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July 02, 2026
 

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MANUFACTURING

Toyota's manufacturing facility in San Antonio
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Toyota files to build $2 billion assembly plant in Texas
The forthcoming factory would create 2,000 new jobs and deepen Toyota’s manufacturing footprint in its largest market.
David Cheung, co-owner of Shaoguan Guanghua Plastic & Hardware Products, speaks during an interview in the company's showroom in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, China, on May 9, 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 14, 2026
U.S. tariff whiplash pushed toy factory in China to brink of collapse
Had the United States kept tariffs on Chinese imports at triple digits for even one more day last year, toy manufacturer Huntar Company would have collapsed.
Calbee will start selling potato chips in black and white packages due to a naphtha-derived ink shortage amid the war in Iran.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Calbee’s switch to black-and-white packaging brings home impact of Iran war
The government maintains that there is enough naphtha for local industries, though bottlenecks have been identified.
Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori in 2023. Nagamori instilled a hard-charging corporate culture at the company, demanding results pegged to ambitious, and at times unrealistic, targets.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Nidec shares tumble after product quality issues compound bookkeeping scandal
The Kyoto-based world’s largest maker of precision motors said the issues involved changes made to materials, processes and designs without approval.
Yuki Kusumi, president of Panasonic Holdings, in the city of Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, in April 2025
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 13, 2026
After cost cuts and reforms, Panasonic enters decisive stage in turnaround
Fiscal 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the major manufacturer as it seeks to break free from prolonged stagnation and place its recovery on firmer ground.
Batteries for electric vehicles at a Gotion High-tech Co. plant in Hefei, China
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
China’s green tech firms target new consumers hit by Iran war energy shock
Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels have been wooing nations looking to wean themselves off costly fuel imports.
A worker runs a machine in the process of building a solar panel at First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio, on July 8, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 11, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
The policy could backfire by imperiling growth in U.S. manufacturing jobs and power generation at a time of rising utility bills and soaring electricity demand.
A solar panel manufacturing plant in Ohio. Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 9, 2026
Trump’s crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom
Policy uncertainty is driving installers and insurers away from U.S. solar factories with China ties.
Honda vehicles at an auto show in Detroit in January. Honda is reviewing its strategy for its North American operations, shifting its focus from EVs to prioritize hybrid vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2026
Honda reconsiders Canada plant as U.S. demand for EVs slows
Honda is reviewing its strategy for its North American operations, shifting its focus from EVs to prioritize hybrid vehicles.
People gather near BYD's new electric cars at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition last month.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 5, 2026
China’s carmakers chase ‘Yaris moment’ to ignite overseas growth
Automakers are re-engineering vehicles from the ground up for foreign buyers.
Components for Murata's Echorb Wonder Stone device. The company is the world’s leading supplier of multilayer ceramic capacitors, essential components for every device that uses electricity because they regulate power flow.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2026
Murata beats profit estimates as AI data-center demand strains production
The company says it is struggling to catch up with runaway demand for its multilayer ceramic capacitors, sought by U.S. hyperscalers for artificial intelligence data centers.
Japan's industrial production dropped 0.5% in March from the previous month, as the war in Iran clouded prospects for global demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2026
Japan’s factory output fell in March as Iran war clouded demand outlook
The data reflects a period in flux, with business prospects for manufacturers starting to dim as the impact of the Middle East conflict rippled through the global economy.
Toyota's parts suppliers are grappling with rising raw material costs, shortages of basic supplies and ongoing logistical turmoil.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 29, 2026
Toyota suppliers start to feel strain of supply chain disruptions due to Iran conflict
Toyota’s parts suppliers are grappling with rising raw material costs, shortages of basic supplies and ongoing logistical turmoil.
A Japanese machine tool industry group is concerned about a potential shortage of thinners and cutting oils amid prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2026
Japan industry group warns of war’s impact on supply of thinners
There are no shortages now, but the prolonged conflict in the Middle East could affect supplies in the future, the head of an industry group has said.
Tourists on the beach in Mirissa, Sri Lanka in 2022. Some hotels in South Asia have seen a sharp drop in occupancy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2026
The forces of scarcity hitting Asia may soon spread across the world
Many countries across the region are experiencing sudden jolts of disruption that they are struggling to manage.
Ethane is a natural gas liquid primarily used to produce ethylene, a building block for plastics.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2026
Iran war deepens China’s dependence on the U.S. for niche gas
Shipments of U.S. ethane are expected to rise to an all-time high of 800,000 tons in April, around 60% higher than the monthly average.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa holds a news conference after a Cabinet meeting at the Diet building on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Sony to receive up to ¥60 billion in state subsidies for image sensor plant
The state aid is intended to help ensure a stable supply of semiconductors, designated as a specified important item under the economic security promotion law.
Visitors look at a display of semiconductor devices at the SuperSiC booth during SEMICON China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai on March 25.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2026
China’s export engine stutters as Iran war chills global demand
The effects of the conflict in the Middle East have exposed the risks in Beijing’s strategy of leaning on manufacturing to sustain growth.
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.9% to a record low of about 1.05 billion tons of carbon dioxide in fiscal 2024, the Environment Ministry said.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 14, 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Japan fell to record low in fiscal 2024
In fiscal 2024, emissions in Japan were down 28.7% from fiscal 2013 and the amount of carbon dioxide released slipped below 1 billion tons for the first time since then.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her hand to answer questions regarding the situation in the Middle East at an Upper House Budget Committee session at parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2026
Confusion over naphtha supply hits industries and households
Japan relies on the Middle East for about 40% of its naphtha consumption. Additionally, about 40% of domestically produced naphtha is refined from crude oil mainly from the region.
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.
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.
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.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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’

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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