Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Exports measured by value dropped 1.7% in May from a year earlier, suggesting exporters may be absorbing the tariff shock by cutting prices, as export volume rose 1.8%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2025
Japan’s export drop raises recession risks as U.S. tariffs bite
The drop in exports and the larger trade deficit add to concerns that Japan’s economy could shrink again in the second quarter.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters after holding talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2025
Trump calls Japan 'tough' trade negotiator and complains EU not being fair
U.S. President Donald Trump also said there was still a chance of a trade deal between Washington and Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to have a family photo taken at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
G7 backs Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ as Trump hastily leaves summit
In a tersely worded joint statement, the bloc labeled Iran a “principal source of regional instability.”
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) speaks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
No breakthrough on tariffs at Ishiba-Trump meeting in Canada
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump met for 30 minutes on Monday during the annual Group of Seven gathering in Alberta.
Researchers prepare medicine at a laboratory in Nanjing University in Nanjing, in China's Jiangsu province. China's share of global drug development is now nearly 30%.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 17, 2025
U.S. pharma bets big on China to snap up potential blockbuster drugs
Firms bet they can turn upfront payments of as little as $80 million into multibillion-dollar treatments.
A man checks a mainboard at an assembly line to produce ventilators at a Vsmart factory outside Hanoi in 2020.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 16, 2025
U.S. pushes Vietnam to decouple from Chinese tech, sources say
Local firms have expressed a general willingness to adapt, but many warned that instant changes "would destroy business."
Rare earths from Australia's Mount Weld mine. Japanese companies have a supply agreement with a company that sources rare earths from the mine.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2025
Japan and the U.S. face challenges in economic security discussions
In their trade negotiations, the subject is much discussed, especially as rare earths become an issue.
Leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the European Union all have something at stake at the Group of Seven Leaders’ Summit in Alberta, Canada.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
G7 leaders prepare for delicate dance with Trump at summit in Canada
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is seeking a trade deal with Trump on the sidelines of the summit, which would be a coup ahead of elections next month.
A defiant U.S. President Donald Trump attend the 44th Group of Seven gathering in Charlevoix, Canada, in 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
Trump returns to G7 he once loathed as Iran crisis intensifies
President Donald Trump arrives in Canada as the center of attention for a Group of Seven summit of world leaders whose main purpose will be to mollify him.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sunday ahead of his departure for a Group of Seven leaders' summit in Canada.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
Ishiba arrives in Canada for G7, with Trump trade deal on his mind
The Japanese leader hopes to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to drop trade tariffs that have imperiled his country's economy.
A man works at the site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, in China's Jiangxi province, in October 2010.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 15, 2025
U.S.-China trade truce leaves military-use rare earth issue unresolved
The renewed U.S.-China trade truce left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's economic revitalization minster, speaks to members of the media in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 15, 2025
Japan and U.S. trade negotiators spoke again Saturday
Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke by phone and explored the possibility of a trade deal.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 14, 2025
Japan seeks possibility of trade deal with U.S. as G7 summit looms
Japan's top tariff negotiator offered no hint whether a deal could be announced at the upcoming G7 summit in Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a joint news conference with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in February.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2025
In phone talks, Ishiba and Trump confirm meeting next week to discuss tariffs
The call came as Japan's top tariff negotiator gets set for a sixth round of discussions with his U.S. counterparts over Trump's tariffs.
Bank of Japan officials now see inflation slightly outpacing earlier forecasts, potentially paving the way for rate hike talks if global trade tensions subside, sources say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 13, 2025
BOJ is said to see inflation running stronger than expected
Some officials see the relative strength in inflation reflecting a change in price-setting behavior with sharp increases in the price of rice likely to harden inflationary views.
Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters Friday at Haneda Airport in Tokyo before heading to Washington.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2025
Akazawa sees a deal with U.S. sparing Japan from higher car levies
Akazawa heads to the U.S. as the two nations eye a potential trade deal out of an expected summit in Canada between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
U.S. President Donald Trump's tactics, which may work with Elon Musk, are unlikely to succeed with China, where strategic leverage and national security concerns make such coercive methods ineffective.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2025
Donald Trump’s antics may work with Elon Musk, but not with China
Trump’s tactics may work against Elon Musk given that his administration has leverage over Musk’s critical business activities. But with China, it does not.
U.S. President Donald Trump came into office promising to radically remake the U.S.-China trade relationship.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 13, 2025
For Trump, resolving U.S.-China trade fight comes at a cost
The back-and-forth to seal a deal with Beijing exposed that key U.S. industries are reliant on magnets largely sourced from China.
A family travels by motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam is grappling with two significant challenges: a declining birth rate, prompting policy shifts to encourage larger families, and the economic threat of U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2025
Vietnam has far bigger worries than its baby bust
Vietnam is grappling with two significant challenges: a declining birth rate, prompting policy shifts to encourage larger families and the economic threat of U.S. tariffs.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office after holding talks with opposition leaders Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025
Japan and U.S. still far apart in tariff talks, Ishiba cited as saying
Ishiba is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders gathering in Canada starting Sunday, but a deal is far from certain.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight