Japanese tech and trading giants NTT Data, Sumitomo Corporation, and JA Mitsui Leasing establish Intra-Asia Marine Networks to build and operate the I-AM Cable connecting Japan with Southeast Asia. The $1 billion project features 320Tbps capacity and aims to strengthen Japan's position as Asia-Pacific data hub by 2029.
A new mineral called Takanawaite discovered in Mt. Takanawa, Ehime Prefecture contains rare earth elements. However, commercial development faces three major barriers: mining volume, stable supply, and radioactive waste processing. This article explores Japan's path to becoming a "resource power" alongside the Minamitorishima seabed development project.
China threatens rare earth export bans following PM Takaichi's Taiwan comments. After 15 years since the 2010 Senkaku crisis, Japan's preparedness through supply chain diversification is now the model for the US, Europe, and Australia accelerating their "de-risking" from China.
Japan's labor shortage bankruptcies reached a record 427 cases in 2025. A critical shift has emerged: employee turnover is now causing more business failures than recruitment difficulties. With 77% of affected companies having fewer than 10 employees, small businesses unable to match wage increases are being pushed out. This article explores the structural challenges in Japan's labor market and how the "quit-driven" bankruptcy phenomenon is reshaping the business landscape.
Japan keeps pushing its cashless payment ratio higher, yet a handful of stores are switching back to cash only. One supermarket dropped card payments to save 20 million yen a year in fees and cut its prices instead. Here is what merchant fees actually cost, and why this reversal is happening in Japan of all places.
In January 2026 the yen slid past 159 to the dollar for the first time in about 18 months, and Vice Finance Minister Jun Mimura said Japan would rule out no measures, a clear hint at intervention. Here is what drove the slide after reports of a snap election, and how Japan has intervened before. Update: a record 11.7 trillion yen of intervention followed in April and May.
Osaka Expo 2025 closed in October with 29.02 million visitors and a ¥3.6 trillion economic impact. In December the association revised its operating surplus up to ¥32-37 billion, beating Aichi Expo. Here is what made the expo profitable, and what the figures leave out.
CATL has taken sodium-ion cells into mass production. They can be shipped at 0V, which all but removes the fire risk in transit, they hold about 90 percent of their performance at -40°C, and they run past 10,000 charge cycles. Here is where the energy density problem still stands.
Author Ken Honda cites a ghostwriter charging 50,000 yen, about $350, per letter. Actual Japanese market rates run 1,000 to 5,500 yen, an order of magnitude lower. So what does it say that the price can be argued for at all in the AI era?
With Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) at a market cap of roughly 27 trillion yen and its domestic business past one trillion yen in revenue, a single brand holds nearly 10% of Japan's apparel market. Explore how legacy brands like Onward and Sanyo Shokai are pivoting to survive in this new era.
Yoshinoya Holdings plans to quintuple its ramen revenue to 40 billion yen in five years and reach 500 stores, aiming to serve more bowls of ramen than anyone in the world by fiscal 2034. Why is Japan's beef bowl king betting on ramen, and can the strategy work?