China gets tough on foreign-sounding street and development names

Abstract: BEIJING - China will clamp down on foreign-sounding and bizarre names after too many streets and developments called “Manhattan” or “Venice” have popped up amid decades of frenzied building, a government official says. Civil Affairs minister Li Liguo said in a recently televised speech that the government will change over-the-top or imported names and encourage real estate developers and city planners to seek inspiration instead from China’s rich cultural heritage. “Some cities have multiple ‘Manhattan’ or ‘Venice’ roads,” Li said. “It’s not only an inconvenience to travelers but also erodes a sense of home.” The naming push comes at a time when China’s government has sought to limit Western influence from mainstream culture and education. In recent months state media outlets have warned about “hostile foreign forces” broadly undermining Chinese society and hampering China’s rise as a self-sufficient and proud nation. A report by the official Xinhua News Agency framed Li’s remarks on place names as a matter of national sovereignty and ethnic dignity. Li, a member of China’s Cabinet, called on greater cultural preservation and suggested that developers look toward Chinese icons for inspiration, such as Mount Tai or the Yellow River. In recent years, though, it’s common for property developers to evoke a French region or include words like “elite” or “chateau” in the names of shopping malls or housing compounds. In Beijing’s business district, there’s a “Central Park” condominium compound while another upscale project is literally named “Yuppie International Condos.” A few kilometers away, a three-bedroom pad at the “Chateau Edinburgh” apartments is listed for about $3,500 a month.


Cat survives eight-day ordeal after being sealed in box of DVDs sent by mail

Abstract: LONDON - A tough Siamese cat named Cupcake has survived eight days cooped up in a box after accidentally being sent through the mail by her British owners. Cupcake was in a box with an order of DVDs that was sent from Cornwall, in southwestern England, to West Sussex, in south-central England. The recipient found a badly dehydrated Cupcake in the box along with the DVDs and contacted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for help. The RSPCA traced the owners through the cat’s microchip. “We looked everywhere for her,” owner Julie Baggott said Sunday, adding that she felt terrible about Cupcake’s ordeal. Vets said Cupcake needs treatment but should recover fully.


Mirrorless cars a reflection of auto industry's future

Abstract: From fuel cell vehicles to self-driving cars, new technologies for next-generation autos are gaining traction. In a move likely to accelerate this, the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, which consists of major car-producing nations and sets international safety and environmental standards on vehicles, said in November it will allow carmakers worldwide to replace side and rear mirrors with camera monitor systems. Following the U.N. panel’s decision, the transport ministry will from June allow mirrorless cars on to the nation’s roads. Following are questions and answers about the mirrorless system, which could be the new standard for vehicles in the near future: What is a mirrorless car? A mirrorless car does not have rear-view and side-view mirrors. Instead, the car is equipped with a sophisticated camera monitor system that shows drivers surrounding views on small screens positioned in front of them. Although the concept itself isn’t necessarily new, because some automakers already equip vehicles with cameras and monitors to show what is around a car, mirrors are still required under current regulations. What are the advantages of mirrorless cars? Replacing mirrors with vehicle proximity cameras is said to enhance safety because unlike current rearview mirrors, they eliminate blind spots, transport ministry official Masaru Miyashita said. The mirrorless system also allows drivers to use advanced imaging technology, including night vision and wide angle cameras. Miyashita said it is hoped that mirrorless cars will be a step toward practical use of next-generation auto technologies, including self-driving cars. “If the camera and monitor system becomes fully developed, things like operating a self-driving long-distance truck remotely from home could be possible,” he said. Moving to mirrorless systems will also allow automakers to become more creative with car designs. Unlike mirrors that have to be strategically positioned for drivers, cameras can be located anywhere on a vehicle, said Yuri Iwata, a spokeswoman for auto parts maker Denso Corp., which develops camera monitor systems for vehicles. “Mirrorless cars may allow automobile manufacturers to produce a vehicle with futuristic, unconventional designs that now are only concept cars shown at motor shows,” Iwata said. Design flexibility would allow carmakers to improve vehicle aerodynamics, thus producing better fuel efficiency at high speeds and leading to more streamlined buses and large trucks, she said. Will changes come suddenly with deregulation? No. Drivers will need time to adjust their habits to accommodate the mirrorless system, Miyashita of the transport ministry said. At first, monitors and the cameras must be positioned in the same place as current rear-view and side-view mirrors and offer the same views, he said. “Getting used to (monitors instead of mirrors) is the main factor to ensure drivers’ safety,” he said. How are things progressing? The technology behind the camera monitor system is already established and ready to enter the market, Denso’s Iwata said. “In terms of safety, (the camera monitor system) is already good enough to detect such objects as cars, bicycles and pedestrians; drivers can comprehend surrounding circumstances without problems,” she said. Some automobile companies have already shown off mirrorless technologies as concept cars at international exhibitions. German automaker BMW, for one, demonstrated its next-generation BMW i8 Mirrorless at the Consumer Electronic Show 2016 held at Las Vegas in January. Instead of mirrors, the BMW i8 Mirrorless boasts two slim, wing-like side cameras on each side of the car as well as a third camera placed inside the rear window. The surrounding views are displayed on monitors attached on the windshield, where the rear-view mirror is usually located. “The display technology is the most challenging component. The development gets more complex to provide sophisticated features,” a spokesman for BMW said via email. What hurdles remain for widespread use of mirrorless cars? Unlike mirror images, the mirrorless system has yet to accurately reproduce colors on the monitor, Denso’s Iwata said. “Although (color accuracy) does not affect safety . . . we believe it will affect the commercial value of products,” she said. Another challenge is maintaining the basic functionality of conventional cars while pursuing unconventional designs, she said, pointing out that side mirrors have been used by drivers to gauge the width of their cars. Another concern is how to ensure safety if a monitor malfunctions, Miyashita of the transport ministry said. “When the system is completely broken, drivers may be able to tell because nothing would be shown on the monitors. But the challenge is how to warn drivers when there is a slight delay in images — like when a monitor doesn’t immediately show what is present,” he said.

