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April 28, 2024
 

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Natalia Drozdiak
For Natalia Drozdiak's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A soldier resting after returning from a front-line position in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region in November 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2024
Russian attacks on Ukraine stoke fears army near breaking point
Low on ammunition and manpower, Ukraine may soon run out of options in Russia's invasion.
NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg (left) and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a news conference in Washington on Jan. 29
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024
World rush to rearm could cost G7 countries $10 trillion over next decade
Security challenges include an aggressive Russia, a volatile Middle East, and the Chinese military tugging U.S. attention toward the Pacific.
A Ukrainian soldier loads ammunition into an M2 Browning machine gun.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024
Moscow is outpacing Ukraine’s allies in the race for ammunition
The flow of military aid has dropped dramatically, and some Ukrainian guns are firing just a single round a day in order to save their dwindling stocks.
Swedish soldiers take part in the changing of the guard ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2024
Sweden’s NATO accession unlocks defense options to fend off Russia
Becoming a full member removes any ambiguity about whether the alliance would defend Sweden in the event of an attack, and vice versa.
Soldiers during a live-fire exercise in Weiden, Germany
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2024
Germany faces pressure to tighten security after Ukraine details exposed
One official described the lapses that led to the leak as expected from people who have never had security briefings but not from military officials.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July 2023.
WORLD
Feb 24, 2024
Europe’s east is losing faith in its west over arming Ukraine
The mood in diplomatic circles is that, should Russia ultimately win its war in Ukraine, Western Europe will not be forgiven.
Ukrainian police officers and rescue workers clear away the rubble of a destroyed house after a Russian rocket attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024
Ukraine’s allies are gaming out a world where the U.S. retreats
NATO members are beginning to doubt the U.S. will maintain its traditional role of protecting Europe as part of the alliance.
A soldier participates in a multinational training exercise in the municipality of Hohenfels in Germany.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024
Europe's race against time to rebuild militaries in uncertain world
The continent is a decade away from being able to defend itself unaided, officials say, while Russia could target a NATO member in three to five years.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Saturday. Many were alarmed by Trump’s comments that he would "encourage” Russia to attack U.S. allies that didn’t pay into NATO, but European leaders were already pondering the prospect of an alliance without the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024
Once-bitten Europe is better prepared for Trump’s NATO tirades
The EU is quietly preparing an impact assessment of the November U.S. election — particularly the scenario in which Trump wins.
A farmer throws an egg aimed at police officers as farmers from Belgium and other European countries use their tractors to block the area outside the European Parliament, as they protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, in Brussels, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2024
How farmers, football and fatigue got Viktor Orban to cave on Ukraine
Angry farmers' noisy protest against burdensome EU regulations robbed Hungarian leader of a good night's sleep.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting near Moscow on Dec. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023
U.S. allies brace for high cost of defeat as Ukraine aid stalls
Russian victory in Ukraine would be felt around the world as U.S. partners and allies questioned Washington’s promises of defense.
The nuclear-powered icebreaker Yakutia during the ship's launch ceremony in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in November 2022
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023
NATO admiral says growing China-Russia ties raise risk in Arctic
Moscow is busily realigning commercial ties after its invasion of Ukraine — all while boosting oil shipments to Beijing.
Smoke fills the sky after a strike on the port of Gaza City on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2023
Israel-Hamas conflict offers boon to Russia in Ukraine
Israel’s requests for U.S. military aid risk diverting weapons and focus from Ukraine while the rising price of oil bolsters Moscow’s economy.
A barge carrying grain is unloaded at the port in Constanta, Romania, in August last year. Romanian radar detected a breach of its territory last weekend, the latest in a string of such incidents.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2023
Russian attacks are edging closer and closer to NATO territory
As Ukraine reaps a bumper harvest, Russia is targeting the export routes that run from the ports around Odesa.
French President Emmanuel Macron, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-U.S. President Donald Trump during a photo opportunity at a NATO leaders summit in the U.K. in 2019.
WORLD
Sep 29, 2023
Europe is trying to ‘Trump proof’ the transatlantic relationship
Trump, 77, holds a commanding lead over his rivals in the contest for the Republican nomination, despite his mounting legal troubles.
Ukrainian servicemen fire small multiple launch rocket systems toward Russian troops near a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Aug. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2023
Ukraine’s slow offensive buoys Putin and worries allies
More than two months into its counteroffensive, Kyiv has so far managed to make only tactical advances against heavily dug-in Russian forces.
The remains of a missile that dropped cluster bombs at a housing complex in Sloviansk, Ukraine
WORLD
Aug 18, 2023
Unexploded missile suggests Moscow is rushing weapons to the front
The discovery adds to other evidence that Moscow is under pressure to fire missiles as soon as they roll off manufacturing lines.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 12, 2023
NATO to offer Ukraine fast path to join when conditions met
NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine won’t need a so-called Membership Action Plan to prepare for joining, Secretay-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 11, 2023
Turkey agrees to back Sweden’s NATO bid in boost to alliance
NATO’s northern enlargement heralds one of the most prominent changes in the European security landscape after Russia’s war against Ukraine led to dramatic shifts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 30, 2023
Eastern Europe sounds warning on Wagner mercenaries in Belarus
Latvia’s prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, said the presence of Wagner in neighboring Belarus posed an urgent threat of 'infiltration” into the European Union.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima
Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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