NEC has completed the East Micronesia Cable System (EMCS), a 2,250-kilometer optical submarine cable that gives three Pacific island nations their first-ever fiber connectivity. For Tarawa, Nauru, and Kosrae, roughly 100,000 people who had only known the 600-millisecond delay of satellite internet, the upgrade is transformative. The backstory is equally striking: in 2018, China's HMN Tech (formerly Huawei Marine) underbid NEC and Alcatel Submarine Networks by more than 20%. A 2020 US diplomatic warning to Micronesia, the World Bank's withdrawal, and a 2021 Japan-US-Australia rescue plan rewrote the project. Five years later, the cable is in the water.
On May 18, 2026, the full content of Japan's LDP proposal for revising its three security documents was revealed. Early deployment of interceptor drones, sustained warfighting capability lasting 'at least a year,' early-warning drones over the Pacific, next-generation submarines with long-range missiles: here's what Japan's future defense posture looks like, shaped by Ukraine war lessons and China deterrence.
Caviar's definition of 'best' has shifted from geography to aquaculture technology. As China supplies 60% of the world's farmed caviar and Russian product disappears under sanctions, a landlocked Japanese prefecture is challenging the global hierarchy with a hybrid land-based farming system that combines patented closed-loop tech with rare ultra-soft spring water.
Hokkaido Hamanasu Foods, a natto maker in Ebetsu, has grown its exports 60-fold in eight years, almost entirely to China, where Beijing supermarkets stock Japanese-labeled four-pack sets that take 80% of shelf sales. Prefecture-wide natto exports hit 640 million yen in 2025, five times the level seven years earlier. Back home, Mizkan suspended four natto products in May 2026 as Middle East tensions disrupted packaging supplies. Plus: the science of Bacillus subtilis and where to buy natto abroad.
Rohm posted a record 158.4 billion yen net loss for fiscal 2026 after writing down 193.6 billion yen on SiC power semiconductor assets. CEO Katsumi Azuma called it clearing out the pus, a blunt admission that Japan's biggest SiC bet was mistimed. With Wolfspeed out of Chapter 11 but smaller, Chinese rivals cutting wafer prices to a third, Denso's takeover approach withdrawn and a three-way merger under discussion, the silicon carbide gold rush has hit its reset moment.
Japan's ruling LDP has asked the government to build a dedicated rare earth mining vessel for ~100 billion yen ($640M) at Minamitorishima, handing the proposal to Prime Minister Takaichi on June 12, 2026. Why JAMSTEC's Chikyu isn't enough, the roadmap from the February 2027 demonstration test to FY2028 industrialization, and how Japan's approach compares with the US, EU and Australia.
Sony Semiconductor Solutions has signed an MOU with TSMC to form a next-generation image sensor joint venture. Why is the 51% market leader pairing with Taiwan instead of going it alone? We compare it with the US CHIPS Act, EU Chips Act, and Korea's K-Chips Act, and explore the Apple-Samsung tug-of-war shaping the physical-AI era.
Japan's vacuum equipment leader ULVAC is reshoring production of vacuum melting furnaces for rare earth magnets, with orders from US and European manufacturers projected to roughly triple. With over 70% global share in continuous vacuum furnaces, Japan's equipment dominance becomes a geopolitical asset.
Nissan, in the midst of its Re:Nissan recovery plan, will cut about 900 European jobs (10% of the regional workforce) and consolidate two production lines into one at its UK Sunderland plant. With utilization at roughly 50%, China's Chery is in talks to take over the freed-up line. We unpack what this means alongside Volkswagen and Stellantis restructuring, against the backdrop of Chinese EV pressure squeezing Europe's auto industry.
Seventeen years after Starbucks rolled out matcha latte globally, Japanese tea prices have tripled in a year and China now produces 5,000 tons of matcha—matching Japan. Inside the supply structure that pushed 38 major Japanese tea firms to issue an emergency statement.
On May 4 in Canberra, PM Takaichi and PM Albanese signed five joint documents including the Economic Security Joint Declaration. Six critical mineral projects backed by $1.2B. How Japan's approach differs from the US IRA and EU CRMA, and what it means for global supply chains.
Tourist numbers up from 5,000 to 120,000 a year, sea ice at record lows, emperor penguins now Endangered. What ATCM48 in Hiroshima settled, and what it left unresolved.
Researcher Yohei Kawai and Professor Shin Kaneko at Kyoto University's CiRA have established a way to induce helper T cells, the conductors of the immune system, from human iPS cells without mouse feeder cells. The paper ran in Molecular Therapy on January 20, 2026. Why this matters against the three structural limits of CAR-T therapy, and where Japan stands against Fate Therapeutics in the US and China's sheer trial volume.
On May 2, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi met Vietnam's new PM Le Minh Hung in Hanoi. Amid Middle East instability, Japan agreed to underwrite crude purchases for the Nghi Son refinery through NEXI, the first project under the Power Asia framework, and to work with Hanoi on rare earths and other critical minerals. In a speech at Vietnam National University, Takaichi set out three pillars for an evolved Free and Open Indo-Pacific: supply chains, shared rules, and security. How it differs from US friendshoring and the EU's Global Gateway.
In March 2026 Sony signed binding agreements to move its TV business into BRAVIA Inc., a joint venture with China's TCL holding 51% and Sony 49%, starting operations in April 2027. Why Sony is letting go of its Trinitron-era icon, how Hawk-Eye and sports entertainment became the new home for its electronics ambitions, and what global investors should watch.
Global matcha production has roughly doubled in just five years. Japan can no longer meet world demand alone, and Chinese matcha is rapidly filling the gap. Should matcha be defended as Japanese cultural heritage, or embraced as a global beverage? We explore the strategic crossroads facing Japan's matcha industry.
Fujitsu is doubling down on its sovereign AI strategy with the FUJITSU-MONAKA CPU series, choosing Rapidus as a manufacturing partner and 'coexisting' with NVIDIA's GPUs rather than competing. We compare Japan's hybrid approach to China's fully autonomous Loongson (LoongArch) and Europe's Arm-based SiPearl, revealing how Japan's pragmatic balance defines a third path in global chip sovereignty.
JAL launches Japan's first humanoid robot trial at Haneda Airport in May 2026. Chinese-made Unitree G1 and UBTECH Walker E will handle cargo loading and cabin cleaning, Japan's bipedal answer to its aging workforce and aviation labor crisis.
Honda will end four-wheeler sales in South Korea by the end of 2026, closing a 23-year chapter with cumulative sales of just 108,600 cars. The retreat coincides with China factory shutdowns from June 2026, the cancellation of the Sony-Honda AFEELA EV, and scrapped North American EV plans, part of a sweeping strategy to concentrate resources on the US, Japan, India, and ASEAN. A deep dive for global readers.
On April 14, 2026, the headline from Nissan's long-term vision wasn't rare earths or robotaxis, it was the return of the Skyline, the continuation of the GT-R, the revival of the Xterra, and the debut of the all-new X-Trail/Rogue e-POWER and Juke EV. Here's Espinosa's 56-to-45 model cull, the new 'Heartbeat' classification, and how Japan, the US, and China each get distinct lineups as Nissan walks a standalone path after the Honda merger collapse.
