Despite a reported slow economic growth, Asia is on a path of recovery. IMF has raised Asia’s regional growth forecast for this year to 4.5 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from six months earlier, after a five percent expansion in 2023. China and India are leading the recovery phase. In a still subdued external environment, robust private consumption will remain the main growth driver in Asia’s other emerging market economies. Amid a persistently muted global backdrop, vigorous domestic

spending will continue to be the primary engine of growth in the emerging market economies of Asia.

Despite the bad economic news about Japan-whose GDP at the end of 2023 was the same as in 2018-there is a silver lining. Thanks to strong social and techno-logical changes, Japan has a big chance to bounce back in this generation by restoring the entrepreneurial spirit that made its postwar economic miracle possi-ble.

Things are looking good for aspirant entrepreneurs as well. Thanks to the ease of adopting the latest technologies, especially over the past three years, once-complex business problems now have simpler, faster solutions. No business can look the other way in providing a technology experience to its customers. This adds fuel to the already flaring competition. We all know that Data helps to gain better clarity about the target audience and equips organizations with the ability to build stronger connections with potential customers. In this special yearly issue, we divert our radar to some of the well-performing business leaders in Japan.