Boston residents protest against Trump's tariff policy, concerned about price hike

A group of Boston residents took to the streets Monday to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy and voice their concerns about soaring food prices.

Holding banners with slogans like "Stop Trump", they believe the U.S. government's tariff policy is taking away American jobs, hurting Americans and people around the world.

"Certainly not for the better good, and certainly for maybe a secret agenda or for a specific agenda, but not for the benefit of the people that live in this country or in the world. He's sort of attacking the world, he's hurting us badly. It's hurting our reputation as a country, our position in the world of even being remotely acceptable, like we're being unacceptable," said a protester.

Since returning to the White House in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened and imposed a series of new tariffs.

In the latest move, the Trump administration on April 2 announced a blanket minimum baseline tariff of 10 percent on all imports into the United States, with higher rates for selected nations.

Economists warned that the president's import taxes could push up the cost of living by six percent as businesses will pass on the additional costs to consumers, and grocery shoppers could see overall prices rising within a month or two.

In many parts of the United States, American consumers have begun to stockpile supplies.

"The food prices will definitely come up, yes. The tariffs are a horrible thing. In the country, 79 to 85 percent of our seafood comes from out of country. I want to see money out of politics, I want to see our government functioning, not being disassembled hour by hour. Stop destroying America," said another protester.

Boston residents protest against Trump's tariff policy, concerned about price hike

Boston residents protest against Trump's tariff policy, concerned about price hike

Boston residents protest against Trump's tariff policy, concerned about price hike

A Japanese lawmaker has raised concerns over Japan's push to expand its military and its nuclear policy.

Responding to some politicians' dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, Takara Sachika, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, said that Japan's push to strengthen its military, combined with what she called a misguided nuclear policy, not only heightens regional tensions but also directly threatens regional security.

"I think this is completely unacceptable. Japan is a country that has suffered atomic bombings and is one of the nations most aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Yet such a country is openly discussing the issue of possessing nuclear weapons and even attempting to revise the principle of not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons, one of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is an extremely serious problem," Takara said.

Takara said the Japanese government's tendency to expand its military capabilities is completely contrary to the Constitution.

"From the perspective of Japan's Constitution, Japan should never have adopted a policy of ensuring security by strengthening military capabilities. Yet today, enormous effort is being poured into military expansion, and that in itself is a serious problem," said the lawmaker.

At a Diet meeting in early November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that what she described as the Chinese central authorities' "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and suggested the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, drawing strong criticism worldwide.

Takara urged Takaichi to retract her erroneous remarks as soon as possible.

"I think there is a very big problem with making such remarks that provoke other countries. It is necessary to thoroughly examine the facts as soon as possible and withdraw the relevant remarks," she said.

Japanese lawmaker criticizes nuclear weapons remarks as threat to regional security