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jp0003218
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/04/09
|
Japan's Lower House approves free preschool education bill
|
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved legislation to expand child care support by offering free preschool education from October, with the move coming as Japan struggles to reverse its falling birthrate. The free education program, expected to cost ¥776 billion a year, is a key pillar of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s initiative to widen the scope of social security services. It will be funded by revenue from the planned sales tax hike in October from 8 percent to 10 percent. Following Tuesday’s approval, the government hopes to have the bill passed through the House of Councilors before the regular Diet session ends in June. Under the program, the government will make preschool education free for all children age between 3 and 5 starting in October. Day care services will be also made free for children up to 2 from low-income households. If parents send their children to preschools that are not authorized by local governments, a maximum subsidy of ¥37,000 per month will be given to parents of children age between 3 and 5, and ¥42,000 for those with children age 2 and younger. School meals will be charged separately. Reducing the financial burden of child-rearing is seen as key to boosting the country’s falling birthrate at a time of increased female participation in the workforce. The country’s total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime — stood at 1.43 in 2017. The Abe administration also faces the difficult task of reducing the number of children wait-listed at day care facilities. Around 20,000 children were unable to be placed in day care in 2018 due to a lack of nursery schools and teachers.
|
children;diet;education;preschool
|
jp0003219
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/09
|
Japan announces new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bank notes as Reiwa Era looms
|
The government on Tuesday announced a redesign for ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bank notes, adding new technology to prevent counterfeits. The new designs will be introduced in the first half of fiscal 2024, Finance Minister Taro Aso said. The new ¥10,000 bill will feature Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a banker and business leader dubbed “the father of Japanese capitalism.” Shibusawa played a key role in modernizing the Japanese economy, Aso said. The back side of the bill will feature an illustration of the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. The ¥5,000 bill will feature Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929), the founder of Tsuda University in Tokyo, who studied in the U.S. and became a pioneer in the education of Japanese women in early 20th century. The back side will feature an illustration of wisteria flowers. The ¥1,000 bill will feature Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931), a bacteriologist who helped build the foundation for modern medical science in Japan. The opposite side will feature “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” the famous woodblock print by ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai. A portrait on the new bills will be rendered as a 3D hologram, which the Finance Ministry said is a world first for currency. Aso said the government will not redesign the ¥2,000 bill because the number of bills in circulation “is extremely small.” The announcement follows Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s April 1 announcement that the new Imperial era, set to begin on May 1 when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne, will be called Reiwa. Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30. Some government officials welcomed the timing of the announcement to coincide with the change in era, but Aso told a news conference that the era change was not the main factor. Japan changes the designs of the three bills to prevent counterfeiting about every 20 years, Aso said. “We didn’t pay much attention to the announcement of the era name,” Aso said. The last time Japan introduced new bill designs was 2004, a change announced in 2002. In the first part of fiscal 2021, the ministry will also introduce a new ¥500 coin with the same design but using new materials. According to the Finance Ministry, about 9.97 billion ¥10,000 bank notes were in circulation in fiscal 2018, along with 660 million ¥5,000 bills, 100 million ¥2,000 bills and 4.2 billion ¥1,000 bills. Older bills will remain valid, but the ministry expects that most will be replaced in the three to four years after 2024, officials said. The current ¥10,000 bill features Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901), an intellectual leader of the Meiji Era who founded Keio University in Tokyo. Fukuzawa was featured on the ¥10,000 bill introduced in 1984 and remained the face of the bill in the 2004 redesign, meaning the upcoming change will be the bill’s first in 40 years. On the front side of the current ¥5,000 bill is writer and poet Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), and the current ¥1,000 bill features medical scientist Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928). In 1984, the government decided not to feature any politicians or military leaders on bank notes to maintain political neutrality. Figures for the main portraits are chosen from among cultural figures of the Meiji Era or later.
|
history;yen;taro aso;finance ministry;currency;umeko tsuda;eiichi shibusawa;shibasaburo kitasato
|
jp0003220
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/09
|
Japan repatriated more than 400 foreign prisoners over 16-year period, Justice Ministry reveals
|
Japan repatriated 423 foreign prisoners over the last 16 years under an international treaty designed to help rehabilitate and reintegrate convicted criminals, Justice Ministry officials said Tuesday. Japan is a signatory to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons along with members of the Council of Europe and the United States. A related domestic law was put into force in June 2003. It has signed separate bilateral treaties with Thailand, Brazil and Iran, which are not members of the convention, and is negotiating similar agreements with China and Vietnam. “Serving terms in home countries where there are no language or cultural differences should help the prisoners’ smooth return to society,” a ministry official said. For a prisoner to be transferred under the treaty, Japan, the prisoner and his or her home country must consent. The offense committed by the potential transferee must be a crime in both countries. The 423 prisoners were transferred to 30 countries. The U.K. topped the list with 61 prisoners, followed by the United States at 54, the Netherlands at 51, Canada with 44 and South Korea at 43, according to the ministry. Japan, for its part, has had 10 of its nationals repatriated, with five returning from the United States, three from Thailand and two from South Korea, it said. The Justice Ministry plans to continue using the transfer system as about 40 percent of the roughly 1,600 foreign prisoners in Japan are from signatory states, and 50 of the 146 Japanese serving terms abroad are also doing so in signatory countries. For those who cannot or do not wish to be sent home, some Japanese prisons offer meals, specific beds and language services catered to their needs. Japan has introduced an international office tasked with dealing with foreign prisoners at prisons in Tokyo, Tochigi, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka prefectures. Among them, Tokyo’s Fuchu Prison — which holds the country’s largest foreign prisoner contingent of 332, or about 20 percent of the total prison population — has a three-story building for foreign prisoners with rooms equipped with a bed, rather than a futon, for each. It also has its rules and regulations available in multiple languages. Vegetarian meals are available, while the prison moves meal times to the evening for Muslims during Ramadan when their faith prohibits them eating in daylight hours. Prisoners have access to services in 52 languages, with specialists at an international office and language assistance provided by private firms. Letters sent to prisoners are translated when necessary, while a remote interpretation service is also available through video calls, which was used about 100 times last year, according to the prison. “It is economical as there is no need for a translator to come in person,” said a senior official at the prison.
|
prisons;justice ministry;expats;deportations
|
jp0003221
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/09
|
Growing number of scams across Japan exploiting era change to Reiwa, consumer center warns
|
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) has warned of scams capitalizing on the change of era from Heisei to Reiwa, set to take place on May 1, which are starting to be seen across the nation. In such “era change scams” scammers often send letters in the name of real organizations telling recipients that their bank cash cards need to be renewed because of the change of era, as a way to obtain the targets’ cards. In some cases, perpetrators succeed in withdrawing money with cards they obtain. In early February, a 79-year-old woman in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, received an envelope purporting to be from the Japanese Bankers Association, or Zenginkyo — a bankers’ organization that does exist in Tokyo. Enclosed were several forms presented as documents she needed to complete because of the change of era. Believing the claim, she entered the name of her bank, the PIN code for her cash card and some other information and sent the form back in the envelope provided. Early last month, she learned about era change scams from news reports and realized she’d been targeted. Fortunately, she avoided losses because she had not sent her cash card. “She told me that she put the envelope in the mailbox without any doubts,” her 43-year-old son said. “She did not notice that she was being cheated.” Last month, Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested a man who had attempted to defraud people of their cash cards by sending letters in era change scams. In Saitama Prefecture, some ¥860,000 was withdrawn in February from the bank account of a woman in her 70s. She had received a call from a person who told her she needed to renew her bank cards due to the change of era in order to get a refund. She then handed two cash cards to a man who visited her home. According to the NCAC, many consumers are seeking advice on problems related to the change of era. Many of those who fall for dubious claims are age 60 or above, according to the center. In one case, a consumer was instructed to buy an expensive book of photographs of the Imperial family, the center said. An official at the center said it is important not to give out details during calls from telemarketers. The official also said that banks will not be asking customers to renew their cards because of the era change and urged consumers not to respond to any such fake notices.
|
fraud;banks;scams;reiwa
|
jp0003222
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/30
|
U.S. farmer income falls most since 2016 as Trump trade war losses mount
|
WASHINGTON - Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years in the first quarter, as losses to U.S. agriculture mount from President Donald Trump’s trade wars. The Commerce Department on Monday cited the steep decline in farm proprietors’ income as a key factor weighing on the nation’s overall personal income growth in March, even though agricultural producers represent only about 2 percent of total employed Americans. The report provided fresh evidence of the growing financial strain on U.S. farmers hit by the trade war, low commodity prices and a series of natural disasters, including spring floods in the Midwest. With rural voters a key part of Trump’s electoral coalition, it also underscores the political pressure to conclude the China trade war as U.S. negotiators begin another round of talks in Beijing this week. One-time subsidy payments from the Trump administration to compensate producers for some of their trade-war losses helped prop up farm income in the previous quarter, but earnings plunged by an annualized $11.8 billion in the January to March period, according to seasonally adjusted data. On Monday, Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s top economic adviser, said the White House is prepared to do more to help agriculture. Trump’s budget cuts would lower federal subsidies for crop insurance and small growers. The spending plan for 2020 he submitted for Congress would reduce subsidies for crop insurance premiums to 48 percent from 62 percent and limit current subsidies for growers who make less than $500,000 annually. Even prior to the trade disputes, U.S. producers were struggling with lower commodity prices. The financial impact has spread across rural America as farmers cut back on purchases from local tractor dealers and other suppliers. Still, the data can be volatile and factors in inventories. A spike in December income, for example, was “likely a function of gyrations in federal subsidy payments” because of the administration’s one-time aid program to compensate farmers for trade war losses, Stephen Stanley, chief economist for Amherst Pierpont Securities, said in note to clients. Trump has promised his trade wars will eventually be a boon for farmers. “We’re doing trade deals that are going to get you so much business, you’re not even going to believe it,” he told a cheering crowd at American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in New Orleans in January.
|
china;income;floods;donald trump;trade war;larry kudlow;u.s. farmers
|
jp0003223
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Amazon kicks off recruiting and leases office for Virginia 'HQ2'
|
SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon.com Inc. on Monday said it had leased office space and posted several jobs for its second headquarters outside Washington, D.C., the start of more than a decade of investment and hiring that cities across North America had sought. In a blog post, the world’s largest online retailer said it was on track to create 400 jobs at the future Arlington, Virginia, campus this year. It said the new hires will work out of a temporary space on Crystal Drive in June, as the company aims to open its first building in the fall. These jobs had been coveted by hundreds of communities from Canada to Mexico since 2017, when Seattle-based Amazon announced it would spend more than $5 billion and create up to 50,000 positions at a second campus dubbed “HQ2.” The company ultimately split the prize between greater Washington and New York, the U.S. political and financial capitals, after more than a year of contestants’ publicity stunts and promises of tax breaks to garner Amazon’s attention. It later scrapped its New York plans after local opposition.
|
jobs;amazon;seattle;virginia;hq2
|
jp0003224
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Sense of urgency: Facebook joins study on how social media impact elections
|
WASHINGTON - Facebook announced Monday it would make its data available to academics studying the impact of social media on elections, part of an effort to prevent manipulation of social platforms. The leading social network said some 60 researchers from 30 academic institutions across 11 countries were selected under a review process by the Social Science Research Council and the independent group Social Science One. Facebook began the research initiative last year after revelations of foreign influence campaigns on the 2016 U.S. election and the Brexit vote in Britain. It began soliciting proposals last year, and on Monday unveiled its first research grants. “To assure the independence of the research and the researchers, Facebook did not play any role in the selection of the individuals or their projects and will have no role in directing the findings or conclusions of the research,” said a blog post by Facebook executives Elliot Schrage and Chaya Nayak. “We hope this initiative will deepen public understanding of the role social media has on elections and democracy and help Facebook and other companies improve their products and practices.” The researchers will be granted access to Facebook’s internal data through a “first-of-its-kind data sharing infrastructure to provide researchers access to Facebook data in a secure manner that protects people’s privacy,” Schrage and Nayak wrote. “Some of these steps include building a process to remove personally identifiable information from the data set and only allowing researcher access to the data set through a secure portal.” Gary King and Nathaniel Persily of Social Science One said in a statement the researchers will seek to move swiftly to help social networks improve their security and integrity. “The urgency of this research cannot be overstated,” they wrote. “Elections in India are already underway, the European Parliamentary elections will take place in short order, and the US presidential primary campaigns have begun in earnest. Concerns about disinformation, polarization, political advertising, and the role of platforms in the information ecosystem have not diminished. If anything, they have heightened.” Some of the research groups cited are based at Northeastern University, Ohio State University and New York University and Virginia Tech University in the United States; France’s Institute of Political Studies; National Chengchi University in Taiwan; Italy’s Universita di Urbino Carlo Bo; University of Sao Paulo in Brazil; Germany’s Technical University of Munich; the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands; and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Funding for the research will come from several organizations including the Democracy Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation and the Omidyar Network.
|
elections;social media;facebook;2016 u.s. presidential election;brexit
|
jp0003225
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Boeing says regulators will test 737 Max software fix by next week
|
CHICAGO - Boeing expects U.S. regulators will conduct a test flight of a software fix for the grounded 737 Max by the end of next week, a company spokesman said Monday. Boeing expects the certification of the software fix — a key step in returning the planes to the skies — some time after the Federal Aviation Administration meeting with international regulators on May 23, the spokesman said. The plane was grounded worldwide in mid-March following a second deadly crash, but U.S. carriers have said they expect to resume flights on the popular 737 Max over the summer.
|
boeing;faa;software;aircraft accidents
|
jp0003226
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Toyota adds new Lexus crossover line at Canadian plant
|
TORONTO - Toyota Motor Corp. plans to overhaul its Canadian plant to begin manufacturing an additional Lexus SUV model, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. The automaker will produce the Lexus NX crossover, in gasoline and hybrid versions, beginning in 2022 at the plant in Cambridge, Ontario, Fred Volf, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., said Monday. “Toyota’s operations in Canada are here to stay,” said Volf, flanked by Trudeau at the plant located about 100 km (62 miles) west of Toronto. Toyota already builds the Lexus RX SUV in Canada, as well as the best-selling RAV4 crossover and the Corolla sedan. Toyota has said previously it plans to move production of the Corolla from Cambridge to a new plant under construction in Alabama, which it will run jointly with Mazda Motor Corp. The two companies plan to start output at that new factory in 2021. Toyota said a year ago that it would invest 1.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1 billion) to build gasoline and hybrid versions of the RAV4 in Cambridge. It now plans to build the hybrid version in Kentucky, creating room for the new models that have previously only been built in Japan. Monday’s news is a rare bright spot for Ontario’s auto industry, which is facing the end of production at General Motors Co.’s plant in Oshawa after this year and the cutting of a shift at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s minivan plant in Windsor this fall. Between them, those moves will cost about 4,500 jobs. Passenger-vehicle production in Canada is projected to drop 20 percent this year followed by another decline in 2020, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said in December.
|
canada;toyota;lexus;justin trudeau
|
jp0003227
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Scientists ponder, what if an asteroid was about to hit Earth?
|
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - Here’s a hypothetical: A telescope detects an asteroid between 100 and 300 meters in diameter racing through our solar system at 14 kilometers per second, 57 million kilometers from Earth. Astronomers estimate a 1 percent risk the space rock will collide with our planet on April 27, 2027. What should we do? It’s this potentially catastrophic scenario that 300 astronomers, scientists, engineers and emergency experts are applying their collective minds to this week in a Washington suburb, the fourth such international effort since 2013. “We have to make sure people understand this is not about Hollywood,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine as he opened the sixth International Planetary Defense Conference at the University of Maryland’s campus in College Park. Countries represented include China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Russia and the United States. The idea that the planet Earth may one day have to defend itself against an asteroid used to elicit what experts call a “giggle factor.” But a meteor that blew up in the atmosphere over Russia on Feb. 15, 2013, helped put an end to the sneers. On that morning, a 20-meter asteroid appear out of nowhere over the southern Urals, exploding 23 kilometers above the town of Chelyabinsk with such force that it shattered windows in thousands of buildings. A thousand people were injured by the shards. But “the positive aspect of Chelyabinsk is that it made the public aware, it made the political decision-makers aware,” said Detlef Koschny, co-manager of the Planetary Defense Office of the European Space Agency (ESA). Only those asteroids whose orbit around our sun brings them within 50 million kilometers of our planet — defined as “near Earth” — are of interest. Astronomers are finding new ones each day: more than 700 so far this year, for a total of 20,001, said Lindley Johnson of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which was created in 2016. Among the most risky is a rock named 2000SG344: 50 meters in diameter, with a one in 2,096 chance in striking Earth within a hundred years, according to the ESA. The majority are very small, but 942 are more than 1 kilometer across, estimates astronomer Alan Harris. The scientist told an audience that some large ones are probably still out there: “A fair fraction of the biggest ones are hiding … basically parked behind the sun.” They are found mainly by two U.S. telescopes, one in Arizona and the other in Hawaii. The ESA has built a telescope for this purpose in Spain and is planning others in Chile and Sicily. Many astronomers are demanding a space telescope because terrestrial telescopes are unable to detect objects on the other side of the sun. This week’s exercise seeks to simulate global responses to a catastrophic meteorite. The first step is aiming telescopes at the threat to precisely calculate its speed and trajectory, following rough initial estimates. Then it boils down to two choices: try to deflect the object or evacuate. If it is less than 50 meters, the international consensus is to evacuate the threatened region. According to Koschny, it is possible to predict the country it will strike two weeks ahead. Days away from impact, it can be narrowed down to within hundreds of kilometers. What about bigger objects? Trying to nuke them to smithereens like in the movie “Armageddon” would be a bad idea, because it could just create smaller but still dangerous pieces. The plan instead is to launch a device toward the asteroid to divert its trajectory — like a cosmic bumper car. NASA plans to test this idea out on a real asteroid 150 meters across in 2022 with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. One issue that remains is politics, said Romana Kofler of the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs. “Who would be the decision-making authority?” she asked. “The consensus was to leave this aspect out.” The U.N. Security Council would likely be convened, but it’s an open question as to whether rich countries would finance an operation if they themselves weren’t in the sights of 2000SG344 or another celestial rock.
|
nasa;space;astronomy;planets;asteroids;comets
|
jp0003228
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
U.S. measles outbreak hits 'completely avoidable' 25-year high of 704 cases: officials
|
NEW YORK - The number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak, propelled by the spread of misinformation about the vaccine that can prevent the disease, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases as of April 26, a 1.3 percent increase since the most recent tally of 695 reported on Wednesday. The vast majority of cases have occurred in children who have not received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which confers immunity to the disease, officials said. “The suffering we are seeing today is completely avoidable,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday. “We know vaccines are safe because they’re among some of the most studied medical products we have.” A vocal fringe of U.S. parents refuse to vaccinate their children believing, contrary to scientific evidence, that ingredients in them can cause autism or other disorders. Some 22 states have recorded cases of the extremely contagious and sometimes deadly disease. None of the victims of the recent outbreak has died, but 3 percent have contracted pneumonia and 9 percent have been hospitalized due to complications from the disease, CDC director Robert Redfield said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans last week to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of measles, changing course from remarks he made in 2014 when he expressed doubt about giving children government-recommended doses of vaccines. “The vaccinations are so important. This is really going around now,” Trump said on Friday. The current outbreak has been concentrated in New York City, where officials said more than 390 cases have been recorded since October, mostly among children in Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn. Most of the recently recorded cases have been in New York and Los Angeles, officials said on Monday. The national outbreak has escalated since 82 people in 2018 and more than 40 people in 2019 brought measles to the United States from other countries, most frequently Ukraine, Israel and the Philippines, federal officials said. Although the virus was eliminated from the country in 2000, meaning it was no longer continually present year round, outbreaks still happen via travelers coming from countries where measles is still common, the CDC says.
|
u.s .;new york;vaccination;measles;epidemic;cdc;donald trump;alez azar
|
jp0003229
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Venezuela's Guaido says troops join him for coup; government says it is firmly in control
|
CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Tuesday he had begun the “final phase” of his plan to oust President Nicolas Maduro, calling on Venezuelans and the military to back him to end Maduro’s “usurpation.” A Reuters journalist later saw security forces firing tear gas at Guaido and around 70 armed men in military uniform near the La Carlota air force base in Caracas. The government promptly dismissed any suggestion of a military insurrection. “We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence,” said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino. He said the armed forces remained “firmly in defense of the national constitution and legitimate authorities,” and that all military units across Venezuela “report normality” in their barracks and bases. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez tweeted that the government was confronting a small group of “military traitors” seeking to promote a coup. Diosdado Cabello, head of the pro-Maduro Constituent Assembly, said the opposition had not been able to take over the air base and urged Maduro’s supporters to march at the presidential palace in Caracas. Guaido, in a video posted on his Twitter account, was accompanied by men in military uniform and opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who has been placed under house arrest. “The national armed forces have taken the correct decision, and they are counting on the support of the Venezuelan people,” Guaido said. Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly, in January invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was illegitimate. He has been traveling outside the capital Caracas more and more in recent weeks to try to put pressure on Maduro to step down. Protests are planned for Wednesday, May 1, including what Guaido has said will be “the largest march in Venezuela’s history,” part of what he calls the “definitive phase” of his effort to take office in order to call fresh elections. Around 50 countries including the United States have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, and Washington has imposed sanctions to try to dislodge Maduro. Maduro for his part has appeared to retain control of state institutions and the loyalty of senior military officers. He calls Guaido a U.S-backed puppet who seeks to oust him in a coup. The government has arrested his top aide, stripped Guaido of his parliamentary immunity and opened multiple probes. It has also barred him from leaving the country, a ban Guaido openly violated earlier this year. Last week, Guaido said his congressional ally — opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro — had been detained, and that 11 members of his team had been summoned to appear before the Sebin intelligence agency. Lopez, seen with Guaido, appeared to have left his home for the first time since he was placed under house arrest in 2017, after three years in jail.
|
venezuela;nicolas maduro;coup;juan guaido
|
jp0003230
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Police and FBI thwart U.S. Army veteran's plan to bomb California neo-Nazi rally
|
LOS ANGELES - A U.S. Army veteran who converted to Islam and discussed launching various terror attacks throughout Southern California was arrested as he plotted to bomb a white supremacist rally as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks, federal prosecutors said Monday. Mark Domingo, an infantryman who served a combat stint in Afghanistan, was arrested Friday after visiting a park in Long Beach where authorities said he planned to plant home-made explosive devices made with nail-filled pressure cookers in advance of a Nazi rally scheduled for Sunday. Domingo, 26, was arrested on a charge of providing material support to terrorists. A criminal complaint said he had been planning since March to “manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna told a news conference that Domingo supported violent jihad and spoke about becoming a martyr and of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group if it established a presence in the United States. “This is a case in which law enforcement was able to identify a man consumed with hate and bent on mass murder, and stop him before he could carry out his attack,” Hanna said. “The criminal case outlines a chilling terrorism plot that developed over the past two months and targeted innocent Americans that he expected to gather this past weekend.” Investigators said Domingo posted an online message on March 3 that said “America needs another Vegas event” — an apparent reference to the 2017 mass shooting that killed 59. He allegedly said it would spark civil unrest to weaken “America by giving them a taste of the terror they gladly spread all over the world.” After Domingo began to discuss seeking revenge for the March 15 attacks that killed 50 people at New Zealand mosques, a confidential source who has worked with the FBI since 2013 began chatting with him about his plans. Domingo said he had an assault rifle, semi-automatic rifle and several magazines of ammunition. He discussed picking off Jews walking to synagogue, shooting police officers or attacking a church or military base, according to investigators. When the source asked him how he planned to carry out violence without getting caught, court records said Domingo replied: “Martyrdom, bro.” He also allegedly discussed killing a neighbor he was upset with as a prelude to broader violence and later contemplated bombing the Santa Monica Pier, where he said a summer attack on the crowded tourist spot would maximize casualties because people wouldn’t be able to escape the blast in the enclosed space. Eventually, he settled on the idea of planting an improvised explosive device that would be remotely triggered or detonated by a timer at a white supremacist event, investigators said. The confidential source connected him with a purported bomb maker who was actually an undercover police officer. Domingo bought 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of nails long enough to puncture internal organs and provided them to the bomb maker, though the resulting contraption contained only inert materials, authorities said. If he survived the planned bombing, Domingo allegedly discussed launching further attacks on the Long Beach Port or on a train. The plot was thwarted just two days ahead of the event, investigators said, when an FBI SWAT team arrested Domingo after he was given the pressure cookers and surveyed Bluff Park in Long Beach, where the rally was supposed to happen. White nationalists, however, never showed up at the park Sunday. Instead, a large group of counter protesters demonstrated for peace. Phone and email messages seeking comment from the public defender representing Domingo were not immediately returned. A voicemail left at a phone number listed for Domingo was not returned. A statement from his family asked for privacy. “We do not know what is going on at this point,” the statement said. “We are surprised by all of these events in regard with Mark.” The suspect’s younger brother told reporters outside the family’s Los Angeles home that Mark Domingo had converted to Islam in recent months. “Like anybody else, I don’t want to assume a thing when someone joins a new religion,” James Domingo said. “If anything, I thought it was a good thing. I thought maybe my brother finally found some sort of guidance in this world.” James Domingo declined to speculate on whether his brother was guilty, only saying he would “wait for the trial.” Domingo is believed to have acted alone and authorities said the public was not at risk. After Domingo was identified online by the FBI, he was under surveillance around the clock, said Ryan Young, the FBI special agent in charge of counter terrorism at the Los Angeles office. “Our biggest fear is this was a rapid what we call ‘radicalization to mobilization to violence,’ ” Young said. “Sometimes we get asked ‘What keeps you up at night?’ This is a case that keeps us up at night.” While Domingo had appeared committed to carry out the plot, court papers portray him as suddenly reluctant as the bomb plot came together. He told the others he thought were his confederates they should consider postponing so he could finish reading the Quran and experience the Muslim holy month of Ramadan beginning in May. Last Wednesday, he told the confidential source he wanted to think about it for a night. “Let’s just sleep on it,” he said, according to court papers. “If we’re still as motivated … I’ll give the go-ahead.” The next day he sent a message to the supposed bomb maker that the plan was on. The two referred to the bombs as “presents” they needed to wrap for a party. “Keep the presents somewhere safe lol,” Domingo wrote back Friday morning before making plans to meet that night.
|
terrorism;california;neo-nazis;new zealand mosque attacks;mark domingo
|
jp0003231
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
U.S. prosecutors sue feds to stop courthouse immigration arrests
|
BOSTON - Prosecutors and public defenders in Massachusetts are suing to block federal authorities from arresting people in and around courthouses for civil immigration violations. The lawsuit filed Monday against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says district attorneys are unable to prosecute certain cases because victims, witnesses and defendants are too afraid to come to court. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said she has watched “serious criminal cases against individuals accused of violent, heinous crimes grind to a halt” because of arrests by immigration agents. The lawsuit was filed days after federal prosecutors charged a judge and former court officer with obstruction of justice for allegedly helping a man wanted by immigration authorities escape a courthouse. An email and a voicemail were left with ICE for comment.
