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This Week in Asia /

Lifestyle & Culture

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K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Asia travel
Fame and celebrity
A screenshot of the "baseball goddess" from an AI-generated video. Photo: X/kangminlee
South Korea

Reality deficit: how South Korea lost the plot on AI

A viral ‘baseball goddess’, a wolf that never was and a deepfake epidemic. Generative AI is rewriting South Korea’s reality.

Singapore

Human intelligence remains critical in AI era: Singapore minister

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Japan

Japan’s ‘ibasho’ sense of belonging helps disaster survivors heal, study finds

Indonesia

Why Indonesia is expanding under-16 social media ban to e-commerce

The plan aims to protect children from online scams and impulse buying, but experts say it could be a major compliance test for platforms.

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Indonesia’s social media ban for children has been effective since March 28. Photo: AP
Indonesia’s social media ban for children has been effective since March 28. Photo: AP
South Korea

‘Like whale bones’: South Korea’s war memorial sparks conflict over symbolism

Critics argue the Korean war memorial should not be in a space in Seoul long associated with pro-democracy protests and its imperial past.

Singapore

Singaporeans refute lack of hunger stereotype, warn of ‘self-fulfilling bias’

A recruiter’s comment on Singaporean workers supposedly lacking drive has sparked a fierce debate on evolving career goals and pay.

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Japan

Divorced from reality? Japan’s joint custody reform divides parents

Critics call the legal change a ‘cosmetic’ fix for a system that still allows one parent to simply disappear.

Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong
South Korea

‘She was just a human’: the world forgot K-pop’s suicides. These fans never did

Years after three high-profile K-pop suicides shook South Korea’s idol machine, the grief – and guilt – remains.

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The Philippines

‘Foreigner won’: Filipinos divided over pageant winner’s US roots

Some social media users have questioned Bea Millan-Windorski’s win, while others say being Filipino is about ‘culture, history and belonging’.

Thailand

How RedNote, WeChat are reviving Thailand’s Chinese tourism market

Thai businesses are asking online experts to help reel in young big spenders who prize authenticity over heavily advertised content.

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Diners tuck into “phad kaphrao” at Phed Mark, a Bangkok kitchen with a pop-up feel. Photo: Aidan Jones
Japan

Japan’s hikikomori recluses are growing old. So are their carers

What happens to more than 1 million social recluses in the world’s fastest-ageing society when the last person who cared for them is gone?

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A Japanese government survey estimated that 1.46 million people were living as shut-ins as of 2023. Photo: Shutterstock
A Japanese government survey estimated that 1.46 million people were living as shut-ins as of 2023. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysia

Art of the steal: Malaysia unveils recovered 1MDB masterpieces

A Picasso and a Miro are among four works on show, representing a fraction of the US$4.5 billion looted from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund.

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Japan

Japan army unit’s gun-toting AI-generated elephant logo gets trampled by critics

Officers created the logo using ChatGPT based on the ‘elephant’, ‘cool’, ‘blue flame’, and ‘mammoth’ keywords, a media report says.

Malaysia

Penang’s cemetery tours spur interest in pioneers, colonial history

While the state receives millions in conservation funding, it faces challenges in preserving the Protestant cemetery due to its climate.

A British visitor attends a tour of the Old Protestant Cemetery in Penang, Malaysia. Photo: Ushar Daniele
Thailand

The cost of cute: how ‘petfluencers’ are driving Asia’s wildlife crime

Thailand is a key pipeline in a lucrative global trade that animal activists warn risks spreading zoonotic diseases and erasing biodiversity.

Indian star tortoises confiscated from a woman attempting to travel with them at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation / AFP
Indian star tortoises confiscated from a woman attempting to travel with them at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation / AFP
Indonesia

Indonesia’s aim to lure more K-pop concerts spurs chorus of doubts

While Indonesian K-pop fans applaud Jakarta’s intention, they cite safety, venue capacity and bureaucracy as some of the key hurdles.

Malaysia

‘Moral harm’: Malaysia’s culture war brigade tries to hose down water festival

Kuala Lumpur’s Rain Rave Water Music Festival faces backlash from critics who argue that such vulgar imports hurt conservative values.

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Japan

Japan’s higher education sector faces reckoning as student pool shrinks

The potential abolition of so many universities is a ‘dramatic move’ that analysts warn will affect thousands of students and teachers.

University insiders agree that Japan has too many small, private tertiary institutions battling enrolment shortfalls and financial pressures. Photo: Getty Images
University insiders agree that Japan has too many small, private tertiary institutions battling enrolment shortfalls and financial pressures. Photo: Getty Images
The Philippines

Filipino male pageant contestant’s viral swimsuit walk sparks body image debate

Observers said RJ Perkins’ viral moment shows beauty pageants might be ready to move beyond their traditional ideals.

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Japan

Zoo in Japan’s Hokkaido delays reopening over search for body in incinerator

One of the employees reportedly told police he burned his wife’s body in an incinerator on the zoo’s grounds.

Singapore

Singapore firm sorry after airport baggage handler caught tossing luggage

Ground-handling company SATS pledged to improve service standards and staff training after a video of the incident went viral.

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Ground-handling firm SATS has apologised for improper baggage handling at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Photo: Instagram/ericzhyoong
Singapore

More Singaporeans are choosing jobs below their qualifications. Here’s why

A new survey shows 19.4 per cent of Singapore’s resident workforce had academic qualifications beyond what was required for their job in 2025.

Office workers in Singapore’s Central Business District. Photo: Shutterstock
Office workers in Singapore’s Central Business District. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

Why Japan’s travellers are rushing abroad for ‘golden week’ despite falling yen

The operator of Narita airport anticipates that 1.59 million travellers will pass through the airport over the two-week holiday season.

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Japan

In hot water: Japan’s bathhouses struggle to stay afloat as oil prices spike

“Sentos” have cut operating hours and welcomed fewer customers, with some deciding to fold amid the energy crisis.

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Singapore

Singapore’s answer to school bullying? The cane … and counselling

With student safety under the microscope, Singapore unveils a new framework in a bid to knock bullying on the head.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
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