Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says his government is making last ditch efforts to get U.S. President Donald Trump to exclude his country from an increase in auto tariffs due to take effect this week.

The U.S. on Monday sanctioned six senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials for "transnational repression" and further eroding the autonomy of Hong Kong, in the first major move by the Trump administration to punish China over its crackdown on the city.

Japan will continue to "strongly request a tariff exemption" for the country from the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference on Tuesday.