Some opposition leaders are urging the prime minister to rally his party around a strategy before speaking with the U.S. president, but others are eyeing his removal.

TOKYO: Japan will present US President Donald Trump with a package of measures to win relief from US tariffs, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday before local media reported that the two leaders appeared to have held a 20-minute call.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wants the upcoming World Exposition in Osaka that kicks off April 13 to embody "enjoyable Japan," an expression he uses to describe the vibrant nation he pledges to create, but polls and data show Japanese people do not share the same enthusiasm.

For an already-unpopular administration, the return of party members implicated in a slush funds scandal will create further political headaches.

Shigeru Ishiba thinks consumption tax on food should not be lowered, against the wishes of political dissenters, in spite of rice prices spiking tremendously over the last year. The Japanese government has been intervening more and more in farming,

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of reciprocal tariffs is a looming "national crisis" that requires an "unprecedented" response, underscoring the serious impact the imposts could have on Japan's export-driven economy.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet Friday with opposition leaders to discuss responses to US tariffs following a report that the Japanese government is considering compiling an extra budget to fund relief measures for businesses and households.