Bhutan

Pakistani President Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi speaks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka)
Interview

Pakistan president sees Belt and Road as path to poverty relief

Alvi says economy is on mend as money laundering and corruption subside

23 October 2019
A recruiting event for foreign students in Japan: Companies are looking for international talent to offset a labor shortage. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
Japan immigration

Record 25,900 foreign students landed jobs in Japan in 2018

Asian countries accounted for 95%, led by China, Vietnam and Nepal

23 October 2019
Xi and Modi raise hands together at Arjuna's Penance in Mamallapuram, India: the informal summit mechanism works best as it removes any compulsion for formalized joint declarations.
Opinion

Modi should not become complacent after successful summit with Xi

Kashmir and Pakistan are causing rift between India and China

21 October 2019
Women and children cross a bridge along the Karachi Circular Railway in poor neighborhood in Karachi: Problems obtaining loans for the railway from China has local leaders looking for help from Japan.
Belt and Road

Pakistan's stalled China-backed rail project prompts turn to Japan

Regional leaders show 'buyer's remorse' over cost of Belt and Road loans

19 October 2019
Indian policeman beat and detain Kashmiri Shiite Muslim mourners on Sep. 8 in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir.
Opinion

India, driven by Hindu nationalism, has no right to repress Kashmir

Locals fear Modi's constitutional change will lead to colonization

17 October 2019
India's bicycle industry has been hit hard by a surge in imports from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Economy

India accuses China over influx of cheap bicycles from neighbors

New Delhi probes possible breach of trade deal by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

17 October 2019
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, left, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meet in Beijing on Oct. 8. The Pakistani government's decision to set up an agency to push Belt and Road came on the eve of Khan's visit.
Belt and Road

Pakistan's Khan uses special ordinance to push China's Belt and Road

Powerful new agency and tax holiday for Gwadar port operator likely to fuel controversy

13 October 2019
A Pakistani JF-17 fighter jet: China has helped Pakistan improve its technology to build the aircraft.
International relations

China enables Pakistan to become a defense exporter

India outflanked as Islamabad sells JF-17 fighter jets to Myanmar and Nigeria

11 October 2019
Nepal's only railway is a 30-km line that runs from the southeastern city of Janakpur to Jayanagar, across the Indian border. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Belt and Road

Himalayan railway plan at stake as China's Xi pays rare visit to Nepal

Trip follows lectures to ruling party cadres on Belt and Road champion's 'thought'

9 October 2019
Jera wants to shore up its business, which is declining in Japan, by expanding into Bangladesh.
Business deals

JERA to buy 22% stake in Bangladeshi utility for $327m

Japanese company bets big on country's growing energy demand

8 October 2019
Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, is due to speak at China-Pakistan business forum on Tuesday.
Belt and Road

Pakistan's Khan to allay Beijing fears over stalled Belt and Road

Prime minister wants more investment despite mounting CPEC concerns

7 October 2019
Tsai Ing-wen rejuvenated the New Southbound Policy in 2016 while Beijing launched its measures to bring Taipei back into line.
Opinion

Taiwan's New Southbound Policy is decreasing its reliance on China

Looking to regional neighbors for closer trade relationships is bearing fruit

4 October 2019
Onion prices more than doubled in recent weeks after floods damaged crops across the country. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Economy

India's eye-watering onion prices put extra pressure on Modi

Government bans exports and warns 'unscrupulous' merchants against hoarding

4 October 2019
Grameenphone, the largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, was asked earlier this year to pay a total of over $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes and penalties for failing to meet revenue-sharing obligations. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Economy

Fearing a loss of investment, Bangladesh assuages multinationals

Minister to mediate telcos' tax dispute while secretary to lobby drug giant Sanofi

29 September 2019
Bangladesh plans to create new casino zones to increase foreign tourist arrivals.
Economy

Bangladesh wants in on Asia's crowded casino market

Government weighs tourists-only gambling amid crackdown on illegal dens

27 September 2019
The Sri Lankan cricket board announced that 10 leading players have pulled out of the Pakistan tour, effectively reducing the team to a B-side.
International relations

Safety of Sri Lankan cricket team puts Pakistan security to the test

Terrorist attack on Sri Lankan bus a decade ago still haunts the game

27 September 2019
Efforts by Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue have increased the tax roll and chipped away at the country's image of being rife with tax cheats.
Economy

Pakistan registers a million new taxpayers ahead of IMF review

Terms of $6bn loan create headwinds for growth and business confidence

26 September 2019
Pathao claims to have captured 60% to 70% of Bangladesh's motorbike hailing market. (Photo courtesy of Pathao)
Sharing Economy

Motorbikes inspire Pathao, Bangladesh's 'two-wheeled' Uber

Bumpy ride to "super app" status smoothed by help from Indonesia's Go-Jek

26 September 2019
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23.
International relations

Pakistan's Khan and Trump meet, haunted by different conflicts

Kashmir and possible US exit from Afghanistan dominate talks in New York

25 September 2019
The Nepalese government hopes to export surplus hydroelectricity to India to bring in badly needed foreign exchange, but some projects have been canceled or scaled back.
International relations

Nepal power export plans in doubt as India reviews options

$500m hydropower project cut sharply due to a dimming profit outlook

20 September 2019
A highway leading to Gwadar, Pakistan. Baloch insurgent groups from Balochistan have been the source of most of the attacks on Chinese interests since inception of CPEC.
Belt and Road

China's efforts to speed up Belt and Road in Pakistan falters

Eager to salvage $62bn Economic Corridor, Beijing hosts provincial leaders

16 September 2019
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. left, speaks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a signing ceremony in Beijing, in April.
8 September 2019
Workers load garbage into a dump truck at a trash dump teeming with plastic bags in Islamabad. 
Environment

Pakistan moves to ban plastic bags

Urgent tweet prompts government action, but experts warn results may take years

6 September 2019
Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh: more than 700,000 members of the ethnic Rohingya live in sordid makeshift refugee camps. 
Opinion

Rohingya refugees should press Myanmar for their own state

Self-government in Rakhine could persuade them back from Bangladesh

4 September 2019
Members of various radical Sikh organisations shout pro-Khalistan slogans and brandish swords in Amritsar, Punjab state on June 6.
Opinion

Pakistan will regret stirring up Sikh nationalism in India

Supporting Khalistan will backfire on Islamabad, also vulnerable to insurgencies

3 September 2019