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July 01, 2026
 

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ECONOMIC SECURITY

The Chikyu, the deep sea drilling vessel operated by the Japan Agency for Marine Earth-Science and Technology, has been on a mission to pull metal-bearing mud from the seabed.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2026
Japan steps up deep-sea mining plan to cut rare-earth dependence
An ambitious initiative to accelerate a decade-old plan has been given extra impetus by the country’s drive to cut reliance on Chinese supply.
The Tanbreez rare earth minerals site near Narsarsuaq, Greenland. The United States has unveiled a critical-minerals partnership with Japan and the European Union.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 5, 2026
U.S., EU and Japan unveil critical-minerals partnership
Critical minerals include rare earth metals, which are key to the production of goods like smartphones, fighter jets and electric cars.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
Supporters of Chile’s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast celebrate in Santiago on Monday, the day after the runoff election.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2025
Chile follows Latin American neighbors in lurching right
Leftist leaders have not won a single presidential election in Latin America this year as voters have grown tired of economic woes and been invigorated by strongman rhetoric.
Japanese Ambassador to India Keiichi Ono (second from right) speaks during a joint conference on economic security cooperation between India and Japan, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 11, 2025
Japan and India meet in New Delhi to discuss economic security cooperation
Participants at the meeting confirmed the importance of setting up supply chains spanning the two countries for semiconductors and rare earth minerals.
The government plans to include information vital to economic security in a draft revision to the operational standards for the law on the protection of specially designated secrets.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2025
Japan to add economic security to scope of designated secrets
The government hopes to enhance information security by operating the specially designated secrets system in conjunction with the security clearance program.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House in Washington in April.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2025
Trump’s Nvidia shift hands Xi opening on national security curbs
The president granted the tech company permission to export its high-end H200 chip to China, watering down years of U.S. national security safeguards.
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.
Nobumitsu Hayashi, head of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is interviewed in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 1, 2025
Japan’s JBIC shifts financing focus to economic security projects
JBIC’s role has expanded in response to China’s growing influence and rising geopolitical risks, evolving into a tool of economic statecraft.
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’

Longform

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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