Michael Cohen's plea suggests Russians held 'kompromat' on Trump

Abstract: NEW YORK - Michael Cohen’s latest guilty plea revealed a closely guarded Trump business secret. But in a deeply uncomfortable turn for President Donald Trump, one of the people in the know was an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thursday’s dramatic turn of events is problematic for Trump because it suggests the Kremlin knew something that people around Trump were working hard to hold close — that Trump was moving forward with a Moscow business deal at the same time he was deep in the race for the U.S. presidency. Any undisclosed foreign arrangements would raise red flags about candidates for national office, making them vulnerable to blackmail by others privy to those secrets. Russians call such nuggets of damaging information “kompromat,” a concept that’s become familiar enough to enter the international lexicon. Whether Russia used such information is a matter for speculation. But Cohen’s revelation shows that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is digging deep into financial relationships between Trump’s business and Moscow, taking him to the heart of the connections he was appointed to explore between Russia and Trump’s campaign. The Moscow real-estate deal Cohen described Thursday was under consideration through June 2016, five months longer than he had previously admitted. By then, Trump was already surging toward the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential race. Russia had already embarked on efforts to support Trump’s candidacy through hacking and social-media manipulation, according to previous filings by Mueller. The public deserves to know if elected officials have conflicted motives or interests in their decision-making, and whether other governments have leverage over elected officials, said former Manhattan federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah. “Trump has long acted like someone over whom Putin has leverage,” Rocah said. “Now we know he very likely did in one specific way. And I’m guessing there will be more we learn about.” The idea that Trump could be vulnerable to kompromat has come up before, most famously in the so-called Steele Dossier. The dossier’s most explosive claim, that the Kremlin has a recording of a sexual nature that would compromise Trump, hasn’t ever been verified. The less lurid detail that Cohen offered up in his guilty plea, however, is still potentially powerful. Trump has denied having any business deals in Russia, and said Thursday that Cohen was lying. Cohen said he and a partner pursued the plan build a Trump tower in Moscow through the middle of 2016. He said he briefed Trump and family members along the way, even discussing with Trump a trip to Moscow. That was at odds with what Cohen told lawmakers last year — that he hadn’t told the family about the plan, characterizing it as dead by January 2016. Cohen said he lied out of loyalty to Trump, who is referred to in court documents as “Individual 1.” The lies, Cohen added, were consistent with Trump’s political messaging at the time about his relationship with Russia and Russians. What’s notable about Cohen’s admission, as presented by Mueller’s team, is that Russians, too, knew about the real-estate plan. In his plea deal, Cohen described sending an email in early 2016 to a Russian official — who has previously been identified as Dmitry Peskov, a Putin aide and press secretary — about the project. He described receiving an email in response from Peskov’s office and said he subsequently spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes to a woman there. She asked questions and took notes, according to documents filed Thursday, and promised to follow up on Cohen’s proposals. After Cohen’s call, his partner in the effort, Felix Sater, emailed him about Putin. “They called today,” Sater wrote, according to the filings. The discussions with Moscow continued over the next five months, culminating in an invitation from Peskov’s office for Cohen to attend the St. Petersburg Forum in June 2016, where Cohen would be introduced either to Putin or to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In mid-June, Cohen informed Sater that he wouldn’t be traveling to Russia after all, without explaining the reason. That account is at odds with what Cohen told lawmakers in August 2017 — that he didn’t recall receiving any response from the Russians in early 2016 and that he decided to abandon the project shortly thereafter. Around the same time that Cohen downplayed the deal with lawmakers, Peskov went public with an account mirroring Cohen’s. The Kremlin received an email from Cohen seeking help with a Trump Tower project, Peskov told reporters on a conference call in late August, adding that the office never replied to it. “We don’t respond to such business topics. It’s not our job and we left it without a response,” Peskov said at the time. Peskov also said the Trump Tower Moscow project was never discussed with Putin. National security officials in the U.S. are constantly looking for any instances where members of an administration could be blackmailed by a foreign power. One of the fundamental purposes of government background checks is to determine whether a would-be federal employees could be vulnerable because they have secrets they’re trying to keep. President Trump had to deal with a similar issue involving General Michael Flynn, his first national security adviser. Prior to Trump’s inauguration, Flynn had spoken with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The FBI later interviewed Flynn at the White House, where he denied that he’d discussed sanctions that then-president Obama had just imposed on Russia. After reports of the Kislyak conversation emerged, Vice President Mike Pence defended Flynn publicly, saying the national security adviser had assured him he hadn’t discussed policy with Kislyak. After determining that Flynn had lied to the FBI agents about the meeting, then-acting Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates informed White House general counsel Don McGahn that she was concerned Flynn had lied to Pence. Asked by McGahn why Flynn’s lie to Pence should be of any interest to the Justice Department, Yates explained that the Russians were aware that Flynn had lied to Pence, and could use that information to blackmail him. “To state the obvious, you don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians,” Yates told a congressional committee last year.

u.s .
russia
espionage
robert mueller
donald trump
2016 u.s. presidential election
michael cohen


Iceland harnesses hot springs to power year-round farming

Abstract: HUSAVIK, ICELAND - For half the year, the temperature on Pall Olafsson’s remote farm in Iceland often dips below freezing and the sun barely makes an appearance. Yet the heat and light in his greenhouses allow Olafsson to grow his juicy tomatoes and cucumbers even in the depths of winter – thanks largely to the geothermal energy that gives his tiny North Atlantic nation its title, the Land of Fire and Ice. “When we started using the lights and growing all year round, then it changed a lot,” said Olafsson as workers busily pruned plants behind him. “(Before), you were picking the last tomatoes in November and next you pick in April. Maybe 20 years ago, it was like that.” Olafsson credits the hot springs that bubble up from the earth a short distance away with turning Hveravellir into one of Iceland’s biggest vegetable farms, producing about 500 tons of tomatoes, cucumber and paprika a year. Iceland’s volcanic origins have blessed the island of 350,000 inhabitants with abundant geothermal energy – a renewable resource that, unlike solar or wind power, is unaffected by its unpredictable weather. Geothermal energy makes up a quarter of Iceland’s electricity, all of which comes from renewable sources, and has helped boost the year-round availability of fresh food in the past two decades. The naturally hot water is piped in to heat the greenhouses, and the hot springs are also a key power source for the artificial lights that help farmers grow their crops even in winter, when the island sees barely three hours of sunlight a day. Icelandic farmers began artificially lighting their greenhouses about 20 years ago. But the real game-changer was the technology that allows them to control every detail remotely from a smartphone, said Knutur Rafn Armann, who runs the Fridheimar tomato farm with his wife Helena. “We have a steering computer in every greenhouse connected to our weather station, connected to our model PC computer, which is connected to the internet,” he said. “So whenever I go somewhere I always have my iPhone with me and I can water the plants, open windows, and change settings or steer everything through my phone.” The remote island historically imported much of its food. But the double whammy of the 2008 financial crisis and a volcanic eruption that prevented planes from landing in 2010 have encouraged greater self-sufficiency. Now, at least half the tomatoes and cucumbers sold here are locally grown, said Gunnlaugur Karlsson, managing director of Solufelag Gardyrkjumanna (SFG), which packages and markets fruit and vegetables. He believes it is common sense for a remote, disaster-prone island to produce as much of its own food as possible – and besides, local produce sells. This year SFG began working with farmers to take their food into kindergartens, ensuring that children eat produce that is locally grown and pesticide-free. The industry is doing what it can to encourage people to buy local, but many believe the government could do more to help. “The authorities do not care if the food is imported or locally grown, as long as it is not contaminated with harmful chemicals, etc,” said Helgi Johannesson, a farming consultant. A spokesman for Iceland’s Ministry of Industries and Innovation said the government was working on a policy to procure local food for government institutions. However, farmers say the government could achieve more by giving them preferential rates for electricity. Currently just 0.5 percent of Iceland’s total power goes to farmers, who say they have to pay a higher rate than the electricity-hungry aluminium industry. The state-owned power provider Landsvirkjun does not disclose prices and the Icelandic government declined to comment. “I often say to the government, if we decide to use 1 percent of electricity to make healthy, good food for ourselves, that would be great,” said Armann. “But of course (they) would have to lower the prices to the farmers.”


