On September 4, 2025, Japan and the United States announced a new agreement on the long-standing auto tariff issue. The U.S. formally set an upper limit of 15%—including the current Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rate of 2.5%—on tariffs applied to passenger vehicles and auto parts imported from Japan.
“They might not say so, but I think most people’s lives are like a rollercoaster, at least with one or two bumps,” the petite woman sitting in front of me said thoughtfully.
On November 5, 2025, the Tokyo stock market experienced historic volatility. The Nikkei 225, which had been hovering around record highs for days, suddenly collapsed at the opening bell.