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This Week in Asia /

Lifestyle & Culture

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K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Asia travel
Fame and celebrity
Malaysian Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing sprays water as girl group Dolla performs at the Rain Rave Water Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Instagram/dolla.official
Malaysia

‘Moral harm’: Malaysia’s culture war brigade tries to hose down water festival

Kuala Lumpur’s Rain Rave Water Music Festival faces backlash from critics who argue that such vulgar imports hurt conservative values.

Japan

Japan’s higher education sector faces reckoning as student pool shrinks

The Philippines

Filipino male pageant contestant’s viral swimsuit walk sparks body image debate

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Japan

Zoo in Japan’s Hokkaido delays reopening over search for body in incinerator

One of the employees reportedly told police he burned his wife’s body in an incinerator on the zoo’s grounds.

The animal crematorium at Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. Photo: Kyodo
The animal crematorium at Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. Photo: Kyodo
Singapore

Singapore firm sorry after airport baggage handler caught tossing luggage

Ground-handling company SATS pledged to improve service standards and staff training after a video of the incident went viral.

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Singapore

More Singaporeans are choosing jobs below their qualifications. Here’s why

A new survey shows 19.4 per cent of Singapore’s resident workforce had academic qualifications beyond what was required for their job in 2025.

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Japan

Why Japan’s travellers are rushing abroad for ‘golden week’ despite falling yen

The operator of Narita airport anticipates that 1.59 million travellers will pass through the airport over the two-week holiday season.

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People depart Japan from Haneda airport in Tokyo on April 18. Photo: Kyodo
People depart Japan from Haneda airport in Tokyo on April 18. Photo: Kyodo
Japan

In hot water: Japan’s bathhouses struggle to stay afloat as oil prices spike

“Sentos” have cut operating hours and welcomed fewer customers, with some deciding to fold amid the energy crisis.

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Singapore

Singapore’s answer to school bullying? The cane … and counselling

With student safety under the microscope, Singapore unveils a new framework in a bid to knock bullying on the head.

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South Korea

Iconic South Korean district on the brink in divisive urban renewal fight

Conservationists worry that reshaping Seoul’s Sewoon District risks erasing both heritage and livelihoods.

Sewoon Plaza in Seoul. Built in 1968, the plaza was South Korea’s first mixed-use residential and commercial complex. Photo: David D. Lee
Japan

Burger King in Japan dangles US$250,000 to lure rival franchisees

Meanwhile, Philippine fried chicken chain Jollibee has announced a record operating income and is accelerating its global expansion.

Two customers bite Burger King’s Whopper hamburgers after the chain’s first Tokyo store officially opened in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in 2007. Photo: AP
Two customers bite Burger King’s Whopper hamburgers after the chain’s first Tokyo store officially opened in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in 2007. Photo: AP
The Philippines

This retiree in the Philippines downloaded an app. Then he lost his life savings

Industrial-scale malware is replacing ‘pig-butchering’ as Cambodia’s scam hubs pivot to high-speed digital heists.

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South Korea

South Korean army removes poster depicting controversial hand gesture

The finger pinching gesture, known as the ‘Megalian hand’, is seen as a mockery of male genitalia.

Japan

Subsidies for dating apps latest tactic to battle low birth rates in rural Japan

Kochi prefecture says residents aged between 20 and 39 can receive a US$125 subsidy to use certified matchmaking apps.

A couple admires the autumn leaves in Japan. Japanese youth are increasingly turning to matchmaking apps to find life partners. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Asean

Work from home may not save as much energy as Southeast Asia hopes

Remote work for civil servants sounds like an easy solution in an energy crisis. Analysts aren’t so sure.

Motorists drive along a road in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on April 6. Thailand has ordered its civil servants to work from home amid the energy crisis. Photo: EPA
Motorists drive along a road in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on April 6. Thailand has ordered its civil servants to work from home amid the energy crisis. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

Meet the Filipino spouses turning their migration journeys into viral content

Women make up 90 per cent of Filipino marriage migrants, moving mainly to the US, Canada, Japan and Australia.

The Philippines

BINI made history at Coachella. Can the Philippines build on it?

The Filipino girl group’s desert debut proved P-pop’s pedigree. Now Manila needs to find the budget to back the talent already going global.

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Social media

Southeast Asia wants children off social media. Will it work?

Indonesia is leading a regional push to ban children from social media platforms. Enforcement is another matter, however.

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A child uses a mobile phone at a park in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, last month. Photo: EPA
A child uses a mobile phone at a park in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, last month. Photo: EPA
Malaysia

Crowned in Bangkok, constrained at home: Malaysia’s first Mr Bear winner

Gavin Chow’s victory highlights the contrast between Bangkok’s queer visibility and the pressures still facing LGBTQ people in Malaysia.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s Surabaya cracks down on absentee fathers for dodging child support

The city’s child support laws have drawn overseas interest, including Australia, as single mothers urge more help for their legal redress.

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Indonesia

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

Authorities want to help unregistered accommodation providers secure permits to plug the tax collection gap.

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Tourists walk at a shopping area in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA
Thailand

7 French tourists arrested after viral Songkran clash with van driver in Phuket

Police said the group of revellers blocked traffic, sprayed water at the driver and ignored orders to disperse.

Screenshots from a viral video showing Songkran festival revelers spraying a van driver in Patong. Photo: TikTok / littlepatong
Screenshots from a viral video showing Songkran festival revelers spraying a van driver in Patong. Photo: TikTok / littlepatong
Malaysia

Deepfakes, cloned voices: the new AI threat facing Malaysia’s creators

Experts question whether Malaysia’s laws are keeping pace with the harm spread by AI, and call for stronger legal protections for artists.

Japan

Japan’s Narita Airport expansion revives row over forced land sales

Authorities are considering forcing the sale of land owned by holdout farmers, recalling disputes that sparked violence during the 1960s.

Japan

Japan’s rural rail crisis hits new low as JR East cuts toilet paper service

JR East’s decision to remove toilet paper at some unmanned stations underscores the financial pressures on rural rail services.

Oshikiri station in Japan’s Niigata prefecture no longer has toilet paper service. Photo: Handout
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