By Anton Bridge
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering visiting Washington to meet President Donald Trump before a mid-month summit of the Group of Seven nations as he seeks a trade deal, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday.
Japanese officials see signs of progress on easing Trump’s tariffs after repeated visits by top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, and say the U.S. side has shown strong interest in Japan’s proposals, the Yomiuri said, citing Japanese government officials it did not name.
Economy Minister Akazawa will return to Washington for more talks later this week, after which a decision will be made on a U.S. trip by Ishiba, the newspaper said.
The White House and the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.
Speaking to reporters upon returning on Sunday from his fourth round of negotiations, Akazawa said talks are progressing towards an agreement but that the form of negotiations before the G7 summit was yet to be decided.
Japan, a major U.S. ally, faces what Trump calls a reciprocal tariff of 24% from next month unless it can negotiate a bilateral deal. Tokyo is also scrambling to find ways to get Washington to exempt its automakers, Japan’s biggest industry, from 25% tariffs on automobiles.
Trump said on Friday he planned to double the tariffs on all imported steel and aluminium to 50%.
Akazawa declined to comment on those tariffs on Sunday. He said Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not mention them during the most recent negotiations.
Some Japanese government officials hope an agreement can be announced in time for President Trump’s birthday on June 14, the Yomiuri said.
Akazawa said on Friday the two sides had “agreed to accelerate the talks and hold another round ahead of the G7 summit”, to be held from June 15 to 17 in Canada.
But he said there would be no deal without U.S. concessions on tariffs, including on autos.
Ishiba has said bilateral negotiations were progressing on trade expansion, non-tariff measures and economic security, while Tokyo has mentioned possible increases in its purchases of U.S. military equipment and energy, as well as cooperation on shipbuilding and repairing U.S. warships in Japan.
(Reporting by Anton Bridge in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Washington; Editing by William Mallard)
