Saudi Arabia and ISIS Mirror: Shia Religious Leader Sentenced to Death Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times If you want to view the real mirror of ISIS (IS – Islamic State) then look no further than the religious apartheid state of Saudi Arabia. After all, this nation supports systematic anti non-Muslim and…
Art of Japan and Benkei the Warrior Monk of History and Folklore Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In Japanese culture, history and art, it is clear that Saito no Musashibo Benkei left a lasting impression and this continues today in modern culture. This legendary warrior monk belonged to the intriguing period of the 12th…
Al-Qaeda-Aligned Central Asian Militants in Syria Separate from Islamic State-Aligned IMU in Afghanistan Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 11 By: Jacob Zenn The Jamestown Foundation On April 25, 2015, a coalition of rebel forces led by al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), and including the Uyghur-led Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and Uzbek-led Imam Bukhari Jamaat…
ISIS and US Phony War in Syria: ISIS growing since US Involvement and Rand Paul Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS – Islamic State IS) and America appear to be having a phony war. After all, if ISIS is all over the show in…
Wakayama Tourism, Buddhism and Negoro-ji: Japanese History, Religion and Culture Tomoko Hara and Sarah Deschamps Modern Tokyo Times Japan is blessed with amazing nature and the historical and cultural reality of this unique nation means that you have so many stunning places to visit. Wakayama prefecture is located in the Kansai region and throughout this…
Obama Rewards NATO Turkey Despite Clear ISIS Connection: Syria is Fighting Terrorism Nuray Lydia Oglu, Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times It is abundantly clear that Shia militias in Iraq and the policies of Iran are bailing out America in this country. Despite this, the reward that Tehran gets is virtually nothing…
Tokyo Fashion: The Delightful Districts of Aoyama and Daikanyama Kanako Itamae and Sarah Deschamps Modern Tokyo Times The fashion scene in Tokyo is extremely vibrant based on so many amazing districts. Internationally, the buzzing districts of Harajuku, Ginza and Shibuya stand out with Shinjuku and Ikebukuro also belonging to the major fashion areas of Tokyo.…
Enemies of Syria are boosting ISIS and other Sectarian Forces: Palmyra Massacre Murad Makhmudov, Mitsuyo Tanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Gulf powers and NATO Turkey are the conduits of enormous terrorist and sectarian ratlines that need to be curtailed. Of course, their deeds were especially encouraged in the early part against Syria…
Mali: An Imposed Peace? International Crisis Group EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS After eight months of negotiations between Malian parties, the government and some armed groups signed an agreement on 15 May 2015 in Bamako. Fighting has resumed, however, in the north and centre of Mali. Crucially, the Azawad Movements Coalition (CMA) has still not signed…
China and Japan through the Artistic Prism of Josetsu: “Catching a Catfish with a Gourd” Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times China and Japan have so much in common based on the richness of Buddhism, Confucianism, the arts, culture, gardens, Zen, and a plethora of areas related to high culture. Yet, relations in recent history…
Shia Muslims Killed inside a Mosque in Saudi Arabia: ISIS Claims Responsibility Jibril Khoury, Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia were targeted while inside the holy mosque of Imam Ali in the governorate of Qatif. Currently it is known that twenty Shia Muslims have perished and…
America, China and Russia are Paper Tigers: Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen are Fighting for Survival Murad Makhmudov, Takeshi Hasegawa and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nations of America, China and the Russian Federation are “little mice” that embroil themselves in various intrigues. Of course, each nation doesn’t want to confront the other…
Tokyo and Osaka Fashion Vibes: The Trends of Gyaru, Pa Gal and Gal Mama Kanako Itamae and Michel Lebon Modern Tokyo Times Gyaru is a subculture based on a girly-glam image which became extremely popular in the 1990s in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka. This style in turn influenced many regional prefectures in surrounding…
Turkish-Iranian Competition in the Middle East Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Orhan Gafarli The Jamestown Foundation Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a formal visit to Iran on April 7, 2015. The trip was designed to try to repair bilateral relations after their severe breakdown linked to the crisis in Yemen. Indeed, the conservative wing…
Impact of US Autistic Foreign Policies in the Balkans and Ukraine: (Part I) Croatia By Vojin Joksimovich Modern Tokyo Times Former US ambassador to Moscow Jack Matlock, in his February 20 National Press Club presentation, cautioned against the crazed propagandistic attack on Russia and said that we have an autistic foreign policy. “Autism is characterized…
Japanese Culture and Waka Poetry: Art, Myths and Ono no Komachi Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The waka poet, Ono no Komachi, is a noted poet in Japan. This reality is abundantly clear because Komachi is numbered within the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals in the land of the rising sun. Komachi, according to tradition, was…
