Japan finance minister aware of market concerns about fiscal health
Japanese government bonds plunged this week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, after polls showed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition was in danger of losing its majority in the upper house vote on Sunday.
"I'm aware of bond market views that the recent market movements reflect various concerns about fiscal policy ahead," Kato said, speaking to reporters after the meeting of finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in South Africa.
"We'll carefully respond to those market voices, carry out appropriate debt management and work to improve fiscal health to maintain market confidence," Kato said.
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CNA
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North Korea says Trump must accept new nuclear reality
SEOUL: North Korea said on Tuesday (Jul 29) the United States must accept that reality has changed since the countries' summit meetings in the past, and no future dialogue would end its nuclear programme, state media KCNA reported. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who is believed to speak for his brother, said she conceded that the personal relationship between Kim and US President Donald Trump "is not bad". But if Washington intended to use a personal relationship as a way to end the North's nuclear weapons programme, the effort would only be the subject of "mockery", Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by KCNA. "If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-US meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the US side," she said. DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea's capabilities as a nuclear weapons state and the geopolitical environment have radically changed since Kim and Trump held talks three times during the US president's first term, she said. "Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... will be thoroughly rejected," she said. Asked about the North Korean statement, a White House official said Trump was still committed to the goal he had for the three summit meetings he held with Kim in his first term. "The resident retains those objectives and remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearised North Korea," the White House official told Reuters. At their first meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump and Kim signed an agreement in principle to make the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons. The subsequent summit in Hanoi next year broke down due to a disagreement over removing international sanctions that had been imposed against Pyongyang.
CNA
3 hours ago
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Commentary: Prabowo wants a global role for Indonesia
SURABAYA, Indonesia: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived at the BRICS Summit in Brazil this month, eager to showcase Indonesia's growing presence on the global stage. Instead, his BRICS debut was quickly overshadowed by his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, announcing that his administration would proceed with a 32 per cent general tariff on Indonesian goods entering the US, first announced in April. A day later, Mr Trump announced an additional 10 per cent would be slapped on all BRICS members, including Indonesia, its newest member. Although Mr Prabowo - who took on the top job just nine months ago - later managed to negotiate the tariff down to 19 per cent, describing it as the result of a ' tough negotiation ' during a phone call with Mr Trump, the episode cast a pall over his broader efforts to elevate Indonesia's foreign policy as a hallmark of his presidency. Indonesia's accession to BRICS in January marked a turn towards a more assertive foreign policy, a clear departure from Mr Prabowo's predecessor, Joko Widodo, who had prioritised domestic issues. Ahead of the BRICS summit, the Indonesian foreign ministry had described Mr Prabowo's intent as positioning Indonesia as a "bridge-builder" amid growing global uncertainties. BIG FISH IN A BIG POND Rather than anchoring Indonesia's foreign policy to ASEAN centrality as his predecessors did, Mr Prabowo, through BRICS and other efforts, is clearly seeking bigger ponds where Indonesia may become a significantly bigger fish. Just as Mr Widodo sought to be remembered for transforming Indonesia's physical infrastructure, Mr Prabowo appears keen on being remembered as a geopolitical heavyweight. His participation in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, was telling. At that forum, Mr Prabowo claimed Indonesia's BRICS accession process had been one of the fastest of all countries. He also explained his decision to attend the SPIEF instead of the G7 Summit in Canada to which he had been invited as a guest. "It is not because I didn't respect the G7, but because I gave my commitment to attend this forum before they invited us.' He added that Indonesia, by tradition, has always been non-aligned and that it "respect all countries'. A REALIST Mr Prabowo's interest in geopolitics is not new. As defence minister (from 2019 to 2024), he drew fire after pitching a controversial peace plan for the war between Russia and Ukraine at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2023. His proposal included the creation of a demilitarised zone and an eventual United Nations-sponsored referendum in the 'disputed territories'. Ukraine's then foreign ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, rejected it outright, saying there were no disputed territories and that Russia's withdrawal from all the occupied territories was non-negotiable. That episode revealed Mr Prabowo's realist outlook and the priority he gives to hard power in international relations over international laws and conventions. That posture has continued into his presidency. During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Jakarta in May, he declared: "We must acknowledge and guarantee Israel's rights as a sovereign country," adding a caveat that "Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognises Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognise Israel". No previous Indonesian president has dared to offer an explicit promise to recognise the state of Israel, let alone throwing in some form of security guarantee. Yet, apart from his blunt language, Mr Prabowo had in fact barely shifted Indonesia's traditional stance vis-a-vis Israel. It has been a key element of its foreign policy to withhold diplomatic recognition and avoid ties with Tel Aviv as long as there is no independent Palestinian state. Now he has appeared to make, by the tone of his language at least, Palestine's independence a foreign policy priority. He has, moreover, signalled his willingness to work with Israel to achieve this objective, even if he has never elaborated how. In April, Mr Prabowo underlined his resolve to nudge along a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict by offering to temporarily shelter 1,000 Palestinians impacted by the war in Gaza. If carried out, this will represent Indonesia's most concrete commitment to the Palestinian cause to date. Central to Mr Prabowo's approach is his ambition to usher in an age in which Indonesia 'will rise as a great country'. In this, he echoes Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, who had sought to bypass the two-bloc nature of the post-war world by drawing the non-aligned countries together as a third force. Mr Prabowo's real challenge remains how to balance Indonesia's role as a middle-ranking power amid global power rivalries. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that he will use all the influence at his disposal to raise Indonesia's prominence and stature and, by extension, the potential to make his own personal legacy more memorable than those of his predecessors.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
