Japan slammed Thursday as "extremely regrettable" US President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs, saying they may break WTO rules and the two countries' trade agreement. "We have serious concerns as to consistency with the WTO agreement and Japan-US trade agreement,

Japanese leaders, including Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, have repeatedly called for an exemption from the tariffs, citing the country’s standing as the biggest investor in the US. Mr Ishiba also pledged to buy more US liquefied natural gas during a February summit with Mr Trump that appeared to go well.

A strong U.S. security ally with a large trade surplus, Japan has few options for retaliating against the tariffs. Instead, it is bracing for an economic hit.