Top Asia and Pacific Breaking News – Afternoon Edition

TOKYO (AP) - A strong earthquake hit western Japan on Tuesday but there was no danger of a tsunami and no major damage or life-threatening injuries were reported. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, occurred in Shimane prefecture in northwestern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency later upgraded the quake to magnitude 6.4. The prefectural capital of Matsue and nearby cities, including some in the neighboring Tottori prefecture, were among the most strongly shaken. The epicenter was located inland at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the agency said, adding there was no risk of a tsunami.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Monday that leader Kim Jong Un observed test-flights of hypersonic missiles and underscored the need to bolster the country's nuclear war deterrent, as the country dials up weapons displays ahead of its major political conference. North Korea reported on the drill a day after its neighbors said they detected multiple ballistic missile launches and accused the North of carrying out provocations. The tests came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday's drill involving a hypersonic weapon system was meant to examine its readiness, enhance missile troops' firepower operational skills and evaluate operational capabilities of the country's war deterrent.

BEIJING (AP) - China and South Korea's leaders pledged to boost trade and safeguard regional stability on Monday during a visit to Beijing by the South Korean president that was overshadowed by North Korea's recent ballistic missile tests. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of his four-day trip to China - his first since taking office in June. As Xi hosted Lee at the Great Hall of the People, the Chinese president stressed the two countries' "important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development," according to a readout of their meeting broadcast by state-run CCTV.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An Indonesian court on Monday opened the trial of a co-founder of the country's ride-hailing and payments company Gojek, who is accused of corruption in a government project to procure Google Chromebook laptops for schools. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, 41, was a former education, culture, research and technology minister when he was arrested Sept. 7. His arrest came during an investigation by the attorney general's office in Jakarta into an alleged $125 billion corruption scandal linked to the project. The laptop procurement initiated under the government's "digitalization of schools" policy aimed to equip schools in remote areas with digital devices and infrastructure.

NEW DELHI (AP) - India's Supreme Court on Monday denied bail to two Muslim student activists who have spent years in detention without trial over a conspiracy case linked to one of the country's deadliest outbreaks of religious violence. Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were arrested five years ago under India's harsh state security law and accused of conspiring to incite the communal violence that swept parts of Delhi in February 2020. The riots left 53 people dead, most of them Muslims, and took place amid massive months-long protests against a controversial 2019 citizenship law that critics said discriminated against Muslims.

BAC NINH, Vietnam (AP) - The transformation of Vietnam's Bac Ninh is evident in the signs above its shops and the spicy Chinese and Korean dishes on its tables. Once known for its rice fields and the love duets of its centuries-old Quan Ho folk songs, the city just north of Hanoi has become one of Vietnam's busiest factory zones, reflecting a surge of investment, hastened by President Donald Trump's tariff hikes, that are reshaping the region. The economy has profited from friction between Washington and Beijing as factories shifted out of China, joining earlier waves of foreign investment by the Japanese and South Koreans that have made Vietnam a global manufacturing hub.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani counterterrorism police raided multiple militant hideouts in the southern port city of Karachi, arresting three suspects and seizing about 2 tons of explosives in an operation officials said thwarted planned attacks. The bomb-making materials and detonators were intended for attacks in the city by members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group, Zulfiqar Ali Larik, a senior counterterrorism official, and Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, a deputy inspector general of police, told a news conference on Monday. Larik said one vehicle loaded with explosives was ready to be used and the materials had been transported from the southwestern province of Balochistan, where a separatist insurgency has raged for more than two decades.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema's biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname "The Nation's Actor," died Monday. He was 74. Ahn, who had blood cancer for years, died at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said. "We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement. President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message, saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan and China called for more "visible and verifiable" steps to eliminate terrorist organizations based in Afghanistan and to prevent Afghan territory from being used for militancy against any country, according to a joint statement. The statement issued Monday followed talks between Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who met in Beijing on Dec. 4. The two countries said "terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan continue to pose serious threats to regional and global security and stressed the need to prevent them from using Afghan soil to carry out attacks against other countries." There was no immediate response from Afghanistan's government in Kabul.

TOKYO (AP) - A massive 243-kilogram (535-pound) bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($3.2 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. The top bidder for the prized tuna at the predawn auction on Monday was Kiyomura Corp., whose owner Kiyoshi Kimura runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain. Kimura, who has won the annual action many times in the past, broke the previous record of 334 million yen ($2.1 million) he set in 2019. Kimura later told reporters he was hoping to pay a bit less for it, but "the price shot up before you knew it." The auction started when the bell rang, and the floor was filled with torpedo-shaped fish with their tails cut off so bidders could examine meat details such as color, texture and fattiness while walking around the rows of tuna.