【Text by Observers Network, Qi Qian】According to Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun", after U.S. President Trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on all Japanese imports, on July 8 local time, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan held a meeting of senior officials in charge of the comprehensive countermeasures headquarters for the U.S. tariff issue.

At the meeting, Koichi Nozaki, chairman of the LDP's House of Representatives Research Committee and a member of the House of Representatives, made a solemn statement regarding the new U.S. tariff measures.

"We are strongly indignant; this is completely unacceptable," said Koichi Nozaki while making a strong protest to the U.S. He emphasized, "This proves that the Japanese government will not yield an inch in safeguarding national interests and will continue to conduct resilient negotiations." He indicated that he will continue to push forward the negotiation process.

At the same time, Koichi Nozaki criticized Trump's act of sending a tariff letter to Japan.

"It is extremely disrespectful to inform an ally with a single letter," said Koichi Nozaki, clearly requesting the Japanese government, "we must not easily compromise due to the urgency of negotiations; we must firmly stand our ground."

Regarding domestic measures in Japan, Koichi Nozaki emphasized, "we will spare no effort to support industries affected by the impact through means such as stimulating domestic demand," stating, "we will resolutely protect domestic industries, employment, and people's livelihoods, and fully support the government's negotiations and improve domestic countermeasures." He particularly pointed out: "Japan must establish a stable economic structure that is not affected by external policy changes and build an economic system that can withstand risks."

On the same day, Koichi Nozaki posted a report from Japanese media about his statement on the X platform. He also wrote: "This is a negotiation to protect national interests; we cannot easily compromise... we must not keep yielding too quickly. To support ongoing negotiations, we will continue to effectively strengthen domestic measures."

Chairman of the LDP's House of Representatives Research Committee, Koichi Nozaki, Japanese media

The upcoming House of Councillors election in Japan on July 20 has become a key suspense, whether the ruling coalition composed of the LDP and Komeito can maintain a majority of seats. In the previous October's House of Representatives election, the ruling coalition had less than half the seats, becoming a minority government.

A recent public opinion poll conducted by Kyodo News from July 5 to 6 showed that the opposition parties have higher popularity than the ruling coalition, with nearly half (49.9%) of respondents hoping the ruling coalition does not reach a majority. The survey also showed that the cabinet led by Ishiba has a support rate of 25.4%, down 7 percentage points from the previous survey.

According to reports, after the meeting on August 8, when asked about the impact of the election, Koichi Nozaki said: "It has nothing to do with the election. The tariff issue will have a huge impact on people's lives. It concerns national interests, and I hope the government can respond firmly."

Screenshot of the tweet

On July 7 local time, U.S. President Trump gradually announced new tax rates for multiple countries, with Japan and South Korea each being subjected to a 25% tariff. The South Korean rate is consistent with what was announced in early April, while the Japanese rate has increased by one percentage point. Trump also signed an executive order to extend the effective date of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" to August 1, instead of the original July 9.

That day, Trump began sending letters to trade partners who had not yet reached an agreement on tariffs. So far, 14 countries have received notices from Trump. Foreign media generally interpret this as a new move by Trump to further pressure Japan and South Korea, as well as a demonstration for other countries. These letters imply there is still room for negotiation, but at the same time warn the recipient that if they take retaliatory actions, the U.S. will "reciprocally increase the tariffs."

"Please understand that the 25% tariff is far below the level needed to eliminate the trade deficit between us and your country," Trump warned Japan and South Korea in the published letters, "if you decide to raise tariffs, whatever amount you raise will be added on top of our 25% tariff."

According to Tokyo Broadcasting System, the Japanese government held a meeting of the comprehensive countermeasures headquarters on August 8 to discuss the response plan to the U.S. tariff measures.

Ishiba responded at the meeting, saying, "We are very sorry about the U.S. announcement of additional tariffs... the Japanese government did not easily compromise during the difficult negotiations and expressed the demands it should make, protecting the things it should protect." He also said that the actual implementation date of the tariffs is August 1, which means the negotiation period has been extended, and negotiations with the U.S. will continue.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524668809895871018/

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