:00:00. > :00:14.other developed countries. Time for the latest business news
:00:15. > :00:22.from Singapore. Turbulence in the air. All Nippon
:00:23. > :00:29.Airways gets a mixed reaction to its latest commercial.
:00:30. > :00:32.And global leaders kickstart their annual summit at the global economic
:00:33. > :00:40.Forum. -- World Economic Forum. Welcome to the Asia Business Report.
:00:41. > :00:43.Japan's largest airline has pulled a television commercial after
:00:44. > :00:48.receiving complaints from some customers who have labelled it a
:00:49. > :00:53.racist and offensive. This was an advertisement that was
:00:54. > :00:59.released on Saturday by Nippon Airways. It is supposed to be
:01:00. > :01:07.humorous. It is supposed to be direct it at Japanese audiences
:01:08. > :01:12.only. It is about promoting it as a place. It is supposed to be for
:01:13. > :01:18.Japanese people. But it was all in English. A famous Japanese actor and
:01:19. > :01:21.FMS Japanese comedian dressed as pilots speaking to other in
:01:22. > :01:26.English. It is particularly the last little bit of the advertisement that
:01:27. > :01:30.has caused offence. I will let you judge for yourself.
:01:31. > :01:39.You want a hug? Such a Japanese reaction. Because I am Japanese. I
:01:40. > :01:46.see. Let us change from Japanese people. This did not just go to
:01:47. > :01:54.Japanese audiences. It spread around the world. It was an immediate
:01:55. > :01:58.response that set it engaged in racial stereotyping and was
:01:59. > :02:04.terrible. I Monday the company apologised. By Tuesday they pulled
:02:05. > :02:11.the advertisement is completely. I would say that here in Japan, blonde
:02:12. > :02:17.hair and the big nose is considered a positive attribute. It is not
:02:18. > :02:22.really derogatory racism. Earlier I spoke with a member of the public
:02:23. > :02:25.relations company and I asked him about his reaction to the
:02:26. > :02:31.commercial. There is positively no place
:02:32. > :02:41.whatsoever for advertisements which ended in racial stereotyping. There
:02:42. > :02:45.is an argument that some people domestically, local audiences, not
:02:46. > :02:51.finding this offensive, it is slapstick humour. There is no such
:02:52. > :02:56.thing as a domestic advertisement. Social media has had such an
:02:57. > :03:02.explosive effect in tearing down the boundaries. Anything can be put on
:03:03. > :03:11.social media and become worldwide. The mistake of not realising that
:03:12. > :03:21.this could go viral. That is exactly what happened. Let us take a look at
:03:22. > :03:36.some of the Facebook comments. Some of the comments to give you an idea.
:03:37. > :03:45.Some people say it is not offensive, just a bit of humour. What is key is
:03:46. > :03:51.how we handle this and how they go from here. What would your advice
:03:52. > :03:56.be? They were not fast enough. They took three days. They do not
:03:57. > :04:00.apologise directly. They apologised for offence given, but not for
:04:01. > :04:07.having produced it in the first place. It undermines the sincerity.
:04:08. > :04:15.You have been working in PR for a number of years. What would you say
:04:16. > :04:19.if it happened under your watch? I would make sure any advertisement
:04:20. > :04:25.produced anywhere in the world has the whole world in mind. What is the
:04:26. > :04:30.image that is left in the mind of the target audience? Stereotyping an
:04:31. > :04:36.outline that may not understand them. They have to think about the
:04:37. > :04:41.endgame. What are people going to do and think in consequence?
:04:42. > :04:45.Catching up with some of the other business news, in Australia
:04:46. > :04:51.inflation picked up faster than expected in the final quarter than
:04:52. > :04:58.expected. The cost of food, travel and tobacco rose. Inflation
:04:59. > :05:03.increased by 0.8%. Taking annual inflation to 2.7%. The rise in
:05:04. > :05:13.prices has lower the possibility of another cut in the central bank's
:05:14. > :05:19.lending rate. The Thai government has declared a state of emergency in
:05:20. > :05:23.the capital. This started today. It is aimed at countering protesters
:05:24. > :05:28.who have been on a campaign to oust the Prime Minister. The decree will
:05:29. > :05:32.allow the authorities to impose curfews, detain suspects and banned
:05:33. > :05:39.political gatherings. The political stand-off has resulted in millions
:05:40. > :05:45.of dollars in lost business. And the earnings season is under way on Wall
:05:46. > :05:57.Street. IBM has reported a 6% rise in net income. It owns $16 billion.
