Features

In its latest Trafficking in Persons report, the U.S. State Department downgraded Vietnam and Cambodia to its bottom tier and put Indonesia on a watchlist.
Asia Insight

Cambodia holds back Vietnam and Thailand in trafficking prevention

Porous borders, corruption preclude collective progress

16 August 2022
Growing interest in investing among Indonesians has made them more vulnerable to online scams, experts say. (Source photos by Reuters and Takaki Kashiwabara)
Market Spotlight

Indonesia's rising appetite for online investment attracts scams

Growing middle class in ASEAN's biggest economy seen prone to being cheated

15 August 2022
Billionaire Manuel Villar at the AMBS Media Center in Mandaluyong on July 30 in a photo from his Facebook page. His rise to become the Philippines' new media mogul took shape only at the beginning of this year. 
Business Spotlight

For profit or power? Philippines' richest man ventures into media

Marcos backer and billionaire Manuel Villar set to launch TV network

12 August 2022
Fertility rates continue to sag in Japan and South Korea even as many of their OECD peers have reversed 10-year declines.
Datawatch

Uptrend in birthrates among rich nations skips Japan, South Korea

80% of key OECD members reverse fertility drops as more couples share parenting

11 August 2022
Every time Chinese President Xi Jinping goes tough on Taiwan, it ironically helps Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in elections. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: China targets Taiwan, Okinawa in Pelosi damage control

Xi's dangerous game of chicken risks triggering larger conflict

11 August 2022
Pakistani and Chinese flags fly above a construction site in Gwadar, Pakistan. Much of the construction associated with the Belt and Road Initiative in the town remains unfinished. 
The Big Story

Road to nowhere: China's Belt and Road Initiative at tipping point

Pakistan, Sri Lanka debt crises threaten Beijing's regional influence

10 August 2022
From the Chinook helicopter to the F-35, the Stinger missile to the Patriot defense system, American defense contractors are expecting a surge in international demand. (Source photos by Reuters, Lockheed Martin, Getty Images and the U.S. Army)
Asia Insight

Taiwan tensions a boon for defense industry but supply clogs loom

Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon race against time to meet demand from U.S. allies

9 August 2022
The relentless gyration of the yen has made market players and policymakers nervous about what will come next, and what will happen under the successor to Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda. (Source photos by Kosuke Imamura and AFP/Jiji) 
Market Spotlight

Higher foreign exchange volatility has Japan fretting about yen spike

A weak yen is bad for inflation, but a strong one is bad for stock market

8 August 2022
Sihanoukville has lost much of its luster as a tourist destination since the development bubble burst, with 1,155 unfinished buildings littering the city. (Photo by Vann Soben)
Business Spotlight

Stuck in Sihanoukville: Projects grind to halt in Cambodia resort town

Rampant development turns seaside jewel into mess of unfinished casinos and condos

5 August 2022
Xi Jinping might maintain the countermeasures he took after Nancy Pelosi met with Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei to deter other international dignitaries from making similar trips. (Source photos by AP)
China up close

Analysis: Pelosi's Taiwan visit is Xi's final exam to stay top leader

President under pressure to prove he can manage U.S. relations like predecessors

4 August 2022
A scientist at Star Clinic, a regenerative medical center in Tokyo, transfers cells extracted from a patient to a container for use in stem cell therapy. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
The Big Story

Defying death: Japan and Singapore lead Asia's stem cell research race

In the world's fastest-aging societies, regenerative therapies attract the rich and curious

3 August 2022
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese condo buyers are joining mortgage strikes, some of whom have gone years paying down loans for homes that remain unfinished.
Asia Insight

China mortgage strikes threaten property sector's house of cards

As unfinished homes disrupt lives, pressure grows on developers and Beijing alike

2 August 2022
A coal depot at a coal-fired power plant in Japan. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Market Spotlight

Russian sanctions threaten to make coal dirtier, more costly

Global trade reshuffle adds up to more inefficient and expensive coal transport

1 August 2022
Retail e-commerce surged 20% in Japan since 2019, but there is still room for growth in the country where consumers go shopping online less frequently than those in other countries.
Datawatch

Consumer e-commerce hits a brick wall in Japan

After growing 20% since 2019, online shopping has stalled as COVID curbs ease

30 July 2022
Stream article image
Feeding Asia

Opinion: Reform the global food system to end famine

Three clear avenues for action that will limit the spread of the crisis

29 July 2022
Blind, a fast-growing social platform that began in South Korea, has been dubbed "the honest version of LinkedIn." (Source photos by Yuki Kohara)
Business Spotlight

South Korean app dubbed 'honest LinkedIn' aims to make money from Big Tech

Anonymous social media platform for employees starts selling services to employers

29 July 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Beijing this week, ending the capital's diplomatic lockdown. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Xi opens Beijing's heavy gates to receive Jokowi

President sees window for diplomatic offensive in November at G-20

28 July 2022
Chipmaking requires hundreds of machines, materials and chemicals. In this TSMC plant in Taiwan, an engineer in protective clothing holds a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) for transferring the wafers used in chips safely between machines.
The Big Story

The resilience myth: Fatal flaws in the push to secure chip supply chains

From China to the U.S. to Europe, semiconductor makers are being showered with subsidies, but to what effect?

27 July 2022
Pakistanis are being forced to make uncomfortable choices, including leaving the country.
Asia Insight

Pakistan's punishing inflation changes life as 225m people know it

Poor skimp on food while those better off carpool, buy solar, aim to emigrate

26 July 2022
Young voters were the core supporters of the LDP when the reform-minded late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in power, but many of them are now seeking change elsewhere.
Datawatch

Japan LDP's big win belies falling popularity among young voters

Less than 40% of voters below 30 back the party, down 3.5 points from 2019

25 July 2022
The price of Asia's main food has not been anything like the wild ride of other staples. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Market Spotlight

Thailand export earnings threatened by rice glut

Opinions diverge over outlook as fertilizer shortages loom

25 July 2022
Stream article image
Feeding Asia

Asia's new food frontier: The rise of edible tech

Lab-grown meat to 3D-printed food: inflation, climate, animal welfare shape future menus

22 July 2022
Many Japanese companies have long pursued lean inventories, but COVID-triggered supply disruptions made it harder to replenish their stocks and boost output to meet a recent recovery in demand.
Datawatch

Lean inventory turns into liability for Japan Inc.

Bottlenecks in supply chains force companies to rethink their strategy

22 July 2022
"Made in China 2025" is aimed at transforming the country into a higher-tech manufacturing powerhouse by 2049, the centennial anniversary of the people's republic. (Source photos by AP, Reuters and Getty Images) 
Business Spotlight

'Made in China 2025' thrives with subsidies for tech, EV makers

Handouts go on but local government cash crunch adds new factor

22 July 2022
Clockwise from top-left: Wang Yi, Ding Xuexiang, Wang Xiaohong and Pan Yue. These members of Xi Jinping's travel entourages appear to be on the cusp of big promotions. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: Xi's entourage to Hong Kong, Xinjiang likely core of new team

The select officials who joined the leader on recent trips are set for promotions

21 July 2022