Asia in 3 minutes: India says no to quickie divorce; Hun Sen says no to criticism; Japanese erotic model says yes... yes... YES! to rice ball

Tourism ad featuring model and giant rice ball pulled for being suggestive

Japan’s Miyagi prefectural government has been forced to remove an online video promoting regional tourism after the clip was criticised for being sexually suggestive. The video features model and actress Dan Mitsu, known for playing erotic roles, as a guide in a kimono. It contains suggestive and provocative lines, and multiple close-ups of her parted lips and her rubbing the head of large rice ball mascot, called Musubimaru. Dan softly strokes Musubimaru’s head and whispers “Miyagi, I-cha-u”, which means “Let’s go to Miyagi”. But slowly saying the words can have sexy connotations, such as “ichau”, which means “to ejaculate”, depending on the context.

What next? Despite the outcry, officials suggested the campaign had been a success. “The video has already gained a number of views and served its purpose of promotion to a certain degree,” one official said. The government has received about 380 complaints or negative comments about the video.

Japan’s sex problem could cause the population to fall by forty million by 2065

India’s Supreme court says no to instant verbal divorce, yes to privacy

India’s top court banned a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives instantly, saying it was unconstitutional. Victims of the practice known as triple talaq, in which Muslim men can divorce their wives by reciting the word talaq (divorce) three times, had approached the Supreme Court to ask for a ban. And the panel of Supreme Court judges ruled triple talaq was “not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”. In another ruling, the court ruled citizens have a constitutional right to privacy, a decision that could jeopardise a government programme holding biometric data on more than a billion people. Privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the constitution and the government has argued people have no absolute right to it. The top court disagreed.

What next? The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had backed the petitioners in the divorce case, declaring triple talaq unconstitutional and discriminatory against women. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long pushed for a uniform civil code, governing Indians of all religions, to be enforced. But the issue remains highly sensitive in India, where religious tensions often lead to violence.

Company shut for dumping waste that turned dogs blue

Authorities in Mumbai shut down a manufacturing company after it was accused of dumping untreated industrial waste and dyes into a local river that resulted in 11 dogs turning blue. The group of strangely coloured canines was first spotted on August 11, according to the Hindustan Times, prompting locals to complain to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board about dyes being dumped in the Kasadi river, where the animals often swim. Footage showed the animals roaming the streets with bright blue fur. “It was shocking to see how the dog’s white fur had turned completely blue,” Arati Chauhan, head of the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, told the newspaper. “We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the pollution control board to act against such industries.”