Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed deep regret on Tuesday regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on Japanese imports effective August 1st.

During a meeting of the Tariff Response Task Force, Ishiba stated: "It is regrettable that the U.S. government has announced increased tariffs." He added, "Unfortunately, no agreement has been reached yet," noting that "the Japanese government is conducting intensive negotiations to avoid easy concessions while demanding necessary protections."

Ishiba directed relevant cabinet members to continue negotiations with the U.S. government to reach an agreement that serves and protects both nations' interests.

This comes after President Trump's Monday announcement imposing 25% tariffs on imports from both Japan and South Korea effective next August unless both Asian nations make progress toward trade agreements with the United States before that deadline.