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Emergency personnel and investigators examine the site of a deadly blaze that tore through a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong on Tuesday, a day after the fire left 23 dead.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 26, 2024

Deadly fire exposes harsh conditions migrant workers face in South Korea

By Choe Sang-Hun

Foreign nationals do dirty, hazardous work, and advocates say the blaze that killed 23 at a battery plant shows that they need better protection.

A group of Chinese tourists walks through the Ginza district in Tokyo.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 22, 2024

Japan and Thailand top list of travel destinations for Chinese tourists

By K. Oanh Ha, Lulu Shen and Jinshan Hong

The return of Chinese tourists is being closely watched, as their numbers and spending are crucial for the tourism industry’s recovery.

The energy transition in coal-dependent emerging nations like the Philippines will determine the success of global efforts to hit net zero targets and curb the worst impacts of climate change.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 22, 2024

Philippines emerges as Southeast Asia renewable power pacesetter

By Sing Yee Ong and Ditas Lopez

The energy transition in coal-dependent emerging nations like the Philippines will determine the success of global efforts to hit net zero targets.

Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December 2023. Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 11, 2024

South Korea accused of 'human trafficking' with seasonal worker program

By Mariejo Ramos

Filipino workers say brokers charge excessive fees to find them back-breaking work, confiscate their passports and documents, and cheat them out of wages.

South Korea's first openly gay legislator, Cha Hae-young

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 1, 2024

'We exist': South Korea's first LGBTQ councilor tackles inclusion

By Hieun SHIN

Cha Hae-young was elected to the Mapo district council on June 1, 2022 — the same day as Seoul's annual LGBTQ Pride march.

Local residents rush to get cold water at an ice factory in Jacobabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday. It is yet another brutal summer in the age of climate change, in a part of the world that is among the most vulnerable to its dire effects.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jun 1, 2024

A matter of survival as South Asia’s heat wave reaches 52 degrees

By Zia ur-Rehman

It is yet another brutal summer in the age of climate change, in a part of the world that is among the most vulnerable to its dire effects.

Entrepreneur Lee Hee-tae at his office in Seoul. Lee had planned South Korea's largest sex festival in April, but the two-day event was banned by authorities following a backlash by local rights groups.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

May 30, 2024

Pervert or pioneer? The entrepreneur trying to get South Korea into porn

By Cat BARTON and Kang Jin-kyu

The South Korean adult content industry produces around 2,000 adult movies a year, compared with Tokyo's 2,000 a day $36.5-billion-dollar behemoth.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.

As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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