Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to hold talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo this Friday, according to a report by the Yomiuri newspaper on Tuesday. The meeting comes ahead of the looming August 1 deadline to finalise a trade agreement with the United States.
A separate Yomiuri report said European Union leaders will visit Ishiba later this month to sign an “alliance” advocating global free trade, seeking multilateral ties as US tariffs add to trade risks.
8th Time Lucky?
Bessent is set to travel to Japan to attend the US national day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, scheduled for July 19, skipping a concurrent Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa, US Treasury said last week.
Bessent would lead the US delegation, which will also include Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the White House.
Japan’s top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is also expected to meet with Bessent, Yomiuri added, citing an unnamed government source. Despite seven US visits since April, Akazawa has yet to secure a trade agreement with Washington.
Reuters has not independently confirmed these planned meetings during Bessent’s Japan trip.
This would mark the first high-level meeting between Tokyo and Washington after US President Donald Trump last week sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25% from August 1.
Japan-EU Meeting
Separately, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet Ishiba in Tokyo around July 23 and launch a “competitiveness alliance” scheme, Yomiuri reported.
The EU, facing 30% tariffs, has accused the US of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures.
The new EU-Japan framework will note their commitment to “a stable, predictable, rules-based, free and fair economic order” to counter Trump’s tariffs and China’s rare earth export restrictions, Yomiuri said, citing draft statements.
The statement could also mention EU-Japan tie-ups in areas such as rare earth and battery supply chains, natural gas investments, defence industry dialogues and satellites, the newspaper added.
Political Pressure
The US and EU officials’ Japan visits come at a sensitive time for Ishiba with his ruling coalition seen losing its majority in Sunday’s upper house election, according to recent polls.
Having already lost the lower house majority in October, a second electoral defeat could significantly undermine Ishiba’s political standing while potentially strengthening opposition parties that advocate for tax cuts and looser monetary policy.
(With inputs from Reuters)
