https://www.scmp.com/rss/328488/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele On Cenang Beach, Mohamad Zaki Najmi sells jet ski rides and boat tours in Langkawi’s turquoise water: adventure activities that have powered the Malaysian island’s tourism economy for years. But costs are rising fast on the popular resort island, and the sea sports operator has been forced to pass them on to customers – a last resort for tourism players in Malaysia as competition for international visitors hots up across Southeast Asia. Higher fuel prices, triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3354496/malaysias-tourism-dependent-langkawi-fears-rising-costs-are-deterring-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3354496/malaysias-tourism-dependent-langkawi-fears-rising-costs-are-deterring-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 May 2026 07:15:28 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Allegations of sexual assault by an heir to a beer fortune against his own older brother have thrust one of Thailand’s richest families into an uncomfortable spotlight, stunning a public unaccustomed to seeing prominent households air their affairs in public. The scandal erupted last week when Siranudh Scott, better known as “Psi” – a fourth generation heir to the Bhirombhakdi family’s beer-to-real estate empire – shared allegations of historic sexual abuse by his older brother, Sunit, on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3354185/thailands-singha-beer-dynasty-rocked-sexual-abuse-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3354185/thailands-singha-beer-dynasty-rocked-sexual-abuse-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2026 05:01:59 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee The young woman in the stands simply sighed, turned her head and sat there, looking impossibly composed, while 15 million strangers fell briefly in love with someone who had never existed. She was, according to the caption accompanying one of many posts, “the average Korean woman”. Her admirers quickly crowned her a “baseball goddess”, analysing her every feature with the forensic enthusiasm reserved for internet obsessions, as the five-second clip went viral across South Korea’s online... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353740/reality-deficit-how-south-korea-lost-plot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353740/reality-deficit-how-south-korea-lost-plot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Even as Singapore positions itself at the frontier of AI technology, human intelligence still remains critical, according to the city state’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan. “We should beware of just trying to throw every problem, and every step in a solution, at a large-language model (LLM),” he said on Saturday at the AI Engineer conference, referring to deep-learning technology behind generative AI services such as ChatGPT. Balakrishnan warned against discarding traditional AI models... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353807/singapore-minister-reveals-why-human-touch-still-important-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353807/singapore-minister-reveals-why-human-touch-still-important-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 07:04:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall As the ground shook beneath her feet and the powerful tsunami rolled in from the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011, Masako Saito feared for her coastal community. Saito’s entire family escaped from Soma City in Japan, where massive waves caused utter devastation, and she could not return to witness the chaos for herself until the following month. It was “beyond recognition”, according to Saito. The once-thriving community had been largely flattened, replaced by mounds of debris and fishing boats.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353783/japans-ibasho-sense-belonging-helps-disaster-survivors-heal-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353783/japans-ibasho-sense-belonging-helps-disaster-survivors-heal-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia, already leading Southeast Asia’s push to keep children off risky digital platforms with an under-16 social media ban, now wants to extend those protections to e-commerce after officials said young people had become victims of online scams and unsupervised digital spending. The plan has drawn support from child psychologists, who warn of impulsive consumption among young users. However, it also presents e-commerce companies with a difficult compliance test: building age-verification... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353440/why-indonesia-expanding-under-16-social-media-ban-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353440/why-indonesia-expanding-under-16-social-media-ban-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 10:00:33 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Gwanghwamun Square, a plaza in Seoul framed by royal palaces and monuments to Korean national identity, is at the centre of a dispute over whether a massive new Korean war memorial belongs in a public space seen as a major tourist attraction and long associated with civic gatherings and pro-democracy protests. A row of 23 stone monuments representing South Korea and the 22 foreign countries that fought alongside it during the 1950-53 war was recently unveiled at the square. Located across from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353427/whale-bones-south-koreas-war-memorial-sparks-conflict-over-symbolism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353427/whale-bones-south-koreas-war-memorial-sparks-conflict-over-symbolism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 09:12:09 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Azizul Kamal has spent a decade building his legal career in Singapore, but half of the time, he was hopping from one contract role to another in the industry. “Every company seems to only want to hire contractors, because we’re cheaper for balance books. It’s very hard to find a full-time role,” the 38-year-old Singaporean said. Azizul did not secure a third extension as a lawyer at his previous firm, after it found a permanent replacement based in Kuala Lumpur, he said. With bills to pay, he... