Asia Specific

Are high energy prices prompting a shift to electric vehicles in Asia? In China, more than half of all new cars sold are now electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. But across the rest of Asia, the shift is much slower, in part due to a lack of charging infrastructure. Will high oil prices due to the Iran conflict be the catalyst to change that? Chinese carmakers are rapidly expanding into Southeast...

Songkran - Thailand’s biggest new year water festival is underway. People visit family in their hometowns during the holiday season and wash the feet of their elders with scented water in a cleansing ritual. But the energy crisis has made driving back home prohibitively expensive for many locals this year. In the capital of Bangkok, however, celebrations are taking place as usual. Every year, the...

How have US tariffs changed the way countries in Asia trade and what has been the impact on the region? US President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs in April last year on more than 90 countries. For a while, it threatened to damage global trade and grind business investments to a halt. Then, earlier this year, the US Supreme Court struck down most of the tariffs the White House announced...

US President Donald Trump says he believes China helped push Iran towards the two-week ceasefire. With Pakistan leading talks between Iran and the US, what role is China, Pakistan’s close friend and neighbour, playing behind the scenes? What will this conditional ceasefire mean for Asia’s energy shortage? And does a two-week truce mean Southeast Asian countries, grappling with high oil and gas pri...

The US Artemis II mission around the Moon is part of a plan to establish a long-term human presence beyond Earth. But it’s not alone. China has been steadily advancing its space programme, with plans to land its own astronauts on the moon by 2030 and develop a permanent lunar base in the years that follow. More than half a century after the Apollo missions, the focus has shifted from symbolic firs...

The right-wing populist One Nation has a breakthrough with voters. Pauline Hanson’s party recently secured more than 20 per cent of the vote in a South Australia state election - its first major breakthrough outside her home state of Queensland. It’s also the strongest showing by a minor party in a system long dominated by two political heavyweights: Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of...

BTS is as much of a cultural phenomenon as they are a K-pop band, but after four years off, can they rekindle the magic that made them a music and economic juggernaut? In the years before they went on hiatus for military service, BTS helped propel K-pop to the forefront of international music charts, and they became global cultural ambassadors. Their comeback concert in central Seoul was described...

Why has the Iran war left the region’s oil supply so exposed? Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and China are all bringing in different measures to try and control the situation - from making government employees work from home, to restricting fuel exports, to a four-day week. Around a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz - a narrow strip of water along the southern co...

Will North Korea and China rethink their weapons programme after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran? Pyongyang has come under pressure from the US in recent years over its nuclear stance and China, experts believe, is expanding its arsenal. The US and Israel’s attacks on Iran are partly aimed at destroying Tehran’s nuclear weapons capability. We discuss what could be the potential impact on future nuc...

The superpowers of US and China are taking starkly different directions on cryptocurrency trading. So, what is behind this and what does it mean for the future of crypto? The US under President Donald Trump positions itself as a pro-crypto hub to foster innovation. China under President Xi Jinping has imposed a strict ban on domestic trading and mining of digital currency since 2019. Because of th...

China’s growth is slowing as the US-Israel war with Iran jolts the world economy and oil prices spike. Once seen as the growth engine of Asia and the world, China is now trying to shield its giant economy from external shocks, this year setting its lowest economic growth target in more than three decades. Can China’s leaders build a more self-reliant economy? And is it still on track to overtake t...

Creators of Japan’s popular manga comics see both threat and opportunity in AI. Some think it can help with labour shortages and boost productivity, but many artists and publishers fear copyright infringement, falling incomes and the devaluation of human artistry. Major publishers have taken a firm stance against AI-generated submissions. AI can generate anime-style characters in seconds. In this...

China has warned against the ‘law of the jungle’ after US-Israeli strikes on Iran, but will Iran's biggest oil buyer take any tangible measures? The conflict in the Middle East is widening, with missile and drone strikes hitting Iran, Israel and neighbouring countries, and Washington is now warning its campaign could continue for weeks. China is often viewed as Tehran’s key international backer. I...

