Covid-19 cases in Fukuoka (Kitakyushu) and a small cluster in Tokyo Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The state of emergency was recently lifted in Japan. Yet new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) are continuing despite the rate being low. Therefore, the focus is on the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka. Before focusing…
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…
Contemporary Japanese artist and the delightful Barnard Castle in a fresh light Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist Sawako Utsumi fluctuates from Japanese related themes to landscapes, European art, and various religious angles. In her latest art piece titled the Artistic Light of the Ruins of Barnard Castle, she focuses on…
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…
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…
PM Abe lifts the State of Emergency in Japan to cover the entire nation Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus crisis (Covid-19) state of emergency in Japan is now fully lifted. With infections so low and restrictions already lifted in 42 out of 47 prefectures, then it was expected. In…
Japan art and Sakai Hōitsu: The Persimmon Tree and delightful Crow Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1829) produced countless stunning art pieces during his lifetime. Interestingly, in the last few decades of his life, he became a Buddhist monk and lived a life of solitude. In the art of two delightful pieces…
Egypt kills 21 Sunni Islamist terrorists in two pre-emptive strikes Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Egypt took preventative measures against Sunni Islamic terrorists who were planning terrorist attacks. This took place in two separate locations in northern Sinai. The Ministry of Interior announced that security forces killed 21…
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…
Japan art and Sakai Dōitsu (1845-1913): The richness of rinpa art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Sakai Dōitsu (1845-1913) belongs to the world of Edo and Meiji despite dying in the early Taisho period. Like many artists who spanned a similar timeline he witnessed enormous convulsions. However, despite the modernization of…
Japan to experiment with Covid-19 antibody testing in Miyagi, Osaka, and Tokyo Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan will focus on coronavirus (Covid-19) antibody testing in June. The regions of Miyagi, Osaka, and Tokyo have been chosen because Miyagi prefecture escaped largely unscathed. However, Tokyo witnessed the highest…
Nicaragua deaths from Covid-19: Burials at night and the fog of politics Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in Nicaragua is extremely foggy based on the political angle. Thus, despite the death toll seeming low in Nicaragua, the fear persists that this isn’t the real picture. Officially, 17…
Japan art and Yamamoto Kōitsu (1843-1905): Mysterious Heron and a Crane Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yamamoto Kōitsu (Kōichi) was born in the Edo period and died during the revolutionary Meiji era. However, the exact years of his birth and death are not set in stone but reportedly 1843-1905. It is known that he…
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…
Indigenous fears of high Covid-19 deaths in border areas of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Fears are increasing in the tri-border area between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru that indigenous communities face a high death toll. This relates to the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. At the same time, the…
Japan in recession unsurprisingly given the economic convulsions of Covid-19 Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The economic convulsions of coronavirus (Covid-19) and declining economic activity mean nations face enormous uncertainty. Hence, Japan was already braced for the announced recession, just like other major economies. Of course, 2020 was meant to be…
Japan art and Hishida Shunsō: Faithful cats and nature Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Hishida Shunsō (1874-1911) never had nine lives, unlike the saying goes for cats. However, the stunning art of Shunsō means he lives on long after his death. This is based on the stunning art he produced. In the second…
Brazil covid-19 crisis and political inertia: 15,633 deaths and 14,919 new cases Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The international coronavirus crisis (Covid-19) is notable by the deep political divisions in America and Brazil. In turn, people on both extremes are being polarized by political elites. However, in Brazil, the polarization is…
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…
Japanese art and Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935): Camellia Petals Scattering Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935) was born in Tokyo and art would become a way of life from a very young age. Like other artists born in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) a new Japan was dawning. Hence, the old traditional art forms…
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…
Coronavirus infections increasing in Mexico with just below 4,500 deaths Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Coronavirus (Covid-19) infections and deaths are increasing in Mexico. Hence, 2,409 new infections were reported yesterday. At the same time, the death toll is now just below 4,500. However, many people believe that the real death…
Japanese art and Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1829): Buddhist monk and sublime art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Sakai Hōitsu firmly belongs to the Edo Period and one can imagine his way of life. This relates to art, culture, literature, and religion. Equally important, the imagination focuses on the simplicity of life and…
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,…
Japan requests people to refrain from travel to areas hit hard by Covid-19 Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan is requesting people to refrain from travel to areas hit the most by the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. This request will apply after the state of emergency is lifted in…
Japanese art and Ishizaki Kōyō (1884-1947): The flow of Rinpa Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Ishizaki Kōyō (1884-1947) was born into a wealthy family in the prefecture of Toyama. During his lifetime, he witnessed the modernization of the Meiji period, to the liberalizing period of Taishō, and the nationalist period of…
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…
PM Abe of Japan to fast track virus-related drugs in the fight against coronavirus Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The highly developed nations of Asia have largely avoided the horrendous death tolls of other parts of the World. Hence, the death toll remains low in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.…
Iran accidentally kills at least 19 Iranian sailors in the Gulf of Oman Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In a naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian navy accidentally killed at least 19 sailors. Another 15 Iranians remain injured after the tragic error by the navy of Iran. Reports…
Japan to ease the Covid-19 state of emergency in the majority of prefectures Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan is to ease the state of emergency in the majority of prefectures. This is based on zero deaths to the low death toll in 34 out of 47 prefectures…
Art of Japan and the richness of Culture: Kanzan Shimomura (1873 to 1930) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kanzan Shimomura (1873 to 1930) was born during the early years of the Meiji Period (1868-1912). This period was revolutionary for Japan based on modernization and enormous cultural and economic convulsions. Despite this, Kanzan was molded…
