Politics

A Russian tank fires during a military exercise near Novosibirsk, Russia, on Sept. 19.
The Nikkei View

China and Russia's military tie-up deserves closer scrutiny

Joint military exercises indicate alarming shift in alignment

25 September 2019
Asian arms importers are leveraging their contracts to soak up technology and build up their own defense industries. (© Nikkei photo illustration)
Asia Insight

India-Russia pact marks turning point in Asian arms race

South and Southeast Asia use buying power to win tech transfers

24 September 2019
The lack of reciprocity is visible in Abe and Putin's personal relations.
Opinion

Shinzo Abe's Russia policy risks embarrassment for Japan

He must stop giving in to Vladimir Putin, who delights in spurning him

10 September 2019
11 million Chinese tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year.
Opinion

Thailand worries mass tourism is bringing security troubles

Easier visa system would pose national challenge

10 September 2019
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak Sept. 5 on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
International relations

Putin calls US-Japan alliance an obstacle to peace treaty

Abe denies missile deployment plans and backs Russian return to G-7

6 September 2019
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meet Sept. 4 ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
International relations

Modi and Putin eye energy and defense to reach $30bn in trade

India and Russia plan Chennai-Vladivostok maritime communication link

4 September 2019
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, is scheduled to join the Eastern Economic Forum for the first time this year.
International relations

Russia seen courting India for investments at Eastern Economic Forum

Modi scheduled to attend for the first time as Moscow pivots to Asia

3 September 2019
China is looking at acquisition of Ukrainian military technology, including purchasing a stake in a military helicopter engine manufacturer.
International relations

Ukraine is new battleground in US-China fight for influence

Beijing casts an eager eye on military technology from ex-Soviet republic

3 September 2019
Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing his signature Belt and Road Initiative with the goal of creating a massive economic zone that will link China to Europe by land and sea.
Comment

Russia is in danger of being overrun by China's Belt and Road

A new Eurasian order is in the making, with Beijing in the driver's seat

17 August 2019
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has Putin's back on the issue of the Kuril Islands.
Comment

Putin sends Abe frosty signal via Medvedev's island visit

Russian president appears to no longer regard Japan as a diplomatic priority

11 August 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in St. Petersburg in June: Though the two leaders have found common cause in opposing Washington, their friendship has limits, experts say.
Comment

Russia and China romance runs into friction in Central Asia

US strategists call for driving wedge between the traditional rivals

29 July 2019
Kazakhstan's interim president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has promised to write off the mortgage and tax debts of low-income people, straining the government's budget.
Economy

Kazakhstan's political uncertainty weighs on its currency

Transition to permanent president and the ruble to determine tenge's value

29 July 2019
A Russian TU-95 bomber flies over East China Sea on July 23: an incident involving China and Russia on one side and Japan and South Korea on the other is unprecedented. (Handout photo from Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan) 
Opinion

Russian air clash is a wake-up call for South Korea

Seoul and Tokyo should move closer as Moscow and Beijing inflame tensions

25 July 2019
A Russian A-50 military plane flies near islands called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea on July 23.
International relations

Russia and China test regional fault lines with island flyover

South Korea fires hundreds of rounds, Japan scrambles jets in dangerous sequence

24 July 2019
Xi and Putin have had more than 30 meetings since they came to office.
Opinion

China and Russia close ranks as Trump's trade war intensifies

Moscow and Beijing cooperation poses hard questions for US

19 July 2019
Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe meet in Osaka on June 29: For decades, their nations have made little progress toward solving a territorial dispute left over from World War II.
Comment

Japan in tight spot in tussle with Russia over isles near Hokkaido

Tokyo must perform balancing act as talks shift to joint economic activities

15 July 2019
Novatek's Yamal LNG terminal recently began shipping liquefied natural gas to Japan.
Energy

Russia looks for Asia LNG buyers to blunt Western sanctions' bite

Fivefold production bump planned by 2035 to counter rising US shale gas exports

14 July 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka last month.
International relations

Russia offers to supply etching gas to S Korea amid Japan export curb

Seoul is considering alternative options as spat with Tokyo drags on

12 July 2019
Trump's impromptu tweet inviting Kim to a DMZ rendezvous was a theatrical gesture which both surely knew was coming.
Opinion

DMZ 'surprise' summit should not have been a surprise

US, China, and North Korea seem to be tacitly coordinating moves

5 July 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left and Chinese President Xi Jinping: Political and economic leaders in Russia are concerned about their country's trade status with its more economically powerful neighbor.
Comment

Russia's cozy economic ties with China are not all they seem

Moscow chafes at junior partner status in trade fully dependent on oil and gas

4 July 2019
Putin, left, meets Abe on June 28 in Osaka: conspicuously absent from the summit was any progress on the territorial issues.
Opinion

Time for Abe to come clean on territorial dispute with Russia

Japan's leader should explain why he quietly shelved decades-old demands

2 July 2019
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet Saturday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka. (Photo by Nozomu Ogawa)
International relations

Japan and Russia look for momentum on peace treaty at G-20

Abe and Putin agree to hasten negotiations based on Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956

30 June 2019
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, also discussed Iran situations and counter-terrorism measures with other leaders. 
G-20 summit Osaka

India treads a fine line with US-Japan and China-Russia at G-20

Modi discusses Indo-Pacific with Trump and Abe, trade issues with Xi and Putin

28 June 2019
"It is out of the question" for Turkey to compromise on an F-35 order that the U.S. has threatened to cancel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Nikkei in a June 26 interview in Ankara. (Photo by Cevahir Bugu)
Interview

Erdogan calls election defeat a victory for Turkey's democracy

President says Trump administration's threat to cancel F-35 is unacceptable

27 June 2019
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un played up their close relationship at their recent summit in Pyongyang.
The Nikkei View

Xi-Kim talks must make progress on a nuclear-free North Korea

China and Russia should use their sway in Pyongyang to promote regional stability

25 June 2019