This article examines a little-studied visual source: a series of advertising cards, History of Japan, included with packages of meat extract from The Liebig Company; the series was released in 1938 in Switzerland. The company was founded by German chemist Justus von Liebig, whose achievements were primarily related to organic chemistry, new technologies in the field of nutrition, and popularization of chemistry in general. The products were advertised using cards that introduced the buyer to life in different countries across the world.
This study focuses on a series of 12 cards dedicated to different milestones in the political history of Japan. In addition to the visual material, the accompanying texts on the back of each card are of particular interest: they reflect not only the undying interest of Europeans in Japan, but also the special rhetoric that recognized the victory of the Japanese imperial army in China and Korea.
This article is a brief study and a full translation of all 12 cards from French. The material of the research is intended primarily for historians studying different periods of Japanese history, its ideology and politics, card collectors and art historians, as well as for the general readership.

The article examines the novel by Japanese writer Qudan Rie Tokyo Sympathy Tower, which was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize in 2024. The award sparked a wide discussion due to the writer’s use of generative artificial intelligence in her work, which not only suggested some ideas, but also became the prototype for one of the novel’s characters, the AI‑built chatbot, and generated its lines.
The plot revolves around the construction of an unusual structure by a female architect named Makina Sara, the so-called “Sympathy Tower,” which is essentially a new type of prison and embodies a new sociological theory about “Homo miserabilis.” The term “criminal” in the world of the novel is recognized as outdated and discriminatory, and the concept of “a person worthy of sympathy” is introduced instead.
Makina is inspired by the deconstructivist architectural projects of Zaha Hadid, namely the National Stadium in Tokyo, an object that was never built in reality. Gradually, the destinies of the novel’s characters intertwine around the Tower, which ultimately becomes destructive for each of them: one is killed by a Homo miserabilis, another finds himself forever locked in the Tower, while Makina Sara, cut off from society, which did not approve the appearance of the Tower, and immersed in the world of “words” and her own feelings, loses her identity. Of interest is also the image of the Other created in the work – a scandalous American journalist Max Klein, whose statements make it possible to demonstrate not only the vicious nature of the Tower, but also the loss of humanity by the main character.
The novel is a philosophical statement about the gradual loss of natural and national languages; about universal tolerance; about the emergence of a new ethics; about the relationship between man and artificial intelligence. To embody these ideas, techniques characteristic of contemporary Japanese literature are used, including uneventful narration, wordplay, and sociophobic characters.

The popularity of haiku and its composition by authors in the Russian language, as well as reflection on the definition of boundaries and formal criteria for belonging to this category of texts, formed the frame for poetry of “haiku masters,” or haijin, who adhered to the strict canons of the original tradition, and poets who applied it for the purpose of creative experimentation or allowed its free interpretation. At the turn of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, the first printed platform that provided space for haiku written in any of these keys was the almanac Triton, the publication of which continued for four issues.
This feature makes it a representative source for the analysis of the perception of haiku by Russian-speaking authors. This paper focuses on the poets published on its pages who allowed the possibility of free interpretation of the poetic tradition of haiku, its domestication, or use for other purposes of creative transformation. In addition to the original haiku, the works included by the almanac’s compilers in the section called “Next to Haiku” are also considered, in which Russian-language three-line poems are inscribed in the context of haibun and uta-monogatari. The paper analyzes the features of these works and their relationship to the original tradition.

This article conducts a comparative historical analysis of the soft power strategies employed by Japan and China in Africa, emphasizing the utilization of cultural, educational, and economic instruments to augment their international influence. Moving away from the traditional post-1990s perspective, this paper introduces an enhanced form of the timeline approach in order to examine the development process of their soft power approaches, from the post-war Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs, started in the public sector in the 1950s, and China’s earliest engagement policy in Africa in the 1960s, to their subsequent advancement under the framework of the Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) and the China-initiated Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).
The analysis shows that Japan relies on a selective, trust-based, and human-resources-oriented model, whereas China employs a larger-scale, more centralized, and economically integrated model of influence.

