U.S., Japan begin first official trade talks in test case for Trump's tariff negotiations

Also in the U.S. this past Wednesday.

Japanese trade delegates and their American counterparts met for talks on tariffs during which President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance.

Park Jun-han covers these talks.

The United States and Japan agreed to finalize a trade agreement as soon as possible during their Wednesday meeting in Washington.

Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa said that while the U.S. was seeking to conclude the agreement within the 90-day suspension period for "reciprocal tariffs," Tokyo was approaching the talks with caution, and the future course of the negotiations remained uncertain.

During the talks, Akazawa expressed deep regret over President Donald Trump's tariff measures, noting that Washington had already imposed 25% tariffs on steel and automobiles and is set to apply a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japanese goods.

"For my part, I said that the United States' tariff measures are deeply regrettable, I explained Japan's position regarding the impact on Japanese investment and hiring, both in Japan and in the United States, and strongly requested that the U.S. review its series of tariff measures."

After meeting the Japanese trade delegation, President Trump noted on his social media that it was a "great honor" and added "big progress."

According to Kyodo News, Washington is believed to have demanded higher defense spending by Tokyo, or a larger share of the costs associated with maintaining U.S. military forces in Japan, as part of any tariff reduction agreement, even though the two parties did not reveal the specifics of their conversation.

Akazawa explained that the two countries had agreed to reschedule the next round of talks to be held within April and to continue discussions at both the working and ministerial levels.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-Japan talks were viewed as a reference point for South Korea ahead of Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok's visit to Washington next week.

Park Jun-han, Arirang News