|
u.s .;immigration;courts
|
jp0003233
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
California synagogue mourns woman who 'took the bullet' in weekend shooting
|
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES - The woman who was killed in a deadly shooting at a Southern California synagogue will be buried on Monday after being hailed as a hero, as police continue to investigate the motive of the 19-year-old suspect. Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, attended services at Chabad of Poway in suburban San Diego on Saturday, the last day of the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover, to honor her recently deceased mother. She was one of four people shot, and the only one killed, when a gunman stormed in with an assault-style rifle, six months to the day after 11 worshippers were killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest attack on American Jewry. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was shot in both hands during the attack and lost a finger, described seeing Kaye’s lifeless body on the floor, as her husband tried to resuscitate her before fainting. “It’s the most heart-wrenching sight I could have seen,” Goldstein told reporters on Sunday. “Lori took the bullet for all of us. … She died to protect all of us.” The gunman, identified by police as John Earnest, fled the scene and eventually called police in order to surrender. Earnest, who is being held without bail, appears to have authored an online manifesto in which he claimed responsibility for a predawn arson fire at a nearby mosque last month and drew inspiration from the mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people in March. Kaye was not the only worshipper to earn praise for bravery under fire. When the gunfire began, Oscar Stewart, 51, a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and Army who served a tour in Iraq, recognized the sound immediately. He said in a Monday interview that for a moment he began running toward the exit with other congregants before he turned around and headed toward the gunfire — for reasons he still cannot quite explain. “I was an instrument of God,” he said. “I had no conscious effort in what I was doing.” He charged the gunman, screaming, “I’m going to kill you!” The shooter, who had stopped firing, looked frightened and fled the synagogue, with Stewart in close pursuit, he said. Another worshipper, an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent named Jonathan Morales, also ran outside after the gunman. Morales, who was armed, fired several shots at the gunman’s car as he drove away. Almog Peretz, an Israeli citizen visiting his family, was hit by shrapnel but still managed to help shepherd children to safety, witnesses said. His 9-year-old niece, Noya Dahan, also was wounded by shrapnel. Her family moved to the United States from Israel in search of a safer life after their home was repeatedly shelled by Palestinian rockets. At a vigil on Sunday, Dahan rode on her father’s shoulders, wrapped in an Israeli flag, as people cheered. Kaye, one of the synagogue’s founding members, was a deeply caring member of the community, her friends said. When one congregant developed breast cancer, Kaye drove her to every appointment and helped take care of her children, Goldstein said. “She is a person of unconditional love,” Goldstein said. In a Facebook post, a friend, Audrey Jacobs, called her a “woman of valor” whose final act was to protect others. “You were always running to do a mitzvah (good deed) and gave tzedaka (charity) to everyone,” she wrote. Her funeral will take place at the synagogue on Monday afternoon. Earnest is scheduled to appear in a San Diego court on Wednesday. Authorities believe he acted alone.
|
guns;jews;hate crime;synagogue;chabad;john earnest;u.s. mass shooting;new zealand mosque attack
|
jp0003234
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Trial for murder of Scandinavian hikers to open in Morocco
|
RABAT - Two dozen suspects are set to go on trial in Morocco on Thursday for offenses linked to the gruesome murder of two young Scandinavian hikers late last year that shocked the North African country. Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland had their throats slit before they were beheaded in December at an isolated site in the High Atlas mountains. Three main defendants accused of direct involvement in the murders and who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State jihadi group could theoretically face the death penalty. A total of 24 defendants are due to appear before a criminal court in Sale to answer charges including promoting terrorism, forming a terrorist cell and premeditated murder. A Spanish-Swiss convert to Islam is among the suspects who are due to face justice in the city near Rabat. But families of the slain hikers and their lawyers will not attend the trial, according to information obtained by AFP. Nature lovers, the two friends shared an apartment and went to Norway’s Bo University where they were studying to be guides. They had traveled together to Morocco for their Christmas holidays. Their lives were cut short in the foothills of Toubkal, the highest summit in North Africa, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city of Marrakesh, a tourist magnet. After the bodies were discovered, the Moroccan authorities were initially cautious, referring to a “criminal act” and wounds to the victims’ necks. But that all changed when a video showing one of the victims being beheaded — filmed by one of the killers on a mobile phone — circulated on social networks. One of the killers refers to “enemies of Allah” and revenge for brothers in Syria. The video did the rounds online in Morocco, Norway and Denmark. Danish police said last month they had launched prosecutions against 14 people suspected of sharing the gruesome video. A separate video in the initial aftermath of the murder showed the alleged killers pledging allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, under the jihadi organization’s banner. Police quickly arrested a first suspect in the suburbs of Marrakesh, and three others were arrested a few days later when they tried to leave the city by bus. Aged from 25 to 33, all had struggled to get by in poor districts of Marrakesh. They made a living from “small jobs” and were educated to a “very low” level, according to investigators. They had recently embraced Salafism, an ultraconservative branch of Sunni Islam, according to friends, neighbors and some family members. The “terrorist cell” was inspired by IS ideology, according to investigators. But Morocco’s anti-terror chief has said the accused had no contact with the jihadi group in conflict zones. And IS has never claimed responsibility for the double-murder. Abdessamad Ejjoud, a 25-year-old street vendor referred to as the emir of the group by peers, is the suspected ringleader of the operational cell and a wider group he formed in Marrakesh, according to investigators. Twenty others are due to face justice in Sale for links to the alleged killers. Among them is Kevin Zoller Guervos, a Spanish-Swiss citizen living in Morocco. Authorities allege he subscribes to “extremist ideology.” He stands accused of teaching the main suspects how to use encrypted communications and how to fire a gun, according to investigators. Suspected of being a recruiter, he denied all charges when brought in front of an anti-terror judge. Another Swiss citizen arrested after the double-murder was tried separately and sentenced in mid-April to 10 years in prison for “forming a terrorist group” and for his links to another extremist network. Until last year, Morocco had been spared jihadi attacks since 2011, when a bomb attack on a cafe in Marrakesh’s famed Jamaa El Fna Square killed 17 people, most of them European tourists. Attacks in the North African state’s financial capital Casablanca killed 33 people in 2003. Those attacks — carried out by 12 suicide operatives who came from one of Casablanca’s main shanty towns — greatly affected public opinion. Morocco has since improved its security and legal framework, alongside boosting supervision of religious affairs and anti-terror cooperation with other states. Petitions on the internet have called for anyone convicted of the Scandinavian hikers’ double-murder to face the death penalty. Death sentences are sometimes still handed down in Morocco, but a de facto moratorium on carrying out executions has been in place since 1993, and there is an ongoing debate over potential abolition.
|
religion;terrorism;islam;norway;denmark;morocco;islamic state;louisa vesterager jespersen;maren ueland
|
jp0003235
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Putin floats 'common citizenship' for Russians and Ukrainians
|
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and will benefit from common citizenship after he angered Kiev by offering to fast-track Russian passports for Ukrainians. “I’ve said many times that Ukrainians and Russians are brotherly nations. Moreover, I believe that they are essentially one people with various cultural, linguistic and historic peculiarities,” a smiling Putin told reporters. “If Ukraine gives passports to Russians and we in Russia give passports and citizenship to Ukrainians, then sooner or later we will inevitably have a predictable outcome — everyone will have common citizenship. “This should be welcomed,” Putin said before saying “goodbye” to reporters in Ukrainian. Observers are closely watching for signs of a thaw in ties between Russia and Ukraine after a comedian with no political experience, Volodymyr Zelensky, has just won a landslide victory in presidential elections in Ukraine. The Kremlin has not congratulated Zelensky, and in one of the first announcements after the vote Putin said Moscow was thinking of making it easier for all Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship. Last week, Putin signed a decree allowing people living in breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine to receive a Russian passport within three months of applying for one. Kiev and the West have condemned the decree, saying Putin is seeking to further destabilize Ukraine, while critics at home say the move will be a major burden for the already-struggling Russian economy. In 2014, Moscow annexed Crimea and moved to support Russian-speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine. Some in Kiev and the West worry that Moscow’s offer of citizenship to Ukrainians will give the Kremlin a justification to move troops across the border under the pretext of protecting the interests of Russian nationals. Zelensky, in response, has pledged to grant Ukrainian citizenship to Russians who “suffer” under Kremlin rule. Zelensky said he doubts many Ukrainians will take Moscow up on its offer because a Russian passport means “the right to be arrested for a peaceful protest” and “the right not to have free and competitive elections.” Putin on Monday appeared to go out of his way to show he was not offended. “We have a lot in common,” he said, referring to Zelensky. “It means we’ll find a common language.” Zelensky’s critics, led by outgoing President Petro Poroshenko, have said the 41-year-old political novice will not be able to stand up to Putin. He is due to take office by early June.
|
vladimir putin;russia;ukraine;crimea;petro poroshenko;volodymyr zelensky
|
jp0003236
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Trump has made more 10,000 'false or misleading' claims in office, report finds
|
WASHINGTON - After just over 800 days in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has made more than 10,000 “false or misleading claims,” according to a tally released Monday by the Washington Post. The count, kept by the newspaper’s “Fact Checker” database, was started in the Republican leader’s first 100 days in office in early 2017. At the time, Trump averaged just five false claims a day. In the past seven months, that total has risen to an average of nearly 23 every day, made at rallies, on Twitter, in speeches or in encounters with the media. During his “Make America Great Again” rallies, Trump has taken the most liberties with the truth, the Post said: 22 percent of his erroneous comments are made at rallies of his dedicated supporters. Another notable element of these claims is that the former reality television star — who frequently rails against the “fake news” media — has a tendency to repeat the same false formulas again and again. The Post said the president passed the 10,000-untruth mark on Friday, a day before he appeared before a crowd in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to make the claim that pro-abortion Democrats support the execution of babies who have already been born. “The baby is born,” he told his fans. “The mother meets with the doctor. They wrap the baby beautifully. And then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.” As well as denouncing the media as “enemies of the people,” Trump also lashed out at fact checkers themselves earlier this year, calling them “some of the most dishonest people in the media.”
|
media;u.s .;scandals;donald trump
|
jp0003237
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Students in U.S. pledge a share of future salary to their universities to avoid debt
|
NEW YORK - American college students are turning to a new strategy to avoid the debt trap that has captured millions, pledging a share of their future earnings to pay for their education rather than borrowing. The approach offers a degree of protection as they are not required to make payments if they are unable to find a job after graduation — and for as long as their salary remains below a certain threshold. These “Income Share Agreements,” or ISAs, are only offered so far by a few universities, as well as vocational training centers such as computer coding schools. But as the student debt crisis worsens they are drawing more attention. That debt load, which now tops $1.5 trillion nationwide, means many Americans must delay or give up on dreams of home ownership and other large purchases, and that in turn puts a damper on the economy more broadly. It is thanks to an ISA that Paul Laurora will graduate on May 11 from Purdue University, Indiana, as a chemical engineer. Despite state-subsidized loans, his own savings, and a contribution from his parents, the 22-year-old ran out of money after only two years of studies, with tuition and fees costing $40,000 a year for students from outside of Indiana. When a bank refused to give him a new loan, he started selling some possessions on eBay and even considered dropping out of school to take a job for a semester, or using his parents’ retirement savings. Then he heard about the ISA option. “I didn’t want to stop halfway just because I couldn’t afford it. That would have been the worst reason,” he told AFP. Through the ISA, the university has advanced him about $30,000, which he will repay with 9.6 percent of his salary for a period that will depend on his level of income. Purdue University was the first major public college to offer ISAs. Since 2016, it has paid approximately $9.5 million to 759 students for their education. Other institutions have followed suit, each with their own characteristics. Colorado Mountain College reserves its program for undocumented immigrant students who are unable to access government-sponsored loans. Private training centers have also moved toward this type of scholarship, like General Assembly, which offers intensive computer training for three months at $40,000. Students signing an ISA pay nothing but pledge to pay 10 percent of their salary for up to four years if they earn at least $40,000 a year — as much as 1.5 times the cost of their education. “They recognize if they do very well they will pay more,” said Tom Ogletree, who is responsible for ensuring that the school remains accessible to as many people as possible. “But they won’t be penalized if there is a problem and, unlike a loan, they won’t have to repay.” Students can pause the payments if they have to stop working for personal, family or health reasons. “Life happens,” he said. And because the school cannot recoup the fees until the student is working and can fulfill the contract, it is in the institution’s best interest to ensure the student’s professional success, Ogletree said. Tonio DeSorrento, founder of Vemo Education, a company that helps schools design their own ISA contracts, said some institutions fund the ISAs themselves, while others use grants, endowments and “impact investors.” But experts warn that this new funding system, which also exists in Latin America, is not a miracle solution. Some institutions may use them to attract more students, at the risk of fueling a surge in tuition and fees. ISAs also reinforces inequalities, since better terms are offered to students in more lucrative majors, says Jessica Thompson, of the Institute for College Access and Success, which helps to make higher education more affordable and accessible. In contrast, “federal loans serve as an equalizer,” she said. But the new contracts have attracted the attention of Wall Street. A new platform, Edly, allows accredited investors to bet on pre-selected college programs. It has already raised $2 million for the Holberton Computer Engineering Training Center in San Francisco. For investors looking for new investments, ISAs offer a relatively attractive return, says Edly Co-founder Charles Trafton. Legislation around ISAs is currently unclear, although Congress and several states are debating different approaches. But “once we get some federal regulation, schools and investors will all know the rules of the game,” said Trafton. “The adoption rate will go even faster than it is now, and it is growing rapidly.”
|
u.s .;education;universities;income share agreements
|
jp0003238
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in video for first time in five years, praising Sri Lanka attack
|
BATTICALOA, SRI LANKA - The leader of the Islamic State group praised the Easter suicide bombings that killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka in a video released Monday, calling on militants to be a “thorn” against their enemies in his first filmed appearance in nearly five years. The video of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to whom the suicide bombers in last week’s attack apparently pledged their loyalty, came as the top official in the Catholic Church urged Sri Lanka to crack down on Islamic extremists “as if on war footing.” Meanwhile, a government ban on niqab face covering took effect as soldiers and police officers conducted raids in eastern Sri Lanka, the home of the alleged mastermind of the attacks. The 18-minute video of al-Baghdadi included images of the extremist leader sitting in a white room with three others, assault rifles by their sides. He discussed Sri Lanka in an audio portion of the video, suggesting the April 21 attacks came after they filmed him. Al-Baghdadi praised the attackers, saying they conducted the bombings as revenge for the fall of Baghouz, Syria, the last territory the extremist group held there or in Iraq. “As for your brothers in Sri Lanka, they have put joy in the hearts of the monotheists with their immersing operations that struck the homes of the crusaders in their Easter,” al-Baghdadi said, according to a transcript from the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group. He also called on Islamic State-pledged militants in the island nation off the southern tip of India to be “a thorn in the chests of the crusaders.” Authorities initially blamed the Easter attacks, targeting three hotels and three churches, on a local militant named Mohammed Zahran and his followers. Then the Islamic State group on April 23 released images of Zahran and others pledging their loyalty to al-Baghdadi. Police conducted a later raid in eastern Sri Lanka that saw militants detonate suicide bombs in violence that killed at least 15 people, including six children. Explosives recovered by authorities bore hallmarks of the Islamic State group as well. Anger against Sri Lanka’s government has grown after the country discovered its security services had prior, specific warnings an attack loomed. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo and the Catholic Church’s top official on the island, said the church may not be able to stop people from taking the law into their own hands if the government doesn’t do more. “All the security forces should be involved and function as if on war footing,” Ranjith told reporters. “I want to state that we may not be able to keep people under control in the absence of a stronger security program,” he said. “We can’t forever give them false promises and keep them calm.” Ranjith, however, sought to assure Muslims the church will not allow any revenge attacks against them. Catholic churches canceled Mass on Sunday, a week after the bombings, for fear of another attack. Catholics celebrated Mass in their homes while watching Ranjith preside over a televised service. Other denominations also closed their doors. The church closing followed local officials and the U.S. Embassy in Colombo warning that more militants remained on the loose with explosives and places of worship remained targets. President Maithripala Sirisena also appointed former army commander Shantha Kottegoda on Monday as the top official in the Defense Ministry. He earlier requested the resignation of his predecessor, Hemasiri Fernando, for intelligence failures that led to the bombings. In the eastern Sri Lankan city of Kalmunai, Associated Press journalists saw police and soldiers conducting raids in a predominantly Muslim area. Such operations are likely to continue around the area Zahran once preached his extremist message glorifying killing non-Muslims. Meanwhile, Sirisena’s ban on wearing the niqab face veil took effect. The niqab is a black veil made of thin fabric, often with a small opening from which a woman’s eyes can peer out. While previously unseen in Sri Lanka, the niqab has grown in popularity in the last 10 years after the country’s civil war.
|
terrorism;syria;sri lanka;iraq;islamic state;abu bakr al-baghdadi;sri lanka attacks
|
jp0003239
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Islamic State takes credit for blast as Bangladesh commandos kill suspected extremists
|
DHAKA - Bangladeshi security forces raided a suspected Islamist extremist hideout in Dhaka on Monday killing at least two militants, police said, as the Islamic State group claimed to have wounded three police in a bombing. Police commandos were met with gunfire on arriving at a house in the capital’s Bosila neighborhood after midnight on Monday, Lt. Col. Ashique Billah told AFP. This was followed by an explosion that demolished the walls of the house, the Rapid Action Battalion commander added. Bangladesh launched a crackdown on Islamist extremism after attacks in July 2016, when IS-inspired militants stormed a Dhaka cafe killing 22 people, including 18 foreigners. “Our bomb disposal unit found the body parts of two militants in the house. The explosion was so powerful that it tore apart the bodies and shook the whole area,” Billah said. Four other people were detained, including a caretaker and imam from a nearby mosque, the officer added. Separately, in their first claimed attack in Bangladesh in more than two years, IS jihadis said they “detonated an explosive device” on a group of police, the SITE Intelligence Group reported. According to the U.S.-based group which monitors jihadi activity, the brief IS statement said the blast wounded three police on a road to Dhaka’s Gulistan market. In March 2017, IS had said it carried out explosions in the northeastern city of Sylhet. Police said six people died in those blasts as commandos stormed an Islamist hideout. The government at the time rejected IS’s claim and blamed a banned homegrown organization. Since the 2016 attacks, security forces have staged nationwide raids in which, they say, nearly 100 members of two extremist Islamist groups have been killed. Hundreds of suspects have been detained. The South Asian nation has boosted security since April 21 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, which killed 253 and were carried out by jihadis affiliated to IS.
|
terrorism;bangladesh;dhaka;islamic state;sri lanka church attacks
|
jp0003240
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Trump directs officials to toughen asylum rules, including the charging of fees to applicants
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump directed officials to toughen rules for asylum-seekers Monday, including by introducing a fee for their applications and barring those who entered the country illegally from working until their claims are approved. The moves are the latest effort by the Trump administration to stem a growing number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, many of whom then seek asylum in the United States. Many of the changes would be dramatic shifts in how asylum-seekers are treated, but would also require time-intensive regulatory procedures before they go into effect, which will likely take months. Trump administration officials have repeatedly blamed U.S. laws protecting asylum-seekers for encouraging fraudulent or nondeserving claims. But immigrant advocates say the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict asylum protections harms people legitimately seeking refuge from violence and persecution. Monday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum that directed the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to, within 90 days, introduce a slew of new regulations tightening asylum policy, including one setting a fee for asylum applications, which are currently free to file. The White House and DHS officials did not immediately say how much applicants might be forced to pay, and it is unclear how many families fleeing poverty would be able to afford such a payment. The memo says the price would not exceed the cost of processing applications, but officials did not immediately provide an estimate for what that might be. Even a small fee could be insurmountable for many asylum-seekers, said Victoria Neilson, a former official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that accepts asylum applications. “The majority of people coming to the United States seeking asylum are coming with little more than the shirts on their back,” she said. Another regulation Trump ordered his officials to prepare would ensure asylum claims are adjudicated in immigration court within six months. U.S. law already directs the Justice Department to finish asylum cases within six months, but with a backlog of more than 800,000 cases, asylum claims often take years to come to a conclusion. “The provision to process cases in 180 days has been on the books for over two decades,” said Ashley Tabaddor, president of the immigration judges’ union. “The problem is that we have never been given adequate resources to adjudicate those claims in a timely fashion.” Asylum cases are often complex and involve trauma, and judges should have discretion to provide more time depending on the case, Tabaddor said. Trump also ordered officials to introduce regulations that would disqualify asylum-seekers who entered the country illegally from obtaining work permits while their claims are pending. Currently, asylum-seekers who enter both legally and illegally are allowed to work while their claims wind through the courts. In addition, the U.S. president called on Homeland Security to reassign immigration officers and any other staff “to improve the integrity of adjudications of credible and reasonable fear claims, to strengthen the enforcement of the immigration laws, and to ensure compliance with the law by those aliens who have final orders of removal.” Under U.S. law, asylum-seekers that have a credible fear of return can seek review in immigration courts. The large majority of asylum-seekers eventually lose their cases but can live in and work in the United States for the months or years it takes to process their claims. Arrests along the southern border have skyrocketed in recent months. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials encountered some 100,000 people at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, the highest level in more than a decade, and one which officials say is pushing resources to the breaking point. Monday’s memorandum is just Trump’s latest attempt to curb asylum protections. Other policy moves have been challenged in federal court.
|
u.s .;immigration;refugees;donald trump
|
jp0003241
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/30
|
38 killed, 200,000 at risk as floods worsen in Mozambique after second cyclone — Africa's worst
|
PEMBA, MOZAMBIQUE - Heavy rain battered northern Mozambique on Monday as residents and relief workers confronted devastation wrought by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest cyclone to ever hit Africa, which killed 38 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Roads have been washed away, fields submerged and many buildings wrecked by the storm, which came weeks after Cyclone Idai struck the Mozambican city of Beira, 1,000 km (620 miles) to the south. Cyclone Kenneth made landfall late on Thursday in Cabo Delgado province, packing wind gusts of up to 220 kph. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described it as the strongest cyclone to ever lash the continent, and predicted further heavy rain over the coming days. “Cyclone Kenneth made landfall at the end of the rainy season, when river levels were already high, increasing the risk of river flooding,” the U.N. agency said in its latest update. “Humanitarian needs in Mozambique have sky-rocketed, and the humanitarian response will need to rapidly scale-up.” According to figures provided by the Mozambique authorities to NGOs, around 200,000 people in Pemba city, the capital of Cabo Delgado, are in danger. The National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) said 38 people have died, 39 have been injured, more than 23,000 people are without shelter and nearly 35,000 homes have been either partly or completely destroyed. Before smashing into Mozambique, the cyclone hit the Comoros islands, killing at least three people and damaging 75,000 homes. “The water came inside the house and all the way to the backyard,” said Sumala Cabila, 23, standing in his family home in Pemba’s working-class Paquite suburb which flooded on Sunday morning. As rain poured down and roads in the district became impassable except for 4-wheel-drive vehicles, Cabila’s sister struggled to look after her one-month-old child. “If it continues to rain. we don’t know what we’ll do,” he said as water streamed off his slanted roof. Fellow resident Tina Machude, whose home was largely flattened, said she had watched houses fall one by one in the storm and floods. “Everything was falling … properly built houses too,” she told AFP. “We went outside running, so that things wouldn’t fall on us, especially the children. “To rebuild this home, we will have to demolish it and start again.” In Pemba, a tourist destination, staff mopped up pools of water at a hotel and collected tree branches out of the lobby fountain, while laborers struggled to clear out the city’s drainage system blocked by flood debris. “(We) planned to mobilize as much aid as possible to Ibo and also from there to Quissanga,” said UN OCHA official Saviano Abreu, naming two areas outside Pemba worst hit by storm damage and flooding. “It was the priority for government and humanitarian organizations, as these two areas are in urgent need. “We managed to send one flight with World Food Program (WFP) supplies of rice and biscuits, and some non-food items. But unfortunately the weather conditions are changing too fast and threatening the operation. It’s raining again and the second flight couldn’t go.” To the north of Pemba, the town of Macomia was also badly hit, with homes and businesses destroyed, roofs torn off, trees and electric pylons uprooted. “We have grave fears for the thousands of families currently taking shelter under the wreckage of their homes. They urgently need food, water and shelter to survive the coming days,” said Nicholas Finney, head of Save the Children’s response team in Mozambique. The northern region hit by Cyclone Kenneth is more sparsely populated than Beira, which was hit by Cyclone Idai in mid-March when about 1,000 people were killed in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. But the area has also been hard hit by deadly raids by a jihadi group over the past 18 months that the army has been unable to control.
|
floods;mozambique;cyclone idai;cyclone kenneth
|
jp0003242
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Australian politician allied to Pauline Hanson quits after film shows groping and abuse at strip club
|
SYDNEY - A self-professed “woman’s rights” advocate and close party ally of hard-right Australian leader Pauline Hanson was forced to resign from politics Tuesday — just weeks before the May election — after he was filmed groping and abusing exotic dancers. Described by Australian media as “uncomfortable viewing,” the footage shows Steve Dickson repeatedly grabbing a striptease artist’s breasts and making a series of lewd comments to women on a recent trip to the United States. The former Queensland minister, who had been running for a federal Senate seat on May 18, said Tuesday he had resigned from the party and politics. The footage — shot by Al Jazeera in an undercover investigation — shows Dickson referring to one dancer as a “bitch,” ordering another woman to touch his genitals and suggesting he has had sexual intercourse with many “Asian chicks” but says white women are better in bed. “The footage shown does not reflect the person I am. It shows a person who was drunk and not in control of his actions and I take full responsibility for allowing that to happen,” he said in a statement. Dickson had earlier made headlines for traveling to the United States on the same trip to solicit millions of dollars from the National Rifle Association gun lobby in return for changing Australia’s tight weapons laws. Just weeks after forcefully defending Dickson amid that scandal, veteran firebrand politician Hanson was forced to jettison her ally. Hanson said she was “deeply upset” by the comments and accepted his resignation. “Steve’s language and behavior was unacceptable and does not meet my expectations nor the greater public’s expectation of a person who is standing for public office,” she said.
|
australia;women;elections;scandals;sex crimes;pauline hanson;steve dickson
|
jp0003243
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/30
|
North Korea warns of 'undesired consequence' if no change in U.S. stance in nuclear talks
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A senior North Korean official on Tuesday warned of an “undesired consequence” for the U.S. if Washington does not adjust its policy on North Korea’s denuclearization by an end-of-the-year deadline leader Kim Jong Un has set. “Our determination for denuclearization remains unchanged, and when the time comes, we will put it into practice. But, this is possible only under the condition that the U.S. changes their current method of calculation and formulates a new stand,” North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, a key figure in nuclear negotiations with the United States, was quoted by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency as saying. The nuclear talks have stalled since the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in February with no deal on the North’s denuclearization. At a meeting of the North’s rubber-stamp parliament in April, Kim said he is willing to meet with Trump for a third time for nuclear talks — if Washington comes to the table with the “correct posture” — but laid down a year-end deadline “for a bold decision from the U.S.” Choe pinned much of the blame for the deadlock on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, rapping the top American diplomat over an interview on CBS last week in which he said Washington could “change paths” if the talks faltered. Choe was quoted as saying that those comments implied a potential use of military pressure, blasting them as “foolish and dangerous” and “designed to bring down our system at any cost.” In the CBS interview, Pompeo brushed aside a call by another senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official for him to be replaced in talks by someone more “mature,” saying it had come from “a midlevel guy.” Pompeo said last week he would remain in charge of the U.S. negotiating team. Choe referenced Kim’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, saying that the North Korean leader had “strongly berated the unilateral and dishonest attitude of the United States and stated that … the DPRK will be prepared to deal with every possible scenario” at those talks. “As for the so-called ‘change paths’ talked about by the United States, it is not a privileged right that pertains only to the U.S., but it could also be our choice at our own will,” she said. “In case the U.S. is messing the problem and wandering along the other road like now, and would not formulate their position anew within the time frame set by our side, they will indeed face an undesired consequence.” While Choe did not elaborate as to what that consequence might mean, it could suggest a resumption of nuclear or missile tests by the North. Choe said in March that the country was rethinking whether to continue talks with the U.S., adding that Kim would decide soon whether to stay on the track of dialogue and maintain its informal nuclear and missile moratorium. Around the end of 2017, North Korea informally adopted a freeze on missile flight tests, and in April last year, it declared a “suspension” of nuclear and long-range missile tests. Choe, who was a minor player on the North’s U.S. diplomatic team in the 1990s, has seen her influence surge since the Hanoi summit, observers of the isolated country have said. In April, she was elevated to the post of first vice foreign minister and became a member of the powerful State Affairs Commission. She has also held several news conferences in the wake of the Hanoi summit, often conveying Kim’s thinking to the outside world. Pompeo said Tuesday that Washington remains ready to engage North Korea in nuclear talks, showing little concern for Pyongyang’s latest attack against him. “We’re prepared to engage in conversations to arrive at a process by which the North Koreans can see their way clear to fulfilling the commitment that Chairman Kim made back in Singapore in June of last year,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News. Pompeo was referring to the first Trump-Kim summit, a meeting that resulted in a vaguely worded pledge “to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Experts say that despite the statement, the North never agreed to relinquish its nuclear arsenal, a view that has proven at odds with the Trump administration’s stance.
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u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;kim-trump summit
|
jp0003244
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Police in Christchurch find suspected bomb, while Australian police neutralize explosive device
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WELLINGTON/SYDNEY - New Zealand police found a suspected bomb and ammunition Tuesday in a vacant lot in Christchurch, the scene of last month’s mosque shootings which killed 50 Muslim worshippers. Police cordoned off streets late Tuesday afternoon in the Phillipstown area just outside the central business district and evacuated local houses. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. they said a military bomb squad had rendered a suspicious package safe and a 33-year-old man had been arrested and was “assisting police with inquiries.” “Police have located a package containing a suspected explosive device and ammunition at a vacant address on Newcastle Street in Christchurch,” superintendent John Price said in a statement. “The NZDF EOD (NZ Defense Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team have rendered the package safe.” Price did not provide any background about the man or his possible motivations. Christchurch remains on alert after the March attacks in which a self-styled white supremacist shot dead 50 people and injured another 39 in attacks on two mosques. Just last week, the South Island city hosted a massive security operation as Britain’s Prince William visited survivors of the atrocity and praised the country’s response to the massacre. While the cordons prompted by the latest scare had been lifted, Price urged residents to remain vigilant. “Members of the community are asked to continue to report any concerning behavior or activity in their neighborhoods as we all work together to ensure the safety of our community,” he said. The gunman allegedly behind the mosque shootings, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, is in a maximum-security prison in Auckland and has been ordered to undergo psychiatric tests. In Australia, bomb experts there destroyed “explosive” materials found in a suburban Adelaide home Tuesday, following the arrest of a 43-year-old man. South Australian police said the materials were found late Monday and the man appeared in court early Tuesday facing charges of possession of explosives. “Investigations are continuing at the address,” the police said in a statement, adding that the Bomb Response Unit had been deployed. “There is no danger or threat to the public,” they said. National broadcaster ABC said the man had come to the attention of the authorities earlier this year for anti-Muslim social media posts. Local media reported the explosives were so-called Mother of Satan — a chemical explosive used by jihadi and other terror groups. Aerial images from the scene showed explosives experts packing sandbags around an object ahead of the planned controlled detonation.
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australia;terrorism;new zealand;christchurch;police
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jp0003245
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/30
|
China sentences Canadian to death for drug offenses, state-run media says
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BEIJING - A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian national to death for producing and trafficking methamphetamine, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported Tuesday. The Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, cited a ruling issued by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southeastern Guangdong province in a tweet. It did not name the Canadian or provide any further details.
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china;drugs;canada;death penalty
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jp0003246
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Ex-diplomat says U.S. should pay North Korea for 2017 prisoner deal, as Trump pledged
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WASHINGTON - A former U.S. diplomat confirmed Monday that North Korea asked for $2 million to release an American student who had fallen into a coma after alleged torture — and said Washington should pay it. Joseph Yun, a veteran U.S. diplomat who had flown to Pyongyang in 2017 to bring back 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, said that North Korea presented him with a bill for his medical expenses. He said he called up then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who he believed then sought a green light directly from President Donald Trump. Tillerson “got back to me very quickly thereafter to say, yes, go ahead and sign,” Yun, who has since left government, told CNN. The Washington Post first reported the payment demand, after which Trump, describing himself as “the greatest hostage negotiator” in U.S. history, tweeted that nothing was paid to North Korea. But Yun said that Trump’s decision means that the United States should pay. “If you’ve signed, if you promised another government from the U.S. government that you’ll make the payment, my view certainly is that we should go ahead and meet our commitment,” he said, adding that it was a separate issue whether to sign in the first place. The United States has been adamant that it will not pay for hostages or prisoners, saying it does not want to create incentives to snatch Americans. “At no time in this administration have we paid for any hostage to be released, and we have no intention of doing so,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a forum organized by The Hill newspaper. Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was imprisoned after being accused of taking down a propaganda poster in his hotel during a trip to North Korea. Doctors said he suffered severe brain damage while in North Korean detention, fell into a coma and died days after arriving back in the United States. In December, a U.S. judge found that North Korea tortured Warmbier and awarded his family $501 million from North Korea — another sum that is unlikely to ever be paid willingly. Since Warmbier’s death, Trump has moved to make peace with North Korea and has described himself as fond of its authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Un. Trump set off a firestorm after a summit with Kim in February when he said he took the North Korean leader “at his word” that he knew nothing about Warmbier’s death. North Korea has denied mistreatment of Warmbier and said that he contracted botulism.
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north korea;kim jong un;prisoners;donald trump;otto warmbier;rex tillerson;mike pompeo;joseph yun
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jp0003247
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Japan's Emperor Akihito anticipated and battled with challenges of age in final years of his era
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Emperor Akihito, who for the past three decades has carved out a role as a symbol of the state, conducted his abdication ceremonies on Tuesday — nearly three years after indicating his wish to step down in a video message, broadcast in August 2016, based on the concern his age would make it difficult for him to fulfill his duties. With constraints on his physical fitness becoming more visible over the years, the emperor’s abdication, which is expected to be an exception in the passage of Imperial succession, has sparked calls for revision of the system amid concerns his successors may face similar problems during their reign in the future. While reflecting on his past in a speech delivered to the nation during a government-organized ceremony at the National Theater on Feb. 24 to mark the 30th year of his reign, the emperor accidentally skipped parts of his remarks. As he was nearing the end of his speech, he repeated his words from the first, instead of the last page of the transcript he was referring to. Just as the mishap occurred Empress Michiko came to the rescue, helping the emperor put his notes in order. When the two had managed to find the missing page, the emperor turned to his wife and smiled, offering words of gratitude. “Thank you so much,” he said. The sight of the imperial couple helping each other helped soak away the tension that had filled the audience. But that was not the only time the emperor has had difficulties keeping his notes in order. An official with the Imperial Household Agency recalls a scene in which the emperor omitted an entire page of notes during a banquet for visiting dignitaries from Vietnam last May. On that day, no one helped him with the script. So for Emperor Akihito’s February address, Empress Michiko had memorized the full text of her husband’s speech and was by his side on stage, prepared to offer assistance if needed. During the ceremony, the emperor was seen several times with his eyes closed wearily. Those moments were broadcast live across Japan. Until a few years ago, such mishaps would have been hard to imagine. On one hand, fewer difficulties have been seen in the preparations for official events. But speculations have arisen that the emperor, who has been wearing a hearing aid, may have struggled sometimes to comprehend people’s words and has been caught numerous times going over the same lines. The empress, who has remained by his side, has also been seen with fever or struggling with neck and shoulder pain. “When (the mishaps) started to occur, there were many moments that were close (to being issues),” the Imperial Household Agency’s official said of the imperial couple. He added, however, that he had learned to accept the fact that the emperor is aging. “Given how close to the people the emperor has remained, it would be dishonest if he tried to do everything perfectly.” In recent years, the emperor has depended more on help from his assistants, who send him signals to proceed during official ceremonies and other events. Also, when traveling to the countryside, the emperor has tried not to overbook his schedule, especially during longer trips. “But I’m glad the nation had a chance to see this side of the emperor — this is who he really is,” the official said. Since the last ceremony to commemorate his reign, the emperor has remained out of the spotlight. But the truth is the emperor had sensed his advancing age would hinder his reign, the Imperial Household Agency official noted. “In the video message, he questioned whether he should retain his position even if he became unable to carry out his duties with all his strength and all his heart, and said that future emperors might face the same problem,” he recalled. “I wanted the nation to share that feeling of urgency.” On Tuesday the emperor performed a set of ceremonies to mark the end of his reign, throughout which he has carved out a role as a symbol of the state. But his abdication will be a one-time event, set out as an exception in a single-use law that will not allow Emperor Akihito’s successors to abdicate. “If we expect the next emperor to embody his role as a symbol and carry out various duties, the environment and laws need to be amended to allow them to do so,” the official said. “It’s obvious that with age, there will be difficulties physically and mentally. We need to think about what’s necessary so that the sacrifices the Emperor has made throughout his entire life are not in vain.”
|
royalty;emperor akihito;aging;imperial family;empress michiko;abdication
|
jp0003248
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Trump offers 'heartfelt appreciation' to imperial couple ahead of Emperor Akihito's abdication
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WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump offered his “heartfelt appreciation” to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Monday ahead of the emperor’s abdication and the beginning of the country’s new era. “As the Heisei era draws to a close and a new generation prepares to ascend the throne, I want to recognize the tremendous importance that the United States attaches to its close relationship with Japan,” Trump said in a statement. He noted that the outgoing emperor, to be succeeded by Crown Prince Naruhito on Wednesday, has welcomed five U.S. presidents to Japan, including Trump in November 2017, during his reign “from the end of the Cold War to the present day.” “Our bilateral relationship was critical to navigating the global challenges of those times,” Trump said. Trump and his wife, Melania, are set to become the first state guests after Crown Prince Naruhito’s enthronement and the start of the new Reiwa Era, when the couple visit Japan from May 25 to 28 to meet the new emperor. “We look forward to continuing the tradition of partnership and cooperation with Japan, our great ally, in the new era,” he said. U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty also released a commemorative video reflecting upon the ties between the two countries as he welcomed the beginning of the Reiwa Era. “During the past three decades, our countries have worked together to build the closest, most important relationship shared by any two nations in the world. These decades have brought our security alliance significantly forward,” he said. “I’m certain our enduring partnership will continue in beautiful harmony for years to come.” Trump said Friday that he had decided to visit Japan in May after being told by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the succession is “100 times bigger” to the people of Japan than the Super Bowl. At the outset of a White House meeting with the prime minister, Trump said he had hesitated to accept an invitation to meet the new emperor, not sure if he could make the trip, so he asked Abe: “How big is that event compared to the Super Bowl for the Japanese?” Abe responded, “It’s about 100 times bigger,” and Trump immediately decided to visit, according to the president. “I’ll be there. If that’s the case, I’ll be there,” Trump said. During his trip, Trump is also expected to watch the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo and give a U.S.-made trophy to the winner of the championship. “I’ve always found that (sumo) fascinating,” Trump said, adding he thinks an outing to the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo arena will be “something I’ll enjoy very much.”
|
shinzo abe;emperor akihito;imperial family;abdication;u.s.-japan relations;donald trump;heisei;reiwa;imperial change;emperor naruhito
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jp0003249
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/04/30
|
President Moon Jae-in thanks Emperor Akihito for work to strengthen Japan-South Korea ties
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SEOUL - South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed his gratitude to Emperor Akihito for his contributions to the development of the two countries’ relations, a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. While on the throne, Emperor Akihito has underscored the importance of maintaining peace and has greatly helped South Korea and Japan promote their ties, Moon said in a letter sent to the emperor, according to the spokesman. Moon added that he hopes Emperor Akihito, 85, will continue to work for the further advancement of the bilateral relationship after his abdication on Tuesday, the spokesman said. In a Facebook post, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon voiced appreciation to the emperor for placing importance on South Korea-Japan relations. Lee also thanked Crown Prince Naruhito for his inspiring words when they met at the World Water Forum in Brasilia in March last year. The Crown Prince is set to accede to the throne at midnight Tuesday. Lee stressed that he hopes South Korea and Japan will build a new, friendly and cooperative relationship to prepare for a future together during Japan’s forthcoming Reiwa Era, set to begin on Wednesday. Lee’s comments are said to indicate Seoul’s desire to improve, in the new era, the bilateral relationship, which has deteriorated partly due to a series of rulings by South Korean courts, including the Supreme Court, that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Koreans requisitioned to work for them during World War II. In the editorials of their Tuesday editions, South Korean newspapers said the imperial succession and the start of the new era should be catalysts for improving bilateral ties. The Dong-A Ilbo daily said Moon and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit set to be held in Osaka in late June, in order to mend ties between Seoul and Tokyo. The Chosun Ilbo daily expressed hopes for a visit to South Korea by Emperor Akihito after his retirement or by Japan’s new emperor. Such a visit would be a milestone for an improvement in ties, the paper said.
|
wwii;history;comfort women;emperor akihito;wartime labor;south korea-japan relations;moon jae-in
|
jp0003250
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Not performed for 200 years in Japan, abdication seen recently in monarchies in Europe — and Bhutan
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Emperor Akihito on Tuesday became Japan’s first monarch in more than 200 years to relinquish the throne, but around the world such moves are not uncommon. Including Commonwealth nations, the world has over 40 countries with some form of monarchy, the structures of which vary widely. Unlike Japan, which only allows male imperial family members to ascend the throne, many recognize female succession, and a number of monarchs have stepped down recently due mainly to old age. In Vatican City, which is governed as an absolute monarchy, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world when he announced his resignation in February 2013 at the age of 85 after nearly eight years in office. Pontiffs are normally expected to serve until death, but Benedict, citing a lack of strength due to his advancing age, became the first pope to voluntarily step down in about 600 years. In the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix announced her abdication in January 2013 at the age of 74 following a reign of 33 years, saying she was convinced that the “responsibilities of our country should be passed on to a new generation.” Her son, Prince Willem-Alexander, succeeded the throne later that year. Beatrix was the third successive Dutch monarch to abdicate. In Belgium, King Albert II abdicated in July 2013 at the age of 79 after reigning for some 20 years. He made way for a son, 59-year-old Prince Philippe. Unlike the Dutch constitution, which includes a clause for ascension after a monarch’s abdication, the Belgian constitution only stipulates regents. Therefore, Belgium finalized proceedings for royal succession by having a justice minister recite a deed. Although the Belgian king cited his old age, many believe allegations of an illegitimate child — and the development of a court case over the matter — compelled him to step down. Sculptor Delphine Boel, 51, claims she is an extramarital daughter of the king and has filed a lawsuit to determine her paternity. Her mother has admitted to having an affair with the king, but he has refused a court order to submit DNA samples. The royal family acts as the glue that ties together the northern Dutch-speaking and the southern French-speaking regions. Therefore, many have expressed disappointment over the scandal involving the former monarch. In Bhutan, a Himalayan country sandwiched between China and India, the sudden announcement in 2005 by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, 63, that he was abdicating in favor of his son, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 39, shocked the kingdom. The former king ascended the throne in 1972 when he was 16, following the death of his father. In a country with a population of about 800,000, the former king pursued “gross national happiness” over gross national product but nevertheless managed to achieve steady economic growth for the landlocked country. Although many cried over the king’s relinquishment of the throne, Kinley Dorji, 61, a former secretary of the Bhutanese information and communication ministry, said that “the king’s abdication is like a very big Buddhist teaching.” According to him, the sudden abdication exemplified the Buddhist teaching of impermanence, that death will eventually come to us all. Bhutan is a predominantly Buddhist country. “Don’t wait for a problem, don’t wait for tragedy … right now, we are all very happy (so we should) make the change now,” he quoted the former king as saying. “If you wait for a problem, the change may not work.” In 2008, a new constitution in Bhutan under King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck transitioned the country from an absolute monarchy to a democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The law now makes it compulsory for kings to retire at age 65. “If you are really old and sick, you can’t take responsibility. When you’re older, maybe you deserve to retire peacefully,” he said. “I think people should respect that.” In contrast to some monarchs who voluntarily step down, Britain’s 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, currently the world’s longest reigning monarch at 67 years, is believed to have no intention of abdicating. In a speech on her 21st birthday in 1947, the future queen vowed to dedicate her life to the Commonwealth, a declaration she made before ascending the throne in 1952. Although the queen continues to carry out official engagements, their number has been reduced as she ages, while her son, Prince Charles, 70, and other members of the royal family conduct official duties in her stead. In 1936, Elizabeth’s uncle, King Edward VIII, relinquished the throne less than a year after enthronement. The future queen is believed to have been shocked by his abdication, prompted by his desire to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite with a history of divorces. Some see the chaos caused by the sudden abdication of her uncle as a potential reason behind the queen’s reluctance to follow suit. To this day, Queen Elizabeth enjoys strong public support. A royal-family watcher said Prince Charles may act as regent when his mother turns 95.
|
europe;u.k .;netherlands;royalty;vatican;emperor akihito;imperial family;bhutan;abdication
|
jp0003251
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
People in Japan reflect on Emperor Akihito's abdication and express hopes for successor's reign
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Emperor Akihito will step down in favor of his elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on Tuesday, ending the 30-year Heisei Era, during which he sought to bring the monarchy closer to the people. Here are some of their reactions: “I think the emperor is loved by the people. His image is one of encouraging the people, such as after disasters, and being close to the people,” said Morio Miyamoto, 48. “I hope the next emperor will, like the Heisei emperor, be close to the people in the same way.” “Heisei had a lot of disasters and the economy stagnated. It was a period of transition from the high-growth era, with its ‘Can you work 24 hours?’ mentality. Young people these days don’t think that way. Now it’s more, ‘What can I do to survive?'” said 47-year-old Kaori Hisatomi. “Now thinking patterns have changed. There’s not much confidence the economy will grow in a healthy way. Reiwa is starting at a time when older thinking patterns are mixing with newer ones,” she said, referring to the new era. “It’s a normal day,” said Masato Saito, a 40-year-old construction worker. “This kind of political stuff is irrelevant to us ordinary people. As long as they make our lives easy to live, that’s all I care about.” “A lot of things happened in Heisei, including disasters and sad things, so I have mixed feelings,” said Masatoshi Kujirai, 56, on his way to a Shinto shrine to mark the day with his wife. “I’m sad but also hopeful about the next era. I hope it will be a peaceful, gentle period for the second half of my life.” “It’s a change of era, so I am looking forward to it and hope that it will be an era in which young people can be happy,” said a 50-year-old illustrator who declined to give his name. “The current emperor has been excellent. Thanks to his diplomacy, the negative image of Japan improved. I hope the new emperor will, like his father, continue this peace diplomacy.” “The emperor worked very hard for 30 years so I hope the handing over of the baton to the new emperor will go smoothly,” said 67-year-old housewife Mikiko Fujii. “If our expectations for the new emperor are too high, it would be hard on him, so I’d like him to do his job bit by bit.” “It’s a turning point,” said Eiji Kaneko, 44, an Osaka restaurant owner visiting Tokyo with his wife and 4-year-old son. “Heisei came at a time when I was looking for a job. I’m part of the second baby boom, and competition for jobs was intense then. I decided to quit university after two years and start a cafe. Now I’ve got 12 restaurants and also some real estate business. Now Japan is facing a shrinking population, which is going to be tough. But as the number of Japanese decline, I wonder if we won’t be happier. More foreigners are coming to Japan, and that’s helping the economy and starting to change attitudes. Japan is opening up, and Asia is opening up.”
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emperor akihito;imperial family;abdication;heisei;reiwa;emperor naruhito
|
jp0003252
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Chronology of key events related to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
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The following is a chronology of major events related to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko: Dec. 23, 1933: Prince Akihito born as the elder son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako, who are posthumously called Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun. September 1939: World War II begins. May 1944 to November 1945: Prince Akihito evacuates from Tokyo due to the war. Aug. 15, 1945: Emperor Showa tells the nation by radio of Japan’s surrender in the war. Nov. 10, 1952: Prince Akihito officially becomes crown prince. March 30-Oct. 12, 1953: Crown Prince Akihito visits Europe and the United States, attends the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in place of his father. April 10, 1959: Crown Prince Akihito and Michiko Shoda, the elder daughter of Hidesaburo Shoda, who later became president of Nisshin Flour Milling Co., marry, making the groom the first crown prince and later the first emperor to be married a commoner. Feb. 23, 1960: First son, Prince Naruhito, born. Nov. 30, 1965: Second son, Prince Akishino, born. April 18, 1969: Daughter, Princess Nori, born. July 17-19, 1975: First visit by the couple to Okinawa Prefecture, three years after its reversion to Japan from U.S. control. They narrowly escape a firebomb thrown at them at the Himeyuri war memorial by leftist activists. Jan. 7, 1989: Upon the death of Emperor Showa, the crown prince ascends to the throne and the couple assume the titles of emperor and empress. The era name changes to Heisei the next day. Nov. 12, 1990: Enthronement ceremony is held. July 10, 1991: Visit areas affected by a volcanic eruption of the Fugen peak of Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture. Oct. 23-28, 1992: Visit China, first trip to the country as Japanese emperor. April 23-26, 1993: Visit Okinawa, first trip to the prefecture by an emperor. Oct. 20, 1993: On her 59th birthday, Empress Michiko collapses, becomes unable to speak for months due to psychogenic aphasia. Feb. 12, 1994: Visit Iwo Jima, a fierce battleground in the Pacific during World War II, to pay tribute to the war dead. Jan. 31, 1995: Visit Hyogo Prefecture after the Great Hanshin Earthquake on Jan. 17. July 26-Aug. 3, 1995: Visit memorials in atomic-bombed cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, as well as Okinawa, on 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. July 3-12, 1997: Empress Michiko is hospitalized for shingles. Jan. 18, 2003: Emperor Akihito undergoes prostate cancer surgery. June 27-28, 2005: Visit Saipan to honor the souls of war dead on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. March 16, 2011: Emperor Akihito sends a message of hope by video five days after a massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan triggered a crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. March 30-May 11, 2011: Visit disaster-hit areas in the northeast and shelters around Tokyo for seven weeks in a row. Feb. 18, 2012: Emperor Akihito undergoes heart bypass surgery. Nov. 14, 2013: The Imperial Household Agency decides to switch to cremation for the emperor and empress rather than burial, which has been the tradition for 350 years, following a proposal by the couple. April 8-9, 2015: Visit Palau to pay tribute to war dead on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Aug. 15, 2015: Emperor Akihito states “deep remorse” over World War II for the first time at an annual memorial ceremony for the war dead. Jan. 26-30, 2016: Visit the Philippines, pay tribute to the war dead. Aug. 8, 2016: Emperor Akihito releases video message expressing desire to abdicate and pass the throne on to Crown Prince Naruhito. June 9, 2017: Special legislation to enable Emperor Akihito to abdicate enacted. September 2018: Visit areas affected by torrential rains in prefectures of Ehime, Hiroshima and Okayama. April 30, 2019: Emperor Akihito steps down in an abdication ceremony, becoming the first Japanese monarch to do so in about 200 years.
|
royalty;emperor akihito;imperial family;empress michiko;abdication
|
jp0003253
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
China appreciates outgoing Japanese emperor's achievements
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BEIJING - China has expressed appreciation for the achievements of Japanese Emperor Akihito, who declared his abdication on Tuesday, saying he has contributed to improving ties between the two nations. “Emperor Akihito visited China in 1992 and met with Chinese party and state leaders on many occasions. He has made positive contributions to China-Japan relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Monday, according to the ministry’s website. “The China-Japan relations have come back to the right track and taken on the positive momentum of development,” Geng said, while calling on Tokyo to make efforts to “properly handle sensitive issues.” Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited China in 1992 amid concern that he could be criticized or heckled publicly over Japan’s aggression against China before and during World War II. Japanese troops invaded China in the 1930s in the name of Emperor Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa. As a result, bitter memories of the period run deep in China. But Emperor Akihito’s visit was eventually termed a complete success by Beijing. For more than five years until late 2017, Sino-Japanese ties were said to have been at their worst level in decades over a territorial row in the East China Sea. The situation has since changed, however, with 2018 — the 40th anniversary of the signing and entering into force of the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship — serving as an incentive to forge better relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend a Group of 20 summit scheduled to be held in Osaka in late June. That would mark his first visit to Japan since he came to power in 2013. Beijing has also decided to appoint Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, considered an expert on Japan, as its next ambassador to the country. Kong is likely to visit Japan as early as May after Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the throne on Wednesday.
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china;history;emperor akihito;abdication
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jp0003254
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[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
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In first, Japan to develop computer virus to defend against cyberattacks
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Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus by next March as a defense measure against cyberattacks, sources have said. The Defense Ministry is considering malware that can break into a computer system, hoping such a computer virus could work as a deterrent against cyberattacks, the sources said Monday. The government has said it is looking to enhance its defense capabilities beyond the ground, marine and air domains to address security challenges in new areas such as cyberspace and outer space amid technological advances in recent years. Japan lags behind other countries in addressing the threat of cyberattacks. It plans to increase the number of personnel in its cyberspace unit to 220 from 150, compared with 6,200 in the United States, 7,000 in North Korea and 130,000 in China, according to the ministry. The ministry has been considering specific measures against cyberattacks since it pledged to bolster its cyberspace defense under its latest national defense guidelines launched last December. Some defense experts say the ability to obstruct an enemy’s use of cyberspace could exceed the limits of the country’s exclusively defense-oriented policy. The virus, to be developed by private companies, will be used only for defense purposes — not for pre-emptive attack — a ministry source said. Government policy allows cyberattacks only against a country or an organization considered equivalent to a country.
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china;u.s .;north korea;military;computers;cyberattacks
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jp0003256
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
As cases surge globally, two workers at Narita airport diagnosed with measles amid holiday rush
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CHIBA - Two workers at Narita airport are confirmed to have been infected with measles, the local government said Tuesday, warning about the risk of possible exposure to the highly contagious virus at one of the busiest airports in Japan. The local government of Chiba Prefecture where the airport is located said a male worker in his 30s fell ill with a fever of 39 C on Tuesday last week. He worked in the Terminal 2 building from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. the previous day, 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday and 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. last Friday. He was diagnosed with measles on Sunday. The government said he had interacted with a number of people on those days though it did not disclose what service he had engaged in. The original source of the infection has yet to be determined. Another worker, a teenage woman, became sick on April 20 but did not go into work and is not believed to have spread the virus. The U.N. Children’s Fund said last month that measles cases are surging globally and pose a serious threat to children. Japan was declared measles-free by the World Health Organization in 2015 but over 200 cases of infection have been reported this year after an outbreak of the disease in Okinawa Prefecture and some other regions last year. Medical experts say infections increased in line with a surge in foreign tourists. Narita International Airport employs about 43,000 people, and services approximately 118,000 customers daily. The airport had been experiencing a rush of travelers flying overseas ahead of the 10-day Golden Week holiday starting last Saturday. Measles is spread by contact with an infected person’s nasal secretions or saliva, with symptoms including fever and rash. The virus has an incubation period of 10 to 12 days.
