Politics

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
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
A tanker carrying U.S. LNG arrives in Japan. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanafusa)
Energy

Replacing Russian LNG from Sakhalin-2 would cost Japan $15bn

Price tag for imports to jump 35% if Mitsui, Mitsubishi pull out of energy project

22 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a session of the Russian Energy Week International Forum in Moscow in October.
Interview

Energy guru Yergin: Putin has destroyed the economy he built

As the world heads to a scramble for oil, Iran emerges as key alternative source

21 March 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, meets with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh on March 20. (Pool/Kyodo)
International relations

Cambodia's Hun Sen avoids condemning Russia during Kishida visit

Japanese PM says he will brief G-7 on response from ASEAN chair and India's Modi

21 March 2022
Those posting antiwar messages from Russia hide their faces to protect themselves.
Ukraine war

'Nobody asked for war': Russians defy Putin with online messages

People risk harsh penalties to express anger and fear over Ukraine invasion

21 March 2022
A maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol on Mar. 9: the Ukraine war has changed global geopolitical considerations.
Opinion

It is time for China to decide whose side it is on

Costs of supporting Russia's war far outweigh any potential gains

20 March 2022
Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Feb. 4: Xi was setting the context for how his priorities can form the heart of the relationship. (Handout photo from Kremlin Press Office)
Opinion

China can use Russia to build a new international order

Xi's plans have entered a sharper competitive phase

19 March 2022
A Russian tank transport ship passes through the Tsugaru Strait on Tuesday. (Handout photo from Joint Staff Office of Japan's Ministry of Defense)
International relations

Russia flexes muscle near Japan in show of two-front capability

Drills and warship maneuvers keep Far East forces active amid Ukraine conflict

19 March 2022
The United Nations Security Council consists of five permanent members with veto power and 10 nonpermanent members that are elected for two-year terms. (Photo by Kaori Yoshida)
Ukraine war

Japan PM to propose limits on U.N. Security Council vetoes

Idea reemerges after Russia blocks resolution on Ukraine, but unlikely to pass

19 March 2022
Ocean Network Express, Japan's largest container ship operator, was previously taking new bookings to Vladivostok via Busan.
Supply Chain

Japan's top container shipper halts new bookings to Russia

ONE follows European players out as sanctions over Ukraine squeeze demand

18 March 2022
Ukraine has been drawing on digital tools to help fight the invasion by Russia.
Ukraine war

Ukraine aims to enlist 200-plus tech companies in fight against Russia

Digital ministry leverages IT savvy with volunteer hackers and crypto donations

18 March 2022
Destroyed Russian Army rocket launchers in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 25: NATO helped trigger this conflict and America is fueling it with $13.6 billion in aid.
Opinion

Wars are only evil when Westerners are the victims

Deep-seated belief that white lives are more precious is stronger than ever

18 March 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a 2019 meeting in Brazil. Xi has not explicitly condemned Putin over the war in Ukraine so far.
Comment

Can the threat of sanctions firepower prevent a Taiwan crisis?

China has far more foreign-exchange reserves than Russia that West could freeze

18 March 2022
Japan operates satellites that have the ability to capture images day and night, and through clouds and other obstructions in the atmosphere. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Ukraine war

Ukraine asks Japan for satellite data amid Russian invasion

Government will decide on whether to provide high-resolution images

17 March 2022