No dummy. Japan media is saying it too.

Posted on: July 27, 2025 at 13:16:32 CT

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Trump-tariffs/US-Japan-differ-on-details-of-tariff-deal-with-no-clear-start-date

Here is part of the content behind the paywall.

Much remains unclear about Japan's promised investment in the U.S. as well.

"Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States," Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday. The U.S. fact sheet said this money will go into a "Japanese/USA investment vehicle" with 90% of profits going to the U.S. The sum involved exceeds the Japanese government's tax revenue for a full year.

According to Tokyo's explanation, the $550 billion figure is for a framework that includes investment, loans and loan guarantees by state-backed financial institutions. The figure does not indicate total fiscal spending, and could go unused unless businesses take the initiative to spend. The profit split would be 90-10 in favor of the U.S. if that is the investment ratio, but figures will vary from project to project.

The fact sheet states that Japan will "immediately increase imports of U.S. rice by 75%." Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a news conference Thursday that Japan can expand purchases of American-grown rice "at our discretion" but that there would be "no fixed quota."

Tokyo plans to bring in more rice through its zero-tariff minimum access framework. "The overall quantity of imported rice will not increase," Koizumi said.

While Akazawa said Tuesday that the agreement includes nothing about defense spending, the U.S. fact sheet states that Japan will make "additional billions of dollars annually of purchases of U.S. defense equipment."

A senior Defense Ministry official said Thursday that this can be satisfied with purchases within the scope of existing spending plans.

The ministry gave a list of upcoming equipment purchases under its defense buildup program, along with expected prices, to the negotiating team led by Akazawa. The team included planned purchases under the program to make the investment figure seem larger.

The discrepancies owe to the fact that unlike in typical trade negotiations, the tariff talks did not produce a document with the terms of the agreement drafted by both sides. Japan plans to come out with a summary of the countries' shared understanding of the terms as early as next week. It is not expected to be signed.

Akazawa reported the results of the talks to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday. Ishiba told reporters afterward that signing a written agreement is "not on the table now."

"I believe steps such as issuing an executive order will be taken in the U.S., and we will consider how to proceed going forward with that in mind," Ishiba said.

The U.S. has not signed detailed written agreements for other tariff deals. Details about the deal with Vietnam announced by Trump on July 2 have yet to even be made public. Washington is handling negotiations with numerous countries in parallel, and may not be able to keep up with the paperwork involved.

In a Fox News interview Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan's compliance with the terms of the deal will be evaluated quarterly, and if Trump is dissatisfied, "they will boomerang back to the 25% tariff rate."

Akazawa said Thursday he had "no recollection" of discussing that with Trump or members of his cabinet.