As fear grows over what Robert Mueller knows, Trump's attacks on Russia probe intensify

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s intensifying attacks this week against the Russia collusion investigation underscore a growing nervousness over the how much evidence investigators may have accumulated on the 2016 Trump campaign’s ties to Moscow. In new charges unveiled Thursday by special counsel Robert Mueller, former top Trump aide Michael Cohen admitted direct communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office on behalf of Trump’s business through the first half of 2016. Trump, who earlier tweeted that the Mueller probe was an “illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt,” blasted Cohen as a “weak person” who lied to get a reduced sentence. But the most recent news from the investigation suggests that Mueller, a cagey former FBI director, is holding back and could have more shocks in store for the U.S. leader as he nears the conclusion of the 18-month-old investigation. Cohen, who was Trump’s personal lawyer and a senior executive in the president’s real estate business, the Trump Organization, admitted to having lied to Congress about trying to negotiate a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow well into the middle of 2016, even when Trump had wrapped up the Republican nomination for president. Trump in the past denied any ongoing contacts with Moscow. But the criminal complaint filed Thursday depicts Cohen in regular contact with Putin’s top spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, during that period, seeking to arrange a trip by Trump to Russia to meet Putin. The complaint also says that Cohen kept senior Trump campaign figures, including members of Trump’s family, informed of these efforts — suggesting Trump himself might have been in the loop. That could be trouble for a number of people if they have denied to Mueller or Congress knowledge of Russia contacts during that period. Mueller has already shown he has evidence that the Trump campaign and Trump’s family entertained offers of dirt on Trump’s Democratic election rival, Hillary Clinton, from Russia. He is expected to soon charge conservative activist Jerome Corsi and campaign adviser Roger Stone in relation to their alleged attempts to coordinate with WikiLeaks over July-October 2016 as the group published Democratic emails damaging to Clinton. The U.S. says the emails were hacked by Russian intelligence, which supplied them to WikiLeaks, aiming to tilt the election in Trump’s favor. Mueller has already indicted 25 Russians as part of a criminal “conspiracy” to influence the election. The key question is, does Mueller have evidence that, in trying to contact WikiLeaks, Corsi and Stone were working on behalf of and with the knowledge of Trump or top Trump campaign officials? And would that mean they could be seen as conspiring with the Russians? On Monday Mueller accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of violating a cooperation deal by lying to investigators. What the lies were about remains a mystery, but it could underscore what most observers believe: that Mueller has far more evidence than his targets know. Trump has held out the possibility of a pardon to Manafort, who he says was treated “cruelly” by the investigation. Now questions are being raised on whether Trump has obstructed justice by suggesting the pardon. The new Cohen and Manafort charges came just after Trump returned answers to a long list of questions submitted to him by Mueller that focus on Russia contacts. The White House delayed answering the questions since the beginning of this year, worried that Trump could be trapped in a possible lie by making statements contrary to evidence presented Mueller by others. Trump’s anger about the investigation raises the possibility that his answers might be contradicted by Cohen, Manafort and others.

wikileaks
robert mueller
donald trump
paul manafort
trump organization
roger stone
russia probe
michael cohen
jerome corsi


30 journalists killed by organized crime in past two years, watchdog RSF reports

Abstract: PARIS - Journalists are increasingly becoming easy targets for organised crime, with more than 30 killed worldwide over the last two years, a media watchdog warned Thursday. “The Mob has spread its tentacles around the globe faster than all the multinationals combined,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a new report on the dangers. “From Beijing to Moscow, from Tijuana to Bogota, from Malta to Slovakia, investigative journalists who shed light on the deals that involve organized crime unleash the wrath of gangsters, whose common feature is an aversion to any publicity unless they control it,” said its author, French investigative journalist Frederic Ploquin. He said the only way to counter the threat was for reporters to work together to protect each other. The biggest danger was in investigating corruption, Ploquin said, now that ruthless crime groups have “established a kind of pact with the state” in many countries, “to the point that you cannot tell where one stops and the other begins.” “How is it possible that Mexico’s drug cartels sprout like mushrooms without the support of part of the state’s apparatus?” asked RSF after nine of the 14 journalists murdered worldwide in 2017 by organized crime groups were killed in Mexico. Eight more have already died so far in 2018. Three reporters were also killed this year in Brazil and three more elsewhere in Latin America. An Indian journalist who was investigating his country’s “sand mafia” was run over by a truck. The toll has also become worrying in Europe, the report said, with journalists assassinated in Russia, Slovakia and Malta since 2017. Both Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed last year in by a car bomb in Malta, and Jan Kuciak, shot with his girlfriend in Slovakia in February, had been looking into the Italian Mafia and its links with local politicians. In 2017 alone, 196 Italian journalists were said to have had some kind of protection, with a dozen including Roberto Saviano, the author of the bestselling book “Gomorroa” on the Naples crime syndicate the Camorra, living under permanent police guard.

murder
organized crime
mexico
mafia
malta
journalists
rsf


Taiwan to enact separate law on same-sex marriage, raising fears about LGBT equality after referendum backlash

Abstract: TAIPEI - Taiwan will enact a separate law for same-sex unions after conservative groups won a recent referendum battle, the premier said, as LGBT activists Friday urged the government to abide by a landmark ruling to offer equal marriage rights. Gay rights campaigners want the existing marriage law to be amended and have said separate regulations would make them second-class citizens. But conservative groups argue that gay marriages should not come under the current Civil Code, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Taiwan’s top court last year voted to legalize gay marriage, the first place in Asia to do so. It ruled that the change should be implemented in two years but did not specify how it wanted gay marriage to be brought in. Premier William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party announced the plan for a separate law during a meeting with lawmakers Thursday to review the party’s local election defeat last weekend. Some observers have said the gay marriage issue played into the results and hit a nerve in conservative southern Taiwan, the DPP’s traditional stronghold, where it lost control of Kaohsiung city for the first time in 20 years. President Tsai Ing-wen had championed gay marriage before she was elected but has since said there needs to be more consensus in society. Rival referendums on same-sex unions held alongside the local elections Saturday saw “pro-family” groups defeat pro-gay campaigners in what Amnesty International called a “bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan.” A referendum on whether marriage should only be recognized as between a man and a woman in Taiwan’s Civil Code won more than 7 million votes, as did another calling for same-sex unions to be regulated under a separate law. Gay rights activists had proposed that the Civil Code should give same-sex couples equal marriage rights, but only garnered 3 million votes. “We have to respect public opinion and abide by the referendum outcome. We have to revise a law other than the Civil Code, which is (to enact) a separate law,” cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka told reporters, quoting the premier. She said the government would abide by the Constitutional Court ruling when drafting the new law. “As for the characteristic of the separate law and what it will be called … we will propose a bill that reflects and meets public consensus,” she said. LGBT activists in Taiwan now fear their newly won rights under the court ruling are under threat. “We hope the social turmoil can come to an end soon and cause no more division and harm to any more families,” rights group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said in a statement. According to the group, three gay people committed suicide after the referendum result, while more than a dozen have attempted suicide or self-harmed. It urged the cabinet to abide by the top court ruling as well as consulting gay rights group when drafting the bill. “Pro-family” groups on Friday urged the government to realize the referendum outcome as soon as possible and vowed to set up a task force to monitor the law-making process. “The ball is in the government’s court. The people are watching with their eyes wide open if it acts seriously and responsibly to realize their decision,” said the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation in a statement.


Japanese startup among firms chosen for NASA's moon delivery bid

Abstract: WASHINGTON - NASA announced Friday nine U.S. space companies chosen to bid on delivery services to the moon, including Draper Laboratory Inc., whose team includes Japanese lunar exploration startup ispace Inc. NASA is soliciting proposals to deliver science and technology payloads, such as small rovers and instruments, to the lunar surface for eventual human exploration of the moon. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts to be awarded by NASA have a combined maximum value of $2.6 billion during the next 10 years. Lunar payloads could fly on these contracted missions as early as 2019, the space agency said. The nine companies include Lockheed Martin Corp., Deep Space Systems Inc. and Moon Express Inc. The missions enable important technology demonstrations that will inform the development of future landers and other exploration systems needed for humans to return to the lunar surface, NASA said. In the team of Draper Laboratory, which cooperated with NASA on the Apollo moon landings, ispace will act as the design agent for the lunar lander Artemis-7 and mission operations, as well as provide high-frequency ride-share opportunities. “The selection (of the nine companies by NASA) marks an important turning point in the change of the initiative for lunar exploration from government-led to private-led,” ispace said in its Japanese press release. “We will increase our efforts to expand our living sphere into space.” Ispace’s team Hakuto was one of the five finalists in the Google Lunar XPrize competition to send the first privately funded spacecraft to the moon, but the race ended in March as none of the five accomplished the goal before the deadline. The space venture also said in September that it expects to launch a lunar module and rover in 2021.


Revenue for Abe's LDP overwhelms other political parties in Japan

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party booked ¥25.86 billion ($228 million) in revenue for 2017, by far the largest among Japanese political parties, government data showed Friday. The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, set up in October last year, reported ¥1.25 billion, according to an annual report on political funds released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, covering nearly 3,000 groups. The LDP marked a 7.2 percent increase in revenue at its headquarters from the previous year, remaining at the top of the list for the fifth straight year. Donations to the LDP’s funding body from companies and organizations also rose 2.9 percent to ¥2.39 billion, growing for the sixth consecutive year since Abe returned to power in 2012, highlighting his close ties with the business community and prompting critics to urge continued efforts to ensure the transparency of political activities. Japan has a record of political fund scandals involving high-profile lawmakers with Cabinet posts. Most recently, Satsuki Katayama, Abe’s pick as regional revitalization minister, has been under scrutiny over repeated corrections in reports submitted by a political group. The largest portion of the LDP’s revenue came in the form of state subsidies at ¥17.6 billion, accounting for 68.1 percent of the total. The subsidies to political parties are funded with taxpayers’ money. Donations to its funding body — the People’s Political Association — included ¥80.4 million from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which topped the list. The Japan Iron and Steel Federation came second with ¥80.0 million, followed by ¥77.0 million from the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association and ¥64.4 million from Toyota Motor Corp. The Japanese Communist Party ranked second in total revenue at ¥21.27 billion, down 1.9 percent, followed by the LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito at ¥12.05 billion, down 12.9 percent. The total outlay for all political groups in 2017 climbed 1.1 percent to ¥108.59 billion, affected by ¥10.98 billion in expenses related to last fall’s general election.


