🇷🇺 Russia, 🇯🇵 Japan · Policy & regulation, Science
47 storiesNobel medicine prize awarded to three scientists for optogenetics
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries concerning light-sensitive ion channels and optogenetics, the Nobel Committee announced in Stockholm. The three sh…
Nobel physics prize goes to IceCube neutrino researcher Francis Halzen
Sweden's Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on 6 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery…
Japan transport ministry sets four-level flood risk plan for underpasses
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published guidelines on October 6 classifying underpasses nationwide into four flood-risk levels and calling for remotely operated or automatic barriers at the most dangerous s…
Russian government approves bioeconomy development strategy to 2036
Russia's government approved a bioeconomy development strategy running to 2036, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with deputy premiers, according to official and business outlets. The strategy defines priority areas for bio…
Nobel medicine prize goes to three researchers for optogenetics
The Karolinska Institute announced on October 5 that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzbur…
NASA delays Crew Dragon undocking from ISS to no earlier than 7 October
NASA and SpaceX have postponed the undocking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft of the Crew-12 mission from the International Space Station, TASS, iXBT and Interfax reported. The departure was originally expected on 5 October and is now set for …
Netherlands proposes civilian reserve of 150,000 for emergencies
The Netherlands has proposed creating a civilian reserve for crises, with RTL reporting a target of 150,000 reservists for emergency situations, according to TASS. The reported roles include drivers, security guards and mechanics. RBC repor…
Moscow court fines Garage museum security chief 100,000 rubles over LGBT propaganda
A Moscow magistrate court fined Sergei Klyucherev, head of the security service at the Garage museum, 100,000 rubles on a charge of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, TASS, Kommersant and RBC reported. Kommersant said the case …
Germany sees threefold rise in military service refusal applications in 2026
Applications to refuse military service in Germany in 2026 were three times higher than a year earlier, RIA Novosti and TASS reported. RBC said the filings came after a new military service system was introduced and exceeded all application…
Moscow to require couriers to pass annual traffic rules test from Oct. 15, 2026
Moscow couriers must pass a mandatory test on traffic rules and work standards, and from Oct. 15, 2026 delivery services in the city cannot assign work to those who have not passed it. Couriers need at least 80% correct answers, with the re…
Russia plans to nearly double three-year internet filtering budget to 60 bln rubles
An appendix to Russia's draft three-year budget allocates almost 60 billion rubles to operating the system that filters and blocks internet resources, up from 32 billion rubles planned for the same period two years ago. The money is to go t…
Japan audit finds ¥14.9bn in road repair subsidies used for ineligible work
Japan's Board of Audit found that about ¥14.9 billion in state subsidies for bridge and tunnel repairs went to work outside the subsidy programme's scope, in 469 contracts at 88 municipalities, according to Asahi Shimbun, Nishi-Nippon Shimb…
Russian government closes Moscow Ostafyevo aerodrome and border crossing
The Russian government has decreed the closure of Moscow's Ostafyevo aerodrome for the servicing of aircraft, TASS, RBC and Vedomosti reported. TASS and Vedomosti said the air border crossing point through the state border located there wil…
Shizuoka to charge for off-season Mt. Fuji helicopter rescues, aligning with Yamanashi
Shizuoka Prefecture will make climbers rescued by prefectural disaster helicopters during Mount Fuji's closed season pay for the rescue, Gov. Suzuki Yasutomo formally announced at the prefectural assembly. An ordinance is to be enacted with…
Russia's draft budget keeps radioelectronics subsidies of up to 35.7 bln rubles through 2029
Russia's draft federal budget for 2027 and the 2028–2029 planning period keeps subsidies for radioelectronics manufacturers at up to 35.7 bln rubles for electronic component base and modules, according to the budget's explanatory note. It a…
Fukushima's Futaba to lift evacuation order for two districts in December
Two districts in Fukushima Prefecture's Futaba Town are expected to have their evacuation orders lifted around December, which would let residents live there again after about 15 years and 9 months. It would be the first lifting in a “speci…
LDP approves bill to cut food consumption tax to 1% for two years
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a bill at its general council on Oct 6 to cut the consumption tax on food to 1% for two years from next April, according to TBS NEWS DIG and NHK. The bill also includes an income-linked benef…
Japan minister: two Futaba districts may see evacuation orders lifted by December
Reconstruction Minister Hosono said on October 6 that the government will work with relevant ministries so that evacuation orders can be lifted in two districts of Futaba town, Fukushima Prefecture, possibly within December. The districts a…
Sun records M1.0 solar flare, largest in a month
An M1.0 class solar flare was recorded on the Sun, the largest since September 5, according to the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The flare occurred around 22:00 Moscow time, R…
FAS finds cartel in school bread supplies in Voronezh region worth over 650 mln rubles
Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has detected a cartel in bread supplies for schools in the Voronezh region, according to TASS and RIA Novosti. TASS reported the collusion involved kindergartens and schools and was worth more tha…