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. 

The Voice proposal lacked cross-party support, without which Australian constitutional referendums almost never succeed.
JJ Rose

Australia Inc.'s big-money campaign for the 'Voice' was tone-deaf

Divisive referendum has made corporate leaders look out of touch

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JJ Rose
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Tech leaders attend a generative AI meeting in San Francisco in June: Despite investing billions in AI, leading U.S. tech companies have allocated few resources toward ensuring AI safety.
Angela Huyue Zhang

China-U.S. tech rivalry is making it harder to contain AI risks

Too little attention being paid to heading off potential catastrophe

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Angela Huyue Zhang
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The shortage of female directors can be attributed to Japanese companies' collective underinvestment in the professional development of female employees. (Photo by Nozomu Ogawa) 
Nobuko Kobayashi

Japan Inc. can find worthy women directors if it looks hard enough

Corporate 'dropouts' have carved unique paths to business success

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Nobuko Kobayashi
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While Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government has ducked some battles with China, it has not conceded to Beijing on any top-tier national interest. (AAP Image via Reuters) 
Richard Maude and Genevieve Donnellon-May

Xi's global agenda will restrain improvement in Australian ties

Albanese has changed Canberra's diplomatic tone, not its policy stance

Richard Maude and Genevieve Donnellon-May
Keisei Electric Railway's 22% stake in Oriental Land, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, is worth 1.8 trillion yen, double Keisei's own market capitalization. (Photo by Yutaka Miyaguchi)
Stephen Givens

Activist investor targeting Tokyo Disneyland stake may be in luck

Timing for Palliser Capital's push on Keisei is looking auspicious

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Stephen Givens
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A job fair in Zhengzhou, China in September: Some cities report that only 40% of new graduates are finding employment. (FeatureChina via AP)
Wei Li

China cannot let the ambitions of young graduates be extinguished

Too many are disappointed with choices on offer in current economy

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Wei Li
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in Bali, Indonesia, at the G20 Leaders' Summit in November 2022.

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Better together

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

Bettors at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club in Kolkata: India has now set the tax rate on all gaming and gambling-related activity at 28%.
Ritesh Kumar Singh

India's tax squeeze on gaming and gambling is a losing bet

In pressing unaffordable demands, authorities will only drive activity underground

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Ritesh Kumar Singh
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An unfinished Country Garden project in Tianjin in August: Using state funds to complete such developments will not resolve the property sector's underlying problems.
Donald Low

China needs a market support fund -- to rescue property developers

Risk of property market troubles hurting wider economy outweighs moral hazard concerns

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Donald Low
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A model of Hindustan Aeronautics' Sukhoi-30 MKI twin-seat fighter at an exhibition in Visakhapatnam, India in March: Stock analysts are bullish on the outlook for defense companies.
Henny Sender

India is shooting for the moon with its arms-making push

Drive to increase local defense production and exports faces challenges

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Henny Sender
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Unfinished residential buildings in Tongchuan, China in September: Buyers of undelivered homes can expect to get relief through a legal resolution process. 
Nan Li and John D. Van Fleet

U.S. and China need better understanding of each other's problems

Beijing can comfort investors with stable, well communicated policies

Nan Li and John D. Van Fleet
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at the G7 summit in Germany in 2022.
Derek Grossman

India-Canada spat is no-win situation for the U.S.

Biden administration keen to avoid taking sides in row over dissident's killing

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Derek Grossman
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The second summit this year between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured here in Beijing on Oct. 17, underscored their close ties.
Nikkei Editorial

China-Russia challenge to the global order cannot be allowed

Autocratic countries overlook violence while undermining stability and freedom

Nikkei Editorial
The Thai baht, ground zero for the 1997 Asian financial crisis, is among leading exchange-rate decliners in the region. 
William Pesek

Sliding Southeast Asian currencies are raising echoes of 1997

Other central banks may follow Indonesia's surprise rate hike

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William Pesek
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A woman uses her smartphone in Gaza in 2022: The ongoing Israel-Hamas war is fast-moving and the many gaps in information leave room for misinformation to take root.
Brijesh Singh

Israel-Hamas war shows the formidable power of narrative

Democratic governments need to build societal resilience to manipulation

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Brijesh Singh
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Baidu staff promote AI chatbot Ernie Bot at the Wave Summit in Beijing in August: More major tech companies in China than in the U.S. are offering their own advanced chatbots.
Zhou Xin

Too late now for U.S. to hold back China in global AI race

Government and public embrace smart tech for efficiency and reduced corruption

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Zhou Xin
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Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz: In 2018, 76% of crude oil traveling through the strait was bound for Asia.
Kabir Taneja

India, Japan and South Korea should work together to protect shipping

Renewed Middle East fighting highlights energy security vulnerability

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Kabir Taneja
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Australian tourism development has been held back by a lack of investment outside existing major centers, high costs, increasing airfares and overreliance on the China market.
Satyajit Das

Australia's challenges are no mystery but take courage to tackle

Country's economic imbalances only set to get worse

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Satyajit Das
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Limited application opportunities at public national universities like the University of Tokyo likely disproportionately penalize women averse to high-stakes competition.
Momoko Nakayama and Fumiya Uchikoshi

Sex imbalance at Japan's top university is worth worrying about

Underrepresentation of women at University of Tokyo has significant consequences

Momoko Nakayama and Fumiya Uchikoshi
Hitsuzi, a civil servant in his 30s who lives near Tokyo, spends most evenings interacting with his friends on the virtual platform VRChat, where he appears as a purple-haired avatar. (Photo by Ryohtaroh Satoh) 

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Asia's new digital dimensions

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

U.S. policymakers chose to let Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008.
Benjamin Bennett

China's 'Lehman Brothers moment' will be just as tense as 2008

Just because Beijing can rescue failing companies does not mean that it will

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Benjamin Bennett
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A worker inspects chips at a semiconductor packaging firm in Malaysia: Roughly 90% of the back-end work to make semiconductors ready for installation is done in Asia.
Jan-Peter Kleinhans and Pranay Kotasthane

Chipmaking subsidies are not the answer to supply security worries

U.K. is taking right approach by focusing on areas of comparative advantage

Jan-Peter Kleinhans and Pranay Kotasthane
Periodic purges within the military serve the purpose of psychological intimidation and help reinvigorate President Xi Jinping's control over the People's Liberation Army.
James Char

Xi could strike a real blow to military corruption if he wanted to

China defense minister's disappearance may be as much about politics as malfeasance

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James Char
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Indigenous women sit on a bench at a polling place in Sydney on Oct. 14: The referendum campaign had an energizing effect on Indigenous Australians around the country.
Cheryl Saunders

'Voice' vote shows Australia has to rethink constitutional change

Country must still also find way forward for Indigenous people

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Cheryl Saunders
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A doctor talks with diabetes patients at his clinic in Jakarta: A lack of doctors and medication has driven up to 2 million Indonesians a year to seek health services abroad.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin

Indonesia is facing up to its need for health care investment

Reforms will encourage companies to provide innovative medicines

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Budi Gunadi Sadikin
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