https://www.scmp.com/rss/523116/feed The latest news and top stories on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). A prominent Tokyo-based public broadcasting organisation, NHK is headquartered at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya. Established in 1926, its primary mission is to provide impartial and independent broadcasting services, delivering accurate information and high-quality cultural content. Funded by viewers’ license fees, NHK operates multiple terrestrial and satellite television channels, radio networks and the... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan and Nato are drawing closer together, with 30 representatives from the transatlantic security alliance’s member states set to visit Tokyo this month amid mounting concern over Washington’s reliability as a security partner. The Nato envoys will reportedly hold talks on China’s expanding regional influence, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the implications of a more volatile global security order, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. “A delegation of this size underlines just... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349766/japan-welcome-30-nato-envoys-trump-rattles-us-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349766/japan-welcome-30-nato-envoys-trump-rattles-us-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran has freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said on Tuesday, with Kyodo News reporting, however, that the individual is not allowed to leave the Islamic Republic. The Japanese news agency also reported, citing unnamed sources within the government in Tokyo, that the person is believed to be the Tehran bureau chief of broadcaster NHK. “The Japanese embassy in Iran has confirmed that a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on January 20 was released on April 6... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3349209/japan-confirms-release-second-citizen-held-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3349209/japan-confirms-release-second-citizen-held-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:02:27 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan is reportedly planning to deploy advanced anti-ship missiles on Minamitorishima, the country’s easternmost island, as it moves to enhance its defence posture against what it perceives as rising Chinese military activity in the region. The defence ministry is also seeking to deploy a launcher, spotting drones and radar systems on the island as early as June, according to a report by national broadcaster NHK on Tuesday. These would be used to identify and target vessels, complementing the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347873/what-japans-missile-plan-remote-pacific-island-reveals-about-its-defence-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347873/what-japans-missile-plan-remote-pacific-island-reveals-about-its-defence-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:27 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Japan’s top government spokesperson said on Monday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned home in good health. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara’s confirmation came one day after Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announced the person’s release. Motegi, speaking on a Fuji Television talk show on Sunday, said the person had been detained since last year and was released on Wednesday. He said the person took a flight from Azerbaijan. Kihara, at a regular press... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3347582/japanese-national-back-home-after-iran-detention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3347582/japanese-national-back-home-after-iran-detention?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:09:56 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Sunday hinted at the possibility of sending the country’s Self-Defence Forces for minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz, provided that a ceasefire is realised in the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. “Japan’s minesweeping technology is at the top level in the world,” Motegi said during a television programme. “Let’s say [the parties have entered into a] ceasefire, and in the event that mines pose an obstacle, we may... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3347458/japan-may-send-minesweepers-hormuz-after-iran-war-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3347458/japan-may-send-minesweepers-hormuz-after-iran-war-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 04:08:43 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The arrest of a Japanese journalist in Iran has puzzled observers and prompted speculation that it is linked to the US threat to attack the country over its nuclear programme. On Tuesday, Radio Free Europe reported the arrest of Shinnosuke Kawashima, the Tehran bureau chief for Japan’s national broadcaster NHK. The US government-funded news outlet reported that Kawashima was first detained on January 20 and later taken to the notorious Evin Prison, which has been used to hold political prisoners... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344719/fears-mount-over-japanese-reporter-detained-iran-being-used-hostage-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344719/fears-mount-over-japanese-reporter-detained-iran-being-used-hostage-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:23:33 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s bid to strengthen her slim parliamentary majority through a widely expected snap election has grown riskier after the country’s largest opposition party struck an alliance with a former ruling coalition partner. The new alliance between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito, announced on Thursday, complicates Takaichi’s bet that she will be able to significantly build on her razor-thin majority in the lower house of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339879/japans-takaichi-faces-uphill-task-lower-house-election-after-allys-exit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339879/japans-takaichi-faces-uphill-task-lower-house-election-after-allys-exit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang In October, as Simon Li finished speaking at an international conference about embracing technological innovation in education, several Chinese history educators approached him with a potent, pressing question: could a virtual reality (VR) project about the 1937 Nanking massacre become the next pedagogical frontier? Li, executive director of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre, recalled it as an electrifying moment. “They were genuinely energised, saying that such a programme could help... