As Muse personal AI agent debuts in Japan, Meta exec says it won't have ads
AI head Wang explains strategy of keeping less advanced models open to counter China
· Staff Writer
Follow the story
Asia
A focused view of neutral reporting on Asia, brought together across publishers.
Explore all topics →
Neutral reports only
Newest first · UTC+11:00
Japan banks prepared to weather AI crash, global rate spike: BOJ stress test
Central bank report finds institutions would keep sufficient capital ratios
· Staff Writer
U.N. official thanks S. Korea for helicopter donation to Kenya for peacekeeping operations
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- A senior United Nations official expressed grati...
· Chang Dong-woo
JCR keeps PH rating, sees mid-3% growth
TOKYO-BASED Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. (JCR) maintained its investment-grade rating with a stable outlook on the country as it expects a mid-3 percent growth by the end of this year despite internal and external headwinds.
· Nazylen Joy Mabanglo
Teodoro: Forcibly towing Sierra Madre an act of war
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday warned that any attempt by China to tow away the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal constitutes an act of war against the Philippines.
· Franco Jose C. Baroña
Download the South China Morning Post app for full access to SCMP Games, including the .
Play the and other puzzles with SCMP Games.
Download the South China Morning Post app for full access to SCMP Games, including Mini Sudoku.
Play the South China Morning Post’s Mini Sudoku and other puzzles with SCMP Games.
Download the South China Morning Post app for full access to SCMP Games, including the SCMP Cryptic Crossword.
Play the SCMP Cryptic Crossword and other puzzles with SCMP Games.
Download the South China Morning Post app for full access to SCMP Games, including Word Search.
Play the South China Morning Post's Word Search and other puzzles with SCMP Games.
U.S. Treasury Department proposes expanding tech investment restrictions to N. Korea
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed expand...
· Chang Dong-woo
Earthquake strikes Tibet, leaves 16 dead
BEIJING — China ordered an “all-out” rescue effort in a remote area of Tibet on Friday after an earthquake there killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more, state media reported.
· Agence France-Presse
PH rail project delays revive China funding question
STALLED railway projects in the Philippines have revived questions about the country's decision to drop Chinese financing, with a geopolitical analyst arguing that the government risks missing out on economic opportunities as other Southeast Asian countries advance China-backed projects.
· Franco Jose C. Baroña
Japan weighs rebranding energy, AI as defense spending under Trump pressure
Proposals would be a step closer to achieving 3.5% of GDP
· Staff Writer
Japan car-sharing operator to offer users $19 each after data breach
ID data for 1.46m accounts believed sent outside company systems
· Staff Writer
South Africa's bilateral trade with China surges after zero-tariff deal
Commerce between the two countries reached almost $15 billion from May through to August, representing a nearly 24 per cent year-on-year increase.
· AfricaNews
Hong Kong’s first five-year plan enhances competitiveness, foreign business opportunities | South China Morning Post
Focus on city’s role in helping mainland Chinese businesses go global is attractive to foreign investors, chamber heads say.
Japan's JFE Steel to build huge blast furnace in India with local partner
Joint venture with JSW aims to double production by 2030
· Staff Writer
Japan's JFE Steel to build huge blast furnace in India with JSW Steel
Joint venture with local partner aims to double production by 2030
· Staff Writer
China warns against space arms race, urges equal rights for all in outer space
China has unveiled a position paper on outer space governance, prioritising the prevention of space weaponisation while calling for a global framework to protect all nations’ legitimate rights beyond Earth. Addressing the inaugural Global Governance Forum near Beijing on Friday evening, Foreign Minister Wang Yi fram…
· Carol Yang
Ryu Murakami, cult Japanese author, dies aged 74
The bestselling writer, known as Japan’s enfant terrible, explored the dark underbelly of Japanese society in more than 40 works of subversive fiction including Audition, later made into a landmark indie horror movieRyu Murakami, the cult Japanese author and film-maker whose subversive, blackly comic novels found mi…
· Ella Creamer
France ‘certain’ united front with Germany pushed China into hybrid car deal
The European Union may hit more Chinese industries with quotas or tariffs before further negotiations with Beijing, the bloc’s trade chief said on Friday, naming plastics as a sector in which investigations are advanced. Maros Sefcovic said that when the bloc needs to move quickly to protect its industries, it will …
· Finbarr Bermingham
Coach of China’s women’s football team leaves post eight months before World Cup
Ante Milicic has left his post as coach of China’s national women’s team, the football association said on Friday, eight months before the World Cup. The 52-year-old Australian had been in charge since May 2024 and led the team to the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup in March. That finish earned them a spot at n…
· Agence France-Presse
Merz to visit Seoul for talks with Lee, German business forum
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit South Korea on Oct. 29-30 for talks with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, known as APK, the presidential office said Friday. The trip will be Merz’s first visit to South Korea since taking office and the first bilateral …
· Sanjay Kumar
German Chancellor Merz to visit S. Korea next week for summit with Lee
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will make an officia...
