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jp0001406
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
U.S. to push for comprehensive free trade agreement as it looks to open up Japan's agriculture market
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration will push for a comprehensive free trade agreement with Japan and signaled his eagerness to seek a further opening of the country’s agriculture market. In the Economic Report of the President, Trump expressed his frustration over Japanese tariffs on beef and pork, suggesting that his administration will adopt a tough stance in its trade negotiations with Tokyo, which are slated to be launched shortly. Naming an envisaged pact with the United States as a trade agreement on goods, the Japanese government has said that the upcoming negotiations will mainly target tariff issues. By contrast, the U.S. government is eyeing a more comprehensive FTA with Japan that would also cover the services sector as well as foreign exchange issues. The administration intends to “enter into free trade agreement negotiations with Japan,” said the U.S. report, a major document to be submitted to Congress. Citing Tokyo’s imposition of a variable system of tariffs on beef and pork imports, Trump suggested the United States will demand a further opening of Japan’s agriculture market in negotiations. “A number of international competitors, such as Australia, face much lower Japanese tariffs, so a free trade agreement with Japan could level the playing field for U.S. exporters,” the report said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said last month that the two governments were expected to launch trade talks in March, though they may not start until April or May as the United States is currently focused on ongoing trade talks with China. Tuesday’s report said that, beyond agriculture, “Other tariffs and nontariff barriers stand in the way of U.S. goods and services exports to Japan.” It came a week after Lighthizer expressed concern that the recent enforcement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — an 11-member FTA including Japan and Australia — as well as a free trade deal between Japan and the European Union, will put American farmers and ranchers at a disadvantage. According to Japanese government data, the nation’s beef imports from Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand — four members of what is formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — jumped more than 50 percent in January from a year earlier. The CPTPP came into force on Dec. 30. The Trump administration, which prefers bilateral trade deals, withdrew the United States from the original pact in 2017. Aside from agriculture, the report indicated the administration will urge Japan and China to increase the purchase of liquefied natural gas from the United States. “China and Japan are the world’s two largest importers of LNG, and are likely to be attractive future markets in which to increase the U.S. share of LNG deliveries,” it said.
|
agriculture;trade;fta;tariffs;u.s.-japan relations
|
jp0001407
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Norway aluminum giant Norsk Hydro hit by 'extensive' ransom cyberattack
|
OSLO - One of the world’s biggest aluminum producers, Norway’s Norsk Hydro, said Tuesday it had been hit by a ransom cyberattack of unknown origin, with hackers demanding a ransom. “The situation is quite grave,” Norsk Hydro’s chief financial officer, Eivind Kallevik, said. “This virus is a so-called encryption virus, also commonly known as ransom virus,” he told a press conference. Ransom viruses encrypt files using malware that render them unusable. The hackers then demand a ransom to unlock them. “No sum has been mentioned,” Kallevik said. He said Norsk Hydro was relying on both internal and external resources “to find what you can call a cure for getting this virus out of the system.” Described as “extensive,” the attack began around midnight (2300 GMT) overnight Monday to Tuesday. So far it has had only a limited effect on production. All plants were disconnected from the IT system and some were switched to manual mode. Some plants making aluminium products were impacted on Tuesday, but Hydro’s main aluminum production sites were “running as normal..” “Our main priority now is to ensure safe operations and limit the operational and financial impact,” Kallevik said. The news initially sent the firm’s share price tumbling on the Oslo Stock Exchange, but it closed down 0.7 percent. The identity of the hackers was not known. Norway’s National Security Authority (NSM), tasked with protecting the country from cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage or acts of terrorism, said it was assisting Norsk Hydro. Its operations center, NorCERT, issued a warning about a ransomware program called LockerGoga, public broadcaster NRK reported. “NorCERT informs that Hydro was the target of a ransomware attack (LockerGoga). The attack is combined with an attack against the active directory,” NorCERT reportedly wrote. An active directory centralizes users’ identification and authentification in a company’s IT system. “Right now we are working on several hypotheses, several theories,” the head of NSM’s cybersecurity unit, Bente Hoff, told reporters. The LockerGoga ransomware “is one of the theories,” she added. The attack came hours after Hilde Merete Aasheim was appointed as the company’s new CEO, replacing retiring Svein Richard Brandtzaeg. She became one of the few women to head a major global industrial company.
|
ransom;norway;cyberattack;aluminum;malware;norsk hydro
|
jp0001408
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Asian business sentiment lingers near three-year low as U.S.-China trade war drags: survey
|
SEOUL - Confidence among Asian companies held near three-year lows in the first quarter as a U.S.-China trade dispute dragged on, pulling down a global economy that is already on a downward path, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey found. The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index tracking firms’ six-month outlook was flat in the March quarter from the previous quarter’s 63, compared with a near three-year low of 58 set in the July to September quarter. A reading above 50 means optimistic respondents outnumbered pessimists, but the latest index still marks one of the five worst since the world started its recovery from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. “Things have not gotten worse but a lot of uncertainty is putting companies in wait-and-see mode,” Antonio Fatas, a Singapore-based economics professor at global business school INSEAD, said of U.S.-China talks on trade relations. “In one week, it looks like they are promising and the week after it looks like they are going nowhere, and so there’s a lot of wait-and-see attitude,” he added, saying the uncertainty is forcing companies to put off investment decisions. A global trade war was cited as the chief business risk by respondents for the third quarter in a row, though by a smaller margin. Higher interest rates emerged as the second-biggest risk, outpacing a slowing Chinese economy. A total of 100 companies from a range of sectors responded to the survey, conducted from March 1-15 in 11 Asia-Pacific countries where 45 percent of the world’s population live and 32 percent of global gross domestic product is generated. The United States and China have put on hold a planned escalation of their trade war pending negotiations, but the much-awaited conclusion of the latest round of talks has also been delayed even though remarks from the two sides have been optimistic. Global agencies including the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have said failure to resolve trade tension could further slow a downward-trending global economy. Regional powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea all saw exports fall last month, with China and South Korea suffering their worst annual declines in overseas sales in around three years. The index staying above the neutral point of 50 suggests companies in Asia are not expecting an imminent global recession, but languishing near multiyear lows indicates companies are exerting caution. “We don’t see a global hard landing as a likely scenario when we look at economic factors such as inflation and credit conditions,” said Young Sun Kwon, an economist at Nomura in Hong Kong. “But there are big uncertainties in politics.” Lessons from the 2008-2009 global financial meltdown have forced countries to strengthen economic defenses, but factors such as Britain’s planned exit from the European Union and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s uncertain path are posing threats. With less than two weeks before the March 29 divorce date, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is still struggling to push a departure deal with the EU through Parliament. In the United States, the Fed has declared a pause in its tightening campaign, but economists foresee at least one more increase later this year despite increasing signs of slowdown in major economies. Respondents to the survey included Canon Inc., Suzuki Motor Corp., Thai Beverage PCL, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Delta Electronics Thailand PCL.
|
china;u.s .;trade;economy;tariffs
|
jp0001409
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Government downgrades view on Japanese economy for first time in three years amid China slowdown
|
The government downgraded its headline assessment of Japan’s economy for the first time in three years on Wednesday, citing a slowdown in exports to China, but denied the economy had fallen into recession. In the March edition of its monthly economic report, the Cabinet Office said the world’s third-largest economy is “recovering at a moderate pace while weakness is seen recently in exports and industrial production in some sectors.” It marks a downgrade from its earlier assessment that the economy is “recovering at a moderate pace,” which it had maintained since January last year. The last time the Cabinet Office downgraded its view was in March 2016. But the growth phase that began in December 2012 is believed to be intact, with conditions underpinned by solid private consumption and capital expenditures, which together make up about 70 percent of gross domestic product, a government official said at a press briefing. Earlier this month, a key indicator of economic trends showed that the economy may have already peaked last fall and since entered a recessionary phase, seemingly confirming the views of critics who say the government is overly optimistic. Neither the Cabinet Office’s assessment nor the indicator — the coincident index of business conditions — are conclusive in judging whether the most recent growth phase surpassed the Izanami Boom from 2002 to 2008. That job falls to a seven-member panel of academics and private-sector economists that retroactively determines the length of economic cycles after examining more data, a process that can take more than a year. In its latest report, the Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying it is “almost flat, and weakness is seen in some sectors.” It said exports had a “weak tone” while private consumption is “picking up” and business investment is “increasing,” all unchanged from the previous month. Looking forward, risks including the outlook for China’s economy, where growth has slowed to a nearly three-decade low, and the trade conflict between the United States and China warrant attention, the report said.
|
china;tourism;economic indicators
|
jp0001410
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Trial of ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn may start in fall: lawyers
|
The trial for former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn over his alleged underreporting of remuneration could start this fall, his lawyers said Wednesday. Ghosn, 65, who was released on bail on March 6 after 108 days in detention since his initial arrest in November, is facing two charges — one of violating the financial instruments law by underreporting remuneration and another over aggravated breach of trust in relation to the transfer of private investment losses to Nissan. In the case over the alleged violation of the financial instruments law, Ghosn, his close aide Greg Kelly and Nissan have all been indicted for the underreporting of Ghosn’s remuneration by a total of around ¥9.1 billion ($82 million) in Nissan’s securities reports over the eight years through March 2018. The potential start of the trial was suggested by the Tokyo District Court during talks involving prosecutors and defense lawyers the same day. The court also designated May 23 as the start of the pretrial process for narrowing down points of dispute in the case of alleged aggravated breach of trust, which only involves Ghosn, according to the lawyers. Ghosn allegedly transferred personal losses of ¥1.85 billion from derivatives contracts to Nissan during the 2008 global financial crisis and had the automaker pay $14.7 million to a Saudi businessman who extended credit to him. Ghosn, who was credited with saving Nissan when it was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s, was ousted from the chairman’s post following his arrest on Nov. 19 — but he remains a Nissan director. Kelly, 62, arrested along with Ghosn in November and released on bail the following month, was dismissed from the post of representative director but also remains a Nissan director. The two have denied the allegations.
|
courts;scandals;nissan;carlos ghosn
|
jp0001411
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Number of foreign visitors to Japan rises 3.8% on year in February, as arrivals from China dip
|
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in February rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier to a record 2,604,300, but the growth in Chinese tourists slowed significantly compared with the previous month, the government said Tuesday. By country and region, the highest number of visitors came from China at 723,600, up 1.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. However, the pace of growth slowed from 19.3 percent in January due to a decline in the number of cruise ships making stops in Japan. South Korea was second at 715,800, up 1.1 percent, followed by Taiwan at 399,800, down 0.3 percent, and Hong Kong at 179,300, up 0.5 percent. The number of visitors from Southeast Asia jumped in February, with Vietnam marking a 68.6 percent leap to 39,400, Thailand up 31.4 percent to 107,800, and the Philippines up 28.0 percent to 35,200, according to the agency.
|
tourism;japan tourism agency;foreign visitors
|
jp0001412
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Trump blockade of Huawei fizzles in European 5G rollout
|
BERLIN - Last summer, the Trump administration started a campaign to convince its European allies to bar China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from their telecom networks. Bolstered by the success of similar efforts in Australia and New Zealand, the White House sent envoys to European capitals with warnings that Huawei’s gear would open a backdoor for Chinese spies. The U.S. even threatened to cut off intelligence sharing if Europe ignored its advice. So far, not a single European country has banned Huawei. “There are two things I don’t believe in,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a conference Tuesday in Berlin. “First, to discuss these very sensitive security questions publicly, and second, to exclude a company simply because it’s from a certain country.” Europe, caught in the middle of the U.S.-China trade war, has sought to balance concerns about growing Chinese influence with a desire to increase business with the region’s second-biggest trading partner. With no ban in the works, Huawei is in the running for contracts to build 5G phone networks, the ultra-fast wireless technology Europe’s leaders hope will fuel the growth of a data-based economy. The U.K.’s spy chief has indicated that a ban on Huawei is unlikely, citing a lack of viable alternatives to upgrade British telecom networks. Italy’s government has dismissed the U.S. warnings as it seeks to boost trade with China. In Germany, authorities have proposed tighter security rules for data networks rather than outlawing Huawei. France is doing the same after initially flirting with the idea of restrictions on Huawei. “The 5G rollout is one of the most complex and expensive technology projects ever undertaken,” said Paul Triolo, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. “The challenge for Europe is to find a way that minimizes the security risks linked to Chinese suppliers but not delay 5G, which is so important to the region.” Governments listened to phone companies such as Vodafone Group PLC, Deutsche Telekom AG, and Orange SA, who warned that sidelining Huawei would delay the implementation of 5G by years and add billions of euros in cost. “We’ve not seen any evidence of backdoors into the network,” said Helen Lamprell, Vodafone’s top lawyer and chief lobbyist in the U.K. “If the Americans have evidence, please put it out on the table.” The pressure has been building for months. The U.S. in February dispatched representatives to MWC Barcelona, the industry’s top annual trade show, who urged executives and politicians to avoid Huawei and its Chinese peers. And this month, the U.S. ambassador in Berlin wrote a letter to the German government saying it should drop Huawei or risk throttling U.S. intelligence sharing. While carriers can also buy equipment from the likes of Ericsson AB, Nokia Oyj, and Samsung Electronics Co., industry consultants say Huawei’s quality is high, and the company last year filed 5,405 global patents, more than double the filings by Ericsson and Nokia combined. And some European lawmakers have been wary of Cisco Systems Inc., Huawei’s American rival, since Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing the National Security Agency’s use of U.S.-made telecom equipment for spying. Huawei isn’t necessarily safe. In Germany, hard-liners in the intelligence community say the company isn’t trustworthy, and updated security rules the government is drafting could make it harder for Huawei to win contracts. Denmark’s biggest phone company, TDC A/S, declined to renew a contract with Huawei and instead picked Ericsson as strategic partner to develop its 5G network. Across Europe, the Shenzhen-based company is under pressure to allow greater scrutiny of its technology and increase assurances its equipment can’t be accessed by Chinese spies. Huawei has “placed cyber security and user privacy protection at the very top of its priorities,” a company representative said by email. Safeguarding networks is the joint responsibility of vendors, telecom companies, and regulators, he said. So far, there’s little evidence to suggest Europe will shun Huawei. National railway companies in Germany and Austria have bought the company’s equipment, and carriers such as Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica are running 5G test projects with its products. Huawei’s global revenue growth accelerated in the first two months of the year, climbing by more than a third, founder Ren Zhengfei said last week. And the company says sales of its smartphones doubled in Germany during the same period. “We don’t know what the U.S.’s next move is, so it’s not over yet,” said Bengt Nordstrom, CEO of telecom consultancy Northstream. “But whatever market share Huawei may lose in Europe, they’ll win back in China.”
|
europe;u.s .;u.k .;angela merkel;espionage;huawei;donald trump;5g
|
jp0001413
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/03/20
|
'The Netflix of gaming': Google moves to disrupt industry with streaming and its own development studio
|
SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO - Google LLC set out to disrupt the video game world on Tuesday with a Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish, while also unveiling a new controller and its very own studio. The California-based technology giant said its Stadia platform will open to gamers later this year in the United States, Canada, Britain and other parts of Europe. For now, the Alphabet Inc. unit is focused on working with game-makers to tailor titles for play on Stadia, saying it has already provided the technology to more than 100 game developers. “We are on the brink of a huge revolution in gaming,” said Jade Raymond, the former Ubisoft and Electronic Arts executive tapped to head Google’s new studio, Stadia Games and Entertainment. “We are committed to going down a bold path,” she told a presentation at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. shares slid after Google outlined the major push into video games with Stadia. Nintendo dropped as much as 4.6 percent and Sony declined 4.5 percent Wednesday, the biggest intraday drop for both stocks in six weeks. The game industry’s business model of creating a hardware platform, such as Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch, and then charging publishers for the right to access it has come under pressure in recent years. That’s happened as many casual gamers turn to free-to-play mobile titles. “There is no doubt this service makes life even more difficult for established platforms,” Amir Anvarzadeh, a market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors Pte., said in a note to clients. “Google will help further fragment the gaming market which is already coming under pressure by big games which have adopted the mobile gaming business model of giving the titles away for free in hope of generating in-game content sales.” The Japanese companies have responded by creating subscription services and offering content other than games, but Google’s push into the $180 billion industry threatens the long-standing hardware model. The search giant however not only has to provide a smooth lag-free experience, it must also convince publishers to bring their marquee titles. Sony has already rolled out its own streaming service, PlayStation Now, which was released in 2014. But its streaming technology and limited investment in data centers has held back the service, with some users complaining about lag times. Asumi Maeda, a spokeswoman for Sony Interactive Entertainment, said “the game industry heating up is something that should make players happy.” A Nintendo spokesman declined to comment. The Stadia tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on PCs, tablets, smartphones and other devices. Google also unveiled a new controller that can be used to play cloud-based individual or multiplayer games. Stadia controllers mirrored those designed for Xbox or PlayStation consoles, with the addition of dedicated buttons for streaming live play via YouTube or asking the Google Assistant virtual aide for help beating a daunting puzzle or challenge. CEO Sundar Pichai said the initiative is “to build a game platform for everyone.” “I think we can change the game by bringing together the entirety of the ecosystem,” Pichai told a keynote audience. Google’s hope is that Stadia could become for games what Netflix or Spotify are to television or music, by making console-quality play widely available. Yet it remains unclear how much Google can grab of the potentially massive industry. As it produces its own games, Google will also be courting other studios to move to its cloud-based model. Google collaborated with French video game titan Ubisoft last year in a limited public test of the technology powering Stadia, and its chief executive was in the front row at the platform’s unveiling. A coming new version of blockbuster action game “Doom” tailored to play on Stadia was teased at the event by iD studio executive producer Marty Stratton. “If you are going to prove to the world you can stream games from the cloud, what better game than ‘Doom’,” Stratton said. Streaming games from the cloud brings the potential to tap into massive amounts of computing power in data centers. For gamers, that could translate into richer game environments, more creative play options or battle royale matches involving thousands of players. At the developers conference, Google demonstrated fast, cloud-based play on a variety of devices. But it offered no specific details on how it would monetize the new service or compensate developers. Money-making options could include selling game subscriptions the way Netflix charges for access to streaming television. “I think it’s a huge potential transition in the video game industry, not only for the instant access to games but for exploring different business models to games,” Jon Peddie Research analyst Ted Pollak said of Stadia. “They say it’s the Netflix of gaming; that is actually pretty accurate.” Ubisoft, known for “Assassin’s Creed” and other titles, said it would be working with Google. Its co-founder and chief Yves Guillemot predicted streaming would “give billions unprecedented opportunities to play video games in the future.” An “Assassin’s Creed” title franchise was used to test Google’s “Project Stream” technology for hosting the kind of quick, seamless play powered by in-home consoles as an online service. The reliability and speed of internet connections is seen as a challenge to cloud gaming, with action play potentially marred by streaming lags or disruptions. Google said its investments in networks and data centers should help prevent latency in data transmissions. In places with fast and reliable wireless, internet players will likely access games on the wide variety of devices envisioned by Google, while hardcore players in places where wireless connections aren’t up to the task could opt for consoles, according to Pollak. “I think it is good news for everyone,” Pollak said when asked what Stadia meant to major console-makers Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
|
google;sony;nintendo;video games;stadia
|
jp0001414
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Dollar firmer around ¥111.60 in Tokyo
|
The dollar firmed to around ¥111.60 in Tokyo trading Wednesday, supported by buying to square positions. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.59, up from ¥111.26 at the same time on Tuesday. The euro was at $1.1344-1348, almost unchanged from $1.1346-1346, and at ¥126.64, up from ¥126.25. The dollar moved around ¥111.30 before gradually scaling to around ¥111.70 in midmorning trading thanks to purchases by domestic importers, according to a currency broker. In afternoon trading, the U.S. currency weakened to around ¥111.50-60 due to selling to lock in gains. But the greenback was underpinned by buying to square positions. Investors held active trading in check to see the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting ending later on Wednesday, said an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm. Although the market believes the Fed will make clearer its “dovish” stance by deciding to slow its pace of interest rate hikes, investors are eager to confirm whether such a decision will actually be made, a Japanese bank official said.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0001415
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Tokyo stocks turn moderately higher on bargain-hunting
|
Stocks staged a moderate rebound on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday, chiefly supported by bargain-hunting. The 225-issue Nikkei average rose 42.07 points, or 0.20 percent, to end at 21,608.92, the first finish above 21,600 since March 5. On Wednesday, the key market gauge gave up 17.65 points. The Topix index of all first section issues closed up 4.16 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,614.39, after losing 3.45 points the previous day. Pressured by selling to square positions, stocks moved on a weak tone in most of the morning session, brokers said. The market returned to positive territory in the afternoon thanks to purchases of shares that had dropped markedly in recent sessions. But the rebound lacked vigor amid a dearth of powerful buying incentives, they said. “Investors found it difficult to tilt their positions either way” before the announcement later on Wednesday of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., said. Players were waiting to see how U.S. stocks will react to the Fed’s monetary policy decision, Ichikawa explained. He also said active trading was held in check ahead of the market’s closure Thursday for a national holiday. Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co., pointed out that stocks were weighed on by “selling on a rally.” But toward the day’s closing, bargain-hunting and buying to secure rights to receive dividends before the March 27 ex-dividend date gained strength, Shimizu noted. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,371 to 676 in the TSE’s first section, while 91 issues were unchanged. Volume edged up to 1.145 billion shares from Tuesday’s 1.104 billion shares. Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. jumped 4.08 percent after Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. raised its investment rating and target stock price for the company. Advertising agency Dentsu Inc., chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron and clothing store chain Fast Retailing Co. were also among substantial gainers. By contrast, game-console-makers Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. lost ground after U.S. information technology giant Google LLC announced that it will launch a game streaming service called Stadia in North America and Europe by the end of this year. Other major losers included air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries, mobile phone carrier KDDI Corp. and automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average went up 60 points to finish at 21,430.
|
stocks;nikkei;tokyo stock exchange;topix
|
jp0001416
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Toyota eyes supplying hybrids to Suzuki in broader tie-up
|
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering offering Suzuki Motor Corp. a hybrid system for global sales and enhancing a joint car development project for India, according to an expanded tie-up deal unveiled Wednesday. Under the agreement, Suzuki can sell hybrids developed by Toyota, namely the RAV4 and Corolla Wagon, carrying the Suzuki badge in the European market, the Japanese automakers said. For India, a market where Suzuki has a strong footprint, Toyota and Suzuki plan to jointly develop a multipurpose vehicle under the deal. Toyota and Suzuki agreed in February 2017 to start talks for a business partnership in areas such as environmental, safety and information technologies. They have since been working on the ideas of mutually supplying vehicles and developing electric vehicles mainly for India, a major car market following China, the United States and Japan. The expansion of the business partnership with Suzuki “will help give us the competitive edge we will need to survive this once-in-a-century period of profound transformation,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in a statement. Suzuki Chairman Osamu Suzuki said, “We appreciate the kind offer from Toyota to let us make use of their hybrid technology.” Suzuki has more than a 40 percent share in India but lags behind in development of advanced vehicle-related technology. Toyota has been struggling in the South Asian country and is hoping to boost its presence there through the collaboration with Suzuki.
|
india;autos;suzuki motor corp .;toyota motor corp .
|
jp0001417
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Rakuten's Hiroshi Mikitani has a new goal for his 17,000 workers: Learn to code
|
TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO - Less than a decade after stunning workers at his tech giant with an edict to learn English, billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani wants to do the same with computer programming. Rakuten Inc. may soon expect its more than 17,000 employees to know how a computer compiles a program and understand the difference between a CPU and GPU (one is the brains of a PC, the other runs the graphics). Underpinning that is a mandatory, entry-level ability to code. Mikitani, a trailblazer in Japan’s internet economy, is considering this dramatic step as his e-commerce empire faces increasing pressure from the likes of Amazon.com Inc. It’s an attempt to keep the skills of employees up to date and answer the question: Do you need to know programming to work in tech? “If you’re working for Toyota, for example, you know how the automobile works — basic structure of the engine, suspension and so forth,” Mikitani said. “So if you work for an IT services company, you need to have the basic knowledge of what’s in the computer.” An ability to write Python code or dissect the differences between fourth- and fifth-generation wireless networks isn’t something that most tech companies would treat as a prerequisite for a nonoperations role. While the World Economic Forum estimates that more than half of workers are going to need significant training by 2022, few seem to be following the lead of companies such as Nokia Corp., which has plans to make familiarity with machine learning mandatory. Thomas Malone, professor of information technology and organizational studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, thinks that maybe they should. Some amount of programming knowledge could be extremely valuable in helping both managers and rank-and-file go beyond buzzwords to understand what technology can actually do. “We are all living in a world shaped and defined by IT, but many of us have a mental model of technology that’s analogous to disease is caused by evil spirits,” Malone said. “You can give people enough understanding so they know how to ask the right questions.” The minimum set of digital skills already goes beyond productivity software such as Microsoft Office to include collaborative chat applications, customer relationship management databases and social media etiquette. In the coming years, an average employee may also need to know the basics of data science and understand the different flavors of artificial intelligence to get through the day. Rakuten may have a particularly pressing need for answers. Mikitani pioneered e-commerce in Japan when he founded the company more than two decades ago. While it amassed more than 100 million registered IDs, Rakuten has steadily lost ground to Amazon as well as a new breed of upstarts such as Mercari Inc. and Zozo Inc. Instead, it has come to increasingly rely on a disparate portfolio of about 80 different businesses that span banking and insurance to online ads and drone deliveries. Without a market-leading position in any of those areas, Rakuten is building a wireless network that it hopes will tie the services together and convince users to spend more on the platform. Starting in 2018, Rakuten made programming a core part of training for newly hired graduates with about 260 nonengineering recruits taking a six-month course that includes entry-level Java and basic skills for building network architecture. Another 400 new hires coming in April will spend three months in the program, which concludes with a “hackathon” for grads to create their own product and be judged by their co-workers. The company said it doesn’t yet have definitive plans for expanding the training to all employees. Getting it right is a delicate balance. The key is providing enough teaching that people can generalize to real world situations. But there is also the danger of creating busy work and workers getting lost in the details of programming syntax, MIT Sloan’s Malone said. Simply seeing a page of incomprehensible code can provoke an emotional response that is like a mental block for some workers, according to Nobuhiko Shishido, a director at Advanced Programming Educational Association in Tokyo. Getting around that requires tapping into the person’s curiosity and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, he said. “The second someone feels they are being forced to program, it turns to agony,” Shishido said. “The fear of computers is very similar to the fear people have of math.” Mikitani said the company’s experience with what he calls “Englishnization” proves that it can be done. While the two-year process was tough, as employees had to find time for language classes or face possible demotion, Rakuten staff now score way above the national average on English proficiency tests. It also boasts one of the most cosmopolitan workforces in Japan and the majority of its midcareer engineering hires in the country are foreign nationals. Despite the success in globalizing its workforce, Rakuten is still a very domestic company with about 80 percent of its revenue coming from its home market. The Tokyo-based company has made efforts to boost its brand presence overseas, including a 13 percent stake in Lyft Inc. and sponsorship of the FC Barcelona soccer team and the Golden State Warriors basketball team. Mikitani is willing to take the long view when it comes to the coding initiative and a future that is evolving fast, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence and other innovations. “Ten years from now, the world is going to be totally different,” Mikitani said. “Most of the service we do by human will be replaced by AI. And if your managers are not aware of it, it is going to be a big problem.”
