• Life & Arts

Life & Arts

17 December 2025
Author Thant Myint U bemoans the fact that his grandfather, former U.N. Secretary-General U Thant, has been largely forgotten or mentioned in a negative light since his death in 1974 -- a neglect his book seeks to redress. 
Male giant panda Xiao Xiao at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo on Dec. 8. (Tokyo Zoological Park Society)
Life

Japan's last 2 pandas headed to China in January

Tokyo zoo will part with twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei as bilateral relations worsen

16 December 2025
The Dr. Ramnath A. Podar Haveli Museum offers a clear window into Rajasthan's storied merchant past, with frescoed walls and restored courtyards that evoke the grandeur of the region's historic mansions. (All photos by Poonam Binayak)
Destinations

Mansion museum shows India's Rajasthan in microcosm

Podar family's 'haveli' presents country's largest state under one roof

14 December 2025
Perth's Elizabeth Quay is a popular waterfront hub for dining, public events and strolls along the Swan River.  (Photo by Arundhati Hazra) 
Destinations

Footloose in Perth, the gateway to Western Australia

Art, food and wide-open landscapes meet on the continent's edge

13 December 2025
Abdul Manaf Jusoh, left, chairman of Darussalam Islamic Alternative Treatment Center in Gombak, performs a ritual service on a patient. Spiritual practitioners like Manaf criticize the spread of faith healing on TikTok as "entertainment," saying it does not conform to Islam. (Photo by Norman Goh)
Big in Asia

From temples to TikTok: Inside Malaysia's evolving world of spiritual healing

Accessibility fuels demand for faith healers in parallel with growing modern medical business

13 December 2025
Left: A photo from 1935 of Chosen Brewery, founded two decades earlier by Japanese brewer Kinzo Nishihara in what is now Nonsan, South Korea. Right: An ad for Baekhwasubok, the country’s best-known sake, whose roots trace back to the brewery. (Source photos by Chosen Distillery Association, Lotte Chilsung Beverage) 
Tea Leaves

How sake became South Korea's unlikely ancestral drink

Japanese spirit introduced in colonial times outlasts political upheavals

12 December 2025
Installation view of “Crooked Pencils,” Rio Kobayashi’s solo exhibition at the Kate MacGarry gallery in East London. The artist, designer and maker is showcasing furniture and sculptural works crafted from salvaged materials. (Photo by Angus Mill, courtesy of the artist and Kate MacGarry)
Arts

Rio Kobayashi bends the rules of design

Japanese Austrian artist's creations celebrate playfulness and sustainability

9 December 2025
Kei Nishikori plays in the second round of the Yokohama Keio Challenger tennis tournament in Yokohama, Japan, on Nov. 20.
Sports

Japan's Nishikori sets sights on tennis' top stage after return from injury

Asia's most successful men's singles star aims to play in 2026 Australian Open

7 December 2025
Kabuki and digital art converge at teamLab Borderless in Jeddah during November’s celebration of 70 years of Japan-Saudi Arabia ties. (Courtesy of teamLab)
Arts

Kabuki returns to the world stage after pandemic lull

Saudi Arabia productions highlight new possibilities for Japan's traditional theater

7 December 2025
Hip-dut pioneers Tenxi, left, Naykilla, center, and Jemsii have fueled the genre’s rapid rise, led by viral hits such as “Garam dan Madu,” which has surpassed 150 million views on YouTube and 233 million streams on Spotify. (Screenshot from Culture Cartel's Instagram page)
Arts

Gen Z liberates Indonesia's 'dangdut' folk tradition

'Hip-dut' is turning a once-stigmatized musical genre into a commercial force

7 December 2025
With more than 880,000 followers on social media, Yurie Collins is leading a wave of Japan-based performers in the country's growing stand-up comedy scene. (Photo by Dan Orlowitz)
Life

Japan discovers a new way to laugh

Foreign residents and bilingual performers help genre carve out a distinct space

6 December 2025
Blackpink, from left, Rosé, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa, perform at 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 22, 2023. 
Trading Asia

Chinese barriers rattle K-pop entertainment agency shares

Experts cautious over volatility; hunt for megastars like BTS, Blackpink intensifies

1 December 2025
Looking west from the summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, Thailand’s third-highest peak at roughly 2,200 meters. (All photos by Ron Emmons)
Destinations

Best hikes for the cool season in northern Thailand

Waterfalls, geysers, temples and sweeping vistas await adventurers of all abilities

30 November 2025
Xiang Xiang munches on her favorite food -- apples -- at the Bifengxia Panda Base. (Photo by Shizuka Tanabe)
Life

Panda Xiang Xiang settles in China after return from Japan

Dedicated keepers help beloved Ueno-born bear adapt to new life in Sichuan

30 November 2025
A view of Gwangju's Democracy Square from the top of Jeonil Building 245. The square commemorates the 1980 democratic uprising and serves as a gathering place for civic events. (All photos by Marco Ferrarese except where indicated)
Destinations

