Copyright kyodonews
TOKYO - Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Monday she had told U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Japan will "swiftly and sincerely" implement the bilateral trade deal struck in July. During their first in-person meeting in Tokyo, the two finance chiefs discussed Japan's planned investment in the United States, Katayama told reporters after the talks, though she declined to elaborate ahead of a Japan-U.S. summit meeting on Tuesday. The United States agreed to set tariffs on Japanese cars and other products at 15 percent, lower than initially imposed or threatened, while Japan promised to invest $550 billion in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence and other key U.S. industries by January 2029 under the trade agreement. The meeting followed their phone talks last Friday. Katayama assumed her post last Tuesday in the Cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Bessent is in Tokyo accompanying President Donald Trump on his first Asian tour of his second term.