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disease;chiba;airports;measles;narita airport
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jp0003257
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/30
|
More South Koreans sue Japanese firms over wartime labor
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GWANGJU, SOUTH KOREA - South Koreans who say they or their family members were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II have sued Japanese firms, including Mitsubishi Materials Corp., their lawyers said. Also covered by the suits involving 54 plaintiffs, which were filed Monday, are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Nippon Coke & Engineering Co., Sumiseki Holdings Inc., Nippon Steel Corp., JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corp., Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp., Nishimatsu Construction Co. and Hitachi Zosen Corp. The suits were filed at the district court in Gwangju. They follow a similar move earlier in April by 31 South Korean plaintiffs at a Seoul court against four Japanese companies, including Nippon Coke & Engineering, which was formerly Mitsui Mining Co. The Gwangju court is likely to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, as the country’s courts have consistently ruled in favor of Korean plaintiffs since its top court in October ordered a Japanese company to compensate victims of forced labor during the war. A Gwangju-based citizens group helping wartime laborers get compensation from Japanese companies solicited potential plaintiffs between March 25 and April 5, and processed paperwork for 537 cases, the lawyers said at a news conference in Gwangju on Monday. “For the remaining people who could not participate this time, we plan to conduct thorough investigations for official proof of wartime labor” so there could be a second and third wave of suits, one of the lawyers said. A South Korean court has indicated a range of periods during which additional suits can be filed, by making Oct. 30, the day of the landmark top court ruling, the start of a new period. The end of the shorter period is at the end of April, and the longer period ends three years from Oct. 30. The 54 plaintiffs, of whom three are former laborers, are each seeking up to 100 million won (¥9.63 million) in compensation. Japan claims that the issue of compensation arising from its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula was settled under a bilateral agreement signed when the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1965.
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courts;south korea;wartime labor
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jp0003258
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Intruder suspected of cutting surveillance camera wires when accessing Prince Hisahito's school
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A 56-year-old man who has admitted to trespassing into a Tokyo school attended by Prince Hisahito is suspected of cutting some of the electric wiring connected to the campus surveillance camera system to avoid being recorded, investigative sources said Tuesday. Pruning shears were discovered on the premises of Ochanomizu University after two knives were found on 12-year-old Prince Hisahito’s classroom desk in its affiliate junior high school around 11 a.m. Friday, according to police. The police believe the man, who identified himself as Kaoru Hasegawa after his arrest Monday, avoided the university’s main gate when he entered the junior school. The discovery of the knives occurred ahead of the Tuesday abdication of 85-year-old Emperor Akihito and the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito the following day. The imperial succession will promote the prince, who is the son of Prince Akishino — the younger brother of Crown Prince Naruhito — to second-in-line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Police are still trying to confirm Hasegawa’s address and occupation. According to the sources, footage from surveillance cameras shows a man believed to be Hasegawa walking past the main gate of the university at around 10:30 a.m. Friday and walking near the junior high school 20 minutes later. A man also believed to be the suspect used the main gate to leave the campus at around 11:10 a.m., the sources said, adding that a person resembling him was seen at nearby Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro subway network. Around Friday at noon, a school staffer found a 60-centimeter-long metal bar with two knives attached on one end placed across the prince’s desk and the one next to it. The blades of the knives were painted pink. Each desk in the classroom bears a piece of a tape with a student’s name on it, according to the sources. Prince Hisahito, who began attending the school in April after graduating from the national university’s elementary school on the same campus, was attending classes outdoors at the time and the classroom was empty when the two knives were left there. When the man was entering the school premises, he identified himself as a plumber to the school staff via the intercom, according to an investigative source.
|
tokyo;emperor akihito;prince hisahito;imperial family;ochanomizu university junior high school;kaoru hasegawa
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jp0003259
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
Braving heat and wind — but not rain or snow — superfan finds Japan's royals wherever they go
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KAWASAKI - Wherever Japan’s imperials go, there too goes Fumiko Shirataki: in summer heat and winter cold, to the ocean and to the mountains. Except when it snows or rains too hard. “You can’t get good pictures then — and if the camera lens gets wet, it might get damaged. I really worry about that,” said Shirataki, 78, who has spent the last 26 years following and photographing Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and especially Crown Princess Masako. “As soon as I know their plans I’ll be there — though it’s hard if I only find out the night before,” she added. Imperial aficionado Fumiko Shirataki, 78, is seen through the window of the car transporting Emperor Akihito at Kodomonokuni in Yokohama on April 12. | REUTERS Shirataki’s passion for okkake , as the pursuit is known in Japan, began in 1993, when she followed then-Masako Owada after her engagement to Crown Prince Naruhito but couldn’t get good photos. “I wasn’t used to carrying such a heavy camera, so I’d shoot the tire, or the back seat, or the driver,” Shirataki said in the kitchen of her home in Kawasaki, decorated with a photo of Crown Princess Masako and an imperial family calendar. But now she has honed her skills, and her house is filled with a huge number of photos. “Uncountable,” she said. “After all, it’s been 26 years.” Imperial aficionado Fumiko Shirataki, 78, and her friends rush to secure their photo position before the arrival of Crown Prince Naruhito, his wife, Crown Princess Masako, and their daughter, Princess Aiko, at Tokyo Station on March 25. | REUTERS Shirataki won’t reveal how she and her fan friends figure out the imperial schedules. But once she has the details, she loads a backpack, takes a collapsible chair and a rice ball to eat, and heads out. “They know our faces by now, so when we raise the cameras I guess they think ‘here they are’ and they face toward us and wave,” said Shirataki, who always wears sneakers and pants for ease of movement while she’s on the hunt. Shirataki and her fellow chasers, nearly all of whom are female, say their main focus is the imperial women and their clothes. Because of time constraints — she works part time at a car dealership — she concentrates on the empress and empress-to-be. Imperial aficionado Fumiko Shirataki, 78, displays her collection of photographs of imperial family members at her home in Kawasaki on Feb. 21. | REUTERS “When my husband was still alive and earning, I’d spend five or six days a week at this, but now I have to work,” she said. The photo in the Buddhist altar for her husband, who died two years ago, is smaller than a picture of Crown Princess Masako displayed nearby. Though she’s cagey about how much her hobby costs, she spends at least ¥50,000 ($447) annually just on photos. Shirataki says Crown Princess Masako is her favorite and has even appeared in her dreams. But Shirataki worries how she will fare as empress after the stress-related illness that kept her out of the public eye for many years. “There could be a lot of times where Masako won’t go with the emperor,” she said. “If it’s just him, we won’t go. Her alone? Yes.” Imperial aficionado Fumiko Shirataki, 78, shakes hands with Empress Michiko near an imperial villa where Emperor Akihito and the empress are staying for their recuperation in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Jan. 21. | REUTERS Shirataki may already have reached the pinnacle of okkake success: This year, she shook hands with the empress. “I’ve talked with them briefly before but that’s the only time I’d ever been able to put out my hand. … I didn’t realize I would do it,” Shirataki said. “When I asked, she just said, in a small voice, ‘If my hand is OK,’ ” she added. “And then I did.”
|
royalty;emperor akihito;imperial family;imperial change;emperor naruhito;empress masako
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jp0003260
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
End of an era: Saying goodbye to Heisei on social media
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April 30, 2019, marks the end of the Heisei Era as Emperor Akihito abdicates after over 30 years on the throne. People (and companies) on social media looked back at the Heisei Era with nostalgia and sadness, but mostly excitement for the impending Reiwa Era. End of an era: Saying goodbye to Heisei
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abdication;heisei era;reiwa era;imperial change
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jp0003261
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/30
|
People across Japan look back on Heisei Era, with hopes that peace will reign through Reiwa
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With the 30-year Heisei Era nearing its end as then-Emperor Akihito prepared to abdicate at midnight Tuesday, members of the public recalled the past three decades and expressed their hopes for the new era starting the next day. Crowds visited the Imperial Palace as rain fell on Tokyo and across many parts of Japan. The 85-year-old emperor gave a final farewell to the public in a ceremony within the palace at 5 p.m. before his elder son, then-Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, was to accede to the throne on Wednesday. “I wanted to see the Imperial Palace on the last day of Heisei,” said Kiwako Toma, 44, visiting the palace from Okinawa Prefecture with her 9-year-old son. Okinawa was one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II, a war Japan fought in the name of Emperor Emeritus Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. “I came here with gratitude, as I was touched by His Majesty’s attitude to not forgetting Okinawa and keeping on caring about local people,” Toma said. The emperor emeritus visited the prefecture a total of 11 times, including trips made when he was a crown prince. Umbrellas in hand, visitors took commemorative photos with cameras and smartphones in front of the Nijubashi bridge within the palace grounds. Miho Einaga, 53, from Hyogo Prefecture, said she was affected by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that hit Kobe and surrounding areas, and lost relatives in the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in 2011. “There were a series of natural disasters but I feel that the emperor has always cared for us,” she said. Gu Jie, 31, who was guiding a group of tourists from Shanghai, said, “I hope in the next era, China and Japan will become closer friends.” “(Heisei) is really coming to an end,” said Akio Fumibuchi, 71, in Osaka Prefecture as he looked back over the era. He was another impacted by a natural disaster, describing how the roof of his house had been blown away in a powerful typhoon last year. “I hope there’ll be no big disasters (in the coming era). And we shouldn’t wage war,” he added, wishing for the peaceful times to continue. In Sendai, Yuka Hoshi, 32, recalled seeing the emperor emeritus and empress emerita visit areas devastated by the 2011 earthquake. “My husband’s grandmother was nearly in tears,” she said. “I was moved too.” In Sapporo, Yoshie Goto, 51, described the Heisei Era as “tumultuous,” as her employer Yamaichi Securities Co. went out of business in 1997. “I want my (23-year-old) son to have the strength to survive the hard times” that might come his way one day, she said. “The imperial couple were a symbol of 30 years of peace,” said Hiroshi Hisama, 56, in Fukuoka Prefecture. He expressed the wish that Emperor Naruhito becomes an emperor beloved of the people. In Nagoya, a 25-year-old company worker who identifies as a member of a sexual minority, looked back on the Heisei Era as one in which “people became tolerant of diversity.” In Tokyo’s bustling shopping and entertainment hub Shibuya, police are on the alert for possible rowdy behavior as the area’s famous scramble crossing may become a meeting point for young people to celebrate the start of the new era at midnight. Groups opposed to the nation’s imperial system also took to the streets. A group of around 150 people gathered near Tokyo’s JR Shinjuku Station and called for abolishing the system, arguing that having an emperor goes against the legal equality guaranteed under the Constitution. Some right-wing activists tried to interrupt the rally, with riot police mobilized to block them from approaching the demonstrators.
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emperor akihito;empress michiko;abdication;heisei era
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jp0003262
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Typhoon-hit Kansai airport bridge fully reopens ahead of Japan's bumper Golden Week
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OSAKA - The sole bridge connecting Kansai International Airport and the mainland, damaged during a devastating typhoon last September, was completely reopened Monday in time for the upcoming 10-day Golden Week string of holidays. Typhoon Jebi flooded a terminal and a runway at the region’s major international gateway and caused a tanker to smash into the bridge, leading to extensive damage and stranding thousands of people at the airport. Only four lanes out of six had been reopened prior to Monday. Now, with the other lanes in use, “all airport functions including airport access will be fully restored,” said Kansai Airports, which operates the facility. The full reopening had been expected to take more than a year but was cut to seven months, in time for the start of the busy vacation period that will start in late April.
|
disasters;airports;typhoons;kansai international airport
|
jp0003263
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Trump picks Herman Cain and Stephen Moore for Fed seats said to be on track
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WASHINGTON - Top White House officials on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s plan to name two political loyalists to the Federal Reserve board of governors, brushing aside controversies over their personal lives and qualifications to help run the world’s most powerful central bank. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney used appearances on Sunday morning talk shows to defend Trump’s plan to nominate economic commentator Stephen Moore and businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain to fill open board seats at the Fed. “The president stands behind both of those gentlemen right now,” Kudlow said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have two open seats. The president has every right in the world to nominate people who share his economic philosophy.” Trump has been highly critical of his handpicked Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, after a series of interest rate increases and other actions last year that Trump feels have held back an economy that would be otherwise growing like a “rocket ship.” The rate increases have left the central bank’s target interest rate still low by historical standards, and among monetary policy officials were considered a cautious hedge against a return of inflation in an economy that last year was going faster than expected. Keeping inflation under control is a key mission of the Fed, and higher rates help do so by discouraging borrowing and spending. But “there is no inflation,” Kudlow said. Instead there was “worry that the central bank is not taking account of a weak world economy, some financial tightening in the marketplace,” and made monetary policy too restrictive. The Fed said it was weak inflation, weakening global growth, and financial volatility that led it last year to put further rate increases on hold and shift other policies as well. Still, Kudlow said the president believed that the Fed was fundamentally flawed in its view that at some point very low unemployment will lead to higher inflation. That idea “has been disproven for decades,” he said. “We believe more people working and succeeding does not cause inflation.” “President Trump has every right to put people on the Federal Reserve Board with a different point of view,” Kudlow said. “He wants people on the Fed who share his philosophy. It is not a political issue. It is an issue of how do you see the world.” Cain and Moore have not yet been formally nominated, pending the completion of background checks, and would have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They will likely face questions about a series of matters, including the allegations of sexual harassment that prompted Cain to withdraw from the 2012 presidential race. He has denied the allegations. His current position with a pro-Trump political action committee has also drawn scrutiny. Moore, meanwhile, has already been asked by Senate Democrats to produce information and documents about a $75,000 lien that the Internal Revenue Service has filed against him for back taxes. He also was cited for contempt of court in 2013 for overdue alimony and child support payments. On policy, the two have been criticized as overtly political picks whose views of the economy have shifted based on the party in power, and who critics worry would try to shape monetary policy with Trump’s short-term political interests in mind. Mulvaney said Cain “would be a great member of the Fed.”
|
jobs;federal reserve;interest rates;donald trump;mick mulvaney;jerome powell;larry kudlow;stephen moore;herman cain
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jp0003264
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
First premium mangoes of Japan growing season fetch record ¥500,000
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MIYAZAKI - A pair of premium mangoes from Miyazaki Prefecture fetched a record ¥500,000 in the season’s first auction at a local wholesale market Monday, topping the previous best of ¥400,000. The premium mangoes are called Taiyo no Tamago (Egg of the Sun). To qualify for this description, they must meet strict criteria: weigh at least 350 grams each, possess a high sugar content and have more than 50 percent of their skin covered in a bright red hue, according to the Miyazaki Agricultural Economic Federation. The auction for the fruit began at around 7 a.m., causing a stir among the crowd when the record price was announced. The mangoes were bought by a local produce wholesale company. “The record price will give a lift to those who grew the mangoes,” said Shota Tatemoto, a 35-year-old employee of the wholesaler. Presented in a container and weighing in at about 1 kg, the two record-setting mangoes will be sold at a department store in the city of Fukuoka. The federation expects the main shipping season by growers to peak between mid-May and mid-June.
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food;miyazaki;fruit;mangoes
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jp0003265
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
China wants to work with EU on trade and is not trying to split east from west, premier writes
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BERLIN - China wants to work with the European Union on issues from climate change to trade, Premier Li Keqiang wrote in a German newspaper before a summit next week aimed at cementing ties. Diplomats in Brussels have said that tensions over trade, investments and minority rights mean China and the EU may fail to agree a joint declaration at the April 9 summit. That could dent European efforts to gain greater access to Chinese markets. In a column for Monday’s edition of Handelsblatt, extracts of which were released on Sunday, the Chinese premier denied accusations Beijing was trying to split the bloc by investing in Eastern European states. “We emphatically support the European integration process in the hope of a united and prosperous Europe,” wrote Li. He said Beijing’s close cooperation with eastern European states was “advantageous for a balanced development within the EU.” Concerned by potential Chinese dominance of strategic European industries, the EU is trying to coax Beijing to open up its markets and has tried to get it to commit to removing what Brussels sees as unfair barriers to trade. Li wrote that China was ready to work closely with Europe in upholding the Paris Climate Agreement, supporting sustainable development, retaining the international nuclear deal with Iran and fighting terrorism. He also said it wanted to exchange views on reforming the World Trade Organization. The EU is China’s largest trading partner. An increase in Chinese takeovers in critical sectors in Europe and an impression in Brussels that Beijing has not kept its promise to stand up for free trade has complicated talks before the summit.
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china;trade;eu;li keqiang;eastern europe
|
jp0003266
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Bank of Japan cuts assessment for three regions, but Kuroda sees moderate growth ahead
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The Bank of Japan on Monday cut its assessment for three of the country’s nine regions, the biggest number of downgrades in six years, suggesting that damage to exports and factory output from slowing overseas demand was broadening. The BOJ lowered its views on Tohoku, Hokuriku and Kyushu-Okinawa, whose economies are relatively dependent on the electronics industry exporting a large number of semiconductor-related products to China. But BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said the economy is expected to continue expanding moderately, with robust domestic demand offsetting some of the weaknesses in exports. “Core consumer inflation is expected to gradually accelerate toward 2 percent as the output gap remains positive, and medium- to long-term inflation expectations heighten,” Kuroda told a quarterly meeting of the BOJ’s regional branch managers. But the bank warned that weakening global growth and simmering China-U.S. trade tensions were taking a toll on some Japanese regions reliant on overseas demand. “We have had to cut our assessments on exports and output for some regions because we’re hearing more complaints about the impact of the global economic slowdown than three months ago,” said a BOJ official briefing journalists on the quarterly report. The report cited several companies that put off investment in new equipment due to uncertainty over the global outlook. “We decided to forgo a plan to build a new semiconductor equipment plant as Sino-U.S. trade friction heightens uncertainty over the global economy,” a machinery maker in Kumamoto Prefecture was quoted as saying. The BOJ raised its assessment for one region and maintained its view for the remaining sfive. Under a policy dubbed yield-curve control, the BOJ guides short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent in an effort to achieve its 2 percent inflation target. The meeting of the BOJ’s regional branch managers came after the bank’s quarterly tankan survey showed worsening business sentiment among big manufacturers. The key index, measuring confidence among large Japanese manufacturers, stood at 12, down 7 points from 19 in December, the biggest points decline since December 2012 when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current administration was launched. The tankan reflected worries over the slowdown in China and other overseas economies, which resulted in weak demand for Japanese manufacturers, analysts said. Kuroda also told the BOJ’s regional branch managers that the bank will make policy adjustments if necessary to maintain momentum toward its inflation target of 2 percent, while monitoring relevant risks.
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boj;economy;haruhiko kuroda
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jp0003267
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Japan's current account surplus jumped 25% in February on lower oil prices
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Japan posted a 25.3 percent increase in its current account surplus in February from a year earlier, supported by an expanded trade surplus due to lower crude oil prices, according to government data released Monday. The current account, one of the widest gauges of international trade, stood at ¥2.68 trillion, marking the 56th straight month of black ink, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry. Primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, was a key driver of the surplus, registering ¥2.01 trillion in the black. Among other key factors, the country had a goods trade surplus of ¥489.2 billion, helped by falling crude oil prices and a rebound from the previous month’s fall in exports to China, Japan’s major trading partner, ahead of the Lunar New Year beginning Feb. 5. A ministry official who briefed reporters said Japan’s trade to China tends to be influenced by the Lunar New Year, before and during which Tokyo tends to refrain from exporting to the country. The country’s exports fell 1.9 percent to ¥6.31 trillion in the reported month, while imports dropped 6.6 percent to ¥5.82 trillion. Services trade, which includes cargo shipping and passenger transportation, posted a surplus of ¥236.6 billion. Travel surplus rose 6.6 percent to ¥227.4 billion as the number of foreign travelers visiting Japan climbed 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 2.6 million in the reporting month.
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economy;current account surplus;economic indicators
|
jp0003268
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Japan and U.S. to discuss higher standards in applying tariff cuts, sources say
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The United States is expected to pursue setting higher standards to qualify for reduced tariffs in upcoming trade talks with Japan, such as by raising the percentage of auto parts to be made in either of the two countries, sources close to the matter said Monday. The inclusion of such country of origin rules in a bilateral trade deal could serve as a blow to Japanese automakers, which export their vehicles partly made up of components supplied from countries such as China and Thailand, where labor costs are low. According to the sources, negotiators will start off the first round of the talks, slated for April 15 to 16 in Washington, by narrowing down the scope of the negotiations. Rules of origin, customs procedures, food safety regulations, and safeguard measures are expected to be included. As for products to be granted preferential tariff treatment, the United States may also ask for labor provisions that require parts to be made by workers who earn wages comparable to those in the United States. The proposals will fall in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal to reduce the country’s huge goods trade deficit, which he has targeted under his “America First” mantra, and to create jobs in the manufacturing industry. Similar rules were included in the revamped deal the United States signed with Canada and Mexico in November after Trump threatened to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Under the new deal, 75 percent of parts used in automobiles must be made within the bloc in order to qualify for zero percent tariffs, up from the 62.5 percent under NAFTA. Also added was a provision for 40 to 45 percent of parts to be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour. The sources said the initial focus of the Japan-U.S. trade talks is likely to be on goods, rather than services although the United States is also seeking to expand market opportunities for its financial service suppliers. The United States is demanding that Japan lower its tariff on beef and other farm products. Japan in turn plans to call for more access to the U.S. auto market.
|
trade;fta;tariffs;u.s.-japan relations;donald trump
|
jp0003269
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Sluggish, dysfunctional Europe isn't Japan in the 1990s, but there's still reason to worry
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FRANKFURT, GERMANY - Europe’s sclerotic growth and political dysfunction inspire frequent comparisons with Japan’s lost decade from the mid-1990s. The region’s bout of misery this year — Germany’s industrial slump and the struggle to fix its banks, Italy’s inability to reform, the apparent defeat of central bankers seeking to wean the euro area off stimulus — may seem to make perpetual malaise look inevitable. The eurozone’s economy is similar in important ways to its Asian counterpart two decades ago: Interest rates at or below zero, the mountains of debt and nonperforming loans, populations transitioning from an aging society to an aged one. Economists insist there are limits to the comparison, though, while acknowledging that a prolonged period of European stasis, deflation and central bank impotence remains a threat. “I’m very worried about it,” said Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, whose areas of expertise include both Japan and Germany. “Europe’s Japanification is a real risk.” Japan’s so-called lost decade, triggered by the bursting of a bubble in stocks and real estate, pushed the economy into anemic growth or none at all, with rising unemployment and falling interest rates. Here are some of the ways Europe is heading in that direction — and some of the ways it isn’t. Dwindling workforce The euro area’s working-age population has decreased as people live longer and have fewer children. Overall population growth is set to peak in 2045, according to Eurostat, so the region is well on track to match Japan. There, the population has fallen for the last seven years; 1 in 3 people are now 60 or older. Aging populations are often thought to weaken inflation pressures, as people save for retirement and spend less per capita. Japan’s demographic squeeze has brought more women and older people into work and pushed the overall unemployment rate to 2.3 percent, near the lowest level in more than two decades. Yet wage growth is tepid, insufficient to spur inflation. In the eurozone, on the other hand, unemployment is still above its pre-crisis low, yet workers’ pay has started to improve, a signal ECB officials frequently cite as evidence that price growth will pick up. Monetary policy The Bank of Japan has battled deflation for much of the last two decades. The ECB got a taste of that struggle in 2009 amid a recession and in the aftermath of the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. While Japan’s woes began abruptly at the start of the 1990s, the eurozone slid more gently into weak inflation and growth. The BOJ was the first major central bank to embrace radical monetary policy, yet it is still locked into negative interest rates and asset purchases, and weighing more easing. The ECB is a long way from raising rates. While it may be unable to adopt more BOJ-like measures if the slowdown worsens, the bank could be locked into its current stance for a while. “By refusing to ease policy appropriately, the Bank of Japan created a situation where the country had to stay with near-zero interest rates for 20 years,” said Athanasios Orphanides, a former ECB policymaker. “If you look at it like that, 2020 or 2021 might become completely impossible for the ECB to hike.” Inflation expectations While inflation in the eurozone has picked up, it’s still below the ECB’s goal of just under 2 percent, and the core rate is stuck around 1 percent. The ECB says the risk that markets anticipate even slower inflation is “very low.” Investors are less sanguine: A gauge based on derivatives prices has plunged to 1.3 percent, the lowest level since 2016 — when the ECB was buying bonds at a rate of €80 billion ($90 billion) a month. Debt and yields Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now above 230 percent and rising as deficits pile up. European Union rules impose fiscal limits that will limit such a buildup. The eurozone’s ratio is 89 percent and is forecast to decline slowly, though a weaker economy and the need for fiscal stimulus could hamper progress. Still, bond yields tell a worrying story: German borrowing costs are converging with those of Japan. “Japan and the euro area are not that dissimilar,” said Andrew Bosomworth, a money manager at Pacific Investment Management Co. “We’re just following in their footsteps.” Migration The eurozone’s more dynamic labor market, with both external and internal migration, is a key caveat to comparisons with Japan. Net inflows of migrants peaked in 2015 as a recovering European economy coincided with instability in North Africa and the Middle East. That helped soften declines in the working-age population. More recently, however, Europeans have grown resistant to large-scale immigration. Annual net inflows into the eurozone will decrease in the coming decades, according to Eurostat. Japan, with 126 million people, has only about 1.3 million foreign workers and remains opposed to a formal immigration policy. The government is likely to issue five-year residency permits to as many as 345,000 low-skilled workers over the next five years. That would plug about one-quarter of the predicted labor shortfall.
|
europe;inflation;economy;monetary policy
|
jp0003270
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Dollar falls below ¥111.50 in Tokyo
|
The dollar dropped below ¥111.50 in Tokyo trading Monday, dragged down by lower Japanese stock prices and U.S. long-term interest rates. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.45-45, down from ¥111.67-67 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1228-1229, almost unchanged from $1.1229-1230, and at ¥125.14-15, down from ¥125.40-40. After trading in the neighborhood of ¥111.70, the dollar fell to around ¥111.35 toward noon. Selling pressure from domestic exporters as well as investors increased as the Nikkei 225 stock average sank into negative territory and the key 10-year interest rate in the United States declined in off-hours trading, traders said. But the U.S. currency showed resilience after slipping through ¥111.40, they added. “Position-squaring selling gained strength in the morning while the dollar was exhibiting its top-heaviness at levels below ¥112 despite the strong U.S. nonfarm payroll numbers announced on Friday,” a currency broker said. The greenback was on a weak tone against not only the yen but other major currencies, due in part to U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Federal Reserve and his effective dismissal of Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, the broker added. “The market did not have incentives to either lift the dollar above ¥112 or push it below ¥111,” an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0003271
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Tokyo stocks head south as investors lock in profits
|
Stocks fell Monday, pressured by a wave of profit-taking selling. The Nikkei 225 average lost 45.85 points, or 0.21 percent, to end at 21,761.65 after gaining 82.55 points Friday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 5.61 points, or 0.35 percent, lower at 1,620.14. It rose 5.70 points Friday. The Nikkei retook 21,900 for the first time since Dec. 5 on an intraday basis right after the opening bell. Investors took heart from Wall Street’s advance Friday on stronger than expected growth in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in March, market sources said. But the key market gauge, as well as the Topix, soon headed south on selling to lock in profits, the sources said. Although the Nikkei briefly returned to the sunny side late in the morning, trading was sluggish for the whole day without powerful buying incentives. “The yen’s rise induced futures-linked selling and battered such export-oriented issues as automakers,” Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., pointed out. Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc., attributed the day’s fall to “the absence of active buyers.” Market sentiment was underpinned by U.S. equities’ continued advance, but investors could not bid stocks up due to “uncertainties over earnings” to be released by major Japanese companies later, Fujii said. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,397 to 666 in the first section, while 77 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.057 billion shares from 1.137 billion Friday. All major automakers, including Honda, Toyota and Subaru, suffered losses. Resona Holdings sank 1.83 percent on the bank group’s profit warning for the year that ended in March. Among other major losers were auto parts supplier Denso and chipmaking gear manufacturer Tokyo Electron. By contrast, drugstore chain operator Sugi Holdings jumped 4.85 percent following its announcement of brisk earnings for the year through February. Also bought were optical equipment maker Olympus, cosmetics maker Shiseido and clothing store chain Fast Retailing.
