Australia and Japan agree on a historic Defense Pact Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have agreed in principle to a significant Defense Pact. Of course, China isn’t happy about events. However, democratic nations need to focus on strengthening their respective…
United States Presidential Election result will leave a sour taste Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The United States Presidential Election was meant to be a clear victory for Joe Biden over Donald Trump. Yet, the election between the Democrats and Republicans – despite the pundits predicting an easy win for Biden…
Japan will not sign the United Nations Nuclear Ban Treaty based on geopolitics Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Japan is protected by the nuclear umbrella of the United States. Hence with Northeast Asia being a major area of competing militaries that have nuclear weapons, then naturally Japan refuses to join the…
US firm alleges China hacking Japan Covid-19 projects: Skepticism is needed Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga needs a calm head because these days China is being blamed for countless things. Often, without clear evidence that it is related to state involvement. According to an information security firm…
Southeast Asia: Crucible of Indigenous Survival Special Contribution: Gideon Sim The misleading portrayal of Southeast Asia as an oasis of economic growth and calm in global media belies the boiling over of ethnic tensions and discontent. From Mindanao where Philippine government forces extrajudicially kill indigenous Lumad and Moro minorities; to West Papua where the Indonesian…
Trillions of dollars laundered by financial institutions: Drug cartels to terrorism Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Allegations are emerging over enormous money laundering scandals covering the period 1999-2017. More than likely, this is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg. However, once more, the image of banks and multinational financial…
Japan and diplomacy with China: Australia, India, Japan, and America to meet Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Miniter Yoshihide Suga is the new leader of Japan. Thus, the meeting between senior officials from America, Australia, India, and Japan in Tokyo early next month will be analyzed carefully. It is known…
The foreign policy of Japan in the post-Abe period: America, China, Mekong, and Russia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The geopolitical challenges for Japan throughout Northeast Asia and the Asia Pacific are enormous. Thus with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigning then a challenging period will ensue. After all, unlike many other…
Belarus standoff continues while Moscow and Washington appear restrained Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Lukashenko of Belarus is using the state apparatus in the hope of quelling opposition forces and that protests will decline. Of course, this might be wishful thinking on his part. Internationally, unlike Ukraine, it appears that…
Japan and South Korea and the GSOMIA merry-go-round: Japan should focus on China and Russia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Korean Peninsula is divided between North Korea and South Korea because both Korea’s don’t trust each other. Thus with South Korea repeatedly turning against Japan when relations between both Korea’s…
800,000 Covid-19 deaths with little let-up in America, Brazil, India, and Mexico Kanako Mita and Chika Mori Modern Tokyo Times The international coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis is now responsible for 800,000 known deaths. In the four nations of the highest number of deaths, the numbers keep flowing. Therefore, unlike the hardest-hit nations in Europe, the countries…
Japan to mark the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima while protected by US nuclear umbrella Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan will mark the 75-year anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Like usual, an extremely solemn reminder of the brutality of war. However, many words relating to joining…
Afghanistan admits to 3,500 military deaths in 2020: Reverberations of Obama Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Afghanistan acknowledged that over 3,500 security forces have been killed since February peace talks. These talks resulted in a frayed peace agreement between America and the Taliban. However, on the ground, the…
Japan is hoping that America and China will take a more diplomatic stance Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The increasing stoking of the fire by America and China is worrying many in Japan. After all, the coronavirus (Covid19) crisis and economic convulsions are horrendous enough – so Japan doesn’t need more…
340,000 deaths in the Americas: Central America, North America, and South America Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) death toll throughout the Americas is over 340,000. Hence, with most nations still in the spiral of death, one can only imagine the final death toll during the first wave. After…
U.S. military reaches 201 Covid-19 infections in Okinawa since July 4 Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The July 4 celebration by the military personnel of the United States (U.S.) is backfiring in the fight against coronavirus (Covid-19) in Okinawa. Hence political reverberations on the size of the armed forces of America…
