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July 01, 2026
 

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RARE EARTHS

China’s export restrictions on dual-use items to Japan illustrate how trade controls can be used as a coercive tool, putting dependent countries at risk.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2026
China proves skeptics right about export controls
The argument of the developing world, that trade controls are tools to suppress economic opportunity, has been legitimated in recent months.
Italian leader Georgia Meloni ands Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake hands during the Japan-Italy summit meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2026
Takaichi and Italy’s Meloni agree to deepen security and economic ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, held their first face-to-face summit Friday in Tokyo.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China. Ending U.S. reliance on the minerals has been a top priority for Washington.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2026
U.S. asks allies to step up measures on Chinese minerals
Ending U.S. reliance on the minerals has been a top priority for Washington since last year, when Beijing imposed export restrictions on what are known as rare earths.
Neodymium at a factory in Inner Mongolia, China. Japan remains highly dependent on China for rare earths even though it has had some success in diversifying its supply chain in the last decade.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2026
Japan companies assessing impact of China’s rare-earth curbs
Any impact is unlikely to be apparent until next month, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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.
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.
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.
A sample of antimony is displayed at the Natural History Museum in London on June 6
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 12, 2026
Australia to prioritize antimony, gallium, rare earths in $802 million reserve
Australia and several other countries are joining a meeting of finance ministers from the ​Group of Seven advanced economies in Washington on Monday on the subject.
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 mine containing rare earth minerals in China's Inner Mongolia province.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2026
Japan seeks support as fears rise over China’s rare earth grip
Tensions have continued to rise between Asia’s two biggest economies, dragging out a dispute that began in early November.
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.
The Greenlandic flag flies on the roof of Tivoli Castle in Copenhagen. U.S. President Donald Trump's desire to purchase Greenland rapidly encounters imponderables such as how a meaningful price tag could even be established.
WORLD
Jan 9, 2026
Can the U.S. put a price tag on Greenland?
U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to purchase Greenland rapidly encounters imponderables such as how a meaningful price tag could even be established.
A Danish flag flutters next to a statue of Hans Egede, a Norwegian missionary who revitalized Danish-Norwegian ties to the island, in Nuuk, Greenland.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2026
The Greenland alarm is sounding — Europe needs to hear it
Greenland has a landmass three times the size of Texas under which there are thought to be large quantities of untapped rare earths, among other minerals that Trump wants.
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.
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.
Sermitsiaq mountain (Saddle mountain), a 1210 meter tall landmark is seen behind Nuuk, Greenland. U.S. President Donald Trump's sudden flurry of public comments about taking Greenland has made the issue a top priority again.
WORLD
Jan 8, 2026
Trump team races to come up with deals for his Greenland vision
The U.S. president has long wanted the territory for what he says are security reasons.
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.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
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.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
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."
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.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

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