Advertisement
Advertisement
This Week in Asia /
Lifestyle & Culture
Related Topics:
K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Asia travel
Fame and celebrity
India
Reel politik: India tells filmmakers to drop ‘China-bashing’ as ties warm
India’s diplomatic thaw with China is causing films about the 2020 Galwan Valley clash to be retitled, reshot or shelved entirely.
27 May 2026 - 6:53PM
videocam
4
Thailand
Badly behaving visitors push Thailand to remove 60-day visa entry
25 May 2026 - 11:05AM
videocam
4
Artificial intelligence
Southeast Asia is chasing the AI boom, but at what cost?
23 May 2026 - 8:00AM
videocam
Malaysia
Malaysia’s tourism-dependent Langkawi fears rising costs are deterring visitors
Businesses ranging from boat operators to restaurants are seeing a drop in international visitors to the island.
22 May 2026 - 4:23PM
A paraglider being pulled by a fast speed boat along the coast of Langkawi, Malaysia. Photo: John Brunton
Thailand
Thailand’s Singha beer dynasty rocked by sexual abuse allegations
The kingdom’s most-watched family scandal in years has prompted a sacking, a televised confessional – and a warning from media regulators.
21 May 2026 - 8:36AM
videocam
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.
17 May 2026 - 11:00AM
6
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Singapore
Human intelligence remains critical in AI era: Singapore minister
Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan cautions against overdependence on large-language models to solve every problem.
16 May 2026 - 3:04PM
videocam
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan speaks at a joint press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Japan
Japan’s ‘ibasho’ sense of belonging helps disaster survivors heal, study finds
Research into the 2011 earthquake and tsunami shows fostering social connection and purpose helps survivors rebuild and staves off dementia.
16 May 2026 - 12:00PM
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.
13 May 2026 - 6:00PM
videocam
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.
13 May 2026 - 5:12PM
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.
13 May 2026 - 9:30AM
videocam
People visit the Merlion statue in Singapore. A recruiter’s comment on the lack of hunger among Singaporean workers compared with their foreign counterparts has sparked a fierce debate. Photo: AFP
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.
10 May 2026 - 10:00AM
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.
10 May 2026 - 8:00AM
12
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’.
9 May 2026 - 2:40PM
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.
7 May 2026 - 4:24PM
videocam
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?
6 May 2026 - 3:49PM
videocam
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.
6 May 2026 - 1:53PM
videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.
5 May 2026 - 4:38PM
A patch of Japan’s 1st Infantry Regiment was withdrawn after an uproar over its design deemed as out of place with the image of the country’s military. Photo: X
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.
5 May 2026 - 1:12PM
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.
3 May 2026 - 12:00PM
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.
3 May 2026 - 8:00AM
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.
1 May 2026 - 4:10PM
Malaysian Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing sprays water as girl group Dolla performs at the Rain Rave Water Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Instagram/dolla.official
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.
1 May 2026 - 6:51PM
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.
30 Apr 2026 - 3:46PM
videocam
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.
29 Apr 2026 - 4:54PM
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW