A Japanese policy official said that reciprocal tariffs may have a negative impact on security in the Indo-Pacific region

The policy chief of Japan's ruling party has called on US President Trump to reconsider his reciprocal tariff plan, saying that this plan may have a negative impact on security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Reuters reported that Goji Onodera, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party's policy research council who once served as Japan's defense minister, said that Japan is particularly concerned about the impact of reciprocal tariffs on Southeast Asian countries. This is demonstrated by the recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Southeast Asia.

Onodera Itsunori warned on Monday (April 28) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, that due to US tariff measures, the 10 ASEAN countries "may become more distant from the United States."

He said through an interpreter, "This is our concern." I hope... The Trump administration can reconsider the tariff measures.

Shigeru Ishiba said after meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on Monday: "The uncertainty of the global economic outlook is increasing day by day, and its impact on the Southeast Asian region is also increasingly evident..." We will cooperate to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law. He will also visit the Philippines on Tuesday.

Trump imposed a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japanese imports, and the ASEAN countries were not spared either. Among them, the reciprocal tariff rates for Vietnam and the Philippines were 46% and 17% respectively.

Trump has currently postponed the implementation of reciprocal tariffs until July in order to negotiate with various countries. However, the 10% benchmark tariff imposed by the United States has come into effect, and the 25% tariff on car imports remains unchanged.

The automotive industry is a pillar industry of Japan's export-oriented economy. Japan's chief trade negotiator, Ryo Akazawa, will travel to Washington on Wednesday for the second round of tariff negotiations.

Several US officials said Monday that Trump will announce measures to reduce the impact of auto tariffs on Tuesday. They said that Trump's new measures would lower some tariffs on the use of foreign parts in US-made cars, while avoiding the imposition of tariffs on domestically produced cars on other tariffs he has already imposed.