The Big Story

All froth: Luckin Coffee, whose store count outstripped Starbucks' in China, claimed high-tech credentials as it expanded rapidly through the country and listed overseas.
The Big Story

The Luckin scandal: fake sales, power struggles and a 'broken model'

How a Chinese tech darling went from startup wonder to market pariah

8 July 2020
Suntory Holdings rode two decades of surging popularity for Japanese whisky. Then the coronavirus hit, shutting down cities and means for people to gather. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)
The Big Story

Suntory thirsts for new markets as coronavirus upends whisky empire

CEO Takeshi Niinami says innovation is key to restarting growth

1 July 2020
The shortage of protective gear at a time of utmost need has revealed the fragility of global supply chains -- and the extent of the U.S.'s reliance on China. © Illustration by Michael Tsang
The Big Story

How Trump's China obsession undermined the coronavirus effort

As the US scrambles for life-saving gear, White House shuts out the world's largest supplier

24 June 2020
Japanese subculture, with its history of oversize global influence, is again powering back into the mainstream. 
The Big Story

From Netflix shows to Nintendo: the resurgence of Japanese cool

Tech is bringing anime, manga and even wrestling into the global mainstream

17 June 2020
Locking down the country in March, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unwittingly triggered acute unemployment and mass migration. "We will die poor," said one migrant who struggled to return home.
The Big Story

India's migrant exodus foreshadows an economic crisis

Modi's lockdown hit the poorest hard. His recovery plan may leave millions more behind

10 June 2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping poised to vote on a national security bill in May: For many, the controversial law is a sign of Beijing's irrevocably tightening control over the territory of Hong Kong.
The Big Story

Despair and defiance as Hong Kong mounts its last stand

New national security law all but ends the city's autonomy

3 June 2020
Asia is exercising an advantage over the "wild" West, remaining more cautious about reopening stores and restaurants amid the risk of additional novel coronavirus outbreaks. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

Exits from coronavirus lockdown split 'wild' West from 'cautious' East

Economies are impatient to reopen. Experts say it will trigger a second wave of infections

27 May 2020
With coffee plantations, slick cafe outlets and eco-resorts, V.G. Siddhartha was the picture of a successful entrepreneur -- until his sudden death in 2019 revealed a tangled web of politics and debt. (© Illustration by Michael Tsang)
The Big Story

Death of the coffee king: power and money in corporate India

V.G. Siddhartha's death exposed a spiral of debt and political connections gone bad

20 May 2020
Japan's generous donor status gave it international influence. But at home, one policy has long been out of step. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

Japan's refugee conundrum: open wallet, closed borders

Tokyo's humanitarian pullback reveals waning global ambition

13 May 2020
In a striking company turnaround, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida seems to have put Sony's troubled years behind it. His next, and even bigger challenge: to restore its halo as the inventive brand behind devices from the Walkman to the PlayStation. 
The Big Story

Sony CEO Yoshida navigates coronavirus and activist attacks

New PlayStation launch clouded by pandemic as company seeks to revive innovation

6 May 2020
In India, Facebook sees colossal untapped value -- but the company is also locked in conflict with the government on privacy, security and online misinformation.
The Big Story

Friend request: How India's battle with Facebook will change the internet

WhatsApp encryption targeted as tech giant navigates fake news and hacked accounts

29 April 2020
With around a third of the world's population under some form of mandated isolation, Asia's citizens are attempting to adjust to a new reality. 
The Big Story

'Government puts economy before life': Voices from the pandemic

Living in coronavirus lockdown, Asia adapts to a new abnormal

22 April 2020
Instead of crafting a global plan, the U.S. and China -- the two world powers best suited to lead a coronavirus response -- have sniped at one another from the sidelines. 
The Big Story

How coronavirus exposed the collapse of global leadership

The pandemic called for coordinated action. No one answered

15 April 2020
A health worker runs tests in a temporary facility at the Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center, Thailand. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

'We should have been more prepared, and I don't know why we're not'

On the coronavirus front line, exhausted medical workers and overwhelmed hospitals

8 April 2020
Even as borders shut off and nations turn inward, scientists are collaborating with their international peers at a frantic pace. Above, Chris Mok of the coronavirus vaccine team at HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, Hong Kong. (Photo by Nicola Longobardi)
The Big Story

Inside the unprecedented global race for a coronavirus cure

As health systems teeter, scientists must rely on informal networks for vital research

8 April 2020
Food delivery drivers in Bangkok keep safe distance: As borders close, economies in Asia that have thrived on openness and connectivity are having to undo decades of integration. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

How the coronavirus is reshaping Asia's borders, business and trade

As countries turn inward, pandemic threatens the foundations of globalization

1 April 2020
The mesmerizing logo of the TikTok app is familiar to young smartphone users all over the world -- but its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is a virtual black box.
The Big Story

Inside ByteDance, the $75bn unicorn behind TikTok

The Chinese social media upstart has captivated users and alarmed regulators

25 March 2020
Beijing has thrown billions of dollars at its chip industry, and created a nascent boom that not even a global pandemic could deflate. (Illustration by Nikkei)
The Big Story

How China's chip industry defied the coronavirus lockdown

Beijing bent Wuhan quarantine rules in a high-stakes bid for tech self-sufficiency

18 March 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to shape India into a manufacturing powerhouse and a $5 trillion economy. Instead, as his government tilts toward authoritarianism, reform has fallen by the wayside. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

How Modi won India's elections but paralyzed the economy

As PM stokes nationalism, backlash brews among business elite

11 March 2020
Denise Ho Wan-see, the Cantonese singer-turned-activist, is among the pioneering female leaders featured by the Nikkei Asian Review. (Illustration by Chuan Ming Ong)
The Big Story

International Women's Day: Meet 11 of Asia's trailblazers

From leading Netflix's India ambitions to funding the next unicorn, these are the names to know

4 March 2020
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's signature policy, Abenomics, was supposed to solve Japan's problems of deflation and decline. Billions of dollars' worth of stimulus later, the economy is sliding into contraction. (Nikkei photo illustration/Source photo by Aflo)
The Big Story

How coronavirus, typhoons and taxes drove Japan to the brink of recession

Tourism industry braced for disappointing year despite Olympics

26 February 2020
Australian politics “weaponized” climate policy. Now, a brutal summer of wildfires has put the country on the front lines of a global crisis.
The Big Story

Australia locked in climate policy 'paralysis' despite summer of fire

Mining exec says 'we're not the bad guys, we're part of the solution'

19 February 2020
In their lifetimes, young Thais have already witnessed one financial crisis, two coups, endless protests and sweeping constitutional change. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

Thailand's fearless youth stands up to the military and monarchy

The government struggles to reach a generation no longer cowed by authority

12 February 2020
As the White House wages a war against Chinese technology, Meng Wanzhou's trial draws Canada into a high-stakes diplomatic and economic game.
The Big Story

Cyberspies, 5G and Iran: Is the US case against Huawei crumbling?

As top executive battles extradition from Canada, Chinese tech giant gains elsewhere

5 February 2020
The SARS epidemic caused nearly 800 deaths, and hit China's economy alone by an estimated $25 billion -- before the country's closer involvement in world markets. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
The Big Story

Coronavirus: Economic contagion is already rippling through Asia

Authorities scramble to limit fallout of the virus, now spread across 15 countries

29 January 2020