id
stringlengths 9
9
| categories
list | date
stringlengths 10
10
| title
stringlengths 5
171
| abstract
stringlengths 132
7.13k
| keyword
stringlengths 9
170
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
jp0004284
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan extends SDF dispatch to U.N. peacekeeping mission HQ in South Sudan
|
Japan decided Friday to extend by another year, through May 31, 2020, the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel to the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The move came after the U.N. Security Council extended in March the mandate of the mission in the country, called UNMISS, by one year. Japan has four members stationed at the headquarters. In May 2017, Japan ended its five-year deployment of Ground Self-Defense Force civil engineering units to UNMISS but has continued the dispatch of SDF members to the headquarters. The first members were sent in 2011. “It is important for Japan to continue coordinating with other nations in assisting South Sudan because ensuring peace and stability there is a critical challenge for the international community,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference. SDF activities overseas have been restricted under the war-renouncing Constitution. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has expanded the role of the SDF abroad through security legislation that took effect in 2016, but sending troops to areas where they could get drawn into fighting remains controversial. No SDF unit is currently serving in an active U.N. mission following the withdrawal of GSDF troops from South Sudan.
|
u.n .;self defense forces;south sudan;peacekeeping;unmiss
|
jp0004285
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Iran won't negotiate with 'bully' U.S. over nuclear deal, says Tehran foreign minister in Tokyo
|
Iran’s foreign minister says he is not interested in negotiating with the United States after it pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and reinstated stifling economic sanctions on Tehran. “No, there is no possibility for negotiations,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said when asked in an interview with reporters Thursday in Tokyo whether he would be open to holding bilateral talks aimed at easing tensions, including discussions of a proposed prisoner swap. Zarif had said as recently as April that he was willing to exchange foreign prisoners in Iran for Iranian prisoners in the United States, Germany and Australia held on “phony” charges. But Zarif said such a deal was no longer on the table because the United States had set unspecified preconditions. “(The U.S.) is not in a position to impose preconditions on Iran,” he said. Zarif, who earlier in the day met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono, called the United States a “bully” for pressuring other countries, including Japan, to adhere to its economic sanctions including a ban on buying Iranian oil. “This is the first time in history that a bully is telling everybody else, important countries, that ‘I’m going to punish you if you observe something that I do not like,'” said Zarif. Countries including China, India and Japan were initially granted sanctions waivers but the U.S. terminated them earlier this month. “Let us assume that a bully is standing in a cross section on the street and telling everybody, ‘If you don’t pass the red light, I’m going to beat you.’ This is exactly what the U.S. is telling them,” Zarif said, adding, “This is economic terrorism, pure and simple.” The scathing remarks came just over a week after Iran announced it is suspending some of the commitments it made in the landmark deal with countries including the U.K., China, France, Germany and Russia, such as a limit to the amount of enriched uranium it can possess. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said May 8 that the remaining parties have 60 days to negotiate new terms before the country resumes higher levels of uranium enrichment. Further escalating tensions, the United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf. Zarif also criticized the European parties to the nuclear deal and Japan for going along with the U.S. sanctions despite publicly supporting the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “I have to stress that it is important for all other members of the JCPOA to take serious account of their continued failure because Europe unfortunately, while supporting JCPOA verbally, has not been able to take any action. Unfortunately, our Japanese partners also have not taken action to implement JCPOA,” he said. Zarif was scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday.
|
u.s .;nuclear weapons;iran;iran nuclear deal;donald trump;mohammad javad zarif
|
jp0004286
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Abe looking to accelerate improvements in Japan-China ties after Xi attends G20 summit
|
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit in late June for the Group of 20 summit in Osaka will help accelerate recent improvements in bilateral relations. “With President Xi’s visit, I want to further develop bilateral ties that have returned to a normal track and jointly create a new era for Japan and China,” Abe said when he met top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi at the Prime Minister’s Office. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, responded by saying he sees “new momentum” for bilateral relations. “I’m confident that our ties are not only back on a normal track but will continue to develop in a healthy and stable manner,” he said. Japan and China have for years been mired in a territorial row in the East China Sea. But ties have been improving recently with mutual visits by senior government officials and business leaders. Abe and Yang agreed to step up preparations for what will be Xi’s first visit to Japan as president when Osaka hosts the G20 summit from June 28 to 29, the Foreign Ministry said. In a separate meeting earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed hope of demonstrating at the G20 gathering that the bilateral relationship has been “markedly improving.” Yang said China hopes the summit will be successful. The leaders of the G20 major economies will discuss global issues at a time when the United States and China are involved in an escalating trade conflict, casting a shadow over prospects for the global economy. Abe plans to meet with both Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump on the fringes of the G20. Yang also met with Shotaro Yachi, national security adviser and a close aide to Abe, on Thursday and Friday in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Yang told Abe that he and Yachi had “in-depth and wide-ranging” talks. The Japanese government said Yang and Yachi agreed on the importance of bringing about peace and cooperation in the East China Sea, and that they also discussed the situation in North Korea and between the U.S. and China.
|
china-japan relations;yang jiechi;prime minister shinzo abe;foreign minister taro kono
|
jp0004287
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan lifts age restrictions on U.S. beef imports that were imposed in 2003 to counter mad cow disease
|
The government on Friday lifted all age restrictions on imported U.S. beef for the first time since the measures were imposed in 2003 to counter mad cow disease. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry removed the ban on United States beef from cattle older than 30 months after the food safety commission signed off on the move in January. The move comes as Japan faces mounting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to give American farmers greater access to its agricultural market. In addition to asking for the age restriction to be removed, Washington has pushed Tokyo to cut tariffs on farm products as the two sides continue to negotiate a bilateral trade deal. Some major exporters of agricultural products, such as Australia, benefit from free trade deals that Japan has concluded recently. The health ministry said Friday it had also lifted similar restrictions on beef from Canada and Ireland. The ministry eliminated the ban on condition that parts where prions — a misfolded protein thought to be the cause of mad cow disease — concentrate be removed before shipment. Such parts include portions of the small intestine and spinal cord of cattle over 30 months old. Japan placed a blanket ban on U.S. beef in 2003 after discovering the brain-wasting disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, in some specimens. Japan partially resumed imports in 2005, but those were limited to beef from cattle no older than 20 months. The ban was then reinstated for half a year in 2006. Since then, Japan has gradually eased import restrictions on the grounds that the United States has been internationally recognized as having the lowest risk of the disease. At the request of the health ministry, a research panel of the food safety commission began investigating in April last year whether beef from the United States, Canada and Ireland posed a health risk. In January, it reported to health minister Takumi Nemoto that the risk was “negligible,” leading to the lifting of restrictions on Friday.
|
united states;beef;mad cow disease;bovine spongiform encephalopathy
|
jp0004288
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan to keep North Korea-linked association Chongryon under surveillance
|
The government said Friday that the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, remains subject to surveillance under the Subversive Activities Prevention Law. The government “can’t deny the possibility that the association will conduct destructive activities depending on future circumstances,” it said in a written response to a question from Lower House member Jin Matsubara. The government recognizes that members of groups under the wing of the association were involved in three cases of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, it said. The government response also touched on the history of Chongryon to support its argument for placing the group under continued surveillance. One of the precursors to Chongryon, known as Minsen, which was formed in 1951 and disbanded four years later with the establishment of Chongryon, “is suspected of having carried out destructive activities,” the government said, adding that Chongryon still has a close relationship with North Korea.
|
north korea;terrorism;chongryon;abductions;north korea-japan relations
|
jp0004289
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Tight security expected for G20 summit in Osaka, with no lockers or trash cans at stations
|
OSAKA - Osaka will be put under tight security during the Group of 20 summit in late June as local authorities plan to suspend the use of trash cans and coin lockers at stations and limit road traffic as a preventive measure against terrorism. From June 24 to 29, trash cans and coin lockers at all stations in Osaka and major ones in neighboring prefectures will not be available, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Thursday. Eleven railway companies in western Japan will cooperate with the plan, according to the prefectural government. “As foreign tourists will be affected, we will provide necessary information in multiple languages,” Yoshimura said at a news conference. The leaders of the G20 major economies are scheduled to gather in Osaka on June 28 and 29 to discuss global issues, with U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin likely to attend. The Osaka Prefectural Police also plans to restrict road traffic around Osaka Station, hotels reserved for foreign leaders and delegates, and the Intex Osaka convention center, which will serve as the venue for the summit. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
|
osaka;rail;tourism;g20;hirofumi yoshimura
|
jp0004290
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan passes bill to drastically curb drone flights over military and Tokyo Olympic sites
|
The government on Friday enacted legislation severely restricting the flying of drones over U.S. military and Self-Defense Forces facilities, as well as venues hosting 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic events as a preventive measure against terrorism. The move has sparked protests from opposition parties and the media over the past few months due to their concerns about a possible denial of people’s right to know and a potential disruption of newsgathering activities. While the legislation all but bans the flying of drones by private individuals, if prior permission is sought from authorities certain organizations, including media outlets, may be granted exemptions. The House of Councilors approved the bill at a plenary session following its passage through the House of Representatives on April 16. The legislation similarly restricts the flying of drones over venues for this year’s Rugby World Cup. Only drones providing coverage for, and controlled by, the media will be allowed to fly over venues during the sports events, if permission is granted. The legislation is an amendment to the existing law which, due to terrorism concerns, already bans drone flights over key facilities such as the Prime Minister’s Office and the Imperial Palace. The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association, an independent organization run by Japanese mass media, opposed the legislation. “It will greatly limit newsgathering activities and infringe upon the right of the people to be informed,” they said. In past Diet sessions, opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, expressed concerns that people’s right to know may be hampered because the legislation would prohibit aerial photography and filming of the site in the Henoko district of Okinawa Prefecture where landfill work is being conducted for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The government said it has no intention of restricting newsgathering activities. In response to criticism, Lower and Upper House panels adopted a supplementary resolution requesting the government ensure press freedom and the people’s right to know. “Freedom of the press and the people’s right to know will suffer if restrictions go beyond the necessary limits,” the resolution said. The legislation restricts operators from flying drones within 300 meters of the boundary of designated sites. The police and the SDF are permitted to seize or destroy drones if they are flown near designated zones without permission, and lawbreakers risk up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of ¥500,000.
|
censorship;terrorism;drones;journalism;diet;u.s. bases;self defense forces
|
jp0004291
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Over the hump: Olympic workers complete wooden roof for New National Stadium in Tokyo
|
The Japan Sport Council said Friday the wooden roof that will be the distinctive trademark of the main venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been completed. The roof of the New National Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympics, had been under construction since February last year. Fitting together the domestically produced wooden components with the steel framework was considered the most difficult part of the stadium’s construction. The council said construction is on schedule, with the completion date set for the end of November. Workers have already installed some 28,000 of the 60,000 seats estimated to be used during the games. The stadium was designed by architect Kengo Kuma. The stadium will host the athletics events for both the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as the Olympic women’s soccer final. The Olympics will be held between July 24 and Aug. 9, 2020, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.
|
tokyo 2020 olympics;new national stadium
|
jp0004292
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
U.S. charges Chinese hackers over giant 2015 Anthem data breach
|
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday the indictment of members of “an extremely sophisticated” Chinese hacking group that allegedly stole the personal information of more than 78 million people from health insurer Anthem in 2015. The department said the group was behind a campaign that targeted the computer systems of four distinct U.S. industry groups, slowly and stealthily removing corporate secrets and personal data. “The allegations in the indictment unsealed today outline the activities of a brazen China-based computer hacking group that committed one of the worst data breaches in history,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski. The announcement came during heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and China’s alleged program to steal American corporate secrets in order to hasten its own technological development. The indictment named one member of the hacking group, Wang Fujie, 32, and said other members were also charged in the indictment, including some whose real identities were not known. The Justice Department did not say that the group had any connections to the government, and did not say how the stolen data was used. It said that besides the Anthem hack, the group was able to enter the systems of three other unnamed businesses including one in the technology sector, another in basic industrial materials, and one in communications. The hackers used phishing emails to trick company employees into opening a route for them to enter the firms’ systems. They would then install malware and other tools on the systems to maintain backdoor access and avoid being discovered so they could explore for valuable data. From health insurer Anthem they reaped the personal identification data on 78.8 million individuals — everything from addresses and identification numbers to their employment and income data. “The defendants sometimes patiently waited months before taking further action, eventually engaging in reconnaissance by searching the network for data of interest,” the Justice Department said. Wang and the unnamed defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, and intentionally damaging protected computers.
|
china;u.s .;hacking;insurance;anthem
|
jp0004293
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Break up Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is too strong, says company's co-founder
|
NEW YORK - One of the co-founders of Facebook called on Thursday for the social media behemoth to be broken up, warning that the company’s head, Mark Zuckerberg, had become far too powerful. “It’s time to break up Facebook,” said Chris Hughes, who along with Zuckerberg founded the online network in their dorm room while both were students at Harvard University in 2004. In an editorial published in The New York Times, Hughes said that Zuckerberg’s “focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks,” and warned that his global influence had become “staggering.” Zuckerberg not only controls Facebook but also the widely used Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, and Hughes said that “Facebook’s board works more like an advisory committee than an overseer.” Hughes, who quit Facebook more than a decade ago, was pictured in the newspaper together with Zuckerberg when both were fresh-faced students launching Facebook as a campus networking tool. He accused Facebook of acquiring or copying all of its competitors to achieve dominance in the social media field, meaning that investors were reluctant to back any rivals because they know they cannot compete for long. Zuckerberg “has created a leviathan that crowds out entrepreneurship and restricts consumer choice,” wrote Hughes, who is now a member of the Economic Security Project, which is pushing for a universal basic income in the United States. After buying up its main competitors Instagram, where people can publish photos, and WhatsApp, a secure messaging service, Facebook now has 2.7 billion monthly users across its platforms and made a first quarter profit of $2.43 billion this year. “The most problematic aspect of Facebook’s power is Mark’s unilateral control over speech. There is no precedent for his ability to monitor, organize and even censor the conversations of 2 billion people,” said Hughes. The company has been rocked by a series of scandals recently, including allowing its users’ data to be harvested by research companies and its slow response to Russia using Facebook as a means to spread disinformation during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. The company is reportedly expecting to face a fine of $5 billion. “The American government needs to do two things: break up Facebook’s monopoly and regulate the company to make it more accountable to the American people,” Hughes said, urging the government to break away Instagram and WhatsApp and prevent new acquisitions for several years. “Even after a breakup, Facebook would be a hugely profitable business with billions to invest in new technologies — and a more competitive market would only encourage those investments,” he said. Hughes said the breakup, under existing anti-trust laws, would allow better privacy protections for social media users and would cost U.S. authorities almost nothing. Hughes said that he remained friends with Zuckerberg, noting that “he’s human. But it’s his very humanity that makes his unchecked power so problematic.”
|
tech;social media;facebook;mark zuckerberg;chris hughes
|
jp0004295
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Foreigners stage 'positive invasion' of Sicily in €1 home sale
|
ROME - Bargain hunters from Argentina to China swooped on a €1 auction and snapped up 16 abandoned Sicilian homes in a foreign buying frenzy that was heralded on Thursday as a positive invasion of a dying hilltop town. Selling homes for token sums has become a popular, last-ditch strategy for tumbledown towns in Italy’s south, many of which are fighting de-population and decay. The 16 stone homes were put on sale in January, each for the price of an espresso, sparking a stampede of would-be buyers hoping to buy a holiday lifestyle with loose pennies and pesos. The town council announced the auction results on Wednesday and said that the successful buyers come from the United States, China, France, Britain, Russia and Argentina. “It was an invasion— but a positive one!” Sambuca’s deputy mayor, Giuseppe Cacioppo, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation after the auction results were made public. The abandoned homes were all directly owned by the municipality, which set a starting price of a euro each — with the caveat that each buyer must stump up at least €15,000 ($16,845) to renovate within three years, as well as hand over a refundable security deposit of €5,000. Images showed some of the homes on sale appeared short on windows and other basics, with fissured facades and wonky walls. But their curb appeal was clear — sleepy Sambuca is just 20 minutes from the sea and about an hour’s drive from the nearest airport, with Sicily a major tourist and foodie destination. One of a string of Italian towns seeking to lure in life as young residents flee to the city and older ones die, Sambuca is postcard-pretty but wears signs of its abandonment. After the house auction was featured on CNN Travel in January, Sambuca’s town council said it was inundated with about 100,000 emails from prospective buyers. “Within half an hour of the article going out, we started getting tens and then hundreds of emails,” Cacioppo said. The properties eventually sold for prices of between just under €1,000 and €25,000, Cacioppo said. A further 50 properties were sold on the private market, many to foreign buyers, to capitalize on the surge in outside interest, bringing in a combined total of nearly a million euro. Although most went to individuals, one was bought by the U.S. Discovery Channel, which intends to film the renovations in a show presented by U.S. actor Lorraine Bracco. “They’ve come from all over the world: America, China, Japan, Israel, Dubai, Russia, Norway, England. It’s transforming our town into a cultural centre and creating a tourist boom,” Cacioppo said. “Before people emigrated from Sicily to Europe and America. Now people are coming from Europe and America to live here.” Situated on a hillside in the Belice Valley in the southwest of the island, Sambuca in 2016 won the “Borgo dei Borghi” award for the most beautiful village in Italy. But the once thriving agricultural center has seen its fortunes dwindle and now has fewer than 6,000 inhabitants.
|
italy;housing;auctions;sicily;sambuca
|
jp0004296
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Billionaire Jeff Bezos unveil plans for moon presence
|
WASHINGTON - Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos said Thursday he is going to send a spaceship to the moon, joining a resurgence of lunar interest half a century after people first set foot there. Bezos said his space company Blue Origin will land a robotic ship the size of a small house, capable of carrying four rovers and using a newly designed rocket engine and souped-up rockets. It would be followed by a version that could bring people to the moon along the same time frame as NASA’s proposed 2024 return. Bezos, who was dwarfed by his mock-up of the Blue Moon vehicle at his presentation Thursday, said, “This is an incredible vehicle and it’s going to the moon.” He added, “It’s time to go back to the moon — this time to stay.” The announcement for the usually secretive space company came with all the glitz of an Apple product launch in a darkened convention ballroom bedazzled with shimmering stars on its walls. Astronauts and other space luminaries sat in the audience under blue-tinted lighting before Bezos unveiled the boxy ship with four long and spindly landing legs. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, walked off the stage without providing details, including launch dates, customers and the plan for humans on his rockets. He spent more time talking about his dream of future generations living on orbiting space station colonies than on concrete details about Blue Origin missions. Blue Origin officials gave conflicting answers to questions about when the company would land on the moon with and without people. Blue Origin Vice President Clay Mowry said 2024 was not a concrete goal for a mission with people and said it was more up to NASA as a potential customer. Former U.S. Rep. Robert Walker, a private space consultant who is working with Blue Origin, said it plans for a 2023 launch without people. Blue Origin in 2017 revealed plans to send an unmanned, reusable rocket, capable of carrying 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms) of payload, to the moon. The company had a successful launch earlier this month, reusing one of its New Shepherd rockets, which barely goes to the edge of space, for a fifth time. The new moon race has a lower profile than the one in the 1960s. It involves private companies, new countries and a NASA return mission to place astronauts back on the lunar surface by 2024. While a $30 million prize for private companies to send robotic probes to the moon went unclaimed last year, one of the competitors, from an Israeli private nonprofit, crashed last month as it tried to land. China has landed a rover on the moon’s far side. SpaceX last year announced plans to send Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of Japan’s major online fashion mall, Zozotown, around the moon in 2023. And the Israeli nonprofit said it will give it a second shot. The first successful moon landing was by the Soviet Union in 1966 with Luna 9, followed by the U.S. four months later. NASA put the first — and only — people on the moon in the Apollo program, starting with Apollo 11 in July 1969. “The next leap in space will be fueled by commercial companies like Blue Origin and commercial innovation,” said former Obama White House space adviser Phil Larson, now an assistant dean of engineering at the University of Colorado. Space companies have in the past made big announcements with goals that never came true. Former NASA deputy administrator Dava Newman, an MIT professor working as a customer of Blue Origin, said this time it is different. The new engine is the reason, she said, “it’s for real.”
|
u.s .;nasa;space;planets;amazon.com;jeff bezos;elon musk;spacex;moon;blue origin
|
jp0004297
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Umbrella-sharing service in Japan taps 'internet of things' tech to reduce thefts and waste
|
A startup company has successfully launched an umbrella-sharing service, mainly in Tokyo, using “internet of things” technology to reduce umbrella waste. Nature Innovation Group, founded by Shoji Marukawa, started the service in December, and it aims for the return of all rented umbrellas. Users of the service, called iKasa, register with NIG via the Line messaging app and check for iKasa spots closest to their locations. “ Kasa ” is Japanese for umbrella. The user goes to the stand, unlocks the umbrella of choice by scanning the QR code on its handle and checks it out. The service is available for ¥70 per day, paid via a registered credit card. The iKasa system has achieved the 100 percent return of rented umbrellas, since the registration of credit card numbers connects the umbrellas to the personal information of users. The Tokyo-based company has installed iKasa spots at some 100 stores, offices and other places that have formed partnerships with it. While 120 million to 130 million umbrellas are sold per year in Japan, 80 million or so plastic umbrellas are discarded annually, according to the Japan Umbrella Promotion Association and other sources. A range of organizations have previously failed in umbrella-sharing programs due to low return rates. When the Hokkaido Shinkansen line launched operations in March 2016, for example, the Hakodate Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other organizations in Hakodate, Hokkaido, made some 2,300 umbrellas available for free use by tourists. The tourism promotion program ended a year later because few of the umbrellas had been returned. A similar program was introduced by Shibuya Ward in Tokyo about a decade ago, but it failed to last long for the same reason. The iKasa service has overcome the problem of few returns because it addresses the issue as “a business,” Marukawa, 24, said. “We hope to operate across Japan as an infrastructure for rainy days.” Other companies are also addressing the waste of umbrellas. Dydo Drinco Inc., a soft drink-maker based in the city of Osaka, places free-use umbrellas next to its vending machines, mainly in office buildings and shopping streets, because many users return to such locations. Umbrellas for the service include those provided by railways from umbrellas left behind on trains and in stations. Dydo Drinco started the service in Osaka in 2015 and has since expanded it to Tokyo and 15 prefectures. In a related development, TBM Co. plans to shortly begin a sharing program at Tokyo-area train stations on a trial basis, using umbrellas made of Limex, a proprietary material it developed from limestone. The Tokyo-based venture said it developed the new material in line with global trends toward reducing plastic use for environmental protection.
|
tokyo;iot;dydo drinco;umbrellas;sharing economy;ikasa
|
jp0004298
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Nikkei drops to 21,345 after U.S. hikes tariffs on China
|
Stocks gave up early gains to finish lower for the fifth straight session Friday, hit by speculative selling prompted by U.S. tariff hikes on $200 billion worth of Chinese products. The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 57.21 points, or 0.27 percent, to end at 21,344.92 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On Thursday, the key market gauge dropped 200.46 points. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 1.29 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,549.42, after losing 21.62 points the previous day. From the outset of Friday’s trading, investors moved to buy back shares battered in recent sell-offs. Sentiment was brightened by media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump said he received a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping and could have phone talks with the Chinese leader, brokers said, adding a rebound in Shanghai stocks also provided a buying incentive. But both the Nikkei and Topix indexes sank into negative territory when a wave of selling by short-term players hit the futures market and pricey cash stocks at around the time the Trump administration carried out the tariff hike, brokers said. The import duty was raised to 25 percent from 10 percent at 1:01 p.m. Japan time after the United States and China failed to find a solution to their trade dispute in the first round of the two-day ministerial-level negotiations in Washington on Thursday. Hiroaki Hiwada, strategist at Toyo Securities Co., offered the view that stocks resisted falling substantially. “The Tokyo market largely priced in the tariff increase” after the Nikkei lost more than 850 points in the three sessions from Tuesday, he pointed out. Investors took to the sell side in the afternoon, fearing the trade war between the world’s two largest economies would escalate given Beijing’s clear readiness to retaliate, said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief market analyst at Saxo Bank Securities Ltd. But the Shanghai market rally suggests that a chance to strike a deal remains, Kuramochi said. Despite the market indices’ negative finishes, rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,055 to 1,004 in the TSE’s first section and 81 issues were unchanged. Volume rose to 1.740 billion shares from Thursday’s 1.689 billion. Mitsubishi Motors nose-dived as its forecast for operating profit in the business year to March 2020 fell far short of the market consensus. Panasonic tumbled due to a profit warning for the same business year. Among other losers were technology investor SoftBank Group and Tokai Carbon. On the other hand, nonferrous metals producer Mitsui Kinzoku jumped thanks to a rosy projection for operating profit for that year. Air conditioner maker Daikin attracted purchases to snap a three-session losing streak. Also on the sunny side were clothing chain operator Fast Retailing and drugmaker Takeda. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average fell 70 points to end at 21,310.
|
stocks;tse;nikkei 225;tokyo stock exchange
|
jp0004299
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Dollar hovers around ¥109.80 in Tokyo amid speculation on U.S.-China trade talks
|
The dollar was trading slightly below ¥109.80 in Tokyo late Friday after trimming early gains following a hike in U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.76-76, up from ¥109.62-62 at the same time on Thursday. The euro was at $1.1225-1226, up from $1.1187-1187, and at ¥123.21-22, up from ¥122.64-64. The dollar gained some ¥0.10 to top ¥109.80 in early trading, lifted by media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump said he received a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping and might speak with Xi about bilateral trade by phone. After the Tokyo stock market opened, the greenback gathered steam to retake ¥110 thanks to a rebound in the Nikkei average. But the tariff hike and China’s harsh threats of countermeasures sent the dollar below ¥109.70 in the afternoon. In late trading, the greenback firmed slightly on buybacks. “Although the dollar was prone to attract selling, investors were unable to drive it further down because all negative incentives had evaporated,” said an official at a foreign-exchange margin trading firm. Players were hoping to see the outcome of the ministerial-level trade negotiations in Washington, a think tank official said, adding that the possibility of the U.S.-Chinese talks continuing next week instead of ending Friday cannot be ruled out.