Carlos Ghosn misses family and has written to them, says Brazilian consul general after meeting at Tokyo Detention House

Abstract: Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested last week on suspicion of financial misdeeds, misses his family and has left a brief message for them, according to Joao de Mendonca, Brazilian consul general in Tokyo. In an interview Thursday, Mendonca said he has met with Ghosn three times at the Tokyo Detention House since his arrest, and that he gave him books about European and Brazilian history as well as foreign magazines at his request. Mendonca said he has also passed a “very simple and very private” message to his family members, including his mother, who live in Brazil. Mendonca said that Ghosn was in “good health and good spirit” and seemed to be “well treated” at the Tokyo Detention House. In the meetings, each of which lasted about 20 minutes, Mendonca spoke in Portuguese with Ghosn, who has Brazilian nationality, according to the consul general. Ghosn seemed “happy to be able to speak Portuguese,” Mendonca said. They did not talk about the scandal at all because the purpose of the so-called “consul visits” is simply to see if Brazilians are “well taken care of” and to give them “assistance if needed,” Mendonca added. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Ghosn on Nov. 19, on suspicion of understating his executive pay in Nissan’s securities filings in violation of Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law.

brazil
corruption
scandals
nissan
carmakers
carlos ghosn


State sticks to stance on funding Imperial ritual despite Prince Akishino's misgivings

Abstract: The government said Friday its position on using state funds to hold a key Shinto ritual during next year’s Imperial succession remains unchanged, despite the fact that the younger son of Emperor Akihito has raised a question about financing the religious event. “We are aware that his highness was just stating his own idea. We have no plan to make any response,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference. Ahead of his 53rd birthday on Friday, Prince Akishino raised doubts about the constitutionality of the Daijosai (Great Food Offering Ceremony), because the Constitution bans the state from engaging in religious activities. The Daijosai is scheduled to be carried out over two days from Nov. 14 as an Imperial event, rather than a state occasion. Critics say it could threaten the separation of religion and state if the costs are paid by the government. Nishimura said the government has decided to cover the cost with public funds, following a precedent set in 1990, the year after Emperor Akihito ascended the throne upon the death of Emperor Hirohito. The prince’s remarks caused a stir because the supreme law stipulates the emperor “shall not have powers related to the government.” Members of the Imperial family are thus supposed to distance themselves from political affairs. Prince Akishino will become first in line to the throne after his elder brother Crown Prince Naruhito becomes the new emperor on May 1. Their father, Emperor Akihito, will abdicate a day beforehand. But Nishimura stressed the government does not see any constitutional problem because the prince’s remarks do not have an impact on the government’s decisions. Speaking to a Diet panel, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the series of Imperial succession rituals “do not run counter to the sovereignty of the people and separation of religion and state stipulated by the Constitution.” During his news conference on Nov. 22, Prince Akishino said he was opposed to using public funds to cover the previous Daijosai and that the upcoming one should be financed with fundsused to cover the personal expenses of the Emperor. Asked about the prince’s assertions that the chief of the Imperial Household Agency did not listen to his opinions, Nishimura declined to comment, other than to say, “We are aware that the Imperial Household Agency has explained the situation to his highness.” Some government officials expressed frustration with the prince’s comments and cast doubt on the Imperial Household Agency’s response. A source at the Prime Minister’s Office said, “I don’t think it was appropriate, given his status, even if that was his own idea.” A high-ranking government official said the agency “failed to suppress the remarks.” But a senior official at the agency said it is impossible to do so because members of the Imperial family also have opinions. “But I can’t understand why he made remarks that could cause ripples as the Crown Prince has already approved how to perform the Daijosai.” At the same news conference, Prince Akishino also adopted a strict stance on postponing the marriage of his daughter, Princess Mako, with university boyfriend Kei Komuro, asking Komuro’s family to resolve their outstanding financial issues if they want the wedding to go ahead. “If the two still have feelings for marriage, there should be responses accordingly,” the prince, the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, said at a news conference held before his 53rd birthday Friday. The Komuro side “needs to clear the issue,” Prince Akishino said of the financial dispute hanging over the family, asking them to make their explanations public. “If (their marriage) cannot be celebrated by many people, we cannot hold the betrothal ceremony called Nosai no Gi,” which was originally scheduled to take place on March 4 this year. In September 2017 the couple announced their engagement after receiving the Emperor’s blessing and said their wedding would take place on Nov. 4 this year. But the Imperial Household Agency said in February the couple would push the date back to 2020, with the princess saying through the agency she “came to recognize the lack of time to make sufficient preparations.” The abrupt postponement followed a string of reports that Komuro’s mother is involved in a dispute over money, including her son’s educational expenses, which her former fiance shouldered. In the meantime, Komuro, a paralegal at a Tokyo law firm, started a three-year course at Fordham University’s law school in New York in August, aiming to pass the state bar examination. As to how the princess is faring in light of the developments, Prince Akishino only said, “I don’t know as I have not had much chance to talk to her recently.” His wife, Princess Kiko, said at the same news conference, “From the end of last year, as the temperature started to fall, there have been more cases where my eldest daughter did not feel well. “But despite such circumstances, my daughter has worked hard to fulfill the assignments given to her,” she said. “I would like to continue to watch over her carefully.” The financial issues involving the Komuros first surfaced in a weekly magazine in December last year. According to the former fiance of Komuro’s mother, he lent her some ¥4 million to cover her son’s education and his living costs between 2010 and 2012, the period when they were engaged. After they broke off the engagement, the former fiance asked her to pay back the loan, but the Komuro side claimed the money had been donated, according to a source close to the matter. The Komuro family gave a similar explanation to the princess’ family, who were not notified beforehand of what was reported as a “debt problem,” the source said. In addition to demanding that the Komuros resolve the matter and issue a public explanation, they have also asked Komuro to present a life plan, including the career he intends to pursue after his paralegal job, as a condition for his formal engagement and marriage to Princess Mako, the source said. Following the request, conveyed between late 2017 and early this year, Komuro decided to attend the law school in New York, the source said. Komuro and Princess Mako met in 2012 at International Christian University in Tokyo and soon began dating.

scandals
imperial family
prince akishino
princess mako
kei komuro


Prince Akishino questions Japanese government financing of Shinto-linked rite

Abstract: Prince Akishino, the younger son of Emperor Akihito, has questioned whether the state should finance one of the Shinto-linked rituals to be held following the Imperial succession. The prince, speaking at a news conference held before his 53rd birthday Friday, also had a message for Kei Komuro, the boyfriend of his daughter, Princess Mako. The prince urged Komuro — whose mother is involved in a dispute with her former fiance over money spent on Komuro’s education — to deal appropriately with the issue if he wants to marry her. Prince Akishino will be promoted to first in line to the throne after the enthronement of his brother, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1, 2019. He expressed doubts at the news conference about the constitutionality of the Daijosai grand thanksgiving rite to be held in November next year, saying he believes it is a “highly religious” event. The supreme law bans the state from engaging in religious activities. Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion, in which the Emperor is venerated as a descendant of the sun goddess. “I wonder whether it is appropriate to cover the highly religious event with state funds,” the prince said, adding that he believes the ritual should be paid for with money used to fund the Emperor’s private expenses. The prince said he was also opposed to using public funds the last time the rite was held, in 1990, a year after his father ascended the throne in 1989. Although the ceremony will be treated as an Imperial event — not as a state occasion — critics claim it will threaten the separation of religion and state if public funds are used. The prince said he has conveyed his views to the chief of the Imperial Household Agency but that the government has already decided to use public funds for the ceremonies in line with the succession rites for Emperor Akihito. The prince said he felt regret that “the agency did not listen to me.” In response, the agency’s Grand Steward, Shinichiro Yamamoto, said it was “painful” to hear the prince’s remarks and that he was sorry if his attitude was misunderstood. But Yamamoto added: “As the previous Daijosai (funded by public money) was held with public support, it is reasonable to follow the precedent.” The Daijosai is the name given to the first annual Niinamesai harvest festival to be performed by a new Emperor and always follows an accession to the throne. In the rite, to be held from Nov. 14 to 15, the new Emperor will offer new rice to the Imperial ancestors and to the Tenjin Chigi, the deities of heaven and earth, while praying for peace and abundant harvests for the country and the people. Although annual Niinamesai rituals are covered by the Emperor’s personal expenses, the Daijosai will be financed with public “palace-related expenses” used for the Imperial family’s official duties such as ceremonies and state banquets In relation to the previous Daijosai in November 1990, which cost about ¥2.2 billion ($19 million), a number of lawsuits contesting its constitutionality were filed across Japan, but they were all dismissed. But a 1995 ruling by the Osaka High Court noted that doubts remain over whether the government financing of Shinto-linked rituals breaches the Constitution. Prior to the upcoming Daijosai, at least 120 people, including Christian and Buddhist followers, are planning to file a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court — possibly in early December — in a bid to block the state funding of the rite, according to their representatives. On his daughter’s engagement, the prince said Komuro “has to solve the problems that have surfaced. If (their marriage) cannot be celebrated by many people, we cannot hold the betrothal ceremony of Nosai no Gi,” which was originally scheduled to take place on March 4 this year. The agency announced in September last year that a wedding between Princess Mako and Komuro, both 27, would take place on Nov. 4, 2018. But the agency said in February that the couple will push back the schedule until 2020 following a string of reports that Komuro’s mother is in a dispute over money with her former fiance over her son’s educational expenses, which the ex-fiance shouldered. In August, Komuro, a paralegal at a Tokyo law firm, started a three-year course at Fordham University’s law school in New York, aiming to pass the state’s bar examination. The Imperial succession slated for next year comes after the 84-year-old Emperor expressed his desire to step down due to his advanced age and failing health. Following the abdication of the Emperor on April 30, 2019, Prince Akishino will be given the title kōshi — first in line to the throne.

