Top Asian News 4:58 a.m. GMT

Japan slips to the world’s fourth-largest economy, behind the US, China and now Germany

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has slipped to the world’s fourth-largest economy as government data released Thursday showed it fell behind the size of Germany’s in 2023. The numbers highlight how the Japanese economy has gradually lost its competitiveness and productivity while the population shrinks as Japanese people age and have fewer children, analysts say. Japan fell from the second-ranked economy behind the U.S. to the third-largest in 2010 as China’s economy grew. The International Monetary Fund had forecast Japan’s fall to fourth. The comparisons among nations’ economies look at nominal GDP, which doesn’t reflect some different national conditions, and is in dollar terms.

Former Indonesian general linked to human rights abuses claims victory in presidential election

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A former general linked to past human rights abuses claimed victory Wednesday in Indonesia’s presidential election, a result that would raise questions about the commitment to democratic values in the sprawling island nation that is the world’s third-largest democracy. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, 72, presented himself as an heir to immensely popular sitting President Joko Widodo, whose son was his running mate. Citing unofficial results, Subianto told thousands of supporters in the capital, Jakarta, that his victory was “the victory of all Indonesians.” There was no declaration by election officials, and the two former provincial governors who also competed in the balloting did not concede defeat.

‘Our gods were locked in the basement.’ Now Nepal is pursuing sacred items once smuggled abroad

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s gods and goddess are returning home. An unknown number of sacred statues of Hindu deities were stolen and smuggled abroad in the past. Now dozens are being repatriated to the Himalayan nation, part of a growing global effort to return such items to countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Last month, four idols and masks of Hindu gods were returned to Nepal from the United States by museums and a private collector. Among them was a 16th century statue of Uma-Maheswora, an avatar of the gods Shiva and Parvati, that was stolen four decades ago. It was not clear who took it or how it ended up at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, which handed it over to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

South Korean court convicts 3 ex-police officers in cover-up of deadly Halloween crowd crush

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court on Wednesday convicted three former police officers of destroying internal files and other evidence in an attempted cover-up after a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in the capital, Seoul, in 2022. They were the first convictions over the deaths. The high death toll was largely blamed on official failures in disaster planning and a botched emergency response. More than 20 government and police officials were indicted. The Seoul Western District Court sentenced Park Seong-min, a former senior intelligence officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to 18 months in prison on charges that he ordered subordinates to erase internal documents after the crush.

Australian lawmakers approve motion calling for the release of WikiLeaks founder

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s House of Representatives has ramped up pressure on the United States and Britain to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by passing a motion calling for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. Independent lawmaker Andrew Wilkie moved the motion on Wednesday one week ahead of Britain’s High Court of Justice hearing Assange’s appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the 86 lawmakers who voted for the motion that called on the United States and Britain to bring the “matter to a close so that Mr.

Myanmar will start drafting 5,000 people a month into the military soon. Some think of fleeing

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government on Wednesday said it will draft 60,000 young men and women yearly for military service under its newly activated conscription law, with call-ups beginning after the April festival marking the country’s traditional New Year. The conscription measure was activated on Saturday by order of the chairman of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. His surprise announcement appeared to confirm that the military has been stretched thin by increasing pressure from armed pro-democracy resistance forces that emerged after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opens stone-built Hindu temple in UAE ahead of India’s elections

ABU MUREIKHA, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Middle East’s first traditional stone-built Hindu temple on Wednesday, internationalizing both his reelection campaign and his effort to push secular India into a Hindu state. The trip to the BAPS Hindu Mandir just north of the city of Abu Dhabi capped Modi’s whistlestop tour of the United Arab Emirates during which the Indian leader embraced the UAE’s president, describing him as a brother and also spoke before a global leaders at a Dubai summit. Modi is widely expected to win a third term as prime minister in the upcoming elections in India, the world’s largest democracy.

Kim watches missile tests and warns that North Korea will take an aggressive stance in disputed seas

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of new surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed seas, the North’s state media said Thursday. The report by the Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its eastern port of Wonsan. The launches were the sixth such event this year and added to a provocative run in weapons demonstrations since 2022. Some experts say Kim may seek to further dial up pressure in an election year in South Korea and the United States.

Protesting Indian farmers clash with police for a second day as they march toward the capital

NEW DELHI (AP) — Protesting Indian farmers clashed with police for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as tens of thousands tried to march to the capital to demand guaranteed prices for their produce. Police fired tear gas at the farmers near the Shambhu border, which divides northern Punjab and Haryana states, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from New Delhi. TV images also showed police using drones to drop tear gas canisters on the farmers, who tried to break through barricades made of cement blocks and barbed wires. Tens of thousands of farmers, traveling on trucks and wagons loaded with food and other supplies, began marching toward the capital on Tuesday after talks between farm leaders and government ministers failed to produce any consensus on their key demand for legislation guaranteeing a minimum support price for their produce.

2 Chinese fishermen drown after chase with Taiwan’s Coast Guard, which alleges trespassing

BANGKOK (AP) — Two Chinese fishermen have drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago, the coast guard said Wednesday while accusing them of trespassing. The deaths are unusual despite the level of Chinese activity in the waters near Kinmen, which is closer to China than it is to Taiwan’s main island. China claims all of Taiwan as part of its territory. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office strongly condemned the deaths and called for an investigation, saying “such a malicious event during the Spring Festival seriously hurts the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.” Both China and Taiwan are celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday.