Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump

Hideyuki Sano, Bloomberg News on Apr 19, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Japan is looking into reviewing its car safety standards as the country seeks to strike a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported on Sunday.

The report comes after Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa kicked off tariff discussions with U.S. counterparts in Washington last week. Preparations are underway for a second round of negotiations.

U.S. carmakers have long complained about perceived non-tariff barriers blocking access to Japan’s market, including stringent safety standards. A report by the U.S. Trade Representative last month cited Japan’s non-acceptance of U.S. safety standards certification as providing an equal level of protection as its own standards, unique testing protocols and obstacles to establishing distribution and service networks.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government believes there is room for easing some of the country’s safety criteria, such as regulations pertaining to testing for crash safety, the Nikkei reported.

Japan is rushing to identify bargaining chips in its talk with Washington as it seeks to roll back an across-the-board tariff rate of 24% that has been temporarily reduced to 10%. As with other nations, Japan also faces a 25% levy on shipments of cars, steel and aluminum.

Sunday’s report said Japan is also looking to increase rice imports as part of its negotiation strategy.

With annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank set to start this week in Washington, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato is making final arrangements to hold talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 24. That meeting has fueled speculation the yen’s weakness might become a topic in discussions aimed at a bilateral deal.