Tag: Asia & Pacific

Japan’s Uno Retains World Title to Delight Home Crowd

SAITAMA, Japan—Shoma Uno retained his men’s figure skating world title with a nerveless free skate on home ice on Saturday after Madison Chock and Evan Bates overcame a fall in their free dance to win their first ice dance world title. After overcoming an ankle injury this week, Uno was not at his best but…


New Zealand Conveys Concerns to China Over ‘Increasing Tensions’ in Taiwan, South China Sea

New Zealand said on Saturday that its foreign minister had raised concerns to Beijing over “increasing tensions” near Taiwan and the South China Sea, where Beijing has been aggressively enforcing its territorial claim. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta visited Beijing earlier this week for a bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, the first such…


Ex-Vietnamese Intern Acquitted in Newborn Abandonment Case in Japan

Japan’s court on Friday acquitted a former Vietnamese technical trainee of abandoning the bodies of newborns she gave birth to at home in 2020, in a case that highlighted the strain pregnant foreign trainees in Japan faced. The Supreme Court overturned the verdicts of Le Thi Thuy Linh, 24, who received a suspended jail sentence…


Rahul Gandhi Expelled From Indian Parliament After Being Convicted of Defaming Modi

India’s top opposition figure Rahul Gandhi was expelled from Parliament after receiving a two-year jail sentence for defamation on Thursday, in what his supporters said was an attempt by the ruling party to silence its critics. In a statement released Friday, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that Gandhi, who represented the Wayanad parliamentary constituency of…


Japan’s Longest-Serving Iron Chef Kenichi Chen Dies at Age 67

Japan’s famous Chinese cuisine chef Chen Kenichi died at a Tokyo hospital on March 11 due to interstitial pneumonia. He was 67. Chen is best known for his role as the “Iron Chef Chinese” on the television series Iron Chef, a popular Japanese cooking show produced by Fuji TV. He was the longest-serving Iron Chef…


Number of US Students Studying in China Drops to 20-year Low; Chinese Students Remain Largest Group of International Students in US

China’s strict “zero-COVID” policies and control measures in recent years have brought the number of American college students studying in China to its lowest point in more than two decades. Meanwhile, Chinese scholars continue to be the largest group of international students studying in the United States. According to data published by The Wall Street…


US Aims to Allocate Over $7 Billion in Aid for Pacific Islands to Counter China

The Biden administration aims to allocate $7.1 billion in funding for three Pacific Island nations with which the United States has economic and defense ties, a U.S. official said on March 23, in a move to counter Beijing’s influence in the region. State Department official Jane Bocklage told a congressional hearing that President Joe Biden’s…


Japan’s Consumer Inflation Off 41-year High but Cost Pressure Persists

TOKYO—Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed in February but an index stripping away energy costs hit a four-decade high, data showed on Friday, suggesting cost-push pressures may persist longer than policymakers thought. With inflation still exceeding the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target, the data will keep alive market expectations of a tweak to its bond…


North Korea Says It Tested Underwater Drone Capable of Generating ‘Radioactive Tsunami’

North Korea tested an underwater attack drone capable of generating a “super-scale radioactive tsunami” that would destroy enemy naval striker groups and ports, the regime’s official mouthpiece said on Friday. The regime’s Central Military Commission commanded the drills from March 21 to 23, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. KCNA said the drone was…


Chip Plants in China Won’t Be Forced to Shut If Firms Receive US Funding, Says South Korea

SEOUL—South Korea’s trade ministry said on Wednesday that the United States’ proposed rules to prevent $52 billion in chip funding from being used by “countries of concern” will not force recipients to shut down their China factories. The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday proposed limits for recipients of U.S. chip manufacturing and research funding, including…