YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

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TOKYO -- Japan will invest heavily to bolster domestic supply chains for semiconductors under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's first economic policy and growth strategy.

Under the plans approved by the cabinet on Friday, Japan will focus on digitization and decarbonization, along with lifting local economies and helping child-rearing families.

"We will iron out the details ahead of upcoming budget and legal deliberations to swiftly turn these plans into a reality," Suga said that day.

The government will encourage more chipmakers to set up research and production facilities

TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan decided on Friday to extend its emergency programs to funnel funds to businesses by six months, through the end of March, as the central bank remains on alert for a possible COVID resurgence that could throw the nation's economic recovery off track.

At issue were the BOJ's purchases of corporate bonds and commercial paper as well as one-year interest-free loans to banks supporting COVID-hit businesses. The programs, launched in March 2020, are intended to

TOKYO -- A biomass power plant operator in Japan is in the process of purchasing coal-fired plants from a major power company and other parties that it plans to refit so that they burn its cleaner fuel, Nikkei has learned.

eRex has entered into talks with companies that own coal-fired plants in Japan's Kanto, Hokuriku and Shikoku regions. The biomass plant operator is looking to acquire about four coal-fired plants of about 150,000kW to 500,00

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's cash shortage is continuing as banks toughen restrictions on withdrawals after February's coup d'etat resulted in runs on banks.

The shortage is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, as the central bank is reluctant to increase the supply of cash, fearing the depreciation of the nation's currency, the kyat, and inflation. With employees and suppliers demanding payment in cash, more businesses are suffering.

Messages for trading in cash are posted by individuals on social media sites, such

TOKYO -- The Japanese government's top medical adviser on COVID-19 said holding the Olympics behind closed doors is "desirable" to tame infection risks.

Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert, made the observation in proposals he submitted on Friday to organizers and Japan's government. His report, compiled with 25 other medical experts, lists measures that can be taken to prevent the two-week spectacle from becoming a superspreader event.

"Allowing no spectators will be the most effective way to reduce infection

TAIPEI -- Taiwan will allow Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Foxconn to buy 10 million doses of COVID vaccines on behalf of the government, as companies race to safeguard the island's flagship tech industry from the pandemic.

It is the first time private companies in Taiwan will be given permission to purchase vaccines, a move that comes as the government struggles to quickly inoculate people. The self-governing island, which was a seen as a global role model for containing the deadly virus early on, has experienced a

Panarat Anamwathana is a lecturer in economic history at Thammasat University in Bangkok.

Polarization seems to be a mainstay in Thai politics. Social media and misinformation are exacerbating the deterioration of social cohesion and trust.

Thai people's declining trust in each other, government institutions and media are not only detrimental to social capital, but also make combating misinformation more difficult. This is dangerous enough in normal times. During a pandemic, it can be lethal.

The current Thai political conflict has a generational and ideological divide. Many young people

HONG KONG -- Warnings from Hong Kong's top security official against "associating" with Apple Daily appeared to backfire on Friday as city residents swarmed newsstands and shops to buy copies of an expanded run of the outspoken newspaper, a day after five of its top editors and executives were arrested on charges of "colluding with foreign forces."

"What happened yesterday was terrible," said a 36-year-old office worker buying three copies of the paper at a news stall in the central business district even