Features

Xi Jinping's recent moves to tie big internet companies to state-run telcos seem to echo the strategies of Mao Zedong. (Nikkei montage/Yusuke Hinata/AP)
China up close

Analysis: Xi puts economy on war footing with Taiwan in mind

Lessons from Russia: Tighten grip on communications, social media and deliveries

10 November 2022
Despite the locomotive of capitalism speeding nations worldwide toward better health and more wealth, recent data suggests most of us feel more insecure than ever.
The Big Story

The precarity of progress: Asia confronts post-pandemic era of insecurity

Amid the Ukraine war and rising inequality, is economic development really making lives better?

9 November 2022
Flaring, or burning off gas from oil production, is a key emitter of methane -- the second-most common greenhouse gas and the most powerful one.
Asia Insight

Soaring methane emissions raise stakes for Asia at COP27

Poor nations face astronomical cost as cycle of warming, thawing spins out of control

8 November 2022
An excavator at the Fortescue Solomon iron ore mine. Australian exporters did well this year due to supply constraints magnified by Russia's war in Ukraine.
Market Spotlight

Australia's resource-led economy digs stock markets out of hole

Share prospects brighten as central bank nears end of rate-tightening cycle

7 November 2022
Japan lags Britain and other European countries in energy productivity gains due to economic stagnation and policy disarray.
Datawatch

A former leader in energy efficiency, Japan loses magic touch

Its 10% drop in greenhouse gas emissions due to slow growth, falling population

6 November 2022
Intel bought Tower Semiconductor of Israel for about $5.4 billion as part of its shift into contract chipmaking.   
Business Spotlight

How Intel plans to rival TSMC and Samsung as a chip supplier

Geopolitics could give U.S. tech giant's contract chipmaking strategy a boost

4 November 2022
Clockwise from bottom-left: Jiang Zemin, Song Ping, Zeng Qinghong and Hu Jintao "used their last bit of strength" to keep Xi Jinping from giving himself even more power. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Yusuke Hinata)
3 November 2022
A resident of Rizal province, the Philippines, wades through a flooded street after Typhoon Vamco struck the country in November 2020. 
The Big Story

Counting the cost of climate change

Developing countries seek compensation for 'loss and damage' from global warming at upcoming COP27 summit

2 November 2022
Experts say China's Global Security Initiative is about reshaping the region's security architecture, spreading Beijing's brand of policing and surveillance, and exporting a vision that everything must be seen through "a securitized lens."
Asia Insight

China's Global Security Initiative: Xi's wedge in the U.S.-led order

Beijing's next big program ups pressure to take sides, rationalizes Ukraine war

1 November 2022
Remote work has given women with small children more job opportunities and helped narrow the gender gap in work hours.
Datawatch

Telework moves women off Japan's notorious 'mommy track'

Increased job hours could help working mothers boost pay and promotion prospects

31 October 2022
Foreign investors voiced their opinion of Xi Jinping's new Politburo Standing Committee by selling their holdings of Chinese stocks. (Source photos by Getty Images and Yusuke Hinata)
Market Spotlight

China stocks reel after Xi tightens grip

New leadership offers little confidence to international investors

31 October 2022
Whether Southeast Asia's first-generation startups like Grab and Sea can meet targets and validate business models will test the region's tech ecosystem amid its first-ever market downturn.
Business Spotlight

From Grab to Sea, ASEAN tech confronts end of golden decade

Investors taste first market downturn as unicorn high wears off

28 October 2022
The weak yen will not last forever, but in the meantime even small Japanese companies have started or are considering e-commerce sales to consumers abroad. (Nikkei montage) 
Datawatch

Japan's cross-border e-commerce booms on cheaper yen

Sales up 80% in 2 years as IT facilitates market entry for smaller companies

27 October 2022
Former President Hu Jintao, left, leaves his seat next to his successor, Xi Jinping, during the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 22. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
China up close

Analysis: Was Hu Jintao about to express discontent?

Chinese palace drama spills out in front of cameras at party congress

27 October 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, center, filled the Politburo Standing Committee with loyalists at last week's 20th Communist Party Congress in Beijing. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
The Big Story

Xi's clean sweep: China marks new era with loyalist lineup

New standing committee shows party and the world Xi will brook no dissent in third term

26 October 2022
In possibly his last big diplomatic move before retiring, Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, presented Washington with a vision for relations "much like the Americans' understanding with South Korea."
Asia Insight

Pakistan's top gun seeks U.S.-China balance before retirement

Gen. Bajwa's diplomatic ambitions clash with domestic political tensions

25 October 2022
An LNG tanker arrives in Japan. A colder-than-expected winter could further tighten the world's gas market. (File photo by Kyodo)
Market Spotlight

Scramble for LNG brings winter risks for Asia

Supplies and storage levels look adequate for now but concerns remain for 2023

24 October 2022
Stream article image
Business Spotlight

What Xi Jinping has done for Chinese business

The president has put his stamp on everything from property to chips

21 October 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping chose Oct. 16, the day China successfully conducted its first nuclear test in 1964, to open the Chinese Communist Party's 20th National Congress. (Nikkei montage/Xinhua/AP/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Xi's coronation ceremony opens on date of China's first atom bomb

Leader talks up Taiwan 'mission' as he makes play for third term amid economic downturn

20 October 2022
The belching chimneys of Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, a nickel processing complex in Central Sulawesi province, are powering the move to electric vehicles. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
The Big Story

Dirty metals for clean cars: Indonesian nickel could be key to EV battery industry

Rich nickel reserves attract Chinese investment but environmental hurdles remain

19 October 2022
As the race for talent heats up around the world, some experts argue the Albanese government will struggle to attract immigrants back to a country dubbed "Fortress Australia" throughout the pandemic for its hardline response to prevent the virus from hitting its shores.
Asia Insight

'Fortress Australia' seeks to become immigration nation again

COVID-induced labor shortages push Albanese to raise cap on migrants

18 October 2022
China’s capital markets under president Xi Jinping have been both excited and disappointed for investors looking to capture the returns that mirror its staggering economic growth in the past decade. (Source photos by Reuters)
Market Spotlight

Xi agenda defines a decade, and era, for China's capital markets

Regulatory headwinds dent confidence despite growth of economy

17 October 2022
Japan's attractiveness as a place to work continues to fade as the yen weakens and wages rise in other Asian countries.
Datawatch

Foreign workers shun Japan as yen's value plunges

Average wage in dollar terms falls 40% over 10 years

16 October 2022
Cathay Pacific sees the lifting of many of Hong Kong's COVID-19 restrictions as an opportunity to regain its status as one of Asia's top airlines, but its immediate future remains cloudy.
Business Spotlight

Cathay Pacific seeks takeoff as Hong Kong opens up

Flagship airline on quest for staff and profits after city's COVID isolation

14 October 2022
Former President Hu Jintao, left, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and President Xi Jinping will be jostling for influence at the upcoming national congress. (Source photos by Reuters and Ken Kobayashi)
China up close

Analysis: 'Little Hu' has chance to be premier but not Xi's successor

Hu Chunhua likely to be surrounded by president's allies if promoted

13 October 2022