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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
Cruise missiles, flag of Japan in background - defense concept - 3D illustration. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Japan

Video | Japan scraps long-standing arms export rules

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

Japan

Big one coming? Japan issues megaquake advisory after magnitude 7.7 shock

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Japan

Japan’s Takaichi sends Yasukuni shrine offering, South Korea expresses ‘regret’

Japan

Why Japan’s Takaichi is already facing resistance inside her own party

Observers say the prime minister’s assertive style and policy agenda have caused unease among the Liberal Democratic Party’s old guard.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader, sings the party anthem with the party’s deputy president and former prime minister Taro Aso (right) and the party secretary general Shunichi Suzuki (left) on April 12. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong tourism

40 Hong Kong tour groups safe after major earthquake strikes Japan

Japan issues tsunami warning for north and northeast prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, after quake strikes at 4.53pm.

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Earthquakes

Video | Powerful quake shakes northern Japan

Japan’s northern Tohoku region was struck by a 7.7-magnitude quake.

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Japan

Rover and out? Japan pivots after US puts Lunar Gateway on ice

Japan’s space agency has invested at least US$78.5 million to build components for Nasa’s now-halted project.

JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa speaks next to a replica of Resilience, a moon lander built by Japan-based start-up ispace, on June 6, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
Japan

Japan, Australia finalise contracts to deliver first 3 of planned frigates

This comes as Japan is set to ease rules on defence equipment exports, which have strict limits on exporting weapons with lethal capability.

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Japan

Video | Is Japan ready for a female emperor?

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, even as the prime minister proposes a plan that preserves the male-line succession.

China-Japan relations

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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A police officer stands guard at an entrance to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on March 25, 2026, a day after a man was apprehended for allegedly trespassing onto the grounds of the embassy. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan jails ex-teacher for sharing voyeuristic student images

He is the first among an alleged teachers’ voyeurism ring to receive a prison sentence in a high-profile case that came to light last year.

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Between July and December 2024, Ishikawa secretly took photos and videos of three female students at a junior school in Kanagawa, where he was working at the time, capturing images on his smartphone that included their underwear, and shared them via a social media group chat. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

‘Not a reliable ally’: Japan eyes Nato as Trump erodes faith in US guarantees

Tokyo and the transatlantic security alliance have a shared problem: what happens if the US walks away?

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Luxury Hotels

Review | Park Hyatt Tokyo reopened after a 2-year renovation – here’s a look inside

You may know it from 2003’s Oscar-winning Lost in Translation with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson – take a look inside the iconic hotel.

Japan

Japan’s Sanae Takaichi tickled pink to meet UK band Deep Purple

The Japanese prime minister, who played in a Deep Purple tribute band in middle school, called drummer Ian Paice her ‘god’.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives Made-in-Japan drumsticks to Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Luxury Hotels

Review | The newly opened 1 Hotel Tokyo, a sustainability-driven hotel in Akasaka

1 Hotels – which has outposts in cities like London, Copenhagen, Melbourne and West Hollywood – has opened its first Asian location in Akasaka, Tokyo.

1 Hotel Tokyo’s design features plenty of natural materials such as stone and wood. Photo: Handout
Japan

Why Japanese firm’s tie-up with Ukrainian drone maker sparks concerns in Russia

The two firms plan to develop drones that can be ‘deployed quickly and at low cost in the real combat conditions of Ukraine’.

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Japan

‘Unable to handle rejection’: the forces driving Japan’s knife crime wave

Experts warn a generation raised on screens is losing the ability to handle real-world rejection.

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Japan

Safety fears bloom in Japan as ageing cherry trees collapse in Tokyo parks

People love walking or picnicking under the trees during the cherry blossom viewing season.

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People picnic outside a cordoned-off area set up to inspect the health of cherry blossom trees at Kinuta Park in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AP
On Our Radar

Greg Girard’s photo exhibition shows five decades of Hong Kong and Tokyo

Photographer Greg Girard’s new exhibition puts two Asian metropolises – Hong Kong and Tokyo – in the frame over five decades.

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

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to increase defence spending to 2 per cent of Japan’s gross domestic product.

A launcher for an upgraded Type 12 land-to-ship guided missile is displayed at the Ground Self-Defence Force’s Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture. Photo: Kyodo
Japan

Japan races to limit fallout from Chinese embassy break-in

Chinese state media seized on the breach as proof of Japan’s militarism and ‘rampant far-right ideology’.

A policeman stands guard at an entrance to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on March 25. Photo: AFP
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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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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Office and residential buildings are seen from an observation deck in Tokyo’s Shinjuku business district on January 10, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
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.

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