Sankei editorial says Japan should learn from the BND August Hanning spy case. It says the scandal strengthens the case for Japan to have an anti-spy law. www.sankei.com/article/2026...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialJames D.J. Brown
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science, Temple University Japan. Currently working on: “Spy Paradise: Russian Espionage against Japan, from the Cold War to Cyber Warfare.” This book is the sequel to “Cracking the Crab”.
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.social@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialJapan have won the Mixed Team World Championship in judo, beating Russia 4-1 in the final and China 3-0 in the semis. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1388...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialReport that Japan is, for the first time, to buy interceptor drones from Ukraine. The article states that Japan’s MOD has signed a contract with Ukraine’s SkyFall. Japan said to be especially interested in Ukraine’s frontline experience & battlefield data.
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/1cc...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialJapan’s govt expresses regret following Russia’s request that the Netherlands hand over ICC President Akane Tomoko for incarceration in Russia. www.fnn.jp/articles/-/1...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialArticle about Takaichi govt’s tepid support for Ukraine. Takaichi shows no intention of visiting Kyiv. The article also quotes an official close to PM’s office saying that the idea of providing air-defence systems to UKR has not even been put on the table. www.asahi.com/articles/ASV...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialOn 9 Oct, a Russian IL-20 surveillance aircraft passed over the Japan-claimed N Territories and passed down Japan’s Pacific coast as far as Iwate Prefecture. ASDF jets were scrambled in response. www.mod.go.jp/js/pdf/2026/...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialOn 9 Oct, a Russian Steregushchii-class corvette transited the La Pérouse Strait between Sakhalin & Hokkaido and entered the Sea of Okhotsk. www.mod.go.jp/js/pdf/2026/...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.social53 Japanese firms are confirmed victims of Qilin, the Russian ransomware group that targeted Asahi. It was revealed this week that Japanese police detained a Russian citizen believed to be a key Qilin member in Osaka in May & handed him over to Germany. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1386...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialRussia’s Prosecutor General Office has issued a request for the Netherlands to hand over ICC president Akane Tomoko. A Russian court in December handed down long prison sentences to Judge Akane and other ICC officials.
www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1386...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialA large new cultural & arts centre has finally been completed on Russian-held Kunashiri. The project was originally due to be finished in 2022. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1386...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialArticle ponders if Russia’s attacks on Japan Tobacco facilities in Ukraine is retaliation for JPN’s sanctions.
- JTI is a major taxpayer in RU. The attacks revive the debate about whether JTI, which is part-owned by JPN’s govt, should still operate in Russia.
news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_interna...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialA car belonging to the Russian embassy in Tokyo was involved in a crash outside MOFA on 8 Oct. 4 people were lightly injured in the two car collision. The driver of the Russian embassy car was a Russian woman in her 30s. It appears she had just left MOFA. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1386...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialThe war of words between Seoul & Kyiv continues. President Lee’s office responds angrily to “false” claims by Ukrainian official that S Korea has been exporting petroleum products to Russia.
- ROK sanctions do not ban the export of diesel & aviation fuel to Russia.
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/576...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialJapan Tobacco International factory in Ukraine attacked again. Russia claims the facilities being used to make ammunition. JTI stridently denies this.
- If RU really believes JTI is producing ammunition for UKR, why don’t they shut JTI’s operations in RU? www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1385...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialRussian embassy in Tokyo responds to Japan’s latest sanctions. They accuse Takaichi’s government of supporting “the terrorist Zelensky regime” and of seeking “the ‘strategic defeat’”of Russia. ria.ru/20261006/yap...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialKim Jong-un sent Putin a message to congratulate him on his 74th birthday. Kim expressed his confidence in Russia’s certain victory against Ukraine and committed to unchanged support.
- Many are waiting to see if DPRK will send further troops. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1385...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialJapanese police detained a suspected Russian cyber criminal and handed him over to Germany for prosecution. The Russian man, who is in his 20s, is suspected of being a leading figure in Qilin, the Russian ransomware group that attacked Asahi Group in 2025. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1384...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialI’m delighted to announce that my next book about Russian espionage in Japan will be published by Hurst next year. Spy Paradise covers 1945 to the present.
Find out about which Japanese cabinet minister was unmasked as a Soviet agent.
www.amazon.co.jp/James-D-J-Br...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialSupporting Ukraine was not mentioned by Takaichi in her policy speech on 5 Oct. It was included in her policy speech in February. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1383...
@jamesdjbrown.bsky.socialIn response to Japan’s new sanctions, Russian MFA’s Zakharova threatens countermeasures directed against Japan’s national interests. She also claims that Japan’s sanctions show the lack of independence of its foreign policy. iz.ru/2178989/v-mi...