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January 26th, 2023

Inside Japan's gender problem

G-7 leader still grappling with gender pay gap and few women in politics

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The Big Story

Inside Japan's gender problem: The men tasked with empowering women

Pay gap and low numbers of women in politics persist as Kishida assumes G-7 leadership

Masanobu Ogura, left, Japan's minister in charge of women's empowerment and gender equality, tries on a pregnancy jacket with two male colleagues in April 2021. 
Foreign tourists at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, one of Bangkok's most popular attractions, on Jan. 10.
Business Spotlight

Thailand and Indonesia gear up for return of Chinese tourists

After a three-year lull, is Southeast Asia's travel sector ready for a rush?

Shanghai-headquartered Versus Programming Network oversees live feeds for the 2022 PUBG Mobile Global Championship in Jakarta on Jan. 8. (Photo by Randy Mulyanto)
Media & Entertainment

Esports organizer VSPN eyes growth in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia

Shanghai-based company expects end to China's zero-COVID to boost industry

Japan is winding down a project aimed at using technology to make the burning of coal to generate power less environmentally damaging. (Photo by Sayumi Take)
Energy

Japan's 'clean coal' power experiment is starting to bear fruit

But yearslong project faces headwinds amid cost questions, global criticism

As relations between Berlin and Beijing fray, the German city of Duisburg is getting less freight train traffic from China.
Asia Insight

China Belt and Road dreams fade in Germany's industrial heartland

Geopolitical tensions derail Duisburg's hopes of trade bonanza

A high-speed train pulls into Boten Station in Laos. The Laos–China High-Speed Railway marked the first anniversary of its opening on Dec. 3, 2022. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Belt and Road

Ambition, concern drive Lao-China high-speed rail project

December marks one year since Vientiane's bet on China's Belt and Road

Militants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are seen on a boat in Bangsamoro, Cotabato, Philippines, in 2019. (File photo by Getty Images)
Politics

Philippines gets ready for Muslim Mindanao autonomy by 2025

Disarming rebels, budget management remain issues for Manila

Demonstrators protest against China in support of its ethnic Uyghur community on Dec. 9 in Istanbul. 
International relations

Turkey says relations with China have soured over Uyghur issue

Ahead of elections, Ankara insists it won't extradite anyone

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum was held in its regular format for the first time in three years.
Davos 2023

Davos 2023: 5 takeaways from an Asian perspective

India visibility grows while China, U.S. fail to send top leaders

Rishi Sunak and Fumio Kishida arrive at the Tower of London on Jan. 11.
Opinion

U.K. will stand by Japan as China leverages its state power

Britain is committed to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region

A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force vehicle launches a type 12 surface-to-ship missile during an exercise: The ultimate issue is to what extent Japan is willing to be a tail that is wagged. (Handout photo from Japan Ground Self-Defense Force) 
Opinion

Japan's new security strategy will make China more mistrustful

Tokyo needs to realize its interests do not always align with those of the U.S.

SKA-Low prototype antennas on-site at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia. The SKA project has been compared in importance to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. (Courtesy of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research)
Life

Australia and partners ramp up search for alien life

Giant radio telescopes aim to probe secrets of the universe

Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the Japanese character Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" leaned into ugly stereotypes, prompting one reviewer to write, "The role is a caricature and may be offensive to some." (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Hollywood's skewed view of Japan

Caricatures and lurid plot lines have shaped Western attitudes