Belarus opposition gets long prison sentences: Draconian leadership of Lukashenko Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Belarus remains firmly under the grip of the draconian leadership of Alexander Lukashenko (Alyaksandr Lukashenka). Hence, the announcement of heavy prison sentences against leading opposition forces was expected. America, the Russian Federation, and the European Union…
Russian Federation warns Ukraine not to threaten Donbas: NATO military weapons Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Russian Federation is increasingly alarmed by the actions of Ukraine in the volatile eastern part of this country. Russians are heavily concentrated in eastern regions compared with other parts of Ukraine. Hence nationalists…
The Internationalization of the Belarusian Political Crisis Not Working Out in the West’s Favor Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Grigory Ioffe The Jamestown Foundation The political crisis in Belarus is far from over. Its internationalization along the lines of a geopolitical tug-of-war between Russia and the West began well before the current showdown over Middle…
PM Viktor Orbán of Hungary says, “We’re David who Goliath is best off steering clear of” Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary waved to vast numbers of supporters in Budapest. The mass rally in support of Orbán and the Hungarian government was also reminded how Hungary…
Poland decries EU threat of economic blackmail: Endless Visegrad disrespect Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Poland is adamant that its dispute with the European Union (EU) should be discussed in a democratic approach and not a diktat. This diktat, implied by the behavior of the European Commission, concerns the non-approval of €57…
Russia hopes for a U-turn in the EU’S energy policy Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Mateusz Kubiak The Jamestown Foundation On October 6, Vladimir Putin held a publicly broadcasted meeting with Russian oil and gas industry representatives, discussing the skyrocketing global natural gas prices (Kremlin.ru, October 6). As expected, it focused on the dramatic situation in…
Austria and political order despite Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigning Kanako Mita and Noriko Watanabe Modern Tokyo Times Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria resigned after a breach of trust was reported. Kurz denies any involvement in the alleged bribery scandal. However, the Green Party, the junior political partner of the coalition government, insisted that Kurz should…
France and Greece sign Defense Pact: NATO members worry about NATO Turkey Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times A mutual military defense pact between France and Greece was ratified by Greek lawmakers. Interestingly, this means that both NATO members can now ally themselves against an internal threat from within this…
Merkel bows out but the election in Germany means an estranged coalition awaits Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The national election in Germany finally witnessed the end of Angela Merkel’s reign of being the Chancellor since 2005. Her leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (2000-2018) meant that for two decades, the…
Belarus athlete leaves Tokyo and will travel to Poland after humanitarian visa Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya (Krystsina Tsimanouskaya) left Tokyo after obtaining help from the embassy of Poland in Japan. Hence, once reaching Austria, it is believed that she will take up residence in Poland…
Western European floods leave at least 170 dead Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi Modern Tokyo Times Western European floods are known to have killed at least 170 people. In Germany, the figure is now 133 deaths. Hence, search and rescue missions are ongoing in several nations, notably in areas hit the hardest in Belgium and…
Hungary says EU must enlarge in the Western Balkans: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Hungary is concerned about protecting the Christian and common European values that have shaped this continent through good times and dark periods. In time, Islamic Ottoman armies, nationalism,…
Germany and monitoring the AfD: Democrats and intel threaten democracy Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The intelligence community in Germany and the ruling political apparatus are seeking to monitor the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party. Yet, this important opposition party is speaking up for many individuals who feel betrayed by…
European Union and China poised to sign a significant investment deal Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times A major investment deal between China and the European Union (EU) looks set to be signed in 2021. If so, EU business companies would gain important access to the lucrative Chinese market. Therefore, optimism is…
UK highly infectious Covid-19 variant leads to Europe issuing travel bans Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in the United Kingdom is reaching a new stage because now this nation is blighted by a more-infectious variant. Thus internal restrictions are being imposed by the government. Likewise, several European…
Switzerland urging high-risk groups to Covid-19 to sign ‘do not resuscitate’ Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The population of Switzerland is approximately 8.6 million and is viewed to be a wealthy nation. However, during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, vulnerable groups are being urged to sign ‘do not resuscitate’ orders. Yet, the…
Belarus crackdown prompts Hackers to release info of security forces Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Lukashenko of Belarus is using the state apparatus against opposition forces. This applies to mass arrests and other methods of coercion. At the same time, the Russian Federation is increasing its support of Lukashenko. However,…
Japan reaches 80,000 centenarians but Covid-19 deaths are low unlike in Europe Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In parts of Europe, many elderly people died in care homes, nursing homes, and throughout society from the coronavirus (Covid-19). This notably applies to Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. However, Japan,…
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…
Belarus protests continue against Lukashenko: Geopolitical tightrope Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Protests are continuing in Belarus against President Lukashenko after the recent national election that activists claim is tainted. At the same time, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya immediately left the country fearing the power of the state apparatus. Therefore, the geopolitical tightrope…
Belarus protests after President Lukashenko declared the winner once more Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Political tensions are running high in Belarus after President Lukashenko emerged victorious in the national election. Hence the announcement that he won 80 percent of the vote irked opposition groups who claim the result as fraudulent.…
Hungary praises cooperation in Central Europe: Visegrad and reaching out Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Prime Minister of Hungary praised regional cooperation throughout Central Europe. At the same time, Viktor Orbán expressed his hope in furthering ties to a greater level with Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Hungary is in the…
Austria, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia to ease border restrictions: Covid-19 success Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The governments of Austria, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia hope to ease border areas by the middle of June. This is based on containing the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis with respective success. Currently deaths per million are…
Germany to protect health care sector from non-EU takeovers: Covid-19 legacy Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Germany is seeking to protect the health care sector from takeovers from non-European Union nations. This is in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. The announced new policy is aimed at preventing foreign takeovers in…
PM Conte of Italy to lift the coronavirus lockdown: A calculated risk Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy is rolling back lockdown measures. Conte knows the risk he is taking because coronavirus (Covid-19) infections could increase. However, like all nations hit by the crisis, the economic…
Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia in possible border openings: Covid-19 crisis Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) devastated parts of Europe including Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. However, others throughout the Baltics, Nordic nations, and Visegrad Group have dealt with the crisis to a higher degree. Sweden…
Covid-19 deaths in Sweden pass 3,000: Low deaths in Nordic and Visegrad nations Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nation of Sweden took a different approach to tackle the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. Hence, people have greater freedom because restrictions are limited in comparison to other developed nations. However, with deaths being…
UK and 30,000 Covid-19 deaths: V4 of Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia with few deaths Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The death toll from coronavirus (Covid-19) in the United Kingdom is shockingly high compared with the Visegrád Group (V4) of Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Indeed, the United Kingdom is the…
Czechia provides hope from the coronavirus: Outbound travel to open Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The political leaders of Czechia (Czech Republic) did not wait for the coronavirus (Covid-19) to take a stranglehold. This approach is a far cry from the nations of America, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Therefore,…
Czechia took quick action to stifle the coronavirus and protect the elderly Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Unlike the horrendous coronavirus (Covid-19) death toll that engulfed Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom this didn’t happen to Czechia (Czech Republic). This is based on stifling infections by taking immediate…
Belgium in cautious coronavirus reopening next month: Pragmatism of PM Wilmès Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Belgium announced a very cautious re-opening from the middle of May. However, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès stressed that strict monitoring would ensue. This is based on the unpredictability of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. In terms…
Belgium with the highest per-million death ratio from coronavirus: Yet, misleading! Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nation of Belgium is blighted with the highest ratio of deaths per million citizens of any major nation from coronavirus (Covid-19). Indeed, the only other part of the world with a higher rate is…
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