|
it;e-commerce;hiroshi mikitani;rakuten;programming
|
jp0001419
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Italy seizes blocked NGO ship carrying 50 migrants rescued off Libya
|
ROME - Italy seized control Tuesday of an NGO ship it had prevented from landing nearly 50 migrants picked up off the Libyan coast, the interior ministry said. The authorities “are in the process of taking control of the Mare Jonio, escorting the boat into the (southern) port of Lampedusa,” it said. “Questioning of the crew could following in the next few hours,” it added. Hard-line Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the action showed “that from here on in Italy has a government which defends its borders and enforces respect of its laws, above all as regards human traffickers.” Salvini had on Monday reiterated that Italy’s ports were “closed” to new migrant arrivals, insisting his hard-line approach to asylum seekers since last summer has effectively stopped departures from crisis-hit Libya. He said the Italian-flagged Mare Jonio had not carried out a rescue operation but instead “aided illegal immigration. “They can be cared for, nourished, clothed, whatever you like, but they won’t get permission from me to step foot in Italy.” As the debate raged over the ship’s fate, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said another dinghy with an unknown number of migrants on board had sunk off Libya, leaving 15 survivors. The Mare Jonio, operated by the Mediterranea collective of aid groups, took shelter from bad weather off the island of Lampedusa early Tuesday, despite being ordered to maintain a distance from the coast and turn off its engine, according to its mission head and captain. “We have people on board who are sick, I have to take them to a place of safety and there are 2-meter (6-foot) high waves. I’m not turning off the engine,” Captain Pietro Marrone told the authorities, according to the Avvenire daily. “The weather conditions were impossible. We had no other choice,” mission head Luca Casarini said. “We are sailing under an Italian flag, they cannot forbid us to disembark,” he added, according to AGI news agency. A 25-year old with suspected pneumonia was evacuated to Lampedusa for medical attention. Salvini, who heads up the far-right League, has repeatedly declared Italian ports closed to NGO rescue vessels, previously leaving several of them stranded at sea in a bid to force other European countries to take their share of asylum seekers. He issued a directive on Monday saying ships rescuing people in areas of the Mediterranean under Libyan responsibility, during operations not coordinated by the command center in Rome, have no right to use Italy as a port of safety. Any infringement of international maritime or Italian law “can be read as a premeditated action to bring illegal immigrants to Italy and facilitate human trafficking,” he said. On Tuesday, he said the ministry was creating a commission of “experts and police” to ensure his directive — which lays down rules about rescues at sea — was enacted. The Italian Refugee Council said it was “extremely concerned” over the directive, which “assumes that Libyan ports can be considered safe and that docking at Tunisian and Maltese ports is possible. “It takes no account of the dramatic reality,” council director Mario Morcone said in a statement. “We act as if the countries with which we share the Mediterranean were the Netherlands, Germany or Sweden. But this is clearly not the case,” he said. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio confirmed that the authorities were boarding the vessel which had refused an order to switch off its engine. He accused the ship’s crew of “disobeying an order from the Libyan coast guard by taking on board the migrants. Since Italy’s populist government came to power last year and began a crackdown on rescue vessels, “we have seen an exponential increase in the number of deaths compared to the number of migrants landing,” the refugee council said. Some 152 people have died in 2019 so far, while 471 have reached land in the central Mediterranean.
|
accidents;italy;eu;libya;human trafficking;migrants;matteo salvini
|
jp0001420
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Mozambique cyclone death toll doubles as flood waters rise
|
MAPUTO - Mozambique’s death toll from flooding in the wake of Cyclone Idai more than doubled as relief workers struggled to deal with the devastation wrought by the storm. The number of dead has increased to 202, Mozambique’s cabinet said, as it declared a national emergency. President Filipe Nyusi said the toll could exceed 1,000. In neighboring Zimbabwe, at least 98 people have died and that figure could reach 300, according to its government. The storm caused flooding over an area of 394 square kilometers (152 square miles), according to European Union satellite imagery. Already more than 1.5 million people have been affected in the region, the United Nations said. “The situation is likely to deteriorate, and the number of people affected is likely to increase,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement. “The immediate priority is search and rescue for people stranded and isolated by flood waters, with priority being given to trauma victims.” The storm disrupted electricity exports from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydropower dam to South Africa, and curbed fuel supplies to Zimbabwe from a pipeline that originates in Beira, which bore the brunt of the cyclone when it made landfall on March 15. While it’s too early to estimate the cost of the devastation, the storm will be “very economically damaging,” said John Ashbourne, an Africa economist at London-based Capital Economics. Mozambique’s worst-recorded flooding occurred in 2000, when Cyclone Leon-Eline struck, killing about 800 people. The country is the third-most vulnerable on the continent to climate change, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Before forming a tropical cyclone on March 9, the system dumped heavy rains over Mozambique and neighboring Malawi earlier this month, displacing more than 100,000 people and causing more than 60 deaths. The storm then moved back out to the southern Indian Ocean, where warm waters caused it to rapidly strengthen as it once again took aim at Mozambique’s coast. The first incarnation of the storm last week resulted in a temporary halt to coal exports from Vale SA’s Moatize operation, Mozambique’s biggest producer, after railway lines were submerged. Operations have since resumed, the company said by email. In Zimbabwe, Idai swept across the east of the country, destroying roads and bridges in a region that’s recently experienced drought. President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the country is drawing from “strategic reserves” to send food to affected communities. Relief workers are struggling to provide assistance because of a lack of equipment, said Caroline Haga, spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Helicopters are being used to rescue people stranded in trees and drop water-purification tablets, though their efforts are being hampered by bad weather, she said. “According to the forecast it’s going to be raining for the next four days,” Haga said. “It’s a massive catastrophe. It’s really a race against time.”
|
africa;disasters;floods;mozambique;zimbabwe;cyclones;cyclone idai
|
jp0001421
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
May asks European Union for Brexit delay until June 30
|
LONDON - Britain has asked EU leaders to delay Brexit until June 30, Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Wednesday, on eve of an EU summit in Brussels. May said she had written to EU President Donald Tusk “informing him that the U.K. seeks an extension to the Article 50 period to June 30.” “I don’t want a long extension,” she said, warning that a longer delay would mean Britain having to hold European Parliament elections at the end of May. “The idea that three years after voting to leave the EU, the people of this country should be asked to elect a new set of MEPs is, I believe, unacceptable,” she said. “As prime minister, I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than June 30,” she said. In the letter to Tusk released by Downing Street, May said she intended to bring the Brexit deal she has negotiated with the EU back to parliament even though MPs have rejected it twice by overwhelming margins. “If the motion is passed, I am confident that parliament will proceed to ratify the deal constructively. But this will clearly not be completed before 29 March 2019,” she wrote, adding that the timetable for passing the necessary legislation to allow Brexit was “inevitably uncertain.” “I am therefore writing to inform the European Council that the U.K. is seeking an extension to the Article 50 period … until 30 June 2019.”
|
eu;u.k .;brexit;theresa may
|
jp0001422
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
'Trump of the Tropics': Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. president declare special relationship
|
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump heaped praise Tuesday on right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — and received plenty back — in announcing a special relationship that he said could even see the Latin American country join NATO. At a joint news conference on the sun-soaked Rose Garden lawn, Trump and the man dubbed “Trump of the Tropics” let the mutual compliments flow. “I have always admired the United States of America. And this sense of admiration has just increased after you took office and the presidency,” Bolsonaro said. Trump, stressing Brazil’s partnership in the U.S.-led campaign to force hard-left Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, said Bolsonaro was “doing a fantastic job” and had “brought the country together.” For years Bolsonaro was little more than a marginal congressman, but his Trump-like campaign in 2018, promising to combat corruption and crime, and to end politics as usual, propelled him to surprise victory. His hard-right views, including frequent expressions of support for Brazil’s past period of military rule, horrified the left and drove deep divisions in Latin America’s biggest nation. But at the press conference, his condemnation of what he called “fake news” — opponents say he is referring merely to critical reports — and references to deeply conservative social values pleased Trump. “We have many views that are similar,” Trump said. Trump spent much of the news conference discussing efforts to squeeze Venezuela’s authorities, which he warned could face many more sanctions than those already imposed in an attempt to cripple the government’s finances. Brazil, which shares a long border with Venezuela, is important in the strategy. In Bolsonaro, an ex-soldier who idolizes the former leaders of Brazil’s anti-communist military dictatorship, Trump has a ready ally against Maduro. In return, Bolsonaro got one of the main items on his wish list: agreement for Brazil to be given NATO privileges. This “major non-NATO ally” status would ease Brazil’s access to US weaponry and other military links. But in the sunny spirit of the occasion, Trump then went much further, stretching the diplomatic and geographical possibilities to a degree that surprised many. “I also intend to designate Brazil as a major non-NATO ally or even possibly, if you start thinking about it, maybe a NATO ally,” Trump announced. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization already has 29 countries. None are from Latin America and none, like Brazil, are located in the South Atlantic. “I have to talk to a lot of people,” Trump said of his idea. Washington has had strained relations with Brazil’s long string of leftist governments but the rise of Bolsonaro, who talks enthusiastically of combating socialists and communists, has opened a new door for the Trump administration. A Trump-Bolsonaro bonding matters for Venezuela and for Washington’s push back against growing Chinese economic influence in South America. It could also have large-scale implications for the future of efforts to slow or reverse global warming: Brazil is home to much of the threatened Amazon rain forest and Bolsonaro, like Trump, is a climate change skeptic. Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international deal on cutting carbon emissions. Bolsonaro is toying with following suit. On Monday, Bolsonaro signed an agreement with U.S. companies on technical safeguards to allow commercial satellite launches from Brazil’s Alcantara base. But there are still major sticking points between the two countries, especially on trade, with Trump wanting Brazil to open up to more U.S. products. Whether what a White House official called a new north-south “axis” prospers may depend mostly on the personal relationship between its leaders. For sure, the White House reception left Bolsonaro — until last year a virtual unknown on the international stage — expecting a long friendship. Asked if he would manage to have equally close ties if a Democrat prevented Republican Trump’s reelection in 2020, Bolsonaro said: “I do believe Donald Trump will be reelected fully.” Trump interrupted him — just to show yet again that they were on the same wavelength. “Thank you. I agree,” he said.
|
media;u.s .;brazil;nato;donald trump;jair bolsonaro
|
jp0001423
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Brazil's Bolsonaro backs Trump wall, derides U.S.-bound immigrants as bent on doing harm
|
WASHINGTON - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda on the eve of their first meeting at the White House, saying he supports a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and that most immigrants to the United States wish to do harm. Bolsonaro, a far-right congressman who rode to the presidency with a brash, anti-establishment campaign modeled on Trump’s 2016 run, has pledged a new era of pro-American policy in the Western Hemisphere’s second-largest country. Ahead of Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting, Bolsonaro waived a visa requirement for U.S. visitors to Brazil and later in a Fox News interview on Monday night threw his weight behind Trump’s immigration agenda, which includes a wall on the Mexican border. “We do agree with President Trump’s decision or proposal on the wall,” Bolsonaro said, in remarks translated to English by the broadcaster. “The vast majority of potential immigrants do not have good intentions. They do not intend to do the best or do good to the U.S. people. “I would very much like the U.S. to uphold the current immigration policy, because to a large extent we owe our democracy in the Southern Hemisphere to the United States,” he said. Bolsonaro, a former army captain, rose to power praising the U.S.-backed military government that ran Brazil for two decades before a return to democracy in 1985, echoing Cold War rhetoric in his presidential campaign about the need to fight a continued communist threat. Since his inauguration in January, Bolsonaro also has adopted elements of Trump’s presidential style, including taunting political foes on Twitter and denouncing media coverage he does not like as “fake news.” Although he did not get into specifics of his agenda in Washington, Bolsonaro said the presidents would discuss a deepening political and economic crisis in socialist Venezuela. Bolsonaro said Brazil is the country most interested in seeing an end to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which he called a “drug trafficking dictatorship.” In addition to their shared political agenda, Bolsonaro spoke hopefully of a blossoming friendship with Trump. “I’m willing to open my heart up to him and do whatever is good, to the benefit of both the Brazilian and the American people,” Bolsonaro told Fox News.
|
u.s .;brazil;immigrants;donald trump;fake news;jair bolsonaro;u.s. border wall
|
jp0001424
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
One day before deadly crash, an off-duty pilot saved Lion Air 737 Max from malfunctioning flight-control system
|
WASHINGTON/JAKARTA - As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit. That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jump seat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia’s investigation. The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the jetliner crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 189 aboard. The previously undisclosed detail on the earlier Lion Air flight represents a new clue in the mystery of how some 737 Max pilots faced with the malfunction have been able to avert disaster, while others lost control of their planes and crashed. The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn’t contained in Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee’s Nov. 28 report on the crash and hasn’t previously been reported. The so-called dead-head pilot on the earlier flight from Bali to Jakarta told the crew to cut power to the motor driving the nose down, according to the sources, part of a checklist that all pilots are required to memorize. “All the data and information that we have on the flight and the aircraft have been submitted to the Indonesian NTSC. We can’t provide additional comment at this stage due the ongoing investigation on the accident,” Lion Air spokesman Danang Prihantoro said by phone. The Indonesia safety committee report said the plane had had multiple failures on previous flights and hadn’t been properly repaired. Representatives for Boeing and the Indonesian safety committee declined to comment on the earlier flight. The safety system, designed to keep planes from climbing too steeply and stalling, has come under scrutiny by investigators of the crash as well as a subsequent one less than five months later in Ethiopia. A malfunctioning sensor is believed to have tricked the Lion Air plane’s computers into thinking it needed to automatically bring the nose down to avoid a stall. Boeing’s 737 Max was grounded March 13 by U.S. regulators after similarities to the Oct. 29 Lion Air crash emerged in the investigation of the March 10 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. In the wake of the two accidents, questions have emerged about how Boeing’s design of the new 737 model was approved. The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general is conducting a review of how the plane was certified to fly and a grand jury under the Justice Department is also seeking records in a possible criminal probe of the plane’s certification. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last week said it planned to mandate changes in the system to make it less likely to activate when there is no emergency. The agency and Boeing said they are also going to require additional training and references to it in flight manuals. “We will fully cooperate in the review in the Department of Transportation’s audit,” Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers said in an email. The company has declined to comment on the criminal probe. After the Lion Air crash, two U.S. pilots’ unions said the potential risks of the system, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) hadn’t been sufficiently spelled out in their manuals or training. None of the documentation for the Max aircraft included an explanation, the union leaders said. “We don’t like that we weren’t notified,” Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in November. “It makes us question, ‘Is that everything, guys?’ I would hope there are no more surprises out there.” The Allied Pilots Association union at American Airlines Group Inc. also said details about the system weren’t included in the documentation about the plane. Following the Lion Air crash, the FAA required Boeing to notify airlines about the system and Boeing sent a bulletin to all customers flying the Max reminding them how to disable it in an emergency. Authorities have released few details about Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 other than it flew a “very similar” track as the Lion Air planes and then dove sharply into the ground. There have been no reports of maintenance issues with the Ethiopian Airlines plane before its crash. If the same issue is also found to have helped bring down Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, one of the most vexing questions crash investigators and aviation safety consultants are asking is why the pilots on that flight didn’t perform the checklist that disables the system. “After this horrific Lion Air accident, you’d think that everyone flying this airplane would know that’s how you turn this off,” said Steve Wallace, the former director of the FAA’s accident investigation branch. The combination of factors required to bring down a plane in these circumstances suggests other issues may also have occurred in the Ethiopia crash, said Jeffrey Guzzetti, who also directed accident investigations at the FAA and is now a consultant. “It’s simply implausible that this MCAS deficiency by itself can down a modern jetliner with a trained crew,” Guzzetti said. MCAS is driven by a single sensor near the nose that measures the so-called angle of attack, or whether air is flowing parallel to the length of the fuselage or at an angle. On the Lion Air flights, the angle-of-attack sensor had failed and was sending erroneous readings indicating the plane’s nose was pointed dangerously upward.
|
boeing;aviation;indonesia;lion air;air accidents
|
jp0001425
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Regulators said 'asleep at the wheel' in raising health alarm over Houston chemical conflagration
|
HOUSTON - As a towering plume of black smoke billowed a mile above Houston for a third day, local officials said they don’t know how long the petrochemical blaze that sent orange fireballs into the sky will continue. Five tanks holding gasoline ingredients were still afire about 20 miles (32 km) east of downtown Houston on Tuesday and three have burned out, according to facility owner Intercontinental Terminals Co. However, previous expectations that the conflagration would exhaust itself by the middle of the week no longer hold, officials said. The fire that began early Sunday in an industrial suburb called Deer Park intensified overnight after a dip in water pressure interfered with firefighting efforts and two more tanks erupted in flame. The pressure drop has been rectified and additional help in fighting the fire was summoned. “Fuel has burned off and we’ve said from the beginning that may be what has to happen,” Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said during a meeting with reporters. “I’m not going to give you a time because as we know overnight it has changed.” In the downtown Houston business district, the smoky smell that pervaded high-rise offices on Monday had eased. But in residential neighborhoods on the city’s north side, a chemical odor descended Tuesday morning on an otherwise clear day. An ITC spokeswoman said air pollution remained below health-concern levels. Since assuring residents of the fourth-largest U.S. city on Monday that there were no “immediate health concerns at ground level,” the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hasn’t issued any new advisories or assessments. The agency doesn’t know when it will issue an update, spokesman Brian McGovern said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. State regulators are “asleep at the wheel,” said Adrian Shelley, director of the Texas arm of Public Citizen, which advocates for environmental protection. “They collect a wealth of data across Texas and Houston is certainly one of the most heavily air-monitored places on the planet. But they don’t use their channels to communicate with the public.” The Deer Park facility has a total of 242 tanks located near the Houston Ship Channel, one of the busiest ports along the Gulf Coast. Schools in Deer Park and neighboring communities that were shut Monday reopened Tuesday. The fire “demonstrates how chemical disasters happen far too often in our region, often due to lax regulatory oversight and enforcement,” said Stephanie Thomas, a Public Citizen researcher. She criticized the Trump administration for seeking to reduce funding to the Environmental Protection Agency and other government plans “which sought to bring greater safety to communities like Deer Park that are surrounded by the petrochemical industry.” Potential health effects of the smoke include coughing, difficulty breathing and irritation to eyes and throat, according to the One Breath Partnership, an organization that works to improve air quality. “You can really smell & taste it now,” real-estate agent Jon Gardella said on Twitter, referring to the black smog enveloping Houston on Monday morning. Prices for naphtha on the U.S. Gulf Coast rose 2.51 cents to $1.5253 a gallon Tuesday after adding 2.45 cents on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The tank farm occupies 265 acres on the Houston Ship Channel east of the city. It can store more than 13 million barrels of chemicals, petroleum, fuel oil and gases. It serves marine, train and trucking transport with five tanker berths and its own rail spur.
|
pollution;health;texas;environment;epa;houston;chemical fire
|
jp0001426
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Don't take this North Korea guidebook with you, warns publisher
|
PARIS - A French publisher has produced a rare guide to North Korea, highlighting its history, cultural wealth and beautiful landscapes but advising tourists not to take the politically sensitive book with them. Tourism is one of the few remaining reliable sources of foreign income for North Korea, after the U.N. imposed sanctions targeting 90 percent of its $3 billion annual exports including commodities, textiles and seafood. Tensions over North Korea’s tests of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles spiked on the Korean Peninsula last year and there were fears of a U.S. military response to North Korea’s threat to develop a weapon capable of hitting the United States. “There are a lot of people that are interested in this country be it for nuclear and military reasons, but also economically so … it’s important to provide information,” said Dominique Auzias, president of the Petit Fute, which publishes some 800 guides. “As it’s a country that’s closed and forbidden everybody dreams of going there,” he said. Some 400 French tourists visit the country each year with trips costing about €2,000 ($2,267). The reclusive communist state has no official diplomatic relations with France. Talks in June last year between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provided a detente even if in recent weeks tensions have once again flared. North Korean authorities would probably confiscate the printed edition given some of the material, Auzias said. “You don’t go for adventure, but to discover,” he said. The guide, which took three years to put together, touches little on where to stay or eat because accessing the country as a tourist can only be done through specific travel agents who determine what visitors see. In some cases however they respond to requests and Auzias said the guide helps people decide what they would like to see. It makes clear it is imperative to stick to the country’s strict rules or face dire consequences as American student Otto Warmbier did in 2016 when he was sentenced to 15 years of forced labor for trying to steal a propaganda poster in his hotel. He was returned to the United States in a coma 17 months later, and died shortly after. A coroner said he died from lack of oxygen and blood to the brain. “The first time I went 10-12 years ago I was proud because I was one of the rare French citizens to get in … but my second moment of happiness was about three weeks later when I left because it was suffocating and mind-boggling,” Auzias said.
|
north korea;tourism
|
jp0001428
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Geothermal plant 'triggered earthquake' in South Korea
|
SEOUL - A rare earthquake in South Korea was triggered by the country’s first experimental geothermal power plant, a team of government-commissioned experts said Wednesday. The southeastern port city of Pohang was rattled by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake in November 2017 — the second-most-powerful tremor ever in the normally seismically stable South. The most powerful quake to date was a 5.8-magnitude tremor that struck Gyeongju, also in the southeast, in September 2016. A seismograph near the epicenter measured peak ground acceleration equivalent to magnitude 7.4. Poor subsoil around Pohang amplified the seismic waves passing through, making the overall damage somewhat heavier than the Gyeongju earthquake. The earthquake damaged about 2,000 private properties, the government said; 52 homes suffered severe damage and 157 had serious damage. Damage was also reported at 227 schools across the region. Dozens of people were injured and more than 1,500 were left homeless. A nationwide college entrance exam was postponed in an unprecedented move as authorities scrambled with recovery efforts. The College Scholastic Ability Test was delayed by a week both in order to change testing sites and to let people recover somewhat from the quake. The yearlong government-commissioned study has pointed to the geothermal power plant as the cause. The plant works by injecting high-pressure water deep underground to tap heat from the Earth’s crust, but the process produced micro-size seismic activity as a result, said Lee Kang-kun, who led the research. “And as time passed, this triggered the earthquake in Pohang,” he added. “We concluded that the Pohang earthquake was a ‘triggered quake.’ It wasn’t a natural earthquake.” Pohang residents filed a lawsuit against the government after the quake. Following the new report’s assessment, Seoul expressed its “deep regret.” The geothermal plant — which was temporarily suspended during the study — will be “permanently shuttered,” the trade, industry and energy ministry said in a statement. It cost around 80 billion won ($71 million) to build and test operations began in 2016. Unlike Japan, the Korean Peninsula rarely experiences significant quakes. Seismic activity is closely monitored to indicate whether North Korea has staged a nuclear test.
|
earthquake;south korea;geothermal power plant
|
jp0001429
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/20
|
South Korea's ruling party retracts critique of Bloomberg reporter
|
SINGAPORE - South Korea’s ruling party withdrew personal criticism of a Bloomberg News reporter for writing an article about President Moon Jae-in, after international press groups warned the remarks threatened journalistic freedom and demanded a retraction by the party. The Democratic Party of Korea removed from a statement posted on its website last week language mentioning the reporter’s name and describing the Sept. 25 Bloomberg article about Moon’s North Korean policy as “almost like treason.” The move came days after journalists’ organizations said that the comments had resulted in serious threats to the reporter’s personal safety. “We would like to apologize to foreign journalists within South Korea, if we have caused any misunderstandings,” party spokesman Lee Hae-sik said in a statement Tuesday. “We do acknowledge that our rough expressions, due to a lack of knowledge and virtue, could have caused some discomfort for the reporter, and depending on the person, it could have provided a psychological shock.” Moments before Lee’s comments, Moon’s office had reaffirmed the president’s support for press freedom and issued a statement pledging “an appropriate countermeasure” against threats to any reporter’s safety. The controversy erupted last week after conservative lawmaker Na Kyung-won cited the headline of the Bloomberg story as part of an effort to criticize Moon’s foreign policy after the collapse of U.S. President Donald Trump’s talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Lee subsequently issued the statement naming Bloomberg and the reporter involved, using a derogatory term referring to ethnic Koreans who work for the foreign press. The headline in question described Moon as becoming Kim’s “top spokesman at UN” during a visit to the United Nations last year, when the South Korean leader said he had “tried to have people around the world see Chairman Kim Jong Un and what kind of person he is with their eyes.” On Tuesday, Lee reaffirmed his criticism of Na’s remarks and the article, describing them as something that “insults the president and insults the citizens.” On Saturday, the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club issued a statement expressing “grave concern” over the ruling party’s decision to single out a reporter, calling on the government to respect South Korea’s hard-won press freedoms. The AAJA-Asia and the Seoul subchapter of the Asian-American journalists’ group separately faulted the focus on the reporter’s Korean ethnicity in the statement. Moon’s office pledged to uphold press freedoms in its statement Tuesday. “We cannot accept any circumstances where a reporter’s personal safety is threatened, and we believe this should never happen in any situation,” the presidential office said. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, said in a statement that “we stand by our reporting and our reporter.”
|
media;rights;south korea;moon jae-in
|
jp0001430
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Cockpit voice recorder of doomed Lion Air jet depicts pilots' frantic search for fix, sources say
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JAKARTA/SINGAPORE/PARIS - The pilots of a doomed Lion Air Boeing 737 Max scoured a handbook as they struggled to understand why the jet was lurching downward, but ran out of time before it hit the water, three people with knowledge of the cockpit voice recorder contents said. The investigation into the crash, which killed all 189 people on board in October, has taken on new relevance after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators grounded the model last week following a second deadly accident in Ethiopia. Investigators examining the Indonesian crash are considering how a computer ordered the plane to dive in response to data from a faulty sensor and whether the pilots had enough training to respond appropriately to the emergency, among other factors. It is the first time the voice recorder contents from the Lion Air flight have been made public. The three sources discussed them on condition of anonymity. Reuters did not have access to the recording or transcript. A Lion Air spokesman said all data and information had been given to investigators and declined to comment further. The captain was at the controls of Lion Air flight JT610 when the nearly new jet took off from Jakarta, and the first officer was handling the radio, according to a preliminary report issued in November. Just two minutes into the flight, the first officer reported a “flight control problem” to air traffic control and said the pilots intended to maintain an altitude of 5,000 feet, the November report said. The first officer did not specify the problem, but one source said airspeed was mentioned on the cockpit voice recording, and a second source said an indicator showed a problem on the captain’s display but not the first officer’s. The captain asked the first officer to check the quick reference handbook, which contains checklists for abnormal events, the first source said. For the next nine minutes, the jet warned pilots it was in a stall and pushed the nose down in response, the report showed. A stall is when the airflow over a plane’s wings is too weak to generate lift and keep it flying. The captain fought to climb, but the computer, still incorrectly sensing a stall, continued to push the nose down using the plane’s trim system. Normally, trim adjusts an aircraft’s control surfaces to ensure it flies straight and level. “They didn’t seem to know the trim was moving down,” the third source said. “They thought only about airspeed and altitude. That was the only thing they talked about.” Boeing Co. declined to comment on Wednesday because the investigation was ongoing. The manufacturer has said there is a documented procedure to handle the situation. A different crew on the same plane the evening before encountered the same problem but solved it after running through three checklists, according to the November report. But they did not pass on all of the information about the problems they encountered to the next crew, the report said. The pilots of JT610 remained calm for most of the flight, the three sources said. Near the end, the captain asked the first officer to fly while he checked the manual for a solution. About one minute before the plane disappeared from radar, the captain asked air traffic control to clear other traffic below 3,000 feet and requested an altitude of “five thou,” or 5,000 feet, which was approved, the preliminary report said. As the 31-year-old captain tried in vain to find the right procedure in the handbook, the 41-year-old first officer was unable to control the plane, two of the sources said. The flight data recorder shows the final control column inputs from the first officer were weaker than the ones made earlier by the captain. “It is like a test where there are 100 questions and when the time is up you have only answered 75,” the third source said. “So you panic. It is a time-out condition.” The Indian-born captain was silent at the end, all three sources said, while the Indonesian first officer said “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” a common Arabic phrase in the majority-Muslim country that can be used to express excitement, shock, praise or distress. The plane then hit the water, killing all 189 people on board. French air accident investigation agency BEA said Tuesday the flight data recorder in the Ethiopian crash that killed 157 people showed “clear similarities” to the Lion Air disaster. Since the Lion Air crash, Boeing has been pursuing a software upgrade to change how much authority is given to the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, a new anti-stall system developed for the 737 Max. The cause of the Lion Air crash has not been determined, but the preliminary report mentioned the Boeing system, a faulty, recently replaced sensor and the airline’s maintenance and training. On the same aircraft the evening before the crash, a captain at Lion Air’s full-service sister carrier, Batik Air, was riding along in the cockpit and solved the similar flight control problems, two of the sources said. His presence on that flight, first reported by Bloomberg, was not disclosed in the preliminary report. The report also did not include data from the cockpit voice recorder, which was not recovered from the ocean floor until January. Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesian investigation agency KNKT, said last week the report could be released in July or August as authorities attempted to speed up the inquiry in the wake of the Ethiopian crash. On Wednesday, he declined to comment on the cockpit voice recorder contents, saying they had not been made public.
