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…
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…
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…
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…
Covid-19 infections drop in Osaka and Tokyo: Scaremongering over in Japan? Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in Japan is gradually relenting to the point where the country can focus on the next stage. Hence, no new reported coronavirus cases on Sunday in Osaka. Similarly, Tokyo only witnessed…
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…
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.…
The shocking case of two sisters dying in Tokyo and no concern of neighbors or anyone Kanako Mita and Sawako Uchida Modern Tokyo Times Reports are coming out about another shocking case in Japan where two people have been dead for two to three months. This took place in an apartment building in Tokyo. Therefore,…
Democratic Republic of Congo violence is forcing hundreds of thousands to flee Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in an endless cycle of violence that flares up quickly. It is difficult to understand events on the ground because of various internal tensions and regional intrigues.…
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…
Japanese art and Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858): Late Edo artist of Rinpa Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858) created many stunning pieces of art. Ironically, despite belonging to the late Edo period, his stature continues to grow in the modern world. In recent years in Japan, many refined art exhibitions…
Tanzania sends the army to border areas with Mozambique: Sunni Islamist insurgency Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Tanzania is sending extra troops to the border area with Mozambique. This comes on the back of the growing Sunni Islamist insurgency in Northern Mozambique. Therefore, despite the border on the…
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…
Tokyo in 5-day coronavirus downward trend: Far from the alleged meltdown! Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The upsurge of reported coronavirus (Covid-19) infection cases in Tokyo is gradually relenting in the last thirteen days. Indeed, only on three days have cases gone over 100 in this period. This bodes well for…
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…
Economic help extended in Tokyo to support the curtailment of coronavirus Kanako Itamae and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced further support to the business community in the capital of Japan. At the same time, in a win-win situation, the economic angle will also assist in containing the coronavirus…
Japanese art and the richness of Ikeda Koson (1803-1868) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The life of Ikeda Koson (1803-1868) is difficult to put together because many areas remain unknown. Yet, he was blessed to study under the renowned Sakai Hôitsu (1761-1828). Hôitsu firmly belonged to a very different Japan that was steeped by…
State of emergency in Japan over Covid-19 to continue until May 31: Some easing Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan announced that the state of emergency is to continue until May 31. However, it appears that opportunities for easing will be taken, if possible. The death…