As Singapore grows in popularity with Chinese students, universities roll out Mandarin-taught programmes
SINGAPORE: After nearly a decade in the workforce, Ms Jin Qi decided in 2020 that it was time to pursue a master's degree to advance her career. But with a full-time job, preparing for English-language tests required by many foreign universities proved difficult. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her plans further. But when the Chinese native resumed her search after the pandemic, she discovered that some Singapore universities offer postgraduate programmes taught in Mandarin. Ms Jin, now 35, applied to both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), eventually enrolling in NTU's Executive Master of Science in Managerial Economics programme in Mandarin. She began her studies in March this year. When she completed her undergraduate studies at Chongqing University a decade ago, most of her peers aspired to pursue further education in the US or Europe. Today, many of her classmates at NTU are Chinese students who view Singapore as the preferred destination for postgraduate studies straight after earning their first degree, she said. "They really like Singapore. I think it's because Singapore's economy has done very well these few years," Ms Jin said. "Ten years ago, growth in the US and Europe was very good so everyone wanted to go there. Now, we want to come to Singapore because the economy is doing well and there's access to the Southeast Asian region, which is also growing. So there are more job opportunities here.' SINGAPORE MOST POPULAR CHOICE AFTER UK A report by China's Ministry of Education and Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation ranks Singapore as the second-most popular destination for Chinese students, after the United Kingdom. Singapore universities are responding to this trend by introducing more Mandarin-taught postgraduate programmes. NTU, the Singapore Management University (SMU), the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) are among those launching new courses. NTU's Nanyang Business School will introduce a new Executive Master of Business Administration in Mandarin this October, said Professor Boh Wai Fong, NTU's vice-president for lifelong learning and alumni engagement. About 50 students graduate from the joint MBA programme between NTU and Shanghai Jiao Tong University each year, he said. Enrolment in the university's three other existing Mandarin-medium programmes has remained steady, with about 240 students in total admitted annually. One of these is the Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation, which sees about 50 students on average per academic year. SUSS launched its first Mandarin-medium postgraduate course in 2024, which received strong interest, a spokesperson said. This prompted the university to roll out more Mandarin programmes in areas such as fintech, data analytics and intellectual property. These new programmes will begin this July. Applications by international students rose by 30 per cent between the 2024 and 2025 academic years, with a significant increase from China and ASEAN countries, the spokesperson said. SUTD's first Mandarin-taught Master's in Technology and Design programme will start in September this year, with about 60 students enrolled so far, including students from China, said the university's chief of staff for student experience and transformation Jonathan Kua. SMU's business school is set to launch a Chinese Executive MBA in January 2026. 'While it is still early in the admissions cycle and we cannot confirm the final student profile, we have seen strong interest from Chinese-speaking applicants, including those from China,' an SMU spokesperson said. RANKING, NETWORKING AND COST KEY FACTORS Chinese students who spoke to CNA said the growing appeal of Singapore universities lies in their strong showing in global rankings. In the latest QS World University Rankings published in June, NUS ranked eighth globally and top in Asia, while NTU climbed three places to 12th. "For Chinese students, what they value most is the QS rank of the school," said Ms Wang Xuan, a former NTU master's student. "Singapore actually has two schools in the top few. So it's really a good option for the students." The 27-year-old was deciding between Singapore and Hong Kong, and eventually decided on the former because she thought it would expose her to more cultures. 'If you look at the top few (universities), basically all those in the US and UK, the language issue is a major problem,' said Ms Wang. Singapore universities are easier for Chinese students as they do not have to take TOEFL or IELTS exams, she added, referring to the English proficiency exams required by some universities. Mandarin-taught MBA courses are particularly attractive to Chinese nationals seeking to expand their business networks in Southeast Asia, she added. Some students also see these programmes as a way to integrate into the local community. Mr Xu Ren is pursuing a part-time MBA at NUS while working at a bank in Singapore. He first came to Singapore in 2016 to study for a master's in wealth management at SMU after graduating from a Canadian university and working there. 'A master's degree is kind of like a must nowadays for students in China,' said the Beijing-born 35-year-old. 'Another reason I chose Singapore is because I wanted to go somewhere where I would have the opportunity to immigrate, to get permanent residency and even maybe get citizenship as well.' Having considered Australia, Canada and Singapore, he picked Singapore due to its relevance to his finance background. He chose to enrol in NUS because of its high QS ranking and reputation. 'SMU is a good school and offers a very good education, but it doesn't really have a QS ranking … Now I can say I'm a graduate from one of the top 10 schools in the world,' said Mr Xu. With a sizeable Chinese-speaking population, Singapore offers a 'good place for bridging' for students less fluent in English, he added. Cost is another consideration – university fees in Singapore are relatively lower than in the US and UK. Ms Jin estimated that studying in the US would have cost her around 1 million yuan (US$140,000), compared with half that amount in Singapore for a one-year course. 'Actually Singapore is already quite expensive now. But what they can get in return, the QS rankings that they can bring back to China to try to find a job … it's very worth it,' she said.
