UK Foreign Corporate Takeover and the Slippery Road of Corporate Japan Takeshi Hasegawa and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Corporate Japan, based on the political concepts of Yoshida Shigeru in the early post-World War Two years, seems to be showing the first signs of withering in a similar style to the United Kingdom. Of…
Tokyo Fashion and Aoyama: Exquisite Area for Boutiques Sarah Deschamps and Tomoko Hara Modern Tokyo News Aoyama fashion is famous in Tokyo because you have so many exquisite boutiques in this very exclusive area. The fashion boutiques are a splendid mixture of American, European, and Japanese fashion – and the various mosaic within European fashion…
After a Delay, Russia Delivers New Types of Weapons to Armenia Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Armen Grigoryan The Jamestown Foundation During preparations for a military parade to mark the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence on September 21, Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile launchers (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) appeared on the streets of Yerevan.…
Japanese Art During a Period of Rapid Change: Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) Tomoko Hara and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) fought on the wrong side of history if you happen to be a pro-Meiji supporter during his early years. The alternative view is that he fought on the side that desired to…
Japan and Migration: Policy Members must note Europe, Cultural Norms, Islamism, and Tensions Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and capitalist corporations that support the loosening of foreign employment are at the bottom ladder of evolving into yet another cultural wipeout. Indeed, one only needs to…
Japanese Artist Inspired by the Flows of Europe: Fujishima Takeji Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Fujishima Takeji was born in (1867-1943) Kagoshima and he studied brushwork techniques in 1882 from Togaku Hirayama. However, in 1884 Fujishima Takeji moved to Tokyo and at first he studied traditional Japanese painting under Gyokusho Kawabata but the pull…
Russian Military Presence in Syria Increasing With Carrier Deploying to Eastern Mediterranean Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation It took several month of intermittent talks between the United States and Russia and many multi-hour marathon sessions between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to hammer…
Fashion in Tokyo: Trendy 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.…
Modern Japanese Artist and Buddhism: Nichiren and Isolation of Exile on Sado Island Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist, Sawako Utsumi, focuses in this art piece on the famous Buddhist holy man called Nichiren (1222-1282). Unlike other established Buddhist religious leaders who influenced the people of Japan, Nichiren went against the…
Pity Yemen: UK and US Support the Anti-Christian and Anti-Shia Nation of Saudi Arabia Murad Makhmudov, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times It matters not if you vote for the two main political parties in America when it comes to Saudi Arabia. Of course, you have some honorable politicians including Senator Rand…
Brotherhood Members Gather in D.C. to Blast Egyptian Government by John Rossomando IPT News Investigative Project on Terrorism Roughly two dozen Egyptians opposed to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, some with Muslim Brotherhood connections, signed a declaration last week in Washington endorsing a civil constitution that separates mosque and state. Three of the declaration’s points involve…
Finland and the Russian Federation: Moscow Seeks the Status Quo based on NATO Encroachment Ramazan Khalidov, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation is alarmed by the possible encroachment of NATO reaching Finland. This is based on the shared border between the Russian Federation and Finland…
Japanese Artist Inspired by the Middle Kingdom of China and European Art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Gyoshu Hayami (1894-1935) was extremely inquisitive and this applies to various art forms emanating from Japan to modern European art. On top of this, Hayami also adored the rich reality of Chinese art that…
After Libya’s Oil Grab, Compromise Could Lead to a Restart of Exports Senior Libya analyst Claudia Gazzini International Crisis Group What has happened on the ground in Libya? Key crude oil export terminals in eastern Libya were seized on 11 September by General Khalifa Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA). This is a force opposed to…
Christians Butchered in the Central African Republic by Muslim Seleka Forces Paul Joseph Nzeribe, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nation of the Central African Republic remains on tenterhooks because of ethnic and religious divisions exacerbated by past outside meddling. In the latest massacre, the mainly Muslim movement called Seleka systematically…
Geopolitical Complexities of Turkmenistan: East nor West Nuray Lydia Oglu, Hiroshi Saito, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nation of Turkmenistan is of major geopolitical significance because of its shared borders with Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Of equal significance is the coastal area that links Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea; thereby sharing…
