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This Week in Asia /

Lifestyle & Culture

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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
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.

Asean

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

The Philippines

Meet the Filipino spouses turning their migration journeys into viral content

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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BINI perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 10. Photo: Reuters
BINI perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 10. Photo: Reuters
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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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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People queue in line to buy necessities at a market in Surabaya. More than 8,000 men have been denied access to public services in the city for failing to pay child support. Photo: AFP
People queue in line to buy necessities at a market in Surabaya. More than 8,000 men have been denied access to public services in the city for failing to pay child support. Photo: AFP
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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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.

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.

Many creators in Malaysia have become newly vulnerable to the AI threat because they now have little choice but to put themselves online to make a living, experts warn. Photo: Shutterstock
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.

Runways at Narita International Airport in Japan’s Chiba prefecture in 2024. Photo: Kyodo
Runways at Narita International Airport in Japan’s Chiba prefecture in 2024. Photo: Kyodo
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.

Thailand

Songkran is here. So is Thailand’s worst energy crisis in years

Soaring costs for fuel and ice fail to dampen the mood as a wave of ‘revenge travel’ provides a much-needed economic boost.

South Korea

Solo in Seoul? South Korean capital offers helpers for US$4 an hour

The city’s ‘companion service’ aims to help single-person households move house or visit hospital.

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People walk through Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Was Penang ‘robbed’ from Kedah? Malaysian states face off in sovereignty row

A grievance dating back hundreds of years resurfaces as Kedah state lays claim to the country’s richest island.

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George Town on Penang Island, Malaysia. The city won won Unesco World Heritage status in 2008. Photo: Shutterstock
George Town on Penang Island, Malaysia. The city won won Unesco World Heritage status in 2008. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

‘Making a racket in Chinese’: Japan’s cherry blossom season stirs cultural rift

A report claims residents of Dazaifu in Fukuoka prefecture complained about groups ‘making a racket in Chinese’ at a popular hanami spot.

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Malaysia

Lute awakening: traditional Malaysian strings have many players but few makers

While young musicians are increasingly drawn to the old instruments, few want to take up the tedious task of crafting them.

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Malaysia

Malaysian bookshop hits on novel idea to hook readers addicted to ‘brain rot’

BookXcess’ ‘Brain Un-Rot Library’ turns 100 books into short TikTok clips similar to the type of videos blamed for wrecking attention span.

Malaysians read an average of 24 books a year in 2022-23, according to the National Library. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysians read an average of 24 books a year in 2022-23, according to the National Library. Photo: Shutterstock
Asean

Cultural capitals: Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast the buzz

The region’s creators are going global, but the structures to sustain them are still catching up.

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The Philippines

Philippines weighs social media ban for minors, but will it be enough?

Analysts warn that restricting access alone will do little to fix the algorithms that expose young users to harmful content.

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Indonesia

Bali rocked by spate of murder cases – is Indonesian island more dangerous now?

The cases allegedly involving foreign suspects have spurred concerns that gang disputes have moved from other countries to the island.

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Igor Komarov, a 28-year-old Ukrainian, was kidnapped and later found dead in a suspected murder in Bali in February. Photo: YouTube
Japan

Litterbugs in Shibuya to be fined on the spot as visitor numbers surge

The initiative, which will see offenders fined US$12.50, reflects a broader rethink of the ward’s earlier decision to remove public rubbish bins.

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Aluminium cans, bottles, and other trash stashed next to a vending machine in Shibuya. Photo: Shutterstock
Aluminium cans, bottles, and other trash stashed next to a vending machine in Shibuya. Photo: Shutterstock
Nepal

Untouchable no more: Nepal to apologise to Dalits for first time

Nepal has banned caste discrimination, yet many Dalits still live in poverty. Can a formal state apology inspire change?

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The Philippines

Filipino singer’s Golden Buzzer win stokes #SEAblings’ Southeast Asian pride

The reactions to his breakout moment on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ highlight how regional audiences increasingly champion one another’s artists.

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The Philippines

Joy in a bag: for overseas Filipinos, Jollibee is a taste of home

Forget KFC. For Filipinos abroad, Jollibee serves up cultural pride with a side of nostalgia – and the best fried chicken in America.

Jollibee employees attend to customers at an outlet in Manila in 2015. Photo: AFP
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