*

Date of Akazawa's visit fluid, depend on staff-level talks

*

Finance minister may meet US counterpart next week in

Canada

*

Japan open to buy more U.S. corn, soy, shipbuilding

cooperation

*

Deep gap remains over exemptions to US car, auto parts

tariffs

(Adds Kato's scheduled visit in paragraph 3, context in

paragraphs 11, 14 analyst quote in paragraph 13)

By Yoshifumi Takemoto and Leika Kihara

TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Japan's top trade negotiator,

Ryosei Akazawa, could travel to Washington as soon as next week

for a third round of trade talks with the U.S., two sources with

knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.

The date of his visit was fluid and would depend on how much

progress the two countries can make in narrowing differences in

staff-level negotiations, one of the sources said on condition

of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly.

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato is also scheduled to visit

Canada next week for a meeting with his G7 counterparts, where

he may discuss foreign exchange with U.S. Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent.

Japan is considering a package of proposals to gain U.S.

concessions that may include increased imports of U.S. corn and

soy, technical cooperation in shipbuilding, and revision to

inspection standards for imported automobiles, the source said.

There is uncertainty on whether the two sides can iron out

differences over Japan's priority, which is to win exemptions

from U.S. tariffs on automobile and auto parts - the mainstay of

its export-heavy economy.

"We will seek reviews of the range of U.S. tariff measures,

such as those on automobiles, auto parts, steel, aluminium as

well as the reciprocal tariffs, that are deeply regrettable,"

Akazawa, who is also economic revitalisation minister, told a

news conference on Wednesday.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs

on all countries except Canada, Mexico and China, along with

higher tariff rates for many big trading partners, including

Japan, which faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it

can negotiate a deal with the U.S.

Japanese policymakers and ruling party lawmakers have said

they see no merit in striking a deal with the U.S. unless a 25%

tariff on automobile imports is lifted, given the industry's

economic importance.

The impact is already evident in the sector. Mazda ( MZDAF )

reported a 45.1% drop in net profit for the fiscal year that

ended in March, and held off disclosing earnings estimates for

the current year through March 2026.

During his second visit to Washington on May 1, Akazawa made

a request to Bessent to review the 25% automobile and auto parts

tariffs, though the two sides could not reach common ground.

Initial hope of a quick deal, such as one timed around a

summit of G7 advanced economies in June, is fading. Domestic

media have reported that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is now

aiming for an agreement by early July - ahead of an upper house

election slated later in the month.

While Japan was the first major economy to start bilateral

trade talks with the U.S., Britain was the first to strike a

deal with the Trump administration. China also agreed on a truce

with the U.S. in a de-escalation of trade tensions that led to a

sharp rebound in global stock prices.

"Slapping tariffs on Japan is less painful for the U.S. than

doing so on China. As such, the U.S. doesn't have a huge

incentive to compromise and seek an early agreement with Japan,"

said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research

Institute, predicting that bilateral talks will drag on.

Japan's upper house election also gives Ishiba little room

for compromise in politically sensitive areas like agriculture.

Ruling party heavyweight Hiroshi Moriyama, who is a close aide

of Ishiba, has ruled out boosting imports of U.S. rice.