Ishiba says no talk with Trump on car tariffs at top

Trump identifies Japan's US substantial financial investment, task creation

LNG, steel, AI and autos are areas Japan can invest in US

Nippon Steel will run under US management, personnel

Japan will not raise defence spending without public assistance

TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism on Sunday that his nation might avoid greater U.S. tariffs, saying President Donald Trump had "acknowledged" Japan's substantial financial investment in the U.S. and the American tasks that it develops.

At his very first White House top on Friday, Ishiba told public broadcaster NHK, he explained to Trump the number of Japanese car manufacturers were creating tasks in the United States.

The two did not particularly discuss vehicle tariffs, Ishiba said, although he said he did not understand whether Japan would be subject to the that Trump has said he prepares to enforce on imports.

Tokyo has up until now got away the trade war Trump let loose in his first weeks in office. He has actually announced tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, although he held off the 25% tasks on his North American neighbours to enable for talks.

The escalating trade tensions given that Trump returned to the White House on January 20 threaten to burst the international economy.

Ishiba said he believes Trump "acknowledged the fact Japan has actually been the world's biggest financier in the United States for five straight years, and is therefore various from other countries."

"Japan is creating lots of U.S. jobs. I think (Washington) will not go straight to the idea of greater tariffs," he said.

Ishiba voiced optimism that Japan and the U.S. can prevent a tit-for-tat tariff war, worrying that tariffs must be put in place in such a way that "advantages both sides".

"Any action that makes use of or omits the other side will not last," Ishiba said. "The concern is whether there is any issue in between Japan and the United States that requires imposing greater tariffs," he added.

Japan had the greatest foreign direct investment in the United States in 2023 at $783.3 billion, followed by Canada and Germany, according to the most current U.S. Commerce Department information.

Trump pressed Ishiba to close Japan's $68.5 billion yearly trade surplus with Washington however revealed optimism this might be done quickly, offered a promise by Ishiba to bring Japanese financial investment in the U.S. to $1 trillion.

On Sunday, Ishiba identified melted gas, mediawiki.hcah.in steel, AI and vehicles as areas that Japanese companies might invest in.

He also discussed Trump's guarantee to take a look at Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel, instead of purchasing the storied American business - a prepared purchase opposed by Trump and blocked by his predecessor, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de Joe Biden.

"Investment is being made to guarantee that it remains an American company. It will continue to run under American management, with American employees," Ishiba said. "The bottom line is how to guarantee it remains an American company. From President Trump's perspective, this is of utmost significance."

On military spending, another location where Trump has actually pushed allies for online-learning-initiative.org increases, Ishiba said Japan would not increase its defence budget without very first winning public support. "It is important to make sure that what is deemed needed is something the taxpayers can understand and support," he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara: Additional reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by William Mallard)