Trump's trade strategies in Asia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SoraNews24
8 minutes ago
- SoraNews24
What's the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Don Quijote in Japan?
Donki is a must-visit for tourists buying souvenirs, but locals have a different eye for what to find in store. If you've ever been to Japan, chances are you've stopped by a branch of Don Quijote. This retail chain is so massive that its operators, Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH), exceeded two trillion yen (US$13.26 billion) in sales for 2025, making it the third largest Japanese retailer, behind AEON Group at number two and Seven & i Holdings at number one. ▼ Don Quijote ('ドン・キホーテ') As the largest operating brand within PPIH, Don Quijote is a big money-maker, and it owes a lot of its success to inbound tourists, who use the store as a one-stop shop to purchase everything from viral beauty products to sake and sweets and even edible 10-yen coins. With so many varied products spread out throughout the store, though, trying to find what you want can be an overwhelming experience, so our team of local reporters have come together today to share their top recommendations for what to buy at the chain with just 1,000 yen. These recommendations reveal another side to Don Quijote that a lot of tourists don't see, as locals have a different eye for goods, so let's take a look at what they found for us, starting with… ▼ Yoshio's 'Cheap groceries using the app coupons! Set' Peyangu sauce yakisoba: 99 yen Mount Rainier café latte: 99 yen Maruchan yakisoba for 3 servings: 138 yen Farm Morning Yogurt Fresh Milk: 88 yen Kettle barley tea 650 millilitres: 59 yen Chocoball Caramel: 69 yen Chocoball Strawberry: 69 yen Monster Energy Ultra Violet: 128 yen CalorieMate chocolate flavor: 129 yen Plastic bag: 3 yen Total: 951 yen 'Don Quijote has the 'Majica app', and by registering for free, you can use coupons, which are generally valid for one purchase per coupon and per store. These coupons give you fantastic discounts so they're worth getting, especially if you're looking to buy food and drink as they can end up being cheaper than what you'd get at a supermarket.' Yoshio was the only one of our reporters who used the Majica app, and everyone was surprised by the cheap prices and number of items he was able to buy as a result. ▼ Takashi Harada's 'Resist the Heat Set' Gatsby Ice Deodorant Spray Cold Ocean: 603 yen Donki limited EX strongest cool Gatsby paper facial cleanser: 383 yen Total: 986 yen 'This summer, a nationwide heatwave is predicted, so I want to prepare well against the heat. I bought deodorant spray and facial cleansing sheets, the latter of which are a special Don Quijote exclusive with an intense cooling effect. Please try them out if you're curious!' Harada revealed two top finds from Don Quijote's drugstore section, showing his seasonal sensibilities and fondness for practicality. ▼ Takemichi Furusawa's 'Don Quijote Snacks 5-Item Set' Dodonto Pudding: 298 yen Canister Potato Chips (sour cream): 159 yen Strong Carbonated Water 500ml (lime): 89 yen Fruit Juice Konjac Jelly (apple): 118 yen Puni Character Gummies (Donpen): 259 yen Total: 996 yen 'I put together a snack set using Don Quijote's private brand 'Jonetsu Kaku' ('Passion Price'). I chose gummies and jelly drinks for a quick sugar boost during work and I also picked up carbonated water and potato chips for a light snack. Getting a hefty 5-item snack package for 996 yen is a pretty good deal in my book so I highly recommend trying it ifyou can!' Furusawa was one of the few team members to bet big on snacks, and by opting for the 'Jonetsu Kaku' line he was able to get a lot for his money's worth. ▼ Yuichiro Wasai's 'The Ultimate 2-Top Rice Companions' Jonetsu Kaku Garlic Sesame: 431 yen Jonetsu Kaku Korean seasoned seaweed 12 packs: 474 yen Total: 905 yen 'Have you heard of Don Quijote's 'Garlic Sesame'? It became so popular it was sold out for a while, and many people got hooked on it. I'm no exception; in my house, it's a starter player among furikake (rice toppings). Additionally, Korean seasoned seaweed. You might think it's an ordinary product, but this is 'Made in Japan' Korean seaweed. With 12 packs included, it's cost-effective and obviously goes great with rice. The two items come to just over 900 yen. It doesn't reach 1,000 yen, but I couldn't think of a better combination at Don Quijote.' Wasai bought rice companions based on a 'daily use' concept. These seem to be carefully chosen favorite products. ▼ Masanuki Sunakoma's 'Extra Thick MAX Set!' Japan-made fireworks – Extra Thick MAX: 769 yen Long-lasting lighter: 219 yen Total: 988 yen 'I was surprised that my 1,000 yen budget could get me both fireworks and a lighter at Don Quijote! The Extra Thick MAX is a Niagara-style extra thick spark firework, burning for about 30 seconds for maximum satisfaction. What more would you need for some summertime fun? ' Masanuki surprised everyone with his find as a 30-second burn time for commercial fireworks is impressively long. Nobody, however, was surprised that he opted to play with fireworks, because that's how he likes to roll. ▼ Go Hatori's 'The Ultimate Nine Liters of Carbonated Water!' Jonetsu Kaku Don Quijote's Strongest Carbonated Water 1,000 millilitres (99 yen each) × 9 bottles Total: 962 yen 'Recently, I've been hooked on carbonated water. It's refreshing and tasty with zero calories and no fat, so you can drink as much as you want while dieting or trying to lose weight! Normally, I buy it at a local supermarket for about 68 yen per 500 millilitres, but at Don Quijote, a litre costs 99 yen, which is a great deal. On top of that, it's labeled as the 'strongest carbonation' so I decided to go all-in on it — I probably won't need to buy carbonated water for a while…' Go Hatori's purchase is a great reminder to go all in when you have a love for something, even if it's carbonated water. ▼ Mr Sato's 'Unbelievable Price! Jonetsu Kaku Pasta Set' Jonetsu Kaku just-mix pasta sauce (Peperoncino): 194 yen Jonetsu Kaku just-mix pasta sauce (Tomato and basil): 194 yen Jonetsu Kaku quick boil bundled spaghetti: 323 yen Jonetsu Kaku oil sardines (×2): 128 yen × 2 Total: 967 yen 'Don Quijote is famous for the so-called 'unbelievable prices' of its own-brand, Jonetsu Kaku. Recently, they've been focusing on food with many creative gems like this quick boil spaghetti that cooks in just three minutes. While the taste is so-so, it's good enough for a quick lunch, and when you add the pasta sauce and sardines, you have a proper treat. Please try it out!' Mr Sato bought everything necessary to whip up a big and tasty pasta meal, and he says he'll be able to get four servings out of it, making it a great-value purchase. ▼ Ahiruneko's 'Passionate Cost-Cut Senbero Set' Jonetsu Kaku authentic lager beer: 164 yen (×6) Total: 957 yen (including the discount for the 6-item bulk purchase) 'When it come to the Jonetsu Kaku range, I'm a big fan of the Korean seaweed, but I decided to try something different this time, as these monochrome cans caught my eye. I decided to forego the snacks I'd usually buy for a night of drinking, which allowed me to splurge on six cans of beer to quench my summertime thirst.' Ahiruneko, or ' Mr Alcohol ' as he's known around the office, showed his love for a tipple is as strong as ever. ▼ Mariko Onabatake's 'Housewives Can't Resist Mitts Tock's Magic Set' Jonetsu Kaku daily clean kitchen sponges Floor wet sheets Floor dry sheets Disposable nonwoven fabric cleaner to remove water stains and soap scum Aluminum foil for frying pans Total: 990 yen 'I looked all over Don Quijote and my housewife instincts kicked in immediately when I spied the '3itz toc!' corner, where three items usually costing 220 yen each can be bought for a bargain price of 550 yen. 3itz toc includes consumables such as sponges, garbage bags, wipers, zip-lock bags, hooks, and clothespins, but this time, I focused on large quantities of cleaning goods so I can give my place a good summer clean!' ▼ '3itz toc!' Donki's '3itz toc!' is a little-known corner area that people tend to bypass, but given Mariko's bargain finds, we'll definitely be keeping a better eye out for the range in future. ▼ Seiji Nakazawa's 'Shibuya Cleaning Set' Jonetsu Kaku pipe cleaner 1,000 millilitres (two-pack, 278 yen) × 4 Kinoko no Yama (chocolate-covered cookies): 218 yen Total: 825 yen 'Don Quijote's Jonetsu Kaku brand is super popular, and I regularly buy the pipe cleaner at Don Quijote in Shibuya as it's super cheap. The famous 'Pipe Unish' brand usually costs around 317 yen per litre, but Jonetsu Kaku's is only 219 yen per litre. Plus, if you buy a set of two it's even cheaper, at 278, so you can save 160 yen, which is a fantastic deal.' As a man who believes you can never have too many pipe cleaners, Seiji was very pleased with his Don Quijote haul and was able to reward himself for his efforts with a box of chocolate to boot. ▼ P.K. Sanjun's 'Honestly What I Usually Buy Set' Jonetsu Kaku dental floss picks (white): 219 yen Jonetsu Kaku dental floss picks (black) × 2: 219 yen each Jonetsu Kaku canned sardines in water: 323 yen Total: 978 yen 'This time, I put together a set of things I usually buy at Don Quijote. Though unintentional, it all turned out to be Jonetsu Kaku products, which gives you an idea of just how reliable the brand is. Incidentally, Don Quijote's floss has the most fantastic flexibility so it's a must-buy, even for those visiting from overseas.' An interesting point to note here is the white floss actually contains 20 more pieces than the black, but the black seems to clean better. So there you have it — 11 bundles of items that you can purchase at Don Quijote for less than 1,000 yen. Locals really know how to make a little go a long way, so if you're on a tight budget, Donki is a great place to stretch your yen. It really does stock just about everything under the sun, so you never know what you might come across next time you're browsing the aisles! Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