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boeing;aviation;indonesia;lion air;air accidents
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jp0001431
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[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/20
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Japan urged to lift sterilization requirement for transgender recognition
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Japan should “urgently” revise a law that effectively requires transgender people to be surgically sterilized if they want legal recognition of their gender identity, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Under a law introduced in 2004, transgender people who wish to change their official documents must appeal to a family court and meet a set of strict criteria. Applicants are required to be without reproductive capacity, effectively requiring most people to be sterilized to meet the criteria. They must also be single and without children under the age of 20, and undergo a psychiatric evaluation to receive a diagnosis of “gender identity disorder.” “Japan should uphold the rights of transgender people and stop forcing them to undergo surgery to be legally recognized,” said Kanae Doi, Japan director with Human Rights Watch (HRW). “The law is based on an outdated premise that treats gender identity as a so-called ‘mental illness’ and should be urgently revised,” she added. The statement accompanied a report by the rights group that includes interviews with 48 transgender people, as well as with lawyers, health providers and other experts on the issue. It criticized the law as based on a “pejorative notion that a transgender identity is a mental health condition” and blasted the requirement that transgender people “undergo lengthy, expensive, invasive, and irreversible medical procedures.” The report quoted a transgender man as calling the country’s requirements “humiliating.” “Why do we have to put a scalpel through our healthy bodies just for (the) sake of the country’s order?” the transgender man said. The World Health Organization has removed “gender identity disorders” from the “mental disorders” section of its new International Classification of Diseases, the rights group noted. HRW also pointed to comments made in 2013 by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, who said that transgender people being “required to undergo often unwanted sterilization surgeries as a prerequisite to enjoy legal recognition of their preferred gender” was a human rights violation. The Supreme Court in January rejected an appeal by a transgender man, Takakito Usui, who was seeking legal recognition without undergoing surgery. Japanese society has a growing awareness of sexual diversity but it is often superficial. Pressure for conformity forces many LGBT people to hide their sexual identity even from their families, and transgender people often face high obstacles to live outside traditional gender roles. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ultraconservative supporters have campaigned to restore a paternalistic society based on heterosexual marriages. Lawmakers in the ruling party have repeatedly been criticized for discriminatory remarks about LGBT people. One said earlier this year that “a nation would collapse” if everyone became LGBT, and another said last year the government shouldn’t use tax money for LGBT rights as such couples aren’t “productive.”
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gender;rights;lgbt;sexuality
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jp0001432
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/20
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Vietnamese blue-collar workers in Japan seen facing risks as labor system opens up
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When a young Vietnamese woman found out late last year that she was pregnant after arriving in Japan on a technical trainee visa, she was given a stark choice: “Have an abortion or go back to Vietnam.” But returning home would leave her unable to pay back the $10,000 she borrowed to pay recruiters there. “She needs to stay to pay back her debts,” said Shiro Sasaki, secretary-general of the Zentoitsu (All United) Workers Union, who has advocated on her behalf and said such threats are common. Buoyed by hopes of higher wages but burdened by loans, Vietnamese youth — the fastest-growing group of foreign workers in Japan — will be among those most affected by a new project to let in more blue-collar workers that kicks off in April. “Trainees from China have been declining as wages there rise with economic growth, while in Vietnam unemployment is high for youth with high education levels, so many young people want to go abroad to work,” said Futaba Ishizuka, a research fellow at the Institute of Developing Economies, a think tank. The technical trainee program is widely known as a back door for blue-collar labor in immigration-shy Japan. Reported abuses in Japan include low and unpaid wages, excessive hours, violence and sexual harassment. In Vietnam, unscrupulous recruiters and brokers often charge trainees exorbitant fees. Such problems will persist and could worsen under the new system, aimed at easing a historic labor shortage, according to interviews with activists, academics, unionists and trainees. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose conservative base fears a rise in crime and a threat to the country’s social fabric, has insisted the new law, enacted in December, does not constitute an “immigration policy.” That worries critics. “In fact, Japan is already a country of immigrants. But because they say it is not an ‘immigration policy’ and the premise is that people will not stay, they only take temporary steps,” said Japan Civil Liberties Union director Akira Hatate. “The needs of society are not met and the needs of the workers are not met.” The trainee system began in 1993 with the aim of transferring skills to workers from developing countries. But persistent abuses developed early on, experts say. Those issues were spotlighted last year during debate over the new law. Among the high-profile cases was that of four companies using trainees for decontamination work in areas affected by radiation after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Two firms, also accused of not paying appropriate wages, were banned from employing trainees for five years; the others got warnings from the Justice Ministry. A labor ministry survey published in June showed more than 70 percent of trainee employers had violated labor rules, with excessive hours and safety problems most common. That compared to 66 percent for employers overall. The Organization for Technical Intern Training, a watchdog group, was set up in 2017. This month, it issued a reminder to employers that trainees are covered by Japanese labor law, which specifically bans unfair treatment of pregnant workers. Harsh conditions led more than 7,000 trainees to quit in 2017, experts say, many lured by shady brokers promising fake documentation and higher-paying jobs. Almost half were from Vietnam. Because trainees are not permitted to switch employers, leaving their jobs usually means losing legal visa status. A few go to shelters run by nonprofit groups or get help from unionists, while many disappear into a labor black market. “The situation is completely different from what they were told back home,” said Shigeru Yamashita, managing director of the Vietnam Mutual Aid Association in Japan. “They have debts they cannot repay with their salaries at home, so the only option is to flee into the black market for labor.” The new law will allow about 345,000 blue-collar workers to enter Japan over five years in 14 sectors, including construction and nursing care, that face acute labor shortages. One category of “specified skilled workers” can stay up to five years but cannot bring families. A second category of visas — currently limited to the construction and shipbuilding industries — allows workers to bring families and be eligible to stay longer. Nguyen Thi Thuy Phuong, 29, left her husband and elementary-school-age child at home in Vietnam to work as a trainee in a knitwear factory in Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture. The textile industry was not included in the new visa program after coming under fire for the high number of labor violations in its trainee programs. Now she wishes she could bring her family and stay longer than three years. “Life in Japan is convenient and the air is clean,” she said in careful Japanese during a break from work. For-profit employment agencies and individuals can register as liaisons between recruiters and employers. These “registered support organizations” will not need licenses. Immigration authorities will provide oversight of the new foreign workers, and the labor ministry’s immigration bureau will become an agency on April 1, a bureaucratic distinction that gives it more clout. On Friday, the Justice Ministry issued fresh rules for the new system, including a requirement that foreign workers be paid at least as much as Japanese employees. But Sasaki said the agency’s focus would be residence status, not labor conditions. Some companies have woken up to the risk of losing investors if they or their suppliers violate workers’ rights, said Japan Civil Liberties Union’s Hatate. But the rush to implement the new law has left local authorities worried that too little has been done to support and integrate more foreigners. “If there is not a proper framework to accept them and they are thought of as purely a way to fill the labor shortage, for certain there will be major problems,” said Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa.
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niigata;vietnam;foreign workers
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jp0001433
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/03/20
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Hayabusa2 detects minerals containing water on Ryugu asteroid
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The unmanned space probe Hayabusa2 has detected small amounts of minerals containing water on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, a Japanese research team has said. The findings may provide a clue to solving the mystery of the origin of Earth’s water. Scientists say that at least part of the water came from asteroids and comets. Research from the Hayabusa2 mission was published through the online version of the U.S. journal Science on Tuesday. Ryugu is classified as a C-type asteroid containing water and organic compounds. After its arrival at Ryugu in June last year, Hayabusa2 surveyed 69,000 locations on the asteroid, covering 90 percent of its surface, by using a near-infrared spectrometer capable of detecting hydrated minerals. But the team said in August that year that its analysis of the observation data did not find anything indicating the presence of water. Later, the team redid its analysis after adjusting for measuring errors. The fresh analysis has found that hydrated minerals that are mostly uniform in composition exist on the surface at a rate of 1 percent or less, the team said. “The decision to choose Ryugu as the destination, based on the prediction that there is some water, was not wrong,” said Kohei Kitazato, an associate professor at the University of Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture. In addition, comparing the rocks that make up Ryugu with meteorites indicates that they are likely to have been heated in the past, according to the team. Observation results obtained so far suggest the possibility that Ryugu originated from the parent body of the Polana or Eulalia asteroid family. Both families are in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Rocks that make up Ryugu are believed to have been heated inside its parent body, which was created 4.56 billion years ago, just after the solar system was formed. After losing water due to the heating, the rocks appear to have broken into smaller pieces and gathered again through collisions with other celestial bodies, the team said. Considering its volume and mass, the team believes Ryugu is made of rocks and stones aggregated together — in similar fashion to the asteroid Itokawa, which the first Hayabusa probe explored in a mission that ended in 2010. At present, Ryugu rotates over a period of 7.6 hours. But it used to spin much faster, with a rotation period of 3.5 hours. This caused its shape to bulge at an equatorial area due to centrifugal force, giving the asteroid the appearance of a spinning top. “Detailed observations of Ryugu are beginning to shed light on its history,” said University of Tokyo professor Seiji Sugita, a key member of the team. “We’d be able to collect precious samples that will help unravel what happened 4.5 billion years ago” if the Hayabusa2 mission succeeds in bringing the samples to Earth, said Nagoya University’s Professor Seiichiro Watanabe, another key member of the team.
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space;jaxa;hayabusa2
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jp0001434
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/20
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In wake of Christchurch massacre, Australia asks Japan to arrange talks on social media controls at G20
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Japan has received a written request from Australia to arrange talks on tightening social media controls at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Twitter that he has sent the letter of request to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the wake of Friday’s deadly shooting attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The terror attack, which killed 50 people, was streamed live on Facebook by the attacker. “We utterly condemn this despicable terror attack and are firmly resolved to fight terrorism, together with New Zealand, Australia and the international community,” Suga said at a news conference. The top government spokesman, however, declined to immediately comment on how Japan will respond to the Australian request. At a separate news conference, Foreign Minister Taro Kono sounded cautious about G20 talks on social media regulations. “Social media provides convenience in some aspects of life, but causes trouble in others,” Kono said. In the letter to Abe, Morrison expressed his concern at the “continuing and unrestricted role played by internet technologies in this and other terrorist attacks.” He highlighted the need to “ensure that technology firms meet their moral obligation to protect the communities which they serve and from which they profit.” The G20 leaders “should work to ensure that there are clear consequences not only for those who carry out such horrific acts, but for those who facilitate them,” Morrison said.
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australia;social media;g20;christchurch;mass shootings;scott morrison
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jp0001435
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Smiling may help Japanese election candidates win more votes, study claims
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With a spate of public office elections scheduled in the country this year, findings from a study by a university professor may offer good advice for those planning to run in the polls — smiling could earn candidates more votes. In an occasion that occurs once every 12 years, both unified regional elections, which include gubernatorial, mayoral and local assembly polls, and a triennial election for the House of Councilors will be held this year, in April and in the summer, respectively. Masahiko Asano, professor at Takushoku University in Tokyo, has been researching links between the smiles of election candidates on their campaign posters and how many votes they gain. He launched the study after being inspired by a report published in a foreign academic journal claiming that the more election candidates smile, the more votes they get. Using a special facial recognition system, Asano analyzed the smiles of some 6,000 people on their campaign posters, based on such factors as how widely their eyes and mouths are open and the state of wrinkles around their eyes, and rated them on a scale of zero to 100 points. The finding was that those that smile receive more votes, under certain conditions, according to Asano. His research covered six of the elections for the House of Representatives held between 1980 and 2017 — specifically, candidates in constituencies each with three to five seats for the 1980, 1983 and 1990 elections, and those in single-seat constituencies for the 2000, 2014 and 2017 elections. Asano collected the images of the posters of the some 6,000 people by taking pictures and obtaining official election documents from the National Diet Library. He found that the correlation was weaker for single-seat constituencies than for multiple-seat constituencies. The professor explained: “In multiple-seat constituencies, two or more candidates run from the same party, so voters tend to cast ballots based on the image of the candidates, including the extent of their smile, rather than on their policies. In single-seat constituencies, in contrast, candidates’ policies and political parties to which they belong, instead of their facial expressions on their campaign posters, could be factors determining voting behavior.” For 464 first-time candidates in single-seat constituencies in the 2017 election, meanwhile, he found that the more candidates a constituency has, the more effect a smile seems to have in obtaining votes. No links were confirmed between smiles and votes acquired for constituencies with two or three candidates. For constituencies each with four or more candidates, however, the share of votes won by a candidate tends to be several percentage points higher if they earn a full 100 points on the smile scale, compared with a case of zero points, after statistical treatment. “In the situation that many candidates from various political parties are running, it’s very likely that how they look influences voting decisions,” Asano said. But at the same time, Asano said: “I’m still at the stage of testing a hypothesis. I need to collect and analyze more data to examine to what degree a smile favorably affects the share of votes won.”
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elections;diet;upper house;local government
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jp0001436
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Japan's ruling party grills Google over data protection as it looks to tighten regulation on tech giants
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The ruling Liberal Democratic Party questioned a Google LLC executive Wednesday over the company’s data protection and transaction practices as part of efforts to tighten regulation on information technology giants. The party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also set to hear from Facebook Inc. on Friday as the nation’s antitrust watchdog and government ministries examine whether the market position of dominant tech companies, also including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., is hindering fair competition. “We need to compile transparent and fair rules to remove the negative impact while promoting technological innovation at the same time,” said LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida during the portion of the meeting that was open to the media. According to a participant in the closed portion of the meeting, an executive from Google’s U.S. headquarters took part and talked about the company’s accountability standards when handling personal data and business transactions. The executive also raised concerns that excessive regulation would hinder technological innovation, the participant said. The panel of the party’s Research Commission on Market Competitiveness Policy also questioned officials from Apple and Amazon Japan last Friday. The party is set to compile a proposal over the issue in April. Concerns have been raised that the companies are collecting their customers’ personal data without gaining sufficient consent and are not disclosing how the information is used. The Fair Trade Commission launched a survey late last month of the IT firms’ transactions to see if they are applying unjust pressure on individual sellers and smaller firms in violation of the Antimonopoly Law. Businesses using their platforms have also been asked to answer an online questionnaire and report any questionable trade practices. The antitrust watchdog’s survey also covers operators of major online marketplaces such as Rakuten Inc. and Yahoo Japan Corp. Amazon.com faced allegations that it violated the antitrust law when it revealed a new loyalty point plan last month that may force all vendors to offer their customers points even if sellers wish to opt-out. The vendors are also required to shoulder the cost of the plan. If Amazon Japan introduces the new program in May as scheduled, and without giving vendors the chance to negotiate terms, it could be deemed as an abuse of its superior bargaining position over a counterparty, which is prohibited under the Antimonopoly Law. The Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications are also working on new rules to ensure that transactions between companies and the IT giants are conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
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ldp;google;apple;social media;facebook;amazon.com
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jp0001437
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[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
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Court tells Japan's government to pay damages to prize-winning author held and illegally arrested after Okinawa base protest
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NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - The Naha District Court on Tuesday ordered the central government to pay ¥80,000 in damages to an award-winning author who was detained for entering a restricted area while protesting in Okinawa Prefecture. Shun Medoruma, 58, was held in U.S. custody for eight hours on April 1, 2016, after canoeing into the restricted area off the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago. The central government plans to build a facility at the site to take over the functions of the Marine Corps’ Futenma air station also in Okinawa. Medoruma, who won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1997, was arrested under a special law within the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement after being transferred to Japanese custody. He was not prosecuted. In the damages lawsuit, Medoruma sought damages of ¥1.2 million from the central government, saying he had been held in custody unjustly. Presiding Judge Kaoru Hirayama said it would have been possible for Japan Coast Guard officers to accept the transfer of the author from the U.S. military into Japanese custody within two hours, adding that there was no rational reason to justify the delayed transfer. The judge also found Medoruma’s arrest by Japanese authorities to be illegal. Medoruma said that the ruling reached by the court is “only natural.”
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okinawa;courts;military
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jp0001438
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[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
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South Korea provincial officials propose 'war crime company' stickers for school goods made by some Japanese firms
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A proposal has been submitted to a South Korean provincial assembly to require the use of stickers on school products that were made by certain Japanese companies that used South Korean laborers during World War II, it was learned Wednesday. The proposed stickers are said to include the text “war crime company.” The proposal is expected to be submitted to a plenary session of the assembly of Gyeonggi-do, near Seoul, in early April, according to the Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean daily. According to the assembly’s website, the proposal was sponsored by 27 assembly members, including representatives from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. The proposal says it is intended to recognize the attitudes of Japanese companies that have not made an official apology or paid compensation over their use of wartime forced laborers although they inflicted damage on South Korean nationals, and to establish a correct recognition of history among students. It targets companies from a list of firms announced by a committee of the South Korean prime minister’s office that are said to have caused damage to the lives and properties of South Korean people, mainly through wartime labor, naming 284 companies. Also targeted are companies that were established after the end of the war with funds from such firms, as well as shareholders in such firms.
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south korea;wartime labor;stickers;gyeonggi-do
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jp0001439
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[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Nagasaki observes first cherry blooms of season in Japan
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NAGASAKI - Cherry trees came into bloom Wednesday in Nagasaki Prefecture, marking the first blooming of the Somei-Yoshino variety to be recorded in Japan this spring, according to the Meteorological Agency. Officials confirmed at around 10 a.m. that five flowers had started to blossom from a cherry tree at an observatory of the agency in the city of Nagasaki. The bloom was four days earlier than average but three days later than last year. The flowers will be in full bloom in a week to 10 days, the observatory said. “The warmer-than-usual weather has most likely led to the cherry tree’s early blooming,” a local agency official said. The average temperature in the city of Nagasaki was 2.1 degrees higher than usual in late February, at 10.8 Celsius, and 1.8 degrees higher, at 11.1 C, in early March, according to the weather agency. On Wednesday, temperatures rose throughout Japan, with the mercury hitting 20.6 C in Kameyama in Mie Prefecture, 19.4 C in Hitachiomiya in Ibaraki Prefecture and 19.1 C in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. The weather agency made no mention of the blooming of Somei-Yoshino trees in Tokyo.
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nagasaki;sakura;cherry blossoms
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jp0001440
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Japan marks first anniversary of Aum Shinrikyo sarin nerve gas attack since top cult members' executions
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Japan marked the 24th anniversary Wednesday of a deadly sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which killed 13 people and injured more than 6,000 others. In a memorial ceremony at Kasumigaseki Station, relatives of the victims and employees of the subway operator observed a moment of silence at 8 a.m., around the time when the attack occurred on March 20, 1995. The doomsday cult’s founder, Shoko Asahara, and several of his former followers were executed for the crime last July. “After the executions, I came here with a different feeling than before,” said Shizue Takahashi, who lost her husband, Kasumigaseki assistant stationmaster Kazumasa Takahashi, in the attack. “Half a year has passed and I am thinking about the consequences of capital punishment more deeply.” Following prolonged trials, Asahara, 63, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was convicted of numerous murders, including the 1995 sarin gas attack, and hanged along with 12 other former senior members of the cult. Immediately after the executions, Takahashi, 72, said her suffering had not stopped and that she was having a “very hard time.” But on Wednesday, she said she has started to think about how the executed death row inmates had spent their time in prison and how their families are doing. Stands for flowers were set up by Tokyo Metro Co. at Kasumigaseki and other stations where people fell victim to the attack. Kasumigasaki Station is in a district containing many ministerial and other governmental offices. The nerve agent was scattered in five subway cars during the morning rush hour under Asahara’s instructions, causing mayhem at the stations. With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics approaching, the government is considering ways to further strengthen the safety of the country’s railway system. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry conducted an experiment at Kasumigaseki Station earlier in the month to check whether a body scanner can detect hazardous materials if a passenger tries to secretly carry them onto trains. The ministry hopes the device will enhance safety without affecting the convenience of railway passengers.
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aum shinrikyo;shoko asahara;sarin;kasumigaseki station
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jp0001442
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Japan's Supreme Court gives approval for retrial of former nurse who served prison term over 2003 murder
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The Supreme Court has given its approval for the retrial of a former assistant nurse who was convicted of the murder of a 72-year-old male patient at a hospital in Shiga Prefecture and has already served a prison term. In making the decision on Monday, the top court’s Second Petty Bench rejected an appeal by public prosecutors and upheld the Osaka High Court’s ruling to reopen the case against Mika Nishiyama, 39. In the December 2017 verdict, the high court referred to the possibility that the patient may have died of natural causes. The Supreme Court’s decision was made unanimously by three justices. In the retrial, Otsu District Court in the prefecture’s capital is highly likely to acquit Nishiyama, who served her prison term until August 2017, sources familiar with the situation said. The male patient at Koto Memorial Hospital, in what is now the city of Higashiomi, was found dead by a nurse in May 2003. Nishiyama was in charge of taking care of the patient in her role as an assistant nurse. After quitting her job at the hospital, Nishiyama told law enforcement authorities during their investigations that she had removed an artificial respirator from the patient. She was arrested in July 2004. Although Nishiyama withdrew her confession during her trial, the Otsu District Court recognized, based on a medical examiner’s certificate and other materials, that the patient suffered acute cardiac arrest because of a lack of oxygen. In November 2005, the district court sentenced her to 12 years in prison for the murder of the patient, concluding that her confession was credible. The ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court in May 2007. In granting the retrial for Nishiyama, the Osaka High Court said that the male patient may have died naturally from lethal arrhythmia, citing a doctor’s certificate newly submitted by the defense. The high court also said that Nishiyama’s confession wasn’t credible. The court said her confession may have been guided by police, noting that her statements regarding the conditions of the artificial respirator had often changed. The high court thus overrode the Otsu District Court’s September 2015 rejection of her retrial plea, which was filed in September 2012. That was the second such plea by Nishiyama. She filed her first retrial petition in September 2010, but that was later dismissed. In a separate case, the Supreme Court in October 2018 approved a retrial for Koki Miyata, 85, who served a prison term over the 1985 murder of a 59-year-old man in Kumamoto Prefecture. In the murder trial, the Kumamoto District Court in 1986 sentenced Miyata to 13 years in prison, and the verdict was finalized by the top court in 1990. In his retrial, set to be held at the district court on March 28, Miyata is expected to be found not guilty.