transportation
carmakers
autos
bmw
mirrorless cars


Do chimp rituals reveal roots of religion?

Abstract: How did gods evolve? I can’t promise to answer a question of such gravity this week, but I can perhaps raise some interesting ideas. Note that I’m not specifically referring to the Christian, Islamic or Judean deity — I’m speaking more broadly about the roots of our belief in a higher power. Some scientists believe religion has evolved over time. It’s similar, they say, to the way in which giraffes acquired long necks or mammals produced milk for their offspring — it’s a trait that has helped humanity to survive. If that’s the case with religion, then it probably evolved in stages over time. Ancestors of modern giraffes, for example, had shorter necks, while primitive mammals produced a liquid far less nutritious than milk. A wide variety of religious beliefs can be found in all human cultures. And yet, for a long time scientists didn’t have a clear idea of how such beliefs might have evolved in our distant ancestors. Recently, however, biologists working in Guinea appear to have found evidence of an odd ritual performed by chimpanzees. This isn’t to suggest the scientists might have found a chimpanzee god or anything, but they have detected a behavior that could form the basis for belief, superstition and even faith. Laura Kehoe, a Ph.D. student at the Humboldt University of Berlin, has been studying the influence of agriculture on biodiversity. She had noticed that some of the trees in the area she was covering had some unusual scratches and markings. She set up some cameras around the trees and waited. Upon reviewing the video footage, she was astounded to see chimpanzees coming to the trees and, er, worshipping them. Well … that’s perhaps going a bit too far. Nevertheless, the chimpanzees did bring stones to the trees and place them in hollow sections in the trunk. They also bashed the trees with rocks. “Maybe we found the first evidence of chimpanzees creating a kind of shrine that could indicate sacred trees,” Kehoe wrote in the journal Scientific Reports. We have long had a natural and completely understandable fascination with our fellow apes, especially chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest relatives. When primatologist Jane Goodall discovered in the 1960s that chimpanzees use tools, it caused a worldwide sensation. Ever since, discoveries about the behavior and intelligence of orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas have gradually chipped away at the traits we once considered to be uniquely human. It could even be argued that there’s nothing uniquely human about us anymore, only that we are able to perform tasks better. Sure, chimpanzees can use rocks to break nuts but I’d like to see them build a car. Chimpanzees have also exhibited ritual behavior that is difficult to explain. Some actions are horrific. I remember a case in which biologists witnessed the killing of an adult male chimpanzee. The dead male had been horribly mutilated: the chimpanzee’s face had been battered, its throat gouged and it had been disembowled. If that wasn’t violent enough in human terms, biologists also found that the chimpanzees sexual organs had been ripped off and discarded 30 meters away from the body. The biologists speculated that the victim had been deliberately emasculated as part of some ritual. Other less disturbing examples of ritual behaviors include chimpanzees performing strange dances in the middle of a rainstorm or as a bushfire approaches (when all other animals are fleeing for their lives). What does all this really mean? Well, it’s hard to tell. I asked Kehoe whether scientists could devise a test to understand such ritual behaviors better. “We could develop an experimental set-up that might be able to test the hypothesis,” she says, “but it would be premature.” Indeed, Kehoe believes that it’s better to protect endangered animals before trying to understand their behavior. “We first need to secure these chimps’ survival in the wild,” she says. “It’s a fascinating behavior that we have no chance of figuring out unless we make drastic changes and prioritize nature.” OK, I was chastened — we can’t allow the population of these animals, our closest relatives, to be killed off. Poaching, disease and habitat destruction has already taken a terrible toll on chimpanzee populations worldwide. While scientists believe about 2 million chimpanzees once roamed the planet, current estimates put their number somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000. I’m hopeful the Humboldt team’s discovery will, in some way, help to ensure that chimpanzees will be protected.

