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Tokyo
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Tokyo. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Head of Government
Governor Yuriko Koike
A fresco at the Musée International d’Horlogerie in Switzerland. Photo: Handout
Timepieces

Horology’s most storied addresses: watch museums, workshops and archives

These locales, from museums to brands’ own premises, are hallowed ground for watch fans, giving them insights and a peek into timekeeping history.

China-Japan relations

Japan urged to ‘correct historical errors’, return Tang dynasty stele to China

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | What a Chinese hero’s fatal love of raw fish warns us about uncooked food

Japan

Japan’s next-generation fighter jet project gets boost as European rival stalls

Germany, France and Spain have put their project on hold, prompting speculation that some may turn to the Japan-UK-Italy programme.

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Delegates look at the GCAP sixth-generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024. Photo: AFP
South Korea

South Korea-Japan summit exposes ‘strategic’ divide amid great-power tensions

While Seoul urged broader regional cooperation that would include China, Tokyo emphasised closer alignment with Washington.

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China-Japan relations

How a snap election in Japan could put Takaichi in a stronger position with China

A decisive win could give Tokyo ‘limited room for concessions in its negotiations with Beijing’ and more room to manoeuvre with Washington.

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Japan

Fatal Tokyo fist-fight leads to rare duelling arrest under 19th-century law

A 26-year-old man was arrested under an 1889 law after police said a prearranged fight in Kabukicho left the other man dead weeks later.

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A nighttime street scene in Kabukicho, Tokyo’s most notorious nightlife district, where police say the altercation occurred. Photo: Getty Images
Japan

As the crow flies: how Tokyo’s 25-year pest purge ended in triumph

A mix of civic discipline, careful waste management and a willingness among Tokyo residents to change their habits helped rein in the crisis.

Japan

‘Easier targets’: is Japan safe for foreigners if disaster strikes?

Rising xenophobia, ‘vigilante’ patrols and memories of 1923 have rights advocates concerned that history could repeat itself.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Why China now needs North Korea’s denuclearisation

As optimism grows over an end to the Ukraine war, a weakening of Moscow’s support for Pyongyang may give Beijing new leverage to stabilise the Korean peninsula.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, China, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on September 4. Photo: KCNA via Reuters
China trade

Japan firms seen ‘stockpiling’ rare earths as Tokyo looks to G7 amid China row

Amid fears of potential mineral export curbs by Beijing, Japanese industry is bracing, and Tokyo appears keen on a united international response.

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Japan’s finance minister said she would attend a G7 gathering in Washington on Monday with the “risk of a rare-earth-supply interruption from China in mind”. Photo: Getty Images
Asia housing and property

The View | 3 factors Asia’s real estate investors must watch in 2026

Asia might have sidestepped the worst of Trump’s tariffs, but investors should focus on price growth, Japan’s resilience and the sustainability of the data centre boom.

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China-South Korea relations

North Korea: the elephant in the room when Xi met Lee in Beijing

Lee Jae Myung and Xi Jinping found common ground on ‘one China’ but there was no word on what to do about Pyongyang.

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Pop culture in Asia

Video | Digital ‘Tamagotchi’ pets mark 30 years

The egg-shaped plastic toys that were a playground craze in the 1990s feature digital pets needing to be cared for like live household animals.

The egg-shaped plastic toys that were a playground craze in the 1990s feature digital pets needing to be cared for like live household animals.
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Science

China cites Biden’s message to Xi that Japan could build nukes ‘overnight’

Beijing releases 30-page report that includes a call for international community to ‘take concrete and strong measures’ against Japan’s nuclear ambitions.

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A new report out of China says Japan has stockpiled plutonium far exceeding its needs for civilian nuclear power and has the tech foundation to develop nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. Photo: Kyodo
Legacy of war in Asia

Opinion | Amid historical tensions with Japan, Hong Kong must engage for the future

Remembering the pain of the Nanking massacre does not preclude engagement, but ensures lessons of the past strengthen our shared commitment to peace.

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China trade

With US focused on Venezuela, China has window to pressure Japan: analysts

Beijing’s trade actions raise stakes with Tokyo, as China’s rare earth power and Japan’s chip dominance are seen as potentially key levers in their bilateral dispute.

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Japan

Never send, never pay: NGO sounds alarm on sextortion scourge in Japan

Paps reported 2,200 consultations linked to sextortion as of November for the 2025 financial year, with most victims male and aged under 18.

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A Tokyo-based NGO reported a more than a fourfold increase in consultations linked to sextortion as of late November for the 2025 financial year, compared with 2023. Photo: Shutterstock
China-Japan relations

‘Real and accelerating’: China-Japan military tensions surge amid missile race

Analysts hold out little hope that security pressures will ease, given US insistence that regional allies boost first island chain defences.

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Japan

Video | US$3.2 million record for tuna at 2026 Tokyo auction

Sushi tycoon Kiyoshi Kimura smashed his own 2019 record for the 536-pound fish at the Japanese capital’s first auction of the new year.

Japan

Fin-tastic: giant bluefin tuna goes for a record US$3.2 million in Japan

The self-styled “Tuna King” said he was surprised at the speed the price rose at the new year auction.

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Kiyoshi Kimura displays the 243kg bluefin tuna he bought at his main restaurant in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: AFP
China-Japan relations

Why China is turning down the nationalist heat in its row with Japan

With economic stakes high, Beijing seen as ‘more cautious in handling external frictions’, avoiding fanning of ‘uncontrollable’ nationalism.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China-Japan relations

Japanese militarism invading culture and sports, China’s Study Times warns

Japanese far-right forces using culture and sports to ‘influence public perception and beautify the history of aggression’, article says.

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Japan

Japan snowstorm traps 3,000 vehicles in 23km traffic jam

New Year return rush traps drivers on the Sanyo Expressway in Hiroshima, causing distress and triggering a wave of emergency calls.

Japan

Why talk of a Japanese nuclear option is resurfacing – and why it alarms critics

Conservatives are calling for a rethink of nuclear taboos, while critics warn of risks to the global non-proliferation regime.

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A mushroom cloud rises moments after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Photo: AP
US-China relations

Trump to meet US’ China envoy after call with Japanese PM Takaichi

Trump and Takaichi telephone conversation reaffirms ‘close coordination’ of US-Japan alliance and hopes of a ‘new chapter’ for partnership.

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US President Donald Trump shakes hands with David Perdue during Perdue’s swearing-in ceremony as the US Ambassador to China at the White House in May. The pair are set to meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday. Photo: Reuters
China trade

China’s diplomatic divide: red carpet for Seoul, cold shoulder for Tokyo firms

While Tokyo’s corporate leaders stay home amid fallout from prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan, Beijing prepares to welcome South Korean president and top executives.

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Hong Kong tourism

Hong Kong receives twice as many mainland Chinese visitors on New Year’s Day

Industry leaders attribute rise to three-day holiday on mainland and strained Beijing-Tokyo ties drawing some to Hong Kong instead of Japan.

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