Tag - us-japan-relations

 
 

US JAPAN RELATIONS

Prototypes for Honda 0 Series EVs, set to launch in 2026, were revealed on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2025
Honda showcases U.S.-made EVs as it considers slowing investments
The firm plans to introduce 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2030.
Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto speaks to reporters about its lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Nippon Steel committed to long-shot lawsuit against U.S. government
Eiji Hashimoto, the steelmaker's CEO, says he is convinced that litigation is the “best course of action” in response to the blocking of its acquisition of U.S. Steel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the start of their working lunch at a hotel in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2025
Blinken in final Japan visit as Trump's return weighs on Tokyo's mind
The top U.S. diplomat sought to reassure Tokyo that the U.S.-Japan alliance will remain robust even after Donald Trump returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued the U.S. government Monday for blocking the merger of the two companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sue U.S. government for blocking deal
The suit argues that the two companies were denied due process and that the $14.9 billion transaction was blocked for political reasons.
Some people are questioning the U.S. decision to block Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel, citing the lack of clear evidence of any national security risk from Japan — a country that hosts over 50,000 U.S. troops and relies on America for defense.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 7, 2025
Biden's Nippon Steel move: A troubling snub of a key ally
Preventing the takeover of U.S. Steel is bad enough. Declaring Japan a national security risk is worse.
Nippon Steel had touted the takeover of U.S. Steel as a lifeline for a company that is long past its heyday, but opponents warned that the Japanese owners would slash jobs.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025
Ishiba warns blocked U.S. Steel deal could impact investments
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that U.S. President Joe Biden's decision had sparked worries over future Japanese investments in the world's largest economy.
A drone view shows Gary Works, the largest integrated steel mill in the U.S., which is operated by U.S. Steel, in Gary, Indiana, on Dec. 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025
Rival CEO allegedly spread doubt about Nippon Steel deal to Wall Street
The private remarks the CEO made throughout 2024 about the deal process show the extent of his effort to cast doubt.
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.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken answers a question from the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Dec. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 5, 2025
Blinken wades into political crisis with stop in South Korea
The top U.S. diplomat will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a U.N. Security Council session at U.N. headquarters in New York on Dec. 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 4, 2025
Top U.S. diplomat to visit South Korea with eye on political crisis
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also visit Tokyo, where he will hold talks with Japanese officials on Monday and Tuesday.
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.
U.S. President Joe Biden decided Friday to block the proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, with the firms blasting the decision, calling it a "clear violation of due process" and a political move, and vowing to "take all appropriate action" to protect their legal rights.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 4, 2025
Biden blocks Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion takeover of U.S. Steel
The two firms blasted the decision, calling it a "clear violation of due process" and a political move, and saying they would "take all appropriate action" in response.
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.
The U.S. government has approved the sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2025
U.S. approves sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to Japan
The sale is designed to strengthen Japan's deterrence against threats from China and others in the Indo-Pacific region.
A United Steelworkers sign is seen outside the Great Lakes Works United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan, in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 3, 2025
Biden to block U.S. Steel sale to Nippon Steel, source says
Biden's call to block the deal was taken despite contrary efforts by some senior advisers concerned that it could hurt U.S.- Japan relations.
On the first day of the 2000s, the world was relieved that the Y2K computer glitch was mostly nothing. And in Russia, Vladimir Putin came to power.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2025
Japan Times 2000: Japanese celebrate new year
Check out what was on the front page on Jan. 1 in 1925, 1950, 1975 and 2000.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2025
Nippon Steel offers U.S. government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval
The Japanese firm offered to give the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel's production capacity.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 24. Ishiba has, unsuccessfully, sought to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump since November, with Trump’s team saying at the time that no meetings with foreign leaders would take place before his January inauguration.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2024
Ishiba rules out pre-inauguration meeting with Trump
Ishiba had sought a mid-January meeting with Trump but said over the weekend that sooner didn't necessarily mean better when it came to talks with the incoming U.S. president.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira share a laugh ahead of talks in Tokyo in June 1979.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 30, 2024
Jimmy Carter's surprising connection to Japan: his Christian faith
The former U.S. president, who died Sunday, bonded with his counterpart, Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, over their shared faith.
Atsushi Mimura, vice minister of finance for international affairs, speaks during an interview at the ministry on Dec. 20.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 30, 2024
Japan sees G7 role increasing in divided world
"There are not many countries like Japan that can speak with the U.S. on equal terms," said top financial diplomat Atsushi Mimura.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan