Five classic Japanese picture books, including one written by Empress Emerita Michiko, have been translated into Ukrainian and donated to schools and libraries. Behind the project is Shikosha, a small Japanese publisher founded by a war widow in 1948.
Eleven days, 44 countries, 400 delegates. We score the five expectations from our pre-meeting article against the MOFA outcome communique: emperor penguin protection blocked, tourism rules deferred, Annex VI stalled, only the transparency resolution delivered.
Caviar's definition of 'best' has shifted from geography to aquaculture technology. As China supplies 60% of the world's farmed caviar and Russian product disappears under sanctions, a landlocked Japanese prefecture is challenging the global hierarchy with a hybrid land-based farming system that combines patented closed-loop tech with rare ultra-soft spring water.
About 283,000 barrels of Azerbaijani crude procured by ENEOS arrive at Negishi Refinery in Yokohama on May 12 — the first Central Asian crude ever to reach Japan. We unpack the type of oil, Azerbaijan's production capacity, and the wider patchwork now stitched together from the US, Mexico, Russia (Sakhalin-2), and beyond — plus the paint-thinner shortage that won't go away.
Tourist numbers up from 5,000 to 120,000 a year, sea ice at record lows, emperor penguins now Endangered. What ATCM48 in Hiroshima and Japan's Antarctic protection law amendment must confront.
Japan has procured Russian crude for the first time since the Strait of Hormuz blockade — a Sakhalin-2 spot cargo bound for Taiyo Oil's Imabari refinery in Ehime Prefecture, arriving May 4. Behind the move lies the controversial 'Sakhalin exception' to G7 sanctions, extended through June 2026. We unpack the structural vulnerability that no amount of moral diplomacy can hide, and compare Japan's response to Germany, South Korea, and India.