evolution
behavior
chimpanzees
ritual behavior


In Japan, all other fruits bow to the top banana

Abstract: The government’s scheme to reignite inflation has not been very successful so far. Though consumer prices did rise a bit, the increase was based on things like high oil prices, the strong dollar and a boost in the consumption tax, and lately deflation seems to have kicked in again. When oil prices were high, wheat and corn prices rose too, thus raising the price of related products. But even those products are now slightly cheaper than they were a year ago. It’s just that the media, in deference to Abenomics, isn’t really reporting it. There is one food item that has shown a steady rise in price: bananas. According to the Japan Banana Importers Association (JBIA), the wholesale price of imported bananas has gone up by 30-40 percent since 2014, mainly due to the lower value of the yen. Add to that the 3 percent hike in the consumption tax and bananas, the most ubiquitous fruit in Japan, would seem to be much more expensive than they were five years ago. However, many people may not have noticed, since banana prices have always been lower than those of other fruits in Japan. And they still are. As a matter of fact, when the JBIA surveyed consumers in 2014, 65 percent of respondents said they ate bananas regularly specifically because of the low price, which, at the time, was about ¥350 per kilogram wholesale (with one banana weighing about 150 grams). Relatively speaking, however, that’s pretty expensive, since the per-kilogram price between 1975 and about 2010 remained stable within the ¥180-250 range. In 2012 it was around ¥190. Obviously that makes for a fairly significant increase, but people still think of bananas as being cheap. The reason is context. Whenever foreigners are surveyed about prices in Japan, fruit is always cited as being overpriced, but basically, they are comparing Japanese fruit prices to those in their home countries. Japanese people tend to think of fruit as a species of dessert, and they prefer very sweet fruit, which local growers provide, but at a premium. Citrus fruits are considered too sour by most Japanese — except for mandarin oranges ( mikan ), which are prized for their sweetness and are very easy to peel. The agriculture ministry says that per-capita consumption of fruit in Japan is about half that of the European Union. In the 1960s, even bananas were thought of as a special treat. They were a delicacy at the time, grown sparingly in Okinawa and parts of Kyushu. Back then, you would buy one banana at a time. When trade was liberalized in the ’70s, bananas were one of the first agricultural products to be imported in large amounts, initially from Taiwan and Ecuador. Now bananas account for 60 percent of all fruit imports, and 90 percent of the bananas sold in Japan are grown in the Philippines. According to the financial magazine Toyo Keizai, households of at least two people buy an average of 18 kg of bananas a year, well ahead of the No. 2 fruit, mandarins, at 13 kg a year. The main reason is that bananas have developed negorokan , or “the perception of being reasonably priced,” though this could change due to demographics. In 2014 the Japan Business Press reported that fruit consumption in general was dropping in Japan because young people didn’t eat fruit — or, at least, not in their raw form. There has been an increase in processed fruits sold as confections and beverages, which appeal to younger people more than they do to their elders, who still see fresh fruit as a treat. Japanese in their 70s consume on average 152 grams of fresh fruit a day; Japanese in their 30s, only 61 grams. This specialized image of fruit also explains why Japanese growers can get away with charging so much for their wares. Though the notorious ¥100,000 melon is an extreme exception, it does represent a model that is fairly widespread. Fruit is often characterized in Japan as the most appropriate gift, and people tend to pay more for gifts. At present, fruit growers are protected from much cheaper imports by high tariffs that will be removed if and when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) goes into effect. In preparation for that day, local growers are positioning their produce as luxury items for export to well-to-do Asians. If bananas are an exception to this rule, too, it’s because they are overwhelmingly imported from the Philippines, which did not participate in TPP negotiations. The country already has an Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan. Starting in the 1960s, Japanese trading companies invested in Philippine banana plantations, and in the 1980s growers started moving plantations to higher elevations, since the resulting fruit tends to be sweeter and that’s what Japanese consumers want. Though China and India produce the most bananas in the world, they don’t export many. The Philippines is the third-biggest banana exporter in the world, and the fastest-growing, and Japan no longer has a monopoly on what they ship. The Japanese market’s reliance on bananas from the Philippines caused some problems a few years back when soil bacteria spread by one of the typhoons that ripped through the Philippines affected banana trees and decreased production by 4 percent between 2010 and 2013, thus driving up prices in Japan. In 2012, however, China — a banana importer as well as a grower — informally embargoed bananas from the Philippines due to the two countries’ disagreement over control of the Spratly Islands, so there were more bananas to send to other countries, including Japan, thus explaining the sharp drop in prices in the latter months of 2012. Nevertheless, the banana’s status in Japan seems guaranteed by economics and convenience, even among young people who, in the aforementioned agricultural ministry survey, said that one of the reasons they don’t eat fresh fruit is because it’s “messy.” Japanese people don’t think of an apple as a ready-to-eat snack the way Americans do. They have to peel and slice it first. Bananas, on the other hand, are perfectly packaged.