imperial family
prince akishino
princess mako


Old and new pregnancy and parenting publications strive to ease pressure on young parents in child rearing

Abstract: For 25 years, pregnancy and parenting magazines Tamago Club and Hiyoko Club have served as a platform for new mothers, giving them a place to share their concerns and support one another. In a similar vein, some groups have launched services connecting new moms via email and social media as more parents, feeling as if they don’t have anyone to turn to, rely on the internet to find information on child rearing. Tamago Club (Egg Club) and Hiyoko Club (Chick Club) debuted in 1993 with the motto: “valuing ordinary citizens’ perspective.” Kazuyuki Sakai, who once served as the two magazines’ chief editor, recalls being blown away with a trick for changing diapers that was shared by a female reader in Chiba Prefecture. The tactic involved quickly changing the diaper while blowing a party horn to distract the baby. The reader said it was a strategy that her mother had used when she was a baby. Though the diaper trick may not have been a new idea for all of the magazine’s readership, it wasn’t common for readers to share such small tips with one another back then. Parenting magazines at the time would typically fill their pages with instructional content such as advice from doctors. But the two magazines took a different route, asking readers to share their parenting stories and experiences. Back when the magazines were founded, the phrase “park debut” was coined in the media to refer to new mothers bringing their small children to a park and introducing themselves to the local community. Tamago Club and Hiyoko Club branded themselves as “sandbox magazines” in order to conjure up an image of mothers chatting about child rearing while their kids play at the park. Under the guiding principle of “sharing the readers’ worries and finding solutions together,” the magazines published anecdotes of failure in addition to success stories. The intent was to assure readers that raising children can’t be done by following a textbook and ease the pressure placed on parents. In the digital age, however, some parenting magazines have been forced to cease publication as people increasingly look for child care information online. Filling that void, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization called Kizuna Mail Project has been delivering experts’ and doctors’ advice on pregnancy and child rearing to about 37,000 subscribers through email and social media since 2011. The subscribers receive tips every day during their pregnancy and for the first 100 days after a baby is born. After that, they receive information roughly once every three days until the child turns 1. Information they receive varies, covering topics ranging from fetal growth to vaccination. One message reads: “Dear today’s mom, You are 10 weeks and one day into your pregnancy. Your body is dealing with a lot more stress than usual as your baby is growing rapidly inside you. It’s natural that you feel exhausted.” The message’s style, starting with “dear mom,” is well received by the users who say it offers a sense of familiarity. Depending on where the users live, they are also able to receive information about events related to child rearing in the local area. “It is important to deliver accurate information to those raising children as it may be difficult to find necessary items from a massive amount of information,” said Yukio Oshima, the head of the Kizuna Mail Project. While one in 10 mothers are said to suffer from postnatal depression, Oshima says being on the side of new mothers is important. “What matters is the sense of being supported by others. It contributes to preventing child abuse and the feeling of isolation,” he said.

pregnancy
child-rearing
magazines
tamago club
hiyoko club


Tokyo court OKs extended detention of Carlos Ghosn by prosecutors

Abstract: A Tokyo court on Friday approved a request from prosecutors to extend the detention of former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, after he was arrested last week for alleged financial misconduct, an official said. Ghosn can be held in custody for another 10 days through Dec. 10, at which time prosecutors must decide whether to indict or release him. But the 64-year-old could be detained longer if they add further charges with fresh warrants and if a court assents. The district court also decided to extend the detention of Greg Kelly, a former Nissan representative director who was arrested along with Ghosn, for alleged conspiracy. While further allegations of financial misconduct by the 64-year-old Ghosn are making headlines, Japan has faced criticism overseas for continuing to keep the man viewed as the savior of the Japanese automaker in detention. Ghosn, who holds French citizenship, was arrested Nov. 19, and his detention period was extended 10 days through Friday based on a court decision issued on Nov. 21. Japanese law sets detention limits for a suspect at 23 days for an arrest warrant served by police and 22 days for a warrant served by prosecutors. Authorities can add further charges with fresh warrants, meaning a person can be detained indefinitely if a court approves it. French media reports have been critical of the way Ghosn has been treated since his arrest, with some describing the situation as harsher than when a person is caught for terrorism. But Shin Kukimoto, deputy prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office, told a regular news conference Thursday that “there is no problem” with Ghosn’s detention, arguing that it is based on “necessity.” He also questioned the appropriateness of “criticizing a country just because it has a different system” from other countries. Ghosn was arrested on suspicion of reporting only about ¥5 billion ($44 million) of nearly ¥10 billion in compensation over five years from fiscal 2010. The prosecutors also suspect that Ghosn underreported a further ¥3 billion in remuneration received over three years from April 2015. Joao de Mendonca, Brazilian consul general in Tokyo, meanwhile said Ghosn misses his family and has left a brief message for them. In an interview Thursday, Mendonca said he has met with Ghosn three times at the Tokyo Detention House since his arrest, and that he gave him books about European and Brazilian history as well as foreign magazines at his request. Mendonca said he has also passed a “very simple and very private” message to his family members, including his mother, who live in Brazil. Mendonca said that Ghosn was in “good health and good spirit” and seemed to be “well treated” at the Tokyo Detention House. In the meetings, each of which lasted about 20 minutes, Mendonca spoke in Portuguese with Ghosn, who has Brazilian nationality, according to the consul general. Ghosn seemed “happy to be able to speak Portuguese,” Mendonca said. They did not talk about the scandal at all because the purpose of the so-called “consul visits” is simply to see if Brazilians are “well taken care of” and to give them “assistance if needed,” Mendonca added.


What's behind the controversy over funding of Imperial succession ceremonies in Japan?

Abstract: The following questions and answers relate to controversy over Imperial succession rituals set to be held following the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1, the day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates. How does the Constitution separate religion and state? Article 20 of Japan’s postwar Constitution bans the government from engaging in religious activities, and stipulates that no religious organization shall receive any privileges from the state or exercise any political authority. What is the status of the role of emperor? The emperor was considered divine under the prewar Meiji Constitution. In contrast, he is defined as “the symbol of the state” with no political authority in the current Constitution. Article 4 says “the emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in this Constitution and he shall not have powers related to the government.” As the Constitution does not elaborate on the activities of other Imperial family members, their engagement in politics is deemed a gray zone. Why are some rituals viewed as problematic in relation to the Constitution? Many succession rituals are related to Shinto, in which the emperor is venerated as a descendant of a sun goddess, and some of the rituals are designated as state occasions to be financed by public funds. For instance, in the Kenji to Shokei no Gi ritual that is treated as a state event, the emperor will inherit traditional regalia including sacred items believed to have been given by the sun goddess Amaterasu to her grandson, Ninigi, when he descended, according to legend, to rule over the Japanese archipelago. The design of the canopied throne to which the incoming emperor will ascend in the Sokuirei Seiden no Gi is also said to represent the descent of Ninigi to Earth. What are inner court expenses and palace-related expenses? Inner court expenses are the personal budgets dedicated to the families of the emperor and crown prince, while palace-related expenses are used for the Imperial family’s official duties such as ceremonies, banquets and public visits to foreign countries. As palace-related fees are public funds subject to the Imperial Household Agency’s accounting, critics consider the use of the expenses to infringe the separation of religion and state. For the current fiscal year through March 2019, ¥324 million has been allocated for inner court expenses and ¥9.17 billion for palace-related expenses. What are the views of Japanese courts regarding past succession ceremonies? In relation to the enthronement ceremonies of Emperor Akihito in 1990, a number of lawsuits contesting the constitutionality of the rites were filed across Japan but they were all dismissed. However, the Osaka High Court pointed out in a ruling in 1995 that doubts remain over whether the government financing of Shinto-linked rituals breaches the Constitution. Are there any legal actions being taken against succession ceremonies next year? At least 120 people, including Christians and Buddhists, are planning to file a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, possibly early this month, to block state funding of the Shinto-linked enthronement ceremony and the Daijosai rite, the Great Food Offering Ceremony.

religion
constitution
royalty
emperor akihito
imperial family
emperor naruhito


Dollar rises to levels around ¥113.70 in Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar rose to levels around ¥113.70 in Tokyo trading Thursday, after the closely watched U.S. midterm elections ended without a negative surprise. But the dollar’s topside was capped, with traders gradually retreating to the sidelines ahead of the announcement later in the day of a monetary policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥113.69-70, up from ¥113.06-06 at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1435-1435, down from $1.1453-1453, and at ¥130.02-02, up from ¥129.49-49. After moving around ¥113.50 in early trading, the dollar gathered steam and rose above ¥113.70 in the afternoon thanks partly to a surge in Japan’s key 225-issue Nikkei average following the U.S. elections on Tuesday. The midterm elections fell in line with market expectations, with the Democratic Party regaining a majority in the House of Representatives and the Republican Party keeping its control of the Senate. Investors’ risk appetite is growing now that the elections are over, traders said. But an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said, “The dollar’s rise was limited despite the surge in stock prices.” Selling grew when the dollar advanced close to ¥113.80, one market source said. In the afternoon, a wait-and-see mood increased as the Fed is set to announce the results of a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee later on Thursday, while the U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep its policy unchanged, traders said. The margin trading service company official said, “The dollar is unlikely to strengthen against the yen one-sidedly, because it is unclear whether the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will move for reconciliation with the Democrats” after the midterm elections resulted in a divided Congress.


