Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

Longest Spring Festival holiday sets new records

China's 2026 Spring Festival holiday – lasting a record nine days – saw massive population movement and strong activity across the consumption, tourism and retail sectors. 

The holiday saw 596 million domestic trips, up 95 million from the eight-day holiday in 2025, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Total domestic travel spending surpassed 803 billion yuan (about $116 billion), a more than 126 billion yuan increase over the same period last year. The number of holiday travelers and total spending both hit record highs.

Japanese PM under fire over gifts to ruling LDP lawmakers

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drew criticism from opposition parties on Wednesday after admitting to distributing congratulatory gifts worth tens of thousands of yen to ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers who won seats in the recent House of Representatives election. In a parliamentary session, Takaichi said her local LDP chapter used its political funds to send each of her party's 315 lawmakers catalogs listing gifts they could order, with a budget of around 30,000 yen ($192) per person. 

Bunshun Online, the web version of the weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun, reported that the gift catalog came from the well-known Kintetsu Department Store. The store's website shows a range of catalogs. Customers can make an advance payment of 34,000 yen to send one to a friend, who then chooses an item inside, such as a bicycle, expensive crab meat or a stay at a luxury hotel. Japan's Political Funds Control Law imposes strict regulations on donations related to the political activities of public office candidates.

South Korea's birth rate, the world's lowest, rises

South Korea's birth rate rose for a second straight year in 2025, government data showed on Wednesday, further signaling that a country facing a demographic crisis for nearly a decade may be turning a corner.

South Korea's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive life, stood at 0.80 in 2025, up from 0.75 in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. New births began rebounding in 2024, supported by a post-pandemic boost and government policies, after eight consecutive years of declines that left South Korea with the world's lowest birthrate at 0.72 in 2023, a period marked by skyrocketing house prices and higher economic participation by women.

Floods hit Bali, causing residents and tourists to evacuate 

Flooding in parts of Indonesia's popular resort island, Bali, prompted hundreds of people, including dozens of tourists, to seek safety, a local disaster official said on Tuesday. 

Heavy rains have triggered flooding since late Monday across several districts in Bali and the provincial capital, Denpasar, according to I Gede Agung Teja Bhusana Yadnya, a senior official at the local disaster mitigation agency. Floodwaters inundated facilities such as cafes and gas stations in the Badung district, forcing some tourists to be evacuated by rubber boat. Torrential rains also forced two international flights to Bali's airport to be diverted earlier on Monday, while three other departures from the airport were delayed.

Virus kills over 70 tigers in Thailand park

A deadly virus and a bacterial infection have killed at least 72 tigers at a private animal park in northern Thailand in recent weeks, authorities said. The provincial livestock office in Chiang Mai said in a statement on Friday (February 20) that testing detected the highly infectious canine distemper virus and bacteria affecting the respiratory system.

"When tigers fall ill, it is more difficult to detect than in animals like cats or dogs. By the time we realized they were sick, it was already too late," National Livestock Department director Somchuan Ratanamungklanon told local media. The park where the deaths occurred, Tiger Kingdom, could not be reached for comment. Its website advertises opportunities for visitors to touch and take photos with the big cats.

(Cover: The ancient town of Ciqikou in Chongqing celebrating Chinese New Year, decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments, February 12, 2026. /CFP)