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August 13, 2026
 

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Weilun Soon
A ship off the port of Aden, where traffic remained steady after the Iran-aligned Houthis said their forces had carried out missile and drone strikes on Saudi oil tankers, in Aden, Yemen, on July 23.
WORLD
Jul 28, 2026
Tankers divert to Egypt as Houthi threat upends Red Sea trade
The Saudi export hub became crucial after the Iran war started, allowing the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on July 1
WORLD
Jul 6, 2026
Oil and gas tankers cross Hormuz via Oman-side route after U-turns
The oil market is fixated on what¡¯s moving through Hormuz and how, as ships try to avoid Iran¡¯s military as they come and go.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked since the Iran war began in late February and has been subject to an international diplomatic arm wrestle ever since.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2026
Hormuz oil flows creep higher as more supertankers exit
Four ships each hauling 2 million barrels of mostly-Iraqi crude have exited since May 10 ¡ª?a rate close to 2 million barrels a day ¡ª according to vessel tracking data.
An Eneos gasoline tanker truck in Yokohama. An Eneos crude oil supertanker has passed through the Strait of ?Hormuz, ship-tracking data shows.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
Japanese crude tanker emerges outside Hormuz in rare transit
The tanker is listed as part of refiner Eneos Holdings¡¯?fleet.
A gasoline tanker truck at an Idemitsu Kosan gas station in Tokyo. The supertanker is listed as being operated by the tanker arm of the Japanese energy conglomerate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 29, 2026
Japanese crude supertanker may have exited Strait of Hormuz in war first
The supertanker linked to Japan is carrying 2 million barrels of crude, which was loaded from Saudi Arabia¡¯s Juaymah terminal in early March.
A screen tracks the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, in the control room of Hapag-Lloyd, a shipping giant in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2026
Trump¡¯s Hormuz blockade has deepened a historic shipping crisis
Crude output from the Persian Gulf nations is already 57% below where it was before the war, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.
A liquefied natural gas tanker is seen at a port in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2026
Shipowners eye Hormuz ceasefire window for 800 trapped vessels
The near-closure of the vital waterway has created an unprecedented global energy supply crunch, as Iran tightened its control in the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes.
A police speedboat patrols as oil tankers and high-speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday in Muscat, Oman.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2026
Secret codes and yuan fees get ships through Iran¡¯s Hormuz tollbooth
Ship owners and operators face difficult legal questions over whether they should pay Iran¡¯s tolls and which rules, sanctions and conventions may be applied to them.
A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, in United Arab Emirates on March 11. So far in March, barely six vessels per day on average have traversed the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the world, in either direction. That compares with about 135 a day in normal times, according to ship-tracking data.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2026
Iran¡¯s grip on Strait of Hormuz tighter than ever after first month of war
The near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz has proved an exceptionally effective asymmetric weapon in Iran¡¯s fight against two of the world¡¯s most powerful countries.
An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China in 2022.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2025
Major Chinese ports keep Iranian oil flowing despite sanctions
From January to June, terminals in the port clusters around Qingdao, Dalian and Zhoushan have helped China purchase almost 1.4 million barrels a day of Iranian crude.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines President and CEO Takeshi Hashimoto speaks during an interview in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2025
Japanese gas tanker giant sees difficulty buying Chinese vessels
Washington has issued a flurry of measures since President Donald Trump took office aimed at curbing China¡¯s maritime dominance and reviving its own flagging shipbuilding industry.
The global shipping industry is also contending with U.S. measures beyond the barrage of levies.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2025
World¡¯s trade superhighway feels strain from U.S.-China decoupling
Among signs of disruption are plunging fees, fewer services and a pall of uncertainty over what for decades has been one the main maritime highways of the global economy.
Workers at the Cosco Shipping Holding shipyard in Qidong, Jiangsu province, China, on Oct. 8, 2024
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 24, 2025
Billion-dollar U.S. levies on Chinese ships risk ¡®trade apocalypse¡¯
The levies could theoretically generate between $40 billion and $52 billion for U.S. coffers.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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