Tag - relations

 
 

RELATIONS

Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff czar, after the first round of talks in Washington. Media reports indicate he may be headed back to the United States next week for the third round of negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Third round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks may be held next week: report
Akazawa’s two previous visits to Washington yielded no tangible results.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
Major retailer Aeon announced Tuesday it will start selling the “Karoyaka” variety of California rice from June 6.
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
No matter what happens, they expect the new levies to cost them a lot.
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Residents of Taiwanese descent in Japan and their support groups have welcomed the change.
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged toward a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in 2017.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2025
Japan under pressure from U.S. to invest in Alaska LNG pipeline
Doubts over the pipeline's profitability and viability leaves Japan's participation in the $44 billion (nearly ¥6.7 trillion) project uncertain.
Solar Park Kasso ApS's e-methanol production plant, located on the outskirts of Aabenraa in Denmark, on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Mitsui starts mass production of e-methanol with Danish firm
The amount of CO2 emitted from e-methanol production is up to 97% less than that from methanol produced using fossil fuels.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a meeting with global business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 28.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025
China surrounded Xi aide with seasoned experts to seal U.S. deal
The crew engaging with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was on public display for the first time Sunday.
Trade Minister Yoji Muto will skip the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, a decision that will likely lower Tokyo’s chances of securing an opportunity for bilateral talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 14, 2025
Japan’s key officials to skip APEC meet attended by U.S. trade representative
This won’t be the first time Japan’s trade minister will miss the APEC gathering in recent years, but sending a lower-ranking official may make it harder to hold one-on-one talks.
A Chinese national flag flies as people walk over a pedestrian bridge in Shanghai on April 15.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025
Japanese man gets 12-year prison sentence in China over spying
The Japanese consul-general in Shanghai was allowed to observe the court hearing but has not disclosed details of the ruling.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 13, 2025
China's Xi slams 'bullying' as Beijing hosts Latin American leaders
The Chinese leader also pledged $9.2 billion in credit toward "development" for the region — part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation.
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung adjusts some of the toys on display at his office in Union City, California, on May 8. His company manufactures toys in China for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025
Tariffs crippled U.S.-owned factory in China that made toys for Walmart
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung says his company would survive if tariffs come down quickly. If they don't, he'd lose everything.
The 90-day truce in the U.S.-China trade war was a huge relief for small businesses and millions of workers on both sides of the Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2025
Trump and Xi tone down a senseless trade war
It was a huge relief for small businesses and millions of workers on both sides of the Pacific.
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 13, 2025
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Going forward, experts say, this will make the Chinese side confident that they have leverage over the U.S. in any negotiations.
A bulk carrier arrives at the Port of Los Angeles on April 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025
China tariff relief spurs shipping rush and price hike U-turns
The temporary tariff relief means that U.S. companies will try to quickly ship out products that were being held in factory warehouses in China.
Sinovac, a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, is administered in Bangkok in 2021. The recent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization has further opened the field for Beijing to assert its role in global health, including through vaccine diplomacy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
If China triumphs, America has itself to blame
While Trump's policies bite at home, Beijing is stepping in to fill the void left by the U.S. retreat from global leadership in areas ranging from trade and investment to health.
The Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue that was returned to the Kannonji Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN
May 12, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue returned to Japanese temple after 12 years
A ritual was held at Kannoji Temple on the island of Tsushima to mark the return of the Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue after more than 12 years.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House earlier this year. Ishiba said Monday that farmers won't be sacrificed for automakers in Japan's tariff negotiations with the U.S.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 12, 2025
Japan might be playing long game in U.S. tariff talks
Tokyo is resisting making any major concessions, possibly in the hope that mounting domestic pressure will force U.S. President Donald Trump to give it a better deal.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attend a news conference after trade talks with China, in Geneva on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
U.S. and China agree to lower tariffs in 90-day cooling-off period
The temporary move will give the world’s two largest economies three more months to resolve their differences.
A Japan Coast Guard vessel sails in front of the Uotsuri islet, one of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. Concerns are growing in Tokyo after a Chinese government helicopter violated Japan's airspace around the uninhabited islets.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 12, 2025
Escalation fears rise in Japan following Chinese moves near Senkakus
Beijing sent a government helicopter to the area for the first time, while Chinese government ships have been spotted in the area for more than 170 straight days.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer address the media after trade talks with China in Geneva on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
U.S. and China cite ‘substantial progress’ in Geneva trade talks
U.S. negotiators described "substantial progress" and also said details would be announced Monday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’