Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Who will be Japan’s next PM? Ruling LDP set to begin ‘especially chaotic’ party election

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Two women and two MPs under the age of 50 are on potential list of candidates for next Liberal Democratic Party leaders

After a week in which Japan’s citizens braced themselves for a possible megaquake, the biggest seismic shift came from its political epicentre, as the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, announced his decision to step down next month.

His three years in office will end in late September when his ruling Liberal Democratic party [LDP] selects a new president, who is assured of being approved as Japan’s next prime minister in the LDP-controlled parliament.

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Former UK supreme court head quits media freedom role over work as judge in Hong Kong

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David Neuberger was part of court panel that dismissed appeal of Jimmy Lai and six other pro-democracy activists

David Neuberger, the former president of the UK’s supreme court, has resigned from his role as chair of a legal advisory board to an international media freedom coalition, citing the “concern expressed” over his role as a judge in Hong Kong.

Lord Neuberger said he had been considering his position as chair of the high-level panel of legal experts that advises the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), an international NGO, for several months.

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Anti-whaling activist to stay in Greenland jail while extradition decided

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Paul Watson fighting efforts byJapan to have him stand trial there for 2010 confrontation with whalers

A Greenland court has ordered the anti-whaling activist Paul Watson to remain in custody until 5 September pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan.

Watson, an American-Canadian who has been detained since his arrest in Nuuk in July, had appealed against the court’s decision, the statement on Thursday added.

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Kim Dotcom to be extradited from New Zealand to US

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Justice minister signs extradition order for Megaupload founder 12 years after FBI-ordered raid over filesharing site

Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct filesharing website Megaupload, is to be extradited to the US, the New Zealand justice minister says, which could end more than a decade of legal wrangling.

German-born Dotcom has New Zealand residency and has been fighting extradition to the US since 2012 after an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion. The high court in New Zealand first approved his extradition in 2017, with an appeal court reaffirming the finding the year after. In 2020, the country’s supreme court again affirmed the finding but opened the door for a fresh round of judicial review.

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Japan PM Fumio Kishida announces he will step down in September

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Kishida’s three-year term has been marked by scandal, rising living costs and record defence spending

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has said he will not run for the presidency of his ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) next month – a decision that will result in the appointment of a new leader of the world’s fourth-biggest economy.

Kishida, who has been battling low approval ratings and a damaging fundraising scandal, said he would step down as LDP leader in September, telling reporters on Wednesday that the party needed an “open contest to promote debate”.

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Thai court removes Srettha Thavisin as prime minister after less than a year

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Srettha becomes fourth Thai PM dismissed by court in 16 years, after appointing former lawyer who served jail time

Thailand’s constitutional court on Wednesday dismissed the prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer who served jail time, raising the spectre of more political upheaval and a reset of the governing alliance.

Srettha, a real-estate tycoon, becomes the fourth Thai prime minister in 16 years to be removed by verdicts of the same court, after it ruled he had violated the constitution by appointing a minister who did not meet ethical standards.

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BTS member Suga facing possible prison sentence or fine over drink-driving e-scooter incident

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Suga has apologised after he was found lying on the ground in the Yongsan district of Seoul following an apparent accident

Suga, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, faces a potential prison sentence or a hefty fine after a breathalyser test revealed he was over the blood-alcohol limit when he reportedly fell off his e-scooter in Seoul last week.

Suga, who along with other members of the band has taken a break from music to perform compulsory national service, was found lying on the ground in the Yongsan district of Seoul on 6 August after an apparent accident, South Korean media reported.

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Custody ruling in same-sex case hailed as LGBTQ+ milestone in China

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Woman wins visiting rights to see daughter, but not son, in first recognition that child can have two legal mothers

A woman fighting a landmark LGBTQ+ custody battle in China said she “still has faith for the future” after winning the right to make monthly visits to her daughter.

Last month, Didi, who is 42 and lives in Shanghai, travelled to Beijing to visit her seven-year-old daughter, who lives in the capital with Didi’s estranged wife and their other child. It was the first time Didi and her daughter had seen each other in four years.

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New Zealand charity unknowingly gives out sweets with lethal levels of meth

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Up to 400 people received parcels that could contain the contaminated lolly as police open a criminal investigation

A charity working with homeless people in Auckland, New Zealand unknowingly distributed sweets filled with a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine in its food parcels, after the items were donated by a member of the public.

Auckland City Mission told reporters on Wednesday that staff had started to contact up to 400 people to track down parcels that could contain the sweets – which were solid blocks of methamphetamine enclosed in lolly wrappers. New Zealand’s police have opened a criminal investigation.

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Corey Yuen, martial arts director and Jet Li collaborator, died in 2022, Hong Kong film federation confirms

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Film-maker who directed films starring Li, Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh and later worked as a Hollywood fight coordinator, died during the Covid pandemic two years ago

Celebrated Hong Kong martial arts actor and director Corey Yuen died two years ago during the Covid pandemic, it has been reported.

The Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers confirmed Yuen’s death following a social media post by action star Jackie Chan naming Yuen (also known as Yuen Kwai) among a list of late disciples of China Drama Academy head Yu Jim-yuen, who died in 1997.

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Nancy Pelosi rebukes former Australian PM Paul Keating over ‘stupid statement’ on Taiwan

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In return, Keating chastises former US House speaker for her ‘recklessly indulgent visit to Taiwan’ in 2022

A war of words has broken out between the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating and the former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over Taiwan, after the prominent Democrat accused Keating of making a “stupid statement” about the territory.

Keating was quick to hit back on Tuesday, suggesting Pelosi had “very nearly” sparked a military confrontation between the US and China over her “indulgent” 2022 visit to Taiwan.

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Asian cities and countries jostle in Paris for right to host 2036 Olympic Games

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  • IOC says it has ‘double-digit’ nations interested in hosting future events
  • Asia seen as strong option to follow Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032

If historic waterway settings are the new must-have accessory for Olympic host cities, then Istanbul’s mayor wants the IOC to know his city has one.

If the key to getting the 2036 Summer Games is having hosted world championships in top-tier Olympic sports, then Qatar can point to its track record over the past decade.

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Conviction of Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai ‘unjust’, says Chris Patten

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Former governor speaks out after appeal court upholds convictions of seven activists over 2019 protest

Chris Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong, has decried as “unjust” a decision by the Chinese city’s top court to uphold the conviction of Jimmy Lai and other prominent pro-democracy activists for participating in a peaceful protest in 2019.

On Monday, Hong Kong’s court of final appeal unanimously agreed to uphold the convictions of seven activists who participated in an unauthorised 2019 protest in which 1.7 million people – roughly a quarter of Hong Kong’s population – took to the streets to oppose Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.

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Lammy plans China visit for September to kick-start high-level engagement

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Exclusive: Move highlights ambition to reconnect with Beijing but minister will face pressure over human rights

David Lammy is planning a visit to China in September that would fall within the first 100 days of him taking office.

The foreign secretary is in talks over a trip to Beijing next month that would signal the UK wants to resume high-level engagement with the country.

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Philippines court voids order to shut down independent news site Rappler

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Outlet, which was hit with order during Rodrigo Duterte administration, hails ruling after ‘eight years of harassment’

A court in the Philippines has voided a shutdown order that was issued against Rappler, an independent news outlet known for its scrutiny of the former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Rappler, which was co-founded by the Nobel peace prize laureate Maria Ressa, had been issued a shutdown order in 2018, during Duterte’s administration, over claims it had violated restrictions on foreign ownership in media.

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Japan’s PM cancels overseas trip after experts issue ‘megaquake’ warning

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The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued its first-ever warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has cancelled a visit to central Asia this weekend after experts warned that the risk of a “megaquake” occurring off the country’s Pacific coast had increased following Thursday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the south-west.

Kishida, who is battling low approval ratings and faces challenges to his leadership in a ruling party presidential election next month, announced his decision at a press conference on Friday.

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China lists Taiwanese independence supporters it wants people to denounce

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Beijing website asks for information about supposed ‘crimes’ of ‘secessionist’ current and past Taiwan officials

China’s government has called for people to denounce “diehard secessionists” and give information about their “criminal activities” as it intensifies its legal and rhetorical intimidation of Taiwan.

The Taiwan affairs office and ministry of public security this week launched new webpages with lists of 10 current and former officials in Taiwan who have been named as “diehard” separatists.

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Aukus pact will turn Australia into ‘51st state’ of the US, says Paul Keating

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Former prime minister argues Australia has made itself a target by aligning with American ‘aggression’ towards China

Australia’s participation in the Aukus defence pact risks handing military control of the country to Washington and becoming the “51st state of the United States”, according to former prime minister Paul Keating.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday night, Keating argued that Australia had made itself a target for aggression by joining the military alliance with the US and the UK in implicit opposition to China’s growing power in the Asia Pacific region.

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US ambassador to skip Nagasaki bomb commemoration over Israeli exclusion

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City’s mayor says Israel not invited because of risk of protests at event honouring victims of 1945 nuclear blast

The US ambassador to Japan will skip this year’s memorial service for the nuclear attack on Nagasaki because Israel has not been invited, the embassy has said.

Rahm Emanuel would not attend the event on Friday because it had been “politicised” by Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel, the embassy said. Instead, he would honour the victims of the Nagasaki bombing at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo and a lower-ranked US official would attend the Nagasaki event, it said.

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Earthquake strikes off Japan’s coast and triggers tsunami warning

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No immediate signs of damage reported after powerful quake hits off eastern coast of Kyushu

A powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s southern coast on Thursday, triggering a tsunami advisory, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, but there were no immediate signs of major damage.



The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and was centred off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30km (18.6 miles).

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