Japan PM close aide Akazawa to take charge of tariff talks with U.S.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday tapped his close aide Ryosei Akazawa, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, to lead talks with the United States in a bid to dissuade President Donald Trump from imposing higher tariffs that could harm trade and the economy.The appointment came hours after Ishiba and Trump agreed in a roughly 30-minute telephone conversation to continue bilateral tariff negotiations through their ministers, with the imminent imposition of a 24 percent "reciprocal" tariff on Japanese products looming.U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he has been e…READ FULL ARTICLE