North Korea fires a ballistic missile over Japan.

Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story just ahead, but first, making headlines.

The U.S. is expected to announce sweeping new restrictions that would essentially ban U.S. companies from selling cutting-edge technology to Chinese companies, in an effort to slow China from obtaining semiconductors and chip making equipment for supercomputers.

Google has ended its Google Translate service in mainland China, citing "low usage" of one of its flagship products. The move surprised users, who said they first noticed not being able to access the function over the weekend.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he would order an audit of all football stadiums in the country. Widodo came to the city of Malang to visit relatives of the victims and those wounded in a stampede that killed at least 131 people on Saturday.

Taiwan's defense minister said the island will respond to incursions into its airspace by Chinese warplanes and drones, but gave no details on specific actions.

An opening ceremony marked the start of the U.S. and the Philippines’ annual two-week joint maritime exercises. About 500 Filipino and 2,500 U.S. Marines are expected to participate in drills, which include live fire exercises and amphibious landing operations in various locations in the Philippines during the exercise, nicknamed Kamandag.

In response to North Korea's firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan, on Wednesday the U.S. and South Korea ran precision bombing exercises and launched their own series of missiles. However, the Biden administration said it remained open to dialogue with Pyongyang. VOA’s Chief White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

The U.S. and South Korea launched four missiles off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday morning local time, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Earlier Tuesday, South Korean and U.S. Air Force planes conducted military drills in response to North Korea's latest missile launch.

Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile Tuesday, believed to be the latest version of ones shown at a recent military parade.

It has a range of 4,600 kilometers, further than previous missiles. It was launched toward Japan instead of vertically, flying over the country in the first such incident in five years, prompting a warning for residents to shelter.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden Tuesday.

"The ballistic missile firing by North Korea was an outrageous act that was absolutely impermissible. We will respond as soon as possible with the utmost vigilance."

Observers say the launch is likely Pyongyang’s reaction to the recent U.S., Japan and South Korea military exercises, the first since 2017. Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in Busan, South Korea, last month, ahead of the show of force.

The Biden administration said it’s committed to defend its allies but open to dialogue.

“Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We remain prepared to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy to make tangible progress towards that end, and we remain prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions.”

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has called for a Security Council meeting, to work to limit Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction programs.

But a strong response from the council is unlikely because permanent members China and Russia oppose more sanctions on North Korea, leaving less leverage to pursue a diplomatic path with leader Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang recently passed a law declaring readiness to launch preventive nuclear strikes, including in the face of conventional attacks.

"By enacting the nuclear force policy into law, the status of our country as a nuclear weapons state has become irreversible.”

Observers expect Pyongyang to conduct another nuclear test soon, which would be its seventh.

North Korea also launched several short-range ballistic missiles last week, during U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to South Korea and the demilitarized zone.

Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.

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Finally, Japanese cosmetic company Kao has produced a new mosquito repellent serum that covers the human skin with a texture mosquitoes loathe.

Researchers discovered that when a mosquito tries to draw blood from skin coated with this low-viscosity silicone oil, it sticks to the mosquito's legs creating a pulling force, making it fly away.

That’s all the time we have here on VOA Asia Weekly.

Thank you so much for joining us. I’m Chris Casquejo. Please be sure to tune in again next week.