U.K. and Double Game of Terrorist Ratlines and GCHQ Spying: Control of Smartphones Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Edward Snowden warns about the role of big government in the… Continue reading
High Peak in Derbyshire and Japanese Artist: Bamford, Edale, Grindleford, and New Mills Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Derbyshire in England is blessed with countless adorable villages and towns throughout the High… Continue reading
On the Verge of Peace: Colombia Reaches Final Agreement with the FARC International Crisis Group The comprehensive Colombia peace deal faces major challenges, including a 2 October plebiscite, disarmament and UN verification. But… Continue reading
Mavis the Magic Dog: Sakura the Squirrel and the Terrible Storm (Magic, Nature, and Shinto) Tomoko Hara and Kanako Itamae Modern Tokyo Times The second book of the series about Mavis the Dog… Continue reading
NATO Turkey is Killing the Kurds Directly in Syria: Obama is the new Arthur Zimmermann Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The one consistent theme of President Obama’s leadership in… Continue reading
Visegrad must Unite against Merkel’s Ambition to Dilute Europe: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Visegrad Group (V4) consisting of the Czech Republic,… Continue reading
Taiwan’s Military Reforms and Strategy: Reset Required Publication: China Brief By: Kevin McCauley The Jamestown Foundation According to recently inaugurated President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s military is in need of “drastic” reforms to address… Continue reading
Revolutionary Period in Japan and the Artist Sadahide Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Utagawa Sadahide (Gountei Sadahide) lived to see the first years of Japanese modernization that began in 1868… Continue reading
Book for Children: Mavis, the Japanese Boy called Ryo and the Magical World of Shimabara Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The intriguing world of adorable birds and animals fused with aspects… Continue reading
Earthquake Tragedy Strikes Central Italy Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times A devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 hit central Italy. It is currently known that at least 150… Continue reading
Chinese Military Promises Aid to Syria Publication: China Brief By: Peter Wood The Jamestown Foundation China has announced a shift in its foreign policy toward Syria. During a visit to Damascus on August… Continue reading
Alyse Radenovic and Biblical Art: Judaism, the Belief of the Pharaoh and the Jews of China Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Alyse Radenovic is a contemporary artist who hails from the United… Continue reading
Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Adorable Japanese Landscapes: Natural Flow of Nature Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Utagawa Kuniyoshi is among the crème de la crème of ukiyo-e artists because his artwork remains powerful… Continue reading
Azerbaijan and Geopolitical Concerns: Russian Federation and Turkey Murad Makhmudov, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The political elites in Baku are at pains to distance Azerbaijan from the entanglements… Continue reading
South Sudan’s Risky Political Impasse International Crisis Group One year ago, the main warring parties in South Sudan – the government and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) signed a peace agreement designed… Continue reading
Art Book of Japan and European Art: Buddhism, Churches, Derbyshire, Dutch Art, Shinto, and Ukiyo-e Tomoko Hara Modern Tokyo Times The art book Sawako Utsumi and her Kindred Spirit and the under… Continue reading
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Art of Japan: Creativity, Depression, and Changing Times Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi literally lived in two worlds and this applies to not only the… Continue reading
The Philippines’ Misguided Plan to Stop South China Sea Tensions International Crisis Group Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos was in Hong Kong earlier this month to meet his “old friends” in hopes of… Continue reading
Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah on the Frontline in Fighting Sectarian Takfiri Islamists Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is one of the most… Continue reading
Japanese Art and Eishōsai Chōki Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Edo Period in Japan enabled a plethora of Japanese woodblock artists to materialize. Astonishingly, in comparison with Christian and Muslim-dominated parts… Continue reading
A New Threat to Libya’s Stability Emerges Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Nathaniel Barr, Madeleine Blackman The Jamestown Foundation While Islamic State (IS) is in decline in the central Libyan city of Sirte, another… Continue reading
Sunni Takfiri threat against Christians and Indigenous Muslims in the Lake Chad Basin Paul Joseph Nzeribe, Takeshi Hasegawa and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Sunni Takfiri Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram… Continue reading
Influence of Paris Art Scene for Alfred Sisley and Fujishima Takeji Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Alfred Sisley and Fujishima Takeji were both born in the nineteenth century and their common factors… Continue reading
Japanese History and Culture: Ikebana (living flowers) Sarah Deschamps and Kanako Itamae Modern Tokyo Times The history of ikebana (living flowers) is fascinating because it tells us a lot about aspects of Japanese… Continue reading
Report: Jabhat al-Nusra’s Rebranding Aims To Ensure Group’s Survival by Abha Shankar Investigative Project on Terrorism Jabhat al-Nusra’s July 28 announcement of its new name and avatar, the Fateh al-Sham Front (“The Victory… Continue reading
Meiji to the Mirage of Modern Tokyo Lady: Photography of Japan Tomoko Hara and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Meiji Revolution of 1868 altered the internal and external dynamics of Japan… Continue reading
Sawako Utsumi and Art of Japan: Yokoyama Taikan and Sakai Hoitsu Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sawako Utsumi is a modern artist from Japan who adores the richness of European and… Continue reading
Erdogan-Gulen Power Struggle Divides European Turks IPT News Investigative Project on Terrorism On the night of July 15, members of the Turkish military stormed the state-run TRT news agency in Ankara and forced… Continue reading
Emperor Akihito of Japan needs Similar Dignity in Possible Abdication Hiroshi Saito, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Emperor Akihito of Japan is indicating strongly that abdication is in the… Continue reading
Terrorists enter Syria based on Gulf and NATO Intrigues: Blockade and Refugees Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The destabilization policies of major Gulf and NATO powers led to NATO… Continue reading
Ghost of Koheiji and Konishi Hirosada: Japanese Art and Folklore Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The power of the Shinto faith runs deep throughout the fabric of Japanese religion, folklore, culture and… Continue reading
Attack on Gülen Movement Increasingly a Cornerstone of Turkey’s Foreign Policy in the Balkans Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Ebi Spahiu The Jamestown Foundation The recent coup attempt in Turkey (July 15–16) and… Continue reading
