Japan's economy contracts as exports get hit by US tariffs

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Japan's economy contracts as exports get hit by US tariffs

2025-11-17 16:59 Last Updated At：11-18 15:20

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy contracted at a 1.8% annual pace in July-September as President Donald Trump’s tariffs hit exports and private residential investment plunged.

Data released by the government Monday showed that on a quarter-by-quarter basis, Japan’s gross domestic product, the sum value of its goods and services, slipped 0.4%, the first contraction in six quarters.

The annualized rate shows what the economy would have done if the same rate were to continue for a year.

In the April-June quarter, the Japanese economy grew 0.6% on quarter, while in the January-March period, it grew 0.2%..

Exports fell 4.5% in annual terms in the three months through September.

As Trump implemented higher tariffs on imports from many countries earlier this year, businesses ramped up their exports to try to beat higher costs. That inflated some of the earlier data for exports.

Imports for the third quarter slipped 0.1%. Private consumption edged up 0.1% during the quarter.

Analysts said a 9.4% quarter-on-quarter drop in private residential investment, which translates to a 32.5% drop in annualized terms, was mainly due to revisions of Japan's building code that caused housing starts to plunge after they took effect in April, the start of Japan's fiscal year.

Tariffs are a major blow to Japan’s export-reliant economy, led by powerful automakers like Toyota Motor Corp., although many manufacturers have moved production abroad to avert the impact from tariffs and other trade controls.

The U.S. imposes a 15% tariff surcharge on nearly all Japanese imports. That's down from Trump's earlier plan for a 25% tariff.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October, has vowed to revive the economy and is expected to boost government spending, among other policies. That could complicate the central bank's efforts to rein in inflation by raising interest rates from their longstanding level near zero.

The lackluster level of activity in the last quarter means a possible rate hike in December is unlikely, Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a report.

But initial data for this quarter and surveys of business sentiment suggest the economy may improve in coming months, and the Bank of Japan may resume raising interest rates early in 2026, he said.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

This year's recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Trump said they are a group of “incredible people” who represent the “very best in American arts and culture” and that, “I know most of them and I've been a fan of all of them.”

“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” said a tuxedo-clad Trump. "This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”

Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican has instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman of the board.

Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and has vowed to overhaul both.

The president placed around each honoree's neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.

It's a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center's image and rainbow colors. The honoree's name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree's shoulders and chest.

Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was first to receive his medal. When the country singer started to take off the hat, Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through.” But Strait took it off.

The president said Crawford was a “great star of Broadway” for his lead role in the long-running “Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We have the disco queen, and she was indeed, and nobody did it like Gloria Gaynor.”

Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars” and "one of the great legends."

Kiss is an “incredible rock band," he said.

Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby for Trump to begin the ceremony.

The president president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.

It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.

“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries."

“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump said.

Trump was also attending an annual State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday. In years past, the honorees received their medallions there but Trump moved the ceremony to the White House.

Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

The president said in August that he had agreed to host the show, and he seemed to confirm on Saturday that he would do so, predicting that the broadcast would garner its highest ratings ever as a result. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host.

He said he looked forward to Sunday's celebration.

“It’s going to be something that I believe, and I’m going to make a prediction: this will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done and they’ve gotten some pretty good ratings, but there’s nothing like what’s going to happen tomorrow night,” Trump said.

The president also swiped at late-night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose program was briefly suspended earlier this year by ABC following criticism of his comments related to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.

Kimmel and Trump are sharp critics of each other, with the president regularly deriding Kimmel's talent as a host. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Academy Award multiple times.

Trump said he should be able to outdo Kimmel.

“I've watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” Trump said. “If I can't beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don't think I should be president.”