Trade is on the table, but diplomacy is in the air.
Since details on tariff policy started to emerge a number of weeks ago, Japanese government officials have been careful with their language.
No threats of retaliation, no confrontational rhetoric.
That appears to be continuing after the first round of talks.
Wednesday night in Washington, Japan's chief negotiator said he told U.S. officials the tariffs are "very regrettable," adding that the topic of exchange rates was not mentioned in that initial session.
President Trump wrote on social media there was "big progress," but he shared no details.
While trade was the main topic, Kyodo News reports Trump suggested that Japan might increase its defense budget — a familiar theme for him.
But it's the tariffs that are taking the spotlight — along with the trade imbalance — even though Japan is no longer at the top of the charts in that category.
On the list of the top 10 economies where the United States has a trade deficit, Japan ranks No. 8.
That puts it just behind Taiwan and just ahead of South Korea.
The trade imbalance with Japan is not quite $70 billion — or less than a quarter of the U.S. trade imbalance with China.