· Oh Seok-min
Xi Jinping leads early Politburo meeting to signal anti-corruption drive ahead of plenum
China’s Communist Party convened an early monthly Politburo meeting on Friday to review a key internal inspection report, doubling down on its high-pressure anti-corruption campaign ahead of a major party conclave next week. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the now 21-member Politburo met on Friday – earlier than it…
· Xinlu Liang
Lee calls for closer S. Korea-Japan supply chain cooperation
President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called for closer economic cooperation between South Korea and Japan, stressing the need for the two countries to work together on supply chains for advanced industries. Lee made the remarks during a meeting with a Japanese business delegation led by Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of t…
· Yonhap
Carpena wins bronze in women’s shot put in Asian Para Games
Maria Ravinia Carpena bagged the bronze medal in the women’s shot put F20 event in the 5th Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan on Friday.
· ARIC JOHN SY CUA
(LEAD) Lee calls for closer S. Korea-Japan supply chain cooperation at meeting with Japanese biz delegation
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called for closer e...
· Oh Seok-min
What Beijing’s two-to-one shipbuilding lead means for the US in war over Taiwan
Mainland Chinese shipyards delivered more than twice as much naval tonnage as their US counterparts in 2024 and 2025, according to a new survey, exposing a growing production gap that analysts say could weigh heavily in a prolonged conflict over Taiwan. Tonnage alone is an imperfect measure of naval power, specialis…
· Gabriel Dominguez
"Those Times Are Gone": Volvo Crashes As China Sales Collapse, BofA Recommends Default Protection
"Those Times Are Gone": Volvo Crashes As China Sales Collapse, BofA Recommends Default Protection Volvo Cars shares in Stockholm crashed the most since the company's October 2021 listing. The Swedish automaker announced another 2,500 job cuts and warned that its Chinese sales are under severe pressure. Third-quarter…
· Tyler Durden
Hungary marks 1956 uprising, calls for closer S. Korea ties
Hungary called for closer investment and technology ties with South Korea at a reception in Seoul on Thursday marking the 70th anniversary of its 1956 uprising against Soviet rule. Anett Szelezsan, chargé d’affaires at the Hungarian Embassy, linked the uprising’s legacy to what she described as the countries’ shared…
· Sanjay Kumar
There’s little chance of Trump-Kim Jong Un meeting this year, US and South Korean officials say
Trump has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but Pyongyang has shown little interest in diplomacy aimed at containing its nuclear program.
· Reuters
Good to see you after all this time. Chinese scientists finally put a face on Denisovans
Chinese scientists have finally put a face to the Denisovans, a mysterious species of ancient humans who were previously known only through the evidence of their DNA and fossil fragments. The hominids were thought to have lived in parts of Siberia and East and Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. The work of recon…
· Holly Chik
WA grandmother jailed in Japan returns home
A West Australian grandmother jailed in Japan is back on home soil after an operation to fly her back.
S. Korea donates 8 retired military helicopters to Kenya
South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military helicopters to Kenya after an overhaul, delivering on its pledge to support the U.N. peacekeeping missions in the region, officials said Friday. A ceremony marking the donation of the eight MD 500 Defenders was held at the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation in Nairobi …
· Yonhap
S. Korea donates 8 retired military helicopters to Kenya
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military...
· Kim Hyun-soo
Boulter into Japan semi-finals and back as British No 1
Katie Boulter reclaims the British number one ranking after fighting back to beat Antonia Ruzic in three sets in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open.
· Bbcsport
South Korea invites North for military talks over border
The proposal comes days after Pyongyang says it moved new military units into 'firing positions' along the border.
· Al Jazeera Staff
Perth grandmother jailed in Japan returns to Australia
Perth grandmother Donna Nelson, convicted of attempting to smuggle drugs into Japan, is back in Australia, according to official Japanese sources.
· Madigan Landry
How China captured nearly 82% of the world’s new ship orders
China’s shipbuilding sector now leads the world by an overwhelming margin, with the country’s shipyards accounting for 81.8 per cent of global new ship orders in the first nine months of the year, according to official data. Demand was also expected to stay resilient, with elevated crude oil prices helping to suppor…
· Emma Ma
‘Running on his hands’: Chinese world record holder wows public with skateboarding skills
A man from southeastern China, dubbed the “Wind-Breaking Rider,” has mastered his wheelchair and stunned the internet with his skateboarding skills. Xie Junwu, 55, lives in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. At 19, he fell from a tree, injuring his thoracic spinal cord and leaving him paralysed from the waist down. For the…
· Zoey Zhang
Japan's regional banks in merger talks to form largest in nation's west
Joining of Shiga Bank and Senshu Ikeda Holdings follows trend ahead of law expiring in 2030
· Staff Writer
Paper straws worse for the environment than plastic, South Korea study finds
Paper straws, widely promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, may actually have a greater environmental impact than conventional plastic straws, according to a South Korean government-commissioned study that has renewed debate over whether switching materials truly reduces waste. The Comprehensive Study o…
· SCMP’s Asia desk
Why China’s AI triumphs aren’t saving its flagging stock market
TOKYO – When Chinese stocks lose a South Korea-sized sum in five months, Beijing has a problem. The US$2.4 trillion plunge in market value since May sits between Korea’s $2.25 trillion GDP and Canada’s $2.49 trillion. Many factors could explain Chinese shares entering bear market territory, but a major one is a prot…
· William Pesek
US Blacklists Sam Altman's Old Y Combinator China Pick Over Startup Built On Stolen Google AI Secrets
US Blacklists Sam Altman's Old Y Combinator China Pick Over Startup Built On Stolen Google AI Secrets Of all the people who could end up on a US sanctions list for bankrolling stolen Google AI technology, a former Microsoft executive hand-picked by Sam Altman to run Y Combinator's China arm was probably not on many …
· Tyler Durden
S. Korea proposes military talks with N. Korea to ease tensions along border
South Korea renewed its offer Friday to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss their conflicting views on where the inter-Korean border sits, seeking to ease tensions sparked by last month's land mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Seoul and Pyongyang have traded sharp rhetoric since South Korea…
· Yonhap
Japan’s university defence bids surge as post-war taboo fades amid China concerns
Japanese universities and other educational institutions more than doubled their applications for defence ministry research funding this year to a record 291, up from 123 last year, as Tokyo moves to strengthen its defences. The increase is the clearest sign yet that academia’s decades-long resistance to military-li…
· Gabriel Dominguez
China's 'national team' comes to rescue as stocks flash bearish signs
State investment buoys indexes amid weak consumption, thin profits and AI concerns
· LORRETTA CHEN
Iran’s mountain shelters offer Taiwan a China survival playbook
Iran’s rapid post-strike recovery of its Eagle 44 airbase proves that hardened mountain shelters remain a decisive shield against precision firepower, transforming how inferior air forces survive and deter superior adversaries. This month, The War Zone (TWZ) reported that Iran is actively repairing and expanding its…
· Gabriel Honrada