Medicines available in the US and Europe that Japanese patients cannot get. We unpack Japan's drug loss problem: the count falling from 86 to 78, a new fiscal-2026 budget, and the fresh risk posed by Trump's drug-pricing executive order.
In May 2026 Toyota canceled the Lexus LF-ZC, its next-gen EV—but it killed the car, not the tech. Why investment in gigacasting and solid-state batteries continues, compared with Tesla's own gigacasting retreat.
On May 29, 2026, Mitsubishi unveiled a mid-to-long-term vision reviving the Pajero after seven years and turning it into a series. With a ~1 trillion yen ($6.3B) investment, a hybrid pivot, and Nissan-built US vehicles to dodge tariffs, the comeback rides a global wave of heritage-SUV revivals.
In spring 2026, Honda wrote off roughly $10 billion in EV development. That same season, the final modules of ITER's 3,000-tonne central solenoid arrived in France, the UK's Pulsar Fusion ignited the first plasma inside a fusion rocket engine, and Kyoto Fusioneering moved to bring its integrated fusion fuel cycle pilot online in Canada. Stack the candidates in watt-hours per kilo and the picture is brutal: nothing beats gasoline in a form you can put in a car — except one category up, fusion, at 7.8 million times the density. Win the bet and you unlock effectively free electricity, working climate reversal, Mars in two months, lunar helium-3, and the solar system as a shipping route. Honda's mistake alone covers nearly 40 percent of ITER's budget. Maybe it's time to stop arguing about EVs and just go build the sun.
Subaru cut its FY2026 operating profit forecast by 900 billion yen to just 40 billion yen, a 90% year-on-year plunge announced May 11. Beyond US tariffs, a North American cold wave, Middle East shipping disruptions, and EV asset impairment from Trump's environmental rollback all hit at once. Why does Subaru—with 80% North America sales reliance—suffer most among Japanese automakers?
On May 8, 2026, the US Department of War launched war.gov/UFO and released 162 UAP files in one go—including a football-shaped object filmed near Japan by Indo-Pacific Command in January 2023, Apollo 12 and 17 lunar surface photos, and orange orbs agents compared to the 'Eye of Sauron'. We break down what is actually in the release and how Japan is reacting, from yakisoba puns to distraction-theory skepticism.
Private estimates put Japan's April 30 yen-buying intervention at around 5 trillion yen ($32B). Here's what it means for the US-Japan rate gap, carry trade unwind, US Treasury monitoring list risk, and emerging market spillover.
Japan has procured Russian crude for the first time since the Strait of Hormuz blockade — a Sakhalin-2 spot cargo bound for Taiyo Oil's Imabari refinery in Ehime Prefecture, arriving May 4. Behind the move lies the controversial 'Sakhalin exception' to G7 sanctions, extended through June 2026. We unpack the structural vulnerability that no amount of moral diplomacy can hide, and compare Japan's response to Germany, South Korea, and India.
JBIC and Japan's three megabanks have signed off on $2.221 billion in loans for the first three projects of a $550 billion US investment package—the price Tokyo paid to bring Trump's tariffs down from 25% to 15%. We unpack the deal, the dollar-funding crunch, and why critics call it a 'vaporware' bet.
Mazda will end domestic production of its signature compact car Mazda2 (formerly Demio) at the end of August 2026. We explore the 30-year legacy of the car that saved Mazda from bankruptcy in the 1990s, and what this means for Japan's shrinking compact car market.
Japan's gasoline has hit record highs, dialysis tubing is running out, and bathtubs can't be shipped. With 95% of crude oil coming from the Middle East, pivoting to the world's largest oil producer, America, seems like a perfect Win-Win. But refinery design, tanker size, the Panama Canal bottleneck, and an ironic naphtha yield problem all stand in the way. Here's why the obvious solution isn't simple.
A rigorous evaluation of Nissan's triple strategy against a global EV slowdown. With Trump's tax credit repeal, China's sales slump, Honda canceling its 0 series, and BloombergNEF cutting EV forecasts by 14 million units, is this Nissan's genuine breakthrough or just the fifth failed long-term plan in six years? Surprisingly, the EV slowdown might actually be a tailwind for Nissan. Here is why.
Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi publicly criticized the White House at an April 17 Diet session over its use of Nintendo's Wii Sports footage in an Iran strike propaganda video. As Nintendo already sues the US over tariffs, here's how Japanese IP ended up at the center of a diplomatic spat, and how Reddit is reacting.
Japan's Economy Minister Akazawa called BOJ policy to boost the yen 'one option' to curb Iran-driven inflation. With USD/JPY near 160 and a 60% chance of a BOJ rate hike on April 28, we explain why a cabinet minister weighing in on forex policy is so unusual.
TDK will manufacture TMR sensors for Apple in the U.S. for the first time as part of Apple's expanded American Manufacturing Program, with $400 million invested through 2030. We examine how Trump-era reshoring pressure is reshaping supply chains for Japanese component makers including Murata and Taiyo Yuden.
Former BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has proposed a 'coalition of the willing' among Japan, the EU, and Southeast Asian nations to preserve free trade amid WTO dysfunction and Trump-era tariffs. His proposal calls for expanding frameworks like the CPTPP and strengthening economic security cooperation.
Trump tariffs triggered a massive production shift by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru from Japan to the US. With $35 billion in annual tariff costs industry-wide, we explore each maker's strategy, the impact on 5.5 million Japanese jobs, and how this echoes the 1980s trade wars.
Trump told nations to 'go get your own oil.' Japan imports 93% of its crude from the Middle East — so what would a serious Japanese oil retrieval fleet actually look like? From helicopter carriers to world-class minesweepers, we assemble a fantasy task force, explore the legal hurdles, and see how the internet reacted to this wild thought experiment.
Sony Honda Mobility has cancelled its AFEELA EV just months before its planned launch. With Honda posting a record $4.6 billion loss and abandoning its 2040 zero-engine goal, we analyze what went wrong—from Trump's EV policy rollback to BYD's rise—and what it means for Japan's auto industry.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has announced a $500 billion AI data center campus at a former uranium enrichment site in Ohio—the largest single-site investment in history. With 21 Japanese and American companies involved and 9.2 GW of gas-fired power, this project reshapes the global AI infrastructure race. Here's what Japan thinks.