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Japan
Japan
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on Japan, covering politics, economy, society, the country's relationships with China, North Korea and South Korea and the legacy of World War Two in Asia.
Capital
Tokyo
Head of State
Emperor Naruhito
Head of Government
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Fumio Kishida
last updated:
29 November, 2024
Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki’s Citroen 2CV is displayed at Ghibli Park, a theme park featuring characters and scenes from Studio Ghibli’s films such as My Neighbor Totoro, in Nagakute, Aichi prefecture, on January 29, 2025. Photo: Kyodo
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s treasured car put on display

The Citroen 2CV, a French classic car, can be seen at Ghibli Park, with an original manga depicting how Miyazaki fell in love with it.

US-China relations

Japan scrambles to secure US commitment as Trump considers direct China talks

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Brazil

China carmakers merit dumping probe and tariffs: Brazil auto industry group

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Diplomacy

Apologise, or stay silent? Japan’s ‘pro-China’ PM faces WWII anniversary dilemma

As conservatives urge Shigeru Ishiba to follow the late Shinzo Abe’s lead, moderates warn against alienating Japan’s neighbours.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru last year. Photo: Kyodo

Japan’s Nagano on edge after stabbing spree, copycat threats shake city

Despite an arrest, authorities are concerned about a troubling rise in violence in recent years, potentially linked to isolation and mental health issues.

Sexual harassment and assault

Japan’s sex scandal-hit Fuji TV holds marathon face-saving news event

The 10-hour briefing that ended at around 2am on Tuesday sought to begin rebuilding a reputation tarnished by the Masahiro Nakai scandal.

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Wellness

World Expo 2025 host city Osaka in Japan bans smoking in public

Osaka mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama says the ban will make city ‘safe’. Meanwhile the Osaka region is extending a ban on smoking in restaurants.

The city of Osaka, Japan, host of the World Expo 2025, is banning smoking on public streets. Local regulations already ban smoking while walking in most places in Japan. Photo: Shutterstock
Crime

Never mind the yakuza, in Japan ‘quick money’ gangs are now on the rise

Japan has seen a surge in desperate young people committing ‘yami baito’ – small-time crimes as part-time jobs.

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Offbeat

‘Running for fun,’ Japanese tour guide pulls 100kg rickshaw across Africa

‘I couldn’t make it without you guys,’ Yuji ‘Gump’ Suzuki tells supporters after his six-month rickshaw pull from Nairobi to Cape Town.

Asia housing and property

The View | Trump-driven uncertainty puts Asia’s property markets under pressure

Even safe havens such as Japan, Australia and Singapore are under scrutiny as a more challenging global economic landscape emerges.

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Pedestrians cross the street in the popular shopping district of Ginza, in central Tokyo, on August 16, 2024. Photo: AFP
Sexual harassment and assault

Fuji TV bosses resign as advertisers pull support over Masahiro Nakai sex scandal

The scandal, which included a non-disclosure agreement and allegations of a cover-up, has shaken the Japanese entertainment industry.

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Outgoing Fuji Television Network Inc. President Koichi Minato reacts during a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on January 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Russia

‘At rock bottom’: 100 years of Japan-Russia ties come full circle

Moscow marked the occasion by issuing a thinly veiled critique of deteriorating ties and hints at plans to close Japanese cultural centres.

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks rise as UBS sees big fund inflows amid state support plans

UBS estimates US$236 billion of fund inflows in 2025 as a result of Beijing’s directive to funds to shore up the capital markets.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Should Hong Kong end Japanese seafood import ban after Chinese test results?

Restaurants urge review of ban, but others cautious after tests of samples near Fukushima show no signs of negative impact on marine life.

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Hong Kong has banned aquatic products from the Tokyo metropolis and the prefectures of Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama. Photo: Sam Tsang
Banking & finance

Standard Chartered banks on yuan assets amid US-China tensions

The lender has already seen higher demand for foreign-exchange management and hedging, and the need will only grow, an executive says.

An exterior view of a Standard Chartered branch in Exchange Square in Central. Photo: Jonathan Wong
North Korea

South Korean aims to bring home abductees from the North with the help of drones

Choi Sung-ryong, whose father was executed by North Korea, wants to pressure a pro-Pyongyang association in Tokyo over the abductees.

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Defence

Japan’s strategic island airbase stalls, hurting its Taiwan crisis response

Japan’s plans to transform the remote uninhabited island of Mageshima into a strategic military hub have hit a wall.

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Trending in China

Cute tales: China canine cops in doghouse, Japan aquarium cures fish’s depression

Online observers have been tickled pink by official warnings given to police dogs in China, while keepers help a ‘sad’ fish in Japan get back in the swim.

Cute tales: From badly behaved police dogs in China to a depressed fish in Japan, the Post gets to grips with some strange animal stories. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/X
US-China relations

What did Rubio say about Taiwan independence? US, China at odds

A certain detail is conspicuously absent from State Department’s account of a phone call reportedly made at the top American envoy’s request.

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Hong Kong tourism

Check safety risks at tourist spots in Japan, Hongkongers warned after fatality

Tourists should do their research and pay attention to warning signs, travel industry figures say after Hongkonger killed taking photos on train tracks.

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Viral stories

Japan man buys 200 decayed homes, gets US$900,000 in rent, captures attention

Investor with lifelong fascination for real estate quits stressful regular job to embark on property investment strategy which brings work-life balance.

A Japanese man who bought up 200 run-down properties has generated US$887,000 in annual rent. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/YouTube
Crime

Outrage in Japan over man suspected of killing 77 rabbits on famed tourist island

The man, charged with kicking a rabbit to death on Okunoshima, reportedly said he was curious how they would react to ‘bullying’.

There are an estimated 1,000 rabbits on Okunoshima, an island that is a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland in Japan’s eastern Hiroshima prefecture. Photo: Shutterstock
Trending in China

Top Japan restaurant roasted for serving inferior ingredients to Chinese guests

Food influencer furious at Tokyo branch of three-star Michelin restaurant over ‘discrimination’, forces manager of high-end eatery to apologise.

Food and agriculture

In Japan, ‘mind-blowingly expensive’ cabbages make beloved dish hard to digest

Intense heat and rain decimated crops, driving up prices and forcing restaurants to reduce tonkatsu servings.

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China-Japan relations

Chinese knifeman sentenced to death for deadly attack on Japanese school bus

A Chinese woman who tried to stop the attack was killed and a Japanese mother and child were wounded in the eastern city of Suzhou last year.

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Hu Youping died from her injuries two days after the attack. Photo: CCTV
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks rise on Trump’s China optimism and Wall Street rally

Hang Seng Index ends in positive territory for a second week, led by Sunny Optical, Xiaomi and Trip.com.

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An overnight rally on Wall Street spurred Hong Kong stocks higher on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Bonds

Hong Kong can become multicurrency bond hub with Beijing’s support: experts

Many Hong Kong public bodies have seen increasing interest in multicurrency bonds to attract more international investors, UBS says.

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong tourist, 61, killed by train in Japan while taking photos on tracks

Immigration Department says it will follow up on the case, adding it has contacted victim’s family to provide help.

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