Japan PM says needs to examine details of US trade deal

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday that he needed to examine the details of a trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump before commenting.

"As for what to make of the outcome of the negotiations, I am not able to discuss it until after we carefully examine the details of the negotiations and the agreement," Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo after Trump's announcement.

"As the government, we think that (the deal) will protect national interests," he told reporters.

"We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Japanese imports were already subject to a tariff of 10 percent and Trump had announced this would rise to 25 percent on August 1 if there was no deal.

Imports of 25 percent on Japanese auto imports were already in place, as well as 50 percent on steel and alumiunium.

Japanese media reported that the levy on autos had now been reduced to 15 percent, sending Japanese auto stocks soaring on Wednesday morning in Tokyo.

Trump's announcement came as Ishiba's trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa was on his eighth trip to Washington where he met senior US officials.

Akazawa said on X: "Mission accomplished."

© Agence France-Presse