Footloose in Gwangju: South Korean city of rebellion

Art-loving hub of the Jeolla region boasts superb museums and a youthful vibe

29 November 2025
Stream article image
Big in Asia

Shibuya's grand makeover tests Japan's urban future

At a cost of $13bn, Tokyo's most complex redevelopment has to balance ambition, affordability and authenticity

29 November 2025
Aonishiki smiles while holding up a sea bream at an event on Nov. 26 to mark his promotion to sumo's second-highest rank. The fish is considered auspicious in Japan and is often associated with victory celebrations.  
Sports

Young Ukrainian sumo star becomes country's first 'ozeki'

Aonishiki has ascended to the sport's second-highest rank

26 November 2025
Patrick Keane’s award-winning portfolio includes the undulating roof and other design elements of the Chiang Mai Gallery, right. (All photos courtesy of Enter Projects Asia)
Life

Bangkok architect leads Asia's rattan revolution

Patrick Keane's designs merge natural materials with cutting-edge technology

26 November 2025
Jimmy Cliff performs at The Climate Rally, an Earth Day concert, on the National Mall in Washington in 2010.
Obituaries

Jimmy Cliff, reggae giant, dead at 81

Native Jamaican starred in landmark film 'The Harder They Come'

25 November 2025
A crop of "jowar," or sorghum, is inspected. The grain is one of many traditional and local ingredients with which Indian brewers are reinventing their beer offerings. (Courtesy of Great State Aleworks)
Eat & Drink

Local ingredients of cashew and millet froth up India's craft beer market

Microbreweries tap traditional flavors to innovate and draw new customers

23 November 2025
Concurrent shows "Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan, 1989-2010" and "Anti-Action: Artist Women's Challenges and Responses in Postwar Japan" reexamine the country’s modern art through fresh feminist and postmodern lenses. (Source photos by Edward M. Gomez, websites of the National Art Center, Tokyo, and Toyota Municipal Museum of Art)  
Arts

Distinctive Japanese modern and postmodern art, rediscovered

Exhibitions in Tokyo and Toyota showcase female innovators, visiting foreign artists

22 November 2025
Shindu Alpito, right, a former staff writer at Rolling Stone Indonesia, has shifted his focus from writing to hosting his popular music podcast, Shindu's Scoop. (Courtesy of Shindu Alpito)
Life

The demise and revival of Indonesian pop culture journalism

Writers and critics reinvent themselves to survive a shrinking media landscape

20 November 2025
2026 will see a return to the Fire Horse year, which comes around only once every 60 years and has long been associated in Japan with anxiety about the fate of girls born under its sign.
Tea Leaves

Japan's Fire Horse women are saddled by superstition

Set to turn 60, a demographic cohort reckons with an unfair reputation

19 November 2025
Sommelier Akihiko Nosaka has been enthusiastically acquiring Chinese wine for the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Tokyo. (Photo by Mina Ashikawa)
Food & Beverage

China's fine wine makes splash with Japanese palates

Top-shelf Chinese wine sells for hundreds of dollars in Japan

16 November 2025
At Bangkok’s Fillets, Thai chef Chaichat “Randy” Noprapa fuses Japanese craftsmanship with his own inventive flair. (All photos courtesy of Fillets)
Eat & Drink

Meet the Thai master of Japanese cuisine

US-trained Chaichat Noprapa's Bangkok restaurant gathers widespread plaudits

16 November 2025
The yellow Ambassador taxis are one of the most recognizable sights on Kolkata’s streets. (All artwork by Shikha Shah)
Destinations

Two days in Kolkata through the eyes of a watercolor artist

A visual diary captures the Indian city's color, character and poetry

15 November 2025
The second floor of a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco was converted to a makeshift mahjong parlor on Oct. 30. (Photo by Ryotaro Yamada)
Life

Mahjong wins new US fans in Gen Zers hungry for good clean fun

Smartphone generation puts down screens, picks up tiles and friends

14 November 2025
Juan Ponce Enrile, pictured in July 2014. The long-serving Philippine politician, whose career was mired in controversy, has died at the age of 101.
Obituaries

Juan Ponce Enrile, nexus of Philippine political power, dies at 101

Controversial politician played key role during late dictator Marcos Sr.'s martial law

13 November 2025
People cross a street in Tokyo's Shibuya area in July. Japan's overall population is declining but the number of foreign residents is on the rise.
Tea Leaves

What a tree taught me about Japan's changing society

A misunderstanding highlights struggles, and lessons, amid rising diversity

12 November 2025
Tatsuya Nakadai starred in two of director Akira Kurosawa's well-known historical epics, "Kagemusha" (1980) and "Ran" (1985). (Photo by Hiroyuki Kobayashi)
Obituaries

Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai, star of Kurosawa's 'Kagemusha,' dies at 92

Also starred in 'Ran' and was awarded Order of Culture by Japan in 2015

11 November 2025