Bill Dorman

3 weeks ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Bill Dorman

Vietnam is the latest country to encourage bigger families. This week, Vietnam's government abandoned its long-standing policy limiting families to two children. And it's dealing with a related issue that's familiar to many of its regional neighbors. Low birth rates: a demographic challenge that can lead to economic disaster. Without immigration, declining birth rates mean a smaller base of working people to support their retired elders. Countries across Asia face aging populations.

3 weeks ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Bill Dorman

It's been a week since the Trump administration stopped scheduling U.S. consulate interviews with foreign citizens applying for student visas. More than 1.1 million international students are currently studying in this country, and the majority of them come from Asia. More than a thousand of the University of Hawaiʻi's students come from outside the U.S. to study here. That's a little more than 6% of the student body — slightly higher than the national average.

4 weeks ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Bill Dorman

There's a long list of countries that are talking with the United States about trade. But only one is in the midst of a national presidential campaign that wraps up next week. South Korea has not had stable leadership for about six months, when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the world by declaring martial law. Since then, the government's gone through three acting presidents.

1 month ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Bill Dorman

A controversial sport is getting a lot of attention in the Asia Pacific. Organizers describe it as a “combat sport” that includes some elements of rugby. And it's alarming many members of the medical community. The sport is called “Run It Straight.”Itʻs a one-on-one confrontation — and the rules are pretty simple. Two participants line up about 20 yards apart on a narrow strip of turf. One carries a rugby ball. The other is a tackler. After a countdown, they run into each other at full speed.

1 month ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Bill Dorman

U.S. and Japanese negotiators are still working on trade talks in Washington. But for Japanese automakers, that's not the biggest news of the week. Honda is scaling back its production of electric vehicles. The CEO told reporters this week that the company is cutting its investment in EVs by nearly a third over the next six years.