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December 22, 2024
 

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Sophie Yu
China's 15-day visa-free policy is giving tourism a huge boost, with bookings from eligible countries surging 150% and attracting millions of visitors post-pandemic.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 17, 2024
China strives to lure foreign tourists, but it's a hard sell for some
The recent surge in tourism comes after China closed its borders in early 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and kept them shut until the start of 2023.
Passengers look at the tarmac as they wait for flights at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 20.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2024
Chinese outbound travel recovery lags due to costs and visa snags
Chinese people took 87 million trips abroad last year, down 40% from pre-COVID 2019.
A Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing on May 22
BUSINESS
May 27, 2024
In China, Starbucks tries to avoid price war but gets dragged into discounting
A coffee price war in China has arisen amid persistent deflation, weak consumer sentiment, and stagnant wages.
Visa-free access for Chinese tourists to Southeast Asia countries boosted traffic and signaled a robust revival in travel since Beijing lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in early 2023 that had all but shut China's borders for three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2024
Chinese tourists flock to Southeast Asia as travel bounces back
The increase provides welcome relief to countries that rely on the Chinese and their spending.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2023
Jobless young Chinese seek solace in temples and tale of failed scholar
Despondent young worshippers crowd temples in China on weekends, as they pray to find jobs in an economy slowly clawing its way back from the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2022
China's great reopening may come too late for many businesses
China, the last among major countries not treating COVID-19 as endemic, this month unveiled 20 new steps that eased its stringent anti-COVID policies.
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 / ANALYSIS
Dec 22, 2021
China puts regulatory spotlight on livestream retail boom
Viya, dubbed the country's 'queen of livestreaming,' had her e-commerce and social media accounts shut down after she was fined more than $200 million for tax evasion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2020
In China men's skin care boom, startups and investors seek rich glow
Already the biggest in the world, the Chinese men's facial skin care market is forecast to hit 12.5 billion yuan ($1.90 billion) this year — and expand 50% by 2025.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2020
Robust sales in China keep Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing on top amid pandemic
With much of Asia having subdued the spread of COVID-19, Fast Retailing is seeing trade return to its Uniqlo stores.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
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