Death toll rises after crash of Indonesia chopper during terror raid

Abstract: JAKARTA - The death toll from an Indonesian military helicopter crash rose to 13 on Monday, the military said, with the discovery of the body of a missing soldier. The helicopter was on a mission Sunday to capture the country’s most wanted militant when it crashed and burst into flames. Twelve bodies were found Sunday, and military spokesman Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman said the 13th victim, a first lieutenant, was found in the wreckage. The Bell 412-EP helicopter was carrying 13 soldiers and crew when it went down about 35 minutes after taking off from Poso district’s Watutau village, said Maj. Gen. Agus Surya Bakti, the regional military chief overseeing South and Central Sulawesi provinces. It was not yet known what caused the 3-year-old helicopter to crash, though thunderstorms were thought to have played a part, Agus said. More than 2,500 security forces, including elite army troops, have intensified their operations this year in Poso, a mountainous district of Central Sulawesi province considered an extremist hotbed, to try to capture Indonesia’s most wanted militant, Abu Wardah Santoso. He leads the East Indonesia Mujahidin network, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. At least five members of the network were killed by security forces this past week. Members of the group are thought to be hiding in Poso, where more than 1,000 people died in 2001 and 2002 in violence between Christians and Muslims. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of about 250 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, including plane and train crashes and ferry sinkings.


Two British ships arrive in Japan to transport plutonium for storage in U.S.

Abstract: Two British ships arrived in eastern Japan on Monday to transport a shipment of plutonium — enough to make dozens of atomic bombs — to the U.S. for storage under a bilateral agreement. The ships docked at the coastal village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, which is home to the nation’s main nuclear research facility, the Japan Atomic and Energy Agency, according to Kyodo News and citizens’ groups. Loading the plutonium-filled casks onto the ships, both fitted with naval guns and other protective devices, was expected to take several hours. The Pacific Egret and Pacific Heron, both operated by Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd., will take the 331 kg (730 pounds) of plutonium to the Savannah River Site, a U.S. government facility in South Carolina, under a pledge made by Japan in 2014. The plutonium, mostly from the U.S. and some from France originally, had been used for research purposes. Japanese officials refused to confirm details, citing security reasons. Japan’s stockpile and its fuel-reprocessing ambitions to use plutonium as fuel for power generation have been a source of international security concerns. Japan has accumulated a massive stockpile of plutonium — 11 tons in the country and another 36 tons that have been reprocessed in Britain and France and are waiting to be returned — enough to make nearly 6,000 atomic bombs. The latest shipment comes just ahead of a nuclear security summit in Washington later this month, and is seen as a step to showcase both countries’ nuclear nonproliferation efforts. Washington has increasingly voiced concerns about the nuclear spent-fuel-reprocessing plans by Japan and China to produce plutonium for energy generation, a technology South Korea also wants to acquire, saying they pose security and proliferation risks. Japan began building a major reprocessing plant with French state-owned company Areva in the early 1990s. The trouble-plagued project has been delayed ever since, and in November its opening was postponed until 2018 to allow for more safety upgrades and inspections. Experts say launching the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture will not ease the situation, because Japan has little hope of achieving a spent-fuel recycling program. Japan’s Monju plutonium-burning fast breeder reactor, suspended for more than 20 years, is now on the verge of being closed due to poor safety records and technical problems, while optional plans to burn uranium-plutonium mixtures of MOX fuel in conventional reactors have been delayed since the Fukushima disaster. Only two of the country’s 43 workable reactors are currently online.