|
exchange rates;foreign exchange;forex;currencies;fx
|
jp0004300
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Major engineering firm Chiyoda announces ¥180 billion bailout from Mitsubishi and MUFG Bank
|
Chiyoda Corp., one of the world’s leading builders of liquefied natural gas plants, said Thursday it will receive a total of ¥180 billion from trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and MUFG Bank to turn around its finances. Under a reconstruction plan, Chiyoda will get a capital injection of ¥70 billion from the trading house through the issuance of preferred shares. Mitsubishi, the largest shareholder in the engineering company, will also provide ¥90 billion in long-term loans. “When accepting orders, (Chiyoda’s) risk analysis was very poor,” Mitsubishi President and CEO Takehiko Kakiuchi said at a news conference. “It was getting too many orders that exceeded its management resources.” MUFG Bank will offer ¥20 billion in subordinated loans, which can be incorporated as part of a company’s capital base because of the low priority for repayment. Preferred shares carry no voting rights but holders have priority in receiving dividends. According to the major plant engineering firm the preferred shares to be allotted to Mitsubishi can be converted to common stock, but the trading house is not currently planning to convert the shares for sale in the market. Asked about the possibility of making Chiyoda one of its consolidated subsidiaries, Kakiuchi said, “To be honest, I don’t have strong feelings about that. The goal is the company’s revival, and we are not aiming to control Chiyoda.” Also on Thursday Chiyoda reported a group net loss of ¥214.9 billion in the business year that ended in March, mainly due to additional costs for its large-scale LNG project in Louisiana in the United States. The net loss was a reversal from a profit of ¥6.45 billion in the previous fiscal year. It attributed the increased costs to additional construction work and low labor productivity. It recorded a group operating profit of ¥199.8 billion in fiscal 2018, deteriorating from an operating loss of ¥12.33 billion the year before, on consolidated revenues of ¥341.9 billion, down 33.1 percent. For the current business year, Chiyoda said it expects to book a group net profit of ¥6 billion and an operating profit of ¥12 billion on revenues of ¥390 billion. Chiyoda Corp. formally announced Wednesday the appointment of a corporate adviser from general trader Mitsubishi Corp., Chiyoda’s top shareholder, as its chairman and chief executive officer, effective June 25. The Mitsubishi adviser, Kazushi Okawa, 62, will lead the company’s turnaround efforts. Before taking on the advisory post in April, Okawa headed Mitsubishi’s infrastructure project and plant engineering departments. Current Chiyoda President and CEO Masaji Santo will become president and chief operating officer.
|
mitsubishi;lng;investments;mufg;financial results;chiyoda
|
jp0004301
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Nissan to lower midterm sales goal, sources say, in shift from Ghosn's expansionary policy
|
Nissan Motor Co. is planning to lower its midterm sales goal, in an apparent pivot from former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s expansionary policy, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The automaker is expected to announce the downward revision on Tuesday, when it is scheduled to release financial results for the year that ended in March. In its midterm business plan, which was released in November 2017 when Ghosn was at the helm, Nissan set a goal of boosting sales by 30 percent to ¥16.5 trillion in the year ending in March 2023. The firm had sought to increase sales in emerging economies under the business plan, such as South American nations and India, as well as major markets including China and North America. In February, following Ghosn’s arrest in November last year, Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa signaled a departure from the former chairman’s excessive focus on expansion. Nissan has twice cut its earnings projections for the year ended in March due to falling vehicle sales globally. Ghosn, former chairman of both Nissan and its French alliance partner, Renault SA, has been indicted by Tokyo prosecutors on charges of financial misconduct. Ghosn has denied all charges. The alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors Corp., plans to re-examine its goal of boosting its global vehicle sales to 14 million units in 2022 from some 10.75 million sold last year.
|
scandals;nissan;carmakers;renault;carlos ghosn;financial results
|
jp0004302
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japan enacts bill aimed at lowering mobile phone fees
|
The Diet enacted a legal revision Friday aimed at lowering mobile phone fees and spurring competition in the country’s saturated telecoms market. Amid criticism that Japan’s carriers charge too much compared with those in other countries, the bill passed by the Upper House to amend the telecommunications business law bans carriers from offering plans that cover both the price of a mobile phone and connection fees in one package. For many years, carriers have discounted mobile device purchases in exchange for relatively high data fees — a practice that consumers and government officials have said makes it difficult to compare the fees charged by different firms. The issue captured the spotlight in August last year when Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the three major carriers — NTT Docomo Inc., SoftBank Corp. and KDDI Corp. — could reduce their fees by around 40 percent, as their rates were higher than in other countries and they generally log higher profit margins than firms in other industries. The three carriers control nearly 90 percent of the domestic mobile phone market. The new law will take effect as early as this fall after the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications compiles guidelines for fee plans. The government’s call on carriers to lower service fees has already borne some fruit. Industry leader NTT Docomo unveiled a new plan in April that will cut mobile phone charges by up to 40 percent, and also offered to separate handsets and service charges. NTT Docomo is looking to counter low-cost wireless service providers UQ Mobile and Ymobile, launched by domestic rivals KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Corp., respectively. Docomo does not have a budget service brand. Two of the country’s three major carriers — SoftBank and KDDI, which operates the au mobile service — say they already comply with the new rules and that they are also considering lowering fees. More than 60 percent of Japan’s population owned smartphones in 2017, with the figure rising to 84 percent if all mobile devices such as tablets are included, according to the ministry. The nation’s households spent an average of ¥100,250 on mobile fees in the same year, about 4 percent of their overall expenditures, according to data released by the ministry. Japan’s mobile fees are relatively high compared with other countries, with 20 gigabytes of data usage costing about ¥7,000 per month in Tokyo — the highest among comparable cities including New York, London and Seoul. Other changes made in the law include a registration requirement for mobile phone retailers that would give authorities greater oversight, and new penalties for companies that use misleading sales tactics. In April 2018 the government granted approval to e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. to enter the business this October, a move expected to spur greater competition. The three big carriers have responded to past government calls for lower prices by offering new low-capacity plans, while focusing marketing efforts on luring heavy users away from rivals by making it easier to pay for more expensive smartphones that have the latest features. The focus has also turned to contracts that lock in users for multiple years, deterring defections to mobile virtual network operators that use leased capacity and offer significantly cheaper services. The government has exerted pressure on some longer-term contracts as well. In June 2018, the Fair Trade Commission said mobile phone contracts by KDDI and SoftBank may conflict with antitrust laws. The contracts in question allow customers to forgo paying the balance of a previous contract if they agree to buy a new phone and extend their contract for another two years, the FTC said. The warning to the companies was a follow-up to a report two years earlier admonishing them against misleading and complex service agreements.
|
smartphones;softbank;phones;ntt docomo;kddi
|
jp0004303
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Uber stock set to launch at $45 a share in milestone for 'sharing economy'
|
NEW YORK - Uber is set for its Wall Street debut Friday, with a massive share offering that is a milestone for the ride-hailing industry and the so-called sharing economy but which comes with simmering concerns about its business model. Shares will be priced at $45 for the initial public offering, valuing the startup at more than $82 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. San Francisco-based Uber was set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the eponymous ticker “UBER” in one of the technology sector’s largest IPOs. Despite the eye-popping valuation, Uber dialed back some of its earlier ambitions for a value exceeding $100 billion after the rocky start seen by U.S. ride-share rival Lyft Inc. Analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities said Uber has the potential to be a game-changing company and “is paving a similar road to what Amazon did to transform retail/ecommerce and Facebook did for social media.” Uber has the potential to grow, Ives said, as it morphs its ride-sharing platform into a more diverse set of services, with Uber Eats, Uber Freight and self-driving vehicle initiatives. “We view Uber’s conservative pricing as a smart and prudent strategy coming out of the box as it clearly learned from its ‘little brother’ Lyft, and the experience it has gone through over the past month,” Ives wrote in a note to investors. But some of the risks surrounding Uber and its rivals were highlighted Wednesday as thousands of drivers turned off their apps in a U.S.-wide strike over pay and working conditions. The strikes targeting Uber and its U.S. rival Lyft highlighted a dilemma for ride-share firms, which have faced challenges from regulators and traditional taxi operators for using a business model that relies on independent contractors. One group protested outside the New York Stock Exchange with some signs reading “Invest in our lives — Not their stocks.” Uber and Lyft did not immediately comment on the protests. “While we aim to provide an earnings opportunity comparable to that available in retail, wholesale, or restaurant services or other similar work, we continue to experience dissatisfaction with our platform from a significant number of drivers,” Uber said in a filing with securities regulators. “In particular, as we aim to reduce driver incentives to improve our financial performance, we expect driver dissatisfaction will generally increase.” Ride-share companies maintain that drivers are able to thrive and maintain work flexibility, and that their business model would not work if drivers were treated as wage-based employees. Uber said in a securities filing Thursday that it had reached an agreement with a large majority of the roughly 60,000 drivers contesting their status as independent contractors and who had instituted arbitration proceedings against the firm. The company anticipates the total cost of the individual settlements, combined with attorneys’ fees, will fall between $146 million and $170 million. Uber maintained it was sticking to its plans on how it classifies drivers. “Our business would be adversely affected if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors,” the company said. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry predicted that Uber will eventually have to raise ride prices, causing its customers to seek other options. Uber will be raising up to $9 billion in its initial public offering, which is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch and other large banks. Uber’s inauguration as a public company follows the rocky market debut of Lyft, which has lost more than 15 percent of its value since its March offering. Lyft’s losses in the past quarter widened to $1.1 billion, according to its first financial report as a public company. Revenue for California-based firm nearly doubled from a year earlier to $776 million, and the number of active riders grew to more than 20.5 million. Lyft said its losses deepened as a result of $894 million in costs that included stock-based compensation and related tax expenses in connection with its IPO. Uber envisions becoming the “Amazon of transportation” in a future where people share instead of owning vehicles. If all goes to plan, commuters could ride an e-scooter to a transit station, take a train, then grab an e-bike or another e-scooter to complete the journey using the Uber smartphone app. Uber is also taking to the sky with its Elevate project to have electric aircraft carry people between “skyports,” taking off and landing vertically.
|
ipo;financial markets;uber;ride-hailing
|
jp0004304
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Honda N-Box ranked top-selling car for 20th month in row
|
Honda Motor Co.’s N-Box minivehicle topped Japan’s new-vehicle sales rankings for the 20th consecutive month in April, industry data showed Friday. The N-Box, however, saw sales fall 2.5 percent from a year before to 19,396 units. The top three in the listing were all minivehicles, with engine displacements of up to 660 cc. Ranked second was Suzuki Motor Corp.’s Spacia, with sales of 14,529 units, up 18.7 percent, followed by Daihatsu Motor Co.’s Tanto, with sales of 11,628 units, up 13.2 percent. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid, which was partially revamped late last year, rose to the fourth spot from eighth place the preceding month, with sales of 11,059 units, up 31.9 percent. The sales rankings were based on data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.
|
toyota;honda;nissan;carmakers;suzuki;daihatsu
|
jp0004305
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
IHI vows to improve product safety in wake of jet engine inspection scandal
|
IHI Corp. said Friday it will boost steps to ensure product safety after an inspection scandal revealed that jet engines and parts it made had been given improper inspections for a decade. The supplier to aviation giants Boeing Co. and Airbus S.A.S said one of the causes of the improper inspections had been traced to its priority of meeting delivery deadlines at a time when its jet engine business was expanding, a decision that led to a lack of safety awareness. IHI submitted the preventive measures to the transport ministry, which issued a business improvement order to it in April. IHI has confirmed it conducted more than 14,000 cases of improper maintenance work at its plant in Tokyo. These included uncertified workers who participated in inspections. The heavy machinery maker said it is recalling two engines and 58 parts and plans to complete the work by the end of the month. IHI said the products being recalled will have “no immediate effects on safety” but decided to recall them to prevent problems related to long-term use. IHI also said management had “excessive expectations” for field workers without trying to determine the real situation on the ground. Under the preventive measures, the company said it will hold workplace meetings on safety on a regular basis and appoint a safety manager for its jet engine maintenance operations. To prevent inspectors from coming under excessive pressure to meet deadlines, those who were working in the manufacturing section will be transferred and integrated into the quality-control division, IHI said. “We will ensure that preventive measures are conducted and make efforts to work as one to regain trust,” the company said. In its three-year business plan through March 2022, released Wednesday, the company said it will put the highest priority on quality and safety, including by enhancing the commercial jet engine maintenance segment by using digitization technology. IHI is among a slew of manufacturers embroiled in scandals over poor quality control, including Nissan Motor Co. and Kobe Steel Ltd.
|
aviation;scandals;aircraft;ihi corp .
|
jp0004306
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Overseas shareholders in Lixil Group withdraw extraordinary meeting request after chairman says he'll quit
|
Foreign institutional investors in Lixil Group Corp. said Thursday they have withdrawn their request for an extraordinary shareholders meeting that was based on a proposal to dismiss Chairman Yoichiro Ushioda, after the chairman announced his intention to quit. In the request the four investors, including U.K.-based Marathon Asset Management, questioned the leadership appointments announced in autumn last year in which Kinya Seto was dismissed as chief executive officer and Ushioda replaced him. The four had sought the dismissal of Ushioda and Chief Operating Officer Hirokazu Yamanashi, who took over the post of president from Seto last month. Their request, made in March, was withdrawn because both Ushioda and Yamanashi announced in April their intention to quit the board of the maker of housing equipment. In a statement, the four investors said the departures from the board would not fully resolve the corporate governance problem at Lixil Group. It is necessary to elect a new management team without being pressured or influenced inappropriately, the statement said, requesting that the influence of founding family member Ushioda, in particular, be cut off. Seto, who still sits on the board, aims to return to the company’s top leadership. As a shareholder, he will submit a list of director nominees who support him, at a regular shareholders meeting in June.
|
scandals;lixil
|
jp0004307
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Panasonic expects net profit to fall 29.6% on sluggish China sales and auto battery investment
|
Panasonic Corp. said Thursday it expects its group net profit to fall 29.6 percent to ¥200 billion ($1.82 billion) for the current fiscal year, which ends next March, dragged down by sluggish sales in China and hefty investment in the auto battery segment. Group sales are projected to slip 1.3 percent to ¥7.90 trillion, as demand for electronic parts and industrial components is expected to remain slow in China amid the country’s heightening trade friction with the United States. It is uncertain how big an impact additional U.S. tariffs on imports from China will have on its customers, Panasonic Chief Financial Officer Hirokazu Umeda said at a news conference. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration raised duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday. The company forecast its group operating profit would also decrease 27.1 percent to ¥300 billion, even as it expects to book a gain of around ¥90 billion related to a planned merger of its housing business with that of Toyota Motor Corp. The figures projected for fiscal 2019 suggest Panasonic will report a decline in sales and net profit for the first time in three years. The company expects sales of auto batteries to remain solid in the current fiscal year. But costs to boost output at its battery plants in the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, and Dalian in China will leave its automotive business, which generates a fifth of its total sales, unprofitable. Panasonic has shifted its focus to auto batteries as a core business to meet growing demand for components for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. It provides batteries to U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc. In January this year the company said it will form a joint venture with Toyota by the end of 2020 to manufacture and sell batteries for EVs, seeking to catch up with rival Chinese and South Korean makers. Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga said that profitability in the auto battery segment remained low, with upfront investment having taken a heavy toll in the past three fiscal years. The company was not able to raise its production of batteries for Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan at their Gigafactory plant in Nevada as planned because the electric carmaker repeatedly postponed its vehicle output schedules. The company’s “response to business risks was insufficient,” Tsuga said, referring to the repeated delays in Tesla’s production plans. Tsuga was cautious about investing further in the factory’s output. “The most important point is to ensure production at full capacity at Gigafactory,” the president said. Under the housing business tie-up with Toyota, outlined separately Thursday, the two companies will set up a joint venture in January 2020 for creating next-generation lifestyles where homes and vehicles are connected to the internet. For the fiscal year that ended in March, Panasonic said its group net profit rose 20.4 percent to ¥284.15 billion largely due to one-off gains from changes in the company’s pension and retirement system for employees. The electronics maker posted a group operating profit of ¥411.50 billion in the fiscal year, up 8.1 percent from the year before, on sales of ¥8 trillion, a 0.3 percent gain.
|
panasonic;earnings
|
jp0004308
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Subaru reveals annual profit halved in fiscal 2018, releases earnings early by mistake
|
Subaru Corp. said Friday its operating profit for the past year has halved after it suffered a string of setbacks including production delays and mounting recalls. Japan’s seventh-biggest automaker released its results hours ahead of schedule after it inadvertently uploaded its financial results on its website earlier than planned. The company initially withdrew the material, but not before social media noticed, sending its shares down more than 2 percent after the error. The results, officially released at 10:25 a.m. instead of the scheduled 1 p.m., showed operating profit had fallen 48.5 percent to ¥195.53 billion ($1.78 billion) in the year ended in March, in line with analysts’ estimates. “We deeply apologize for the trouble this has caused,” the maker of Legacy sedans and Forester sport-utility vehicle crossovers wrote in an emailed statement about the early release. For the year through March 2020 Subaru expects operating profit to jump 33 percent to ¥260 billion, under international accounting standards it is adopting from this year, as it expects vehicle sales to recover and rise 5.8 percent to 1.058 million units. Under the previously used Japanese accounting standards, operating profit would rise 28 percent to ¥250 billion, it said. Last year’s dismal results were weighed down by costs related to production delays, after the discovery of a defective steering component stopped output at its sole assembly plant in Japan for two weeks earlier this year. Subaru has also been facing mounting costs related to vehicle recalls in Japan after it admitted to cheating on domestic quality inspections, while slowing sales in the United States — its biggest market — also hurt its bottom line. The firm’s recent production- and quality-related issues are the side effects of its rapid growth following a ramp-up in output in the United States over the past few years to keep up with booming demand for its rugged-looking models. The firm for years raked in higher sales in the United States with its popular all-wheel-drive cars but sales have plateaued in the past year, snapping a five-year winning streak. As the smallest of Japan’s major automakers, Subaru is also struggling to invest in and develop the lower-emissions vehicles and on-demand transportation services necessary to survive ongoing technological upheaval in the global auto industry. As a result, it has formed a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp. under which it will use vehicles technologies developed by its bigger, deeper-pocketed rival, including lower-emission plug-in hybrid systems, in Subaru vehicles.
|
carmakers;financial results;subaru;recalls
|
jp0004309
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Two of Ghosn's former aides avoid indictment through plea bargain deal with Tokyo prosecutors
|
Prosecutors have decided not to indict two former close aides to ousted Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn after they agreed to a plea bargain in relation to alleged financial misconduct, sources close to the matter said Friday. The former aides — a foreign executive at Nissan and a former executive at the automaker’s secretariat — have cooperated with investigators by providing documents relevant to allegations that Ghosn had underreported his remuneration for years. They reached the agreement between October and November, according to the sources, in what appears to be the second such deal since Japan introduced the plea bargaining system in June last year. They could still be examined in court as witnesses, as Ghosn’s lawyers are expected to argue that their confession statements should not be admitted as evidence. Ghosn, 65, along with Greg Kelly, 62, a former Nissan director, has been indicted for allegedly underreporting his remuneration between fiscal 2010 and 2017 as around ¥7.8 billion ($71 million) when it was actually ¥17 billion. Ghosn has been indicted four times since his initial arrest in November. He is also suspected of transferring private investment losses to Nissan’s books, among other allegations. Ghosn has denied all the allegations against him.
|
courts;corruption;scandals;nissan;carmakers;carlos ghosn;plea bargaining
|
jp0004310
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Italian ships rescue 66 migrants off Libya, posing new standoff over safe-haven port
|
ROME - Sixty-six migrants were rescued in international waters off Libya on Thursday during two separate operations carried out by the Italian navy and a charity ship, raising the likelihood of a new standoff over which port will take them in. The first group of 36 migrants was picked up by the navy’s Cigala Fulgosi patrol ship around 75 nautical miles off the Libyan coast as part of Italy’s “Mare Sicuro” (“Safe Seas”) operation. A navy statement said those on board, including two women and eight minors, were in “mortal danger” as their makeshift craft had taken on water, adding that they had been rescued “in line with Italian and international law. In the evening, the Italian charity rescue ship Mare Jonio said it saved 30 people, including five minors and a pregnant woman, about 40 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. “We asked the Italian MRCC (Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center) for a safe port,” the aid group SOS Mediterranee, which charters the Mare Jonio, tweeted. Hard-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, currently campaigning for EU elections, warned he would not allow the migrants to be disembarked in Italy. “A military ship which will have to assume its responsibility through its selected ministry is one thing, but a private vessel or one belonging to a social center, like the Mare Jonio, is another,” a spokesman for Salvini said. “For them, the ports will remain closed.” Italy’s populist government has taken an increasingly hard line on migration, and Salvini, head of the anti-immigrant League party, last month signed a new directive banning charity vessels from rescuing migrants off Libya. Charity ships have drawn fire from Rome by attempting on occasion to stop migrants being taken back to crisis-hit Libya, which human rights organizations say is not safe for repatriations. After Italian concerns that recent violence in Libya will spark an exodus of people determined to seek safety in Europe, Salvini has warned Italian ports are closed to those attempting perilous Mediterranean crossings. Last August, dozens of migrants aboard the Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti were stranded in a Sicilian port before Salvini allowed them to disembark saying several bishops had agreed to take them in. An accord was reached with the Catholic Church to have Ireland and Albania take some of the migrants. Salvini faced a judicial investigation into his role in the initial stand-off, but the Italian senate blocked a criminal case against him. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration meanwhile urged “international solidarity” to be shown to the 36 migrants, adding that returning the group to Libya in its current volatile state would violate international law.
|
immigration;italy;eu;libya;refugees;mediterranean;marine accidents;matteo salvini
|
jp0004311
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
U.S. threatens 'swift and decisive' response to any attack by Iran
|
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday threatened a “swift and decisive” U.S. response to any attack by Iran, in the latest of a series of escalating statements and actions. “The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against U.S. interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive U.S. response,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Our restraint to this point should not be mistaken by Iran for a lack of resolve,” he said. The United States has already announced the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and nuclear-capable bombers to the region, saying it had information of plans for Iranian-backed attacks. The moves have frightened some European allies as well as President Donald Trump’s Democratic rivals, who fear the administration is pushing for war based on hyped-up intelligence. Pompeo, however said: “We do not seek war.” “But Iran’s 40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities, and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves,” said Pompeo, referencing the 1979 Islamic revolution that transformed Iran from close U.S. ally to sworn foe. Iran on Wednesday said it would suspend some commitments under a 2015 nuclear accord rejected by Trump, frustrated that renewed US sanctions have prevented the country from enjoying the economic fruits of compliance with the deal.
|
u.s .;iran;democrats;donald trump;mike pompeo
|
jp0004312
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
San Francisco teacher with breast cancer forced to pay for substitute
|
SAN FRANCISCO - Parents at an elementary school in San Francisco have expressed outrage after learning that a teacher suffering from cancer and on sick leave is having to pay the school district for her substitute. The second-grade teacher at Glen Park Elementary is off sick with breast cancer for the rest of the year and has been paying nearly $200 a day for her replacement, in accordance with state law, local news reports said. “Parents were outraged and incredulous — like, this can’t be,” Amanda Fried, who has a daughter in kindergarten and another in third grade, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There must be some mistake.” A school district spokeswoman, however, told AFP that the payment was not unusual and was in line with state law. “This is not unique to San Francisco,” Laura Dudnick said in a statement. “This is not a district-only rule.” Dudnick explained that teachers in the district get 10 days of sick leave a year and can carry over those sick days year after year if they don’t use them. Once those sick days are exhausted, teachers are then eligible for 100 days of extended sick leave, during which they are entitled to their full pay, minus the cost of a substitute. On learning about the little-known provision in the state’s education code, horrified parents last month began raising money for the popular teacher, who has asked that her name not be disclosed. A GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $14,000 and some of the children are planning bake sales to raise more funds. “I just feel sad that from what I heard, she is a very good teacher and I just feel sad what’s going on (with) her,” Narciso Flores-Diaz, a parent, told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday. “Our school is pulling together to help her and to make her feel that she’s not alone.” The GoFundMe page says that parents are supporting the 17-year veteran teacher as “she has nurtured our children and now it is time for us to take care of her.” “Just a few days after her surgery, she took the time to write out 22 completely personalized notes to the students in the class thanking them for their support, telling them she missed them dearly and encouraging them to continue working hard,” the campaign said. The head of the union that represents the teachers said the issue might be part of the next round of bargaining talks. “As always, we look forward to making improvements in this and other parts of the contract,” Susan Solomon, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, told the Chronicle.
|
u.s .;california;cancer;schools;san francisco
|
jp0004313
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Unique genetic adaptation lets deep-sea fish see color in darkness
|
WASHINGTON - While people and other vertebrates are color blind in dim light, some deep-sea fish may possess keen color vision to thrive in the near total darkness of their extreme environment thanks to a unique genetic adaptation, scientists said on Thursday. Researchers analyzed the genomes of 101 fish species and found that three lineages of deep-sea fish, living up to about a mile (1,500 meters) below the surface, boast a specialized visual system to allow for color vision in inky blackness. Having acute vision could provide tremendous advantages to these fish as they search for food and mates and try to avoid becoming another creature’s dinner in the exotic dark world of the ocean depths, the planet’s largest habitat. “Their eyes are certainly much more sensitive, so we believe their vision in the depths would be very good,” said evolutionary biologist Zuzana Musilova of Charles University in Prague, one of the researchers in the study published in the journal Science. Vertebrates use two types of photoreceptor cells in the retina to see: light-sensitive so-called rods and cones. The cones are employed in bright-light conditions and perceive colors. The rods are used in dim light, not geared to detect colors. Rod cells contain a single type of photopigment — pigments that react to a certain wavelength of light — called rhodopsin. The researchers found 13 species from the three lineages of deep-sea fish that had a proliferation of genes controlling rhodopsin, apparently letting the fish use rods to detect colors. One species, the silver spinyfin, had 38 copies of the rhodopsin gene, rather than the usual one. The spinyfin, with a bright silver body, has an almost circular body shape and large eyes. Other fish with this visual system include the extremely elongated tube-eye fish and the bioluminescent lanternfish. “They very likely are able to see color purely by rods, which is unique among vertebrates,” Musilova said. These fish are smallish, up to a foot (30 cm) long, eating plankton and shrimps at depths mostly between one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile (400-1,200 meters). Residual surface light reaches down to about six-tenths of a mile (1,000 meters). Light also emanates from bioluminescent creatures common in the deep ocean including the anglerfish, which has a glowing lure attached to its head to attract prey.
