ASEAN News

On Thursday Japan’s Iwate region in Ofunato city observed a major wildfire that burned 80 buildings and compelled authorities to send nearly 600 people from their homes. Because of strong wind gusts the forest fire traveled quickly across the area and burned most of the homes to ash. NHK broadcast aerial images showing homes burned in Ofunato Japan while only …

A glimmer of hope in a demographic disaster that has been plaguing the nation. An upward trend in fertility rates after almost a decade has meant the newest and smallest positive development. According to preliminary data from Statistics Korea, it was planned to increase the fertility rate to 0.75 in 2024 from 0.72 in 2023, which has so far been …

Yonaguni is a small but stunning island on the western tip of Japan; ponies roam pasturelands grazed over with shark-nibbled divers. With all this beauty, inwardly turning on itself, the island is undergoing profound changes, and undergoing them very fast. Yonaguni once stood for natural splendor. It has radar towers protruding above its forests, formerly grazing pastures now sound military …

Climate change is becoming a bigger global problem each day. This largely anthropogenic crisis is increasing temperatures in different countries and triggering natural disasters such as storms and floods of much higher frequencies. There is trouble on the horizon in Hokkaido as poor fishing conditions triggered by global heating are endangering Japan’s prized salmon. The prolonged decline in salmon numbers …

Japan and the Philippines continue to steadily deepen defence and security relations largely due to concerns about Chinese aggression in the region. Both countries recently discussed China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea. On Monday, Japan and the Philippines agreed to further deepen their defence collaboration and talk about protecting shared military information. Japanese Defence …

India needs to address major obstacles to reach its 2030 target of setting up 500 GW of renewable power plants as Ember reveals in its new energy report. To align with important climate targets annual investment needs to grow by 20 percent compared to current amount. Project start-up hit roadblocks because authorities could not buy the land, connect the grid …

In a tragic incident in South Korea’s Cheonan, south of the capital Seoul, on Tuesday, at least a couple of people died and 5 others sustained injuries after an under-construction bridge collapsed, according to a report by Reuters. The accident happened around 9:49 am as multiple steel structures supporting the bridge collapsed one after another, reported Yonhap. The media agency …

Japan’s male police cadets are learning makeup skills. This change has sparked discussions on social media, luring mixed reactions. Some users are making humorous remarks, but others are supporting the idea. Traditionally, police academies across Japan focus on physical and legal training. But the latest introduction of training for makeup, skincare and grooming is seen as an effort to promote …

The educational institutions Green Field School based in Dehradun established a significant international partnership which links them to Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School located in Tokyo Japan for educational collaboration. The 2nd Virtual Student Interaction Programme held on 19 February serves to develop “Global Citizens” under this student partnership. Dr. Tomoko Imai at Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School believes the initiative holds …

Only around 1 in 6 Japanese citizens hold valid passports, according to the latest data. There’re 21.6 million passports in circulation as of December 2024, representing around 17.5% of the country’s population, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The number of Japanese citizens travelling abroad has picked up pace but is still much less than the numbers seen before the …