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August 25, 2025
 

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TRADE

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 24, 2025
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
In the two countries' first joint document in 17 years, the leaders agreed to work together "to advance future-oriented and mutually beneficial common interests."
Statues of bulls in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Aug. 18
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 24, 2025
Bubble risks grow as China’s stock bull run defies economy angst
A deflationary spiral that’s eroded corporate pricing power in the world’s second-largest economy is one of the biggest reasons to doubt the sustainability of the current rally.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walks after speaking, as Canada announced that it is removing many retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods as a goodwill gesture designed to restart stalled trade talks, during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 23, 2025
Carney’s tariff shift helps business and creates a political headache
On Friday, Carney announced the end of 25% retaliatory tariffs imposed by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, on a wide range of food and other consumer goods.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to military personnel based at Osan Air Base in South Korea in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2025
Troop costs and China in focus when South Korea's Lee meets Trump
A U.S. official said a key area of focus of the summit would be so-called burden-sharing, with President Donald Trump expected to push the South Koreans for more.
Sergio Gor
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2025
Trump nominates Sergio Gor to be next U.S. ambassador to India
Sergio Gor, who is currently the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, would also serve as a special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attends the Kansas City Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2025
U.S. Fed chair opens door to rate cut as Trump steps up pressure
But Fed chief Jerome Powell also continued to argue that policymakers must guard against the prospect that President Donald Trump’s tariffs lead to persistent inflation.
The Port of Los Angeles. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said European carmakers could see relief from the current U.S. tariffs within "hopefully weeks."
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2025
EU pushes for reduced U.S. auto tariffs to apply retroactively from Aug. 1
The statement came as the partners set out details of a framework trade deal struck in July.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during an event in Washington, in July. Huang says Nvidia is currently in talks with the U.S. over the potential offering of a more powerful chip for sale in China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 22, 2025
Nvidia CEO says in talks with U.S. over new China chip
The tech giant is reportedly working on a new chip based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than a model currently greenlit for sale to China.
Vanitha Anand Bhat, 43, who works with her husband, Raya Anand Bhat, 48, pours coconut oil into a plastic bottle inside their small coconut mill in Kochi, India, on July 23.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 21, 2025
Humble coconut oil turns into a luxury on rising demand, shrinking output
Output across major producer nations, from India to Southeast Asia, has been disrupted by lower rainfall and extended heat, as well as pests and disease.
A Shein distribution center in Whitestown, Indiana, on April 8. Shein and other e-commerce sites originating from China are believed to have taken advantage of duty exemption systems of other countries to export goods of modest value in small lots.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 21, 2025
Duty exemptions for low-value imports face review amid exploitation
An expert panel at the government's Tax Commission has noted that overseas sellers of inexpensive goods effectively exploit tax exemption systems for small-ticket item imports.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the economy in the Oval Office on Aug. 7. From immigration to the Fed, Trump is making risky moves that could undo his wins while Democrats double down on policies that so far are not working.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025
On economic policy, the White House is its own worst enemy
The White House needs to calm down and choose consolidation over controversy and chaos while the Democratic Party must dump, not just downplay, its plainly unpopular positions.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that a document on his country's trade deal with Japan is being prepared.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 20, 2025
Lutnick: Japan’s $550 billion will be directed by Trump
The U.S. commerce secretary said the funds promised by Tokyo in the course of tariff talks will be deployed to benefit the United States.
Exports fell 2.6% in value in July from a year earlier, posting the biggest downturn since February 2021, led by cars, auto parts and steel.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 20, 2025
Japan’s exports tumble most in four years as U.S. tariff pain intensifies
Exports fell 2.6% in value from a year earlier, sliding more than the median forecast of a 2.1% decline, the Finance Ministry has reported.
Trucks heading toward the Jianxiawo lithium mine, in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China. The U.S. government said it will increase scrutiny of lithium, steel and other materials imported from China.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2025
U.S. targets Chinese steel and lithium for forced-labor scrutiny
The move fits within Trump's trade goals and previous government action against alleged forced labor in China.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on June 5. Soruces say Lutnick has been pushing the idea of the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that receive CHIPS Act funding, and that Trump likes the idea.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 20, 2025
Washington eyeing government stakes in chipmakers given CHIPS Act funds: sources
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is said to be exploring how the U.S. can receive equity stakes in firms such as Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung.
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2025
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
The obvious question is how a country with such low per capita GDP has managed to reach the technological frontier in so many sectors.
The BTP port terminal at Port of Santos in Santos, Brazil, in 2021. Brasilia stressed the U.S. has consistently run a trade surplus with Brazil and that American firms already enjoy broad access to its market.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2025
Brazil pushes back against U.S. probe into its trade practices
The investigation is seen as an attempt to justify the 50% tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on all Brazilian exports to the U.S., excluding some 700 items.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a signing ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, in 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2025
Modi hails ‘friend’ Putin and boosts China ties in tilt from U.S.
The move is another sign the South Asian nation is tilting away from the U.S. in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Russian and Chinese naval officers take part in a ceremony marking the start of joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan, following the arrival of Chinese military vessels in Vladivostok, Russia, on July 31.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2025
Trump’s transactional policies threaten global stability
In Trump’s second term, economic protectionism now overrides strategic consistency, and trade wars are being used as tools of geopolitical leverage.
Beijing imposed a ban on imports of Japanese fisheries products in August 2023.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2025
JETRO struggles to expand scallop supply chain in U.S.
Steep tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump left prospects for the project uncertain, apparently making businesses reluctant to invest in it.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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