|
oceans;genetics;fish;vision
|
jp0004314
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Scientists liken Anglo-Saxon burial site, possibly first for Christian royals, to King Tut's tomb
|
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, ENGLAND - An underground chamber discovered accidentally by road workers appears to be the site of the earliest Christian royal burial ever found in Britain, archaeologists say, calling it the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. The chamber, uncovered between a road and a railway line in the southeastern English village of Prittlewell in 2003, turned out to be a 1,400-year-old tomb. New details were published Thursday about the finding, which archaeologists say is the most important Anglo-Saxon burial discovery in more than 70 years. Treasures that were unearthed at the site include a golden belt buckle, the remnants of a harp-like instrument known as a lyre, gleaming glassware and an elaborate water vessel from the eastern Mediterranean — perhaps Syria. Researchers say the luxury items indicate the chamber’s occupant was a man of high standing, possibly a prince. Two small gold-foil crosses that were found at the head of the coffin suggest a Christian burial. “There are luxury imports that have come from as far away as Syria. Some of the raw materials might have even come as far away as Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent,” said Liz Barham, a senior conservator at Museum of London Archaeology who worked on the dig. “This is a really rich burial. It’s a statement, it’s a theatrical statement being made about the family, about this person.” Sophie Jackson, director of research and engagement at Museum of London Archaeology, said the discovery is “our equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb.” While the identity of its occupant is unknown, locals have nicknamed him the “Prittlewell Prince.” Fragments of tooth enamel — the only human remains uncovered — revealed he was over 6 years old, and the size of the coffin suggests he was about 5 feet 8 inches tall (173 centimeters). Jackson said the “best guess” is that it was Seaxa, brother of King Saebert, the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity. She said the burial came at a time when Christianity was vying in Britain with older pagan beliefs. “They would have been just on the transition between having pagan burials with all your gear, but also having these crosses,” she said. The Anglo-Saxons were descendants of Germanic tribes who gradually invaded England by sea starting in the fifth century, after the collapse of the Roman Empire. They came to rule the country until the Norman conquest in 1066. Dozens of artifacts will go on show Saturday at Southend Central Museum, which lies near the burial site and is located about 40 miles (60 km) east of London.
|
england;king tut;seaxa;king saebert;anglo-saxon;prittlewell
|
jp0004315
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Life in a moon colony: First, dig a tunnel
|
NAPLES, ITALY - As space agencies prepare to return humans to the moon, top engineers are racing to design a machine capable of digging underground colonies for the first lunar inhabitants. “Space is becoming a passion for a lot of people again. There are discussions about going back to the moon, this time to stay,” Colorado School of Mines professor Jamal Rostami said at this year’s World Tunnel Congress in Naples. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump wants NASA to put humans back on the moon by 2024, and the agency is also drawing up plans for a “gateway” station to serve as a platform for astronauts traveling to and from the lunar surface. Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are among those feverishly competing for military, civil or commercial launches, with Musk’s SpaceX leading the race on building rockets ready to fly in time. But the harsh conditions on the surface of the moon mean that, once up there, humans need to be shielded from radiation and freezing temperatures in structures that maintain atmospheric pressure in a vacuum. They also need protection from meteor strikes. “Imagine something the size of my fist as a piece of rock coming at 10 to 12 kilometers per second (6 to 7 miles per second) — it can hit anything and would immediately destroy it,” Rostami said at the meeting in southern Italy. “So every plan for having a habitat on the moon involves making a trench, creating a structure and covering it with some sort of regolith, which is the soil on the moon. Our idea is to actually start underground, using a mechanism we already use on the Earth, a tunnel boring machine, to make a continuous opening to create habitats or connect the colonies together,” he added. Analysis of images of the lunar surface show lava tubes capable of housing large cities underground, said Rostami, director of the Earth Mechanics Institute at the Colorado college. But getting something as vast as a tunnel boring machine up there will be no easy task. “Weight is an issue. It’s pretty expensive to take a kilogram of material from the Earth to the moon. Our machines are hundreds of tons of mass, so it’s not feasible to take the machines as they are,” he said. “We have to convert the design, where all the components are optimized, weigh much less, and perform better.” The machines also have to become fully automated and repairs must be reduced to a minimum, a particular challenge when dealing with tools that would see a lot of wear and tear as they ate through rock and dirt. There is also the question of how to power them. With a machine 4 meters in diameter needing 2,000 kilowatts of energy, experts are debating whether it is possible to use small nuclear power plants to fuel a lunar version, he said. There may be 1,000 people living in outer space by 2050 — either in orbit or on the moon — according to the American United Launch Alliance, which estimates this initial space exploration will cost $2.7 trillion. Despite some talk of the first space residents using mining tools like lunar tunnel boring machines to dig for precious minerals, Rostami said their priorities would lie in extracting something even more precious. “We’re not talking about gold. The first target is water. We know there is trapped water at the lunar poles, where the temperature is as low as minus 190 degrees Celsius (minus 310 Fahrenheit).” “One of the ideas being discussed is of heating the part in permanent shadow, evaporating the water and capturing it,” said Rostami, who has launched the world’s first master’s degree and Ph.D. in space resource engineering in Colorado. “Another idea is to mine it, and take it to a facility and let it thaw. The material extracted along with the water can then be used to 3D print buildings in the colonies,” he said. One thing is sure: The future lunar tunneling machines will undergo rigorous pilot testing on Earth first “because once it’s deployed, that’s that. It’ll be very difficult to make any drastic changes.”
|
space;planets;moon
|
jp0004316
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Coca-Cola spent €8 million to influence health research in France, Le Monde reports
|
PARIS - U.S. beverage giant Coca-Cola paid more than €8 million ($9 million) in France to health professionals and researchers in a bid to influence research, according to an investigation by French newspaper Le Monde published on Thursday. The newspaper said the aim of the funds was to have research published that would divert attention away from the detrimental effect of sugary drinks on health. Le Monde, in its front page story, said Coca-Cola paid more than “€8 million to experts, various medical organizations and also sporting and event organizations.” It said in France, as elsewhere, the financing fell under communication or sponsorship and not as authentic scientific work. Coca-Cola has been under a similar spotlight before, after the New York Times in 2015 reported that the company gave financial backing to scientists who argued that having more exercise is more important to avoiding obesity than cutting calories. In the outcry that followed that report, the firm promised to improve transparency and publish on its site the names of experts and activities it finances in the United States. It did the same for France in 2016 following pressure from the NGO Foodwatch and it is this data that has been intensely analyzed by Le Monde. Le Monde said that as in the U.S., the company’s financing is aimed at “making people forget the risks that come with consuming its drinks.” In a separate report, the Journal of Public Health Policy said Coca-Cola added multiple clauses to ensuring the research it funds produces the desired result. These include preventing results that displease the company being published by reserving the right to break contracts without giving a reason.
|
france;health;corruption;coca-cola
|
jp0004317
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Montenegro convicts pro-Russian politicians of 2016 coup plot
|
PODGORICA - A Montenegro court on Thursday handed jail sentences to two opposition politicians and a dozen others, including Russians and Serbians, over an alleged 2016 plot to topple the government and halt its bid to join NATO. Pro-Russian opposition leaders Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic were given five years behind bars for being part of a criminal organization whose aim was to “violently overthrow” the government and “prevent Montenegro from joining NATO,” Judge Suzana Mugosa said. The heaviest sentences, 12 and 15 years, went to two alleged Russian spies tried in absentia. Authorities first arrested suspects on the eve of October 2016 elections, the night before the group was allegedly planning to stage their takeover. At the time, the pro-Russian coalition was the main rival against then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in October 2016 elections. Djukanovic, who has run the small Balkan state almost continuously since 1991, was later elected president in 2018. Moscow, which had opposed the tiny Balkan state’s efforts to join NATO at the time, has rejected allegations of its involvement as “absurd. The other people convicted were a Montenegrin and nine Serbians, including a former police general and anti-NATO activist who received eight years in jail. Since the trial opened a year and a half ago, Montenegro’s opposition has decried it as a government-backed “witch hunt” aimed at destroying their political camp, known as the Democratic Front. Speaking at his party’s headquarters after the ruling, Mandic called the verdict a “complete farce” engineered by the Djukanovic family. “All those who attack us will suffer severe consequences and accountability,” he added. Knezevic, 39, added that “the judge did not show a single proof against the Democratic Front.” The politicians are expected to appeal the ruling. In the years since the alleged coup attempt, Montenegro joined NATO and the government has continued its negotiations for accession to the European Union. The opposition’s Democratic Front coalition remains weakened. Political analyst Sergej Sekulovic noted that prosecutors have recently shifted “in the direction of minimizing Moscow’s official role in this case.” The ruling nevertheless “strengthens the position of the government, which from the beginning has held an identical position to that of the prosecutor,” he added. British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt continued to point the finger at Moscow. “Guilty! Conviction of 2 Russian intelligence officers for failed coup attempt in Montenegro another example of Russia’s outrageous attempts to undermine European democracy,” he wrote in Twitter. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus called the conviction “a clear victory for the rule of law, laying bare Russia’s brazen attempt to undermine the sovereignty of an independent European nation. Observers say the months-long trial still left many questions unanswered. The weapons that the plotters allegedly planned to use were never shown in court. According to the indictment, dozens of cases of automatic weapons and three cases of ammunition were thrown into a lake in a neighboring country. Prosecutors later said a Serbian who provided the weapons ultimately destroyed them at the request of Montenegrin justice. “Without these weapons, the story of a violent overthrow of power is unconvincing,” Dragan Soc, a lawyer and Montenegro’s former justice minister, told AFP ahead of the ruling. One of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Serbian national Aleksandar Sindjelic, also reversed his testimony about a Russian-funded plot. In March he told a Serbian television channel that there had been no “plan of violence in Podgorica,” only an anti-NATO “protest. The court did not bring him back to the witness stand, saying his reversal was expressed outside any judicial framework.
|
u.s .;russia;nato;eu;u.k .;serbia;coups;montenegro;milo djukanovic
|
jp0004318
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
U.S. ex-intelligence analyst charged with leaking al-Qaida info to reporter
|
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - A former government intelligence analyst has been charged with leaking classified documents about military campaigns against terrorist group al-Qaida to a reporter. Daniel Everette Hale, 31, of Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested Thursday morning. An indictment in Alexandria, Virginia, charges him under the Espionage Act with counts including obtaining and disclosing national defense information, as well as theft of government property. According to the indictment, Hale worked as an intelligence analyst for the Air Force and later as a contractor assigned to the government’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The indictment says Hale began communications with a reporter in 2013 while at the Air Force and continued communications after going to NGA. According to the indictment, Hale provided 11 Top Secret or Secret documents to the reporter and his online news outlet. Those documents were later published either in whole or in part. They include a secret memo outlining a military campaign against al-Qaeda overseas, a top secret intelligence report on an al-Qaida operative, and a secret PowerPoint slide “outlining the effects of the military campaign targeting Al-Qaida overseas,” according to the indictment. At an initial appearance Thursday afternoon in the federal courthouse in Nashville, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern ordered Hale released under pretrial supervision pending his next hearing, which is May 17 in Alexandria. One of Hale’s attorneys — Jesselyn Radack, who specializes in representing whistleblowers — said the investigation of Hale had essentially lay dormant for five years up until Hale’s arrest. She said the Trump administration is continuing and escalating what she called “a toxic trend” started under the Obama administration of aggressively prosecuting legitimate whistleblowers. “If you look at the charges, what he’s accused of is classic whistleblowing,” Radack said. “He contacted a reporter about a matter of extreme importance that’s been shrouded in secrecy.” Court papers do not identify by name the reporter who allegedly received the leaks, but details in the indictment make clear that Jeremy Scahill, a founding editor of The Intercept, is the reporter who received them. The indictment states that many of the classified documents were disclosed in an October 2015 news article. On October 15, 2015, Scahill published an article on The Intercept titled “The Assassination Complex” that relies on “a cache of secret slides that provides a window into the inner workings of the U.S. military’s kill/capture operations at a key time in the evolution of the drone wars.” The story says the documents “were provided by a source within the intelligence community who worked on the types of operations and programs described in the slides.” Scahill’s book, “Dirty Wars,” was published in 2013, and the indictment indicates Hale and Scahill met while Scahill was promoting the book at a Washington, D.C., bookstore. The book reported on the use of drones to attack and kill targets like al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, among other things. The indictment states that Hale listed his work with drones on kill and capture operations on his resume and quotes Hale in a text message to a friend stating that Scahill “wants me to tell my story about working with drones.” Betsy Reed, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief, issued a statement Thursday saying they do not comment on matters related to anonymous sources. She did say the documents described in the indictment “detailed a secret, unaccountable process for targeting and killing people around the world, including U.S. citizens, through drone strikes. They are of vital public importance.” She criticized the Trump administration for following the path of the Obama administration in aggressively prosecuting leaks and using “the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers who enable journalists to uncover disgraceful, immoral, and unconstitutional acts committed in secret by the U.S. government.” John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement that the indictment is the “latest step in the Department’s efforts to stop the leaks of information that could damage the national security. We have brought four cases in the last two years and have secured three convictions thus far.” The Eastern District of Virginia, where Hale will be prosecuted, has been a frequent location over the years for cases involving leaks and whistleblowers. Prosecutors in Alexandria have filed criminal charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, though both so far remain overseas despite U.S. efforts to obtain their extradition. In 2015, a judge imposed a 3 ½ year sentence on former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who was convicted of exposing government secrets to a New York Times reporter. In 2013, another former CIA man, John Kiriakou, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking a covert officer’s identity to a reporter. Kiriakou’s indictment in 2012 prompted then-CIA Director David Petraeus to issue a statement reminding his agency’s employees of the need for secrecy in their work. “When we joined this organization, we swore to safeguard classified information; those oaths stay with us for life,” he said at the time. In 2015, Petraeus pleaded guilty in federal court in North Carolina to a charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified information. He was sentenced to probation.
|
u.s .;espionage;al-qaida;whistleblowers;intercept;donald trump;jeremy skahill;daniel everette hale
|
jp0004319
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Billions in dirty cash helped fuel Vancouver's housing boom
|
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Vancouver penthouses, ski chalets at Whistler, and holiday retreats in Persian Gulf islands are among the thousands of properties identified in a dirty-money probe that estimates more than 7 billion Canadian dollars ($5 billion) was laundered through British Columbia last year. The startling findings from two reports released by the provincial government Thursday illustrate how a torrent of suspicious cash has fueled casinos, luxury car sales and real estate in the Pacific Coast region. “The amount of money being laundered in B.C. is more than anyone predicted,” Finance Minister Carole James told reporters Thursday, referring to the western Canadian province. In real estate alone, an estimated C$5 billion may have been laundered last year in the province — equivalent to 4.6 percent of all transactions by value in that period, according to one of the reports. In the Vancouver region, where housing prices rose more than 70 percent in five years, “I certainly believe that money laundering played a part,” James said. Such a share of transactions is “sufficiently large to have an observable impact on real estate prices,” the report said. It estimated that dirty money pushed B.C. home prices 3.7 percent to 7.5 percent higher than they would be in the absence of laundering. A string of investigations commissioned by Premier John Horgan’s government have slowly been revealing in recent months how Vancouver and the surrounding area has become a hub for dirty money, tax evasion, and a place to park foreign cash of unknown origin — no questions asked. Previous reports had revealed how casinos for years were accepting millions in cash often stuffed into hockey bags and suitcases, how gangsters paid auto leases with proceeds of crime, and most recently, how a thriving gray market in Vancouver-to-China luxury car exports sent millions of dollars in sales-tax refunds to overseas buyers. But those pale in scale and scope to the latest findings in real estate, a sector that by some estimates accounts for a third of British Columbia’s gross domestic product and is likened to “the oil” of its economy. Among the numbers revealed in the second report released Thursday, led by independent investigator Peter German, who had earlier probed the casinos, were: One B.C. property in five is bought in cash; over the past two decades C$212 billion in property has been bought in cash. The true owners can’t be identified for the vast majority of C$28 billion in B.C. residential property held by legal entities. More than 25 properties worth C$34 million have owners listing addresses in countries subject to trade sanctions. The anecdotal examples are just as staggering: A C$3.5 million Persian Gulf island estate acquired with funds allegedly embezzled from a $90 million loan fraud in India. A luxury car reseller “known to police” who owns three Vancouver homes worth C$8.6 million with multiple layers of mortgages with inexplicably declining interest rates. Hundred of properties where mortgages were registered and repaid in rapid succession — in one case a single property had 29 mortgages — which the report called a “red flag for money laundering.” A student with a registered office at a rented office who bought 15 units in the same condo for C$29 million. While public scrutiny until now has focused on the role of Chinese money — both legal and illicit — particularly in the Vancouver area, the latest investigation shows the region has been open to all. “Greater Vancouver has acted as a laundromat for foreign organized crime, including a Mexican cartel, Iranian and Mainland Chinese organized crime,” the German report said. “The region has acquired an unenviable reputation for serving as a site for money laundering, drug trafficking, and capital flight.” The provincial government is planning to establish a public registry of beneficial property owners by next year that it says will peel back the anonymity that enables such activity. It is also continuing to plead with the federal government for more resources and new regulations to better monitor cash transactions and suspicious activity, Attorney General David Eby said. “The party is over,” Eby told reporters Thursday. “It may be spring but winter is finally coming for those who rely on bulk cash transactions in their business model.”
|
china;corruption;canada;wealth;money-laundering;vancouver
|
jp0004320
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
More than 1,000 guns seized at posh Los Angeles mansion
|
LOS ANGELES - A weapons cache of more than 1,000 firearms and ammunition was seized in a raid on a multimillion-dollar mansion in an upmarket neighborhood of Los Angeles, law enforcement authorities said Thursday. The seizure came following an anonymous tip that firearms were being sold illegally out of the home, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) said. The house, which is mostly hidden from the street by high hedges, is located in the exclusive Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, near the famed Playboy Mansion and less than a mile from the home of music industry power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce. A law enforcement source said the home belongs to Cynthia Beck, who has three children with Gordon Getty, the son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. Beck reportedly has had a longtime relationship with Girard Damien Saenz, the man who amassed the weapons and who was arrested at the home on suspicion of possessing, selling and manufacturing assault weapons. Saenz, 57, who has not yet been formally charged, was released Thursday morning on $50,000 bail. Video footage taken by local television stations showed Los Angeles police officers and ATF agents inspecting large piles of handguns and rifles outside the house. Photos taken at the scene also showed boxes of ammunition stacked on a table inside the large house, which was cluttered with the weapons. “It was a hoarder’s heaven,” the law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in describing the scene. The local ABC news station said some of the guns were modern while others dated back 50 years or more. A few were even collectibles from the Civil War, it said. Ginger Cobrun, a spokeswoman for the ATF, said that Saenz had a collector’s license but such a license does not allow a person to deal in firearms. She said investigators are still processing the evidence before deciding what charges to file and whether they will be at the state or federal level. “We will be tracing all the firearms to find out where they were purchased and who they were purchased by originally,” she said. “We will also be using ballistics to determine if some of the guns were used in crime.” Los Angeles police lieutenant Chris Ramirez told reporters at the scene that it was “beyond comprehension” for someone to have so many weapons, especially in such a posh neighborhood. “I’ve never seen so many weapons in my career of 31 years,” he said. “It’s kind of astounding.” Authorities said it took some 30 law enforcement officers more than 15 hours — beginning at 4 a.m. on Wednesday — to clear the house and remove the weapons. “Pursuant to an anonymous tip, ATF and LAPD became aware of an individual conducting illegal firearms (transactions) outside the scope of the federal firearm license that the individual possesses,” Cobrun said, adding that there was no reason to “believe the public is in any danger.” Beck, who is said to be living in Europe, could not be reached for comment. The Times said Beck and Saenz together own several properties in the Los Angeles area and an office building in San Francisco.
|
celebrities;guns;u.s .;murder;los angeles;police
|
jp0004321
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Trump says he's 'surprised' by Senate subpoena of his son, Don Jr.
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said the Senate Intelligence Committee’s subpoena of his son, Donald Trump Jr., came as a surprise, one day after reports that the Republican-led panel had called on his son to again answer questions. “I’m pretty surprised,” Trump said at an event at the White House, calling his son “a good person.” Congressional sources on Wednesday said that the committee, which is among those investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, had issued a subpoena to Trump Jr. to appear again before the committee to discuss his previous testimony. The sources said discussions have been underway for months between the panel and Trump Jr. regarding his possible testimony. Trump Jr. had appeared before the panel previously to answer questions from committee staff, according to a congressional source. The subpoena was issued now because senators want to question him themselves, the sources said.
|
u.s .;congress;donald trump;donald trump jr .;russia probe
|
jp0004322
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
AP was there: U.S. celebrates 1869 transcontinental railroad completion
|
PROMONTORY, UTAH - The May 10, 1869, completion of the Transcontinental Railroad was a pivotal moment in the United States, ushering in a period of progress and expansion nationwide. The presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met in remote Promontory, Utah, to mark the occasion, driving a ceremonial last spike to connect their rail lines. The Baltimore Sun, relying on telegraphed dispatches by other cities and The Associated Press, published the following article on the event and how it was celebrated across the U.S. It first appeared on May 11, 1869. AP is reprinting it in honor of the Transcontinental Railroad’s 150th anniversary. ___ COMPLETION OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. Official Announcement — Telegraphing the Hammer Strokes — Rejoicing and Congratulation — Ringing of Bells and Other Demonstrations. PROMONTORY SUMMIT, Utah, May 10, noon. — To the Associated Press: The last rail is laid. The last spike is driven. The Pacific railroad is completed. The point of junction is 1,086 miles west of the Missouri river, and 690 miles east of Sacramento. LELAND STANFORD, Central Pacific Railroad T.C. DURANT, SIDNEY DILLON, JOHN DUFF, Union Pacific Railroad ___ THE NEWS RECEIVED IN NEW YORK NEW YORK, May 10. — The last spike in the Pacific railroad was driven today at five minutes past 3 o’clock P.M., New York time. San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Plaister Cove, the end of the cable, were connected with Promontory Point by telegraph, and the hammer strokes on the last spike were duly transmitted according to arrangement. When the news was received in New York a hundred guns were fired in the City Hall Park, and Mayor Hall forwarded a congratulatory message to the Mayor of San Francisco. A commemorative celebration had previously been held in Trinity Church, at which a telegram forwarded by the Chamber of Commerce to the Chamber in San Francisco was read, and an address delivered by Rev. Dr. Vinton. After prayer and reading of portions of the Episcopal service, the organ pealed and chimes rung as the large congregation left the church. Flags on the city hall and on many public and private buildings were displayed all day in honor of the great event. ___ FREE TRADE AND THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. A meeting of the American Free Trade League of New York was held at Cooper Institute tonight at which many of the prominent members of the organization were present. David Dudley Field called the assemblage to order, and Howard Potter presided. Addresses were delivered by William Cullen Bryant and Edward Atkinson, and the following resolution was adopted: “Resolved, That in the opening of the great Pacific railroad today, connecting New York and San Francisco, we recognize a pledge, not only for one country, one constitution and one destiny, but with a due regard to the revenue, for the freest sort of trade with all countries and all continents.” ___ RINGING THE BELLS IN PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia, May 10. — At 2:30 o’clock P.M. precisely, Philadelphia time, the news was received of the driving of the last spike of the Pacific railroad. Word was sent to the mayor, and in a few minutes the bells in Independence Hall and the various fire stations were rung, drawing crowds into the streets under the impression that a general alarm of fire was being rung. The people soon ascertained the reason of the ringing of the bells, and flags were immediately displayed everywhere. A large number of steam fire engines ranged in front of Independence Hall with screaming whistles and hose carriage bells ringing. Joy was expressed in every face at the completion of this great work of country. The sudden flocking of the people to the State House reminded one of the reception of the news of the surrender of Lee’s army, when a similar scene was enacted. ___ THE REJOICEING AT CHICAGO. Chicago, May 10. — The celebration of the completion of the great inter-ocean railroad connection today was the most successful affair of the kind that ever took place in Chicago, and probably in the West. It is entirely impromptu, and therefore almost every man, woman and child in the city did their part toward making it a success. The procession was unique in appearance and immense in length, the lowest estimate putting it down at seven miles. During the moving of the procession, Vice President Colfax received the following dispatch: “Promontory Summit, Utah, May 10. — Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Vice President: The rails were connected today. The prophecy of Benton is today a fact. This is the way to India. “G.M. DODGE, “JOHN DUFF, “SIDNEY DILLON, “T.C. DURANT.” This evening Vice President Colfax, Lieut. Governor Bross and others addressed large audiences at Liberty Hall, in which they spoke eloquently of the great era which this day marks in the history of our country. During the evening there was general indulgence in fireworks, bonfires, illumination, &c. ___ THE CELEBRATION ELSEWHERE. There was great rejoicing over the event at Scranton, Pennsylvania, where cannon, bells and whistles of locomotives were employed to give eclat to the occasion. In Buffalo, New York, a large gong was attached to the telegraph wire, and at 2:41 P.M. by the time of that city began to ring out the hammer strokes. The crowd sung the Star-Spangled Banner, and jubilee speeches were made by the orators. Omaha dispatches say that telegrams from Echo City report that the troubles of the railroad laborers near Piedmont were amicably settled.
|
transportation;u.s .;history;rail;newspapers;utah;promontory;transcontinental railroad
|
jp0004323
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Syrian troops snub cease-fire and seize northwestern fortress town from rebels in Idlib
|
BEIRUT - Syrian government troops captured a northwestern village known for its medieval fortress on Thursday as they move deeper toward Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold, activists and pro-government media said. The latest wave of fighting that began last week is the most serious challenge yet to a cease-fire in the region, brokered by Russia and Turkey in September. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war-monitoring group, said government forces captured the village of Qalaat al-Madiq after insurgents pulled out. Idlib-based activist Alaa Moadamani confirmed the village’s capture. The pro-government Syrian Central Military Media said troops took Qalaat al-Madiq and two smaller nearby villages. Government troops had been holding the nearby fortress, which also carries the name of Qalaat al-Madiq. The village, near the Orontes River, is a gateway to the fertile plain of al-Ghab, a breadbasket for the central province of Hama. The village was built on the site of the ancient city of Apamea and the fortress overlooking it was built during Muslim rule in the 12th century. Thursday’s push came a day after Syrian troops took the nearby village of Kfar Nabudah— which activists called Idlib’s first line of defense The latest offensive, which began April 30, has raised fears of a wider government push on Idlib, which is home to about 3 million people, many of them displaced from elsewhere in Syria. The U.N. says over 150,000 people have been displaced recently within the enclave. The government appears to be trying to secure access to a major highway that cuts through the rebel-held enclave. The highway was to reopen before the end of 2018, following the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Turkey, but it remains closed. Rasheed al-Ahmed, a pharmacist from Kfar Nabudah, said all the village’s residents fled to the north, settling in camps along the border with Turkey. He said the government troops, aided by Russian forces, entered the village in droves with aircraft overhead. Neighboring villages were also emptied, he said, amid the fast-moving offensive. “People are living between trees and in farms,” al-Ahmed said, adding he secured his family a place in Atmeh near the border. “It is a deplorable situation.” The activist-operated Thiqa news agency filmed a group of civilians living between olive trees where they spread out rugs to sleep and sit on. The civilians hung their few belongings on plastic bags on the tree branches. Moadamani, the Idlib-based activist, said “people are terrified as more flee their homes,” adding that many who fled were sleeping in their cars.
