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People cross a road in Tokyo, Japan. Government reforms over the past two decades had helped reduce average working hours. Photo: AFP
Japan

Clocking off: is Japan’s culture of overwork finally dying?

The average hours put in by Japanese workers are lower than those of their American and Italian counterparts.

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North Korea

North Korea’s explosive thriller reveals assassination plot against Kim’s dad

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South Korea

#SEAbling: the hashtag uniting Southeast Asia against South Korea

North Korea

Where is Kim Ju-ae? Succession question hangs over North Korea’s ruling congress

With Kim Jong-un set to outline his end-of-decade vision, the notable absence of his teenage daughter raises fresh succession questions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae inspect a newly completed music shop in the Hwasong area of Pyongyang on Wednesday. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae inspect a newly completed music shop in the Hwasong area of Pyongyang on Wednesday. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP
North Korea

North Korea’s Kim opens rare party congress with pledge to fix economy

North Korea’s economy has been languishing under heavy Western sanctions that aim to choke off funding for its nuclear weapons programme.

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South Korea

‘Fight not over’: South Korea’s Yoon remains defiant after life sentence

The former president maintains his short-lived 2024 martial law decree was done ‘solely for the sake of the nation and our people’.

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Japan

Takaichi vows to make Japan ‘strong’, says no to ‘reckless’ fiscal policy

The prime minister said Tokyo was facing ‘the most severe and complex security environment’ since World War II, citing China and Russia.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives her policy speech during the special Diet session in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AP
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives her policy speech during the special Diet session in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AP
Japan

Japan’s Takaichi pushes to scrap food tax, ignoring economists’ warnings

The newly reappointed prime minister is gambling 5 trillion yen a year on a popular election promise that could backfire badly.

Japan

Why plan by US and Japan to relocate Okinawa airbase is hitting turbulence

The US does not intend to vacate the current airbase for now due to disagreement over runway length at a replacement site, a report says.

Japan

Japan approves world’s first regenerative medicines using iPS cells

Drugs made with iPS, or induced pluripotent stem cells, will be used to treat patients with severe heart failure and Parkinson’s disease.

A heart muscle sheet derived from human stem cells at the University of Osaka. Photo: Kyodo
South Korea

South Korea’s ex-president Yoon sentenced to life in prison for insurrection

Yoon Suk-yeol is the first democratically elected South Korean leader to be convicted of the crime.

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A woman walks past a television screen in Seoul broadcasting a news report on Yoon Suk-yeol’s sentencing on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
A woman walks past a television screen in Seoul broadcasting a news report on Yoon Suk-yeol’s sentencing on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
China consumption

Why are so many South Korean visitors flocking to China’s Guangzhou?

Safety concerns in Southeast Asia and China’s visa-free travel policy among factors fuelling boom in golf tourism.

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Japan

‘Enormous failure’: naked man exposes gaps in Japan’s royal security

Princess Kako reportedly witnessed the chaos firsthand as a shrieking intruder stripped off and scaled a barrier below the royal balcony.

South Korea

South Korea to observe first, decide later on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

A former South Korean ambassador to Egypt will be attending Thursday’s inaugural meeting in Washington.

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US President Donald Trump holds a signed resolution at the “Board of Peace” charter announcement in Davos on January 22. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

‘Knowing your friend’: Japan to join US-Philippines drills for first time

Australia also joins the fray as the US and its allies shift away from simple bilateral deals towards tighter regional security networks.

Japanese troops take position during a joint military exercise in 2024. Photo: AFP
Japanese troops take position during a joint military exercise in 2024. Photo: AFP
China's population

China and South Korea team up on a vexing issue: their fast-ageing populations

After years of tense relations, the two nations are finding common ground over their need to adapt to an era of ‘super-aged societies’.

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Japan

‘A very good thing’: Japan’s Takaichi steps back from Liancourt Rocks pledge

Analysts say Takaichi’s decision not to send a cabinet minister to the event shows she is ‘protecting ties’ with Seoul amid regional tensions.

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South Korea

‘The game is over’: South Korea braces for Yoon Suk-yeol’s insurrection verdict

Two earlier convictions have defined Yoon’s martial law decree as part of an insurrection plot, raising the stakes ahead of Thursday’s ruling.

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Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the Seoul Central District Court for a hearing on a special prosecutor’s request for his arrest warrant, on July 9, 2025. Photo: AP
Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the Seoul Central District Court for a hearing on a special prosecutor’s request for his arrest warrant, on July 9, 2025. Photo: AP
Japan

Trump unveils first Japan investments under trade deal with US

The president hailed the projects – a critical minerals site, a gas power plant and an LNG facility in the US – ahead of PM Takaichi’s visit.

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Japan

Okinawa voters shift away from concerns over US military presence

Analysts point to a shift in priorities among younger Okinawans as a possible factor in the alliance’s bruising defeat in the election.

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North Korea

‘Heroic era’: why North Korea’s Kim is lauding Ukraine war sacrifices

The new homes for families of fallen soldiers are part of a push to showcase tangible achievements before the party congress, analysts say.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre, right) and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, touring Saeppyol Street, a new housing district in Pyongyang dedicated to the families of fallen soldiers, on Sunday. Photo; EPA/KCNA
South Korea

Average South Korean YouTuber earnings jump 25% in 4 years to US$49,000 annually

Growth accelerated after a surge in political broadcasts following 2024’s martial law decree, prompting calls for stricter tax oversight.

Anonymous mukbang YouTuber Jane ASMR is one of the top content creators in South Korea. Photo: Facebook/Jane ASMR
Anonymous mukbang YouTuber Jane ASMR is one of the top content creators in South Korea. Photo: Facebook/Jane ASMR
South Korea

Why do South Korea’s Hallyu heroes find taxes so … taxing?

As K-culture conquers the world, its wealthy stars keep falling foul of a tax system ‘that has not yet fully caught up’.

Japan

Why elite Japanese school asked 12-year-olds to read Palestinian poems for exam

Poets Mosab Abu Toha and Zeina Azzam welcomed the inclusion of their works in the exam, but were concerned about the ensuing controversy.

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Japan

Japan explores German silent cargo gliders to resupply remote islands

The HADIS system can deliver cargo of up to 500kg over a range of 120km and safeguard transport aircraft during resupply operations.

An illustration of Munich-based Hensoldt’s HADIS system. HADIS can be steered remotely, is silent and can more accurately deliver cargoes over further distances. Photo: Hensoldt
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