TOKYO/PERTH -- Japan will look to deepen its defense cooperation with Australia to deal with an "increasingly severe" security situation in the Indo-Pacific, its defense minister said at a Nikkei forum on Tuesday.

TOKYO -- Southeast Asia's science and research-driven startups are increasingly turning to Japan for more capital and market access, as weak regional funding and smaller domestic markets push them to expand overseas.

NEW DELHI -- India's recent removal of roughly 9 million voters -- more than 10% of the electorate -- from the rolls in West Bengal state has raised concerns over transparency and data governance in the world's largest democracy.

HONG KONG -- Beijing has prohibited Meta's acquisition of Chinese-founded agentic AI company Manus after a national security review, the National Development and Reform Commission, announced on Monday.

ISTANBUL -- For a country that sends nearly all of its exports to China and depends almost entirely on Russia for fuel imports, finding a third direction has never been straightforward, but Mongolia is looking west to Kazakhstan.

TOKYO -- The state-backed fund, Japan Investment Corp. has decided to appoint a former president of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities (now BofA Securities Japan) as CEO, Nikkei learned Monday.

CAIRO/JAKARTA -- Soaring energy prices caused by the Iran war are hammering countries undergoing International Monetary Fund-led reconstruction, which have limited ability to implement fuel subsidies or other measures, leading to mounting public discontent and political unrest.

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Japan's Nishi-Nippon Railroad plans to develop 22,000 homes in Vietnam between now and 2035 under a partnership with a local developer.

TOKYO -- War in the Middle East is directly hitting the business of food and beverage manufacturers in Japan, with a new survey showing that more than 40% of companies have felt the impact of the naphtha shortage.