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0003272
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Nissan shareholders officially oust Carlos Ghosn, bringing 20-year relationship to an end
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Nissan Motor Co. officially removed former Chairman Carlos Ghosn from his director post on Monday at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Tokyo, ending a 20-year relationship with the charismatic leader widely credited with saving the company. During the meeting attended by 4,119 shareholders, the Yokohama-based automaker also ousted Greg Kelly, a close aide of Ghosn and former representative director, from the board, while Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was appointed as a director to replace Ghosn. Nissan ousted Ghosn from the chairman post soon after his initial arrest on allegations of financial misconduct, but a vote by shareholders was needed to remove him from the board. Standing before the shareholders, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa apologized for causing trouble over Ghosn’s case, which he described as “an unheard of incident” in the history of the automaker. But asked about his own responsibility, Saikawa said he will not resign. “I believe the current management also has serious social and moral responsibility,” a male shareholder said during the meeting, adding that the case has damaged Nissan’s reputation and negatively impacted society. “If you talk about moral responsibility, I’d like to propose that we renew our management by having all of the current management members step down,” he said. While admitting he has a grave responsibility, Saikawa said he plans to fulfill it through implementing measures to improve governance and solidify the three-way alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. “Once I’ve done these things thoroughly and the situation has moved to the point where we can pass the torch … I’ll think about what to do with myself,” Saikawa said. In November, Ghosn was arrested on suspicion of underreporting his income for years along with Kelly. Tokyo prosecutors served Ghosn with two more warrants in December. Although he was released on bail after 108 days of detention, Ghosn was rearrested last week for allegedly redirecting Nissan funds to his investment firm through a company based in Oman. Ghosn and Kelly have denied the allegations. Nissan also claims that Ghosn used the company’s assets for his personal benefit, including purchasing a house and covering his family’s expenses. But some shareholders questioned why the current executives failed for so long to stop the alleged financial misconduct by Ghosn and Kelly, with some allegedly dubious payments going as far back as 2003. “It’s true that very few people were dealing with money in their limited circle. They managed to distance their activity from being a target of audit or investigation,” Saikawa said. “I was there back then, but as I look back, it was difficult to identify some specific (signs),” he said. Toshiyuki Shiga, a Nissan director and former chief operating officer, said he was “aghast at hearing the news of Ghosn’s arrest.” Shiga said he was probably the first Nissan representative to meet Ghosn and worked with him for the longest period. “It took me a while to digest the facts. I couldn’t believe he was really doing such things,” said Shiga, who held the COO post between 2005 and 2013 under Ghosn. Yet as he learned about the internal investigation, he had no choice but to accept it, he said. “At the same time, I’ve come to think that I am responsible for not being able to stop him,” Shiga said. Some shareholders also asked whether Nissan will be filing a damages suit against Ghosn and how the firm would respond if he decided to sue the company if he is cleared of wrongdoing. Saikawa said the company plans to file a damages suit against Ghosn when the timing is right, adding that Nissan is confident in its case if Ghosn decides to sue. Last month, a panel of experts commissioned by Nissan to investigate the company’s governance issues said the problem was mainly a “concentration of all authority” in Ghosn. It made a series of proposals, including abolishing the chairman position and changing the company’s basic framework to set up committees with a majority of outside independent directors tasked with nominations to the board, compensation issues and corporate auditing by the end of June.
|
nissan;renault;shareholders;carlos ghosn
|
jp0003273
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/08
|
France calls on Japan to respect Carlos Ghosn's legal rights on sidelines of G7 meeting
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DINARD, FRANCE - France’s top diplomat, meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono, has urged Japan to ensure consular protection and the presumption of innocence over the case of Carlos Ghosn. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday he talked about the Ghosn case with Kono on the sidelines of the meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in the French resort of Dinard. Their talks came a day after the Tokyo District Court ruled that Ghosn must remain in custody until at least April 14 following his re-arrest last week. “I of course spoke about the Ghosn case with my colleague,” Le Drian told reporters after the end of the G7 meeting. “I told him two things: That France respects completely the sovereignty and independence of the Japanese judiciary. And I also reminded him of our attachment to the presumption of innocence and the full rights of consular protection.” Ghosn spent 108 days in detention in Tokyo Detention House before being dramatically released on bail March 6. But his re-arrest last week came as authorities look into new allegations that Ghosn transferred some $15 million in Nissan funds between late 2015 and mid-2018 to a dealership in Oman. In an interview with French television recorded just before his latest arrest, the businessman, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities, called on the French government “to defend me” and press the Japanese authorities to respect the presumption of innocence. Ghosn had long been lauded as the architect of the alliance between Renault and Nissan — and later Mitsubishi Motors — before his shock arrest in Tokyo in November.
|
scandals;nissan;carmakers;carlos ghosn;jean-yves le drian;taro kono
|
jp0003275
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Florida team bags huge female python by using tracking devices on males
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MIAMI - Researchers in Florida using a new approach to combating a destructive invasion by enormous pythons have captured one of the biggest ever, a 17-foot-long (5.2 meters) specimen large enough to eat a deer, they said. The female snake is longer than a one-story building is high, and weighs 140 pounds (64 kg). It is one of the biggest pythons ever caught in southern Florida, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Big Cypress National Preserve. The researchers found the enormous reptile by using male pythons fitted with radio transmitters, allowing them to track the male and locate breeding females, according to the post. “The team not only removes the invasive snakes, but collects data for research, develops new removal tools and learns how the pythons are using the preserve,” the park said. The 17-footer was found to contain 73 developing eggs. The reptiles have no natural predators in Florida and multiply rapidly, posing “significant threats to native wildlife,” the researchers said. The snakes can decimate native wildlife, killing small animals like rabbits, birds and opossums, and even eating creatures as large as alligators and adult deer. The Burmese python is considered an invasive species since it first appeared in the area in the 1980s. With anywhere from 30,000 to 300,000 pythons now in southern Florida, the U.S. Interior Department banned their importation in 2012. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has sponsored hunting programs to target the reptiles. But such efforts have failed to slow their spread, and the commission in 2017 held hearings around the state to seek creative ideas for containing the monstrous creatures. Among the ideas to emerge: introducing snake-killing Australian terrier dogs, stringing barbed wire around trees to protect birds, or using drones fitted with infrared sensors to conduct aerial surveillance. Another idea — introducing mongooses, which are famed in Asia for their ability to kill cobras — came from one Victoria Olson of Fort Lauderdale. “They have been successful in Puerto Rico & The US Virgin Islands to eradicate snakes and yes, they can kill a python,” she said, according to the Sun-Sentinel newspaper of Fort Lauderdale. Pythons are not known as being particularly brainy. Since some have choked to death on golf balls they thought were eggs, one man suggested setting out hundreds of fake eggs. Asked about such ideas, a state wildlife spokeswoman noted diplomatically that public input is greatly valued. But, she told the Sun-Sentinel, “we want to give each suggestion the time for evaluation it deserves.”
|
animals;florida;snakes
|
jp0003276
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Pakistan says it has intelligence of new Indian attack this month and has alerted UNSC
|
KARACHI, PAKISTAN - Pakistan has “reliable intelligence” that India will attack again this month, its foreign minister said, drawing condemnation from New Delhi, which described the claim as irresponsible. Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s comments came after tensions over a February standoff between the arch enemies had appeared to ease. He said on Sunday that an attack could take place between April 16 and 20, adding that Pakistan had told the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council of its concerns. “India rejects the irresponsible and preposterous statement by the foreign minister of Pakistan with a clear objective of whipping up war hysteria in the region,” a spokesman for India’s foreign office said in a statement. “This public gimmick appears to be a call to Pakistan-based terrorists to undertake a terror attack in India.” The foreign office said India reserved the right to respond firmly and decisively to any cross border militant attack, accusing Pakistan of being complicit in such attacks on India. A suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14. The risk of conflict rose dramatically on Feb. 27, when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base inside Pakistan. The following day Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet and captured its pilot, who was later released. Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to protest against any “misadventure,” Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet. “We have reliable intelligence that India is planning a new attack on Pakistan. As per our information this could take place between April 16 and 20,” Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan. He did not elaborate on what evidence Pakistan had or how he could be so specific with the timing, but he said Prime Minister Imran Khan had agreed to share the information with the country. Khan blamed India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “whipping up war hysteria” over claims that India shot down a Pakistani plane during the February standoff. The Indian air force had displayed pieces of a missile that it said was fired by a Pakistani F-16 before it was downed. Satellite images showing little sign of damage have also case doubt on the success of Indian air strikes on a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group in northwestern Pakistan. The standoff led Pakistan to close its airspace but most commercial air traffic has since resumed and major airports have opened. As strains between the two neighbors apparently eased, Pakistan said on Friday it would release 360 Indian prisoners this month. The first hundred were released on Sunday. Because relations are so rocky, prisoners who have completed jail terms, many of them fishermen convicted of straying into each other’s territory, often languish in prison for months, if not years, afterwards. “These are 100 Indian fishermen released from jail as a goodwill gesture by Pakistan,” Saad Edhi, an official with Pakistan’s largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, told Reuters at Karachi’s Cantonment Railway Station on Sunday. “They are going to Lahore from where they will be released into India across the Wagha border crossing.”
|
conflict;india;kashmir;pakistan;terrorism;unsc;shah mahmood qureshi
|
jp0003277
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Kidnapped U.S. woman and driver reported freed in Uganda after ransom is paid
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KAMPALA - A U.S. tourist and a safari guide kidnapped by gunmen in a Ugandan national park have been recovered safe and sound after a ransom was paid for their release, a safari firm said on Sunday. The pair were hauled from their safari vehicle by four gunmen around dusk on April 2 as they drove through the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Mike Walker, manager of Wild Frontiers Safaris, said U.S. tourist Kimberly Endicott and experienced guide, Jean-Paul Mirenge, were “back safe.” “Ransom paid and people exchanged,” he told AFP by text. Referring to the ransom amount Walker said he did not know the “precise amount yet.” Police had said the kidnappers used Endicott’s mobile telephone to demand a ransom of $500,000 for the release of the pair. Asked about the ransom, police spokeswoman Polly Namaye would not confirm directly but referred AFP to the tour company, saying it was “an authority on its own.” She credited the safe recovery of the pair “to the untiring efforts” of the search teams who were drawn from the police, military and the wildlife authority. “The victims of last week’s kidnapping have been recovered alive,” Namaye said. The Ugandan police’s tourist protection force had deployed a special response unit working alongside soldiers and wildlife rangers in the hunt for the kidnapped pair. Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the East African nation’s most popular wildlife reserves, runs along the border with conflict-wracked regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the famous Virunga national park, the oldest in Africa. Numerous militia groups and armed gangs roam eastern DR Congo. Virunga suspended all tourism activities last year after a ranger was killed and two British tourists kidnapped. The Britons and their driver were freed two days after the attack. The park reopened in February. Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo wrote on Twitter that Endicott and Mirenge, were rescued “by Uganda security forces in the DRC.” He added that “the kidnappers have escaped and operations continue.” Queen Elizabeth park is about 150 km (90 miles) north of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, famous for gorilla trekking. Uganda is home to more than half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. In 1999, Rwandan rebels killed eight foreign tourists and four Ugandans there, inflicting an enormous blow to Uganda’s tourist industry. The rebels were part of a militia group that was involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide before fleeing to the jungles of DR Congo. Tourism is a key industry for Uganda, as a major earner of foreign currency. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit each year.
|
kidnappings;uganda;mike pompeo;kim endicott;queen elizabeth national park
|
jp0003278
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
U.S. attorney general pressed to provide proof Russia probe didn't incriminate Trump
|
WASHINGTON - Two weeks after he cleared President Donald Trump in the Russia meddling investigation, Attorney General Bill Barr faces mounting pressure to show the full evidence behind his decision. Allegations last week that the U.S. justice chief played down serious evidence of illegal obstruction by Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report are fueling demands that he release the entire, unexpurgated document to Congress. “He is a biased person,” Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said of Barr in an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He’s a biased defender of the administration, and he’s entitled to be a defender of the administration, but he is not entitled to withhold the evidence from Congress,” Nadler said. News reports, citing unnamed members of Mueller’s staff, said Barr ignored the summaries that Mueller’s team prepared for public release, and instead issued his own on March 24, in which he peremptorily cleared the president of any wrongdoing. And Barr now says he will not release key evidence given to Mueller’s grand jury, a special panel used by prosecutors in politically sensitive cases. Democrats suspect the evidence could be damning to the president — setting up a legal and political showdown. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that Barr alone will decide what to release, and he bridled at the Democrats’ demands. “If we give the Democrats all 400 pages unredacted, that’s not going to be the end of the inquiry. And they’re going to want another thousand pages that went into making that,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a show by the Democrats.” The Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee this week prepared to subpoena the full report, a move Barr and the White House will almost certainly contest. And on Thursday, Nadler demanded that Barr turn over all communications between his office and Mueller’s, following the reports that Mueller’s staff were unhappy with the way Barr presented their conclusions. At stake is the president’s ability to put the Russia probe behind him and look to 2020 for re-election. Trump, who declared a “complete and total exoneration” when Barr announced Mueller’s conclusions, said this week that Democrats “are fighting hard to keep the Witch Hunt alive.” “This is the highest level of Presidential Harassment in the history of our Country!” he tweeted. On Tuesday, members of Congress might get their first chance to press Barr in public about the Mueller report, when he appears before the House Appropriations Committee in a hearing nominally focused on the Justice Department budget. In his four-page summation of the 22-month investigation on March 24, Barr said that Mueller found no evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 election, and that there was insufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction. Yet Barr also conceded that Mueller did compile evidence of obstruction, and quoted the special counsel as saying that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Suspicions are deep among Democrats that Barr took advantage of his position to clear Trump and now wants to keep the most damaging parts of the report secret to protect the White House. Trump chose the veteran Republican lawyer to lead the Justice Department after firing his predecessor Jeff Sessions, whom the president resented for recusing himself from oversight of the Russia probe. In June 2018, with Sessions’s job already known to be imperiled, Barr sent an unsolicited legal memo to the Justice Department and White House strongly criticizing the Mueller investigation and its impingement on the president’s prerogatives. Then a Washington corporate attorney, Barr declared — without knowledge of the internal work of the Russia probe — that “Mueller’s obstruction theory is fatally misconceived” and based on “a novel and legally unsupportable reading of the law.” The memo came to light in December only after Trump had sacked Sessions and chosen Barr to replace him. So far, Barr has held firm to his stance that he will release this month more of the Mueller report, but a version stripped of evidence and of testimony given to Mueller’s grand jury. The grand jury material is essential. As often done in such high-profile cases, Mueller used the panel of citizens to develop and hear the evidence and depose key witnesses behind closed doors. Grand-jury evidence is usually kept secret by law unless a prosecutor ultimately decides to level charges in the case. Democrats argue that Congress, in its constitutional responsibility to enforce the law against the president, has the right to review any evidence against him of wrongdoing, even that of a grand jury. On Friday, the Justice Department, commenting on a fresh ruling in a case on grand-jury secrecy, signaled its stance against that. “The Department of Justice will continue to defend the long-established tradition of protecting grand jury information,” said spokeswoman Kelly Laco.
|
u.s .;robert mueller;justice department;donald trump;russia probe;william barr;jerry nadler
|
jp0003281
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
France awaits results from Emmanuel Macron's 'Great National Debate'
|
PARIS - Over three months, France’s “Great National Debate” has led to 10,000 local meetings, around 2 million online contributions and 100 hours of presidential talking. On Monday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe begins trying to make sense of it all. The debate was launched in January by President Emmanuel Macron as a response to protests by “yellow vest” demonstrators whose nationwide revolt over living standards created the biggest crisis of his time in office. By inviting voters to take part, Macron had twin objectives: anger could be channeled away from the streets and into town hall meetings, while he could soften his image by showing he was open to listening. “I intend to transform anger into solutions,” he declared in an open letter to the country on Jan. 13, referring to the protests which had seen crowds block roads and repeatedly riot on the Champs-Elysees. “Your proposals will help build a new contract for the nation,” he promised. After a shaky start, when the chief organizer had to step down due to an outcry over her salary, most observers see the exercise so far as a qualified success for the 41-year-old centrist. The number of contributions demonstrated a level of enthusiasm that looked uncertain at the start, while the president has visibly enjoyed meeting voters at campaign-style events in community centers around the country. “He loves it,” one adviser said on the sidelines of the first event which saw him hold court for 6½ hours in a show of stamina that left many participants exhausted. His catastrophic approval ratings in late 2018 have crept back up, meanwhile, with recent polls showing around 30 percent of voters holding a positive view of the former investment banker. But Macron and his government are now expected to deliver results having built up expectations about an exercise that has been dismissed as the “Great National Bla-bla” by many opponents. “Nothing will be the same as before,” government spokesman Sibeth Ndiaye marshalled again Sunday, underlining how the debate has been billed as a watershed in Macron’s presidency. At an event in Paris on Monday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is set to lay out the first wave of conclusions in the presence of ministers, experts and members of the public. A polling firm and three political consultancies have attempted to crunch all the data from the internet, public meetings and 16,000 books which have been left open in mayors’ offices around the country to record grievances. Insiders in Philippe’s office have stressed the difficulties of listening to a highly polarized country that looked on the edge of an insurrection in mid-December. “There are a few things which jump out, but the reality is that there are big disparities in opinion on most subjects,” one aide said. Experts have pointed out other flaws: The preponderance of gray hair at many public meetings suggests older people are over-represented, while most “yellow vests” have boycotted proceedings. A front-page cartoon in the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January showed two demonstrators taking part in a debate — but only to decide which blade to use as they put Macron in a guillotine. Philippe said Friday that the government listened “to everything that the people had to say, in their great diversity, and sometimes in their great complexity.” Macron is expected to try to turn the feedback into policy changes with a major speech planned in the middle of the month. “Every debate has given him some new ideas. But he hasn’t made his mind up yet,” an aide said last week on condition of anonymity. “He’s going to consult some more. But ultimately he’ll decide on his own, and perhaps at the last minute.” He has given little away publicly, but he has stressed that widespread demands for tax cuts must be accompanied by reductions in public spending. He has also ruled out reintroducing a special tax for the wealthy which he scrapped early in his term in a bid to encourage investment and job creation. Reintroducing it has been one of the main demands of the “yellow vests” who continue to mobilize every Saturday, but in far smaller numbers than at the start of the year. A referendum could also be on the cards, possibly to validate plans to reduce the number of national lawmakers and change the voting system for some seats. “France is not a round-table or a political brain-storming session,” the center-right Le Figaro newspaper wrote last week, expressing growing impatience with the debate format. “Everyone now — citizens, lawmakers, even ministers — expects decisions,” it added.
|
france;emmanuel macron;edouard philippe;yellow vests
|
jp0003282
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Turkish leader Erdogan's election setback dents hopes for major reforms
|
ISTANBUL - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s losses in local elections have dented investors’ hopes that Turkey will adopt painful reforms they say are needed to stabilize the economy as he moves to shore up his political base. Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP), in power nationally since 2002, lost control of the capital, Ankara, and the business hub of Istanbul in the March 31 polls, initial results showed. The AKP has demanded recounts in both cities. Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law, is expected this week to announce to jittery foreign investors the structural reforms he hopes will revive an economy plagued by high inflation and a fragile currency. State-owned Anadolu news agency said the announcement will be made Wednesday. After a currency crisis last year that saw the lira lose nearly 30 percent of its value, economists say Turkey needs to make long-term commitments to increase exports, relieve debt-laden companies and free up the central bank to do its job. Erdogan, who campaigned hard ahead of the vote, said on election night the AKP will now refocus on the economy. But many analysts are skeptical about the chances for a comprehensive reform plan, especially after the elections, and fear the AKP will opt instead for short-term stimulus measures that fail to tackle, and may even exacerbate, deeper weaknesses. “The AKP base want more pro-growth measures, they want more fiscal measures, they want lower inflation. It is exactly what they (the AKP) did before the elections and it will have to continue if (Erdogan) wants to remain popular,” said Guillaume Tresca, senior emerging markets strategist at Credit Agricole. “I would not expect concrete reforms, it will be just words.” At the heart of Turkey’s economic malaise are years of cheap foreign funding that drove a construction-driven boom. Once the lira collapsed, firms could not pay off debts and that exposed their lenders and employees to default and bankruptcy. As the economy tipped into recession last year, the lira stabilized and inflation dipped a bit from a 15-year high of 25 percent, offering some relief. But a series of ad hoc measures have stoked investors’ concerns that Turkey is not fully committed to letting its currency float freely or to allowing the central bank to keep interest rates high — at 24 percent since September — for as long as needed to bring inflation down from 20 percent. To help hard-pressed Turks this year, the government launched discount fruit and vegetable stands and extended tax cuts on some goods. To tackle a lira meltdown last month, it ordered banks to choke off lira funding to a London foreign-exchange market and tapped into central bank reserves. “It looks like the Erdogan instinct is to survive,” said Nihat Bulent Gultekin, a former Turkish central bank governor and now a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “I don’t think they have any long-term objectives. It would require a constant focus on the economy for an extended period of time.” Albayrak has given few details of the coming reforms, saying only that they will address a wide range of issues. The lira has settled down in recent days after its pre-election volatility and analysts say Albayrak’s reforms will help determine whether volatility returns. “The market expects concrete measures to address economic imbalances accompanied by a specific timetable,” said Piotr Matys, emerging markets Forex strategist at Rabobank. Moody’s said “the credibility and effectiveness” of reforms will be key to Turkey’s credit profile, which the ratings agency downgraded in August. “There is a risk that the government will embark on even more expensive stimulus programs as it begins to recognize the extent of the economic downturn,” it said. Investors and economists say Ankara needs a plan to recapitalize banks dealing with corporate restructuring and non-performing loans, which could more than double this year. It should also boost competitive export sectors such as auto and textile manufacturing in order to lower its annual current account deficit, which leaves the economy reliant on speculative foreign inflows, they say. “We need to provide the right training and the right subsidies to the right sectors,” Selva Demiralp, professor at Istanbul’s Koc University, said. The reforms would take time and “there will be a price to pay because when the production structure is changing some people will be unemployed,” she said. That may be hard to swallow for Erdogan and Turks in general who would not welcome a recession that lasts beyond the second half of 2019, when economists currently expect a return to growth. Unemployment has already risen above 13 percent. Although an unlikely option for Erdogan, who has repeatedly said Turkey does not need the International Monetary Fund, Matys of Rabobank said the reforms should ideally be overseen by the IMF to restore investor confidence. “A PowerPoint presentation (by Albayrak) with slides claiming that the economy is rebalancing quickly and a few bullet points may not prove sufficient to restore confidence among investors,” he said.
|
economy;elections;turkey;recep tayyip erdogan
|
jp0003283
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Netanyahu plays pre-election Trump card, vowing to annex settlements
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JERUSALEM - Palestinians voiced alarm while Israelis weighed the gravity on Sunday of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sudden election promise to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Some Israeli commentators saw the right-wing leader’s pledge on Saturday, as Tuesday’s national ballot approaches, as mainly a bid to siphon votes from ultranationalist rivals long advocating annexation. But after years of resisting far-right calls to formally put West Bank land captured in the 1967 Middle East war under permanent Israeli hold, Netanyahu could be counting on support for a dramatic shift from his close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump. “Who says that we won’t do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it,” Netanyahu, asked why he had not extended Israeli sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, told Israel’s Channel 12 News. In March, Trump broke with decades of international consensus by recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria. That followed his December 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the U.S. Embassy’s move to the holy city last May. Asked in an interview on Friday on Israel’s Channel 13 why he wasn’t pressing Trump now to approve a West Bank settlement status change, Netanyahu replied: “Wait until the next term.” Taking Netanyahu at his word, Palestinians seeking statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem called his settlement annexation remarks a violation of international law regarding occupied territory. “His declaration is not just in the heat of … electioneering campaigns,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestine Liberation Organization official. “This is the end of any chances of peace.” A spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs the Gaza Strip, said “the response to (Israeli) crimes and foolishness will be met by popular resistance, armed resistance and by all our might. But Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the New Right party and author of a plan to annex parts of the West Bank, suggested Netanyahu was simply trawling for votes. “For the past 10 years, Netanyahu has blocked applying Israeli law to even a centimeter of land,” Bennett tweeted. In the settlement of Karnei Shomron, spice shop owner Yehezkel Shaul said he believed Netanyahu’s annexation pledge, calling him “the most reliable and honest person. At the local high school, Harel Levi, 18, was not so sure. “It’s an election promise and he’ll find some excuse later,” Levi said. Settlements, which Israel’s B’Tselem rights group said cover about 10 percent of the West Bank, are one of the most heated issues in efforts to restart peace talks, frozen since 2014. After decades of settlement-building, more than 400,000 Israelis now live in the territory, according to Israeli figures. The West Bank is home to some 2.9 million Palestinians, the Palestinian Statistics Bureau says. A further 212,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions, which ban settling on territory occupied in war. Israel disputes this, arguing that the status of the West Bank is still disputed. But unilateral annexation would be far harder to justify, even among allies. Trump’s predecessors as president publicly discouraged the expansion of settlements, arguing that they made it harder to negotiate a viable Palestinian state, viewed by administrations from both U.S. parties as Israel’s likeliest route to peace. Palestinians argue that Washington did not do enough in practice to press for settlements to be curbed. Most peace plan scenarios foresee Israel negotiating to keep some settlements in return for giving other land to the Palestinians. Annexation could take that off the table. Netanyahu’s annexation promise was met with skepticism by Shaqued Morag, director of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlements group that closely monitors their expansion. “So we must ask, why has Netanyahu said this now?” Morag said. The answer, she told Reuters, was that Netanyahu feared for his political survival and “the times dictate he makes these extreme declarations that he has no intention to follow through on. Israel Katz, the acting foreign minister and a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, said its “great fear” was a split in the right-wing vote that would result in a second-place finish behind the centrist Blue and White faction. Katz said Likud had to ensure it emerges as the biggest party, to put Netanyahu in the best position to get the nod from Israel’s president to try to put together a governing coalition. No one party has ever won a ruling parliamentary majority on its own in an Israeli election.
|
israel;jerusalem;benjamin netanyahu;palestinians;elections;hamas;settlements;west bank;golan heights;donald trump
|
jp0003284
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Thousands of Sudanese protesters stage second day of sit-in outside al-Bashir's compound
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KHARTOUM - Thousands of protesters held a sit-in outside Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s residence in central Khartoum on Sunday, and crowds chanting anti-government slogans filled several main streets, witnesses said. Sudan has seen sustained protests against al-Bashir and his National Congress Party since Dec. 19. Security forces have fired tear gas, stun grenades and live bullets to disperse protesters and dozens have been killed during demonstrations. Al-Bashir has refused to step down, saying that his opponents need to seek power through the ballot box. On Sunday evening, dozens of demonstrations took place in the Sudanese capital, eyewitnesses said. Protesters marched in several streets of central Khartoum, setting fire to car tires and blocking a main road, a Reuters witness said. Demonstrators also blocked a bridge that connects Khartoum and Khartoum North. No police officers or other security forces personnel could be seen, eyewitnesses said. Sudan earlier suffered a total power blackout, the ministry of water resources, irrigation and electricity said without explaining the cause of the outage. Electricity was later restored in some areas. Since the sit-in began outside of the presidential residence on Saturday, security forces had fired tear gas several times in an attempt to clear the protesters, but thousands remained on Sunday. Apparently emboldened by the success of similar but much larger protests in Algeria, which forced ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down last week, Sudanese activists called for Saturday’s protests. The demonstrations marked the anniversary of the 1985 military coup that overthrew autocratic President Jaafar Nimeiri after mass protests against his rule. The protesters urged the military to side with them once more in their bid to push al-Bashir out of power. The compound which houses the presidential residence is the most heavily guarded in Sudan. It is also home to the defense ministry and the headquarters of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service. On Saturday at least one person died during protests in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, state news agency SUNA said without providing detail on the cause of death. The person killed was a laboratory doctor who succumbed to his injuries, according to a statement from an opposition doctors’ committee. Medical staff have played a prominent role in the protests. SUNA said other civilians and police officers were wounded on Saturday in Omdurman, the scene of protests late into the evening that subsided by Sunday morning. The sit-in outside the compound appeared to mirror 2011 Arab Spring protests, in which demonstrators in Cairo and other Arab capitals camped out in public squares for days to demand a change in rule. Police and security forces on Saturday blocked all bridges leading to the capital’s center from Khartoum North and Omdurman, across the River Nile to the north and west respectively, in what appeared to be a bid to prevent the sit-in from swelling. They remained closed on Sunday, causing major traffic jams. Hundreds of people were crossing into Khartoum from Omdurman via Victory Bridge by foot on Sunday morning, a Reuters witness said, as cars stood at a standstill for hours.