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353305/singaporeans-refute-lack-hunger-stereotype-warn-self-fulfilling-bias-over-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3353305/singaporeans-refute-lack-hunger-stereotype-warn-self-fulfilling-bias-over-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 01:30:10 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Yasuyuki Watanabe has not seen his daughter in more than 15 years. But he is not celebrating the landmark custody reform that Japan has just implemented. Until last month, Japanese law required one parent to hold sole custody of children after a divorce, leaving the other party reliant on informal goodwill or court-encouraged visitation to maintain a relationship with their child. For Watanabe, 54, the result was a system seemingly designed to exclude him, where one parent could disappear from a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352549/divorced-reality-japans-joint-custody-reform-divides-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352549/divorced-reality-japans-joint-custody-reform-divides-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 02:00:05 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee Every year for the past three years, Edward Sugiana has made the same pilgrimage from Vancouver to a memorial hall on the southern fringes of Seoul that has become one of K-pop’s most sacred and sorrowful sites. Inside a small private room, Post-it notes from fans cover the walls alongside flowers and photographs of the girl group Kara. Nearly seven years after her death, visitors continue to arrive to pay tribute to Goo Hara – a woman many never met, but whom thousands feel they lost. “At the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3352925/k-pop-moved-goo-hara-sulli-and-jonghyuns-suicides-fans-never-did?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3352925/k-pop-moved-goo-hara-sulli-and-jonghyuns-suicides-fans-never-did?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines has crowned its newest Miss Universe candidate, Bea Millan-Windorski, as the country – known for its penchant for beauty pageants – prepares to send its latest representative to the global competition in November. The 23-year-old, who grew up in Wisconsin in the United States and holds a degree in history and international relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stood out among seven finalist last weekend with her winning answer. Asked why the Philippines was still... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352890/what-authentic-filipino-identity-new-miss-universe-philippines-win-reignites-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352890/what-authentic-filipino-identity-new-miss-universe-philippines-win-reignites-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2026 05:00:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The queues start to form before the lunchtime rush at Phed Mark, a Bangkok kitchen with a pop-up feel that dishes up steaming plateloads of pad kaphrao – a runny fried egg with fiery minced meat over rice – to a clientele of mainly Chinese tourists. Founded by YouTuber Mark Weins, Phed Mark has turned a Thai staple into a must-eat for Chinese visitors, who defy the heat to patiently wait each day on plastic stools for their turn outside the Ekkamai bus terminal. A lot has to do with its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352704/thailand-targets-6-million-chinese-visitors-authentic-content-rednote-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352704/thailand-targets-6-million-chinese-visitors-authentic-content-rednote-wechat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 05:04:53 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Japan has long grappled with what to do about hikikomori – the social hermits who seal themselves off from the world, sometimes for years, retreating from all human contact. In the past, these recluses were thought of as a youth problem: troubled teenagers, rudderless young men. But that framing no longer holds. Japan’s shut-ins are growing old, and the parents keeping them alive are growing older still. The average hikikomori is now 36.9 years old, according to the Asahi newspaper, citing a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352591/japans-hikikomori-recluses-are-growing-old-so-are-their-carers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352591/japans-hikikomori-recluses-are-growing-old-so-are-their-carers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 07:49:45 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Four paintings linked to one of the world’s most audacious financial frauds stood on easels at Malaysia’s anti-corruption headquarters on Wednesday: a Picasso, a Miro, a Balthus and an Ultrillo – all allegedly bought with money stolen from the Malaysian people. The unveiling of the works at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya marked the first public showing of artworks recovered from the multibillion-dollar Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352577/malaysia-unveils-recovered-1mdb-masterpieces-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352577/malaysia-unveils-recovered-1mdb-masterpieces-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 05:53:47 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A Japanese infantry unit has withdrawn a new patch designed by artificial intelligence after it was criticised for being immature, “aggressive” and out of step with the public image of the country’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The 1st Infantry Regiment’s patch was unveiled on April 29 and features an elephant in a helmet and other combat gear, holding a machine gun across its chest. The elephant has chains across its shoulders and a human skull apparently attached to its chest, with blue flames... