LDP Official Onodera Says Lawmaker Diplomacy Should be Utilized in Tariff Talks; Govt Should Aim for Quick Conclusion, But Not Capitulate

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, May 22, 2025&

Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council Chairperson Itsunori Onodera believes that domestic measures to cushion the blow of higher tariffs must be put in place, and information gathered in the course of lawmaker diplomacy can be utilized in tariff negotiations.

The following is excerpted from Onodera’s remarks in an interview with Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Miyako Taniguchi.

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In tariff negotiations with the United States, the role of the Liberal Democratic Party is to provide support to the government. Solid domestic measures must be in place for Japan to negotiate tenaciously. Negotiations take time, and in-depth negotiations should be accompanied by convincing measures to make the sectors that will likely be affected feel safe as they observe the process of the talks.

Vehicles and automotive parts are the top-priority items for such domestic measures. Tariffs on the auto industry, a core industry with a huge array of supporting industries, will likely have a significant impact, and measures for this sector must be addressed properly. Close attention also must be paid to other industries such as machinery, sake and farmed yellowtail fish, which are major exports to the United States.

Japan’s top priorities in the tariff negotiations are the automotive and related sectors. Negotiations will be meaningless without progress in these areas. These are the sectors that will have an overwhelming impact on the Japanese economy, so we must strongly support the government.

In U.S.-U.K. negotiations, the United States agreed to reduce tariffs on automobiles imported from the United Kingdom to 10%. We do not think 10% is reasonable, but their negotiations at least demonstrated that auto tariffs are not an untouchable agenda for the United States. Japan must strive toward zero tariffs.

It is desirable that negotiations be concluded as soon as possible, but not in such a way that we concede to the United States in a rush.

It would also be effective if we convey to U.S. President Donald Trump in negotiations that Japanese companies operating in the United States have a proven track record of contributing to the [potential] creation of a U.S. trade surplus. It is also necessary to let him know that his tariff policy would weaken Japanese firms’ investing power and hinder the revival of U.S. manufacturing.

Diplomacy by lawmakers will become important under these circumstances. I visited the United States from late April to early May and exchanged views with Republican lawmakers of both houses as well as people from political think tanks. I explained Japan’s position to lawmakers close to President Trump and also gained insight into the president’s perceptions and thinking. If the LDP and the government work together to make use of information gained from lawmaker-level diplomacy, actual tariff negotiations will become more substantial with input from different parties.

It must be said that the tariff measures are negative from a security perspective. I believe that the United States, before starting the tariff talks, should have engaged in security discussions with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in light of China’s growing hegemonic behavior. But the tariff policy is pushing these countries away from the United States.

Once the tariff issue stabilizes, Japan will play a proactive role in narrowing the gap [on security issues] between the United States and Asian countries. Even so, Japan’s domestic industries have strong ties with both the United States and China. From an economic security perspective, significant diplomatic skill will be required in navigating relations with China, which has strong economic ties with Japan.

Itsunori Onodera

Onodera graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1997 by-election for Miyagi Constituency No. 6 and is currently in his ninth term. He was appointed defense minister in the second Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December 2012. He was reappointed in August 2017 and worked to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance under President Donald Trump’s first administration. Onodera has chaired the Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council since September. He is 65.