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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

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.

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

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

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
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.

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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South Korean women carry flags reading “Feminist” on International Women’s Day in Seoul on March 8. South Korea’s feminist movement “4B” of no dating, sex, marriage or having children with men, has gone viral in America and beyond since Trump won the election. Photo: AFP

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
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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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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Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Photo: Sputnik / Vladimir Smirnov / Pool via Reuters

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
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.

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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Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reacts after being re-elected as prime minister in parliament on Monday. Photo: Reuters

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
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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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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An artist’s rendering of the new fountain to be built in Odaiba Marine Park. Photo: Bureau of Port and Harbour of Tokyo Metropolitan Government

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

Health & Environment

Calls in Japan for more suicide prevention steps targeting schoolchildren

Japanese culture experts urge authorities to do more after new data shows suicides among Japanese schoolchildren remain high.

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East Asia

Japan brokerage giant told to probe alleged arson, murder attempt by ex-worker

A former employee is accused of stealing US$170,000 in cash from an elderly client’s home and setting it on fire.

Politics

Trump’s victory is ‘good news’ for North Korea. But will Kim denuclearise?

Trump and Kim met twice in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019 but the summits failed to yield a commitment by Pyongyang to denuclearise.

Then-US President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea on June 30, 2019. Photo: Reuters
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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28
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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

videocam
13
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

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

videocam
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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23
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
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