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July 04, 2026
 

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MIDDLE EAST

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on the Middle East conflict in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan to draw up energy-related package by end of August
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa has been tasked with drawing up an action plan to address the energy risks that became apparent amid the Middle East conflict.
An Iranian woman who lost two of her children in a February airstrike on a school in Minab walks near the school on May 21.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2026
An analyst’s missed remark surfaced in deadly Iran school strike probe
An analyst’s missed remarks and U.S. intelligence systems that weren’t connected to one another are among the missteps that led to an airstrike on an Iranian school.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition event in Washington on Friday.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2026
U.S. and Iran trade strikes, putting new strain on Mideast ceasefire
The U.S. said its strikes were a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire.”
Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S., Nada Hamadeh, speaks during an event to sign a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2026
Israel and Lebanon reach framework deal aiming to end conflict
Israel will maintain a “security zone” along the boundaries of the yellow line, which marks a seized territory that stretches some 10 km into Lebanon from the Israeli border.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters in Bahrain on Thursday as he finished a whirlwind tour of the Persian Gulf.
WORLD
Jun 26, 2026
Hormuz tolls ‘unacceptable,’ top U.S. envoy says after touring Gulf nations
Marco Rubio’s comments came after Iran and Oman said earlier in the week that they were working toward an agreement to jointly administer the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 26, 2026
U.S.-Iran deal may leave Netanyahu as biggest casualty
Isolated abroad, constrained by his ally and vulnerable ahead of an autumn election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now finds his political future and legacy at risk.
The Stroud crude oil rail terminal in Stroud, Oklahoma. The price of benchmark Brent oil has fallen below its prewar closing price.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2026
Brent oil erases wartime gains as Hormuz reopening boosts supply
The global benchmark pushed lower for a fourth session, dropping below $72.48 a barrel — its pre-war closing price — before fluctuating around that level.
Japanese liquefied natural gas-related stocks stand to benefit from the Middle East supply risk.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2026
Japan’s LNG stocks seen to benefit from Middle East supply risk
The country’s firms are an indispensable part of every stage in the LNG supply chain, which includes plant contractors and turbine suppliers.
People drive past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran on May 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Trump and Iran at odds over nuclear inspections and frozen assets
The two countries also offered conflicting accounts about ​financial incentives, the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon.
Hitoshi Nagasawa, president of the Japanese Shipowners' Association, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2026
Japan shipping industry sees safety as key to Hormuz navigation
All ships will likely resume navigation once hostilities have fully ended and details of mine removal operations are confirmed, Nippon Yusen chair Hitoshi Nagasawa added.
The Iranian capital Tehran on Monday, when the United States temporarily suspended sanctions on Iranian oil after Vice President JD Vance said Iran would allow UN nuclear inspectors to return to the country following talks in Switzerland.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2026
Unraveling U.S. sanctions on Iran unlikely to be quick or easy
At issue is whether an interim U.S. deal with Iran can translate into lasting economic relief.
An Iranian flag flutters in the wind near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz near Larak Island, Iran, on May 16.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 23, 2026
Iran oil waiver offers lifeline to Tehran as talks proceed
Hanging over the delicate discussions is the status of the Strait of Hormuz and the continued fighting in Lebanon.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (back right) looks on next to U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner (back center), as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi shakes hands with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before the start of a quadrilateral meeting between the U.S., Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Buergenstock resort near Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2026
U.S. and Iran make ‘major progress’ in talks aimed at lasting peace deal
Plenty of obstacles remain, however, including Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.
The J-20S (right) and J-35A stealth fighter jets are exhibited at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, in November 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2026
In selling arms, China is still no superpower
In fact, China’s strategy of avoiding military entanglements and binding security commitments is one of the reasons why it struggles to break through in the export market.
Applicants for overseas domestic work train at Right Focus Training Center in Manila in March.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2026
Iran war puts $124 billion Persian Gulf remittance lifeline at risk
Migrant workers in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries sent an estimated $124 billion home in 2024, supporting families from Asia and the broader Middle East to Africa.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the Group of Seven summit, in Evian, France, on June 15.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 21, 2026
Trump’s fears about economy undercut U.S. leverage in Iran talks
U.S. President Donald Trump cited the prospect of global economic collapse as a big reason he signed an interim peace deal. That could cost him in talks.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance disembarks Marine Two as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Saturday before traveling to Switzerland for talks with Iran.
WORLD
Jun 21, 2026
U.S. and Iran set for new talks with status of Hormuz in question
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for peace talks with Iran as both nations seek a durable end to their war.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last October.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2026
Meloni’s spat with Trump shows readiness to risk a bigger fight
In just 24 hours, Meloni has done three things that some U.S. allies may have thought privately, but never said publicly.
People cross the street past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (left) and his slain successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in central Tehran on June 8.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2026
Iranian Guard’s business empire to win big if U.S. sanctions lifted
As the two sides eye a deal to end the war that could unlock billions of dollars ​for Iran, the elite Revolutionary Guard is poised to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from the city of Nabatieh on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 20, 2026
Trump envoy and Iranian minister head to Switzerland for talks
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after escalating fighting cast doubt over U.S.-Iran talks.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
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.

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
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