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July 02, 2026
 

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ECONOMIC SECURITY

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.
A sample of monazite, a mineral used in the rare earth industry to extract elements such as cerium, lanthanum and neodymium, at the Geological Museum of China in Beijing. The European Union is set to announce a plan to reduce its reliance on raw materials from China.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2025
‘Slow’ EU to unveil plan for cutting reliance on raw materials from China
The EU will face challenges creating its own critical raw materials and rare earths industry, largely from scratch, from mines to extraction, processing and stockpiling.
Flags fly next to a logo of Nexperia at the facade of its factory in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, on Nov. 7 amid a shortage of chips caused by a diplomatic standoff between China and Netherlands over the company.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 20, 2025
Netherlands returns control of Nexperia to Chinese owner
The move defuses a standoff with Beijing over the maker of “legacy” chips that had begun to hamper automotive production around the world.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Kimi Onoda says she is committed to implementing stricter management of non-Japanese workers and land acquisitions by foreign nationals.
An engineer climbs a 5G telecommunication network mast in Duesseldorf, Germany, in 2020. The European Commission is looking for ways to compel EU countries to align with the commission’s security guidance on telecommunications equipment.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 11, 2025
European Commission seeks firmer line on EU use of Huawei and ZTE equipment
If an earlier recommendation to stop using high-risk vendors becomes a legal requirement, countries that don’t follow the rules could face penalties.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to a panel on promoting economic security in Japan on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2025
Takaichi calls for the updating of Japan’s economic security law
The prime minister argues that the geopolitical situation has changed and economic threats are increasing.
Annealed neodymium iron boron magnets in a barrel at a factory in China
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2025
Rare-earth producers look to U.S.-led boom to blunt China’s power
U.S. companies are working to expand supplies of the tiny but vital industrial components at the heart of a global trade showdown.
Shinjiro Koizumi — son of a former prime minister and rival to the current one — was appointed defense chief after falling short in his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency earlier this month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 22, 2025
For three key Cabinet posts, Takaichi turns to an eclectic trio
The prime minister’s picks for Japan’s new defense, foreign and economic security ministers are not your typical stodgy line-up.
Silicon semiconductor wafers pass through a wet chemical cleaning machine at a Nexperia plant. The company is the latest to be caught in an escalating global trade spat leading up to China’s high-stakes talks with the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2025
Carmakers push to secure chips as China trade spat escalates
While Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump are to meet this month to hammer out a trade accord, both sides announced restrictions that have raised tensions.
A mine for heavy rare earth metals outside of Longnan in south-central China's Jiangxi province
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2025
China expands rare earths restrictions, targeting defense and chips users
The new curbs come ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of October.
Magnetic slices made from rare earth metals at a factory run by the Canadian company Neo Performance Materials in Narva, Estonia, on Sept. 17. China is exerting its power over rare earth magnets as leverage in international trade.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 9, 2025
China tightens rare earth export controls, targeting defense and chips
China produces over 90% of the world’s processed rare earths and rare earth magnets.
European Commission Executive Vice President Stephane Sejourne
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
EU wants to boost economic security cooperation with Japan
Stephane Sejourne said that together, the EU and Japan should tackle issues such as China’s overproduction and U.S. protectionist trade policies.
Powdered rare earth elements collected from the seabed in October 2013, at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2025
Japan to launch think tank for policy advice on economic security
There are concerns the government lacks a comprehensive approach to economic security, which includes critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
Taiwan has arrested six people on suspicions of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. after the chipmaker reported a number of former and current staff to authorities.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 6, 2025
Taiwan arrests six in probe of TSMC chip technology leak
The chipmaker had reported a number of former and current staff to authorities on suspicion they illegally obtained core technology.
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.
The Foreign Ministry will implement a large-scale organizational reform on Friday, including the establishment of an economic security division under the Economic Affairs Bureau.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan’s Foreign Ministry to set up economic security division
It will be the first time in 19 years for the ministry to carry out a large-scale organizational reform involving multiple bureaus.
A rare earth smelting workshop near the town of Damao in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2010. China is the world's largest producer of such minerals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 21, 2025
China quietly issues 2025 rare earth quotas, sources say
The quotas serve as a barometer for the global supply of rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robots and missiles.
Rare earth magnets in Baotou, China. India is planning to spur local production of rare-earth magnets to cut its reliance on China.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2025
India plans to kickstart rare-earth magnet output to cut China reliance
China’s tightening of export controls on rare earths amid a trade war with the U.S. has disrupted supply chains for global carmakers, including those operating in India.
The government plans to develop a shelter strategy for foreign armed attacks by the end of fiscal 2025, according to sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
Japan to decide plans for shelters from armed attacks within fiscal 2025
The government will also compile basic guidelines for evacuating residents in Okinawa Prefecture’s Sakishima Islands, apparently with a possible Taiwan contingency in mind.
Solar panels on display at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, on April 16
BUSINESS / Tech
May 15, 2025
Rogue communication equipment found in Chinese-made solar power inverters
The rogue components provide undocumented communication channels that could allow security measures to be circumvented remotely, sources said.
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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