Japan Studio was a Japanese video game developer of Sony Interactive Entertainment based in Tokyo.

It was best known for the Ape Escape, LocoRoco, Patapon, Gravity Rush, and Knack series, the Team Ico games, Bloodborne, The Legend of Dragoon, and Astro's Playroom.

[3] The studio was run similar to Sony Music Entertainment Japan during its first few years, with producers seeking out creative talent and nurturing them to help develop new games.

[7] Alongside these first-party titles, the latter years of the original PlayStation saw strong third-party support, with games like Square's Final Fantasy VII and Konami's Metal Gear Solid.

[11] In a statement, Sony stated that, as of 1 April 2021, Japan Studio would be re-centered around Team Asobi to build on the popularity of Astro's Playroom.

[14] Shawn Layden, former chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, stated in 2024 that Japan Studio had been suffering from "legacy malaise", having failed to recreate the successful games they once had and lacked the experience to do so again, and eliminating all but Team Asobi was akin to "trimming a bonsai", hopeful that the smaller team would be able to recapture the earlier successes.

Initially developing Motor Toon Grand Prix and its sequel, the success of its 1997 racing game Gran Turismo caused it to be formally spun off into Polyphony Digital.

[30] They were disbanded following lead game designer Fumito Ueda departing the company and establishing genDESIGN during development of The Last Guardian.