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July 24, 2026
 

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Nina L. Khrushcheva
Smoke rises from Gazprom Neft¡¯s Moscow oil refinery after a deep Ukrainian drone strike on June 18.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2026
As Ukraine¡¯s deep strikes mount, Putin lets his country burn
The war has become the organizing principle of Putin¡¯s regime, leaving no path to lasting peace without a fundamental political transformation.
The 12th-century painting The Temptation of Christ by the Devil depicts Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. The work is part of The Cloisters Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2026
When the other side is framed as the antichrist
When rivals become mortal enemies, the instruments of politics and diplomacy cannot work.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, the day Russia celebrates the anniversary of the Soviet Union¡¯s victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2026
How Moscow lost friends and global influence
With even Russia¡¯s closest friends hedging their bets, the Kremlin¡¯s ability to project power and shape world affairs has been severely weakened.
While Russia has not reverted to full-bore Stalinism, there is no doubt that President Vladimir Putin has made tremendous strides toward totalitarianism.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2026
How de-Stalinization may offer lessons for post-Putin Russia
This is not Stalinism yet. While thousands of dissenters have faced punishment for their ¡°crimes¡± under Putin, millions rotted in Stalin¡¯s Gulags.
Modern authoritarians, like those of old, centralize power so tightly that their personal fears, ambitions and miscalculations often drive national actions with global consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2026
The high price of political paranoia
In authoritarian systems, national interests and objectives often conflict with the leader¡¯s beliefs, desires and insecurities.
Russian bloggers are criticizing Vladimir Putin¡¯s silence after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and seized the country¡¯s president, Nicolas Maduro.?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2026
Why is Putin silent on the capture of Maduro?
While Russian President Vladimir Putin certainly does not relish appearing weak, nor does he want to risk exacerbating tensions with the US.
U.S. President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from the organization¡¯s president at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Dec. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2025
Daddy Trump: When democracies flatter autocrats
Trump¡¯s second administration has vindicated the most dire warnings, targeting agencies and institutions that safeguard democracy at home and project soft power abroad.
Vladimir Putin's crackdown on dissent mirrors the repressive tactics of Peter the Great and Josef Stalin, using fear and fabricated charges to suppress opposition amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2025
In Russia, enemies are everywhere
The number of terrorism-related cases opened in Russia has soared since the country¡¯s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with convictions also rising,
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Aug. 22, where he showed off a photo from his meeting earlier that month with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2025
Donald Trump and Russia¡¯s ¡®useful idiot¡¯
Putin is employing two Soviet-era tactics: enlisting ¡°useful idiots¡± in the cause and employing ¡°salami tactics¡± to achieve his ends.
Vladimir Putin has been rehabilitating Josef Stalin for more than two decades ¡ª and reviving some of the worst elements of the Soviet era in the process.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2025
Glory to Stalin and the whitewashing of history
Russia¡¯s Communist Party recently asserted that, in Stalin¡¯s ¡°deeds and works,¡± Russians can seek ¡°answers to the fateful challenges of our time.¡±
The public breakdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk highlights a familiar pattern among authoritarian leaders: They elevate allies only to discard them when their loyalty falters or their influence threatens the throne.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2025
No loyalty lasts: Why authoritarians always betray their allies
The very public and acrimonious split between U.S. President Donald Trump and his once-favorite aide, Elon Musk, would be amusing if it were not so terrifying. Their puerile public feud demonstrated just how insecure ¡ª even unhinged ¡ª the world¡¯s most powerful person and its wealthiest really are....
With Russia holding the upper hand in Ukraine and its people likely to support a favorable peace, why is the Kremlin unwilling to negotiate?
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2025
Russia¡¯s two minds on Ukraine
Russian people used to have savings; today, they spend whatever they can get their hands on and even take out loans.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in St. Petersburg on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2025
The U.S. and Russia are negotiating in bad faith
For now, Trump says he is ¡°pissed off¡± at Putin for not being more amenable to his administration¡¯s ceasefire proposals and he is threatening to impose yet more sanctions.
U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s public humiliation tactics, such as belittling foreign leaders and political opponents, mirror those of dictators like Stalin and Mao, reflecting his authoritarian tendencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025
Fear and loathing in the Oval Office
Trump should be thought of as a dilettante despot, the Roman emperor of reality TV.
Russian Communist Party supporters carry a flag after a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 150th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birth in 2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025
Russia¡¯s nostalgia machine works for strongman Putin
If Russians are gripped by a yearning for an imaginary past, they will not fight for a better future.
Destruction left in the wake of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in the city of Hulyaipole, in the country's Zaporizhzhia region, in September 2022
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2024
Does a savage war of partition await Ukraine?
Donald Trump appears bent on striking a ¡°peace¡± deal with Russia that involves Ukraine¡¯s dismemberment.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump managed to win the support of over 72 million Americans despite his history of trying to overturn elections, a lack of policy expertise and his authoritarian rhetoric.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2024
A Donald Trump victory: How did it come to this?
How did a convicted felon, who sought to overturn a presidential election that he decisively lost just four years ago, win the votes of more than 72 million Americans?
Vladimir Putin¡¯s actions in Ukraine, much like those of past Soviet leaders, stem from a desire to be recognized as a global power and from perceived Western threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
The sources of Russian conduct
From Josef Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leaders shared Putin¡¯s desire for ¡°great power¡± prestige.
Giant figures depicting Russian authors Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin, Daniil Kharms and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are paraded through a carnival in central Moscow in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2024
When art is all that remains
Looking at the Kremlin today, one wonders, ¡°Do they really now know how this story ends?¡± Art will always have the last word.
Russia isn¡¯t a theocracy but Orthodox Christianity, the state religion, has become all-encompassing, with President Vladimir Putin claiming to have a divine mission.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2024
The demigods of populism
By claiming to represent the will of the divine, populist leaders like Putin, Modi, Erdogan ¡ª and even Trump ¡ª stake an otherworldly claim to political power.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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