The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has enjoyed considerable diplomatic attention in recent months. This is due in a large part to a courtship involving three major powers: Japan, China and the United States. Japanese Prime Minsiter Shinzo Abe has visited ASEAN three times since returning to power late last year, his latest trip a whirlwind tour that took in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. In all, he has to date visited seven counties in ASEAN.

Japan and South Korea were in a festive mood over the weekend despite continuing tensions over history issues and territorial disputes. A two-day cultural exchange festival ended Sunday after participants at Hibiya Park in central Tokyo enjoyed a variety of performances by people from both countries, including traditional music, dance, and a martial arts performance.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and his Vietnamese counterpart, Phung Quang Thanh, have agreed to boost cooperation in maritime security amid concern over China’s growing naval activities, Japanese officials said. During talks Monday in Hanoi, Onodera was quoted by the officials as telling Thanh that the rule of law and dialogue are vital in settling security disputes.

For Yuki Ota, who won Olympic silver for fencing in Beijing in 2008 and again in London in 2012, Tokyo’s winning bid for the 2020 Summer Games and Paralympics was like receiving his first gold medal.

It is Tokyo, after all. It was nearly 6am when a few thousand supporters gathered at Komazawa Stadium, one of the key venues for Tokyo’s 1964 games, exploded in celebration as International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge held up the winning envelope marked “Tokyo 2020." With Madrid ousted at the first round, the Tokyo-Istanbul competition boosted the hopes of the Japanese bidders that eventually took the final vote by a large margin: 60 to 36.

Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics wasn’t a sexy one. But the promise of efficiency, competence and high-tech wizardry was more than enough to convince members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who on Sept. 8 Tokyo time chose the Japanese capital over upstart Istanbul, which, had it won, would have been the first predominantly Muslim host city. (Madrid, the third contender, appeared to have been eliminated in a previous secret IOC vote.)

Most people there will discover the news when they wake up. But some 200 people, mostly those in the government who had worked to bring the games there but also sporting enthusiasts, stayed up together through the night waiting for the news, according the AFP. “As in every competition however, there can only be one winner,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said at the voting site in Buenos Aires before opening a sealed envelope that named Tokyo as the host. Japanese committee members cried, hugged, and waved miniature flags in the hall.

For observant Muslim travelers, Japan’s Kansai International Airport has long been a food desert. Now they can slurp noodles with everyone else. In July the kitchen at The U-don, a Sanuki udon noodle shop, was halal-certified. This was no mere act of cultural kindness: From 2011 to 2012, the Renzo Piano-designed airport witnessed a 70% increase in visitors from Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation and home to its largest Muslim population.