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June 30, 2026
 

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ENERGY

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Sunday after a two-day forum on energy security in the Indo-Pacific region.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2026
Japan and U.S. to work together to prevent critical mineral disruptions
The two countries will work to prevent supply disruptions for critical minerals resulting from possible export restrictions by resource-producing countries.
In some ways, China’s grid investments highlight how energy security — once viewed as a lofty, long-term goal of President Xi Jinping — is now becoming an immediate and crucial source of economic insulation.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2026
China’s ‘supergrid’ gives Xi buffer against energy shocks
Beijing’s long-running effort to build out its energy sources is getting fresh momentum from the war in the Middle East.
A drilling platform near Stord, western Norway, in 2017. Already Europe's largest supplier of natural gas since Ukraine began, Norway hopes to use the war in the Middle East to get EU blessing to drill in the Arctic.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2026
Middle East turmoil revives Norway push for Arctic drilling
Norway — which is not an EU member but is closely aligned on many issues — has often extolled the virtues of stable energy supplies from a peaceful, democratic country.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa addressed an Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum on Saturday, calling on regional leaders to diversify their energy supply.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2026
Akazawa implores Asian partners to diversify energy suppliers
The industry minister said that the region depends on imports for more than 80% of its energy compounding the damage caused by the conflict between U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's industry minister, has asked Australia to increase production of LNG amid the war in the Middle East.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2026
Japan industry ministry asks Australia to boost LNG output amid Iran crisis
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 11% of its LNG imports, with 6% shipped via the Strait of Hormuz.
Doug Burgum, Secretary of Interior, delivers speech at the reception of the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Tokyo on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 14, 2026
U.S. says it can provide ‘reliable’ energy supply to Asia-Pacific
Oil and gas prices have surged since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into war.
Interest in nuclear power is rising globally as governments and technology firms seek clean, stable energy to meet rising electricity use for artificial intelligence and the boom in data centers.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2026
GE Vernova and Hitachi to explore Southeast Asia for small reactors
The companies will study possibilities for their joint venture to introduce their BWRX-300 SMR reactor to Southeast Asian countries.
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) conducts live-fire missions during "Operation Epic Fury" at an undisclosed location earlier this month in this U.S. Army image released on Friday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2026
Iran unleashes oil shock to blunt U.S. firepower
With the Gulf’s main export artery in the crosshairs, Tehran has turned the region’s greatest economic asset into its most powerful deterrent.
A beach off Gujarat, India, on Wednesday with a tanker carrying Russian oil in the background
WORLD
Mar 13, 2026
U.S. eases Russia oil sanctions to tame price surge, riling European allies
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the waiver was a bid to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday that there is no restriction on oil from Japan's national reserves being sold overseas if the drawdown exceeds domestic demand.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2026
Japan to sell oil from national reserves at pre-Iran war prices
The government “expects refiners that purchase crude at low prices won’t then sell their products at higher prices and pocket the profit.”
Plumes of smoke rise from an oil storage facility after overnight strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces in Tehran on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2026
Japan and the world scramble amid the Iran conflict
Iran is undeterred and is widening the war, attacking regional targets to disrupt energy markets generally.
Tankers in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 12, 2026
Japan promises 80 million barrels of oil to support 400 million-barrel global intervention
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the commitment hours before the IEA announced the unprecedented coordinated effort by 32 nations.
Smoke rises from the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack on Wednesday.
WORLD
Mar 12, 2026
Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships
The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli air strikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Feb. 24. The prime minister announced on Wednesday that Japan will tap its oil reserves for the first time since 2022.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2026
Takaichi says oil reserves to be tapped as Iran conflict hits crude flows
Japan holds stockpiled oil equivalent to about 254 days of domestic demand. The release of some of that could begin as soon as Monday.
The Callisto tanker sits anchored as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 11, 2026
U.S. destroys mine-laying vessels as Trump warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that any mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran must be removed immediately.
Tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. More than 70% of Japan-bound oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz between the UAE and Iran.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 11, 2026
Japan ready to join coordinated intervention in oil markets
Concerns have intensified as crude oil tankers bound for Japan ceased navigating the Strait of Hormuz 10 days ago because the war made the passage too dangerous.
Oil storage containers and pipelines at an oil terminal in Hardisty, Canada
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 11, 2026
China’s energy security push pays off as war roils Asia refiners
China’s position is a stark contrast to Asian countries from Japan to Thailand that have been hit hard by wartime energy disruptions.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama attends an online meeting with her Group of Seven counterparts on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 10, 2026
G7 nations prepared for joint release of oil reserves amid Middle East strife
If carried out, such a move would be the first in about four years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
A man shops in a supermarket in Chanverrie, France, on Oct. 16, 2024. When prices of food and other essentials rise, the first thing people cut spending on is fashion, says consultancy Simon-Kucher.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 10, 2026
Europe’s struggling retail sector looks ill-prepared for new energy price shock
The sector has barely recovered from the inflation cycle triggered by spiking gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oil storage tanks in the Keihin industrial area in Yokohama
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2026
Tokyo told national oil reserve site to prepare for release amid Iran crisis, Japan lawmaker says
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its crude supplies, with roughly 70% shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
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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