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June 30, 2026
 

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ENERGY

Alexander De Croo, head of the U.N. Development Program, is interviewed in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 19, 2026
UNDP head warns of food shortages amid surging fertilizer prices
High energy prices, inflation and the resulting instability will persist “at least until the end of the year,” UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo also said in an interview in Tokyo.
A man brings an empty liquefied petroleum gas canister to a depot in New Delhi on Monday. India is the second-largest importer of LPG in the world and is suffering acute shortages of the fuel, used in cooking gas and industrial processes.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 19, 2026
How India’s cooking fuel shortage is driving up California’s gas prices
Both symptoms of the worst-ever energy supply disruption, they are directly connected and evidence of the effects across the global economy of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
The war in Iran is fueling currency crises in energy-importing countries, underscoring the need to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy to shield economies from fossil-fuel shocks.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2026
The energy crisis is becoming a currency crisis
The biggest losers include the Egyptian pound, the Philippine peso, the South Korean won and the Thai baht.
A production line at a Nippon Steel plate rolling mill in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, in May 2025.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 17, 2026
Japan’s new emissions trading program: Key climate tool or paper tiger?
While climate advocates welcome emissions trading in Japan, there are concerns that the program lacks ambition.
A Volkswagen e-Golf charges at a kiosk outside an elementary school in Escondido, California. A group of corporate bosses and senior bankers has issued a report underlining how clean energy systems are structurally immune to the type of shock caused by the current Middle East crisis.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 15, 2026
Clean energy seen as ‘structurally immune’ to Hormuz-style shock
The war in Iran may ultimately strengthen the case for renewables.
Electricity and city gas fees are likely to start rising around June as prices for crude oil and liquefied natural gas have been soaring because of the war in Iran.
JAPAN
May 14, 2026
Japan considers electricity and city gas subsidies in summer
Fees are likely to start rising around June as prices for crude oil and liquefied natural gas have been soaring due to the war in Iran.
An Eneos gasoline tanker truck in Yokohama. An Eneos crude oil supertanker has passed through the Strait of ​Hormuz, ship-tracking data shows.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
Japanese crude tanker emerges outside Hormuz in rare transit
The tanker is listed as part of refiner Eneos Holdings’ fleet.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed industry minister Ryosei Akazawa to work to further increase the rate in July of crude oil procurement from sources outside the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 13, 2026
Japan to procure 70% of its oil for June from outside Middle East
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also instructed industry minister Ryosei Akazawa to work to further increase the rate of crude oil procurement from alternative sources in July.
The 30-day moving average for coal generation across Japan’s main islands was up 17% on Tuesday compared with the same period last year, and has been consistently higher since late March.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2026
Japan’s coal power generation climbs as war makes LNG more expensive
The 30-day moving average for coal generation across Japan’s main islands was up 17% on Tuesday compared with the same period last year.
Yuki Kusumi, president of Panasonic Holdings, in the city of Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, in April 2025
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 13, 2026
After cost cuts and reforms, Panasonic enters decisive stage in turnaround
Fiscal 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the major manufacturer as it seeks to break free from prolonged stagnation and place its recovery on firmer ground.
“Areas connected to southern China such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will be potential regions that the company will look into,” said Sojitz Chief Financial Officer Makoto Shibuya.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Japan’s Sojitz eyes Southeast Asia for new rare earths supply
The company will also consider India and other countries if suitable rare earths investment opportunities exist there.
A tugboat guides the crude oil tanker Odessa, carrying UAE crude, after passing through the Strait of Hormuz this month.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2026
Is the global financial system making the Hormuz shock worse?
The system is functioning as designed. It was built for a world of episodic shocks and orderly recoveries, not one characterized by persistent, overlapping sources of disruption.
A worker runs a machine in the process of building a solar panel at First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio, on July 8, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 11, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
The policy could backfire by imperiling growth in U.S. manufacturing jobs and power generation at a time of rising utility bills and soaring electricity demand.
The Solaris liquefied natural gas tanker sails near the Himeji LNG terminal in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 22.
JAPAN
May 10, 2026
Japan diversifying shipping routes for Middle East oil
Japan is also trying to diversify oil procurement sources, looking at the United States and Russia, as the Middle East situation remains unstable.
A solar panel manufacturing plant in Ohio. Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 9, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
Oil storage tanks in China. Days after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, China banned oil-product exports, squeezing Asian countries that rely on its refineries for jet fuel, gasoline and diesel.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2026
War and energy shortages boost China’s influence in Asia
The Iran war has deepened China’s influence with its fuel-starved neighbors, allowing it to deal from a position of strength.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa (second from left) and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii (far left) attend a high-level economic dialogue with the European Union in Brussels on Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2026
Japan and Saudi Arabia to set up energy security task force
Discussions at the task force are slated to start early next week.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen’s dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency’s weakness are structural.
An oil refinery in Germany on Thursday. Oil supplies are set to tighten further even if the U.S. and Iran reach a deal to end their war.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 8, 2026
Oil supply shock to worsen as inventories fall further even if conflict ends
The rapid depletion of commercial stockpiles and emergency reserves has come at a time when ‌stockpiles are typically ‌built in preparation for the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Sany electric heavy trucks at a depot in Tangshan, China, on April 1
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2026
Iran war to accelerate China’s shift to electric trucks from diesel
Some energy consultancies ‌now expect the decline in diesel use in China to accelerate faster than previously forecast.
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.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
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

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

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