Yasu Ota
Columnist, Nikkei Asian Review
Editorial Writer, Nikkei
Yasu Ota is a Singapore-based columnist and TV commentator for Nikkei, covering not only the Asia Pacific region but also various global issues such as international trade and investment, macro economy, migration and climate change. He frequently travels to interview political and business leaders in Asia, and appears as a host on the popular Japanese TV program “Future Century ZIPANG”. Ota has more than 30 years of experience in journalism. He spent more than half of his career as foreign correspondent to cities such as Washington D.C. and Frankfurt. During his career, he has also covered major business and financial events like the Asian Economic Crisis, the U.S.-Japan trade dispute and the European economic integration. He has worked in Tokyo for ten years as an editorial writer and columnist. He is also one of the authors of Nikkei’s renowned column “Spring & Autumn”. He now writes regularly for the news column “Tea Leaves” in the Nikkei Asian Review. He is currently on assignment to Singapore as the first editorial writer stationed overseas. He holds a degree in Natural Science from the Hokkaido University in Japan, with a major in Physical Chemistry. He also completed a course from the Knight Science Journalism Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S.
