Asia - South China Morning Post

The crush of foreign visitors in Kyoto has become so overwhelming that some Japanese schools are abandoning the ancient capital as a destination for their class trips – a quiet but telling sign of how overtourism is reshaping life for local residents.

Teachers complain their pupils now face packed buses and subways, crowds at temples and shrines, and hotel and restaurant prices that have doubled or even tripled. The result, according to school trip organisers, is disappointment for students and...

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday that he planned to dissolve parliament by the end of January, with a general election to be held in March or early April.

Anutin won a parliamentary vote in early September to become Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023, after pulling his Bhumjaithai party out of a ruling coalition led by the Pheu Thai party.

To win power, he secured the backing of the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party, which put...

India and China, recently seen moving towards rapprochement after years of strained ties, held separate meetings with Global South countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, highlighting a quiet rivalry for leadership of the developing world.

The world’s two most-populous countries had been expected to present a united front as global trade and multilateralism face increasing headwinds under US President Donald Trump’s second term. Instead, their...

Security forces patrolled the streets on Thursday in India’s Himalayan region of Ladakh, where a curfew was clamped in some areas a day after four people were killed in violent protests demanding statehood for the federal territory and job quotas.

Television images showed troop patrols amid shops and businesses closed during the curfew and a protest call against the deaths from the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which represents political, social and trade groups in the region.

“I demand a...

With China’s economic clout still its “strongest card” in Southeast Asia, Beijing is continuing to gain prominence in all corners of the region as its leading external partner, according to a study released on Wednesday.

According to the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Influence Index, China has an overall score of 65 out of 100, a one-point lead over its nearest rival, the United States, making it the “most influential power” in six of the region’s 11 countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,...

The Asia-Pacific region has become the world’s fastest-growing hub for cryptocurrency transactions, with on-chain activity surging despite inconsistent oversight and varied pathways to adoption, according to a new report.

Analysts say the trend reflects not only diverse use cases – from remittances and savings to gaming and speculative trading – but also regulatory uncertainty across the region, which could limit long-term potential even as momentum builds.

The report, released on Wednesday by...

A Singapore-registered ship’s Sri Lanka agent paid US$1 million out of US$1 billion damages awarded for causing the island’s worst pollution, a litigant said on Wednesday.

The Sea Consortium (Private) Limited made the token payment in “good faith” as it did not have the financial capacity to fully cover the damages.

A petitioner who brought action against the MV X-Press Pearl, which sank off Colombo Port in June 2021, said he had been officially informed of the payment.

“I was given a copy of...

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to send tens of thousands of peacekeepers to conflict zones and said the country could recognise Israel, but only if Palestinian statehood is first acknowledged.

The idea of conditional recognition for Israel drew sharp reactions at home, with critics accusing Prabowo of undermining Indonesia’s pro-Palestinian stance, while others saw the shift as a calculated diplomatic overture aimed at boosting Jakarta’s standing on the world stage.

In the...

A new set of university rankings released in South Korea aims to provide prospective international students with clearer guidance on study options, as the country’s institutes of higher learning expand their efforts to attract global talent amid a shifting academic landscape.

The K-universities Global Excellence Rankings, developed by The Korea Times and released on Wednesday, are described as the country’s most internationalisation-focused assessment to date, with more than 60 per cent of the...

While Singaporeans rejected calls to vote along racial and religious lines in the May General Election, the temptation to play this card will grow as polls become more tightly contested, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday.

He said the country’s unity depends on how it conducts its politics, and that a constructive way forward must include welcoming opposition views in parliament. The government will also do more to engage and involve Singaporeans outside the House, Wong added.

He was...