Tag - russia

 
 

RUSSIA

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki speaks to reporters in front of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 5, 2026
Russia and Japan may arrange foreign ministers meeting in July
If it comes to fruition, it would be the first meeting for the countries’ foreign ministers since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference in Moscow on April 23.
WORLD / Politics
May 5, 2026
Putin declares May 8-9 ceasefire for war commemoration; Kyiv announces own ceasefire
Moscow says it expects Kyiv to ‌follow the ‌truce, with Russian forces taking all ​necessary measures to ensure the safety of commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Orthodox priests arrive for a ceremony in the cathedral of Saint Etchmiadzin near Yerevan, in Etchmiadzin, Armenia on May 3.
WORLD
May 4, 2026
Ancient faith to AI future: Five things to know about Armenia
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has cautiously deepened engagement with the European Union and the United States, seeking economic support and political backing.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right), during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) ahead of the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2026
Armenia summits show Europe’s Caucasus rivalry with Trump and Putin
Long the dominant force in the region, Russia now faces growing competition from the U.S., as well as from Turkey, the European Union and China.
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Friday
JAPAN
May 3, 2026
Tanker carrying Russian oil to arrive in Japan amid Hormuz closure
The oil comes from the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in Russia’s ear east, which is exempt from Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Venice Biennale dates back to 1895, when the first International Art Exhibition was organized.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 1, 2026
Jury of Italy’s Venice Biennale resigns en masse
Following the resignations, the Biennale said it has decided that the award ceremony, previously scheduled for May 9, will take place on Nov. 22.
Ispace's Resilience lunar lander at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture, in September 2024.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 1, 2026
Japan’s space systems face growing cybersecurity threats
Space systems depend on data links between satellites and ground infrastructure, making them inherently tied to cybersecurity.
In a bipolar system dominated by America and China, Japan should navigate the rivalry by deepening its alliances, diversifying economic ties and maintaining flexible, practical diplomacy in Asia. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2026
Japan’s balancing act in an era of U.S.-China dominance
Tokyo’s move toward defense spending of 2% of GDP is not militarism. It is overdue burden-sharing within an alliance that is the foundation of regional deterrence.
People look at an Iranian-designed HESA Shahed 136 (Geran-2) drone at an open-air exhibition of destroyed Russian military equipment on Mykhailivska Square in front of Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral, in Kyiv on April 7.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2026
Inside Ukraine’s drive to defeat the dreaded Shahed drone
The pioneering low-cost, long-range attack drones designed by Iran have become the scourge of Ukraine, with Russia unleashing thousands of them on its enemy every month.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov (fourth from left) and Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin (fifth from left) clap as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the opening ceremony of a memorial museum honoring North Korean troops killed while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, in Pyongyang on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 29, 2026
North Korea’s Ukraine war lessons reshaping calculus on Korean Peninsula
Pyongyang’s battlefield experience, ability to project force overseas and increasingly rapid weapons development cycles are worrying trends, the head of U.S. Forces Korea says.
A soldier from Ukraine’s Taifun unmanned aerial vehicle unit holds a new model Marsianin attack drone on April 7 in Kharkiv region, Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 29, 2026
Japan’s Terra Drone expands investment in Ukraine drone sector
The Tokyo-based company looks to bring battlefield-tested technology back to Japan to tap into a multibillion-dollar defense budget for unmanned systems.
Russia's shadow fleet vessels wait in the unofficial anchorage area in the Gulf of Finland near Vaindloo, Estonia, on April 10.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2026
Russian ‘shadow fleet’ undeterred by Starmer’s threat as nearly 100 ships cross U.K. waters
Since the U.K. prime minister’s remarks in March, the number of Russian ​vessels subject to sanctions transiting its waters was unchanged from previous months.
A Ukrainian soldier prepares to launch an interceptor drone near the front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
Drone diplomacy wins Ukraine valuable allies, but now it must deliver
This month alone, Ukraine has signed defense and drone deals in Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.
A farmer operates a combine during the start of the wheat harvesting campaign in a field near the town of Starobilsk in the Luhansk Region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, last year.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
Ukraine in diplomatic tussle with Israel over grain Kyiv says ‘stolen’ by Russia
Ukraine summoned Israel’s ambassador over what Kyiv described as Israeli inaction in allowing shipments of grain to enter the country from Russian-occupied Ukraine.
A woman wearing a <i>kokoshnik</i>, a Russian traditional headdress, is seen at the fair of folk and arts craft of Russia in central Moscow on March 4.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2026
Russian style enjoys revival in Moscow, culturally isolated due to Ukraine war
Facing difficulty traveling and steeped in an ultrapatriotic drive from the Kremlin, many Russians have turned to the tastes of their czarist and Cold War-era ancestors.
A couple views a vandalized poster of outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on April 13, one day after Hungary&#039;s general elections.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2026
Hungary’s shift unlocks new opportunities for NATO and Ukraine
Ukraine. By the time of his rejection by the electorate, he was widely regarded as Putin’s top ally in Europe and a Trojan horse inside the alliance.
Vladimir Putin is not pursuing a coherent plan for global dominance but instead is using disruption, coercion and opportunistic interventions to protect regime stability, preserve influence in Russia&#039;s neighborhood and weaken Western unity.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2026
The West is still getting Russia wrong
Because of Russia weakness, the Kremlin is focused not on domination, but on disruption.
Russian troops at a Victory Day military parade rehearsal in St. Petersburg last week. Russia&#039;s military spending rose 5.9% in 2025 to $190 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of GDP.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 27, 2026
Global military spending surges on insecurity, report finds
The three top spenders — the United States, China and Russia — spent a combined total of $1.48 trillion, just over half of global expenditure.
Oil disruptions from the war in Iran and the turmoil in energy markets highlight Asia’s vulnerability to imported fossil fuels and underscore the need to rapidly scale domestic renewable energies.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2026
Iran war is a renewable energy wake-up call
The old narrative that fossil fuels are stable and reliable has been proved wrong.
Commander of the Ground Self-Defense Force&#039;s Amphibious Rapid Deployment, Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, and commander of the Maritime Self-Defense Force&#039;s Amphibious and Mine Warfare Force, Rear Adm. Ikeuchi Izuru, attend the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on April 20.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2026
Beyond the hub-and-spoke: Japan quietly emerges as a secondary connector
Tokyo is positioning itself as a strategic hub for middle-power security diplomacy that reinforces the U.S.-led order while diversifying its own security partnerships.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival