If Japan can’t get a good trade deal, can anyone?

JAPANESE officials are heading to Washington for tariff talks, and the stakes are high – not just for Tokyo, but for the world.

The Asian nation is the canary in the tariff coal mine. If it cannot secure a good deal, there is little hope for others. 

Ryosei Akazawa, minister for economic revitalisation and a long-time ally of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, is leading the negotiating team, and said there was no point in anything other than a win-win deal that boosts the interests of both countries.