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3336345/virtual-reality-and-nanking-massacre-where-does-historical-immersion-become-trauma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3336345/virtual-reality-and-nanking-massacre-where-does-historical-immersion-become-trauma?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 02:00:15 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi acknowledged that China had notified Japan in advance about drills involving the aircraft carrier Liaoning that led to a stand-off between warplanes from the two countries over the weekend. However, Koizumi told a press conference on Wednesday that the notification lacked detail about the scale and location of the exercise in the Pacific southeast of Okinawa’s main island and Beijing had not provided “notices to air missions”, a warning to ships and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335816/china-reveals-radio-communication-heard-mid-air-standoff-japanese-fighter-jets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335816/china-reveals-radio-communication-heard-mid-air-standoff-japanese-fighter-jets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 20:06:34 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan A grieving husband in Japan paid rent on the empty “haunted house” in which his wife was murdered for 26 years in the hope of uncovering clues about who killed her. His hopes were finally realised when the suspect gave herself up to police in Nagoya, central Japan. She was the man’s classmate at secondary school and had a crush on him. The case attracted public attention after it was reported by the news outlet NHK in early November. The murder took place on November 13, 1999, when housewife... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3331605/japan-man-rents-wifes-murder-flat-20-years-preserve-crime-scene-spends-us145000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3331605/japan-man-rents-wifes-murder-flat-20-years-preserve-crime-scene-spends-us145000?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 08:00:11 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo A Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear cub on Sunday morning during his visit to the scenic mountain village of Shirakawa in central Japan, according to the local government. The 40-year-old man sustained a minor injury to his right arm. He was walking with another Spanish man at about 8.30am when they came across a small bear emerging from the grass near a shuttle bus stop in the village, part of which is a World Heritage site. According to the municipal government, the bear, which fled the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327980/tourist-japan-attacked-bear-cub-shirakawa-amid-rise-sightings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327980/tourist-japan-attacked-bear-cub-shirakawa-amid-rise-sightings?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 06:06:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg A top contender to lead Japan’s ruling party suggested that a trade renegotiation with the US could be on the table if the deal does not serve Japan’s interests. “We must stand our ground if anything unfair that is not in Japan’s interests comes to light in the process of implementing the deal,” Sanae Takaichi said on Sunday with regard to a US$550 billion Japanese investment fund that was part of an agreement to lower US tariffs. “That includes a potential renegotiation.” The right-leaning... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327136/japan-pm-hopeful-takaichi-signals-review-trade-deal-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327136/japan-pm-hopeful-takaichi-signals-review-trade-deal-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 07:34:34 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk An airport in Japan’s Kagawa prefecture is still struggling to lure back tourists, particularly those from Hong Kong, a month after a viral manga prediction about a massive earthquake came and went without incident. At a meeting of the Takamatsu Airport Utilisation Review Council on Monday, officials said the number of passengers flying from Hong Kong to the airport had plunged following rumours of a “megaquake” and had yet to recover, according to local broadcaster KSB. None of the flights... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323506/japan-airport-still-reeling-loss-tourists-after-mangas-quake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323506/japan-airport-still-reeling-loss-tourists-after-mangas-quake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:54:47 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo A man in northeastern Japan has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 93-year-old father, who police initially believed was the victim of a bear attack. Fujiyuki Shindo, 51, was arrested on Tuesday in the city of Daisen, Akita prefecture, after allegedly slashing his father, Fujiyoshi, to death with a knife at their family home. Authorities say the attack occurred on Monday, prompting an emergency call from the victim’s 80-year-old wife, who found her husband collapsed and bleeding in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3322496/bear-attack-victim-japan-was-actually-killed-son-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3322496/bear-attack-victim-japan-was-actually-killed-son-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:54:29 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Beijing has renewed its warning to other countries not to strike deals with the United States on terms that come at China’s expense – ahead of Washington’s looming deadline to conclude tariff negotiations with most of its trade partners. Chinese officials are concerned that nations from Europe to Southeast Asia may enter into trade agreements with the US that divert supply chains, reduce bilateral trade with China or compel governments to exit Beijing-led projects, analysts said on Monday. “The... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3316406/why-china-sees-us-trade-deals-partners-threat-and-how-it-could-react?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3316406/why-china-sees-us-trade-deals-partners-threat-and-how-it-could-react?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:30:15 +0000