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.
Waymo and Toyota have agreed to explore bringing L4 robotaxi technology to personally owned vehicles. We unpack how Waymo's sensor-heavy approach differs from Tesla's camera-only FSD and China's Baidu Apollo, and what this means for Toyota's strategic direction.
Waseda University, JAXA, the University of Tokyo, and Keio University have completed Japan's first Mach 5 combustion test using a hypersonic experimental aircraft. How does Japan's passenger-focused strategy compare with the US (Hermeus, Lockheed) and a militarily advanced China?
Japan pulled rare earth mud from 6,000m down in February 2026, but the 'Rare Metal King' Shigeo Nakamura says don't commercialize it. His counterintuitive argument: Minami-Torishima's 16 million tons is worth more as a silent deterrent co-held with the US than as a commercial mine. We unpack Nakamura's career, his 'don't mine, but keep the capacity' thesis, and how it compares to the US SPR, Project Vault, and Chinese stockpile strategy.
At the G7 finance ministers' expanded meeting on April 17, 2026 in Washington, members aligned on strengthening critical mineral supply chains. Japan committed $20M each to the Asian and Inter-American Development Banks, marking a pivot to the resource-country funding phase. From the Japan-EU BRT proposal to the Kananaskis CMAP, C$6.4B (~US$4.6B) in unlocked projects, and now MDB funding, progress is real. But China still processes 90% of rare earths. A sober assessment of whether 'slow but steady' is actually fast enough.
Japan and Australia signed the New FFM joint development contract, worth up to AUD 20 billion. We unpack the quasi-alliance behind this de facto warship export, and the Takaichi government's push to scrap the 'Five Categories' and allow lethal weapon exports.
In spring 2026, Japan and the United States began building a three-layered rare earth alliance: Treasury Secretary Bessent's May visit, Mitsubishi Materials' stake in US recycler ReElement, and Proterial's breakthrough heavy-rare-earth-free magnet. Here is what this quiet realignment means for the global critical minerals map.
Nine months after the Japan-EU BRT proposal, the rare earth landscape has transformed: 55-nation pricing agreements, an EU center modeled on Japan's JOGMEC, and $1.3B US funding. But can the West truly break China's grip?
China's carrier Liaoning conducted flight operations near Minamitorishima — Japan's remote rare earth island. With Beijing tightening export controls in retaliation for PM Takaichi's Taiwan remarks, and a US-Japan rare earth partnership signed at the March 2026 summit, this is no longer just about minerals. It's a geopolitical power game with South China Sea parallels.
Honda faces its first-ever annual loss since going public in 1957, with up to $15.7 billion in EV-related write-downs. Three flagship EVs cancelled, Sony-Honda AFEELA scrapped, and China sales declining for 25 straight months. We break down the crisis, analyze Honda's hybrid pivot and May 2026 strategy reveal, and share Japanese and global reactions.
In March 2026, Japan and the US signed an MOC on deep-sea mineral development. But overseas coverage missed the real story: Japan's successful 6,000m rare-earth mud retrieval, China's dual-use export ban, and 14 years of research that made this moment possible.
Itochu Corporation launches a joint venture with America's largest e-recycler ERI to tap Japan's urban mines for rare metals. With Chinese lithium giants also eyeing the market, we break down the business battle over Japan's hidden treasure trove of 6,800 tons of gold and 60,000 tons of silver.
Japan's 2025 Business Manager Visa reform — raising capital requirements from $33,000 to $200,000 — is forcing authentic Chinese restaurants to close across Tokyo. Owner-chefs who serve rare regional cuisines face impossible new hurdles. A look at how immigration policy is reshaping Japan's food diversity.
Four Japanese companies formed J-HRTI, a consortium to accelerate humanoid robot deployment in factories. With Japan's first private data collection center opening in July 2026, the initiative takes a unique approach focused on industrial data and real-world implementation amid fierce US-China competition.
Japan is seeing new momentum in chip design. Fabless startups like TRIPLE-1 and Socionext challenge Chinese giant Bitmain's dominance in mining ASICs. We explore Japan's emerging role in chip design, Rapidus's 2nm mass production plans, TSMC partnerships, and positioning amid the US-China semiconductor rivalry.
Kioxia has developed foundational 3D DRAM technology using IGZO oxide semiconductors, signaling the NAND-only maker's bold entry into the DRAM market. Behind this challenge: exploding AI demand and the physical limits of current memory. We break down the competition with Samsung, SK hynix, and China's CXMT.
Japan's 10th CBDC expert council meeting reveals concrete design plans for the digital yen, focusing on privacy protection and coexistence with private payment systems. As China pilots the e-CNY, the EU targets a 2029 digital euro launch, and the US bans CBDCs outright, Japan charts a cautious yet practical middle path in the global digital currency race.
Chinese mobile payment platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay are rapidly expanding across Japan, driven by surging inbound tourism. While convenient for businesses and tourists alike, transactions bypassing Japan's financial system raise serious tax compliance concerns. Finance Minister Katayama calls it a 'grave issue' and vows G7 cooperation.
Yaskawa's June 2026 plan puts 120 billion yen into Physical AI. FANUC published a ROS 2 driver on GitHub and partnered with both NVIDIA and Google. Mujin raised 36.4 billion. Japan still owns 35% of an industrial robot's cost through precision reducers, but the killer app hasn't shown up.
