Life & Arts

Street performers show their colors at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The number and variety of Asian shows at the festival has expanded significantly in recent years. (© Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society)
Arts

Asian acts triumph at Edinburgh Fringe

Laughter transcends cultural differences in Scottish arts festival

22 August 2023
In "December," Kana, played by Ryo Matsuura, faces retrial for the murder of a classmate when she was in high school. (Courtesy of 2022 December Production Committee)
Arts

An Indian director's take on Japan's courtroom reality

Anshul Chauhan's 'December' portrays flaws of people and society

20 August 2023
A view from the balcony of Saint Stepanos Monastery: The Armenian monastery is located 15 kilometers from the city of Jolfa in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azerbaijan. (All photos by Tala Taslimi)
Life

Traveling off the beaten path in Iran

Remote attractions are becoming more accessible despite tension with the West

17 August 2023
"When the Sky Blooms with Sakura." (Photo by Kenryu Gu, courtesy of Cai Studio) 
Arts

Artist Cai Guo-Qiang commemorates 2011 Fukushima disaster

Creation uses grand fireworks to remember victims and his own time in area

15 August 2023
"Lace and Khmer Silk Skirt": Sok Phorn received these as gifts from her husband when he proposed to her in a refugee camp. The lace was torn but she uses it as a tablecloth. (All photos by Kim Hak)
Arts

Capturing memories of the Khmer Rouge

Stories of Cambodian refugees who fled horror are unraveled from their belongings

13 August 2023
Nineone, a popular Chinese rapper, performing at a music festival on the outskirts of Beijing on July 9. (Photo by Shunsuke Tabeta)
Media & Entertainment

Young Chinese flock to music festivals, giving tourism a boost

Local rapper Nineone, Taiwanese singer Jay Chou thrill COVID-weary crowds

12 August 2023
A resplendent 24.5-meter junk with four en-suite cabins and two 12-meter sails, the Catba Imperial was commissioned in the late 1990s. (All photos by Ian Lloyd Neubauer)
Life

Vietnam's popular sailing junks face extinction

Traditional wooden vessels to be banned from famous Ha Long Bay due to accidents

12 August 2023
Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and a poster for his latest film, "The Boy and the Heron." (Nikkei montage/Source photos by 2023 Studio Ghibli, Getty Images)
Arts

Hayao Miyazaki's farewell film may be his most personal

'The Boy and the Heron' draws on Studio Ghibli legend's wartime childhood

11 August 2023
According to its website, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a total of eight bronzes from Thailand’s so-called Prakhon Chai hoard in its collection, some of which rank “among the most important Southeast Asian bronzes of their age.” (Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Arts

Art crime investigators close in on stolen Thai antiquities

Intrigue surrounds struggle with Western museums over return of smuggled Prakhon Chai statues

10 August 2023
Newborns are dressed in Valentine's Day costumes at a Bangkok hospital. Cesarean sections are popular in Thailand partly because they make it easier for parents to control the timing of a birth, such as on an auspicious date.
Tea Leaves

Thai women are losing faith in labor

Superstition, fear and convenience converge in C-section boom

9 August 2023
Kimonos owned by Queen frontman Freddy Mercury hang from the ceiling at Sotheby's, while outfits he wore onstage are displayed below. The items are included in a monthlong exhibition and auction titled "Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own." (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Arts

Freddie Mercury's love for Japan unveiled in Sotheby's auction

Queen frontman's belongings, including vast Japanese collection, up for sale

8 August 2023
Central Australian artist Rhoda Carroll demonstrates her art-making process at the National Indigenous Art Fair in Sydney in July. (Photo by Geoff Hiscock)
Arts

Collectors fuel boom in Australian Indigenous art

Fakes are emerging as a growing problem amid surging prices

6 August 2023
Models show off Lan Huong's modern twist on Vietnamese fashion in London's swanky Mayfair district. (Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Vietnam in London)
Arts

Vietnamese designer takes traditional dress to the world

Lan Huong makes international splash with sustainability as central goal

5 August 2023
Margot Robbie stars in "Barbie," which has reached over $29 million at the box office in China. 
Media & Entertainment

In China, 'Barbie' moves women to tears, 'triggers' men to walk out

Greta Gerwig's blockbuster film resonates as gender issue gains traction

4 August 2023
Members of Myanmar's Border Guard Force conduct a patrol in a Rakhine state village that had recently been attacked by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Ethnic tensions have only grown since the 2021 military takeover. (Photo by Oliver Slow)
Books

Book review: An essential anatomy of what went wrong in Myanmar

Author Oliver Slow deftly explores the unraveling takeover and troubled path ahead

3 August 2023
A dizzying -- and inedible -- display of grilled sweet fish, fruit and champagne on ice at a store in Tokyo's Kappabashi district. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Japan gives us faux food for real thought

Tokyo's Kappabashi district elevates plastic models to level of artwork

2 August 2023
Called the "god of sake brewing" by his fans, Naohiko Noguchi says he wants to keep making sake until his last day on Earth. 
Life

Sake 'god' Naohiko Noguchi, 90, is giving up on retirement

Master brewer strives to build global brand, based on 70 years' experience

30 July 2023
Children enjoy the rough and tumble of Brazilian jujitsu at H/Art Academy in Phnom Penh. The site gives youngsters the chance to break out of the concrete jungle and make new friends, according to organizers. (Photo by Markus Bell)
Life

Brazilian jujitsu uses force for good in Cambodia

Triumphs at regional contest build on social program for poorer children

29 July 2023
The subject of Yunte Huang's new book "Daughter of the Dragon," Chinese American film star Anna May Wong was a global icon yet struggled against stereotypes.
Books

Biography brings Hollywood icon Anna May Wong back into focus

'Daughter of the Dragon' revives image of first Chinese American film star

27 July 2023
The Yamagata Benio, left, is Yamagata prefecture's largest cherry variety yet. It is seen here compared with its predecessor, the Beni Shuho variety, at an orchard in June. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Tea Leaves

How a $30 cherry helps boost rural Japan

Yamagata's luxury fruit market reflects economics and social dynamics of aging countryside

26 July 2023
Marcus Lim of Penang's Ombak Potehi troupe operates a puppet used in a joint performance with Japanese group Team ITO. (Courtesy of Yew Kok Hong)
Arts

Pioneering puppeteers revamp 'Journey to the West'

Japanese-Malaysian production rewrites the script in unique adaptation of Chinese classic

25 July 2023
Tourists from around India and beyond have been heading to the country's nature reserves to see tigers such as this one in the state of Maharashtra. (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Life

India highlights upside of 'tiger tourism'

Visitors deserve some of the credit for successful conservation efforts

22 July 2023
A young hawksbill turtle swims toward the surface in waters off the Maldives. (Courtesy of Olive Ridley Project)
Life

Maldives fights to keep turtle eggs off dining tables

Local tastes for traditional delicacy threaten the animals' survival

20 July 2023
Punters show off their Japanese-style tattoos at this year's Thailand Tattoo Expo. (Photo by Tom Vater)
Tea Leaves

My second skin, made in Thailand

Tattoo convention celebrates living, breathing 'skin art'

19 July 2023
Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to attend Taylor Swift's concerts in Singapore next March.
Arts

Taylor Swift fever spotlights Singapore as Southeast Asia music hub

Fans from across region flock to city-state for shows by big-name artists

16 July 2023