Japan Again Calls on U.S. for Exemption from New Tariff as Akazawa Discusses Investments with Lutnick

By Yukinobu Sakamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

17:44 JST, March 7, 2026

WASHINGTON — Japan repeated a call to the United States on Friday to exclude it from the list of countries subject to a new tariff on foreign goods announced by U.S. President Donald Trump last month, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

On Feb. 24, Trump replaced “reciprocal tariffs” — which had been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court — with a 10% tariff for 150 days on imports from all countries and regions, based on Section 122 of the Trade Act. He then said he would raise the rate to 15%.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa made the request to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during talks in Washington. The U.S. side has not disclosed its response.

“We requested Washington not to put Japan in a worse position compared to the result of the bilateral agreement reached last year,” Akazawa said at a press conference after the meeting.

Last year, Japan and the United States agreed on a 15% reciprocal tariff and established a special provision that it would not be stacked on items that were already subject to tariffs of 15% or higher.

The new additional tariff does not include such special provisions, raising concerns about an increased burden on Japan. Some foreign media reported that Washington is likely to maintain a 10% tariff rate for imports from the European Union.

Akazawa and Lutnick also discussed Japan’s $550 billion (about ¥87 trillion) investment package in the United States under a bilateral agreement reached last year. The construction of nuclear power plants is considered one of the leading candidates for the second round of investments.