Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday Japan has formally asked the United States for an exemption of Trump administration 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Japan 's government said Wednesday it asked the U.S. to exclude it from 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, a change from duty-free quotas that Tokyo was given previously. Japan made the request through its embassy in Washington after U.

Japan industry minister Yoji Muto said on Wednesday the nation has requested that the United States exempt Japan from steel and aluminium tariffs.

Officials in Tokyo said the government will closely examine the impact of U.S. tariff measures on Japanese companies and will take necessary actions.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday Japan's Nippon Steel will not buy U.S. Steel and would instead invest in the company, which would dramatically reshape the $15 billion merger bid that had been in negotiation for more than a year.

The measures announced by Trump are part of his aggressive push to reset global trade in the belief that tax hikes on foreign-made products will strengthen domestic manufacturing.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday Japan was looking at an investment in U.S. Steel instead of an acquisition.