Tokyo stocks rebound strongly after post-election surge on Wall Street

Abstract: Stocks bounced back sharply on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, aided by an overnight surge in U.S. equities following the closely watched U.S. midterm elections. The key 225-issue Nikkei average jumped 401.12 points, or 1.82 percent, to end at 22,486.92. It lost 61.95 points on Wednesday. The Nikkei gained nearly 500 points at one point in morning trading. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 28.82 points, or 1.74 percent, at 1,681.25, after shedding 6.92 points the previous day. A sense of relief prevailed in the market as the U.S. elections fell broadly in line with expectations, with the Democratic Party winning back a majority in the House of Representatives and the Republican Party maintaining its control of the Senate, brokers said. Investor sentiment was lifted also by the yen’s weakening against the dollar, market sources said. Japanese shares “were bought back because a factor that had made investors retreat to the sidelines is out of the way,” Hiroaki Hiwada, strategist at Toyo Securities Co., said, referring to the elections. An official at a bank-linked securities firm said the Tokyo market attracted hefty purchases from investors who had been cautious about the possibility of Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress. But the official said it will be “very difficult” for the Nikkei to reach the recent highs above 24,000 set in early October due to signs of deterioration in Japan’s economic fundamentals, including dismal machinery orders for September, released just before the start of Thursday’s session. According to the government data, core machinery orders, or private-sector orders excluding those for ships and power equipment, a key leading indicator of corporate capital spending, plunged 18.3 percent month on month in September after seasonal adjustment, logging the sharpest fall since the current statistics format was adopted in April 2005. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,733 to 324 on the TSE’s first section, while 54 issues were unchanged. Volume fell to 1.537 billion shares from Wednesday’s 1.683 billion shares. Semiconductor-linked Sumco closed up 4.05 percent after announcing Wednesday that its group operating profit in January-September shot up 2.23-fold from a year before to ¥64.252 billion. The company also said that its operating profit in the full year to December will likely double from the previous year to ¥85.2 billion. Precision parts maker MinebeaMitsumi was also buoyant on the back of its announcement Wednesday that it has revised up its consolidated net profit estimate for the year to March 2019 to ¥67 billion from ¥66 billion. Air conditioner maker Daikin and clothing store operator Fast Retailing were among other major winners. By contrast, automaker Suzuki and industrial machinery maker Yaskawa Electric were downbeat. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key December contract on the Nikkei average soared 380 points to 22,500.

stocks
nikkei
wall street
topix
2018 u.s. midterm elections


'Trump from Pahrump': Dead Republican brothel owner wins election in Nevada

Abstract: NEW YORK - A brothel-owning, evangelical Christian-backed Republican candidate who died last month won his race for the Nevada state legislature late on Tuesday, according to state election officials. Dennis Hof, 72, defeated Democratic candidate and educator Lesia Romanov in the race for Nevada’s 36th Assembly District, earning about 68 percent of the vote. County officials said they would appoint a replacement candidate from the same party for his seat. A representative for Romanov did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hof, who presented himself as an American pimp, was a strip-club owner who ran multiple brothels. He had nicknamed himself the “Trump from Pahrump,” after the town where he lived in Nevada. In a June interview with Reuters at Moonlite BunnyRanch, his brothel near his home in Pahrump, Nevada, Hof said his political fortunes had parallels with those of U.S. President Donald Trump. “This really is the Trump movement,” Hof said. “People will set aside for a moment their moral beliefs, their religious beliefs, to get somebody that is honest in office.” Chuck Muth, Hof’s campaign manager, was one of many who predicted last month that Hof would win, stating that Republicans had a two-to-one advantage over Democrats in the state Assembly district in terms of voter registration. “I know Republicans in Nevada got massacred tonight, but my man Dennis Hof crushed his opponent from the great beyond in AD-36 & we crushed the anti-brothel initiative in Lyon County by about 80%,” Muth wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “So pardon me, but I’m celebrating.” The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said Hof was found dead last month at one of his properties in Crystal, Nevada. It was not immediately clear what caused his death. Friends found him dead when they went to wake him for a meeting hours after his 72nd birthday party, his campaign manager, Chuck Muth, said on Twitter. He said Hof appeared to have died in his sleep. The thrice-divorced author of “The Art of the Pimp,” who appeared on HBO’s “Cathouse,” owned a strip club and five legal brothels in Nevada, the only U.S. state with legalized prostitution.

gop
nevada
u.s. midterm elections
donald trump
dennis hof


Can Matthew Whitaker, new U.S. attorney general, shut down the Mueller probe?

Abstract: U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday to oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replace him with a noted critic of special counsel Robert Mueller raised immediate fears about the future of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump appointed Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general under the U.S. Vacancies Reform Act, which lays out general rules for temporarily filling positions in the executive branch. The department confirmed he would be assuming oversight of the Mueller probe from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein had oversight and appointed Mueller because Sessions, acknowledging previously undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador and citing his work as a Trump campaign aide, recused himself from the Russia investigation in March 2017. The Alabama Republican had been the first senator to endorse Trump, and his crime-fighting agenda and hawkish immigration policies largely mirrored the president’s, but his decision infuriated Trump. The rift lingered for the duration of Sessions’ tenure even though the attorney general praised the president’s agenda and hewed to his priorities, though he never managed to return to Trump’s good graces. The investigation is looking into U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the election two years ago and any possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. The appointment generated immediate controversy, given Whitaker’s previous public comments criticizing the probe. During a stint last year as a conservative legal commentator on CNN, Whitaker often appeared as a Trump defender, saying he saw no evidence the president colluded with Russians during the 2016 campaign or obstructed justice. He wrote last year on CNN.com that Rosenstein should limit the scope of Mueller’s investigation to stop him from delving into Trump’s finances. On Wednesday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Whitaker to recuse himself over his previous statements and Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler said the House Judiciary Committee would investigate Session’s firing once he assumes the chairmanship in January. Here is a look at how Whitaker might stop or slow the Mueller investigation and the risks he might run in doing so. Can Whitaker be forced to recuse himself? Under government ethics regulation, federal employees are required to recuse themselves from matters where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Sessions had recused himself from overseeing the Russia investigation under a similar rule that prohibits officials from overseeing investigations into subjects with whom they have a “personal or political relationship.” Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, said Whitaker’s previous comments about the Mueller probe raise questions about his impartiality and warrant his recusal. But Clark said there is no clear enforcement action, like a lawsuit, that could force Whitaker to recuse himself if he declined to follow the rule. “Essentially, we need to shame him into acting in compliance with the law,” she said. Can Whitaker fire Mueller? The special counsel regulation under which Mueller was appointed gives the attorney general or acting attorney general authority to fire Mueller only for “good cause,” such as misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity or conflict of interest. If Whitaker decided to fire Mueller, he would need to inform the special counsel in writing of the specific reason for his termination. Good cause is a difficult thing to show, especially since Mueller’s actions were approved by the deputy attorney general, said Jens Ohlin, a professor of criminal law at Cornell Law School. “I don’t think Whitaker has good cause to fire Mueller. He would have to trump up some charges,” Ohlin said. Could a Mueller firing be challenged on legal grounds? Mueller could seek to challenge his own firing if he felt Whitaker lacked the good cause required by the special counsel regulation, said Ohlin. A court might then issue a temporary restraining order blocking his removal. Any action by Whitaker could potentially be challenged under the Vacancies Reform Act. It is not clear if the law, intended to address vacancies created by deaths or resignations, also applies to those created by firings. There is some question over whether Sessions was fired or resigned. The former attorney general submitted a letter of resignation that said he had done so at the president’s “request.” The possibility that Sessions was fired could open Whitaker’s appointment to court challenge by a range of people affected by his actions, including Mueller, Ohlin said — or even by people who have nothing to do with the Russia investigation. But Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior counsel to independent counsel Kenneth Starr, said he thought such a lawsuit would be unlikely to succeed because the Supreme Court has said the president has wide latitude to fire executive branch officials. How could Whitaker impede Mueller without firing him? Under the special counsel regulation, Whitaker has the power to block any “investigative or procedural step” Mueller recommends, such as bringing an indictment or subpoena, if he determines it to be “inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices.” Whitaker would be required to notify Congress of such a decision. The attorney general could also cut the budget for the special counsel’s office. In fact, Whitaker told CNN last year that a future attorney general could limit Mueller by reducing the budget “so low that his investigations grinds (sic) to almost a halt.” Such actions would likely draw less political backlash than firing Mueller directly, said Rosenzweig. Short of legislation intended to protect Mueller, which is unlikely to pass, there is little Congress can do to challenge Whitaker’s oversight of Mueller, said Rosenzweig. The requirement that Whitaker notify Congress if he blocks Mueller from doing something is “about political accountability, not legal accountability,” Rosenzweig said. “The notification to Congress is mostly about transparency.”

scandals
robert mueller
donald trump
2016 u.s. presidential election
russia probe
matthew whitaker


Wheelchair ramp jump tops list of new Guinness World Records for 2018

Abstract: LONDON - Guinness World Records celebrates its annual records day on Thursday, honoring a long list of people who have done highly improbable things better than anyone else. The World Records Day often includes a Rubik’s cube solved in unlikely circumstances against the clock, and this year was no exception. China’s Que Jianyu recorded the fastest time to crack the puzzle upside down: 15.84 seconds. The Harlem Globetrotters, the U.S. stunt basketball team, generally fields a number of record-setters, or at least attempts. This year, one of them was Torch George, who managed the most under-the-leg tumbles — 32 — and at 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm) may also set a record as the most diminutive Globetrotter. Under-the-leg tumbles are a sort of horizontal roll, supporting yourself on one hand while dribbling a basketball with the other hand, between your legs. Do not try this at home. Another Globetrotter, Bull Bullard, managed to sink the world’s longest basketball shot released in the middle of a backflip: 17.71 meters (58 feet, 1.2 inches). A basketball court is 94 feet (28.6 meters) long. In a category all his own was Aaron Fotheringham of the United States, who set three records, none of which sound easy. They were: the tallest quarter pipe drop-in while in a wheelchair, 8.4 meters (27 feet, 6.7 inches); highest wheelchair hand plant, also 8.4 meters; and the farthest wheelchair ramp jump, 21.35 meters (70 feet, 0.5 inch). And yes, that means he launched himself down a ramp and flew 21 meters in a wheelchair. Do not try this anywhere.


