For Matthew Tostevin's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
As they paraded through a Bangkok shopping mall in crop tops to mock Thailand's king, protesters made an incongruous sight among the festive decorations. They brought stares, smiles and some muted cheers, but the few dozen activists were far short of the tens of thousands ...
The rhetoric reflects a global pattern since the start of the pandemic of foreigners being blamed for spreading the virus.
Social media is exposing discontent among some soldiers, police and civil servants after months of protests against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha and the monarchy.
Many Thais have questioned why the queen was on that road at that time, and have challenged the severity of the government's reaction.
