🇷🇺 Russia, 🇯🇵 Japan · Politics
125 storiesGermany's AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt state parliament speaker post, a postwar first
The state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany elected AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch as its speaker on October 6, Nikkei reported. It is the first time a politician from a far-right party has held a speaker post at state or federal l…
NHK reports Japan PM Takaichi stayed at official residence on Oct 3–4
NHK News reported that Prime Minister Takaichi stayed at the official residence all day on October 3 and October 4, 2026, and left the residence at 09:49 on October 2 before the article was truncated. Jiji Press also published schedule repo…
Ex-Lower House member Inatomi to run in Fukuoka mayoral election as independent
Former Lower House member Shuji Inatomi, 56, has decided to run in the Fukuoka mayoral election as an independent and will formally announce at a press conference soon. The race is set for Nov. 1 notification and Nov. 15 voting, with incumb…
Japan farm minister retracts budget-cut remarks, apologises, denies resignation
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yana retracted and apologised on Oct 5 for remarks that he had “greatly cut” road budgets of municipalities whose mayors did not support him in the February lower house election. He denied lobbyi…
Kremlin: Putin to hold series of international calls on his birthday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a series of international telephone calls on October 7, his birthday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov said other events are planned and the Kremlin will give details later. Kremlin aid…
Japan's Diet opens 69-day session with food tax cut, seat reduction in focus
Japan's 222nd extraordinary Diet session was convened on 5 October and is set to run 69 days to 12 December, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivering a policy speech the same day. The government's priority is a bill cutting the consump…
Russian Senate speaker Matviyenko calls on UN to clarify neutral state status
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, called on the United Nations to clarify and update the status of neutral states, saying the concept is being eroded. Speaking to journalists in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, she he…
Kremlin says Putin will mark 74th birthday with series of international calls
President Vladimir Putin turns 74 on 7 October and will spend the day on a series of international phone calls, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov said other events are also planned and would be announced the next day, and aide Yuri U…
Spain's Sánchez calls Nov 29 snap election after housing decree rejected
Spain's Prime Minister Sánchez announced on Oct 5 that he is dissolving parliament and holding a general election on Nov 29, after the lower house rejected the government's housing measure on Oct 2. Sankei Shimbun reported that some regiona…
AfD's Tobias Rausch elected speaker of Saxony-Anhalt state parliament
Tobias Rausch of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected speaker of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, the first time an AfD politician has headed a German Landtag. He received 48 votes in favour and 29 against, according t…
Japan transport ministry finds no pressure from farm minister over road budget
Japan's transport ministry said on 6 October that it found no lobbying or pressure from Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yanagi Kazuo over road budget allocations, after he was reported to have said he had “substantially cut” th…
United Russia deputy Yeliferova becomes first of new Duma convocation to give up seat
Irina Yeliferova, a United Russia deputy in the new State Duma, has filed a statement to resign early, citing a move to another job. A draft resolution has been registered in the Duma database and her statement is due to be considered at a …
Japan ministry finds no pressure in minister's road budget cut remark case
Japan's land ministry said on 6 October that its officials were asked in mid-February about fiscal 2026 road budget allocations for two Tochigi municipalities by agriculture minister Yan Kazuoki, after reports he said he had cut their budge…
Dodik declares SNSD candidates victorious in Bosnia and Herzegovina elections
Milorad Dodik, leader of the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), announced that his party's candidates won Bosnia and Herzegovina's general elections: Željka Cvijanović for the Serb seat in the BiH Presidency and Savo Minić for pr…
Fifth candidate declares in Kumamoto mayoral race as company president announces bid
Chin Namiko, 48, a company president, announced on Oct. 6 that she will run as an independent in the Kumamoto mayoral election, becoming the fifth person to declare a candidacy. She said she would stress information disclosure and two-way d…
Oita panel recommends 5th straight raise for prefectural staff pay and bonus
The Oita Prefecture Personnel Commission on Oct 5 recommended raising prefectural employees' monthly salary and bonus for the fifth consecutive year, handing the recommendation to Governor Sato Shuichiro. The recommended monthly raise is 11…
European Commission proposes ending national vetoes on EU sanctions and enlargement
The European Commission has proposed widening the use of qualified majority voting in EU decision-making, so that a single member state can no longer block decisions on sanctions, enlargement and the fight against tax evasion. EU enlargemen…
Bulgaria calls emergency security council meeting over Black Sea drone attack on ships
Bulgaria's President Iliana Yotova has convened an emergency meeting of the Consultative Council on National Security for October 7 after a drone attack on two merchant ships in the Black Sea, RBC reported. TASS reported that the meeting wi…
Japan's land minister to publish review of farm minister's road budget remark
Japan's land minister, Ihei Tatsunori, said on 6 October that the transport ministry will publish within the day the results of its review into a remark by agriculture minister Yanao Kazuo that he had cut road budgets, and repeated that no …
California officials criticize Trump over remarks on destroying two cities
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized US President Donald Trump after he said at a Republican rally that he would not regret the destruction of Los Angeles and San Diego. Newsom's office called the rem…