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Tokyo

Tokyo
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Tokyo. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Head of Government
Governor Yuriko Koike
A minibus sports a sticker advertising Hong Kong’s HK$2 transport subsidy scheme for elderly and disabled passengers, on March 23. An amended version of the scheme will be rolled out on April 3. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong needs to start charging all bus passengers by distance

Readers discuss the decision to revise the HK$2 public transport fare scheme, and the potential of student clubs at universities.

Japan

Businesses, smokers burnt by Japan’s record US$8 billion defence budget

Japan

Japan races to limit fallout from Chinese embassy break-in

Japan

Litterbugs in Shibuya to be fined on the spot as visitor numbers surge

The initiative, which will see offenders fined US$12.50, reflects a broader rethink of the ward’s earlier decision to remove public rubbish bins.

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Aluminium cans, bottles, and other trash stashed next to a vending machine in Shibuya. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

Japan rape accuser condemns prosecution’s failure to protect victims

The victim, a prosecutor herself, in 2024 accused Osaka’s then-top prosecutor of raping her 6 years ago.

Japan

The View | Japan’s wobbly economy at odds with robust property market

While the country’s economy and currency are struggling, Japan’s property fundamentals remain strong.

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Fashion

Q&A | Kim Jones on Areal, his new line with Chinese outerwear maker Bosideng

On a visit to Hong Kong, the British designer shares why his collaboration with Bosideng was years in the making – and why ‘Made in China’ is better than most people think.

Bosideng chairman and CEO Gao Dekang with designer Kim Jones at an Areal pop-up in Hong Kong during Art Basel. Photo: Handout
Mainland China

China’s looted heritage campaign: assertive, ambitious – and complicated

As the United States steps back from cultural governance, China aims to reshape how the world reclaims looted heritage – with Japan its biggest test.

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SCMP Highlights

Iran war risks, Southeast Asia’s fuel crisis, Xinjiang ‘salmon’: 7 highlights

From a fuel crisis gripping Southeast Asia to an elderly Chinese man’s undying love, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

Japan

Japan’s cherry blossom parties could wilt as inflation strains wallets

Spending on ‘hanami’ picnics drops as rising living costs, Iran war fears and weather woes threaten to dampen this year’s festivities.

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A woman takes selfies in front of a cherry blossom tree in Kawasaki, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. Photo: AFP
Japan

Man kills woman at Tokyo Pokemon shop before taking his own life

Despite strict gun control laws and rare violent crimes, Japan has seen a number of high-profile knife attacks in recent years.

Rescue workers walk in front of a commercial complex where a female employee at a Pokemon merchandise shop was stabbed to death at Ikebukuro district in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: via Reuters
China-Japan relations

Japanese minister expresses regret over military officer’s arrest at Chinese embassy

Beijing says incident in which a man is accused of breaking in with a knife, reflects the growth of ‘rampant far-right ideology’ in Japan.

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China-Japan relations

Why Beijing is blaming Japanese PM as Tokyo moves to downgrade China ties status

Tokyo’s annual diplomatic blue book set to describe China ties as ‘strategic’ and ‘mutually beneficial’, a step down from ‘most important’.

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China’s military drills

New Type 055 destroyers for PLA East China Fleet tested in first live-fire drill

Exercise will ‘rapidly integrate’ the advanced vessels into the joint combat system covering Taiwan and the seas near Japan.

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Intensive targeted live-fire exercises in mid-March for the Dongguan and Anqing Type 055 super destroyers simulated a range of combat operations, official media reported. Photo: Handout
Japan

Trump’s ‘wind-up doll’? Japan’s PM faces backlash over White House fawning

White House imagery showing Sanae Takaichi cheering for a rock song and laughing at a jibe at Joe Biden left some in Japan feeling ‘ashamed’.

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A photograph published by the White House shows Takaichi arriving at an official dinner with her fists raised, handbag over one arm, apparently shouting with delight. Photo: White House
Japan

Video | Tokyo’s cherry blossom season kicks off early

This year’s sakura season is 5 days earlier than usual.

Japan

Trump’s Pearl Harbour joke falls flat in Japan over his ‘disrespectful remarks’

As Japan faces pressure over the Iran war, some observers commend Takaichi for steering her meeting with Trump towards trade deals.

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China-Japan relations

‘Uncompromising’: Takaichi’s meeting with Trump seen as key to China-Japan ties

Neither Tokyo nor Beijing has enough incentive to compromise, observers say, signalling a new reality between Asian giants.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, pictured soon after being re-elected in February, has sought to cultivate a close relationship with US President Donald Trump amid Japan-China tension. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
Japan

Blooming marvellous: Tokyo’s cherry blossom season officially begins

The blooming was five days earlier than the average, possibly due to low rainfall and longer hours of sunshine in winter.

Japan

Japan gets tough against teachers’ sexual misconduct, voyeurism after arrests

Sexual offences involving mostly male teachers targeting students remain high despite stricter rules against the menace in recent years.

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Japan

Russian hypersonic jets buzz Japan’s coast in ‘thinly veiled threat’

The exercises send a message that Tokyo should avoid antagonising Moscow or risk ‘repercussions’, observers say.

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Footage of a Russian fighter jet carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles conducting exercises over the Sea of Japan, or East Sea. Photo: Handout
China-Japan relations

Why Beijing has struggled to rally Asia against Japan over PM’s Taiwan remarks

Many in the region harbour security concerns similar to Tokyo’s and prefer to stay neutral between the Asian heavyweights, analysts say.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Japan

Japan identifies 1,500 new missile shelters as ‘front line’ fears grow

Underground car parks and subways are being repurposed as Tokyo warns of the most severe security threat since the second world war.

Japan

Trump wants Japanese warships in Hormuz. Can Takaichi ‘dodge the bullet’?

The Iran war complicates Trump-Takaichi talks, putting her in a bind between US demands and constitutional limits on military action.

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Taiwan

Swing and a miss? Taiwan’s premier under fire over baseball trip to Tokyo

Beijing has lashed out over Cho Jung-tai’s one-day visit to Japan, which was described as a ‘private itinerary’ to support the island’s team.

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Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai says his trip to Tokyo for the World Baseball Classic on March 7 was paid for out of his own pocket and had “no other purpose”. Photo: Facebook/Cho Jung-tai
Japan

In Japan, video of exhausted Takaichi sparks health fears ahead of US trip

The prime minister is expected to announce Tokyo’s participation in the US’ ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system when she meets Trump.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) sparks concerns for her health after looking exhausted on Thursday. Photo: Facebook/Japanese
Japan

Japan to release oil reserves as early as Monday

It will release 15 days’ worth of private reserves and a month’s worth of national reserves.

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Earthquakes

On This Day | Deadly earthquake that claimed thousands of lives in Japan – SCMP archive

On this day 15 years ago, one of the most powerful earthquakes on record triggered a devastating tsunami in Japan, killing more than 18,000.

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