China's Huawei launches laptops that run on original operating system
The company's previous models ran on US tech giant Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Chinese maker had been developing its own OS as the United States restricts Huawei from accessing US technology.
Harmony has already been mounted on Huawei's smartphones. The company says using Harmony OS makes it easier for users to share files and data.
A customer who came to buy a new laptop says he likes the Huawei brand, and it does not matter which operating system a computer runs on.
Attention is on whether Huawei can expand its share in the computer OS market in China, which has been dominated by Microsoft and another US giant Apple.
Huawei is one of the Chinese tech companies that have been stepping up efforts to develop advanced technologies in the face of US restrictions.
Another smartphone maker, Xiaomi, released new models in May said to be embedded with its original advanced semiconductor.
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Taiwan to boost defense spending to over 3% of GDP
Taiwan's cabinet says it plans to increase defense spending next year by more than 20 percent. Premier Cho Jung-tai announced at a news conference on Thursday that Taiwan's defense spending for 2026 would reach the equivalent of more than 31 billion dollars, up 22.9 percent from this year. This would amount to 3.32 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product. The announcement comes as Taiwan is under mounting pressure from China's military activities. Taiwan is also facing calls from the administration of US President Donald Trump to increase spending on defense. The premier says the plan is meant to demonstrate Taiwan's determination and capability to safeguard stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region and meet its global responsibilities.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
In just six years, Burger King has grown fourfold in terms of number of locations in Japan. Now it's set to quintuple in size from there. If the company meets this ambitious goal, it will be No. 2 in the market after McDonald's. 'Based on our calculations, 1,600 locations are possible in the Japanese market," said Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan. This would be a dramatic turnaround for a brand that has long been an also-ran and an afterthought in Japan's highly competitive fast-food market, so much so that at one point it left the market altogether. The chain currently has 300 outlets in Japan, up from 77 just after Nomura joined in 2019. The next target is 600 by 2028. "The 600-store goal is what we've set for our five-year business plan. After that, we believe it's possible to aim for 1,000 stores,' he added, going on to mention the possibility of eventually getting to 1,600. McDonald's is the current leader, with 3,000 locations in the country. It's followed by Mos Burger, with 1,300, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, with over 1,200. For Nomura, marketing is very important to achieving success. When he joined, the Burger King name had high brand recognition in Japan. It's just that people weren't flocking to the outlets. 'We focused on bridging this gap," he said. Nomura, who spent 15 years working for Kirin, believes that Burger King burgers are better than those made by the competition because they are flame-grilled, meaning they are cooked on an open flame rather than on a metal sheet. This is supposed to give the patties a pleasantly charred, mildly smokey taste. When he started with the company in the marketing department, Nomura worked on getting people through the door on the belief that once they tried the food, they would return due to the taste. He started with a half-price promotion on the Whopper Jr. The campaign might have worked a bit too well, as it led to a massive rush of customers. 'We felt bad for the stores, but we asked them to bring in more staff because they might get completely overwhelmed with a flood of orders,' Nomura said. Burger King has also offered buy-one-get-one-free deals and hosted all-you-can-eat events. In a novel campaign last year, the company took suggestions from customers for locations of new outlets. Twelve sites were chosen, and those who made the winning suggestions received ¥100,000 each. Burger King has been introducing specialty items and limited offerings, one after the next — the Kyoto Burger, the Ninniku Garlic The One Pounder and the Baby Body Burger, an 1,876-calorie, ¥2,590 monster rolled out in cooperation with the Japan Sumo Association. The chain tries to offer a wide range of products, from inflation-busting regular fare to larger premium burgers so there's choice for all budgets and opportunity for those who want to indulge, Nomura said. A cheeseburger is priced at ¥300, a double cheeseburger at ¥460 and a Whopper at ¥590. Numerous higher-end options are available. In addition to the Baby Body Burger, the menu has a ¥1,440 Double Premium Steak Sauce Whopper and a ¥1,290 BBQ Rodeo Wild West Burger. On a recent day at an outlet in Tokyo, business was brisk, service was efficient and cheerful, and the location was clean and bright. Year-on-year sales have increased more than 30% for five consecutive years, Nomura said, while Restaurant Brands International, the Toronto company that owns the Burger King brand, chose BK Japan as Marketer of the Year in June among all Burger King business operators worldwide. In a certain sense, the pandemic helped Burger King Japan, as it was particularly well positioned for the takeout boom. 