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Tariffs from President Trump are pressuring Japan's prime minister to defend his country's economic interests more forcefully. With elections coming up next week, Japanese politicians and corporations are starting to see their country drifting apart from their ally, the U.S. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Tokyo.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: When President Trump sent Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba a letter last week threatening 25% tariffs, Ishiba at first called the move extremely regrettable. But in a campaign speech, with parliamentary elections just days away, Ishiba decided he had to use some tougher language.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRIME MINISTER SHIGERU ISHIBA: (Speaking Japanese).
KUHN: "This is a battle for our national interests, and we will not be taken lightly," he said. "We must say what we need to say, fairly and squarely, even to our ally. We must protect what should be protected."
Japan is trying to fend off tariffs on its automotive sector, which make up more than a quarter of its exports to the U.S. It also wants to protect its rice markets from foreign imports. Rice farmers are a key constituency of the ruling party. But after many rounds of negotiations, a deal is nowhere in sight.
MAKOTO SHIONO: I think Japan is dissatisfied that despite the U.S.-Japan alliance and its geopolitical confrontation with China, it's not being treated as a special partner.
KUHN: Makoto Shiono is managing director at Industrial Growth Platform, Inc., a Tokyo-based consulting firm. He says that Ishiba lacks a grand strategy to deal with the tariffs, and Japan's corporations appear stymied, too.
SHIONO: When I spoke to the corporate executives in Japan, they are totally frozen, and they think they don't have any good options.
KUHN: Prime Minister Ishiba has long said he wants a more equal alliance with the U.S., but he hasn't been able to do much about it. Veteran political journalist Hiroshi Izumi says just because Ishiba is now talking tougher does not mean he's had some sort of political awakening.
HIROSHI IZUMI: (Through interpreter) The comment that we shouldn't be disrespected does not mean that Mr. Ishiba has changed his mind, but rather that President Trump announced a 25% tariff and set an August 1 deadline. In this situation, Mr. Ishiba is solely focused on how to appeal to the public during the election period.
KUHN: Izumi says Ishiba and his ruling coalition's majority in parliament are at serious risk.
IZUMI: (Through interpreter) After all, if he says he'll do whatever it takes to get a deal with Mr. Trump, that won't increase his vote count.
KUHN: Underlying the tariff issue is a dilemma for Japan. Tobias Harris, founder and principal of the consulting firm Japan Foresight, explains.
TOBIAS HARRIS: Japan, I think, has made it very explicit that it recognizes that Japan's prosperity is dependent on a rules-based international order that, you know, depends on trade, depends on investment. And the challenge now is that you have a U.S. administration that is not committed to upholding a rules-based order.
KUHN: The dilemma also involves Japan's security. As long as the U.S. remains committed to protecting Japan, Harris says, Tokyo will put up with U.S. slights and slaps. But, he says...
HARRIS: The question is, if it feels like you're allied with a United States that isn't even particularly concerned with your security and it's undeniable - that's when you really get the wake-up call.
KUHN: Harris says Japanese are starting to wake up to the fact that their assumptions about the U.S. that they've held for the past 80 years may not hold in future.
Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Tokyo.
(SOUNDBITE OF TOSHIFUMI HINATA'S "REFLECTIONS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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