The ''BYD Explorer No. 1'' car carrier sets sail from a Chinese port on Jan. 10.
Automobiles

China EV makers rush cars to Mexico and Brazil amid tariff concerns

BYD and others snap up shipping berths as U.S. hikes import tax to 100%

16 May 2024
A BYD vehicle carrier prepares to ship EVs to Brazil from Lianyungang port in China.
Electric cars in China

China EVs soar in Brazil, threatening Fiat, GM and VW dominance

BYD, Chery and Great Wall look to Latin America as trade tensions with West flare

11 May 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil's capital on May 3.
International relations

Japan, Brazil agree to promote biofuels and hybrid vehicles

Kishida and Lula hope to cooperate more on trade and decarbonization

4 May 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has focused more on diplomacy with the Global South since the 2023 Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. (Pool via Reuters)
International relations

Japan's Kishida to visit Brazil, Paraguay in overture to Global South

PM focused on building economic ties to counter Chinese and Russian influence

19 April 2024
Argentina's Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said the BRICS because is more of a political framework than a trade one. (Photo by Kotaro Igarashi)
Interview

Argentina won't push companies to buy from China: top diplomat

Little to gain from dealing with countries that aren't liberal democracies, Mondino says

23 March 2024
Paraguay's Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano says that Paraguay's ties with Taiwan have not stopped Chinese companies from doing business in the South American country. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
International relations

Paraguay 'committed' to keeping Taiwan ties, foreign minister says

Taiwan's last ally in South America emphasizes shared principles, economic benefits

11 March 2024
A train arrives at a metro station in the Dominican Republic's capital in 2011. The nation's government is looking to expand transport system in the capital.
International relations

Japan aims to export metro railway tech to Dominican Republic

Tokyo's push comes as China's influence grows in Latin America

21 February 2024
Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn spoke with Nikkei in Tokyo during a recent trip to Japan. (Photo by Manami Yamada)
Interview

Latin America ready to help solve global crises, IDB chief says

Inter-American Bank's Ilan Goldfajn seeks Japan tie-ups as region rises on world stage

25 January 2024
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before their meeting in Hiroshima on May 20, 2023. (Pool photo)
International relations

Japan eyes Latin America for mega-FTA to secure minerals, food security

Kishida's proposed visit would be chance to explore Japan-Mercosur EPA

20 January 2024
A drought has caused the Panama Canal Authority to restrict passage of container ships.
Supply Chain

Panama Canal backup forces detours for Asia-bound grain ships

Suez Canal transits soar due to drought, threatening higher food costs

29 December 2023
Ambassador Octavio Cortes, Brazil's envoy to Japan, spoke with the Nikkei about his country's hopes for an economic partnership agreement with Japan.
International relations

Japan needs early EPA talks with Mercosur: Brazilian envoy

Tax reform makes Brazil more attractive for investment, ambassador says

27 December 2023
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, left, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva review an honor guard at the Revolution Palace during the G77+China summit in Havana on Sept. 16.
International relations

G77+China: Latin America's leftists pursue solidarity with Beijing

Cuba summit lets emerging countries bond in America's backyard over economics

18 September 2023
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is prioritizing cooperation with other emerging economies, such as China.
International relations

Brazil's Lula departs for China, seeking deeper economic ties

Trip to meet with Xi includes anticipated new investments and business deals

12 April 2023
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, seen here in Quito during 2022, touted the trade deal reached with China on Jan. 3.
Trade

Ecuador reaches trade deal with China, president says

Pact expected to boost South American country's exports by $1bn

4 January 2023
Uruguay aims to increase exports of beef and other farm products to Asian markets.
Trade

Uruguay applies to join CPTPP in bid for Asian export boost

South American nation also seeking free trade deal with China

2 December 2022
The dollar's nominal effective exchange rate against a broad basket of currencies, including from both advanced and emerging economies, is now at one of its highest points since it started publicizing the data in 1994. 
Currencies

Superstrong dollar threatens debt crisis across emerging economies

Mexico pressured to follow Fed hikes, while Sri Lanka's repayment costs soar

2 September 2022
A cargo ship passes through the locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. It takes 10 days longer to ship gas from the U.S. to Japan without using the canal.
Energy

Panama Canal toll hike looms as new East Asian energy risk

Japan braces for higher import costs of household fuel LPG

27 August 2022
Monica Duhem Delgado, head of the Secretariat of Economy's global economic intelligence unit, says officials are working on incentives to bring chip companies to Mexico.
Interview

CHIPS Act will help boost semiconductor investment in Mexico: official

Intel and Texas Instruments 'express interest' in possible expansion

14 August 2022
Bananas are displayed at a shop in Halle, Belgium. Eaten across the world, the fruit is grown in the tropics, from Southeast Asia to Latin America.
Agriculture

Banana growers fight renewed extinction risk as lethal fungus spreads

Resurgence of Panama disease threatens one of world's most valuable crops

8 August 2022
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves seeks to export more to Asia.
Indo-Pacific

Costa Rica wants to join CPTPP, president says

Other Latin American countries also seek to expand trade in Asia

30 July 2022
Xi Jinping hosts the 14th BRICS summit via video link in Beijing on June 23: Countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Argentina have expressed interest in joining the club of five.
Opinion

Ukraine war divides Western alliance from the Global South

BRICS nations have long aspired to a new world order

8 July 2022
Russian soldiers guard fields of wheat in the southeast Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia on June 14: The current economic crisis is not mainly linked to an excess of demand but to insufficiency of supply.
Opinion

Inflation functions as a tax on the weakest

Serious shortages are taking hold of the essential elements of life

22 June 2022
A satellite image of the Boden Creek project site. Carbon credit trades based on forest conservation efforts sometimes rely on faulty project information.
Climate Change

'Ghost' carbon credits still alive despite end of forest project

Out-of-date database undermines battle against CO2: Nikkei investigation

11 June 2022
Leonardo Villar, the governor of Colombia's central bank, speaks with Nikkei in Bogota. (Photo by Hidetake Miyamoto)
Interview

Colombian central bank chief sounds alarm over U.S. rate hikes

Leonardo Villar hints at another rate increase in June to tame 'very strong inflation'

2 June 2022