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Opinion

Original perspectives and fresh thinking on issues of concern to Asia from around the region, plus editorials and letters to the editor. Please contact us if you would like to submit a letter to be considered for publication.

Candidates prepare to enter a civil service exam center in Nanjing on Dec. 10. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Yingyi Ma

Job stability and security are what Chinese youth want now

Renewed fervor for civil service exam underscores plight of private sector

Yingyi Ma

Supporters of KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih at a campaign event in New Taipei City on Jan. 3: Most Taiwanese see friendly relations with China as essential.

John Fuh-sheng Hsieh

Big shift in China policy unlikely whoever wins Taiwan election

Next president will face major domestic and external constraints

John Fuh-sheng Hsieh

There is no obvious successor to the dollar.

Satyajit Das

Asia can reduce its dollar dependence but it won't be easy

Reliance on greenback is byproduct of export-led development model

Satyajit Das

Ayi University students in a child care course in Beijing: Many Asian households are hiring outside care assistance.

Deborah Foo

Investment in Asia's 'care economy' carries broad benefits

In supportive environments, service providers are proving financially sustainable

Deborah Foo

Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture: By restarting seven of its 33 operable reactors, Japan could achieve complete independence from Russian gas imports. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)

Letter to the editor

Japan can escape Russia's energy chokehold

Restart of seven reactors would enable independence from Moscow's LNG imports

Letter to the editor

U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington in June. The two nations' relations have strengthened over the past two decades.

Arun K. Singh

India-U.S. ties are now strong enough to bear strains

Top-level cooperation continues despite alleged murder plot

Arun K. Singh

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, at the G7 summit in Hiroshima with Comoros President Azali Assoumani and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. (Pool via Reuters)

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Japan must take its Global South vision forward in 2024

Concept can help strengthen coordination of support for developing countries

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Credit-card debt has been growing rapidly in India: Signs suggest households are supplementing their income with loans, a sign of poor financial capacity.

Karan Mehrishi

India's central bank needs to refocus on economic growth

RBI Gov. Das' emphasis on financial stability is counterproductive

Karan Mehrishi

Solar panels atop public housing in Singapore: The city-state is positioning itself as a regional leader in strengthening energy security.

Andrew Stepien

Singapore can show the way toward higher energy efficiency

Smart management key for building greater resilience and advancing decarbonization

Andrew Stepien

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last month that the "next question" will be the timing of rate cuts.

A U.S. pivot to cutting rates would pose risks for Asia

Premature Fed loosening could entrench elevated prices

A cyberattack on Australia's largest port operator in November disrupted the nation's economy.

Robert Holleyman

Asia's accelerating digitalization is making it more vulnerable

To reduce cyberattack risks to infrastructure, region must adopt more secure systems

Robert Holleyman

Awami League supporters rally on Dec. 20 in Sylhet: No other major party will be on the election ballot.

Ipshita Basu

Bangladeshi voters will have their say in deciding to vote

Ruling Awami League keen to encourage turnout as sign of legitimization

Ipshita Basu

Engineers at Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute in Hsinchu: Taiwan's chip manufacturing model was built up over decades.

Syaru Shirley Lin

U.S.-China faceoff means Taiwan needs closer links with neighbors

Washington's decoupling push poses threat to island's resilience

Syaru Shirley Lin

Shinzo Abe, left, shakes hands with Donald Trump in September 2019: The late Japanese prime minister managed U.S. ties effectively.

SHIN NAKAYAMA

2024 outlook: Asia shouldn't focus too much on Donald Trump

Framework for peace and stability that stands apart from U.S.-China faceoff needed

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Sofia Vergara, second from left, with "Modern Family" cast members: Her line "Do you even know how smart I am in Spanish?" speaks to many nonnative English speakers.

Nobuko Kobayashi

Nonnative English speakers need to be heard within multinationals

Global language of business has its costs as well as its benefits

Nobuko Kobayashi

A man in Shaanxi province looks at the unfinished building where he bought a home: China's economic outlook will hinge on the property sector.

Wei Yao and Michelle Lam

2024 outlook: China's economic gloom to lighten a little bit

Property market stabilization requires faster restructuring of developers' debts

Wei Yao and Michelle Lam

Voting in Male during September's presidential election: The new Maldivian leader has pledged to move away from his predecessor's "India-first policy."

Chietigj Bajpaee

2024 outlook: Much at stake in South Asia's imperfect democracies

Choices regional voters make will have implications for global governance issues

Chietigj Bajpaee

Children plant mangroves in West Java province, Indonesia: Restoring 303,000 hectares of Southeast Asian mangroves could protect more than 4 million people in coastal areas.

Laurence Lien

Southeast Asia's climate fight can't be left to government alone

Private capital can help to finance mitigation and adaptation solutions

Laurence Lien

The heart of today's battle should be to answer questions such as "How can the economy of life, like renewables and recycling, be as profitable as the economy of death?"

COP28 failed to resolve threat of climatic cataclysm

Transition to 'economy of life' key to humanity's survival

President Xi Jinping, center, and other Chinese Communist Party leaders discussed economic priorities for 2024 at the two-day annual Central Economic Work Conference in mid-December. The market speculates that Xi is cautious about government spending measures. (Xinhua/Kyodo)

Nikkei Editorial

Private-sector vitality is needed to revive China's economy

Xi must not prioritize party dominance over employment and innovation

Nikkei Editorial

Despite consistently emphasizing that its 2% inflation target has not yet been reached, BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda has initiated forward-looking discussions on normalization.

Sayuri Shirai

2024 outlook: The BOJ will choose its moment for normalization

Gov. Ueda seems impatient with Japan's lack of real wage growth

Sayuri Shirai

Residential towers in Yantai, China: Local government measures, such as lowering mortgage rates, have failed to halt a decline in residential home sales. (FeatureChina via AP Images)

Donald Low and Elisha M. Sonthra

2024 outlook: China property market turn requires new growth model

Stronger safety net would encourage consumers to spend more

Donald Low and Elisha M. Sonthra

An Australian LNG tanker at the port of Yokohama: Japan relies heavily on fossil fuel imports, with as much as 40% of its LNG coming from Australia.

Ryan Neelam and Michelle Lyons

Australia and Japan must recast their energy relationship

Exports of fossil fuels could give way to green metals and critical minerals

Ryan Neelam and Michelle Lyons

Taiwan presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, center, of the ruling DPP waves to supporters: The peaceful transfer of power has become routine in Taiwan. (Photo by Hiroki Endo)

2024 outlook: Asia's historic year of elections is a cause for hope

Citizens exercising right to vote will encourage those in authoritarian states

(Photo by Takayuki Matsunaga)

Nancy Snow

Perceptions of Japan have never been better, but that is not enough

Authorities need to focus more on competitiveness and efficiency

Nancy Snow