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September 16, 2025
 

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TERRITORIES

Kunashiri, one of the four islands seized by Russia in the last days of World War II, is visible from the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 22, 2025
Ex-residents of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido want grave-site visits resumed
Now in their advanced years, the former residents want the visits to be restored for them to honor their ancestors whose grave sites are located on the four islands.
Former residents of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan hold a memorial service aboard the exchange ship Etopirika, which arrived off Kunashiri, part of the Northern Territories, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025
Ex-residents of Japan-claimed isles hold memorial at sea
Former Japanese residents of the Russian-held islands cannot return to their hometowns because exchange programs between the two countries have been suspended.
A view of Kunashir — known as Kunashiri in Japanese — one a group of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025
Memorial services at sea to be held off disputed islands
Two of the five events will involve an overnight stay on a ship, with participants offering prayers toward part of Kunashiri Island.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Russia to conduct drill in waters near disputed island off Hokkaido
The Japanese government has lodged a protest with Russia over the planned drills near Shikotan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in a video message shown at a national rally demanding the return of the Northern Territories held in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025
Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row
The four islands were captured by the Soviet military during the final months of the war, and have been held by Moscow since, in what Tokyo describes as an "illegal occupation."
Concept art for the renewed National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
Japan's territory museum to reopen in April following renovations
The museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is designed to publicize Japan's position on disputed territories.
Takako Yamashita, a descendant of a former Japanese resident of the Russian-controlled islands called the Northern Territories, seeks to preserve memories of life on the isles through the creation of pictorial maps.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2024
Memories of Russian-held isles preserved through pictorial maps
The maps feature the names of residents on each house and colorful illustrations of flora and fauna, as well as scenes from daily life.
Upper House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki speaks to reporters in Moscow on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2024
Pro-Moscow lawmaker Muneo Suzuki visits Russia again
The Upper House member defied the central government by flying to Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials.
Members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, attend a plenary session in Moscow on July 10.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024
Russian MPs vote to broaden 'undesirable organizations' law
One of the bill's authors said that British, German and Japanese organizations could fall under the new legislation.
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan in September 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024
Russia protests to Japan about joint exercises with NATO countries
Moscow accused Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of placing his country "on a path to dangerous escalation" in response to the planned exercises with Germany and Spain.
A sign erected in Hokkaido’s port of Nemuro calls for the return of the Russian-occupied islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2024
Geopolitical chess: Unpacking the Northern Territories conundrum
While domestic motivation for Tokyo to resolve the Northern Territories dispute may endure, the opposite is true in Moscow.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
Kishida vows to conclude peace pact with Russia
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday vowed to conclude a peace treaty with Russia after resolving a territorial row over four northwestern Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2023
Hokkaido lawmaker leaves Nippon Ishin over visit to Russia
Calls from within the party to punish Suzuki had been growing, especially after he told Russian media he was sure Moscow would win its war with Ukraine.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2023
Russia's Medvedev: Japan's 'militarization' complicates Asia-Pacific
Relations between Russia and Japan have been marked by a territorial disputes over a handful of small islands off Hokkaido.
The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills of West Kelowna, British Columbia, on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2023
State of emergency in western Canada as wildfires rage
The expanse of fires and disruption to life and land underscore the severity of this year's worst-on-record Canadian wildfire season.
Vehicles leave Yellowknife on the only highway in or out of the city after a state of emergency was declared due to the proximity of a wildfire, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 18, 2023
Canada crews battle wildfires as all Yellowknife residents evacuate
Officials say the fire is now 15 kilometers northwest of the city and could reach the outskirts over the weekend if there is no rain.
Yellowknife residents leave the city Wednesday on the only highway in or out of the northern Canadian community after an evacuation order was given due to a wildfire.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2023
Evacuation ordered as wildfire threatens town in northern Canada
Yellowknife has a population of around 20,000 people and lies 400 kilometers south of the Arctic circle.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2023
Russia bans Japanese group campaigning over disputed islands
The group — known as the Chishima Renmei — organized annual trips to the islands by their former Japanese residents and their descendants.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2023
Russia puts Pacific Fleet on high alert in surprise inspection
Drills will also simulate an enemy landing on Russia's Sakhalin island and on its southern Kuril Islands, some of which are also claimed by Japan.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Final weeks of World Expo in Osaka likely to see large crowds
With one month left to go, crowds are expected to swell at the World Expo in Osaka during its final weeks.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
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