Japan to Monitor Trump Administration’s Response to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Tariffs

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:23 JST, February 21, 2026

Senior officials of economy-related government entities have said Japan will closely monitor future developments after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down the “reciprocal tariffs” the U.S. administration imposed on imports from nearly all countries and regions.

“The Trump administration has used tariffs as a weapon [to put pressure on others]. I do not believe they will give up, and we will closely monitor how they will respond to this development,” a senior government official told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday.

In July, Japan pledged $550 billion (about ¥85 trillion) in investments in the United States in exchange for Washington lowering reciprocal and automobile tariffs. Another Japanese government official said, “the investments will proceed anyway since they are also beneficial for Japan.”

A number of Japanese companies and others have jointly filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, seeking the return of tariffs collected under the Trump administration. “We recognize that we need to carefully examine the content of the ruling,” said an official of Ricoh Co., one of the Japanese firms.