A Hong Kong court said it will deliver its verdict in media tycoon Jimmy Lai's national security trial at a later date, in a case that has drawn global attention as a test of the rule of law in the Chinese-ruled city. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/28/asia-pacific/crime-legal/hong-kong-jimmy-lai-trial/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #crimelegal#jimmylai #appledaily #hongkong #china #democracy
School closures as a result of funding cuts are pushing Rohingya refugee children into marriage and work. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/society/school-rohingya-refugee-children/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #rohingya #refugees #unhcr #myanmar #children #humanrights #usaid #un #unicef
India fears a planned Chinese mega-dam in Tibet will reduce water flows on a major river by up to 85% during the dry season, prompting Delhi to fast-track plans for its own dam to mitigate the effects. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/politics/china-dam-water-war-india/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #china #india #narendramodi #xijinping #water #conservation #dams #climatechange #environment #rivers #hydropower #tibet
Hours before arriving in the U.S., South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung has signaled difficulties in reaching a deal with Washington on its demand that U.S. forces in South Korea play a larger role in countering China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/politics/south-korea-lee-us-trump-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics#leejaemyung #donaldtrump #usmilitary #defense #budgets #china #northkorea #southkorea #nuclearweapons #us
Taiwan and China are locked in an increasingly bitter battle of words over the historical narrative surrounding the fight against — and eventual victory over — Japan during World War II. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-china-world-war-ii-narratives/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #china #taiwan #history #wwii
A failed referendum to restart a nuclear power plant will increase pressure on Taiwan’s leader to find ways to meet the island’s rising energy needs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-nuclear-energy-vote/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #nuclearenergy
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of two new air-defense missiles, state media said Sunday, after Pyongyang accused Seoul of fomenting tensions on the border. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/asia-pacific/north-korea-air-defense-missiles/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #missiles #nuclearweapons #usmilitary
Voters in Taiwan have once again rejected an effort by President Lai Ching-te’s party to flip parliament, a setback that could deepen political deadlock and complicate the island’s push to ramp up defense spending. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-reject-recalls-defense-budget/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #dpp #kuomintang #laichingte #defense #budgets #china #pla
China's WWII Sept. 3 military parade will be a projection of its growing military might amid deep-seated mistrust in the West, geopolitical uncertainty with the U.S. and territorial rows with neighboring countries. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/asia-pacific/china-military-parade-wwii/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #pla #wwii #history
When South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung meets U.S. President Donald Trump for their first summit, he will be asked to pay more for the upkeep of U.S. troops during talks set to be dominated by security issues and China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/23/asia-pacific/politics/lee-trump-south-korea-us/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #us #usmilitary #donaldtrump#leejaemyung #northkorea #nuclearweapons #trade #china #taiwan
President Donald Trump will nominate Sergio Gor, one of his closest aides, to be the next U.S. ambassador to India, where he will oversee frosty relations that have worsened with the threat of U.S. tariffs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/23/asia-pacific/politics/us-india-sergio-gor/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #india #us #donaldtrump #trade #tariffs
South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers that briefly crossed the heavily fortified border earlier this week, Seoul said Saturday after Pyongyang accused it of risking "uncontrollable" tensions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/23/asia-pacific/north-south-korea-warning-shots/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #nuclearweapons#leejaemyung
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was cleared Friday of royal defamation charges, relieving one of the threats to his embattled dynasty, which has dominated the nation's politics for two decades. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/asia-pacific/politics/thaksin-thailand-acquitted/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #thailand #thaksinshinawatra
Taiwan plans to increase its defense budget to more than 3% of its GDP as it faces pressure from the U.S. and is threatened by China, which claims the island as its own. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-defense-budget-increase/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #defense #gdp #us #china
Millions of dollars of funding cuts from donors and U.N. cost-cutting could hamper evidence gathering and undermine efforts to seek justice for Rohingya who fled Myanmar, the head of a U.N. investigation said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/asia-pacific/un-probe-rohingya-cost-cuts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #un #myanmar #rohingya #humanrights
North Korea has built a secret military base near its border with China that may house Pyongyang's newest long-range ballistic missiles, according to new research. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/asia-pacific/politics/north-korea-icbm-china-border/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #northkorea #china #missiles #nuclearweapons #defense
The practice of elder women needling delicate shapes onto the faces, hands and arms of younger generations stretches back centuries in the Hindu villages that dot Pakistan's southern border with India. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/asia-pacific/society/city-hindu-tattoos-pakistan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #tattoos #pakistan #hinduism
Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling on his country to advance key infrastructure projects in Tibet such as its massive 1.2 trillion yuan mega-dam to spur development in the region. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/asia-pacific/politics/xi-dam-rail-tibet-development/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #china #xijinping #tibet
Pakistan ordered businesses, schools and public offices in Karachi to shut on Wednesday after torrential monsoon rain left at least 10 people dead in the densely populated port city. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/asia-pacific/pakistan-karachi-rain-flooding/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #pakistan #karachi #floods
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed improved ties with China as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalated criticism of the South Asian nation over 'excess profits' from purchases of Russian oil. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/asia-pacific/politics/modi-china-bessent-india-families/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #wangyi #china #narendramodi #india #us #scottbessent #brics #mukeshambani #russia #oil