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supreme court;shiga prefecture;mika nishiyama
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jp0001443
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/20
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U.S. man arrested over stabbing death of Japanese wife in lobby of Tokyo court building
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An American man reportedly in the middle of a divorce with his Japanese wife was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing her to death in the lobby of the Tokyo Family Court building, according to police. The 32-year-old husband was found in possession of several knives and bottles containing a liquid thought to be gasoline when he was apprehended by police shortly after fleeing the court building to nearby Hibiya Park, the police said. The woman, 31, who was stabbed in the neck at the court building around 3:20 p.m., was confirmed dead at a hospital, authorities said. The husband had cut his own wrists and was also taken to a hospital. According to the police, the wife and husband were meeting at the court for divorce proceedings that day. He had been sitting on a bench by the security check for the building, and ambushed her when he saw her arrive. Police said a motive was not yet known and the couple’s names were being withheld. The court is in the Kasumigaseki district of central Tokyo, which is dotted with government offices and near entrances to Marunouchi and Chiyoda line subway stations.
|
murder;divorce;stabbings;tokyo family court;police
|
jp0001444
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Tokyo court dismisses request for retrial by former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Muneo Suzuki
|
The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday rejected a plea for a retrial submitted by former lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, who served time in prison after being convicted on four charges including bribery and influence peddling. Suzuki’s defense team plans to file an immediate appeal. Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Suzuki, a 71-year-old former House of Representatives lawmaker and head of New Party Daichi, described the court decision as “regrettable,” as he “had expected the court would uncover the truth.” “I’ll continue to fight,” he added. Regarding the defense’s claim that prosecutors forced companies that had bribed Suzuki to give false testimonies during the trial, Presiding Judge Kazunori Karei said that such firms and other witnesses had made the same confessions from the beginning of the investigation. Suzuki’s counsel had submitted new evidence, suggesting that the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office manufactured a pretext for the interrogation. The defense team claimed that the prosecutors pressured the firms and others to give their testimonies in line with this false scenario. According to the final court decision, Suzuki received a total of ¥11 million in bribes from the companies in return for playing a role as an intermediary between them and the Forestry Agency between 1997 and 1998, when he served as chief of the former Hokkaido Development Agency and deputy chief cabinet secretary. While Suzuki adamantly asserted his innocence during the trial, the Tokyo District Court in November 2004 sentenced him to two years in prison and imposed a fine of ¥11 million. In September 2010, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal submitted by Suzuki. He was incarcerated in December 2010, before being released on parole a year later. Suzuki filed the request for a retrial with Tokyo District Court in 2012.
|
tokyo district court;bribery;muneo suzuki;new party daichi
|
jp0001445
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Restaurant chain operator Skylark to impose total smoking ban from September
|
Restaurant chain operator Skylark Holdings Co. said Tuesday it will impose a total smoking ban at all of its around 3,200 outlets in the nation from September. The group, which operates the Jonathan’s and Gusto chains, “wants to prevent undesirable passive smoking, and cares about the health of customers and some 100,000 employees,” said an official of Skylark Holdings. Many Skylark group restaurants have smoking areas that are separated from nonsmoking areas. The group will remove the smoking areas.
|
restaurants;health;smoking;skylark;gusto
|
jp0001446
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/20
|
Museum devoted to 'visas for life' diplomat Chiune Sugihara to open in Tokyo
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A museum based on the life of Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), a Japanese diplomat who issued transit visas to thousands of Jewish people during World War II to help them escape from Nazi persecution, is set to open Saturday in the Yaesu district of Tokyo. Items to be exhibited at the Chiune Sugihara Sempo Museum will include one of the “visas for life,” as well as manuscripts written by Sugihara. Sempo was Sugihara’s nickname when he was working at the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. The visa to be put on display was issued by Sugihara to the late Nathan Bluman on Aug. 9, 1940, allowing the Jewish Pole to escape to Canada by way of Japan. Bluman’s son George, who donated the passport that contains a transit visa written by Sugihara, was present at the museum’s opening ceremony held Tuesday. Chihiro Sugihara, 55, the grandson of Chiune Sugihara who heads the nonprofit organization “Chiune Sugihara. Visas For Life,” said: “Now we have a facility in Tokyo where people can learn about the Holocaust. I hope it can offer the opportunity for all the people to develop the imagination to live together.” The museum will be run by the organization and other entities. Madoka Sugihara, 52, granddaughter of Chiune Sugihara and vice chair of the organization, said, “We want visitors to understand the thoughts of a diplomat who saved many people by staking his life in the grueling days of the war.” Among the manuscripts to be exhibited will be a note, believed to have been written around the summer of 1978. It describes how Sugihara felt when he decided to issue transit visas to Jewish people in defiance of a Japanese Foreign Ministry order not to do so. “After struggle and anguish, I finally came to conclude that the most important thing is humanitarianism,” the note says. The original visa and manuscripts will be kept in secure storage, with replicas and copies to be put on display, along with other exhibits such as photographs and a panel listing the names of people to whom transit visas were issued by Sugihara. The museum will be open between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays, and will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The entrance fee will be ¥500 for adults and ¥300 for junior high and high school students. Admission will be free for elementary school students and younger children.
|
wwii;religion;history;visas;nazis;lithuania;chiune sugihara
|
jp0001448
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan's exports slump again on weak external demand, putting central bank on notice
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Exports fell in February for the third straight month, a sign the trade-reliant economy is under growing strain and suggesting that the Bank of Japan might eventually be forced to offer more stimulus to temper the effects of slowing external demand and trade friction. Slower global growth, the U.S.-Chinese trade war and complications over Britain’s exit from the European Union have already forced many policymakers to shift to an easing stance over recent months. Japan is in a similar situation to much of the rest of the world, where factories have slammed on the brakes and business confidence has plummeted in the wake of rising global economic uncertainty. Finance Ministry data released Monday showed that exports fell 1.2 percent year on year in February, more than the 0.9 percent decrease expected by economists in a Reuters poll. That came on the heels of a sharp 8.4 percent year-on-year drop in January. Exports have seen drops in shipments of cars, steel and semiconductor production equipment. “Exports to advanced nations like the United States and Europe still held firm, but China- and Asia-bound shipments were clearly sluggish,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. “Exports will remain in a declining trend for the time being, which could curb capital spending and wages. The domestic economy will face a severe situation ahead of October’s consumption tax hike.” The trade data comes on top of a recent batch of weak indicators, such as factory output and a key gauge of capital spending, which have raised worries that Japan’s record run of postwar growth may come to an end. Some analysts say a recession cannot be ruled out. The BOJ last week cut its view on exports and output, while keeping policy unchanged. Yet, extended weakness in exports could put it under pressure to deliver more easing, especially as inflation remains well off its 2 percent target and pressure on businesses and consumers continues to rise. In the news conference following last week’s policy meeting, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda acknowledged the challenges the economy faces but gave no indication there will be any additional stimulus. But Kuroda may have to change tack in the face of a run of weak economic indicators. Many in the BOJ expect the economy to emerge from the current soft patch in the second half of this year, assuming China’s stimulus plans can revive demand there. The biggest worry among BOJ policymakers is that weakening exports and output will hurt corporate sentiment, prompting firms to delay capital expenditure and wage hikes. The trade war between the United States and China — Japan’s largest export markets — has already curbed global trade. Monday’s trade data showed exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, rose 5.5 percent year on year on shipments of semiconductor production equipment and cars, rebounding from a 17.4 percent drop in January. However, overall trade to the Asian giant remained weak, as even after averaging effects of the Lunar New Year holiday, China-bound shipments declined 6.3 percent in the January-February period from a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted overall trade values rose 6.7 percent month on month in February, the strongest rise in two years. Export volume fell 0.6 percent in the year to February after the previous month’s 9.0 percent decline. “Shifts in the timing of Chinese New Year partly explain the sharp swings in trade volumes at the start of the year, so the recent strength in export volumes may unwind before long,” said Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics. “We still think that net trade will remain a drag on GDP growth both in the first quarter and throughout 2019.” Japan’s shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of its overall exports, fell 1.8 percent, down for the fourth straight month. U.S.-bound exports rose 2.0 percent, but imports from the United States grew 4.9 percent, resulting in Japan’s trade surplus with the country declining 0.9 percent year on year to ¥624.9 billion in February. Yet, Japan’s still-large surplus with the U.S. raises concerns among Japanese policymakers and auto exporters that Washington may impose hefty duties on its imports. Imports of Japanese cars account for about two-thirds of Japan’s $69 billion annual trade surplus with the U.S., making Tokyo and Beijing targets of criticism by Donald Trump. In February, Japanese auto exports to the United States rose just 0.5 percent year on year to 152,198 units in February, with the value of shipments down 6.8 percent.
|
china;u.s .;boj;trade;exports
|
jp0001449
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Hundreds of firms may be demoted in Tokyo Stock Exchange shake-up
|
As part of an effort to streamline markets and attract more investors, the Tokyo Stock Exchange may demote about a third of its largest listed companies and cut down the bourses it operates to three from four, according to media reports. A TSE advisory panel is expected to compile a report by the end of March after examining public comments on structural reforms for the $5.7 trillion equity market. The reported changes would demote hundreds of companies from the TSE’s first section, investors say. The exchange included 2,137 companies as of Friday, double the number in 1990, according to the exchange’s parent, Japan Exchange Group Inc. “It’s good to reduce the number of companies in the TSE’s first section,” said Kazuyuki Terao, the chief investment officer of Allianz Global Investors’ Japanese unit. “A lot of investors are using the Topix as a benchmark for their investments and the number of the constituents in the Topix is too many.” The TSE may raise the minimum market-cap requirement to remain listed on the first section to ¥25 billion from ¥2 billion, and require that companies disclose filings in English, the Nikkei financial newspaper said Friday. Kyodo News reported the panel plans to recommend reducing the number of exchanges. Satoshi Mimura, a spokesman for Japan Exchange Group, said no decision has been made. Roughly half of the Topix’s current members have market values below ¥50 billion. If the ¥25 billion market-cap threshold were to be implemented, it would cut the first board to a little more than 1,400 companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The panel is proposing categorizing TSE stocks into three sections — premium, standard and emerging, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. Currently the TSE has the first and second sections, the Mothers and Jasdaq startup exchanges. Companies currently in the first section that are near the market-cap threshold may seek mergers and acquisitions or management buyouts, Masahiro Suzuki, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc., wrote in a note dated Friday. Some investors see the reported changes as unwelcome. Masakazu Hosomizu, a Chicago-based portfolio manager at RMB Capital, said splitting the first section by market cap would “fundamentally alter the constituents of the Topix” and “force a massive sell-off by passive investors due to their portfolio rebalancing requirement.” Yoshinori Shigemi, a Tokyo-based global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said screening companies just by their market cap isn’t desirable. “The value of market cap will change depending on the conditions of the nominal economy, so screening by the market-cap value means they may need to change the criteria again in the future depending on the state of the economy,” Shigemi said. The TSE is scheduled to propose the ideas at a Financial Services Agency advisory committee meeting at the end of this month, the Nikkei said.
|
reform;tokyo stock exchange;companies;listing
|
jp0001450
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Shared work spaces catch on with urban Japanese seeking a better work-life balance
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More companies in Japan are turning to shared office space to shorten employees’ commuting times and offer them a better work-life balance. Shared spaces are also expected to foster new businesses by providing budding entrepreneurs chances to network with people from different industries and come up with fresh ideas. “Before, I was forced to cut the time I spent working whenever I had to take my children to see the doctor,” said Mami Adachi, 35, who is trying to raise twin daughters while working at trading house Sumitomo Corp. “My time has been freed up since I started using a co-working space. I no longer have that feeling of irritation that comes from not being able to work even when I want to,” Adachi said. About once a week she works from NewWork Jiyugaoka, a shared office in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, close to her home. Slashing the two-hour round-trip commute to Sumitomo’s headquarters in Chiyoda Ward in the center of the city allows her to devote more time to work when needed or spend time with her 2-year-olds without cutting into office hours. NewWork Jiyugaoka is one of some 20 co-working spaces run by railway Tokyu Corp. The railroad contracts with companies to offer shared satellite offices within walking distance of major train stations mainly in greater Tokyo. Employees of the participating companies can choose where they want to sit but are prohibited from speaking loudly. Cellphone use is restricted to a designated area. “The atmosphere is like a library so I can really make progress with my work,” Adachi said. “There’s no colleague trying to talk to me and no business phone calls interrupting me.” Companies can also keep track of employees’ working hours because an card reader records when they enter and exit the facility. New York-based WeWork touts its support for creating new business opportunities by actively promoting networking among clients. WeWork Companies Inc. entered the Japanese market in February 2018 and has since opened more than 10 co-working spaces spanning Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka and other prefectures. Its open-plan offices display notices for workshops on various topics ranging from the ABCs of virtual currency to South African wines. Tea, coffee and light meals are available in the kitchen area, where people can easily interact. Offering its own take on the trend, Tokyo Metro Co. launched a Satellite Office Service in June 2018 that provides work booths in four subway stations, including Tameike-Sanno. Each cozy, one-person pod comes with a desk, chair, electrical outlet, LCD monitor and free Wi-Fi. One can book a booth online for ¥200 per 15 minutes. A Tokyo Metro official said the service makes life easier for people to call on a client toward the end of the day. “Many people go to the trouble of returning to their office to complete some simple task after visiting a client,” the official said. “Now they can go home directly if they finish their jobs quickly and easily in the station.”
|
entrepreneurs;tokyu;wework;co-working spaces
|
jp0001451
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Dollar falls below ¥111.50 in Tokyo trading
|
The dollar weakened below ¥111.50 in late afternoon trading Monday in Tokyo as investors retreated to the sidelines prior to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy-setting meeting that starts Tuesday. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.48-48, down from ¥111.65-65 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1349-1349, up from $1.1325-1325, and at ¥126.51-52, up from ¥126.44-45. After moving around ¥111.40-50 early in the morning, the dollar topped ¥111.60 toward noon on real demand-backed purchases. The greenback was also supported by the Nikkei 225’s extended rally, traders said. But the dollar lost steam and moved around ¥111.50 for most of the afternoon amid a dearth of major buying incentives. Players held active trading in check to wait for the outcome of the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, an official from a major Japanese bank said. Another domestic bank official said the dollar-yen pair has been struggling for direction, with the dollar weighed on by lower U.S. long-term interest rates and the yen by higher U.S. and Asian stock prices. The market is cautiously watching developments related to Britain’s planned departure from the European Union, an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0001452
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Tokyo stocks rise further on Wall Street advance
|
Stocks gained further ground Monday, with investor sentiment brightened by rises in U.S. equities Friday. The Nikkei 225 average climbed 133.65 points, or 0.62 percent, to end at 21,584.50. On Friday, the key market gauge rose 163.83 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 11.05 points, or 0.69 percent, higher at 1,613.68 after gaining 14.34 points Monday. The market surged from the outset on robust purchases of semiconductor-linked issues. This came after the U.S. chip sector led the Wall Street advance on a Chinese media report about substantial progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations, brokers said. Stocks maintained their strength throughout the day, though they failed to rise further due to selling on a rally, the brokers said. Higher Chinese stocks also helped the market extend its winning streak to a second market day, according to Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc., said investors bought stocks in anticipation of a “dovish” U.S. Federal Reserve at its two-day policy-setting meeting starting Tuesday. Meanwhile, the market turned top heavy as players increasingly became “vigilant” over the U.S.-China talks following a media report that a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping could be postponed to June, Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Naito Securities Co., pointed out. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,695 to 385 in the first section, while 56 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.033 billion shares from 1.483 billion Friday. Chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron and other semiconductor-related issues rose on buying by investors who took heart from major U.S. chip company Broadcom Corp.’s brisk earnings figures, brokers said. Also bought were cosmetics maker Shiseido, clothing store chain Fast Retailing and technology investor SoftBank Group. By contrast, convenience store operator FamilyMart Uny, mobile phone carrier KDDI and advertising agency Dentsu met with selling.
|
stocks;nikkei;tokyo stock exchange;topix
|
jp0001453
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan Post Insurance eyes firms with tech edge in new ESG investment strategy
|
Japan Post Insurance is shifting its approach to sustainable investing by picking companies with a technological edge for solving global problems, its investment chief said, in a move away from typical ESG selection criteria. With total assets of ¥74.5 trillion ($670 billion), the life insurer also known as Kampo is one of Japan’s biggest institutional investors and a major player in the world’s third-largest stock market. The firm plans to triple the portion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments in its domestic stock portfolio to around ¥100 billion over the next couple of fiscal years, starting in April, Chief Investment Officer Atsushi Tachibana said. Kampo is taking a radically different approach compared with conventional ESG investments, he said. In recent years many ESG investors have focused on “somewhat superficial criteria,” such as the percentage of female managers, the average rate of paid leave taken by employees, or a company’s carbon emissions, he said. Kampo tries to identify companies it believes have a technological edge to solve global ESG issues and meet U.N. sustainable development goals (SDGs), a set of 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at resolving social, economic and environmental problems troubling the world. “We look to what extent companies’ exposure to businesses or products that will contribute to solving ESG challenges are driving their growth,” Tachibana said. “That’s not something you can find in their public disclosure. We try to get an estimate through the 300 to 400 meetings and factory visits our analysts have with companies annually,” he added. Based on that strategy, Kampo’s ESG portfolio looks very different from other ESG funds, he said. The top 10 holdings in Kampo’s ESG-focused growth stock fund include FP Corp., a leader in manufacturing and recycling disposable food containers used in supermarkets, and Koito Manufacturing Co., which makes LED headlights for cars. The fund does not include common ESG names such as Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and KDDI Corp., which have heavy weightings in ESG indices such as MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders and FTSE Blossom Japan. Since its launch last April, the returns for Kampo’s ESG fund have beaten the benchmark Topix by 2.5 percentage points, MSCI Japan ESG by 0.5 percentage points and FTSE Blossom by 2.7 percentage points, as of March 8, Tachibana said. Kampo is the insurance arm of former state-owned conglomerate Japan Post Holdings. The insurer has increased investment in riskier assets since it was partially privatized in 2015. Previously, the firm has relied heavily on outside asset managers to oversee its mostly-passive stock portfolio, which rose in value to ¥2.118 trillion by last September from ¥997 billion in March 2015. It plans to double its in-house actively managed portion of the portfolio — which includes the ESG-focused growth fund and a high-dividend fund — to about 20 percent of total stock holdings, or about ¥400 billion, in the near future, he said. As for Japan’s stock market, he remains cautious despite a recovery since January. “We expect the global economic slowdown to continue a bit more, so we don’t plan to increase our domestic stock portfolio in the near term,” Tachibana said. “That said, their valuation is cheap and I think they can be good investments in the longer term.”
|
investment;japan post;esg;kampo;atsushi tachibana
|
jp0001454
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance needs simpler decision-making, French automaker chief says
|
Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors need to streamline the alliance’s decision-making processes, Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro. The three automakers announced last week that they will establish a new management board consisting of their top leaders, including Senard, to decide alliance strategy. According to a report posted online by Le Figaro on Sunday, Senard said he wants the board to be composed of people who have the power to make decisions at each company. He also said the team around him is not working on boosting cross-shareholdings between Renault and Nissan Motor Co. Senard denied speculation about a conspiracy by Nissan related to the arrest by Japanese authorities in November of then-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was also chairman and chief executive officer of Renault, for alleged financial misconduct. Nissan has not shown any intention to withdraw from the alliance, Senard said. Also Sunday, a Nissan committee tasked with improving the automaker’s governance said it will release a set of proposals March 27. The committee, formed after Ghosn’s arrest in November, said it will hold a news conference that day. The proposals will likely include increasing the number of outside directors on Nissan’s board, according to people familiar with the panel’s discussions. Based on the proposals, Nissan will speed up its process of forming a new management structure. The news conference is expected to be attended by lawyer Seiichiro Nishioka, the co-chair of the panel, and Sadayuki Sakakibara, a former chairman of Keidanren, the nation’s top business lobby. Nissan is considering naming Sakakibara as the chief of the board, sources familiar with the company’s reform have said.
|
nissan;renault;jean-dominique senard;mistsubishi motor
|
jp0001455
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Twitter's former CFO joins SoftBank-backed farming startup Plenty
|
Twitter Inc.’s former chief financial officer has joined SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Plenty Inc. in the same role as the indoor farming startup prepares for international expansion and improvements to its vertical growing technology. Mike Gupta helped take Twitter public in 2013 and left for Docker Inc. two years later. Earlier, Gupta was treasurer at gaming company Zynga Inc., helping to lead its initial public offering, and had previously spent about eight years in various roles at Yahoo. “It’s not new for me to be in hypergrowth companies that are entering unchartered territory,” Gupta said in an interview. “This is a very capital intensive business, so having someone who can think about how we raise and deploy capital in the long run will be very important.” Plenty has made several high-profile hires in recent years, including Tesla Inc.’s former battery director, Kurt Kelty, and the electric carmaker’s former vice president of engineering, Nick Kalayjian. Founded in 2014, Plenty boasts it can yield more produce in a given area than conventional farms, with only a fraction of the water. Its backers include funds that invest on behalf of Eric Schmidt, a director of Alphabet Inc., and Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc. Plenty is betting that with its technology and a previous $200 million investment from SoftBank, it will be able to scale its farms around the world. The startup is in the process of building a new version of its farms, called Tigris. Matt Barnard, a co-founder and chief executive officer of Plenty, said the new farm will be able to produce more than 40 times the amount of leafy greens that its current farms while using less energy. Plenty aims to roll out Tigris later this year. The company currently has 18,250 square meters of indoor space in south San Francisco but is only using a small portion for produce it sells. The majority of the space is used for testing, and research and development. Plenty, which has been delivering produce in the Bay Area since June 1, sells its food online and in neighborhood grocery stores. Vertical farming technologies have yet to revolutionize agriculture and several companies have shut down in recent years because they weren’t economically sustainable. While most vertical farms grow produce on parallel shelves, Plenty uses tall columns from which plants sprout horizontally. The company says the method allows it to more cheaply remove excess heat emitted by LED grow lights and reduce energy needed to deliver nutrients to the plants. Plenty has a team working on early stage development in China, and is in discussions with distributors and partners in Japan, Abu Dhabi and other regions.
|
softbank;startup;farming;plenty;mike gupta
|
jp0001456
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Descente president likely to step down after successful hostile bid by Itochu
|
OSAKA - Masatoshi Ishimoto, president of sporting goods maker Descente Ltd., is likely to step down after trading house Itochu Corp. successfully completed a hostile tender offer, according to informed sources. Itochu demanded changes to Descente’s management when senior officials of the two Japanese companies met in Osaka on Sunday to have their first talks since the completion of the tender offer, which was announced Friday. At the meeting, the officials exchanged opinions about the composition of Descente’s management team and other issues. While the likelihood of Ishimoto’s resignation increased, the officials remained apart on the board composition and failed to reach a conclusion, the sources said. Currently, the Descente board has 10 directors — six from the company, two from Itochu and two outsiders. Itochu has been proposing a reduction of the number of the internal directors to two. Descente has been refusing the cut. Now that its equity stake in Descente has been raised to 40 percent thanks to the successful takeover bid, Itochu plans to increase pressure on the company to accept its proposals.
|
itochu;descente;masatoshi ishimoto;tob
|
jp0001457
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/18
|
New Seiyu CEO says Walmart not looking to sell its Japanese supermarket chain
|
The newly appointed chief executive of Walmart Inc.’s supermarket chain Seiyu denied Monday that the business is up for sale, following reports last year that the U.S. retail giant is looking for a buyer. “I’m not here to sell a business,” Lionel Desclee told reporters in Tokyo in his first public remarks since his appointment Friday. “Absolutely not at all.” Japanese media reported last year that Walmart considered selling Seiyu, and that a sale could amount to around ¥300 billion to ¥500 billion. Desclee, who has worked for European food retailer Delhaize Group and was previously CEO of pet shop chain Tom & Co., said he is too new in the job to discuss strategy but is sure that a sale is not in the works. He joked of “sleepless nights” as he read media reports of a possible sale just as he was considering the Tokyo job. “Thanks to this article I did thoroughly discuss Walmart’s intentions,” he said, adding that officials in Bentonville, Arkansas, assured him that he was being hired to grow, rather than sell, the Japanese business. Walmart first entered the Japanese market in 2002 by buying a 6 percent stake in Seiyu and gradually built up its stake before a full takeover in 2008. Japan has proven a difficult market for many foreign entrants such as Tesco PLC and Carrefour SA. Consumers demand fresh food and high levels of customer service in a highly competitive industry where margins are razor thin after years of deflation. Under Walmart, Seiyu has closed unprofitable stores. It also launched an online grocery venture with Rakuten Inc. last year, though it faces tough competition from rivals that will include Amazon’s Fresh service.
|
supermarkets;seiyu;walmart;lionel desclee
|
jp0001458
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/18
|
One dead in possible terror attack on Dutch tram; massive police hunt for suspect
|
UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS - Dutch police were hunting down a suspect after a shooting Monday on a tram in the central city of Utrecht that left one person dead and multiple people injured. Authorities immediately raised the terror alert for the area to the maximum level and said they are considering the possibility of a “terrorist motive” in the attack. Dutch military police went on extra alert at airports and at key buildings in the country as the Utrecht manhunt took place. Police, including heavily armed officers, flooded the area after the shooting Monday morning on a tram at a busy traffic intersection in a residential neighborhood. They later erected a white tent over an area where a body appeared to be lying next to the tram. Utrecht police said trauma helicopters were sent to the scene and appealed to the public to stay away. As the manhunt continued, heavily armed anti-terror officers gathered in front of an apartment block close to the scene. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the situation “very worrying.” Police spokesman Bernhard Jens said no one had been detained yet in the shooting, and one possible “explanation is that the person fled by car.” He did not rule out the possibility that more than one shooter was involved in the attack. “We want to try to catch the person responsible as soon as possible,” Jens said. A German police spokesman said German authorities near the border were initially told to look out for a red Renault Clio compact sedan but were later told it had been found abandoned in Utrecht. There was no immediate confirmation on that from Dutch police. The Netherlands’ anti-terror coordinator raised the threat alert to its highest level around Utrecht. Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said the “threat level has gone to 5, exclusively for the Utrecht province.” “The culprit is still on the run. A terror motive cannot be excluded,” he said in a Twitter message. After the shooting, Dutch political parties halted campaigning ahead of a provincial election scheduled for Wednesday that will also determine the makeup of the Dutch parliament’s upper house. In neighboring Germany, police stepped up their surveillance of the Dutch border. Heinrich Onstein, a spokesman for federal police in North Rhine-Westphalia state, said additional officers had been detailed to watch not only major highways, but also minor crossings and railway routes. German police are in close contact with authorities in the Netherlands and have a description of the suspect, he said, but would not elaborate for security reasons.
|
guns;violence;netherlands
|
jp0001460
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Britain opens far-right terrorism probe into stabbing
|
LONDON - British police said on Sunday they had launched a terror investigation into a nonfatal stabbing attack “inspired by the far right” in suburban London. Counterterrorism police said a 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and racially aggravated public order offenses following Saturday’s incident in Surrey. “While this investigation is still in its infancy, it has hallmarks of a terror event, inspired by the far right, and therefore it has been declared a terrorism incident,” counterterrorism police coordinator Neil Basu said. “Police are committed to tackling all forms of toxic extremist ideology, which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.” Police said the suspect had been shouting racist abuse while walking down the street with a baseball bat. They later received a call reporting a man being stabbed. A 19-year-old was taken to hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. Police said the suspect carrying the baseball bat appeared to be one who stabbed the 19-year-old. British police are on heightened alert for extremist crimes following an attack on worshippers in two New Zealand mosque that claimed the lives of at least 50 people Friday.
|
terrorism;u.k .;stabbings;assaults
|
jp0001461
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Brazil leader Jair Bolsonaro in U.S. to cement an alliance with Trump
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WASHINGTON - Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro arrived in Washington on Sunday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and cement a budding conservative-populist alliance that, in part, aims to ramp up pressure on Venezuela. The far-right leader flew out of Brasilia early Sunday with six ministers, among them Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes and Justice Minister Sergio Moro, Brazilian media reported. They touched down at Joint Base Andrews, on the outskirts of Washington, at 3:40 p.m. “It’s the first time in a long time that a Brazilian president who is not anti-American, comes to Washington,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter after he arrived. It is Bolsonaro’s first trip abroad for a bilateral meeting since taking office on Jan. 1. He attended the Davos summit in Switzerland that month. Bolsonaro, who will also meet in Washington with the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), is scheduled to return to Brazil on Tuesday. Outside the White House on Sunday afternoon, dozens of demonstrators gathered to protest the visit — holding signs including one that accused Bolsonaro of being a “murderer” over apparent links to suspects in the killing of rights activist Marielle Franco. Police have said those ties are coincidental. A Trump-Bolsonaro bond could see the leaders of the Americas’ two most populous democracies working in concert on a range of regional issues. Most pressing is the crisis in Venezuela, where the United States and Brazil — and dozens of other countries — have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president with the goal of pushing President Nicolas Maduro from power. The tough-talking Bolsonaro has long expressed his admiration for Trump. He echoes the U.S. leader in spurning multilateral organizations and leftist politics, while promoting businesses over environmental concerns at home. Their shared nationalist sentiment can be seen in another relationship: that of Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, who is a federal lawmaker, with Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon. Eduardo Bolsonaro announced in early February that he was part of the Brussels-based group known as The Movement, which Bannon set up to promote far-right nationalistic values and tactics. The older Bolsonaro announced Saturday that one main result of his trip would be the signing of an agreement under which the United States might gain access to a satellite-launching base in Brazil near the equator. But most eyes will be on developments surrounding Venezuela, which shares a border with Brazil. “Brazil and the United States together throw fear into defenders of backwardness and tyranny around the world,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, which he is a prolific user of, like Trump. “Those who fear ties with a free and wealthy nation? That’s what we’ve come looking for,” Bolsonaro added. Previous Brazilian administrations took a friends-to-all approach to neighboring countries. But not Bolsonaro. The 63-year-old former paratrooper shares Trump’s hostility to the “dictator” Maduro, who took over after the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez in 2013. Trump has repeatedly insisted that “all options are on the table” with regards to Venezuela, a phrase understood to include military action. But Bolsonaro, like other members of the mostly Latin American Lima Group, has ruled out military action in favor of a policy of tightening the economic and diplomatic pressure against Maduro. As well as a “private meeting” with Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Bolsonaro will sit down with OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro, and participate in various forums to promote economic opportunities in Brazil. The country’s economy is the largest in Latin America, and the U.S. is Brazil’s second biggest trade partner after China. Bolsonaro was scheduled to dine at the residence of Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Amaral with “opinion makers” including, according to press reports, Bannon and U.S.-based Brazilian writer Olavo de Carvalho, considered Bolsonaro’s ideological guru. Bolsonaro is staying in Blair House, the official U.S. state residence opposite the White House used for visiting dignitaries. After his return to Brazil, Bolsonaro is planning a trip to Chile and then, in late March, to Israel.
