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July 04, 2026
 

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OIL

Cathay Pacific Airways aircraft on the tarmac at Hong Kong International Airport
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2026
Asian airlines raise fares and mull groundings as fuel crunch looms
Carriers in the region aren’t as well hedged against high oil prices as rivals in Europe or the U.S., making them more vulnerable to sudden surges in jet fuel prices.
Stock prices declined in Tokyo on Monday on concerns that higher oil prices could affect the Japanese economy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 9, 2026
Oil’s dramatic rally sends Japanese stocks, bonds and currency down
Prices recovered later on Monday on reports of possible intervention.
A Qatar Airways airplane at Dubai International Airport, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 9, 2026
Airline shares battered as oil prices spike and Iran war intensifies
The war has driven up fuel prices, with oil jumping 20% in early trading on Monday, hitting its highest since July 2022.
A woman watches plumes of smoke rise from an oil storage facility after overnight strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces in Tehran on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 9, 2026
Oil punches above $100 as Iran war forces more production cuts
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed the war-related spike in oil prices as a “small price to pay” for removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear program.
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.
Sanae Takaichi and Donald Trump meet in Tokyo for a summit in October. Japan’s fossil fuel investments tied to deals with the United States show Takaichi’s government favoring legacy energy over renewables.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2026
Takaichi and Trump are natural fossil fuel buddies — or are they?
More than a third of Southeast Asia’s coal power finance between 2016 and 2024 came from Japanese banks, and more than a fifth of gas.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Feb. 13
WORLD
Mar 8, 2026
Saudi Arabia has told Iran not to attack it and warns of possible retaliation
The sources said the kingdom had remained in regular contact with Tehran through its ambassador since the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran began.
The strait of Hormuz in December 2023
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2026
Middle East tensions disrupt maritime transport to Japan
The impact of the shipping freeze is spreading, with some Japanese automakers considering cutting production due to stalled exports.
Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in 2018. Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil supplies with around 70% coming via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed due to the Iran war.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2026
Japan may use part of national oil stockpile amid Iran war supply crisis: report
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil supplies with around 70% coming via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed due to the Iran war.
Tankers off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 6, 2026
Qatar energy minister warns war will force Gulf to halt energy exports within weeks, report says
Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and U.S. attacks.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomes then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a ceremony in Beijing in February 2023. China is unlikely to be weakened by Donald Trump’s Iran strikes and may instead exploit any prolonged U.S. distraction in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
Regimes come and go. China’s interests in Iran will endure.
“The Middle East is not a paramount security or foreign policy priority for the Chinese in the way it is for the Europeans and the Americans.”
An oil refinery in Texas. The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets, however, falling prices of solar and batteries offer another option.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 6, 2026
How fossil fuel disruptions lead to booms in solar and batteries
The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets. Under a severe scenario, one estimate says that crude could reach $108 a barrel.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index of shares and the Kosdaq are seen down on Tuesday as investors fretted about the turmoil in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
Why the Iran war morphed into panic selling in Asia
The selloff may have come as somewhat of a surprise for investors. North Asia is known for its dependence on oil and natural gas imports.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Chief Executive Officer Sultan Al Jaber at Adnoc headquarters in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 9
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2026
Adnoc boss and UAE minister Al Jaber meets Sanae Takaichi
“While your energy security continues to be our priority, we will not be able to do much if there is any distortion in the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jaber said.
Oil storage tanks in Kawasaki. As of the end of last year, Japan had enough oil in its reserves to last 254 days, according to data from the trade ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Oil refiners in Japan ask government to tap strategic reserves
Japan gets more than 90% of its oil from the Middle East, leaving it vulnerable to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz that’s preventing energy exports.
Prosecutors enter the building that houses Eneos Wing's Tokyo branch on Thursday to investigate the prices for gas oil allegedly being fixed.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2026
Eneos Wing’s Tokyo office raided in gas oil price-fixing probe
Eight oil distributors are suspected of forming a cartel to fix gas oil prices for corporate clients in Tokyo such as transportation companies.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has pledged to closely monitor developments as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reverberates across the region.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2026
Middle East conflict could affect Japan’s economy significantly, says BOJ’s Ueda
Japan’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil has hovered around 90%, the economy ministry has said, with much of that oil traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2026
Trump says U.S. will escort and insure oil tankers amid the Iran war
U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran have effectively brought oil flows through the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy supplies transit, to a halt.
Tokyo stocks fell for another day as major conflict continues in the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2026
Japan and its businesses rush to respond to Middle East conflict
Vessels are being halted, flights canceled and employees evacuated from the region.
Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, operated by Qatar Airways, are parked outside Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2026
Flight prices soar on Asia-Europe routes after Gulf conflict closes major hubs
Key hubs including Dubai — the world’s busiest international airport that normally handles over 1,000 flights a day — remain closed, slashing capacity on popular routes.
‘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

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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