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August 13, 2026
 

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Anders Aslund
Russian President Vladimir Putin views Tu-160M strategic bombers at the Kazan Aviation Factory in Kazan, Russia, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2025
Stagflation is hitting Russia¡¯s war economy
Putin apparently does not think his popularity could withstand devoting much more of the budget to the war effort.
People line up to use an ATM in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Western financial sanctions have weighed on the Russian ruble, which has sunk from 34 to the dollar in 2013 to around 100 today.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025
Putin¡¯s war is fueling Russian stagflation
For a normal country, a budget deficit of 2% of GDP would be of no concern. But Russia is not a normal country.
A funeral is held for Russian military personnel and civilians killed in the war with Ukraine, at a cemetery in Luhansk, in Russian-controlled Ukraine, in May 2023. The U.S. estimates that 120,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and another 180,000 injured, further worsening the nation's manpower shortages and economic output.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2024
The Russian war economy¡¯s days are numbered
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies boast that the sanctions make Russia stronger, but they incessantly call for all restrictions to be lifted.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a summit seeking peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad, Switzerland, on June 15.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2024
Kamala Harris must correct America¡¯s Ukraine policy
The war in Ukraine could be a boon for Harris, but she must correct Biden¡¯s mistakes and provide the additional resources Ukraine needs to defeat Russia.
Though the West has supplied desperately needed weapons and ammunition, it has done little else to address Ukraine¡¯s needs or establish shared goals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024
The war in Ukraine needs a stronger unified Western strategy
Though the West has supplied desperately needed weapons and ammunition, it has done little else to address Ukraine¡¯s needs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2023
Preparing for Ukraine¡¯s reconstruction
With the estimated cost of Ukraine¡¯s postwar recovery reaching hundreds of billions of dollars, Western governments must develop a cohesive and unified strategy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2023
Putin cronies and criminals gear up to steal Russia
Owing to Vladimir Putin¡¯s war in Ukraine and the West¡¯s response, hundreds of billions of dollars¡¯ worth of assets are up for grabs in Russia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2022
How to win friends and drain Russia¡¯s war machine
By establishing a buyers¡¯ cartel to impose a price cap on Russian crude, the West could achieve its goal of defunding Russia¡¯s war machine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2022
Vladimir Putin¡¯s failed state, a disaster of his own making
So great is Putin¡¯s Ukraine blunder that he may now have rendered Russia a failed state ¡ª a political or economic system that has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2021
Putin¡¯s Ukraine saber-rattling and a last gasp
With Russia¡¯s economy faltering, Vladimir Putin may be seeking a military victory to turn around his tanking political fortunes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2021
Confronting the Kremlin¡¯s new hybrid war in Europe
Russia¡¯s recent aggressive moves have multiple objectives. But the Kremlin¡¯s greatest desire is to divide and weaken the European Union.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2021
The case for stronger Russia sanctions
The Crimea sanctions have had the intended economic effect. Whereas Central and Eastern Europe¡¯s GDP has grown by 3% to 5% per year since 2014, Russia¡¯s has stagnated.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2021
Putin¡¯s dangerous Ukraine narrative
Make no mistake: by denying Ukraine¡¯s right to independence, Putin is setting the stage for war. The West must quickly decide what it is willing to do to prevent it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2021
Russia¡¯s bear economy
Lacking secure property rights and being subject to Western sanctions, Russia can attract only fools and crooks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2021
Putin¡¯s Potemkin empire
Putin¡¯s Russia is shakier than most believe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2020
China should join the Paris Club
The problem is that China, the largest sovereign lender in the world, is not a member, because other leading creditors complain that its loans and lending conditions are not transparent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2017
Russia¡¯s oligarchs-in-waiting
As the better-known children of Russia¡¯s previous generation of oligarchs have steadily left the country, the offspring of Vladimir Putin¡¯s cronies have taken their place.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2017
Russia¡¯s neo-feudal capitalism
Russian President Vladimir Putin¡¯s model of crony capitalism poses a genuine threat to social and political stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2015
Putin¡¯s newfound prudence
Russia¡¯s economic stagnation confronts President Vladimir Putin with a challenge he has never faced: leading the country at a time when there is no light visible at the end of the tunnel.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2015
Russia¡¯s war on Ukraine¡¯s economy
Ukraine¡¯s primary economic challenges are not homegrown; they are the result of Russian aggression.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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