Trump forced Japan to buy agricultural products in large quantities？ Dissatisfaction with Japanese agricultural circles： excessive

　　[Guo Weimin, special correspondent of Global Times in Japan, Sun Xiuping] Exports to China have decreased, and the United States has asked Japan to pay for it? Japan’s Kyodo News reported on the 14th that US President Trump asked Japan to buy "a huge amount" of American agricultural products, which aroused the vigilance of the Japanese government and the dissatisfaction of the agricultural sector.

　　Kyodo News quoted Japanese and American government sources as saying that Trump had directly asked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to buy American agricultural products, and also specifically pointed out the varieties that Japan needed to buy, including soybeans and wheat. The report emphasizes that this is an additional purchase requirement, which is different from the Japan-US trade negotiation framework being promoted by the US government with the goal of reducing the trade deficit with Japan.

　　Japan’s Tokyo TV reported on the 14th that Japan-US trade consultations were held in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, mainly focusing on agricultural products and automobile tariffs of the two countries. When Trump met with Abe in the first half of this year, he asked the Japanese government to cut taxes on American agricultural products. According to data released by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, from January to June this year, Japan’s agricultural exports decreased significantly compared with last year. In this context, the Japanese government must vigorously promote the export of agricultural products, so it is necessary to avoid making too many concessions to the United States in Japan-US trade negotiations in any case.

　　Kyodo News said that the Japanese government is wary of the negative impact of this incident on trade negotiations and is fully discussing countermeasures. One of the measures may include buying American agricultural products under the framework of food aid to Africa. Kyodo News issued a document on the morning of the 14th, saying that the Japanese agricultural sector was puzzled and wary of the request of the US government. "This is an excessive demand when Japan-US trade negotiations are being promoted." An agricultural related person expressed indignation. The article said that if Abe’s government does not refuse the request of the United States, it may lead to a further strong rebound in the agricultural sector. However, Kyodo News deleted relevant articles in the afternoon.

　　"Trump received an unusually high-standard reception when he visited Japan last time, in exchange for buying huge amounts of American agricultural products?" Japan’s "litera" news network commented that Abe’s government is "careful" to Trump, but for Trump, Abe is just a "servant" who listens to everything. Trump also imitated Abe’s accent a few days ago, recalling some of their past conversations on trade tariffs, and even ridiculed Abe’s father for being a death squad pilot. The article said that in order to force Japan to make concessions on issues including lowering tariffs, Trump would not hesitate to shake the foundation of the Japan-US alliance and put pressure on Tokyo. Munei Dengying, an economist at Nomura Research Institute, believes that the United States may require Japan to reduce tariffs and expand imports. The Japan-US trade agreement, which was supposed to be basically agreed at the end of September, suddenly became more unpredictable.