Meeting with state and local officials at the White House, Trump voiced frustration with the wide trade gaps with not only China but U.S. allies.
"We lose vast amounts of money with China and Japan and South Korea and so many other countries," Trump said. "Some of them are so-called 'allies,' but they're not allies on trade."
Complaining about some countries charging "50 and 75 pct" taxes on goods from the United States, Trump stressed he cannot tolerate such "unfair" tariffs. "So we're going to be doing very much a reciprocal tax," the president said. "And you'll be hearing about that during the week and during the coming months."
The envisaged tax will be charged against countries "that take advantage of the United States," Trump noted, adding that the tariff policy change will be "a little tough" for such countries as the three major Asian trade partners.
Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. pledged Friday to administer more stringent alcohol tests for pilots and use new testing equipment in response to recent drinking incidents involving flight crew.
(Japan Times) 
Kyoto Prefectural Police on Friday apprehended a man after he is believed to have stabbed a woman at a supermarket in Kyoto City’s Sakyo Ward, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com) 
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks on the possible return of 2 of the 4 Russian-held islands at the center of a long-running territorial dispute.
(NHK) 
A Japanese national research institute said Thursday it will import strains of Ebola and four other deadly viruses to improve detection processes amid a rise in the number of foreign visitors to the country.
(Japan Times) 
Ikea Japan K.K. said Thursday it will open an outlet in front of Harajuku Station in Tokyo in spring 2020.
(Japan Times) 
On 14 October, the Minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Yoshitaka Sakurada was questioned by opposition party members in the Japanese Diet. In one particular exchange with Constitutional Democratic Party member Masato Imai he made a surprising revelation. (soranews24.com) 
A Japanese high court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision and acquitted a tattooist for operating without a medical license, ruling the process is not a medical practice. (Kyodo) 
Between 260,000 and 340,000 foreign workers are estimated to flow into Japan in the five years from next April through an envisioned immigration control law revision aimed at dealing with the country's serious labor crunch, government sources said Tuesday. (Japan Today) 
Public broadcaster NHK announced Wednesday the lineup for its annual New Year's Eve music extravaganza, but K-pop group BTS --- under fire recently for a controversial T-shirt worn by one of its members --- was not included. (Japan Times) 
Japan's economy contracted for the first time in 2 quarters. Government officials say a string of natural disasters in the period dented exports and consumer spending.
(NHK)