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July 02, 2026
 

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IRAN

A BYD Atto 2 EV in the showroom in the Mayfair district of London
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 13, 2026
China’s clean tech firms signal windfall from Gulf energy shock
Rising oil and natural gas prices, plus a renewed emphasis on energy security, are boosting demand for batteries and electric vehicles.
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2026
Japan ‘closely monitoring’ U.S. plans to blockade Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump again assailed Tokyo and other U.S. allies for not helping secure the strait, saying that the lack of aid “amazes” him.
The Bank of Japan will hold a policy meeting on April 27 and 28, which "will be a close-call meeting,” an ex-official says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 13, 2026
BOJ’s usual stance amid uncertainty is to hold, ex-official says
Developments in the Middle East are “putting the BOJ in a very difficult situation right now,” said Kazuo Momma.
Oil storage tanks in the Keihin industrial area in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. Japan’s chemical manufacturers and other oil-dependent sectors face extreme vulnerability as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2026
High oil prices force Japan equity analysts to slash forecasts
Japan’s chemical manufacturers and other oil-dependent sectors face extreme vulnerability as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is greeted by Pakistan's military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, on his arrival in Islamabad for talks about Iran on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2026
How the Islamabad Accord allowed Trump to save face in Iran
Amid this geopolitical turbulence, an unexpected diplomatic initiative emerged, surprising many Western observers.
A Chinese-flagged oil tanker is moored at an oil terminal at Tsing Yi port in Hong Kong on March 19.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2026
China’s energy strategy pays off as Mideast war cramps supplies, analysts say
China is a net importer of oil, and more than half of its seaborne crude came from the Middle East last year.
People walk past a wall mural along the roadside in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 13, 2026
Trump vows to blockade Hormuz after U.S.-Iran peace talks fail
The blockade will be enforced “impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” the U.S. military said.
Pope Leo XIV presides over a vigil and rosary for peace in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 12, 2026
Pope says he is ‘closer than ever’ to Lebanese people
The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics has repeatedly urged de-escalation in the current U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and a need for a diplomatic solution.
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command claimed that two of its warships transited the Strait of Hormuz to begin clearing Iranian-laid mines — a claim Tehran has denied.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2026
U.S. says warships transit Strait of Hormuz in mine clearance op
Trump called the operation “a favor” to countries such as China, Japan and France that “don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said Bank of Japan policy could be used to strengthen the yen and curb rising prices, as the central bank considers a rate hike to counter inflation driven by the Iran war.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2026
BOJ policy to boost yen could be an option to curb inflation, minister says
The central bank weighs raising interest rates this month to ​counter inflation spurred by the Iran war.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings signage outside the IMF headquarters in Washington on April 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2026
World finance chiefs head to IMF with a sense of deja vu
Ahead of the meetings IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that the international community is becoming less able to respond to shocks.
A woman holds a poster depicting new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2026
Iran’s new supreme leader has severe and disfiguring wounds, sources say
Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in Tehran and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, according to sources.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) speaks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ahead of their meeting on Iran amid the U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2026
U.S.-Iran talks pause for now as disagreements remain
The talks in Islamabad were the first direct U.S.-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance walks alongside Pakistani Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2026
U.S. and Iran teams in Pakistan for peace talks amid doubts over possible deal
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened to complicate negotiations.
Iran cannot locate all of the mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz and lacks the capability to remove them, the U.S. says, one reason Tehran has not been able to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s admonitions to let more traffic pass through the waterway.
WORLD
Apr 11, 2026
Iran unable to find mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. says
The development is one reason Iran has not been able to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s admonitions to let more traffic pass through the strait.
Drivers wait in a line to refuel their auto rickshaws in Biyagama on the outskirts of Colombo on March 15.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2026
Iran war leaves crisis-scarred countries counting the cost
Sri Lanka, Egypt and Pakistan ‌belong to ‌a group of crisis-scarred countries that analysts fear have been thrust back toward trouble amid rising energy costs.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One on his way to Virginia, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2026
U.S. asks allies for quick plans to secure Hormuz after pact
A U.K.-led coalition of more than 40 countries, which includes many European nations, Japan and Canada, has pledged to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A worker harvests rice in Vietnam's Dong Thap province on March 25.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2026
Fuel shortages from Iran war threaten Asia’s biggest food staple
Across Southeast Asia, tens of millions are struggling to find affordable crop nutrients as well as the diesel needed for operating machinery.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her hand to answer questions regarding the situation in the Middle East at an Upper House Budget Committee session at parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2026
Confusion over naphtha supply hits industries and households
Japan relies on the Middle East for about 40% of its naphtha consumption. Additionally, about 40% of domestically produced naphtha is refined from crude oil mainly from the region.
Cargo ships in the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the United Arab Emirates, on March 11
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2026
Iran’s chokehold on Hormuz Strait has White House on defensive
Allies, military analysts and skeptics of the U.S. strategy have been asking how Iran was allowed to seize and maintain control of the passage in the first place.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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