US semiconductor wafer maker AXT said it would seek permits to keep exporting gallium and germanium substrate products from China, after Beijing abruptly imposed export controls on the metals.

Readers discuss the rich world’s support for the Fukushima water release plan, a win-win for Hong Kong and golf, and a compromise on Fanling.

Japan’s annual ‘Rising Horse’ festival sees the animals forced to run up a steep hill and clear a two-metre high ‘wall’ while being slapped, yelled at, and hit with ropes, sticks and whips.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear but witnesses said they had smelled gas before the explosion.

Worn-out workers are guaranteed the right to quit under Japan’s laws, but some employers used to an old-style hierarchy just can’t accept that someone they have trained would want to walk away.

As Nato upgrades its ties with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the wider region is ‘generally happy’ to have Western powers’ support to help balance China’s influence, observers say – despite lingering concerns about security initiatives.

Readers discuss the reasons to promote the city’s space sector, keeping Hong Kong clean and tidy, and Japan’s plan to release nuclear waste water into the ocean.

Xi Jinping’s recent remarks on Ryukyu will ‘exacerbate relations’ between Okinawa and Tokyo, analysts say, disrupting defence plans involving the southern prefecture and US military assets based there.

Okinawan governor Denny Tamaki – who has long opposed US military bases in his prefecture – is expected to visit China from Monday.

‘As a mother raising two children, I can’t just sit back and do nothing,’ said a woman, who recently bought 5kg of salt.

The US and Japan have signed a sister park agreement between Pearl Harbour, the site of the attack that brought the US into World War II, and Hiroshima, the first city to be attacked with an atomic bomb.

Cheng Wen-tsan met senior politicians from Japan’s ruling LDP in the first visit to the country by a sitting Taiwanese vice-premier in 29 years.

Samsung’s conspicuous absence for unknown reasons at MWC Shanghai marks the first time the company has not taken part in this annual regional trade show since at least 2017.

YMTC chairman Chen Nanxiang said ‘significant uncertainties’ lie ahead, as the chip industry’s industrial harmony and balance have been disrupted by geopolitical tensions.

The US president told his supporters that he persuaded Prime Minister Kishida to sharply increased the country’s military budget.

The plan to dump treated radioactive waste water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea has stirred debates in South Korea, and led to boycotts of Japanese goods in China. Japanese fishermen have also vehemently opposed the plan.

North Korea has rejected Japan’s offer to discuss the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang’s agents in the 1970s and 1980s, insisting the issue has been resolved.

Mitsubishi CEO’s total compensation was US$1.8 million for the year ending in March, compared to JPMorgan Chase’s chief who was paid US$34.5 million last year.

The Economist Intelligence Unit evaluated risks in the case of a conflict with the mainland Chinese military and participation by the United States in its white paper released on Wednesday.

The mammoth deal – which surprised many – makes sense amid growing global tension in the critical semiconductor sector, with other similar agreements likely, analysts say.

Ennosuke Ichikawa, 47, one of Japan’s best-known kabuki actors, was discovered collapsed at his home last month on the same day his mother and father died in suspicious circumstances.

‘In the future we might see wings growing out of people’s backs, or drones attached to people … Maybe someone will come up with a sport that requires six arms,’ said the lead scientist behind the breakthrough.

Analysts say Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is unlikely to call for a general election until next year ‘at the very earliest’ as inflation lingers and wages remain stagnant.

One is a former yakuza, while another says he’s a ‘worthless person’ who wanted to join the fight to prove himself. Japan’s government warned them not to go, but they did it anyway.