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China-Japan relations

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China-Japan relations
Breaking news and analysis on China-Japan relations, covering trade, investment, the legacy of war in Asia, military tensions and the impact of wider issues such as the US-China trade war and South China Sea.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
A fighter jet takes off from the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier to sail beyond the second island chain. Photo: Japan Ministry of Defence
China’s military drills

Chinese carrier kicks off drills in western Pacific amid tense Japan ties

The Liaoning carrier group will hold live-fire drills months after stand-off with Japanese fighter jets during a December exercise.

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Aviation

Locked out of Russia, could Japan’s airlines face new risk in Chinese skies?

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Self-Defence Forces (Japan)

Why does the PLA object to Japan’s drone plans for its southern islands?

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Japan

To cut reliance on China, Japan eyes bespoke ship for rare earth extraction

Tokyo also aims to become a major global supplier despite the project facing technological, cost and geopolitical hurdles.

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A Japanese research vessel leaves a port in Shizuoka prefecture to collect rare earth mud off Minamitorishima Island in January. Photo: Kyodo
China trade

Sino-Japanese relations

China and Japan have forged strong economic ties, despite having regular diplomatic rows over disputed territories and the legacy of the Second World War. The latest escalation occurred in November after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan’s military forces could be deployed in the event of conflict in the Strait of Taiwan.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

Are China and Russia flexing their maritime muscle near Japan?

Tokyo’s recent tracking of three PLA Navy warships transiting Tsushima Strait comes amid heightened regional tensions.

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Sanae Takaichi

China condemns Japan’s first overseas ‘offensive missile’ test since WWII

Beijing says Japan’s ‘neo-militarism’ is a ‘scourge’ that threatens regional peace and stability.

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A Japanese Type 88 surface-to-ship missile is launched during the Balikatan joint drill in the Philippines on May 6, 2026. Photo: AFP
Japan

Opinion | The domestic dynamics driving Japan’s remilitarisation

Sanctions, diplomatic warnings and aggressive rhetoric create a perilous loop, reinforcing the very domestic tendencies China seeks to deter.

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Rare earths

Takaichi signs Australia deals to boost Japan’s energy security

Japan’s prime minister penned agreements with her Australian counterpart as the two nations seek to pare reliance on Chinese rare earths and safeguard energy supplies amid the war in Iran.

Self-Defence Forces (Japan)

Why is China warning the UN of a Japanese ‘nuclear breakout’?

Beijing asks the international body to prioritise Tokyo’s ‘dangerous tendency to seek nuclear weapons’ as regional row escalates.

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A new position paper from China’s foreign ministry accuses Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of engaging in “probing and provocative remarks and actions” on nuclear weapons. Photo: Kyodo
Hong Kong

In a fragmenting global order, former Japanese leader urges pivot to China

Yukio Hatoyama says the two powers should work together against ‘US arrogance’ and expand coalitions with like-minded nations.

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Yukio Hatoyama said expanding coalitions would “increase our bargaining power”. Photo: AFP
Japan

As I see it | A remilitarised Japan threatens more than just China

As Japan expands its defence posture with the backing of major allies, its leaders seek to portray Beijing’s objections as an overreaction.

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Taiwan

Japan’s revised security policy to get ‘more aggressive’: Chinese expert

Rewritten policies could even include changes to nuclear weapons stance, analyst says.

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China's military weapons

PLA showcases YJ-20 anti-ship missiles as US-Japan-Philippines test war moves

Video of PLA Navy strike tests emerges as US, allies take part in Balikatan 2026, marking Japan’s first-ever operational role in the drills.

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China’s YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile system has a range of 1,000 to 1,500km, a cruising speed of around Mach 6 and a terminal dive speed reaching Mach 10. Photo: Handout
China’s navy

Warning over Taiwan? PLA warships make rare transits off southwest Japan

‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says.

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The PLA’s Type 052DL upgraded guided-missile destroyer Baotou, which led the 133rd task force in western Pacific exercises this week. Photo: Handout
China travel

2,700 China-Japan flights axed in March as rift between Asian powers deepens

Nearly half of the planned flights between China and Japan were cancelled last month, as Beijing and Tokyo remain locked in a diplomatic feud.

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Taiwan

China warns of ‘moves towards militarism’ after Japan eases arms export rules

Tokyo approves plan to scrap restrictions, prompting warnings that this could undermine the country’s pacifist constitution.

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Japan

Japan warship’s Taiwan Strait voyage reignites China tensions

The JS Ikazuchi passed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, the anniversary of an 1895 treaty handing Taiwan to Japan.

The JS Ikazuchi. Photo: handout
Taiwan

Is Japan’s treaty-day Taiwan Strait warship transit a new flashpoint with China?

The JS Ikazuchi’s passage through the waterway on Friday ‘harmed the feelings of the Chinese people’.

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Taiwan

Is Takaichi putting Japan’s pacifist constitution on the chopping block?

Goal of changing the post-war system has never been closer, but upper house could still be a stumbling block, analysts argue.

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Japan

China slams Japan for sending warship through Taiwan Strait

Beijing calls move a ‘deliberate provocation’ that undermines peace and stability in the strait.

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The Japanese Self-Defence Forces will send approximately 1,400 personnel, multiple warships, aircraft and Type 88 anti-ship missile systems to the annual US-Philippine military drills next week. Photo: AP
Taiwan

What does Japan’s role in a US-Philippine military drill mean for Taiwan?

Tokyo’s 1,400 combat troops mark most extensive participation yet in annual joint exercise and signal ‘priorities’ to Beijing, analysts say.

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The Japan Self-Defence Forces will deploy about 1,400 personnel for the Balikatan exercise, an annual large-scale joint military drill between the Philippines and the United States. Photo: Shutterstock
China-Asean relations

Can Japan’s US$10b energy shield oust China’s influence in Southeast Asia?

Pledge is a bid to ‘embed Japan at the centre of Southeast Asia’s energy security architecture’, observer notes, but questions its impact.

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Japan

China says embassy intrusion, bomb threat are among ‘grave violations’ in Japan

Acting head of embassy lists incidents he describes as ‘a threat to the safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and premises’.

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Rare earths

The next frontier: China maps seabed resources as Japan races to tap rare earths

Atlas charts location, concentration and distribution patterns of dozens of elements in seabed sediments.

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China surveyed more than 20,000 observation points, culminating in a geochemical data set of eastern waters, according to state media. Photo: CCTV
Japan

Should China be worried as Japan starts replacing helicopters with drones?

The move has triggered warnings that the new drones could be stationed in the Ryukyu chain close to the Chinese coast.

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Japan plans to gradually replace its fleet of Apache helicopters with drones. Photo: Reuters
South China Sea

‘A big deal’: military drills show Tokyo’s growing focus on deterring China

Combat-ready Japanese troops are being deployed in the Philippines for the first time since Japan’s occupation of the country during World War II.

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Taiwan

Japan’s ‘imperialist forces’ divided Taiwan from mainland, KMT’s Cheng Li-wun says

In a speech delivered at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, Kuomintang chair says cross-strait divisions are rooted in historical wounds.

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