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July 04, 2026
 

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TRADE

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will allow Nvidia to export its second most powerful AI chips to China after the company was previously barred from doing so.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 14, 2026
U.S. gives green light to Nvidia H200 chip exports to China
Under a new rule, Nvidia can export but will need to certify that there are enough chips in the U.S., while Chinese customers must demonstrate “sufficient security procedures.”
Japan’s measured response to Chinese coercion reflects over 15 years of efforts to diversify its economy and blunt Beijing’s ability to weaponize trade.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2026
Japan can keep calm and carry on decoupling from China
The goal isn’t to bring trade with Beijing down to zero — that’s impossible. It’s to dull Xi Jinping’s ability to weaponize it when he wants something.
It’s unclear if U.S. President Donald Trump will stack the latest tariffs on top of existing rates or announce carve-outs for China, after his administration previously signaled higher fees could inflict domestic pain.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 13, 2026
Trump risks imploding China trade truce with Iran tariff vow
The new pledge comes months after the U.S. president clinched a pact with China’s Xi Jinping that paused tariffs and gave the U.S. access to rare earths.
Attendees at a Group of Seven finance ministers meeting pose for a photograph on Monday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2026
G7 finance ministers agree to address rare-earth supply issues quickly
The meeting came as China is tightening controls on rare earth exports to Japan and there are fears the impact of the Chinese measure may spread across the world.
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix on Oct. 17.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2026
Trump team nears Taiwan trade deal with more U.S. chip investment
Under the deal taking shape, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. would pledge to build at least four more chip manufacturing plants in Arizona, one source said.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2026
Trump vows 25% tariff on goods from Iran ‘business’ partners
The action has the potential to disrupt major U.S. trading relationships across the globe, including large economies such as India, Turkey and China.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's growth strategy is not merely about domestic economic expansion. It is a geoeconomic and security strategy aimed at elevating Japan’s status in the international system.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 12, 2026
Takaichi’s twin challenges: Economic growth and security
Takaichi has long stressed the importance of economic security, both since becoming prime minister and before that as minister of state for economic security.
Japan's drilling-equipped research vessel Chikyu departs from Shimizu port in Shizuoka Prefecture on Monday to conduct a test recovery of mineral-rich mud near Minamitori Island, marking the world’s first attempt to continuously lift rare earth seabed sludge from a depth of about 6 kilometers onto a ship.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
Japan sets sail on rare earth hunt as China tightens supply
A mining ship has departed for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in critical minerals — 6 kilometers deep on the seabed.
China is the world’s dominant supplier of rare earths, helping Beijing last year counter punitive tariffs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump by restricting their export.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
U.S. to host meeting on rare earths as China-Japan tensions simmer
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has said she would meet with counterparts from other industrialized democracies to discuss the rare earths during a trip to the U.S.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven and other nations to reduce reliance on Chinese critical minerals when the bloc meets on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 11, 2026
U.S. to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths
Aside from Japan, which took action after China abruptly cut off its ​critical minerals supplies in ‌2010, G7 members remain heavily dependent on critical minerals from China.
The Bayan Obo rare-earth mine in Inner Mongolia. China cutting off rare-earth exports to Japan over the Taiwan issue will have a limited impact because Japan and other countries have diversified supplies and taken steps to weaken Beijing’s long-term leverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2026
China is overplaying its rare-earth hand in Japan
While China produces about 80% of the world’s neodymium magnets, Japan on its own manufactures about half of the remainder.
A protester holds an anti-U.S. President Donald Trump sign at a demonstration near the location of the Group of Seven summit in Banff, Alberta, last June.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 11, 2026
Trump’s Venezuela and Greenland threats make Canada fear it’s next
The shock capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Trump’s ramped-up talk of seizing Greenland have rattled Canada all over again.
Economy, trade and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said that Japan would respond firmly but calmly to China’s dual-use item trade threats.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 9, 2026
China blinks again following dual-use export threat earlier in the week
For a second day running, it signaled that the restrictions are not meant to upend trade.
China has restricted dual-use exports to Japan that can be used for military purposes, including rare-earth elements, prompting Tokyo to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2026
China resorts to lawfare to squeeze Japan
While the potential size of the list — estimates range from 800 to 1,100 items — is of concern, Japan is especially worried about the inclusion of rare-earth elements.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme’s fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show in Chiba in March 2023. Improving ties between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, have helped deepen Japan-Italy defense and security cooperation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2026
Takaichi-Meloni summit signals new era, stronger ties
Prime Minister Takaichi’s upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Meloni later this month will help mark 160 years of diplomatic ties and aim to strengthen bilateral relations.
China indicated that its recent dual-use export ban would not affect civilian enterprises in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2026
China ups the ante on trade front and then offers a glimmer of hope
Beijing said that Japanese civilian companies don’t have to worry about the dual-use export ban announced Tuesday.
China has banned the export of dual-use products to Japan following remarks about Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 7, 2026
China’s dual-use export ban on Japan a decisive escalation
Established trade flows are at risk if the restrictions are fully implemented.
An aerosol drone in Beijing. China’s catalogue of dual-use goods includes drones, nuclear materials and facilities, aerospace engine components and specialist alloys.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2026
China slaps export controls on Japan military for Taiwan remarks
All dual-use items are banned from being exported to Japan for military use effective immediately, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
Rusting anti-invasion barricades on Taiwan’s Lieyu Island, Kinmen County, sit across from the city of Xiamen on China’s southeastern coast, one of the closest points between the two sides, in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2026
Trump’s Venezuela coup, Taiwan and lessons for China
Even if unification is successful, “China would have gained Taiwan but sacrificed its larger ambition of becoming a global superpower.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the United Kingdom is better placed to gain more market access than form a customs union with the European Union.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2026
Starmer sets up fight with Farage on EU single-market access
The move follows a growing debate in the final weeks of 2025 about forming a customs union with the EU in a bid to revive the British economy.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
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
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
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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