Japan holds US tariff talks with Lutnick, eyes meeting with Bessent

By Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday, as Tokyo races to avert a 25% levy that will be imposed unless a deal is clinched by an August 1 deadline.

During the 45-minute phone call, the two sides "re-confirmed each other's position on U.S. tariff measures and engaged in deep conversation," Japan's government said in a statement, adding that Tokyo would continue dialogue with Washington.

The phone talks came after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would likely keep 25% tariffs on imports from Japan, which take effect from August 1, unless the countries agree on a trade deal.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Japanese government said in a separate announcement.

Bessent is visiting Japan to attend the U.S. national day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka on Saturday. Akazawa will be in Osaka on Saturday to receive the U.S. delegation led by Bessent.

"There are certain elements we cannot compromise," Akazawa told reporters on Thursday. "But we hope to continue efforts to reach an agreement with August 1 in mind as a milestone."

Japan has failed to clinch a trade deal with the U.S. as it struggles to win concessions for 25% tariffs on automobiles, a mainstay of the country's export-reliant economy.

Bilateral trade talks are complicated by Japan's upper house election on Sunday, with media polls showing Ishiba's ruling coalition could lose its majority in the chamber - a result that heightens the risk of political instability.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama. Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mark Potter)

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