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u.s .;brazil;venezuela;donald trump;jair bolsonaro
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jp0001462
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Pressure mounts on Tory lawmakers to back Brexit deal
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LONDON - U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond ramped up the pressure on Brexiteer Tory MPs as he warned they will trigger a long delay to leaving the European Union unless they support Theresa May’s proposed deal when it returns to Parliament. A growing number of Tories are now backing the prime minister’s agreement, he said, and the deal will only be put to another vote in the House of Commons this week if the government is confident of victory. The deal was defeated for the second time on Tuesday, and persuading opponents to switch their vote is “a work in progress,” Hammond said. “What’s happened since last Tuesday is a significant number of colleagues have changed their view on this, and decided the alternatives are so unpalatable to them that they, on reflection, think that the prime minister’s deal is the best way to deliver Brexit,” Hammond said in an interview with BBC TV on Sunday. “It’s absolutely vital that we get it through next week. It’s the final chance to do this deal without having a long extension,” he said. May has already conceded that her proposed exit date of March 29 will have to be pushed back and warned the delay could be much longer if Parliament refuses to back her agreement before Thursday’s meeting of the EU Council. That would mean the U.K. people would vote to elect members of the European Parliament in May. “EU leaders would require a clear purpose for any extension that was not merely technical,” May wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “If the proposal were to go back to square one and negotiate a new deal, that would mean a much longer extension. The idea of the U.K. people going to the polls to elect MEPs three years after voting to leave the EU hardly bears thinking about. There could be no more potent symbol of Parliament’s collective political failure.” While an official said last week that Tuesday was the most likely day for another vote, Trade Secretary Liam Fox also said the deal May has negotiated will only return to Parliament if the prime minister believes she can win. “There’s no point in having a vote if we have no chance of winning,” Fox said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday. “It would be difficult to justify.” There was an indication of the shift among Tory MPs when Esther McVey, who quit the Cabinet to protest May’s agreement, said she now will be backing the deal. While she sill thinks it’s a bad agreement, McVey has come to the conclusion it’s “this deal or no deal whatsoever,” she told Sky News on Sunday morning. Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which could deliver 10 crucial votes and help sway rebel Tories to back May’s deal, denied on Saturday that its talks with ministers revolved around cash for Northern Ireland. Hammond said discussions had concerned the Irish border, and he hadn’t been there to offer bribes. He did, however, point out that allocations for the province will soon be under consideration. “This isn’t about money, this is about political assurance,” Hammond said when asked about the talks. He then added that “we are coming up to a spending review and we will have to look at all budgets, including devolved block-grant budgets, in that spending review.” Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour opposition, said his party’s MPs are likely to be instructed to back an amendment calling for a referendum on any deal approved by Parliament. He said he might back leaving the EU in such a plebiscite if the deal was right, setting up a clash with pro-EU members of his party. The way he would vote in a referendum would “depend on the choice in front of us,” Corbyn told Sky News. “If we’ve got a good deal in which we could have a dynamic relationship with Europe, which was all the trading relationship and so on, then that might be a good way forward that unites the country.” Labour has attempted to straddle the U.K.’s Brexit divide as it needs the support of voters in “leave”-backing districts to win power. Corbyn reiterated his call for a general election, and said he may move a motion of no confidence in the government if May loses in the House of Commons again. Any referendum question “would obviously have to be a credible choice that’s real for both those that wanted to vote ‘leave,’ or did vote ‘leave’ in 2016, as well as those that voted ‘remain,'” Corbyn said. “We are appealing to people who voted both ‘leave’ and ‘remain,’ because at the end of the day it’s the social issues facing this country, the poverty, the insecure work, the homelessness and the growing inequality that are crucial.”
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eu;u.k .;philip hammond;brexit;theresa may
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jp0001463
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/18
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It's just a flesh wound: Dutch leader likens May's Brexit tenacity to Monty Python character
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AMSTERDAM - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte used a Monty Python movie reference to describe British Prime Minister Theresa May’s tenacity on Brexit despite repeated defeats. “I have a lot of respect for Theresa May — she reminds me occasionally of that Monty Python character where all his arms and legs are cut off and then says to his opponent: let’s call it a draw,” Rutte said in an interview Sunday on the “WNL op Zondag” television talk show. The Dutch leader was referring to a scene from the 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in which the character of the Black Knight — played by John Cleese — refuses to yield in a battle with King Arthur, even after losing all of his limbs. Days before a crucial meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels, Rutte reiterated that if the U.K. asks the EU to delay Brexit, he wants to know how long a postponement would take and what London seeks to achieve. On Friday, after meeting European Council President Donald Tusk for breakfast in The Hague, Rutte tweeted that the current withdrawal agreement is the only deal on the table. “If the British ask for a delay, interesting, but that was also my irritation this week — what do you want with that delay?” he said Sunday. While the U.K. is “in a very bad position right now,” Rutte respects his counterpart in London. “She’s doing incredibly, she goes on and on.”
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eu;u.k .;netherlands;brexit;theresa may;mark rutte
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jp0001464
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/18
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France uses Group of Seven presidency to issue sobering message urging a revamp of capitalism
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PARIS - France is sounding an alarm for the world’s advanced economies: Capitalism is tearing them apart. President Emmanuel Macron and his Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are using France’s presidency of the Group of Seven to argue that the system fuels inequality, destroys the planet and is ineffective at delivering goals in the public interest. The country has already experienced some of the fallout firsthand in the yellow vest movement that erupted late last year. They’re pushing a reinvention that includes minimum global taxes and higher levies on tech giants like Amazon and Facebook. There are echoes of that in the self-proclaimed democratic socialists in the U.S. and firebrand Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who last week said “capitalism is irredeemable.” “If we don’t invent a new capitalism, absurd economic solutions will win over and sweep us straight into recession,” Le Maire said in an interview late last month. A key example for him is Italy, where the populist government came to power riding a wave of public anger. It quickly threw out the rule book on fiscal responsibility, sent bond yields higher and confidence lower, helping to push its economy into a slump. At 49, Le Maire is the youngest finance minister among his G-7 counterparts. His grand ambitions also involve combating income inequality, empowering governments to intervene in the economy, and forcing companies to be socially responsible and share more of their profits with workers. While some measures of income inequality have declined, the IMF says that reflects growth in many developing economies. Many still feel they aren’t getting a decent share because of pay disparities, huge wealth concentration and levels of in-work poverty. Le Maire’s call to arms reflects a panic spreading in Western democracies about voter anger. The next sting could come at European Parliament elections in May, when euro-skeptic politicians are set to make further gains. “Capitalism works when many people have a chance at doing reasonably in the market,” said Raghuram Rajan, former governor of India’s central bank, who’s written a book on “communities” and rethinking capitalism. “We wasted 10 years since the financial crisis not really focusing on these things and hoping that one stimulus after another will somehow elevate growth.” In France, the government’s knee-jerk response to the yellow vests was to throw money at the problem, but there’s also been a realization that that alone won’t cut it. Macron, barely polling ahead of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, started what he called a national “grand debate” that’s taken him and his ministers around the country to hear people’s concerns. “You can’t fight populism with promises of more of the same,” said Societe Generale chief economist Michala Marcussen. Le Maire has miscalculated before. Two years ago, as a presidential hopeful for the center-right Les Republicains, he proposed a version of Germany’s low-paid, part-time contracts known as mini-jobs, which he believed would at least get people into work and bring down unemployment. That, he now acknowledges, was an error. He crashed out of the presidential primary with less than 3 percent of the vote. So now he’s championing policies that bring meaning to work. A bill in the legislature aims to revamp a profit-sharing system invented by Charles de Gaulle, and could also force companies to publish average salaries to expose inequalities. “If we want capitalism to hold together work must be better-paid,” Le Maire said. “There comes a moment when workers won’t tolerate it any longer.” Alongside changing relations between labor and capital, Le Maire also wants a rethink of links between state and capital. But that comes with contradictions: He wants to clip the wings of global tech giants, while overturning competition law to allow the creation of European champions. Le Maire’s view is there’s little choice if Europe doesn’t want to be dependent on U.S. or Chinese giants. “To finance this new capitalist model, we lack money, it’s as simple as that,” Le Maire said. “It’s very nice to say we’ll be able to change the Chinese, but I think it’s above all the Chinese who will change us.”
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france;capitalism;group of seven;bruno le maire
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jp0001465
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/18
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Saudi crown prince approved 'intervention' against dissidents, report says
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WASHINGTON - More than a year before the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved a secret campaign to silence dissenters, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The campaign included surveillance, kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudis, said the report which cited U.S. officials who have read classified intelligence reports about the effort. American officials referred to it as the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group, the Times said. At least some of the clandestine missions were carried out by members of the team that killed and dismembered Khashoggi in October at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, suggesting his murder was part of a wider campaign against dissidents, the report said, citing the U.S. officials and associates of some Saudi victims. The murder of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, generated global outrage including an order from U.S. senators for President Donald Trump to designate and punish those responsible. He did not comply. The senators, briefed by the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies, said they were convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed was responsible for the Khashoggi killing. Saudi Arabia has stressed the crown prince was not involved. The kingdom initially said it had no knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate but later blamed rogue agents for his death. Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has charged 11 people over his murder. Among its activities, the Rapid Intervention Group appears to have been involved in the detention and abuse of prominent women’s rights activists arrested last year, the Times said. The intervention team was so busy that in June its leader asked a top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed whether he would give them bonuses for Eid al-Fitr, a major holiday at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Saudi officials declined to confirm or deny that such a team existed, or answer questions from the Times about its work. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an AFP query for comment. The Rapid Intervention Group was authorized by Crown Prince Mohammed and overseen by Saud al-Qahtani, a royal court insider, American officials told the Times. U.S. intelligence reports did not specify how involved Crown Prince Mohammed was with the group’s work, but said that the operatives saw Qahtani as a “conduit” to the crown prince, the report said. Qahtani has been sacked over Khashoggi’s murder but Saudi authorities have not said if he was among those charged. Five of the accused face the death penalty.
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media;murder;saudi arabia;rights;turkey;mohammed bin salman;jamal khashoggi
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jp0001466
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/18
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Doomed jet's black boxes show 'clear similarities' with Indonesia crash, Ethiopia says
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ADDIS ABABA - Black box data recovered from an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last week show “clear similarities” with a recent crash in Indonesia of the same type of aircraft, Ethiopia’s transport minister said Sunday. While declining to give details, Dagmawit Moges told journalists the parallels would be the “subject of further study during the investigation,” with a preliminary report issued in “30 days. The announcement came a week after Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 plummeted into a field southeast of Addis Ababa minutes into its flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people onboard. The disaster caused the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft involved after aviation regulators noticed similarities with the October crash of an Indonesian Lion Air 737 MAX 8 that killed all 189 passengers and crew. Both planes reportedly experienced erratic steep climbs and descents as well as fluctuating airspeeds before crashing shortly after takeoff. Questions have honed in on an automated anti-stalling system introduced on the 737 MAX 8, designed to automatically point the nose of the plane downward if it is in danger of stalling. The pilots of Lion Air Flight 610 struggled to control the aircraft as the automated MCAS system repeatedly pushed the plane’s nose down following takeoff, according to the flight data recorder. In the case of the Ethiopian flight, the black boxes have been handed to France’s BEA air safety agency, which is working with American and Ethiopian investigators to determine what went wrong. While the cause remains to be determined, Boeing’s CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Sunday said the manufacturer is “finalizing its development of a previously-announced software update and pilot training revision” to address behavior of the MCAS “in response to erroneous sensor inputs.” Experts have questioned the U.S. aviation safety certification process after learning that American pilots had lodged serious complaints about MCAS. On Sunday the regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, said it followed “standard” procedures, which “have consistently produced safe aircraft designs,” in certifying the 737 MAX. The disaster in Ethiopia left families in 35 nations bereaved. On Sunday, Ethiopians gathered at Holy Trinity Cathedral in the capital Addis Ababa to bury 17 of their citizens killed in the crash, including the eight-person flight crew. Relatives of the deceased sobbed and held portraits of their loved ones as an Ethiopian Orthodox priest said the last rites. Wearing a T-shirt bearing a photo of Amma Tesfamariam in her flight attendant uniform, Meselech Petros said her 28-year-old sister was not supposed to work last Sunday, but came in to cover for a friend. “What I can’t forget is that she left an 8-month-old child and didn’t come back,” Meselech said. “We are broken and hurting very much. It’s very difficult,” added Amma’s brother Selamsew Mathias, 26. The funeral ceremony began when caskets draped in the Ethiopian flag were brought to the cathedral in a convoy of black hearses accompanied by hundreds of mourners. It was unclear what the coffins contained. Witnesses said the plane had nose-dived into the field, with the force of the impact leaving few bodies intact. On Thursday, grieving families and friends visiting the area where the plane went down were handed plastic water bottles filled with earth from the site. Ethiopia’s government has said it may take up to six months to identify the remains. “What makes us very sad is we didn’t find any of her remains,” said Teshome Legesse, whose 24-year-old niece, Ayantu Girma, was a flight attendant on the plane. Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s largest carrier and in many ways the international face of the nation. The deaths have shocked Africa’s second-most populous country, and the funeral attracted a wide range of mourners. “We all are children of Adam and Eve, even though our skin colors are different,” said Seyoum Kidanu, a retired police officer wearing full dress uniform and a sash in the colors of the Ethiopian flag. “When one person dies in this world, the grief belongs to everybody.”
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u.s .;airlines;indonesia;lion air;air accidents;boeing 737 max 8;ethiopia airlines
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jp0001467
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
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South Korea says it's considering holding talks with North Korea
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SEOUL - South Korea said it’s considering holding talks with North Korea in efforts to help improve relations between the latter and the U.S. since their summit fell apart in Vietnam last month. South Korea’s Blue House presidential office confirmed a Yonhap news agency report that it’s mulling a meeting with its reclusive neighbor. Both the U.S. and North Korea “absolutely don’t want” to revert to the situation before 2017 when there was conflict and confrontation, Yonhap cited an unidentified high-level official at the Blue House as saying. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walked away from the negotiation table in February without a plan to denuclearize Pyongyang. Since then, North Korea has blamed the U.S.’s “gangster-like” demands for the breakdown in talks and threatened to halt further negotiations with Trump. The U.S. and North Korea have come too far to revert to its contentious past, and even though the Hanoi summit fell apart, the two parties have ‘clearly expressed talks will go on,” Yonhap said, citing the official.
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u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;moon jae-in;kim-trump summit
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jp0001468
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
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South Korean defense chief says no signs of imminent North Korea missile launch
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SEOUL - It is premature to say whether recent activity at some of North Korea’s rocket facilities involved preparation for a missile launch, South Korea’s defense minister told a parliamentary hearing Monday. Early in March, several American think tanks and South Korean officials reported that satellite imagery showed possible preparations for a launch from the Sohae rocket launch site at Tongchang-ri, North Korea, which has been used in the past to launch satellites but not intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. “It’s hasty to call it missile-related activity,” Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told a parliamentary defense committee. “Tongchang-ri is a launch site but we don’t see any activity being carried out for a missile launch.” When asked if he could confirm whether Sohae was functionally restored, Jeong said it was inappropriate for intelligence authorities to comment on every media report one way or the other. He also said there were signs of continued nuclear activity in North Korea, without elaborating. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a separate parliamentary panel that it was possible that the recent developments at the missile site were to bolster North Korea’s leverage in negotiations. “But given North Korea’s continued work, thorough analysis is needed to find out its exact intentions,” Cho said. He said that there have been signs of reconstruction at Sohae since late last year and that the rebuilding has now been done to a “substantial level.” Analysts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California said they estimated that the rebuilding at Sohae appeared to begin in earnest shortly before U.S. President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a summit in Hanoi late last month. The summit broke down over differences about U.S. demands for North Korea to denuclearize and North Korea’s demand for substantial relief from international sanctions, imposed on the country because of its nuclear and missile tests. On Friday, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told foreign diplomats and journalists in Pyongyang that Kim was considering suspending talks with the United States and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests unless the United States made concessions. Trump said after his first summit with Kim in Singapore last June that Kim had promised to dismantle the Sohae test site, a pledge the North Korean leader reiterated and expanded on at a summit with Moon in September. North Korea has used Sohae to launch satellites into space since 2011, and the United States says its work there has helped develop missile technology. A satellite launch in April 2012 killed off an Obama administration deal for a freeze in North Korean nuclear and missile testing reached weeks earlier. On Wednesday, 38 North, a group that monitors North Korea, reported that there had been no new activity at Sohae since March 8. On Friday, the group reported that satellite imagery showed no activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear reactor complex, or at dismantled facilities at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
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u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;moon jae-in;kim-trump summit
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jp0001469
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Hong Kong faces commuter chaos after rare train collision
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HONG KONG - A train collision disrupted services in Hong Kong on Monday, threatening commuter chaos during rush hour in the heart of the Asian financial hub, authorities said. The rare disruption on a network used by nearly 6 million people every weekday brought services to a halt between the stations of Central and Admiralty, rail operator MTR Corp. said. “The repair will take quite a long time and the service between Central and Admiralty … will not be available for the whole day,” its operations director, Lau Tin-shing, told a news briefing. An investigation into the incident has begun, although the trains carried no passengers at the time of the collision during the trial run of a new signal system. The drivers of both trains were taken to hospital, the network operator added, urging commuters to use other forms of travel or different rail routes. Shares of MTR fell more than 1 percent in early trade, lagging a gain of 0.3 percent in the benchmark index.
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china;accidents;hong kong;trains
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jp0001470
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
New gun laws will make New Zealand safer after mosque massacre, PM Jacinda Ardern says
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday she would announce new gun laws within days, after at least 50 people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder Saturday. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5, where police said he was likely to face more charges. “Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer,” Ardern said at news conference after her Cabinet reached in principle decisions on gun reform laws in the wake of New Zealand’s worst-ever mass shooting. In addition to the 50 killed, dozens were wounded at two mosques in the South Island city during Friday prayers. The owner of a New Zealand gun store said the man charged with murder in the mosque shootings had bought firearms and ammunition online from the store, but it did not sell him the high-powered weapon used in the massacre. Gun City owner David Tipple said the alleged gunman bought four weapons and ammunition between December 2017 and March 2018. “The MSSA, military-style automatic, reportedly used by the alleged gunman was not purchased from Gun City. Gun City did not sell him an MSSA, only A-category firearms,” Tipple told a news conference in Christchurch. Under New Zealand gun laws, A-category weapons can be semi-automatic but limited to seven shots. Video of a gunman in one mosque showed a semi-automatic with a large magazine round. Tipple said the online purchases followed a police-verified online mail-order process and A-category firearms were bought in three or four purchases. “We detected nothing extraordinary about the licence holder. He was a brand new purchaser, with a brand new license,” he said. The shock of the attacks has led to calls for an immediate tightening of laws to restrict access to some firearms, particularly semi-automatic weapons. Tipple said he supported Ardern’s call for gun law reforms as the Christchurch shootings had raised legitimate concerns. New Zealand, a country of only 5 million people, has an estimated 1.5 million firearms. The minimum age for a gun license is 16, and 18 to own a semi-automatic weapon. A Radio New Zealand report, based on police data secured through an Official Information Act request, said more than 99 percent of people who applied for a firearms licence in 2017 were successful. A New Zealand standard A-category firearm license is issued after a police and background check. No licence is required to buy a large round magazine, which can be illegally modified for use in such a weapon. Only firearm owners are licensed, not weapons, so there is no monitoring of how many weapons a person may possess. New Zealand’s top online marketplace Trade Me Group said it was halting the sale of semi-automatic weapons in the wake of Friday’s attack. Ardern was the first signatory of a national condolence book for the country’s worst mass killing that she opened in the capital Wellington on Monday. “On behalf of all New Zealanders, we grieve together. We are one. They are us,” she wrote in the book. Frustration was building among the families of victims as under Islam it is custom to conduct burials within 24 hours, but bodies will not be released until postmortems are carried out. Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha said the first body was approved for release Sunday night, but the family was yet to take the body because another relative was also killed and they wanted to collect them together. He said there would be no burials Monday. “We’ve been working fairly hard through the night to ensure the process of returning the deceased to their loved ones is taking place expediently,” he said. The burial process, which usually involves washing with three kinds of water, salving wounds and scrubbing skin, would be complicated, volunteers in Christchurch said. Mo, a volunteer who had flown in from Brisbane to wash the bodies, said the people who died in the mosques were classified as martyrs. That meant there were different views as to whether they would be washed or not because he said Islamic jurisprudence said martyrs are not to be washed as their blood was witness to their martyrdom. “But some people have said because it was not a battlefield it is okay to wash the body. But it is at the discretion of the family,” said Mo. He asked to be identified by just one name. The two mosques involved in the shootings have been closed since the massacre, but are expected to reopen by Friday prayers after cleansing blessings were carried out, said Haumaha. Muslim leaders conveyed messages of love, compassion and appreciation for the community support they had received. Over the weekend and into Monday, tens of thousands of people flocked to memorial vigils around New Zealand and a victim support website raised more than 5.5 million New Zealand dollars ($3.8 million). Hundreds visited the sites of the shootings, performing songs, bringing flowers and food, and offering condolences. “Through all of this we try to remember that what we are bringing back to this tragedy, this horror, is a sense of compassion,” Rehanna Ali, coordinator of women’s affairs’ at the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, told a news conference. “The response to so much hate, has been love.”
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guns;immigration;australia;new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;jacinda arden;brenton tarrant
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jp0001471
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Chinese leader Xi to visit Europe in bid to boost trade amid row with U.S.
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HONG KONG - Chinese President Xi Jinping will make state visits to Europe from this week as he seeks to bolster trade relationships on the continent while trying to end a trade war with the U.S. Xi will travel to France, Italy and Monaco from Thursday to March 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The invitations were issued by French President Emmanuel Macron, Monaco leader Prince Albert II and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Lu said. Xi’s tour comes as European powers work to strike a delicate balance between concerns about Chinese influence with a desire for further investment. China last week vowed greater cooperation on “Belt and Road” ventures with U.S. and European firms, an attempt to counter growing criticism that the initiative aims to project Xi’s influence on host countries. Italy has been split over whether to sign a memorandum of understanding to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road trade and infrastructure program, and is working to solidify accords with Chinese companies in areas from banking to energy. The country’s willingness to consider doing business with China is fueling concerns in the U.S. and European Union about a Group of Seven country signing up for Belt and Road and allowing China’s interests into sectors like telecoms and ports. France, meanwhile, has said it will impose new checks on equipment makers including embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. The U.S. has also recently issued warnings about data theft sponsored by the Chinese state. There has been speculation that Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump would meet this month to sign an agreement to end the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, but that isn’t likely to happen until April at the earliest, three people familiar with the matter said.
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china;france;italy;trade;xi jinping;monaco;belt and road
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jp0001472
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[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
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A squeezed hand offers glimmer of hope after New Zealand massacre
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - Lying outside a Christchurch mosque, bleeding from a gunshot wound that tore through his chest, Abbas Tahir Endrise was unable to muster any words in what he feared was a final phone call to his pregnant wife. Now, after intensive work by Christchurch doctors, he can breathe for himself and squeeze her hand. Abbas is one of 31 wounded survivors of Friday’s massacre being treated at the city’s hospital where teams of doctors, surgeons and nurses have worked around the clock to repair shattered bodies. Many of those brought to the hospital have been on and off of operating tables multiple times, while their devastated families pray for them to pull through as they absorb the enormity of the attack. Zeynia Endrise said she was at home cooking Friday when her phone rang, displaying her husband’s number. All she could hear was someone having difficulty breathing, desperately attempting speech. “He was trying to call, to talk to me but he couldn’t,” she said outside the hospital where she has kept a vigil by her husband’s bedside, willing him to survive for their 2-year-old son Rayyan and another baby on the way in June. She initially thought he had been in a road accident, given he walked to the Al Noor mosque every Friday for weekly prayers. But when she phoned back, a woman with a New Zealand accent answered. “She picked up the phone and said ‘Your husband was shot in his back.’ Oh my god, I was really shocked, shocked, shocked. I didn’t know what to do, crying and screaming,” Zeynia recalled. Abbas had been standing in the front row of worshippers, close to the door, where the alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant, a self-confessed white supremacist, burst in and sprayed semi-automatic rifle fire, according to witness Abdul Kadir Ababora. “He was on the left side on me, on the first line. There was no way to escape for him,” said Ababora, who miraculously emerged unscathed after wedging himself against a bookshelf that usually held Qurans. One of Tarrant’s bullets struck Abbas in his side, smashing through his ribs, tearing through the right lung and exiting out of his shoulder. The bullet passed so close to his head on the way out that it grazed his right ear. Somehow, Abbas managed to pull himself out of the mosque and call his wife, before collapsing. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors battled to save his life. The past three days have been an unending horror for Zeniya. She shuttles between her husband’s bedside, surrounded by flashing machines and tubes, briefings with doctors and then spends evenings fielding frantic calls from relatives — all the while looking after Rayyan. Abbas was desperately ill, in critical condition at the intensive care unit. But hope began to emerge late Sunday when he opened his eyes for the first time. Zeynia took his hand and he gently squeezed it. Then on Monday doctors withdrew his breathing tube. “They just took out the oxygen and he started to breathe right now. He’s opened his eyes, he can see me, hold my hand. But he still can’t talk to me,” she said. Zeynia, 34, arrived in Christchurch in 2010 from the northern Ethiopian town of Bahir Das. She worked long hours as a cleaner and eventually got citizenship. Abbas, from the nearby city of Gondar, came five years later, gaining permanent residency and was hoping to get citizenship soon. He had recently begun working Zeynia’s cleaning job as she looked after their toddler and prepared for the arrival of their next baby in the summer. Neither could have imagined anyone living in their usually welcoming adopted homeland might harbor such hatred toward Muslims. “We always thought we are safe,” she said. Zeynia once suggested they look at moving to Australia, where the pay tends to be a bit higher. But she said her husband was adamant they had found a place to call home. “I really like New Zealand, I want to stay here,” Zeynia remembered her husband saying when she floated the idea. “‘New Zealand is very safe, we are here forever,’ he said.” That feeling of safety has now been irrevocably changed. Unable to sleep late Friday night — and at that point uncertain if Abbas would make it — Zeynia decided she needed to see the video of the massacre that Tarrant had recorded and broadcast live on Facebook. It didn’t take her long to find it online and she watched in horror at what her husband and so many others went through. Asked whether she had anything to say to the shooter, she paused. “I don’t have any words to say. It’s not humanity. Babies killed, three or four of them, that’s not humanity. A boy three years (dead). I don’t have words.”
