We wrote about the coordinated oil release that began in March (note65).
It isn't over. At its Oct 15 meeting, the IEA Governing Board agreed to complete the remaining releases, with diesel first.
Releases continue. Diesel is still tight🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/8t7TSqt07Z
Not investment advice.
#IEA #CoordinatedOilRelease # #RemainingReleases #CrudeOil #GeoPolitics #DieselFuel
We wrote that AI's limit may be power (note82/83).
But what comes after the electricity arrives
?
There are rules on where and how servers can be placed.
In Japan, DC above 750V counts as "high voltage," and large batteries fall under fire and building codes. Not a ban, but conditions🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/gGcN1O5J8p
Not investment advice.
#DataCenters #StorageBatteries
We wrote before about the F-35's missing "golden window" (note81).
Now we know why.
A shipping company employee missed a warning email: don't route through Hong Kong.
One overlooked email shook a massive national program🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/mrulJcNxJc
Not investment advice.
#F35 #canopy #HongKong #NationalSecurity
US fresh potatoes.
Japan received the import request back in 2020. For six years, almost nothing moved.
Then, this summer, the process suddenly accelerated into its "final stage."
But actual imports? Still years away, at the earliest.
"Procedure advancing" and "import decided" are two different things🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/1wKrXXRTLL
Not investment advice.
#potatoes #WTO #FoodSecurity
We wrote before about old confectionery shops closing down (note78).
The trend hasn't slowed.
Japan's traditional wagashi shop bankruptcies hit 22 cases in Jan-Sep 2026 — already surpassing the previous record year, 2025.
And here's the twist: shops over 100 years old make up 17% of the total. Over 50 years, nearly half.
The longer a shop has survived, the more likely it is to close now.
Part of the reason: wagashi is unusually hard to price up🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/QxQvx87HsN
Not investment advice.
#wagashi #bankruptcy
During the pandemic, major Japanese food makers rushed into plant-based meat.
Burgers, fried "chicken," curry — riding stay-home demand and health trends.
Then the US market: +46% in 2020, then −0.8% (2021), −1.2% (2022).
Japan has stayed flat too.
Meanwhile, soy protein itself has quietly been used in processed food for 50+ years.
Call it "meat substitute," and it gets compared to real meat.
Call it "an ingredient," and nobody questions it.
Same soybean, different shelf🧵
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GeoPolitics | Behind the Headlines
https://t.co/nmzNfaxmCh
Not investment advice.
#SoybeanMeat #PlantBasedMeat