TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday that he needed to examine the details of a trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump before commenting.
“As for what to make of the outcome of the negotiations, I am not able to discuss it until after we carefully examine the details of the negotiations and the agreement,” Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo after Trump’s announcement.
“As the government, we think that will protect national interests,” he told reporters.
“We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Japanese imports were already subject to a tariff of 10 percent and Trump had announced this would rise to 25 percent on August 1 if there was no deal.
Imports of 25 percent on Japanese auto imports were already in place, as well as 50 percent on steel and alumiunium.
Japanese media reported that the levy on autos had now been reduced to 15 percent, sending Japanese auto stocks soaring on Wednesday morning in Tokyo.
Trump’s announcement came as Ishiba’s trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa was on his eighth trip to Washington where he met senior US officials.
Akazawa said on X: “Mission accomplished.”
Japan PM says needs to examine details of US trade deal
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Japan PM says needs to examine details of US trade deal
Swedish intelligence warns of increased Middle East war fallout
- “The threat has increased primarily against American, Jewish, Israeli interests or opposition figures” Hallstrom told AFP
- Hallstrom also said the war in the Middle East could have “considerable impact” on European security
STOCKHOLM: A top Swedish intelligence official on Thursday warned of increased threats against American and Israeli interests, as well as Iranian dissidents, in Sweden because of the war in the Middle East.
The Scandinavian country’s security, which had already deteriorated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has worsened since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday unleashed a new war, according to Fredrik Hallstrom, head of operations for the Swedish Security Service (Sapo).
“The threat has increased primarily against American, Jewish, Israeli interests or opposition figures, rather than toward Sweden as a nation or country,” Hallstrom told AFP.
“I’m talking about opposition figures with such influence that they could actually either be perceived as a serious threat to the Iranian regime, or in fact be one,” he explained.
Hallstrom also said the war in the Middle East could have “considerable impact” on European security.
Police have taken measures to increase security around potential targets, such as embassies, he said.
Sapo has previously pointed to Iran, China and Russia as the main threats to the country.
It has accused Iran in particular of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden — a claim Iran denied.
Other risks highlighted by Sapo include increased intelligence activities in Sweden, surveillance and actions targeting Iranian dissidents in exile, as well as the acquisition of equipment, research and know-how that could contribute to the development of nuclear weapons.
“We know that Iran uses cyberattacks and hacks phones and computers in order to monitor others,” Hallstrom said.
He added that this monitoring could be potentially used to get individuals “in Sweden to provide information about other people, by exerting pressure.”