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protests;sudan;omar al-bashir;khartoum
|
jp0003285
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Give us a strong leader and reform the Brexit-fatigued system, Britons say in survey
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LONDON - British voters want a strong leader who is willing to break the rules and force through wide-scale reform after three years of Brexit crisis pushed confidence in the political system to a 15-year low. The 2016 referendum revealed a United Kingdom divided over much more than EU membership, and has sparked impassioned debate about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and what it means to be British. Yet more than a week since the United Kingdom was originally supposed to leave the EU on March 29, nothing is resolved. It remains uncertain how, when or if it ever will. Research by the Hansard Society found that 54 percent of voters want a strong leader who is willing to break the rules, while 72 percent said the system needs “quite a lot” or “a great deal” of improvement. Confidence in the system at the lowest level in the 15-year history of the survey, lower even than after the 2009 expense scandal when lawmakers were shown to have charged taxpayers for everything from an ornamental duck house to cleaning out a moat. “Opinions of the system of governing are at their lowest point in the 15-year Audit series — worse now than in the aftermath of the MPs’ expenses scandal,” according to the Hansard Society. “People are pessimistic about the country’s problems and their possible solution, with sizeable numbers willing to entertain radical political changes.” Just a quarter of people had confidence in lawmakers’ handling of Brexit. The survey was conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12 by Ipsos MORI.
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u.k .;surveys;u.k. parliament;brexit;hansard society
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jp0003286
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Britain plans social media regulation to battle harmful content
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LONDON - Britain proposed new online safety laws on Monday that would slap penalties on social media companies and technology firms if they fail to protect their users from harmful content. Easy access to damaging material particularly among young people has caused growing concern worldwide and came into the spotlight in Britain after the death of 14-year-old schoolgirl Molly Russell, which her parents said came after she had viewed online material on depression and suicide. Governments across the world are wrestling over how to better control content on social media platforms, often blamed for encouraging abuse, the spread of online pornography, and for influencing or manipulating voters. Global worries were recently stoked by the live streaming of the mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand on one of Facebook’s platforms, after which Australia said it would fine social media and web hosting companies and imprison executives if violent content is not removed “expeditiously.” In a policy paper widely trailed in British media, the government said it would look into possibly using fines, blocking access to websites and imposing liability on senior tech company management for failing to limit the distribution of harmful content. It would also set up a regulator to police the rules. TechUK, an industry trade group, said the paper was a significant step forward, but one which needed to be firmed up during its 12-week consultation. It said some aspects of the government’s approach were too vague. “It is vital that the new framework is effective, proportionate and predictable,” techUK said in a statement, adding not all concerns could be addressed through regulation. Facebook said it was looking forward to working with the government to ensure new regulations were effective, repeating its founder Mark Zuckerberg’s line that regulations were needed to have a standard approach across platforms. Rebecca Stimson, Facebook’s head of U.K. public policy, said any new rules should strike a balance between protecting society and supporting innovation and free speech. “These are complex issues to get right and we look forward to working with the government and parliament to ensure new regulations are effective,” Stimson said in a statement. Prime Minister Theresa May said that while the internet could be brilliant at connecting people, it had not done enough to protect users, especially children and young people. “That is not good enough, and it is time to do things differently,” May said in a statement. “We have listened to campaigners and parents, and are putting a legal duty of care on internet companies to keep people safe.” The duty of care would make companies take more responsibility for the safety of users and tackle harm caused by content or activity on their services. The regulator, funded by industry in the medium term, will set clear safety standards. A committee of lawmakers has also demanded more is done to make political advertising and campaigning on social media more transparent. “It is vital that our electoral law is brought up to date as soon as possible, so that social media users know who is contacting them with political messages and why,” said Conservative Damian Collins, who chairs the parliamentary committee for digital, culture, media and sport. “Should there be an early election, then emergency legislation should be introduced to achieve this.”
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u.k .;abuse;social media;facebook
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jp0003288
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Students among 11 civilians killed in Yemen capital, U.N. says
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SANAA - The United Nations called Monday for an investigation into the deaths of 11 civilians including students in Yemen’s capital, where rebels accused a Saudi-led coalition of carrying out a deadly airstrike. Scores more civilians were wounded in Sanaa on Sunday, according to a statement released by the U.N. that did not specify the cause of the casualties. An AFP reporter on the ground said the injuries appeared to be the result of an explosion near a school in the city. The coalition, which regularly carries out airstrikes against the rebels, denied conducting any raids on Sanaa on Sunday. Five students were among the dead, according to the U.N., whose humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, voiced alarm at the “terrible, senseless deaths and injuries.” “Every effort must be made to understand the circumstances that led to this tragedy,” she said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, locked in a war with Saudi Arabia and its military allies backing the government, on Sunday accused the coalition of bombing that they said killed more than 13 people and wounded 90. The coalition, which has come under international pressure over its airstrikes in Yemen, accuses the rebels of routinely using civilians as human shields. The World Health Organization estimates nearly 10,000 Yemenis have been killed since 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened to prevent the defeat of the government in the face of a rebel offensive. Human rights groups say the real death toll is several times higher. The conflict has pushed millions of Yemenis to the brink of mass starvation, in what the U.N. has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
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conflict;yemen;saudi arabia
|
jp0003289
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Hospital hit as fighting in northwestern Syria strains truce, leaving at least 13 dead
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BEIRUT - Syrian government forces and insurgents exchanged a barrage of rockets on Sunday in the country’s northwest that killed at least 13 people and hit a government-run hospital, activists and government media reported. The violence strained a fragile months-old truce negotiated between Russia and Turkey that averted a government offensive on Idlib and surrounding areas, the last major rebel stronghold in the country. The region is home to some 3 million people, including many displaced from other battles in the civil war. The head of the local hospital in government-held Massyaf said insurgent shelling killed a rescue worker and four other people. Maher Younis told the state-run Ikhbariya TV that five children who were arriving at the hospital and two dentists were wounded. One of the wounded told Ikhbariya from her hospital bed that the missile landed when she and her mother were arriving to do some medical tests. “We only felt a big bang. I was wounded in my hand and my mom in her leg,” she said, without giving her name. Hospitals and civilian infrastructure have frequently come under fire over the course of the eight-year civil war, and rights groups say government forces have targeted medical facilities on several occasions. The government denies targeting such facilities and says the rebels use them for military purposes. The rebels do not have precision missiles, and mainly rely on homemade or outdated arms. The U.N. says close to half of all hospitals and primary health care facilities in Syria are either partially functional or not functional due to damage inflicted by the war in the last eight years. The insurgent fire came amid heightened tensions following days of government fire on villages and towns on the edge of the enclave. Opposition-allied first responders known as the White Helmets said government shelling killed at least eight people, including one child, in Saraqeb and Nairab towns in eastern Idlib. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at nine. The activist-run Shaam news agency said the shelling in Saraqeb hit civilians who were visiting a local government office. On Thursday, the U.N. said there has been an “alarming spike in civilian casualties and new displacement,” with increased fighting and intensification of airstrikes in the truce area. It said in March alone, 90 civilians were reportedly killed, nearly half of them children, and over 86,500 people were displaced in February and March, compounding an already precarious humanitarian situation on the ground. Russia, which backs President Bashar Assad, and Turkey, which supports opposition factions, reached the truce deal in September. It set up a demilitarized zone on the edge of the rebel-held enclave which was to be cleared of militants. But since the deal, al-Qaida-linked militants have expanded their presence in the enclave, seizing land from other armed groups. The government so far has kept up limited military pressure. Experts say government forces are focused on opening key highways that pass through Idlib, linking northern Syria to the capital, Damascus. Opening the highways was one of the key provisions in the September deal. Separately on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for the dismantling of a remote camp for displaced people along the Syria-Jordan border. “We support the (Rukban) camp to be dismantled as soon as possible,” Lavrov said. Rukban has a population of over 40,000, whom the U.N. says are stranded in dire conditions. The last aid delivered there was two months ago. U.N. officials say most of the camp’s residents want to leave but fear for their security and need more safety guarantees. The camp lies near a U.S. military base and within a de-confliction zone set up between Washington and Moscow. Russia has accused the U.S. of denying humanitarian access to the camp, allegations the U.S. denies. The U.N. has been facilitating talks between the Syrian government, Russia and residents of Rukban to “build confidence,” said Hedinn Halldorsson, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. At least 400 Rukban residents left Sunday toward shelters provided by the government in the central Homs province. A total of 1,660 have left since March 24, Halldorsson said.
|
conflict;russia;syria;turkey;al-qaida;bashar assad;idlib
|
jp0003290
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Escalating Libya conflict prompts international alarm and pullout of U.S. forces
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TRIPOLI - The U.S. on Sunday appealed for an “immediate halt” to a military offensive by Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter, as fighting raged near Tripoli despite a U.N. call for a cease-fire. Hifter’s forces and the U.N.-backed unity government exchanged airstrikes Sunday, three days after Hifter launched an offensive to seize the capital. The unity government said the fighting had killed 21 people, while the United Nations said there had been “no truce” despite calls for a two-hour pause in fighting for civilians and the wounded to flee. Oil-rich Libya has been riven by chaos since the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi, as rival administrations and armed groups have battled for power. Hifter’s offensive has threatened to plunge the country into a full-blown civil war and once again derail tentative diplomatic efforts to find a solution to Libya’s woes. “We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Hifter’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late Sunday. “This unilateral military campaign against Tripoli is endangering civilians and undermining prospects for a better future for all Libyans,” he added. Pompeo stressed that there is “no military solution to the Libya conflict,” and urged all parties to return to “political negotiations” mediated by the U.N. After a pause overnight on Saturday, fierce fighting flared Sunday morning south of Tripoli between Hifter’s self-styled Libyan National Army and forces backing the internationally recognized Government of National Accord. As the clashes raged in the rural area of Wadi Raba and the destroyed international airport south of the capital, a spokesman for pro-GNA forces announced a counteroffensive. Colonel Mohamed Gnounou told reporters on Sunday forces had launched operation “Volcano of Anger” aimed at “purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces,” in reference to Hifter’s fighters. The LNA said it had carried out its first air raid on a Tripoli suburb, defying international calls for a cease-fire. The unity government’s health ministry said Sunday at least 21 people had been killed and 27 wounded since the fighting began, without specifying whether civilians were among the dead. Hifter’s force said Saturday that 14 of its personnel had been killed, while the Libyan Red Crescent reported the death of one of its doctors. Emergency services spokesman Oussama Ali said rescuers “have not been able to enter” the battle zones. The U.N.’s Libya mission UNSMIL said it was “still hoping for a positive response” to its earlier call for a pause, after a two-hour window it had set for a humanitarian truce passed with no apparent let-up in the fighting. U.N. Security Council on Friday called on Hifter’s forces to halt their advance, warning it would further destabilize Libya. But on Sunday Russia blocked proposals for the council to adopt a formal statement, diplomats said, instead insisting that all Libyan forces be urged to stop fighting. Moscow is a key supporter of Hifter, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. military said Sunday it had temporarily pulled an unspecified number of its troops out of Libya “in response to security conditions on the ground.” Analysts say Hifter has been buoyed by a series of successful operations that have brought all of the east and much of southern Libya under his control. A field marshal who served under Gadhafi and now backs an administration in eastern Libya opposed to the GNA, Hifter was counting on a swift battle to capture Tripoli. But some experts say he miscalculated. “To date, Hifter’s operation has mostly failed to go according to plan, and it has now galvanized western Libyan forces against him,” said analyst Wolfram Lacher. “He now faces the prospect of a protracted war south of Tripoli, or of a decisive defeat,” said Lacher, a researcher with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Hifter’s offensive came as U.N. chief Antonio Guterres visited Libya on Thursday, ahead of a planned U.N.-backed conference aimed at uniting Libya’s rivals and paving the way for elections. Envoy Ghassan Salame has insisted the U.N. was “determined” to go ahead with the April 14-16 conference.
|
conflict;u.s .;u.n .;libya;tripoli;gna;khalifa haftar
|
jp0003291
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
North Korean leader's 'field guidance' trips highlight economic focus ahead of parliament meeting
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In a possible signal of what to expect at a key meeting of North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament later this week, state media reported Monday on leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to a recently remodeled, modern-looking department store. The report was the fourth of a Kim visit to an economic-related project in five days. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim “provided field guidance” at the Taesong Department Store in Pyongyang just ahead of its opening. Pictures showed Kim wearing a Mao suit, accompanied by a coterie of cadres, touring the facilities of, if not for their presence, what could have been a department store in virtually any Asian nation. In his visit, Kim touted the project as an example of how his regime is providing North Koreans with quality goods on par with the West. “Now that the modern department store has been completed, it has become possible to provide citizens of the capital with different varieties of more quality foodstuffs, clothing, footwear, household articles, sundry goods for daily use, school things and goods for cultural use,” he was quoted as saying. Kim also reportedly emphasized that “quality daily necessities and mass consumption goods should be procured and sold in abundance for the convenience of the people so as to satisfy their daily growing desire and wish.” The report came ahead of two key events this week that could shape any progress in U.S.-North Korea talks: a summit between U.S. President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington on April 11 and a session of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, in Pyongyang the same day. The Moon-Trump meeting and convening of the assembly come after the second summit between Trump and Kim in less than a year fell apart in Hanoi over a failure to reconcile North Korean demands for sanctions relief with U.S. demands for Kim to give up his weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has since warned that it is considering halting talks and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests, in place since 2017, unless Washington relents and makes concessions. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that while he is “confident” there will be a third Kim-Trump summit, the U.S. remained firm that crippling economic sanctions on the North would not be lifted until it relinquished its nuclear weapons. “President Trump has been unambiguous,” he said. “Our administration’s policy is incredibly clear: Economic sanctions, United Nations Security Council sanctions, will not be lifted until we achieve the ultimate objective that we set out now almost two years ago.” Still, Moon is widely expected to try to convince Trump to offer some limited easing of sanctions as a sign of goodwill, including allowing inter-Korean projects such as the reopening of the Kaesong industrial complex and tourism to Mount Kumgang. Moon plans to ask Trump to grant “reciprocal measures” to the North after the U.S. reportedly hinted that it could be open to offering “relief from certain sanctions” that could be immediately restored if Pyongyang resumed its nuclear activities — a so-called snapback mechanism. Last April, the North Korean leader announced a “new strategic line,” under which his country would suspend nuclear and longer-range missile tests and mothball its main atomic test site, while also shifting its focus to building up its moribund economy. But in the months since, Kim has made little progress in kick-starting the North’s economy as the country remains under strict U.N. and unilateral sanctions. It is unclear how the Trump administration will react to any push by Moon to ease sanctions, even targeted attempts to loosen the chokehold on the country. John Delury, a North Korea expert and professor at South Korea’s Yonsei University, called Kim’s apparent doubling down on his new strategic line “a positive thing for the North Korean people” and for peace and denuclearization diplomacy. “But to make use of it, US-ROK would have to let go of the coercive diplomacy/ one shot illusion, in favor of conflict resolution, arms control, economic cooperation,” he wrote Monday on Twitter. “The temptation now is to think: aha! We’ve got him! He wants development. He showed his hand in Hanoi… He needs sanctions lifted! Let’s hold, even up, the pressure til he comes begging to give us his nukes!” Delury added. “But in the immortal words of Vlad Putin, the North Koreans would sooner eat grass,” he wrote, adding that until cooperation replaces coercion, “real” and “sustainable” progress was unlikely.
|
u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;moon jae-in;kim-trump summit
|
jp0003292
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Report says Beijing targeted Chinese-Australian writers about secret inquiry into political meddling
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SYDNEY - Beijing agents pressured two Chinese-Australian authors to provide information about a secret Canberra inquiry into Chinese meddling in domestic politics, local media reported Monday. Yang Jun, a novelist and democracy advocate, and Feng Chongyi, a Sydney-based university professor and former newspaper publisher, were reportedly interrogated over the classified probe. The pair are both friends of John Garnaut, a former journalist who was heading up the inquiry. Relations between the two nations have been fraught in recent times over fears of Chinese interference, and as Beijing flexes its muscle in the Pacific islands which Canberra views as its backyard. A joint investigation published Monday by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and national broadcaster ABC found China had waged an intelligence operation to gain details of the probe ordered in 2016 by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Yang, an Australian citizen whose pen name is Yang Hengjun, has been detained in China since traveling there in January, accused of endangering state security. Monday’s report coincided with a plea from his wife for Australia to do more to secure his release. Australian media have reported that Yang was a former Chinese diplomat, although that has been denied by Beijing. The ABC report said Chinese agents had previously intercepted and questioned Yang in Sydney in 2018 when he was on his way to meet with Garnaut. Garnaut told ABC that a Chinese official asked Yang “about me . . . what I was doing, what I was working on.” Yang’s wife, Xiaoliang Yuan, has been banned from leaving China but she spoke to the ABC from Shanghai to urge Australia to help free her husband. “I think at least the Australian government officials should care for its citizens’ wellbeing when they are overseas, should show their concern,” she was quoted as saying. Feng, a permanent Australian resident, told ABC he was questioned about Garnaut when he was detained for several days during a trip to China in 2017. “They knew a lot about him (Garnaut). During the interrogation, they did not hide that they were angry with him,” Feng said. Andrew Hastie — who chairs Canberra’s intelligence and security committee — told the ABC the government has had “multiple briefings” from domestic intelligence agency ASIO and other agencies that “foreign interference is being conducted in Australia at an unprecedented level.” “There are several authoritarian states who are involved in foreign influence across the globe. But in Australia the Chinese Communist Party is probably the most active,” he added. “China is seeking to influence our elites, particularly our political and business elites, in order to achieve their strategic objectives.” The inquiry led Australia to pass sweeping reforms to espionage and foreign interference laws, with China singled out as a focus of concern.
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china;australia;espionage;yang jun;feng chongyi;john garnaut
|
jp0003293
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Cathay Dragon A330 makes safe emergency landing in Taiwan
|
TAIPEI - A Cathay Dragon flight from Taiwan to Hong Kong made an emergency landing on Monday from where it departed after experiencing a “technical issue” shortly after take-off, the carrier said. Cathay Pacific, the parent company of Cathay Dragon, said flight KA451 from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong made an “air return” and landed safely back at the southern Taiwanese city. An official with Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration said the emergency was caused by a “technical failure on one of the engines” and denied Taiwanese media reports of a bird strike. The official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak with media, added an investigation was now under way. The Apple Daily newspaper cited local aviation officials as saying the plane’s right engine emitted smoke during take-off and that local residents nearby said they had heard an explosive sound. But Cathay said the safety of the aircraft, crew or its 317 passengers onboard were “at no time” at risk. “There was no indication of an engine fire on the aircraft, however, due to the technical issue, loud noises and sparks were reported coming from the engine exhaust prior to the engine being shut down as per operational procedures,” Cathay said. The carrier said the aircraft was an Airbus A330 and said arrangements were being made to get passengers on new flights.
|
airlines;cathay pacific;aviation;taiwan;airbus
|
jp0003294
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Bangladesh deploys border guards to island near Myanmar for first time since 1997
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DHAKA - Bangladesh on Sunday deployed heavily armed border guards to an island near its southern border with Myanmar for the first time in 20 years, officials said. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) distributed images showing dozens of troops carrying assault rifles disembarking at Saint Martin’s island, a small island in the Bay of Bengal that has caused diplomatic tensions between the neighbors. The BGB said the troop deployment was part of “regular activities” to ensure border protection and curb drug trafficking. But the force’s lieutenant colonel, Sarker Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman, told AFP it was the first time since 1997 their men had landed there. “After more than 20 years we felt we should deploy,” he said. The deployment comes just two months after Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned Myanmar’s ambassador in Dhaka to protest the inclusion of Saint Martin inside their territory in some maps printed inside the Southeast Asian country. He was also summoned in October last year, after a Myanmar government website depicted the island as within Myanmar’s territory. Ties between the neighbors have soured since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya minority in Rakhine, a troubled western state bordering Bangladesh. The brutal operation has forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh since August 2017, transforming parts near the border into the world’s largest refugee camp. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has accused Myanmar of perpetrating genocide against the Rohingya, who share some cultural and linguistic similarities with Bangladeshis in the country’s southeast.
|
conflict;myanmar;military;bangladesh;rohingya;rakhine;saint martin 's
|
jp0003295
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
China to relax residency curbs and boost infrastructure to bring more people into cities and revive growth
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BEIJING - China will relax residency curbs in many of its smaller cities this year and increase infrastructure spending, the state planner said Monday, in a fresh push to boost the urban population and revive slowing economic growth. The National Development and Reform Commission said it aims to increase China’s urbanization rate by at least 1 percentage point by the end of this year. The latest push is part of its longer-term goal of bringing 100 million people into the cities over the five years to 2020. In 2018, 59.6 percent of China’s population lived in urban areas. “This will provide strong support for maintaining sustained and healthy economic development and overall social stability,” the NDRC said in a notice on its website. The NDRC will scrap restrictions in cities of 1 million to 3 million on coveted household registration permits for out-of-towners, which include migrant workers and college graduates. For cities of 3 million to 5 million, which include many provincial capitals, such restrictions will be “comprehensively relaxed,” although the NDRC did not provide specifics on such moves. Such permits, known as hukou , have been used to control internal migration in China for many years. Without a permit, a resident of a city is denied access to many public services, such as education and health care. These restrictions have often been blamed for pushing migrants to the margins of society in China’s cities. Under China’s multiyear crackdown on the country’s property investment bubble, internal migrants are also often categorized as speculative buyers and have been subject to local purchase curbs, adding to pressures on these communities. The Financial News, a newspaper controlled by China’s central bank, on Monday called for local governments to prepare policy plans to prevent fluctuations in the property market that negatively impacted consumer rights and financial stability. But critics in the real estate and securities industries say any easing of these policies could undermine authorities’ efforts to control property speculation. The NDRC added Beijing will guide policy banks to step up credit support to fund key urban projects, as well as encourage commercial banks to “properly boost” their credit support for such projects. The NDRC will also support the launches of real estate investment trusts, to help the development of the rental housing market.
|
china;urbanization;national development and reform commission
|
jp0003296
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Fighting against the tide, 'floating temple' is symbol of battle to save Thailand's eroding coastline
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SAMUT CHIN, THAILAND - As sea waters slowly rose around his temple and his neighbors fled inland, Thai abbot Somnuek Atipanyo refused to budge and is today a symbol of the fight to restore the country’s fast-eroding coastlines. A dangerous combination of climate change, industrial farming and rapid urbanization are endangering the Gulf of Thailand’s coasts, stripping away precious mangrove trees and leaving some buildings like Somnuek’s surrounded by sea water. In the 30 years since the waters started encroaching, most of his neighbors in the fishing village of Samut Chin moved several hundred meters inland to rebuild their wooden homes. Standing in his saffron robes near his monastery on stilts — dubbed the “floating temple” — the 51-year-old monk points out to sea at the spot where the local school once stood. “This temple used to be in the middle of the village,” he tells AFP in Samut Chin, about an hour south of Bangkok. “If we moved it, people wouldn’t even know there had ever been one here,” he says of the temple, accessible only by a small footbridge today. These shores were once protected by extensive mangrove forests — the Gulf of Thailand boasts some of the largest in the world — a natural defense against coastal erosion thanks to their extensive roots that stabilize the shoreline. But it’s a been a losing battle to preserve them. Mangrove forests have been cleared for extensive development of shrimp and salt farms, along with new houses and hotels that have popped up thanks to a development boom in recent decades. Thailand lost almost one third of its vast coastal mangrove forests between 1961 and 2000, according to a report from the nation’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and the U.N. Environment Program. Climate change is also having an impact: stronger waves and more ferocious monsoons have wiped out mangroves in the Gulf of Thailand, which is especially vulnerable because its waters are so shallow. “The waves and tides are higher than before,” said Thanawat Jarupongsakul, who advises Thailand’s government on its policy to combat erosion. Asian and Caspian coastlines are the two areas in the world most affected by coastal erosion, according to a study published last year in the scientific journal Nature. It’s a global problem: tens of thousands of square kilometers of land have been lost from coastal erosion around the world — between 1984 and 2015 the equivalent of the surface area of Haiti was lost, the study said. In Thailand a quarter of the country’s shores — or about 700 kilometers (500 miles) — are eroding, some “severely,” according to data shared with AFP by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Now there is a push to restore Thailand’s precious mangrove ecosystem through a national voluntary tree replanting scheme, including near Somnuek’s island monastery. On a recent sunny afternoon, scores of people spent the day wading chest-deep in the sea to replant mangrove trees. Clad in headscarves and hats, they gingerly reach down into the water to plant young saplings along lines of bamboo poles that help offer some protection against the waves. “This project is called ‘Planting a forest in people’s hearts,'” said Wason Ditsuwan, who runs the program. Set up in 2016 by Bangkok city authorities, the project has so far replanted 84 acres of mangroves across the country. Wason is hoping his project will succeed where others have failed. Nearly 10 years ago, government adviser Thanawat helped residents in Samut Chin replant mangrove trees but some areas were too far gone to recover. “Even if you plant a lot of mangroves, it cannot help,” he said. Another strategy is to drill pylons of cement into the seabed — and on the shoreline itself — to act as a substitute for the mangrove roots. This has proven successful so far in the tourist town of Pattaya further along the coast, where the pylons have helped to reclaim several meters of beach. But it’s a race to keep up with rapid development along the shore, Thanawat said. As for Somnuek’s stretch of coast, though further erosion has stopped for now, there is little hope his temple will ever see dry ground again. But the flooding has brought one unexpected advantage: dozens of tourists that flock to the so-called floating temple for Instagram-worthy selfies. “The fight against coastal erosion has brought fame,” village head Wisanu Kengsamut said.
