author

 
 

Meta

Andrew Osborn
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2022
Putin is safe in power for now, but risks lie ahead, current and former officials say
Russian leader's grip on power remains firm despite military setbacks in Ukraine, a botched mobilization and political infighting, eight well-informed sources say.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 28, 2022
Will a cornered Putin follow through on his nuclear threats?
In his most recent comments, Putin explicitly warned the West that he would use all available means to defend Russian territory.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 24, 2022
Putin bets winter gas chokehold will yield Ukraine peace — on his terms
According to sources familiar with Kremlin thinking, this may be the only path to victory that Moscow sees, given Kyiv's defiant stance.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 29, 2021
'Erasing history': Russia closes top rights group, capping year of crackdowns
The closure of Memorial International bookmarks a year in which Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's top critic, was jailed, his movement banned and many of his allies forced to flee.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 25, 2021
Putin's Ukraine gambit seen as part of play for new Biden summit
The other big aim is to signal to the West that it should stop helping Ukraine upgrade its military, sources say.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2021
Moscow accuses U.S. of rehearsing nuclear strike on Russia earlier this month
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said flights by U.S. strategic bombers have more than doubled, with the planes coming within 20 kilometers of the Russian border during recent drills.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 15, 2021
Russia and China hold joint naval drills in Sea of Japan
The war games run from Oct. 14-17, involving warships from Russia's Pacific Fleet, including mine-sweepers and submarines.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 22, 2021
'New normal': Kremlin says tough approach to Alexei Navalny allies here to stay
The Kremlin and its loyalists have said they will maintain and in some cases intensify their tough approach to internal and external critics they view as a threat to Russia's stability.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2021
How Russia's new gulag tries to break convicts like Alexei Navalny
Six former inmates and a former prisons inspector spoke of regular beatings by guards, sexual assaults and severe psychological pressure at a facility near Moscow.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 28, 2021
In Germany's Black Forest, Putin critic Alexei Navalny gathered strength and resolve
Navalny spent time recovering his physical fitness with intense workouts and took his war with Putin to a new level: targeting him directly for the first time.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2019
For Ukraine's leader, Trump memo on their call is a diplomatic car crash
For U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House's publication on Wednesday of a memo summarizing his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fueled a domestic political crisis. For Zelenskiy, it was a far-reaching diplomatic disaster.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 31, 2018
Russia investigates teenage suicide attack on national security agency office in Arkhangelsk
Russia opened an investigation into suspected terrorism Wednesday after a 17-year-old youth blew himself in the lobby of an office belonging to the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the north of the country.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2018
Russia launches biggest war games in decades
Russia began its biggest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union on Tuesday close to its border with China, mobilizing 300,000 troops in a show of force that will include joint exercises with the Chinese army.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 31, 2018
Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko turns up alive after reported murder
A dissident Russian journalist who was reported murdered in Kiev dramatically reappeared alive on Wednesday in the middle of a televised briefing about his own killing by the Ukrainian state security service.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2017
Putin, wary of political tumult, shuns Russian Revolution centenary
Vladimir Putin stayed away from events marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution on Tuesday, an event that changed the world but has awkward associations for the former KGB operative who was trained to keep a lid on dissent, not celebrate it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 4, 2017
Russia quietly throws North Korea lifeline in bid to stymie regime change
Russia is quietly boosting economic support for North Korea to try to stymie any U.S.-led push to oust Kim Jong Un, as Moscow fears his fall would sap its regional clout and allow U.S. troops to deploy on Russia's eastern border.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 16, 2016
Seat at front of geopolitical table allowed Putin to scale back in Syria
Vladimir Putin cited Russian military success in Syria as his reason for scaling back his forces there. But his belief that the intervention delivered him a seat at the top table of world affairs is more likely to have tipped his hand.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2015
Coalition needs two years to expel Islamic State group from Iraq: U.K.
The U.S.-led coalition could take up to two years to expel the Islamic State group from Iraq, and Baghdad's own forces will be incapable of proper combat operations for months, Britain's foreign minister warned on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2014
UKIP victorious in EU vote
Britain's U.K. Independence Party stormed to victory Sunday in European elections, riding a tide of Euroskepticism and anxiety about immigration to beat Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party, partial results showed.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2014
Symbolic Crimea vital to Putin legacy
When Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol in Crimea last year, he made a pilgrimage to several sites associated with Russia's tumultuous history.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?