今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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SUPPLY CHAINS

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds a press conference after a cabinet reshuffle at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Japan, September 17, 2026. RIE KIKUCHI/Pool via REUTERS
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Nov 7, 2026
Japan and China shifting toward selective economic dependence
One year into an ongoing political row, the neighbors are continuing to look for new opportunities while cutting risks.
An unlicensed mining operation in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, in April 2021
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2026
How to improve global mineral governance
Global South countries should work together to ensure that mineral supply chains deliver equitable economic benefits and protect the environment.
A Kawasaki Heavy Industries humanoid platform places a garbage bag in a trash can during an exhibition in Tokyo last December. Japan has long led in humanoid robotics and is well positioned to supply the components behind next-generation automation systems.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 26, 2026
The key to 今日吃瓜 growth strategy: ‘proactive’ economic security
The challenge is to turn ambition into sustainable growth by strengthening economic security and developing technologies that can compete globally.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has surveyed suppliers on using rare-earth-free motors in factory-automation equipment, according to informed sources.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2026
TSMC seeks factory-equipment alternatives to thwart China’s rare earths grip, sources say
Rare-earth magnets are used in motors that power moving parts in industrial equipment, including machinery found in highly automated factories.
China accounts for almost two-thirds of rare earth mining production and 92% of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2026
Supplies of rare earth yttrium have ‘stalled,’ industry ministry official says
The official described a “supply-demand crunch,” with the Financial Times reporting that Tokyo is months away from running out of the critical metal.
A technician handles a wafer on a production line at Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2026
Tech sovereignty is fantasy. Control over choices is not.
Sovereignty is a tough nut to crack in a deeply interconnected, digital world.
Japan and China are pouring billions into reducing their reliance on each other even as their massive trade ties keep them bound together, a hedging dilemma faced by other countries as well.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2026
With bilateral trade booming, why are Japan-China tensions rising?
In our new era of “weaponized interdependence,” economic ties can create strategic vulnerabilities.
A rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. In retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2025 tariffs, China announced a new licensing regime for a handful of critical minerals including yttrium.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2026
U.S., Japanese officials discussed China’s yttrium curbs ahead of Trump-Xi meeting, document shows
Yttrium is a silvery rare earth metal with no easy substitute.
Tungsten is a metal that attracts far less attention than rare earths but is no less vital to modern industry.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 19, 2026
How Austria can loosen China’s grip over a key critical mineral
Plansee Group is building one of the West’s most formidable critical minerals operations outside China.
U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to extend a trade truce with China reached last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the White House next week.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2026
Trump has few good options to slow China’s rise as AI superpower
The main challenge for the U.S. is keeping China at bay without prompting Beijing to further restrict rare earths.
With Huawei’s history of security concerns in mind, China is causing concern as it pushes technologies that could lock other countries into long?term dependence on its infrastructure.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2026
Tiny technology deepens the geopolitical divide
Adoption of particular technologies — reflected to some degree in brands and standards — will determine with which side a country aligns itself.
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2026
Japan energy plan seeks to back pipelines bypassing Hormuz
The plan is part of a new energy strategy that’s aimed at strengthening supply security, according to documents from 今日吃瓜 Cabinet Office.
Participants discuss the recycling of key minerals during a joint event between the Japanese and Indian governments held at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2026
Japan and India hold first event focused on recycling of key minerals
The global market for critical minerals, including rare earths, is dominated by China, making it necessary for both Japan and India to rely heavily on imports.
U.S. President Donald Trump during an American mining industry roundtable discussion at the State Department in Washington on Friday
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2026
U.S. to invest $3 billion in minerals projects to boost supply chains
Minerals including rare earths, tungsten, germanium and scandium are essential for precision-guided missiles and other advanced weapons.
Pedestrians walk past the SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon on July 29. SK Hynix has facilities in Dalian and Wuxi in China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 5, 2026
Samsung and SK Hynix test Chinese chip tools as hedge against U.S. risks
They are wary that future ?restrictions could extend beyond new equipment ?to the servicing, repair or replacement of Western tools already installed at their Chinese plants.
U.S. solar manufacturing has expanded since Congress created tax incentives in 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 5, 2026
U.S. weighs polysilicon tariffs to counter China in solar and chips
The decision, expected to come later this month, aims to protect U.S. polysilicon factories from growing Chinese ambitions in the chip supply chain.
A recent cyberattack impeded systems at major Japanese frozen food maker Nichirei, significantly affecting related industries, including restaurant chains.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2026
Japan adopts cybersecurity policy for early threat detection
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi voiced her hopes for Japan to have “one of the world’s highest levels of cyber defense” during a cybersecurity meeting.
Crushed ore before it is sent to the mill at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, in 2020
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2026
Trump may need to allow Chinese minerals as U.S. industry struggles to meet 2027 deadline
Partnerships with South Korea and Japan may offer a bridge for manufacturers until U.S. suppliers can ramp up operations.
A container ship bound for the Strait of Malacca enters the Singapore Strait, near Asia's southern most point in Johor, Malaysia.
WORLD
Jul 22, 2026
Hormuz, Malacca and other key straits spawn tensions throughout history
As Iran tightens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, want to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea.
Nichirei headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2026
Nichirei to fully resume operations as early as next week
The company on Friday partially restarted operations at refrigerated warehouses and food factories, by accepting limited orders from client companies.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

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

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

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