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April 19, 2024
 

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Michael Schwirtz
For Michael Schwirtz's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
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 Times
WORLD
Feb 15, 2022
‘We need to oppose Russia’: Ukrainians find common purpose
Across the country, Lenin statues and hammer-and-sickle emblems of the Soviet past have been toppled, replaced by monuments to Ukrainians killed in the 2014 uprising.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 2, 2022
Putin signals openness to diplomacy while blaming U.S. for crisis
Putin appeared to be trying to dial down tensions slightly in a crisis that has ignited fears of a full-fledged Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 29, 2022
As Russian troops mass in Belarus, a Ukraine border is largely undefended
Russia has deployed tanks and artillery, fighter jets and helicopters, advanced rocket systems and troops by the thousands all across Belarus.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 26, 2022
As West warns of Russian attack, Ukraine sends different message
Some analysts say Ukraine's posture of playing down the threat is to prevent panic, while others say it reflects the country's uneasy acceptance that conflict with Russia is nothing new.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 17, 2021
NATO signals support for Ukraine in face of threat from Russia
While NATO's chief sent Ukraine's president an unmistakable message of support in a meeting, it did not come with commitments of military assistance.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 3, 2020
Germany says Putin foe Alexei Navalny poisoned with Novichok agent
Soon after a private plane carrying poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny touched down in Berlin last month, doctors treating him at the prestigious Charite hospital there became so alarmed they called in the army.
Reader Mail
Dec 28, 2008
Beware Pyrrhic victories on tests
Regarding the Dec. 23 editorial "Scoring the ability to think": The debate over the relationship between rankings on tests of international competition and the ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-life situations is not limited to Japan. It is an ongoing issue in the United States as well, particularly because American students have never excelled on the closely watched paper-and-pencil tests.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
In a first, Japan doctors sue Google over negative reviews on firm's map app
One of the lawyers representing a group of doctors suing Google told a news conference that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek compensation but instead to raise awareness over various problems with the Google Maps system.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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