Japan, US Trade Negotiators Meet as Aug. 1 Tariff Deadline Looms

Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday as an Aug. 1 deadline for higher tariffs looms.

The two met in Washington for more than two hours on Monday evening, Japan’s cabinet secretariat said in a statement Tuesday. They had frank, in-depth discussions toward achieving a mutually beneficial agreement, the statement said, while adding that Japan still aims to protect its national interests.