The Chinese naval exercises, in international waters, are legal but nonetheless sparked expressions of alarm from officials in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand’s defense minister said the exercises involved “the most significant and sophisticated [vessels] that we have seen this far south.”

U.S. troops and other commuters in Japan will soon be able to purchase unregistered Suica and Pasmo smart cards again, following a nearly two-year pause due to a global semiconductor shortage.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s forensic lab in Hawaii has begun analyzing dozens of human remains retrieved from Laos and the Philippines in recent weeks in hopes of identifying U.S. service members who were killed in World War II and the Vietnam War.

At Hanegi Park in Setagaya Ward, the annual plum blossom festival is underway, offering vibrant hues of pink, white and yellow amid a delightful fragrance. The event, which concludes in early March, marks the 46th season of celebrating ume in the area.

Guam’s Jamaican Grill offers a blend of traditional Chamorro cuisine and the sweet and spicy flavors of Montego Bay.

Shuttled around Seoul in a prison transport vehicle, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two different courts on Thursday, contesting his arrest on rebellion charges in one and fighting an effort to remove him from office in the other.

The U.S. and South Korean air forces demonstrated their combined air power with American bombers over South Korean airspace Thursday to “deter and respond to North Korea’s threats,” the South’s military said that day.

The Australian and New Zealand militaries were monitoring three Chinese warships moving unusually far south along Australia’s east coast on an unknown mission, officials said Thursday.

U.S. and Japanese troops on Wednesday kicked off an exercise aimed at strengthening island defense and amphibious capabilities amid regional security concerns.

Japan’s cherry blossoms, a hallmark of spring, are expected to bloom on schedule this year, with Tokyo’s first flowers appearing on March 25, according to commercial weather forecasters.