Chief Inspector Japp is a fictional character of Scotland Yard appearing in many of Agatha Christie's novels and stories about Hercule Poirot.

James Japp, while being a serviceable detective, is no match for Poirot; he frequently finds himself a step behind the great detective but has developed a grudging respect for the man's abilities over their years together. Japp and Poirot's friend Arthur Hastings often commiserate on their confusion and inability to keep up with Poirot on cases.

James Japp perhaps represents a more mainstream English citizen, decidedly simpler and uneducated in his tastes and material desires, compared to Poirot's high-class gourmet palate.

The role of Japp is played by Philip Jackson in the British TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot, where Hercule Poirot's character is played by David Suchet. It is interesting to note that before Suchet took on the role of Poirot, he had previously played Japp himself in the 1985 film Thirteen at Dinner , where Peter Ustinov filled Poirot's patent leather shoes.