Japonica hybrid rice is developing slowly compared to indica hybrid rice in China due to differences in sensitivity to daylight, male sterility stability, and breeding methods. To speed up its development, more funding and manpower are needed for breeding, restorer lines must be improved for better quality and yield, different sterile cytoplasm resources should be used, flowering habits of japonica CMS lines need enhancement, seed purity of CMS lines must be ensured during multiplication, and modern biotechnologies should be combined with traditional breeding methods.