Top Asian News 3:33 a.m. GMT

Kishida will not seek another term, meaning Japan will get a new prime minister in September

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a surprise move Wednesday, announced he will not run in the upcoming party leadership vote in September, paving the way for Japan to have a new prime minister. Kishida was elected president of his governing Liberal Democratic Party and became prime minister in 2021. His three-year term expires in September and whoever wins the party vote will succeed him as prime minister because the LDP controls both houses of parliament. A new face is a chance for the party to show that it’s changing for the better, and Kishida said he will support the new leader.

Here’s what’s next in Japan with Kishida bowing out as party leader and prime minister next month

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s embattled Prime Minister Fumio Kishida surprised the country Wednesday by announcing that he’ll step down when his party picks a new leader next month. His decision clears the way for his governing Liberal Democratic Party to choose a new standard bearer in its leadership election next month. The winner of that election will replace Kishida as both party chief and prime minister. A new leader could help the party shake off scandals that have dogged Kishida’s government, and some see a chance for the country to select its first female prime minister. Here’s a look at how the new leader will be chosen, and what it could mean.

Court removes Prime Minister Srettha from office in another ruling shaking up Thailand’s politics

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over an ethical violation Wednesday, further shaking up Thai politics after ordering the dissolution of the main opposition party a week ago. The 5-4 ruling removed Srettha from office immediately over a case involving his appointment of a Cabinet member who had been jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt. The Cabinet will remain in place on a caretaker basis until Parliament approves a new prime minister. It scheduled a vote Friday but has no time limit to fill the position. The caretaker Cabinet could also dissolve Parliament and call a new election.

Japan’s first-ever megaquake advisory brings worry and confusion. What does it mean?

TOKYO (AP) — Japan, one of the most earthquake-prone nations on earth, issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” last week after a powerful quake struck off the southeastern coast of the southern main island of Kyushu. The magnitude 7.1 quake caused no deaths or severe damage, but the advisory has led to widespread confusion and a lingering sense of worry — in a country well accustomed to regular quakes — about when the next big one will hit. The Associated Press explains what the advisory means, what people are being told to do, and what could happen if a massive quake hits Japan.

An election in Kiribati provokes Western alarm about Beijing’s sway in Pacific atoll nation

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — People in Kiribati went to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of voting in a national election expected to serve as a referendum on rising living costs and the government’s stronger ties with China. A second round of voting is scheduled on Aug. 19 for all parliamentary seats that are not won by a majority vote on Wednesday. Results from the first round are expected Thursday. The nation of low-lying atolls with 120,000 people is one of the most threatened in the world by rising sea levels and does not command the resource wealth or tourism branding of other Pacific islands.

China’s foreign minister meets with Myanmar’s military boss as civil war strains their relations

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s top diplomat on Wednesday visited Myanmar and met with the leader of its military government as growing instability from the neighboring country’s civil war causes concern in Beijing. Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit came after Myanmar’s army has suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats from powerful ethnic militias, especially in the northeast along the border with China. The visit also came a week after Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s ruling military council, alleged that foreign countries were backing the militias with arms, technologies and other assistance. He did not name them but was understood to be referring to China, which has long had close relations with ethnic militias operating along the border.

Students who ousted Hasina are helping lead Bangladesh, from the streets to the ministries

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Within a week of unseating Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, the students who drove out Sheikh Hasina were directing Dhaka’s traffic. Decked out in neon vests, their university IDs slung around their necks, they clutch sticks and umbrellas to wave cars this way and that, filling the void after police went on strike. They stopped drivers, checking their licenses and telling them off for not wearing their seatbelts. Some opened trunks of cars they deemed could belong to officials from the previous government, looking for smuggled riches. Students have not only manned roads, two who led the charge against Hasina are settling into the interim government they ushered in just a few days after she resigned and fled to India in a military helicopter.

New Zealand food bank distributes candy made from a potentially lethal amount of methamphetamine

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand charity working with homeless people in Auckland unknowingly distributed candies filled with a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine in its food parcels after the sweets were donated by a member of the public. Auckland City Mission said Wednesday that staff had started to contact up to 400 people to track down parcels that could contain the sweets, which were solid blocks of methamphetamine enclosed in candy wrappers. Three people were treated in hospital after consuming them, but were later discharged, authorities said. The amount of methamphetamine in each candy was up to 300 times the level someone would usually take and could be lethal, according to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, which is a drug checking and policy organization that first tested the candies.

The Taliban are celebrating 3 years in power, but they’re not talking about Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban celebrated the third anniversary of their return to power Wednesday at a former U.S. air base in Afghanistan, but there was no mention of the country’s hardships or promises to help the struggling population. Under blue skies and blazing sunshine at the Bagram base — once the center of America’s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks — members of the Taliban Cabinet lauded achievements such as strengthening Islamic law and establishing a military system that provides “peace and security.” The speeches were aimed at an international audience, urging the diaspora to return and for the West to interact and cooperate with the country’s rulers.

Study finds rains that led to deadly Indian landslides were made worse by climate change

BENGALURU, India (AP) — The heavy rains that resulted in landslides killing hundreds in southern India last month were made worse by human-caused climate change, a rapid analysis by climate scientists found Tuesday. The study by the World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists who use established climate models to quickly determine whether human-caused climate change played a part in extreme weather events around the world, found that the 15 centimeters (5.91 inches) of rain that fell in a 24-hour period July 29-30 was 10% more intense because of global warming. The group expects further emissions of planet-heating gases will result in increasingly frequent intense downpours that can lead to such disasters.