WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan and the United States agreed on Wednesday to progress discussions over U.S. tariffs during ministerial talks in Washington and to hold another round of talks later in April to bring about a quick resolution of the issue, Japan's chief negotiator said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who joined the negotiators in a session at the White House, described the meeting as "big progress" while Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters the president indicated that talks with Japan on the levies should take top priority.

The talks have drawn attention from other major trade partners of the United States, as they were set soon after Trump a week ago suspended the implementation of a set of "reciprocal" country-specific tariffs for 90 days following the financial market turmoil.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump agreed earlier this month that the countries would continue talks on the U.S.-imposed import levies at the ministerial level.

Akazawa said he "strongly" urged the United States to reconsider the tariffs it has imposed on automobiles, steel and aluminum as well as its baseline 10 percent levy during the talks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The Japanese minister said he shared during the meeting Ishiba's message that Tokyo wants to seal as soon as possible a deal that would help further strengthen both the Japanese and U.S. economies.

Tokyo and Washington agreed to hammer out a deal that can be announced by the leaders of both countries, Akazawa added.

Bessent said earlier that exchange rates could be on the agenda but Akazawa said neither side took up the topic on Wednesday.

"A great honor to have just met with the Japanese delegation on trade," Trump said on social media, apparently referring to Japan's representatives led by Akazawa.

In Tokyo, Ishiba told reporters he believes Japan can build on the latest talks in Washington for the next round. "I'm naturally thinking about visiting the United States for talks with President Trump (on the tariff issue) at the most appropriate time," he said.

Earlier in the day, the president indicated that the decades-old bilateral security treaty could be discussed during the talks with Japan. A Japanese government source said Trump mentioned a potential increase in Japan's defense budget during Wednesday's talks.

Trump has urged Japan to pay more to host U.S. forces, describing the post-World War II arrangement agreed in 1960 as "so one-sided."

The Trump administration has included Japan in a list of trade partners covered by his sweeping tariff regime, revealed earlier this month, urging Tokyo to open the Japanese market further by easing nontariff barriers such as auto safety regulations, subsidies and the systems for importing and distributing rice. Trump set the reciprocal tariff on Japanese imports at 24 percent.

Trump has also imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on automobiles produced outside the United States and 25 percent levies on all imported steel and aluminum.

Japan now faces a 27.5 percent total tariff on passenger vehicles, dealing a blow to a key industry that accounted for nearly 30 percent of the country's total exports to the United States by value last year.

However, Washington has shown few signs of softening its stance anytime soon, as auto imports have been a major contributor to the decades-long U.S. trade deficit with Japan.

The United States became the largest importer of Japanese agricultural products last year for the first time in 20 years, but it is feared U.S. tariffs will reverse that trend.

Trump complained that Tokyo imposes a 700 percent tariff on rice, a claim Japanese farm minister Taku Eto described as "incomprehensible."

(By Kakumi Kobayashi)