'Burger shops were already used to takeout orders, since the operational model was originally set up that way,' Nomura said. Burger King, with relatively few locations at the time, was able to leverage its assets, turning a weakness into a strength. 'With delivery, a customer could be five kilometers away and still be within the service area. This was a significant advantage for us," Nomura said. Burger King has been expanding rapidly in Japan in recent years. | Johan Brooks For Burger King to expand its presence in the Japanese market, a major challenge is to increase the number of franchisees, Nomura said. Currently, less than 20% of the stores in Japan are franchises. 'Opening stores by ourselves is a safe bet for expansion, but it also means we will have to continue to spend money. So, it's more ideal if others build and run stores for us,' he said. 'After all, the greatest advantage of this business model is to receive royalties from them." Competition in the fast food industry is intense in Japan. Burger chains also have to compete with other casual eateries, such as the gyūdon beef bowl chains, ramen and soba noodle shops and even convenience stores. Burger King flopped when it first came to Japan in 1993. Japan Tobacco owned it for a while before the restaurant chain withdrew completely from the market in 2001. South Korea's Lotte Corporation brought Burger King back to Japan in 2007 together with a partner investor. In 2019, the burger chain was sold to Hong Kong's Affinity Partners, which had just purchased Burger King Korea. At the time, Burger King Japan had fewer than 100 outlets, some of which were closed shortly after the acquisitions. Burger King's Japan operation was consistently unprofitable until 2019.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Can Ishiba and South Korea's Lee keep the hatchet buried?
When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Japan for talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday, he will be making history — and not the contentious kind that has at times put relations in a tailspin. Lee will be the first South Korean president to visit Japan — his country's former colonial master — before traveling to the United States, the two Asian nations' mutual ally. South Korean leaders have traditionally made the U.S. their first overseas destination. He will head immediately to Washington for a Monday summit with U.S. President Donald Trump following his two-day trip to Japan. The unprecedented visit to Tokyo, which is expected to be rich in symbolism, comes on the 80th anniversary of imperial Japan's brutal 1910-45 rule of the Korean Peninsula and the 60th anniversary of the neighbor's establishment of diplomatic ties. But more than marking key anniversaries, the visit will highlight how Lee has seemingly put his history of anti-Japan views in the rearview mirror, with Seoul and Tokyo looking to continue to bury the hatchet — at least for the time being — as they face a number of common challenges. Both countries are grappling with how best to respond to Trump's tariffs on key sectors of their economies, as well as the U.S. president's demands that they shoulder more of the burden for their defense. Meanwhile, North Korea's growing nuclear and missile arsenal, as well as its growing military cooperation with Russia in its war in Ukraine, continue to unnerve Tokyo and Seoul. The June election of Lee — who had been known for his hard-line views on Japan — had raised concerns in Tokyo that he might reverse agreements to resolve contentious historical issues reached under his ousted predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, that led to a thaw in ties, while also halting trilateral military cooperation with the United States. Those fears have largely subsided following Ishiba's first meeting with Lee at a Group of Seven summit in Canada, where the two agreed to continue what is known as 'shuttle diplomacy,' or mutual visits by the two countries' leaders. Lee signaled in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun published Thursday that his administration would continue along this path. 'I believe Japan is very important to South Korea. I also believe South Korea can be beneficial to Japan. The most significant issue is certainly the historical issues, but we cannot dwell on them,' he said in his first media interview, including with the South Korean press. 'The uncomfortable aspects of our relationship will not disappear, even if we try to ignore them,' Lee said. 