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Japan

Yesterday

Containers at the port of Hamburg. Donald Trump’s trade war has revived EU interest in trade deals with Asia.

EU eyes closer ties to trans-Pacific bloc as Trump jolts trade order

Plans to build stronger links between Brussels and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership have gained momentum.

April

From our factory to your living room floor: Employees produce Christmas stuffed toys for export in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province of China.

China’s export orders plunge in alarming first look at tariff damage

China’s factory activity slipped into the worst contraction since December 2023, revealing an early impact of Donald Trump’s trade war.

Amanda Lacaze, CEO Lynas Rare Earths.

Lynas blasts Labor over critical minerals stockpile plan

Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze has warned Labor’s critical minerals stockpile will be counterproductive and may damage Australia’s only rare earths producer.

 Xi Jinping during a meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam in Hanoi, Vietnam this week.

Japan eyes pact with China, South Korea as trade war hedge

Tokyo signals renewed interest in negotiations with a personal letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Donald Trump has signalled tariffs on Chinese imports will come down.

‘We’re going to be very nice.’ Trump vows lower tariffs on China

The president told reporters he would not play hardball with Chinese President Xi Jinping and tariffs on imports from the country would fall significantly after a deal. 

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Containers pile up at a terminal in Shanghai. China says it wants to work with other countries against unilateral “bullying”.

China warns nations not to cut US trade deals at its expense

While it respects nations resolving their trade disputes with the US, Beijing “resolutely opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests”.

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Grill’d burnt over pay; Protesters target PM; Forget 60/40 under Trump

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Donald Trump’s tariffs are creating some winners in Asian stocks.

These longtime losers are winning from Trump’s trade war

Supermarkets in Japan and China have surged 19 per cent since the US president began his trade war. Here’s why they are a favourite of Goldman and Morgan Stanley.

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Employment jumps; No Fed bailouts coming; ASX pressured on James Hardie

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

President Donald Trump has met with Japan’s trade representatives.

Little progress in US-Japan trade talks despite Trump’s claims

The two-day trade talks come as both sides address the 24 per cent “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on Japanese goods, along with an earlier 25 per cent tariff on cars.

United Airlines has cautioned that the macro environment was “impossible to predict this year with any degree of confidence”.

Trump’s trade war uncertainty ripples through the business world

US airlines have said they are bracing for an uncertain summer travel season, and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell noted slowing economic activity.

Packing bottles of Awamori in an Okinawa distillary.

Is awamori Japan’s most underrated spirit?

Once reserved for royalty, awamori is Okinawa’s ancient island spirit, which is finally getting the attention it deserves.

Australian Oscar Piastri celebrates his win in Bahrain.

‘Pretty damn fun’: Piastri earns serene Bahrain GP win

The Australian became the season’s first repeat winner in four races, while leading McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to settle for third at the desert circuit.

What will China’s latest move to restrict exports to counter Trump do to a US car manufacturing industry in turmoil

China weaponises rare earths in tariff war

China’s dominance in processing rare earths metals and high-performance magnets means Beijing’s curbs on the crucial exports are a major threat to US manufacturing.

Apple has been given a huge reprieve in the tariff war.

Trump exempts smartphones from China tariffs in climbdown

The US administration’s move is the first sign of a softening of levies against China and provides a big boost for Apple and Nvidia.

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US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.

The man who got Trump to do a ‘liberation day’ U-turn

Scott Bessent, described by the president “as one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street” helped change Trump’s tariff stance. His next moves will be crucial.

Kearney ANZ managing partner Adam Dixon.

How the Japanese concept of Ikigai helped engage a workplace

Kearney has earned a spot as a finalist in the Consulting category, for encouraging staff to find a reason for being or a purpose in life.

Walking the talk: Sentinel Property Group chief executive Warren Ebert travelled to Japan last month seeking capital to buy under-valued office properties in Brisbane and expects to go back “every six weeks” until he completes his first deal.

Sentinel takes Brisbane office property deals to Japan

The commercial real estate investor is seeking capital for the first time overseas in a change of pace for the Queensland company.

The first morning train leaving Hatsushima station after the new building, made from 3D-printed components, was assembled in Arida, Japan.

How Japan built a 3D-printed train station in 6 hours

In the hours between the last train departing the night before and the first one arriving in the morning, workers put up an entirely new building.

A Japanese LNG tanker at a JERA thermal power station in greater Tokyo.

Japan warns on Dutton’s gas reservation policy

A Tokyo think tank says limiting sales into the regional spot market could “handicap” Australian producers and trim Japanese trading in South-East Asia.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/japan-b1c