Unmanned Japanese cargo vessel Kounotori heads home from ISS carrying experiment samples

Abstract: The Kounotori 7 unmanned cargo transporter departed the International Space Station on Thursday to return to Earth with experiment samples, in a first for Japan’s space agency. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the cargo vessel, the name of which is Japanese for white stork, has been loaded with waste from the ISS and is scheduled to burn up in a controlled manner when it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere Sunday. Before burning up, it will eject a capsule containing protein crystals that were grown in experiments carried out on the space station. Launched Sept. 23 on an H-IIB rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, the vessel, formally called the H-II Transfer Vehicle-7, delivered some 6 tons of food, clothes and experiment supplies, including new lithium-ion battery cells, to the ISS that orbits some 400 kilometers above Earth. The conical-shaped capsule, measuring some 84 centimeters wide and 66 cm high, is expected to make a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific near Minamitorishima Island on Sunday and be retrieved by a JAXA ship. Previous models of the Kounotori transporters were unable to carry materials back to Earth unscathed by the heat generated during re-entry to the atmosphere. The new capsule can withstand the extreme temperatures and keep samples inside cool using a vacuum insulated container covered by protective materials, according to JAXA. It was jointly developed by JAXA and Tiger Corp., an Osaka-based home appliance maker known for producing vacuum insulation containers. The successful re-entry and collection of samples are expected to contribute to Japan’s efforts toward the development of manned space missions in the future. The nation has been holding tests at its own experiment module on the ISS named Kibo, which means hope in Japanese. But until now it has required U.S. and Russian spacecraft to bring back samples that were produced during the tests. JAXA’s dependence on other countries has meant it has no control over when samples can be collected. If Kounotori 7 is successful on its seven-week journey, Japan will be able to transfer materials as needed. It was feared the nation’s latest mission may be delayed by a manpower shortage, following the failed launch last month of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying astronauts and supplies to the ISS. The two astronauts aboard the Soyuz ejected safety, but it meant the ISS was left with only three astronauts to perform experiments and carry out work outside the craft.


Hiroshima A-bomb survivor: Yoshinori Kato regrets failing to save the lives of trapped schoolchildren

Abstract: Words of regret run repeatedly through the mind of Yoshinori Kato: “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” On Aug. 6, 1945, when the city of Hiroshima was hit by a U.S. atomic bomb, Kato, now 90 but who was 17 at the time, said he desperately tried to rescue children who were trapped under the collapsed building of Danbara National School (now Danbara Elementary School). However, he had no choice but to leave the children behind as raging fires closed in. Before then, Kato was a first-year student at the Hiroshima Technical Institute (now Hiroshima University). But classes were suspended because of the war; instead, he was mobilized to work at the Kure Naval Arsenal, an assignment that lasted until July 1945. Because of the air raids on the city of Kure, he was ordered to return home to Hiroshima. His father had died of illness two years before and, seeking a safer location, his mother and three brothers had moved to his grandparents’ house in the village of Tabusa (now Shobara) in the northern part of the prefecture. Kato lived in Hiroshima with his aunt and uncle. The first class since his enrollment at the institute had been planned for Aug. 6., and Kato, along with his classmates, went to the Ozu factory of Chugoku Hayden (now the Chugoku Electric Power Co.), which was located about 3.4 kilometers from the center of the blast. “I was excited about finally getting down to academic work,” Kato said. But when his physics class began, there was an intense flash, immediately followed by the ceiling collapsing. Then there was darkness. “After we made sure that everyone was all right, we went out of the building. We were just shocked by what we saw,” he said, recalling a huge mushroom cloud rising in the blue sky. Kato and his friends began walking toward his house. Along the way, they came across many survivors who were nearly naked and had bloated faces. “No one really knew what happened,” he said. Fire was blazing so fiercely around his house that he could not approach it. Suddenly, a man — a teacher from Danbara National School — grasped him by the hand. When Kato reached the school, he saw seven or eight children trapped under the collapsed school building. There were flames right above them. Kato and his friends tried to pull them out, but they cried out in pain because their bodies were wedged inside the wreckage. He told them to hold on. “We didn’t want to give up, but the fire was merciless. In the end, I gave some water to a girl then had to leave her.” Kato and his friends were able to save only one child. “When we arrived at the (school’s) East Drill Ground, we were in a complete daze,” he said. Before dusk fell, he began walking toward his house through a garden called Sentei (now known as Shukkeien Garden). It was hell. “There were countless bodies, their heads in the pond,” he said. He followed the river, which had little water in it, until the Kyobashi Bridge, and there he came across his aunt. The next day, he went to the Hiroshima post office, where his uncle worked, but was unable to find any trace of him among the charred ruins of the building. His aunt wanted to continue searching for him, but Kato persuaded her that they should go to where his mother was. They walked to Kumura Station, on the Geibi Line, and were finally able to board a train on Aug. 8. Toward the end of September, his hair fell out in clumps. “I thought I would die soon,” he said. He was prepared to accept his fate, but his hair began to grow back at the beginning of the following year and he regained the strength to go on living. After the war, Kato got a job at Chugoku Electric Power. At the age of 27, he came down with tuberculosis and was admitted to the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital. Thinking that he should tell people what happened to the students at Danbara National School, Kato drew pictures of them based on his memories. Around 30 years after the atomic bombing, he began offering prayers at the elementary school on Aug. 6, though he did not tell anyone about it. Half a century after the bombing, he sent a letter to the school, describing his experience, then started sharing his account with the students there. To remember the victims, he donated a statue of Jizo, the guardian of children, and had it placed at the site where he could not save their lives. Due to his advancing age, this year he had to stop speaking to students about his experience. “But if children pass on my account to the generations that follow, I think the victims will be pleased,” he said, placing his hands together in prayer for a world where no more lives will be lost in such a way.

children
hiroshima
atomic bombings
yoshinori kato


Dollar softer around ¥112.90 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar was softer around ¥112.90 in late Tokyo trading Thursday, hurt by selling that was inspired by a fall in Tokyo stocks. At 5 p.m. the dollar stood at ¥112.89-90, down from ¥113.19-19 at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1359-1359, up from $1.1346-1347, and at ¥128.24-24, down from ¥128.44-44. The dollar fell below ¥113 on position-squaring selling, after exceeding ¥113.30 in overnight trading abroad thanks to stronger-than-expected readings of Automatic Data Processing Inc.’s U.S. employment report for October, released Wednesday, traders said. In midmorning trading in Tokyo, the greenback fell below ¥112.80 following a drop in the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average. The dollar showed some resilience around ¥112.90 in late trading, as the yen met with sales reflecting receding risk aversion following the yuan’s stable moves. The U.S. currency “has grown susceptible to selling after month-end buying ran its course,” an official at a Japanese bank said. Another official at a major Japanese bank cited a rise in long-term U.S. interest rates as a dollar-positive factor. “The dollar will advance against the yen” if the U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for October, due out later on Thursday, turns out strong, they added.

exchange rates
foreign exchange
forex
currencies


Tokyo stocks turn sharply lower as telecoms sector sees heavy selling

Abstract: Stocks turned sharply lower on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday as heavy selling pummeled telecommunications issues. The 225-issue Nikkei average plunged 232.81 points, or 1.06 percent, to end at 21,687.65, after surging 463.17 points Wednesday. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed down 14.07 points, or 0.85 percent, at 1,632.05. It rose 34.66 points the previous day. The telecommunications sector rout came after major carrier NTT Docomo announced Wednesday that it will cut monthly mobile phone rates by 20-40 percent from the April-June quarter next year. Concerns grew over the sector’s earnings following the announcement, market sources said. Heavy selling hit not only NTT Docomo but also its peers, KDDI and SoftBank Group, both heavyweight components of the Nikkei average, said Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “Selling on a rally built up” after the Nikkei average advanced about 770 points over the previous two days through Wednesday, Ota also said. He added that the market met also with selling inspired by dismal earnings reports released by major Japanese companies, including Tokyo Electron, recently. Investors “took a wait-and see stance amid uncertainty over the global economic outlook,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Miura indicated that buying was held in check prior to the release later Thursday of the U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for October. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,108 to 937 in the TSE’s first section, while 66 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.78 billion shares from 1.81 billion Wednesday. NTT Docomo closed 14.71 percent lower, and KDDI and SoftBank Group tumbled 16.15 percent and 8.16 percent, respectively. Tokyo Electron, which manufactures semiconductor-making equipment, fell 6.28 percent following downward revisions to its profit and dividend estimates for the year through next March. Pharmaceutical maker Astellas and electronics parts producer Nitto Denko were also on the minus side. By contrast, electronic parts supplier Murata Manufacturing jumped 9.73 percent as its consolidated operating profit forecast for the year through next March turned out stronger than market expectations, brokers said. Clothing retailer Fast Retailing and technology firm TDK were among other major gainers. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key December contract on the Nikkei average plunged 340 points to 21,540.


