On 22 November 2025, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) announced the publication of a “Casebook on Economic Security and the Antimonopoly Act” (Casebook). The Casebook compiles 15 hypothetical cases that may arise as a result of increasing economic security awareness in Japan. These cases include information exchanges with foreign firms on acquisition proposals, technology offers from…

On August 18, 2021, the relevant ministries announced their plan to add new sectors relating to rare earth metals to the “designated sectors” and the “core sectors” within the Japanese foreign investment regulations, which are subject to prior notification and screening. The new sectors include metal mining businesses, metal mining equipment manufacture/repair/software businesses and port construction business in designated islands which are relevant to rare earth metals. This latest addition to the “designated sectors” and…