On July 22, Ryosei Akazawa, then Japan\u2019s minister in charge of tariff negotiations with the United States, was sitting across from President Trump in the Oval Office. Mr. Trump, deploying a familiar negotiating style, began crossing out numbers on a placemat-size visual aid.<\/p>\n
After eight trips to Washington, Mr. Akazawa had worked out the outline of a plan with Mr. Trump\u2019s trade officials. But in the final meeting, the president upped the ante. Mr. Akazawa went along with the new demands.<\/p>\n
Japan walked away with lower-than-threatened tariffs<\/a>. In return, it pledged to put up $550 billion<\/a> to fund American projects, an amount equal to more than a tenth of Japan\u2019s economy. In an extraordinary provision, the deal gave the Trump administration the power to, in effect, dictate how the money is spent.<\/p>\n Three months later, both countries are still trying to figure out what those investments will be. A top concern for many Japanese officials is that the Trump administration may select projects that don\u2019t make strategic sense for Japan. That would force a difficult choice: acquiesce, or refuse and face the risk of higher tariffs.<\/p>\n That will be the challenging backdrop when Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, Japan\u2019s new prime minister, meets with Mr. Trump on Tuesday. Their discussion is expected to focus on how her debt-strapped<\/a> nation can both invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States and increase military spending \u2014 another move Washington is pressing for.<\/p>\n Heading into the storm, there is a constant: Mr. Akazawa, the \u201ctariff minister\u201d who ingratiated himself to the Trump administration. Mr. Akazawa has told people close to him that he tried to disarm Mr. Trump by being intentionally deferential. For a meeting in the Oval Office, he donned a \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d cap. He held numerous late-night phone calls with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick<\/a>, and trekked to Washington nearly a dozen times.<\/p>\n Ms. Takaichi has named Mr. Akazawa as her economy minister, meaning he will continue to play a role in talks with Washington. His appointment raises questions about whether Ms. Takaichi, who has expressed concerns over the trade deal, will stick to the same negotiating tactics that resulted in the existing pact.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just Japan. Governments around the world have been scrambling to figure out the best approach for negotiating with Mr. Trump, \u201cwho ignores counsel and acts on impulse,\u201d said Ian Bremmer, the president of Eurasia Group, an international consulting firm.<\/p>\n He said it was clear that when dealing with Mr. Trump, \u201ca willingness to absorb punches can create the needed space.\u201d At the same time, \u201cTrump, at the end of the day, respects people who stand up for themselves,\u201d Mr. Bremmer said, adding that Ms. Takaichi \u201chas the ability to show that to Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s April Shock<\/p>\n Japanese government and business leaders were left reeling in early April when Mr. Trump announced sweeping tariffs on America\u2019s trading partners, including 24 percent on Japan. Automakers, Japan\u2019s largest exporters to the United States, began warning of tens of billions of dollars in losses<\/a> stemming from the higher levies.<\/p>\n Shigeru Ishiba, who was then the prime minister, denounced the tariffs and dispatched Mr. Akazawa to the United States to lobby for an exemption. A long-serving member of Japan\u2019s lower house of Parliament, Mr. Akazawa possessed limited diplomatic expertise but was one of Mr. Ishiba\u2019s closest confidants.<\/p>\n Two weeks after the tariffs were announced, Mr. Akazawa arrived in Washington with a deferential tone. He thanked Mr. Trump for meeting with \u201cthe lowest of the low.\u201d He was photographed while wearing the red cap, smiling and giving an awkward double thumbs-up.<\/p>\n According to three people whom Mr. Akazawa has since consulted about the negotiations, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to relay the content of the private conversations, Mr. Akazawa said his pose and other interactions had been calculated. They were aimed at appearing unassuming to potentially disarm Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n As for the hat, it was one of two offered to him, the people said. The other read, \u201cTrump was right about everything!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHaving someone like Akazawa go to the United States over and over again, shaking hands with Trump, and looking kind of desperate, the Ishiba administration was able to craft an image of Trump sort of controlling Japan,\u201d said Izuru Makihara, a professor of public administration at the University of Tokyo.<\/p>\n This posture did not immediately appear to yield results. Conversations were stuck<\/a> on Japan\u2019s reluctance to open itself to more U.S. agriculture and accept higher tariffs on its key automotive industry. Back home, Mr. Akazawa faced criticism.<\/p>\n Mr. Akazawa recalled how, after traveling to the United States for the seventh round of negotiations, social media users suggested that he simply pitch a tent on the White House lawn to save money on travel. One of Japan\u2019s major daily newspapers ran a column<\/a> titled, \u201cCan\u2019t stop seeing minister\u2019s self-abasement at the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n At that stage, \u201cthat was the kind of heartwarming support I was receiving,\u201d Mr. Akazawa recounted at a news conference in Tokyo this month.<\/p>\n Like a Real Estate Deal<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, conversations were progressing. By early July, plans began to coalesce: Japan would invest around $300 billion in the American economy, in an agreement structured like a real estate deal with the United States and Japan acting as 50-50 partners, according to two of the people briefed on the negotiations.<\/p>\n The question, though, was who would be the \u201cchief investment officer\u201d for such a scheme. Mr. Lutnick suggested that it be Mr. Trump, the people said.<\/p>\n The memorandum of understanding that was revealed weeks later contained details that some business leaders and officials called<\/a> \u201chumiliating,\u201d and even the equivalent of \u201ceconomic slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n In exchange for a 15 percent tariff on its exports, Mr. Akazawa agreed that Japan would create a $550 billion fund. Mr. Trump would select Japan\u2019s investments, and Japan would review and finance the project within 45 business days. Failure to do so could result in higher U.S. tariffs. After Japan recouped its initial money, 90 percent of the profits would go to the United States.<\/p>\n Mr. Akazawa, who declined to be interviewed, has defended the deal and his tactics. Maintaining \u201cdecorum,\u201d wearing the cap and making repeated trips to the United States were effective in \u201cestablishing a trusting and amicable relationship,\u201d he said. \u201cI am left with no bad aftertaste,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The trade deal is \u201cnot subject to revision,\u201d a White House official said in a statement. \u201cWe expect all parties to hold up their end of the bargain, which includes increasing market access for American exports and funding a $550 billion investment vehicle to be invested at the President\u2019s direction,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n On Sept. 4, Mr. Trump signed an executive order lowering tariffs on Japanese exports. A few days later, Mr. Ishiba said he would step down<\/a> as prime minister, citing his administration\u2019s clinching of a \u201cwin-win\u201d trade deal.<\/p>\n