America, Australia, and Japan in Naval Exercises in Asia Pacific waters Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nations of Australia, Japan, and the United States are currently holding trilateral naval exercises in the waters of the Asia Pacific. Thus democratic nations are showing commitment toward the freedom of sea-lanes throughout the…
International Covid-19 deaths reach 600,000: America, Brazil, India, Mexico, and the UK Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The international death toll from coronavirus (Covid-19) will surpass 600,000 in the next twenty-four hours. Hence, the global economy and a return to normal remains distant even if some nations are in recovery mode.…
Okinawa already burdened by U.S. military bases now fears Covid-19 crisis Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times It is known that approximately 100 infections of coronavirus (Covid-19) have hit several military bases of the United States (U.S.) in Okinawa. This will increase internal discontent in Okinawa because this part of Japan is…
Japan needs pragmatism on Hong Kong issue: Geopolitics of Northeast Asia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan should focus on pragmatism and the geopolitical reality of Northeast Asia. Of course, the new Hong Kong security law is draconian. However, Japan must not be dragged into the…
Anti-US media bias: Discrimination in China, Cuba, Indonesia, Nigeria, Saudi, and Turkey Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The media in America, parts of Europe, and other areas of the world are highlighting discrimination and Black Lives Matter (BLM) to an extreme. Yet, unlike America that welcomed people from every continent in…
Should BLM change its name or is Arab slavery and ethnic massacres in Africa fine? Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The United States unlike most of Asia takes in black African Christians and people from all continents. However, how many black African Christians have been given citizenship in the last 50…
K-Pop, BLM, and amnesia: Commercial savvy (Tibet, Xinjiang, and West Papua) Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times K-Pop emanates from South Korea and is a very popular music style that is followed in many parts of Asia and further afield. However, recently many powerful K-Pop groups are involving themselves in Blacks Lives…
Japan is pragmatic about Hong Kong: China versus Australia, Canada, US, and the UK Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nations of America, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have rebuked China over Beijing’s proposed security law in Hong Kong. Thus some voices have been raised by the pragmatic approach of…
The covid-19 crisis in America and Brazil is beset by political and social discord Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis is witnessing the divisions that exist in America and Brazil. Hence, while the United Kingdom is dealing with the coronavirus crisis abysmally, political and social cohesion remains despite…
US intention in Syria is a quagmire for Russia: Cyprus, Turkey, and Islamists Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The endless conflict in Syria is at a dreaded stalemate where America and Turkey seek an endless quagmire for Syria and the Russian Federation. For America, even if Sunni Islamists have cleansed Alawites,…
Grim death toll from coronavirus passes 50,000 in the United States Kanako Itamae and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The United States death toll from coronavirus (Covid-19) surpassed a staggering 50,000. Of course, the population of America is much higher than the worse hit European nations and countries like Ecuador where the death toll…
New York coronavirus deaths hit 7,000: A far cry from the arrogance of Cuomo and Blasio Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis hitting New York is extremely brutal. Of course, many parts of America are also suffering because deaths are just below 19,000. However, in New York, this…
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo warns Americans about coronavirus and hints at suspicions Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Japan appears to be entering a new phase of increasing daily coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. Naturally, people in Japan are worried about this. Hence the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is also monitoring events carefully. Therefore,…
President Trump utters that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be better to be canceled Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Donald Trump of America pointedly suggested that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics should be canceled for one year. The leader of America is suggesting this based on the continuing international coronavirus (Covid-19)…
The United Kingdom and the Huawei 5G fine balance between America and China Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom (UK) sought to placate America and China. Of course, it appears that America will be slightly aggrieved and disappointed while China is more upbeat. Either…
Calls for U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq Continue as al-Amiri Emerges as Leader of PMU Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 18 Issue: 1 By: Rafid Jaboori The Jamestown Foundation The crisis in relations between the United States and Iraq’s Shia-led government has deepened over the last few weeks and especially after the killing of Iran’s top…
