Tag - security

 
 

SECURITY

A ceremony to open the Japan Institute for Health Security is held in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 4.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025
Japan's new health institute gives first acute respiratory infection cases tally
This was the first tally of such cases since ARI was designated as a Category V disease under the infectious diseases control law.
Under the Economic Security Promotion Act, the government implements a range of measures to secure vital supply chains, from providing subsidies and low-interest loans to coordinating regulations, stockpiling essential goods and protecting advanced technologies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
METI may list undersea cables and satellites as critical for economic security
The move comes amid an increasingly uncertain geo-economic climate, with global powers becoming more protectionist.
The U.K. government rushed urgent legislation through Parliament on Saturday to stop the Scunthorpe plant's blast furnaces from turning off.
WORLD
Apr 13, 2025
'Naive' to trust Chinese firm with British Steel, U.K. minister says
The government rushed urgent legislation through parliament on Saturday to stop the Scunthorpe plant's blast furnaces from turning off.
Anthony Albanese
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 5, 2025
Australia to buy Darwin port lease from Chinese firm, PM says
China's Landbridge group was granted a 99-year lease on the port in 2015, a widely criticized decision that led to stricter scrutiny of major infrastructure sales.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s JASM plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. Ensuring stability in the semiconductor supply chain is a matter of national security and must be based on cooperation between the government and private sector.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 4, 2025
Identifying choke points in the semiconductor supply chain
Addressing bottlenecks in chipmaking is essential for Japan's economic security and requires public-private collaboration, including aimed at information sharing.
British Secretary of State for Business Jonathan Reynolds, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and trade minister Yoji Muto shake hands after a joint news announcement after their economic "two-plus-two" ministers' meeting at the Iikura Guesthouse on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2025
Japan and Britain stress free trade in Tokyo talks
The comments followed Japan and Britain's first "two-plus-two" talks between the country's trade and foreign ministers.
The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington in 2024. The Justice Department unsealed charges against a dozen Chinese citizens accused of being part of a sophisticated hacking ring that steals data from American businesses and people to sell to the Chinese government and others.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025
U.S. says China paid hackers to target critics and steal data
The Justice Department has charged 10 Chinese citizens and two government agents for hacks that targeted dissidents, news outlets and American government agencies, among others.
The 50th ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit was held in Tokyo in December 2023. Japan has strong relations with ASEAN member countries and should continue leveraging this position to pursue its Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 14, 2025
Why ASEAN is crucial to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Tokyo understands ASEAN's centrality to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision better than Washington does and should continue leading in defending this regional order.
U.S. President Donald Trump's imposed and since paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico, coupled with his broad levies on China — and possibly others soon — pose risks of economic retaliation, supply chain disruptions and long-term damage to U.S. influence.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
The tariff man is making a risky bet
The optimal tariff argument ignores the substantial risks that Trump is taking. A generalized trade war will make everyone worse off.
China, under President Xi Jinping, is resisting Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, but may need to respond with major fiscal stimulus, currency devaluation or allowing TikTok’s sale to navigate economic challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
China’s Mr. Big Won’t Cave in to Trump for Nothing
Does Xi Jinping have a trade war game plan? He’ll need to make hard choices.
Southeast Asian economies, once seen as beneficiaries of the U.S.-China trade war, now face challenges as escalating tariffs and trade tensions threaten their growth and regional stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
Winners of the first trade war may not be so victorious
Stuck between the U.S. and China, Southeast Asia’s challenges this time around are much greater.
The production line at Tanmiah Food’s chicken processing plant in Shaqra, Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2025
Chickens hatch across the Saudi desert in kingdom’s pivot from oil
The kingdom imports about 80% of what it eats, triggering worries about shortages in a time of rising geopolitical tensions.
A business district in Tokyo. Japan plans to strengthen pre-screening measures for overseas investors that could potentially cooperate with foreign intelligence gathering efforts, addressing rising national security concerns.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2025
Japan to tighten investment pre-screening amid security concerns
While the updated regulations will impose an additional step for a broader range of investors, those who pass the screening can still invest in Japanese companies.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump took a hard line against China. As Trump takes office again, this confrontation is likely to continue and potentially escalate over issues such as Taiwan and economic security interests.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 20, 2025
Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations
Since Trump's first term, China has shown its willingness to use aggressive economic measures in its confrontation with the U.S., setting the stage for a potential escalation.
Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano in Seoul in October
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2025
Japan announces new national security adviser
Masataka Okano is a 60-year-old career diplomat with experience in both Washington and Beijing and a former chief of the Foreign Ministry’s Russia division.
A government minister has said the acquisition of 7-Eleven by foreign capital is majorly related to economic security.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2025
Japan to consider 'economic security' in 7-Eleven takeover
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa highlighted the role Japan's convenience stores can play in times of crisis, such as after major earthquakes.
A potential foreign acquisition of Japanese retail giant Seven & I would be "heavily related" to national security, Japan's economy minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2025
Japan flags foreign takeover of 7-Eleven owner as a security issue
His public comment is the first by a senior Japanese official over security issues raised by a $47 billion buyout offer by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, in December 2019. The Biden administration blocked the $14 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel on Friday, citing grounds that the sale posed a threat to national security.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025
Biden’s decision on Nippon Steel deal followed divide in his orbit
The split was emblematic of so many shifts in U.S. policy — including of Biden’s pledge to build trust with allies and the race against China.
An entrance sign for Nippon Steel's East Nippon Works Kashima Area facility is pictured in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Jan 4, 2025
Nippon Steel rejection shows national security means whatever you want
Experts and former officials say the decision signals how sharply the U.S. has turned away from the principles of globalization.
The path forward for the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal is unclear. The companies could sue the U.S. government, another buyer could swoop in for U.S. Steel, or Republicans who favor the deal could urge U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to find a way to approve it.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2025
What's next for the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal?
The companies could sue the U.S. government, another buyer could swoop in, or those who favor the deal could urge Trump to find a way to approve it.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.