JAPAN’S three major shipping conglomerates entered 2026 with a cautious tone, as their leaders warned of lingering uncertainty from US trade policies and geopolitical tensions while expressing hope for progress on Ukraine and a gradual recovery in global trade.
In New Year addresses delivered this week, the presidents of NYK Line, Mitsui OSK Lines, and K Line each reflected on a turbulent 2025 shaped by the Trump administration’s tariff policies, Middle East tensions, and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict. All three emphasised the need for flexibility and vigilance in the year ahead.
NYK president Takaya Soga struck a watchful note on the US economy, which he described as the critical factor underpinning global shipping and logistics.
Despite tariff headwinds, US container imports remained steady compared to 2024 and auto sales held firm, he noted. However, Soga warned that consumer price increases have become more pronounced since late October, with criticism of the Trump administration’s economic policies mounting.
“The key question is whether US consumer purchasing power will hold,” Soga said, adding that the administration will likely roll out domestic economic measures ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Soga also referenced the US military intervention in Venezuela on January 3, noting that “what lies ahead in 2026 remains uncertain.”
On Japan-China relations, he urged caution for group companies operating in China, advising them to “avoid undue fear, but proceed cautiously.”
The remarks come after bilateral ties deteriorated sharply following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion in November that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.
MOL president Takeshi Hashimoto also alluded to strained ties with Beijing, noting that China’s overwhelming market share in shipbuilding “once again highlighted the importance of diversifying and strengthening supply chains, including the revival of Japanese shipbuilding.”
Hashimoto, who will hand over the chief executive role to Jotaro Tamura on April 1, characterised 2025 as “a year of significant upheaval” that saw stability return only in the latter half.
He noted progress toward peace in the Middle East and “signs of resolution” in Ukraine, but cautioned that the lifting of economic sanctions remains a condition on the Russian side.
On environmental policy, Hashimoto acknowledged that the US policy shift had caused “the previously booming green economy to cool rapidly,” contributing to a one-year postponement of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework
