(Reuters) -Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke by phone for 30 minutes on Saturday and explored the possibility of a trade deal, the Japanese government said in a statement.

Akazawa held separate in-person meetings on Friday with both Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -- meetings that Akazawa had described to media on Friday as very detailed and an advance towards a potential trade agreement.

Using similar language, the Japanese government statement described Saturday's discussion between Akazawa and Lutnick as "very in-depth" and said the two sides "explored the possibility of reaching an agreement that would benefit" both countries.

The statement said the negotiations occurred "with an eye towards" the planned meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit that begins on Sunday in Canada.

Japan has been hoping to clinch a deal at the summit.

Japan faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with the U.S. It is also scrambling to find ways to get Washington to exempt its automakers from 25% tariffs on automobiles, Japan's biggest industry.