|
conflict;russia;syria;turkey;idlib;hama;qalaat al-madiq
|
jp0004324
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Putin hails military might as Russia, and breakaway Ukrainians, fete WWII Victory Day
|
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin vowed to ensure Russia’s military strength as the country on Thursday marked World War II Victory Day, an event that has become increasingly important over his two-decade rule. The president’s speech to thousands of soldiers and veterans on Red Square came at the start of an annual parade that sees hundred of pieces of military hardware roll through the streets of Moscow. “The lessons of the past war are relevant once again. We have done and will do all that is necessary to guarantee the high capabilities of our armed forces,” Putin said. Those in the modern Russian army remember the “oath” of Soviet soldiers who fought Nazi Germany, he added: “I die but I will not surrender. Putin asked the crowd to observe a minute’s silence as the Kremlin clock chimed under gray skies. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 88, and Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, who has been a vocal supporter of Putin, were at the commemoration along with Russian dignitaries. The two-day public holiday to celebrate the 1945 victory comes amid heightened tensions with the West and fears of a new Russia-U.S. arms race. Parades and celebrations took place in towns and cities across Russia, from the European exclave of Kaliningrad to the Far Eastern Sakhalin island, near Japan. In a later television interview, Putin said such events were not intended to “sabre-rattle or frighten anyone” but rather “honor the victors.” In Moscow, flag-waving crowds lined the streets to catch a glimpse of tanks and personnel. Among them were children dressed in miniature military uniform, a practice that has become popular in recent years but also sparked controversy. Victory Day paraphernalia including replica soldiers’ caps and toy weapons have been available to buy in Russian supermarkets in the days leading up to the event. Thousands in the afternoon took part in the “Immortal Regiment” march, carrying pictures and medals of relatives who fought in the war. Victory Day parades only became an annual event after the collapse of the USSR and the Immortal Regiment tradition began in 2012. Since then the march has been heavily promoted in state media and city services offer to print out pictures of Soviet soldiers free of charge. Almost half of Russians said they were planning to attend a Victory Day event this year, according to state pollster VTsIOM. In recent years Moscow has stepped up military activity abroad, intervening on behalf of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria’s civil war and backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. Around 750 personnel took part in a Victory Day parade at the Russian airbase in Syria’s Hmeimim on Thursday, the defense ministry said in a statement. Russia has also said it would build up its military presence in the Arctic, seeking to assert its influence in the strategic region. State television broadcast marches from around the former USSR, including from the unrecognized republic of Lugansk — a Ukrainian breakaway region run by the Moscow-backed separatists. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has cost some 13,000 lives over the last five years.
|
wwii;vladimir putin;russia;syria;ukraine;bashar assad
|
jp0004325
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Venezuela opposition lawmaker seeks refuge in Argentine Embassy after colleague's arrest
|
CARACAS/BUENOS, AIRES - A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker sought refuge at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas on Thursday, according to an Argentine foreign ministry source and a Reuters witness, a day after the arrest of a top figure in the opposition-controlled legislature. Richard Blanco of the Brave Peoples’ Alliance party had entered the embassy on Thursday morning, said the Argentine official, who asked not to be identified. “He (Blanco) is there as a guest, we can confirm that,” the official said. On Wednesday, Edgar Zambrano, the opposition-run National Assembly’s vice president, said he had been arrested by intelligence agents. Venezuela’s information ministry, Argentina’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Caracas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Blanco and Zambrano are among 10 opposition lawmakers stripped of parliamentary immunity by the Supreme Court this week. The crackdown came after they joined opposition leader Juan Guaido in rallies last month to spur a military uprising against socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing Maduro’s 2018 reelection was illegitimate. About 50 countries, including the United States and much of Latin America, have recognized Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader. Maduro’s government has so far avoided arresting Guaido, which would likely provoke a strong backlash. But the recent measures suggest the ruling Socialist Party is seeking to isolate him by pursuing key political allies. “We take it as a given that the regime is going to keep escalating its repression,” Guaido said at a news conference. He also called for Venezuelans to take to the streets on Saturday for fresh protests against Maduro. Zambrano was arrested on Wednesday by agents from the SEBIN intelligence service who used a tow truck to drag away his vehicle with him inside. He tweeted that he was being taken to the SEBIN headquarters in Caracas. Authorities have not confirmed where he was being detained. The move drew swift condemnation from opposition leaders and the United States, which argues Maduro is a dictator who has undermined the rule of law. “We will continue to use the full weight of the U.S. government to hold accountable those who subvert democracy and the Venezuelan constitutional order, and threaten the safety of the duly-elected National Assembly of Venezuela,” a senior White House official said on Thursday, on condition of anonymity. The decision to strip legislators of their immunity and to arrest Zambrano was condemned as “unconstitutional” in a statement on Thursday by the Lima Group, a regional bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Canada. Other Guaido allies have already been jailed or fled to the embassies of sympathetic nations. Lawmaker Marianella Magallanes, who was among those whose immunity was taken away this week, sought refuge in the Italian Embassy on Wednesday. Guaido’s chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, was arrested in March and remains in jail. Last week, Leopoldo Lopez — Guaido’s political mentor — moved into Spain’s diplomatic residence after escaping house arrest to appear alongside Guaido during his call for the military to rise up. The United States has slapped sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and several top figures in Maduro’s government in a bid to pressure Maduro to step aside so Guaido can take office and call new elections. This week, it removed sanctions on a former Venezuelan general it said broke with Maduro last week. But Maduro retains control of the military and state functions. He has branded Guaido a U.S.-backed puppet seeking to oust him in a coup.
|
u.s .;argentina;venezuela;nicolas maduro;juan guaido;edgar zambrano;richard blanco
|
jp0004326
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Shark attack kills surfer off France's Reunion, marking 11th fatality since 2011
|
RéUNION, FRANCE - An attack by a shark has killed a surfer off France’s Indian Ocean island of Reunion, the latest fatality in increasingly dangerous waters, emergency services said on Thursday. The surfer, a man aged 28, lost a leg in the attack and was pronounced dead on being brought back to the port of Saint-Leu in the west of the island, emergency services told AFP. The “surfer was accompanied by three friends who tried to take him back to land but did not manage,” said Olivier Tainturier, a senior local official in the nearby town of Saint-Paul. A sharp increase in shark attacks on Reunion since 2011 has been dubbed locally the “shark crisis” and prompted authorities to step up alert systems. It is the 24th shark attack recorded since 2011 on the island, which is French territory, and the 11th one to result in a fatality. As after previous attacks, operations have started to catch sharks in the waters of the incident. Before the latest attack, the local authorities had urged the “greatest vigilance” among beach users as more people flock to the coast at a season when there are high numbers of the highly aggressive bull shark.
|
france;sharks;reunion
|
jp0004327
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Chelsea Manning freed from U.S. jail after refusing to testify in WikiLeaks case
|
WASHINGTON - Former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was freed from a U.S. jail on Thursday after two months in custody — but faces a possible return to the lockup as soon as next week, a support group said. Manning was jailed in early March for refusing to testify in a grand jury investigation targeting the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Her leak years earlier of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made her a hero to anti-war and anti-secrecy activists, and her actions helped make WikiLeaks a force in the global anti-secrecy movement. A judge in March ruled Manning in contempt of court and ordered her held not as punishment but to force her testimony in the secret case, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in the Alexandria, Virginia federal court, just outside Washington, said at the time. The support group, the Sparrow Project, said in Thursday’s statement that Manning was released after 62 days, following the expiry of the grand jury’s term. “Unfortunately, even prior to her release, Chelsea was served with another subpoena. This means she is expected to appear before a different grand jury, on Thursday, May 16,” Sparrow Project quoted Manning’s legal team as saying. “It is therefore conceivable that she will once again be held in contempt of court,” and returned to the Alexandria Detention Center possibly as soon as May 16, the legal team said. “Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions.” Manning has previously said she had “ethical” objections to the grand jury system and had answered all questions about her involvement with WikiLeaks years ago. Manning was ordered to testify earlier this year for an investigation examining actions by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2010, according to her own description, inadvertent court revelations and media reports. At the time Manning, a transgender woman then known as Bradley Manning, was a military intelligence analyst. She delivered more than 700,000 classified documents into WikiLeaks’s hands. The documents exposed cover-ups of possible war crimes and revealed internal U.S. communications about other countries. Sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison, she was released in May 2017 after the commutation of her sentence by President Barack Obama.
|
u.s .;censorship;wikileaks;surveillance;u.s. domestic spying;chelsea manning
|
jp0004328
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Descendants of Chinese railroad builders in U.S. work to preserve their memory
|
OGDEN, UTAH - Michael Kwan can’t help but think about what life was like on a daily basis for his great-great-grandfather in the 1860s, working 12-hour days in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range on the Transcontinental Railroad that would reshape the American landscape. “You’re not talking about 12 hours sitting at a desk or sitting on a bench. You’re talking about 12 hours of lifting and hammering and blowing things up,” said Kwan, a judge in Salt Lake City. “And I complain when my trainer says we’re going to add 10 pounds.” Kwan and other Chinese Americans are pushing for these workers — some of whom lost their lives building the Western portion of the railroad — to get more than a token mention in history books. This week marks 150 years since the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, and several days’ worth of events are planned. Kwan, who is president of the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association, and his group are participating as part of a drive to be more involved in railroad celebrations and long-term projects. “We haven’t really pushed the envelope and insisted that these contributions be recognized until fairly recently,” Kwan said. On Thursday, group member Margaret Yee helped tap a ceremonial spike alongside Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and a descendant of Union Pacific’s chief engineer on the project at an event in Ogden. Several thousand people attended the anniversary celebration, which featured a pair of restored 1940s-era steam engines. “They say the Chinese built the railroad, the railroad built America,” Yee said. During a brief presentation, Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz hailed the laborers who put in 12-hour days in brutal conditions to build the railroad by hand, saying their work “changed America forever.” “Travel that took six months to go from New York to San Francisco at the risk of your life literally turned into a 10-day excursion in relative comfort,” he said. The Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association was to be in remote Promontory Summit on Friday for a photo re-enactment of the hammering in of the final golden spike of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869. The group of descendants is also raising money for a statue of a Chinese railroad worker at Golden Spike National Historic Park. Like previous years, they are sponsoring this week’s Golden Spike Conference, which includes theatrical productions and panels, including one with Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. Michael Solorio feels fortunate that his family was able to determine that his maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Lim Lip Hong, worked as a foreman on the Central Pacific Railroad while thousands of other workers remain nameless. A junior at Stanford University, it is not lost on him that he is attending a school founded by Central Pacific Railroad President Leland Stanford, who profited from Chinese labor. “It feels kind of weird to know that this school stands because of the labor of my great-grandfather and many others like him put in,” Solorio said. “Even after all this work was put in to make the railroad, there continued to be real intense racism against the Chinese.” The 20,000 Chinese immigrants who worked on the Central Pacific portion, from California to Utah between 1864 and 1869, accounted for about 90 percent of that railroad’s workforce, said Stanford University professor Gordon Chang. Other groups including the Irish, Mormons and former slaves navigating Reconstruction also helped work on the entire railroad. Chinese laborers were often the most exploited. They contended with racism, pay disparity and dangerous tasks in grueling terrain. At high elevations in the Sierra Nevada range, they were ordered to blast through solid granite using nitroglycerine. Some suffered brutal deaths in explosions. Avalanches also took lives. “Their bodies weren’t recovered till next spring. Sometimes they would be uncovered as the snow melted with their work tools still in their hands,” Chang said. There is no definitive data on the death toll among Chinese workers. While some reports back then suggest about 150 died, Chang believes deaths numbered in the hundreds. In his book “Ghosts of Gold Mountain,” he points to newspaper articles that mention the shipping of remains or “bone boxes” to China and of Chinese groups in America keeping their own census records. Clamoring for recognition for them has gotten louder in recent years. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor inducted the Chinese railroad workers into their Hall of Honor. New York Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat, introduced a resolution in March that would honor them and renewed a call for an honorary postage stamp. Chang, as director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, has gone further in ensuring that Chinese laborers and their sacrifices are embedded in the historical narrative. The project has amassed a treasure trove of oral histories, letters, periodicals and other materials since 2012. Chang said he was surprised when hundreds of people attended a project showcase at Stanford. “I think it indicates there’s a tremendous interest and curiosity and hunger for this,” Chang said. Max Chang, a board member of the Golden Spike foundation, which has been helping plan anniversary events, has been giving volunteer presentations on Chinese workers at elementary and middle schools throughout Utah. The Salt Lake City native is not a descendant, but it always bothered him that Chinese laborers were “a really small footnote” in history classes. “I had to do a lot of research to make sure I got the story right,” he said. “I’m just a parent who wants to make sure my children and grandchildren will eventually know the story of the Chinese railroad worker.” He is in talks with Utah education officials about making the lessons a permanent part of history classes. Kwan, of the descendants group, said education can help dispel the tendency for people to see Asian Americans as not fitting the image of what is “American.” “We’ve been here for more than 150 years and we have contributed every step of the way,” Kwan said. “That’s the dream: Have people stop asking us where we’re from.”
|
china;transportation;u.s .;history;immigration;rail;ethnicity;discrimination;transcontinental railroad
|
jp0004329
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
During periodic U.N. rights council review, North Korea denies political prison camps exist
|
GENEVA - North Korea, facing fierce criticism of its rights record at the United Nations on Thursday, denied the existence of political prison camps in the country. In rare remarks at the U.N. Human Rights Council, diplomats from Pyongyang defended leader Kim Jong Un’s regime against a barrage of accusations, notably from Western states. “There are still some that persistently insist that political prison camps are operated in our country,” said Pak Kwang Ho, a councilor at the central court of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). “There is no such thing as a political prisoner, or a political prison camp, in the vocabulary of the criminal law and the criminal procedure law of the DPRK,” he added. The North was appearing at its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a session during which nations face human rights scrutiny every five years. While the United States and North Korea have both cut ties with regular rights council business, both still join the UPR. “The human rights situation in North Korea is deplorable and has no parallel in the modern world,” said Mark Cassayre, charge d’affairs at the U.S. Mission. He called on Pyongyang to “immediately dismantle all political prison camps (and) release all political prisoners.” Cassayre also accused the North of holding 80,000 to 120,000 people “in deplorable conditions,” some for “merely possessing a religious text” Miriam Shearman, Britain’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N. in Geneva, called on North Korea to “take immediate action to cease the practice of forced labor.” Pak countered that the court-mandated labor performed by inmates at designated “reform institutions . . . is not forced labor.” He insisted that convicts sentenced to carry out labor work for eight hours a day, with Sundays and holidays off. U.N. investigators have previously accused the North of “systematic, widespread and gross” human rights abuses, which was denounced by Pyongyang as a smear campaign to tarnish its international image. A landmark 2014 report by a U.N. Commission of Inquiry documented rampant human rights abuses in the North, ranging from rape, torture and extrajudicial killings to the operation of political prisons. The regime is estimated to have up to 120,000 North Koreans in the camps, where many detainees are said to have been jailed merely for being related to individuals deemed to be a threat to the state, rather than being convicted of internationally recognized criminal offenses.
|
north korea;rights;u.n .
|
jp0004330
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Taiwan says China has stepped up infiltration efforts with fake news and election meddling
|
TAIPEI - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen said on Friday that China has stepped up its efforts to infiltrate and gain influence in Taiwan and she asked national security agencies to counter Beijing’s efforts. Tsai, speaking to reporters after a national security meeting, said China’s influence operations included attempts to interfere with elections and fake news campaigns. She did not detail specific incidents but said Taiwan’s national security agencies would be finding ways to tackle China’s moves. Tsai said Taiwan would deter military aggression in the Taiwan strait, vowing to boost defense capabilities, including upgrading military equipment and the recently launched program to build submarines locally. “The Chinese Communist Party continues to demonstrate provocative actions in the Taiwan Strait, destroying the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai said. Her comments follow a spike in cross-strait tensions last month when China’s military staged extensive drills with warships, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft around the island. Taiwan scrambled jets to monitor the drills, which a senior U.S. official at the time described as “coercion” and a threat to regional stability. Beijing suspects Tsai is pushing for the island’s formal independence and has steadily stepped up political and military pressure. Any formal independence move is a red line for China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Tsai has says she wants to maintain the status quo with China but will defend Taiwan’s security and democracy. The U.S. House of Representatives this week unanimously backed legislation supporting Taiwan as members of the U.S. Congress push for a sharper approach to relations with Beijing.
|
china;taiwan;hacking;espionage;tsai ing-wen
|
jp0004331
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Dreams of economic revival after Mahathir's return fade in Malaysia
|
KUALA LUMPUR - A year ago, Malaysian land surveyor Muhammad Nur Aliff had high hopes that a shock election victory by 93-year-old Mahathir Mohamad could be the catalyst for reform and revival in a country hobbled by sky-high public debt and corruption. But polls show that such optimism has been steadily eroded since the election upset, in which the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) was removed from power for the first time in 60 years and replaced by Mahathir and the patchwork Pakatan Harapan coalition. Mahathir, who inherited a debt-laden economy, has focused much of his administration’s attention on cleaning up public finances following a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal involving state fund 1MDB and former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib is facing charges but denies any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, deep divisions within the ruling coalition have curbed efforts to boost government revenue, attract investment or create jobs. Support for the government fell to just 39 percent in March, sharply down from the 66 percent rating in August 2018, according to a survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center. Mahathir also saw his popularity plunge to 46 percent from 71 percent over the same period, although he says he doesn’t put much faith in these numbers. Worryingly for Mahathir, Merdeka Center said Malay Muslims, who make up around 60 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million people, were largely more critical of his administration. Most of the poorest people in the country are Malay and for decades they have been the beneficiaries of subsidies and other affirmative action policies pushed by UMNO. Many in the majority community were also angered when Mahathir appointed an ethnic Chinese finance minister and an attorney-general from the Malaysian-Indian minority, and said cash handouts to Malays could be reduced. Pledges to end the death penalty and rescind oppressive laws such as the colonial-era Sedition Act were also unpopular with traditionalists. “Many young people placed a lot of hope in this new government, but we haven’t seen anything that we had hoped for,” said Aliff, 28, protesting in the capital last week with hundreds of other Malays. “We want to ensure a better future for young people, especially young Malays.” Following protests by Malays and a series of by-election defeats for the ruling Pakatan coalition this year, many of these planned policies have been put on the back burner. In recent months, Malaysia has rolled back efforts to abolish the death penalty and revoke repressive security laws, as well as reversing plans to ratify two U.N. human rights treaties, after pro-Malay groups raised objections. But UMNO and members of the opposition Islamist party PAS have been quick to remind voters of what they describe as Mahathir’s failure to uphold Islam and protect Malay interests. “Pakatan is unpopular with the Malay-Muslim electorate,” said Adib Zalkalpi, a Malaysia director with political risk consultancy Bower Group Asia. “UMNO and PAS have formed a credible opposition front to challenge the government by exploiting communal sentiments.” Reform ambitions are also hampered by fractures within Pakatan, a coalition of parties that was aligned in its goal of removing Najib and UMNO, but doesn’t seem to agree on much else. “Everyone is working in silos. Everyone has a general idea of the problems we face but there really are no discussions going on,” said a senior government source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic. “We don’t have a common narrative to counter the opposition’s racial rhetoric.” Mahathir says accusations the coalition is dysfunctional are false. “Our attention is directed at correcting all the mistakes of the previous government. That has taken much of our time,” he told reporters Thursday. Business sentiment has cooled after initial optimism that followed Pakatan’s electoral win, due mainly to a lack of consensus on the way forward for the economy, according to an April survey of 250 businesses by Ipsos Business Consulting. “The continued lack of clarity on economic policies may lead to increased level of anxiety among the businesses and further intensify the fear of an economic slowdown,” the firm said its report. Investors in the survey also expressed concerns over currency fluctuations and slowing economic growth. The ringgit currency has slumped this year and stocks are underperforming regional rivals. Malaysia has had to fill a revenue shortfall stemming from a populist measure to scrap a goods and services tax last year, while efforts to turn around struggling state entities that burden the Treasury, including long-suffering Malaysia Airlines, have faltered. In March, Malaysia’s central bank cut its 2019 economic growth forecast to 4.3-4.8 percent from 4.9 percent on expectations of a significant drop in export expansion due to slowing global growth and the U.S.-China trade war. On Tuesday, Bank Negara Malaysia became the first central bank in the region to cut its benchmark interest rate, in a move to support the country’s economy. Mahathir has mended ties with China, reaching a cut-price $11 billion rail link deal, which is a welcome investment boost. But with Malaysia’s debt-to-GDP ratio around 50 percent, public support waning and a unstable ruling coalition, it will become increasingly difficult for Mahathir to boost economic growth and win back disillusioned voters. “With exports likely to remain in the doldrums, GDP growth in Malaysia looks set to slow to a post-financial crisis low this year. The government’s recent policies will make the downturn even worse,” Capital Economics said Wednesday in a research note.
|
malaysia;debt;corruption;development;najib razak;mahathir mohamad
|
jp0004332
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
U.S. seized North Korean cargo ship in Indonesia in April for violating sanctions
|
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has seized a North Korean cargo ship used to supply coal to the isolated nation in violation of international sanctions, law enforcement officials said Thursday. The seizure of the vessel, detained last month in Indonesia, comes at a delicate moment between the two countries. It was announced hours after the North Koreans fired two suspected short-range missiles in an apparent sign of trouble for nuclear disarmament talks. It also follows a Pentagon decision to suspend efforts to arrange negotiations on recovering additional remains of U.S. service members killed in the North during the Korean War. The Justice Department said the ship, the Wise Honest, is one of North Korea’s largest bulk carriers and for several years had been used to deliver Russian coal to North Korea. Payments for maintenance and equipment for the vessel were made in American dollars through unwitting U.S. banks, a violation of sanctions that bar North Korean citizens or entities from the U.S. financial system. Officials say North Korea sought to conceal the vessel’s purpose by listing in shipping documentation different countries for its nationality and the origin of the coal. “This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official. According to a civil complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the ship was intercepted and seized by Indonesian authorities on April 2, 2018. At the time, it was about 2,800 miles south of Nampo, North Korea, where it had been photographed a month earlier. The complaint says that after taking the load of coal, the ship sailed south with it toward Indonesia. The vessel has since been taken into custody by the U.S.
|
u.s .;north korea;indonesia;sanctions;coal;wise honest
|
jp0004334
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Three Thais accused of insulting monarchy have disappeared, rights groups say
|
BANGKOK - Three Thai activists facing charges of insulting the monarchy have disappeared after reportedly being arrested in Vietnam, rights groups said on Friday, months after two exiled critics of the military and monarchy turned up dead. Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, denied the three activists were in Thai custody, as has been reported by the Thai Alliance for Human Rights. Chucheep Chiwasut, who broadcasts political commentary to Thailand from exile, and fellow activists Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Thapthai were reportedly turned over to Thai authorities by Vietnam on May 8, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “Vietnam’s alleged secret forced return to Thailand of three prominent activists should set off alarm bells in the international community,” Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams said. London-based Amnesty International said Chucheep had long faced charges of lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy. Siam and Kritsana were also under police investigation for lese majeste, the rights group said. Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code says anyone who insults the king, queen, heir or regent faces punishment of up to 15 years in prison. The U.S.-based Thai Alliance for Human Rights first reported that Chucheep, also known as Uncle Sanam Luang, had been sent back to Thailand. “Uncle Sanam Luang and two others were apprehended … a month ago. But they were just transferred to Thailand on May 8 from Vietnam,” the alliance’s Piangdin Rakthai said in a YouTube video. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit denied the report. “Vietnam has not coordinated transfers. We have not received any request. If there is, it would be through the foreign ministry and police,” Prawit told reporters. Human rights groups have accused the ruling military of applying the lese majeste law more widely since a 2014 military coup as a way to silence critics. In January, the bodies of two exiled critics of the military and royal family, Chatcharn Buppawan, 56, and Kraidej Luelert, 46, were along the Mekong River border with Laos. Their bodies had been stuffed with concrete, apparently to make them sink. The military said at the time it had no information about the bodies. Activist Surachai Danwattananusorn, 78, who operated an online radio station critical of the junta and monarchy from Laos, disappeared in December. His whereabouts are not known. “We are worried about the situation,” Piangdin said in his video. “There have been disappearances and deaths of political activists who are against the military government and criticize the monarchy.”
|
murder;censorship;rights;thailand;royalty;king maha vajiralongkorn;thai royalty
|
jp0004336
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/10
|
In happy Bhutan, the prime minister is a doc on Saturdays
|
THIMPHU - It is a Saturday in Bhutan and Lotay Tshering has just completed urinary bladder repair surgery on a patient at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital. Tshering is no ordinary doctor. He is prime minister in the Himalayan kingdom, famous for measuring citizens’ Gross National Happiness. “For me it’s a de-stresser,” said Tshering, who was elected prime minister of the nation of 750,000 people last year in only its third democratic election since the end of absolute monarchy in 2008. “Some people play golf, some do archery, and I like to operate. I am just spending my weekends here,” the 50-year-old said. No one at the hospital bats an eyelid as Tshering, wearing a faded lab coat and Crocs, walks through the busy corridors. Nurses and hospital attendants continue with their jobs as normal. The Buddhist kingdom is in many ways a case apart, benchmarking itself on happiness instead of economic growth. One of the pillars of Gross National Happiness is conservation of the environment. Bhutan is carbon-negative, and its constitution mandates that 60 percent of the country remain forested. It is also big on ecotourism and charges a daily fee of $250 per visitor in the high season. The capital, Thimphu, has no traffic lights, the sale of tobacco is banned and television was only allowed in 1999. Archery competitions, with liberal amounts of the firewater, are a national craze. Phalluses painted on houses to ward off evil are a common sight. But the “Land of the Thunder Dragon” also has its problems, among them corruption, rural poverty, youth unemployment and criminal gangs. Tshering, who trained in Bangladesh, Japan, Australia and the United States, began his political career in 2013, but his party failed to make headway in that year’s election. After losing, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck commanded him to lead a team of doctors and travel with the monarch’s entourage to far-flung villages to provide free medical treatment. Now as prime minister, he spends Saturdays treating patients referred to him and Thursday mornings offering medical advice to trainees and doctors. Sunday is family time. Back in the prime minister’s office, a lab coat hangs on the back of his chair. This, he said, serves as a reminder of his election pledge to focus on health care. Patients don’t have to pay directly for health care in Bhutan, but Tshering says that much more remains to be done despite important strides in medical treatment. While the country has seen major improvements in life expectancy, a reduction in infant mortality and the elimination of many infectious diseases, the number of lifestyle diseases there — including alcoholism and diabetes — is on the rise. “We must now slowly put more focus on secondary and tertiary health care,” Tshering said. At the hospital, Tshering’s patient, a 40-year-old man named Bumthap who underwent a five-hour bladder repair surgery, said he was pleased with the results. “Now that I have been operated on by the prime minister, who is considered one of the best doctors in the country, I feel more relieved,” he said. Politics, the prime minister said, is a lot like being a doctor. “At the hospital I scan and treat patients. In the government, I scan the health of policies and try to make them better,” he said. “I will continue doing this until I die and I miss not being able to be here every day,” he added. And on the days when he drives his car around Thimphu — instead of using his official chauffeur — an-all-too familiar urge takes hold of him. “Whenever I drive to work on weekdays, I wish I could turn left towards the hospital.”
