The Big Story

Many Japanese consumers and workers at small companies have yet to see real-life benefits from the country's recent flurry of economic good news.
The Big Story

Japan's tale of two economies: BOJ hike and stock boom yet to trickle down

'Lost decades' linger for most in spite of record pay raises and Nikkei highs

27 March 2024
Startups in Southeast Asia are struggling to navigate a post-pandemic lull in tech investment, after recieving huge injections of funding from SoftBank Group's now ailing Vision Fund. 
The Big Story

From Grab to GoTo, Southeast Asia's startups weather funding winter

Tied to the fortunes of SoftBank's Vision Fund, tech sector must now sink or swim

20 March 2024
A nearly empty shopping mall in central Beijing: China is grappling with weak consumption, youth unemployment and huge local government debts as the economy continues to slow. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)
The Big Story

China faces familiar growth dilemma as economy slows

Anxious to avoid reinflating a property bubble, Beijing chooses caution over expansion

13 March 2024
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The Big Story

Asia's menopause challenge: The economic case for better female health

Aging societies from Japan to Singapore rush to safeguard mature women's wellness

6 March 2024
Taiwanese chip titan TSMC's new plant in Kumamoto, southern Japan, opened on Feb. 24 to much fanfare. The factory is part of a flow of new foreign chip investment into Japan, spurred on by government subsidies. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama)
The Big Story

Japan's chip reboot: TSMC, Samsung, Micron pave way for silicon revival

After 20 'lost years,' subsidies help draw top-tier foreign chipmakers to invest

28 February 2024
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created an arms shortage that South Korean contractors are increasingly being called upon to replenish, sparking an anguished debate in a nation that has "been suffering from the effects of war for 70 years now." (Illustration by Hiroko Oshima)
The Big Story

K-defense: South Korea's weapons industry goes global

Amid heightening confrontation with North, Seoul finds niche filling global arms shortages

21 February 2024
Japan's latest foray into space exploration, the H3 rocket, is expected to be relaunched this month from Tanegashima island, following a failed launch attempt in March 2023. 
The Big Story

Japan stakes manufacturing reputation on H3 space rocket launch

Industrial heartland, long geared toward automakers, finds a second life in aerospace

14 February 2024
With the help of Pakistan's military, former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to win the country's election on Feb. 8, amid a media blackout surrounding his main rival, PTI party leader Imran Khan. 
The Big Story

Pakistan's election tainted by military meddling as ex-PM Sharif set to win

Nothing left to chance as Imran Khan's PTI party disappears from airwaves

7 February 2024
An aerial view of the ongoing construction of Nusantara, Indonesia's new capital on Borneo island, seen in December 2023. The large building in the foreground will be a grand presidential palace. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
The Big Story

Indonesia's new capital hinges on election as Jokowi set to exit

With most funding from private sector, Nusantara struggles to convince investors it is here to stay

31 January 2024
Amid sanctions, a tech war with China and an ongoing presidential election campaign, the U.S.'s next trade moves are becoming harder to predict for companies in Asia and across the world. 
The Big Story

Asia Inc. heads to Washington as focus turns to trade, tariffs and Trump

Rising concern about geopolitical risk prompts spate of new offices in U.S. capital

24 January 2024
Panasonic showcased its automobile solutions, including models of its signature cylindrical EV batteries, at the world's biggest technology trade show, CES, in the U.S. city of Las Vegas earlier this month. (Photo by Tsuyoshi Tamehiro)
The Big Story

Panasonic leads Japan's EV battery comeback plan with U.S. push

Subsidies are driving gigafactory plans. But sagging demand may yet prove skeptics right

17 January 2024
Asia's three biggest economies, China, Japan and India, have taken diverging approaches to economic reform in recent years.
The Big Story

China's economic slowdown exposes reform gap with Japan and India

Tokyo and New Delhi's commitment to economic innovation pays off as Beijing's shine dims

10 January 2024
From elections to currencies to climate change, 2024 will be a big year for Asia, and the world. (Illustration by Tania Vicedo)
The Big Story

Your predictions for Asia in 2024

Tech, trade and Trump: We asked our readers what this year has in store for the region

3 January 2024
A recap of some of our favorite feature stories of the year. 
The Big Story

From Myanmar to Fukushima: The Best of the Big Story 2023

A look back at some of Nikkei Asia's most impactful cover stories of the year

27 December 2023
As PDD Holdings' Temu moved into more than 40 countries in 2023, reportedly spending more than $2 billion on marketing, employees say the work culture took a toll on their personal lives and health. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
The Big Story

Inside PDD, China's e-commerce titan behind Temu and Pinduoduo

Efforts to surpass Alibaba at home and chase Amazon abroad come with human cost

20 December 2023
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The Big Story

The great nanometer chip race

China looks for shortcuts as TSMC, Samsung and Intel push the limits of miniaturization

13 December 2023
Pakistani and Afghan flags flutter at the Chaman Border Crossing as a truck carries refugees back to Afghanistan amid Pakistan's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. 
The Big Story

Pakistan makes Afghan refugees pay the price for economic crisis

Threatened with default, government tries reform whilst looking for scapegoats

8 December 2023
Supporters of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which aims to defend the island's sovereignty, gather at the party's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Dec. 3, ahead of the presidential election in January. (Photo by Hiroki Endo)
The Big Story

Taiwan's defining moment: Election to determine future of relations with China

Against backdrop of Ukraine and Hong Kong, voters must choose confrontation or compromise with Beijing

6 December 2023
New Delhi residents use clothes and books to protect their faces from the scorching sun on a hot June day in India. 2023 could be the hottest year on record.
The Big Story

Asia's climate-driven health crisis raises alarm ahead of COP28

Summit's first health ministerial follows record summer spike in heatstroke and dengue cases

22 November 2023
Chinese and U.S. tech giants, including Huawei, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, are going head-to-head over Southeast Asia's rapidly expanding digital market. The region is home to some of the world's heaviest social media users. 
The Big Story

Southeast Asia's digital battle: Chinese and U.S. Big Tech face off over $1tn market

Geopolitics drive competition in AI, cloud and e-commerce sectors amid social media boom

15 November 2023
Chinese electric vehicle titan BYD's booth was pride of place at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo last month. The U8 model, pictured, made its first appearance outside China at the event. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)
The Big Story

How China's BYD went from bargain battery maker to Tesla's biggest rival

In-house cost cutting, tech innovation and state industrial policy drove recent export surge

8 November 2023
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The Big Story

China's panda business: How zoos from U.S. to Japan fund Beijing soft power

'Panda diplomacy' has cost countries nearly $300 million over past three decades

1 November 2023
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next month, as the two countries cast aside some noisy prior disagreements over trade and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Big Story

China-Australia thaw reveals limits of Beijing's economic coercion

Ahead of Albanese's first China visit, relaxation of punitive trade measures proves Xi will not sacrifice economy for politics

25 October 2023
A man wearing a VR headset explores the metaverse version of Shibuya, a district in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
The Big Story

Asia's metaverse is still thriving, from digital cities to gaming

In Japan, Philippines and more, virtual worlds are expanding despite Meta's flop in the West

18 October 2023
A weak yen, post-pandemic inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war are putting pressure on Japan's central bank to reconsider its longtime commitment to ultraloose monetary policy. (Photo by Tsuyoshi Tamehiro)
The Big Story

Japan's yen dilemma in charts: BOJ juggles deflation and inflation

Rising U.S. rates and tumbling currency test Japan's monetary easing resolve

11 October 2023