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July 03, 2026
 

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OIL

Longline tuna fishing boats in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2026
Japanese fishers hit hard by high crude oil prices
Revenue from tuna caught is almost offset by fuel costs, the owner of a company in Miyagi Prefecture said.
Merchandise featuring U.S. President Donald Trump is sold during The National Rifle Association’s annual meetings and exhibits in Houston on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2026
The Iran war has revealed Trump’s pressure point: the economy
Iran has taken a beating militarily, but demonstrated it can exact economic costs that ​Trump and his aides underestimated, unleashing the worst-ever global energy shock.
U.S. military AH-64 Apaches fly above the Strait of Hormuz during a patrol on Friday in this photo released by U.S. Central Command via their X account.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2026
U.S. and Iran cite progress in talks as uncertainty hangs over strait
Neither side offered any specifics about the state of negotiations on Saturday, days before a fragile ceasefire is set to expire.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Dream City Church in Phoenix on Friday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2026
Defiant message from Iran as vessels attempting to cross Hormuz report gunfire
At least two merchant vessels reported they were hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan in June 2023
WORLD
Apr 18, 2026
U.S. renews Russian oil waiver after pressure from countries dealing with Iran war price shocks 
U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle accused the government of going easy on Moscow ​as its war on Ukraine grinds on.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 18, 2026
Bessent’s busy week clashes with global thirst for U.S. attention
At the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, some participants grumbled that U.S. officials were reluctant to discuss the U.S.-war driven oil shock.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron leave a news conference after the multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2026
European leaders offer military help to secure Strait of Hormuz
Trump said the waterway is “open and ready for business,” though a U.S. naval blockade would remain in place until a broader agreement is reached.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Busan, South Korea, last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 18, 2026
China steps up Iran diplomacy while seeking smooth summit with Trump
China is accelerating its efforts to end the Iran war, walking a diplomatic tightrope as it prepares for a summit next month with U.S. President Donald Trump while trying not to alienate Tehran.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Friday indicted five Japanese oil distributors, including East Japan Usami, Eneos Wing and Enex Fleet, over their alleged operation of a price cartel for gas oil.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Five Japanese oil distributors indicted over cartel after FTC probe
According to the indictment, officials from the firms allegedly agreed to raise the selling prices of gas oil and curb price reduction at meetings in Tokyo in 2024.
An oil refinery in Yokohama. The government has stressed that the total volume of oil needed for Japan as a whole can be sourced from reserves and alternate locations that do not require transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japanese government urges suppliers not to hold back critical materials from the market
It insists that shortages are in part the result of companies limiting sales due to fear of future scarcity.
Crude oil buyers in Japan led the charge to purchase May-loading cargoes from the U.S. early in the month, along with South Korean, Singapore and Thai processors.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2026
Asia relying on U.S. crude to replace Middle East supply
U.S. exports of oil, including crude and refined products, reached a record 13 million barrels a day last week, government data showed.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand. With the fragile U.S.-Iran ​ceasefire in mind, analysts and investors warn Thailand faces another difficult year.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2026
Foreign investors flee Thailand as Iran war dashes hope for economic revival
The conflict has sent global oil prices up to near $100 a barrel, sharpening the focus on Asia’s reliance on energy supplies from the Gulf.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Japan foreign minister urges diplomacy in call with Iran
Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated the importance of keeping the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. in place in his latest conversation with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office following an online meeting with Southeast Asian leaders.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan to provide $10 billion to Southeast Asia to secure oil
Sanae Takaichi added that Japan relies on Asian nations to secure medical supplies like surgery gloves.
Smoke rises from the Thai-registered bulk carrier Mayuree Naree near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after it was attacked.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2026
Gulf oil crisis reveals shortcomings in government readiness
After just two weeks, the International Energy Agency concluded that the Iran war had created the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
The Bank of Japan’s board will likely discuss lifting its key price projection for this fiscal year after oil prices surged roughly 50% since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
BOJ could raise price outlook sharply on oil shock, central bank watchers say
Uncertainty over the Middle East conflict will also likely lead officials to consider lowering the economic growth forecast.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at an International Institute of Finance event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
Bessent says China has been unreliable partner by hoarding oil during war
China already had a strategic petroleum reserve that was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency.
Peelable paper tubes for a solid perfume made from mineral paper on display at Yonwoo's cosmetic packaging factory in Incheon, South Korea
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 15, 2026
Iran war promises green edge for Asia as plastic packaging runs short
Across Asia, changes that ⁠environmental groups have sought for decades are quickly being adopted, even if they may prove a short-term flip.
Farmers separate wheat grains from husks at a farm on the outskirts of Varanasi, India, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 15, 2026
India’s green fuel plans collide with farmers’ water fears
India, which imports 80% of its oil and gas, has made ethanol central to its clean energy plans and, as war in the Mideast impacts the price and supply of oil, its energy security.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet taxis the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. allies are steering clear of naval mission in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insists U.S. allies are ready to help him in the Strait of Hormuz. They’re not even close.
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.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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.
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. 
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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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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