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 United States. Tokyo hopes to clinch a deal by an August 1 deadline that will avert President Donald Trump's tariff of 25% on imports from Japan.

Japan’s ruling coalition is on track to lose its majority in the upper house, according to exit polls from Sunday’s election cited by Reuters. The development could spell heightened political instability just as the country nears a critical trade deadline with the United States.

Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday after U.S. stock indexes inched to more records at the start of a week of profit updates from big U.S. companies.

TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday, as Tokyo races to avert a 25% levy that will be imposed unless a deal is clinched by an August 1 deadline.

Unlike the European Union, the Japanese government has made no indication it plans to impose any kind of reciprocal tariff on the U.S.

Exports fell for a second straight month in June, fueling fears that U.S. tariffs will halt Japan’s economic recovery and complicate the central bank’s policy plans.

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.

The U.S. will impose tariffs of 25% on Japan and South Korea beginning on Aug. 1, President Donald Trump announced on Monday in posts on Truth Social.

Japan protects domestic production of rice, its staple grain, with a tariff of about $2.38 per kilogram on imports beyond a tax-free quota of roughly 770,000 tons.

Trump has sent letters to leaders of dozens of countries outlining the tariff levels set to begin on Aug. 1. In recent months, Trump has rolled back some of his steepest tariffs, meaning delays could be possible in the case of the Aug. 1 deadline. The Trump administration appears to have stood largely behind the deadline in recent days, however.