NIPPON


 

Japan will make no concession that could affect food safety in its tariff negotiations with the United States, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday.

"We will not concede over food safety. We must protect the safety of Japanese citizens," he said in a television program of public broadcaster NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp., showing a careful approach to the issue of agricultural market access.

Ishiba also said that expansion of liquefied natural gas imports will be examined as a bargaining chip, considering that U.S. President Donald Trump is giving priority to eliminating his country's trade deficit with Japan.

Washington has complained about Japanese nontariff barriers for automobiles. After noting differences in safety standards and traffic rules between the two countries, Ishiba said, "We'll properly work out measures so that we will not be criticized as unfair."

He also commented on Trump's dissatisfaction with Japan's current share of the costs for U.S. forces stationed in the Asian nation.