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People walk along Takeshita Street, Harajuku, Tokyo. The number of tourist arrivals in Japan rose by 15.8 per cent to a record 42.7 million last year. Photo: EPA
Japan

Has Japan’s tourism peaked? Row with China set to slow arrivals from record high

A major travel firm says tourist arrivals in Japan are expected to fall this year from a record 42.7 million in 2025.

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North Korea

Pentagon shifts North Korean responsibility to ‘capable’ South

South Korea

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

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South Korea

K-drama star Cha Eun-woo’s ad campaigns pulled amid tax scrutiny in South Korea

The actor is contesting an additional tax assessment of more than US$13 million tied to a company registered under his mother’s name.

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South Korean actor Cha Eun-woo. Photo: Instagram/eunwo.o_c
South Korean actor Cha Eun-woo. Photo: Instagram/eunwo.o_c
South Korea

Dubai chewy cookie: K-pop post sparks viral South Korean snack frenzy

South Korea’s highly interconnected culture has fuelled a series of viral food crazes, the latest being a chocolate-loaded cookie known locally as ‘dujjonku’.

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Japan

Japan halts world’s largest nuclear plant hours after restart

TEPCO halted the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart after a monitoring alarm sounded, but confirmed the reactor is stable with no radioactive impact.

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South Korea

South Korea banned dog meat. Now what happens to 500,000 animals?

As South Korea moves to end dog meat consumption by 2027, the government lacks a clear survival plan for nearly half a million caged dogs.

Dogs are seen in cages at a dog farm in Pyeongtaek, South Korea in June 2023. Photo: AP
Dogs are seen in cages at a dog farm in Pyeongtaek, South Korea in June 2023. Photo: AP
South Korea

South Korean court’s harsh jail term for Han sets stage for Yoon’s verdict

The ex-prime minister was jailed for 23 years for his role in Yoon’s martial law decree, deemed an ‘insurrection from above’ by the court.

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Japan

Japan’s conservatives turn sour on Trump as ‘fears of abandonment’ deepen

Right-wing media outlets and politicians are now concerned that Trump’s second term will harm Japan’s trade and security interests.

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Japan

‘I was a victim’: survey reveals surge in men groped on Tokyo transit

Experts say the 15.1 per cent figure is striking and a reminder that women are not the only targets of molestation on public transport.

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Commuters travel on a train in Tokyo. Experts say the 15.1 per cent figure for male victims of groping – as revealed in a recent survey – is particularly striking. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan restarts first nuclear reactor since Fukushima under close scrutiny

The No 6 unit at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reached criticality on Wednesday, a key step in Japan’s push for stable energy despite lingering safety fears.

A Tepco employee opens a watertight door inside the unit 7 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in August 2024. Photo: AFP
A Tepco employee opens a watertight door inside the unit 7 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in August 2024. Photo: AFP
South Korea

Why South Korea’s flight attendants are forced to brave bitter cold in uniforms

Flight attendants commute in uniform due to lack of changing rooms at Incheon Airport as labour groups fight for better conditions.

South Korea

South Korea’s ex-PM Han gets 23 years in prison for insurrection

A ‌judge said Han Duck-soo ‘disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end’.

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Japan

Japan ex-PM Abe’s killer Yamagami gets life term for ‘despicable’ act

Abe’s assassination also ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and the Unification Church.

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Tetsuya Yamagami is escorted by a police officer as he is taken to prosecutors in Nara, western Japan, in 2022. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
South Korea

Seoul warns North Korea’s nuclear weapons will soon go ‘abroad’

Pyongyang is producing nuclear material for up to 20 weapons annually, President Lee Jae Myung says.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends what state media reported was a launching ceremony for a new tactical nuclear attack submarine in 2023. Photo: KCNA via Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends what state media reported was a launching ceremony for a new tactical nuclear attack submarine in 2023. Photo: KCNA via Reuters
North Korea

‘Goat yoked to an ox cart’: Kim Jong-un fires minister amid factory delay

By firing vice-minister Yang Sung-ho on the spot, Kim appears to be asserting his authority ahead of a crucial party congress, experts say.

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Japan

Long and short of it: why Okinawa lost crown as Japan’s island of longevity

Okinawan men fell from first to 43rd while women slipped to 16th in the last life expectancy survey, a slide that is expected to continue.

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China trade

China has tools to step up trade curbs on Japan amid tensions: Morgan Stanley

But Beijing is likely to conclude that further action would be counterproductive, according to the investment bank.

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Ties between China and Japan have deteriorated since November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made contentious remarks about Taiwan that drew a sharp response from Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Ties between China and Japan have deteriorated since November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made contentious remarks about Taiwan that drew a sharp response from Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Japan

‘Unprecedented’: Japan’s 1-party era under threat as centrists unite

The new CDP-Komeito pact marks a ‘turning point’ in Japanese politics that could finally end the LDP’s decades-long grip, analysts say.

Japan

Japan arrests man for selling AI-generated celebrity porn

A 31-year-old in Japan arrested for using generative AI to create and sell 520,000 explicit images of celebrities for US$70,000 in profit.

South Korea

How Project 2025 is reshaping immigration for Korean-Americans

Activist Kim Dong-seok warns lack of White House restraint has blurred immigration lines, leaving Korean-American residents in constant fear.

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ICE federal agents conducting an enforcement operation at a Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on September 4, 2025. Photo: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement/AFP
South Korea

Seoul airport ‘suicide flight’ threat sparks police manhunt in South Korea

A self-proclaimed pilot has threatened a crash and stabbing at Gimpo Airport in protest against the merger of Korean Air and Asiana.

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An Asiana Airlines plane takes off from an airport in Seoul on January 14. Photo: Korea Times
An Asiana Airlines plane takes off from an airport in Seoul on January 14. Photo: Korea Times
South Korea

Crossing a line: did military spies help a student fly drones into North Korea?

What began as a student’s claim of hunting radioactive waste has spiralled into a scandal linking military spies to dangerous border flights.

Japan

Japan weighs disturbing grave of over 700 children to recover WWII relics

A US submarine attack in 1944 claimed 1,484 lives, and officials are now consulting families on whether to raise artefacts or let them lie.

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Japan

Japan’s Takaichi rolls dice on snap poll, bets popularity can save scandal-hit LDP

The PM stakes her future on a February 8 vote, but one expert warns her support may not save a ruling party dogged by funding scandals.

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Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan in December 2025. Photo: Reuters
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