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August 12, 2025
 

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ASIA PACIFIC

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Visitors have their photo taken by a portrait of President Xi Jinping at the Military Museum in Beijing on Oct. 20, 2023. The Chinese leader’s crackdown on military corruption reveals how deep his concerns run, not only about battlefield readiness, but about political survival, as well.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Xi looks to tighten grip after scandals shake China’s military elite
Outwardly, China’s military has never been stronger. Its naval ships venture farther across the oceans. Its nuclear force grows by about 100 warheads every year. Its military flights around Taiwan are increasingly frequent and intimidating. Every few months, China unveils new weapons, like a prototype...
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
South Korea’s winning strategy for Trump faces moment of truth
So far, South Korea has largely flown under the diplomatic radar, working mostly behind the scenes with the U.S. without some of the grand gestures seen from other leaders.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
China detains senior diplomat Liu Jianchao for probe, WSJ reports
Liu was taken away after returning to Beijing in late July from an overseas work trip, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to U.S. troops based in Osan Air Base in South Korea in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 10, 2025
Defense to take top billing at U.S.-South Korea summit as Trump eyes alliance reset
By Gabriel Dominguez
With China looming large, security ties will take center stage at the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung.
The Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center has removed materials about Beijing's treatment of ethnic minorities and Hong Kong from an exhibit on authoritarian governments.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2025
Thai gallery removes China-focused artworks after 'pressure' from Beijing  
By Poppy McPherson and Napat Wesshasartar
In what artists called the latest attempt by Beijing to silence critics overseas, the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center changed multiple works by artists in exile.
A Chinese warship takes part in a military drill off the Chinese coast near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, across from the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, China, in April 2023. Recent Chinese military drills have seen its vessels encircle Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2025
Simulated Chinese blockade of Taiwan reveals Singapore as lifeline
By Greg Torode, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee
Singapore's discreet and decades-old security presence inside Taiwan gives it an edge among Southeast Asian nations, which have close to a million of their nationals on the island.
Thai Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit (left), Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (center) and Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha join hands ahead of a meeting to discuss a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 8, 2025
Thailand and Cambodia agree to extend peace pact
A joint statement signed by both countries' defense officials said they agree to continue a freeze on border troop movements and patrols.
Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing has appeared eager to engage with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration after years of isolation.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 8, 2025
Myanmar signs deal with Washington lobbyists to rebuild U.S. relations
By David Brunnstrom
Engaging the junta would be a sharp departure for the United States, given U.S. sanctions on the military leaders and the violence committed against the Rohingya.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia on July 8
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 8, 2025
Modi speaks with Lula and plans Xi meeting as ties with U.S. sour
By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Daniel Carvalho
Lula’s government noted that "Brazil and India are, to date, the two countries most affected” by the wave of levies the U.S. has unleashed.
South Korea's former first lady, Kim Keon Hee (center), the wife of impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at the special prosecutor's office in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 7, 2025
Arrest warrant sought for former South Korean first lady Kim
If granted, the warrant would mark the first time in South Korean history that a former president and first lady are both arrested.

Millions told to evacuate as heavy rain sparks flooding and landslides in Kyushu
Heavy rain falls in the city of Kumamoto on Monday morning.
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
Chinese vessels collide while pursuing Philippine boat in South China Sea
This handout video grab released and taken on August 11, 2025 by the Philippine Coast Guard shows an incident between a Chinese Navy vessel (left) and a Chinese Coast Guard ship as seen from a Philippine fisheries boat near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea.
Weather agency warns of landslides and flooding in Kyushu as heavy rain continues
An embankment on the Amikake River that collapsed due to heavy rain in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday. Downpours continued in the Kyushu region over the weekend.
Tokyo’s WWII museums hold diverse views on war and peace
A carrier-based Type 52 Zero fighter marks the entrance foyer of Yasukuni Shrine's Yushukan, a museum that tells a more nuanced story of Japan's experience in World War II than the controversies around the shrine might suggest.
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.
Cheer with caution: Expert advises sports fans have game plan for extreme heat
A Cardinals fan fans himself during the seventh inning of a game against the Pirates in St. Louis, Missouri, in June 2022.
Australia's warship selection signals Japanese defense industry's arrival
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate. Australia's selection of an upgraded version of the Mogami-class warship for its next frigate class could prove to be a watershed moment for Japan’s defense industry.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person
By Naoko Abe

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