Chief Cabinet Secretary: Protect Japan’s Interests While Striving for ‘Win-Win’ Outcome

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, May 24, 2025

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun that the government must prioritize Japan’s interests but strive for a mutually beneficial outcome in the upcoming Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations.

The following is excerpted from Hayashi’s remarks in the interview conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Masashi Yamaguchi.

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Japan’s national interests must come first in any trade negotiations. We need to seek an agreement that is a win-win situation for both Japan and the United States to also ensure that Washington will maintain its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. What would President Trump consider to be a “win”? To answer that question, thinking about the domestic U.S. situation and why the United States chose Trump as its leader are extremely important.

In the 2016 presidential election that led to the first Trump administration, both Trump and the Democratic Party candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, adopted a skeptical attitude toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. They didn’t use the words “free trade” much. Even the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, advocated a “worker-centered trade policy.” It would be unwise to think that protectionist policies are something unique to the second Trump administration.

In the United States, the view that “manufacturing industries must be restored” for the sake of the “forgotten people” in the Rust Belt region, which has experienced significant decline, has really gained traction. The same sentiment can be found in the foundation of Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.” Trade policy has become an extension of this kind of domestic politics.

Starting in about autumn, the Japanese government assembled senior officials from relevant ministries and agencies to coordinate countermeasures for anticipated U.S. trade moves. This was prompted by various comments, including about tariffs, that Trump had made during his presidential election campaign. The government felt that starting preparations early would be prudent.

Japan’s direct investment in the United States is the highest of any nation. The government has conveyed its deep concerns that U.S. tariffs could erode Japan’s capacity to invest in the United States. Japan and the United States should pursue cooperation that benefits both nations, including through greater investment. Bringing up assumptions here about what might happen in the future will not have a positive impact on negotiations. The series of tariffs imposed by the United States is extremely regrettable, and the government will approach negotiations with the unwavering stance that those duties must be withdrawn.

Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa is Japan’s top trade negotiator and has been holding discussions with the U.S. side. Both sides are engaging in these talks with a candid and constructive approach and aim to, as soon as possible, reach an agreement that both leaders can announce. These talks might progress as expected, but they might not. Thus, the aim is to reach an agreement “as soon as possible.”

I was involved in TPP negotiations when I was agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister. The government pushed ahead with those talks from a stance of “protecting what should be protected, and pursuing what should be pursued.”

I am a cochair of the government’s task force overseeing the response to the U.S. tariffs. My job is to keep the relevant ministries and agencies connected and working together.

I am aware of what we can do as a team to achieve common objectives. I have many contacts in the Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry thanks to my experience as a cabinet minister, and through other channels. I intend to also make full use of these personal connections to reliably fulfill my role.

Yoshimasa Hayashi

Hayashi, 64, is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1995. In 2021, he moved to the House of Representatives when he was elected to the lower house. He is in his second term in the lower chamber. He has held posts including defense minister; agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister; education, culture, sports, science and technology minister; and foreign minister. He has been in his current post since December 2023.