|
bhutan;lotay tshering
|
jp0004338
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japan enacts legislation making preschool education free in effort to boost low fertility rate
|
Japan enacted legislation Friday that will make preschool education free as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive to expand child care support and boost the country’s birthrate. The government will use revenue from the planned consumption tax hike in October to run the education program, which is expected to cost ¥776 billion per year. The bill, which secured Lower House approval in April, was passed by the Upper House on Friday, amid criticism from some opposition lawmakers that the government should first focus on reducing the number of children on waiting lists for nursery school spots before making preschool education free. Under the program, the government will make preschool education free for all children between 3 and 5 years old starting in October. Day care services will also be 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, maximum monthly subsidies of ¥37,000 per child will be given for those between 3 and 5, and ¥42,000 for those aged 2 and younger. School meals will not be covered. “The financial burden of education and child-rearing weighs heavily on young people, becoming a bottleneck for them to give birth and raise children. That is why we are making (education) free,” Abe told a Diet session on Thursday. Abe’s administration has been encouraging greater participation by women in the workforce amid a deepening labor crunch, while trying to reduce the number of children on waiting lists for day care facilities. The nation’s fertility rate — the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime — stood at 1.43 in 2017, according to government data. Abe changed how the revenue from October’s planned consumption tax hike — to 10 percent from 8 percent — will be used, prioritizing child care support over improving the country’s tattered finances. While ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions have raised uncertainty about the outlook for the nation’s export-driven economy, Abe is expected to go ahead with the tax hike barring an economic downturn on the scale of the financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The Diet also passed a bill to cut the financial burden of higher education on students from low-income families that are exempted from residence tax payments. Under a system to be launched in April 2020, entrance and tuition fees will be waived or reduced at public and private universities. At national and public universities, standard entrance fees are about ¥280,000, while tuition comes to around ¥540,000 per year. In addition, students from tax-exempt families will receive grant scholarships that can be used to buy textbooks, pay for transportation or cover living expenses. In an example case, the government said that if students come from a family of four with an annual household income of less than ¥2.7 million, they can take advantage of all the system’s benefits.
|
children;population;education;universities;schools;consumption tax;preschools
|
jp0004339
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Happy hour is over: MUFJ bank executive takes aim at Japan's 'nominication' drinking culture
|
It’s time to stop drinking with the boss after work. That’s the message of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. banking unit executive Saiko Nanri, who wants to change Japan’s long-standing culture of drinks between managers and employees. Companies have long encouraged such parties to give workers the chance to break down barriers with their bosses in an informal setting. Some see the alcohol-fueled bonding sessions as a way to relieve stress and advance their careers, while others feel obliged to attend. The practice is so ingrained that it sparked the term “nominication” — from “ nomu ,” the verb for “to drink,” and “communication.” Nanri, 49, has told her team that she won’t hold the gatherings, saying they’re unproductive and unfair to parents of young children. “It’s not as if I have any special knowledge to share with my staff by drinking with them every day,” she said in an interview. Her stance reflects how some workers are calling into question old work habits blamed for hindering productivity and discouraging women from remaining in the workforce. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying to tackle a labor shortage in the rapidly aging nation by making workplaces more flexible and reducing overtime. Some women in particular often resent having to entertain their superiors after a long working day. “This dated practice shuts out working mothers, along with fathers who want to help out more at home, and foreigners who are used to a better work-life balance,” said Kumiko Nemoto, a professor at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies who has written about gender inequality in the workplace. “Stopping nominication is the first step to increasing diversity, performance-based promotion and open communication during work hours.” Because many companies don’t have formal evaluation systems, managers often use the occasions to assess employees, according to Nemoto. That means not attending could have consequences for career advancement in a country that ranks among the lowest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for women in management positions and on boards. A mother of two teenage daughters, Nanri wants to improve staff interactions during the daytime, and urges her team to spend time with friends and family at night. Feedback has been positive, she said, with parents in particular telling her how they appreciated not feeling excluded by skipping team drinks. Some would rather not be invited out in the first place. “Younger staff aren’t as keen to socialize with bosses as the older generation were,” said Hiroki Tahara, a human resources consultant. Saori Yano, 24, used to work at a job-placement company in Tokyo where she and colleagues took turns going out with their manager several times a week after finishing work at around 10 p.m. “He said he would listen to us over drinks because he was too busy during work hours, but usually we’d end up listening to his bragging,” she said. Millennials are also showing less interest in year-end office parties, known as bōnenkai , or “forget the year gatherings” — many firms’ biggest and booziest events. More than half of people in their 20s are at least indifferent to the occasions or dislike them, with the main reason being an aversion to socializing with the boss, according to a survey conducted last November by Neo Marketing Inc. Not all analysts are critical of nominication. Kazuaki Yamauchi, a senior associate professor at the University of Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture, said the practice is necessary to foster smooth communications. Yamauchi did a study in 2011 based on interviews with about 30 business owners that laid out best practices he says still apply for after-work functions, ranging from seating arrangements to drinking advice and who should pick up the tab. “Alcohol can be a lubricating oil,” he said. Nanri, one of the first female executives at Japan’s biggest bank, wasn’t always opposed to team bonding after hours. When she joined MUFG’s predecessor in 1992, she used to play golf with her bosses and do everything she could to fit into the male-dominated culture. After giving birth and returning to work, she found it hard to adjust to her new routine. “I was shocked at how early I had to leave the office to get to the school on time,” she said. “I didn’t have a role model and didn’t know what the best practice was as a working mother at a bank.” She eventually made the adjustment, rising to the post of corporate communications head, overseeing about 100 employees. Last year, she became just the second woman at MUFG to reach the rank of executive officer, and in April she was appointed head of the financial institutions division. Nanri hopes that younger women will have an easier time. She said her effort is just a “small attempt” at sparking changes in how to communicate. Her approach isn’t company policy, “but if it works, I’ll recommend it to other departments.”
|
women;jobs;mufg;mufj;drinking;saiko nanri
|
jp0004341
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japan health ministry orders Ono Pharmaceutical to add warning to Opdivo cancer drug after death
|
The health ministry said Thursday that a patient taking the cancer drug Opdivo has died and that it has ordered the manufacturer to add a warning on the package insert about a serious side effect. The patient was among 11 who experienced pituitary disorders after being treated with Opdivo, which is made by Ono Pharmaceutical Co. The medicine, which stimulates the body’s immune system to fight cancer cells, was developed based on research by Kyoto University professor Tasuku Honjo. He was jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the research. The 11 patients experienced abnormalities in the pituitary gland, which produces growth and other hormones. The current package insert calls on recipients to take regular pituitary tests while taking the medicine. Ono Pharmaceutical said that, given the drug’s effect of strengthening the body’s immune response, the possibility cannot be ruled out that its use triggered the dysfunctions. While a link between the death and the drug has not been established, a spokesperson for the firm acknowledged that there had been deaths in the past in which the administration of Opdivo could not be ruled out as a cause, and that the warnings on the package insert were being revised. At a news conference announcing the firm’s financial results, Ono Pharmaceutical President Gyo Sagara said that Opdivo is currently administered in 17,000 to 18,000 cases each year, adding that the firm plans to expand the sales of the drug.
|
medicine;cancer;tasuku honjo;opdivo;ono pharmaceutical
|
jp0004342
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japanese law revised to improve enforcement of child custody handovers
|
The Diet enacted a legal revision Friday to enable a child to be handed over to a parent who has been awarded custody, even if the other parent refuses to abide by a court order to do so. Before the revision, the civil implementation law had no clear stipulation regarding child custody handovers. Court officials had to rely on a clause related to asset seizures to enforce court orders, a tactic that was criticized for treating children as property. The legislation originally required a parent living with a child to be present when the child was handed over to the other parent. With the revision, however, the law allows custody transfers to take place in the presence of just one parent, rather than both. The revision removes this requirement to prevent parents without custody rights from thwarting child handovers by pretending they are not at home. In consideration of the children’s feelings, the revision requires in principle that parents with custody rights be present during handovers. The amended law urges courts and enforcement officials to make sure handovers do not adversely affect children’s mental or physical well-being. The new rules will take effect within one year of promulgation. Parliament also enacted an amendment to legislation implementing the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, an international treaty providing a framework allowing the return of a child abducted by a parent living in another country. The amendment was drafted in response to international criticism that handovers of children from Japan cannot be carried out smoothly, although the country joined the treaty which is designed to prevent cross-border parental abductions of children after the breakup of international marriages. Japan maintains a system of sole custody, and in a large majority of cases, when a dispute reaches court, mothers are awarded custody after divorce. It is not unusual for children to stop seeing their fathers when their parents break up. The civil implementation law was also amended to allow Japanese courts to obtain information on debtors’ finances and property. The change is aimed at helping authorities seize money and property from parents who fail to meet their court-ordered child support obligations and from people who do not compensate victims of crime. The revision also bars members of crime syndicates from acquiring foreclosed real estate properties in public auctions.
|
children;hague convention;parental child abduction;divorce;child custody
|
jp0004343
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/10
|
In rare overseas trip, Suga agrees Japan will work closely with U.S. over North Korean missiles
|
WASHINGTON - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed Thursday to closely coordinate their response to North Korea’s recent launches of projectiles. Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Washington, Suga said he briefed Pompeo about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s intention to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without preconditions to try and resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. It is rare for a chief Cabinet secretary, who is responsible for crisis management, to leave Japan. Suga’s last official overseas trip was to Guam in 2015. Suga and Pompeo also agreed to jointly seek a swift resolution to the abduction issue, and to effect the full enforcement of U.N. sanctions on North Korea in tandem with the international community to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The two ministers discussed their “close alliance” and reaffirmed bilateral commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, according to the U.S. State Department. In a separate meeting, Suga and acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, also discussed how best to deal with Pyongyang. “We agreed to closely coordinate between Japan and the United States at various levels over analysis and responses,” Suga said in reference to Pyongyang’s recent launches of what appeared to be multiple projectiles, including short-range missiles. The Pentagon confirmed Thursday’s projectiles were ballistic missiles, according to a U.S. government official. At the meeting, Suga and Shanahan also agreed to continue pushing for the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa Prefecture as part of the realignment of American troops in Japan. “The Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of the peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” Suga said. “Japan, through increased defense capabilities, will contribute to strengthening deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance.” He affirmed with Pompeo and Shanahan the stepping up of preparations for President Donald Trump’s state visit to Japan in late May, and in their cooperation on realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific. On Friday, Suga — in charge of the abduction issue as well as measures to reduce Okinawa’s burden in hosting the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan — was expected to meet U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the White House. Suga’s three-day visit to Washington and New York through Saturday will include a Friday symposium on the abduction issue at the U.N. headquarters, and a meeting with finance and business leaders in New York.
|
okinawa;u.s .;north korea;yoshihide suga;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;north korea nuclear crisis;abductions;mike pompeo
|
jp0004344
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Magnitude 6.3 quake hits off coast of Miyazaki Prefecture, injuring one man and disrupting transportation networks
|
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.3 hit off Kyushu on Friday, injuring a man and disrupting some local transportation networks, authorities said. The 8:48 a.m. quake occurred at a depth of about 20 kilometers under the seabed off Miyazaki Prefecture. It measured a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale to 7 in the city of Miyazaki and Miyakonojo, also in the prefecture, while minor jolts were felt in wider areas of western Japan, the Meteorological Agency said. In neighboring Oita Prefecture, a 79-year-old man who was trimming trees when the quake struck was taken to a hospital after falling from a stepladder. His condition is not life-threatening, local authorities said. The agency warned that another strong quake measuring up to lower 5 could strike the region within a week, but dismissed concerns that Friday’s seismic activity could immediately trigger a mega-quake along the Nankai Trough, which extends southwest from central Japan along the Pacific coast. The government says there is a 70 to 80 percent chance of a magnitude 8 or 9 Nankai Trough quake — capable of generating a devastating tsunami resulting in an estimated death toll of up to 300,000 people — occurring within 30 years. Friday’s quake briefly suspended shinkansen services on Kyushu, causing delays of up to around 15 minutes, according to the operator. A speed limit of 50 kph was set on some expressways. No problems were reported on runways at airports in Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures after safety checks, airlines said. Kyushu Electric Power Co. said no abnormalities were detected at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, where two reactors are in operation. In the city of Miyazaki many elevators at commercial and residential buildings were halted by the quake, according to maintenance companies. A water pipe burst in the city, while some 150 households in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, were temporarily left without power. The central government set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo to gather information about the temblor.
|
earthquakes;kumamoto;miyazaki;oita
|
jp0004345
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japan Mint to issue commemorative gold and copper coins to honor new emperor
|
The Finance Ministry said Friday that it will issue two types of coins commemorating the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito. The new coins will have denominations of ¥10,000 and ¥500. The ¥10,000 coin will be made of gold and the other mainly of copper. The gold coin will be sold via mail order from Japan Mint for ¥140,555, while the copper one will be available for face value at financial institutions nationwide. The obverse face of the gold coin features an embossing of a phoenix and auspicious clouds, symbols of the emperor. The obverse face of the copper one shows the imperial throne, consisting of a seat on a curtained octagonal dias, to be used in Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony in October. The reverse sides of both feature the chrysanthemum crest of the Imperial Family and a Japanese cherry birch and beach rose, symbols of the emperor and the empress, respectively. The Japan Mint will issue 50,000 gold coins and 5 million copper coins, with 30,000 of the gold ones combined with copper ones to form sets priced at ¥142,593 each. The mint will accept applications for the gold coins and the two-coin sets for about three weeks starting July 11. A lottery will be held if demand exceeds supply. The copper coins are scheduled to become available in October. Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne on May 1 after his father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, abdicated the previous day.
|
finance ministry;coins;japan mint;emperor naruhito
|
jp0004346
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Sporting events and Brexit offer Dublin the chance to grow ties with Tokyo, Irish ambassador says
|
While Japan and Ireland may view each other as fierce rivals at the Rugby World Cup when they face off in Shizuoka Prefecture in September, Ireland sees the sporting event and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as opportunities to expand contacts — a prelude to further efforts to strengthen bilateral ties that are expected to grow in importance if the U.K. leaves the European Union. Ireland is pinning its hopes of strengthening the bilateral relationship on a chance to offer Japan a stable and secure platform for trade and investment within the EU, Paul Kavanagh, Ireland’s ambassador to Japan, said Friday. “We see opportunity post-Brexit for Irish relations with Japan,” Kavanagh said during a courtesy visit to The Japan Times’ head office. The ambassador said Brexit is undermining certainty, potential and stability in relations with other EU members and regions while Ireland’s membership has helped it become “more open, more international, more global, less isolated.” He believes Ireland can serve as a platform to trade freely within the single market, he said. “We present to Japan an attractive partner for trade and investment and research and study,” he said. Should Brexit happen, Ireland will be the only primarily English-language country in the union, which would create educational and business opportunities for Japan, he added. Kavanagh said Ireland is investing some $25 million in developing a state of the art “Ireland house” in Tokyo, both as a platform to strengthen the cultural ties and to promote projects in other sectors. He added that Ireland is planning to establish a direct flight connecting the two countries. He believes Ireland has strong potential to attract investment from Japan in fields such as technology, health care services, clinical trials and financial services. In 2017 the two countries celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations. Kavanagh, who in the 1990s served as director of the United Nations Information Center in Tokyo and returned last year after his assignments as ambassador to France, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf, said he observed the Imperial succession with interest. Ireland’s president has sent letters to both Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Emperor Naruhito, asking the latter to visit. One of the highest-profile visits between Ireland and Japan occurred in 1985, when the emperor emeritus and his wife, who were then crown prince and crown princess, visited Ireland. They returned for a four-day visit in 2005.
|
ireland;brexit;paul kavanagh
|
jp0004347
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
JAXA finds 10 more artificial craters made on Ryugu asteroid by Japan's Hayabusa2 probe
|
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday that 10 smaller, man-made craters had been found on an asteroid in addition to the larger crater its Hayabusa2 space probe produced last month as part of its mission to gain insight into the origin of life and the evolution of the solar system. When the asteroid explorer fired a metal object at the Ryugu asteroid on April 5 to create a crater in a world first, scattered fragments of the impactor made other craters, about 1 meter in diameter each, JAXA said. The newly discovered craters along with the initial one found earlier — which is about 10 meters in diameter and 2 to 3 meters in depth — are expected to help the agency examine the surface of the asteroid and estimate its age, according to JAXA. The agency will continue to investigate the surface of Ryugu, around 340 million kilometers from Earth, in the hope that by June it will have found a suitable site for Hayabusa2 to collect more surface samples following the first such procedure in February. Launched in December 2014 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, Hayabusa2 reached Ryugu last June and is scheduled to return to Earth around the end of 2020 after completing its mission.
|
space;jaxa;astronomy;planets;asteroids;hayabusa;ryugu
|
jp0004348
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/10
|
12 injured after minibus slides down mountain slope in Gunma without driver
|
MAEBASHI, GUNMA PREF. - Twelve people were injured Friday in Gunma Prefecture when their minibus slid 20 meters down a mountain slope while the driver was outside, police said. The bus was carrying a group of middle-aged trekkers who had come to the area to climb Mount Eboshidake. Police initially said four people had been seriously injured and 10 had sustained light injuries but later corrected the numbers to two and 10, respectively. After stopping in a parking lot at the entrance to the mountain trail in the village of Nanmoku, however, the bus started moving at around 2:50 p.m. while the driver was outside and the vehicle apparently went off the road, the police said. The police arrested the 66-year-old driver, Isao Ebihara, on suspicion of professional negligence. The driver said he left the bus in neutral and might have failed to pull the parking brake fully, police said. Mount Eboshidake is popular around this time of year, when its azaleas are in full bloom.
|
accidents;gunma prefecture;mount eboshidake
|
jp0004349
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/05/10
|
Japanese man jailed for two years in Ecuador for attempt to smuggle insects and spiders to Hokkaido
|
QUITO - A 26-year-old Japanese man was sentenced to two years in prison in Ecuador for attempting to smuggle a massive haul of insects and arachnids out of the country, officials said Thursday. The defendant was arrested at Quito airport in March with 248 spiders, cockroaches, wasps, bees and butterflies in his suitcases, the environment ministry said in a statement. Identified only as Hirokazu S., the smuggler was also fined $4,000 and ordered to make a public apology in a national newspaper, the ministry said. Ecuador, a relatively small corner of South America that is home to around 17 million, is one of the most biodiverse nations on the planet. Authorities have banned the capture and sale of all wild animals, but illegal trade persists throughout the Amazon region. The defendant intended to bring the creatures, five of which are indigenous to Ecuador and some of which were still alive, to Hokkaido. The man said at the trial that since he had obtained permission to take some butterflies with him, he thought there would be no problem taking other insects. The man’s lawyer said they plan to appeal to a higher court, telling reporters that prosecutors have not proven the actual value of the insects.
|
smuggling;animals;ecuador;insects
|
jp0004350
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Private equity sees hot opportunity in Japan's traditional onsen inns
|
For Japan’s growing flood of foreign tourists, one of the top internet search terms is onsen , the traditional hot springs where travelers have soaked since the days of the samurai. Now some of the world’s oldest businesses are attracting big new money. Private equity funds like SoftBank-owned Fortress Investment Group LLC and Hong Kong-based Odyssey Capital Group are spending billions to tap into the appeal of traditional inns amid a tourism boom that’s ramping up ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The big funds are moving in as centuries-old spas, many of them still family-run, struggle to find successors in an aging country where small towns and villages are losing young people. Odyssey, along with two other investors, last year purchased its first onsen inn in Japan, a facility with 28 tatami-floored guest rooms near the Sea of Japan called Kagetsu, which means “flowering moon.” Christopher Aiello, managing director of Odyssey’s Japan real estate business, says the firm plans to spend $500 million in the next three years buying about 20 more traditional Japanese inns, known as ryokan . “The Japanese hospitality sector has tremendous opportunities for investment,” Aiello said in an interview. “Many of these ryokan are very undervalued after experiencing so much recession and mismanagement, but a lot of them are located in beautiful natural settings.” At Kagetsu, the founder’s granddaughter, Tomoko Tomii, greets her guests at the inn’s stone-paved entrance, dressed in a delicate pale-pink garment like a kimono. The 40-year-old says the family decided to sell to the Odyssey group last year because debts had piled up and they needed money to update rooms and design an English-language website. “We had no choice but to look for a sponsor,” she said. “We appreciate that our buyer is stabilizing the business, but not kicking us out.” Odyssey and its partners sent two professional managers to help streamline operations, but agreed to let Tomii and the family’s 30 employees stay on after the sale. That was important because concern for the welfare of employees deters many small business owners from selling, even when they’ve fallen into desperate straits. Japanese proprietors, in particular, have a reputation for being “allergic” to selling. A Kagetsu employee prepares futon for guests at the spa, situated in Niigata Prefecture’s Echigo-Yuzawa district. | BLOOMBERG Japan’s hot springs have become hot investment targets for other big businesses, too. Yokohama-based Breezbay Hotel Co. is looking to acquire 100 lodges and onsen inns over five years, according to its chief executive officer, Noritada Tsuda. Bain Capital LP has been buying onsen since 2015, when it purchased a chain of 29 Japanese spas and resorts, including one on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Last month, the Boston-based private equity firm opened a new ocean-view property in Mie Prefecture, bringing the number of its Japanese hospitality assets to 36, with plans for more. Fortress, the New York-based fund purchased in 2017 for $3.3 billion by Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp., is also in the game. In February the firm opened a downtown Osaka spa the size of two city blocks where day trippers can soak in tubs on the edge of a traditional garden, with a hotel-and-mall complex next door and a 51-story tower rising above. It’s a novel experiment that transplants the onsen experience into the heart of one of Japan’s grittiest neon metropolises. Thomas Pulley, chief investment officer for global real estate at Fortress, is a self-described Japanophile who says he visited five times during construction to handpick the resort’s cherry trees and the earthenware baths used in its private, open-air rooms. The tubs cost about ¥2.2 million ($20,000) apiece. For a modern touch, the spa also has a comic book lounge where bathers can peruse a library of 15,000 manga. “Onsen is truly unique in Japan,” said Pulley, who ran Credit Suisse Group AG’s private equity business in Tokyo during the 2000s. “There’s hopefully great demand for this type of urban onsen resort.” A Kagetsu employee sees off guests from the spa in Niigata Prefecture’s Echigo-Yuzawa district. | BLOOMBERG Fortress already owns more than 90 Japanese spas and hotels, but plans to spend the equivalent of $3.6 billion on more. Pulley said SoftBank’s backing has given Fortress extra credibility and opened doors to more deals in Japan. Both Bain and Fortress are raising cash by selling their properties to publicly traded real estate investment trusts they sponsor. Shares in Bain’s REIT have risen about 10 percent this year, while Fortress’ Invincible Investment Corp. has gained more than 20 percent. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average is up less than 6 percent. Japan has almost 13,000 traditional onsen inns, where bathers go unclothed into big communal baths heated by geothermal energy that’s bubbled up to the surface. Many of these old hotels are at the end of remote mountain roads or in small seaside towns and, after decades of economic recession, financial distress is common. The most venerable of them, an inn that has run continuously since it was opened in 704, filed for bankruptcy this year. More than half are at risk of simply closing down because they lack someone to take over from their aging owners, according to a 2017 report published by the trade ministry. Solving the succession problem is why Tokyo-based human resources firm BizReach Inc. in March launched an online match-making platform to try to pair ryokan owners with potential buyers. “Owners are still a little resistant to selling,” said CEO Soichiro Minami. “But we think people will gradually open up.” For the Tomii family, the decision to sell to the Odyssey group came after the realization that the actual work of running the hotel — pampering guests and preparing elaborate meals — was leaving no time for figuring out how to make money at the business. “We were too busy with the day-to-day,” Tomii said, “to even think about the future.”
|
tourism;hotels;investment
|
jp0004351
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
No U.S. auto import quota in works, says Japan's economic revitalization chief Toshimitsu Motegi
|
There is no need to be worried that the United States will impose a quota on Japanese automobile imports, economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Sunday. “There is no worry judging from the U.S. announcement,” Motegi said on a television program, noting that such a quota was not specified in the announcement. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump put off a decision on whether to impose additional tariffs on automobile and auto parts imports by up to six months. Before that, a U.S. media report said Trump is considering an executive order that may include import quotas for Japanese and European automobiles. “We have told (the United States) that we oppose trade-distorting measures including a quota,” Motegi said, stressing that he has secured the United States’ assurances it will not take such measures. Asked whether Japan will be able to avoid a U.S. import quota after bilateral negotiations on trade, he told reporters after the TV program that it depends on how the accord is worked out. Motegi represents Japan in the trade talks. Despite concerns over a downturn in the Japanese economy, Motegi said on the program that he sees no need at present to draw up additional economic stimulus measures in light of the planned consumption tax hike in October. On Friday, Motegi said that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had confirmed the United States will not push Japan to restrain automobile exports as part of a bilateral trade deal. Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported cars and parts. If he follows through, the new duties would significantly impact major car exporters such as Japan and Germany. Automobiles and auto parts accounted for about 75 percent of the U.S. trade deficit as of 2017. Toyota Motor Corp. rebuked U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that imported cars threaten national security, signaling contentious talks are ahead for the White House and America’s key trading partners. In an unusually strong-worded statement, Japan’s largest automaker said Trump’s proclamation Friday that the U.S. needs to defend itself against foreign cars and components “sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed.” The company said it has spent more than $60 billion building operations in the country, including 10 manufacturing plants. Trump on Friday agreed with the conclusions of his Commerce Department, which investigated imports of vehicles and auto parts and found they harmed national security by causing a declining market share for “American-owned” carmakers since the 1980s. The White House set a 180-day deadline for negotiating deals with Japan, the European Union and other major auto exporters. Toyota said it remains hopeful those talks can be resolved quickly, but warned that curbing imports would force U.S. consumers to pay more and would be counterproductive for jobs and the economy. The company’s critique comes two months after its pledge to add $3 billion to a years-long U.S. investment plan.