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352488/japan-army-units-gun-toting-ai-generated-elephant-logo-gets-trampled-critics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352488/japan-army-units-gun-toting-ai-generated-elephant-logo-gets-trampled-critics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 08:38:32 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The sounds of passing cars and birds chirping broke the morning stillness at Penang’s Northam Road Protestant Cemetery as visitors began filtering in after 8am. Tour guide Zul Harris arrived in a purple shirt, grey trousers and a black flat cap to greet seven tourists waiting at the gate. Inside, a narrow laterite path ran through the cemetery beneath old frangipani trees, whose dense canopy cast a muted green light over weathered headstones tilting at uneven angles. Zul was leading a cemetery... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352393/penangs-cemetery-tours-spur-interest-pioneers-colonial-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352393/penangs-cemetery-tours-spur-interest-pioneers-colonial-history?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:21 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones In India, cuddly and colourful animals are paraded across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels, where free advice is shared on how to raise a lemur – or what to feed an iguana – in congested megacities far from forest habitats. Cuteness has become a commodity in Asia’s social media world, with Thailand’s main airport emerging as a reluctant hub for wild animal smuggling. On Wednesday, a 19-year-old passenger bound for Taipei tried to evade security at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352169/how-thailand-transit-hub-feeds-indias-exotic-pet-craze-its-organised-crime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352169/how-thailand-transit-hub-feeds-indias-exotic-pet-craze-its-organised-crime?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently visited Seoul for a state visit, one of the most memorable moments was a photo that he took with a 19-year-old Indonesian K-pop idol. Nyoman Ayu Carmenita, better known as Carmen of the girl group Hearts2Hearts, symbolises Indonesia’s ascendancy in the K-pop universe: no longer just a vast market for the genre’s stars, with the country increasingly playing a part in the industry’s global growth. Foreign Minister Sugiono said on April 22 that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352158/indonesias-aim-lure-more-k-pop-concerts-spurs-chorus-doubts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352158/indonesias-aim-lure-more-k-pop-concerts-spurs-chorus-doubts?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A government-backed water rave in Kuala Lumpur has earned the wrath of Malaysia’s culture war brigade, pitting religious objections against tourism goals, as critics decry the vulgar import amid growing conservatism. The uproar over the three-day Rain Rave Water Music Festival in Bukit Bintang comes as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government tries to promote the country as a youthful, experience-led travel destination, even as it manages a traditionalist pushback against concerts, pop culture... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352115/malaysias-angry-culture-war-brigade-tries-dampen-water-festival-over-moral-harm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352115/malaysias-angry-culture-war-brigade-tries-dampen-water-festival-over-moral-harm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 05:09:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s shrinking youth population is forcing a reckoning in higher education, with the finance ministry pushing for the closure or merger of hundreds of private universities as campuses struggle to fill classrooms. University insiders broadly agree that Japan has too many small, private tertiary institutions battling enrolment shortfalls and financial pressures, but they also argue the education ministry’s own policies contributed to the problem. “The number of universities they are talking... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352079/japans-higher-education-sector-faces-reckoning-student-pool-shrinks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3352079/japans-higher-education-sector-faces-reckoning-student-pool-shrinks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 01:30:11 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran A viral appearance in the swimsuit round by a male beauty pageant contestant in the Philippines has sparked a wider debate about male beauty standards and whether pageantry is ready to make room for people who do not fit its traditional ideals. RJ Perkins, 21, drew widespread attention after a video showed him strutting across an outdoor stage during the swimwear segment of Mister Pampanga, held in the province of Pampanga, north of Manila. Unlike the chiselled bodies typically associated with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3351987/male-pageant-contestants-viral-swimsuit-walk-sparks-body-image-debate-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3351987/male-pageant-contestants-viral-swimsuit-walk-sparks-body-image-debate-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 07:46:29 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk One of Japan’s most popular zoos has delayed its reopening after an employee reportedly told police he had burned his wife’s body in an incinerator on its grounds. Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido’s second-largest city of Asahikawa, which had been closed for a seasonal break since April 8, was set to reopen on Wednesday, a national holiday. But the date has been pushed back to at least Friday to allow police to search for the body, according to The Asahi Shimbun newspaper. At a news conference on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351839/zoo-japans-hokkaido-delays-reopening-over-search-body-incinerator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351839/zoo-japans-hokkaido-delays-reopening-over-search-body-incinerator?