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Japan
The latest breaking news and stories on Japan, a country in East Asia known as a constitutional monarchy, and the world’s fifth largest economy. Also covering Japan’s relationship with China and Asia, plus commentary and updates on Japan’s economy, politics, society and trade.
Capital
Tokyo
Head of State
Emperor Naruhito
Head of Government
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Fumio Kishida
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question at the National Diet in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Japanese IT head says he made AI videos to smear Takaichi’s rivals during poll

The Sanae Token developer says he used generative AI to create 1,000 to 1,500 short videos criticising contenders Koizumi and Hayashi.

Hong Kong weather

Hong Kong serves up local flavour as ‘Typhoon Dim-sum’ joins new storm names list

China-Japan relations

Japan museum under fire for ‘rewriting history’ with Nanking ‘incident’ label

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Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks slump as AI rallies in Asia unravel on US rate-increase fears

Investors drive Hong Kong and other Asian markets lower as the AI trade unravels on rate-increase fears after strong reading on US jobs report.

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Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Friday. Photo: AP Photo
The Philippines

Developing | 3 killed, ‘many buildings’ damaged after magnitude 7.8 quake strikes Philippines

The president suspended schools in affected areas of Mindanao while calling on residents to evacuate coastal areas immediately.

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Sanae Takaichi

Japan prepares to drop its pacifist mask as the right rises

A right-wing parliamentary supermajority is paving the way for Tokyo to amend its post-war pacifist constitution.

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New Openings

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Manmaru to Estuary by Vicky Cheng

Discover Hong Kong’s latest dining delights: jacket potatoes galore at Butter Babe, the finest Neapolitan pizzas at Fugazzi, modern haute cuisine with an Asian twist at Estuary by Vicky Cheng and Kansai-style eel at Manmaru.

The dining room at Estuary by Vicky Cheng. Photo: courtesy Estuary by Vicky Cheng
China's military weapons

China urged to fast-track carrier fleet upgrades as Japan boosts strike power

A potential gap that China’s carrier strike groups ‘need to address is the limited number of stealth fighters’, former PLA Navy officer says.

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China consumption

Gold slump: China’s sales plunge as precious metal’s price dips

While China’s interest in gold is unlikely to fade, investment-grade product sales have dwindled after 15 months of retail growth.

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Taiwan

Beijing sends largest patrol ship east of Taiwan after Japan-Philippine talks

Communist Party mouthpiece warns the two countries are becoming a ‘source of trouble’ and putting regional peace at risk.

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Haixun 09, Beijing's largest patrol ship, is part of the flotilla sent east of Taiwan. Photo: Handout
Food and Drinks

Where did Tokyo restaurant Sézanne’s 3 Michelin stars go?

After Daniel Calvert’s high-profile exit, Sézanne is being reassessed by Michelin as new chef Stephen Lancaster reshapes the restaurant’s menu.

Sézanne at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, Japan. The restaurant has been quietly stripped of its three Michelin stars. Photo: Sezanne
China trade

How China’s blueberry boom is reaching Southeast Asia on faster trade links

The fruit is heading to Asean markets on the China-Laos Railway, supported by the world’s largest free trade agreement.

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Video | Security guard by night, graphic designer by day

Shuetsu Sato, 72, has won awards for his font created from duct tape that is used to direct commuters at Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku Station.

United States

Editorial | US tariff threat over forced labour looks like old wine in a new bottle

With the latest escalation in Trump’s forever tariff war, Washington is alienating allies and adversaries alike.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks to reporters during a tour of a manufacturing facility on April 9, in Warren, Michigan, the US. Photo: AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | Norman Bethune’s story still holds lessons for China-Canada relations

The Canadian doctor, hailed a hero in China, was driven by personal conviction; there are others today, tilling the soil of Sino-Canadian friendship.

A sculpture of Norman Bethune, a Canadian surgeon and communist, at the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing on August 31, 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee
United States

Missing US student found dead in Japan

The body of James ‌Higginbotham, 20, was discovered in a mountainous area near Kyoto after he disappeared while on a family holiday.

World Bank Group

Macroscope | The problem with Japan’s bid to strengthen energy security, supply chains

By competing rather than dovetailing with the Belt and Road Initiative, the joint project with the World Bank reflects increasing regional fragmentation.

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Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

Past failures haunt the Quad’s US$20 billion critical minerals push

The initiative aims to break China’s near-monopoly, but private-sector caution and a history of unfulfilled pledges stand in the way.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds a press conference during the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the State Department in February. Photo: Reuters
Malaysia

FamilyMart Malaysia worker in hot water after throwing oden soup at Grab rider

A 23-second video of a female employee throwing hot oden soup at a delivery rider across a counter went viral on social media last week.

North Korea

Why North Korea’s Kim is doubling down on nuclear might as Xi visit looms

Kim Jong-un has vowed to ‘exponentially’ strengthen North Korea’s nuclear arsenal during a recent visit to a production facility.

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US-China relations

Opinion | What does a ‘strong, quiet, clear’ US mean for China and Asia?

The US defence secretary’s speech at an annual defence forum had fewer China attacks, no mention of Taiwan and a nebulous vow to be ‘strong, quiet, clear’.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Aviation

How everyday cooking oil is helping Japan fight an aviation fuel crisis

Japan is hoping the ‘Fry to Fly’ project will help its goal of procuring a tenth of airline fuel from sustainable sources by 2030.

A woman brings used cooking oil to a waste oil collection point for Japan’s “Fry to Fly” project in Adachi ward, Tokyo, on April 18. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

How Chinese drink chains are testing the limits of soft power

New tea and coffee brands from China are winning customers across America, but their broader influence remains unclear.

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Nordic nations

Norway crown princess awaits lung transplant

There had been a ‘dramatic deterioration’ in her health in recent months, giving her only around a year left to ⁠live without a transplant.

Diplomacy

As I see it | Trump is turning allies and partners into friends of China

Dealing with Beijing offers countries such as Canada and India more leverage with the US in addition to economic benefits.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney after signing various memorandums of understanding in New Delhi, India, on March 2. Photo: AP
Hong Kong courts

Australian fined, given suspended jail term for dining and dashing in Hong Kong

Samuel Anthony Monkivitch ordered to pay HK$2,039 after skipping out on bills on four occasions between April 24 and May 5.

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Samuel Anthony Monkivitch guilty to four counts of making off without payment and two counts of criminal damage. Photo: Edmond So
China travel

China, South Korea agree to more flights per week as tourism to Japan dwindles

The additional flights are the first increase between the two countries since before the Covid pandemic.

India

Quad’s proposed port project in Fiji risks being ‘another empty promise’

Analysts warn that a lack of commitment by the four-member bloc on the project could open the door for China to expand its economic clout.

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