Japanese research shows skipping breakfast leads to weight gain

Abstract: NAGOYA - Skipping breakfast disrupts the internal body clock and leads to weight gain, a recent study by a Japanese team has shown. The study, led by Hiroaki Oda, associate professor at Nagoya University Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, was published online by the U.S. scientific journal PLOS One on Wednesday. In the study, the team divided 56 rats into two groups and gave the same amount of high-fat feed to both groups for 14 days. Rats eat intermittently when they are awake. One group was given the feed normally and the other group four hours after they woke up. The team regarded the former group of rats as a model for people who have breakfast at 8 a.m. and the other as those who skip breakfast. After 14 days, the latter group of rats gained some 7 to 8 percent more weight on average than normal. Analysis of the rats’ livers found that there was a four-hour delay in their activities in the latter group and the rats had a shorter period of high body temperatures. The result suggests that the rats gained weight as body clock disruptions reduced energy consumption due to less activities, the team said. “The rats showed that skipping breakfast causes weight gains,” Oda said. “The study is applicable to humans.”

research
nagoya university
breakfast
weight


Japan's nuclear industry growing but likely to miss government's 2030 target

Abstract: The domestic nuclear industry will miss a government target of providing at least a fifth of the country’s electricity by 2030, analysis shows, but the sector is showing signs of life more than seven years since the Fukushima crisis. With eight reactors running and one more set to come online in November, nuclear has this year overtaken nonhydro renewables in power output for the first time since the 2011 catastrophe, when all of the country’s nuclear plants were idled. Yet operators can expect as few as six units to restart in the next five years, and fewer than 20 by 2030, the analysis shows. That is far short of the 30 needed to meet the government target reiterated this year. Based on the analysis, the world’s third-largest economy may get about 15 percent of its power from nuclear in 2030, compared with a government target of 20 to 22 percent. “It’s impossible to meet the target, that’s pretty much confirmed,” said Takeo Kikkawa, an energy studies professor at Tokyo University of Science, who sat on an official panel that reviewed the country’s energy policy this year. He said he did not expect another round of restarts before 2020. One major trading house predicts nuclear will account for 14 percent of power production in 2030, according to a presentation given at a private seminar this year and shown to Reuters. Nuclear remains an unpopular energy option in Japan and the country will reboot only a fraction of the 54 reactors it had before the disaster. Six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are being dismantled in a decadeslong exercise that is fraught with technological challenges and radioactive waste. Operators have decided to decommission another 10 units across the country since Fukushima. The Nuclear Regulation Authority created new safety standards from scratch after the disaster highlighted failings in the industry and its overseers. All reactors must be re-licensed before restarting. Yet Japan’s nuclear industry, which before Fukushima operated the world’s third-largest number of reactors and provided about 30 percent of the country’s electricity, has staged a significant recovery. The turnaround has exceeded expectations of analysts and the utilities themselves. Kansai Electric Power and Kyushu Electric Power, for instance, have won approval to restart or are on course to win approval for all the reactors they applied to re-license. Those units are far from Tokyo and are pressurised water reactors (PWR), unlike the boiling water reactor (BWR) designs favored in eastern Japan, including those that melted down at Fukushima. Many court cases are pending for reactors in the eastern part of the country. Local political support varies, and the regulator is locked in disputes with operators over earthquake risk assessment. The older BWR technology used in many of the reactors under review is also an issue because the stigma of Fukushima hangs over them. “When you come to the BWRs, the issue becomes very politicized,” said Nobuo Tanaka, the chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation who was the head of the International Energy Agency between 2007 and 2011 after a stint in the industry ministry. The reputation of Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. also looms large, Tanaka said. “Tepco does not have any support as a nuclear operator,” he said. The utility has to be removed from the equation before progress on BWR reactors can be made, he said. Tepco has reached the first stage of approval, but faces strong opposition from local residents. But Japan’s utility lobby group said progress was being made. “The safety reviews of PWR plants took time but they have been progressing steadily and there have been some developments in the BWR category as well,” Satoru Katsuno, the chairman of Japan’s federation of electric utilities and president of Chubu Electric, said of the outlook for restart approvals. Chubu Electric has been locked in a dispute for years with the regulator over disaster resilience measures at its Hamaoka plant, which uses BWR reactors. The analysis suggests that Japan will rely on fossil fuels, particularly liquefied natural gas and coal, as the pace of renewables expansion slows. That will make it harder to meet its emissions targets under international agreements. The government estimates costs for replacement fuel — mostly LNG — to compensate for idled reactors totaling ¥14.6 trillion across the industry in the six years through March. The lack of realistic energy targets makes it harder for the industry to plan for investment, utility officials say. And the issue of disaster resilience is not going away: a big earthquake struck Hokkaido in September and left a nuclear plant reliant on backup generators.


Tokyo police arrest 13 in Shibuya after Halloween mayhem

Abstract: Police arrested 13 people between Wednesday and Thursday in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward for alleged groping, assault and theft as a massive crowd of Halloween revelers swamped the district. The 13 arrested were men ranging from their teens to their 40s, the police said. Several hundred police officers were dispatched to the area to control the crowd, including some special officers dubbed “DJ police,” who aim to marshal crowds in a light-hearted manner. Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe told reporters Thursday morning that the ward may have to consider making Halloween a paid event at a place like Yoyogi Park from next year. “There are many people who behave well and have fun. But it turned out to be a regrettable Halloween because of a small number of people,” he said. On Wednesday night the famous scramble crossing and shopping district near Shibuya Station were packed with people dressed in elaborate costumes, including witches, zombies and characters from popular video games. The area was left scattered with garbage Thursday morning that young volunteers helped clean up. Manami Suzuki, a 27-year-old nail artist clad in a colorful costume, was picking up garbage with a bag she brought from home, as she knew the trash would build up during Halloween. “I did it because I want to have fun at Halloween next year and beyond,” she said. A 28-year-old man also bought a garbage bag and joined the cleanup effort, even though he said he hated Halloween. “I wanted to help those picking up the garbage,” he said. To avoid trouble, some store owners closed their shops earlier than normal. “Every year, a huge number of people congregate in front of our store. I had no option but to close it for security reasons,” said a store manager who pulled down the shutters of his establishment at 5 p.m. Toshiyuki Ono, who heads a Shibuya shop owners’ association, said the Halloween celebrations have descended into something akin to a “riot.” “I fear (Shibuya) will be labeled a scary place. I want (Halloween street parties) to be banned next year,” Ono said. Most people, however, appeared to simply enjoy the ever-growing annual gathering. “It’s good to have fun while remaining well-behaved,” said Akane Tamana, a 21-year-old university student dressed as Mario. At around 6 p.m. Wednesday, a fire broke out in a building in the area’s iconic Center-gai shopping street, with crowds watching as smoke poured from a rooftop exhaust duct. No injuries were reported, according to the police, who said the building hosts a number of restaurants. They said the cause of the fire has not been established. The morning after: Shibuya Halloween cleanup 2018


Tokyo stocks rebound on buybacks

Abstract: Stocks turned higher Tuesday, boosted by buybacks following the previous day’s plunge. The Nikkei 225 average rose 248.76 points, or 1.14 percent, to end at 22,147.75. It tumbled 344.67 points Monday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 18.96 points, or 1.16 percent, higher at 1,659.35. It retreated 18.37 points Monday. The market was supported by futures-led buying to adjust positions ahead of the U.S. midterm elections Tuesday, market sources said. Market players expect that there will be no big surprise in the elections, Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., said. In the elections, the Democratic Party is widely expected to win a majority in the House of Representatives, while the Republicans are seen maintaining their Senate majority. Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc., indicated that some investors bought shares in anticipation of a stock market rise after the elections, saying that the closely watched political event has been “an uncertain factor” for the market. “Issues backed by brisk earnings were bought back” although a wait-and-see mood persisted prior to the U.S. elections, Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., said. Akatsuki Securities’ Fujii said that “a sense of relief spread (among investors) thanks to Toyota Motor’s upward revision” to its fiscal 2018 group sales and profit estimates, released Tuesday. Rising issues overwhelmed falling ones 1,362 to 674 on the first section, while 75 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.342 billion shares from 1.489 billion Monday. Toyota closed up 2.09 percent. The leading automaker raised its sales estimate for the year to next March to ¥29.5 trillion from ¥29 trillion and its operating profit forecast to ¥2.4 trillion from ¥2.3 trillion. Price comparison website operator Kakaku.com attracted hefty purchases after announcing Tuesday that its group operating profit in the six months to September rose 11.3 percent from a year before to ¥11.683 billion. Also on the plus side were supermarket and convenience store operator FamilyMart Uny and clothing store chain operator Fast Retailing. By contrast, Suntory Beverage and Food fell 3.12 percent, with investors disappointed by the company’s announcement Monday of a downward revision to its 2018 group operating profit estimate to ¥118 billion from ¥127 billion. Other major losers included mobile phone carrier SoftBank Group and semiconductor-related Tokyo Electron.


