Home > World > World

Japan policy chief warns of Trump tariff impact on Asian security

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 09:16

The U.S. and Japan flags fly together outside the White House in Washington on April 27, 2015. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday called on U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider his plans for reciprocal tariffs, saying they could negatively impact Indo-Pacific security.

Former defense minister Itsunori Onodera said Tokyo was particularly concerned by the effect in Southeast Asia, shown by the current visit there by Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Speaking at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, Onodera warned that countries of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations "may become more distant" from the United States because of the tariffs.

"That's a concern that we have," he said, speaking via an interpreter. "I hope the Trump tariffs will be reconsidered."

Trump hit Japan with 24 percent tariffs on its exports to the United States and Asean nations also have been targeted, although, like most of the levies, they were paused until July to allow for negotiations. A 10 percent universal rate remains in place, as does a 25 percent duty on cars, a mainstay of Japan's export-heavy economy.

Japan's trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is due in Washington for a second round of negotiations this week.

Onodera said Ishiba was profoundly concerned about Asean. "The Trump tariffs can have a very big impact, not just on economics, but to our ally in the U.S., we'd like to say they could have a potentially very big impact in security as well," he warned.

Onodera said stability in East Asia required the United States and Japan to offer improved deterrence, and added: "We hope that the Trump tariffs will not damage that."

Washington should keep in mind maintenance work Japan conducts on U.S. naval vessels and other security collaboration, amid increased tensions and threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea, Onodera said.

He said Japan was the No. 1 foreign investor in the United States, creating many jobs and U.S. exports, and cautioned: "With the Trump tariffs, Japanese companies could be weakened. If so, then they wouldn't be as capable of investing in the United States."

Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council Chair Itsunori Onodera speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters on Oct. 27, 2024 in Tokyo. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Onodera also expressed concern about the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and said China would step in where the United States has pulled out. He said Japan could help fill the gap.

"We hope that this structure will be eventually rebuilt, but in the meantime, maybe there's something Japan can do. Maybe this is the time for Japan to support the United States."

Reuters