Free roll-type plastic bags once available to shoppers at supermarkets are being removed one after another as shortages of naphtha, a petroleum-derived raw material used in plastic production, spread across Japan amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. (News On Japan)

Kagome announced on May 14th that it will temporarily redesign several ketchup products by reducing printed packaging areas and adopting mostly transparent labels as worsening tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt supplies of white ink and other petroleum-based packaging materials across Japan. (News On Japan)

JR Hokkaido is moving ahead with discussions over a so-called "vertical separation" system for railway lines the company says it can no longer maintain on its own. (News On Japan)

ENEOS Holdings announced that a tanker operated by one of its group companies has successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East. (News On Japan)

Aichi Financial Group, which owns Aichi Bank, and Mie Prefecture-based Sanjusan Financial Group announced that they have reached a basic agreement toward a management integration. (News On Japan)

Nissan Motor announced its financial results for the year through March 2026 on May 14th, reporting a net loss for the second consecutive year as the company continues efforts to rebuild its business. (News On Japan)

Despite a prolonged downturn in the publishing industry, a bookbinding machine manufacturer based near Lake Biwa has continued to expand globally by adapting to a major shift in the way books are produced. (News On Japan)

The impact of Japan’s growing naphtha shortage is spreading across a widening range of industries, raising concerns about manufacturing, logistics, and even daily consumer life. (News On Japan)

The yield on Japan’s benchmark newly issued 10-year government bond rose to 2.60% in the Tokyo bond market on May 13th, marking its highest level in approximately 29 years since June 1997. (News On Japan)

The “ink shock” caused by tensions in the Middle East is beginning to spread across Japan’s food packaging industry, prompting manufacturers to simplify designs and reduce ink usage as concerns grow over naphtha supplies and rising printing costs. (News On Japan)

Bloomberg reported on May 11th that SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding investment in AI data centers in France. (News On Japan)