Following the announcement of the phase one trade deal between the US and China, Japan’s economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura expressed hopes that it would revive Japan’s exports and manufacturing output as trade tensions abate. Japan’s export-oriented economy has remained under severe strain lately on account of the trade war as China is one of its most important trading partners.

On Friday, after several weeks of heightened uncertainty regarding further tariff hikes, the US and China confirmed that they had finalized the phase one trade agreement. The partial trade deal will see China purchasing more agricultural products from the US, while in exchange, the US has agreed to suspend some tariffs and reduce some more tariffs against Chinese imports.

The trade war which has dragged on for more than year has weighed heavily not just on economic growth in these two nations, but has had a spillover effect on leading economies worldwide, one of them being Japan. A reduction in tariffs on Chinese goods could boost China’s manufacturing sector and encourage Chinese companies to increase their imports from Japan as well.