Japan PM says win-win trade deal with US may be hard to implement

Yoshiaki Nohara and Sakura Murakami, Bloomberg News on Aug 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The trade deal reached last month between the U.S. and Japan was “win-win” for both countries, but implementing the terms of the pact may be a bigger challenge than reaching the deal, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said.

“Some say that carrying the trade deal out is harder than agreeing on it. I humbly seek your continued support on this,” Ishiba said Monday in response to questions in parliament.

At the same session of parliament, Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa acknowledged criticism over the lack of having anything in writing.

“It’s my understanding having something on paper would be helpful,” Akazawa said, adding that there’s also nothing in writing related to Washington’s deals with the E.U. and South Korea.

The comments underscore the vast uncertainties related to the raft of global trade deals even after a deadline for higher tariffs was reached Aug. 1. Washington agreed to assess a 15% across-the-board levy on imports from Japan, a lower rate than the previously threatened 25%. The fate of auto tariffs is still unclear.

Ishiba, under pressure after last month’s setback in the upper house election, has vowed to stay on as premier in order to ensure the trade deal is fully implemented. A few days after the election, Ishiba secured the surprise trade deal that delivered relatively better results to Japan compared with other nations.

The car tariffs, currently at 27.5% including a pre-existing 2.5% rate, have delivered a major blow to the Japanese economy as the sector is the biggest source of exports to the U.S. and accounts for roughly 10% of economic output.