|
thailand;forests;climate change;temples;environment;_asia
|
jp0003297
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Philippine foreign minister says U.S. will remain nation's 'only military ally' as China threatens isle
|
MANILA - The U.S. will remain the Philippines’ only military ally, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said, amid an increased Chinese presence near a disputed island in the South China Sea. The U.S. is “the only world power that is a bastion of democracy and human rights, is and will remain our only military ally. We don’t need any other,” he tweeted Sunday. Relations are improving between the U.S. and the Philippines, which shifted toward China after President Rodrigo Duterte took power in 2016. More than 7,000 soldiers from the Philippines and the U.S. are participating in this year’s annual joint military drills, which are taking place despite Duterte’s 2016 call for a split with Washington. The Philippine leader has questioned whether the U.S. would defend his country if China seizes disputed reefs and shoals in the sea. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured in March that a defense treaty would apply if Philippine vessels or planes are attacked in the waters. Locsin’s comments were made in response to a Twitter user’s suggestion the Philippines ignore the International Criminal Court after the U.S. moved to revoke the travel visa of prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. They came days after Duterte — in a rare rebuke to China — warned that if it did not “lay off” the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, where more than 200 Chinese ships have been spotted in recent months, we would order his soldiers to defend it with “suicide missions.” Locsin also tweeted that he “would not regret” climate change and rising sea levels if it covered the waters’ disputed reefs and “exposes the foolishness of taking and weaponizing them.”
|
china;u.s .;philippines;military;south china sea
|
jp0003298
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan to open first probe into child sexual abuse within its ranks
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FUKUOKA - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan said Monday it will open an internal investigation into claims of sexual abuse among its ranks against children in the country. The probe would be the first of its kind in Japan. The standing committee of the bishops’ conference decided Thursday at a meeting in Tokyo that it will quickly launch an “in-depth investigation” into all 16 dioceses in Japan. Five reports of sexual abuse were made when the entity conducted questionnaire surveys in 2002 and 2012 throughout its dioceses. The Roman Catholic Church has been facing accusations of child sexual abuse and cover-ups around the world. It has also faced condemnation for not acting quickly enough. Thousands of people, possibly more, are thought to have been abused worldwide by priests over many decades. Details of the upcoming probe in Japan, including the starting date and the specific process, will be decided later, with the bishops’ body considering seeking cooperation from external parties. The five cases of abuse reported in the past will likely be revisited, as in-depth interviews with the victims and punishment of the perpetrators were not undertaken when the questionnaire surveys were conducted. The Japan Times’ own reporting from September 2014 uncovered alleged cases of abuse of students by staff at St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo beginning in 1965. At least one of those cases was later investigated by Japanese police and the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Tokyo, according to a Jan. 31, 2014, letter signed by the headmaster at the time. St. Mary’s is run by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, a Catholic order founded in France in the 19th century that has schools on every continent. It was not immediately clear if any of those cases were among the five likely to be revisited. The decision to run the investigation comes about a month after the Roman Catholic Church held the unprecedented “Protection of Minors in the Church” conference, where Pope Francis recognized sexual abuse of minors as a “widespread phenomenon” and called for an “all-out battle” to defeat it. The pope is scheduled to make his first official trip to Japan in November. Last December, in his traditional Christmas address to the Curia, the Vatican’s central administration, the pope pressed predatory priests who have sexually abused children to turn themselves in “to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.”
|
children;christianity;teens;catholic church;sex crimes;child abuse;pope francis;st. mary 's international school
|
jp0003299
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Cases highlight female students' risk of sexual harassment by alumni when seeking jobs in Japan
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A series of cases this year in which female students were sexually harassed when seeking help with job-hunting from employed male alumni suggest the issue is a growing problem, and have prompted concern among recruitment experts and police. Students looking for jobs in Japan commonly contact alumni of their university to gain insight and advice about companies where they are interested in working, often meeting them in person and, in some cases, at bars or restaurants in the evening. “I’ve been able to overcome the incident, but there are many who will be scarred for the rest of their lives,” said a 22-year-old woman, who graduated from university in March, of an experience she had while job-hunting as a student. In the spring of 2017 the woman was introduced to a male employee from a company where she was hoping to work, who asked to meet her in the evening as he was “busy” during the day. The two went out for dinner and drinks, where the man plied her with alcohol, forcibly kissed her and asked her to come to his place. “It was all big talk and I honestly wanted to leave,” she recalls. “But he started saying he had a say in recruitment, and that made me feel I should not leave immediately,” she said. In February a male employee from major construction company Obayashi Corp. was arrested after allegedly committed an obscene act with a female student at his home, while another from major trading house Sumitomo Corp. was arrested in March on suspicion of raping a female student after getting her drunk. The man was dismissed from Sumitomo Corp. The two people involved in the Obayashi incident had met through an app designed to connect students and alumni more easily for meetings. Alumni register their alma mater and employer, and students can search for alumni according to the company in which they are interested. Such job-hunting apps are becoming an increasingly common avenue for securing meetings with alumni for advice. But there are warnings from those in the recruitment industry that while user registrations may be rising, some employees have been found to be using such services as dating apps. Career consultant Akemi Ueda, who runs a consultancy firm catering to women, acknowledged the challenges that may face students who would prefer to meet female employees instead. “Students can acquire more useful information from female employees,” she said. “But not only are there not as many women in the workforce, many are often busy with child care and don’t have time to meet.” She recommends female students meet male alumni during the day in open spaces, such as at a cafe, to be safe. Many corporations in Japan are strengthening controls over sexual harassment, but analysis shows that those in place for job-hunting students are still severely lacking. “Employees should be trained to understand that sexual harassment toward female students is unacceptable,” said Ueda.
|
women;jobs;sexual harassment;universities;sex crimes;students
|
jp0003300
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Quarter of Japan's adults under 40 are virgins, at least when it comes to the opposite sex
|
About a quarter of people aged 18 to 39 in Japan were estimated to have had no experience of heterosexual intercourse as of 2015, higher than the 20 percent seen more than two decades ago, a team of Japanese and Swedish researchers said Monday. Researchers at the University of Tokyo and Karolinska Institutet wrote in an article in U.K. medical journal BMC Public Health that the percentage of people with no such experience had risen among men to 25.8 percent in 2015, from 20.0 percent in 1992, and among women to 24.6 percent from 21.7 percent, based on data from a fertility survey conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (NIPSSR). The study polled people at random and covered only heterosexual experience, so presented no data on same-sex experience. The researchers said the “lack of sexual experience may be involuntary,” citing unstable job and income conditions among men as potential reasons behind the trend. The team found that around 80 percent of women and men aged 25 to 39 who reported having had no such experience in the study responded that they wished to get married at some point in their lives. “Further research is needed on the factors contributing to and the potential public health and demographic implications of the high proportion of the Japanese population that remains sexually inexperienced well into adult age,” the team said. The proportion grew smaller with age, but among people aged 35 to 39, 9.5 percent of men and 8.9 percent of women had no experience of heterosexual intercourse — nearly double the figure seen in 1992. Analyzing data from 2010, the team also found that inexperience correlated with unemployment, temporary or part-time work and low income among men between 25 and 39. In particular, the proportion without experience jumped when annual income fell below ¥3 million ($27,000). Japan’s total fertility rate stood at 1.43 in 2017 — among the lowest in the world — and NIPSSR has predicted that the country’s population will fall to 88 million in 2065 from the current 126 million.
|
sex;sexuality;university of tokyo;fertility;surveys;national institute of population and social security research;karolinska institutet
|
jp0003301
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Osaka leaders win in elections to swap roles, but merger prospects unclear
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OSAKA - Osaka voters appear to have done little to shift the political landscape from where it was before going to the polls Sunday, allowing Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) leaders to swap positions as governor and mayor. The Osaka Ishin-backed gubernatorial candidate, former Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, 43, beat Tadakazu Konishi, 64, who was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. Former Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, 55, beat the Akira Yanagimoto in the Osaka mayoral race. Yanagimoto was also backed by the LDP and Komeito. Osaka Ishin captured a majority in the prefectural assembly election held the same day, but failed to get a majority in the municipal assembly. Osaka Ishin’s double-victory is likely to give momentum to the party’s drive for a local referendum on its proposal to merge the 24 wards of the city of Osaka and thereby reduce administrative costs. In 2015, Osaka Ishin managed to initiate a referendum on the same merger proposal, but voters rejected it by a narrow margin. Still, that hasn’t stopped the party, which has been working to get a similar referendum on the ballot — only to be met with strong opposition from Komeito, the second-largest party in the municipal assembly. This prompted Matsui and Yoshimura to simultaneously resign and seek to swap positions through Sunday’s votes, an unusual tactic meant to drum up support for the merger plan. Following their victories, Matsui and Yoshimura told reporters that the people of Osaka had spoken and voted for them to continue their efforts to merge the city’s wards. Despite a majority in the prefectural assembly, Osaka Ishin almost certainly has to tie up with Komeito to form a majority in the city assembly. That in turn could once again lead to a standoff over the merger plans between the two parties. “There is no doubt there is opposition to the merger plan among people in Osaka city. Many don’t understand what it is. So we have to have a polite discussion about it,” Matsui said. “But Komeito also has to look at the results of the election and think about how they are going to accept them.” As governor, Yoshimura said his role will also be to continue to push for the merger. He added that it’s success would help ignite a larger debate nationwide. “An Osaka merger could influence discussion in other cities around Japan on improving local growth. They may not adopt a merger plan like the Osaka plan. But it’s important that they think more about ways to grow their regional economies,” Yoshimura said. Having failed to secure a majority in the city’s assembly could put a damper on Osaka Ishin’s quest for a municipal merger, regardless of their victory in the prefectural assembly, where 88 seats were up for grabs. The party won 51 seats there. To merge the wards, a local referendum would need to be initiated with support from a majority of both the municipal and prefectural assemblies. Prior to the elections, Osaka Ishin had a plurality in both assemblies and had to cooperate with Komeito in order to form a majority. Komeito has remained staunchly opposed to Osaka Ishin’s efforts to eliminate the city’s 24 wards and create four large semiautonomous wards and do away with the current city council structure. Osaka Ishin claims the merger is necessary to reduce costs and improve bureaucratic services. The LDP, Komeito and other opposition parties say the plan is costly and offers no clear benefits. The party’s failure to capture a majority of municipal assembly seats could also likely impact the fortunes of Nippon Ishin no Kai, the national branch of Osaka Ishin, as Upper House elections loom in July. Sunday’s results could also affect what has been a cordial and cooperative relationship among Matsui, Yoshimura, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, much to the irritation of the Osaka LDP chapter. With the failure of Osaka Ishin to capture local majorities, the LDP is looking to build momentum in order to challenge Nippon Ishin candidates in July. At a news conference Sunday night, Osaka Ishin Secretary-General Yutaka Imai echoed the comments made by the party’s winning candidates. He said the results reflected the will of the Osaka people and that other parties, especially Komeito, need to pay attention to how the majority voted. “It was tough election as we were up against candidates supported by all of the major parties, from the LDP to the Japanese Communist Party. But this election was not only a judgment on the merger plan but also the Osaka Ishin reforms of the past 10 years,” Imai said.
|
elections;ichiro matsui;osaka ishin no kai;hirofumi yoshimura
|
jp0003303
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Osaka Ishin now firmly in control across prefecture, piling pressure on Komeito to back merger
|
OSAKA - A newly energized Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) emerged Monday following strong victories in Sunday’s local polls that gave it the governorship, the Osaka mayor’s office, the prefectural assembly and an increase in municipal assembly seats just two shy of a majority. With Osaka Ishin now firmly in control of the local political scene, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito officials, reeling from their losses, are wondering if Sunday’s results will translate into losses for their own candidates in Upper House elections set for July. At the same time, Osaka Ishin officials made clear Sunday and Monday that they will increase the pressure on former coalition partner Komeito, in particular over the question of whether to merge Osaka’s 24 wards into four semiautonomous zones and do away with the current structure of the city council. Osaka Ishin has long championed the move while Komeito, along with the LDP, have opposed it. “The key will be, how does Komeito take the election results? We’ll explain the Osaka merger in a polite way, but they need to take into account how Osaka voters have spoken,” said former Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, who heads Osaka Ishin and on Sunday won the election to become Osaka mayor. Komeito officials acknowledged that Osaka Ishin had scored an impressive victory. “We have to accept that voters’ hopes for Osaka Ishin are high,” said Shigeki Sato, Komeito’s prefectural chapter head and a Lower House member, early on Monday. He added that he wanted a fair and just discussion on the merger issue. The final count in the gubernatorial election showed that Osaka Ishin-backed former Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, 43, defeated LDP- and Komeito-backed Tadakazu Konishi, 64, by over 1 million votes. Osaka Ishin also won 51 of the 88 prefectural assembly seats. In the mayoral election, Matsui, 55, defeated LDP- and Komeito-backed Akira Yanagimoto, 45, who has now lost the mayoral race for the second time, having been beaten by Yoshimura in 2015. While Osaka Ishin did not quite capture a majority in the 83-seat municipal assembly, the party won 40 seats. LDP and Komeito assembly members are also aware that Matsui is extremely close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Sunday’s results were a notable triumph for Matsui. With the city needing cooperation and financial support from the central government for the Group of 20 Summit in June, the 2025 World Expo, and a possible integrated casino resort, he will negotiate with Tokyo and is well-placed to have top LDP and Komeito officials in Tokyo pressure their Osaka chapters to change their stance on the merger issue. While the main issue on Sunday was Osaka Ishin’s merger push, part of the party’s success may be in the way it promoted Matsui and Yoshimura to voters as successful international diplomats who are responsible for winning the expo, and the party itself as economic innovators putting forward policies that have greatly boosted tourism to a region not traditionally seen as being as popular with overseas visitors to the same extent as Tokyo or Kyoto. LDP officials scoffed at such suggestions during the campaign, saying Osaka’s expo win was due to diplomatic efforts by LDP leaders like Abe and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko — who was born in Osaka and represents a district in Wakayama in the Upper House. For the local LDP, Sunday was a shock. Among those who lost their seats to new Osaka Ishin members was Mitsuyoshi Hanaya, the LDP prefectural chapter’s secretary-general. Hanaya had been the party’s most visible opponent of Osaka Ishin’s merger efforts. “Our efforts at the local level were weak. It’s clear the Osaka merger plan has no merit. We aren’t changing our stance of fighting it,” said Hirotoshi Kawashima, vice secretary-general of the LDP’s Osaka municipal assembly chapter, late on Sunday. The results were also bad news for one of the most powerful national LDP officials, Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai. Prior to last month’s decision to hold a gubernatorial and mayoral election alongside assembly elections, Yanagimoto, the LDP and Komeito’s mayoral candidate, had been slated to run in July’s Upper House election. He was aiming to replace his uncle, Takuji Yanagimoto, a member of Nikai’s faction. The younger Yanagimoto remains a potential LDP candidate for the Upper House despite his defeat on Sunday. But how he will fare against an opponent from newly confident Osaka Ishin’s national party, Nippon Ishin no Kai, is uncertain. A connection with Nikai, who kicked off campaigns for Yanagimoto and Konishi but saw a Japanese Communist Party candidate defeat an eight-term LDP incumbent in his hometown of Gobo, Wakayama prefecture, could also prove to be a liability with Osaka’s younger urban voters.
|
osaka;ldp;elections;komeito;ichiro matsui;osaka ishin no kai;hirofumi yoshimura
|
jp0003304
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Prince Hisahito tells junior high school entrance ceremony of new students' hopes to broaden perspectives
|
Prince Hisahito, the 12-year-old grandson of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, attended the entrance ceremony for a junior high school affiliated with Tokyo’s Ochanomizu University on Monday. The son of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, who will be second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of the 85-year-old Emperor on April 30, made a pledge as a representative of about 110 new students at the ceremony, saying, “We’d like to develop our individual abilities and broaden our possibilities and perspectives.” Currently, the prince is the only male Imperial family member of his generation. Prince Akishino will become first in line to the throne after his elder brother, Crown Prince Naruhito, succeeds the Emperor on May 1. “From now on, I’d like to lead a fulfilling student life,” the young prince, wearing a navy blue uniform, told reporters before the ceremony, which was attended by his parents. Prince Hisahito, who attended Ochanomizu University Elementary School, is the first member of the Imperial Family in the postwar era not to enroll in Gakushuin Primary School, associated with Gakushuin University, which was established in the 19th century as a school for aristocrats. Most Imperial family members have attended schools associated with the university. After graduating from Ochanomizu University Junior High School, Prince Hisahito will advance to a high school not affiliated with the women’s university, as its high school only accepts female students. As the Imperial House Law stipulates that only males with male lineal descent from emperors can ascend the throne, there will be only three heirs — Prince Akishino, 53, Prince Hisahito, and Prince Hitachi, 83, the younger brother of the Emperor — after the upcoming Imperial succession.
|
royalty;emperor akihito;prince hisahito;imperial family;abdication;prince akishino;ochanomizu university;emperor naruhito
|
jp0003305
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Bridge linking Miyagi Prefecture's disaster-hit Oshima Island with Kesennuma is opened
|
KESENNUMA, MIYAGI PREF. - A bridge connecting Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture with a nearby island in the Pacific Ocean went into service Sunday. The bridge to Oshima was built as a lifeline for its residents. When the island’s ferry port was damaged during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, people living on the island were isolated for around three weeks. The Miyagi Prefectural Government spent some ¥6 billion constructing the 356-meter-long bridge. On Sunday, Oshima residents and others crossed the bridge during a ceremony to mark its opening. Recalling his bitter experience in connection with the 3/11 disaster, Yuichi Hatakeyama, a 71-year-old resident, noted that his wife was scheduled to enter a hospital in Sendai that day. Due to the disruption of ferry services, however, she was not hospitalized until about three weeks later, he said. Hatakeyama said that he had been “extremely worried” that her symptoms could worsen. “I’m now full of emotion to see the much-awaited completion of the bridge,” he added. A tourism-related facility is slated to open on the island next year. “I want many people to visit the scenic island,” said Kesennuma Mayor Shigeru Sugawara. A total of 33 people lost their lives on Oshima during the disasters. As of the end of February, the population on the island stood at 2,447.
|
miyagi prefecture;kesennuma;3.11;natural disasters
|
jp0003306
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/08
|
Judge clears father accused of sexual assault against daughter, saying court cannot establish victim's incapacity to resist
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NAGOYA - A father accused of sexually assaulting his daughter in Aichi Prefecture in 2017 has been found not guilty because the court was unable to establish that the victim’s ability to resist intercourse with him was diminished, it has been learned. The ruling was handed down by the Nagoya District Court’s Okazaki branch on March 26. The defendant had been indicted on a charge of forced sexual intercourse on the basis of reduced mental capacity to resist, relating to incidents involving his daughter at his workplace in August 2017 and at a hotel in September 2017. In the trial prosecutors had sought a prison term of 10 years, alleging that the victim “had been sexually assaulted since she was in her second year of junior high school and felt unable to resist due to guilt as her father pays for her vocational school tuition.” The defense argued that the “sex was consensual and that she’d had the capacity to resist.” Presiding Judge Hiromitsu Ukai acknowledged that the victim, who was 19 when the incidents took place, “had sexual intercourse against her will and that she was in a state of being deprived of intention and will to resist the attack.” At the same time, however, the judge said: “The violence she had sustained when she previously refused sex wasn’t sufficient to provoke fear, and it is difficult to establish that she was fearful of violence and couldn’t resist.” The ruling also noted that she had consistently denied the advances and avoided encounters with help from her brother, determining that “it is difficult to say she was in a subordinate relationship that she was forced to comply.” The defense attorney said the trial was based on the principle that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. “We will consult with a higher prosecutor’s office and act accordingly,” said Masako Chiku, a prosecutor at the Nagoya District Public Prosecutor’s Office.
|
daughter;aichi;father;sexual abuse
|
jp0003307
|
[
"reference"
] |
2019/04/08
|
The week ahead for April 8 to April 14
|
Monday Nissan to hold extraordinary shareholders meeting to dismiss former chairman Carlos Ghosn and former director Greg Kelly, close aide of Ghosn, from its board and pick Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as director. Finance Ministry to release preliminary balance of payments statistics for February. Cabinet Office to release survey on consumer trends for March. Cabinet Office to release monthly “economy watchers” survey for March. Tuesday Campaigns to start for House of Representatives by-elections in Osaka No. 12, Okinawa No. 3 constituencies. Focus is on whether candidate backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party can secure victory in Okinawa district where U.S. marine air base is being built under central government’s controversial relocation plan. Results could impact House of Councilors’ election in summer. Wednesday Bank of Japan to release preliminary corporate goods price index for March. Cabinet Office to release machinery orders data for February. Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko to mark 60th wedding anniversary. Lawmakers, business leaders to hold event to mark 30th anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s enthronement. Communications ministry to allocate frequencies for 5G mobile wireless services. 5G technology will enable 100 times faster data transmission than 4G networks. Trial operation is scheduled to start this year with commercial services expected in 2020. Government to lift mandatory evacuation order in part of the town of Okuma that hosts Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crippled by March 2011 quake and tsunami disaster following decline in radiation level. Former residents will be allowed to return for first time since disaster struck. Thursday Fast Retailing Co., operator of Uniqlo casual clothing chain, to release earnings for December-February quarter. Finance ministers and central bank chiefs of Group of 20 nations to hold two-day meeting in Washington D.C. They are expected to discuss international cooperation to address possible slowdown in global economy amid U.S.-China trade tensions and uncertainty over Brexit deal. ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating to begin in Fukuoka with top-level skaters from six nations of Japan, Russia, United States, France, Canada and Italy. Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu will skip competition due to ankle injury. Saturday 500 days to go until Tokyo Paralympics. Sunday Campaigns to start for mayoral elections in five prefectural capitals.
|
weekly events;the week ahead;schedule
|
jp0003308
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Elton John joins George Clooney in urging boycott of Brunei-owned inns over sultanate's crackdown on gays and adultery
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LONDON - British pop legend Elton John has joined actor George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death-penalty laws for gay sex and adultery. The call came as a growing list of politicians and celebrities added their names to those condemning the new laws and supporting a boycott. “I commend my friend, #GeorgeClooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of #Brunei — a place where gay people are brutalized, or worse — by boycotting the Sultan’s hotels,” the singer wrote on his Twitter page late Saturday. The 72-year-old, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said his “heart went out” to staff at the hotels, but that “we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable. The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney are located in Britain, France, Italy and the United States. They include London’s exclusive Dorchester and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. The Dorchester Collection luxury chain issued a statement saying that its code emphasizes “equality, respect and integrity in all areas” and that “we do not tolerate any form of discrimination,” CNN reported. Clooney called for the boycott earlier this week, saying “every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.” “No one should face the death penalty because of who they love. Brunei’s decision is barbaric,” Britain’s international development minister, Penny Mordaunt, wrote on Twitter. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark called the new penal code “shocking” and “barbaric. Amnesty International called on Brunei to “immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments. In the U.S., Clooney’s call drew supportive declarations from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle and a strong statement from the Trump administration. “We strongly oppose human rights violations and abuses against LGBTI persons, including violence,” the State Department said in a statement. LGBTI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex. Intersex people are people born with physical features that are neither wholly male nor female. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to seek the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, tweeted on Friday: “Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral … “There is no excuse — not culture, not tradition — for this kind of hate and inhumanity.” Another Democrat seeking the party’s nomination, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, joined the chorus. “These human rights abuses cannot be tolerated,” she said. And Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said on Twitter: “This is wrong. It is barbaric. America should condemn this immoral and inhumane law, and everyone should be united against it.” Actress Jamie Lee Curtis also tweeted in support of her fellow actor’s stand. “I stand with George Clooney, a good man doing the right thing, fighting an unjust and barbaric law.” Clooney and his wife, human-rights lawyer Amal Clooney, have been active in humanitarian causes. Brunei, an absolute monarchy ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, is to implement the new penal code starting Wednesday. Homosexuality is already illegal in the sultanate, but it will now become a capital offense. The law applies only to Muslims. Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but implementation has been delayed, in the face of opposition by rights groups, and as officials worked out the practical details.
|
death penalty;lgbt;brunei;george clooney;elton john;adultery;boycotts;stoning;beverly hills hotel
|
jp0003309
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal adopts 'inclusive' trade name minus second part of its official moniker
|
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., the world’s third-biggest steelmaker, changed its name to Nippon Steel Corp. on Monday to start afresh with an “inclusive” trade name as it aims to further expand overseas operations. Japan’s largest steelmaker was created through the merger of Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. in October 2012. It resuscitated the name Nippon Steel Corp. to “adopt a new and more inclusive trade name befitting a steelmaker with origins in Japan and an emphasis on continuing growth in global markets,” the company said when it announced the name change in May last year. Nippon means Japan in Japanese. Eiji Hashimoto, formerly executive vice president, assumed the president post the same day, replacing Kosei Shindo, who will become chairman with representative rights.
|
trade;nippon steel & sumitomo metal
|
jp0003310
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Water-spraying drones and canned air among remedies touted to curb Asia's smog
|
HONG KONG - As billions of people in Asia choke under polluted skies, authorities have turned to water-dispersing drones and outdoor air purifiers to improve air quality, while companies have tried to cash in by selling everything from canned air to lung-purifying teas. Around 92 percent of the population in the Asia-Pacific region are exposed to levels of air pollution that pose a significant risk to their health, according to U.N. Environment. Here is a look at some of the ways those living under the haze try to limit its effects: As public anger rises over toxic air, authorities have turned to spraying water, which is thought to stick to pollutants and carry them to the ground. But tools such as water cannons have been criticized as having little effect and being a “band-aid” solution that distracts from root causes. New Delhi — the world’s most polluted major city — tried in 2017 to use helicopters to sprinkle water over the city, but the choppers were not able to fly due to low visibility caused by smog. In Bangkok, the government tried a raft of measures to combat a murky haze that blanketed the city for weeks in January, including spraying overpasses with water, cloud seeding and even deploying a fleet of water-dispersing drones. Cloud-seeding is used to stimulate rain by injecting chemicals into clouds using rockets, cannons or aircraft, but the technique is not always successful. An attempt by South Korea to create artificial rain to tackle air pollution in January failed, after an aircraft sent to seed clouds with silver iodide only produced several minutes of misty rain. The northern Chinese city of Xi’an is experimenting with a giant air purifier the size of an industrial smokestack that can reduce PM2.5 concentration by 15 percent within 10 sq. km, according to researchers. Hong Kong this year opened a 3.7-km tunnel equipped with an air purification system touted as the largest of its kind in the world in terms of volume of air handled — 5.4 million cu. meters of vehicle exhaust every hour. The government says it will be able to remove at least 80 percent of harmful particulates and nitrogen dioxide using large fans which suck exhaust into air purification plants in three ventilation buildings along the tunnel. New Delhi last year announced a plan to install huge air purifiers at traffic intersections and mount air filters on the roofs of buses that trap pollutants as they move, according to Hindustan Times. During particularly bad spates of air pollution, which tend to come during the winter, many residents in smoggy Chinese cities escape to cleaner places, such as resorts in the south of the country, for a temporary break and return after it has cleared. Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agent, estimated in 2016 that every year, over a million residents of smoggy cities such as Beijing and Shanghai leave the country to escape the smog. Popular destinations for these “smog refugees” include places such as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Some even travel to Antarctica on “lung-cleansing trips,” according to Ctrip. Although experts say residents in smoggy cities are unlikely to see health effects from breathing bottled air, that hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from selling them canisters of the stuff from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. For about $22, consumers can order an 8-liter can of Banff Air from the popular tourist spot in Canada, or pay $125 for a jar of air from the British countryside. In China, “anti-smog” teas are promoted by vendors as a way to clean the lungs, while Mongolian residents drink “oxygen cocktails” — made by spraying oxygen into glasses of juice using machines or cans of air. Advertisements boast that “drinking just one oxygen cocktail is equal to a three-hour-walk in a lush forest,” despite no scientific evidence they protect from pollution.