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:54:27 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Singapore ground handler SATS has apologised after one of its employees was filmed tossing passengers’ luggage onto a conveyor belt at Changi Airport, in a video that drew scrutiny partly because Changi has long been ranked among the world’s best airports. SATS is a separate aviation services company that provides ground-handling services at Changi, which is operated by Changi Airport Group. The minute-long video, posted on social media on Sunday, showed a worker in a blue shirt moving large... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3351792/singapore-firm-sorry-after-changi-airport-baggage-handler-caught-tossing-luggage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3351792/singapore-firm-sorry-after-changi-airport-baggage-handler-caught-tossing-luggage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:05:07 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Shortly after completing a bachelor’s degree in 2023, Warren Neo considered doing what many business graduates in Singapore do: look for a corporate job. Instead, he became a full-time barista. “I considered going into human resources, since that was what I specialised in at university, but I discovered my interest in making coffee during my part-time job,” said Neo, 29, who majored in business at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. “I gave myself a chance to pursue being a barista... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3351756/why-more-singapore-graduates-are-choosing-jobs-below-their-qualifications-its-meaningful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3351756/why-more-singapore-graduates-are-choosing-jobs-below-their-qualifications-its-meaningful?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:30:13 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Thousands of Japanese are defying rising prices at home and the pain of the feeble yen to have one final foreign holiday over “golden week” before airlines increase fuel surcharges. The operator of Narita International Airport anticipates that 1.59 million travellers will pass through the airport on the outskirts of Tokyo between last Friday and May 10. That would be an increase of around 2 per cent from last year’s golden week holiday season, which in Japan refers to a cluster of national... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351741/japanese-travellers-rush-abroad-golden-week-fuel-price-increases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351741/japanese-travellers-rush-abroad-golden-week-fuel-price-increases?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:15 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Customers of Ikesu Onsen, a traditional Japanese bathhouse in Tsushima in Aichi prefecture, have had to delay their daily dips due to the Iran war. The sento, or public bathhouse, has been forced to push back its opening time by an hour since late March because of an unstable supply of fuel oil, according to Kyodo. Monthly delivery has been halved from about a tonne, leading the number of customers of the family-run 97-year-old sento to fall to around 10 per day. “It’s a major blow,” its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351540/japans-bathhouses-struggle-stay-afloat-oil-prices-spike-supply-dwindles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351540/japans-bathhouses-struggle-stay-afloat-oil-prices-spike-supply-dwindles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:49:29 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau For six months, Adriana Lim Escano’s teenage son went to school and said nothing. He had tried to do the right thing – stepping in when a group of boys bullied a classmate – and paid for it with half a year of misery, name-calling and social isolation. His mother only found out when another parent called to say her son had voiced suicidal thoughts to a friend. The school’s response, when it finally came, was a talking-to from the discipline committee. No suspensions. No meaningful... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351336/singapores-answer-school-bullying-cane-and-counselling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351336/singapores-answer-school-bullying-cane-and-counselling?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:00:11 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee For 42 years, Ha Sung-ki has sold large speakers to churches and event halls from his electronics shop inside Seoul’s Sewoon Plaza. On a weekday afternoon, the corridor outside – once part of a bustling merchants’ network – is largely empty. “These days, the number of customers crossing the street to come here can be counted on your fingers – sometimes fewer than 10 a day,” he said. “People used to come for the nostalgia, the vintage products and the experience of assembling electronic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351379/iconic-south-korean-district-brink-divisive-urban-renewal-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351379/iconic-south-korean-district-brink-divisive-urban-renewal-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 01:30:11 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Burger King in Japan is tempting franchisees of rival fast-food brands like McDonald’s and Mos Burger by offering them 40 million yen (US$250,000) cashback to jump ship. The offer, under its franchise switching plan, is on the table until 3pm on September 30, according to a statement by the chain issued on Wednesday. Applicants must have been in business for at least three years, submit financial statements for the past three financial years and identify a general manager for the converted... