, Columnist
The Japan Tariff Myth That Just Won’t Die
Why are Japanese streets empty of US cars? It’s no mystery — they're not good enough.
Old habits die hard.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is forming a team to forge a tariff deal with US President Donald Trump after the two spoke by phone on Monday, following one of the worst days for Tokyo stocks in recent memory. But behind the scenes, Ishiba has been saying that he doesn’t know who he needs to speak with in order to talk sense to his US counterpart.
It’s not hard to see why, given recent remarks from the American side. Just take one example of Trump’s comments on a favored topic: auto sales.