Photo/Illutration Tatsuo Yasunaga, chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Council, speaks at a news conference on July 23. (Sho Ito)

Business executives overall praised the agreement reached with the United States that will lower tariffs on automobiles to 15 percent from the planned 25 percent.

Yoshinobu Tsutsui, the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) chairman, said, “Persistent negotiations over a long period that focused on national interests bore fruit.”

While he added that the 15-percent reciprocal tariff would have some effect on the domestic economy, he said the effort at negotiations had produced results and called for domestic economic measures to help those companies that will be impacted by the tariff.

Tatsuo Yasunaga, who chairs the Japan Foreign Trade Council, described the agreement as a “major milestone” and said the clearing away of uncertainty about what sort of agreement would be reached would provide a sense of stability to companies.

However, he added it would be difficult to clearly assess the specific effects on corporate activities given what is now known about the tariff agreement.

Takeshi Niinami, chairman of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), issued a statement that expressed gratitude for the government’s efforts and said the avoidance of an across-the-board increase in tariffs could serve as a bulwark for companies.

His praise came while also pointing out that the agreement did not mean the United States had changed its "America First" stance and said Japan should work toward rebuilding an international cooperation framework to strengthen the resilience of the Japanese economy.

Masayoshi Matsumoto, who chairs the Kansai Economic Federation, said the lower tariff was closer to the range at which the industrial sector could survive through its own efforts.

Despite this, he additionally called for support measures for those small and midsize companies as well as those directly affected by trade with the United States that may be facing difficulties.

Kazuhiko Fujii, president of Kaneka Corp., which manufactures materials for car interiors, said the auto industry would be able to persevere through its own efforts with the 15-percent tariff, saying it was not extremely disadvantageous compared to those imposed on exports of other foreign nations.

Fujii did, however, touch upon the possibility that the reciprocal tariffs could push up U.S. consumer prices. A cooling of consumer sentiment in the United States due to a decrease in disposable income there would have an effect on the global economy, including Japan, Fujii said.

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