In choosing Ryosei Akazawa to be the man in charge of convincing the United States to drop its high tariffs on Japanese goods, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has turned to one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.

But while Akazawa’s loyalty to the prime minister is unquestioned, his largely Japan-focused political experience and diverse range of responsibilities as a Cabinet minister have raised questions about whether he has the ability or the time needed to quickly, but thoroughly and effectively, negotiate with his U.S. counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

If Akazawa and Bessent were to strike some form of agreement on lifting the tariffs, a direct meeting between Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump might then be held to finalize it.

The 64-year-old Akazawa was tapped for the job of chief negotiator by his good friend Ishiba. He and the prime minister represent the two Tottori Prefecture districts in the Lower House. Akazawa was once a key member of Ishiba’s small political faction, and, later, his unofficial policy group, which was formed in 2015 but formally disbanded last year.

Akazawa is an MBA graduate from Cornell University and former transport ministry bureaucrat who won his first Lower House contest in 2005. He has served as state ministers for the Cabinet Office and finance, and has held positions focused largely on domestic policy within the Liberal Democratic Party.

In October 2024, after Ishiba took office, Akazawa became his jack-of-all-trades minister. In addition to being the economic and fiscal policy minister, he is also in charge of economic revitalization, social security reform, infectious disease crisis management, and establishing a disaster management agency.

“Given his other responsibilities, is there really time for Akazawa to take on the big job of negotiating with the U.S.?” pondered political commentator Tetsuo Suzuki.

Akazawa will receive no shortage of advice on negotiating with the United States. But with Ishiba shying away from imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, Akazawa and his negotiating team could have a tough time coming up with a strategy to get the U.S. to drop the tariffs.

He told a Lower House committee Wednesday that negotiations with the U.S. are his top priority and that a variety of options for the talks are under consideration.

But while there is intense pressure on Akazawa to get the U.S. to back down, devoting so much of his time on tariff negotiations could have political repercussions for the already-unpopular Ishiba, who also faces the challenge of getting other policies enacted during the current session of parliament, scheduled to end in late June.

“Prioritizing the U.S. runs the risk of other important policies of the Ishiba administration not proceeding smoothly,” Suzuki said.

Some of Ishiba's top policy priorities include revitalizing the economies of regions outside of Tokyo and establishing a natural disaster agency, all of which are part of Akazawa's portfolio.

In addition, any Ishiba policy his loyal Tottori ally is officially in charge of will need the approval of at least one opposition party for it to be passed in the Lower House. Opposition leaders, knowing Ishiba can’t afford to ignore them, are therefore watching Akazawa's negotiations and making their own suggestions.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has called for the government to respond to the U.S. in a number of ways, including direct negotiations between Trump and Ishiba and preparing countermeasures against the country. The Democratic Party for the People is also urging an Ishiba-Trump meeting as quickly as possible.

Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara, called on the government to take a measured approach to the negotiations, given the Trump administration’s hard-line stance.

Thus, as the tariffs went into effect Wednesday, Akazawa, who has spent his career in lower-profile positions, now finds himself thrust into the political spotlight, doing a job where his success or failure could well determine not only his political future but also Ishiba’s.