|
china;pollution;new delhi;drones;canada;south korea;environment;bangkok;ctrip
|
jp0003311
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Plane crash claims one of Russia's richest women, S7 Group airline co-owner Natalia Fileva
|
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - One of Russia’s richest women, S7 Group co-owner Natalia Fileva, has died in a small plane crash in Germany, the Russian airline operator said Sunday. Fileva, 55, was aboard a single-engine, six-seat Epic LT aircraft that crashed and burned in a field as it approached the small airport at Egelsbach, a town in southwestern Germany, about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, the airline’s press service said in an email. German police said there appeared to be three people aboard the plane, including the pilot of the flight, which originated in France. They said the two passengers were believed to be Russian citizens but that positive identification of the occupants would require further investigation. German aviation authorities were probing the cause of the crash. Egelsbach is about 10 km (6 miles) south of Frankfurt. The business publication Forbes.ru estimated Fileva’s fortune at $600 million. “S7 Group team extends sincere and heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Fileva’s family and loved ones,” the company said in a statement. “The memory of her as an inspiring and sympathetic leader and a wonderful person will forever stay in the hearts of all S7 Group employees. It is an irreparable loss. ” Based at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, S7 is part of the Oneworld alliance and flies to 150 destinations in 35 countries. The crash was also linked to other deaths in Germany. The dpa news agency, citing police, reported that two people died Sunday and three others were seriously hurt when a police vehicle that was responding to the plane crash with flashing lights and sirens was struck head-on by another vehicle several kilometers (miles) from the crash site. Citing police, dpa reported that three injured were in the police vehicle and the two dead were in the other car.
|
airlines;russia;germany;aircraft accidents;natalia fileva;s7 group
|
jp0003312
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Japan's big manufacturers grew more pessimistic in March: tankan
|
Business sentiment among large manufacturers worsened in March compared with three months earlier in the biggest point loss since December 2012, reflecting concerns over a slowdown in China and other overseas economies. The Bank of Japan tankan , measuring confidence among companies such as carmakers and electronics firms, stood at 12, down from 19 in the December survey. The result, released Monday, was slightly weaker than the average market forecast of 13 in a Kyodo News poll. The seven-point decline from December was the largest since December 2012, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current administration was launched, and came after the index remained unchanged at 19 in December. Large manufacturers forecast a further decline to 8 for the coming months, the survey showed. The index represents the percentage of companies reporting favorable conditions minus the percentage reporting unfavorable ones. A BOJ official said weak demand in Asian markets including China dampened sentiment among Japanese manufacturers such as electronics companies. “Many manufacturers said they grew concerned over the outlook of the Chinese and other Asian markets on the back of slowing demand,” he said. While expectations have been growing for a resolution to trade talks that began last year between the United States and China after they imposed hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs on each other’s exports, the spat has hurt the global economy, including Japan’s exports to China. “The worsened sentiment was attributable to a decline in exports of semiconductor-related products, but demand for them may rebound later this year after bottoming out around June,” said Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. The drop in the outlook among big manufacturers came as more of a surprise to analysts, suggesting corporate Japan doesn’t expect a quick end to the gloom surrounding the first quarter. The deteriorating sentiment is likely to fuel concerns over the impact that the consumption tax hike scheduled for October will have on a weakened economy. The last rise in the consumption tax triggered an economic contraction. Plans for capital spending, a pillar of economic growth recently, came in weaker than a year ago but a touch stronger than expected, suggesting that alarm bells aren’t ringing in company boardrooms yet. By industry, machinery manufacturers were less optimistic due largely to a slowdown in the Chinese economy, while nonferrous metal producers and pulp and paper companies were hit by higher raw material costs. Large manufacturers expected an exchange rate of ¥108.87 against the dollar for fiscal 2019 from April 1, stronger than the ¥109.41 assumed in the previous business year that ended in March. In general, a stronger yen hurts export-reliant manufacturers but lowers import costs. Sentiment among large nonmanufacturers was down 3 points at 21 and was forecast at 20 for the coming months, with many respondents blaming a continuing labor shortage. Large companies, classified as those with capital stock of more than ¥1 billion, said they plan to increase capital spending by 1.2 percent during fiscal 2019, slowing from a 13.9 percent increase the previous business year. “Capital spending in fiscal 2018 was relatively firm, but a slowdown in the global economy could negatively affect companies’ fixed investment,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute. The BOJ surveyed 9,830 companies between Feb. 25 and last Friday, of which 99.4 percent responded.
|
boj;economy;tankan;economic indicators;manufacturers
|
jp0003313
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Bank of Japan should avoid pushing rates further below zero, head of lenders' association says
|
The new head of the nation’s main banking lobby is warning the Bank of Japan against deepening negative interest rates, signaling that such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders’ profits. “It will be a quite difficult option to take,” Makoto Takashima, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, said in an interview. “Simply speaking, that would cause policy side effects to further grow.” Speculation for more BOJ easing has resurfaced as the economy weakens and central banks around the world pivot away from policy tightening. BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has indicated that taking rates further negative is one of his stimulus options, even as global debate intensifies over the potential drawbacks, including its effect on lending profitability. The BOJ needs to “carefully consider” the economic impact of driving the short-term rate further below zero, said Takashima, who is also chief executive officer of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s banking arm. Domestic banks are already faced with very thin lending margins, and some financial firms are turning to risky investments to boost returns, he said. Large Japanese banks have long been critics of the policy introduced in 2016, which charges financial institutions 0.1 percent on a portion of their reserves to encourage them to use the money more productively and help spur inflation. Concern about similar policies abroad is also mounting, with officials at the European Central Bank recently raising the issue of how negative rates are hurting banks’ earnings. In Japan, a deeper negative rate would also make it “more and more difficult” for institutional investors to earn the returns needed to serve their clients, Takashima said. That could make them more dependent on foreign exchange products, emerging market investments or other risky assets to secure yields, he said. Underscoring those hazards, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. last month announced massive writedowns, including a ¥150 billion charge to restructure its foreign bond portfolio. Moody’s Investors Service said the move was primarily the result of unrealized losses caused by higher U.S. interest rates. Banks have also been piling into bundled overseas corporate loans, known as collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), a practice that has recently attracted the scrutiny of the Financial Services Agency. “It is possible that Japan’s financial institutions have a kind of concentrated risk within themselves,” Takashima said, referring to CLOs. Recent suggestions that the BOJ could introduce a negative lending rate — essentially paying banks to borrow money from the central bank — were also met with skepticism by Takashima, who said such a move probably wouldn’t benefit the economy. Even if it prompts banks to lend to customers at negative rates, it might spur an excessive expansion in credit for real estate, he said. The lobby group, which represents lenders including the nation’s three mega-banks, has also been critical of the BOJ’s strict adherence to its 2 percent inflation target, a goal that remains firmly out of sight and is keeping any prospects for monetary policy tightening off the agenda. Takashima’s predecessor, Koji Fujiwara, called earlier this year for the BOJ to instead seek a range of 1 percent to 2 percent. One concern for Japanese policymakers stemming from the recent dovish tilt by central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, is that the yen could appreciate excessively, harming the export-driven economy. Takashima said fiscal stimulus would be a better option to counter the economic impact of a stronger yen, rather than monetary easing. “You can’t solve everything with monetary policy alone,” he said. “That should be clear from the start.”
|
boj;banks;interest rates;japanese bankers association;negative interest rates;makoto takashima
|
jp0003314
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
China will continue to suspend extra tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts
|
BEIJING - China’s State Council said on Sunday that the country would continue to suspend additional tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts after April 1, in a goodwill gesture following a U.S. decision to delay tariff hikes on Chinese imports. In December, China said it would suspend additional 25 percent tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts for three months, following a truce in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The State Council, or Cabinet, said Sunday’s move was aimed at “continuing to create a good atmosphere for the ongoing trade negotiations between both sides.” “It is a positive reaction to the U.S. decision to delay tariff hikes and a concrete action adopted (by the Chinese side) to promote bilateral trade negotiations,” the State Council said. “We hope the U.S. can work together with China, accelerate negotiations and make concrete efforts towards the goal of terminating trade tensions.” The government also said it would announce separately when the suspension would end. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a “great deal” after top U.S. and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.
|
china;u.s .;trade;tariffs;cars;donald trump;steve mnuchin;trade war
|
jp0003315
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Japan debuts legal cap on long work hours under labor reform law, but for now only big firms affected
|
A labor reform law came into force on Monday, setting a legal cap on long work hours to change Japan’s notorious overwork culture blamed for causing sickness and deaths. The cap, which only targets major companies for now, is one of the three pillars of labor reform pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who faces the difficult task of addressing Japan’s shortage of workers that has now become a major issue across various industry sectors. The law limits overtime work to 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year in principle. The monthly cap can be extended in busy periods, for up to six months a year. Even in such cases, the ultimate overtime cap of 100 hours a month and 720 hours a year is set. Companies that violate the rules will be punished, possibly with a fine of ¥300,000 ($2,700). Japan has a tight labor market with companies vying to secure labor amid the aging of its population. In a major policy shift, the country opened its doors to more foreign workers by creating a new visa system on Monday. As the labor shortage is more severe in certain sectors than in others, construction workers, taxi and truck drivers, as well as doctors will be exempted from the law for five years. The law will become effective for small and midsize companies in April next year. Such exemptions have already raised concern that smaller companies will be forced to bear the brunt of big companies cutting their own employees’ overtime work. Critics say it is uncertain whether imposition of the legal cap will drastically change the deeply rooted overwork culture. The issue of “karoshi,” or death from overwork, was brought into fresh focus after the 2015 suicide of an overworked female worker at advertising firm Dentsu Inc. that was later recognized in 2016 as due to overwork. In fiscal 2017, Japan had 190 deaths from overwork, including suicides, according to government data. Skilled professionals with high wages such as consultants and financial traders will be exempted. Another major feature of the law, ensuring “equal pay for equal work” for regular and nonregular workers, will take effect in April next year.
|
shinzo abe;jobs;overwork;overtime;karoshi
|
jp0003316
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
New car sales in Japan rise third straight year despite scandals
|
New car sales in the 2018 business year rose 1.2 percent from the previous year to 5.26 million units, increasing for the third consecutive year on strong minicar sales. The positive figures for the year ended Sunday came despite headwinds for the industry following a series of scandals: Former Nissan Motor Co. boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested for alleged financial misconduct while several automakers had to admit to improper vehicle inspections. Sales of minivehicles with an engine capacity of up to 660 cc rose 3.4 percent to 1.92 million units, according to the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. Daihatsu Motor Co. remained at the top despite its minicar sales dropping 0.1 percent, while Honda Motor Co. saw an increase of 8.8 percent on brisk demand for the N-Box. Sales of cars other than minivehicles stood at 3.34 million, down by around 1,600 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. Toyota Motor Corp. saw a 2.3 percent fall, while Subaru Corp., which has recalled vehicles in Japan over malpractice including inspections by unauthorized staff, also affected the overall decline. Sales at Nissan and Mazda Motor Corp. were up. In March alone, new car sales dropped 4.0 percent from a year earlier to 640,811 units, with both minicars and other vehicles declining.
|
toyota;honda;nissan;carmakers
|
jp0003317
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Tokyo stocks start fiscal 2019 with robust gains
|
Stocks surged Monday in the first session of the 2019 business year, as buying grew in the wake of rises in overseas equities and strong Chinese manufacturing data. The market also got a boost from congratulatory purchases ahead of the announcement of Japan’s next era name late in the morning. The Nikkei 225 average shot up 303.22 points, or 1.43 percent, to end at 21,509.03. On Friday, the key market gauge advanced 172.05 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues finished 24.17 points, or 1.52 percent, higher at 1,615.81 after gaining 8.79 points Friday. The market got off to a strong start following Wall Street’s continued advance Friday on sustained hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks and an improvement in the purchasing managers’ index in China announced Sunday, brokers said. Investors also stepped up buying to celebrate the new era name from the outset, brokers said. The name is “Reiwa,” to be used starting May 1 upon Crown Prince Naruhito’s accession to the throne, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced before noon. Stocks accelerated their upswings in the morning on purchases induced by the yen’s easing against the dollar and a jump in Shanghai stocks, allowing the Nikkei to gain over 470 points. In the afternoon, however, the market trimmed gains due to selling on a rally, brokers said. “In addition to the China PMI reading and the weaker yen, a rise in Nikkei futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange contributed to the strong opening,” said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc. The Bank of Japan’s tankan survey for March, released just before the opening bell, showed that business conditions deteriorated in both large manufacturers and large nonmanufacturers. But the quarterly report affected the market little, as dismal results had already been expected, brokers said “The market will likely search for direction this week,” with attention focused on currency movements and U.S. economic data, including the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for March, due out later Monday, Otani said. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,837 to 259 in the first section, while 43 issues were unchanged. Volume increased to 1.419 billion shares from 1.174 billion Friday. China-linked issues attracted purchases. Among them, industrial robot maker Yaskawa Electric went up 5.04 percent, construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu 3.07 percent and Nippon Steel 2.99 percent. Daiichi Sankyo jumped 8.25 percent to a listing-to-date high after the drugmaker announced a business tie-up with British peer AstraZeneka over a cancer medicine. Other major winners included technology investor SoftBank Group and automaker Toyota. Meanwhile, Yoshinoya Holdings dropped 1.68 percent on its profit warning for the year that ended in February. Also on the minus side were cybermall operator Rakuten and airline JAL.
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0003318
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Dollar rises past ¥111 in Tokyo trading
|
The dollar firmed above ¥111 in Tokyo trading Monday, aided by a stock market rally. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.04-04, up from ¥110.73-74 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1238-1238, up from $1.1230-1231, and at ¥124.79-80, up from ¥124.36-37. The dollar topped ¥111.10 around midmorning on risk-on buying prompted by the Nikkei 225 stock average’s continued advance after opening broadly higher. A rise in U.S. long-term interest rates in off-hours trading also supported the dollar, traders said. But the greenback later bowed to selling on a rally amid the Nikkei trimming its gains. “Renewed hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations before the start of a ministerial meeting on Wednesday underpinned the dollar,” an official at a major securities firm said. In late afternoon trading, however, players increasingly took to the sidelines to wait for manufacturing data in Germany and the United States, both due out later Monday. Pointing out that investors have been sensitive to economic indicators recently, a currency broker forecast a bumpy market after the announcements of the data for March.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0003319
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
New Japanese oil giant created with Idemitsu-Showa Shell merger
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Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan’s second-largest oil wholesaler, and fourth-ranked Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. merged Monday, creating a new oil giant to better compete in increasingly challenging market conditions amid falling demand for gasoline. The new company, with combined sales of over ¥5 trillion, is set to dominate the nation’s petroleum wholesale sector along with industry leader JXTG Holdings Inc., which was formed in 2017 through a merger of JX Holdings Inc. and TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. While Idemitsu will be the surviving entity, the merged company will conduct business under the Idemitsu Showa Shell trade name and will continue to use their conventional brand names at gas stations. The merger, first announced in 2015, was long delayed due to opposition by the founding family of Idemitsu, citing differences in corporate culture. The feud was settled after the family gave its approval on condition its members join the board of the merged company. Showa Shell became a wholly owned subsidiary of Idemitsu through a share exchange. The new company expects the merger to improve efficiency in crude oil procurement, refining and distribution in a shrinking domestic market, where gasoline demand has been declining 2 to 3 percent annually partly due to the accelerating trend toward fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.
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oil;idemitsu kosan;showa shell sekiyu
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jp0003320
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/01
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Lawson to install self-checkout service in all stores across Japan amid labor crunch
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Lawson Inc. will introduce self-checkout systems in all 14,000 of its convenience stores by October to cope with Japan’s chronic labor shortage and ease the burden on existing employees, company sources said Monday. Customers across the nation will process their purchases by scanning barcodes themselves with cashier machines that can be used for either self-service or cashier-staffed checkouts depending on how busy the store is, the sources said. Only cashless payment methods such as credit cards and digital currency will be accepted for self-checkout, they said. Lawson said in December it was equipping 1,000 stores with a system allowing customers to pay for products by scanning barcodes with their smartphones by October. It currently has around 10 such stores. Lawson said Friday it will experiment with operating two unmanned stores from midnight to 5 a.m. for a few months starting in the summer. As of the end of last year, the chain had 14,574 stores in Japan. The labor shortage brought on by the aging of the population and declining birthrate has prompted convenience store operators to review their around-the-clock business hours. Last month, industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan Co. began shorter operating hours on a trial basis at 10 stores in Tokyo to gauge the impact on sales and customer traffic after a franchise owner in Osaka Prefecture started closing his store overnight due to a lack of staff. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently urged four major convenience store operators to come up with measures to address issues arising from the labor shortage.
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jobs;retailers;convenience stores;lawson;shopping
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jp0003321
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/01
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LCD maker Japan Display, a key Apple supplier, plans ¥110 billion bailout deal this week
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Display panel maker Japan Display Inc., a key supplier of Apple Inc., said Monday it is aiming to agree this week on a bailout of more than ¥110 billion ($989 million) from a group of Chinese and Taiwanese companies and an investment fund backed by the Japanese government. The company said it is negotiating a capital injection of ¥60 billion to ¥80 billion by the group, including China’s state-owned Silk Road Fund and Taiwan’s TPK Holding Co., through the issuance of new shares and bonds. It is also expecting the public-private fund INCJ Ltd., its largest shareholder with a 25.3 percent interest, to agree on refinancing, including a conversion of debts to preferred shares, the company often referred to as JDI said. One of the world’s top vendors of LCD panels used in iPhones, Japan Display has been battered by Apple’s shifting fortunes. It has been hurt in particular by a slowdown in iPhone sales and a proliferation of new models that use newer, organic light-emitting displays (OLED). Japan Display has said it expects to book a net loss for fiscal 2018 that ended in March for the fifth consecutive year due to slowing sales of display panels for Apple products. Japanese electronics companies have been competing fiercely with South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. in developing advanced display panels. Japan Display, which was formed in 2012 through a merger of the LCD operations of Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., initially aimed to close the bailout deal by the end of March.
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china;smartphones;apple;iphones;lcd;oled;japan display;incj;tpk holding;silk road fund
|
jp0003322
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/01
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Carlos Ghosn and Nissan CEO Saikawa considered adding fourth partner to alliance, email shows
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Last September, two months before his arrest in Tokyo, then-Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn and the carmaker’s chief executive officer considered bringing in a new partner for the alliance with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to an email. At the time, Ghosn was under pressure to make the three-way automobile alliance “irreversible.” In a message to Ghosn seen by Bloomberg, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa wrote that he had been working over the summer “quietly by myself,” at his boss’s request, to find a structure that would be “acceptable for both sides.” He offered to discuss possibilities with Ghosn. In the correspondence, Saikawa raised the possibility of bringing in another manufacturer as a fourth partner for the alliance. He didn’t identify any potential candidate. He wrote that expansion opportunities also included “acquisition of Chinese companies” for electric vehicles or connected services. The email casts light on the private discussions between the two men on the way forward for the French-Japanese alliance, which together is one of the biggest automakers in the world. Internally, Saikawa had argued against a full merger and that Nissan should remain independent or be the dominant force in any deeper union. He told the Nikkei financial newspaper in April that Nissan wanted to maintain the three-way alliance. Ghosn, who was chairman of all three companies, is now awaiting trial for financial crimes after spending 108 days in Tokyo Detention House. He has denied charges and blamed a “plot” against him by Nissan executives trying to prevent closer integration with Renault. Nissan spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said the company doesn’t comment on, or confirm or deny, the content of internal communications. He said he wouldn’t comment on “matters potentially related to pending judicial processes.” Representatives for Ghosn’s family and Renault declined to comment. In the message to Ghosn, Saikawa advises changing the alliance’s structure in 2019 “rather than wait.” Seven months before, Ghosn had pledged to cement the partnership, a promise that came after France, Renault’s most powerful shareholder, had demanded deeper ties with Nissan. Yet a move for closer relations faced resistance from within Nissan, which feared Renault would gain even greater sway. Already their shareholding is lopsided, with Renault owning 43 percent of Nissan compared with the Japanese carmaker’s 15 percent stake in Renault. Their partnership has been under further strain since Ghosn’s Nov. 19 arrest. In considering bringing in a fourth partner for the alliance, Saikawa’s email also highlights the pressure carmakers are under to grow amid an expensive shift by the industry to electric and self-driving cars. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Renault wanted to pursue the idea of a merger with Nissan, before a tie-up with another partner, possibly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Saikawa denied any deal-making talks, and said he was unaware of any such move by Renault. The French carmaker declined to comment and the government downplayed the report. In a bid to restore trust, Renault and Nissan earlier this month unveiled a new board to govern their alliance.
|
nissan;carmakers;mitsubishi motors;renault;carlos ghosn;hiroto saikawa
|
jp0003323
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Recruits mark first day at work across Japan as fiscal 2019 begins with new overtime curbs
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This year’s recruits went to work at their new jobs for the first time Monday, the start of fiscal 2019 and the beginning of stricter overtime restrictions. “I would like (this ministry) to lead Japan’s social security and working style,” Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takumi Nemoto said in an address to 180 new recruits. “Do not feel small and please believe that you’re supporting the country through your role here.” The ministry, which has come under fire for releasing faulty job data for over a decade, played a major role in drafting a labor reform law setting a legal cap on long working hours that came into force Monday. While the government was unveiling the name of Japan’s new Imperial era, with Crown Prince Naruhito set to ascend the throne on May 1, many new graduates were attending welcome ceremonies organized by their employers across the nation. Toyota Motor Corp.’s 1,492 new hires participated in a ceremony wearing work uniforms at its head office in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. “You can become anything you want to be if you put your mind and effort into it,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda told them. “Be a treasure of the company and if possible you should be someone who will be valued by society.” Japan Airlines Co. group companies welcomed around 1,960 new employees at its Haneda airport aircraft hangar in Tokyo, with President Yuji Akasaka emphasizing how every one of them is responsible for passengers’ lives. JAL has been under scrutiny since one of its pilots was arrested by British police last October for being around 10 times over the legal alcohol limit under Britain’s aviation law, which was followed by a string of revelations involving crew members and alcohol. Professional figure skater and Olympic medalist Mao Asada made a surprise appearance at the JAL ceremony, referring to the announcement of the new era name, Reiwa. “Everyone here was born in the current Heisei Era, including me,” she said. “I’d like to embark upon the new one with a fresh start.” Seven new recruits started their jobs in the town of Okuma, which co-hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. “I hope you thrive and become part of this town’s recovery,” Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe told them. According to official government data, 91.9 percent of new job seekers, a record high proportion since such surveys began, had found jobs as of Feb. 1 ahead of their graduation in March, showing a continued improvement in the labor market for the eighth straight year.
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jal;labor laws;jobs;toyota
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jp0003324
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/04/01
|
Border row pitches noninterventionist Mexican president into deep water with Trump
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MEXICO CITY - Donald Trump’s threat to shut the U.S. border if Mexico does not halt all illegal immigration has exposed the limitations of the new Mexican government’s strategy of trying to appease the U.S. president as he gears up for re-election. Amid a surge in migrant detentions at the southwest U.S. border, Trump on Friday said he would close the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) frontier, or sections of it, during the coming week if Mexico did not halt the flow of people. Casting the government under leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the villain in his struggle to curb illegal immigration to the United States, Trump returned to a signature theme of his 2015-2016 presidential election bid. His words were a slap in the face to Lopez Obrador, who has refused to answer back to provocative comments from Trump. Instead, the Mexican leader has worked to cement his powerbase by combating poverty with welfare handouts and lambasting his predecessors as corrupt. On Friday, Lopez Obrador again said he would not quarrel with Trump, invoking “love and peace” and repeating his commitment to curbing migration. However, for former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castaneda, Mexico faces “incredibly damaging” consequences if Trump does order “go-slows” at the border, which would pitch Lopez Obrador into uncomfortable new territory. “He’s totally unfamiliar with international affairs. He’d prefer not to have to worry about these things,” Castaneda said, noting that the U.S. president had tested many governments. “Nobody’s been able to find a way to manage Trump. It’s a mess.” Staunchly noninterventionist in international affairs, Lopez Obrador shows little interest in diplomacy. He has often said “the best foreign policy is domestic policy.” But as the destination of 80 percent of Mexico’s exports and workplace of hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, the United States offers Trump plenty of leverage to apply pressure via the border. Policy experts say Trump’s demand is not realistic and that Mexican authorities are already stretched. Still, Mexico has signaled it will redouble efforts to contain migration, which stems largely from three poor, violent Central American countries: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he did not believe Trump was demanding an outright stop to the migrant flow, which has run into the millions over the past decade. “What can be done is to improve work on registering and regulating (migration),” Ebrard told Reuters. “They’re asking us to put into effect what we said we would do.” The government has vowed to curb migration by addressing the root causes, keeping better tabs on the people entering Mexico and adopting a more humane approach to the phenomenon. In exchange, Lopez Obrador has sought to enlist Trump’s aid in tackling the problems of Central America, which critics say has been scarred by a history of messy U.S. interventions. On Thursday, Lopez Obrador said migration was chiefly a matter for Washington and the troubled region, reflecting the view that Mexico cannot help being sandwiched between the struggling countries and the richest nation on the planet. Instead, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday it was cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, raising questions about Trump’s commitment to helping there. Soaring border arrests have rankled with the U.S. president. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol projections are for over 90,000 apprehensions to be logged during March, according to data provided to the Mexican government. That is up more than 140 percent from March 2018, and a seven-fold jump from 2017. At the same time, Lopez Obrador is sending fewer migrants back home. In December-February, the administration’s first three months, the number dropped 17 percent from a year earlier to 19,360, data from the National Migration Institute show. The fall partly reflects the government’s decision to issue humanitarian visas to encourage Central Americans to stay in Mexico. The visas proved so popular that the government had to suspend them, officials say. Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador’s savings drive to pay for his social programs has cut the budget of the National Migration Institute by more than a fifth this year. The clash illustrates Lopez Obrador’s miscalculation in thinking he could contain Trump’s hostility toward Mexico with U.S. presidential elections in 2020, said Agustin Barrios Gomez, a member of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations. Tension was inevitable given that Trump’s tough stance on illegal immigration is “immediately antagonistic” to Lopez Obrador’s core constituency: poorer Mexicans who often seek to better their lot in the United States, he argued. Yet by agreeing in December to accept Central American asylum seekers while their claims are processed in the United States, Lopez Obrador gave the impression he could be “pushed around” by Trump, said former foreign minister Castaneda, who backed Lopez Obrador’s closest rival in the last election. To keep the border open, Mexican business leaders say they are leaning on U.S. partners to pressure Congress. A shutdown would be “very negative for both countries,” said deputy Mexican economy minister Luz Maria de la Mora, who saw Trump’s comments as part of his election campaign. “I think the U.S. administration and the advisers in the White House know it’s not a good idea,” she told Reuters. But if push came to shove, Mexico would suffer most, said Castaneda. “The Americans have a much greater capacity … to outlast the Mexicans,” he said. “For Mexicans it’s a life or death issue. For Americans it’s a pain in the ass, but that’s it.”
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u.s .;immigration;mexico;central america;u.s.-mexico border;donald trump;andres manuel lopez obrador
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