Key points
- The package will include help with corporate financing
- Japan is subject to 10pc baseline tariffs imposed by Trump
- Trump had also announced 24pc “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan in early April
- Japan wants all levies on its imports announced by Trump lifted
ISLAMABAD: Japan’s government announced Tuesday a package worth $15.5 billion aimed at shielding small to medium-size businesses (SMEs) from the impact of US tariffs.
AFP reported that the package worth 2.2 trillion yen ($15.5 billion) will include help with corporate financing and easing of loan conditions at a government-backed lending institution, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
“We will provide full support for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the US tariffs,” Hayashi told a press conference.
Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 per cent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.
“Reciprocal tariffs on Japan”
US President Donald Trump also announced 24 per cent “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan in early April, but later paused them along with similar measures on other countries until early July.
Japan wants all levies on its imports announced by Trump lifted.
NHK World reported that Japan is no longer the world’s top creditor. That title goes to Germany, after Japan slipped from the number-one spot for the first time in 34 years, even with its net overseas assets at a record high.
The Finance Ministry said the net figure at the end of last year increased almost 13 percent to 533.5 trillion yen, or over 3.7 trillion dollars.
Japanese businesses stepped up their direct investment in the United States and the Netherlands. A weaker yen boosted the assets’ value in yen terms.
2024 was also the sixth year in a row for Japan’s net overseas assets to hit a record high, according to the NHK World.
