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August 1st, 2019

Crumbling ties

Inside the lose-lose trade fight between South Korea and Japan

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The Big Story

Inside the lose-lose trade fight between Japan and South Korea

Samsung's chip business faces "burdens" from Tokyo's new export controls

As Japan’s controls on chemical exports threaten South Korea’s high-tech sector, politicians and businesses are digging in for the long haul. (Montage by Michael Tsang)
Then-South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, left, and Japan's then-Emperor Akihito in 2003 -- the last state visit by a South Korean leader to Japan to date.
The Big Story

Japan-South Korea dispute has roots in 1965 postwar agreement

Tokyo says claims over colonial past are settled, but Seoul seeks to 'set history right'

Pony.ai's self-driving cars have convinced high-profile investors to pour in $300 million, pushing the startup's valuation to $1.7 billion. (Courtesy of Pony.ai)
Startups in Asia

China's Pony.ai races Google to bring driverless cars to masses

Two-year-old unicorn tops Baidu in road tests but faces uphill climb

Robots from Japanese maker Fanuc on display at an exhibition in Shanghai. The Chinese government wants the country's robotics industry to be more self-sufficient.
China tech

China's tech spending surges as it strives to be robotics superpower

Beijing aims for 70% of all robots in the country to be made at home by 2025

Global institutional investors are pressuring big Asian companies to put more women in senior management and director positions. (Photo by Nozomu Ogawa)
Finance

Global investors press harder for women on Asian boards

Legal & General and other managers use voting power in Japan, China and India

General Electric reported $22 billion in goodwill impairments in 2018, related mainly to its acquisition of Alstom's energy business.
Business trends

Global M&A write-downs swell to $155bn amid trade war

Costlier deals amplify impact of weakening earnings

SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Interview

Masayoshi Son blasts critics who 'don't understand' AI's potential

SoftBank CEO predicts Vision Fund will see monthly IPOs around next year

Brides and grooms sit next to an air conditioner as they wait for the start of a mass wedding ceremony at Ramlila ground in New Delhi June 15, 2014.
Business trends

India launches sale of green air conditioners to cut emissions

State-owned EESL offers cheap, efficient cooling systems

A woman walks on a flooded road after the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam collapsed in Attapeu province, Laos last July.
Construction

One year from Laos dam collapse, insurers urged to help

Rights groups say thousands of affected villagers in need of aid

Tata Motors' India business, which makes a range of passenger and commercial vehicles, saw a 20% slump in revenue.
Companies

Tata Motors posts wider quarterly loss on weak JLR sales

Company says British subsidiary's financial performance to improve

Jollibee is expanding its foothold in the competitive coffee market. (Sources photos by Reuters and Kosaku Mimura)
Business deals

Philippines' Jollibee takes on Starbucks with US coffee chain deal

$350m acquisition of another loss-making company a 'major investor concern'

Singtel has partnered with Japan's Netstars, whose StarPay terminals are in more than 100,000 stores, restaurants and other locations.
Technology

Asian tourists have new payment options in Japan as Singtel arrives

VIA alliance brings Thai and Singapore-based digital services to Tokyo airports

© Illustration by Michael Tsang
Asia Insight

China's European outreach hits a wall in Germany

Investment falls as Berlin backlash hampers Belt and Road

A ship loaded with containers readies to depart Qingdao in China's Shandong Province.
Trade war

Trade war triggers Asia-wide exports slump

China slowdown ripples through supply chain, hurting Singapore and Thailand

Women fetch water from an opening made by residents at a dried-up lake in Chennai, India on June 11.
Economy

Droughts hit Thailand and India, risking stress on food supplies

Rice producers see further export cut; Australia scrambles to import wheat

Progress Singapore Party leader Tan Cheng Bock, center, introduces his party to the media on July 26. (Photo by Kentaro Iwamoto) 
Politics

Singapore PM Lee faces fight with new party backed by his brother

Challenger blasts 'erosion of transparency' but is greeted with skepticism

Kazakhstan's interim president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has promised to write off the mortgage and tax debts of low-income people, straining the government's budget.
Economy

Kazakhstan's political uncertainty weighs on its currency

Transition to permanent president and the ruble to determine tenge's value

A tourist wearing a traditional Korean costume poses for photographs at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul on February 11.
Economy

Chinese tourists return to South Korea as relations warm

Favorites Thailand and Vietnam see fewer faces from China in first half of 2019

A pump jack operates in an oil field in Texas: U.S. shale output could peak in about a decade.
Opinion

India and China cannot rely on US oil as Iran troubles heat up

American shale offers some hope for Asia, but practical problems too

A regular konbini clerk operates approximately 1,200 different tasks. (Photo by Momoko Kidera)
Opinion

Japan's Convenience Store Woman has lessons for retail tech

Amazon Go and rivals need to see automation as a means not an end

Duterte promised to resist China "in due time."
Opinion

Duterte's time runs short to make meaningful change

Filipino leader's State of the Nation Address thin on economic proposals

The reported deal with Cambodia would give China exclusive use of part of this naval base near Sihanoukville.
The Nikkei View

Cambodia's alleged China military deal risks destabilizing regional order

Southeast Asia and beyond should voice concerns about Beijing's use of naval base

The Kiyomizu-dera Temple Security Association counts shopkeepers, business owners and monks among its members.
Life

Meet the team with a burning desire to protect Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera temple

Monks, shopkeepers and business owners ready to rush in should fire threaten one of Japan's most cherished treasures

End of the run: A player from Fukui cries after his team's loss in the prefectural semifinals in July 2011.
Life

Agony and ecstasy: Why Japan is obsessed with high school baseball

The annual Koshien Stadium competition is the closest thing to a national festival

Brent Kerehona receiving new moko during the live demonstrations for the Maori Markings: Ta Moko exhibition opening day 2019
Tea Leaves

Maori Australian revives in-your-face cultural identity

Traditional body art is making a comeback among Polynesian immigrants