Hello from Tokyo. Almost two years ago, in July 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed while speaking at an election rally in the western prefecture of Nara. He was shot from behind, and when he turned around to see what was happening, he was repeatedly shot again, which proved fatal.
What happened to former U.S. President Donald Trump this week instantly reminded me of the Abe tragedy. The difference is that Trump miraculously survived after he was shot in the ear, ducking as soon as he noticed the blood and escaping other shots.
The Secret Service is under investigation over whether its protection of the former president was adequate. After Abe's tragic death, the National Police Agency admitted to multiple failures in planning, and the head of the National Police Agency resigned to take responsibility.
In the same year of Abe's death, Imran Khan, a former Pakistani prime minister who remains popular, was also shot and wounded while leading a march on Islamabad to demand early elections. The country has a long history of political violence. Its first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated after an election rally in 2007.
This week's Big Story is about another chronic problem in Pakistan: its ongoing financial crisis. The International Monetary Fund recently announced that it has tentatively agreed to give Pakistan about $7 billion, the 24th time the country has borrowed from the fund. The story explores why the country can't break the cycle and keeps going back to the fund for help.
The yen has been moving rapidly against the dollar since last week. Two rumored rounds of currency intervention boosted the yen's value last Thursday and Friday, and it strengthened significantly again this week following comments from powerful Japanese and U.S. political figures.
Previous to this recent rise, the yen's value had fallen significantly over the past few years, and the Japanese economy has been affected in a number of ways. This week's Asia Insight feature focuses on the weak yen as a new challenge in attracting overseas talent to Japan.
China is also dealing with the problem of a weaker currency. Growing uncertainty about China's economic outlook has softened Hong Kong's real estate market, and young entrepreneurs looking to seize the opportunity are using discounted real estate to open a string of game centers with claw machines, according to our Business Spotlight feature in this week's magazine.
Finally, my favorite topic: food. I always thought that Mexican food was one of the less-talked-about aspects of the Tokyo food scene. However, I recently noticed that an Australian restaurant chain that serves Mexican fast food is opening many locations in the Tokyo area. Since it seems to be expanding rapidly not only in Japan but also in many other places beyond Australia, I would like to try it one day.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Shin Nakayama
Editor-in-chief, Nikkei Asia
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