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guns;immigration;australia;new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;brenton tarrant
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jp0001473
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan feel heat as China fears 'separatist' collusion
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HONG, KONG/TAIPEI - As Beijing grows wary of pro-independence groups seeking to forge closer ties in Hong Kong and Taiwan, activists say they are coming under increased surveillance and harassment from pro-China media outlets and unofficial “operatives.” Visits to Taiwan in January by several Hong Kong activists including Tony Chung generated heavy coverage by two pro-China newspapers, including detailed reports of their movements and meetings. The coverage prompted Taiwan to investigate the activities of the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao newspapers on “national security” grounds. The government found that the papers committed “unlawful” acts, including invasive surveillance, and spreading “fake news.” Officials said journalists from those papers would be banned from traveling to Taiwan for up to three years if the media outlets did not provide a “reasonable explanation” for their activities there. A Reuters examination of both papers’ articles show that at least 25 people linked to anti-China and independence causes have been the subject of intense coverage, including covert photography and the reporting of personal details, in Taiwan during the past three years. Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po did not respond to a request for comment. Such papers, which typically take a pro-Beijing stance, would be expected to pay close attention to activists pursuing causes that upset the Chinese government. But activists say their coverage stretches into the realm of harassment, including surveillance on overseas trips, and publishing details of their private lives, including homes, work and daily movements. “It’s obvious that there’s intervention from outside forces with an aim to intimidate people,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said, referring to the coverage from the pro-China papers. The coverage raised concerns about the activities of “Chinese and Hong Kong intelligence operatives” on the island, Chiu added, including people working for pro-China media outlets. Activists have also been physically attacked during trips to Taiwan. In July 2018, two Taiwanese were convicted of assaulting Hong Kong activists meeting with independence advocates in Taiwan. Three Hong Kong men were later named in Taiwanese media coverage as helping facilitate the attack. “I was followed until I almost left the airport,” Andy Chan, one of the Hong Kong activists, said of his time in Taiwan. “There are operatives for China everywhere.” China considers Hong Kong and Taiwan to be inalienable parts of its territory, and has branded pro-independence activists on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as “separatists.” In an annual report to the U.S. Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission noted in November that since president Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, Beijing has feared “collusion between ‘separatist forces’ in Taiwan and Hong Kong.” “Beijing is trying everything in its power to prevent this,” said a security source in the Taiwan government, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue. The source and a second Taiwanese security official involved in national security say China has been quietly ramping up the number of intelligence operatives in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Wu Jieh-min, a Taiwan scholar who has researched civil movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, says he was barred from entering Hong Kong for an academic conference in late 2016. Beijing is “very worried about the exchange of ideas. If the ideas of civil society are not hindered, their power will be greatly enhanced,” said Wu, a research fellow with the government-backed Academia Sinica. Wu noted that mass, protracted protests in Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2014 that railed against Chinese interference were a catalyst for deepening activist ties on both sides. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and main representative body in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office, did not respond to requests for comment. The Wen Wei Po has also paid close attention to foreigners in contact with Hong Kong activists. In December, Wen Wei Pao reporters and photographers covered the daily activities of Kevin Carrico, an Australia-based political scientist, during a visit to Hong Kong in which he met with independence advocates, and featured him on the front page. “I was a little creeped out by the fact that the article discussed my presentation. There were only 15 people there,” he said of a private meeting in the basement of a Hong Kong building. He said there had been “a real escalation of Beijing’s political operations in Hong Kong.” Activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan describe an increase in unknown individuals shadowing their meetings and events, sometimes taking photographs or recording their conversations. In some cases activists have been attacked, and the assailants identified. Two Taiwanese, Zhang Xiuye and Jhang Jhih-min, were found guilty last July of a 2016 assault on two Hong Kong independence activists, Andy Chan and Jason Chow, at a Taipei hotel. Zhang and Jhang were convicted of defamation and fined 6,000 New Taiwan dollars ($195) and NT$8,000 ($260) respectively; Jhang was also found guilty of “intimidating and endangering the safety” of Chan. Zhang and Jhang were among at least eight people who beat Chan and Chow and called them China “traitors” at the Caesar Park Hotel, according to Taipei court documents. Chan said he was at the hotel to meet with Ouyang Jin, a journalist with a little-known Hong Kong publication called Pacific Magazine. Zhang is a senior member of the Chinese Concentric Patriotism Party, which advocates unification of China and Taiwan, according to the group’s website. “It was purely an accident” that they ran into Chan at the hotel, Zhang said.
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china;hong kong;taiwan;rights;protests;espionage
|
jp0001474
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
China says 13,000 'terrorists' arrested in Xinjiang since 2014
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BEIJING - Authorities in China have arrested almost 13,000 “terrorists” in the restive far western region of Xinjiang since 2014, the government said Monday, in a lengthy policy paper again defending its controversial Islamic de-radicalization measures. China has faced growing international opprobrium for setting up facilities that United Nations experts describe as detention centers holding more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims. Beijing says it needs the measures to stem the threat of Islamist militancy, and calls them vocational training centers. Legal authorities have adopted a policy that “strikes the right balance between compassion and severity,” the government said in its white paper. The report said the government’s efforts have curbed religious extremism but as in past statements, gave little evidence of what crimes had occurred. The region is closed to outsiders, but former residents and activists abroad say Muslim identity itself is punished. Since 2014, Xinjiang has “destroyed 1,588 violent and terrorist gangs, arrested 12,995 terrorists, seized 2,052 explosive devices, punished 30,645 people for 4,858 illegal religious activities, and confiscated 345,229 copies of illegal religious materials,” it added. Only a small minority of people face strict punishment, such as ringleaders of terrorist groups, while those influenced by extremist thinking receive education and training to teach them the error of their ways, the paper said. The main exiled group, the World Uyghur Congress, swiftly denounced the white paper. “China is deliberately distorting the truth,” spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in an emailed statement. “Counterterrorism is a political excuse to suppress the Uighurs. The real aim of the so-called de-radicalization is to eliminate faith and thoroughly carry out Sinification.” The white paper said Xinjiang has faced a particular challenge since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, as East Turkestan extremists ramped up activities in China, referring to China’s term for extremists and separatists it says operate in Xinjiang. “They screamed the evil words of ‘getting into heaven by martyrdom with jihad,’ turning some people into extremists and terrorists who have been completely mind-controlled, and even turned into murderous devils.” Religious extremism under the banner of Islam runs counter to Islamic doctrines, and is not Islam, it added. In addition to addressing concerns about violence, experts and Uighur activists believe the camps are part of an aggressive government campaign to erode the identities of the Central Asian groups who called the region home long before waves of migrants from China’s Han majority arrived in recent decades. Monday’s paper sought to underplay Islam’s role in the region’s historical makeup, saying that while it “cannot be denied that Xinjiang received the influence of Islamic culture,” that did not change the “objective fact” that Xinjiang’s culture is merely a facet of Chinese culture. “Islam is not the natural faith of the Uighurs and other ethnicities, nor is it their only faith,” the report said. Xinjiang has long been an inseparable part of Chinese territory, and the Uighur ethnic group evolved from a long process of migration and ethnic integration, the paper said. “They are not descendants of the Turks.” Turkey is the only Islamic country that has regularly expressed concern about the situation in Xinjiang, due to close cultural links with the Uighurs, who speak a Turkic language. China has denounced Turkish concern as unwarranted and interference in its internal affairs.
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china;human rights;prisons;uighurs;muslims;xinjiang
|
jp0001475
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Livestreaming delays proposed as way to discourage more viral massacre videos
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NEW YORK - With the massacre of at least 50 people in New Zealand streamed live Friday, Facebook faced two problems: The immediacy of Facebook Live, and the fact that videos of any sort — including playbacks of live ones — can quickly explode globally. It might be time to force social media providers to delay live broadcasting or streaming, Tom Bossert, former homeland security adviser for President Donald Trump, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “It’ll require some time and money, but I think it’s something that we should consider,” Bossert said. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she wants talks with Facebook on the issue of livestreaming. The video was up for 17 minutes before it came down. Facebook said it managed to prevent 1.2 million uploads of the massacre video in the first 24 hours, but 300,000 versions made it to the platform before being removed. Even after it was removed, some who had captured it re-posted on YouTube. A livestreaming delay to prevent similar situations could become one of the first concrete regulations of tech companies, which have strongly pushed back against any government control but have slowly conceded that their size and influence cannot go unregulated forever. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, with its live video app called Periscope, have all said they rely on video to drive revenue and user growth. Real-time streams speed up the process and defy the logic that videos need to be edited to go viral.
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guns;immigration;australia;new zealand;youtube;social media;christchurch;facebook;mass shootings;brenton tarrant
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jp0001476
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
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Christchurch teenager charged with distributing mosque rampage livestream
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - An 18-year-old has appeared in a New Zealand court charged with distributing the livestream video of a deadly mass shooting at Christchurch’s Al Noor mosque. The teenager, whose name was suppressed by the judge, was also charged with publishing a photograph of the mosque with the message “target acquired,” and for inciting violence. He faces a maximum of 14 years in prison for each charge, prosecutors said. A judge did not grant him bail and he is due back in court on April 8. The hearing came after 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant allegedly carried out the shootings at Al Moor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch on Friday in which 50 people were killed and dozens more injured. Investigators had said that the teenager was so far not believed to be directly involved in his attacks. District Court Judge Stephen O’Driscoll added that details related to the charges were also to be suppressed.
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guns;immigration;new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;brenton tarrant
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jp0001477
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/18
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New Zealand gunman 'rational,' will represent himself: ex-lawyer
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - The Australian charged with murder in the mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques plans to represent himself and appears “rational,” his court-appointed lawyer said Monday. Brenton Tarrant was charged with one count of murder — though he may face other charges — and appeared at Christchurch District Court on Saturday after the rampage during Friday prayers that left at least 50 people dead. Duty lawyer Richard Peters, who represented him during the preliminary court hearing, said the 28-year-old “indicated he does not want a lawyer.” “He wants to be self-represented in this case,” said Peters, who played down suggestions that Tarrant may not be fit for trial. “The way he presented was rational and someone who was not suffering any mental disability. That’s how he appeared. He seemed to understand what was going on,” Peters said. Also Monday, New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Tarrant acted alone but may have had support. “We believe absolutely there was only one attacker responsible for this,” Bush told a news conference. But he added that the support of other people hasn’t been ruled out and is “a very, very important part of our investigation.”
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guns;immigration;australia;new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;brenton tarrant
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jp0001478
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Aichi 5-year-old has waist-length hair shorn to help make wigs for sick kids
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A 5-year-old girl from Aichi Prefecture decided to have her waist-length hair cut in January so it can be made into wigs for children who have suffered hair loss from cancer or other illnesses. Momoko Kanda was prompted to donate her hair, which had never been cut since she was born, after recalling a girl she saw wearing a hat during a prolonged hospital stay last year. When Momoko was hospitalized for a month in April for a fever and rashes, she would often go to the play room with her mother. She often saw a girl wearing a hat there who was slightly older than her, quietly reading a book. The two didn’t have a chance to talk, but she could not forget her. “Why is she wearing a hat in the room?” Momoko asked her mother Ai, 31, when she returned to her room. Her mother told her there are children who lose their hair due to medical treatment, and that people can donate their own hair so wigs can be made for them. Momoko, who was undergoing medical treatment herself, immediately said: “I want to donate my hair, too!” Her mother was touched by the response. “Because I had taken good care of her hair, I was deeply touched by her decision to cut it for somebody else,” said Ai, who had been taking care of her daughter’s long hair morning and night. On Jan. 29, Momoko finally had her first hair cut at Mimpi, a hair salon in Okazaki in Aichi. Gazing at her shoulder-length hair, she smiled and exclaimed, “It’s short!” “I was a bit nervous, but I enjoyed it,” she said. “I want to grow my hair long again.” Four bundles of hair, each about 40 cm long, will be sent from the hair salon to Japan Hair Donation & Charity, a nonprofit organization in Osaka that makes wigs and offers them free of charge. The hair donation movement, which began in the United States, became widely known in Japan around 2015, when actress Ko Shibasaki donated her hair. There are several organizations that accept hair donations, but donated locks should be 31 cm or longer, in most cases. Dyed or permed hair can also be donated. Making each wig requires hair from about 20 to 30 people, and the process takes anywhere from several months to a year to complete.
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children;cancer;aichi;wigs;hair donation;japan hair donation & charity
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jp0001479
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Rare ibis, gifted to Japan by China last year, lays first egg
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NIIGATA - A rare ibis gifted to Japan by China as a symbol of friendship last year has laid an egg for the first time, Niigata Prefectural Government said Sunday. The egg laid by Guan Guan, one of a pair gifted in October 2018, at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center is expected to hatch in mid-April if all goes smoothly. The female ibis arrived at the facility in Niigata Prefecture with the male Lou Lou on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ peace and friendship treaty. The offering by China of the internationally protected species to Japan was the first since 2007 after years of soured ties between the two countries over territorial and wartime issues. A worker at the conservation center noticed the egg on Saturday via a video monitor, and later confirmed that it had been laid before 5 p.m. the same day, according to the facility. The conservation center is planning to artificially incubate it to maximize the chick’s chances. Guan Guan and her three-year-old mate had been exhibiting the mating ritual of exchanging small branches since mid-February, according to the center. Japan-born ibises became extinct in 2003. Since then, Japan has been artificially breeding ibises by relying on Chinese donations, the first of which was in 1999, and preparing them for reintroduction into the wild. Those that have been released into the wild in the city of Sado are all descendants of five of the birds received earlier from China. The center believes that with the addition of Lou Lou and Guan Guan, the genetic diversity of its artificially bred ibises will increase.
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china;niigata;endangered;china-japan relations;conservation
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jp0001480
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/18
|
WWII veteran's flag delivered to family in Hyogo after five-year U.S.-Japanese search
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KAMIGORI, HYOGO PREF. - A rising sun flag left by a Japanese man who died during World War II was delivered Sunday to his family in Hyogo Prefecture after a municipal worker in Aomori Prefecture spent years trying to return it. Toshio Matsue died on Luzon in the Philippines in 1945, at the age of 36. “I’m full of emotion, because a photo of my father has been the only war memento we have of him,” said his eldest son, 78-year-old Jitsuo Matsue, as the flag was brought to the family in the town of Kamigori, Hyogo Prefecture. Shingo Takashima, 33, who works for the Mutsu Municipal Government in Aomori Prefecture, started working to find the man’s family after he was asked to do so by Amy Miller, a 32-year-old American who was working at Mutsu City Hall as a temporary worker in 2014. During the war, Miller’s grandfather was a U.S. Navy pilot in charge of airlift operations in areas including the Philippines. After her grandfather died, Miller found the carefully preserved flag among his belongings. Miller went back to Japan with the flag, and Takashima cooperated with her in the search. They toured the country, determined to find the family. After Miller returned to the United States last March, Takashima kept looking, and contacted Nippon Izokukai, an association that supports families of war veterans, late last year. With their assistance, he finally found the family last month. “I’m relieved, as my determination to deliver the flag to the family at any cost has borne fruit at last,” Takashima said.
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conflict;wwii;history;u.s.-japan relations
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jp0001481
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Ex-mayor of Japan city who quit post over fiery verbal abuse re-elected to complete term, vows to run again
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KOBE - The former mayor of the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture who quit last month over his abusive language toward a senior official was re-elected on Sunday, beating two other candidates. Fusaho Izumi, 55, stepped down from the mayoral post after being criticized for verbally attacking a city official and telling him to “burn down” a local building, out of frustration that its presence prevented the completion of a road project. Izumi ran against Hiroto Kitaguchi, 53, a Hyogo prefectural assemblyman and a former mayor of Akashi, who was affiliated with no party, and Michiyo Shimmachi, 71, a former prefectural assembly member from the Japanese Communist Party. Izumi will only serve until late April, when his original term ends, at which point a new mayoral election will be held. Kitaguchi called the latest election a “waste of taxpayers’ money,” while Izumi campaigned on his child care policy that had proven popular enough for civic groups to petition him to run despite the scandal. His verbal abuse of staff became public in late January, when a recording of his comments surfaced. On June 14, 2017, frustrated with the slow progress of road construction, Izumi also called the senior official in charge of negotiations over relocating buildings a “moron.” Izumi was forced to quit on Feb. 2 and apologized for his “unforgivable mistake.” He also told the public that he had started to study anger management. “I feel a deep responsibility for what I’ve done,” Izumi told supporters at his election office, referring to the abusive language, after being informed of his victory in the poll. He also signaled his intention to run in the fresh mayoral election in April, saying, “I’ll firmly convey my thoughts toward Akashi.” Izumi, formerly a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, was elected mayor of Akashi for the first time in April 2011 and won his second term in a vote in April 2015. His resignation as mayor over the verbal abuse came shortly before the end of his second term.
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akashi;hyogo;gaffes;fusaho izumi
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jp0001482
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan to develop long-range, air-to-ship cruise missiles
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Japan has decided to develop for the first time long-range, air-to-ship cruise missiles that can be carried by fighter jets and are capable of attacking a warship from beyond the range of enemy weapons, government sources said Sunday. The plan is aimed at boosting deterrence by extending the range of available missiles to more than 400 kilometers, as China has been improving its naval capabilities, the sources said. Planned development work will be based on Japan’s existing supersonic XASM-3 air-to-ship missiles, which are said to have a range of not more than 200 km, they said. The Defense Ministry plans to include costs for the new project in its draft budget. At the Diet in January, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he believes long-range cruise missiles are not banned under the Constitution. Article 9 of the supreme law renounces war as a sovereign right of the state, banning the possession of military forces and other “war potential.”
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china;defense;security;defense ministry
|
jp0001483
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan and U.S. to develop new radar system for Aegis warships: sources
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WASHINGTON - Japan and the United States are working toward the joint development of a new radar system for Aegis-equipped U.S. Navy warships, as part of efforts to improve defense capabilities, diplomatic sources said Sunday. Coordination between the two countries on the plan aimed at developing capabilities to counter new weapons, including hypersonic missiles currently being developed by China and Russia, has entered its final phase, the sources said. Japan, which also faces nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, is hoping to strengthen its security alliance with the United States through the joint development program. Tokyo regards the envisioned joint development as important to national defense, but its involvement in the project could cause concerns about the country being seen as encouraging an arms race between major powers, some observers have said. Japan’s development together with the United States of the SM-3 Block 2A interceptor completed this month, with the device now having moved into production. The new radar system, anticipated to provide 360 degree surveillance on the warships, is expected to be the next pillar of the nation’s defense collaboration with Washington. Two different types of air and missile defense radar are planned for the warships in the future, including the AN/SPY-6 — an upgraded radar system suitable for detecting high-altitude threats. The AN/SPY-6 system is on schedule to be delivered starting in 2020. Currently the AN/SPQ-9B system is used to detect and track low-flying threats, but it is a traditional rotating radar that makes blind spots unavoidable. The new radar eyed for development by Japan and the United States will be a nonrotating system, according to the sources. When placing a recent order for five AN/SPQ-9B units the U.S. Navy paid $21.5 million, according to U.S. media reports. The new system could be even more expensive.
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u.s .;defense;security;u.s.-japan relations
|
jp0001484
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Officials in Japan launch probe after university loses contact with 700 foreign students
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NAGOYA - A government investigation has been launched to probe the disappearance of about 700 foreign students who have stopped attending classes, and have been out of contact since last April, because some no longer hold valid visas, a university in Tokyo has said. Tokyo University of Social Welfare had 5,133 foreign nationals enrolled as of May 1, the second-largest foreign student body after Waseda University’s 5,412, according to the Japan Student Services Organization. But the private university attended by some 8,000 total students in total said last week it had lost touch with about 700 of the roughly 2,600 foreigners who had attended the university’s Oji campus in Kita Ward, Tokyo. The students were enrolled as researchers for the current academic year, which ends later this month. The students include nationals from Vietnam, Nepal, China and other countries, and have been removed from the university’s student register, according to its public relations office in Nagoya. The university said it also recorded 264 such disappearances in 2016 and 493 in 2017. In many cases, students went missing after attending classes several times and later stopped paying tuition. The school, established in 2000 in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, has four campuses, in Tokyo, Isesaki and Nagoya. In 2017, the Justice Ministry said dozens of foreign students registered with the university were found to be illegally staying in Japan even after their visas had expired.
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immigration;education;universities;foreign workers
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jp0001485
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan's 'Olympic ojiisan' dies with Tokyo 2020 dream unfulfilled
|
An Olympic mega-fan who attended every Summer Games since Tokyo in 1964 has died, just over a year before his home city was set to host its second Olympics. Tokyo businessman Naotoshi Yamada, 92, who died on March 9 from heart failure, was a national celebrity known for his repeated, gleeful appearances in Olympic stands. “Olympic ojiisan ” (“Olympic Grandad”), as he came to be known, was an omnipresent fixture for TV viewers in the nation as they cheered on their national team at the “Greatest Show On Earth.” Often sporting a gold top hat, a kimono and a beaming smile, Yamada also became a darling of the international media. “After spending 92 years of his life cheering, Naotoshi Yamada, international Olympic cheerleader, was called to eternal rest on March 9, 2019,” said his website, managed by a firm he founded. Born in 1926, Yamada built a successful wire rope manufacturing business, and also expanded his portfolio to include the hotel and real estate sectors. But away from work, his passion was for sport — particularly the Olympics. He had not missed a Summer Games since 1964, taking in Mexico City, Munich, Montreal, Moscow, Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro. For good measure, he also attended the Winter Games when it rolled into Nagano in 1998, and told local media of his strong desire to attend the 2020 Tokyo Games. Sad to hear the news of the death of ‘Uncle Olympics’, Naotoshi Yamada at the age of 92. He was a real ‘super’ fan watching every edition of the Games from Tokyo 64 onwards. We will all miss him in Tokyo next year! – Thomas Bach, IOC President pic.twitter.com/XOlmVhrAVy — Olympics (@Olympics) March 18, 2019 Yamada saw the first Tokyo Olympics when he was 38. But his passion was truly ignited during the 1968 Mexico City Games, according to his website. He donned a kimono and a sombrero hat and loudly cheered for a Mexican 5000-meter runner, mistaking him for a Japanese athlete. Local spectators embraced the scene and loudly cheered for Japanese athletes in return, leading to an electrifying show of support that went beyond nationality, his website said. “He saw the awesome power of cheering, and was mesmerized by it ever since,” it said.
|
olympics;2020 tokyo olympics;obituaries;naotoshi yamada;olympic ojiisan
|
jp0001486
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Japan to begin discussions on Imperial succession system, including creation of female branches of royal family
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The government will soon start discussing how to achieve a stable Imperial succession, including the creation of female branches of the royal family. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a Diet committee session Monday that the government will study whether to allow female members to remain in the Imperial family even when they marry commoners. The process will start immediately after Crown Prince Naruhito succeeds Emperor Akihito on May 1, he said. The Imperial House Law stipulates that only males can ascend the throne and requires women marrying outside the Imperial family to abandon their royal status. The government has held discussions in the past on whether a female member can ascend the throne, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been reluctant about changing the law to allow female monarchs. Abe said in the Diet committee session, “Because this is an extremely important issue related to the foundation of the nation, we have to give careful consideration to the matter.” The Emperor, who is 85 years old, will be Japan’s first living monarch in around two centuries to abdicate. The date has been set for April 30. A one-off law was enacted in June 2017 allowing him to pass his status to his 59-year-old son after he indicated his desire to step down in a rare video message. While the government-led process stopped short of resuming a debate on female succession, the Diet adopted a nonbinding resolution requesting that the government consider how to ensure stable succession. There are currently 18 Imperial family members, 13 of whom are female. After the Crown Prince ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne, there will be only three male heirs — the Crown Prince’s younger brother, Prince Akishino, 53, the Emperor’s only grandson, Prince Hisahito, 12, and Prince Hitachi, 83, the younger brother of the Emperor.
|
women;royalty;emperor akihito;imperial family;succession;emperor naruhito
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jp0001487
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Education ministry urges local governments to promote school enrollment of foreign students
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The education ministry urged local governments Monday to promote the school enrollment of foreign students, and to cooperate in the country’s planned April investigation regarding their enrollment. The urging comes at a time before the arrival of a large number of foreign workers after the new visa system starts in April. The ministry currently has no figures for the number of elementary- and junior-high-school-aged foreign children who are registered as residents and yet not enrolled in school. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, there are more than 16,000 foreign children who have not been confirmed as enrollees by the municipalities in which they reside. “Expecting an influx of foreign workers from this April, the ministry considers this to be a good time to conduct research,” a ministry spokesman said. A planned investigation will be conducted nationwide for the first time in April with the cooperation of each municipality and newly introduced immigration offices. The investigation would likely involve counting how many foreign children are enrolled versus how many are not. In Japan, parents are obliged by law to send their children to school during their elementary and junior high school years, but that law is not currently applicable to foreign parents. The education ministry accepts foreign students who wish to enroll in school of their own free will under the International Covenants on Human Rights . The notification that the ministry sent to local governments on Monday also requests that municipalities send school entry information to foreign parents and that schools be flexible on which grade children will be enrolled, and ensure that foreign students enroll in classes that meet their Japanese language abilities. A similar notification was sent in 2012 after the amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law came into effect — the time when the residence card system was newly introduced in Japan after the alien registration system had been abolished. The notification’s goal was to make the handling of foreign students more coherent. Currently, support systems for foreign students vary widely in each municipality. In Yokohama, for example, where more than 1,600 pupils are said to need Japanese-language assistance, schools with more than five students that have a low level of Japanese proficiency are required to attend a language assistance class called an “international class,” in which pupils learn Japanese, while their Japanese peers take classes that require high Japanese skills, such as literature and sociology.
