TOKYO -- As the Tokyo Olympics get underway on Friday, expectations are running high for the hosts. A forecast by Nikkei and the Financial Times projects Japan will win a record 56 medals.

Historical data suggests that hosting the Games tends to give countries a significant lift in the medal standings. Japan will be looking to increase its tally from the 41 it bagged in Rio in 2016, and is projected to rise from seventh to fourth in the overall ranking.

Some of the gold, silver and

Boonsithi Chokwatana is the Chairman of Saha Group, Thailand's leading consumer products conglomerate. This is part 5 of a 30-part series.

In 1942, in the middle of the war, my father became independent from my grandfather and established his own general store. This was the beginning of what is now the Saha Group.

In those days, trading companies from Europe and Japan, such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi, had branches in Bangkok. My father frequently went to these companies and formed connections

TOKYO -- The 2020 Tokyo Games kicked off on Friday with virtually no spectators, a reduced contingent of athletes, and subdued performances to acknowledge the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the Olympics by a year.

The opening ceremony included a moment of silence for the 4 million people who have died in the pandemic. Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron, fashioned in the shape of the sun over Mt. Fuji, after Emperor Naruhito officially opened the Games.

In an emotional speech

SYDNEY -- New Zealand will again suspend its quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia for at least eight weeks in response to the spread of the delta coronavirus variant on the continent, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is, we believe, the right one," Ardern told a news conference.

"Now is the time for a suspension to ensure New Zealanders aren't put at undue risk from COVID-19 and to ensure we retain our

TOKYO -- Hitachi will build new electric vehicle components factories in Japan, the U.S. and China by the end of next year in a bid to expand capacity about sixfold and strengthen its position as a top supplier of key parts.

An EV motor factory will be located in the U.S. state of Kentucky while inverter plants will be built in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture and in Guangdong Province in China. The facilities will raise Hitachi's annual production capacity from under a million units each for motors

WASHINGTON/MANILA -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during his tour of Southeast Asia starting Friday, the Philippine ambassador to the U.S. told Nikkei, as Washington works to save a pact at the heart of their military alliance.

Relations between the Philippines and the U.S. have been strained under Duterte, who has repeatedly expressed anti-American sentiment. He unilaterally decided in February 2020 to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, which provides a legal

Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Cumulative global cases have reached 192,575,255, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 4,135,810.

For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and the progress of vaccination around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.

-- Global coronavirus tracker charts

-- Status of

TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympics are finally upon us after a long journey filled with controversy, and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some sports have already held events, the proceedings officially begin with Friday's opening ceremony at the National Stadium.

Key events to watch on Saturday, July 24 (Tokyo time)

Judo

• 5 p.m. session: Gold and bronze medal matches in women's 48 kg class; men's 60 kg class

SEOUL -- Kakao Bank has confirmed its initial public offering price at the upper end of its suggested range, clearing a major hurdle in advance of the digital lender's listing on South Korea's benchmark stock market next month.

Kakao Bank said Thursday that it fixed its IPO price at 39,000 won ($34) per share, the top end of the range between 33,000 won and 39,000 won that it previously presented, as institutional