Japan and South Korea are closing ranks as they prepare for high-level meetings aimed at steadying ties amid growing regional volatility, with analysts saying the diplomatic push reflects shared concern over China, North Korea and the reliability of US commitments under President Donald Trump.
Both countries appear willing to put past differences aside, at least for now, as they confront an assertive China and an unpredictable US administration that has unsettled long-standing allies and…
Japan’s Takaichi to hold talks in Vietnam on economic security, critical minerals
Japan and Vietnam are set to agree to boost their partnership in economic security in leaders’ talks on Saturday, as Japan seeks to strengthen supply chains for critical resources amid its diplomatic spat with China and the Middle East crisis.
As Tokyo looks to deepen ties with Southeast Asian nations with an eye to China’s increasing economic engagement with the region, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will also give a speech on Japan’s updated vision for its free and open Indo-Pacific policy…
Ukraine sees path to Japanese arms after Tokyo eases export rules
Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said.
“This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad…
Why Singapore, Thailand are among the world’s ‘happiest’ economies
Singapore and Thailand ranked among the world’s “least miserable” economies in an annual index compiled by a Johns Hopkins University economist, who said Southeast Asia was one of the “healthiest economic neighbourhoods” in the world.
The 2025 Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI), compiled by applied economics professor Steve Hanke, measures the “economic temperature” of a country and seeks to approximate how its average citizen experiences the economy.
This year’s HAMI found that several…
Dutch prospectus requirements brought in line with EU regime
New Dutch prospectus requirements will align the country’s capital markets with the EU prospectus regime and encourage investment, experts have said.
Gaming platform Roblox to require facial scans for users under 16 in Indonesia
Roblox, a gaming platform popular with kids, announced Thursday that children under 16 in Indonesia will be required to undergo facial scans to verify their age to comply with new restrictions on minors’ use of social media and digital platforms in the country.
Nicky Jackson Colaco, Roblox’s vice-president and global head of public policy, announced the changes in a press conference in Jakarta, describing them among the strictest that the company has implemented anywhere in the world.
She said…
Facial recognition ruling opens door to wider police deployment as court rejects privacy challenge
A rejected bid to block police use of facial recognition technology in the UK is likely to lead to an increase in its deployment, according to experts.
Male pageant contestant’s viral swimsuit walk sparks body image debate in Philippines
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…
Qatar announces targeted business support measures
A series of targeted relief measures are being rolled out in Qatar to support businesses amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Tropical rainforest loss eases after record year, but still ‘11 football fields a minute’
The pace of tropical forest destruction slowed in 2025 after record losses the year before but remained at worrying levels equivalent to 11 football fields per minute, researchers said Wednesday.
The world lost 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) of tropical primary rainforest last year, down 36 per cent from 2024, said researchers from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland.
“A drop of this scale in a single year is encouraging – it shows what decisive…