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August 6th, 2020

THE PRICE OF PEACE

Defending Japan in an 'America First' world

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The Big Story

The price of peace: Why Japan scrapped a $4.2bn US missile system

Washington and Tokyo have been allies for 60 years. Both agree they're spending too much

Costly, often delayed armaments were part of the price Tokyo paid for its U.S. alliance -- a relationship which has also helped support decades of pacifism and low defense expenditures.
As movie theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, film producers in India are turning to online premieres of new releases. (Nikkei montage/Source images courtesy of Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney Plus Hotstar)
Business Spotlight

Digital Bollywood: Can Amazon and Netflix save Indian cinema?

Online premieres offer glimmer of hope for studios struggling in pandemic

The new coronavirus pandemic is making it even harder for the three allied automakers to recover. (Photo by Kei Higuchi) 
Nissan-Renault alliance

Twin storms batter struggling Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance

French automaker reports record $8.6bn net loss for H1 hit by coronavirus and Nissan plunge

(Source photo by Reuters)
Companies

WeChat users look to Japan's Line for alternative as US ban looms

As Washington scrutinizes Chinese chat giant, downloads of rival surge

Seven & i boasts the biggest number of convenience stores in the U.S., including ones combined with gas stations like the one above.
Business deals

7-Eleven parent to buy US convenience store Speedway for $21bn

Japan's Seven & i to add 4,000 outlets, but shares plunge 8%

Microsoft says it is planning to complete talks to buy TikTok, the U.S. unit of Chinese technology company ByteDance as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs a ban of the popular video app over security concerns.
US-China tensions

Microsoft says talks on possible TikTok purchase to continue

Tech giant aims to complete negotiations in 'matter of weeks' as US ban looms

© Illustration by Michael Tsang
Asia Insight

Indian apps soar after ban on China's TikTok, WeChat and Baidu

Relations soured by Ladakh clash force Modi to refocus economic struggle

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at the site of an attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29.
Belt and Road

Pakistani separatist groups unite to target China's Belt and Road

Experts say Islamabad and Beijing will be forced to increase project security

Tsai Ing-wen, then presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, hugs former president Lee Teng-hui during his last election rally at New Taipei City in January 2012. Tsai is now Taiwan's president.
Obituaries

Lee Teng-hui's dream of 'two states' paved way for Tsai Ing-wen

Former president's education policy helped forge Taiwanese identity

Almost empty Shinsekai shopping street, a famous tourist destination in Osaka, pictured on March 29: the initial loss is not recoverable because the time is forgone.
Opinion

COVID-19's staggering economic impact forces deep macro policy rethink

Biggest problem facing world economy is not inflation or deflation, but low growth

Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured in December 2019: No countries have come forward to establish a unified anti-U.S. alliance.
Opinion

Beijing hard-liners kick against Xi Jinping's wolf warrior diplomacy

Foreign policy hawks concede that current strategy is winning China no new friends

South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Nippon Steel to compensate four plaintiffs, including Lee Chun-sik, seated at center, for being forced to work for the company when Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula.    
The Nikkei View

Tokyo and Seoul must avoid tit for tat over wartime labor

Regional security depends on neighborly relations

One of the large dining rooms at Ukiyo, a ryotei, or high-end Japanese restaurant that also provides entertainment, in Niigata Prefecture. (Courtesy of Ukiyo)
Life

'Kaiseki' cuisine slips down Japan's post-pandemic menu

As restaurants close, acclaimed culinary tradition faces radical changes

"Little Children on a Bicycle," a mural by the Penang-based Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic at the upper end of Armenian Street, was named one of the world's best pieces of street art by a U.K. newspaper (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan).
Tea Leaves

Surviving without tourists

Locals back in the spotlight as Malaysia's George Town exits pandemic