u.s .
u.k .
nuclear weapons
nuclear energy
plutonium


Philippine rebel says Islamic State group may gain from autonomy delay

Abstract: KUALA LUMPUR - The head of a Philippine Muslim rebel group warned Monday that the Islamic State group could gain from frustrations in the country’s south following the failure of the Philippine Congress to pass an autonomy bill as part of a peace agreement. Murad Ebrahim, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said the militant Islamic State group has attempted over the past year to recruit supporters in Mindanao but his group has worked to convince them that the peace pact signed with the government in 2014 was the best solution. But he said the delay in enactment of the bill that aims to establish a more powerful and better-funded autonomous region for minority Muslims has led to frustrations that could be capitalized by the Islamic State group and other small hard-line rebel bodies. Malaysia is a facilitator in the peace talks, and Murad spoke while passing through Kuala Lumpur. “There have been some efforts of penetration but they have not succeeded in establishing a stronghold in Mindanao,” he said during a news conference. “But now after the non-passage of the (bill), we are quite concerned that they can capitalize on this because the (frustration) of the people in the area is now very strong.” The 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberalization Front dropped its secessionist bid and settled for broader autonomy for minority Muslims in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation in a Malaysia-brokered pact it signed with Manila in 2014. The conflict has left 150,000 people dead and stunted development in the country’s poorest region. Under the deal, a bill was submitted to Congress to create the autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro. The bill’s early passage was stalled by anger over the killing last year of 44 police commandos in fighting that involved some fighters from the Moro group. Lawmakers ended the last regular session of their term last month without passing the bill. Murad said his group will not abandon its arm struggle but will not revert to violence as long as the peace process has a chance to move forward. He said he is hopeful that the new president, to be elected later this year, will support and continue the efforts for peace.


Japan lists medical facilities suitable for foreign tourists

Abstract: With tourism hitting all-time highs, the Japan Tourism Agency has compiled a list of medical institutions that are particularly suited for non-Japanese patients. In all, 326 facilities made the list, with every prefecture represented except Aomori. Criteria include a 24-hour admissions policy and communication in English in certain departments, including internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics. The agency hopes the list will encourage non-Japanese to seek help when needed, an official told The Japan Times on Monday. Travelers can find the list on the Japan National Tourism Organization’s website , where they can search by area, language and medical department. Apart from English, languages offered include Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, while available medical departments include dermatology, urology, orthopedic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology. The list is based on a government action plan compiled in June for turning Japan into a tourism-oriented country. One of the items was providing better information for foreign travelers who fall ill in Japan. Along with the list of medical institutions, the tourism agency has also created a general guide on how to use medical services. Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Thai, the guide is published on the JNTO’s website and is also intended to be distributed at tourist information centers, hotels and medical facilities. It offers information about diagnosis and where suitable treatment can be obtained, and gives advice about dealing with hospital red tape and payment. It also serves as an emergency medical phrase book, giving Japanese translations for symptoms. To help municipalities deal with tourists who fall sick within their jurisdiction, the agency has also set up consultation centers for local officials that they can contact for advice on handling non-Japanese. Meanwhile, the agency has launched a drive to encourage visitors to obtain international travel medical insurance. A 2013 survey by the agency showed some 30 percent of travelers to Japan had not bought trip insurance, the official said. The government aims to secure annual visitor numbers of 20 million people by the 2020 Olympics. A record number of 19.73 million tourists visited Japan in 2015, marking a 47.1 percent increase from 2014, according to the JNTO.


Angry blog post sparks movement for improved day care

Abstract: What started out as a mother’s online rant about Japan’s notorious day care center shortage has evolved into a national movement, galvanizing angry mothers into staging a demonstration and online campaign blasting the government. Titled “ Hoikuen Ochita. Nihon Shine!!! (Didn’t Get a Slot in Day Care. Drop Dead, Japan!!!), ” the blog post penned by an anonymous mother shed light on the continuing struggle with the day care shortage that has served as a disincentive for mothers to return to work. The blogger asserted that the failure to address the problem belies Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s vow to “promote dynamic engagement of all citizens,” including women. The Feb. 15 entry has since proved so popular that it has even made its way into Diet debates, with Abe forced to respond to the groundswell of public outrage. Several dozen people inspired by the blog — mostly women — held a rally in front of the Diet on Saturday to call for an increase in the number of day care centers, media reports said. Others who had noted the blog began an online campaign on the petition site Change.org demanding a systemic overhaul. They said Japan will “die” without improvements to child-rearing assistance. Change.org announced that campaigners would submit the signatures — which topped 25,000 as of Monday evening — to Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Shiori Yamao on Wednesday. The vociferous reactions were a “total surprise,” the blogger told The Japan Times via email Monday. “But the way things turned out also confirmed my views that not being able to enter day care is a huge problem for many child-rearing households,” said the blogger, who claims to be a Tokyo mother in her 30s. “I guess lots of people are frustrated with the status quo despite (Abe’s) slogan to create a society where all 100 million people can play an active role.” Abe has brushed off the blog’s criticisms, calling it apocryphal and citing its anonymous nature during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Feb. 29. Abe instead stressed that the government has already set in place a batch of policies intended to boost capacity in day care centers and draw more nursery workers into the perennially short-staffed industry. Indeed, welfare ministry statistics point to a steep rise in the annual number of newly established slots at day care centers over the past few years — 72,430 in fiscal 2013 and 146,257 in fiscal 2014 — in a result that surpassed even the Abe government’s initial goal to accommodate an additional 200,000 children in two years. The fiscal 2016 budget draft, which passed the Lower House last week, also highlighted the government’s moves to address the situation. The draft proposes an investment of a combined ¥119.1 billion in, among other things, efforts to open another 200,000 slots over two years. Despite these improved efforts, the number of children on waiting lists shows no signs of thinning. Those figures remain flat over the past five years, totaling 23,167 nationwide as of April 2015, up 1,796 from the previous year — meaning applications are outpacing the number of slots. Behind this is the fact that, despite the spike in slots made available, many day care centers have not been able to accept as many children as they have room for due to the staff shortage, said Hideki Sato, vice chairman of Zenkoku Hoiku Kyogikai (National Child-Rearing Association). According to Sato, a “negative” image has long dogged the profession, with many nursery workers facing unstable forms of employment — including part- and fixed-time positions — as well as low wages that are hardly on par with the physically and mentally taxing responsibilities of the job. As a result, many qualified teachers opt not to work in the sector from the beginning, he said. “It is imperative their treatment and working style be improved,” Sato said.

