https://www.scmp.com/rss/524468/feed The latest news and updates on Yoshimasa Hayashi, a seasoned Japanese politician, he currently serves as Chief Cabinet Secretary, a pivotal role coordinating government agencies, managing public relations, and advising the Prime Minister. His extensive career includes multiple cabinet portfolios such as Foreign Affairs, Defence, Agriculture, and Education, demonstrating broad governmental experience. Educated at the University of Tokyo and Harvard, he has focused on administrative and tax... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Julian Ryall Julian Ryall In earthquake-prone Japan, 20 seconds could make a difference in minimising loss of life among train passengers who experience traumatic shaking during a major seismic event. The operator of the Shinkansen line between Osaka and Fukuoka in southern Japan is upgrading its earthquake early warning system to give trains operating at speeds of up to 300km/h (186mph) an additional 20 seconds to slow down and avert catastrophe in an area that experts warn could be hit by a megaquake at any moment. In... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3347585/japans-railways-get-earthquake-early-warning-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3347585/japans-railways-get-earthquake-early-warning-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Conservative Sanae Takaichi hailed a “new era” on Saturday after winning the leadership of Japan’s ruling party, putting her on course to become the country’s first woman prime minister. The 64-year-old, whose hero is Margaret Thatcher, said that a “mountain of work” lay ahead to restore the fortunes of her ailing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades, but it has been haemorrhaging support as backing grows for smaller parties, including the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327862/japans-ruling-ldp-pick-new-leader-amid-trump-summit-and-election-woes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3327862/japans-ruling-ldp-pick-new-leader-amid-trump-summit-and-election-woes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 02:49:07 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The race to see who will head Japan’s ruling party – which will also determine the country’s next prime minister – has veered off course, with one contender mired in a scandal over orchestrated online praise and another facing accusations of xenophobia over remarks about foreigners kicking sacred deer. The internal election for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), scheduled for Saturday, has quickly crystallised into a two-way battle between Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327458/scandals-gaffes-mar-japans-ldp-leadership-race-they-have-no-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327458/scandals-gaffes-mar-japans-ldp-leadership-race-they-have-no-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 02:00:18 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow As Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party begins the process of selecting a new leader – and by extension, the country’s next prime minister – the race is quickly shaping into a duel between a conservative heir to Shinzo Abe’s legacy and a reformist standard-bearer promising broader appeal within the divided party. The party’s internal election on October 4 follows Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation after barely a year in office, with the winner expected to assume leadership through a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327041/japans-next-leader-ldp-showdown-pits-abe-protege-against-reformist-scion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327041/japans-next-leader-ldp-showdown-pits-abe-protege-against-reformist-scion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:14 +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 Maria Siow Maria Siow When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on September 7 that he would step down after his party was trounced at the parliamentary polls earlier this year, the country was already staring at what could be an era of flux, marked by revolving door leaders who are slaves to approval ratings amid relentless electoral cycles. And this trend, according to observers, is likely to persist, pulling Tokyo into a period reminiscent of the 1990s and 2000s when prime ministers were replaced... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327047/ishiba-exits-japan-doomed-revolving-door-era-political-instability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327047/ishiba-exits-japan-doomed-revolving-door-era-political-instability?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 00:00:23 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Tokyo will close all six of its government-funded Japan Centre offices in Russia – long tasked with promoting trade, language education and business ties – citing major changes in bilateral relations and the view that their mission has run its course. While Japanese officials framed the move as a functional decision, analysts say it reflects a broader shift in Tokyo’s posture towards Moscow driven by the war in Ukraine, mounting pressure from Western allies and recent police raids on Japanese... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325229/japan-ends-long-running-russia-outreach-war-western-pressure-and-suspicions-take-toll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325229/japan-ends-long-running-russia-outreach-war-western-pressure-and-suspicions-take-toll?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:15 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan has called on the Chinese government to take steps against a surge of artificial-intelligence videos on Chinese social media mocking Emperor Hirohito, the wartime monarch, warning that the clips risk further straining already fraught bilateral ties. There has been a sharp increase in video clips released on Chinese social media in the run-up to a military parade scheduled for September 3 to mark 80 years since Japan’s surrender ended World War II. In one video, the wartime emperor... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3323347/japan-warns-ai-videos-mocking-wartime-emperor-risk-further-straining-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3323347/japan-warns-ai-videos-mocking-wartime-emperor-risk-further-straining-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall What was meant as a symbolic gesture of friendship at an international summit has snowballed into a national panic in Japan, after false reports circulating in Africa and online suggested that new visa schemes would allow large numbers of migrants to settle in the country. In just a few days, a mistranslated phrase, an overzealous government statement and a flurry of social media posts turned a modest cultural exchange programme into a heated immigration controversy. The confusion stemmed from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323384/mass-migration-panic-rural-japan-after-symbolic-africa-ties-mistranslated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323384/mass-migration-panic-rural-japan-after-symbolic-africa-ties-mistranslated?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is grappling with an identity crisis, its decades-long political dominance rattled first by a humiliating electoral defeat and now, the anticipated resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Ishiba, 68, on Wednesday dismissed as “completely unfounded” media reports that he had already decided to step down. But analysts contend that his departure is all but inevitable after the LDP’s second consecutive loss and the collapse of his minority... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319299/japan-pm-ishibas-expected-exit-tips-ruling-ldp-crisis-mode?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319299/japan-pm-ishibas-expected-exit-tips-ruling-ldp-crisis-mode?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:00:07 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese leaders and survivors of the atomic bombings have denounced President Donald Trump’s comparison of the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities to the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, describing his remarks as deeply inappropriate and historically insensitive. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki condemned Trump’s comments, saying the use of nuclear weapons was “unacceptable” no matter the circumstances – a lesson that should be self-evident from the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316163/japanese-angered-trumps-iran-strike-comparison-atomic-bombings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316163/japanese-angered-trumps-iran-strike-comparison-atomic-bombings?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:00:12 +0000