Japan

Explore our coverage of Japan’s politics, economics, business and culture, in articles, charts, podcasts and video


Asia

Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, stands down

The race to succeed him next month is unusually unpredictable

Asia

Could Kamikawa Yoko be Japan’s next prime minister?

She would be the first woman to hold the top role

Finance & economics

Why Japanese stocks are on a rollercoaster ride

Volatility in global markets continues 

Finance & economics

Why Japanese markets have plummeted

The global rout continues, with the Topix experiencing its worst day since 1987

Finance & economics

Why fear is sweeping markets everywhere

American and Japanese indices have taken a battering. So have banks and gold

Asia

America recreates a warfighting command in Japan

The threat from China hastens the biggest military transformation in the Pacific in decades

Asia

Is this a new age of warrior Japan?

The country is spending more on its armed forces. But not everyone is on board

Finance & economics

Japan’s strength produces a weak yen

Currency meddling will prove futile

Asia

Social-media populists have arrived in Japan

A small-town mayor shakes up Tokyo’s election

Asia

Japan’s mind-bending bento-box economics

The paradox of red-hot labour markets, falling demand and rising prices

Asia

Takashima Ryosuke is Japan’s youngest ever mayor

At 27 years old, he is bucking the trend of the country’s gerontocratic politics

Leaders

Japan and South Korea are getting friendlier. At last

As the world economy fragments, two export powerhouses see the virtue of chumminess

Business

Japanese businesses are trapped between America and China

Could geopolitics kill off an incipient corporate revival?

Culture

The controversial cult of the host club in Japan

Why women pay men in make-up to flatter them

Asia

Japan and South Korea are struggling with old-age poverty

Their problems may be instructive for other countries

United States

A surprising Japanese presence in a traditional American craft

Quilting connects continents

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