The Diplomat
an hour ago
- The Diplomat
Trump Cuts Tariffs on Cambodia and Thailand to 19% After Border Ceasefire
The U.S. government has nearly halved its threatened tariffs on imports from Thailand and Cambodia, just days after the two nations declared a ceasefire in a conflict over their border. According to an updated schedule of 'reciprocal tariff rates' issued by the White House late yesterday, both nations have seen their tariffs reduced to 19 percent, down from the threatened 36 percent. Beginning on July 24, the two nations fought a fierce five-day border conflict that has killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 people in both countries. After the outbreak of the conflict, President Donald Trump threatened to block trade deals with them unless they stopped fighting. By Monday, both countries had agreed to a ceasefire, which, despite mutual claims of violations, continues to hold. While many were reduced considerably from the tariffs unveiled in Trump's 'liberation day' announcement in April, Politico notes that it has lifted U.S. tariffs to 'the highest amount in more than a century.' The new rates come in on August 7. According to the text of an executive order announcing the new rates, the tariffs are intended to address 'the continued lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships and the impact of foreign trading partners' disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers on U.S. exports, the domestic manufacturing base, critical supply chains, and the defense industrial base.' The Thai and Cambodian tariffs were announced along with updated rates for 65 other countries, which included tariffs of 40 percent for Laos and Myanmar, 25 percent for Brunei, and 19 percent for Malaysia. It also confirmed the rates that Trump announced with Vietnam (20 percent), Indonesia (19 percent), and the Philippines (19 percent). Singapore and Timor-Leste are the only Southeast Asian nations to be hit just with the administration's baseline 10 percent tariff, a reflection of the fact that the U.S. enjoys trade surpluses with both. Thailand and Cambodia both responded positively to the tariff reduction. In a Facebook post, Deputy PM and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said that the tariff reduction 'reflects strong Thai-US friendship and keeps Thailand globally competitive while boosting investor confidence and creating new economic opportunities.' He added that the Thai government was preparing 'budget allocations, soft loans, subsidies, tax measures, and regulatory reforms' to help those affected by the tariff. The reduction has also been praised by Cambodia's government. 'This is a good news for the citizens and economy of Cambodia to continue developing the country,' Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Facebook post today. Phnom Penh has reasons to be satisfied with the outcome. Over the past decade, policymakers in Washington have grown alarmed with Cambodia's increasing economic and security relations with China, particularly with Beijing's refurbishment of (and likely preferential access to) the Ream Naval Base, the first phase of which was inaugurated earlier this year. These U.S. concerns might have been expected to hamper Phnom Penh's ability to negotiate its tariff down from the hefty 49 percent tariff initially announced in April, threatening to push it into the same category as Laos, another close partner of Beijing. As the Southeast Asian nation most exposed to the U.S. market, which took 37 percent of its exports in 2023, this hefty rate threatened to wreck Cambodia's manufacturing sector and potentially cast tens of thousands out of work. Cambodian policymakers will be relieved that they avoided this outcome. Indeed, the fact that such a close Chinese partner was able to obtain the same rate as Thailand, a U.S. treaty ally, speaks partly to the incoherence of the Trump administration's trade policies. It also probably reflects the canny way in which Cambodian leaders have leveraged the recent border conflict to their advantage. In the wake of Monday's ceasefire, Cambodian leaders, including former Prime Minister Hun Sen, went out of their way to praise Trump for his intercession in the border conflict with Thailand. After its announcement, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and chief trade negotiator Sun Chanthol said that Trump should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in facilitating the ceasefire with Thailand – a position that has since been echoed online and in regime-aligned media. U.S.