Datawatch

24 November 2024
The proportion of household income spent on food in Japan has been rising, partly due to increased purchases of prepared meals by busy dual-income couples.
Southeast Asia is rapidly expanding its external trade, capitalizing on the opportunities arising from growing disputes among major economies.
Datawatch

Southeast Asia expands trade as a neutral hub in a divided world

Extra-regional trade to grow $1.2tn in 10 years but deficits with China soar

4 November 2024
Beijing offers many Chinese companies tax rebates and other types of indirect financial support to help them build share in global export markets.
Datawatch

China's 'hidden' subsidies fuel export onslaught

Total annual tax refunds to companies rise 400% over 10 years

13 October 2024
Power grids have become the primary bottleneck for expanding clean energy use in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Datawatch

Renewable energy wasted worldwide due to lack of power grids

Power equal to 480 nuclear reactors unused in U.S. and Europe

14 September 2024
A sharp drop in food-tech investments could hinder the development of alternative protein products.
Datawatch

Lab-grown food faltering on solving world hunger

Higher prices and taste issues lead to reduced investments in agritech startups

7 September 2024
While Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative faces challenges with some projects, the country's decarbonization drive is helping it expand its influence worldwide.
Datawatch

Decarbonization now drives China's Belt and Road push

Brisk sales of EVs, solar panels and wind turbines are boosting Beijing's global clout

31 August 2024
University students today prefer to buy experiences such as concerts over tangible goods like cars and brand-name goods.
Datawatch

Japan university student spending nears bubble-era peak

Higher part-time job wages spur buying of experiences rather than goods

24 August 2024
Many startups in Japan struggle with growth after going public, possibly starved of funding as mature firms refrain from reallocating surplus back to investors.
Datawatch

Japan's startups struggle to grow past '2nd death valley'

Flow of funds from mature firms back to investors seen as key to more dynamism

17 August 2024
Despite ongoing labor shortages in Japan, workers in their 40s or early 50s face a raft of challenges getting promotions and pay raises.
Datawatch

Japan's 'lost generation' faces slow pay growth, lack of promotion

Survivors of 1990s hiring 'ice age' are now in their 40s or early 50s

4 August 2024
Tokyo continues to attract unmarried women from other areas, bringing down the city's overall birth rate to the lowest in Japan.
Datawatch

Influx of single women drives Tokyo birth rate to lowest in Japan

Yet married women in the city continue to exceed the national average in childbirth

27 July 2024
The number of supposedly zero-energy homes that do not fully meet the qualifying criteria continues to increase in Japan, driven by the government's relaxation of subsidy standards aimed at encouraging their construction.
Datawatch

Over 30% of Japan's zero-energy homes fall short of requirements

An increase in below-standard houses could hamper its decarbonization efforts

20 July 2024
Japan's corporate metabolism is finally accelerating, with an increasing number of companies entering and exiting the market.
Datawatch

Japan Inc. shows signs of faster rejuvenation

Corporate metabolism quickens as both business births and deaths rise around 10%

6 July 2024
Sports enthusiasts are increasingly choosing to watch highlights on smartphones, bypassing live TV broadcasts.
Datawatch

Olympics faces drop in TV viewing as fans switch to social media clips

Selling broadcast rights is main revenue source for organizer of Games

30 June 2024
Over 17% of Tokyo women drank excessive amounts of alcohol in fiscal 2021, surpassing men for the first time since the metropolitan survey began 10 years earlier.
Datawatch

More Japanese women suffer from excessive drinking

Heavy alcohol use doubles in decade among those in their 50s but falls among the young

22 June 2024
Japan's local governments promoted development on low-lying land in the 2000s despite flood risks.
Datawatch

Japan's flood damage exacerbated by urban development

Water-related losses up by 3.5 times in 30 years as more businesses move to lowlands

16 June 2024
Demand for multiunit housing continues to flag in the U.S., but the supply of condos under construction has yet to peak in the Sun Belt.
Datawatch

