Section: Japan
- Japan Today (Japan) (302)
- Kyodo News (Japan) (71)
- The Diplomat (Japan) (28)
- The Japan Times (Japan) (892)
Ukraine adopts ‘draconian’ budget backed by IMF
Ukraine’s parliament on Monday adopted an austerity budget that hikes import prices and shrinks social spending to balance the books under a plan backed by the International Monetary Fund. The highly disputed 2015 plan was pushed through by the government-led coalition after a marathon debate that ended after 4 a.m. Ukrainian President...
Merkel Urges Russia To Use Influence To Push Separatists On Ukraine Peace Talks
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Russia to use its influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to implement a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the conflict. In a statement issued on … …read more Source: Japan Herald...
Ukraine secures cheap Russian coal, power supplies
Moscow promised on Saturday to resume shipping coal and provide electricity to Ukraine for the first time in three years despite Kiev’s failure to guarantee energy supplies to Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unexpected decision was announced just a day after Ukraine upped pressure on the breakaway Black Sea...
Ukraine, pro-Russia rebels swap prisoners
Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russia rebels exchanged nearly 370 prisoners Friday, a major step toward easing hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine handed over 222 prisoners and the rebels released 145 people, according to Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency — the biggest one-time prisoners swap since the pro-Russian insurgency flared...
Conflict-hit east Ukraine struggles for festive joy
The big tree with the glimmering holiday lights is up but the festive spirit is missing on Lenin Square in the heart of east Ukraine’s rebel stronghold of Donetsk. Hundreds of people huddled in the drizzle for the traditional unveiling of the tree ahead of the New Year holiday in this Orthodox Christian country, where […] The post...
Ukraine truce hangs in balance after ‘difficult’ talks
The latest push for peace in Ukraine appeared moribund on Thursday after initial talks failed to agree when the warring sides should meet again to try ending their eight-month conflict. Negotiations mediated by European and Russian envoys in the Belarussian capital Minsk broke up after more than five hours on Wednesday with the pro-Russian rebels...
Crimea hit by outages amid Ukraine power crisis
Crimea on Wednesday suffered massive blackouts after Ukraine unexpectedly stopped supplies, sparking traffic jams, hospital closures and panic across the peninsula. Train stations, businesses and the airport had to close down, traffic lights went dark causing huge snarls in the main city of Simferopol, and several people were stuck in lifts....
World › ‘Difficult’ Ukraine talks end without agreement
Ukranian and rebel envoys concluded “difficult” marathon talks on Wednesday without agreeing the date of a new round aimed at ending the pro-Russian uprising devastating the ex-Soviet state’s industrial east. The five-hour preliminary discussion in the Belarussian capital Minsk had been tentatively due to be followed by a second...
World › Ukraine abandons nonaligned status
Ukraine’s parliament dropped the nation’s nonaligned status Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a bid to join NATO in defiance of the Kremlin’s wishes. Russia, meanwhile, finalized a new economic alliance with other former Soviet nations it had vainly hoped Ukraine would join. The parallel moves reflected new divisions in…...
Ukraine takes historic step toward NATO
Ukraine on Tuesday took a historic step toward NATO in a parliamentary vote certain to stoke Russia’s anger ahead of talks on ending the ex-Soviet state’s separatist war. Lawmakers in the government-controlled chamber overwhelmingly adopted a bill dropping Ukraine’s nonaligned status — a classification given to states such as...