shinzo abe
child-rearing
day-care centers
female empowerment


Overworked teachers in Japan call for change as extracurricular supervision takes toll

Abstract: As this year’s elementary school graduates enter junior high school in April, one of their biggest concerns will be which extracurricular club to join. Known as bukatsu , the clubs are so central to the Japanese junior high and high school experience that they not only determine students’ friendships but also affect their later development. But this long-held tradition is now coming under fire, and from an unexpected quarter: The teachers forced to supervise them say the expectations placed on them are inhumane and driving them to exhaustion. We look at the emerging controversy over extracurricular clubs: What is bukatsu? First-year pupils are typically instructed immediately after enrollment to join a bukatsu outside their classroom hours, with their choices ranging from athletic activities, such as soccer, baseball, basketball and swimming, to nonathletic pursuits, including art, calligraphy, tea ceremony and brass band. Students practice their chosen activities almost daily, mostly after school, over the weekend and sometimes even before school. In what resembles a military culture, strong vertical relationships permeate their activities, with younger students often expected to show unquestioning subordination to their senpai masters a year or two older. Since each activity usually takes place within the premises of schools, teachers are tasked with supervising whatever club they are assigned to and coaching the members — although some teachers are no expert in what they are supposed to teach. Bukatsu is technically regarded as a “volunteer” activity under the education ministry’s current guidelines. But many junior high schools and, to a lesser extent, high schools pressure students to join one. What is the history of bukatsu? Originally incorporated into the school curriculum around 1970, the precursor of bukatsu — kurabu katsudo (club activity) — remained an official subject until 1998. But even before that, many schools had reduced bukatsu to the after-school activity that it is today in order to cut the amount of class time under the yutori (relaxed) education policy of the early 1980s through the mid-2000s that was designed to ease student stress, according to Hiroshi Nishijima, an associate professor of education studies at Tokyo Metropolitan University. Its 1998 withdrawal from the school curriculum, however, didn’t put an end to the culture of bukatsu, because many teachers back then regarded it as an effective way to teach unruly students discipline, Nishijima said. What are the pros and cons of bukatsu? Bukatsu is often credited with improving students’ sociability, perseverance and the spirit of teamwork. It also gives them easy, low-cost access to whatever athletic or artistic activities they find interesting, at times even influencing their choice of a future career path. At the same time, the clubs take a heavy toll on teachers. Complaints are rife that teachers who supervise the clubs are overworked to such an extent that they barely have time for their private life, causing some to have mental breakdowns or marital problems. In 2011, then-26-year-old Hirohito Maeda, an Osaka teacher, reportedly died of heart failure after toiling over his duties both as a class teacher and bukatsu coach for months on end. Indeed, the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey in 2013 found that junior high school teachers in Japan spend 7.7 hours a week supervising extracurricular activities, more than triple the OECD average of 2.1 hours. An education ministry 2006 survey showed 76.2 percent of junior high school teachers nationwide were charged with overseeing bukatsu activities. How tough do teachers have it? Ryusuke, an English teacher in his 30s in central Japan, had until a few years ago been a devoted coach of a tennis team he was assigned to. His dedication, however, didn’t last after he realized his private life was falling apart. Aside from spending a minimum of two hours supervising the team after school, Ryusuke found himself inundated with coaching duties every weekend — sometimes up to 12 hours a day — particularly when he accompanied his team on out-of-town tournaments. On his busiest days, Ryusuke, who asked that his surname be withheld, said he did 100 hours of overtime a month or worked for 90 days straight. He barely had time to interact with his own children at home and prepare for his English class. And most of his extra work went unpaid. In general, teachers don’t get paid for the overtime they do supervising clubs on weekdays. Their weekend coaching duties are supposed to be paid. But the daily allowance typically amounts to a few thousand yen (a maximum of ¥4,000 in Ryusuke’s prefecture), far from enough to offset the expenses they incur, including purchasing training equipment and paying for transportation. “It’s almost like you’re paying to overwork,” Ryusuke said. “The way I see it, bukatsu is a serious labor issue that borders on illegal.” What steps are being taken to counter the situation? Ryusuke and five other like-minded teachers recently launched an online petition demanding a revision to the education ministry’s current guidelines so teachers can decline to supervise club activities. Today’s guidelines stipulate bukatsu is an option for students but says nothing about the obligation for teachers. This ambiguity has customarily given school principals leeway to assign rank-and-file teachers to a club activity at the beginning of each school year. Ryusuke tried to defy the tradition last year by requesting he be spared bukatsu duties, to no avail. On Thursday, the campaigners submitted 23,522 signatures to education minister Hiroshi Hase. What needs to change? The education ministry is aware of the problem surrounding overworked teachers. In proposals last summer, an advisory panel to the education minister called for outsourcing bukatsu activities. Nishijima of Tokyo Metropolitan University agrees. Even today, mothers and fathers volunteer to coach students, but the biggest challenge ahead is “how to systematically support such individuals and evaluate their coaching skills,” he said.