:05:58. > :06:02.The revenue came in below what analysts were expecting.
:06:03. > :06:07.Business, global and political leaders are arriving for the World
:06:08. > :06:12.Economic Forum. Around 2500 guests will be there representing more than
:06:13. > :06:21.1000 organisations and 100 nationalities.
:06:22. > :06:26.It is an unlikely spot for the biggest meeting of business leaders
:06:27. > :06:31.in the world. But here in Switzerland, 2500 executives and
:06:32. > :06:37.wild leaders congregate each year. This year's The Miz how to reshape
:06:38. > :06:43.the world. Whether it is by bus, train or helicopter, it is not just
:06:44. > :06:48.finance ministers, but academics and journalists who come here. When I
:06:49. > :06:56.was a special adviser I was always asked to propose concrete policy
:06:57. > :07:02.solutions. But first, what is the idea of reshaping the world? It
:07:03. > :07:08.means that the world is changing. The world will look differently from
:07:09. > :07:12.what it looks today. Just look at the technological revolution is.
:07:13. > :07:19.Look at the whole question of the cyber world. Look at 3-dimensional
:07:20. > :07:25.printing. I could go on and on. There is tremendous progress made in
:07:26. > :07:32.biology, medicine and so on. We will be in a different world. We have to
:07:33. > :07:38.prepare. Preparations may be nearly finished, but the hard work has yet
:07:39. > :07:43.to begin. There is great to be a lot of sessions talking about what the
:07:44. > :07:46.world will look like. There are already issues of slow growth,
:07:47. > :07:53.unemployment, rising inequality and climate change. Maybe there will be
:07:54. > :07:57.a report, but usually there is not. That is why it is frequently
:07:58. > :08:00.described as just being a talking shop. Then again, when the talking
:08:01. > :08:07.is by leaders, the networking process can be important. I have
:08:08. > :08:10.been invited to have tricks with a royal, dinner with a billionaire and
:08:11. > :08:17.a fireside chat with technology entrepreneur. Some say it is those
:08:18. > :08:22.conversations that will help reshape the world. As with all plans, only
:08:23. > :08:27.time will tell. Record-breaking prices for Art from
:08:28. > :08:32.China in recent years have created huge interest in contemporary pieces
:08:33. > :08:38.from Asia. But why? We caught up with the head of a luncheon gallery
:08:39. > :08:45.and asked him about the current interest in Asian art. -- London.
:08:46. > :08:50.Probably the breadth and diversity of the work that we are seeing could
:08:51. > :09:00.only be possible in greater Asia because not only have you got an
:09:01. > :09:03.area that where economies are growing fastest in the world,
:09:04. > :09:08.societies are changing. You have also got incredible difference and
:09:09. > :09:17.disparity within that region. You have got China, Korea, Indonesia,
:09:18. > :09:22.Japan, Russia and Australia. They have very different cultures. We
:09:23. > :09:28.have seen record prices being achieved at auction for many Chinese
:09:29. > :09:35.artists. What is the sudden interest in Asia and Chinese art? Economic
:09:36. > :09:41.growth and interest in art have always gone hand in hand. I do not
:09:42. > :09:44.think it is a new thing that we are going through. What tends to happen
:09:45. > :09:51.is that it happens in cycles. There has been a shift in interest from
:09:52. > :09:58.America and Europe over to Asia. That is a good thing. It is not just
:09:59. > :10:02.China. The reason we are focusing on greater Asia is that there is far
:10:03. > :10:07.greater breadth in interest in the quality of the work the artists are
:10:08. > :10:13.producing. You run a large gallery in London. Proportionately how many
:10:14. > :10:18.Asian artists have you been showing? We spend a lot of time in Asia
:10:19. > :10:26.because of the growth and interest in that area. As I said, it is very
:10:27. > :10:31.much the focus on greater Asia rather than one particular country.
:10:32. > :10:38.That is it for this addition of Asia Business Report.
:10:39. > :10:46.See you soon. Here are the headlines: Syria's
:10:47. > :10:50.government has rejected allegations that carried out systematic torture
:10:51. > :10:55.and executions of 11,000 people in one area of the country alone. The
:10:56. > :10:56.US call for calm in Thailand as protesters