Asia Insight: News & Insights

As Rodrigo Duterte's presidential term enters its final year, many Filipinos see his daughter Sara as his logical successor.

Asia Insight

Duterte's daughter Sara in focus as his presidency winds down

Sea change Philippine elections in store as China and US face off in disputed waters

11 May 2021

Asia Insight

COVID purgatory: Variants and other risks complicate Asia's escape

Amid uneven vaccinations, India stirs fears as Singapore and Israel offer hope

6 May 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has trumpeted ambitious climate goals, but some see a need for a more "intense energy transition" by the government.

Asia Insight

Cars, homes and steel: Japan industries wary of Suga carbon vows

Toyota chief leads warnings of hollowing-out without more clean energy

27 April 2021

Asia Insight

Hong Kong's security law sends chill through arts community

Political pressure undermines city's position as regional culture hub

20 April 2021

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to convince his country of 1.3 billion that "in every aspect of life, modernization is essential."

Asia Insight

Modi's structural reforms enter climax as vested interests dig in

Indian PM faces Thatcher moment as he sweeps away decades-old socialist residue

13 April 2021

South Korea's second city of Busan is traditionally a conservative area, and has inched further to the right in recent years in apparent frustration with the ruling party's failure to revive the regional economy.

Asia Insight

Moon promises the sky in Busan but faces electoral crash landing

Polls tip conservatives to win back mayorships of South Korea's two biggest cities

6 April 2021

Asia Insight

Pandemic Olympics: Japan searches for meaning in isolated games

With foreign fans nixed, 'reconstruction' slogan rings hollow at Fukushima relay

30 March 2021

Japan lags behind numerous other countries in inoculating its population against COVID-19.

Asia Insight

Japan's slow COVID vaccine rollout turns hope into frustration

With emergency lifted and Olympics fast approaching, clamor for change intensifies

23 March 2021

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's abhorrence of high interest rates resulted in close to 15% inflation in 2020.

Asia Insight

Erdogan swallows 'bitter pills' as inflation again rocks Turkey

Architect of past growth blasts president for letting currency slide and cash flee

16 March 2021

After nearly half a century as part of the European Union or its precursor, the European Economic Community, the U.K. fully exited the EU at the end of last year to once again seek independent engagement with the world.

Asia Insight

'Global Britain' woos ASEAN in fields of former empire

But post-Brexit UK may have to wait out higher priorities for Southeast Asia

9 March 2021

The remains of a disaster prevention office building are seen in a memorial park in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, on Feb.14. A total of 43 people in the building were swept away by a massive tsunami that followed the magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Asia Insight

10 years after tsunami and Fukushima, north Japan yet to fill void

Despite $280bn effort to heal scars of March 11, 2011, many evacuees stay away

2 March 2021

South Korea's massive corporations are exporting their way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, while small businesses are still struggling as people remain reluctant to spend. (Illustration by Hiroko Oshima)

Asia Insight

Pandemic widens gap between South Korea's haves and have-nots

Chaebols rebound on export growth, while small domestic businesses suffer

23 February 2021

Central banks across Asia are pushing their own digital currency projects.

Asia Insight

China's New Year digital yuan tests hasten Asia e-currency race

Central banks push projects amid COVID but first mover Cambodia sees slow uptake

16 February 2021

TSMC, which produces chips for tech giants such as Apple, Google and Qualcomm, accounts for one-third of total local stock market value and around 20% of estimated private sector investment. (Illustration by Michael Tsang)

Asia Insight

Taiwan's economy feels heat as TSMC feeds global chip boom

Demand for 'strategic resource' fuels labor, power and water shortages

9 February 2021

Asia Insight

Europe pivots to Indo-Pacific with 'multipolar' ambitions

ASEAN and other players welcome hedge against US-China rivalry

2 February 2021

India is counting on a mass coronavirus inoculation effort combined with the shipping of domestically-manufactured vaccines to other countries in a bid to eliminate the threat of COVID-19 to its people.

Asia Insight

India pushes COVID shots in two-pronged effort at home and abroad

But supply and other issues pose challenge to domestic rollout for 300 million

26 January 2021

After a tumultuous U.S. election, Asia is about to see Joe Biden in action as president. But answers to key questions like China policy and trade pacts may not come right away.

Asia Insight

Crises at home leave Biden little time for Asia in first 100 days

No quick moves expected on China and trade as COVID and political tensions burn

19 January 2021

The European Union has come under intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to block equipment made by Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G networks. Now, a new administration is set to take power in Washington and the 27-member bloc is anticipating what stance it will take in relation to China.

Asia Insight

EU hopes for 'tech alliance' with Biden after Trump Huawei 5G ban

But cutting dependence on cheap Chinese network equipment to keep testing allies

12 January 2021

RCEP is raising hopes for Asia's post-COVID economic recovery, as well as questions about how non-signatories India and the U.S. will respond.

Asia Insight

RCEP: China to gain as trade pact ripples across post-COVID world

Japan and South Korea also likely winners; outsiders US and India eye next moves

5 January 2021

While the impact of the virus will be felt for decades to come, there are many reasons to be optimistic as we head into 2021.

Asia Insight

An optimist's guide to 2021 in Asia

The pandemic has been a catalyst for change in health, tech and working practices

29 December 2020

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, right, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, left, are preparing for the Communist Party of Vietnam's next congress. The meeting will decide the leadership lineup and goals for the next five years.

Asia Insight

Vietnam's Communists brace for next 5 years after big 2020

Party has COVID, Big Tech and dissent under control; can it keep economy humming?

22 December 2020

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said after reelection in October that the country has "a huge potential to escape the middle-income trap." The COVID-19 pandemic is making that goal a herculean task. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)

Asia Insight

Pandemic stalls Indonesia's push to escape middle-income trap

Two decades of growth reversed in Southeast Asia's biggest economy

15 December 2020

Asia Insight

Cities after COVID: How Manila and others can 'build back better'

For Asian metropolises, crisis offers chance to emerge cleaner, greener and safer

8 December 2020

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. India and China see a chance to deepen their geopolitical influence in cash-strapped and increasingly vulnerable Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both strategically located in the Indian Ocean.

Asia Insight

India and China compete over Indian Ocean debt-relief diplomacy

Sri Lanka and Maldives seek bailouts as Asian giants dangle dollars to gain edge

1 December 2020

Aung San Suu Kyi's fervid supporters show a clear contrast from the cool attitude of western media and human rights organizations. (Nikkei montage/Source photo by Reuters)

Asia Insight

Suu Kyi's Myanmar election win fails to excite foreign investors

Overseas companies put off by red tape, poor infrastructure and plight of Rohingya

24 November 2020