Japan cancelled Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa’s trip to Washington on Thursday, postponing negotiations aimed at turning July’s provisional tariff accord with the United States into a binding document. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the visit was aborted after officials identified matters that require further discussion at the administrative level; working-level talks will continue and Akazawa could return to the U.S. as early as next week, according to a government source. Akazawa had intended to sign off on the details of a $550 billion package of Japanese loans, investments and guarantees that Tokyo is offering in exchange for U.S. tariff relief. The July agreement lowered the headline reciprocal tariff on Japanese imports to 15 per cent and included a pledge to cut the U.S. tariff on cars from Japan to 15 per cent from 27.5 per cent, but the changes require amendments to presidential executive orders. Tokyo is pressing Washington to formalise a ‘no-stacking’ rule that would prevent country-specific duties from being imposed on top of existing tariffs, and wants an early executive order confirming the auto-tariff cut. Without written assurances, Japanese officials say they cannot publish a joint document on the investment plan. The delay extends uncertainty for exporters already hit by the 145 per cent U.S. levy on Chinese goods and by weaker global demand. Japan’s shipments to the United States recorded their steepest monthly fall in four years in July, prompting the government to trim its 2025 growth forecast to 0.7 per cent from 1.2 per cent.