Guido Alberto Casanova

The resignation of Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the founder’s great-grandson, reflects the company’s strategic choices for future mobility. After leading in hybrid car production, the Japanese group was stuck with a model that slowed down its transition into the e-car market.

During the Lunar New Year, the websites of a dozen academic and research institutes were simultaneously knocked out. On Telegram, the group claims that it picked South Korea as its "training ground", threatening more attacks. According to South Korea’s cybersecurity agency, only sites without sophisticated defence systems were affected.

In his policy speech to parliament, the prime minister said the government will focus on boosting the birth rate in 2023. Last year, only 800,000 births were recorded in the country. The Children and Families Agency is set to start in April. Plans include financial support for families with children, improved childcare, and better work-life balance for parents.

Businessman Kim Seong-tae - extradited from Thailand - is accused of having done business in North Korea during the thaw period, under the cover of the local authorities of Gyeonggi province. The governor at the time was the current Democrats leader, Lee Jae-myung, who responds: judicial investigation for political purposes.

Developed by the pharmaceutical company Eisai, it has been approved by the FDA in the US and will be available on the American market as early as this month. According to tests, it does not act on the symptoms of the disease, but on its causes by removing betamyloid deposits. Not all the scientific world is convinced, however, that focusing on this protein will produce effects. The crux of the matter is cost and coverage by health insurances.

The group's subsidiary, which is set to boost production at its Ochang plant, is second only to China’s CATL in this fast-growing sector of the global economy. US subsidies to electric cars made in North America are one obstacle.

The victim, who suffered from schizophrenia and whose name is not known, was arrested late last month. Initial reports reveal he was handcuffed and put in an isolation cell without food or medical care. Spotlight on similar cases.

Court rejects claim that radiation from the 1945 bomb blasts affected the children of survivors, accepting the government’s argument that there is no sufficient scientific evidence for higher rates of cancer.

An agreement with Italy and the United Kingdom for the production of military aircraft could be concluded by the end of the year. Until now, the Japanese Constitution has only prevented the sale of armaments abroad. But a reform could put an end to the concerns of defence industrialists.

Appointed in August, Interior Minister Minoru Terada resigns over illegal funding. In recent weeks, the economic revitalisation and justice ministers preceded him. Prime Minister Kishida pledges to regain public confidence with a new economic approach but doubts are growing about his leadership.

In South Korea, 69.3 per cent of people aged between 25 and 34 have a university degree. According to the OECD, the disconnect between training and the labour market is increasing. A highly competitive system obsessing over access to the most prestigious universities feeds a market of extracurricular centres, starting in kindergartens, where parents send their children to enhance their performance.

A commission set up by Japan’s Justice Ministry is proposing amendments to the Civil Code to ensure that no parents is denied access to their children after a divorce. The issue affects thousands of families in a country where 193,000 couples split up each year.