Akazawa Appointed as Negotiator for Trump Tariffs: The Behind-the-Scenes Story

He has been selected to serve as a negotiator

The “Trump Tariffs” are shaking the world.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (68) on April 8 appointed his close aide, Akazawa Ryoma (64), Minister for Economic Revitalization, as the cabinet minister responsible for tariff negotiations. Just as he was about to engage in talks with the United States, President Trump announced that he would “suspend the application of mutual tariffs for 90 days.” This brought a mix of relief and confusion within the Prime Minister’s office.

However, the general 10% increase in tariffs, along with the additional 25% tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminum, remain in effect. During the 90-day suspension period, Akazawa plans to visit the U.S. on the 16th to negotiate with Treasury Secretary Bessent and USTR Representative Lighthizer in an effort to ease tariff increases.

“With the appointment of Lighthizer as the negotiating counterpart, a sense of relief spread. He was the negotiator for livestock and agricultural products during the first Trump administration and is well-known in Kasumigaseki and Nagatacho. However, Akazawa has been a close aide to Prime Minister Ishiba, who has long been considered an ‘internal opposition’ within the party. Since Akazawa has never held a major government or party position, he is unlikely to have met Lighthizer personally,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s political department.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (64) explained that “based on the situation of the relevant areas, as well as his abilities and experience,” the Prime Minister made the decision to appoint Akazawa. Going forward, Akazawa’s negotiation skills will be key, but in Nagatacho, most voices are skeptical, with the prevailing sentiment being that his “skills and experience” are unproven, and the task may be too heavy for him. Even former members of the Abe faction, who are in their fourth year as members of parliament, have voiced concerns.

“Akazawa has a record in U.S.-Japan aviation negotiations when he was an official in the former Ministry of Transport and has studied at Cornell University. However, he only became a minister six months ago with the start of the Ishiba administration. He has little experience in major political negotiations or diplomacy. While he has worked to unite the livestock and dairy committees within the party, which he is knowledgeable about, if we were to say whether expectations or concerns prevail, it would be the latter.”

As mentioned earlier, the 25% tariff on Japan’s core industry, the automobile sector, is still in effect. The automobile industry, which has extensive secondary and tertiary industries, involves 5.58 million people, about 10% of Japan’s total workforce. As voices of concern grow from the industrial sector, Akazawa remains determined to strongly request a review.

Two individuals who have previously achieved success in trade negotiations with the U.S. were also considered candidates for the role in these negotiations.

Those with proven track records and others were sent off

During the Obama administration, former Secretary-General Akira Amari (75), who played a key role in the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and former Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (69), who handled the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement during the first Trump administration, were among those considered as candidates. There was strong support within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for welcoming Motegi as Deputy Prime Minister and assigning him the role of negotiator.

“In 2019, Motegi managed to avoid the imposition of high tariffs on Japanese cars by negotiating to set the tariffs on U.S. beef and pork to TPP-level rates, making it easier for them to enter Japan. Through this negotiation, Motegi was recognized by President Trump as a ‘tough negotiator.’ While he lacks popularity, Motegi excels in tough negotiations. Even Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (67), had been named as a potential negotiator.”

However, appointing a cabinet minister from outside the cabinet would require a reshuffle. Someone would need to be removed from their ministerial post. Furthermore, it seems that Prime Minister Ishiba suspects that Motegi might have been the one who leaked the issue of distributing gift certificates to the media, causing communication problems. Since Amari is no longer in office, he would need the approval of faction leader Taro Aso (84), the LDP vice president, which led to him being eliminated from the list of candidates,” explained the aforementioned politician.

Other close aides supporting the Ishiba administration, such as Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (67), Policy Research Chairman Itsunori Onodera (64), and former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (67), all have experience in defense. However, the absence of figures well-versed in diplomacy and economics has been a significant disadvantage.

There was also a proposal to entrust the task to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is fluent in languages and knowledgeable about both economics and diplomacy, but this was also shelved. A political reporter elaborated:

“The Chief Cabinet Secretary is a key position in the government, responsible for crisis management. Since the role involves acting as the command center within Japan, it was deemed undesirable for him to be absent for long periods on foreign trips, which is why this proposal was dropped.”

The name of former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Ken Saito (65), who was involved in U.S.-Japan auto negotiations in the 1990s, also came up, but appointing someone from outside the cabinet would require a reshuffle, so this option was also not realized. In the end, Akazawa, who has close ties with Prime Minister Ishiba and even has an office in the Prime Minister’s residence, was appointed as the minister in charge.

Former chairman of the Japan Innovation Party’s National Strategy Committee, Takashi Endo (56), who has been close to Akazawa for over 10 years, supported him, saying, 

“Akazawa-san tells jokes, is easygoing, and attentive. He’s not at all the difficult-to-approach person that people might think. His personality is not widely known within the LDP. He can lighten the mood with jokes and has the negotiating ability to speak at his own pace without getting anxious or hurried.”

Can this first-time cabinet minister, a close aide to the Prime Minister, create a miracle in the toughest negotiations?