Japan Sends Top Envoy to Washington as ¥80 Trillion Trade Pact Firmed

Japan is sending its chief tariff negotiator, Yasutoshi Akazawa, to Washington as early as this week to finalize a joint communique on trade and investment, according to several Japanese television reports including FNN and TBS. Tokyo is also preparing a formal document committing to an ¥80 trillion ($550 billion) investment package that it outlined with the United States last month, a shift officials attribute to pressure created by President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. The planned communique is expected to detail how the two governments will coordinate investment and supply-chain measures in response to the U.S.’s hard-line tariff stance.