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351275/burger-king-japan-dangles-us250000-rival-franchisees-join-chain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351275/burger-king-japan-dangles-us250000-rival-franchisees-join-chain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:36:50 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Albert*, a 68-year-old retiree in the Philippines, was struggling to log into the country’s Social Security System app in August last year when a man rang to offer help. The caller said he worked for the government pension fund, the website was down for maintenance and a new app had just been rolled out. To prove he was genuine, he sent Albert his full name, Social Security number, and home address over the Viber messaging app, followed by a link to the “new” app. More than an hour after Albert... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351222/fake-app-drains-filipino-retirees-life-savings-malware-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351222/fake-app-drains-filipino-retirees-life-savings-malware-service?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:30:15 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A common hand gesture in a South Korean army recruitment poster has prompted scrutiny of a little-known cultural sensitivity in the country. In the poster, a female model in a combat uniform poses with her hand resting under her chin. All quite innocent – except her thumb and index finger form a shape that many South Koreans associate with man-hating, according to The Korea Herald. The finger pinching gesture is known as the “Megalian hand”, after the radical South Korean feminist group that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351149/south-korean-army-removes-poster-depicting-man-hating-hand-gesture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3351149/south-korean-army-removes-poster-depicting-man-hating-hand-gesture?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:06:23 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Japanese prefecture is paying its singles to use dating apps as the country grapples with record-low birth rates. Kochi prefecture announced on April 10 that it would subsidise private matchmaking app fees for its young residents, according to a Sankei News report. Residents aged between 20 and 39 will get a subsidy of up to 20,000 yen (US$125) for the 2026 financial year to use apps that have received “internet-based marriage partner introduction service certification”. One of these verified... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350918/japanese-prefecture-pays-singles-use-dating-apps-battle-low-birth-rates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350918/japanese-prefecture-pays-singles-use-dating-apps-battle-low-birth-rates?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:00:15 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Governments across Southeast Asia have been banking on work-from-home arrangements for civil servants to ease the sting of soaring energy costs triggered by the Iran war, but analysts say the maths is messier than it may first appear. Indonesia estimates its Friday work-from-home policy, introduced on April 1, will save around 6.2 trillion rupiah (US$361.5 million) in state fuel subsidies and nearly 10 times that amount in total consumption. The Philippines has similarly introduced a four-day... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350816/work-home-may-not-save-much-energy-southeast-asia-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350816/work-home-may-not-save-much-energy-southeast-asia-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:35:10 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Lea Albritton’s mornings belong to the repair shop. Her afternoons belong to the camera. The 40-year-old from Leyte in the central Philippines has lived in the US state of Georgia since 2019 with her 62-year-old American husband, Timothy, running a recreational vehicle repair shop in the mornings. After lunch, she produces videos about Filipino food, migration advice for couples stuck in the fiancée visa queue and glimpses of domestic life for the 250,000 followers of her page, Pinay sa America... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350549/meet-filipino-vloggers-finding-financial-freedom-and-defying-stereotypes-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350549/meet-filipino-vloggers-finding-financial-freedom-and-defying-stereotypes-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The flags arrived before BINI did. They were already rippling across the Mojave Tent at Coachella in a sea of blue, red and white when the eight-member group took the stage on a recent Friday afternoon, carried by fans who had travelled across oceans and time zones for a moment that had never been seen before. The 45-minute set that followed made BINI the first P-pop act from the Philippines – and the first Southeast Asian girl group – to perform at one of the world’s most influential music... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350492/bini-made-history-coachella-can-philippines-build-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350492/bini-made-history-coachella-can-philippines-build-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 04:00:13 +0000 Kolette Lim,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Kolette Lim,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian comedian Rizal van Geyzel keeps his three children – aged six, 14 and 15 – off social media. He calls it a “gateway drug” to fake news, pornography, stalkers and doom-scrolling. “Do I risk them resenting me? Sure, but these are the sacrifices of parents for their children’s mental health and physical safety,” the 43-year-old said. Across Southeast Asia, governments are increasingly siding with parents like him. Indonesia last month became the first country in the region to bar... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350487/southeast-asia-wants-children-social-media-will-it-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350487/southeast-asia-wants-children-social-media-will-it-work?