EXCLUSIVE: Akazawa to Visit U.S. from Thurs. for Investment Talks

Tokyo, March 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese trade minister Ryosei Akazawa will visit the United States for four days from Thursday for detailed investment talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Jiji Press learned Tuesday. The Japanese and U.S. governments are working to set the meeting for Friday, according to informed sources. Akazawa and Lutnick will hold last-minute talks on the selection of the second batch of projects based on Japan’s pledge to make investments and loans worth up to 550 billion dollars in the United States as part of the two countries’ tariff deal, the sources said. The construction of next-generation nuclear power reactors has been proposed as a major candidate project in bilateral negotiations conducted so far. The two sides are set to speed up work so that an announcement can be made when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a meeting in Washington on March 19. Three projects worth a total of 36 billion dollars–the construction of a gas-fired thermal power plant and a deep-sea crude oil export facility, and the production of synthetic diamonds–were announced in February for Japan’s first-round investment in the United States as part of the tariff deal. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]