Japan

| TOWARDS THE CONCLAVE/6

As a young priest, the Verbite was a missionary in rural Ghana. Archbishop of Tokyo since 2017, he was elected president of Caritas Internationalis by the assembly of delegates two years ago. At 66, he leads a Church that is coming to terms with the loneliness and contradictions of the great metropolises, stressing the dignity of every human life. During the synod a few months ago, he said, “even Europe today is becoming a periphery.”


As the tariffs imposed by US President Trump heat up the trade war, the three countries are looking for new ways of working together. The summit got underway today until tomorrow in Seoul. The South Koreans and Japanese are concerned about tariffs on cars. Meanwhile, Beijing announces countermeasures if Washington continues the trade war.

| 29/03/2025
| SOUTH KOREA – CHINA – JAPAN

The Tokyo District Court revoked the religious movement’s status. Founded by Sun Myung Moon, the Church was involved in financial scandals over the years, which emerged following the murder of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. The Church, which will still be able to operate in Japan, plans to appeal, but it loses its tax benefits in the meantime.

| 25/03/2025
| JAPAN

One million Chinese will be living in Japan by next year, according to some estimates, driven by families enrolling their children in academies linked to Japan’s animation industry, where the best talents are offered the possibility of permanent residence. About 70 per cent of foreign students today come from mainland China, but distrust is growing towards them.

| 20/03/2025
| RED LANTERNS

The agreement, which provides Mongolia with an air traffic control radar system, is part of Japan’s defence assistance programme inaugurated in 2023. For the Japanese government, it enhances its commitment to regional stability in an anti-Chinese perspective.

| 27/02/2025
| JAPAN – MONGOLIA

As the world follow news of the Pope's health, the Archbishop of Tokyo, Cardinal Kikuchi, has delivered a gift from the Pope to the elderly former Japanese prisoner, exonerated after more than half a century spent in prison on charges of murder. In 1984 he was baptised with the Christian name of Paul.

| 23/02/2025
| ECCLESIA IN ASIA

Iyus, an Indonesian who first arrived in Japan in 2013, will work as a tour bus driver. Tokyo aims to welcome thousands of foreign workers to address labor shortages in various sectors, including transportation.

| 22/02/2025
| JAPAN
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