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immigration;education;schools;foreign workers
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jp0001488
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Tokyo artwork exhibitors referred to prosecutors over 2016 fire that killed boy
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Six organizers and exhibitors involved with an outdoor Tokyo art festival in 2016 were referred to prosecutors Monday, over a fire at the event that killed a 5-year-old boy in a wooden jungle gym-like art installation. The six, two of whom are university students, are suspected of professional negligence resulting in the death of the kindergartner, and injuries to two others, due to allegedly insufficient fire prevention measures. Police believe the fire was caused by an incandescent light bulb set inside the object. The artwork, which was made by a student group at the Nippon Institute of Technology, contained wood chips that police concluded were ignited by the light, causing fire to spread throughout the structure. The boy’s father and a man visiting the site of Tokyo Design Week in the Meiji Jingu Gaien area in November 2016 sustained injuries while trying to help the boy escape the burning object. The victim’s name was withheld at the request of his parents. The two university students have admitted to setting the incandescent light inside the artwork and told investigators they turned it on because it became dark, according to the police. In addition to the students, their teacher and three executives of an advertising company that organized the event were also referred to prosecutors. The teacher said the university had failed to supervise the two, while the executives, including the 70-year-old president of the company, said they understood the college was responsible for maintenance of the artwork, according to investigative sources. The object, which was 3 meters high, about 5 meters wide and around 2 meters long, was described as a free interactive artwork. The boy’s parents said through their lawyer that they believe referring the six to prosecutors is “a significant step forward” in getting to the bottom of the accident. Kenichi Narita, president of the university, offered a fresh apology over the incident, and pledged to boost safety education so as not to repeat similar accidents, in comments released on the school website. The festival, which was first held in 1997, featured works of art and architecture. It has not been held since the fire. In an experiment conducted by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, wood chips started to generate smoke about 20 seconds after they were placed on a 450-watt incandescent light and caught fire about two minutes later. Accidents believed to have been caused by incandescent lights between fiscal 2011 and 2015 in Japan totaled 100, of which 49 cases led to a fire, according to the NITE.
|
courts;fires;nippon institute of technology
|
jp0001489
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/18
|
Two Japanese men arrested in Cambodia for allegedly killing taxi driver
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PHNOM PENH - Two Japanese men in their 20s were arrested in Cambodia late Sunday on suspicion of killing a taxi driver in the north of the country, a local police official has said. The men were identified as Reimon Ishida, 23, originally from Chiba Prefecture, and Ryuji Nakakuki, also 23, originally from Fukushima Prefecture. The two are said to have admitted killing Him Chan, 40, with a knife at around 5 p.m. Sunday in order to steal his taxi, which they planned to use to commit further crimes, according to Huot Sothy, deputy police chief in Siem Reap Province. The pair arrived in Siem Reap on Saturday via Thailand. On Sunday morning, they allegedly hired a car and driver to take them to the neighboring province of Banteay Meanchey with the intention of stealing the vehicle. They decided not to steal the car after discovering it was equipped with a camera, police said. They are alleged to have then hired a taxi driver on the way back to Siem Reap before killing him and stealing his car, the official said. After allegedly stealing the car, the suspects almost immediately collided with a truck and came to a halt in front of a house about 300 meters away, police said. The incident occurred in a village in Puok District, about 18 kilometers from the town of Siem Reap. The victim lived in Siem Reap and was a father of four, according to the official. Under Cambodian law, the suspects could face somewhere between 15 and 30 years in prison if convicted.
|
murder;cambodia;stabbings
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jp0001491
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Japan's Diet passes record ¥101 trillion budget with spending hikes for defense and social security
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The Diet on Wednesday enacted a record ¥101.46 trillion ($920 billion) budget for fiscal 2019 that will boost spending on social security and defense and include stimulus measures to buoy the economy after a planned consumption tax hike. The budget cleared the chamber in the afternoon following approval by the Upper House, which is controlled by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. While the government routinely draws up supplementary budgets later in the fiscal year to cover any additional spending, this is the first time the general account budget has topped ¥100 trillion from the start. Key to the budget for the year starting April 1 is a ¥2.03 trillion stimulus package that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes will underpin domestic demand after the consumption tax is increased to 10 percent from the current 8 percent in October. The package includes a rebate program for purchases made by credit cards and other cashless means, shopping vouchers for households with low incomes or small children, and public works spending to shore up infrastructure against natural disasters. As in past years, the largest chunk of the budget, a record ¥34.06 trillion, has been set aside for social security outlays including on health care and pensions, with such costs swelling amid a rapidly aging population. Defense spending accounted for a record ¥5.26 trillion, due in part to purchases of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system and six F-35A stealth fighters. The budget, the enactment of which had already been guaranteed after clearing the more powerful Lower House on March 1, has been the subject of some drama. After Abe’s Cabinet signed off on a draft of the budget late last year, it came to light that government officials had been publishing faulty jobs data for nearly 15 years. This led to the underpayment of work-related benefits to more than 20 million people, necessitating the addition of ¥650 million to the budget to cover payouts. A steady rise in government spending — the initial budget has marked record highs for the past seven years — means Japan, despite higher tax revenue, remains far from consolidating its battered fiscal health. The country’s fiscal health is the worst among major industrialized economies, with public debt more than twice the size of gross domestic product. The government expects a record ¥62.50 trillion in tax revenue during fiscal 2019, with issuance of new government bonds falling slightly to ¥32.66 trillion.
|
shinzo abe;ldp;budget;diet;abenomics;health care;pensions;social welfare
|
jp0001492
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Miyakoshi, the first Japanese firm into postwar China, hopes for a real estate-driven comeback
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When it comes to China, Kunimasa Miyakoshi has at least two claims to fame. Some four decades ago, when he was only 37, the businessman led the first Japanese company to get a permit to do business in the country after World War II. And today, his Miyakoshi Holdings Inc. is the only stock in Japan’s benchmark Topix index that generates 100 percent of sales from China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Miyakoshi, once an electronics manufacturer, has changed course to become a real estate developer, and it’s about to take the next step in its long relationship with the communist country. The company is working to cement a $1.1 billion deal, Miyakoshi says, that will grant it the rights to build office towers — which it calls innovation centers — in the technology hub Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. “We are about to begin something extremely challenging,” Miyakoshi said in an interview at the firm’s headquarters in Tokyo. But “this is going to be huge.” While Japan and China have had a fraught diplomatic relationship, business ties run deep. China was Japan’s largest trading partner in 2018, taking in about $142 billion worth of exports. Still, few Japanese have Miyakoshi’s history with the country. Miyakoshi, who established his own business when he was 25, was asked by the Chinese government to go to the country in 1977 to help it make cassette tape recorders. “I was a young man,” Miyakoshi said. “I didn’t have a clue what kind of high-profile people I was dealing with. But we went to China, just like that.” In those days, China lacked the infrastructure and technology to mass-produce products such as tape recorders, which it wanted to use in education. “About 40 big shots attended the negotiations,” Miyakoshi said. “You wouldn’t believe it.” When Miyakoshi flew back from meeting the Chinese officials, Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, was waiting at the airport, he recalls. The business permit Miyakoshi eventually received was labeled No. 11. The first 10 all went to Hong Kong companies, according to Miyakoshi. The business made losses at first, which China offered to write off. Miyakoshi said it was his responsibility to cover them. That was the beginning of a 40-year relationship, which he says is paving the way for the Shenzhen project. Miyakoshi is betting that his plans to build at least four skyscrapers and bring in hundreds of medical and health care technology companies from Japan and other countries to the southern Chinese city will get full backing from the local authorities. The Shenzhen government has outlined its ambitions to develop the city under a plan that stretches to 2035. The project will have four stages. Most of the money for the first stage will come from the company and its affiliates’ existing capital, according to the businessman. The company is hoping to generate tens of millions of dollars in rent revenue once construction of the first building is completed, which is scheduled for 2021. It’s also considering investing in tenant companies. By the end of this month, the company plans to gather a group of about 35 Japanese firms that are interested in setting up shop in Shenzhen, Miyakoshi said. The company will seek a construction permit from the Shenzhen government this summer, he said. Calls to government officials to verify Miyakoshi’s plans weren’t answered. “On the permit, it’s like, which comes first, the chicken or the egg,” said Masahiro Terada, a business development leader with PwC Consulting in Tokyo who’s advising Miyakoshi on the project. “The government will want to see what kind of development plan is underway and who will be coming as tenants.” Miyakoshi Holdings has only 50 employees (down from 7,600 at the start of the 1990s), and had sales of just ¥1.3 billion ($11.6 million) last fiscal year. No analysts cover the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But it’s listed on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where its shares doubled from April to May last year before paring some of those gains. “The challenge is whether this plan will resonate with Japanese companies,” Terada said. It’s a question of “how many are willing to start from scratch to crack a new market.” Terada says that winning a permit from the Chinese government shouldn’t be difficult. JBCC Holdings Inc., a technology services company based in Tokyo, is one of the several companies currently in talks with Miyakoshi to become a potential tenant. “We’ve visited the site a few times — it’s a really good spot,” said Toru Kubo, an official at the China arm of JBCC. “It’s a good business chance for us as quality companies will gather from around the globe.” For Miyakoshi, the Shenzhen project is a chance to reinvent his company after it quit its failing electronics business in 2016, yielding to stiff competition from local manufacturers. While time will tell whether he’ll succeed, the 78-year-old is confident in his chances. “Our business here will really change,” he said. “We’ll be a completely different company.”
|
china;china-japan relations;real estate;investments;shenzhen;miyakoshi
|
jp0001493
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/03/27
|
EU demands scrutiny of 5G risks but no bloc-wide Huawei ban
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STRASBOURG, FRANCE - EU nations will be required to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks and produce measures to tackle them by the end of the year, the European Commission said on Tuesday, shunning U.S. calls to ban China’s Huawei Technologies across the bloc. The aim is to use tools available under existing security rules plus cross-border cooperation, the bloc’s executive body said, leaving it to individual EU countries to decide whether they want to ban any company on national security grounds. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are all preparing to auction 5G licenses this year while six other countries will do so next year. The European Union move came despite U.S. pressure to boycott Huawei, citing fears of China using the company’s equipment for espionage. Huawei has strongly rejected the allegations and launched a lawsuit against the U.S. government. The EU provided additional detail on the plans first reported by Reuters on March 22, with European digital chief Andrus Ansip saying that the measures announced on Tuesday aimed to address concerns about foreign governments using companies for espionage. Last week French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was wakening up to potential Chinese dominance in the region. Ansip said that 5G technology would transform the economy and society, but that this cannot happen without full security built in. “It is therefore essential that 5G infrastructures in the EU are resilient and fully secure from technical or legal backdoors,” Ansip said in a statement. EU countries have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to a bloc-wide assessment by Oct. 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of the year. Such measures could include certification requirements and tests of products or suppliers regarded as potential security risks. The bloc will decide by Oct. 1, 2020, whether to take further action. The EU has already passed a new law to give permanent status to the EU Cybersecurity Agency and to guide on cybersecurity certification. Huawei described the EU’s approach as objective and proportionate. Its comments were echoed by telecoms lobby group GSMA, which includes 300 operators worldwide, while the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association emphasized the importance of a fact-based and harmonized policy. Deutsche Telekom, meanwhile, said it is open to exchanging data with other operators to improve network security as the industry moves toward super-fast 5G technology. Large telecoms operators, which view 5G as the next big money-spinner, oppose a Huawei ban, saying that such a move could set back 5G deployment by years. World No.1 telecoms equipment maker Huawei, which competes with Sweden’s Ericsson and Finnish company Nokia, faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and U.S.-led allegations that its equipment could be used for spying. Australia and New Zealand have stopped operators using Huawei equipment in their 5G networks. But in a separate boost for Huawei on Tuesday, it was announced that Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, plans to roll out a commercial 5G mobile network by June, partly using Huawei technology.
|
u.s .;eu;espionage;cybersecurity;huawei;5g;emmanuel macron
|
jp0001494
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Google launches global council to advise on AI and tech ethics
|
SAN FRANCISCO - Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Tuesday it was launching a global advisory council to consider ethical issues around artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. The council, which is slated to publish a report at the end of 2019, includes technology experts, digital ethicists, and people with public policy backgrounds, Kent Walker, Google’s senior vice president for global affairs, said at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology conference. The group is meant to provide recommendations for Google and other companies and researchers working in areas such as facial recognition software, a form of automation that has prompted concerns about racial bias and other limitations. “We want to have the most informed and thoughtful conversations we can,” Walker said on stage at the MIT Technology Review event in San Francisco. “We want to sit down with the council and see what agenda they want to set.” Google already has its own internal AI principles, which, among other provisions, bars the California-based tech firm from using AI to develop weapons. The eight-member Advanced Technology External Advisory Council includes Joanna Bryson, an associate professor in computing at the University of Bath; William J. Burns, a former U.S. deputy secretary of state; and Dyan Gibbens, chief executive of Houston-based drone startup Trumbull, according to a Google blog post. The council will meet four times, beginning in April, the blog post said.
|
google;tech;ethics;mit;facial recognition;ai;alphabet
|
jp0001495
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Sony to conduct tests on remotely driven cars with NTT Docomo
|
Sony Corp. and NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday they will start conducting joint tests in Guam this summer on remotely driven cars using next-generation 5G services. The New Concept Cart SC-1 developed by Sony will be tested at Docomo 5G Open Lab GUAM — NTT Docomo’s first overseas 5G verification facility. Sony and NTT Docomo plan to use the remotely driven vehicles at commercial facilities and airports. The cars can carry three passengers and do not have a steering wheel. Instead, the vehicles have been designed to be controlled from a remote location, with a maximum speed of 19 kilometers per hour. A built-in sensor will automatically stop the car from colliding with people or obstacles, while a 4K monitor within the vehicle transmits images, including advertisements, to the passengers.
|
sony;ntt docomo;buses;cars;self-driving
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jp0001496
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Tokyo stocks fall back on ex-dividend impact
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JIJI Stocks turned lower on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday, pressured by selling a day after the deadline for securing rights to fiscal 2018 year-end dividends. The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 49.66 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 21,378.73. On Tuesday, the key market gauge surged 451.28 points. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 8.45 points, or 0.52 percent, at 1,609.49, after rising 40.53 points the previous day. Stocks going ex-dividend contributed to falls of some 170 points in the Nikkei average and some 17.5 points in the Topix index, brokers said. Despite the ex-dividend impact, stocks avoided a serious setback, supported by buybacks following an overnight rise in U.S. equities and the yen’s fall against the dollar, brokers said. “Considering the ex-dividend impact, Japanese stocks were effectively solid,” said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Naito Securities Co. But many analysts took a cautious stance on the outlook. It is difficult to expect the Nikkei to gain further upward momentum, as Japanese companies are expected to offer conservative forecasts at the upcoming earnings reporting season, a brokerage official said. “There are no fresh incentives strong enough for the Nikkei to test its recent high of around 21,800,” Tabei said. He added that there are many factors to watch, citing Britain’s planned exit from the European Union, U.S.-China trade tensions and planned Japan-U.S. trade talks. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,266 to 792 in the TSE’s first section, while 67 issues were unchanged. Volume decreased to 1.311 billion shares from 1.741 billion shares on Tuesday. Shares of companies with high dividend yields fell sharply. Matsui Securities fell 8.54 percent, and insurer Dai-ichi Life dropped 3.23 percent. Automakers met with selling. Toyota lost 2.03 percent, and Nissan declined 3.50 percent. Isuzu was down 1.67 percent. Other major losers included mobile phone carrier KDDI and Advantest, a maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. On the other hand, Nidec gained 3.12 percent after Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. raised its investment rating and target stock price for the motor-maker. Also on the plus side were employment information service firm Recruit and clothing retailer Fast Retailing. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average rose 230 points to end at 21,380.
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stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
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jp0001497
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Dollar firmer around ¥110.65 in late Tokyo trading
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The dollar was firmer around ¥110.65 in Tokyo trading on Wednesday thanks to buying to adjust positions, as a wait-and-see mood prevailed due to a lack of fresh incentives. “Marker players are keeping a close eye on the next moves on Britain’s planned exit from the European Union and U.S.-China trade talks,” an official at a bank-affiliated securities house said. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥110.67-67, up from ¥110.19-19 at the same time Tuesday. The euro was at $1.1251-1252, down from $1.1312-1312, and at ¥124.51-52, down from ¥124.65-65. An official of a Japanese bank said the dollar’s downside was solid. “Buybacks were observed when the dollar fell and approached the psychologically important line of ¥110.30,” the official said. But dealers agreed that market players “found it difficult to trade actively during Tokyo hours,” an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said. A fall in U.S. long-term interest rates has weighed on the dollar, a currency broker said. But relatively high U.S. short-term interest rates have discouraged players to sell the dollar,” an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0001498
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Renault wants merger with Nissan and Fiat Chrysler: report
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Renault SA is aiming to restart merger talks with Nissan Motor Co. within 12 months as the first step toward the creation of a bigger auto conglomerate that will involve a bid by both companies for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The creation of a new alliance board led by Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard has improved confidence that the two sides can push ahead with merger plans, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified people familiar with both sides’ thinking. A combination of Renault, Nissan, Fiat and Chrysler would create an automaker that could better compete against global competitors such as Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Renault and Nissan who was arrested in Tokyo in November on charges of financial wrongdoing, had held talks about merging Renault with Fiat Chrysler two to three years ago, the Financial Times reported, citing two unidentified sources. Ghosn’s proposal was stopped by the French government, the newspaper said. Ghosn, who is free on bail pending his trial, has denied the charges against him. Fiat Chrysler itself is seeking a partnership or merger, and Chairman John Elkann has met with other rivals including Peugeot-maker PSA Group of France to gauge the possibility of a deal, the newspaper reported. Spokesmen for Renault, Nissan and Fiat Chrysler declined to comment on the report.
|
nissan;carmakers;renault;mergers;fiat
|
jp0001499
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Carlos Ghosn's unusual Nissan perk: $601,000 Stanford tuition fees for his kids
|
PARIS - Nissan Motor Co. paid tuition for all four of ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn’s children when they attended Stanford University between 2004 and 2015, according to people familiar with the matter. The perk was part of Ghosn’s employment contract from 1999, when he was hired as chief executive officer of the carmaker, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. The benefit, which isn’t common among top executives, would have been worth at least $601,000, according to fee schedules published by Stanford during the years his children were enrolled. In a statement, Nissan declined comment on the details of executive compensation packages. A spokesman for the family said Ghosn’s contract was approved by Nissan and also included payment of pre-university tuition fees. The children graduated at or near the top of their high school classes, he said. A spokesman for Stanford in California said U.S. law prevented the university from giving out information about tuition payments. Ghosn, 65, has been charged in Japan with underreporting his income by billions of yen at Nissan and misusing company funds. He has denied wrongdoing and is awaiting trial on bail after spending 108 days in a Tokyo prison. The Stanford tuition adds to a list of lavish extras Ghosn enjoyed as the head of Nissan and its alliance partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., including luxury residences on four continents and a wedding party at the Palace of Versailles. The advantage of wealth in gaining access to elite U.S. universities has emerged as a hot topic following recent allegations that rich parents bribed university administrators and coaches at top schools to gain admission for their children. While no such payments are alleged in Ghosn’s case, it’s “highly unusual” that Nissan would pay his kids’ university fees, according to Robin Ferracone, chief executive of Farient Advisors, an executive-compensation consulting firm based in New York City and Los Angeles. “Typically you only see tuition reimbursements as part of expatriate assignments, and those are for kids below university age,” Ferracone said. Nissan’s official filings in Japan and the U.S., where its shares trade as American depositary receipts, didn’t include any information about Ghosn’s benefits. Under U.S. law, executives’ benefits are treated as taxable compensation, and U.S. public companies must report them to investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into whether Yokohama-based Nissan accurately disclosed executive compensation. Nissan has said it is cooperating. In Japan, companies are required to disclose compensation for highly paid executives in their financial reports but aren’t required to spell out the benefits they receive. Nissan has said that Ghosn, besides collecting salaries totaling $16.9 million in 2017 from Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi, received $8.9 million in compensation from a Dutch joint venture, Nissan-Mitsubishi BV, without approval from either company. Two other Dutch-based ventures financed by the alliance are under scrutiny for buying and renovating luxury homes for Ghosn to use in Beirut and Rio de Janeiro, and for subsidizing an extended weekend at Rio’s Carnival celebration last year for Ghosn, his wife, and eight other couples. Separately, Renault found that Ghosn received a “personal benefit” of €50,000 ($57,000) for his Marie-Antoinette-themed wedding party at Versailles in 2016 after Renault made a charitable donation to the chateau. Ghosn has said he’ll reimburse the expense. The Renault-Nissan alliance also made philanthropic donations to a private high school near Paris attended by at least two of Ghosn’s children and to a debutante ball where two of his daughters were presented to society. Ghosn’s eldest, Caroline, graduated from Stanford in 2008, followed by daughters Nadine and Maya, in 2011 and 2013, respectively, and son, Anthony, in 2015. Renault made at least one charitable donation to Stanford. A university website lists the French company as a corporate donor during the 2016-2017 academic year but it doesn’t specify the amount given or whether any was given while Ghosn’s children were students. Renault didn’t respond to questions about any donations while Stanford confirmed one was made, but declined to provide details. “Stanford regards gifts as confidential transactions between the donor and the university and we do not share information about a gift without the permission of the donor,” the university said in an email. The donation was separate from another financial link between Stanford and Paris-based Renault, which has no commercial operations in the U.S. but has research labs in Silicon Valley near the university campus. Along with Nissan, Mitsubishi and 35 other companies, it’s an ‘affiliate partner’ at the Stanford engineering school’s Center for Automotive Research, founded in 2008. Each company pays $32,000 per year to support the center’s research. Ghosn is a frequent public speaker. While he’s spoken at other universities, he made at least five public appearances at Stanford during the years his children attended. Those include speeches at the graduate school of business in 2007, 2010 and 2014, a presentation to an economic-policy research institute in 2011, and a talk at the Center for Automotive Research in 2013, according to the school’s website.
|
nissan;income;tuition;renault;carlos ghosn;stanford;u.s. sec
|
jp0001500
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Fine sought for Citigroup unit over alleged rigging of Japanese government bond futures
|
The nation’s securities watchdog is seeking a ¥133 million fine for a unit of U.S. financial giant Citigroup Inc. for the alleged rigging of Japanese government bond futures prices. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Tuesday recommended the Financial Services Agency impose the fine on the London-based unit, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. In October last year, a company dealer placed JGB futures orders on the Osaka Exchange without the intention of executing them, leading to a manipulation of prices and unjust profits, according to the SESC. The transactions in question were carried out during night trading hours, when prices tend to be volatile due to low market liquidity, the SESC also said. In July last year, the FSA imposed ¥218 million in fines on Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. for JGB futures manipulations.
|
business ethics;securities and exchange surveillance commission;fsa;citigroup inc .
|
jp0001501
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
'Shocked' Fukushima evacuees say Tepco ruling fails to fairly compensate them for suffering
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A Tokyo court on Wednesday ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to pay a total of ¥21.34 million in damages to a group of evacuees from the March 2011 nuclear disaster. But the ruling by the Tokyo District Court, which was the 11th such decision against Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., came as a shock to the evacuees, who claim the court has neglected their suffering. The lawsuit was filed in March 2012 by 42 former residents of Iitate, a village in Fukushima Prefecture, who claim their lives were affected by the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant disaster in 2011. They were forced to evacuate from the prefecture due to evacuation orders that were only lifted later, in March 2017. They had sought a combined ¥1.68 billion from the utility for their psychological suffering. Presiding Judge Tetsuro Nakayoshi awarded compensation to 13 of the 42 plaintiffs whose damages were deemed more severe. The plaintiffs in general have been already compensated by the nuclear plant operator and had already found new homes, the court concluded. Only one pair was awarded the highest amount, of more than ¥3 million in damages, due to illness and required nursing care. In a written statement, Tepco offered a “sincere apology” to the residents of Fukushima Prefecture and others “for causing so much trouble,” and said they would examine the court’s decision and would consider ways to respond to it. Noboru Tanaka, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, explained that the Iitate residents in the lawsuit had been receiving settlement compensation worth ¥100,000 per month for the past 7 years from Tepco in an alternative dispute resolution. But the amount was not enough to compensate their losses and inconveniences caused in the process of evacuation, he said, adding that compensation for a car accident victim would usually be three times that. He said the ruling was deplorable given that the plaintiffs remain unable to restore their lives. “I’m shocked — even if we wanted to go back home, we can’t, but the court won’t understand it,” said Yasuo Suzuki, 65, one of the eight plaintiffs who appeared in court on Wednesday. He is still sheltered in an evacuation center in Tokyo. “I was hoping this ruling would help me pick up my life,” he said, “but it has left me puzzled.” According to Japan’s Reconstruction Agency, nearly 52,000 people remained displaced due to the 2011 disasters.
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fukushima;fukushima no . 1;courts;tepco;nuclear energy;disasters;iitate
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jp0001502
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
First overtime caps for big Japanese firms and mandatory use of paid leave to come into force April 1
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Most of the work style reform measures included in legislation enacted into law last year are set to take effect on Monday, effectively introducing the nation’s first compulsory caps on overtime hours at major companies. The reform, which will come into force with the start of the new fiscal year, will also oblige all companies to have their employees take at least five paid holidays a year in a bid to redress long work hours. Overtime will be limited to less than 100 hours a month per employee, and a total of 720 hours a year. Companies will face penalties if they fail to abide by the regulation. The overtime caps are scheduled to take effect for small and midsize companies in April 2020. According to the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, more than half of companies are concerned that labor shortages could hamper their ability to follow the overtime regulations. The ratio of job openings to job seekers in 2018 stood at 1.61 across the country on average, according to the labor ministry. As a result, many companies are facing difficulty in securing enough workers, industry sources said. The mandatory use of paid leave of at least five days annually will apply to workers who are given 10 or more paid holidays per year. According to the labor ministry, workers took an average of 51.1 percent of all paid holidays given to them in 2017. Although the government has set a target of increasing the rate to 70 percent by 2020, the goal is seen as being difficult to achieve, with many workers finding it tough to take paid holidays due to labor shortages. Monday will also mark the adoption of what is known as a white-collar exemption system, which will spare those described as “specialist” personnel with an annual income of more than ¥10.75 million — such as financial dealers and analysts — from work-hour regulations. It will allow employees to be paid based on their performance rather than the hours they work, paving the way for more flexible working styles and boosting overall productivity, the government claims. Consent from such workers is necessary for companies to adopt the system. Noting that the system effectively dispenses with the concept of overtime pay, however, the opposition argued in the Diet that it instead risks endorsing unpaid overwork.