|
u.s .;trade;carmakers;tariffs;donald trump
|
jp0004352
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Royalty feud threatens to tear apart FamilyMart's profitable joint venture in China
|
TAIPEI/SHANGHAI - FamilyMart, the most successful Japanese convenience store chain in China, is embroiled in a royalty payments fight between its Japanese and Chinese joint-venture partners that could change how much money each side makes or scuttle the partnership entirely. FamilyMart UNY Holdings Co. is suing to end its Chinese FamilyMart partnership with Ting Hsin International Group, saying the Taipei-based conglomerate hasn’t fairly shared the gains from the chain’s rapid expansion, according to people familiar with the matter and legal documents seen by Bloomberg. Under the terms of the partnership, Ting Hsin effectively operates more than 2,500 FamilyMart stores in China, sharing profits and paying royalties to the Japanese company. Although Ting Hsin’s founders are Taiwanese, the company has had a presence in China since the late 1980s before the country’s economy opened up, and is considered a local entity. It also controls other food and beverage brands, including China’s leading instant noodle maker. FamilyMart has filed a petition with a court in the Cayman Islands — where Ting Hsin and the joint venture are registered — to force its partner to relinquish its 60 percent stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal company affairs. The tussle comes as China’s convenience store market is set to grow by more than 60 percent in the next five years to $27 billion, according to Euromonitor International. As China rapidly urbanizes, demand for round-the-clock food, snacks and beverages is surging. FamilyMart is the latest foreign brand seeking a way to alter a local partnership as the government eases restrictions on noncritical industries such as consumer goods and retail. Ting Hsin argues that the royalty fees are three times higher than the average charged by rivals such as 7-Eleven, the people said. “We cannot comment on matters of litigation,” said Shinsuke Otsuki, a spokesman for Tokyo-based FamilyMart, which is 50.1 percent-owned by trading house Itochu Corp. Ting Hsin is not commenting due to contractual confidentiality agreements, the company said in a emailed statement. Although 7-Eleven operates more stores in China, FamilyMart has had the most success among its Japanese rivals, accounting for 8.4 percent of the $17 billion in sales, according to Euromonitor. FamilyMart is second only to local chain Dongguan Sugar & Wine Group Co., which sells low-cost goods in less-developed parts of the country. FamilyMart is alleging that Ting Hsin sought to reduce the royalty it pays for use of the brand to 0.3 percent or less from 1 percent, and withheld royalty payments for seven months, according to the documents. The payments were subsequently paid, one person said. It also alleged that Ting Hsin didn’t provide adequate disclosure of transactions related to the joint venture that would give FamilyMart Japan a full picture of the venture’s profitability, according to the documents. The spat is the latest in a long line of tussles involving joint ventures in China because of government restrictions on foreign companies seeking access to its vast consumer market. In 2004, when the FamilyMart JV was formed, non-Chinese businesses were mostly not allowed to set up shop in China without a local partner. In the years since, under pressure from the global business community over an uneven playing field, Beijing has eased access and now requires joint ventures only in certain protected sectors, such as agriculture and scientific research. Caught up in a trade war with the U.S., China is preparing to open up sectors such as banking and auto manufacturing in 2020 to full foreign ownership, and curtail forced technology transfers. The shift of critical know-how to local partners is how European conglomerates Siemens AG and Alstom SA ultimately saw themselves out-competed globally in high-speed rail contracts by Chinese state-owned companies. While technology transfers may not be as important in the market for convenience stores, other consumer giants have been wriggling out of their joint ventures to reap the benefits of their marquee brand names for themselves. In 2017, Starbucks Corp. paid $1.3 billion to buy out its East China joint venture partners in what was then its biggest deal ever.
|
china;familymart;ting hsin
|
jp0004353
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Boeing acknowledges flaw in 737 MAX simulator software
|
NEW YORK - Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. “Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions,” it said in a statement. The company did not indicate when it first became aware of the problem, and whether it informed regulators. Its statement marked the first time Boeing acknowledged there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX, whose MCAS anti-stall software has been blamed in large part for the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy. According to Boeing, the flight simulator software was incapable of reproducing certain flight conditions similar to those at the time of the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March or the Lion Air crash in October. The company said the latest “changes will improve the simulation of force loads on the manual trim wheel,” a rarely used manual wheel to control the plane’s angle. “Boeing is working closely with the device manufacturers and regulators on these changes and improvements, and to ensure that customer training is not disrupted,” it added. Southwest Airlines, a major 737 MAX customer with 34 of the aircraft in its fleet, told AFP it expected to receive the first simulator “late this year.” American Airlines, which has 24 of the aircraft, said it had ordered a 737 MAX simulator that will be delivered and put into operation in December. “As a result of the continuing investigation into both aircraft accidents, we are looking at the potential for additional training opportunities in coordination with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and Allied Pilots Association,” it added. The planes have been grounded around the world, awaiting approval from U.S. and international regulators before they can return to service. Only Air Canada has a MAX simulator, industry sources told AFP. Currently, there is only one flight simulator specific to the 737 MAX in the United States, and it is owned by Boeing, according to FAA documentation. U.S. airlines train their pilots flying the MAX on a simulator built for the 737 NG, the version preceding the 737 MAX in the 737 aircraft family. Southwest said that’s because during the certification process for the MAX, Boeing stressed that there were only minor differences with the NG and simple computer and online training could accommodate for the differences. The FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Canadian regulators had approved those recommendations, Boeing stresses. However, the 737 NG lacks an MCAS, specially designed for the MAX in order to correct an aerodynamic anomaly due to its heavier motor and to prevent the plane from stalling. Pilot training will likely be at the heart of the meeting of international regulators in Forth Worth, Texas on Thursday when the FAA will try convince its counterparts of the robustness of its certification process for the modified 737 MAX. The American regulator has maintained that training pilots on a simulator is not essential, a position with which pilots and its Canadian counterpart disagree. Boeing said Thursday that it completed its software update on the 737 MAX. The proposed fix, which addresses a problem with a flight handling system thought to be a factor in both crashes, must now win approval from U.S. and international regulators before the planes can return to service. U.S. airlines have targeted August as the date they expect to resume flying on the 737 MAX.
|
accidents;airlines;boeing;aviation;737 max
|
jp0004354
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Regional bank in Japan battles ultralow interest rates with wine bar and sea urchins
|
SHIMONOSEKI, YAMAGUCHI PREF. - As years of near-zero interest rates in Japan make traditional lending barely profitable, one regional bank is seeking to drum up business through less conventional enterprises, from opening wine bars to helping fishermen farm sea urchins. The new approach comes as regulators cautiously loosen the rules to let banks venture into other businesses to help offset the hit to their net interest income from the Bank of Japan’s ultraloose monetary policy. For Takeshi Yoshimura, the 59-year-old president of Yamaguchi Financial Group, the effects of the BOJ’s zero interest rates are compounded by other challenges his region faces, notably a dwindling population and an exodus of firms to bigger cities like Tokyo. That is why he is prodding young employees to come up with ideas to make better use of the bank’s roughly 280 branch offices spread across Yamaguchi and Hiroshima, the prefectures where Yamaguchi Financial mainly operates. One idea was to rent out space to a wine bar at a branch in Yuya, a sleepy town with hot springs where such businesses aren’t common. “Yuya is a nice tourist destination, but there are very few places to drink and dine,” Yoshimura said. “Visitors to the bar can open a bank account or get consulting services from one of our bankers,” he said on Tuesday. The bar opens in July. The goal is to transform all other branches into community hubs of various kinds, such as cafes or child care centers, that break the stereotype of traditional banking. “Closing branches would cut costs. But we’re not doing that because we want to maintain a place where we have face-to-face interaction with our customers,” he said. Years of heavy money printing by the BOJ have pushed borrowing costs nearly to zero, benefiting borrowers but hurting regional banks that are already suffering from a dwindling population and a lack of fund demand. Yamaguchi Financial, which ranks 11th among Japan’s 78 listed regional banks in total assets, is no exception. Its consolidated net profit in the year ended in March fell 30 percent from a year earlier. Profits from core lending operations were down 26 percent. Nearly 60 percent of regional banks could suffer net losses a decade from now if corporate borrowing keeps falling at the current trend, the BOJ warned in a report in April. Aside from utilizing its branches, Yamaguchi Financial is seeking to boost the region’s fishery industry. After local fishermen complained they were catching fewer natural sea urchins, its bankers created a network of local academics and researchers to experiment with ways to farm the creatures. If farming proves successful, the bank would provide loans to build plants, market the urchins across Japan and possibly open a restaurant with a view of the sea so visitors can try the delicacy over a glass of wine, Yoshimura said. Yamaguchi Financial also helps local food producers brand and market goods ranging from honey and beef to sake. The group hopes to make such nonfinancial businesses profitable in the next three to five years, which would in turn drive fresh business opportunities for the bank. “Banking is still important. But we also need to come up with other business models to prepare for the day when banks would be allowed to do many other things,” he said. “One day, people might barely remember the day we were a bank. That’s fine.”
|
banks;yamaguchi;monetary easing;yamaguchi financial group
|
jp0004355
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Huawei chief says growth may slow 'slightly' after U.S. imposed restrictions
|
LONDON - Huawei Technologies’ founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei said Saturday the growth of the Chinese tech giant “may slow, but only slightly” due to recent U.S. restrictions. In remarks to the Japanese press and reported by Nikkei Asian Review, Ren reiterated that the Chinese telecom equipment maker has not violated any law. “It is expected that Huawei’s growth may slow, but only slightly,” Ren told Japanese media in his first official comments after the U.S. restrictions, adding that the company’s annual revenue growth may undershoot 20 percent. On Thursday, Washington put Huawei, one of China’s biggest and most successful companies, on a trade blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for Huawei to do business with U.S. companies, a decision slammed by China, which said it will take steps to protect its companies. The developments surrounding Huawei come at a time of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and amid concerns from the United States that Huawei’s smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied. A similar U.S. ban on ZTE Corp., another Chinese company, almost crippled business for the smaller Huawei rival early last year before curbs were lifted. The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei. Ren said the company is prepared for such a step and that Huawei would be “fine” even if U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc and other American suppliers would not be able to sell chips to the company. Huawei’s chip arm, HiSilicon, said Friday it has long been prepared for the scenario that it could be banned from purchasing U.S. chips and technology, and that it is able to ensure a steady supply of most products. The Huawei founder said that the company will not be taking instructions from the U.S. government. “We will not change our management at the request of the U.S. or accept monitoring, as ZTE has done,” he said. In January, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing the Chinese company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system. Meng Wanzhou, Ren’s daughter and also Huawei’s chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment. She has been released on bail and remains in Vancouver, where she is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence. Ren had previously said his daughter’s arrest was politically motivated.
|
china;espionage;telecoms;huawei;donald trump
|
jp0004356
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
In referendum, Swiss voters approve tighter gun control
|
ZURICH - Swiss voters agreed Sunday to adopt tighter gun controls in line with changes to European Union rules, heading off a clash with Brussels, projections for Swiss broadcaster SRF showed. The projections from the gfs.bern polling outfit saw the measure passing in the binding referendum by a comfortable 67-33% margin. The restrictions, which apply to non-EU member Switzerland because it is part of Europe’s Schengen open-border system, had raised hackles among shooting enthusiasts ahead of the vote under the Swiss system of direct democracy. Failure to adopt the rules could have forced Switzerland to leave the passport-free Schengen zone and the Dublin joint system for handling asylum requests. After militants killed scores in Paris and elsewhere in 2015, the EU in 2017 toughened laws against purchasing semi-automatic rifles such as the ones used in those attacks, and made it easier to track weapons in national databases. Opinion polls had shown Swiss voters backing the measure by a 2-1 margin. The initial EU proposal provoked an outcry because it meant a ban on the Swiss tradition of former soldiers keeping their assault rifles. Swiss officials negotiated concessions for gun enthusiasts who take part in the country’s numerous shooting clubs, but any restrictions imported from the EU go too far for right-wing activists concerned about Swiss sovereignty. Gun rights proponents complained the rules could disarm law-abiding citizens and encroach on Switzerland’s heritage and national identity, which includes a well-armed citizenry. Switzerland has one of the highest rates of private gun ownership in Europe, with nearly 48% of households owning a gun.
|
guns;eu;switzerland;referendums
|
jp0004357
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Parents try to remove doctor in French right-to-die case
|
PARIS - The parents of a Frenchman kept alive in a vegetative state for a decade on Monday will try to have the doctor caring for their son removed before he halts life-sustaining treatment the same day, their lawyers said. The last-ditch move by the parents of Vincent Lambert — left quadriplegic with severe brain damage after a 2008 car accident — aims to have the doctor immediately struck off France’s medical register, the lawyers said in a statement Sunday. The parents will also seek to have the doctor, Vincent Sanchez, criminally prosecuted and lodge new appeals to continue care for Lambert, they added. The flurry of legal action spoke of the desperation of the parents just ahead of the planned halt Monday of the nutrition and hydration Lambert receives in the Sebastopol Hospital in the northern French city of Reims. They have already pleaded with President Emmanuel Macron to step in and override the court order. But the case has torn their family apart, pitting them legally and emotionally against other relatives who concur with doctors that the humane path given Lambert’s condition is to end life support. In 2014, the doctors, backed by Lambert’s wife, Rachel, five of his siblings and his nephew, Francois, decided to stop his nutrition and hydration in line with France’s passive euthenasia law. His parents, devout Catholics, and his half-brother and sister obtained a court order to block the move on grounds his condition might improve with better treatment. But early this year, a French court sided with Sanchez’s decision to stop the care keeping Lambert, now aged 42, alive, in line with the country’s laws permitting passive euthanasia. France’s Conference of Bishops added its voice to the controversy Saturday, calling on authorities to wait on an opinion being worked on by a U.N. committee on disabled rights. “Why this rush to lead him to death?” the clerics asked in a statement.
|
france;medicine;catholic church;euthanasia;emmanuel macron
|
jp0004358
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Saudi Arabia calls urgent regional meetings over Iran tensions
|
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has called urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the region, the kingdom’s official news agency said on Saturday. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said King Salman had invited Persian Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Mecca on May 30 to discuss recent “aggressions and their consequences” in the region. Tensions have soared in the Persian Gulf, with the United States deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers there over alleged threats from Iran. Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country does not want to go to war with Iran but is ready to defend its interests. Riyadh “does not want a war, is not looking for it and will do everything to prevent it.” The United Arab Emirates “welcomed” Saudi Arabia’s invitation. Four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks last Sunday off the UAE’s Fujairah, located at the crucial entrance to the Persian Gulf. That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to prevent shipping in Hormuz in case of a military confrontation with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months. Al-Jubeir said the UAE was leading the probe into the damaged oil tankers, but added that “we have some indications and we will make the announcements once the investigations are completed.” Despite international skepticism, the U.S. government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. SPA on Sunday said the Saudi crown prince spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about efforts to enhance security in the region.
|
conflict;u.s .;saudi arabia;military;iran
|
jp0004359
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Illinois hospital failed to alert authorities in womb-cutting murder case
|
CHICAGO - Police and Illinois’ child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago-area hospital didn’t alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed. Clarisa Figueroa is charged with killing 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. Chicago police say she cut Ochoa-Lopez’s baby out of her womb on April 23, then called 911 to report she had given birth to a baby who wasn’t breathing. Paramedics took Figueroa and the baby to Advocate Christ Medical Center in suburban Oak Lawn. The baby remained hospitalized on life support on Saturday, according to authorities. Prosecutors say that when Figueroa was brought with the baby to the hospital, she had blood on her upper body and her face, which a hospital employee cleaned off. They also say Figueroa, 46, was examined at the hospital and showed no physical signs of childbirth. Advocate Christ Medical Center has declined to say whether or when it contacted authorities, citing state and federal regulations. Oak Lawn police said they were not contacted about Figueroa by the medical center or any other agency. Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Jassen Strokosch said Saturday the agency was alerted May 9 that there were questions about who had custody of the child in order to make medical decisions. He said he couldn’t speculate about why the agency wasn’t contacted sooner. “We don’t know what was happening at the hospital,” he said. Strokosch said the Department of Children and Family Services was alerted by someone required by law to contact the department about suspected abuse or neglect, but he couldn’t say who contacted the agency. However, that was after Chicago police had connected Figueroa and her daughter to Ochoa-Lopez’s disappearance. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said police learned Ochoa-Lopez was missing when her husband reported it on April 24. On May 7, Chicago police learned from one of Ochoa-Lopez’s friends that she had been communicating via a private Facebook group with Figueroa about buying clothing. Police then went to Figueroa’s home, where her 24-year-old daughter eventually told them her mother had recently had a baby. “There was nothing to point us in that direction in the beginning,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday, after police had arrested Figueroa and her daughter on murder charges. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Saturday authorities had to subpoena medical records from the hospital for Figueroa and the child. He said police didn’t learn that Figueroa showed no signs of childbirth until “a couple weeks” after she was examined. Both Johnson and Guglielmi referred questions about hospital protocol and policies to the medical center. A spokesman said in an emailed statement: “We have been cooperating with authorities and as this is an ongoing police matter, we’re referring all inquiries to local law enforcement.” DNA testing determined Figueroa was not the baby’s mother and that Ochoa-Lopez’s husband was his father. Strokosch said his department let protective custody of the child lapse on May 13 because his father had been identified.
|
pregnancy;murder;chicago
|
jp0004360
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Britain's Theresa May to deliver final, 'bold offer' on Brexit deal
|
LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday she was preparing to make a “bold offer” to MPs in one final attempt to get them to back her Brexit deal. May said that when she brings the Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Parliament early next month, it will come with a new package of measures attached that she hopes can command majority support for the so-called British exit. “I still believe there is a majority in parliament to be won for leaving with a deal,” May wrote in The Sunday Times newspaper. MPs three times rejected the deal May struck with Brussels, forcing Britain’s EU departure date to be pushed back from March 29 to April 12 and again to Oct. 31. The bill is needed to ratify the divorce agreement struck with the European Union. On Thursday, May agreed to set out a timetable for her departure following the vote in the week beginning June 3, regardless of whether MPs back her deal at the fourth time of asking. It is thought that she will trigger a contest for the leadership of her governing Conservative Party once the bill either fails or completes all of its stages through Parliament. “When the Withdrawal Agreement Bill comes before MPs, it will represent a new, bold offer to MPs across the House of Commons, with an improved package of measures that I believe can win new support,” she told the newspaper. “Whatever the outcome of any votes, I will not be simply asking MPs to think again. Instead I will ask them to look at a new and improved deal with fresh pairs of eyes — and to give it their support.” The bill is expected to include new measures on protecting workers’ rights, future customs arrangements with the EU and how to use technology to avoid the need for border controls between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state and the U.K.’s only land neighbor. It will not, however, seek to re-open the withdrawal agreement, which Brussels repeatedly insisted could not be renegotiated, despite many MPs voting it down due to concerns about its so-called backstop clauses on Northern Ireland. May is expected to set out the details of her proposals in a speech later this month. Her gambit on Sunday comes ahead of the European Parliament elections, to be held in Britain on Thursday. The opinion polls make dire reading for the Conservatives, with the newly formed Brexit Party forecast to win the most seats, ratcheting up the pressure on May. The latest survey out Sunday put euroskeptic figurehead Nigel Farage’s new single-issue party way ahead on 34 percent, with the main opposition Labour Party on 20 percent, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats on 15 percent and the Conservatives on 11 percent. Furthermore, the poll said the Brexit Party had overtaken the Conservatives in general election voting intentions too, with Labour leading on 29 percent, Farage’s party on 24 percent and the Conservatives on 22 percent. Opinium Research conducted an online survey of 2,004 British adults between Tuesday and Thursday for The Observer newspaper. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Saturday that whoever replaces May, calling an early general election risked “killing Brexit” and making veteran socialist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn prime minister. “A general election before we’ve delivered Brexit would be a disaster,” he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper. “A general election before that not only risks Jeremy Corbyn, but it risks killing Brexit altogether.” The next Conservative leader is set to be chosen by the center-right party’s members. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the clear front-runner, according to a YouGov survey of grassroots Conservatives for The Times newspaper. Johnson was on 39 percent, ahead of former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on 13 percent, interior minister Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Michael Gove on 9 percent each and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on 8 percent.
|
eu;u.k .;brexit;theresa may
|
jp0004361
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz seeks to rule alone after video exposes apparent corruption by coalition partner
|
VIENNA - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for snap elections after his junior coalition partner stumbled over a video showing its leader promising government contracts in return for campaign funding. “Enough is enough,” Kurz said on Saturday evening in Vienna, adding he wants voters to go to the polls as “soon as possible.” Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down as vice chancellor and head of the nationalist Freedom Party earlier in the day, calling his actions depicted on the video “dumb” and “embarrassing.” Strache said he resigned to rescue the coalition with Kurz’s conservative People’s Party, but ultimately this proved to be insufficient. Elections can be held in August at the earliest. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who is in charge of appointing and dismissing governments, was to speak later. The result of the ballot could leave Kurz, the European Union’s youngest leader, in an awkward situation: He is likely to win the election, but not by a margin large enough to govern alone. A new coalition with the Freedom Party may not be possible after the video scandal, be it for lack of votes or backing in Kurz’s People’s Party. At the same time, the chancellor has burned bridges to the opposition Social Democrats, with whom his party governed in most previous coalitions since World War II. Kurz built his rise to power on breaking with that tradition, so returning to the fold might hurt his credibility. The People’s Party first attempt to govern with the Freedom Party failed in 2002 after just 2 years and snap elections ended with victory for the conservatives and defeat for the nationalists. There may be hopes in the party to repeat that stint. The footage from a 2017 meeting in Ibiza with a woman claiming to be the niece of a Russian oligarch was obtained by German publications Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Spiegel didn’t disclose how it obtained the video and said it doesn’t know the motives of the people who made it. Strache, speaking after handing in his resignation to Kurz in Vienna on Saturday, confirmed the Ibiza meeting while saying he did nothing illegal. He said he pointed out to the woman in the video that Austrian laws had to be obeyed, and that he never received donations from her or gave her any business. The video was shot illegally and “this was a targeted attempt of political assassination, this was hired work,” Strache told reporters. He already appeared to be in campaign mode in his resignation press conference, praising the government’s achievements. “I want to provide no pretense whatsoever by my misbehavior to bring down this government.” Austria’s Audit Court said Saturday it would question the Freedom Party’s finances related to the video. Christian Pilnacek of the Justice Ministry told Kurier newspaper that prosecutors will be examining the video. The Freedom Party denies any wrongdoing.
|
corruption;elections;austria;sebastian kurz
|
jp0004362
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Dutch lead populist charge in European Parliament elections
|
THE HAGUE - A flamboyant Dutch populist could open the floodgates for a tidal wave of euroskeptic and anti-immigration parties across the continent in this week’s European Parliament elections. Classics-quoting climate skeptic Thierry Baudet founded the Forum for Democracy just two years ago, but his party is on course to beat Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals when the Netherlands votes on Thursday. As the first country in the EU to vote, along with exit-bound Britain, Dutch exit polls will be closely watched as a bellwether of a populist earthquake ahead of official results for the whole EU on Sunday. “What happens in the Netherlands is also happening elsewhere in Europe,” Claes de Vreese, politics professor at the University of Amsterdam, said. Once best known for naked Instagram selfies and controversial comments about women, Baudet, 36, stunned Europe in March when the Forum became the biggest party in the Dutch senate. In the process he stole votes from Geert Wilders, the bleached-blonde anti-Islam leader who has long dented the Netherlands’ image abroad as a bastion of tolerant liberalism. Baudet is now aiming for similar success on the European stage, with latest opinion polls showing the Forum snatching as many as five of the 26 European Parliament seats allotted to the Netherlands, similar to Rutte’s ruling VVD. “Baudet is the new flavor of the year,” said de Vreese. “He does attract a certain audience of voters who may be disgruntled by the fact that Wilders’ style is very confrontational and not particularly intellectual.” But while Baudet has toned down his support for a full “Nexit” from the EU after the chaos in Britain, his nativist, anti-immigration message is similar to the one that has swept Europe from Italy to Hungary. His senate elections victory speech declaring that the “Owl of Minerva spreads his wings” — referring to the Roman goddess of wisdom — was typical of narrative that sees an ancient European civilization under threat from immigration. His references to “boreal” or northern Europe, echo those made in the past by French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Baudet, who has a law doctorate, has also successfully tapped into the populist railing against elites, whether in The Hague or Brussels or Washington, that has transformed western politics in recent years. “For a long time, Europe has been a very technical story and people did not understand that,” Amy Verdun, European politics professor at Leiden University, said. “The populists made things simple. You may not agree with them, but they simplify things for the ordinary citizen.” She predicted gains for parties that have a “strong line on Europe, whether anti- or pro-EU.” Intriguingly in a low-lying country that is one of the world’s most vulnerable to rising sea levels, the Netherlands’ Baudet is also notable for his strong denial of climate change. This puts him at odds with the leftist greens such as the GroenLinks party who also look set to make gains in the Netherlands on what is replacing the left-right divide as one of the most polarizing issues of our age. “Voters have become more extreme,” said Verdun, pointing to factors such as U.S. President Donald Trump pulling out of 2015 Paris accord. But analysts urged overplaying populist gains, pointing out that the fragmented Dutch political scene means parties can come first with only a small share of the national vote, and most voters will still back centrist parties. “There are very few voters who want to abandon Europe completely and there are very few who want a completely integrated state and no more nation states,” said De Vreese. The repeated failure of squabbling populist and far-right parties to unite within the European Parliament would also lessen their impact, said Amy Verdun. “The populists’ problem is that they can never agree on anything,” she said. “If they don’t capitalize on their result, the populists will never get much further.”
