US Ambassador to Japan George Glass said he was “very optimistic” about the ongoing tariff negotiations between Washington and Tokyo. Glass, who met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Isiba ahead of the second round of negotiations scheduled for the end of the month, said the two countries are currently experiencing a “golden age” in terms of both economic and friendly relations.
Glass, an Oregon businessman with a background in investment banking and real estate, served as US Ambassador to Portugal during US President Donald Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021. “The best and brightest of the US and Japan are working on how to move the economies forward and improve cooperation,” said Glass, who arrived in Japan last week and was confirmed by the US Senate earlier this month. “I want to see good results,” Prime Minister Isiba said during the meeting, which lasted about 35 minutes, expressing his desire to strengthen the alliance between Japan and the United States. The Trump administration’s protectionist “America First” policy of high tariffs on imports of automobiles, steel and aluminum, as well as a 24 percent “reciprocal” tariff on Japanese goods, some of which have been suspended, have strained relations between the two countries.
