Ishiba Eyeing U.S. Visit over Reciprocal Tariffs; Hayashi Promises to Monitor Trends After Stock Price Plunges

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:08 JST, April 7, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his intention to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in person soon to directly urge him to review his tariff policy.

“If necessary, I would like to visit the United States as soon as possible,” Ishiba said Monday at the House of Councillors’ Audit Committee meeting.

“This is a situation that can be called a national crisis. It is extremely disappointing,” Ishiba said. “Our country must make it clear that we are not doing anything unfair.”

Ishiba emphasized that the government would take all possible domestic measures against the U.S. policy, such as financing small and medium-sized companies and devising employment strategy.

In response to the sharp fall in the Nikkei average on Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters, “We will keep monitoring domestic and international economic trends with a sense of urgency and expend all possible means to ensure economic and fiscal management.”