U.S. tariff negotiators appeared reluctant to lower levies on cars, steel and aluminium in a recent meeting with Japanese counterparts - a stance that made the Japanese side feel that cooperation could be difficult, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday, Reuters reported. U.S. negotiators including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa and other Japanese officials in Washington on Thursday and presented a proposed framework for a trade agreement, the paper said.
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The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and sharply cut its growth forecasts on Thursday, suggesting uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and the hit to exports could keep policy in a holding pattern for some time, Reuters reported. But the central bank projected inflation would stay roughly on course to hit its 2% target in coming years, a sign that risks from U.S. tariffs could delay, but not derail, its rate hike plans.
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The Bank of Japan is widely expected to maintain its policy rate unchanged at 0.5% at a two-day meeting ending Thursday as it waits to see if Japan will be exempt from President Trump’s tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. BOJ policymakers have grown more cautious about the impact of additional U.S. tariffs on the Japanese economy. Aside from the risk of exports slowing, they are worried that uncertainty over U.S. policymaking will make Japanese companies hesitant to allocate capital.
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Japanese corporate issuers are rekindling some shelved yen bond deals in a sign of pressing funding needs even as investors seek fatter premiums, the Japan Times reported. Suntory, one of a slew of firms that canceled or delayed deals in April due to sharp market fluctuations, is considering resuming the sale in May. Another beverage group, Asahi, sold yen bonds on Friday in an offering that was postponed at the start of the month. Companies paid about 60 basis points more than Japanese sovereign debt on average this month for new issuance, data showed.
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Japanese and U.S. finance chiefs meet on Thursday for high-stakes talks on exchange rates that have drawn market attention as a venue where Washington could pressure Tokyo to prop up the yen and help it reduce the huge U.S. trade deficit, Reuters reported. As the two countries proceed with separate bilateral talks on tariffs, the thorny currency rate topic has been set aside for Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss in Washington - the first face-to-face talks between the two. U.S.
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Japanese banks must monitor various risks associated with high levels of uncertainty over global trade policies, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs have rocked financial markets in recent weeks, Reuters reported. "Japan's financial system has been maintaining stability on the whole," the BOJ said in a semi-annual report. But since the beginning of April, "uncertainty has heightened regarding the formulation of trade and other economic policies in each jurisdiction, geopolitical risks, and developments in global financial markets," the BOJ said.
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The Bank of Japan is expected to signal next week that risks from higher U.S. tariffs won't derail a cycle of rising wages and inflation seen as crucial to keep raising interest rates, Reuters reported. The assessment, to be included in its quarterly outlook report due on May 1, will underscore the BOJ's desire to keep alive market expectations of further interest rate hikes - even though the timing of its next move could be months away. "It's hard to predict the exact damage to the economy from (President Donald) Trump's tariffs at this stage," said one of the sources.
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The new U.S. ambassador to Japan arrived in Tokyo on Friday and said he is optimistic that his country and its key Asian ally will reach a deal in their ongoing tariff negotiations, the Associated Press reported. George Glass, a prominent businessperson known for his background in finance, investment banking and technology, arrives as Washington and Tokyo are negotiating President Donald Trump’s tariff measures, which have triggered worldwide concern about their impact on the economy and global trade. “I’m extremely optimistic ...
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Japan recorded a trade deficit in its March-April fiscal year but racked up a surplus with the U.S., the Finance Ministry reported Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Japan’s global trade deficit totaled 5.2 trillion yen ($37 billion) for the fiscal year through March, for the fourth straight year of deficits, according to the provisional statistics. The surplus with the U.S. ballooned to 9 trillion yen ($63 billion). Exports to the U.S. are a contentious issue for U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese negotiators are in Washington to argue their case against higher U.S. tariffs.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank may need to take policy action if U.S. tariffs hurt the Japanese economy, the Sankei newspaper reported on Wednesday, signaling the potential to pause the bank's rate-hike cycle. Since February, risks surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's policies have "moved closer towards the bad scenario" the BOJ had envisioned, Ueda said in an interview, adding that recent developments have already affected corporate and household confidence.