logo
Shipping company ONE hedges against China risks with home-built vessels

Shipping company ONE hedges against China risks with home-built vessels

Nikkei Asia26-06-2025
ONE Singapore, the company's newest ship, can run on both heavy fuel oil and low-emission fuels like methanol and ammonia. (Photo by Tomonori Washida)
TOMONORI WASHIDA
TOKYO -- Container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) unveiled a Japan-built ship on Tuesday, one of 15 vessels it plans to launch in the next two years as it looks to mitigate risks from ongoing U.S.-China tensions.
"We like to think we are an international company, truly a global international company," said CEO Jeremy Nixon at the christening of a ship at an Imabari Shipbuilding plant in Mihara, Hiroshima prefecture, on Tuesday. "I'm very pleased to say that this was the first set of ships that we built, which are owned by ONE."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lutnick: Japan's $550 billion will be directed by Trump
Lutnick: Japan's $550 billion will be directed by Trump

Japan Times

time6 hours ago

  • Japan Times

Lutnick: Japan's $550 billion will be directed by Trump

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made it clear that the $550 billion promised by Japan in the course of tariff negotiations will be real funding from Japan deployed and directed by U.S. President Donald Trump to serve American interests. 'What's going to happen is the investments in America are for the benefit of the economic and national security of the United States of America, driven by Donald Trump,' Lutnick told CNBC on Tuesday. His comments closely track and further support earlier comments by Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Lutnick himself. Together, they have described a pledge that involves new capital from Japan being invested in the United States with America in control and taking 90% of the profits. "It is their money," he added, "their money that's going to create these investments so that we can build the pipelines, we can build the nuclear, we can build semiconductors, we can build pharmaceuticals in America to protect America." Japanese officials view the handshake agreement reached on July 22 differently. They have said that Japan will provide loans, loan guarantees and equity investment up to the $550 billion total through financial institutions backed by the government, and that direct equity investment will be just 1%-2% of the $550 billion. They have also brought into question the governance described by the three U.S. officials. 'We can't cooperate on things that don't benefit Japanese companies or the Japanese economy," Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, said earlier this month. CNBC host David Faber pressed Lutnick — noting that Japan has said the money will mainly be in the form of loan guarantees to Japanese companies already operating in the United States — and suggested the possibility that there is no meeting of the minds between the United States and Japan on the issue. "No, no, no," Lutnick responded. "We're on the same page." U.S. officials have repeatedly said that the money is essentially a payment in exchange for lowering tariff rates — or raising them less than threatened — and that any failure in honoring the commitment could result in tariffs being increased. If the president is 'unhappy' with the progress, tariffs will 'boomerang' higher, Bessent has said. In the CNBC interview, Lutnick noted the connection between the money and tariff rates. 'Japan has offered to buy down their tax from 25% to 15%. They offered us $550 billion investment fund,' he said. Japan and the United States reached an agreement on July 22 to set the 'reciprocal' tariff at 15% and the auto tariff at the same rate. Lutnick said that the two countries are working to get the terms of the deal down on paper, and that progress is quickly being made. The lack of an agreement document has been a major issue in Japan, especially among politicians in Tokyo. "Every night and every morning, we are finishing the documents,' Lutnick said. 'These are weeks away for the Japan and Korea model, but the other models are set.' On Tuesday, SoftBank Group said it will purchase $2 billion worth of Intel shares, though the company declined to confirm whether the announced investment is part of the $550 billion pledge. U.S. tariffs are already starting the bite. Japanese exports to the United States in July fell 10.1% year on year, declining for the fourth consecutive month. Auto exports to the United States dropped 28.4% year on year in value terms and 3.2% in volume.

Ishiba unveils new regional economic initiative as TICAD 9 conference begins
Ishiba unveils new regional economic initiative as TICAD 9 conference begins

Japan Times

time7 hours ago

  • Japan Times

Ishiba unveils new regional economic initiative as TICAD 9 conference begins

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveiled a new regional economic initiative at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), which kicked off in Yokohama on Wednesday. At the opening ceremony for the summit-level meeting, which will be held for three days, Ishiba, co-chair of the conference, proposed the initiative designed to enhance economic ties between the continent and regions linking it with India. He also announced that the Japanese public and private sectors will collaborate to increase investments in Africa. "It will be an age, from now, in which solutions produced in Africa help global society including Japan," Ishiba said. "Japan hopes that it will maintain reliable partnerships with the continent, providing each other with solutions." "Let Japan and leaders gathering here from African countries as one meet challenges that the world and Africa have faced, by discussing together innovative means to solve them," he added. The conference is mainly themed on the cocreation of innovative measures to meet challenges facing African countries through Japanese technologies. The prime minister stated that it will focus on the regional integrity of the continent and its links with other regions, the sustainable development of its private sector, and young people as well as women across the continent.

Government extends deadline for stockpiled rice sales
Government extends deadline for stockpiled rice sales

Japan Times

time7 hours ago

  • Japan Times

Government extends deadline for stockpiled rice sales

The agriculture ministry said Wednesday it has decided to extend the deadline for selling government-stockpiled rice released under discretionary contracts. The ministry now believes it is difficult to sell all of the rice by the original deadline set at the end of this month due to slow deliveries to retailers. While a new deadline will not be set, the ministry will ask businesses concerned to make sure the rice sells out within a month of delivery, ministry officials said. The delivery deadline, initially set for Wednesday, has also been extended. The same day, the ministry stopped accepting new applications for the stockpiled rice. According to the ministry, about 100,000 tons out of the contracted total of 280,000 tons remain undelivered. "Distributing the contracted amount without fail is my ministry's responsibility," agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. The ministry had set the sales deadline at the end of August, before newly harvested rice goes on sale in earnest, to prevent low-priced stockpiled rice from affecting the supply-demand balance for, and prices of, the new rice. However, a ministry official said the impact will be "limited" primarily because prices of single-origin brand rice remain elevated.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store