Features

China's central bank faces an "impossible trinity": simultaneously controlling interest rates, keeping the exchange rate stable and keeping the economy open. (Source photos: Kosaku Mimura; Reuters)
Market Spotlight

China's central bank battles perceptions that deflation is taking hold

Markets skeptical central bank can maintain effort to push up rates

22 July 2024
The number of supposedly zero-energy homes that do not fully meet the qualifying criteria continues to increase in Japan, driven by the government's relaxation of subsidy standards aimed at encouraging their construction.
Datawatch

Over 30% of Japan's zero-energy homes fall short of requirements

An increase in below-standard houses could hamper its decarbonization efforts

20 July 2024
Xiaohongshu occupies a unique position in China as a lifestyle encyclopedia and guide to daily life that few if any competitors seem able to match. (Source photos by Getty Images and Xiaohongshu website)
Business Spotlight

Xiaohongshu: Can China's wildly popular app raise its profit game?

Users find its shopping advice priceless, but go elsewhere for better deals

19 July 2024
Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a recent international gathering stirred up concerns that President Xi Jinping will have to address this week at a big economic planning meeting. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Yusuke Hinata, Mizuho Miyazaki, and Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: The global economy needs China to be straightforward

Key party meeting reflects Xi Jinping's favorite ideas after Li's unintended slip

18 July 2024
Demonstrators in Bara, Pakistan, protest against new taxes on July 7: The government's push to increase revenues has not been popular.
The Big Story

Why Pakistan cannot resist going back to the IMF for another fix

Latest $7bn injection of support will not itself end country's cycle of dependence

17 July 2024
Staff from housekeeping services provider Bears. While a severe labor shortage in Japan means many companies are keen to hire from overseas, comparatively low wages and the historically weak yen are blunting the country's appeal. (Photos by Yuji Murakami and Ryosuke Matsui)
Asia Insight

Japan's new enemy in fight to lure immigrant workers: The tumbling yen

Visa rules eased, but currency weakness tarnishes Japan's appeal for overseas hires

16 July 2024
A lack of homegrown tech giants has contributed to Japan's "digital deficit": It imports far more digital services than it exports to the rest of the world.
Market Spotlight

Japan's love of Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium piles pressure on yen

'Digital deficit' drags down the country's trade balance

15 July 2024
Claw machine, or UFO catcher, shops are cropping up in Hong Kong's premier retail districts like Causeway Bay, left and Mong Kok, right. (Source photos by Ken Kobayashi and Peggy Ye)
Business Spotlight

Hong Kong's rise of the claw machines reflects property fall

Young entrepreneurs use arcade games to grab low-rent opportunities

12 July 2024
From left: Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu. There is speculation that Xi's wife has become a military adviser of sorts to her husband. (Nikkei montage/Reuters and Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Military purges put Xi Jinping's singer-wife in the spotlight

Speculation is rife over whether Peng Liyuan is helping Xi control China's military

11 July 2024
Breaking down coal at a yard in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Nov. 23, 2021. Climate change, worsening heat waves and parched dams are cutting India's hydroelectricity production and leading to the encroachment of coal mining projects on rural communities.
The Big Story

India's climate crisis: New coal mining spreads as heat waves drain hydro dams

Remote communities desperate to protect nature take up bows and arrows to scare off mine officials

10 July 2024
Technicians work on solar panels installed on the roof of a house in Karachi on June 8. Solar panels, mostly from China, are spreading across Pakistan as residents seek solutions to outages and hefty bills.
Asia Insight

Pakistan's rooftop solar boom shines spotlight on power crisis

Blackouts, soaring electricity bills spur urban, rural residents to install own panels

9 July 2024
Years of bogus sales and accounts receivable, combined with rising input costs, left the company unable to repay its debts in early 2023. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Stark website)
Market Spotlight

Fraud trial exposes shortfalls in Thai corporate governance

Wire maker Stark's scandal ensnares Kasikornbank, Deloitte and Credit Suisse

8 July 2024
Japan's corporate metabolism is finally accelerating, with an increasing number of companies entering and exiting the market.
Datawatch

