The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shocked the world in a year full of sadly striking developments.
The return of war in Europe, the highest inflation rates in decades in many nations — including in Japan — and an abrupt year-end reversal of COVID-19 control policies in China rightly dominated 2022 headlines.
End of year is a time to revisit Asia's triumphs and tragedies, and 2022 was no different. In an annual tradition, the authors of this commentary took to media to premiere our Best to Worst Year in Asia list — this time on CNBC. Now, with the Year of the Rabbit upon us, we revisit Asia's winners and losers and bid sayonara to 2022 — if possible, hopefully, a goodbye also in the year ahead to war, inflation and COVID-19.