Japan ( NKY:IND) rose 1.13% to above 52,100 while the broader Topix Index climbed 1.5% to 3,530 on Tuesday, building on gains from the previous session. The Japanese yen strengthened toward 156 per dollar on Tuesday, rebounding from two-week lows amid growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will continue raising interest rates this year.

China has banned exports of some rare earth elements and other items to Japan that could be used for military purposes, straining already tense relations between the two countries following the Japanese prime minister’s recent remarks on Taiwan.

Lately a diplomatic spat with China has begun depressing the number of people coming to Japan from that country—but even this does not seem to have much deterred Japan’s leaders from their course. Three related trends have fuelled what anxious Japanese have come to call the “foreigner problem”.

Japan will host leaders from five Central Asian nations, convening the first summit at the highest level as the resource-rich region draws growing interest from global powers.

By announcing new investments in Central Asia, Japan is entering a crowded field of competition and must prove the advantages of cooperation with it.

In Episode 7 of Physical: Asia, Japan entered the Totem Hold Match in Group B only to be forced into a redo due to a mechanical error—while teams from Mongolia and Türkiye pressed on and recorded official times. The malfunction upended Japan’s ...