The article examines Japan’s policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. A core dilemma in Japan’s approach lies in balancing its loyalty to Arab nations, crucial for securing energy supplies and avoiding a repeat of the 1973 “oil shock,” with its alignment to the United States’ pro-Israel stance. These conflicting priorities make Japan’s diplomatic behavior in this context particularly significant. Using official documents and statements from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the author outlines Tokyo’s official position, explores its divergence from U.S. policy, and traces its historical motivations. To highlight Japan’s strategic challenges during the conflict’s escalation, the study employs a case study method. Two key cases are analyzed: Japan’s immediate response to the Hamas attack and subsequent Israeli military actions, and Nagasaki City Hall’s decision not to invite Israel’s ambassador to its peace ceremony on August 9, 2024. These cases were selected for their illustration of Japan’s difficulties in reconciling with the U.S. position as its main ally. The author analyzes these cases by employing elements of event analysis. Specifically, the most significant verbal and physical actions are identified, and for each action, the subject (actor) and the object (audience) are clearly defined.
The analysis identifies five key audiences that shape Japan’s policy: the U.S. government, Arab governments, UN member states, neighboring Southeast Asian countries, and Japan’s domestic public, which strongly favors pacifism. The study concludes that, while Japan’s diplomacy during the 2023–2024 conflict could not satisfy all these audiences simultaneously, it was nonetheless relatively successful in navigating these competing pressures.

The article highlights the latest trends in the development of Japanese foreign policy towards Afghanistan in the context of the Taliban coming to power. It is shown that Japan participated in addressing the problems of Afghanistan back in the 1990s, and, after the start of the U.S. anti-terrorist operation in 2001, its presence in the region reached a new level. Japan’s contribution to post-conflict resolution was multifaceted, and, as a result of it, Japan not only established new formats of interaction with a wide range of actors, but also built stable, trusting relationships with various political forces in Afghanistan. Japan also acquired a benign reputation among the population of this country, becoming one of the main donors of aid in the period of 2002–2021.
Japan’s experience in assisting Afghanistan in the 1990s – 2020s, as well as its economic power, determine the Taliban’s interest. The reconfiguration of political forces in the region as a result of the arrival of a new government in Afghanistan affects the political and economic interests of Japan, despite the geographical remoteness and the absence of investment projects before the regime change. Tokyo continues its dialogue with Kabul both at the official level and with the involvement of non-governmental organizations, but refrains from any significant international initiatives, preferring to exert soft diplomatic pressure with an emphasis on ensuring human rights, combining it with the provision of humanitarian assistance to the country’s population.
In the face of declining interest in Afghanistan on the part of Washington, Tokyo is looking for new ways of cooperation with the international community on the problems of this country, including establishment of a closer dialogue with the Muslim world.

Japan depends heavily on imported energy, particularly from the politically unstable Middle East, and this structural dependence has played a central role in shaping its postwar security policy. This article examines how energy insecurity has been progressively securitized and how this process has contributed to Japan’s gradual shift away from strict pacifism toward a more expansive understanding of national security.
By analyzing key episodes – including the oil shocks of the 1970s, the Gulf War, post-9/11 security challenges, and the Fukushima disaster – the study identifies a recurring pattern in which energy-related disruptions were increasingly framed as threats to Japan’s economic stability and social resilience. This framing facilitated the integration of energy concerns into broader security strategy, particularly in relation to Japan’s dependence on Middle Eastern energy supplies.
The article addresses two main questions: how the securitization of energy insecurity has shaped Japan’s evolving security identity, and how this process has transformed the principles of Japan’s Comprehensive Security doctrine since the late Cold War period. The analysis draws on constructivism and complex interdependence, while primarily employing securitization theory to examine how energy vulnerabilities have been discursively constructed as security threats, thereby legitimizing institutional adaptation and policy expansion.
Methodologically, the study combines historical institutionalism with process tracing to analyze the link between energy shocks, threat framing, and policy responses. It identifies four key periods: the Cold War, the post-Cold War transition (1990–2000), the era of emerging global threats (2001–2015), and the phase of security reforms following the 2015 security legislation (2016– 2023). Across these periods, the Middle East remains central as a critical source of energy and a persistent driver of perceived vulnerability.
The findings demonstrate that repeated energy shocks have produced gradual but durable transformations in Japan’s security identity. Through cumulative securitization, energy issues have shifted from the economic domain to the core of national security, enabling the expansion of foreign and security policy instruments. The principles of Comprehensive Security remain, but their scope has broadened. As a result, Japan now adopts a more proactive, yet still constrained, security posture.