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July 24, 2026
 

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Michael Schwirtz
Toranomon Kotohira Tower in Tokyo, where the office of the Russian state airline Aeroflot is located.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 24, 2026
A Russian spy, suddenly cast into the spotlight, flees Japan
The spy was at the center of a secret operation to smuggle high-tech weapon components into Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 6.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Jul 12, 2026
How Putin turned Japan into a den of spies
Japan has long been known as a spy paradise, in part because of post-World War II constraints that keep the country¡¯s intelligence services weak.
Ukrainian military vehicles close to the border with Russia¡¯s Kursk region, in Ukraine on Jan. 9.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025
North Korean troops no longer seen on front lines fighting Ukraine
The North Korean troops, sent to bolster Russian forces trying to push back a Ukrainian offensive inside Russia¡¯s borders, have not been seen at the front line for about two weeks.
A Ukrainian Army vehicle passes through the destroyed Russian border post at the Sudzha crossing with Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia on Aug. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 11, 2024
50,000 Russian and North Korean troops mass ahead of attack, U.S. says
Ukrainian officials expect a counteroffensive in western Russia to begin in the coming days as North Korea¡¯s troops train with Russian forces.
Ukrainian men carrying a dead Russian soldier at a border crossing near Sudzha, Russia, on Aug. 12. The Ukrainian offensive over the border last month caught Moscow's intelligence agencies by surprise, experts say.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024
Distracted and divided, Russian security service misses threats
The Ukrainian offensive over the border caught Moscow¡¯s intelligence agencies by surprise, experts say. It wasn¡¯t the first time that has happened during the war.
Ukrainian soldiers walk among the remnants of a destroyed Russian military convoy in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 2, 2022. Representatives of both countries held peace talks in the early weeks of the Russian invasion but they fizzled.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2024
The sticking points that kept Russia and Ukraine apart
Putin repeatedly referred to the 2022 talks as the foundation for future deals, but many doubt he¡¯d settle for anything less than full subjugation.
People talk as smoke billows from a nearby strike on industrial buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD
May 18, 2024
Ukraine asks U.S. to provide more intelligence on targets in Russia
American officials say they do not want U.S. weapons used in cross-border attacks or intelligence reports used to strike inside Russia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 9, 2023
Leaked documents reveal depth of U.S. spy efforts and Russia¡¯s military struggles
The information, exposed on social media sites, also shows that U.S. intelligence services are eavesdropping on important allies.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2022
¡®This isn¡¯t war. It¡¯s the destruction of the Russian people by their own commanders.¡¯
Russia has been at war most of the year, yet its army seems less prepared than ever.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 12, 2022
Pressure grows on the West to speed air defense systems to Ukraine
On Tuesday, leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations pledged ¡®undeterred and steadfast¡± financial and military support for Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 10, 2022
Ukrainians fear Russian reprisals for Crimea bridge attack
Although Russian officials made a show of reopening the bridge to some automobile and train traffic, the extent of the damage remains unclear.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 24, 2022
As Russian losses mount in Ukraine, Putin gets more involved in war strategy
Focused on victory at all costs, Putin has become a more public face of the war as the Russian military appears increasingly in turmoil.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 14, 2022
With new weaponry, Ukraine is subtly shifting its war strategy
Despite massive losses, Russia still holds an advantage over Ukraine in a head-to-head fighting, but Ukraine is waging the war on its own terms.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 11, 2022
Ukraine war¡¯s geographic reality: Russia has seized much of the east
Despite flawed planning, poor intelligence, barbarity and wanton destruction, Putin¡¯s forces have made significant gains on the ground.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 27, 2022
Standing in the path of war, a small town braces as Russians advance
Orikhiv lies among a small constellation of tidy farming villages standing right in the path of Russian troops advancing from the south and east.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 17, 2022
Putin¡¯s Ukraine gamble pivots to a very different battlefield
Battles over the past seven weeks raged in populated areas near Kyiv, but the war is moving into wide-open flatland, which will drastically change combat strategy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 23, 2022
As Russia stalls in Ukraine, dissent brews over Putin¡¯s leadership
The slow going and the heavy toll of Putin¡¯s war in Ukraine are setting off questions about his military¡¯s planning capability and his confidence in his top spies.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2022
Russian rocket attack turns Ukrainian marine base to rubble, killing dozens
That number of Ukrainian marines killed in the missile strike would make it one of the single deadliest attacks on Ukrainian forces since the start of the war three weeks ago.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 24, 2022
Dozens of soldiers killed as Ukraine tries to mount an ¡®all-out defense¡¯
Initial reports of the fighting suggested that Russian forces had crossed into Ukraine at multiple points, with helicopter-borne troops flying in under the cover of machine-gun fire.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2022
Putin calls Ukrainian statehood a fiction. History suggests otherwise.
In a speech, President Vladimir Putin bent Ukraine¡¯s complex history into his own version that served as a justification for his cleaving off more of its territory.
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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