Same-sex romance dramas are booming across Asia, but does that mean there’s growing tolerance towards LGBTQ communities? What began as a niche genre in Japan has become a regional phenomenon, with countries like Thailand producing hugely popular series that travel far beyond Asia. Streaming platforms and shows like The Boyfriend and Heated Rivalry have helped bring these stories to global audience...

The Vice-President of the Philippines Sara Duterte has announced she will run for the Presidency, more than two years out from the next election. While long expected that she would seek the top job, why is she announcing her bid so early? Is a bitter feud with the current President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jnr a factor? Four years ago she joined forces with Marcos and the pair won the Presidency...

Singapore has launched a crackdown on vapes, eight years after banning the product, moving in lockstep with several countries around the world in clamping down on e-cigarettes. The campaign comes as a rising number of teenagers in the country are found to have been using k-pods - vapes that are laced with the drug etomidate, an anaesthetic agent used in hospitals. The new penalties include fines,...

Yoon Suk Yeol - former South Korean president - is sentenced to life in prison but avoids the death penalty, in an insurrection case that has gripped the nation. He was found guilty of leading an insurrection linked to his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024. Prosecutors called it an attempt to subvert the constitutional order by deploying troops around parliament and targeting polit...

Chinese workers officially get nine days off for this Lunar New Year – the longest stretch of public holiday on record. But, as millions move around the country in the annual travel rush, they’ve found there’s a catch. Some of those days must be made up by working weekends. Many workers are guaranteed just five days of paid annual leave, far fewer than in other major economies. And the work cultur...

Bodyweight influences in Asia - from fashion to K-pop to social media. We examine perceptions around thinness and why Asia didn’t follow the body positivity movement championed in Western countries. The pressure to be thin shapes how many young people in Asia see their bodies, with extreme diets amplified on social media. Host Mariko Oi is joined by Rachel Lee from the Asia Specific team and chef...

Voters in Thailand stick with the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, in a shock national election result. But why did Thais reject the opposition movement, after polls showed an appetite for change? The elected leaders – seen as part of the political establishment – now have the challenge of rebuilding Thailand’s struggling economy. A former fast-growing Southeast Asian powerhouse, Thailand now faces...

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi now has the mandate she's been seeking, after a record-breaking election win. But since becoming the nation’s first female leader in October, her time in office has been overshadowed by a bitter dispute with Beijing. Japanese tourism, seafood and entertainment businesses have taken the brunt of Chinese economic retaliation. Beijing remains angry that Takaichi...

Fifa has accused Malaysia of trying to fast-track foreign football players into the men's national team. In one of the biggest scandals in the country’s football history, football's governing body alleges citizenship documents have been doctored. Fifa launched an investigation after Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in an Asian Cup qualifier last June, when seven new foreign-born players were in...

Videos of strangers offering parental love are gaining traction in China. POV videos of parents doing everyday things - like telling you to wrap up when it’s cold outside or reminding you not to skip meals - are racking up millions of views. Fans leave lots of comments sending love to their digital mums and dads, but lots of the most popular accounts weren’t originally set up for this purpose. So...

Will North Korea’s next leader be Kim Jong Un’s daughter? It’s time to meet Kim Ju Ae. For the past 15 years Kim Jong Un has been the face of North Korea, but now a new Kim is increasingly sharing the stage. Is Kim Ju Ae being prepared to become the first female leader in the country’s history? Or will North Korea's male-dominated political and dynastic culture prove too strong for that to happen?...

China’s President Xi Jinping is overseeing an unprecedented purge of military generals. In late 2022, Xi Jinping appointed six men to serve under him at the top of China’s 2-million strong armed forces. Now, in just over three years, he has removed five out of six of the members of the Central Military Commission, or CMC. One by one, they have been placed under investigation for corruption and dis...