Behind Japan’s Trade Deal: 8 Rounds of Talks and ‘Hurrying Slowly’

When Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief trade negotiator, departed Tokyo on Monday morning for the latest round of tariff discussions in Washington, he left behind a nation in political turmoil and bracing for a new jolt of economic pain.

Mr. Akazawa’s party, the Liberal Democrats, had suffered a crushing defeat in elections the previous day, rendering it a minority governing party in both houses of Parliament.

Japan was also barreling toward an Aug. 1 deadline to reach a trade agreement with the United States. The Trump administration had vowed to impose a punishing 25 percent blanket tariff on Japanese goods shipped to the United States — the largest buyer of its exports.