Japan’s chief negotiator on Thursday set off for another round of tariff negotiations with the United States, reiterating before his departure that the 25 percent additional auto tariffs imposed by Washington remain unacceptable.

Ryosei Akazawa, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, said he still hopes to convince the United States to review the duty, especially as the 90-day pause on part of the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed on Japan and other countries expires on July 9.

The auto tariffs are “not something we can accept,” Akazawa told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport before leaving for Washington, referring to import taxes that have weighed heavily on Japan’s large automotive industry.

Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on June 26, 2025, before departing for tariff negotiations in the United States. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The seventh round of ministerial-level tariff negotiations this week are likely to involve U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as previous rounds have. The auto tariffs have been the key sticking point in the bilateral negotiations that began in April.

The latest visit is Akazawa’s first since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was unable to strike an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump over the tariffs at their summit on June 16 in Canada. The leaders agreed to have talks continue at the ministerial level.

In addition to increasing the tariff rate for passenger cars to 27.5 percent from 2.5 percent, the Trump administration raised other sector-based and country-specific duties, in a bid to reduce the trade deficit with Japan, which Trump says primarily results from “unfair” trade practices.

Under the reciprocal tariff regime, combined with a baseline rate of 10 percent covering nearly all goods imported by the United States, Japan faces an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent.

To facilitate negotiations, Trump paused tariffs set above 10 percent for 60 trading partners, including Japan, for 90 days.

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