Japan to Trump: Get Your Facts Straight Before We Talk Trade

Before Japan can even think about moving forward on trade negotiations, they’ve got one major task for Mr. Trump’s team: clean up Trump’s mess of misinformation.

Former Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro isn’t mincing words. In an interview with Bloomberg, he called out Trump for peddling bogus stats and twisting facts to fit his narrative—something that could derail meaningful talks unless corrected first. “If we don’t straighten out Trump’s data distortions, we can’t even start negotiating,” Kono warned.

This isn’t Kono’s first Trump rodeo. He remembers the déjà vu from Trump’s first term—wrong assumptions about the US-Japan security pact and Japan’s auto industry. Back then, they fixed the errors. Now? They’re back on the table.

Tariffs & Tension

Formal trade talks are underway between the two countries, sparked by Trump’s heavy-handed 24% blanket tariff on Japanese goods—and an even nastier 25% on cars, steel, and aluminum. While the 24% is currently paused, a 10% tariff still stings.

Another round of trade talks is scheduled this month, with Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato also set to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Kono’s Message: Don’t Rush, Don’t Mix Topics

Kono is adamant: no rushing, and no dragging regional security or China into trade negotiations. “We need to treat economic security and supply chain issues involving China as their own topic. Mixing them up would be a mistake.”

Navigating Between Giants

Meanwhile, Japan’s playing a delicate diplomatic game. A delegation is in Beijing this week delivering a message from PM Shigeru Ishiba to President Xi Jinping—signaling Japan’s balancing act between its biggest trading partner (China) and its closest security ally (the US).

Currency Clarity

As for Trump’s obsession with the dollar? Kono thinks it’s just more noise. “Trump clearly wants a weaker dollar, but the market will sort that out.”