teachers
education
sports
schools
arts
extracurricular activities


Man arrested after doing yoga, meditating on airplane: FBI

Abstract: HONOLULU - A Japan-bound airplane returned to Hawaii because of a violent South Korean passenger who wanted to do yoga instead of sit in his seat, the FBI said. The pilot of the March 26 United Airlines flight from Honolulu International Airport to Narita International Airport turned the plane around after hearing that Hyongtae Pae was yelling at crew members and shoving his wife, the FBI said in a criminal complaint. Pae told the FBI he didn’t want to sit in his seat during the meal service, so he went to the back of the plane to do yoga and meditate. He became angry when his wife and flight attendants told him to return to his seat. “Pae pushed his wife because she was trying to make him stop,” the complaint said. “He felt that she was siding with the flight crew.” He tried to head-butt and bite Marines who were passengers on the flight who tried to force him back to his seat, Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching said at Pae’s detention hearing Wednesday. According to the complaint, he threatened to kill passengers and was yelling that there is no God. Pae went into a rage because he felt the flight crew was ordering him around, Ching said. Ching said Pae shouldn’t be released because he’s a danger to his wife, himself and others. Pae urinated on himself and was on suicide watch at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center, Ching said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang ordered that Pae be released on $25,000 bond, but with certain conditions including not leaving the island of Oahu and undergoing a mental health evaluation. Since the arrest, Pae’s wife has been staying at the Waikiki Gateway Hotel, defense attorney Jin Tae “J.T.” Kim told the judge, who asked whether Pae had financial resources to continue staying there after his release. Kim said he’s working with the consulate to transfer more money to Pae’s wife and find alternate, temporary housing. Chang denied Kim’s request to allow Pae to return home to Korea, because that would involve getting on a plane again. Outside of court, Kim said his client is a 72-year-old retired farmer who traveled from South Korea to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with a Hawaii vacation. It was the couple’s first trip to Hawaii. Pae only recently took up yoga to help with anxiety, Kim said, adding that he was sleep-deprived during the vacation. Pae told the FBI he hadn’t been able to sleep in 11 days.


