April 10, 2025
Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko and JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira on April 9 in a Diet building met with an executive of Japan’s major credit bureau Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR), Tomoda Nobuo, to exchange views on the negative impact of Trump’s tariffs on Japan’s economy, employment, and small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).
TSR Managing Director Tomoda stressed, “We believe that not only car-related industries, but also a wide range of industries will be adversely affected.” As one of the impacts, he cited that it is inevitable that companies, especially smaller ones, will likely hesitate to offer pay hikes, and said that SMEs will continue having difficulty in solving labor shortages.
The credit research firm executive expressed his concern by saying, “Trump’s tariffs will directly hit companies which are slow in their business recovery from the corona crisis. In this regard, more SMEs may go bankrupt than last year as they have yet to regain sufficient financial strength.” He appealed for the need to support SMEs by such means as providing debt relief as they play a core role in local economies.
In response, Tamura said, “We need to recognize that Trump’s tariff policy will deliver a blow to smaller businesses struggling to survive hardships caused by the corona pandemic and the ever rising costs for goods and services.” Criticizing the government’s SME support measures as insufficient, she expressed her determination to push the government to provide further assistance to SMEs.
TSR Managing Director Tomoda stressed, “We believe that not only car-related industries, but also a wide range of industries will be adversely affected.” As one of the impacts, he cited that it is inevitable that companies, especially smaller ones, will likely hesitate to offer pay hikes, and said that SMEs will continue having difficulty in solving labor shortages.
The credit research firm executive expressed his concern by saying, “Trump’s tariffs will directly hit companies which are slow in their business recovery from the corona crisis. In this regard, more SMEs may go bankrupt than last year as they have yet to regain sufficient financial strength.” He appealed for the need to support SMEs by such means as providing debt relief as they play a core role in local economies.
In response, Tamura said, “We need to recognize that Trump’s tariff policy will deliver a blow to smaller businesses struggling to survive hardships caused by the corona pandemic and the ever rising costs for goods and services.” Criticizing the government’s SME support measures as insufficient, she expressed her determination to push the government to provide further assistance to SMEs.
