https://www.scmp.com/rss/525654/feed World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing through legislation to establish the country’s first centralised intelligence agency since the second world war, driven by concerns that its existing set-up is too fragmented to keep pace with espionage, cyberthreats and “grey zone” operations. The plan, recently endorsed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, would transform the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO) into a central hub, drawing in analysts, technologists and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3353154/japans-new-spy-agency-receives-fbi-backing-eyes-china-and-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3353154/japans-new-spy-agency-receives-fbi-backing-eyes-china-and-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China condemned what it called Japan’s first “offensive missile” test overseas in eight decades, saying Tokyo’s “neo-militarism” and intensified arms race had gained momentum and threatened regional stability. During the “Balikatan 2026” joint drill led by the United States and the Philippines on Wednesday, Japanese forces fired a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile in the Philippines. According to China, it was the first time Japan had launched an “offensive” weapon abroad since World War II. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3352646/china-condemns-japans-first-overseas-offensive-missile-test-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3352646/china-condemns-japans-first-overseas-offensive-missile-test-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 12:13:34 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong A giant orange disc recently settled into the waters off eastern China’s Shandong province, marking the deployment of what Chinese researchers describe as a first-of-its-kind intelligent ocean-observation buoy. It abandons a mooring architecture that has dominated Western marine engineering since World War II. Measuring six metres (19.7 feet) across, the platform has completed sea trials and officially joined the Yellow Sea observation network, enabling continuous, real-time monitoring across... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3352592/chinas-new-marine-buoy-says-goodbye-classic-western-design-used-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3352592/chinas-new-marine-buoy-says-goodbye-classic-western-design-used-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Blue Seal ice cream, Spam musubi and taco rice have one thing in common: they are uniquely Okinawan, and locals absolutely love them. Tubarama is a popular Okinawan restaurant and izakaya in Naha. It is famous for its immersive experiences, in which traditional shima-uta, or folk music, is performed, in a setting resembling a pre-war Okinawan village, as local cuisine is served. There are live sanshin – a traditional lute – and other performances every evening on the restaurant’s second... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3351992/how-us-occupation-shaped-okinawan-cuisine-spam-musubi-taco-rice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3351992/how-us-occupation-shaped-okinawan-cuisine-spam-musubi-taco-rice?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 May 2026 04:45:08 +0000 SCMP SCMP Sir Mark Young returns This article was first published on May 1, 1946 Sir Mark Young, Governor of Hongkong, returned to the Colony yesterday (April 30, 1946). Sir Mark was Governor when the Japanese attacked on December 8, 1941 and was a prisoner of war until the capitulation. An official welcome took place when Sir Mark stepped ashore from Queen’s Pier. Broadcasting from Government House in the evening, Sir Mark paid a tribute to the memory of those who fell in the defence of the Colony and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3352042/1946-hong-kongs-governor-sir-mark-young-returns-after-wwii-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3352042/1946-hong-kongs-governor-sir-mark-young-returns-after-wwii-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:45:07 +0000 Lawrence Chung Lawrence Chung A Taiwanese army officer has been punished for screening The Eight Hundred, a mainland Chinese war film depicting Kuomintang forces fighting Japanese troops during World War II. The punishment has triggered a political row on the island over Beijing’s state-led messaging to sway opinions in Taiwan as well as historical interpretation and military education on the island. The controversy emerged after ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang Ting-yu revealed during a legislative meeting... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3351735/it-wrong-show-taiwan-army-officers-film-about-kmt-forces-fighting-japan-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3351735/it-wrong-show-taiwan-army-officers-film-about-kmt-forces-fighting-japan-wwii?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:00:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall After playing in a forested area in the Solomon Islands, Billy’s children often break out in rashes or itchy boils at home. A few years ago, the family became dizzy, suffered headaches and vomited – they believed it was due to the clams from nearby mangrove beds that they had eaten. “It was lucky that we stopped the children from eating them,” said Billy, whose family lives a hand-to-mouth existence in the village of Yandina in the Russell Islands. The 50-year-old farmer suspected that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348779/solomon-islands-residents-live-fear-wwii-bomb-explosions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348779/solomon-islands-residents-live-fear-wwii-bomb-explosions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall They were killed by American bombs. They were held at gunpoint by Japanese guards who fired indiscriminately into the crowded holds and when the ship finally went down, many were left to drown. Eight decades later, the United States is coming back for them. Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in Subic Bay in December 1944. Now, the Pentagon has launched a multi-year mission in waters off the Philippines to retrieve their remains. As many as 250 Americans are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346424/us-returns-wwii-dead-japans-hell-ship-tomb-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346424/us-returns-wwii-dead-japans-hell-ship-tomb-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 02:30:08 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s government plans to revive the military ranks used by its armed forces before and during World War II, in a symbolic gesture to please conservatives that analysts warn could stoke regional tensions. The plan, first floated in November after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had struck a coalition deal with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), appeared to have been pushed by senior JIP members, the Asahi newspaper reported on Saturday. The LDP has reportedly agreed to the change on the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342089/japan-set-revive-wwii-military-titles-controversial-shift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342089/japan-set-revive-wwii-military-titles-controversial-shift?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 01:30:16 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall More than eight decades after her mother narrowly survived the sinking of the steamer Tsushima Maru, Tsugiko Taira says the wreck still speaks to her. She believes artefacts lying on the seabed could give new voice to one of the worst civilian maritime tragedies of World War II. Taira’s reflections come as Japan’s government considers whether to retrieve items from the wreck for public display. Officials have conducted a survey and, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, will... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340452/japans-tsushima-maru-sinking-will-recovery-artefacts-end-silence-wwii-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340452/japans-tsushima-maru-sinking-will-recovery-artefacts-end-silence-wwii-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:17 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang On August 6 last year, atomic bomb survivors held their annual commemorative lantern-floating ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. Two months later, their group, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize for decades of campaigning against nuclear weapons. Fifteen years earlier, in Chongshan village in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, Wang Jinti took his last breath. Wang died in near-total obscurity, never having received an apology or compensation for the suffering he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3337900/why-chinese-victims-unit-731-and-japans-wwii-bio-warfare-are-still-waiting-justice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3337900/why-chinese-victims-unit-731-and-japans-wwii-bio-warfare-are-still-waiting-justice?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 04:00:10 +0000 Ambrose Li Ambrose Li A wartime bomb unearthed in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay neighbourhood was “very likely” to have been dropped by the US military on April 2, 1945, with its explosive power “practically intact” because of high production standards, experts have said. The 1,000lb (454kg) bomb that included 227kg of TNT explosives was found on Friday at a construction site, resulting in the evacuation of 6,000 residents overnight. The bomb was successfully defused on Saturday morning after a nine-hour effort. Professor... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326259/wwii-bomb-hong-kongs-quarry-bay-linked-us-military-air-strike-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326259/wwii-bomb-hong-kongs-quarry-bay-linked-us-military-air-strike-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 12:08:12 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou Chinese academics are calling for the “Western-centric” version of World War II to be rewritten by pushing back the start date nearly a decade and placing Chinese forces firmly on the front line against fascism. Instead of Germany’s 1939 invasion of Poland marking the beginning of the global conflict, some academics at a second world war history seminar in Beijing on Tuesday said it should be Japan’s 1931 invasion of Manchuria, which escalated into a full-scale war in China in 1937. “This... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309602/why-some-chinese-academics-say-its-time-rethink-wwii-history-starting-1939?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309602/why-some-chinese-academics-say-its-time-rethink-wwii-history-starting-1939?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 May 2025 01:00:13 +0000