US stocks are floating near all-time highs as Wall Street maintains cautious optimism that Washington might ink more trade deals, avoiding a worst-case scenario of extraordinarily high tariffs and enabling the resilient economy to continue chugging along.

The right-wing populist party Sanseito made big strides in parliamentary elections in Japan, capitalizing on concerns about the economy, immigration and overtourism.

On his own terms, it could now be said that the aggressive approach by the US President is yielding tangible results.

Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday.