Japan’s new whaling mother ship, the Kangei Maru, set sail on its maiden hunting voyage heralding a new era for the controversial practice defended by the government as an integral part of national culture.
From Nepal’s attempt to clean up Mount Everest to Thailand’s dying dugongs, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.
Japan’s whaling industry has been propped up for years by government subsidies and isn’t even filling existing quotas. Still, it wants to add the world’s second-largest mammal to its catch-and-kill list.
Seoul should pay to refurbish some of the US’ old ‘regime killer’ nuclear bombs, a US defence analyst says – as confidence wavers in Washington’s commitment to defend South Korea.
The dispatch of such a specialised China watcher to the embassy is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reinforce intelligence gathering.
Rahm Emanuel visited Ishigaki and Yonaguni, an island facing Taiwan, where he interacted with Japanese troops and the local fishing community.
Fuji City residents complain that tourists are flocking to the Fuji Dream Bridge to catch a view of the famous mountain and leaving a mess behind.
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward waters off its east coast, hours after the outspoken sister of leader Kim Jong-un blasted as “fiction” accusations that her nation was exporting weapons to Russia.
Tokyo said it was ‘extremely regrettable’ that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had made an assertion ‘contrary to the facts’.
The State Department said American Christina Chapman helped three North Koreans in an ‘illicit telework employment’ scheme that earned US$6.8 million for Pyongyang.
Threats included office damage, slashed car tyres, letters with box-cutter blades, and messages about ‘crazy ideas’ and conspiracy theories.
A Seoul court rejected a request by doctors and medical students to stop a government plan to increase medical school quotas, as a months-long strike by junior medics drags on.
The company is selling the rehydrated protein as a solo item, tapping into new trends to woo customers in a market that now offers a wide range of choices.
A total of 17,034 individuals aged 65 or older in Japan died alone in the first three months of the year, according to a new report.
Religious belief in South Korea has been on the decline for years but that might change as social media fuels interest in Buddhism among young people.
Senator Lindsey Graham ‘should have thought twice’ before his comments justifying the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Japan, analysts note.
China may resume talks with South Korea and Japan at end of month, but separate Beijing-Seoul meeting hinges on South Korea not sending delegation to inauguration of Taiwan’s new president.
Stimson Centre’s Martyn Williams said Pyongyang ‘overly relies on imported Chinese technology’ to exert grip on citizens via a ‘pervasive’ digital tracking system.
Japan’s defence minister confirmed the footage was real and said Tokyo was taking the drone intrusion ‘extremely seriously’ – more than six weeks after the video first appeared online.
A new bill currently being pushed through parliament would give the state-run Japan Pension Service the power to revoke foreign nationals’ permanent residency status if they fail to make mandatory contributions.
The Tokyo-based company earned a better-than-expected net income in the March quarter, helped by investment gains.