Dollar briefly hits one-month highs above ¥113.40 in Tokyo

Abstract: The dollar Tuesday afternoon briefly hit one-month highs above ¥113.40 in Tokyo, supported by purchases from short-term players. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥113.33-33, up from ¥113.17-18 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1413-1413, up from $1.1382-1382, and at ¥129.34-34, up from ¥128.83-83. The dollar drifted around ¥113.20 in early trading and climbed to around ¥113.30 later in the morning thanks to a rebound by the Nikkei 225 stock average. The buying spree ran its course toward noon, but the greenback regained steam to top ¥113.40 in the afternoon as short-term players moved to buy the U.S. currency while a wait-and-see mood spread ahead of the U.S. midterm elections Tuesday, traders said. Still, the dollar shed some of the gain to fall back below that mark in late trading. An official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said that the dollar’s advance “was backed by purchases induced by the Nikkei’s rebound.” But the U.S. unit was sold back as investors found it difficult to step up dollar buying further ahead of the key U.S. elections, the official added. The Democratic Party is expected to regain the House of Representatives, while the Republicans are seen keeping their Senate majority. If the Republicans suffer a huge setback in the House, it could be taken as a vote of no confidence against the Trump administration, possibly driving down stocks and the dollar as a result, the margin trading service company official said. Meanwhile, an official of a Japanese bank pointed out that some investors moved to purchase the dollar on the back of the view that Republicans were catching up with their Democratic House opponents.


Gunmen kidnap 79 pupils, mainly boys, in troubled English-speaking Cameroon region

Abstract: YAOUNDE - Gunmen kidnapped 79 school students on Monday in an English-speaking region of Cameroon where separatists are fighting an armed campaign for independence, security and government sources said. The abductions, the worst incident so far in 13 months of unrest, came just a day before longtime President Paul Biya was to be sworn in for a seventh term in office. “Seventy-nine pupils and three supervisors” were seized, Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who is also government spokesman, told AFP. A government official said the three comprised the school’s principal, a teacher and a driver. A source close to the school said the abducted students “are mainly boys.” A six-minute video seen by AFP, but which could not be immediately confirmed independently, showed 11 boys apparently aged about 15 giving their identity and name of the school in English, and adding that they were abducted by the “Amba Boys” — the name for anglophone separatists. The first mass abduction in Cameroon follows two major such incidents in neighboring Nigeria, where the Islamist group Boko Haram snatched more than 200 schoolgirls from the Borno state town of Chibok in April 2014. Some 107 girls have since been released or found, but the Islamist group abducted scores more schoolgirls from neighboring Yobe state in February. The students kidnapped Monday were enrolled at the Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s Northwest Region — one of two regions hit by attacks by anglophone militants that have met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities. “The search for the hostages has been launched — every man has been called in,” the government source said, speaking after a crisis meeting. Elsewhere in the region, a high-ranking local official was also seized, a security official told AFP. The school’s website says that the student body numbers more than 700, drawn from “all the religious and linguistic origins of Cameroon.” The kidnappings coincide with an upsurge of political tensions in the majority French-speaking country. It comes after elections on Oct. 7 in which 85-year-old Biya, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 35 years, was credited with 71.3 percent of the vote. The polls, however, were marred by allegations of widespread fraud, low voter turnout and violence. Around a fifth of Cameroon’s 22 million people are English-speaking — a minority whose presence dates back to the colonial period. Cameroon, once a German colony, was divided between Britain and France after World War I. The French colony gained independence in 1960, becoming Cameroon. The following year, the British-ruled Southern Cameroons was amalgamated into it, giving rise to the Northwest and Southwest regions. But resentment at perceived discrimination at the hands of the francophone majority, especially in education and the judiciary, began to build. In 2016, demands for greater autonomy grew but have been rebuffed by Biya. As radicals took the ascendancy, the anglophone movement declared the creation of the “Republic of Ambazonia” in the Northwest and neighboring Southwest Region on October 1, 2017. No country has recognized the self-declared state. The separatists have gunned down troops and police, boycotted and torched schools and attacked other perceived symbols of the Cameroonian state. They have decreed a boycott of schools, saying that the French-speaking education system marginalizes anglophone students. At the start of the school year in September, several secondary schools were attacked, a headmaster was killed and a teacher was badly mutilated. The authorities have responded with a massive crackdown by police and troops. At least 400 civilians have been killed this year as well as more than 175 members of the security forces, according to a toll compiled by nongovernmental organizations. The conflict has seen a resurgence in the Northwest region after several months of calm while fighting was worse in the Southwest region. More than 300,000 people have fled the violence, many of them living hand-to-mouth in the forests, and some across the border into Nigeria. In the October 7 election, turnout was a meager 5 percent in the Northwest and 15 percent in the Southwest — but Biya won more than two-thirds of the vote in both regions.

kidnapping
boko haram
nigeria
cameroon
paul biya
pupils


Suicides of middle-aged men in Japan tend to surge on Monday mornings: research

Abstract: The number of suicides by middle-aged men in Japan tends to surge on Monday mornings, according to research conducted by a team from Waseda University and Osaka University. The psychological state of so-called blue Monday, in which people become depressed as Monday approaches, has been well known. But this was the first research to find, based on data analysis, the specific times of the day with a number of suicides, according to the team. The research group is hoping the result will be utilized to devise effective suicide prevention measures, such as expanding telephone consultation services during the times of the day when many suicides tend to occur. Through an analysis of data on some 870,000 adults who took their own lives in Japan between 1974 and 2014, the team found that days of the week and times of the day when people tend to die by suicide differ by sex and age. Among men aged 40 to 65, suicides between 4 a.m. and 7:59 a.m. hit a peak during the period from 1995, when Japan’s economic conditions began to deteriorate, to 2014. Men in that age group had a higher rate of suicide than men and women in other age groups. The number of suicides among men in that age group during the daytime was 1.57-times higher than late at night. The number of middle-aged men who took their lives on Mondays was 1.55 times as high as that on Saturdays. The same pattern was also seen for men aged 20 to 39, but such a trend was not seen before 1995, according to the group. It is believed that many men took their lives before leaving home for work in the morning — as opposed to during their commute — as most cited causes of death were hanging and gas poisoning, the group said. Men age 66 and older and women in general tended to take their own lives during the daytime, hitting a peak at around noon, the group said. While telephone consultation services to prevent suicides are often offered from evening to late at night, the researchers say such services should also be offered during early morning hours. The group also called for more community support for women and the elderly, who are thought to be taking their own lives during the day when they are alone at home.

suicide
research
waseda university
middle-aged men


Canada francophones gear up for fight over education, rights

Abstract: TORONTO - A French-language university canceled by Ontario’s government this month has kindled the passions of Canada’s francophone minority, who are set to replay their historical rights struggle. In addition to nixing the proposed university that was to open in Toronto in 2020, the province with the largest francophone minority in the country — outside of Quebec — also cut funding for francophone theater troupes. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the brother of Toronto’s late crack-smoking mayor, responded to a barrage of criticism, saying the move “has nothing to do with personal (grudges or other) against any franco-Ontarians.” “They’re great people,” he told reporters. “But we also canceled three other universities, English-speaking universities.” Ford insisted that budget constraints were behind the decision, which will save Ontario 80 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) over seven years. But it has rattled Ontario’s 600,000 francophones, who represent about 4 percent of Ontario’s population. The move also drew criticism and calls to reverse course from the federal government and others including the government of Quebec, where francophones are the majority. Canada’s nearly 8 million francophones represent 20 percent of its population, but most are in Quebec. “I know personally from having taught French in Vancouver, from having spoken with minority communities right across the country, how much they look to the federal government to try and stick up for them, regardless of what the provinces do,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “And we will certainly be engaged with the provincial government to try to ensure they do this.” His father, the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, enshrined bilingual language rights in the nation’s constitution. Justin Trudeau’s languages minister, Melanie Joly, was scheduled to confront her Ontario counterpart, Caroline Mulroney, about the issue Friday. Joly also announced CA$5 million for a “court challenges program” which provides financial assistance for important court cases that advance constitutional rights. Francophone groups have dusted off their picket signs and plan to march for their rights in 40 locations across Ontario on Dec. 1. “We feel betrayed,” said Carol Jolin of the lobby group Assemblee de la Francophonie de l’Ontario. Ford had pledged during the June election support for the new university that was to enroll 3,000, Jolin said. “Everything was going pretty well for francophones in Canada in recent years,” Jolin said. “But we’re worried now about a backsliding.” The late 1960s and the two decades that followed had marked a turning point for Canadian francophones in their fight to have their rights to an education and government services in French recognized. This included a Manitoba insurance broker’s 1976 Supreme Court challenge of a parking ticket issued only in English as a means to restore French language rights in that province, and a 1990s battle against budget cuts to keep open Ontario’s only francophone hospital, Montfort in Ottawa. French language rights were laid out in the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and other laws. New Brunswick went the furthest, making French one of its two official languages in 1969. But the province suffered a relapse in September when a fringe party that campaigned on slashing “costly” French services emerged as a potential kingmaker in an election that failed to secure a majority. Trudeau’s Liberals have sought to make the rights row an election issue in 2019, as Ford’s government is closely allied with the federal opposition Conservatives and their leader, Andrew Scheer. “This decision is unacceptable,” Joly said, demanding that Ford back down and “that Andrew Scheer denounce it too.” Scheer, however, distanced himself from Ford on the issue. “We are a bilingual country with many francophones outside of Quebec and the federal government must work with the provinces to ensure that all Canadians have the same rights and access to services and programs,” the Conservative leader said during a Quebec tour. Jolin held out hope that a negotiated solution may be reached with Ford, but added that his group is ready to go to court to fight for its linguistic rights. He noted that demographic trends point to Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis, becoming the nation’s biggest francophone cluster outside of Quebec within a few years. If 100,000 francophone students in Ontario — along with 200,000 enrolled in French immersion programs — cannot continue their post-graduate education in the language of Moliere, the community will decline, Jolin said. “It’ll contribute to the assimilation of our young people,” he said. “If they study in English and then go on to work in English, French will stop being a part of their life.”

canada
quebec
languages
ontario
francophones
french language