HONG KONG -- Shares of Next Digital, publisher of Hong Kong's outspoken Apple Daily newspaper, soared up to 330% as they resumed trading on Thursday for the first time since the city government froze founder Jimmy Lai's controlling stake in the company.

The 71.3% stake, along with the bank accounts of three private companies owned by Lai, were frozen by order of Security Secretary John Lee on May 14 in relation to charges the businessman faces under the Hong Kong national security

TOKYO -- Japan's government is mulling a change of the university credit system to allow students to apply points attained during high school at any university toward their graduation tally, Nikkei has learned.

Under the proposal by the government's Council for the Implementation of Education Rebuilding, high schoolers who have taken supplementary classes at universities will be able to apply those credits to their tally at any university in the future.

Currently, if a high school student takes a class at say, Waseda University, he or she can

TOKYO -- Panasonic, a key Tesla supplier, aims to capitalize on its strength in battery technology to drive profit amid an accelerating shift to clean energy, its CEO said on Thursday.

Yuki Kusumi, outlining the company's focus under his new leadership, placed clean energy and resource efficiency at the core of its business operations, as his company aims to go on the offensive after years of restructuring.

Kusumi came into office last month, taking over from outgoing chief Kazuhiko Tsuga.

Panasonic has long produced various types of

JAKARTA -- Firebrand Indonesian cleric Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, better known as Habib Rizieq, was sentenced to eight months in prison on Thursday for violating COVID-19 health protocols for his crowded sermons following his return from Saudi Arabia.

Judges at the East Jakarta District Court also ordered Shihab to pay 20 million rupiah ($1.400) in fines, or spend an extra five months behind bars. The ruling is lighter than two years and 10 months in prison sought by prosecutors for multiple charges related

KUALA LUMPUR -- AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said Thursday that a financial recovery is two years away as rising COVID-19 cases in major operating countries force prolonged border closures and travel restrictions.

Fernandes, the budget carrier's co-founder, spoke as the airline reported a revenue decline of 87% in the first quarter ended March 31 to 298.22 million ringgit ($72 million) from 2.31 billion ringgit posted in the same period last year.

AirAsia

TOKYO -- Japan is poised to extend the current state of emergency until June 20, as hospitals in Tokyo, Osaka and other regions remain overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.

The formal decision will come after government officials hear the opinions of experts on Friday.

The decision will come less than two months before the scheduled start of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23. Japan's government, local authorities and the organizing committee for the games are slated to determine attendance caps for each venue next month, and

TOKYO -- With China both a technological competitor to the U.S. and a coveted market for American companies, chipmakers like Western Digital must navigate a business landscape studded with pitfalls.

Semiconductors are essential for both the iPhones and Teslas that consumers crave and the advanced radar and precision-guided weapons that militaries demand. Yet U.S. pressure to restrict Chinese access to American supply chains shows no sign of easing under President Joe Biden.

In a recent interview with Nikkei, Western Digital CEO David Goeckeler said that governments

TOKYO -- Sony Group aims to sharply expand automation at its main television manufacturing base in Malaysia, turning to innovation to better compete with South Korean and Chinese rivals that have outpaced Japanese TV makers.

The plan is expected to reduce production costs there by 70% from fiscal 2018 levels by fiscal 2023.

Sony has introduced its first fully unstaffed production line at the facility outside Kuala Lumpur and will add the technology to other lines at the plant as well. It is using off-the

TOKYO -- Japan and the European Union affirmed the "importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" in a statement Thursday, marking the first time the two sides have jointly spoke about the self-ruled island.

The statement came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held an online summit with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Japan and the EU last held a bilateral summit two years ago, under then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We underscore the importance of peace and