|
immigration;eu;elections;netherlands;ethnicity;discrimination;mark rutte;thierry baudet
|
jp0004363
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
First Republican lawmaker says Trump engaged in impeachable conduct
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, on Saturday became the first Republican lawmaker to say the president has engaged in impeachable behavior. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election reveals that Trump “engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment,” Amash, who has signaled he would consider running as a libertarian against Trump in the 2020 election, wrote on Twitter. Mueller’s report “identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence,” Amash wrote. Trump has said Mueller’s report concluded there no obstruction of justice. Mueller’s report made no formal finding on that question, leaving the matter up to Congress. Amash also wrote that “it is clear” that Attorney General William Barr intended to mislead the public about Mueller’s report in his conclusions and congressional testimony about it. In his letter to Congress, Barr said he and his deputy Rod Rosenstein determined there was insufficient evidence to establish that the president committed criminal obstruction of justice, or acted unlawfully to impede the investigation. Amash’s comments echoed the conclusions of many Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said May 8 that Trump was moving closer to impeachment with his efforts to thwart congressional subpoenas and obstruct lawmakers’ efforts to oversee his administration. Still, Democrats are divided about impeachment and Pelosi also said impeachment proceedings would be “divisive” for the country. The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comments about Amash’s tweets. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee wrote on Twitter “it’s sad to see … Amash parroting the Democrats’ talking points on Russia.” She said the only people still concerned about the Russia investigation are Trump’s political foes “hoping to defeat him in 2020 by any desperate means possible.” Amash, who represents Michigan’s third congressional district, wrote that he had read Mueller’s full redacted report, but that few members of Congress had. In February Amash became the lone Republican to cosponsor a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to reject the emergency Trump declared at the U.S.-Mexico border to build a wall there, in a stinging rebuke to the president.. Impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, Amash wrote Saturday. But the risk during a time of extreme partisanship “is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.”
|
congress;russia;robert mueller;donald trump;2016 u.s. presidential election;russia probe;justin amash
|
jp0004364
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/19
|
In new talks, Sudan protest leaders to insist on civilian head for governing body
|
KHARTOUM - Sudanese protest leaders said Sunday they will insist a civilian runs a planned new governing body in new talks with army rulers, as Islamists warn against excluding Sharia from the political road map. The Alliance for Freedom and Change is determined that the country’s new ruling body be “led by a civilian as its chairman and with a limited military representation,” it said in a statement. The protesters’ umbrella group said talks will resume with the military council — which has ruled Sudan since President Omar al-Bashir was deposed on April 11 — at 9 p.m. Sunday. Talks over a transfer of power by the generals have repeatedly stalled, resulting in international pressure to return to the table after the generals suspended negotiations earlier last week. The generals insist the new body be military-led but the protest leaders demand a majority civilian body. On Sunday the protest movement raised the ante by insisting that the ruling body should be headed by a civilian. The military council is headed by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the generals have previously said he will lead the new governing body. Before talks were suspended the two sides had agreed on several key issues, including a three-year transition period and the creation of a 300-member parliament, with two-thirds of lawmakers to come from the protesters’ umbrella group. The previous round of talks was marred by violence after five protesters and an army major were shot dead near the ongoing sit-in outside the military headquarters in central Khartoum, where thousands have camped out for weeks. Initially, the protesters gathered to demand al-Bashir resign — but they have stayed put, to pressure the generals into stepping aside. The protesters had also erected roadblocks on some avenues in Khartoum, paralyzing large parts of the capital, to put further pressure on the generals during negotiations, but the military rulers suspended the last round of talks and demanded the barriers be removed. Protesters duly took the roadblocks down in recent days — but they warn they will put them back up if the army fails to transfer power to a civilian administration. The generals have allowed protesters to maintain their sit-in outside Khartoum’s army headquarters. Islamic movements rallied outside the presidential palace Saturday night, to reject any civilian administration that excludes Sharia as its guiding principle. Hundreds took part in the rally, the first organized mobilization by Islamist groups since al-Bashir’s ouster. “The main reason for the mobilization is that the alliance (the main protesters’ umbrella group) is ignoring the application of Sharia in its deal,” said Al-Tayieb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups. “This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan,” he said. Al-Bashir came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989 and Sudanese legislation has since been underpinned by Islamic law. At Saturday’s rally, hard-line cleric Mohamed Ali Jazuli had a warning for the military council. “If you consider handing over power to a certain faction, then we will consider it a coup,” he vowed as supporters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest). The protest leaders have so far remained silent on whether Sharia has a place in Sudan’s future, arguing that their main concern is installing a civilian administration.
|
military;protests;sudan;omar al-bashir;khartoum
|
jp0004365
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Ecstatic Australian conservatives bask in glory of 'miracle' election win
|
SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday basked in the glow of a “miracle” election victory that sparked praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, soul-searching on the left and speculation about what policies he will pursue. Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition bucked the polls to secure a victory for the ages, but it remains unclear if he will garner enough votes to have a parliamentary majority or need to govern with the help of independents. The 51-year-old Morrison may yet have to depend on ecologically minded independents to pass legislation and manage deep divisions within his fractious coalition, with no room for defections. Still, it was a stunning personal victory for Morrison, who largely flew solo during the campaign as senior ministers stayed close to home to defend seats thought to be at risk. By winning what was seen as an unwinnable election, the unexpected leader has cemented his authority over the Liberal Party, giving him the muscle to end a decade of instability that has seen a revolving door of prime ministers. “It was a one-man show. There will be much written about this in the years to come,” said Haydon Manning, a professor of political science at Flinders University. “He delivered the victory against the odds.” Morrison became prime minister as a compromise candidate after a right-wing faction ousted Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal Party leader last August. The resulting Liberal-National coalition was behind in every opinion poll since Morrison took over, with voters angry at Turnbull’s ouster and frustrated by a perceived lack of action over climate change and a dearth of fresh polices. After a decade of political turmoil that saw both Labor, the main opposition party, and the coalition depose several prime ministers, changes Morrison introduced last year mean that it is now very difficult for his party to remove him now that he has won an election. The secret of Morrison’s success, lawmakers, election strategists and analysts say, was twofold. First, he could see a path to victory through target areas such as the urban fringes of Queensland state, where he won enough seats to offset expected swings against the government in city-based seats. And he was able to frame the ballot as a contest between him and Labor leader Bill Shorten, a former trade union leader whose reform agenda was portrayed by the government as at odds with Australian aspirations. “Morrison’s biggest asset was Bill Shorten. He made the election a personal contest and in the end, the people never liked or trusted Shorten,” said John Hewson, former leader of Australia’s Liberal Party. Hewson now shares a connection with Shorten. As Liberal leader in opposition in 1993, he similarly lost what was considered an election impossible to lose after releasing a detailed and comprehensive tax reform policy well ahead of the vote. In this weekend’s election, Labor proposed removing two generous tax concessions enjoyed primarily by older, wealthy Australians. But rather than winning favor with younger voters, the policies become the target of Morrison’s campaign, fostering suspicion of Labor. Morrison — who centered his campaign on his government’s economic credentials — used Labor’s tax proposals as evidence that the opposition was “coming after your money.” A Labor strategist said the government successfully cobbled together a coalition of support among voters in urban fringes and rural townships. “They won a lot of voters from older Australians with its attacks about a retirement tax. But we lost votes from younger people that we didn’t expect,” said the strategist, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to talk to the media. “We didn’t do enough to talk about jobs for these people in these regions.” As awed Australian pundits declared Morrison a campaigning “legend,” Trump got in on the act by sending a congratulatory tweet. The two men spoke by phone after the results came in, vowing “close cooperation on shared priorities,” according to a White House account of the call. Trump’s allies will be quick to claim Morrison’s win as another victory in the global march of populism. But the results showed a more mixed message from an electorate that appears increasingly split on the significant issues of the day. Brash billionaire Clive Palmer — who explicitly styled himself on Trump in a free-spending countrywide campaign that promised to “Make Australia Great” — appears to have failed to win a single parliamentary seat. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott — the poster boy for the right wing of the Liberal Party — was unceremoniously turfed out of office after 25 years holding the same seat, with voters opting for a green independent. Despite his high political stock, Morrison may face a rocky three-year term. First, he will have to contend with a challenging economic outlook and figure out how to pay for a budget based on improbable growth forecasts. After almost three decades of robust economic growth, Australia’s economy is showing signs of stalling. The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates when it meets next month, in a bid to counter a housing market dip, stagnant wages and a weakening labor market. Morrison finds himself in the unusual position of having made few promises to the electorate beyond extending tax cuts. In coal-rich Queensland, voters backed new mining projects that would bring jobs but are fiercely opposed in much of the rest of the country. The divisions within Morrison’s Liberals were already clear to see Sunday, with right and centrist factions racing to fill the policy void. Some demanded an immediate loosening of rules on exploration for fossil fuels, while moderates hinted at a rethink of the party’s climate skepticism. “I have to say to you on climate change, it is real. We take it very seriously,” said Morrison’s deputy, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Inside the vanquished Labor Party, Shorten’s defeat and quick resignation prompted an immediate jockeying for leadership, with several party stalwarts set to throw their hats in the ring. Party officials defended their decision to set out their policies in detail — which critics said provided Morrison with too big a target and made the vote a referendum on Shorten. At least one other group was also licking its wounds. Usually reliable pollsters had spectacularly failed to predict the election outcome and will be picking over the numbers for days and weeks to come to see what went wrong.
|
australia;elections;scott morrison;bill shorten
|
jp0004367
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Taiwan's top diplomat says Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper is 'commie brainwasher' that 'sucks'
|
Taiwan’s top diplomat has ripped into the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper after it referred to the island nation as part of China in a tweet praising Taipei’s passage of a law legalizing same-sex marriage. In a Twitter post Sunday morning , Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu blasted the Friday tweet from the official account of the People’s Daily newspaper that said “ local lawmakers in #Taiwan, China, have legalized same-sex marriage .” “WRONG! The bill was passed by our national parliament & will be signed by the president soon,” Wu wrote in response. “Democratic #Taiwan is a country in itself & has nothing to do with authoritarian #China. @PDChina is a commie brainwasher & it sucks. JW.” Wu, a member of President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is a known proponent of Taiwanese independence — a stance that has angered Beijing. China views Taiwan as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold — by force if necessary — and is suspicious of Tsai and the DPP, and routinely criticizes the party, which it claims is waiting for an opportunity to push for the island’s formal independence. On Friday, Taiwan’s parliament, the Legislative Yuan, voted to legalize same-sex marriage, a first in Asia and a boost for LGBT rights activists who had championed the cause for two decades. The tweet by the People’s Daily account was one of several by Chinese state-run media accounts that appeared to capitalize on Taiwan’s gay-marriage vote, including one on the Global Times newspaper’s account with a video that asked: “Where do queers in #China hang out? This map shows just where the cool LGBT events are in Beijing.” Same-sex relations are not illegal in China, which has a vibrant LGBTQ scene, but it was not until 1997 that homosexuality was decriminalized in the country. It was officially removed from a list of mental illnesses three years later. The Communist Party-ruled government has shown no interest in legalizing same-sex marriage, and launches periodic crackdowns on gay content online or elsewhere. However, experts say these moves are not merely targeting people because of their sexuality, but rather targeting their organizing, which the party views as a potential threat.
|
china;taiwan;rights;gay marriage;joseph wu
|
jp0004368
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/19
|
North Korea asks U.N. chief to address ship seizure by 'gangster' U.S.
|
SEOUL - North Korea has asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deal with the “illegal” seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States, state media has said. “This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws,” the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter sent to Guterres dated Friday, the North official Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday. Pyongyang’s protest to the United Nations over the seizure comes amid mounting tensions since a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at bringing about the denuclearization of the North, broke down in Hanoi in February. The letter also called for “urgent measures” by Guterres and claimed that Washington infringed the North’s sovereignty and violated U.N. charters. With the denuclearization talks stalled, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month. The tests were seen as a protest by Kim after Trump rejected his calls for sanctions relief at the Hanoi summit. North Korea has said the ship seizure violated the spirit of the summit and demanded the return of the vessel without delay. The U.S. Justice Department said the North Korean cargo ship, known as the “Wise Honest,” was seized and impounded to American Samoa. The vessel was accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of sanctions and was first detained by Indonesia in April 2018.
|
u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;u.n .;nuclear weapons;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;kim-trump summit
|
jp0004369
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Japanese mountaineer dies climbing Kamen volcano in Russia
|
VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA - A Japanese mountaineer died after falling from a dormant volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Friday, local authorities said. Minoru Sawada, whose office is in Kawasaki, was confirmed dead Saturday after suffering a fall on Kamen, the peninsula’s second-highest volcano, his friend told Kyodo News. Two other Japanese who were climbing the 4,585-meter volcano with Sawada were rescued, the authorities said.
|
accidents;russia
|
jp0004370
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
NPO uses traditional Japanese karuta card game to help foreign residents learn disaster-related vocabulary
|
KAWAGOE, SAITAMA PREF. - A Tokyo-based nonprofit organization is using traditional karuta playing cards as part of a disaster-prevention effort to help foreign nationals living in Japan get information and overcome language barriers in times of emergency. In a karuta game, one person reads out the text on a reading card and players grab a picture card, which usually has a corresponding character and image. The aim of the program is to teach foreign participants disaster-related terms in Japanese such as jishin , meaning earthquake, and hinan , meaning evacuation, and their kanji and kana characters through repetition. Motoko Kimura, founder and co-executive director of the NPO, WaNavi Japan, came up with the idea of offering such a program after seeing her American friend having a hard time obtaining information when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in March 2011. Kimura learned that there is a gap between Japanese people and foreign residents in terms of knowledge about evacuation shelters and wireless disaster information distribution systems. “I heard that some foreign residents walked alongside the coast when returning to their homes because they didn’t understand the meaning of the (tsunami alert) sirens,” Kimura said. As part of such workshops — held at the request of institutions such as municipalities, embassies and companies — the NPO has participants listen to sample evacuation broadcasts warning of a pending tsunami in order to check if they actually understand what is being said. The NPO also introduces an app to foreign participants that gives evacuation information in English, among other ways to access necessary information. At a workshop held at Tokyo International University in Kawagoe, Ana Paula Ortiz, a 20-year-old exchange student from Mexico, said that she did not know Japanese words such as hinan. She expressed her eagerness to be better-prepared for possible disasters. As foreign workers in Japan are expected to increase after the revised immigration control law came into effect in April, which is designed to accept more workers to address the country’s serious labor shortage, Kimura stressed the importance of education to help foreign residents learn the terminology being used when emergencies hit. “I want people from abroad to learn Japanese disaster-related terms needed for survival right after their arrival in the country,” Kimura said.
|
tsunami;npo;earthquakes;foreign workers;karuta
|
jp0004371
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/19
|
61% of Japanese back Abe plan to meet North Korean leader without conditions, survey finds
|
Around 61 percent of voters support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s stance of seeking talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without a guarantee of progress on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. In the nationwide telephone poll conducted Saturday and Sunday, the approval rate for Abe’s Cabinet stood at 50.5 percent, down from 51.9 percent in the previous survey conducted in early May. The disapproval rate was 36.2 percent, up from 31.3 percent. Abe has recently softened his stance toward Pyongyang amid a continuing lack of progress over the past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. He has been reaching out to Kim by proposing a meeting “without preconditions,” a shift from his previous position that any summit should yield progress on the abduction issue. In the survey, 61.2 percent said they welcomed Abe’s idea of meeting with Kim without preconditions, while 30.2 percent did not. On the government’s plan to raise the consumption tax from 8 percent to 10 percent in October, 57.6 percent expressed opposition, while 37.6 percent were supportive. The government maintains the consumption tax will be raised as planned unless Japan’s economy suffers a shock on the scale of the global financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Recent economic data have shown the Japanese economy could be on a downward trend amid protracted trade tensions between the United States and China. Koichi Hagiuda, executive acting secretary-general of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, hinted in April at a postponement, saying, “There could be a different development” depending on the Bank of Japan’s business sentiment survey for June, due out on July 1.
|
shinzo abe;north korea;kim jong un;abduction;consumption tax
|
jp0004372
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Abe tells kin of Japanese abductees he wants to talk frankly with North Korean leader
|
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated Sunday his hope to hold unconditional and candid talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “By meeting Workers’ Party of Korea Chairman Kim Jong Un without setting conditions, I want to talk with him frankly with an open mind,” Abe said during a meeting in Tokyo with family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Abe also pledged to resolve the long-standing issue while he is in power, adding U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with the families during his four-day visit to Japan as a state guest from next Saturday. “The president has his heart set on helping,” Abe said, while Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota who was abducted at age 13 in 1977, said the families have waited anxiously for so long for the return of their loved ones. In the run-up to the Upper House election in July, Abe has started repeating his desire to hold talks with Kim, even without preconditions, a shift from his previous position that any summit should yield progress on the abduction issue. An early settlement of the abduction issue remains a major political goal for Abe, who, unlike the leaders of the other major countries dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, is yet to hold a meeting with Kim. Japan officially lists 17 people as abductees, five of whom were repatriated in 2002, and suspects North Korea’s involvement in many more disappearances. But North Korea has insisted the abduction issue has already been resolved. Japan has said it will normalize relations with North Korea if Pyongyang abandons its nuclear and missile programs, and resolves the abduction issue. During a visit to the U.S. earlier this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called for an early resolution to the abduction issue, framing it as a “global challenge.” Speaking at an event at U.N. headquarters in New York, he said the government has been injecting “maximum effort” to realize the return of all abductees “at the earliest possible timing.”
|
shinzo abe;u.s .;north korea;kim jong un;abduction;donald trump
|
jp0004373
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/19
|
LDP to set up caucus on making use of paternity leave mandatory throughout Japan
|
Like-minded members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party plan to form a caucus to make the taking of paternity leave mandatory in Japan, informed sources said Saturday. The caucus, to be chaired by former education minister Hirokazu Matsuno, is set to hold its first meeting as early as June 5, the sources said. The LDP members believe creating an environment friendly to those who wish to take paternity leave will eventually contribute to reviving the birthrate and allow more women to play active roles in society. They plan to make policy proposals, with the aim of compiling legislation to oblige men to take paternity leave, according to the sources. The group will devise measures by studying mandatory paternity leave systems adopted by private-sector companies and other countries, such as Finland, where such leave systems are used. Possible measures include the introduction of a program to give parenting leave to male workers even without applications and the drafting of a law calling on companies to encourage workers to take paternity leave. According to a fiscal 2017 survey by the Japan Productivity Center, a public interest incorporated foundation, about 80 percent of newly hired male workers in Japan said they wanted to take paternity leave. But the ratio of men who took paternity leave in fiscal 2017 stood at only 5.14 percent, against 83.2 percent for women, according to labor ministry data. The figure for men falls far short of the 13 percent the government aims to realize by 2020. Men tend to refrain from taking parenting leave out of concern about negative effects on work performance reviews, and due to a workplace atmosphere that makes it difficult for them to take such leave, sources familiar with the situation said. “To change the current situation, it would be effective to make paternity leave practically mandatory,” an LDP member said. The member added that a mandatory system is expected to help Japan not only deal with its low birthrate and promote women’s participation in the society, but also lower the divorce rate and improve corporate culture.
|
children;ldp;birthrate;paternity leave;companies
|
jp0004374
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Former abductee Kaoru Hasuike calls for Japan-North Korea summit on abduction issue
|
A Japanese abductee held by North Korea for more than two decades before being repatriated in 2002 has expressed hope for a summit meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong Un to seek progress in saving others still believed to be in North Korea. “Even if we can’t expect a major achievement, now is the time to realize a Japan-North Korea summit,” 61-year-old Kaoru Hasuike said in an interview Monday in Niigata Prefecture, where he lives, adding that North Korea is currently “isolated.” Prime Minister Abe has recently softened his stance toward North Korea, saying he will meet with its leader, Kim, “without preconditions,” a shift from his previous position that any summit should yield progress on the abduction issue. While Abe’s new policy has drawn some criticism inside Japan, Hasuike said, “It’s meaningful for the leaders to directly understand each other’s ideas. Nothing will begin unless they meet.” He also indicated North Korea may have an incentive to reach out to Japan, with its neighbors — South Korea, China and Russia — remaining hesitant to subvert U.N. Security Council resolutions and engage economically with the North. But at the same time he admitted that the long-standing abduction issue will not be resolved “at once” even if a meeting between the two leaders is realized because nuclear and missile issues have to be resolved as well. Japan’s goal is to seek a comprehensive settlement of the nuclear, missile and abduction issues. Meanwhile, denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea have stalled, and the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim in Hanoi in February broke down after a dispute over sanctions. If Abe and Kim do meet, it will be the third summit between the two countries following those in 2002 and 2004 between then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il. In a joint declaration issued in 2002, the two countries agreed to work toward normalization of relations by tackling outstanding problems, including the abduction issue. Japan also said in the declaration it will extend economic cooperation to North Korea after the normalization of ties. Tokyo officially lists 17 people as abductees, five of whom were repatriated in 2002, and suspects North Korea’s involvement in many more disappearances. While Pyongyang insists the abduction issue is “already resolved,” Abe has made it a top political priority to settle it once and for all. Hasuike and his wife, Yukiko, were among the five abductees who returned to Japan. The couple were abducted in 1978 on the coast of Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture. Since returning, Hasuike has taught Korean language and the culture of the Korean Peninsula at Niigata Sangyo University in his hometown.
|
north korea;abduction;interview;kaoru hasuike
|
jp0004375
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Volcanic alert level raised for popular Mount Hakone resort area in Kanagawa
|
Authorities raised the volcanic alert level for Mount Hakone on Sunday — warning of a possible eruption — after increasing seismic activity was detected near the popular hot-spring resort area in Kanagawa Prefecture. For the first time since 2015, the Meteorological Agency raised its alert level at the site to a 2 on the 5-point scale, meaning people have been barred from approaching the crater. The agency said it decided to raise the level from 1 after the number of volcanic earthquakes increased to 45 on Saturday, compared with zero the previous day. On Sunday, the number of quakes detected had hit 21 as of 9 a.m. The agency warned of a possible eruption and volcanic cinders as fumarolic activity has been intensifying in areas around Owakudani, a volcanic valley in the Hakone area about 80 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. After the alert level was raised, the town of Hakone decided to restrict entry around the crater and close a road leading to the area. The operator of the Hakone Ropeway also suspended its services running through Owakudani on Sunday. In 2015, small eruptions occurred at the 1,438-meter mountain and the agency’s alert level was raised to 3, warning people not to approach a larger swath of area surrounding the volcano. Prior to those small eruptions, geological evidence has suggested that the mountain last erupted between the late 12th and 13th centuries.
|
volcanoes;mount hakone;owakudani
|
jp0004376
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Survey finds nearly 43% of people expect esports to grow in popularity in Japan
|
A Jiji Press survey showed Sunday that 42.8 percent of people think esports competitive video games will become popular as sports in Japan, up 7.4 percentage points from the previous survey carried out in April last year. Still, more than 40 percent opposed approving esports as an extracurricular activity after school. Overseas, esports have gained in popularity and will be an official event in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, in eastern China. In Japan, an esports event will be held for the first time as part of a cultural project in the National Sports Festival in Ibaraki Prefecture in October. According to the survey, people who think esports will spread widely totaled 58.1 percent among those aged 18 to 29, up 7.3 points, and 60.8 percent among those in their 30s, up 13.2 points. More than 40 percent of people in their 40s and 60s said they think so. By contrast, 27.7 percent think esports will not become popular, down 3 points. On reasons, with multiple answers allowed, 65.7 percent said they do not regard games in which people operate machines as sports. More than 30 percent each said that esports will not contribute to health or building up bodies and that esports are not good for education. Some expressed concern that promoting them was like recommending computer games. On the idea of approving esports as an extracurricular activity for students after they finish the school day, the largest share, or 42.6 percent, said they should not be approved as such. About 35 percent supported approving esports as an extracurricular activity, with 18.9 percent backing them as an activity at high school, 8.3 percent at junior high school and 8.5 percent at elementary school. In addition, 21.0 percent said they do not know. The interview-based survey was conducted on 2,000 people aged 18 or older. Valid responses were received from 62.1 percent of them.
|
children;schools;video games;esports
|
jp0004377
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/19
|
Rescuers help hundreds of climbers stranded by heavy rains on Yakushima Island
|
KAGOSHIMA - At least 314 people stranded by heavy rains — many of them overnight — managed to descend a mountain on Yakushima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture with the help of rescuers from the Japan Coast Guard, the Ground Self-Defense Forces and others on Sunday. Hikers in more than 10 cars and buses were forced to spend the night in the vehicles and in a mountain cabin when flooding and landslides blocked roads after a total of about 120 millimeters of rain fell per hour on Saturday. Some even spent the night outdoors while it was still raining. Due to the adverse weather conditions, rescue operations did not commence until early Sunday morning. Several of the hikers complained of pain or feeling unwell, and some were taken to the hospital. None were in serious condition, according to local officials. The island, known for its famous Jomon cedar tree and 1,936-meter-high Mount Miyanoura, has been designated as a world natural heritage site by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. More than 300 people were stranded following the heavy rains. The downpour caused a road near one of the starting points for hikers to cave in, officials at the Yakushima town office said. The town office also issued an evacuation advisory for 6,667 households on the island. On Saturday night, the Kagoshima Prefectural Government requested that GSDF personnel be dispatched to help rescue the stranded people. Other areas in southern Kyushu also received heavy rain. The Meteorological Agency warned that up to 200 mm could fall in Kagoshima and 180 mm could fall in Miyazaki Prefecture in a 24-hour period through 6 p.m. Sunday.
|
self defense forces;rain;yasukuni island;mt . miyanoura
|
jp0004378
|
[
"reference"
] |
2019/05/19
|
The week ahead for May 20 to May 26
|
Monday Cabinet Office to release preliminary data for January-March gross domestic product. The focus is on whether Japan’s economy shrank in the quarter amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy and a trade dispute between the United States and China. A weak result may fuel speculation that the government will delay raising the consumption tax to 10 percent from the current 8 percent in October. Tuesday Japan Tourism Agency to release numbers for non-Japanese who visited Japan in April. 10th anniversary of the introduction of Japan’s lay judge system. Ordinary citizens have served as judges in serious criminal cases such as murder at the district-court level, in hopes of reforming Japan’s justice system that has been criticized for being difficult to comprehend and out of touch with popular sentiment. Wednesday NTT Docomo Inc. to start accepting subscriptions for its new mobile phone billing plans. The company has decided to cut its mobile phone charges by up to 40 percent amid the government’s call on telecom carriers to lower service fees. Cabinet Office to release data on machinery orders for March. Finance Ministry to release preliminary customs-cleared trade statistics for April. Thursday FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Poland through June 15. A total of 24 teams to compete, including Japan. Friday Cabinet Office to release its monthly economic report for May. Attention will be on whether the government will revise downward its assessment, with the report in the previous two months saying the economy is “recovering at a moderate pace while weakness is seen recently in exports and industrial production in some sectors.” Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to release nationwide consumer price index for April. Osaka High Court to hand down ruling on appeal by woman dubbed Japan’s “black widow” who was sentenced to death over alleged serial murders using cyanide between 2007 and 2013. Saturday U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump to visit Japan through May 28. The Trumps will be the first state guests to meet with Emperor Naruhito who ascended to the throne on May 1. Trump will also watch live sumo bouts at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan and hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Sunday Campaigning to start for mayoral election in Sakai, Osaka.
|
weekly events;the week ahead;schedule
|
jp0004379
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/26
|
China digs in for protracted trade fight with U.S.
