Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

TOKYO (AP) - Japan on Tuesday scrapped a ban on lethal weapons exports, a major change in its postwar pacifist policy as the country seeks to build up its arms industry amid worries over Chinese and North Korean aggression. The approval by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet of the new guideline clears a final set of hurdles for many arms sales, including of Japanese-developed warships, combat drones and other weapons. It has been largely welcomed by Japanese defense partners like Australia and attracted interest from Southeast Asia and Europe. U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass on X called the move a "historic step" that will help enhance the defense capabilities between the allies.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean police said Tuesday they are seeking to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100 million in an investor fraud scheme. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it has asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for arresting Bang, the billionaire founder and chairman of Hybe. Bang's legal team in a statement to The Associated Press did not directly address the accusations but expressed regret that police were seeking his arrest "despite our full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an extended period." "We will continue to cooperate with all legal procedures and make every effort to clearly explain our position," the statement said.

HONG KONG (AP) - The Hong Kong government is seeking to confiscate millions of dollars in funds and corporate shares it says are linked to crimes committed by jailed former media tycoon Jimmy Lai, according to a court document seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday. The filing does not explain how the property, which it estimates to be worth over 127 million Hong Kong dollars ($16 million), is linked to Lai's crimes. The government previously announced that it was seeking asset forfeitures in the case but did not disclose the amount. Lai, an outspoken critic of China's ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, was convicted in December of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiring with others to publish seditious articles.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Tuesday that he had survived a vote on his leadership among his own party's lawmakers, after recent slumps in the polls prompted speculation he might be ousted. The vote was held behind closed doors during a routine meeting of Luxon's center-right National Party lawmakers and was sought by the Prime Minister himself. Luxon emerged afterward to read a brief statement announcing the vote and departed without taking questions from reporters. "The last week, there has been intense media speculation about my leadership," Luxon said, adding that he had called for a confidence vote "to put that media speculation to rest." His party caucus had "answered clearly and decisively," the Prime Minister said.

BANGKOK (AP) - The leader of Myanmar 's military-backed government has invited the country's armed resistance groups to fresh peace talks, state-run newspapers reported Tuesday, marking the first such call from President Min Aung Hlaing since he took office earlier this month. Min Aung Hlaing's call for talks was framed as part of a self-styled 100-day program that he announced at a cabinet meeting on Monday in the capital Naypyitaw prioritizing peace and stability as well as development, reported the state newspaper Myanma Alinn. The president took office on April 10 after an election that critics say was neither free nor fair and was designed to maintain the military's grip on power five years after it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's president postponed a visit to Africa this week when three countries withdrew permission for him to fly over their territories after pressure from China, his office said Tuesday. President Lai Ching-te was set to visit Eswatini, Taiwan's sole remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, from April 22 to 26. But flight permits were canceled in island nations along the route, Secretary-General to the President Pan Meng-an told journalists in Taipei. "The cancellation of flight permits by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar without prior warning was actually due to strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion," Pan said.

TOKYO (AP) - A shell exploded inside a tank during an exercise Tuesday at a Japanese army training area in southern Japan, killing three soldiers and injuring one, officials said. The deadly blast occurred when the three soldiers - a tank commander, a gunner and a safety officer - were inside a gun turret on a Type 10 main battle tank during a live fire exercise with two other tanks at the Hijudai Training Area in the southern prefecture of Oita. The fourth occupant of the tank, the driver, survived but was injured, officials said. Masayoshi Arai, chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, said the army has suspended live-fire exercises using Type 10 and Type 90 tanks that use the same shells while officials investigate the cause and other details of the accident.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Last-minute ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran looked uncertain Tuesday as a two-week truce was set to expire and both countries warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, expected to lead U.S. negotiators if talks continue in Pakistan, remained in Washington on Tuesday, a White House official said. And Pakistan, which has been urging both sides to return to Islamabad, said it was still awaiting confirmation on whether Iran would participate. Earlier in the day, two regional officials said Washington and Tehran had signaled they would hold a second round of talks, with Vance leading the U.S.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The United States and the Philippines kicked off one of their largest combat exercises Monday in an annual display of allied military might aimed at deterring aggression in Asia, despite Washington's preoccupation with the war in the Middle East. The large-scale drills will expand this year to include new full-time participants including Japan and Canada, which have signed visiting forces agreements with Manila, the Philippine military said. More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in the Balikatan - Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder - exercise. The event will last nearly three weeks and include mock battle scenarios and live-fire maneuvers in locations including Philippine provinces facing the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) - A passenger bus slid off a Himalayan highway and rolled down a steep, rocky slope onto a road below in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing at least 21 people and injuring about 45 others, officials said. The 42-seater bus was carrying more than 60 people from Ramnagar town to Udhampur city when it hit an auto-rickshaw at a sharp curve in the mountainous region, civil administrator Prem Singh said. The bus veered off the road and fell down about 100 feet (30 meters) onto the road below, Singh said. The people on the three-wheeler also were injured, he added.