By remaining a champion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal after the withdrawal of the United States, Japan is hoping that Washington will soften its demands in future bilateral trade negotiations.
Japan has lobbied hard in recent days on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang to reach a ministerial agreement on "core elements" of a new trade pact to be implemented without Washington, as differences among the 11 remaining members have proved surmountable.
But the chances of bringing Washington back to the pact, originally signed by all 12 countries in February 2016, look slim given U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" mantra, which is leading him on a quest for bilateral deals with countries running large trade surpluses with the United States.