Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Trump will show no mercy to [either] a lame duck Ishiba or because of a political vacuum,” advisory firm Quantum Strategy said.

Wall Street is hanging near its records following some mixed profit reports, as General Motors and other big U.S. companies give updates on how much President Donald Trump’s tariffs are hurting or helping them.

TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday, as Tokyo races to avert a 25% levy that will be imposed unless a deal is clinched by an August 1 deadline.

Foreigners have so far paid very little for tariffs, with Americans bearing the brunt of the cost, per research by Deutsche Bank.

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed stay in office to avoid a power vacuum amid tariff negotiations with the U.S., but regardless of how the talks go, he may face calls to resign from within his party after Aug. 1, when the duties are set to take effect.

When car maker Mazda sneezes, everyone catches a cold, say people in its hometown of Hiroshima in western Japan, but these days, auto parts maker Yuji Yamaguchi fears a deep chill is on the way.

Asian governments are hoping a flurry of last-minute diplomacy will secure them better deals from the White House. Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for more than two hours on Monday — his eighth round of trade talks with US officials.