Â鶹´«Ã½

author

 
Â鶹´«Ã½
Search
 
August 13, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Kevin Yao
Chinese leaders are signaling a sharper shift toward supporting consumption over the next five years.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 31, 2025
China signals sharper pivot to consumption as imbalances worsen
As limited investment room and slowing exports have exposed vulnerabilities, Chinese leaders are signaling a sharper shift toward?supporting consumption over the next five years.
Shoppers walk through a shopping area in Shanghai. China's household spending is less than 40% of annual economic output, some 20 percentage points below the global average.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2025
China urged to think big, go hard on reviving battered consumption
With China¡¯s consumer support focusing on subsidies rather than reforms, pressure is growing on Beijing for policies with a longer-term impact.
Beds lie in a corridor of a hospital in Duan Yao autonomous county in Guangxi region, China, on Jan. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 20, 2025
China¡¯s aging villages face yawning health care gap in a fragile economy
Far lower wages in rural China mean many qualified doctors are heading to the cities to make a living.
A customer shops for tomatoes at the vegetable section of a supermarket in Beijing on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 18, 2024
China¡¯s third-quarter GDP hits weakest pace since early 2023
Authorities have sharply ramped up policy stimulus, but markets are waiting for a clearer road map to put the economy back on a solid longer-term footing.
Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China in Beijing on Sept. 30, 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 27, 2024
¡®Asset famine¡¯ in China curbs central bank¡¯s bond trading ambitions
The People¡¯s Bank of China¡¯s trading would help deepen the bond market by improving liquidity and reducing volatility.
Cleaning worker Hu Dexi, 67, at a shopping mall in Beijing on April 10
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2024
In rapidly aging China, millions can¡¯t afford to retire
With a low retirement age, meager pension benefits and no family to support them, many in China feel they simply can¡¯t ever stop working.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2024
As Xi summons ¡®new productive forces,¡¯ old questions linger for economy
By focusing on the prospect for future growth, the slogan shifts the focus from China¡¯s present economic difficulties.
People wait to board trains at the Hongqiao railway station in Shanghai ahead of the National Day holiday on Sept. 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 7, 2023
China holds back from easing of Mao-era rules, in blow to economy
An internal passport system has largely tethered people¡¯s destinies to their place of origin since the 1950s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2023
China¡¯s economy slows sharply, with 2022 growth one of worst on record
GDP grew 2.9% in October-December from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, slower than the third-quarter¡¯s 3.9% pace.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 14, 2022
Xi faces painful gear shift as China¡¯s investment-led growth sputters
The economic model that underpinned China¡¯s impressive expansion over the past four decades is now unsustainable and in need of a rethink.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 27, 2022
Crisis of confidence stifles China¡¯s economic recovery
Consumer and business confidence slumps in China as strict curbs aimed at stamping out COVID-19 undercut a recovery in the world¡¯s second-largest economy and dent global growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 17, 2022
China faces uphill battle to repeat 2020 miracle as exports falter
Investors worry a prolonged slowdown in the world¡¯s second-largest economy could further weaken the global recovery and that worsening supply chain disruption could fan inflation risks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 22, 2022
China¡¯s Xi proposes ¡®global security initiative,¡¯ without giving details
During a video speech to the annual Boao Asia Forum, Xi said that the world should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 18, 2021
China¡¯s economy stumbles on power crunch and property woes
GDP grew 4.9% in the July-September period from a year earlier, the weakest clip since the third quarter of 2020 and missing forecasts.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 28, 2019
Amid crises, Xi Jinping seems set to uphold Communist Party rule at secretive China conclave
China¡¯s Communist Party leaders Monday kicked off their most important meeting this year, with President Xi Jinping expected to champion the Chinese model of governance while fighting protracted economic and political crises at home and abroad.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2019
China cuts banks¡¯ reserve ratios, frees up $126 billion for loans as economy slows
China¡¯s central bank said on Friday it was cutting the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the third time this year, releasing 900 billion yuan ($126.35 billion) in liquidity to shore up the flagging economy.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Â鶹´«Ã½ anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend ¡ª or want to pay off their debts ¡ª at host clubs.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER