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July 02, 2026
 

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METALS

Stacks of aluminum ingots at a stockyard in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 22, 2026
Aluminum’s war shock blunted by dark transits and Chinese supply
Indonesia has also been instrumental in keeping the global market in check as buyers wait for exports to rebound.
Japan has adopted an action plan to mobilize ¥1 trillion in public and private investment by 2030 to secure recycled resources and promote the reuse of plastics and metals amid intensifying global competition.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2026
Japan to invest ¥1 trillion to secure recycled resources
The plan is designed to promote the reuse of discarded plastics and metals.
A worker handles aluminum extrusions at the Kato Light Metal Industry factory in Kanie, Aichi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 20, 2026
Japanese manufacturers hurt most by aluminum shortage from Iran war
Domestic carmakers get about 70% of their aluminum imports from the Middle East, according to the nation’s top auto lobby.
Workers process copper at the Glogow smelting plant in southwestern Poland.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2026
‘Metals of the future’: copper and silver flow beneath Poland’s surface
Driven by the rise of artificial intelligence, renewable energies, and global defense needs, demand for metals found underneath Poland is expected to keep increasing in the future.
Trump-era U.S. aluminum tariffs have backfired, driving up costs, reducing domestic production, diverting Canadian supply and leaving the country vulnerable to global disruptions like the Iran war.
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2026
The world’s dumbest tariff has been revealed
So far, this is a standard U.S. tariff story, but aluminum isn’t a standard product.
Nomura Holdings is expanding its bullion trading business as investor interest grows, with former Standard Chartered precious metals trader Aleksander Ganchev joining to lead the effort.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 17, 2026
Nomura plans precious metals trading expansion under new hire
The bank’s currency trading desk has been active in gold options trading for over two decades, and is now looking to start trading gold and silver futures.
The Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions says it will demand the same level of pay scale hike as what was sought last year, which was the highest since it moved to the current way of requesting pay scale hikes by specifying amounts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2025
Key labor group to seek pay scale hike of at least ¥12,000 per month
Despite concerns over impacts on corporate earnings from high U.S. tariffs, the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions aims to realize wage increases above inflation.
A worker conducts a fire assay on an ore sample at China's Zijin Mining Group complex, in Bor, Serbia, in September.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2025
China’s grip on copper sets scene for make-or-break supply talks
At the heart of the tensions is China, where the copper industry has continued to expand even as annual fees plunge and spot charges turn negative.
A worker checks the inventory of rolls of sheet aluminum in Sevojno, Serbia, in 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2025
World’s top aluminum producer adds markups as Trump tariffs drive up consumer costs
Rio Tinto Group cited low inventories for imposing the extra charge on aluminum bound for the U.S.
Iron-rich mountains in the Guinea Highlands that daunted Sidiki Kone as a young geologist turned out to hold one of the biggest ore deposits on the planet.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2025
Huge new mine in Guinea with Chinese backing set to upend world iron ore market
The Simandou deposit is the world’s largest untapped seam of iron ore, with estimated reserves of at least 3 billion tons.
A worker displays a handful of shredded hard drive pieces for e-waste processing at a facility in Festac, Nigeria, in 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 21, 2025
Urban mining eases the critical minerals crunch 
Governments are waking up to the potential of e-waste recycling, and Japan is leading the way.
Heavy mining machinery extracts minerals in an open pit mine. The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security aims to diversify sources of gallium to reduce the country's reliance on imports from China.Getty Images
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025
Japan’s energy security agency to join gallium production study in Australia
The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security aims to diversify sources of gallium to reduce the country’s reliance on imports from China.
Workers remove copper from industrial wiring inside a recycling shop in Manila on June 26.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 29, 2025
In the Philippines, informal e-waste dismantling poses health risks
Scavenging electronic waste for the nickel, aluminum and copper inside releases a toxic brew of chemicals, including lead, mercury and cadmium, into the air.
Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
Copper rods are wound at a workshop that recycles the metal in Anqing, China, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 12, 2025
Trump’s copper tariffs pile more metal misery on U.S. auto industry
The duties on their own may be manageable, but prices of the red metal vital for making cars have soared to record highs.
The National Police Agency has drafted stricter identification rules for secondhand metal dealers in order to prevent the resale of stolen goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2025
NPA to toughen ID rules for metal dealers amid surge in stolen AC units
The National Police Agency drafted amendments that would require metal dealers to verify sellers’ identities and keep transaction records for three years.
A rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that taps the Cold War-era Defense Production Act as part of an effort to domestically process a range of critical minerals.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
U.S. moves to curb China’s grip on critical minerals
Trump invokes emergency powers for more U.S. mining, citing economic and security concerns.
Rolled steel is stored at a Hyundai Steel plant in Dangjin, South Korea, in 2011.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2025
South Korean steelmakers eye U.S. investments as Trump tariffs kick in
Posco and Hyundai Steel say investments in operations in the U.S. are among their options. Meanwhile, European steel mills warn of a flood of surplus metal.
The law will require scrap metal dealers to verify the identity of sellers during transactions.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2025
Japan moves to curb metal theft with new identity check laws
Metal theft has surged in recent years, driven by rising copper prices.
Trade minister Yoji Muto says his talks in Washington with U.S. officials didn’t result in any confirmation to exclude Tokyo from upcoming tariff measures.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025
Japan’s trade minister fails to win tariff exemption assurance from U.S.
New duties on car imports would deal a direct blow to the economy of Japan, which is already bracing for an indirect impact from tariffs the U.S. is imposing on other nations.
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.

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