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July 07, 2026
 

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TRADE

At 10:59 a.m. on Thursday, the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security commenced the release of about 400,000 kiloliters of oil from the Kikuma National Petroleum Stockpiling Base in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2026
Oil starts flowing from Japan’s national reserves
The release is part of the country’s 80-million-barrel contribution to a coordinated global intervention.
Children watch a tanker at anchor off the coast of Muscat, Oman, on March 18. The Strait of Hormuz is used by roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply and is currently blocked by Iran, a more formidable adversary than Yemen's Houthis.
WORLD
Mar 25, 2026
Failure to secure Red Sea shipping casts shadow over Strait of Hormuz plan
Absent the strait’s reopening, shortages will become more acute, ‌threatening higher ‌costs for energy, food and numerous other products worldwide.
Japan’s response to Chinese economic coercion shows other democracies that resilience requires diversifying supply chains, strengthening domestic capabilities and aligning economic policy with national security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2026
The West should learn from Japan how to stand up to China
Trade policy and national security are no longer mutually exclusive. We live in an age where they are increasingly interconnected.
An employee points at a "sold out" sticker at a used-car export complex in Incheon, South Korea.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2026
Lamborghinis stranded in Sri Lanka as war disrupts Asia’s used-car trade
Japan and South Korea exported a combined $19 billion worth of used cars last year, with Japan accounting for a little ⁠more than half of that.
Cables connected to the rear of a wireless router. Consumers and businesses connect wired internet lines to routers to create Wi-Fi networks for computers, phones, TVs, cameras and other internet-enabled products.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 24, 2026
FCC bans wireless-router imports, citing threat to national security
While the commission said companies could apply for exemptions, the move could dramatically shake up the market for routers, which are primarily made overseas.
Fuel price pressures are hitting growers and winemakers at the same time as tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2026
From Indian movies to Italian wine, Trump’s war on Iran to cause pain worldwide
Effects of the conflict are reaching industries that might’ve seemed insulated from the fallout, and that’s unlikely to be reversed quickly.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a deal which will slash tariffs between the trading partners, in Canberra on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2026
Australia and the EU seal long-awaited trade deal amid global trade tensions
The agreement will remove tariffs for almost all European goods and for nearly all exports of Australian ​critical minerals.
Gantry cranes and shipping containers at the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai on May 14, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 24, 2026
Some Chinese exporters lift prices on rising costs due to war
Exporters across the world’s second-largest economy began raising prices last week as oil-linked costs surged and the conflict showed no sign of easing.
India’s reliance on foreign inputs and supply chains to keep its economy running, including discounted Russian oil, may reflect tactical diplomacy but also raises questions about whether its policy of strategic autonomy rings hollow.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2026
Threats abound to India’s traditional geopolitical role
At a time when supply-chain security has become sacrosanct, New Delhi continues to depend on allies, partners and adversaries alike for critical goods.
Cargo containers at the terminal in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on March 17
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2026
U.S.-China ‘Board of Trade’ may help ties, but experts flag market worries
Some analysts warn that present plans could interfere with market forces, while others consider it a path to smoother coexistence.
Two robots box while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits Unitree Robotics in Zhejiang Province, China.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2026
Chaos unleashed by Trump has Europeans building bridges with China
As U.S. tariffs hit Europe, the idea of taking a hard line with China is becoming increasingly unpalatable for officials across the continent.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump along with Japanese and U.S. senior officials in the White House in Washington on Thursday
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2026
Japan and U.S. announce second round of projects from Tokyo’s $550 billion pledge
The next step in the deal made during tariff negotiations comes as Takaichi makes first trip to the U.S. as prime minister.
The liquefied natural gas production facility in Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 20, 2026
Weeks of war are reshaping the global gas market for years to come
Three weeks of conflict in the Middle East have upended the entire energy supply chain and LNG may be one of the most acute pain points in an expanding crisis.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz‑Canel takes part in a march outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Jan. 16 to protest the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. He also honored the Cuban soldiers who were killed in that incident.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
The next Cuban revolution could be peaceful
U.S. President Donald Trump’s effective oil blockade of Cuba has plunged the country into crisis.
The private rocket company LandSpace's factory in Huzhou, China, on Dec. 17. China’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy integrates civilian and military capabilities, including space technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Take the China technology challenge seriously
China seeks to engage the rest of the world “to raise and strengthen its position within global technology ecosystems and markets.”
New trucks bound for shipment at a port in Yokohama
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s export growth slows on China holidays and U.S. tariffs impact
The value of overall exports rose 4.2% in February from a year earlier, after a big jump in the previous month.
An attendant holds a petrol nozzle after refueling a car at a PetroChina gas station in Beijing on March 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 18, 2026
China’s fuel export ban to further tighten Asia supply
Australia, Bangladesh and the Philippines are ​especially reliant on Chinese fuel supply and will have to cover their needs elsewhere.
The liquefied natural gas tanker Sohshu Maru approaches a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in December 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s energy dilemma in an era of volatility
Between 30% to 40% of Japan’s power generation relies on LNG, yet the country maintains only two to three weeks of LNG feedstock for electricity generation.
A vessel sits at anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, on Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2026
Gulf importers race to reroute as Hormuz closure jolts supply chains
The closure has logistics companies racing to overcome the headaches of changing vessel destinations and keeping perishable items from spoiling.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2026
Trump threatens Xi summit delay if China doesn’t help in Hormuz
Trump stressed China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East in an interview with The Financial Times, as he reiterated a demand for Beijing to help unblock the key waterway.
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
Hayabusa2 flies past asteroid as Japan aims to acquire data for planetary defense
A graphic illustration of the Hayabusa2 probe flying past the asteroid Torifune
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.

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