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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
The tunnel hallway of Hatoya Hotel, a decades-old hot spring resort near Atami known for its retro-futuristic architecture. Loud, mid-century Japanese design is back in favour as young Japanese rediscover long-overlooked Showa-era relics. Photo: Shutterstock
The Japanese hot spring town of Atami boomed in the post-war era and became known for its concrete hotels, nightlife venues and neon signage. Photo: Shutterstock
Asia travel

Into the past: Japan’s unique Showa retro aesthetic is ‘light exoticism’

Long-ignored brash mid-century designs are back in vogue in Japan, and experts expect foreign tourists will also catch the ‘Showa retro’ bug.

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Weather

Japanese fish farm loses 100,000 koi carp in Typhoon Dujuan flood

US-China relations

Open Questions | Scott Kennedy on China’s ‘slow tech dragon’ and 2 more Xi-Trump meetings

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US-China relations

How sacred Kenyan hill became US-China minerals battleground

American and Chinese bidders are vying for rights to develop a sacred Kenyan forest rich in rare earths and niobium.

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Mrima Hill is a sacred forest on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast rich in rare earths and niobium, a metal used to make steel stronger and lighter. Photo: AFP
China-Japan relations

Praised abroad, ignored at home: Japanese museums shun war-atrocity video art

‘The work will only truly be complete when people can see it in Japan,’ Meiro Koizumi says of his award-winning creation.

International Property

What’s luring investors to Asia-Pacific property despite higher borrowing costs?

Hong Kong, Sydney and South Korea emerge as key targets as investors adjust strategies to a higher-rate environment, analysts say.

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Video | A more humane way of reducing bear attacks in Japan

The bears are trapped, tagged and released far from towns and cities.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Godzilla Minus Zero: Japanese monster sequel an action-packed visual marvel

A new beast joins the chaos in Takashi Yamazaki’s film with Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe that looks good but falls flat towards the end.

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World of performing arts

How one woman is rewriting kabuki’s ‘all-male’ narrative in Japan

Ranshou Fujima, a female kabuki dancer and archivist, is reimagining the onnagata tradition through a landmark exhibition in Tokyo.

Hong Kong economy

Letters | Trevor Noah shows underline need for action in Hong Kong on scalping

Readers discuss the growing problem of bot-driven ticket scalpers, the chief executive’s policy address, and a disagreement over Mark Six winnings.

Trevor Noah speaks during his opening monologue at the 68th annual Grammy Awards, in Los Angeles on February 1. Photo: Los Angeles Times/TNS
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trump, Takaichi reaffirm US-Japan ties in phone call after Xi state visit

They exchanged views on various issues surrounding China, Japanese leader’s post says, after World War II references spark concern in Tokyo.

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US President Donald Trump's description of wartime China as an ally is “striking”, according to a Japanese analyst. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trade, Taiwan and ‘strategic stability’: key Xi-Trump takeaways overall

Chinese leader’s whirlwind US state visit rich in pageantry sees American president pull out all the stops.

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Donald Trump

Japan says Trump voiced concern over weak yen in summit with PM Takaichi

The weak yen is driving up energy import costs that are already high due to the Iran war, fuelling concerns about an inflation overshoot.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trump hails WWII ‘ally’ China as Xi tells of bonds ‘forged in blood and fire’

Both leaders repeatedly refer to joint fight against Japan in highlighting history of cooperation and need for common ground.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping raises a toast at the state dinner in the East Room of the White House on September 24. Photo: EPA-EFE
2026 Xi-Trump summits

How China’s wartime cooperatives gave us ‘gung-ho’

Trump’s mention of a ‘Chinese phrase’ may have puzzled some, but the US Marine Corps adopted gung-ho from the name of wartime cooperatives.

Not only has gung-ho – derived from the Chinese gong he – entered the English dictionary, but it also features in the names of several awards associated with the US Marine Corps. Photo: The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Art

Zen and the art of flower arranging – how ikebana brings calm to your life

Mindfulness and creativity meet in ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, whose benefits are similar to those of yoga and meditation.

International Property

Asia-Pacific hotels a ‘most compelling’ investment sector: CBRE

Rising air travel bodes well for growth after regional investment rises 21 per cent to US$8 billion in first six months, property firm says.

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Ageing society

Japan’s cut-price morgues cash in on legal loopholes as lonely deaths rise

One Tokyo-based company is offering to do everything from body collection up to ash internment for just US$1,040.

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An undertaker bows after putting a casket in a morgue in Tokyo in 2017. Photo: Reuters
North Korea

Ukraine’s POW transfer reveal deals propaganda blow to North Korea

Zelensky’s UN disclosure punctures Pyongyang’s soldier-loyalty narrative, but risks damaging ties with Seoul and endangering POW families.

2026 Xi-Trump summits

Xi-Trump summit day 2: here’s everything you missed overnight

From Peng Liyuan’s fashion soft power to Chinese CEOs flying in, here’s what you missed overnight about Xi’s state visit to Washington.

2026 Xi-Trump summits

Xi’s US welcome highlights lack of reception for Takaichi

Online comparisons of the two leaders’ arrivals in the US this week have raised questions over how Washington treats its Tokyo ally.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves before leaving Tokyo’s Haneda Airport aboard a government plane on September 21, on her way to the UN General Assembly in New York. Photo: Kyodo
Italy

Italy greenlights return of nuclear power after decades-long ban

Parliament clears legal framework for next-generation reactors nearly 40 years after the Chernobyl disaster.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government spearheaded legislation to reintroduce nuclear energy. Photo: LaPresse via AP
South Korea

Can South Korea solve the US military’s ammunition shortage?

Depleted stockpiles from the Middle East and Ukraine wars are spurring South Korean arms makers to build US production hubs.

China-Latin America relations

Paraguay’s president urges UN to let Taiwan in, calls island’s exclusion ‘a stain’

South American leader backs Taiwan’s UN participation and warns of global fallout from a strait conflict.

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Japan finds child’s body on island, possibly missing boy

Police have been searching for Yuto Takahashi, a first grader, since he went missing on September 5.

FILE PHOTO: A general view of Tokyo Tower in Japan. Japanese police are investigating if the body of a child found on Wednesday on the coast of an outlying island in northeastern Japan could be a six-year-old boy who went missing in the area earlier this month. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Opinion | Bad money decisions are coming home to roost for the US and Japan

For major economies that have relied on debt to maintain living standards since 2007, high inflation might be one way out.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 1. Photo: Reuters
Art

Manga mania: how Japanese comics conquered the world

From museum walls to blockbuster screens, Japan’s graphic storytelling is expanding its cultural reach, commercial power and international fan base.

2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trump praises Takaichi for doing ‘tremendous job’ ahead of Xi’s visit to US

Two leaders hail their good working relationship, with Sanae Takaichi saying the United States and Japan can look forward to deepening ties.

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