William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

If there are three words central bankers do not say lightly, it is "significant downside risks." Yet last week, Bank Negara Malaysia had nowhere else to go, rhetorically speaking, as the economy braces for a brutal third wave of COVID-19 infections.

Gov. Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus is hardly alone. Her peers in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila

HONG KONG -- Three years of efforts by two U.S. presidents to crack down on Chinese access to the world's largest capital market are getting a hand from unexpected quarters: Beijing.

Warnings from the top echelons of China's government of tighter oversight of data security and overseas listings, along with slowing growth amid increased regulation, have dramatically raised the stakes for mainland companies with shares traded in the U.S. -- sparking a sharp investor sell-off and threatening forthcoming offerings.

U.

TOKYO/OSAKA -- Japanese bicycle parts maker Shimano is investing about 20 billion yen ($179 million) to build a new plant in Singapore amid a surge in demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, its newly appointed president, Taizo Shimano, has told Nikkei Asia.

As consumers gravitate toward bicycles as a transportation method with a relatively low risk of coronavirus transmission, the demand for bikes and related products is skyrocketing globally.

Shimano, with its high global share in bicycle transmissions and other components,

TOKYO -- One of lessons the coronavirus pandemic has brought into sharp relief is the need for contingency plans. Whether it's relying too much on one country for crucial medical supplies, a sudden closure of borders and shipping routes or an impromptu trade war, businesses must being able to adapt quickly.

That has not been one of Japan's strong suits as it remained bogged down in the tradition of paperwork -- and lots of it, costing companies precious time and hundreds of billions of yen.

Now, Japan

TOKYO -- A Japanese fashion exhibition displaying clothes and other items from World War II to the present day is being held at the National Art Center in Tokyo through Sept. 6.

From state-mandated war clothing of the mid-1940s to the Lolita look and avant-garde, "Fashion in Japan 1945-2020" offers a fascinating retrospective through more than 800 exhibits, including clothing, magazines and videos.

"What is unique about this exhibition is

TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan has unveiled a plan to boost funding to counter climate change in a surprise move to catch up in a field where it has lagged behind its counterparts. The new funding scheme is designed to be carefully calibrated so that the central bank can remain market neutral while supporting companies that go green.

Striking the right balance, however, may prove easier said than done.

BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda called the funding scheme a "new approach," after the central bank decided to move forward with

HONG KONG -- The organization behind the annual June 4 commemoration in Hong Kong of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown will lay off all staff by the end of the month, the group announced Saturday, adding that half of the standing committee members have resigned.

Mounting political pressure since the imposition of the national security law last June has compelled one of the most prominent pro-democracy organizations in the territory to virtually halt its activities.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said in a

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are expected to meet in Japan this month, Nikkei has learned, timed with Moon's trip to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Officials of both countries are working out the details for what would be the first summit between Suga and Moon. South Korea had sought a meeting of the two leaders if Moon made the trip for the Olympics ceremony on July 23, and Japan has agreed to move forward with the plans

Andrew Hunt is CEO of Hunt Economics and former advisor to Dresdner Asset Management in Asia. Ben Ashby is a former Managing Director in JPMorgan's Chief Investment Office.

What do Goldman Sachs's new wealth management joint venture with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio have in common? They are both part of a galaxy of global financial investors wanting greater exposure to China's financial markets because they think the country's rise is inevitable. We think they are wrong.