-Cambodia relations, which touched a nadir during the first Trump term, are being rebuilt on a bedrock of flattery. Malaysia would also be relatively satisfied with the 19 percent tariff, which marks a reduction from the 25 percent announced in a 'tariff letter' sent to the country last month. Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told parliament that the tariff rate 'will ease and not burden our economy.' In fact, eight of Southeast Asia's 11 nations have now secured a tariff rate of 20 percent or lower. Of these, six, which also happen to be among the region's largest exporters, have finalized tariffs of either 19 or 20 percent. This is lower than the 25 percent imposed on India and a nominal total of 79 percent on China (although this is still under negotiation), and higher than the 15 percent imposed on Japan and South Korea. Assuming all of these rates hold, this allows the region to remain relatively competitive in terms of access to the U.S. market, while more or less preserving the current competitive balance between its major exporters. The situation is much worse for Laos and Myanmar, each of which has been slugged with one of the highest tariff rates in the world, despite seeing slight reductions on the 48 percent and 46 percent initially announced by Trump in April. Neither nation trades especially much with the U.S., whose trade with Myanmar totaled $734 million in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Total trade with Laos came to $844 million. (This compares to the $81 billion in trade that the U.S. conducted with Thailand last year and the $13 billion with Cambodia.) The U.S. was Myanmar's fifth-largest export market in 2022, and Laos' 12th-largest in 2021. Nonetheless, these punitive 40 percent tariffs are set to deepen the economic turmoil in both nations' floundering export-oriented manufacturing sectors, and deepen their already considerable economic connections to China. Exactly why Laos and Myanmar have been subject to such higher duties remains unclear, given the lack of clarity in the Trump administration's trade policy. It could be that neither nation showed what the Trump team considered to be sufficient eagerness to conclude a trade deal prior to the deadline; most of the Southeast Asian nations that successfully negotiated down their tariffs pledged to make large purchases of U.S. goods, including energy, agricultural products, and Boeing aircraft. It could also reflect the extent of their relations with China, or a combination of both. In any event, there is no guarantee that any of the current rates will be stable long enough for investors to begin making significant financial decisions on that basis. The tariffs also supposedly include a tariff of 40 percent for goods that the Trump administration deems to have been transshipped from other nations (i.e. China), although the criteria by which these decisions will be made remain unclear. While Trump has successfully used Washington's economic power to extract economic concessions from its main trade partners, the longer-term impact of the tariff war will likely be detrimental to U.S. economic influence. As my colleague James Guild wrote earlier this week, of the U.S. deals with Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Trump's use of American leverage 'will almost certainly drive countries in the region away from America and toward other trade and development partners in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere.'
Japan Times
7 hours ago
- Japan Times
Will Trump's tech policies propel U.S. success against China?
Technology is the key to the confrontation between the United States and China, and the ability to innovate lies at the heart of this competition — especially in the ever-expanding and crucial field of artificial intelligence. However, an increasing emphasis on AI development at the expense of regulation raises concerns, given that rules were being strengthened to mitigate national security, human-rights and safety risks. A rollback that overlooks these issues could have consequences for the U.S. and the world. It may also put America at odds with Europe, which has prioritized regulation, thereby disrupting international cooperation on AI governance.