Japan Inc. shows signs of faster rejuvenation

Corporate metabolism quickens as both business births and deaths rise around 10%

6 July 2024
Quick-delivery providers are mounting a challenge to local shops' long-standing dominance of India's $590 billion grocery market. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images and AFP/Jiji)
Business Spotlight

India's fast-delivery apps take bite out of mom-and-pop stores

Long-dominant local grocers struggle to compete with orders at doorstep in minutes

5 July 2024
Left to right: Tianjin Tower pays tribute to Hu Youping on June 28. A bouquet is offered for Hu Youping near a bus stop believed to be the site where Hu was attacked by a knife wielder going after a Japanese mother and child on June 30. (Source photos by Kyodo and AP)
China up close

Analysis: Tragedy shows China's anti-Japan social media fire burns out of control

Other stabbings reflect a society that cannot vent its social and economic frustrations

4 July 2024
Myanmar's military regime is almost entirely dependent on imported fuel to kill and terrorize civilians, and to power all aspects of its war machine. With revenue from natural gas sales to Thailand and China falling off dramatically, this is proving an unaffordable vulnerability.  (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
The Big Story

Myanmar's reliance on imported fuel squeezes military as civilians suffer

Economic crisis likely to hit generals harder than sanctions as insurgents gain ground

3 July 2024
Chinese Communist Party officials are expected to accelerate a push toward President Xi Jinping's goal of technological self-sufficiency by 2035 when they convene this month for a long-awaited meeting known as the third plenum.
Asia Insight

China's leaders to choose economic path at high-pressure third plenum

Historically pivotal policy gathering expected to focus on tech as property woes fester

2 July 2024
Shares have generally performed well in Asia so far this year. But for dollar investors, weak Asian currencies translates to smaller gains. (Photo by Satoko Kawasaki)
Market Spotlight

Strong dollar hits Asian stock gains in first half of 2024

Japan, India equities top picks for global investors, while Southeast Asia's luster dims

1 July 2024
Sports enthusiasts are increasingly choosing to watch highlights on smartphones, bypassing live TV broadcasts.
Datawatch

Olympics faces drop in TV viewing as fans switch to social media clips

Selling broadcast rights is main revenue source for organizer of Games

30 June 2024
Lower delivery fees are making life harder for food delivery drivers in South Korea, as the big platforms engage in a fierce battle for customers in a stagnant market.
Business Spotlight

South Korea delivery giants lock horns in post-pandemic price war

Cutthroat competition hits drivers' wallets and raises safety concerns

28 June 2024
Stream article image
The Big Story

China's undersea cable drive defies U.S. sanctions

'Diplomatic race' with Washington as Beijing pursues self-sufficient global network

26 June 2024
Rahul Gandhi, left, and the Indian National Congress party are taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling alliance in parliament. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters, AP and Suzu Takahashi)
Asia Insight

India's Congress party vows to fight 'fascist rule' of Modi's BJP

Stronger opposition creates 'ideal situation for democracy' in India, observers say

25 June 2024
Foreign investors are overwhelmingly predicting a softer yuan by the year-end, as expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut scale back.
Market Spotlight

Weakening yuan could be what China needs, but not what it wants

China's yuan hits 7-month low in 'complex environment'

24 June 2024
Over 17% of Tokyo women drank excessive amounts of alcohol in fiscal 2021, surpassing men for the first time since the metropolitan survey began 10 years earlier.
Datawatch

More Japanese women suffer from excessive drinking

Heavy alcohol use doubles in decade among those in their 50s but falls among the young

22 June 2024
KDDI said in June that it will help turn Sharp's LCD panel factory in Sakai, Osaka prefecture, into a data center for artificial intelligence. (Source photos by Kyodo)
Business Spotlight

The AI scramble: Why SoftBank, KDDI and others are racing for Sharp's LCD factory

As Japan aspires to be a major player in AI it is desperate for data centers

21 June 2024