Japan will make no concession that could affect food safety in its tariff negotiations with the United States, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday.

"We will not concede over food safety. We must protect the safety of Japanese citizens," he said during a television program on NHK, showing a careful approach to the issue of agricultural market access.

Ishiba also said that the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports will be examined as a bargaining chip, considering that U.S. President Donald Trump is giving priority to eliminating his country's trade deficit with Japan.