China's rare earth magnet shipments to Japan fell 52.2% in July 2026 while US-bound shipments rose 4.6%. Japan tells itself pressure breeds breakthroughs. Optical glass and neodymium magnets agree; aluminium does not.
On August 24 Takaichi pledged continued aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia at the Kyiv summit. Japan also draws 8.9% of its LNG from Russia, and a US Senate bill counts it among the top five buyers of Russian gas.
Japan's trade ministry is reportedly winding down the Cool Japan Fund and its 54 billion yen in losses. Hours later it published a strategy targeting 20 trillion yen in content exports by 2033.
Pacific fishing nations agreed on August 18, 2026 to raise the quota for bluefin tuna over 30 kilograms by 25 percent, to 14,836 tons in the western Pacific, and to cut the quota for juveniles by 6 percent.
From November 1, 2026, Japan drops instant tax exemption at the register. Visitors pay full price and get the 10% consumption tax back only after customs confirms the goods are leaving.
Metaplanet moved 5,014 BTC between its own custody addresses for about $8 in fees, and the market assumed a sale. Why nobody believed the denial, and what the balance sheet says.
Japan's 2025 seafood output fell to 3,577,400 tonnes, the lowest since 1956, while FAO puts world production at 235 million tonnes. Comparing quota rules with Norway and the US shows why fewer fishermen isn't the answer.
Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 put the Michibiki No. 7 satellite into orbit on August 11, 2026, the first operational payload since the No. 8 failure. The seven-satellite goal now waits on fiscal 2031.
Japan's calorie-based food self-sufficiency fell to a record-low 37% in fiscal 2025 while the production-value measure rose to 66%. A 48% rise in rice prices moved both. By production value, Japan ranks above the US.
On August 7 Japan's Financial Services Agency turns its crypto team from a councillor's office three levels down into a standalone division, one of five created that day. The EU and US answer it differently.
Japan's food exports hit 897.7 billion yen (about $5.7 billion) in the first half of 2026, a record. Green tea rose 83.5% and yellowtail 69.0%, but the yen was 5.5% weaker, so about half the growth was currency.