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Sake barrels on display at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu shrine. Photo: Shutterstock

East Asia

US tourist arrested for etching letters on Tokyo shrine gate in prank

Steve Hayes reportedly used his fingernails to scratch letters in a traditional wooden gate at the temple complex.

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Japan’s PM Ishiba to push ahead with ‘difficult’ political funds reforms

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‘Serious problem’: Japan curbs over-the-counter drug rules amid youth ‘overdoses’

Politics

Lee Hsien Loong downplays fears of Taiwan conflict during Trump’s term

The ex-prime minister was responding to a question at a US forum about whether China would make a move on Taiwan over the next four years.

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Then-US president Donald Trump shakes hands with then-Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a meeting in New York in 2019. Photo: AFP
Then-US president Donald Trump shakes hands with then-Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a meeting in New York in 2019. Photo: AFP

People

Japan’s Narita airport gets tough on harassment by customers with new policy

The guidelines were framed after businesses at the airport reported multiple instances of patrons losing their cool.

East Asia

Donald Trump loves golf. South Korea’s president is looking to leverage that

He hasn’t played in eight years, but Yoon Suk-yeol is working on his golf swing in the hope of a round or two with Trump, his office said.

East Asia

North Korea now has boots on the ground in Ukraine, US confirms

It marks the first time Washington has confirmed that North Korean troops are directly engaged in the conflict.

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North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang. Photo: AP

East Asia

South Korea slaps travel ban on American live-streamer for ‘causing a commotion’

A convenience store worker reported Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, to the police last month.

A still from a TikTok video showing US live-streamer Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, harassing pedestrians on the street in South Korea. Photo: TikTok/JohnnySomali
A still from a TikTok video showing US live-streamer Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, harassing pedestrians on the street in South Korea. Photo: TikTok/JohnnySomali

Politics

Will Trump ‘close bases abroad’? Some in Japan are hopeful

US president-elect Donald Trump pressured Japan to pay more for American troops stationed on its soil during his first term.

East Asia

‘Boycotting men’: South Korean feminist movement gains traction after Trump win

Driven by gender inequality, sexism, and a backlash against male privilege, the movement reflects a growing global trend of resisting patriarchal norms.

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East Asia

Japan pledges fresh US$65 billion for chips, AI to help narrow gap with China

The US and its allies are racing to keep ahead of China in AI-powering semiconductor capabilities, seen as essential to economic security.

A Japanese 10,000 yen banknote. Japan’s prime minister said he hoped the public aid would generate public and private investment of more than 50 trillion yen over the next 10 years. Photo: Reuters

Politics

South Korea’s Ukraine support strategy shifts with Trump’s re-election

Seoul’s pivot away from weapons shipments comes amid tepid public support for the move – and Trump’s vow to negotiate an end to the war.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol answers questions during a press conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol answers questions during a press conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Politics

France sends its nuclear-powered carrier to Japan – and a ‘message’ to China

Analysts say the deployment aims to bolster alliances, deter adversaries and demonstrate France’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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East Asia

North Korea ratifies defence treaty with Russia

Pact seals deepening security cooperation between the nations as North Korea becomes one of most vocal backers of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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Diplomacy

As Apec opens, the largest figure in attendance is not even there: Donald Trump

The US president-elect and his preference to shed, not support, multilateral institutions cast a looming shadow over Lima this week.

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The entrance of the Lima Convention Center, part of the government complex where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit is taking place this week. Peru: AFP

Arts & Culture

Mark Rothko painting goes for 30% less than in 2015 in Hong Kong sale

Untitled (Yellow and Blue) by Mark Rothko, once owned by fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, fetches US$33 million at Sotheby’s auction.

Mark Rothko’s 1954 painting Untitled (Yellow and Blue) is displayed at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong ahead of its auction on November 11, 2024. Photo: Sotheby’s
Mark Rothko’s 1954 painting Untitled (Yellow and Blue) is displayed at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong ahead of its auction on November 11, 2024. Photo: Sotheby’s

East Asia

Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine vandalised with kanji for ‘death’

It follows similar defacement incidents in June and August.

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East Asia

Lawmakers vote to keep Shigeru Ishiba as Japan’s prime minister

Ishiba was formally reelected as Japan’s PM on Monday after a rare run-off vote in a parliament that his ruling coalition no longer controls.

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Lifestyle & Culture

In Japan, call to ban women marrying after 25 stirs backlash

Naoki Hyakuta, founder of the Conservative Party of Japan, also angered many when he proposed uterus removal for women at the age of 30.

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A young Japanese couple at a garden in Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock

People

South Korea’s adoption scandal: a 20-year fight for truth amid corruption

Ahn Andersen is one of many adoptees who have spent decades searching for their Korean roots, facing roadblocks from adoption agencies and government bodies.

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Ahn Andersen has spent decades searching for her Korean roots. Photo: David Lee
Ahn Andersen has spent decades searching for her Korean roots. Photo: David Lee

East Asia

North Korea’s GPS jamming attacks disrupt flights, ships in Seoul

The South’s military warned vessels and aircraft operating in the Yellow Sea to be cautious, urging Pyongyang to cease its provocations.

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Politics

Will Tokyo’s giant fountain make a splash or be a US$17 million washout?

The cherry blossom-shaped fountain planned for Tokyo’s Odaiba Marine Park district has divided residents over its cost and potential economic benefits.

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Diplomacy

How should Indo-Pacific leaders deal with Trump 2.0? Analysts say get personal

Shinzo Abe, Japanese prime minister during Trump’s first term, is cited as an example of how to work with the US president-elect.

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World leaders are considering how best to deal with US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Open Questions series

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s evolving role in Middle East conflicts, according to an academic

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

This economist says China’s property oversupply is far from over. Here’s why

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Ex-World Bank economist on why ‘China will not be misled’, dodging Japan’s fate

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Arthur Kroeber: why China decoupling is unlikely, and talk of reform incomplete

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Illustration: Henry Wong

South China Sea flare-up risk ‘much higher’: Taiwan’s former unofficial US envoy

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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29
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s evolving role in Middle East conflicts, according to an academic

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13
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

This economist says China’s property oversupply is far from over. Here’s why

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46
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Ex-World Bank economist on why ‘China will not be misled’, dodging Japan’s fate

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21
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Arthur Kroeber: why China decoupling is unlikely, and talk of reform incomplete

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38
Illustration: Henry Wong

South China Sea flare-up risk ‘much higher’: Taiwan’s former unofficial US envoy

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
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