key takeaways
- The Trump administration’s announcement that it will impose 25% tariffs on automobile tariffs has roiled Tokyo, as the government is worried over the potential economic impact of tariffs on Japan’s largest export to the United States.
- Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s government is constrained in its ability to respond, both out of a desire to avoid a broader deterioration in relations with the US and concerns of the impact of a retaliatory spiral.
- However, the automobile tariffs could weaken Ishiba politically when he is already vulnerable.
Japan Foresight 