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labor laws;jobs;overtime;mhlw
|
jp0001503
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Nissan overhauling board after two decades with Renault and Carlos Ghosn
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Nissan Motor Co. is set to adopt a new governance structure meant to prevent the recurrence of a concentration of power in the hands of a single executive. For the past three months, an external panel has been working on recommendations following the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial wrongdoing. The committee’s seven members will issue their findings later Wednesday, the 20th anniversary of the Japanese carmaker’s alliance with Renault SA that brought the executive to Nissan. Once Nissan’s board accepts the measures, it will have a governance structure that calls for decision-making based on consensus instead of the whim of one person. Among the panel’s proposals may be a recommendation to create separate governance committees to oversee nomination, audit and remuneration, with the majority of each body made up by independent directors, a person with knowledge of the proposals has said. “Nissan didn’t have any committees whatsoever, it was just Carlos Ghosn deciding it,” said Zuhair Khan, an analyst at Jefferies Inc. in Tokyo. “There needs to be a clear feeling that what is done is correct, and it has to be evaluated by people who have no conflict of interest.” As chairman of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, Ghosn enjoyed unprecedented power. Prosecutors say he used his position to falsify financial information and boost his compensation — charges he’s denied. He is free on bail and preparing for a trial that may begin later this year. Now, as tension between the partners eases, Nissan has gained more independence. The proposals discussed Wednesday also may include the appointment of an external director to head Nissan’s board, the person has said. The vacuum in Nissan’s governance created by Ghosn’s exit was becoming a hindrance for the world’s biggest auto alliance, with decision-making snarled until Nissan establishes a new structure, S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Margaux Pery wrote in a report last week. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard also will chair the alliance board, which was reformed this month. While the biggest source of tension — the ownership imbalance — remains, it is solvable, said Motoki Yanase, an analyst at Moody’s Japan. Renault now has 43 percent in Nissan, which owns 15 percent of the French company. The French government is Renault’s most powerful shareholder. Detente is necessary because of the alliance’s value to both companies and third partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The scale and savings it brings outweighs the distrust that intensified with Ghosn’s arrest, especially as the carmakers face massive investment requirements in electric and self-driving vehicles, and renewed competition from Tesla Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. “Nissan and Renault kissed and made up,” said Janet Lewis, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities (Japan) Ltd. “More than anything, it helps the employees stay focused on what they are doing.” The alliance was formed in 1999 after Renault agreed to salvage struggling Nissan, acquiring a major stake in the Japanese company in the process. More recently, Nissan’s growth has outpaced that of Renault, resulting in calls from within the Japanese company for a more balanced partnership structure. Mitsubishi joined in 2016. Put together, the alliance sold 10.8 million cars last year, an eighth of total global auto sales. Questions about the future of the union burst into the open after Ghosn’s arrest four months ago for underreporting pay and breach of trust. The executive was preparing to push for a full merger and was facing resistance from factions within Nissan, including from protege-turned-accuser Hiroto Saikawa, who’s been chief executive officer since 2017. While Nissan was swift to remove Ghosn as its chairman, Renault took more than two months to appoint a new CEO and a new chairman. Even with a more independent Nissan, the alliance will have to integrate more to compete. Renault and Nissan cooperate on technologies, manufacturing, supply-chain management, purchasing and human resources. The companies have cross-production activities in France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, India, Russia, South Korea and Japan. The alliance has helped Renault and Nissan share expenses, and together the companies bring more heft to the table when negotiating purchasing terms with suppliers. They also benefit from each others’ geographic footprint: Renault is stronger in Europe, while Nissan provides links to China, where Renault only has a small presence, and the U.S., where the French carmaker is absent. “Without proper governance the alliance cannot be something stable and sustainable,” Khan said. “The transformation that’s going to happen in the automotive industry in the next few years is going to be a transformation that we haven’t seen in decades.”
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mitsubishi;nissan;renault;carlos ghosn
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jp0001504
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Ukraine's integration into West dashed by war and corruption
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MOSCOW - Five years into Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, Moscow seems to have Ukraine pinned against the ropes. Ukraine’s ambition of joining the European Union and NATO is indefinitely stalled. It has no realistic way to reclaim control of Russian-annexed Crimea, or to end the war with Russia-backed separatists in the east. It’s no wonder a comedian is leading in the polls for Sunday’s presidential election. The Kremlin has long seen Ukraine’s plan to join NATO as a threat that must be fended off at all costs, and its calculations that the conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region would scuttle the nation’s membership bid seems to have worked. “The Russian strategy is to keep the Donbass conflict smoldering for a long time and use it as an instrument to influence Ukraine’s internal political situation and also as a major obstacle to Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Center, a Kiev-based think tank. “As long as the territorial problem of Crimea and Donbass remains, as long as the fighting in Donbass continues, it will be a decisive argument against letting Ukraine join the EU and NATO,” he said. In February 2014, Ukraine’s former Russia-friendly president was ousted by mass protests sparked by his refusal to sign an association deal with the EU. Moscow saw his ouster as a Western-staged plot and responded by quickly annexing Ukraine’s Crimea, a move seen by most countries as illegal, and backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has since signed an association deal with the EU and won a much-coveted visa-free travel deal with the bloc. But its hopes for joining the EU appear as elusive as ever, and that has contributed to public disenchantment and eroding the popularity of President Petro Poroshenko. The U.S. and the EU have maintained strong political support for Ukraine, most recently over Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews in November. But both NATO and the EU have made it clear they are not going to put Ukraine on a track to membership anytime soon. Asked last week when the EU and NATO could open the doors for Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said curtly “that is still not on the table for us.” Stefan Meister, an analyst at the German Council on Foreign Relations, said that German leaders feel that opening the path to NATO for Ukraine would further strain relations with Russia and fear that the commitment for mutual defense of alliance members could lead to open conflict with Russia if Ukraine were to join. “There is more or less a consensus on this with the allies,” he said. Meister added that the EU is still dealing with integrating its youngest members — including Romania and Bulgaria — and putting Ukraine on that path now would be unworkable. “I think it’s something where people just say we will create problems for ourselves,” he said in a telephone interview from his office in Berlin. Western allies also have been increasingly exasperated with the slow pace of Ukraine’s institutional reforms and efforts to combat corruption. Earlier this month, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, issued an unusually harsh statement criticizing a Constitutional Court ruling that absolved Ukrainian officials of the obligation to prove legitimate the origin of their assets. She called that a “serious setback in the fight against corruption in Ukraine.” “It is increasingly clear that Ukraine’s once-in-a-generation opportunity for change, for which such a high price was paid five years ago … has not yet resulted in the anti-corruption or rule of law reforms that Ukrainians expect or deserve,” she said. In a spat reflecting the tensions, Ukraine’s top prosecutor claimed that Yovanovitch had given him a list of people his office shouldn’t prosecute — a claim the U.S. State Department rejected as false. While Putin may have succeeded for now in impeding Ukraine’s closer integration into Western alliances, Russia has paid a high price for annexing Crimea and backing rebels in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and the EU have hit Moscow with several waves of economic and financial sanctions, restricting its access to global financial markets and cutting supplies of key energy and defense technologies. In 2015, France and Germany brokered a peace agreement that reduced the scope of fighting in eastern Ukraine that has left about 13,000 dead. The Minsk deal required Ukraine to grant sweeping autonomy to the rebel regions, effectively allowing them to run their own affairs — a provision that was broadly rejected by Ukraine’s political forces. A political settlement has stalled and regular clashes have continued. The conflict in the east and rampant official corruption aren’t the only problems in Ukraine worrying the West. Last week, ambassadors of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations sent a letter to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, voicing concern about the threat posed by extreme right groups ahead of the elections. International human rights organizations have long raised alarms about the rise of the ultra-right groups, who have targeted gay and women’s rights activists and Roma encampments around the country. The state-sponsored glorification of leaders of Ukraine’s World War II-era nationalist movement — which included an insurgent army that sided with the Nazis — has angered Israel and Poland. Tensions have also simmered between Ukraine and Hungary over the alleged violation of ethnic Hungarians’ rights in western Ukraine, following the adoption of an education law that practically eliminated the use of Hungarian and other minority languages. Ukraine’s media freedom record has drawn rebukes too. Earlier this month, Austria strongly criticized Ukraine’s refusal to grant entry to a reporter as an “act of censorship” defying European values. Ukraine shot back, accusing Austria of being too friendly to Russia. “Ukraine looks more like a source of tensions and conflict, both geopolitically and economically, than an equal and attractive partner,” said Andriy Yermolayev, director of the New Ukraine research center. “A full-fledged membership in the EU and NATO is just a beautiful political utopia.”
|
france;u.s .;russia;nato;eu;germany;ukraine;crimea;petro poroshenko
|
jp0001505
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
'Second disaster' warned in Mozambique as cholera and other diseases threaten
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BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE - Cyclone-ravaged Mozambique faces a “second disaster” from cholera and other diseases, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday, while relief operations pressed into rural areas where an unknown number of people remain without aid more than 10 days after the storm. Some 1.8 million people in Mozambique need urgent help after Cyclone Idai, the United Nations said in an emergency appeal for $282 million for the next three months. The cyclone was “one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in the history of Africa,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in New York. He raised the specter of hunger, saying the storm inundated Mozambique’s breadbasket on the eve of harvest. The death toll remained at least 761 in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, and authorities have warned it is “very preliminary.” More bodies will be found as floodwaters drain away. Emergency responders raced to contain deadly diseases such as cholera, which authorities have said will break out as more than a quarter-million displaced people shelter in camps with little or no clear water and sanitation. Many wells were contaminated by the floods. People are living in tent camps, schools, churches, roads and other impromptu places on higher ground. Many have little but their clothes, squatting over cooking fires and picking their way around stretches of increasingly dirty water or simply walking through it, resigned. The World Health Organization said it is expecting a “spike” in malaria cases in Mozambique. The disease-carrying mosquitoes breed in standing water. WHO also said 900,000 oral cholera vaccines were expected to arrive later this week. Cholera is caused by eating contaminated food or drinking water and can kill within hours. Cases of diarrhea have been reported. “We must not let these people suffer a second disaster through a serious disease outbreak or inability to access essential health services. They have suffered enough,” Dr. Djamila Cabral, the WHO representative in Mozambique, told reporters in Geneva. She said people in camps were living in “horrific conditions” and that about 55 health centers had been severely damaged. Aid continued to arrive, including much-needed air support. The World Food Program received $280,000 from the European Union to support the deployment of a U.N. Humanitarian Air Service helicopter that will deliver assistance to the two worst-hit districts in Zimbabwe, Chimanimani and Chipinge. The United States said it had donated nearly $3.4 million in emergency food assistance to the World Food Program, whose director was touring Beira on Tuesday. A field hospital was being set up in Beira and another is arriving later this week, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. A sanitation system to serve some 22,000 people has arrived and a water purification unit to serve some 25,000 people is expected to arrive on Wednesday, the organization said. Bit by bit, the scale of the destruction became clearer. The cyclone reportedly destroyed all houses in the village of Metuchira, home to nearly 38,000 people, the U.N. humanitarian agency said. Amid the relief efforts, grieving people in Mozambique struggled to bury the dead. “Efforts are underway to improve management of dead bodies, as mortuary facilities were either destroyed and/or lack enough facilities and capacity,” the U.N. humanitarian agency said.
|
disease;aid;who;mozambique;cholera;wfp;cyclone idai
|
jp0001506
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Kenya plans to close massive Dadaab refugee camp, home to 230,000: U.N. document
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NAIROBI - Kenya plans to shut a refugee camp that is home to nearly a quarter of a million people, mostly Somalis, in the next few months, according to an internal U.N. document seen by AFP Tuesday, The three-decade-old Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya would be closed by the end of August under the Kenyan plan, it said. A United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) document dated Feb. 28 said the Kenyan government had sent a note verbale informing it of “plans to close the Dadaab camps within a six-month period. The note, which was dated Feb. 19, asked UNHCR “to expedite relocation of the refugees and asylum-seekers residing therein.” In the document, the UNHCR said it was committed to working with the government on voluntary repatriation to countries of origin, relocating refugees to other parts of Kenya and resettlement to third countries. An aid worker in Dadaab, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that all international organizations were aware of a plan to close the camp, but the “government is keeping it low profile.” Dadaab was considered the world’s largest refugee camp, with at its peak some 580,000 refugees. The largest camp is now Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, home to some 600,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled neighboring Myanmar. Dadaab now shelters some 230,000 people, the vast majority of them Somalis who fled across the border following the outbreak of civil war in 1991. Many have lived there ever since. In May 2016 the government unilaterally decided to close the camp, saying it was a terrorist training ground for al-Shabab Islamist militants based in Somalia. Tens of thousands of refugees returned to Somalia under a repatriation package. However, many encountered drought, hunger and dire conditions in a country where 5 million lack enough food and where African and Somali forces are still fighting al-Qa-da-aligned Shabab militants. Amnesty International said it had documented government officials threatening refugees and telling them they had to leave, “raising serious questions about whether returns were voluntary. Then in February 2017 Kenya’s High Court ruled the plan to close the camp was unconstitutional, violated Kenya’s international obligations and amounted to the persecution of refugees. The court also said the forced repatriation violated the 1951 United Nations Convention on refugees. Since sending troops into neighboring Somalia in 2011, Kenya has come under repeated attack from al-Qaida-linked Shabab militants. The government has presented Dadaab as a security risk, saying Somali Islamists inside the camp planned the Shabab attacks at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in 2013 and the Garissa university attack in 2015, though it has not provided evidence. The latest effort to shut it comes shortly after the January 15 attack on the Dusit hotel and office complex in Nairobi that left 21 dead. At least 12 suspects were arrested in Dadaab in connection with the attack.
|
somalia;refugees;kenya;al-qaida;unhcr;al-shabab;dadaab
|
jp0001507
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Shadowy group claims responsibility for North Korean Embassy raid as Spanish judge seeks extradition of intruders
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MADRID - A Spanish judge plans to request the extradition from the United States of members of a shadowy group he suspects of forcing their way into the North Korean Embassy in Madrid and trying to persuade an official there to defect, a judicial source said on Tuesday. The judge believes a group of 10 intruders identified themselves during the assault as human rights campaigners, according to a Spanish High Court document. The group’s leader contacted the FBI a few days later to pass on information about the raid, the document said. A judicial source said the judge believes all the identified suspects went to the United States after the raid and that he would request their extradition to Spain, where they could face up to 28 years in prison. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the U.S. government was not involved in the raid, which Spanish High Court documents said involved a Mexican citizen who is a U.S. resident and a U.S. citizen, as well as South Korean citizens. “The United States government had nothing to do with this,” Palladino told a regular news briefing, stressing that the United States called for the protection of all embassies. He referred questions about the investigation to Spanish authorities. The State Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment about the extradition request. The FBI said in a statement it was “our standard practice to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation,” adding that the agency had a strong working relationship with Spanish law enforcement partners. Spain’s Interior Ministry had previously said police were investigating an incident at the embassy on Feb. 22 but gave no details, except to say that a North Korean citizen had been injured and that no one had filed a complaint. A Mexican citizen who is a U.S. resident, identified as Adrian Hong Chang, led the group, the Spanish High Court said in the document, based on the investigation of the incident. The Adrian Hong Chang named by the court is a longtime activist who helped co-found the refugee aid organization Liberty in North Korea (LINK), and later led an organization preparing for an “imminent, dramatic change” in North Korea, according to NK News, a website that monitors North Korea. He has usually gone by Adrian Hong in his professional affiliations and in op-eds about North Korea penned for numerous American publications. LINK said Hong was a co-founder as a college student but had not been involved with the organization for more that 10 years. The court identified the U.S. citizen as Sam Ryu. The group stole computers, hard disks and pen drives, it said. It was not clear how the court knew that Hong had contacted the FBI. Three of the intruders took an embassy official into the basement and encouraged him to defect from North Korea. They identified themselves as members of a group which campaigned for the “liberation of North Korea,” the document said. A dissident organization called Cheollima Civil Defense acknowledged on its website late on Tuesday that it was behind the incident but said it was not an attack and that the group had been invited into the embassy. Cheollima, also known as Free Joseon, said no one was gagged or beaten and that no governments were involved. It said identifying individuals involved would “aid and abet the regime in Pyongyang.” It did not acknowledge any of the names in the court documents. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Cheollima Civil Defense had carried out the raid. The paper quoted unidentified sources as saying last week that the group shared information about the raid with the FBI. A source familiar with official U.S. government reporting on the incident said that, while they were not 100 percent positive, U.S. government experts found it plausible that Cheollima Civil Defense carried out the raid. The source did not want to be otherwise identified. The Spanish court document gave a detailed account of the intruders’ movements before as well as during the intrusion, including their stay in a hotel and purchases of knives, balaclava masks and fake guns. While in Madrid, Hong Chang also applied for a new passport at the Mexican Embassy, the investigation found, and used the name “Oswaldo Trump” to register in the Uber ride-hailing app. There was no immediate comment on the matter from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. Spain’s Interior Ministry and Mexico’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment. The embassy raid occurred shortly before the Feb. 27-28 summit in Hanoi between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. The Mexican, Hong Chang, said he carried out the raid voluntarily and did not identify his companions, the court document said. Sung-Yoon Lee, a North Korea expert at Tufts University in the United States, said he was shocked that the names should have been revealed in the Spanish documents. He said this could put the lives of members of the group at risk from North Korean reprisals. “It seemed clear to me that the FBI had initially taken the position that the intel assets the group had retrieved at the embassy warranted the protection of the identities of the group,” he said. “That the Spanish government has not redacted the names of the persons implicated is also quite shocking,” he said. “Observing this extraordinary situation unfold, who in the future would collaborate with the United States government were they ever to come into possession of high-value intelligence on North Korea obtained illegally?” Lee said. The FBI declined to comment when asked about the risk of North Korean reprisals. According to the court document, the group kept embassy staff tied up for several hours and then searched the premises for arms before leaving, at which point they separated into four groups and headed to Portugal. Hong Chang then flew from Lisbon to New York. In Spain, the High Court has the power to investigate criminal offenses, after which formal accusations are launched.
|
u.s .;north korea;rights;south korea;spain;fbi
|
jp0001508
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence wants to see astronauts back on the moon within five years
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CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for landing astronauts on the moon within five years, an accelerated pace that would aim to put Americans on the lunar south pole. Pence said NASA needs to achieve that goal “by any means necessary.” Speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, Alabama, he said NASA rockets and lunar landers will be replaced by private craft, if required. “It’s time to redouble our effort,” he said. “It can happen, but it will not happen unless we increase the pace.” Now, the earliest possible landing on the moon by NASA isn’t until 2028, Pence said. He acknowledged talent — and money — will be necessary to pull it off earlier. Pence warned that if NASA can’t put astronauts on the moon by 2024, “we need to change the organization, not the mission.” The space agency must transform into a leaner, more accountable and more agile organization, and must adopt an “all-hands-on-deck approach,” he said. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine assured Pence that NASA will do everything possible to meet the deadline. Some outside experts were skeptical of the new timeline. “I will be astonished if this happens,” said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, noting that a lunar lander still needs to be designed, built and tested. “That is a hard challenge on a five year time scale even without political budget infighting,” he wrote in an email. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. Since Apollo astronauts last walked on the moon in 1972, no country has made a serious attempt to send humans back to the lunar surface. For decades, NASA has flip-flopped between the moon and Mars, a victim of changing presidential administrations. More recently, President Barack Obama targeted Mars as astronauts’ next big destination, while President Donald Trump has favored the moon. In order to get astronauts on the moon by 2024, Bridenstine said the space agency’s new giant rocket will be needed, but its development and pace will need to be faster. Two weeks ago, he said NASA was considering using private rockets instead to launch its new Orion capsule around the moon without a crew on a test flight next year. But on Tuesday, he expressed confidence that the Space Launch System (SLS) would be ready for the job. He also stressed the need for an outpost with astronauts near the moon to serve as a stepping-off point for lunar landings. Pence leads the National Space Council. The advisory group held its fifth meeting at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, right next door to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where the Saturn V moon rockets were developed decades ago and where the Boeing-built SLS is now managed. This longtime rocket know-how is why Huntsville is nicknamed Rocket City. It took just eight years for NASA to accomplish everything to put astronauts on the moon in July 1969. It was unacceptable, Pence said, that SLS delays and cost overruns point to a 2028 target date — nearly two decades after the SLS program began. The vice president instructed NASA to aim to land on the moon’s south pole, where considerable amounts of ice could be used for drinking and making rocket fuel. “The exploration of the heavens in this still new century will go forward with or without the United States. But Americans don’t do second place. Americans lead, and so we will,” Pence said to cheers and applause. Planetary scientist Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute said 2024 is feasible provided the accelerated effort is funded properly and commercial space systems are fully embraced. “The moon is a truly outstanding target, both for science and for getting our exploration legs back before we set out to further destinations like Mars,” Stern wrote in an email. But former NASA official Scott Hubbard said five years seems “awfully short to me,” given the lack of national security incentives like those that existed during Apollo and the Cold War race to beat the Soviets to the moon. Hubbard pointed out that both Bush administrations proposed similar far-reaching exploration efforts. “Those didn’t go anywhere and collapsed of their own significant financial weight,” he noted in an email. The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Bobby Braun said he’d like to review the budget and details for implementation “as those details matter.” He previously served as NASA’s chief technologist. “The United States aerospace community is certainly capable of achieving this goal if provided with stability of purpose and the resources to do so,” Braun wrote in an email.
|
u.s .;nasa;space;mars;moon;mike pence
|
jp0001509
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court wary of involving federal judges in electoral redistricting cases
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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed wary Tuesday of getting federal judges involved in determining when electoral district maps are too partisan. In more than two hours of arguments over Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina and a single congressional district drawn to benefit Democrats in Maryland, the justices on the right side of the court asked repeatedly whether unelected judges should police the partisan actions of elected officials. “Why should we wade into this?” Justice Neil Gorusch asked. Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that voters in some states and state courts in others are imposing limits on how far politicians can go in designing districts that maximize one party’s advantage. In light of activity at the state level, Kavanaugh asked if the country had reached the point where “this court and this court alone” must act. But there was no certainty that the justices would, in the end, shut courthouse doors to claims over excessive partisan gerrymandering, as the practice of designing districts for political gain is known. Kavanaugh, in particular, said he would not dispute the “problems of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” The cases at the high court mark the second time in consecutive terms the justices are trying to determine if they can set limits on partisan map-making. The court also could rule that federal judges should not oversee disputes over districts designed to benefit one political party. Democrats and Republicans eagerly await the outcome of cases from Maryland and North Carolina because a new round of redistricting will follow the 2020 census, and the decision could help shape the makeup of Congress and state legislatures over the next decade. Last year, the court essentially punted on cases from Wisconsin and the same Maryland congressional district that was before the court Tuesday. Partisan gerrymandering is almost as old as the United States. While the court ruled 30 years ago that courts could police overly partisan map-making, the justices have never struck down districts on the ground that they violated the rights of voters from the minority party. Supporters of limits on partisan redistricting say that it’s more urgent than ever for the court to intervene because partisan maps deepen stark political division in the United States and sophisticated computer programs allow map-makers to target voters on a house-by-house basis. They were disappointed last year when Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was open to reining in maps drawn for partisan ends, didn’t join the court’s four more liberal justices. Defenders of the maps that are being challenged want the court to defer to the other branches of government and bow out of partisan districting cases. Their chances may have been strengthened by Kennedy’s retirement. Complaints about partisan gerrymandering almost always arise when one party controls the redistricting process and has the ability to maximize the seats it holds in a state legislature or its state’s congressional delegation. That’s what happened in North Carolina, where Democrats hold only three of 13 congressional districts in a state that tends to have closely decided statewide elections. Republicans drew congressional districts that packed Democratic voters into the three districts that translated into landslide victories. Meanwhile, the map produced smaller winning margins for Republican candidates, but in more districts. In Maryland, Democrats who controlled redistricting in 2011 wanted to increase their 6-2 edge in congressional seats. So they drew a map that would flip to Democrats a western Maryland district where a Republican incumbent served for 20 years. Lower courts in both states struck down the districts as unconstitutionally partisan. And the governors of both states also are urging the Supreme Court to “end gerrymandering once and for all.” Since the maps were drawn, North Carolina has elected a Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, and Maryland now has a Republican chief executive, Larry Hogan. “The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments over whether politicians can be trusted to draw up their own districts. Take it from us: They can’t,” the governors wrote in an article published Monday in The Washington Post. Decisions in Rucho v. Common Cause, 18-422, and Lamone v. Benisek, 18-726, are expected by late June.
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u.s .;republicans;u.s. supreme court;north carolina;gerrymandering;neil gorsuch;brett kavanaugh
|
jp0001510
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
U.S. Senate rejects Green New Deal in a Republican show vote
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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Republican leaders forced a stunt vote Tuesday on a climate change measure they ridicule, seeking to corner Democratic presidential hopefuls over an expensive, economy-upending plan proposed by the party’s liberal left wing. The chamber easily rejected the Green New Deal, a proposal offered by progressive Democrats that would dramatically shift the United States away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy in an ambitious effort to zero out greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. It is less a hardened political policy than a blueprint of transformational action to combat the threat of climate change, and several Democrats running to challenge President Donald Trump next year have signed on to the non-binding plan. Six Senate Democrats are 2020 White House candidates, and the chamber’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to get them on record supporting what his party believes would be a multitrillion-dollar boondoggle. “I could not be more glad that the American people will have the opportunity to learn precisely where each one of their senators stand on the ‘Green New Deal’: a radical, top-down, socialist makeover of the entire U.S. economy,” McConnell said. The legislation introduced by McConnell failed to advance, with zero votes in support, 57 opposed, and 43 Democrats — including all six presidential candidates — voting “present.” Democrats accused the Senate’s Republican leadership of quashing debate and blocking any public hearings on climate change. “We need real action on climate change — not this kind of sham vote,” 2020 contender Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said. “Climate change is a global crisis, not a political game,” added Senator Elizabeth Warren, a liberal presidential candidate who supports the Green New Deal. The plan does not detail how America will wean itself off of fossil fuels, or how much the ambitious transformation will cost. Republicans are seeking to make climate change a wedge issue in the election. Trump himself mocked Democrats over the plan. “No planes. No energy. When the wind stops blowing that’s the end of your electric,” he told a laughing crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference this month. The plan’s champion is liberal first-term Reo. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a favorite target of conservatives.
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u.s .;congress;green new deal
|
jp0001511
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/27
|
Russian military deployment in Venezuela includes cybersecurity personnel, says U.S. official
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WASHINGTON - The Russian military contingent that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend, drawing U.S. condemnation, is believed to be made up of special forces, including “cybersecurity personnel,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was still assessing the Russian deployment, which Washington has called a “reckless escalation” of the situation in Venezuela. Two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to local media reports, two months after the Trump administration disavowed President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president and demands that Maduro step down. Russia has described this as a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government. The U.S. assessment that the Russian contingent includes cybersecurity specialists and those from “related fields” suggests that part of their mission could be helping Maduro’s loyalists with surveillance as well as protection of the government’s cyberinfrastructure. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the presence of “Russian specialists” in Venezuela is governed by a military-technical cooperation agreement between the two countries. But it did not provide further details. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in a phone call on Monday that Washington would “not stand idly by” as Russia backed Maduro, who has overseen a dramatic collapse of a once-bustling economy. John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said on Tuesday that while Guaido asks for humanitarian aid to help his people, Maduro asks for Cuban and Russian goons to suppress the people of Venezuela. “The military ranks are seeing Maduro’s corruption, violence, and lack of support within Venezuela,” Bolton said in a message on Twitter. The United States and most Western countries have backed Guaido while Russia, China and Cuba are among those that have continued to support Maduro, who controls Venezuela’s state institutions including the military. On Tuesday afternoon the Lima Group of Latin American countries said in a statement it was concerned about the arrival of military airplanes in Venezuela. “We reiterate our condemnation of any military provocation or deployment that threatens peace and security in the region,” said the group formed in 2017 to pressure Maduro, which includes Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Peru. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Pompeo on Tuesday urging him to determine if Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua should face mandatory U.S. sanctions for conducting significant transactions with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.
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u.s .;russia;military;venezuela;cybersecurity;nicolas maduro;mike pompeo;john bolton;juan guaido
|
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