East Asia Tonight: Japan eyes record defence spending; Vietnam, Philippines to enhance cooperation [Video]

On East Asia Tonight (Aug 30), Japan’s defence ministry wants a budget to fund its counterstrike capabilities as well as put resources into AI, automation and welfare as it grapples with a recruitment crisis; Vietnam and the Philippines to enhance military and defence cooperation amid tensions with China on overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea; millions in Japan under evacuation orders as an intense storm lingers in the southwestern part of the country; and China’s said to be thinking of letting homeowners refinance trillions of dollars in mortgages to free up cash and boost domestic consumption. We also look at whether video game sensation Black Myth: Wukong’s boost for domestic consumption could mean greater investment in locally made hardware.