If no deal is made, Japanese imports face a 25 percent tariff from Trump, which threatens to drive up prices in the U.S. on affected goods. Japan mostly exports vehicles, machinery, and electronics to the U.S. It also risks damaging relations with a key Pacific ally of Washington.

A bad night for the ruling coalition could cost the prime minister his job and make it harder to strike a deal with Washington before the August tariff deadline.

Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa will visit Washington from Monday for an eighth round of trade talks, with the deadline

A mutually beneficial U.S.-Japan tariff agreement is still possible, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo.

For Americans who were awaiting the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, the delay of U.S. pre-orders for the gaming console this April was one indication of what’s to come.

The road to Japan’s trade deal with the U.S. just got longer and more winding as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition lost its majority in the upper house following the election held on Sunday. It was only in late October that Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party lost the majority in the lower house it had held since 2012.

Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Saturday he planned to visit Washington next week to hold further ministerial-level talks with the U.S.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was clinging on Monday even after his coalition disastrously lost its upper house majority in elections, as painful new US tariffs loom.