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July 24, 2026
 

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SOVIET UNION

People worship during a service held near the Washington Monument ahead of the Rededicate 250 National Jubilee event marking America＊s 250th birthday in the U.S. capital on May 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 16, 2026
As shared values shift, what＊s next for U.S.-Japan relations?
America under Trump is moving closer to the concerns of religious conservatives than to democracy and human rights.
Restoring democracy in Russia will require challenging Vladimir Putin＊s authoritarian rule by rebuilding locally accountable governments that can deliver public services and foster political accountability.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2026
Putin should be challenged to restore local democracy in Russia
Before the 1990 elections, many experts had assumed that the main effect of local democracy would be to deliver more autonomy for regions populated by ethnic minorities.
A Soviet-made T55 tank is exhibited in front of pictures of the victims of communist dictatorship at the House of Terror Museum in Budapest. The building of the museum was used by the state police until 1956 and its basement was turned into a prison.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2026
What China will learn from Orban＊s defeat
The lesson Mao drew from these events was that under one-party rule, an opening for dissent can easily ignite rebellion.
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.
U.S. allies should resist distancing themselves from Washington over Donald Trump and instead strengthen long-term economic and defense ties with the U.S. to safeguard their interests against emerging global rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
The case for ＆hardened engagement＊ with America
Allowing a distaste for one U.S. president (no matter how bombastic) to sever the ties that bind the free world is not only bad policy, it＊s a recipe for strategic irrelevance.
The Trump administration is pursuing a ※third way§ nuclear strategy combining Western Hemisphere primacy and multilayered deterrence, with frontline allies, particularly Japan, expected to strengthen their own deterrence mechanisms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 2, 2026
Redesigning U.S.-Japan security in a ＆two-peer＊ nuclear era
Frontline U.S. allies like Japan must strengthen their own denial capabilities and institutionalize trigger mechanisms for extended deterrence and ensure rapid decision-making.
Students from Okinawa Prefecture speak with Hiroshi Tokuno (left) at an exchange center for the Northern Territories issue in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on Dec. 27.
51勛圖厙 / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 2, 2026
Okinawa students visit Hokkaido to learn about disputed islands
Over 80 years after Soviet forces seized four islands from Japan, former Japanese residents remain unable to return to their hometowns.
Fences protect an abandoned building known locally as one of the "Russian houses" in the eastern Berlin district of Karlshorst, Germany.
WORLD
Feb 10, 2026
Berlin＊s crumbling ＆Russian houses＊ trapped in bureaucratic limbo
Known locally as the ※Russian houses,§ they sheltered Soviet soldiers and their families in the eastern neighborhood of Karlshorst, the site of the Nazis＊ final capitulation.
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.
America＊s reliance on high fructose corn syrup stems from a tangled mix of postwar Japanese research, Nixon-era farm policy, Cold War grain deals and corporate maneuvering that still shapes food and politics today.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2025
America＊s corn syrup addiction began with deceit
Unlike conventional corn syrup, a form of glucose derived from starch that has been around for over two hundred years, high fructose corn syrup wasn＊t developed until after WW II.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi receives a petition regarding the Northern Territories from Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki (fourth from left) and Nemuro City Mayor Masatoshi Ishigaki (far left) at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
51勛圖厙 / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Takaichi vows to resume grave visits to northern islands by ex-residents
Grave visits by former residents had been suspended following Russia＊s invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
Yurika Lacy in Aisai, Aichi Prefecture, with her grandfather's book and the English version she translated
51勛圖厙 / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 24, 2025
Aichi Prefecture resident tells grandfather＊s WWII story in English
Translating notes about being a student soldier took seven years to complete, in time for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
A preserved part of the border between Thuringia and Bavaria, close to the old border between East and West Germany, near the village of Modlareuth, Germany, on Sept. 25, 2020. Many East Germans are more sympathetic toward Moscow than their western compatriots, reflecting decades of Soviet ties and disillusionment since reunification.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2025
Why Germany is still divided when it comes to Russia
While most West Germans have condemned Russia＊s invasion of Ukraine, many East Germans have a nuanced view and are cautious on imposing sanctions on Moscow.
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,
Yasuhiko Ito speaks of his experience as an internee under the Soviet Union after World War II, in the city of Fukuoka in April, prior to his death in May at the age of 100.
51勛圖厙 / History
Sep 17, 2025
Former Japanese internee in Ukraine pained by Russian invasion
After World War II, Yasuhiko Ito was taken as a disarmed soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army by the former Soviet Union to Ukraine for forced labor.
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
51勛圖厙 / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Sep 1, 2025
Why Stalin didn＊t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
Declassified cables between U.S. President Harry Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin reveal the Soviets had advanced plans to invade Hokkaido and occupy half of it.
Kunitake Toriya, a former corporal in the Imperial Japanese Army who had trained for a suicide attack mission, speaks about his wartime experiences in front of the photographs of his comrades at Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, in June.
51勛圖厙
Aug 27, 2025
Destined for death, former kamikaze pilot recalls wanting to live
Kunitake Toriya yelled ※Banzai§ in his heart when his suicide mission was called off. Now, 80 years on, he is determined to share his story.
Nuclear weapons may have prevented global war through deterrence, but today＊s shifting threats require adaptable strategies and strong leadership to avoid catastrophe.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2025
How humanity can avoid starting World War III
As a new nuclear age dawns, the U.S. must once again adjust its policies with foresight and flexibility, resisting both technological determinism and political destabilization.
Daiki Hama, lecturer at Tama University in Tokyo, shows his creation of a virtual Siberian internment camp and a virtual reality headset in April.
51勛圖厙
Aug 26, 2025
Japanese lecturer digitally re-creates post-WWII Siberian detention camp
The virtual camp has been used for hands-on events for children at a museum and training sessions for student storytellers at the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum.
Hiroyoshi Takizawa looks at pictures from his days in wartime Manchuria as a child during an interview in Nagano in June.
51勛圖厙
Aug 21, 2025
A life upended by wartime mass suicides
Hiroyoshi Takizawa＊s life in Manchuria was comfortable at first. But when the Soviet Union invaded, his father, fearing the worst, chose mass suicide.
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" 〞 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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