A trip to Washington by Ryosei Akazawa, Japan¡¯s chief tariffs negotiator, was abruptly canceled Thursday just before he was set to depart for a 10th round of talks with the United States.

The Cabinet Secretariat confirmed that the trip was off, saying only that certain items need to be addressed at the working level beforehand.

Akazawa was scheduled to depart for the United States on Thursday morning and return to Tokyo on Saturday. The trip was announced on Wednesday.

At a Wednesday news conference, the top negotiator said he would urge the U.S. to promptly lower its tariffs on Japanese automobiles as agreed in the handshake agreement reached on July 22, and to adjust an executive order so that ¡°reciprocal¡± tariffs are calculated using a method that results in a lower effective rate.

The United States has set the reciprocal tariff rate on Japan at 15% as agreed, but has yet to take any steps to lower the levies on Japanese automobiles.

¡°We want the measure to be issued even before any formal announcement ¡ª in fact, we want it issued right this very moment,¡± Akazawa told a news conference the evening before his planned departure.

¡°As I¡¯ve said repeatedly, if you take our automobile industry as an example, there are companies losing ?100 million every hour. Some are losing ?1 billion a day. That situation is ongoing,¡± he added. ¡°So our position that we want the presidential order issued as soon as possible ¡ª even one day, even one moment sooner ¡ª remains completely unchanged.¡±

Media reports also said he would work with the U.S. to put Japan¡¯s $550 billion investment pledge in writing, as the officials in Washington promised clarity on the investment.

The two sides have been at odds in terms of how to implement the commitment ever since the July 22 announcement, and the lack of an agreement in writing has been a point of contention for politicians in Tokyo.

Officials in the U.S have described the pledge as involving ¡°all-new capital¡± pouring into key industries at President Donald Trump¡¯s absolute discretion, with the U.S. taking 90% of the profits. The United States has also said that tariff rates will ¡°boomerang¡± higher if the president is not satisfied with the progress.

Japan said it only agreed to provide loans, loan guarantees and equity investment up to $550 billion ¡ª which is more than Japan¡¯s tax revenue last year ¡ª via government-backed financial institutions. The profit distribution is based on relevant parties¡¯ contribution to the designated projects.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday that an agreement on the $550 billion pledge will be released later this week.