ASEAN News

China’s official and online responses to Japan’s earthquake showed a stark contrast between the diplomatic and the nationalist views of the two countries’ relations.  While the Chinese government expressed sympathy and support for Japan, the Chinese public and media showed hostility and indifference, and even celebrated the disaster as a deserved punishment for Japan’s past and present actions. The official …

South Korea is planning to launch a special visa for K-pop fans, allowing them to stay in the country for up to six months and enjoy various benefits and privileges related to their favorite music genre.  The visa, which is expected to be available from March 2024, is part of the government’s efforts to boost tourism and cultural exchange amid …

A series of powerful earthquakes rocked Japan‘s west coast on Thursday, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure, and injuring dozens of people. The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, also triggered a tsunami alert, but it was later lifted as no significant waves were detected. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the first quake struck at 2:27 …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to accelerate its war preparations and adopt offensive measures to deter potential adversaries, state media reported on Monday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim made the remarks during a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on Sunday, where he also approved …

Harsh Goenka, the chairman of RPG Enterprises, is known for his witty and insightful tweets on various topics. Recently, he shared a video of his visit to an iPhone store in Tokyo, Japan, and expressed his admiration for Japanese culture. The video, which he posted on Twitter, shows Goenka entering the store, where he is greeted by a group of …

Several Singaporeans are already troubled by the rising cost of living amid high inflation. Public transport fare increases, therefore, are bound to cause unhappiness. From December 23, public bus and train rides have started to cost more, by up to 11 cents more per journey. Financial pressures are mounting for both the public and public transport operators – facing lower …

The president of Japan’s largest oil company, ENEOS Holdings, has been dismissed from his post over allegations of sexual and power harassment, in a rare case of a top executive being held accountable for misconduct in the country’s conservative corporate culture. The company announced on Monday that Masashi Morimoto, who had been president since 2019, had resigned effective immediately, after …

A group of South Korean students have filed a lawsuit against the government, demanding compensation for the disruption caused by an early bell in their college entrance exam. The students claim that the bell rang 90 seconds earlier than scheduled at their test site, affecting their performance and results. The incident occurred on November 18, 2023, during the Suneung, the …

North Korea fired a new type of ballistic missile on Friday, in its first such launch since October, as it seeks to pressure the United States and its allies to resume dialogue and ease sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs. The missile was launched from a site near the capital Pyongyang and flew about 800 kilometers (500 miles) before …

A Singaporean man who ran a drug trafficking network in South Korea using Telegram has been sentenced to jail by a Seoul court and will be extradited to Singapore after serving his term. The 37-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed, was arrested in Seoul on April 9, following a joint investigation by the Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) …