US Anti-Terrorism Should Focus on Internal Issues, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia: Syria is Fighting Terrorism Murad Makhmudov, Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Syrian armed forces and National Defense Force in Syria are killing more international terrorists than any other nation on this planet. At the same time, the…
Osaka and Tokyo Fashion Vibes: Impact of Spain Hiroshi Saito and Jay Doggett Modern Tokyo Times Japan is internationally famous for luxury fashion and being accessible to a whole array of fashion trends. Mega cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya, and many others, are blessed with many buzzing fashion districts. The fashion angle from…
Ethnic Albanian Foreign Fighters and the Islamic State Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Ebi Spahiu The Jamestown Foundation In recent years, several hundred foreign fighters from the Balkans are believed to have joined the ranks of the Islamic State group (Institute for the Centre for Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, December 17, 2013). Although a…
Buddhist Art in Japan: Complex Realities of Sesshu Toyo and Sengai Gibon Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506) and Sengai Gibon (1750-1837) are two famous individuals in Japanese history. However, despite belonging to the same Rinzai school of Buddhism both individuals had hugely different views of art and the faith they shared.…
Takfiri Islamists Slaughter Ismaili Shia Muslims in Pakistan: Barbaric Bus Attack Michiyo Tanabe, Amina Qamar and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In Pakistan it is clear that the cleansing of Hindus and the systematic persecution of Christians isn’t enough for Sunni Takfiri Islamist groups therefore the slaughter of other Muslim sects is relentless. Indeed,…
Tokyo Lifestyle and Culture: Ueno Fashion Hiroshi Saito and Michel Lebon Modern Tokyo Times The Ueno district in Tokyo is extremely diverse because aspects of “Old Tokyo” still survive alongside modernity within this vibrant part of Tokyo. Ueno provides many cultural places to visit. Therefore, Tokyoites and tourists flock to this area because of the…
Islamists Hack Another Secular Writer to Death in Bangladesh IPT News Investigative Project on Terrorism For the third time this year, Islamist radicals in Bangladesh hacked a secular writer to death in public. Four masked men chased down Ananta Bijoy Das Tuesday morning as Das left his home in Sylhet. They hacked him with…
UN Official Lambasts Saudi Arabia Led Coalition for Breaching International Law in Yemen Boutros Hussein, Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The crisis in Yemen is reaching new dangerous heights based on the deeds of the Saudi Arabia led coalition. Indeed, a senior United Nations (UN) official, involved in the Yemen crisis,…
Terrorist and Ethnic Ripples in the Balkans: Republika Srpska, Kosovo, Macedonia and distant Syria Ramazan Khalidov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Balkans in the last few days is showing further signs of a growing Salafi Islamist menace and the usual traits of Albanian nationalism. Ironically, the “old battleground in Kosovo,” whereby the…
Photography of Japanese Women in Distant Times Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo News The photography of Ogawa Kazumasa in this article is based on images of Japanese ladies in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In each image you will find nothing revolutionary nor will you find a “hidden mystery.” However, the simplicity…
Stirring up the South China Sea (III): A Fleeting Opportunity for Calm International Crisis Group EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The South China Sea is the cockpit of geopolitics in East Asia. Five countries – Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – plus Taiwan have substantial and competing territorial and maritime claims in a body…
Afghanistan in Army Offensive in Kunduz: US, Taliban, ISIS, and usual Chechen and Turkish Jihadists Murad Makhmudov, Takeshi Hasegawa and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The former leader of America, George Bush junior, sowed new chaos in Iraq and maintained the legacy of old chaos in Afghanistan built on the misdeeds of several leaders…
Japanese Art and Cultural Impact of Oda Nobunaga: Kano Eitoku Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In modern Japan the importance of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and his legacy remains extremely strong even today. After all, he laid the foundation stone for the future centralized Japan despite certain limitations during the Tokugawa period. However, often the…
France and Petrodollars: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Killing the Shia and Christianity Ramazan Khalidov, Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Syria once was a land of unhindered Christian churches just like Iraq prior to outside meddling. However, the Christian faith now in Syria is facing the Gulf petrodollar abyss that is being…
Land of the Rising Sun and Paul Gauguin: Artistic Soul and Poverty Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The art of Paul Gauguin is extremely rich in quality and when viewing his art you can feel the intensity and uniqueness of such a talented individual. Whatever negatives have been stated about this sublime artist with…
BND Helped NSA to Spy on France and German Companies: Merkel Sprouts National Security Helmet Joachim Schmidt, Takeshi Hasegawa and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times It is difficult to believe that Chancellor Angela Merkel believes her own words because sprouting the international terrorist card and national security, in relation to spying on France, EU…
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