South Korea's Lee to visit Philly Shipyard, put shipbuilding in focus
KEN MORIYASU and PAK YIU
August 16, 2025 06:17 JST
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is planning to visit Hanwha Group's Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania on Aug. 26, a day after he meets U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Nikkei Asia has learned.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
12 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese Firms Set up Vocational Schools in Asia, as Competition Grows with China and South Korea over Workers
BANGKOK — Japanese businesses are increasingly moving to set up Japanese-style vocational schools in Asia in an effort to secure ready workers for their local factories. In recent years, Chinese and South Korean companies have pushed more quickly into Southeast Asia. Amid growing competition with these firms for staff, Japanese companies are rushing to try to retain workers. 'I love the sounds of Japanese car engines. I'd like to work for a Japanese automaker and help out on development,' said a 16-year-old student learning car maintenance at Politeknik Mitra Industri, a vocational school in an industrial park in the suburbs of Jakarta. The industrial park, which is run by Marubeni Corp. and other businesses, houses a total of 385 firms, including many Japanese companies, such as Honda Motor Co. and Denso Corp. About 3,400 students attend the school, which was founded in 2012. The school offers eight courses, including on machinery, the electronics industry and accounting. Of those who graduated between 2015 and 2024, more than 70% got jobs at Japanese companies. 'We want to make a place where students can acquire advanced knowledge and technical skills, so that local youth can become the management for manufacturers,' said Yoshihiro Kobi, an executive at the foundation that manages the school and a former Marubeni employee. The foundation plans to open a technical university in September and offer enrollment to working emerging countries, companies often need to teach new employees basic rules, such as that they must come to work by the start of working hours. Those who have received instruction are valuable resources for businesses, reducing the burdens of employee training. In 2018, Toyota Tsusho Corp. opened an educational institution at an industrial park in India's western state of Gujarat. Students learn manufacturing skills and business etiquette, among other subject matter, over three years. Of 61 graduates, 45 have taken jobs at the companies where they had hands-on training, some of which were Japanese firms. In Thailand, a technical college, which was established in 2019 with the help of a yen-based loan from the Japanese government, has provided staff to Japanese companies doing business there. In recent years, Chinese and South Korean businesses have increasingly moved to open plants in Southeast Asia. Some of these rival firms have poached staff from Japanese firms by offering attractive wages. In a job preference survey by Persol Research and Consulting Co. in 2022, the share of those saying they wanted to work for a Japanese company fell in many Southeast Asian countries compared to a 2019 survey. The trend could be even more pronounced now. 'Japanese firms are slow to raise wages and give promotions, which raises the odds that highly motivated workers will leave,' said Ryotaro Inoue, a senior researcher at Persol. 'To keep staff at Japanese firms, they will need to engage in education locally over the long term to help people feel attached to Japan. They should also make it clear that Japanese companies offer stable work style.'
Nikkei Asia
16 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
US-South Korea drills, Lee visits Japan, Taiwan nuclear power vote
Welcome to Your Week in Asia. Fresh off calling for a "redefining" of ties with Japan in an independence day speech, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung heads to Tokyo for talks as the two countries wrestle with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Also in Japan, relations between Asia and Africa will be in focus during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Japan is expected to announce an investment push in the continent in tandem with countries such as India. Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, where our handle is @NikkeiAsia. We are also now on Bluesky, with the handle @ MONDAY U.S.-South Korea military drills The U.S. and South Korea will hold their annual military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield. About 18,000 South Korean soldiers will take part in the live-fire exercises amid North Korea's warnings of reprisals for what it says is a "direct military provocation." Data: Thailand gross domestic product TUESDAY Data: Malaysia trade WEDNESDAY Africa conference in Japan TICAD, an international conference focusing on African development, will be held in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, for three days until Friday. The ninth edition of the event features over 200 seminars and symposiums, as well as approximately 300 booths and panel displays. Thailand electronics trade show The Thailand Electronics Circuit Asia 2025 trade show kicks off in Bangkok. The three-day event will bring together hundreds of companies from across the tech supply chain, with a major focus on printed circuit boards, a key component used in all types of electronic devices. Taiwan robot show The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show opens in Taipei. Exhibitors at the four-day fair will show off the latest advances in smart manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence and more. Earnings: Baidu THURSDAY Data: India purchasing managers index FRIDAY Ruling in Thaksin lese majeste case Thailand's Criminal Court is due to hand down its verdict on former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a lese majeste case. The 75-year-old Thaksin is accused of insulting the monarchy during an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo in May 2015. South Korea's opposition People Power Party elects new leader Data: Malaysia consumer price index Earnings: China Vanke SATURDAY Lee visits Japan for summit South Korea's President Lee will make his first overseas trip for a bilateral summit when he travels to Tokyo to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. While the neighboring nations are historical rivals and Lee has a track record of criticizing Japan, both are export-led economies seeking solutions to the steep tariffs imposed by America. After his Japan trip, Lee will head to Washington for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Taiwan nuclear power referendum Taiwan holds a referendum on whether to restart its Maanshan nuclear power plant, the shutdown of which marked the end of the island's atomic energy era in May. The opposition Taiwan People's Party pushed for the vote on the grounds that reactivation is necessary for energy stability and security. President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party has said he will vote "no." The referendum coincides with a handful of districts voting in recall elections against opposition Kuomintang lawmakers, after a larger first set of recall attempts all failed.
