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July 03, 2026
 

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OIL

Air China said in a statement on Wednesday it will increase surcharges on flights of up to 800 kilometers by 60 yuan ($8.70), and 120 yuan for longer flights.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2026
Chinese airlines to raise fuel surcharges on domestic flights
The fuel surcharge increase comes as the war in the Middle East, and Iran’s effective closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, have sent crude prices soaring.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a news conference at Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2026
France and Japan hedge against rising threats with strategic autonomy push
While the ongoing energy crisis was ever present, both nations also signed agreements set to outlast the turmoil and strengthen their positions in a fragmented world order.
An oil tanker off the shore of Singapore, on March 17
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2026
A 12,000-mile journey shows the world’s scramble for diesel
Soaring fuel prices from the Iran war are forcing oil traders into longer, stranger journeys, sending cargoes on routes that would normally make little economic sense.
Air China cargo’s airline Boeing 777-FFT aircraft flies past a full moon in Germany on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2026
China’s state airlines are aviation’s unlikely losers from war
Despite providing flights to Europe bypassing the Middle East, carriers’ shares have tumbled since the conflict began.
Health deputy minister Hirobumi Niki (center left) receives a petition from patient groups in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2026
Patients in Japan seek stable supply of medical goods as war concerns loom
Shortages of naphtha — used in plastic — has patients worried about access to life-saving equipment as the Iran war continues to disrupt supply chains.
A Japan Airlines airplane flies past an oil refinery as it approaches to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, as seen from a park in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, on March 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2026
Japan’s international flights to get pricier due to hike in fuel surcharge
Fuel surcharges are expected to rise up to double their current rates due to the ongoing Iran conflict.
Motorists queue up to refuel their vehicles outside a petrol station in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
Asia barters for scarce energy as Iran crisis throttles supply
The race for alternative supply has hotted up as China, the world’s second-largest economy, imposed fuel export bans.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during an online gathering of officials of Group of Seven leading industrialized nations on Monday. Akazawa has been named Japan’s critical-materials czar by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2026
Akazawa appointed critical-materials czar in response to conflict in the Middle East
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the industry minister is tasked with reviewing the supply situation and developing policy responses.
Facilities of Huanyang Chemical Industry and Ningbo Huanyang New Materials in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, on March 21. Petrol and plastic prices have risen for China since the U.S. and Israel began their strikes on Iran a month ago.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
What the Middle East war means for China’s ties with Iran
China and Iran’s relationship is transactional despite them sometimes being considered as part of a broader anti-Western group — alongside Russia and North Korea.
A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, in United Arab Emirates on March 11. So far in March, barely six vessels per day on average have traversed the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the world, in either direction. That compares with about 135 a day in normal times, according to ship-tracking data.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2026
Iran’s grip on Strait of Hormuz tighter than ever after first month of war
The near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz has proved an exceptionally effective asymmetric weapon in Iran’s fight against two of the world’s most powerful countries.
An aerial view shows tugboats helping a crude oil tanker to berth at an oil terminal, off Waidiao Island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China, in 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
China puts home energy needs above cooperation as Mideast war halts supplies
China is the world’s second largest fertilizer ‌exporter and also ‌a large supplier of fuel, with imports from China a major source of supply for many countries in Asia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on March 25
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
Allies sent Ukraine ‘signals’ on reducing strikes on Russian oil, Zelenskyy says
The Ukrainian president said Kyiv is ready ​to reciprocate if Moscow stops attacking the Ukrainian energy system, and that Kyiv is open to an Easter ceasefire.
People look on as one of the two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid arrive at the port of Havana on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
White House says no change in Cuba policy after Russian tanker waiver
The administration said it allowed the recent fuel delivery to the island for humanitarian reasons and that such decisions would be handled ​on a case-by-case basis.
The yen traded above ¥160 to the dollar over the weekend — a threshold that some investors and traders see triggering government intervention. 
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 30, 2026
Tokyo stocks decline to a 2026 low after yen breaks ¥160 to the dollar
Brent crude is up and trading above $115 per barrel on supply concerns related to the war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says there will be no immediate disruption to supply of petroleum products for medical devices.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
Takaichi seeks to ease concerns over medical-product supplies
The prime minister acknowledged that crude-oil shortages in other Asian nations led to worries about the long-term supply of products manufactured elsewhere and shipped to Japan.
A “not available” sign is posted on a fuel dispenser at a gas station amid fuel shortages, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Quezon City, Philippines, on March 26.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2026
This is what happens when the gas runs out
Countries in Asia are bracing for a complete cutoff in coming days of Middle Eastern LNG, a fuel that underpins power generation and industrial output across much of the region.
Cars line up at a gas station in Seoul on March 9.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2026
South Korea weighs first driving curbs in 35 years on oil crunch
The country has already imposed driving restrictions on civil servants, curbing how often they can access government buildings by car.
The latest Bank of Japan summary signals that the bank is worried about the upside inflation risks stemming from the escalating Middle East conflict.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2026
BOJ summary displays hawkish tilt with debate on size of hike
One member hinted at the possibility of a bigger rate hike than those recently undertaken due to the Middle East conflict.
A young man plays on a beach as the Hong Kong-flagged vessel Sea Horse, carrying some 200,000 barrels of Russia-origin fuel originally bound for Cuba, is anchored near the coast after arriving in Venezuelan waters, in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 30, 2026
U.S. plans to allow Russian oil tanker into Cuba, easing crisis
The shipment of 730,000 barrels of crude is expected to be allowed to arrive in coming days.
Young Houthi supporters hold weapons during a rally in solidarity with Tehran and Beirut, amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 29, 2026
Yemen’s Houthis enter Iran war with attacks on Israel, as U.S. Marines arrive in region
The risk of an expanded Iran war grew as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict.
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.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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