'So we must acknowledge reality as much as possible, make an effort to understand each other, compromise where necessary and resolve issues without resorting to confrontation.' Historical grievances, including the issues of Korean wartime laborers at Japanese factories and mines, as well as 'comfort women' who suffered under Japan's military brothel system before and during World War II, have long stymied attempts to improve relations. South Korea announced a plan in March 2023 to resolve the wartime labor issue via a third-party payment system, a move that helped open a new chapter in relations. Lee on Thursday reiterated his commitment to maintaining this deal, saying that despite its shortcomings 'it is a commitment made by the state, so it is not desirable to overturn it.' In what would be seen as a major breakthrough in further cementing improved ties, Lee also praised a key joint declaration issued by the two countries nearly 30 years ago, calling it 'a turning point' in the relationship and expressing his desire to draft a new joint statement during his term in office. 'I hope that we can build on the declaration and issue a new joint declaration that goes beyond it,' he said. Lee speaks during a ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, on Aug. 15. | POOL / VIA REUTERS Signed in Tokyo in 1998 by then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the Japanese leader expressed 'deep remorse and heartfelt apology' for Japan's colonial rule in the document, while his South Korean counterpart called on the neighbors 'to overcome their unfortunate history and to build a future-oriented relationship.' For his part, Lee had campaigned on a platform of maintaining continuity in key relationships, especially with the United States and Japan, said Jenny Town, director of the Korea program at the Stimson Center in Washington, adding that ties are 'largely expected to stay stable for the near future.' 'Lee is likely to be more sensitive to any kind of insensitivities from the Japanese side, than what Yoon was, which could lead toward disruptions in the future,' she said. 'But for now, both sides seem to understand the value of maintaining stable ties.' Ishiba is seen as similarly pragmatic about improving Japan-South Korea relations as his predecessor, Fumio Kishida. 'While not as warm as under Kishida-Yoon, this pragmatism is helping to keep bilateral relations on an even keel despite intensifying external pressures,' said Robert Ward, a Japan expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. But speed bumps on the road to building more durable ties may come sooner than anticipated. Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's disastrous performance in a recent Upper House poll, Ishiba has been under pressure to step down — especially from the party's right-leaning lawmakers. These lawmakers, together with a handful of vociferous and strident right-wing opposition parties that stunned observers by winning an unexpected number of seats, have repeatedly assailed the prime minister for his relatively conciliatory approach to Japan's neighbors and their historical baggage. 'President Lee will... be viewing the political uncertainty in Japan at the moment with some concern, particularly the drift to the right in Japan suggested by the results of the July Upper House election,' said Ward. Lee and Ishiba will also find themselves at loggerheads on the issue of North Korea. The South Korean leader is considerably more dovish on relations with Pyongyang than Yoon, and has pledged to pursue dialogue with the recalcitrant North. Tokyo, meanwhile, remains laser-focused on finally resolving the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and '80s, as well as reining in the country's increasingly advanced nuclear weapons and missile programs under a crumbling U.N. sanctions regime. Still, Lee could get Ishiba's implicit support for dialogue, especially if the South Korean leader's push for a return to denuclearization talks is backed by Trump — who, in his campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize, is widely expected to be interested in restarting diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Lee, in Thursday's interview, unveiled for the first time a three-stage plan for the North to relinquish its nuclear weapons that includes the freezing of its nuclear and missile programs in the first stage and their reduction and dismantlement in the second and final stages. Saturday's meeting also highlights how the Trump administration's trade and defense demands are drawing Japan and South Korea even closer. Their summit comes just weeks after both countries secured separate trade agreements with the U.S. that shielded their economies from Trump's highest tariffs — reciprocal duties remain at 15%, down from an initial threat of 25% — and also saw them pledge hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments. It will also be held under the shadow of Trump's transactional approach to Washington's military alliances with Tokyo and Seoul, a stance that has seen his administration demand the two allies ramp up defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product. Indeed, the meeting is expected to go beyond just highlighting strength in bilateral ties — giving the two leaders time to discuss the elephant in the room. 'It may also provide a sense of solidarity in dealing with the U.S. these days,' said Stimson's Town, 'giving them an opportunity to share notes and strategies for a successful meeting ahead of Lee's first encounter with Trump.'
