TOKYO -- Signs of a hole in Japan's measures to lock down its borders against the coronavirus have been spotted in an unexpected place: a department store in downtown Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district.

An employee involved in analyzing customer data there began feeling a creeping sense of unease last fall. While looking at passport information from shoppers taking advantage of tax exemptions for non-residents, he noticed that some had come to the store not long after arriving in the country.

It was clear that they had breached a

LONDON (Reuters) -- Japan, the U.S. and other leading rich nations reached a landmark deal on Saturday to pursue higher global taxation on multinational businesses such as Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.

In a move that could raise hundreds of billions of dollars to help governments cope with the aftermath of COVID-19, the Group of Seven large advanced economies agreed to back a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%. Companies will also have to pay more tax in the countries

TOKYO -- Japanese authorities will conduct a review of a Beijing-funded educational organization known as the Confucius Institutes that operates on university campuses in light of concerns that the group is a propaganda tool of China.

Japan's education ministry will ask universities that host the institutes to provide such information as funding, the number of participating students and whether it intervenes in university research. The list of questions will be formalized by the end of the year.

Besides concerns about the spread of government propaganda, Tokyo is also wary that

JAKARTA/BEIJING/TAIPEI -- China has stepped up incursions into Southeast Asian airspace, drawing the ire of Malaysia in the most recent breach, as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in the region with the mix of a vaccine charm offensive and a show of force.

Malaysia's air force scrambled jets this week to intercept 16 Chinese aircraft entering its national airspace. The Chinese aircraft were "flying in tactical formation" and came within 60 nautical miles of Borneo, the air force said on Monday.

China

Soo Kim is a policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corp. and adjunct professor at American University.

When U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held their first summit on May 21, North Korea was not the only elephant in the room.

Rather, in the broader context of the Biden administration's foreign policy priorities and the Moon government's own geopolitical concerns, China was probably the larger presence.

Judging by media reports and statements from officials in both Washington

TOKYO -- One could safely call the whole of Japan a geological hot spot. It is home to 7% of the world's active volcanoes despite comprising just 0.25% of its total landmass.

Experts are warning that the country is ill-prepared for a major eruption. Many active volcanoes in Japan are located close to residential areas, posing huge risks to people's lives and livelihoods.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mount Unzen's Fugen Peak in Nagasaki

HANOI -- Developers on Phu Quoc -- an idyllic island in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Cambodia and known as "the last paradise of Vietnam" -- have designs on developing the jewel into a major tourist resort.

Expectations are growing that the island, long a leading producer of nuoc mam fish sauce, will attract large numbers of tourists. But first it will have to overcome various obstacles, some that are being erected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the steep climb ahead,

TOKYO -- Japan's top companies are joining forces as global competition over next-generation quantum technology grows more intense.

Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionize materials development and artificial intelligence, two areas with profound implications for countries' economic and political security. The focus will be on whether Japanese companies, which lag their Chinese and U.S. rivals in this realm, can develop a market where they are competitive.

"Quantum technology has the potential to promote the development of Japanese industry," said NTT Chairman

SINGAPORE -- Embattled Singaporean water treatment company Hyflux will go into liquidation after it failed to conclude restructuring negotiations with potential investors, putting an end to the three decade-old company that was once seen a success story for the city-state.

The judicial manager of the company on Friday filed a court application to wind up the company, according to an exchange filing, facilitating the sale of its assets.

The judicial manager, which had been trying to restructure Hyflux, received seven bids, one for a full buyout of