Features

TSMC, Taiwan's chipmaking king, is spending billions to build a production facility in the desert of Arizona. (Source photo by Reuters and Yifan Yu)
Business Spotlight

From somebody to nobody: TSMC faces uphill battle in U.S. talent war

Taiwan's tech titan faces off with Intel in Arizona's tight labor market

27 May 2022
Wang Qishan is back as "Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative," working to put China-U.S. relations back on track. His recent mission puts to rest speculation that he is on the outs with Xi. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/AP/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Xi envoy Wang Qishan visits Seoul with message for U.S.

Quiet negotiations are underway to secure a summit with Biden

26 May 2022
Just eight months after taking office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is faced with a new global order following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He spoke to Nikkei about his new, 'realist' approach to diplomacy. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
The Big Story

Getting real: Kishida marks 'new era' in diplomacy as Japan looks beyond pacifism

PM looks to 'radically' strengthen country's defenses in age of Ukraine war

25 May 2022
A damaged bust of D.A. Rajapaksa, father of both the president and the former prime minister, lies amid wreckage at a museum in the family stronghold of Hambantota on May 11.
Asia Insight

Flight of the Rajapaksas: Sri Lankan dynasty faces reckoning

Accused of mismanagement and corruption, the nation's top clan is down but not out

24 May 2022
The Bank of Thailand is putting domestic needs before external pressure to raise interest rates, Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in an interview with Nikkei Asia on May 20. (Photo by Francesca Regalado)
Market Spotlight

Interview: Bank of Thailand governor resists pressure to raise rates

Central bank will likely lift 2023 inflation forecast, but keep in target range

23 May 2022
Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of the software group Atlassian, has committed 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.05 billion) to climate projects. (Source photos by Getty Images)
Business Spotlight

Software billionaire takes on Australia's biggest carbon emitter

Mike Cannon-Brookes uses election-style tactics in bid to halt AGL's coal power demerger

20 May 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, has sidelined Premier Li Keqiang for most of the past nine years, taking over economic policy. (Nikkei montage/Xinhua/Kyodo/AP)
China up close

Analysis: Premier Li is back, and so is 'Likonomics'

President Xi's economic miscues pave way to sharing of power

19 May 2022
A perfect storm of political unrest, climate change and disruptions brought on by the war in Ukraine is pushing food security in Asia to crisis point. In Indonesia (pictured), shortages of cooking oil prompted a blanket ban on palm oil exports in late April. 
The Big Story

Asia's food crisis: Ukraine war triggers chain reaction of shortages

Deadly combination of conflict, misgovernance and climate change threatens widespread hunger

18 May 2022
One challenge for countries like Australia is that Pacific states do not view relationships "as a choice or a swap," but rather additions to existing cooperation, said Lowy Institute research fellow Mihai Sora.
Asia Insight

Paradise lost? China, the Solomons and the battle for the Pacific

Security pact tests old benefactors like Australia amid vaccine diplomacy rush

17 May 2022
By calling inflation "transitory" last month, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, left, sounded like his opposite at the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, last year. (Source photos by Tomoki Mera and Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

How 'transitory' is Japanese inflation?

From flour to fridges: Price pressures loom, but BOJ and experts say they won't last

16 May 2022
Outpatient visits to hospitals by children younger than 10 fell more than 20% in Japan in 2021 as parents feared economic repercussions.
Datawatch

COVID keeps kids in Japan away from doctors as families struggle

Children's medical visits fall 20% as parents opt not to skip work

15 May 2022
COSCO must steer a course through Beijing's growing confrontations with developed democracies, while still serving global trade in which China is central to both supply and demand.
Business Spotlight

COSCO: China's shipping giant expands its global influence

From Taiwan to Greece, state-owned group with military links is enmeshed in world trade

13 May 2022
Stream article image
Datawatch

Why Japanese workers remain dissatisfied with their jobs

Only 60% are passionate despite fewer working hours, more paid time off

12 May 2022
A sharp decrease in visitor numbers during the pandemic coupled with a tightening of gaming laws means Macao is having to rebrand its identity as the world's casino hub.
The Big Story

Macao bets on a new future as China cracks down on gambling

Pressure from Beijing and pandemic travel rules are forcing the gamer's paradise to diversify

11 May 2022
An MH-60R helicopter is seen aboard the USS Ralph Johnson, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer based in Yokosuka, during a sail through the South China Sea in January.
Asia Insight

U.S. Navy gathers best destroyers in Japan to hunt Chinese submarines

Adding helicopter hangars to ships expands area of operation across Indo-Pacific

10 May 2022
Philippine presidential front-runner Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. concerns some investors, who generally favor Vice President Leni Robredo, though historically business has adapted to whoever won. (Source photos by Ken Kobayashi, Reuters and Getty Images) 
Market Spotlight

Philippine investors get jitters over potential Marcos presidency

Market favorite Robredo trails as voters go to the polls

9 May 2022
China's effort to reduce leverage at the big developers and curb speculative homebuying has engineered a slump in sales and a spike in corporate defaults.
Business Spotlight

Chinese property developers see hope in Politburo policy shift

Beijing changed tone on real estate, as on tech, but will it halt the sales slide?

6 May 2022
Western energy companies have started pulling out of the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 (pictured) oil and gas projects in Russia's Far East. Japan's international reputation could be on the line if it does not follow suit.
The Big Story

Walking a tightrope: Ukraine war puts Japan's energy security on thin ice

As Western sanctions on Russia pile up, Tokyo weighs pulling out of Sakhalin projects

4 May 2022
South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol faces growing concern at the state of the economy. In the background, the banners at an April protest in Seoul read "Secure better jobs and the right to work without discrimination."
Asia Insight

Yoon Suk-yeol: Self-styled crusader for justice vows South Korea shake-up

Prosecutor-turned-president's pious upbringing instilled sense of good versus evil

3 May 2022
Floods and other natural disasters caused by climate change have led to the mass displacement of people in many parts of the world.
Datawatch

Climate refugees: The world's silent crisis

Number of people displaced by natural disasters could top 200m by 2050

2 May 2022
The lockdown in Shanghai and Russian invasion of Ukraine have disrupted supply chains for companies and heightened uncertainty for investors. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters)
Market Spotlight

Ukraine war, China lockdowns drag down 70% of Asia's biggest equities

Commodity stocks in India, Indonesia, Malaysia defy broader sell-off

2 May 2022
(Source photos by AP, Getty Images and courtesy of Waymo) 
Business Spotlight

Ditch the driver: U.S. and China race to make self-driving taxis a reality

As Baidu takes to Beijing streets, Waymo and Cruise fear falling behind

29 April 2022
No one could possibly object to Xi Jinping's proposal for a "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" global security apparatus, vague as it is. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Xi floats 'global security initiative' with eye on Pacific

With Belt and Road infrastructure plan stalled over Ukraine, president looks east

28 April 2022
More than 35 years after his late father was exiled, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the leading candidate to be the Philippines' next president.
The Big Story

The Marcos revival: How late Philippine dictator's son went from exile to election favorite

Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. aims for presidency to secure dynasty's comeback

27 April 2022
Politicians up for election say that raising the earnings of workers at the bottom of the pay scale could kickstart a multiplier effect that reverberates across economies, but the chiefs of Southeast Asian industries are not so sure.
Asia Insight

Malaysia's 35% minimum wage hike stirs recovery concerns

Critics say politicians are promising happier paydays as an election ploy

26 April 2022