With her government entering its second year on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may face growing questions over whether her leadership style, oft-described as assertive, could fuel discontent within her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Bolstered by high public approval ratings and an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives, Takaichi has pushed through divisive legislation and made personnel appointments heavily tinged with her will. Political analysts warn that...

Singapore’s recent parliamentary debate over primary school admissions has put a familiar parental strategy in the city state under the spotlight – parents moving house to improve their children’s chances of getting into popular schools. Speaking with This Week in Asia, property agents say some families in Singapore have been approaching them with the intention of buying or renting particular residences at least two years before their children’s primary school admission. Living close to a...

The growing popularity of Chinese artificial intelligence models has emerged as a key risk factor for Anthropic ahead of its blockbuster initial public offering, according to US research firm Hedgeye Risk Management. “It’s all about Chinese competition when analysing Anthropic,” said Felix Wang, managing director and global tech sector head at Hedgeye. “Many of my clients are asking the same question.” The assessment comes as Anthropic faces renewed investor jitters over whether its massive AI...