What do we know about the man supposedly leading Islamic State’s East Asia branch? Not much was known about the Islamic State’s new leader for its so-called East Asia province, which encompasses Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and, according to a terrorism monitor, also Thailand. The Diplomat has recently learned the …

In northernmost Hokkaido, residents can easily see Russian-held islands that once belonged to Japan. Some still hold out hope for the islands’ return. The war in Ukraine, 8,000 kilometers away, may seem distant to most inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago. But there is an exception: the people of Hokkaido. From …

What Russia’s War Means for Armenia and Azerbaijan As the ripples of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pulse outward, they have left one region especially volatile: the South Caucasus. The Ukrainian conflict has paradoxically raised the likelihood of both further fighting and a negotiated peace in this area between the Caspian …