Here is a link to the Asian Powerlifting Federation,
http://asianpowerliftingfederation.org/
which states that the sport dates back to 1950 (the APF itself was founded in 1984).
The first Hall of Fame inductee to the APF was a Japanese powerlifter, who started pulling championships since the early or mid 1980s and for 18 almost successive years hence..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvN4_x1kMeQ