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July 01, 2026
 

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SUPPLY CHAINS

The Tanbreez rare earth minerals near Narsarsuaq, Greenland
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2026
EU to offer U.S. critical minerals partnership to check China
Both the U.S. and EU have become tethered to abundant, cheap Chinese minerals, giving Beijing leverage over their supply chains.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2026
Japan and EU affirm cooperation for stable supply of critical minerals
Both sides have agreed to accelerate collaboration on the matter in both public and private sectors by providing financial support, industry minister Ryosei Akazawa says.
A refinery for a rare earth metal on the outskirts of Wuxi, China. Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan in December fell 8% from November.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2026
Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan fell in December ahead of curbs
A diplomatic spat had left concerns about future shipments, and Beijing has since banned exports to Japan of some dual-use materials.
A solar farm in Nakai, Kanagawa Prefecture, in March 2016. Japan gets about a tenth of its electricity from solar panels despite having nearly no domestic production of photovoltaics (PVs).
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jan 18, 2026
Beijing row highlights need for Japan to reduce cleantech dependence on China
To reach net zero, Japan will need to rapidly expand renewables, but its solar manufacturing capacity is virtually non-existent despite it being a pioneer of the technology.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
An ingot of neodymium and praseodymium, two rare earths with powerful magnetic qualities, in China, in October 2013.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 3, 2026
Inside China’s six-decade campaign to dominate rare earths
From Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, generations of Chinese Communist Party bosses and military leaders invested in a strategic but heavily polluting industry.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (right) will travel to Beijing in early January for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Lee's first visit to China since ‍he ⁠took office in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 31, 2025
South Korea’s Lee to visit China from Jan. 4-7 as Seoul seeks to restore ties
Lee Jae Myung’s first trip to China since taking office in June will see him discuss plans to ‍reach concrete outcomes in areas such as supply chains and geopolitical issues.
A sample of gallium. China is still restricting the rare earth elements that the U.S. needs to produce its own permanent magnets and other products, market participants say.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2025
U.S. rare earth buyers still see China curbs despite Trump deal
The reduced trade highlights continuing tensions in the U.S.-China relationship in the months since Trump and Xi hammered out a truce.
Masakazu Tokura, the current chairman of Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, addresses a news conference in May 2021. The organization and others have underscored that economic security requires sustained public-private collaboration to align profit-driven business decisions with national security priorities.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2025
A new era requires new public-private partnerships
Governments need an accurate understanding of the realities of business operations,
Soil containing rare earth minerals is prepared for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in October.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 23, 2025
China, rare earths and ‘weaponized interdependence’
China has long understood the strategic value of its dominance in rare earth production.
Honda will suspend output in Japan on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, a spokesperson said Thursday, highlighting the lingering fallout of the global chip shortage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2025
Honda to halt production at plants in Japan and China due to chip shortage
The Japanese carmaker has been hit hard after China blocked Nexperia — owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology — from exporting products made at its local plants.
Japan is currently seeking to strengthen its economic security, including institutional frameworks and policies, to safeguard critical technologies and promote international economic security cooperation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2025
Japan continues to set the pace for economic security
Tokyo is a great place to discuss these issues since Japan has been the pacesetter for economic security policy for nearly a decade.
The Rapidus semiconductor foundry construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture, in December 2023. The state-backed company is attempting a high-risk, high-cost leap into making the world’s most advanced chips to revive the nation's tech industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 4, 2025
What TSMC and Shakespeare can teach Japan’s Rapidus
If Rapidus pulls it off, though, this moonshot could rewrite the history of Japan’s tech industry.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in 2010.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2025
EU pushes to end its dependence on China for rare earths
China, the world’s top producer of rare earths, in October announced new controls on the export of the elements.
A rare earths processing plant in Dingnan County, Ganzhou, in eastern China's Jiangxi province on Nov. 20. The U.S. is looking to cut its dependence on China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2025
U.S. moves to deepen minerals supply chain in AI race with China
The initiative, which builds on efforts dating back to the first administration of President Donald Trump, unfolds as the U.S. looks to cut its dependence on China.
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’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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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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