Follow South China Morning Post - East Asia, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/scmp25 Sat, 18 Sep 2021 13:30:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecAdKAK7ESKrSejEQ2Mq9rY A two-day international conference convened by the Russian government in the city of Khabarovsk in early September to re-examine the war crime trials that took place in the city in December 1949 has angered Japan’s conservatives who have accused Moscow of magnifying the imperial army’s atrocities to seek geopolitical gains. Back then, 12 men from Japan’s notorious biowarfare research base known as Unit 731 – based in northeastern China during the Sino-Japanese war – were found guilty of…]]> Sat, 18 Sep 2021 12:00:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecAdKAK7ESKrSejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecAdKAK7ESKrZVjH6qdYdAk Two women are in contention to become prime minister of Japan for the first time in its history – a potential turning point for a country that ranks below Saudi Arabia in terms of female political representation.Victory for either Seiko Noda and Sanae Takaichi, both former internal affairs ministers in their 60s, in a September 29 vote for leader of the ruling party would mean Japan sees its first female premier.Even having women make up half the ballot of four candidates is a step forward for…]]> Sat, 18 Sep 2021 09:46:38 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecAdKAK7ESKrZVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRefm2G-m-_h06ps0ohxaO6Yr Australia said it would not be willing to negotiate China’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) unless Beijing removes retaliatory tariffs on Australian goods, as other member countries also flagged caution over Beijing’s application to join the mega trade bloc.Beijing’s new trade minister Wang Wentao on Thursday lodged a long-awaited application to join the 11-member CPTPP with member country New Zealand’s trade minister Damien…]]> Sat, 18 Sep 2021 06:15:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRefm2G-m-_h06ps0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeWqLyILGYqR11cWWor9YPv North Korea released video of its new system to launch missiles from trains, offering a multitude of camera angles that show its capabilities, and underscoring Kim Jong-un’s push to increase the production value of state propaganda.The video starts with a shot from a drone flying over train tracks that lead into a tunnel. From there, two reddish-bronze train carriages emerge pushed by a locomotive.The airborne drone footage captures men in what appear to be matching beige jumpsuits leaving a…]]> Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:11:37 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeWqLyILGYqR11cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXJMccZjE9muT5HJgy6HUf Australia’s plan to build eight nuclear-powered submarines under an Indo-Pacific security pact with the United States and Britain has delivered a jolt to the regional security status quo, analysts said, reinforcing hard power capabilities missing from existing agreements.It is also likely to prompt calls to give greater force to existing defence alliances and security groupings that critics have described as having ambiguous functions and aims that do not reflect the changing balance of power…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 15:00:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXJMccZjE9muT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXJMccZjE9miejEQ2Mq9rY South Korean shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) announced the closure of its plant Ningbo in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang last week after allegedly agreeing to hand over its land to the local government for industrial renewal, sparking days of protests by laid-off workers seeking better severance pay.The plant‘s closure revived fears that large foreign investors and employers could be looking to depart the world’s second largest economy, particularly after Samsung…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 14:30:13 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXJMccZjE9miejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecWx4i426rAZZs0ohxaO6Yr Japan has given first doses of Covid-19 vaccine to 63.6 per cent of its population, surpassing the US by proportion of people who have had at least one shot – despite starting months behind.The East Asian nation’s progress now puts the United States last among G7 nations when it comes to the proportion of the population who have had at least one dose, after vaccine hesitancy squandered the country’s head start. About 63.1 per cent of the US has had at least their first shot, and 53.8 per cent…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 11:49:17 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecWx4i426rAZZs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedRmaFH1QURnnn9ye8UNv30 Kei Komuro, the partner of Japan’s Princess Mako, plans to soon return to Japan from the United States to prepare for their marriage, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday, despite public unease over a money dispute involving his mother.The Imperial Household Agency is considering holding a joint press conference for the princess, a niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, and Komuro, both 29, upon his return from the US. The couple are preparing to register their marriage in October,…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 10:30:18 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedRmaFH1QURnnn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedRmaFH1QURnqCY3L745TL_ Japan’s largest military drill in nearly 30 years is primarily an exercise in transporting heavy weapons and materiel to the country’s southwest, regarded as the most likely site of a clash with a neighbouring nation, in what analysts say is a much-needed logistical exercise as well as a message to China and the United States.The Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) exercise began on Wednesday and will involve units across the country until the end of November – including some 100,000…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 09:30:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedRmaFH1QURnqCY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedaRi0rb_I__nn9ye8UNv30 EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit research group based in New York that studies the spread of viruses from animals to humans, has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.Much of this has been due to its long-time collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is located in the central Chinese city where Covid-19 was first reported in December 2019. Both organisations had collected and modified bat viruses to explore the threat of…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 04:00:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedaRi0rb_I__nn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedaRi0rb_I__iejEQ2Mq9rY The missiles fired by North Korea on Wednesday were a test of a new “railway-borne missile system” designed as a potential counter-strike to any forces that threaten the country, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday.The missiles flew 800km (497 miles) before striking a target in the sea off North Korea’s east coast, KCNA said.On Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese authorities announced they had detected the launch of two ballistic missiles from North Korea, just days after it tested a…]]> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 00:41:01 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRedaRi0rb_I__iejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRed0IP227z0F6ezdsCmHakzH The US, Britain and Australia have forged a “historic” security alliance to strengthen military capabilities in the Pacific, allowing them to share advanced defence technologies and giving Australian forces nuclear submarine technology. The move, announced on Wednesday, extends Washington’s drive for military cooperation that has angered China.To begin the “Aukus” security partnership, naval officials and technical specialists from the three countries will work together over the next 18 months…]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 23:00:27 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRed0IP227z0F6ezdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRed0IP227z0F6V1cWWor9YPv North Korea’s second round of missile launches in several days has brought into sharp relief the limited policy options for reining in weapons programmes that are considered among the region’s most pressing security concerns.Pyongyang on Wednesday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, in a potent reminder of the regime’s determination to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks.North Korea fires two ballistic…]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 23:00:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRed0IP227z0F6V1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecv_KnBk8EXw11cWWor9YPv The arms race on the Korean peninsula is heating up, with North Korea firing a pair of ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, as the South announced a spate of breakthroughs in its development of new weapons including submarine-launched ballistic missiles.Just days after testing a cruise missile with possible nuclear capabilities, the North test-launched two ballistic missiles from its central inland region towards the east coast, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff …]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 12:08:05 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecv_KnBk8EXw11cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecnhv2iGUuAhHn9ye8UNv30 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday lashed out at the idea of expanding the US-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance to include South Korea, berating it as an “outdated” by-product of the Cold War era. Wang made the remarks after his talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul, and as a draft US House bill calls on President Joe Biden’s administration to consider expanding the alliance that comprises the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. …]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:45:38 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecnhv2iGUuAhHn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecnhv2iGUuAhClmFkX7M1Jw North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, according to the South’s military, days after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested new long-range cruise missiles.The two ballistic missiles launched from a site in central North Korea flew toward the waters of the Korean Peninsula’s east coast on Wednesday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.The statement said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analysing more details…]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:17:28 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRecnhv2iGUuAhClmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRefnoI7Js2WRf3n9ye8UNv30 A South Korean politician who once said he aspired to be a “successful Bernie Sanders” is leading the field to replace Moon Jae-in as president after rising to prominence with an aggressive pandemic response and a populist economic agenda.Lee Jae-myung, the governor of Gyeonggi province, has led in many recent national polls and dominated the early rounds of the ruling liberal Democratic Party primary, including the latest voting over the weekend.As governor, Lee advocated for universal basic…]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 14:23:19 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oRefnoI7Js2WRf3n9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReenEeydBeJk18b1naedg1wr Senior diplomats from Japan, the United States and South Korea on Tuesday agreed to continue their efforts toward the denuclearisation of North Korea through “dialogue and sanctions”, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.Their meeting in Tokyo came a day after Pyongyang said it had successfully carried out tests of a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend.“Our cooperation becomes all the more important as North Korea advances furthermore in its nuclear and missile development,”…]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 09:30:40 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReenEeydBeJk18b1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReenEeydBeJk13n9ye8UNv30 South Korea fined Alphabet Inc’s Google US$177 million for hampering the development of rivals to its Android operating system, sustaining a campaign targeting the US search giant’s dominance in smartphone software.Regulators accuse Google, whose mobile operating system powers more than 80 per cent of smartphones around the world, of using its immense bargaining power to squeeze out the competition. The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Google’s anti-fragmentation agreements (AFA) with…]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:51:50 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReenEeydBeJk13n9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXuISiUzDgIuzdsCmHakzH British rock band Coldplay have confirmed their rumoured collaboration with K-pop superstars BTS.My Universe, which will be sung in both English and Korean, was co-written by the groups and produced by Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, who has worked with acts including Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.The song will be released as a single on September 24 and feature on Coldplay's forthcoming ninth album Music Of The Spheres.Two songs have so far been released from the record – Higher…]]> Mon, 13 Sep 2021 23:44:05 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/h9ZFJK8oReeXuISiUzDgIuzdsCmHakzH