|
BEIJING - China is digging in for a tough period of deteriorating ties with the United States, fanning the flames of patriotism with Korean War films, a viral song on the trade war and editorials lambasting Washington. The trade spat has turned into a war of words since U.S. President Donald Trump blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co. last week over concerns the telecom giant’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage. The move, which bans U.S. companies from providing technology Huawei needs, came as the two sides have yet to resume trade negotiations after they exchanged steep increases in tariffs. A commentary on state-run Xinhua News Agency on Friday said China now had a “deeper understanding” of U.S. “capriciousness” and was ready to fight with its “Long March” spirit. It echoes President Xi Jinping’s tough stance when he called on cadres earlier this week to brace themselves for a “new Long March” — recalling the legendary strategic retreat by Communist revolutionaries in the 1930s who regrouped and went on to triumph in 1949. Xi warned local officials of “complicated and long-term effects” of external influences. The world’s top two economies will “go through a long period of irrational conflict,” said Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, at a government-organized briefing Wednesday. “And then during this process, step by step … come to understand each other, resist each other, and (finally) cooperate with each other.” Trump has left the door open for reconciliation with plans to meet President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan next month. But Chinese state media have ramped up the rhetoric. A Xinhua commentary Thursday called the U.S. government “selfish and arrogant.” “The U.S. is defying international rules, abandoning cooperation agreements and harping on America first, American privilege and American exceptionalism,” it said. Since Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods in mid-May, the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily has been running a daily column tag-lined “an alarm bell,” rejecting Trump’s arguments that China’s rise was leading to American losses. Korean War films stoking anti-U.S. sentiment from the 1950s were broadcast for six consecutive days on state television from May 16, reminding audiences of a time when the Cold War came to China’s doorstep as it fought on North Korea’s side against U.S.-led U.N. forces defending South Korea. Meanwhile, a song penned by a former Chinese government official vowing to beat the U.S. “out of its wits” on the trade war went viral this week, before it was pulled down from popular social media platforms WeChat and Weibo for violating their content rules. The song is set to the tune of a well-known wartime anti-Japanese propaganda film, “Tunnel War.” “The Chinese nation is facing a dangerous threat now, similar to the difficult times addressed in the film,” lyricist Zhao Liangtian said. “I want to use this song to awaken the masses. We need to unite as one to develop and to fight.” Chinese netizens have rallied around Huawei after Trump’s threat to kneecap the company, which is widely seen as a move to thwart Beijing’s high-tech ambitions. An interview last week with the telecom giant’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was one of the top trending topics on China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform Weibo. Hundreds of commentators said they wouldn’t abandon the company, while a few called for boycotting iPhones. But several others said the idea of smashing iPhones was “mere fake patriotism,” after Ren himself said his family uses Apple products. “U.S. attempts to damage Huawei is only a delay tactic, it won’t lead to a deadlock,” said Shi Yinhong, director of the American studies center at Renmin University. But China’s tech sector would have to brace itself for a long, painful period as it had relied heavily on American technologies, he said. “The American door is closing,” he said, “but China still doesn’t have a plan B.”
|
china;u.s .;trade;tariffs;huawei;donald trump;trade war
|
jp0004380
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Japanese trade chief Motegi hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, Lighthizer, in Tokyo ahead of Abe-Trump summit
|
The Japanese and U.S. trade chiefs met Saturday in an attempt to advance talks on a bilateral deal ahead of Monday’s summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump, but the two sides still remain at odds, Economic revitalization chief Toshimitsu Motegi said. In fact, no breakthrough was expected from the latest round of negotiations between Motegi, minister for economic and fiscal policy, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, as the countries remain at odds over tariffs on agricultural and industrial products. “So far, Japan and the U.S. haven’t gained common ground. We will work to bridge the gap,” Motegi told reporters after the talks. “It is unlikely any trade deal will be reached at the upcoming summit” between Abe and Trump scheduled for Monday. The trade talks began hours after Trump’s arrival in the Japanese capital for a four-day state visit that will make him the first foreign leader to meet with Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. At the outset of the talks, Motegi welcomed Lighthizer to his office and showed off an American football jersey from the Pittsburgh Steelers. “This is a symbol of my desire to revitalize the Rust Belt,” said Motegi, who is in charge of dealing with trade issues with the United States, in an apparent gesture of his hope for a deal that will benefit both Japanese and U.S. businesses. What Trump sees as a trade imbalance between the two allies is expected to top the agenda when he meets with Abe on Monday. But in working-level discussions in Washington earlier this week, officials from both countries confirmed a significant gap between their positions still remains. The United States is seeking greater access to the Japanese market for products such as beef, pork and wheat, as American farmers have become less competitive following the activation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement that includes Australia and New Zealand. Japan has, meanwhile, pushed for the removal of tariffs on industrial products including automobiles, one of its biggest exports, as had been agreed before the United States withdrew from the TPP.
|
toshimitsu motegi;u.s.-japan relations;international trade;donald trump;robert lighthizer
|
jp0004381
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Tie-up talks could see Fiat-Chrysler join Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
|
PARIS/NEW YORK - French carmaker Renault is in talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with the long-term prize a world-leading alliance including Nissan and Mitsubishi, reports say. The Financial Times reported Saturday night that the discussions were at an “advanced” stage and could lead to “extensive cooperation”. The Wall Street Journal said the talks were “wide-ranging” and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler “joining large portions of their businesses”. However, The New York Times said the discussions were in early stages, the specifics unclear and “could still collapse”. Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment. The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: “The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future,” if Nissan could be won over. Such an automaker alliance would become the world’s biggest, a title Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi currently vies for with Germany’s Volkswagen. Renault holds 43 percent of Nissan which in turn owns 15 percent of its French partner Renault. The imbalance causes frictions in a relationship that has been tested by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. He was released on bail for a second time on April 25 and is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. The reports did not spell out the level of any involvement by Nissan in the current discussions, although one FT source said it was absent. Early this year rumors circulated that Renault was interested in Fiat-Chrysler after its hopes for a merger with Nissan or even French competitor PSA faded. Collaboration between automakers has taken on importance in recent years as they seek to build their technological capabilities in pursuit of electrical vehicles, net connectivity and artificial intelligence for vehicles. Automakers are also under pressure from regulators, particularly in Europe and China, to come up with electric vehicles so they can meet tougher pollution limits. Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co. formed a global alliance in January to develop commercial vans and medium-sized pickups and explore cooperation on future battery-powered and autonomous vehicles and services. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley told analysts earlier this month that he expects further consolidation in the industry in the near term, though he has stressed that the company can continue to make it as an independent player. Manley also told analysts that Fiat was taking action to address weaknesses in Europe. North American sales accounted for virtually all of the U.S.-Italian carmaker’s profits in the first quarter, a difficult period that saw a 47 percent drop in profits due largely to production changes. The Financial Times reported that a number of partnership options between Renault and Fiat Chrysler are being considered, but that the talks have moved beyond sharing technology.
|
mitsubishi;nissan;carmakers;renault;fiat chrysler
|
jp0004382
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Toyota announces plan to build assembly plant in Myanmar
|
NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. will start building an assembly plant this year in Myanmar, where demand for new cars has been growing strongly after import restrictions on used vehicles were tightened in 2017. According to sources familiar with the matter, Toyota will invest several billion yen in the plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone on the outskirts of Yangon. The facility will focus on pickup trucks. In Myanmar, new car sales doubled to around 17,000 units in 2018. Suzuki Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. already have plants there.
|
myanmar;pickup trucks;toyota motor corp .
|
jp0004383
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Eyeing commercial operations in Arctic, Russia launches first of three nuclear icebreakers
|
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Russia on Saturday launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker, part of an ambitious program to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential. The ship, dubbed the Ural and which was floated out from a dockyard in St. Petersburg, is one of a trio that, when completed, will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world. Russia is building new infrastructure and overhauling its ports as, amid warmer climate cycles, it readies for more traffic via what it calls the Northern Sea Route (NSR) which it envisages being navigable year-round. The Ural is due to be handed over to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the two other icebreakers in the same series, Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia), enter service. “The Ural together with its sisters are central to our strategic project of opening the NSR to all-year activity,” Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s chief executive, was quoted saying. President Vladimir Putin said in April Russia is stepping up construction of icebreakers with the aim of significantly boosting freight traffic along its Arctic coast. The drive is part of a push to strengthen Moscow’s hand in the Arctic area as it vies for dominance with traditional rivals Canada, the United States and Norway, as well as newcomer China. By 2035, Putin said Russia’s Arctic fleet would operate at least 13 heavy-duty icebreakers, nine of which will be powered by nuclear reactors. The Arctic holds oil and gas reserves equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, about 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates. Moscow hopes the route which runs from Murmansk to the Bering Strait near Alaska could take off as it cuts sea transport times from Asia to Europe. Designed to be crewed by 75 people, the Ural will be able to slice through ice up to around 3 meters thick.
|
oceans;gas;russia;oil
|
jp0004384
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Venezuela negotiators return to Norway for crisis talks
|
CARACAS - Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition have returned to Norway for a mediation effort aimed at resolving the political crisis in the South American country, the Norwegian government said Saturday. Norway said it will facilitate discussions next week in Oslo, in an indication that the negotiation track is gaining momentum after months of escalating tension between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido, the U.S.-backed opposition leader. Top Maduro aide Jorge Rodriguez and Hector Rodriguez, the governor of Miranda state, both of whom were in Oslo earlier this month for an earlier round of exploratory talks, will once again lead the government delegation. They will be joined this time by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and Larry Devoe, the government’s top human rights official, said a Venezuelan official who was not authorized to discuss the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. The opposition delegation is being led by Stalin Gonzalez, a senior member of the opposition-controlled congress, former Caracas area Mayor Gerardo Blyde and former Transport Minister Fernando Martinez Mottola, according to a person familiar with the talks who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. They will be joined by Vicente Diaz, a supporter of past negotiations with the government who previously served on the nation’s electoral council. Both delegations traveled Saturday for the meetings, according to the two people. Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide praised both sides for their involvement. Representatives of Venezuela’s political factions traveled to the European country earlier this month for talks, but it had been unclear if they would continue to engage with one another amid increased tensions over the opposition’s call for a military uprising on April 30. The opposition had previously ruled out talks, accusing Maduro of using negotiations between 2016 and 2018 to play for time, and has demanded Maduro’s resignation and early elections. Maduro, in turn, alleges the opposition tried to seize power by force. Addressing supporters on a visit to Venezuela’s Lara state, Guaido said the opposition would not be subjected to “false dialogue” as in the past. “That is why we are on the streets, aware that we can’t believe anything the dictatorship says,” said the leader of the opposition-led National Assembly. The U.S. State Department noted the arrests of key opposition figures in Venezuela and said the only thing to negotiate with Maduro is “the conditions of his departure” from office. “We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible,” spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The diplomatic effort reflects recognition in Venezuela that neither side has been able to prevail in the struggle for power, leaving the country in a state of political paralysis after years of hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. Several million Venezuelans have left the country, creating Latin America’s biggest migration crisis. The United States and more than 50 other countries support Guaido’s claim to be Venezuela’s rightful leader. The U.S. has imposed oil sanctions to try to force out Maduro, whose key allies are Cuba, Russia and China. Norway has a long, successful history of foreign mediation: The country hosted peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in September 1993 and Maoist rebels and the government in the Philippines in 2011. The government also brokered a 2002 cease-fire between Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebel negotiators. Seven years ago, mediators from the Colombian government and left-wing FARC rebels held their first direct talks in a decade in Norway.
|
venezuela;nicolas maduro;juan guaido
|
jp0004385
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/26
|
U.K. leadership hopefuls vow to succeed where Theresa May failed on Brexit
|
LONDON - The race to become the U.K.’s next premier has opened in earnest with an array of hopefuls promising to succeed where Theresa May failed and finally pull the divided country out of the EU. But European leaders insisted they had made their final offer after months of acrimonious talks that produced an unpopular compromise for which May ended up paying with her job. May is bowing out with her legacy in tatters and the country in agony over what to do about the voters’ decision in 2016 to abandon the European integration project after nearly 50 years. The markets view the risk of the U.K. crashing out of the EU bloc when the twice-delayed departure date arrives on October 31 as uncomfortably high. Their main concern is that some of the current front-runners to head May’s Conservative Party say they will get Brexit done at any cost. “We will leave the EU on Oct. 31, deal or no deal,” former foreign minister Boris Johnson said Friday in Switzerland. Johnson’s main challenges will come from former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab — viewed as an even more committed euroskeptic — and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Both declared their candidacies in the Sunday papers. Raab wrote in The Mail on Sunday that “I would prefer that we leave with a deal.” But “we will not be taken seriously in Brussels unless we are clear that we will walk away on World Trade Organization terms, if the EU doesn’t budge,” Raab stressed. Hunt had campaigned against Brexit in 2016 but has since reversed his stance. “What matters is whether you believe in Brexit, not how you voted in 2016,” he told The Sunday Times. “We can never take no-deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal,” the U.K.’s top diplomat said. Former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, whose resignation Thursday pushed May toward stepping down, also confirmed she will run, telling The Sunday Times she would lead the U.K. out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal. “To succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away,” she told the paper, arguing she had the “experience and confidence” to “lead this country into a brighter future.” Brexit-backing Environment Secretary Michael Gove is also expected to throw his hat in the ring in a BBC interview to be aired Sunday evening. The contest is being held against the backdrop of European Parliament elections that the new Brexit Party of the anti-EU populist Nigel Farage is expected to win with about a third of the vote. Polls indicate that the Conservatives will be punished for their bickering over Brexit and could finish as low as fifth — their worst result in a national election. The candidates are also mindful of a party revolt over May’s fateful decision to court the pro-EU opposition with the promise of a second Brexit referendum. The concession was designed to help ram her withdrawal agreement through Parliament on the fourth attempt. But it won her no converts and sparked a party coup attempt that forced May to walk away before she was pushed out. This prompted more EU-friendly hopefuls such as Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd to concede they stood no chance and would not vie for the job. “I am conscious the Conservative Party wants someone who they believe is very enthusiastic about Brexit,” Rudd told The Daily Telegraph. Johnson is a popular figure viewed by many Conservatives as their best answer to Farage. But a long political career that also saw him serve as London’s mayor has made him enemies in Parliament who will try to block his rise to the top. Parliamentary party members will begin whittling down the field of contenders to a final two June 10. The finalists will then be put to a postal ballot of around 100,000 party members in July. The field grew further Saturday when Health Secretary Matt Hancock entered the race with a promise to take a more moderate approach. Leaving the European Union without an agreement is “not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister,” Hancock told Sky News. Hancock is viewed as one of the dark horses who might make it through a crowded field of more than a dozen names. International Development Secretary Rory Stewart is also positioning himself as a more consensus-seeking alternative to Johnson. “It now seems that (Johnson) is coming out for a no-deal Brexit,” Stewart told BBC radio. “I think it would be a huge mistake. Damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest.” Yet neither Hancock nor Stewart would say if they would push ahead with May’s current agreement or try to secure added concessions from Brussels.
|
eu;u.k .;brexit;theresa may
|
jp0004386
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Final votes set to be cast in European parliamentary elections as the 28-nation bloc chooses future course
|
BRUSSELS - Tens of millions of Europeans will vote Sunday as 21 countries choose their representatives in a battle between the nationalist right and pro-EU forces to chart a course for the bloc. Seven EU member states have already voted, and provisional results will be released late on Sunday once the rest of the union has taken part in the European parliamentary election. Euroskeptic parties opposed to the project of ever closer union hope to capture as many as a third of the seats in the 751-member Strasbourg assembly, disrupting the pro-integration consensus. The far-right parties of Italian deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and France’s Marine Le Pen will lead this charge, and anti-EU ranks will be swelled by the Brexit Party of British populist Nigel Farage. France’s President Emmanuel Macron has taken it upon himself to act as figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties hoping to shut the nationalists out of key EU jobs and decision-making. “Once again Macron is daring us to challenge him. Well let’s take him at his word: On May 26, we’ll challenge him in the voting booth,” Le Pen told a rally in France on Friday. Meanwhile, the mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top European officials, including the powerful president of the European Commission. And Brussels insiders are closely following the turnout figures, fearing that another drop in participation will undermine the credibility of the EU parliament as it seeks to establish its authority. Britain and the Netherlands were first to vote, on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday and Slovakia, Malta and Latvia on Saturday, leaving the bulk of the 400 million eligible voters to join in on Sunday. At the last EU election in 2014, Slovakia had the lowest turnout of any country, at less than 14 percent, and centrist president Andrej Kiska is worried that the far-right is poised to profit. “We see that extremists are mobilizing, we see a lot their billboards and activities all over Slovakia. We can’t let someone steal Europe from us. It’s our Europe,” Kiska told reporters. But the right and the far-right have not had everything their own way so far. In the Netherlands, the center-left party of EU vice president Frans Timmermans won the most votes and added two seats to the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) bloc in parliament, according to exit polls. A day later, the S&D’s center-right rival the European People’s Party (EPP) was buoyed by exit polls suggesting that Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s pro-EU Fine Gael party was in the lead in Ireland. If Britain leaves the European Union on Oct. 31, the latest deadline for Brexit, then its MEPs will not sit for long in the EU parliament but could still play a role in the scramble to hand out top jobs. Thursday’s votes from Britain won’t be counted until after polls close in Italy, but Farage’s Brexit Party appears on course to send a large delegation to a parliament its wants to abolish. Macron is pinning his hopes on his Renaissance movement joining with the liberal ALDE voting bloc and other centrist groups to give impetus to his plans for deeper EU integration. But much will depend on who gets the top jobs: the presidencies of the Council and the Commission, the speaker of parliament, the high representative for foreign policy and director of the European Central Bank. The 29 EU leaders have been invited to a summit dinner on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominees, and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to back the lead EPP candidate, Manfred Weber, for the Commission. Macron and some other leaders oppose both Weber, a German conservative MEP with no executive experience, and the idea that the parliament should get to choose one of its own for Brussels’ prime post. But whichever way the leaders’ council leans, there will be no immediate decision. Instead, Council president Donald Tusk will take note of how the debate went and draft the nominations before a June 21 EU summit.
|
eu;elections;european parliament
|
jp0004387
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/26
|
At annual spelling bee, schwas give competitors the most angst
|
WASHINGTON - The word that knocked runner-up Naysa Modi out of last year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee was “Bewusstseinslage” — one of those flashy, impossible-sounding German-derived words that make the audience gasp when they are announced. Naysa believes the seemingly mundane word that knocked her out the year before was just as intimidating, if not more. For the spellers who will gather starting Monday at a convention center outside Washington for this year’s bee, an unremarkable sound is the cause of their angst, their sleepless nights, their lifelong memories of failure. It’s the most common sound in the English language, represented in the dictionary by an upside-down “e,” a gray chunk of linguistic mortar. To the uninitiated, it sounds like “uh.” Spellers know it by its proper name: the schwa. “It’s the bane of every speller’s existence,” Naysa said. “It’s what we hate.” The schwa falls only on unstressed syllables. Any vowel can make the sound, and so can “y.” Sometimes a schwa can show up where vowels fear to tread: Think of the second syllable of the word “rhythm.” And only in the English language can a single sound be so versatile. “It’s why there are spelling bees in English and no other language,” said Peter Sokolowski, a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster who attends the bee regularly. In Romance languages like French and Spanish, vowels are predictable. The same letters rarely make different sounds. Sokolowski cites the example of “banana” — in Spanish the three “a” sounds are identical, but in English, because the stress falls on the middle syllable, the first and third “a” sounds become schwas. And because English absorbs words from every language, words with obvious spellings in their native tongues can become mysterious. Linguistic experts like Sokolowski or ex-spellers like Scott Remer, who placed fourth in 2008 and later wrote a book, “Words of Wisdom,” to guide high-level spellers, can sense the unease provoked by an unfamiliar schwa. “You can usually tell when they are testing the kids on the schwa and you can often tell when the kids are taken aback by it,” said Remer, 25, who coaches spellers in addition to his day job at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The vast majority of instances where kids misspell is due to the schwa.” Naysa, a 13-year-old from Frisco, Texas, who will be back for one last crack at the bee this year, got dinged out in seventh place two years ago by the word “marasmus,” which means a condition of chronic undernourishment. She went with an “e” for the first vowel. If the word were spelled that way, the pronunciation would be exactly the same. “I knew the word. I knew the word. I had heard it before, I knew the definition of it, but I forgot that schwa in that second,” Naysa said. For a while, she would wake up at night thinking about it. “Over time, it will still hurt but you stop thinking about it as much, but when I think about it, it really, really bugs me, because it’s obviously ‘m-a,’ ” Naysa said. “How could I be so stupid?” Spellers have a variety of techniques to deal with the schwa, but nothing is foolproof. Sylvie Lamontagne, a 16-year-old two-time finalist who is coaching five spellers in this year’s bee, said she advises her students to start with the language of origin as they assess which vowel is most likely. “Greek words have ‘o,’ Latin words have ‘i,’ but it doesn’t always hold up and it adds another layer of confusion,” Sylvie said. “It’s just kind of a mess.” Anisha Rao of Corona, California, who tied for 10th in last year’s bee, said she deals with tricky schwas the old-fashioned way: rote memorization. “People don’t like to talk about it,” said Anisha, who is 13 and will compete again this year, “but sometimes the best way is just to memorize the word.” Schwas can be even more confusing when Scripps, in the later rounds of the bee, digs into the dictionary for words with languages of origin that are obscure or unknown, or words that originated as trademarks. “As a general rule, often trademarks and words from unknown languages that might look shorter, might look easier, are actually way hard,” Sylvie said. “You’re sort of in the dark. You have to do what you can to put it together with very limited information.” The schwa is a big reason why, for all the talk about pre-bee favorites like Naysa, there are no sure things. For every Vanya Shivashankar, who in 2015 claimed a title that seemed preordained, there is a Karthik Nemmani, last year’s previously unheralded champion who got in through the bee’s new wild-card program. The wild cards, who pay their own way into the bee rather than winning regional competitions and earning sponsorships, are back this year, and the bee is bigger than ever with 565 competitors. The field is deep, too, with 11 spellers who made last year’s prime-time finals returning. Naysa believes luck is a bigger factor than anyone realizes in the final rounds and bristles at the suggestion the title is hers to lose. Spellers believe they are competing not against each other, but Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged dictionary, and somewhere in that volume is a maddening schwa for everyone. “Elite spellers aren’t truly guessing very often. They can usually make up the constituent parts of the word,” Sokolowski said. “When they take a long time, you can tell when a kid really knows and you can tell when a kid is guessing. . . . It’s rare, and it’s kind of exciting.”
|
language;english;contests
|
jp0004388
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Taiwan changing name of de facto embassy in U.S.
|
TAIPEI - Taiwan said Saturday it is changing the name of its de facto embassy in the U.S. amid the strongest relations between the sides in decades. The Foreign Ministry tweeted that the Coordination Council for North American Affairs was being renamed the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs. The addition of the word Taiwan will likely be seen as highly significant, since it appears to drop the pretense that the council is nondiplomatic or political in nature. While the U.S. severed formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 in favor of Beijing, the sides retain close unofficial relations that have grown ever-closer in recent years, including stepped-up military-to-military contacts. “Times, they are a-changin,” read the tweet signed by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. “Really got to love the new name!” The unofficial U.S. embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan, recently moved into a substantially larger, purpose-built complex in a suburb of the capital. The U.S. is also considering new arms deals for Taiwan, including fighter jets and tanks. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, objects to all diplomatic and military contacts between Taipei and Washington and has boosted its military threat against the island, with President Xi Jinping saying this year that Beijing would not rule out using force. That comes on top of growing Chinese pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally and inflict economic pain to force independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen to agree to Beijing’s contention that Taiwan is a part of China.
|
china;taiwan
|
jp0004389
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/26
|
Ex-Thai Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda dies at 98
|
BANGKOK - Prem Tinsulanonda, one of Thailand’s most influential political figures over four decades who served as army commander, prime minister and adviser to the royal palace, has died at age 98. His death Sunday in a Bangkok hospital was announced by the government’s Public Relations Department, confirming earlier unofficial reports in Thai media. Prem was best noted for his long-standing devotion to the monarchy, especially the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who appointed him to his Privy Council immediately after he stepped down as prime minister, and named him head of that powerful advisory body in 1998. His close relationship with Bhumibol helped cement the military’s ties with the palace, ensuring they were the country’s two most powerful institutions. Prem served as prime minister from 1980 to 1988. While most Thai army commanders came to the position through coups, Prem was elected by parliament though he never ran for office. Critics questioned his devotion to democracy, and later accused him of encouraging, if not engineering, the 2006 coup that ousted elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He denied the charge, but his behind-the-scenes power-brokering underlined the influence he continued to hold in the military. Well-publicized annual pilgrimages to his Bangkok home to convey birthday greetings were undertaken by all army brass. Prem appeared to be in vigorous health for his age until recently. He appeared frail at two most recent public appearances: voting in the March general election and the coronation of Bhumibol’s son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, earlier this month. As prime minister himself, Prem weathered two attempted coups and was reportedly the target of assassination plots by his enemies in the army. Junior officers pushed a reluctant Prem into taking the prime minister’s job in 1980, when Thailand faced an ailing economy and perils on the border with Cambodia, which had been occupied by Vietnamese forces who had driven out the communist Khmer Rouge regime but also sent hundreds of thousands of refugees into Thailand. At the same time, Thailand had expanded ties with China and allies in the West, Japan and Southeast Asia. At home, Prem relied on a general amnesty and other political means to prompt massive defections from the communist guerrilla movement. Prem was born in the major southern fishing port of Songkhla on Aug. 26, 1920. He attended the prestigious Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Bangkok and later U.S. Army schools. He began his military career in 1941 as a second lieutenant in a tank regiment. He first achieved national prominence in 1974-77, when as army commander in the Thailand’s poor rural northeast he stressed rural development and civic action instead of military might in a successful campaign against communist insurgents. He was appointed deputy interior minister in 1977 and later army commander in chief and defense minister. He became prime minister in March 1980, after the resignation of Kriangsak Chomanand, another former military leader. The border crisis with Cambodia eased over time, and Prem had the good luck to preside over the birth of the country’s economic boom, which ended only with Asia’s devastating 1997 financial crisis. Prem showed little appetite for public political activity, and was dubbed by some academics as suffering from “reluctant ruler syndrome.” Without a party base of his own, his patchwork Cabinets of opportunistic politicians and technocrats were not models of good governance. As Thailand moved from crisis to prosperity, public sentiment for better, more democratic leadership also rose. Prem’s aloof manner, bordering on arrogance, also earned him little popularity.
|
history;thailand;obituary;prem tinsulanonda
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.