New Delhi, March 7 -- Japan has asked the US to spare it from a planned tariff increase from 10% to 15% - underscoring fears that higher duties could hit the country's automobile industry.

"We asked that Japan not be included in any increase to 15%," Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters in Washington after meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ahead of the March 19 leaders' summit. He also stressed that Japan's treatment "should not become more disadvantageous than under last year's Japan-US agreement."

The request highlights Tokyo's concern that higher tariffs could erode the concessions it secured in 2025, particularly on autos, its largest manufacturing sector. While the US Supreme Court invalidated much of Presid...