Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech in front of JR Funabashi Station in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on July 9. (Suzuka Tominaga)

Backed into a corner by U.S. tariffs during an election campaign, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has started directing harsher words toward his counterpart in the White House.

“This is a battle for national interests. We will not be disrespected,” Ishiba said at a campaign rally on July 9 in front of JR Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture.

Intensifying his tone, he added, “We must say what we need to say, fairly and squarely, even to our ally.”

It is rare for a Japanese prime minister to publicly speak in such a fiery tone toward the United States.

But Ishiba is facing a rather unusual threat from Japan’s closest ally.

U.S. President Donald Trump on July 7 announced that he intends to impose a 25-percent “reciprocal tariff” on all Japanese products starting Aug. 1. The warning was made in a letter posted on his social media platform.

Ishiba had thought Japan could reach a deal with the United States to reduce Trump’s tariffs, particularly on automobiles, before the campaign started for the July 20 Upper House election, according to government sources.

Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, minister of economic revitalization, has visited the United States several times for talks on reducing the tariffs.

However, no deal is in sight.

After the Upper House election campaign officially started on July 3, Ishiba refrained from bringing up the tariff issue.

His ruling Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner Komeito already face an uphill battle to retain their majority in the Upper House, according to media surveys.

But Trump’s new tariff threat forced Ishiba to speak out on the issue.

On a TV program on July 10, Ishiba scoffed at the idea that Tokyo should do what Washington says just because Japan is heavily dependent on the United States.

“We will not be underestimated,” he said about the Japan-U.S. relationship.

Other LDP leaders appear to be following suit.

Itsunori Onodera, chairman of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, openly criticized Trump at a party meeting on July 8.

“To make such a (tariff) notification in a single letter is very disrespectful to an ally. I feel strong resentment,” Onodera said.

A senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office said about Ishiba’s reaction, “With the election climate so difficult for the ruling party, there is a desire to emphasize that (the administration) is negotiating properly with the United States.”

Opposition parties are stepping up their offensive against Ishiba and the standstill over U.S. tariffs.

“The goal is getting further away, and the hurdles are getting higher,” Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said at a rally in Aomori on July 9. “This is proof that negotiations are not going well.”

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, on July 8 commented on Trump’s social media announcement of the 25-percent tariff.

“Is a human relationship being built between Japan and the United States? The content (of the notification) makes me doubt even that,” he said.

Ishiba also appears to be trying to gain cooperation from the opposition parties to create a united front against the U.S. tariff threat to the Japanese economy.

“How can the national interest be served by dragging our feet from within (Japan),” Ishiba said on July 9.

However, the domestic power struggle appears to be the immediate priority for some politicians.

“If we are seen as being embraced by the prime minister in this situation, even we might lose the trust (of voters),” a senior member of the CDP said.