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July 19, 2025
 

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SUPPLY CHAINS

Workers disassemble vehicle battery packs in a workshop in Dongguan, China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2023
China bans export of rare earths processing tech over security
China has significantly tightened rules guiding exports of several metals this year, in an escalating battle with the West over control of key minerals.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats after being hijacked in the Red Sea in this photo released on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023
Exporters explore flights to avoid deepening Red Sea bottleneck
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19.
A worker inspects semiconductor chips at a chip-packaging plant in Ipoh, Malaysia, in 2021. Malaysia currently accounts for 13% of the global market for semiconductor packaging, assembly and testing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 18, 2023
Chinese firms look to Malaysia to assemble high-end chips
Dearth of advanced chip-packaging services in China leads firms to venture abroad amid U.S. sanctions.
A man holding a child crosses a damaged bridge after Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, China, on Aug. 7.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 12, 2023
Storm assault on Chinese ports a wake-up call for climate risks
Typhoon Doksuri delivered Beijing's worst flooding in more than 50 years, shuttering factories, collapsing homes and displacing tens of thousands.
The MP Materials rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California, in January 2020. Western startups are focusing their attention on the process of refining rare earths — some of them pivoting from mining — that China has spent the past 30 years mastering.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2023
Western startups seek to break China's grip on rare earths refining
The companies are looking for faster, cleaner and cheaper ways to process the minerals that are critical for billions of electronic devices.
The graphics processing units made by U.S.-based Nvidia dominate the market for artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2023
Nvidia CEO says he will try to prioritize Japan for AI processors
Japan is rushing to rebuild its once world-leading semiconductor infrastructure and catch up on the development of AI technology.
A worker at the Ford F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn, Michigan in April last year. New government rules will try to shift more production of electric vehicle batteries and the materials that power them to the United States.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2023
U.S. sets limits on Chinese content to receive EV tax credits
The guidelines establish a 25% ownership threshold for a company or group to be classified as a foreign entity of concern.
A Walmart worker organizes products for the Christmas season in 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2023
Walmart shifts to India and reduces imports from China
The shift shows how the rising cost of importing from China and escalating political tensions are pushing U.S. firms to import more from other countries.
A man walks through the Central Business District on a rainy day, in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023
West's de-risking starts to bite China's prospects
China is outwardly confident about growth despite a global economic slowdown
A Komatsu dump truck at the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Khanbogd, the South Gobi desert, Mongolia
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2023
China tightens grip on copper, key to world’s energy transition
China’s copper smelting capacity will increase by another 45% by 2027
Germany, which likely plays a key role in determining Europe’s China strategy, unveiled its 64-page strategy on China on July 13.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 14, 2023
Germany’s China strategy is epoch-making but ambiguous
While attempting to protect its interests, Berlin has had to deal with business circles attempting to avoid damaging ties with Beijing.
China's dominance in the electric vehicle market has prompted the European Union to take action regarding economic security.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 7, 2023
How electric vehicles became subject to EU economic security
The bloc has felt the pressure from China in the EV market, leading it to take steps to better protect vehicles, batteries and materials.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023
How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?
The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
Laborers work at a private garment factory in Hanoi in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Clothing-makers find it hard to break with China’s supply chain
Amid economic uncertainty and weakening consumer demand, many are discovering that finding alternative production hubs comes with its own challenges.
Servers inside Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 26, 2023
China swaps Western tech for domestic options as U.S. cracks down
The telecom and financial sectors are considered the next focus for the drive, with digital payments seen as particularly vulnerable to Western hacking.
Despite shifts in the global economy and trade, the world remains highly integrated and globalization is far from over.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2023
Globalization’s demise has been greatly exaggerated
Trade flows, allocation of dollars, and supply chains are evolving, but these changes are not uniform and can be challenging to predict.
An assembly engineer works on a TWINSCAN DUV lithography system at ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, in June.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 21, 2023
The multimillion-dollar machines at the center of the U.S.-China rivalry
Complex lithography machines that print intricate circuitry on computer chips are at the heart of Washington's tough new measures on Beijing.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo atop a building at the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2023
‘Sell TSMC, buy ASML’ gains traction as China-Taiwan risks grow
Because TSMC’s operations are mostly in Taiwan, it faces heightened geopolitical hazards. ASML, meanwhile, stands to benefit from the fragmentation.
China's ambitions to control the legacy chip market have implications for the world economy and Western nations are beginning to take countersteps.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2023
China's economic ambitions squeeze the developing world
While Chinese diplomats try to promote “win-win” solutions, Chinese policy is preventing developing-world partners from selling goods to China.
Washington is taking steps to prevent U.S. chipmakers from circumventing government rules in order to sell to China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 16, 2023
U.S. to tighten rules aimed at keeping advanced chips out of China
The Biden administration is aiming to close loopholes that might help its geopolitical rival gain cutting-edge technologies.
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JSA’s 100th anniversary event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for sumo fans
Egyptian wrestler Osunaarashi has some fun with children during a special Japan Sumo Association event in 2017.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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By Megha Wadhwa

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