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 17, 2025
TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan eyes addressing possible mistreatment of foreign knowledge workers TOKYO - Japan's immigration agency plans to step up efforts to address the potential mistreatment of foreign nationals holding knowledge worker visas and employed through temporary staffing agencies, finding some have been inappropriately assigned to menial labor, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday. The Immigration Services Agency plans to examine the working conditions of foreigners holding the visa supposedly for engineers and specialists in humanities and international services -- a visa that allows them to work in Japan for a long period of time as there are no limits in seeking extensions. ---------- Smoke that halted bullet train in central Japan came from underfloor device NAGOYA - JR Central said Saturday that a fire originating from a piece of equipment under the floor of a carriage forced a bullet train to stop the previous night at a station in central Japan, affecting the journeys of thousands of people. After leaving Osaka for Shizuoka, a conductor noticed a burning smell in one of the cars while the Tokaido Shinkansen Line train was running between stations in Shiga and Gifu prefectures, according to the train operator. ---------- Trump-Putin summit ends without deal on Ukraine cease-fire ANCHORAGE, Alaska - U.S. President Donald Trump ended a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday without a deal on a cease-fire in the yearslong war between Ukraine and Russia. The summit meeting, held without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marked the first direct talks between the leaders of the United States and Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion began in 2022. ---------- Japan lodges protest with S. Korea over marine survey near disputed islets TOKYO - The Japanese Foreign Ministry said Saturday it has lodged a "strong protest" with South Korea over suspected maritime research near islets in the Sea of Japan that are controlled by Seoul but claimed by Tokyo. Japan protested on Friday after confirming a South Korean survey ship had lowered what appeared to be a wire in "Japanese territorial waters" off the islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, the ministry said. ---------- Subcontractors protest unpaid work on 8 overseas Osaka expo pavilions OSAKA - Subcontractors involved in the construction of eight overseas pavilions at the World Exposition in Osaka are claiming they have not been paid for their work, with organizers and the prefectural government offering little help in what they have deemed is a private matter. Some subcontractors are preparing to sue GL Events Japan, the prime contractor for four of the overseas pavilions involved in nonpayment disputes. Around 20 subcontractors gathered in protest in front of the French company's Japan branch in Osaka city on July 10, demanding to be paid. ---------- Another senior China party official detained for questioning: report BEIJING - Another senior international liaison official of China's ruling Communist Party was detained in early August around the same time her boss was taken away by authorities for questioning, Reuters news agency said Friday, but the party later denied the report, citing her presence at a reception. The report said Sun Haiyan, deputy chief of the party's International Liaison Department, was detained by Chinese authorities in connection with the questioning of Liu Jianchao, who heads the department and was widely considered a potential candidate for China's foreign minister. ---------- Pricier tickets for fireworks, theme parks test summer holidaymakers TOKYO - The scorching summer heat may be forcing some holiday goers to rethink their vacation plans, but leisure businesses have shown no hesitation in raising ticket prices for those seeking assurance of quality time. About 80 percent of the 106 fireworks festivals surveyed in Japan offer paid seats this year, with the average "premium" ticket fee, which promises nice viewing and seating along with other luxury features, jumping 7.2 percent from a year earlier to 36,193 yen ($240) per seat, with some over 50,000 yen, according to research firm Teikoku Databank. ---------- Football: Endo assists, dedicates Liverpool's season-opening win to Jota LIVERPOOL, England - Wataru Endo dedicated Liverpool's English Premier League season-opening win to the late Diogo Jota on Friday after the Japan captain helped launch the defense of their title with an assist in a dramatic 4-2 home win over Bournemouth. The first fixture of the campaign was preceded by and concluded with Liverpool fans singing their chant for Jota, the former Portugal forward who died along with his younger brother in a car crash on July 3 in northwestern Spain. ---------- VIDEO: Traditional Indian dance performed at Osaka Expo