Art of Japan and Dutch Art: Van Gogh and his Altered Reality of Hiroshige Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Ando (Utagawa) Hiroshige (1797-1858) is one of the most famous Japanese ukiyo-e artists to have impacted greatly internationally. This reality came to the attention of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and other European artists of high…
China and India’s Border Infrastructure Race Publication: China Brief By: Sudha Ramachandran The Jamestown Foundation In July, China reportedly crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between India and China, at Barahoti in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand on at least two separate occasions. In addition to Chinese aircraft carrying out…
Shia Persecution: Remembering the Execution of Sheikh al-Nimr by the State Apparatus of Saudi Arabia Ramazan Khalidov, Takeshi Hasegawa, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The holy Shia cleric named Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr (Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Namir) was brutally killed by the state of Saudi Arabia earlier this year. It is known…
Visegrad Unity Needed after Luxembourg Tirade against Hungary: Sunni Takfiris and Genuine Refugees Murad Makhmudov, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In Hungary children currently can go to school without the fear of terrorism unlike the parallel reality of modern day France. Indeed, even religious buildings now in France need to be…
Isolated Japanese Buddhist Monk in Art and Shinto Shrine by Sawako Utsumi Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942) utilized part of his art by focusing on simplicity but within the realm of sophistication based on hidden meanings. Of course, individuals can create or equally shatter the myths of hidden meanings. In this…
Raids, Arrests Show 9/11’s Lessons Are Global by Abigail R. Esman Special to IPT News Investigative Project on Terrorism They are known as “the 102 minutes that changed America.” Fifteen years later, it is increasingly clear that the 102 minutes of the Sept. 11 attacks also reshaped and changed the world. Indeed perhaps even more…
Photos of non-Modernity in Japan during the Meiji and Taisho Periods Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The photography of Ogawa Kazumasa (1860-1929) provides an alternative glimpse into the changing reality of Japan but not from a modernist point of view. This esteemed photographer was born in the late Edo era but his childhood belongs…
Mountain Range, the Tengu, Shintoism, and Tokyo Tourism: Mount Takao and Culture Olivier LeCourt and Hiroshi Saito Modern Tokyo Times Japanese tourism is internationally famous because of many different angles. This applies to the rich traditions of Japanese culture that can be found throughout this nation. Therefore, the imagination focuses on Buddhism, Haiku, Japanese gardens, …
A Crystallizing Russo-Chinese Alliance Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Stephen Blank The Jamestown Foundation Whenever a Russian president travels to Asiatic Russia or the Asia-Pacific region, he traditionally enunciates important precepts of Russian foreign policy in Asia. This was true of both Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin during all three of his presidential terms. Putin’s…
North Korea Suspected of Possible Nuclear Test: Japan needs a Fresh Approach Ri Kuk-Chok, Kanako Itamae, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times According to various reports, it appears that North Korea did a nuclear test after an “artificial earthquake” of magnitude 5.3 was detected. This detection took place near a nuclear site, therefore, providing…
Japan Art and Paris: Yuzo Saeki, A Love of France that Evaded Him and Frailty of Life Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yuzo Saeki is one of the most intriguing artists to have left the shores of the land of the rising sun. Sadly, his time on this earth was extremely limited because he…
Obama’s Real Legacy is Military Arm Sales to Saudi Arabia: Rand Paul, Human Rights, and Yemen Murad Makhmudov, Sawako Uchida, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Obama of America espouses human rights at home, gun controls, the rights of homosexuals, equality for women, transgender rights, and he whitewashes the reality of Sunni Islamic…
Political Turmoil in KRG Risks Hindering Kurdish Efforts Against Islamic State Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 17 By: Göktuğ Sönmez The Jamestown Foundation Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq have been some of the most effective in tackling Islamic State (IS) on the ground, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) itself has been mired for…
France and Tunisia seek Cooperation on ISIS Fanatics Fleeing Libya: Fear in Europe Noriko Watanabe, Salma Zribi, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times France and Tunisia seek greater regional efforts to stem the tide of ISIS (Islamic State – IS) fanatics fleeing Libya after recent military losses in Sirte. According to both nations,…
Meiji Ukiyo-e Art is Undervalued Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Meiji Period (1868-1912) was very dynamic in many ways because of new thinking, modernization, radical change, and a plethora of other factors, altered the cultural landscape in all major cities. However, the countryside often ticked to a different beat despite important reforms and…
Art of Japan and Ogata Korin: The Importance of Hoitsu in Saving Korin Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The art of Ogata Korin remains potent because of clarity and his own unique ways. However, at one point it appeared that the winds of time would threaten his legacy. If this had happened then Japanese…
