Shigeru Ishiba

We have exerted all our efforts to protect our national interests.

We deeply regret that the US government has imposed additional tariffs and announced plans to raise tariff rates.

We are doing our utmost to negotiate what needs to be asked and what needs to be protected.

I am strongly concerned that U.S. tariffs would discourage investment from Japan.

The bottom line is, we must consider what will best serve Japan’s national interest.

[Japan] determines its own defense spending, not at the direction of any other country.

I look forward to working with President Trump, whom I respect immensely, to usher in a new golden age of Japan-U.S. relations.

I hope that we can confirm that by Japan and the U.S. cooperating on issues such as the economy and security, this will bring peace and allow for development not for the free and open Indo-Pacific region but also for the rest of the world.