This will be a quick way for the Japanese government to raise money from tourists:

The government and the ruling coalition are considering a plan to raise the departure tax from the current ¥1,000 per person to ¥3,000 or more to fund measures against overtourism, informed sources said Thursday.

The specific size of the increase will be discussed during fiscal 2026 tax system reform talks at the end of the year.

Japan introduced the departure tax, formally called the international tourist tax, in 2019. It is levied uniformly on all travelers departing from Japan, including Japanese nationals traveling abroad for work or leisure.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

This is definitely a unique event every year in Korea. I cannot imagine Americans every getting this excited about supporting students taking the SAT:

The annual college entrance exam was held nationwide Thursday, concluding with the largest number of applicants in seven years due in part to an unusually high birth rate in 2007.

The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), seen as one of the nation’s most important academic events, began at 1,310 test centers across the country at 8:40 a.m. and ended at 5:45 p.m.

Earlier in the day, test-takers arrived at designated centers amid cheers from their juniors, parents and teachers. Police officers were deployed nationwide to help transport students and, in some cases, bring them their lunch boxes from home. And students residing on small islands had traveled to the mainland beforehand as no test centers were set up on islets.

A total of 554,174 people have applied for this year’s exam, up 31,504, or 6 percent, from last year and the highest figure since 2018, according to the education ministry.

High school seniors and graduates account for 67.1 percent and 28.9 percent of the total, respectively, it said.

Outside a high school in Cheongju, about 110 kilometers south of Seoul, 21-year-old Shin Ju-won, a student at Chungbuk National University, joined a cheering squad.

“We were cheered on when we took the exam, so we want to repay our juniors,” Shin said. “They’re probably very nervous, but I hope they do well.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Japan’s new Prime Minister has made it very clear where her country stands in regards to a Chinese attack on Taiwan which the Chinese of course do not like:

Japan was involved in a war of words with China this week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a survival-threatening situation” for Japan requiring the use of force. Takaichi, who was elected as the country’s first female prime minister last month, said Friday that Chinese use of force around Taiwan would qualify as “an existential threat.” Her comment sparked sharp criticisms from Beijing over the weekend. “We have no choice but cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us without hesitation.

Are you ready?” Chinese Consul General Xue Jian said in a message posted on X, which was later deleted. Xue also criticized past remarks made by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese lawmakers that of “Taiwan emergency is Japan emergency” as “blatant interference of Chinese internal affairs and violation of sovereignty” that require a retraction and apology.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

So now it looks like any conservative that made social media comments about the failed martial law plan is now subject to arrest as well:

A special counsel team detained former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn Wednesday on charges of inciting an insurrection following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law.

Hwang, who served under former President Park Geun-hye, made Facebook posts following the martial law imposition Dec. 3 to call for the eradication of pro-North Korea forces and those involved in alleged electoral fraud.

He also called for the arrest of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and then People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.

Investigators from special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team executed a detention warrant for Hwang at his home in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward after he ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Hwang was targeted by the investigation after an online news outlet highlighted his X post. There is probably a lot of conservatives scrubbing their social media accounts now that this can be used as an excuse to detain them.

This is a pretty cool family legacy to have. Congratulations to LTC MacKnyght or her recent retirement:

The great-granddaughter of U.S. Army Gen. Matthew Ridgway recently visited South Korea to see the place where United Nations troops waged a desperate fight to finally halt a Chinese counteroffensive nearly 75 years ago. Julie MacKnyght, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, toured Chipyong-ni, where U.S. and French troops under the United Nations Command held off waves of Chinese attacks Feb. 13-15, 1951.

Her great-grandfather, at the time commander of Eighth Army, ordered the U.S. 23rd Regimental Combat Team, along with the French, to hold the vital crossroads village and halt the Chinese army advance. U.N. troops, surrounded and outnumbered five to one, held on for three days, according to a U.S. Army account of the fight. “It’s been amazing to be able to come here,” MacKnyght said Tuesday during a tour of the Chipyong-ni battle memorial about 40 miles east of Seoul. “I’ve been fascinated by my great-grandfather since I was a little girl. So, it’s really cool to see firsthand his impacts here in Korea.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is clearly being targeted at people protesting against Chinese influence in South Korea:

 President Lee Jae Myung urged officials on Tuesday to take stern measures against the sp

read of hate speech and disinformation, calling such acts crimes that must be stamped out.

Lee made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, stressing that such extreme expressions spreading across social media and through other channels fuel social anxiety amid a growing polarization in society.

“There are still anachronistic acts of discrimination and hatred based on race, origin or nationality in some parts of our society,” Lee said.

“On social media, hate speech targeting specific groups is spreading indiscriminately, while false and manipulated information remains rampant,” he said.

Lee’s remarks came as South Korea has seen growing anti-China demonstrations by some conservative groups. Last week, the chair of the Korean Red Cross resigned following revelations about his past racist comments about foreign ambassadors.

Lee strongly denounced those acts as crimes that threaten democracy and everyday life, and urged police to do their utmost to root out such behaviors.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if you protest against China you are supposedly racist. So when the anti-Japan or anti-U.S. protests inevitable start up at some point by the Korean left will President Lee ask for those people to be arrested as well?