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July 10, 2026
 

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IRAN

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heads to attend a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2026
Takaichi vows to tell Trump what Japan ‘can and cannot do’ in Middle East
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was set for a summit in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump later this week that will be a test of her mettle amid the war in Iran.
A gas station in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2026
Japan to roll out gasoline subsidies amid record-high prices
The national average retail prices of gasoline have exceeded ¥190 per liter.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
U.S. encourages Syrian action against Hezbollah, but Damascus is hesitant, sources say
Five sources said Syria is reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions.
A gas flare at the Dangote Industries oil refinery and fertilizer plant site in the Ibeju Lekki district of Lagos on March 2. The 650,000 barrel-a-day plant has been ramping up to full capacity since starting operations in 2024.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
African economies vulnerable as Gulf conflict chokes flow of fuel shipments
The squeeze is exposing how refinery closures and underinvestment have left much of the continent dependent on a single trade route.
The private rocket company LandSpace's factory in Huzhou, China, on Dec. 17. China’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy integrates civilian and military capabilities, including space technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Take the China technology challenge seriously
China seeks to engage the rest of the world “to raise and strengthen its position within global technology ecosystems and markets.”
A screenshot of the website run by Japanese snack maker Yamayoshi Seika shows the package of its flagship "wasabeef" potato chips, whose production has been halted due to the Iran crisis.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2026
Hormuz crisis takes a bite out of Japan’s potato chips supply
Snack maker Yamayoshi Seika has stopped producing six items — including its flagship Wasabeef potato chips — due to difficulty procuring heavy oil used in manufacturing.
Air travel keeps deteriorating — especially in the U.S., with longer lines, higher costs, and fewer amenities — leaving millions of travelers increasingly frustrated and feeling economically squeezed.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Flying is abysmal and It’s only getting worse
Regardless of airline: Seats get smaller, lines get longer, amenities become rarer and more expensive, customer service gets worse and more flights are delayed and canceled.
New trucks bound for shipment at a port in Yokohama
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s export growth slows on China holidays and U.S. tariffs impact
The value of overall exports rose 4.2% in February from a year earlier, after a big jump in the previous month.
An oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2026
SMBC asks banks to confirm Saudi energy loan backing amid war
The unusual step highlights the risks the conflict in Iran poses for lending in Asia.
Iranian security chief Ali Larijani speaks to reporters in Tehran on May 31, 2024. The Iranian government on Tuesday confirmed that Larijani has been killed by Israel.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2026
Iran rejects de-escalation as Israel kills Iranian security chief
Ali Larijani is the most senior Iranian figure killed by ‌Israel and the U.S. since the war’s first day when they killed the supreme leader.
India’s reliance on imported gas has created a crisis where LPG cylinders meant for households are scarce for restaurants and small industries, exposing vulnerabilities in the nation’s energy transition.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
The war in Iran hits Indian curries — and crematoriums
Commercial kitchens are starting to crater under a severe shortage of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi delivers a speech during the House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s push to mediate conflicts meets familiar limits
Tokyo’s past efforts to broker peace have had mixed results, and questions remain about how Japan will handle the Iran war.
An attendant holds a petrol nozzle after refueling a car at a PetroChina gas station in Beijing on March 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 18, 2026
China’s fuel export ban to further tighten Asia supply
Australia, Bangladesh and the Philippines are ​especially reliant on Chinese fuel supply and will have to cover their needs elsewhere.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2026
Trump expects Xi summit in ‘five or six weeks’ as Iran war rages
The move underscores how the war has jumbled the U.S. president’s foreign policy agenda and adds another point of tension in the U.S.-China relationship.
The liquefied natural gas tanker Sohshu Maru approaches a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in December 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s energy dilemma in an era of volatility
Between 30% to 40% of Japan’s power generation relies on LNG, yet the country maintains only two to three weeks of LNG feedstock for electricity generation.
Volunteers prepare daily meals for people at Souk el Tayeb in Beirut on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
45 million more face hunger threat from extended Mideast war, U.N. says
The war, now in its third week, and its shockwaves on food and fuel costs could price families out of staple foods far beyond the region, the U.N.’s World Food Program said.
Joseph Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 11, 2025.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
Top U.S. security official quits, saying Iran didn’t pose immediate threat
Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first senior official in Trump’s ​administration to resign over the conflict, now in its third week.
Bombs unloaded from a U.S. Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft at RAF Fairford in Fairford, U.K., on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2026
Trump ditches appeal for help in Iran war, slamming allies
The near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has wreaked havoc on global energy markets and kept oil hovering around $100 a barrel.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Takaichi weighs options as Trump pressures Japan on Hormuz
One option for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could be to formally endorse a coalition of like-minded nations aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation in the strait.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 17, 2026
Iran war to dominate Takaichi’s meeting with Trump this week
The prime minister’s plans to deepen ties with the U.S. and win commitments to the alliance have been derailed by the chaos unleashed by the conflict in the Middle East.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

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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