TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers has worsened for the first time in a year, partly because of worries about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a survey by Japan’s central bank released Tuesday.
The Bank of Japan’s “tankan” quarterly survey said an index for large manufacturers that shows the percentage of companies foreseeing good conditions minus those feeling pessimistic fell to plus 12 from plus 14 in December, the first dip in four quarters.
Major manufacturers include the key auto and electronics sectors, whose exports to the U.S. are a major driver for the Japanese economy.
A shrinking population has also dragged on Japan’s growth, while rising wages and a tourism boom have helped.
U.S. auto tariffs are a worry for major manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that his government was engaged in last ditch efforts to get the United States to exclude his country from auto tariffs. He said he was willing to fly to Washington to directly negotiate with Trump if necessary.
The U.S. will begin collecting 25% tariffs on auto imports on Thursday, with taxes on fully-imported cars kicking off at midnight, U.S. time. The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3.
Japanese automakers also have plants in Mexico. Trump’s tariffs on imports from Mexico took effect last month.
The Bank of Japan holds a monetary policy meeting ending April 1 to mull further interest rate raises, and the tankan findings will be among the key data looked at to make the decision.
Japan’s export-dependent economy has also been hit by slowdowns in overseas demand, as well as rising material costs, worsened by the weakening yen. The U.S. dollar has been trading near 150 yen, up considerably from 110-yen levels marked five years ago.
The tankan showed sentiment for large nonmanufacturers rose from plus 33 to plus 35, boosted by healthy tourist traffic.
Also Wednesday, the Japanese government reported the nation’s unemployment rate stood at 2.4%, a slight improvement from the previous month.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a press conference at his office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Nicolas Datiche/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - A container ship is loaded and unloaded at a container terminal at a port of Kawasaki near Tokyo on March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
