Asia

Japan’s military to spend on AI, automation, perks to combat recruitment crisis

By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s defence ministry on Friday said it will invest in AI, automation and improving troop conditions to address a worsening recruitment shortfall that has left its forces understaffed amid a build up aimed at countering China’s growing military power. The measures, unveiled in its latest defence budget request on Friday, come after the Self Defense Forces’ (SDF) worst ever annual recruitment drive. In the year to March 31 it […]

Typhoon Shanshan brings torrential rains, travel turmoil across Japan

By Tim Kelly and Irene Wang FUKUOKA, Japan (Reuters) -Typhoon Shanshan deluged large parts of Japan with torrential rain on Friday, prompting warnings for flooding and landslides hundreds of miles from the storm’s centre, halting travel services and shutting production at major factories. In the southwestern region of Kyushu, where what authorities say could be one of the strongest storms ever to hit the region made landfall on Thursday, residents in Fukuoka city were hunkering […]

South Korea court approves arrest for battery maker CEO over deadly fire

SEOUL (Reuters) -The CEO of a South Korean lithium battery maker that was struck by a fire that killed 23 people in June has been arrested after a court approved a warrant on allegations of violating industrial safety law, a judge said on Thursday. Park Soon-kwan, the CEO of Aricell, which is majority owned by S-Connect, apologised after the fire but said at the time the company had followed all required safety precautions and training […]

Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in Japan, killing 3 and snarling air traffic

By Satoshi Sugiyama and Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) -At least three people were killed in southwestern Japan on Thursday as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in Kagoshima prefecture, bringing heavy rain and very strong winds as well as snarling air traffic and knocking out power to over a quarter million households. Major automakers including Toyota and Nissan suspended operations in some or all of their domestic factories due to the storm. The typhoon, with gusts of […]

Chinese Embassy in Philippines protests remarks made by Japan ambassador concerning South China Sea dispute

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s embassy in the Philippines on Thursday said it had sent a diplomatic note of protest to the Japanese embassy in the Southeast Asian country concerning “irresponsible” remarks its ambassador made regarding the South China Sea’s Sabina Shoal. In a statement, the Chinese embassy said the comments displayed “ignorance of the facts and contained unwarranted accusations against China” after Japan’s ambassador on Monday tweeted a video of a Chinese coastguard vessel under […]

South Korea to ask Telegram, other social media firms to help tackle digital sex crimes

By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities called on Telegram and other social media platforms on Wednesday to work together with them in deleting and blocking sexually explicit deepfake content, seeking to appease public and political outrage over the problem. The steps follow reports by several domestic media outlets that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms. A 24-hour hotline for victims will also be […]

Japan issues emergency warning as powerful Typhoon Shanshan nears

By Kaori Kaneko TOKYO (Reuters) -Southwestern Japan braced on Wednesday for what officials say could be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the region, as some residents in the path of Typhoon Shanshan were ordered to evacuate and major firms like Toyota closed factories. Airlines and rail operators cancelled some services for the coming days as the typhoon, categorised as “very strong”, barrelled towards the main southwestern island of Kyushu with gusts of […]

Philippine president defends massive operation to arrest celebrity pastor

By Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) – Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr defended on Tuesday the deployment of 2,000 police officers at the weekend to arrest an influential pastor accused of sex trafficking who is a longtime friend of the country’s former president. Police think Apollo Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of god”, is hiding in a bunker at the sprawling compound owned by his church, the Kingdom of Jesus […]

Mudslide in Thailand’s Phuket kills 13, including 2 Russians, official says

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thirteen people including a Russian couple died in a mudslide on the Thai resort island of Phuket, the authorities said Sunday, after calling off a search for missing persons. Heavy rains last week set off the mudslides near the Big Buddha, a popular tourist destination in the south of the country, said Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat. Besides the Russians, nine of the dead were migrant workers from Myanmar and the other two […]

China, Philippines clash in South China Sea despite efforts to rebuild trust

MANILA/BEIJING (Reuters) – The Philippines and China clashed in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday over what Manila said was a resupply mission for fishermen, the latest in a series of sea and air confrontations in the strategic waterway. The incident overshadows efforts by both nations to rebuild trust and better manage disputes after months of confrontations, including a violent clash in June where a Filipino sailor lost a finger. The Philippines […]

Philippines urges China to halt ‘provocative’ actions after flare incidents

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines called on Beijing on Saturday to “immediately cease all provocative and dangerous actions” after accusing it of “unjustifiably” deploying flares from China-occupied Subi Reef on Aug. 22 while a Manila aircraft was conducting patrols. The same aircraft also “faced harassment” from a Chinese jet fighter while it was conducting a surveillance flight near Scarborough Shoal on Aug. 19, the Philippines’ South China Sea Task Force said in a statement. “Such […]

Floods, landslides in India’s Tripura displace tens of thousands

By Tora Agarwala, Ruma Paul GUWAHATI/DHAKA (Reuters) -Soldiers in lifeboats ferried people to safety in India’s northeastern state of Tripura on Friday after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides, forcing more than 65,000 people from their homes and killing 23, authorities said. Television images showed army personnel manning the rescue craft, while cars and buses were marooned in streets of knee-deep water, and disaster management officials said four days of incessant rain had swelled rivers. […]