Investing.com -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump may have misconceptions about trade issues as a pause on a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japanese imports is set to expire next week. "We hear President Trump say no U.S. cars are running in Japan and that we are not importing (U.S.) rice. That could be based on misunderstanding or misinformation," Ishiba said during an appearance on public broadcaster NHK’s news program. The Japanese leader pointed out that Japan has recently imported historically high volumes of U.S. rice, as domestic rice prices have skyrocketed since last year, affecting Japanese consumers. Ishiba assured that tariff negotiations with the United States are progressing steadily, though he did not provide specific details about the talks. The current negotiations deadline set by President Trump expires next week, on July 9th.