TOKYO -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will create an investment fund with major U.S. asset management firm Neuberger Berman that will provide loans to Japanese companies undertaking acquisitions, Nikkei has learned.

NAGOYA, Japan -- Toyota Motor on Sunday showed off the latest version of its artificial intelligence-powered robot that can dribble and shoot a basketball, drawing on various technologies for controlling automobiles and machinery.

TOKYO -- SoftBank has established a company to develop artificial intelligence in Japan, with NEC and Honda Motor among eight peers that have invested in the unit, Nikkei has learned.

ISLAMABAD -- Twenty-one hours of talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad ended in a deadlock on Sunday, dashing Pakistan's hopes that the bitter foes would reach a quick deal on its soil.

GUANGZHOU -- Eels likely will be cheaper in Japan this summer, partly due to a drop in export prices caused by excess supply in China, the world's main producing region.

Welcome to Your Week in Asia.

Newly installed Vietnamese President To Lam, who has the rare status of also being leader of the Communist Party, heads to China to meet Xi Jinping, who holds both titles in his own country. Vietnam-China ties have been warming amid closer business cooperation, although Hanoi and Beijing remain at odds over the South China Sea.

India has already faced a significant impact from the Iran war, from its stock market to the rupee to factory operations . Although the nation's central bank