Takashi Kawakami

Staff Writer at Nikkei Asia

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Articles

China TV makers target European soccer, NFL to expand overseas

Mar 27, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- Chinese TV makers like Hisense are using this year's major international sporting events as a springboard to cultivate overseas markets, aiming to boost their global share in a field dominated by Samsung Electronics. Hisense this month has been focusing on the world's most popular sport, soccer. The company highlighted its sponsorship of this year's UEFA European Championship tournament as a way to boost brand recognition at an event for business partners.
Panasonic, Midea, robotics upstart step up to meet aging China's needs

Mar 17, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami |Koki Izumi

GUANGZHOU/OSAKA -- Technology-powered solutions for a graying society are gaining momentum in China, with both local and international players pursuing opportunities in the growing field. UBTech Robotics demonstrated a service robot to a packed showroom at its Shenzhen headquarters on Monday. Designed to assist mobility-impaired users, the robot can be easily controlled from a screen and automatically avoid obstacles.
China tries to steer 'urban village' residents to areas with housing glut

Mar 13, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- China's effort to redevelop the so-called urban villages of its major cities and resettle residents using vouchers is attracting attention as a way to fill unsold homes in other areas, though not all residents are eager to move. Urban villages -- chengzhongcun, literally "village within a city," in Chinese -- are clusters of older housing and shops that are the remains of communities overrun by urbanization.
China's food delivery market explodes to $208bn as workers scrape by

Feb 27, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- China's food delivery market is expanding at a rapid pace even post-pandemic, more than doubling in the three years through 2023 to reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($208 billion). But with the industry being built on the backs of low-paid deliverers, whose numbers by some measures exceed a combined 10 million at two of the largest companies, benefits and other support measures are a growing concern.
China's small cities face yearslong housing glut as sales languish

Feb 19, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- Small regional cities are dealing with the worst effects of China's housing market woes, as years' worth of excess inventory weighs heavily on the private developers that have focused on those areas. Among the toughest markets is Shaoguan, a small inland city in Guangdong province.
China's Lunar New Year holiday to kick off; overseas travel still slow

Feb 9, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Tomoko Wakasugi |Takashi Kawakami

BEIJING -- With the Lunar New Year holiday kicking off on Saturday, Chinese are rushing to airports and train stations to see their families back home and visit domestic tourism spots, but overseas travel has yet to fully recover. The government has projected a mainly domestic travel rush this year, with people making an estimated 9 billion trips over the 40 days surrounding the long holiday.
Chinese companies close R&D spending gap with U.S., led by Huawei

Feb 4, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- Major Chinese companies continue to boost R&D spending, eclipsing their European counterparts to rank second following the U.S. in 2022, led by tech giants like Huawei Technologies. Research and development expenditures by 2,500 leading companies worldwide totaled 1.25 trillion euros ($1.36 trillion) in 2022, a European Commission report published at the end of 2023 found. China accounted for 17.8% of this total, surpassing Europe's ratio of 17.5% and trailing only the U.S. at 42.1%.
China rushes to homegrown AI chips as Nvidia cutoff expands

Feb 2, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- As U.S. export restrictions make it increasingly difficult for Chinese artificial intelligence companies to get their hands on key Nvidia chips, they are turning to suppliers at home. Leading tech companies like Huawei Technologies have arisen as potential alternative suppliers, but concerns remain over whether their products can achieve the same performance.
Huawei to supply tech to Dongfeng EV brand under new tie-up

Jan 22, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- Huawei Technologies and China's state-owned Dongfeng Motor Group will partner in so-called new energy vehicles as the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker seeks growth in the automotive sector. The tie-up, announced Monday, will see Dongfeng's Voyah brand of NEVs use components and other technology from Huawei, which has strength in autonomous driving systems.
iPhone discounts spread in China for Lunar New Year as sales dip

Jan 18, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Takashi Kawakami

GUANGZHOU -- iPhone prices are being slashed in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, with major online retailers and Apple offering competing discounts as the device faces flagging sales amid competition from Huawei and other domestic brands. Alibaba's Tmall is offering discounts of up to 1,000 yuan (about $140) on some iPhone models, with the promotion starting Wednesday and running until Jan. 31.