Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in New York in 2023: New Delhi is too focused on big-name companies. (Narendra Modi YouTube channel via AP)

Small business can create more jobs in India than Tesla will

Policies favoring big companies aren't making impact on youth unemployment

Avatar
It is worth asking what the Bank of Japan means by a "virtuous cycle between wages and prices." (Photo by Koji Ueda)
Masaaki Shirakawa

BOJ policy shift not yet a turning point for Japan's economy

Truly 'virtuous' cycle of rising wages and prices depends on productivity growth

Avatar
Masaaki Shirakawa
Avatar
Baloch activists hold portraits of missing family members during a sit-in protest in Islamabad in December: No mainstream political party showed interest.
Salman Rafi Sheikh

Pakistan's national parties never mind the Balochs

Political abandonment of country's largest province only feeds discontent

Avatar
Salman Rafi Sheikh
Avatar
Hong Kong's Legislative Council passed the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance after less than two weeks of deliberation.
Nikkei Editorial

Hong Kong's future darkens as new security law takes effect

Beijing's coercive governance is now complete, further driving away foreign talent

Nikkei Editorial
There is nothing healthy about a central bank owning stocks equal to Singapore's GDP. (Photo by Nikkei)

BOJ's next challenge will be to pull back from stocks and bonds

Curtailing of purchases and paring of portfolio risk driving market turmoil

Avatar
Humans have to bear the burden of gathering, labeling and cleaning data to train AI systems. (AIMMO)
Nikki Sun

Asian companies need to be realistic about what AI can do for them

Productivity gains can fall far short of expectations given need for staff support

Avatar
Nikki Sun
Avatar
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits a university in Ho Chi Minh City on Jan. 24:  (Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
Dien Luong

As West draws closer to Vietnam, Hanoi gets more like Beijing

Reluctance to call out repression has facilitated regime's social crackdown

Avatar
Dien Luong
Avatar
U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, former House speaker, left, joins a Capitol Hill protest on March 12 to demand the forced sale of TikTok. (Francis Chung/Politico via AP Images)
Nina Xiang

Bill to bar TikTok reflects diminishing U.S. confidence

Social media platforms have been influence and intelligence tools for Washington

Avatar
Nina Xiang
Avatar
Monitoring shows there has been no significant increase in the level of radioactive substances in the seawater around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. (Photo by Kohnosuke Urata)
Junichi Matsumoto

TEPCO is committed to rebuilding trust in Japan and overseas

Transparency central element of cleanup work at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

Avatar
Junichi Matsumoto
Avatar
A protester shows solidarity with rape victims in New Delhi in 2019: Social stigma leads to the underreporting of sexual assault. 
Jaishree Kumar

Outrage toward rape in India must extend to local women too

Swift police action and compensation for Brazilian tourist should be more typical

Avatar
Jaishree Kumar
Avatar
Anthony Tan, CEO of Singapore tech company Grab, said 2023 was a "pivotal" year for the startup in an earnings call in February. 
SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Southeast Asia's startup winter

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

Avatar
SHIN NAKAYAMA
Avatar
An Indian fighter plane flies over a mountain range in Ladakh in 2020: The Chinese army would be hard put to get the better of India's armed forces in a Himalayan war.

China's Indian land grab has become a strategic disaster

Xi Jinping faces dilemma in resolving crisis without losing face

Avatar
Sunrise in Bangkok: The Asia-Pacific has the potential to lead the world in sustainable development but concerted effort will be needed to overcome challenges.
Christoph Nedopil

Asia-Pacific can lead way in sustainable development with cooperation

Trust, understanding and focus vital for region's green and digital transitions

Avatar
Christoph Nedopil
Avatar
U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's planned tariffs on Chinese imports would stretch the spirit, if not the letter, of World Trade Organization rules.
Stephen Olson

Trump's China tariff plan would be the death of the WTO

Republican presidential candidate would turn 'MFN' principle on its head

Avatar
Stephen Olson
Avatar
Toyota Motor, once a pioneer of vehicle electrification, should be setting an example to the industry of precise CO2 reporting and year-on-year emission reductions. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
Ben Scott

Toyota testing scandals underscore rising stakes around emissions

Automakers must make realistic assumptions about lifetime vehicle carbon output

Avatar
Ben Scott
Avatar
South Korean professional Go player Lee Se-dol is seen on a TV screen during a match against Google's go-playing program AlphaGo in Seoul in March 2016.
Scott Beaumont

AlphaGo showed Asia how AI can unlock new solutions to problems

With responsible development, technology can revolutionize many more areas

Avatar
Scott Beaumont
Avatar
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, is pictured here in December 2023. (Aaron M. Sprecher via AP)
Nikkei Editorial

Politics should not thwart Nippon Steel's plan to buy U.S. Steel

Protectionism and economic nationalism will ultimately harm American interests

Nikkei Editorial
Chinese tourists at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo: Urban Chinese love traveling to Japan. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Benjamin Qiu and Sam Goodman

Hong Kong's loss can be Tokyo's gain if it plays its cards right

Japan holds advantages over Singapore in drawing interest from wealthy Chinese

Benjamin Qiu and Sam Goodman
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's news conference on Mar.7 was infused with symbolism and eloquent rhetoric.
Yu Jie

Global South is moving toward the center of Chinese foreign policy

Beijing's priorities for 2024 reflect goal of standing up to U.S. pressure

Avatar
Yu Jie
Avatar
A coal-powered thermal power station in the Hunter Valley in 2021: Australia's Liberal-National coalition proposes to transform some coal plants to nuclear ones.
Chris Wallace

Politics, not policy, has revived Australia's nuclear debate

Even if opposition returns to power, plants unlikely to ever be built

Avatar
Chris Wallace
Avatar
Meat consumption is rising quickly in Thailand and other parts of Asia, spurred on by higher incomes and dietary changes. 
Maximo Torero

Asia still needs meat, but production has to be made greener

Plant-based alternatives not yet ready to fill region's full nutritional needs

Avatar
Maximo Torero
Avatar
Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average hit a record high on Mar. 4: Unlike 1989, there are strong fundamental factors supporting the recent run-up. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Emily Badger

Japan's stock market rally can outlast negative interest rates

Governance reforms and other initiatives are transforming the economy

Avatar
Emily Badger
Avatar
Japan is increasingly embracing the use of AI-powered medical technologies to overcome a shortage of workers.
John Collings

Japan is making way for AI-powered medical technologies

New policies address evolving nature of machine learning-based devices

Avatar
John Collings
Avatar
This year's National People's Congress revealed little about how China's policymakers plan to revive the economy. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)
SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: China's growth dilemma

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

Avatar
SHIN NAKAYAMA
Avatar
For his 2022 presidential election campaign, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s PR team portrayed him as a youthful "cool uncle" who would bring unity to a divided nation.

Prabowo followed Marcos' election playbook, for better or worse

Indonesians now must wait to see if next president takes authoritarian path

Avatar