 35 percent on Japanese goods.
“We will not easily compromise. That’s why it is taking time and why it is tough,” Ishiba told a television talk show.
His comments came as Japan rushes to negotiate with the Trump administration before the Wednesday deadline for trade deals.
While Trump imposed a sweeping 10 percent tariff on imports from most trading partners in April, he unveiled — then paused — higher rates on dozens of economies including Japan to allow room for negotiations.
This pause will expire July 9, meaning the elevated rates are due to kick in if countries fail to reach agreements with Washington to avert them.
Trump has said he was going to write a letter to Japan, asking it to “pay a 30 percent, 35 percent or whatever the number is that we determine,” and called the bilateral trade relation “unfair.”
He has particularly pressed Japan to accept more US automobiles and rice.
Ryosei Akazawa, Tokyo’s trade envoy, held telephone calls with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and Saturday.
In the Sunday television show, Ishiba reiterated that Japan, as the biggest investor nation in the US economy, should be treated differently from other countries.
“What is unfair? How is it unfair? We need to examine each one” of the US claims, he said.
“We are allies, but we have to say what we have to say. We are the world’s largest investor nation and the largest job creator (in the US). We are different,” he said.
On another Sunday television show, Ishiba said Japan was “preparing to deal with all kinds of situations,” when asked about how he plans to deal with Trump’s letter.
Japan PM says won’t ‘easily compromise’ to Trump on tariffs
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Japan PM says won’t ‘easily compromise’ to Trump on tariffs
- American President Trump has said he was going to write a letter to Japan, asking it to “pay a 30 percent, 35 percent or whatever the number is that we determine,” and called the bilateral trade relation “unfair”
Police in London arrest pro-Palestinian protesters
LONDON: Police in London arrested two people who called for “intifada” during a pro-Palestinian protest, which followed a decision by authorities to toughen enforcement of hate speech laws after a deadly attack in Australia.
The arrests came hours after police in London and Manchester, England, announced a crackdown on protesters using slogans such as “globalize the intifada.”
While pro-Palestinian demonstrators say the slogan describes the worldwide protests against the war in Gaza, Jewish leaders say it inflames tensions and encourages attacks on Jews, including the attack that killed 15 people on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said they decided to take a tougher stance after Bondi Beach and an Oct. 2 attack on a Manchester synagogue that left two
people dead.
“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalize the intifada,’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” they said in a joint statement released Wednesday. “Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed — words have meaning and consequence.”
In the hours before Wednesday night’s demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group that was banned as a terrorist organization earlier this year, London police warned protesters to be aware of the earlier announcement.
Two protesters were arrested for “racially aggravated public order offenses” after they shouted slogans calling for intifada during the protest outside the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Police Service said on social media. A third person was arrested for trying to interfere with the initial arrests.
The term “intifada” is used to describe two major Palestinian uprisings against Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the first beginning in 1987 and the second beginning in 2000.
During the recent conflict in Gaza, the slogan “globalize the intifada” has been widely used by pro-Palestinian protesters around the world.
The debate over such language comes after hate crime and online abuse soared in Britain following the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza that followed.
More than 70,660 Palestinians have been killed during the ensuing Israeli campaign in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
