#asiapacific

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping if he would like to buy American weapons, the United States' ambassador to Beijing revealed in an extraordinary development. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/28/asia-pacific/politics/trump-sell-weapons-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #china #us #uschinarelations #pla #donaldtrump #xijinping #indopacific #defense

Thousands of Bangkok residents awoke in shelters on Sunday after flooding triggered by days of heavy rain inundated homes and roads. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/27/asia-pacific/bangkok-floods-shelters/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #floods #thailand #bangkok #southeastasia

Although Seoul has traditionally kept its distance from possible involvement in a Taiwan conflict scenario, some say discretion is becoming harder to maintain. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/27/asia-pacific/south-korea-taiwan-us-conflict/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #southkorea #china #taiwan #us #usmilitary #defense #northkorea

Female prisoners in Myanmar are subjected to widespread torture, sexual violence and life-threatening medical neglect, Human Rights Watch said, underlining the chronic ill-treatment of thousands in the war-torn nation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/23/asia-pacific/myanmar-female-prisoners-torture-rights/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #myanmar #prisons #humanrights #southeastasia

China's Xi Jinping is expected to press U.S. President Donald Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales under a 1982 joint statement during a visit to Washington this week. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/22/asia-pacific/politics/china-xi-trump-halt-taiwan-arms-sales/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #china #us #xijinping #pla #donaldtrump #indopacific #defense

Nuclear-armed North Korea has touted the successful test of "a new-type weapon," an apparent hypersonic missile and glide vehicle that it is developing as a means of besting enemies' defenses. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/22/asia-pacific/north-korea-hypersonic-missile/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #missiles #nuclearweapons #kimjongun #southkorea #us #usbases #usmilitary #defense #defenseministry

As Indonesia's wildfires intensify, authorities are on high alert as they work to contain the damage and avoid the devastation that hit the archipelago in 2015, the last time it faced "super-El Nino" weather conditions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/01/asia-pacific/indonesia-wildfires-explainer/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #indonesia #wildfires #climatechange

Indonesian authorities have closed access to a national park on Java Island as firefighters battle a wildfire raging there for about a week. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/10/asia-pacific/indonesia-national-park-wildfire/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #wildfires #indonesia

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's olive branch to the young people behind India's biggest student-led protests in years has done little to stem the abuse and police action many participants say they continue to face. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/07/asia-pacific/india-student-online-harassment-protests/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #india #asia #southasia

China's recent ballistic missile test left people living in Tuvalu, the low-lying Pacific Island closest to where it landed, fearing it would trigger a tsunami, an official from the nation said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/07/asia-pacific/china-missile-test-tuvalu/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #tuvalu #oceania #china #newzealand #fiji #suva

Tens of thousands took to the streets in India to express ‌their fury ‌at the repeated mismanagement of an examination system that stands between the masses and job security. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/03/asia-pacific/india-youth-protests-modi/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #india #narendramodi #cockroachjantaparty #bjp

Amid a record heat wave temperatures are soaring across South Korea and North Korea as ‌authorities expand ‌emergency measures and residents seek relief in cooling shelters, beaches and ​water parks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/03/asia-pacific/record-heatwave-korean-peninsula/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #heatwaves #climatechange

Thailand kicks off its yearly campaign to encourage people to give up alcohol during Khao Phansa, a three-month period of reflection observed by Buddhists akin to Christian Lent. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/03/asia-pacific/society/thai-booze-buddhist-lent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #alcoholism #thailand

More than 8 in 10 Australian teenagers were still using social media three months after the government's landmark ban on the platforms for minors under the age of 16 took effect, regulators have found. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/31/asia-pacific/australia-teens-social-media-ban/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific

The Generation Z protests that convulsed the streets of Indian cities in recent weeks began with dreams dashed in the classrooms of India's schools. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/30/asia-pacific/politics/india-gen-z-rage-modi/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #india #narendramodi #genz #education

South Korea's success in tech has a dark side: Women suffer rampant "digital sex crimes," rights groups say, with AI-generated deepfakes as the newest threat. Some women are becoming web sleuths to fight back. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/30/asia-pacific/crime-legal/korea-women-ai-deepfake-porn/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #crimelegal #southkorea #deepfakes #pornography #sexcrimes

A Hong Kong independent bookshop that national security police raided this month announced it would close after 50 years in business, while another shut down ahead of schedule. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/29/asia-pacific/hong-kong-bookstores-close-police/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #hongkong #china #censorship #books #bookstores

The education minister stepped ‌down, meeting ‌the protesters' main demand, in a rare such setback for Modi. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/26/asia-pacific/india-instagram-gen-z-modi-polls/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #narendramodi #india #instagram #socialmedia

"I was surprised to learn that civil defence in Taiwan was more about building trust than strategizing for war. Many of the volunteers I met weren’t motivated by military plans. They were learning emergency response skills and getting to know their neighbours because they believed those relationships would matter in any crisis. #asiapacific #china #taiwan #plahttps://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/281479283199600

Russia wants an additional 30,000 North Korean troops to help fight in Moscow's war against Kyiv, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said — a potentially dramatic expansion of Pyongyang's role in the conflict. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/26/asia-pacific/politics/north-korea-30000-troops-russia/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #northkorea #russia #ukraine #russiaukrainewar #drones #missiles #volodymyrzelenskyy