Asia News Wrap: Japan to get first female prime minister, and more

Here is a summary of the various stories from around Asia:

Japan: The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected conservative Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning her to become Japan’s first female prime minister. Takaichi’s victory, achieved in a runoff, comes as the LDP seeks to regain public confidence amid rising prices and political challenges.

China: The eight-day “super golden week” National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday saw a massive surge in travel and consumption. The vacation turned into a nationwide celebration of culture and spending, with cities using unique marketing strategies to attract tourists. Preliminary data showed a record 2.43 billion trips made across the country.

India: A health tragedy unfolded as 23 children died from kidney failure after consuming contaminated cough syrup, Coldrif Syrup, which was found to contain dangerously high levels of the toxic chemical diethylene glycol (46.28%, far exceeding the 0.1% limit). A police manslaughter investigation has been launched, and a doctor who prescribed the syrup was arrested.

Indonesia: Rescuers concluded the search for victims of a collapsed Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, after recovering the bodies of all 61 individuals who perished in the structural failure, which occurred during afternoon prayers. Disaster officials have called it the deadliest disaster of the year.

Malaysia: The Home Ministry announced that it will introduce a new Foreign Digital Identity (FDID) system on March 1, 2026. The system will collect biometrics (fingerprints, iris, and facial recognition data) to serve as the sole digital ID for foreign visitors, enabling effective tracking and combating illegal entry and corruption at borders.

Credit : CGTN