Asia

Coming events give Japan chance to shine as travel destination — if it can rise to the occasion, says tourism chief

TOMOHIRO OSAKI reports: Once a tourism underachiever, Japan is riding high like never before. Last year, the nation attracted a record 31 million foreign tourists, topping 30 million for the first time and pulling off nearly a fourfold jump from [...]

A Woman Chugged an Entire Bottle of Cognac Rather than Give It to Airport Security

Miss Zhao, International Folk Hero Alex Swerdloff reports: This Chinese woman was stopped in Beijing for having a bottle of Cognac in her carry-on. What else could she do but pound the entire bottle on the spot? But then, of course, she [...]

Japan and China Agree on Mechanism to Avoid Armed Skirmishes

‘Sea of peace’ at hand but Japanese defense officials have doubts over agreement TOKYO — Oki Nagai and Masaya Kato report: In a move aimed at preventing accidental military clashes, Japan and China have agreed to implement a [...]

Relations Thaw, But Questions Remain on Denuclearization Goals After Korea Summit

Analysts on Friday welcomed a joint agreement by the leaders of North and South Korea to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, but said the wording of the pledge remains vague and warned that achieving a result that satisfies both parties, and the [...]

Last Known Person Born in the 19th Century Dies in Japan at Age of 117

The world’s oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died. Nabi Tajima died of old age in a hospital Saturday evening in the town of Kikai in southern Japan, town official Susumu Yoshiyuki confirmed. She had been hospitalized since [...]

Photos of Kim Jong Un’s mother from 1973 Japan visit discovered

TOKYO — Photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s mother, Ko Yong Hui, taken when she visited Japan in 1973, have been found. A figure who interacted with Ko at the time has retained the photos taken when Ko visited Japan from July to [...]

China’s Xi Renews Vow to Open Economy, Cut Tariffs as U.S. Trade Row Deepens

BOAO/BEIJING, China (Reuters) – Kevin Yao reports: Chinese President Xi Jinping promised on Tuesday to open the country’s economy further and lower import tariffs on products like cars, in a speech seen as an attempt to defuse an [...]

China Bans Exports to North Korea of Weapons-Related Goods

BEIJING – China has banned exports to North Korea of electronics and other goods that can be used in making weapons, tightening U.N. sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development. The ban covers “dual use” industrial [...]

Damage Control: Sumo Association to Thank Women for Providing First Aid on Dohyo

The Japan Sumo Association has announced that its chairman Hakkaku intends to thank the women who provided first aid to a city mayor who collapsed on the dohyo during a Grand Sumo spring regional tour. He will also apologize for an inappropriate [...]

China Slippity-Slaps Tariffs On U.S. in Trade Dispute; Duties Up to 25%, Target 128 Products

BEIJING (Reuters) — China has increased tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products including frozen pork, wine and certain fruits and nuts, escalating a spat between the world’s biggest economies in response to U.S. duties on imports of [...]

North Korean Sanctions Evasions Reveal Hong Kong’s Middleman Role

HONG KONG (AP) — In the dead of night last month, two tanker ships pulled alongside each other in the East China Sea. One was a North Korean vessel, the other was the Belize-flagged Wan Heng 11. Lights on both ships were blazing, arousing a [...]

U.S., China Quietly Seek Trade Solutions After Days of Loud Threats

Wide-ranging discussions aimed at widening market access follow Washington’s vow to use tariffs, which sent U.S. stocks sharply lower. Lingling Wei & Bob Davis report: China and the U.S. have quietly started negotiating to improve U.S. [...]

Michael Auslin: President Xi’s power grab will have global repercussions

Michael Auslin writes: President Xi Jinping’s second term was meant to come to an end in 2023. However, the news that the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee has moved to eliminate the constitution’s two-term limit for presidents [...]

China Paves way for Xi Jinping to Extend Rule Beyond 2 Terms

BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party has proposed scrapping term limits for the country’s president, the official news agency said Sunday, appearing to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi Jinping to rule as president beyond 2023. [...]

Naked ‘Bunny Girl’ Freezes Tail Off in Olympic Fur Protest

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Alastair Himmer reports: A half-naked activist sporting bunny ears and a fluffy tail braved the Olympic chill in Pyeongchang to protest the fur trade Tuesday but, shivering on high heels, side-stepped the thorny [...]

North Korea Installs New Radio Devices to Catch Citizens Illegally Calling Abroad

North Korea has installed new Russian-made radio locators along sections of its 880-mile border with China to detect citizens placing illegal mobile-phone calls to friends and relatives outside the isolated authoritarian country, sources said. North [...]

Kim Jong Un’s Money Running Out

SEOUL — Kentaro Nakajima reports: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s secret fund has almost run out of money because the country has repeatedly carried out nuclear tests and test-launched missiles, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The [...]

In Sanlitun Soho, a commercial and office complex in Beijing, a giant electronic billboard displays this message from the Chinese Communist Party: “The people have faith. The nation has hope. The state has strength.” Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

The Propaganda I See on My Morning Commute

BEIJING — JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ writes: People joke that it’s now easier in many Chinese cities to use Communist Party slogans rather than street names to give directions. Looking for a bank in Downtown Beijing? Walk past the screen [...]

Communist Purge Plays Out in Vietnam’s Trial of the Decade

James Hooky reports: The disappearance of a former Vietnamese official in Berlin last summer gave the outside world an early glimpse into an anticorruption drive captivating communist-run Vietnam. Germany said Vietnamese agents kidnapped Trinh Xuan [...]

North Korea Says it Will Send Delegations to Winter Games

SEOUL (Reuters) — North Korea said during rare talks with the South on Tuesday it would send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month and Seoul said it was prepared to lift some sanctions temporarily so the visit [...]

Chinese Ships Spotted Selling Oil to North Korea

Yu Yong-weon and Kim Jin-myung report: U.S. reconnaissance satellites have spotted Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean vessels on the West Sea around 30 times since October. According to South Korean government sources, the satellites have [...]

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