Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism on Sunday that his country could avoid higher U.S. tariffs, saying President Donald Trump had "recognised" Japan's huge investment in the U.S.

During a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, President Donald Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk — the head of the U.S. DOGE Service — for “finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste” within the federal government.

Determined to strike a chord with Trump to improve his political standing at home, Ishiba arrived at the White House with promises to increase Japanese investment in the U.S., to cooperate on AI, semiconductors and defense and to work quickly to rebalance a trade deficit that favors Japan.