Bubonic Plague Deaths in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mongolia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The bubonic plague conjures images in the head of vast deaths from distant centuries. However, while no longer the potent killer disease of the past, people are still becoming infected and dying each year.…
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…
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…
Japan and its first wave of subsidies to help companies leave China: Covid-19 supply chain Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) economic convulsions will continue for a long-time to come. Of course, the size of the crisis depends on each individual nation. However, for Japan, it became apparent that…
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.…
Czechia and the China and Taiwan issue: Miloš Vystrčil promises to visit Taiwan Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nation of Czechia (Czech Republic) fully understands the legacy of Communist rule. Hence, the diplomatic balance for Czechia between China and Taiwan shouldn’t be defined by economics. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party…
Japan poetry and Okura (660-733): Influence of Confucianism and East Asia Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yamanoue no Okura (660-733?) lived a dynamic life by the standards of the day. Of course, many areas of his life remain shrouded in mystery based on the passages of time. Therefore, it isn’t fully known if he…
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…
Over 500,000 deaths from Covid-19: Americas and Southeast Asia under strain Kanako Mita and Chika Mori Modern Tokyo Times The grim milestone of 500,000 deaths from coronavirus (Covid-19) was surpassed officially in the last few hours. It remains to be seen what the final death toll will be. However, the signs are ominous for many…
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…
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…
Russian Military Seeking to Counter Growing Chinese Role in Central Asia Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Paul Goble The Jamestown Foundation In March 2019, Dmitry Zhelobov, a specialist on China at Russia’s Urals Federal University, warned that Beijing was shifting from relying on soft power in Central Asia to using hard power. If Russia did…
India loses 20 soldiers in a border clash with belligerent China: Covid-19 convulsions Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times At least 20 soldiers from India have died after border clashes with China in an area claimed by both. It remains unknown how many soldiers from China were killed in violent clashes. Reuters…
North Korea and South Korea tensions ratchet up: Moon Jae-in is in a spin Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times North Korea warned South Korea to reign in defectors who were spreading anti-Pyongyang propaganda. Hence, the liaison office designed for communicating between both Korea’s was blown up by North Korea in the…
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…
Afghan refugees burnt alive by Iran police: “Give me some water, I am burning” Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The death of three Afghan refugees by the police of Iran is causing shockwaves. This is based on three people being burnt alive and a boy begging for water. It is known…
Coronavirus crisis is increasing in Pakistan but the leader opens up tourism Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis is increasing in Pakistan with each new day. However, despite the situation, Prime Minister Imran Khan is overly focused on the economic angle. Therefore, the announcement that tourism is to…
Libya and the killing of mainly Asian migrants: Arab slavery continues! Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In the nation of Libya, the enslavement of black Africans and the mistreatment of Southeast Asians is ongoing. Hence, the recent killing of 30 migrants in this divided nation isn’t a shock. Also, it is…
South Korea in new coronavirus spike: Japan watching events anxiously Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of South Korea announced the biggest increase in new coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in seven weeks. Hence, it highlights the problem facing nations because clusters can easily emerge. Despite the international media lauding South Korea,…
China sensing Covid-19 chaos in America and Europe is upping the ante in Hong Kong Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis erupted in China and then spread to all corners of the world. Unlike China, which is emerging from the coronavirus crisis, the same doesn’t apply to America…
Sunni Islamists kill babies and mourners in hospital and funeral attack in Afghanistan Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The depravity of Sunni Islamists is boundless thus the dual attack in Afghanistan is a way of life. Internationally, this includes raping and enslaving the Yazidis; putting Alawite women in cages; butchering the…
Israel sends humanitarian aid from Wuhan to Europe: Assisting against coronavirus Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The city of Wuhan in China is infamous for being the epicenter of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that is sweeping across the world. Yet, the international airport serving Wuhan is also highlighting the fact that…
Malaysia round-up of Bengalis over coronavirus: Malaysia to Myanmar and the UK legacy Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sunni Muslim dominated Malaysia is arresting mainly Muslim migrants during Ramadan. This is ironic because this nation often lambasts Myanmar and espouses Muslim brotherhood. However, this over-simplistic reality never existed based on unique…
Japan thanks Taiwan for donating two million masks: Taiwan to help nations Chika Mori and Kanako Itamae Modern Tokyo Times President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan is a very dynamic leader. Hence, it isn’t surprising that Taiwan is reaching out to help nations under stress. This applies to the international struggle against coronavirus (Covid-19). Japan thanked…
World Bank provides an emergency loan to Myanmar to shore up its coronavirus preparations Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Myanmar procured an emergency loan from the World Bank. This is to help the nation in its fight against coronavirus (Covid-19). At the moment, death from coronavirus remains low…
Deaths in France, Italy, Spain, and the UK is 75,000 compared to 450 people in the modern Asia Pacific Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis emanated in Wuhan and then spread throughout China. In time, China got on top of the first wave of coronavirus. However, what is…
Increasing deaths from coronavirus in Indonesia including young children Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The fear of coronavirus (Covid-19) is increasing in Indonesia based on mounting deaths. However, the vastness and remoteness of many parts of this nation mean the true extent isn’t known. Yet, it is widely perceived that…
Coronavirus deaths over 30,000 in Europe: Lessons from developed Asia ignored Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis emanating from Wuhan in China is devastating nations in Europe. This obviously applies to the number of deaths. However, the economic angle, utter over-stretch of countless health care systems, unemployment, collapsing…
Sikhs killed by Islamists in Afghanistan after a brutal terrorist attack against a holy place Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times ISIS (Islamic State – IS) claimed responsibility for a brutal terrorist attack against Sikh worshippers in the capital of Afghanistan. One-minute Sikh worshippers were praying and then suddenly another brutal terrorist…
Potential for al-Qaeda-Islamic State Cooperation in Afghanistan Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Farhan Zahid The Jamestown Foundation Frequent speculation has recently been posited that Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda affiliates could eventually coalesce again, or at the least, begin cooperating at a more notable level than was seen at the height of the conflict in Syria.…
Northeast Asian powers of China, Japan, and South Korea face major economic coronavirus problems Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nations of China, Japan, and South Korea have respective issues related to territorial disputes. Despite this, all three nations are part of an integrated economic chain that accounts collectively for just…
USCIRF’s Biased Advocacy on India’s Citizenship Law Tarnishes Its Image by Abha Shankar IPT News Investigative Project on Terrorism A fact sheet on a contentious amendment to a decades-old Indian citizenship law released last week by the bipartisan and federally-funded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) regrettably pushes a one-sided narrative. The fact sheet…