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 02:00:10 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof On Monday afternoon, amid the heat and chaos of Thailand’s Songkran festival, Gavin Chow was crowned Mr Bear International 2026 – the first Malaysian to win the title at a pageant that has quickly become part of Thailand’s growing queer festival circuit. Back in Chow’s home country, the climate is very different. Malaysia criminalises same-sex intimacy under federal law, LGBTQ gatherings have faced police raids and the 34-year-old activist’s own national qualifier earlier this year struggled to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350517/bangkok-malaysias-first-mr-bear-winner-finds-spotlight-queer-life-rarely-gets-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350517/bangkok-malaysias-first-mr-bear-winner-finds-spotlight-queer-life-rarely-gets-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn As divorce rates continue to rise in Indonesia, more single mothers are bearing the brunt of financial hardship and struggling to collect court-ordered child support from former spouses. For some women, help comes from an initiative unique in the country: the East Java city of Surabaya bars men from accessing public services if they fail to pay court-ordered child support. First introduced in 2023, the scheme has been used to block administrative access to more than 8,000 men, according to Irvan... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350439/indonesias-surabaya-bans-absentee-fathers-public-services-dodging-child-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350439/indonesias-surabaya-bans-absentee-fathers-public-services-dodging-child-support?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:30:21 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s push to bring thousands of unlicensed tourist stays into the legal fold is running into a familiar administrative obstacle in Bali, with operators saying the government wants faster compliance than the bureaucracy could allow. In December, the Ministry of Tourism said unlicensed accommodation providers in Bali, Yogyakarta, West Nusa Tenggara and West Java had until March 31 to register their hotels, guest houses, villas and homestays, in a move meant to improve service quality,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350328/indonesias-bali-wants-illegal-rentals-be-legitimate-operators-flag-red-tape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350328/indonesias-bali-wants-illegal-rentals-be-legitimate-operators-flag-red-tape?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:48:22 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Thai police arrested seven French tourists after a viral Songkran confrontation in Phuket in which revellers surrounded a van, sprayed its driver with water and later ignored police orders to disperse. The incident came during Thailand’s annual new year festival, whose street water fights draw huge crowds across the country but have also sparked complaints this year about more aggressive behaviour in some tourist hotspots. Video shared on social media showed a crowd in Patong, a beach town on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350285/7-french-tourists-arrested-after-viral-songkran-spray-clash-van-driver-phuket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350285/7-french-tourists-arrested-after-viral-songkran-spray-clash-van-driver-phuket?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:20:55 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof In Malaysia, artificial intelligence is already causing harm to content creators through deepfake nudes, cloned voices, scam advertisements and stolen likenesses, experts have warned. They shared the view at the Freedom Film Network’s second International Conference on Film & Society in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, where creators, researchers and advocates from across Southeast Asia gathered under the theme “Cultivating Artistic Freedom in a Volatile World”. Melissa Lim Shi Hui, a lawyer and legal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350193/malaysias-content-creators-battle-ai-abuse-deepfakes-scam-ads-spread-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350193/malaysias-content-creators-battle-ai-abuse-deepfakes-scam-ads-spread-online?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:30:10 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The operator of Japan’s Narita International Airport is considering compulsory acquisition of farmers’ land to complete a planned third runway, recalling the forced land purchases that led to violent clashes between riot police and local residents when the airport was built in the 1960s. Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) has been able to secure 88.4 per cent of the land it requires to finish the extension of the existing 2,500-metre second runway at the airport and construct a new... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350085/japans-narita-airport-expansion-revives-row-over-forced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3350085/japans-narita-airport-expansion-revives-row-over-forced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:27 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Cost-cutting on Japan’s already depleted railway network has hit a new low, with one of the nation’s largest network operators no longer providing toilet paper in a growing number of unmanned stations. JR East’s decision has been met with a mix of annoyance and resignation online, while underscoring the financial pressures bearing down on rural rail services. A social media post from February 2 highlighted the growing frustration with JR East’s failure to provide toilet paper, condemning a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349917/japans-rural-rail-crisis-hits-new-low-jr-east-cuts-toilet-paper-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349917/japans-rural-rail-crisis-hits-new-low-jr-east-cuts-toilet-paper-service?