About Asia

‘Anti-woke’ movement recruits teen boys across Asia

More Asian internet users are influenced by far-right causes including white supremacism in the digital age. Listen to Post reporter Kimberly Lim explain more about the ‘anti-woke’ movement’s slow creep in the region, while experts Munira Mustaffa, Jo Krishnakumar and Rizky Rahadianto provide context on how the internet has become so divisive. Read more: https://sc.mp/h43aw

Anwar Ibrahim on navigating Malaysia through China-US tensions

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

Why Japan’s Harajuku is enjoying a surprising fashion revival

Harajuku, a neighbourhood in the Japanese capital Tokyo, has long been known as the birthplace of some incredibly colourful and unique fashion subcultures. The district had gone relatively quiet for years, but now one of its best-known styles called decora is staging a surprise comeback. In this episode of About Asia, we chart the rise, fall and rebirth of Harajuku’s fashion scene.  Read more: https://sc.mp/cdeb24

Unravelling China and India’s roles in the US fentanyl crisis

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting. For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626

Will Japan give Oppenheimer a chance?

Oppenheimer will finally make its Japan premier on March 29, 2024, eight months after the film’s world debut. How will the only country to suffer wartime atomic bombings react to a biopic about the American physicist who led efforts to build the first such weapons of mass destruction? Yuki Miyamoto, a nuclear ethics professor at DePaul University who has seen Oppenheimer three times, discusses her reservations about the film.  Read more: https://sc.mp/92s0