Japan PM says Trump's tariff views hard to understand

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that Donald Trump's views on tariffs were "difficult to understand" after the US president announced 25 percent levies on imported cars and parts.

Just weeks after Ishiba and Trump held apparently friendly talks, the duties came as a major blow to Japan, one of Washington's closest economic and strategic allies. Japanese auto shares sank for the second day on Friday.

"What President Trump is saying is that there are both friends and foes and friends can be more difficult. This is very difficult to understand," Ishiba said during a legislative committee session.

Announcing the new vehicle tariffs — penciled in for next week — Trump said this week in the White House that America's trade partners had been "taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things".

"They've taken so much out of our country, friend and foe alike. And frankly, friend has been oftentimes been much worse than foe," he added.

The measures have caused consternation among US allies. 

Canada angrily reacted to Trump's tariff, which could devastate the nation's auto industry, with Prime Minister Mark Carney declaring the era of deep bilateral relations was "over".

For Japan, Ishiba warned: "The impact this will have on the Japanese economy will be extremely significant. There is nothing to be gained by getting into a big fight over it. We will explain logically (to Washington).

"The point is to make them understand imposing such high tariffs on Japan will not bring a special benefit to the United States."

One in 10 Japanese jobs are tied to the automotive industry.

Ishiba said on Thursday that Japan was reviewing an "appropriate" response to the tariffs.

"We believe that the current measures and other broad-based trade restrictions by the US government could have a significant impact on the economic relationship between Japan and the US, as well as on the global economy and the multilateral trading system," government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Trump's move has worried investors, who were already on edge over a string of other tariffs he has imposed including on steel and aluminum.

In afternoon trade, Toyota plunged 4.76 percent in Tokyo, Honda fell 4.77 percent and Nissan lost 2.97 percent, extending Thursday's steep losses.

Top trade officials from South Korea, Japan and China were meanwhile set on Sunday to meet in Seoul to discuss economic cooperation, a government source told AFP on Friday.