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:55:50 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The world’s largest water fight erupted across Bangkok on Monday as the three-day annual Songkran festival drew a surge in tourists to a country whose bruised economy badly needed a reason to celebrate. Thailand has refused to let a fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran dampen its traditional New Year’s celebrations, even as prices spike for everything from petrol to ice during the hottest month of the year. The water festival – also known as Thingyan in neighbouring Myanmar and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349881/splash-and-crash-thailand-celebrates-songkran-energy-crisis-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349881/splash-and-crash-thailand-celebrates-songkran-energy-crisis-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:50:10 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk In South Korea’s capital, more than one in three people live alone, creating headaches when it comes time to visit hospital or simply move home. But Seoul has a solution: a “companion service” that dispatches helpers to assist solo residents with tasks that are hard to manage without a second pair of hands. On Sunday, the city’s government announced that the programme, which began more than four years ago as a hospital escort service, would soon be expanded to cover moving day logistics and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349863/south-korea-offers-us4-hour-helpers-solo-residents-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349863/south-korea-offers-us4-hour-helpers-solo-residents-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:28:15 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Penang, the Malaysian state long marketed as the Pearl of the Orient, is better known today for its hawker food, colonial-era streetscapes and the multicultural life of George Town, whose historic core won Unesco World Heritage status in 2008. When Francis Light, a British merchant, landed on Penang on August 11, 1786, he took possession of the 293 sq km (113 square-mile) island on behalf of the British East India Company and renamed it Prince of Wales Island. One enduring local legend holds... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349680/was-penang-robbed-kedah-malaysian-states-face-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349680/was-penang-robbed-kedah-malaysian-states-face-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 02:00:18 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s famed cherry blossom season has become the latest battleground in a broader debate over overtourism, etiquette and how foreign visitors are portrayed when trouble flares. That debate sharpened this week after the conservative Sankei newspaper ran a report accusing “unruly crowds” of foreigners of misbehaving during hanami – or cherry blossom viewing parties – across Japan, prompting renewed calls for visitors to show greater respect for local customs. In an echo of wider demands to rein... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349441/cultural-clashes-unruly-crowds-japans-cherry-blossom-parties-stir-overtourism-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3349441/cultural-clashes-unruly-crowds-japans-cherry-blossom-parties-stir-overtourism-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:30:12 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Among the stories Sarawak instrument craftsman Salomon Gau inherited from his elders is one that begins not with wood or strings but with spirits. He recalled being told how spirits first showed villagers how the earliest forms of the sape – a traditional carved wooden lute from Malaysian Borneo – should be made and played, at a time when the instrument was central to ceremonies, storytelling and social life. “The first one was the two-string version. The four-string one is already quite new,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348962/renewed-interest-traditional-malaysian-lutes-comes-strings-attached?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348962/renewed-interest-traditional-malaysian-lutes-comes-strings-attached?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 02:30:09 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof “You don’t even have to look for it,” nine-year-old Anaqi said of the short videos he watches online. “It just shows up automatically, and it’s super interesting.” That instinctive pull is familiar to his father, Firdaus Omar. The 39-year-old Malaysian civil servant said his two children – Anaqi and his six-year-old brother – could spend hours watching the kind of short, noisy, endlessly recommended clips now commonly dismissed online as “brain rot”. He is worried about the effect of such... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348957/malaysian-bookshop-hits-novel-idea-bring-back-readers-addicted-brain-rot-clips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348957/malaysian-bookshop-hits-novel-idea-bring-back-readers-addicted-brain-rot-clips?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 05:00:11 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Later this month, Indonesian cinema-goers will finally get to see what audiences in Berlin saw in February: Jokor Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell. The horror-comedy, which had its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, has been celebrated by influential trade magazine Variety for rising above mere “escapist entertainment” to channel societal anxieties about corruption and environmental destruction. Yet it is only the latest example of Southeast Asia’s creative moment... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348980/southeast-asia-seeks-soft-power-outlast-us300-billion-buzz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348980/southeast-asia-seeks-soft-power-outlast-us300-billion-buzz?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:16 +0000