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September 16, 2025
 

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KOREA JAPAN RELATIONS

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung waves with his his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, following his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2025
South Korea’s Lee pledges to heal deep wounds as ‘president for everyone’
Lee Jae-myung, in his inauguration speech, said his government would continue his predecessor’s policy of strengthening cooperation with Japan.
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's candidate in South Korea's presidential election, speaks during his final campaign event in Seoul on Monday night ahead of Tuesday's vote.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election
Lee, the front-runner in the race since campaigning began, secured 51.7% of the vote — a 12.4 percentage point lead over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo — according to exit polls.
A woman walks past a store in Seoul's Daerim neighborhood, home to thousands of ethnic Chinese. China has displaced longtime foe and former colonial power Japan in many South Koreans' minds as the country's most distrusted neighbor in recent years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 2, 2025
China displaces old foe Japan in South Koreans' minds ahead of vote
Analysts say that a series of clashes between Beijing and Seoul in recent years over history, territory and defense are the root cause of the schism.
A banner showing Lee Jae-myung (left), the South Korean presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, and Kim Moon-soo, the candidate for the conservative People Power Party, outside a polling station in Seoul on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 1, 2025
South Korean presidential election set to reshape diplomatic chessboard
Liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung is projected to sail to a win that could shake up ties with Japan and the U.S. and kick-start talks with North Korea.
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign event in the city of Uijeongbu, South Korea, on May 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025
South Korea's Lee pledges to restore hotline with North Korea
The front-runner in South Korea's presidential election laid out a noticeably softer approach to the nuclear-armed North than his predecessor.
Sakie Yokota (center) and other family members of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea held a national rally in Tokyo on Saturday to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
JAPAN
May 25, 2025
Families demand North Korea return all Japanese abductees
The rally, organized mainly by the family group and an organization supporting such families, brought together about 800 people, including lawmakers.
An aircraft approaches Haneda Airport. During the month of June, many travelers from South Korea landing at the airport will be eligible for fast-track entry procedures.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2025
Japan and South Korea to trial priority lanes for travel between the countries
The one-month trial program in June will be available to passport holders from either country who have visited the other at least once within the previous year.
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, gestures during an election campaign rally in Seoul on Monday. Officials in Tokyo are closely watching Lee’s remarks for hints of how bilateral relations could shift if he is elected.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2025
South Korean presidential front-runner says he's not hostile toward Japan
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has in recent months sought to highlight a more centrist agenda ahead of the presidential election.
A woman looks at a piece of calligraphy created by Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun in his jail cell weeks before his execution in 1910, at the Seoul Auction on April 22.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 18, 2025
Independence hero assassin's calligraphy breaking auction records in Seoul
Revered in South Korea for his efforts to defend the country against Japanese encroachment, Ahn Jung-geun is best known for assassinating Japan's first prime minister.
The Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue that was returned to the Kannonji Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN
May 12, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue returned to Japanese temple after 12 years
A ritual was held at Kannoji Temple on the island of Tsushima to mark the return of the Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue after more than 12 years.
A stolen Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue in Daejeon, central South Korea, in January
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 11, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue handed over to Japan in South Korea
South Korea's Supreme Court recognized the Japanese temple's ownership of the statue in 2023, rejecting claims that it was stolen by Japanese pirates in the 14th century.
Takuya Yokota speaks during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 5, 2025
Relatives urge North Korea to release abductees
The news conference was held after members of the association returned from a trip to the United States.
A group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago and a group of Japanese lawmakers tackling the abduction issue at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Families of abductees in North Korea meet with U.S. official
"We reiterated that there is not much time left for the generation of the abductees' parents," said Takuya Yokota, head of the family group.
Japan's proposed "one-theater" defense strategy, linking the East China Sea, South China Sea and Korean Peninsula has raised concerns, particularly in South Korea, about its implications for regional security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025
Japan’s ‘one-theater’ defense concept rattles South Korea
Continuing expansion of SDF roles and missions is consistent with adoption of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" construct that guides Japanese security policy.
Wi Sung-lac, a South Korean lawmaker who advises presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on diplomacy, is interviewed in Seoul on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2025
Aide to South Korean candidate suggests review of wartime labor solution
Wi did not provide specifics but said that a Lee administration might discuss historical issues more than the Yoon administration.
Takuya Yokota, the leader of a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago (left), asks people for signatures to seek their return during a campaign held in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2025
Family members of North Korea abductees hold Tokyo campaign to seek their return
Meanwhile, in Washington, 17 members of U.S. Congress sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to "prioritize" the return of the Japanese abductees.
Bags of rice at a warehouse in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Japan imported South Korean rice for the first time since 1999 this month amid soaring domestic prices for the staple grain.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025
Japan buys first South Korean rice in over two decades as prices surge
The Japan office of South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation said it brought in and sold 2 tons of Korean rice this month.
Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol supporters gather on the side of a road as they wait for the arrival of the former South Korean president outside the Central District Court in Seoul on Monday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2025
New leadership in South Korea should stay the course on Japan ties
Democracy should be frustrating. It is intended to force compromise, a process that will inevitably be slow and exasperating.
Classmates and others planted cherry trees on Thursday in the city of Niigata, praying for the swift return of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2025
Abductee Megumi Yokota's classmates donate cherry trees to school
Megumi's father, Shigeru, photographed her standing in front of cherry trees at Yorii junior high school seven months before she was kidnapped.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office. Hayashi has cited Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile development programs as well as its abduction of Japanese nationals as reasons for Japan's extension of sanctions on North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
Japan to extend sanctions against North Korea for two years
Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile development programs, and its abduction of Japanese nationals were cited as reasons.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Final weeks of World Expo in Osaka likely to see large crowds
With one month left to go, crowds are expected to swell at the World Expo in Osaka during its final weeks.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Strikes on Qatar and Poland shake U.S. sway among friend and foe
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Sept. 8. Israeli strikes in Qatar and Russian drone incursions into Poland have challenged the U.S. leaders claims of global respect.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
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