Leo Lewis

LEO.LEWIS@FT.COM; FT

An increasingly powerful appeal for the tens of millions of visitors Japan now draws annually is not just the traditional shopping, but the vibrant, over-the-counter trade in used items.

Japan’s US$580 billion hidden asset? In the back of the cupboard

2025-12-19T09:56:05.000Z
An android made by Unitree Robotics dancing at iREX 2025. When a robot-engendered crisis arises, there may be a temptation to frame the issue in the same terms as an immigration debate, says the writer.

The rise of humanoid robots threatens political disruption

2025-12-04T09:27:16.000Z
Japanese adults are turning to a self-measuring pen to proivde a powerful motivational jolt in their lives.

The all-seeing pen that feeds our need for motivation

2025-06-06T02:00:00.000Z
While smart-toilet adoption in China has, for the past decade, been led by middle-aged, middle-class women, the next phase is expected to draw in younger buyers.
PERSPECTIVE

Smart-toilet market will be a measure of China’s economic resilience

2023-08-04T10:01:40.000Z
A robotic arm picks up sorting containers at an Amazon fulfillment centre in the United States.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The politics of deglobalisation favours the robots

2023-03-06T07:00:00.000Z
New, wide-ranging Covid relaxations, outlined by China’s State Council on Wednesday (Dec 7), added to the picture of a nation on the brink of two profound shifts – one psychological, the other practical.

China’s reopening to reverberate around global markets

2022-12-08T10:03:18.000Z
Is the current version of Fomo just greed in disguise?
THE BOTTOM LINE

Is Fomo the new greed when it comes to investing?

2022-12-07T08:32:54.000Z
Decoupling milestone: The new Chips and Science Act recently passed in Congress dangles more than US$50bn in federal grants to companies building advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US, while requiring them not to upgrade any China-based factories for a decade.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The US and China are decoupling, but not as fast as you think

2022-08-08T08:16:32.000Z