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July 07, 2026
 

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IRAN

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in September. China is trying to leverage its close ties with Iran to present itself as a mediator in the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2026
China can’t end the Iran war. But it can shape the endgame.
Beijing does have skin in this game and, therefore, incentive to find a solution.
The number of deals targeting companies in Japan exceeded 900 in the first three months of the year as it has in each quarter going back to late 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2026
Japan M&A momentum to persist, Alvarez & Marsal’s Aversano says
The number of deals targeting companies in Japan exceeded 900 in the first three months of the year as it has in each quarter going back to late 2024.
Japan’s household spending fell for a third consecutive month in February, dropping 1.8% year-on-year despite real wages turning positive, highlighting weak domestic demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2026
Japan’s households cut spending even after real wages advance
Outlays by households adjusted for inflation fell 1.8% in February from a year earlier, a faster decline compared with January’s 1% retreat.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new system to safeguard the country's energy security, as conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global markets.
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2026
China’s Xi urges faster development of new energy system as Middle East war continues
The leader of the ‌world’s second-largest ‌economy also emphasized hydropower development and ecological protection, while urging the safe ​and orderly expansion of nuclear power.
The Jag Vasant vessel transferring liquefied petroleum gas at a port after transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid supply disruptions linked to the U.S-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Mumbai on April 1
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2026
Hormuz closure divides the fortunes of Middle Eastern oil states
While much of the world faces further inflation and economic damage from the energy price rise, for Middle Eastern oil producers, the impact has ​depended on their geography.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he answers questions from the media during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2026
Trump seizes on rescue of downed airman to recast unpopular Iran war
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday attempted to use an airman’s daring weekend rescue to quickly flip the script.
An airplane of VietJet Airline taxis in front of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines airplane, at Noi Bai International Airport, in Hanoi on May 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2026
Asian airlines trim schedules and carry extra fuel as supplies tighten
European carriers are bracing for similar disruption after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut off nearly 21% of global seaborne jet fuel supply.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2026
Middle East war means ‘all roads’ lead to higher prices and slower growth, IMF chief says
Even if the conflict is swiftly resolved, the International Monetary Fund is set ‌to reduce its growth forecast and bump up its outlook for inflation.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo. Recent commentary from the central bank suggests it doesn’t want to paint itself into a corner three weeks ahead of its next decision on April 28.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 6, 2026
BOJ keeps options open by citing dual risks in regional reports
Traders see a roughly 66% chance of a rate hike this month, according to pricing in the overnight swaps market, as the war in Iran could raise upside inflation risks for Japan.
An image released on Sunday and obtained from social media appears to show wreckage of an American aircraft and a helicopter rotor in Isfahan, Iran.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
U.S. and Iran receive peace proposal as Trump vows ‘hell’ if Strait of Hormuz stays shut
The U.S. and Iran have received the framework of a two-tier plan, with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement.
A man walks along Dubai's Creek Harbor, with the Burj Khalifa visible in the background, on April 3.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
UAE says the use of Hormuz must be guaranteed in any U.S.-Iran deal
About ​a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz per day, but Iran has reduced ​traffic, triggering a ‌global energy crisis.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a session of the Supreme People's Assembly at Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on March 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
North Korea distancing itself from Iran to leave door open for U.S. talks, Seoul says
Seoul’s spy agency said Pyongyang had ‌not sent ‌weapons or aid to Tehran, while carefully managing its public messaging since the war’s start.
Mitsui OSK Lines said Monday an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2026
Japan-owned tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz
Iran has effectively closed the strait, a critical route for global crude oil and gas, leading to fuel shortages and soaring energy prices across the globe.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2026
How many people have been killed in the Iran war?
Thousands across the Middle East have died in the Iran war, which began when the U.S. and ⁠Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
Japan arranging summit with Iran, Takaichi says
The prime minister’s comments come as Donald Trump warns Tehran that the U.S. will bomb Iranian power plants unless it opens up the Strait of Hormuz.
People walk past a closed cinema as shops close early under a government-ordered curfew aimed at reducing energy costs in downtown Cairo on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2026
‘Not the Cairo we know’: Energy shock from Iran war dims Egypt nights
Officials in Egypt say the decision to order shops to close early for a month was unavoidable, given the country’s heavy reliance on imported fuel.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 27. Trump calling on Sunday the rescue of an airman in Iran an "Easter miracle" blurred the line ​between faith and policy by invoking religion to justify the war and shape the military’s conduct, critics said.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
Trump invokes religious rhetoric in praise of Iran rescue, drawing criticism
U.S. President Donald Trump’s blending of religious references with threats of military action drew criticism that it blurred the line ​between faith and policy.
An image, released on Sunday, that Iran's Revolutionary Guard reportedly claims shows U.S. aircraft destroyed during an operation to find a stranded airman, in Isfahan, Iran.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2026
How a perilous U.S. rescue mission in Iran nearly went off course
The situation called for a high-stakes decision — a gamble that left elite commandos ‌waiting for ‌a couple of tense hours.
The Japan’s major naphtha producers have cut output of the oil byproduct, which is used in making such things as plastic bottles, construction materials and electrical appliances.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2026
Japan can meet at least four months of naphtha needs, Takaichi says
The supplies include about two months of shipments procured from abroad and volume from domestic refiners.
Members of the clergy make their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers on Palm Sunday, following restrictions on gatherings in large groups in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2026
Easter in Jerusalem disrupted by war and restrictions at Holy Sepulchre
All shops in the area were closed, heightening the sense of emptiness.
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
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.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
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.
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.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
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.

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