Fears mount of a crash in the U.S. condo market

Multifamily housing prices drop 20% even as property loans soar

8 June 2024
Global auction sales have risen 25 times in value terms over the past 20 years, thanks to strong demand for contemporary art in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere.
Datawatch

Asian youth drive contemporary art market

Global sales rise 25 times in 20 years, led by young collectors, artists in Asia

2 June 2024
Regulators have begun talks on creating international standards for measuring particulates from tires and other parts, a problem that has come to light as more EVs take to the road.
Datawatch

Heavier EVs exact an environmental toll

Tires kick up 30% more particulates when used on weighty cars, says OECD

25 May 2024
The 13.2% wage rise among smaller businesses in Miyazaki prefecture between 2018 and 2023 was the fastest in Japan.
Datawatch

Japan's small regional companies vie to raise pay amid labor shortage

Wages rise faster in mostly rural prefectures than in urban centers

18 May 2024
Google and other U.S. tech giants play a key role in laying international undersea cables that bypass Chinese influence. 
Datawatch

More subsea cables bypass China as Sino-U.S. tensions grow

No new projects will connect the country after 2025 as focus shifts to Southeast Asia

11 May 2024
Generative AI is trained on a massive amount of data through graphic processing units and depends on power-hungry data centers with large-capacity servers.
Datawatch

AI investment boom extends to nuclear power generation and uranium

Servers to support tech's data appetite will increasingly run on atomic energy

4 May 2024
Many cloud service providers lack clear guidelines on dealing with government requests for information on user accounts.
Datawatch

Vulnerable cloud services cast shadow over national security

Many vendors lack proper policies on privacy protection, survey finds

27 April 2024
Major Japanese banks are competing for a slice of inherited savings worth nearly 60 trillion yen that are expected to flow out of regional lenders over the next 30 years.
Datawatch

Japan's big cities become magnets for inherited rural savings

Trend leaves key regional 'shinkin' lenders in tight spot

20 April 2024
Japan looks to create a new legal category for midsize businesses to spur growth in key industries.
Datawatch

Japan lags South Korea and Taiwan in boosting midsize businesses

Rigid classification stands in the way of corporate growth

13 April 2024
The Japanese government compiles official job statistics by relying on a public placement service that young people increasingly shun, making it difficult to paint an accurate picture of the country's economy.
Datawatch

Japan's official statistics miss the depth of the labor shortage

Younger workers shun public job placement service, making its data less reliable

6 April 2024
Eager to expand abroad, Japanese exporters have become more reluctant to convert overseas earnings into yen, leading to a drying up of yen buying during Tokyo trading hours.
Datawatch

Yen falls on Japan Inc.'s reluctance to repatriate profits

Tokyo market sees net daytime yen selling for 4th straight year

30 March 2024
The U.N. Security Council has been unable to pass any new resolutions against North Korea for over six years.
Datawatch

U.N. sanctions on North Korea have been losing their bite

Pyongyang has been boosting trade amid discord in the international community

24 March 2024
Following a powerful earthquake that hit central Japan's Noto region on Jan. 1, roughly 80% of people began to evacuate before a major tsunami warning was issued, according to a Nikkei analysis of smartphone location data.
Datawatch

Fast evacuation saved many lives as New Year's tsunami struck Japan

Noto Peninsula residents remembered lessons from 2011 disaster

17 March 2024
A survey by Japan's education ministry found only 8% of universities in Japan have programs to support the launch of new businesses by researchers.
Datawatch

Japan's universities fail to make the most of intellectual property

Due to lack of support, patents earn only 2% compared to U.S. schools

9 March 2024
The competitive landscape in the commercial space market changed drastically after Russia invaded Ukraine and lost its share of the satellite launch business.
Datawatch

Space superpower Russia falls down to earth

Orders for satellite launches plummet 90% as India and China fill the void

2 March 2024