South China Morning Post - East Asia

South Korea is inching closer to a potentially risky military role in the Strait of Hormuz after sending a fact-finding team to the Middle East, with Seoul weighing US pressure to contribute against the threat of Iranian retaliation. The mission underscores the dilemma Seoul faces over supporting a major security ally and avoiding being dragged into a conflict it did not start. ...

Nagoya in central Japan said on Wednesday that it has decided to provide emergency relief across the city where at least 41 people sustained minor injuries after a linear rain band formed, pounding the Tokai region with record rainfall the previous day. Many commuters and students were stranded for the night in Nagoya after transport was paralysed due to the rain. Around 1,600 p...

By 2045, Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) could shrink to 130,000 personnel – nearly half today’s strength. But Tokyo has already ruled out one think tank’s controversial fix: recruiting foreign nationals. The proposal formed part of a report written by a panel of senior former defence bureaucrats and military chiefs, released by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on September 2. It...

South Korea said on Tuesday it had sent a fact-finding team to assess the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing no decision had been made about potential troop deployment to the strategic waterway. Traffic through the vital shipping route has been virtually paralysed since the US-Iran war began on February 28, disrupting global energy markets. The South Korean defence min...

South Korean citizens’ groups have called for the abuse of wartime ‘comfort women’ to be recognised by Unesco, as analysts say the ongoing feud between Seoul and Tokyo threatens to upset recent improvements in their relations. They also suggest that the two nations would benefit from working together at a time of unprecedented regional and global security and economic challenges...