“Ministers are aligned on expediting preparations so that the first project under the Strategic Investment Initiative could be announced as early as possible,” according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. The first meeting for the initiative was held last week, marking the start of a formal selection process for the investment mechanism. Once negotiations on the consultation panel is finalised, it will give its input to an investment committee led by Lutnick. Japan could face the return of higher tariffs if it doesn’t fund a project within 45 days of Trump’s decisions. Earlier this year, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Japanese goods to 25%, then scaled that back to 15% for most goods after Japan agreed to boost investment in the US through the US$550 billion mechanism.

Source: The Edge Markets December 24, 2025 03:55 UTC