Russia & Caucasus

A musician plays guitar March 9 outside a currency exchange office that halted operations in St. Petersburg, Russia. China has little interest in undertaking an adventurous rescue operation of the Russian economy.
Opinion

China will not abandon Russia, but it will not be much help either

Adventurous operation to rescue Moscow not high on Beijing's agenda

28 March 2022
As the conflict in Ukraine rages, war insurance can give shippers some peace of mind as their freight travels via the China-Europe Railway Express.
Supply Chain

China opens wallet to keep trans-Eurasian express moving

Operators cover 'war insurance' and slash rates

28 March 2022
A containership off Singapore: Europe accounts for 9% of ASEAN exports, according to Maybank.
Ukraine war

ASEAN faces 'collateral damage' from Ukraine war's Europe impact

From Singapore to Thailand, spillover threatens COVID-hit economies anew

27 March 2022
Geopolitics will, at some stage, force banks to choose between the dollar framework and a rival yuan system.
Opinion

The risks of a global financial schism are mounting

Precedent set by Russian sanctions dramatically increases geopolitical instability

27 March 2022
Russia's membership in the G-20 is at risk after its invasion of Ukraine. 
Ukraine war

Debate over Russia's G-20 seat creates headache for Indonesia

Summit host nation says Putin already invited, worries over development-focused agenda

27 March 2022
A woman cries as she comforts her son outside the main train station in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 5. At right, a destroyed armored vehicle in the southern city of Mariupol. (Source photos by AP)
Ukraine war

Ukrainians' daily lives: The first casualty of Russia's invasion

Displaced people tell tales of hardship and coping during wartime

26 March 2022
NATO headquarters in Brussels. Japan is the only Group of Seven member that does not belong to the alliance.
International relations

Eyeing Asia flashpoints, Kishida warms Japan's ties with NATO

First talk by leaders since 2017 come as Tokyo faces assertive China, Russia

26 March 2022
If conventional methods stall in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has two options, analysts say: humiliating retreat or escalation to weapons of mass destruction. (Source photos by Reuters and AP) 
Ukraine war

Why chemical weapons constitute a red line: 5 things to know

Russia thought to have sarin, VX, mustard gas and others in arsenal

25 March 2022
A freeze in financing for Arctic LNG 2, a $23 billion development project in Russia, may delay the start of its operations, which had been slated for 2023. (Photo by Yohei Ishikawa).
Ukraine war

Japan and France freeze investment in Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project

Start of $23bn plan could be delayed as sanctions keep banks from sending money

25 March 2022
Joe Biden listens as Narendra Modi speaks during a Quad nations meeting at the White House in September 2021: it is a safe bet that Biden and Modi are envisioning very different world orders.
Opinion

Ukraine war gives developing economies a chance to dislodge U.S.

Joe Biden is unlikely to get the new world he is hoping for

25 March 2022
A large display shows the results of a vote during a special session of the U.N. General Assembly on Russia's invasion of Ukraine on March 24.
Ukraine war

U.N. General Assembly blames Russia for Ukraine humanitarian crisis

China and India among 38 abstentions in overwhelming 140-5 vote

25 March 2022
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his army ousted Myanmar's elected government in a military takeover on Feb. 1 last year, and Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 this year. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images/PTTEP）
25 March 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, U.S. President Joe Biden, center, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meet ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Brussels.
International relations

Japan pledges more Russian sanctions at G-7 summit

Leaders 'stand ready' for more measures, but meeting short on new details

25 March 2022
Russia's communications regulator accuses Google News of allowing access to what it calls fake material about the country's military operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency says.
Ukraine war: Free to read

Ukraine from March 9 to March 24: Russian regulator blocks Google News

Russia to expel more U.S. diplomats; WHO verifies 64 attacks on health care in war

24 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to reporters at the Group of 20 summit in Los Cabos in June 2012. Authoritarian leaders rarely hold news conferences while at home.
Comment

Threat of Putin casts shadow over Japan's peacetime defenses

Ukraine war shows potential cost of ineffective deterrence

24 March 2022
A tanker loads LNG from the Sakhalin-2 project at the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, in October 2021: standing firm against Russia's aggression will have costs.
Opinion

Japan must go further in opposing Russian aggression

Tokyo should add further sanctions to help end the Ukraine war

24 March 2022
Customers grab the few remaining groceries from mostly empty shelves at a Finnish-owned store in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Ukraine war

Bridgestone among Japan Inc.'s growing Russia exodus

With supply chains in disarray, companies seek long-term alternate options

24 March 2022
Destroyed Russian tanks are seen in the Sumy region, Ukraine, on March 7. (Handout photo from the Press Service of the Ukrainian Ground Forces)
Interview

Russian invasion is a 'violation of all norms': Lithuanian diplomat

Ambassador to NATO stresses higher defense spending, U.S. resolve ahead of summit

24 March 2022
Eneos Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan will halt Russian crude oil imports after the fulfilment of current contracts. (Source photos by Reuters and screenshot from Idemitsu's website) 
Energy

Japan's Idemitsu and Eneos halt Russian oil imports

Oil majors pull back due to logistical, payment concerns, consumer pressure

23 March 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a speech broadcast online to Japanese lawmakers in which he tells them that Putin is planning to attack his country with chemical weapons such as sarin. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
Ukraine war

Zelenskyy warns of Russian chemical attack in speech to Japan

Ukrainian president asks Japan for tougher sanctions in virtual address to Diet

23 March 2022
Kyoei Steel and others in the industry are paying more for scrap steel to feed their furnaces. (Photo by Atsushi Oka)
Commodities

Steel prices turn red hot for Japan builders on Russia shock

Materials cost surge puts factory construction plans on hold

23 March 2022
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The alliance will begin an extraordinary meeting on March 24. (Photo courtesy of NATO)
Ukraine war

NATO eyes warning to China against aiding Moscow

Bloc must send 'clear, polite message' at Thursday summit: Lithuanian diplomat

23 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on March 21. (Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP)
International relations

Russia halts peace treaty talks with Japan over sanctions

Kishida calls Moscow's action 'extremely unfair and absolutely unacceptable'

22 March 2022
Galina Timchenko in 2015. She said she had been "bracing for war" since Meduza was labeled a foreign agent by the Russian government in April 2021.
Interview

Independent opinions 'silenced' in Russia, Meduza CEO says

Galina Timchenko vows to continue reporting, but headwinds mount

22 March 2022
A destroyed Russian vehicle on the road in Sytniaky, Ukraine, on Mar. 5: this is a turning-point moment for the world.
Opinion

Russia's war on Ukraine will create a new kind of Cold War

New diplomatic infrastructure will take years to build

22 March 2022