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July 01, 2026
 

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MIDDLE EAST

A tanker carrying Russian crude docks at a Taiyo Oil's refinery on Tuesday, marking the country’s first such import since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed earlier this year amid Middle East tensions, officials said.
JAPAN
May 5, 2026
Tanker carrying Russian crude oil arrives at facility in Japan
This marks the first Russian crude oil import to Japan since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed earlier this year.
A woman sits outside her apartment after it was destroyed in an airstrike amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in Tehran on March 12.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2026
Will the Iran war make Trump gun-shy or trigger-happy?
The sunk-cost fallacy tricks leaders into thinking that they’ve already sacrificed too much to quit.
A family walks across a dried up fishery south of Manila in 2015, where the El Nino weather phenomenon ravaged farmlands and damaged crops.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 5, 2026
‘Super El Nino’ raises fears for Asia reeling from Middle East conflict
The continent is now facing the prospect of strong climate conditions that could spike energy demand, sap hydropower and damage crops.
Albert Park speaks during an interview in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 5, 2026
ADB urges countries to limit fuel subsidies to vulnerable groups
Japan has capped gasoline prices at around ¥170 per liter through subsidies after they surged to about ¥190 after the start of the Iran war.
A man holds a flag with a picture of Iran's former supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (left) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (center), and new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, during a rally in Tehran on April 29.
WORLD
May 5, 2026
U.S. intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran’s nuclear program
Analysts estimate that Iran would need up to one year to build a nuclear weapon, assessments that remain broadly unchanged even after two months of war.
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, concerns have emerged over what a shortage of oil and naphtha — a raw material for plastic products including food-packaging containers — could mean to not only industries but also supply chains and individual consumers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2026
Amid shortage concerns, Japan works to secure supplies of raw materials
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sparked worries about what an oil and naphtha shortage could mean for not only industries but also supply chains and consumers.
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
WORLD
May 5, 2026
South Korean-run vessel ablaze in Strait of Hormuz; Trump says Iran fired at the ship
No casualties have been reported and authorities are investigating what caused the blaze.
A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-U.S. billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran on Saturday.
WORLD
May 5, 2026
U.S. and Iran trade fire in Gulf, shaking four-week ceasefire
The U.S. military fought off attacks from Iranian drones, missiles and armed small boats as it facilitated the passage of two U.S.-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
A tanker approaches a pier at a PT Pertamina facility at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta in February. Conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel prices are driving energy shocks across Asia.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2026
Oil shock will hit Asia harder than the 1970s
We’re seeing the first tremors of a similar earthquake now in Asia. More than 80% of the oil and gas that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads east.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte delivers a speech during an official visit to Turkey, in Ankara on April 22.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2026
NATO chief says Trump disappointed in Europe over Iran response
The U.S. president had accused European countries of ignoring his requests to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran.
A line of natto products shown on the website of Mizkan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2026
Mizkan suspends sales for four natto products amid supply strain
The war in the Middle East has driven up procurement costs, the company said, putting pressure on packed natto production.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday before boarding Air Force One en route to Miami.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2026
Iran says it forced U.S. warship back from Hormuz; U.S. denies missile strike
A senior Iranian official said Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.
Saudi Arabia's minister of energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, speaks during a session of the Russian Energy Week international forum in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 15, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 4, 2026
Saudi oil prince’s iron grip faces ultimate test with UAE’s shock OPEC exit
The departure poses a formidable test for ​the first royal Saudi oil minister whose style has shifted from diplomacy to increasingly unilateral decision-making.
A Shiite Muslim man gestures while visiting the Imam Ali Shrine during the fasting month of Ramadan in Najaf, Iraq, on March 10.
WORLD / Society
May 4, 2026
‘No pilgrims’: Regional war hushes Iraq’s holy cities
The conflict has stemmed the influx of pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon, the Gulf states, India, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
An F-35 fighter jet makes an appearance during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel in June 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 3, 2026
Israel approves plan to buy F-35 and F-15IA jets from Lockheed and Boeing
Under the deal, Israel would buy a fourth ​F-35 squadron from Lockheed Martin and a second squadron of F-15IA fighter jets from ​Boeing.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2026
Japan tells Iran of strong hope for peace deal with U.S.
The top Japanese diplomat called on Iran to show “maximum flexibility,” according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
Motorists make their way past an anti-U.S. billboard referring to President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran on Saturday.
WORLD
May 3, 2026
Trump says U.S. could restart Iran strikes ‘if they misbehave’
Trump is ‌under domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the strait, which has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up U.S. gasoline prices.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 2, 2026
Iran standoff could leave Trump worse off than before he went to war
With both sides outwardly confident they hold the upper hand and their positions far apart, there is no obvious off-ramp in sight.
An electronic board displays the foreign exchange rate of the yen against the dollar along a street in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
May 2, 2026
Japan determined to prop up yen through intervention
Many analysts believe the effects of the latest intervention will be short-lived as the factors that contribute to a weaker yen remain unchanged.
The New York Stock Exchange in New York. The part of the ‌energy ‌landscape where the real issue lurks is the physical market, where actual barrels of crude and refined products change hands, rather than ​electronic futures.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
May 2, 2026
Investors are running out of time to brace for true oil shock
In thrall to an AI boom ⁠that has sent stocks to record highs and harboring hopes of a short-lived Iran war, investors have yet to prepare for a doubling of physical oil prices.
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.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
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.
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