Japan's electricity shake-up gives power to the people

Abstract: Japan’s electricity market receives a fundamental shake-up on Friday, with the introduction of greater competition for households and small businesses. Until now, regional utilities have monopolized supply. There will be some unfamiliar names among the new entrants, bringing with them a wide range of choices and benefits. Following are questions and answers about deregulation in the household electricity market: What does it mean for me? Consumers can now choose their electricity provider. Previously, the 10 regional utilities, including Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co., were the sole providers for their areas. But with deregulation, a wide range of companies can sell power. As of March 25, 266 firms had registered to become electricity providers. Consumers should benefit as providers compete on price and incentives. Users can also choose providers by the way they generate electricity, such as picking those that avoid nuclear or use renewables. How will rate plans differ? Many new players claim their rates will be lower than those charged by the regional utilities. Tokyo Gas Co., a major gas supplier in the Kanto region and one of the new electricity providers, says a household that uses 4,700 kilowatt-hours a year can save ¥8,500 a year by switching to its plan from the one offered by Tepco. There may be conditions attached. Tokyo Gas clients need to get their gas from the company to qualify for a ¥270 monthly discount. Cellphone carrier KDDI Corp. is entering the market. It will return up to 5 percent of monthly power rates in the form of electronic cash credits, but only to its cellphone subscribers . Will switching provider entail rewiring my home? No. The new suppliers will use a household’s existing power cables. However, electricity meters will be replaced, at no charge, with so-called smart meters. Is there a risk of brownouts with small providers? Basically, no. Electricity quality will not change, and if a new provider comes up short for some reason, other companies will supply power to make up for the shortage. Why are so many firms getting involved? Some operators say electricity supply is not that profitable. But it is a good chance for energy-related firms to expand their businesses, while companies in other fields see electricity provision as a way to draw customers to their core pursuits. “As an energy business operator, we always wanted to be a one-stop provider of gas and electricity,” said Kawori Koya of the Residential Sales Strategy Department at Tokyo Gas. Tokyo Gas dominates the household gas market in Kanto and is widely expected to become a strong player in the electricity market. It also provides electricity for large-scale business users, whose market is already liberalized, so it is only natural for it to enter the household market, Koya said. As consumers focus on prices and companies’ reputation in choosing their provider, she said Tokyo Gas has an edge because its rates are some of the lowest and the firm has established a name as a reliable gas provider. Tokyo Gas said that as of Feb. 24, it had about 54,000 contracts from customers waiting to jump ship from Tepco. It aims to have a 10 percent market share in Kanto by 2020. Firms whose main businesses are unrelated to power supply include KDDI and rival cellphone carrier SoftBank, railway operator Tokyu Corp. and travel agency H.I.S. Shinichiro Takiguchi, senior manager at Japan Research Institute, said these firms will use their electricity supply to promote their main businesses. “Electricity is something that everybody uses, so they can approach a wide range of customers,” Takiguchi said. Will regional utilities be able to retain their market share? Possibly. Tepco spokesman Kiyomitsu Kawamoto says while it is true the market environment has changed, Tepco sees the liberalization of the household market as an opportunity, since regional utilities will be able to sell electricity outside their boundaries. Kawamoto admits that when it comes to price, the newcomers are ahead. Utilities were required to get government approval for their rates and therefore could not set a high profit margin. They have already been lowering their prices, leaving little room for further cuts, he said. He said Tepco, which has about 20 million household customers, needs a strategy that does not focus on rates alone. Tepco has partnered with more than 15 firms to provide benefits. For example, SoftBank subscribers can receive discounts on their phone bills. As well as promoting such deals with partners, Tepco believes its customer service know-how, which the firm has built up over decades, is a strong selling point. In some countries, shaking up the market resulted in higher prices. Will this happen in Japan? Takiguchi said rates may rise: Market liberalization has started with way too many players, so prices will fall in the short term due to competition, but a lot of players will not survive and will drop out. “The competition will become weaker, and the competition to lower . . . rates will also weaken,” he said. He also said Japan’s push to boost costly renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, could lead to higher rates.

tokyo electric power co .
electricity
tokyo gas co .
market liberalization


The onsen odyssey of the Japanese snow monkey

Abstract: What would lure a monkey away from his kingdom in the snowcapped mountains and into the concrete jungle of Tokyo? A good soak, of course. That’s the premise of new cinematic commercial from Mitsubishi Estate in which we see a monkey protagonist leaving the natural hot springs of the country with only his wash bucket in hand. He catches a ride on a train to eventually emerge in Japan’s capital and reach his final destination: Tokyo Station. After asking for directions, our hot spring hero finally arrives at Otemachi Onsen. This wild macaque (called nihonzaru in Japanese) is one of the world-famous monkeys that are known to take dips in natural hot springs in Nagano Prefecture during the winter. The Jigokudani Monkey Park, located in Yamanouchi valley, has become a popular tourist spot where visitors can watch these snow monkeys bathe in peace and warmth. If the new Tokyo onsen can drive this little guy in all the way from Nagano, then it must be good. The Otemachi Onsen isn’t any regular urban bathhouse — Mitsubishi Estate was actually able to tap into natural hot spring water right in the middle of the city on a plot of land meant to be a hotel and office complex. The commercial’s scenario is very reminiscent of the classic 1980s Sony Walkman spot in which a monkey enjoys the sonic possibilities of the then “high-tech” cassette player. It seems that a monkey’s opinion is as good as anyone else’s. Seeing as 2016 is, according to the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Monkey, the timing couldn’t be better.

youtube
monkeys
onsen
mitsubishi estate
commercials
japan pulse
hot springs


Japan doubles overseas tourist target for 2020

Abstract: With the goal of drawing 20 million inbound tourists annually by 2020 within reach four years ahead of schedule, the government announced Wednesday it will double the target to 40 million. The ambitious move came after the Japan National Tourism Organization announced in January that a record 19.73 million foreign tourists visited the country in 2015, up 47.3 percent from the previous year. Also under the new goal, which was set at a meeting of a special panel chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the government said it will target ¥8 trillion in spending by overseas visitors by 2020 — more than double last year’s record ¥3.48 trillion. After the Olympics, the government’s aim is to attract 60 million foreign visitors a year by 2030 with the hope they will spend ¥15 trillion annually by that year. “Tourism is an important pillar of our country’s growth strategy, and a trump card for regional revitalization. It is also an engine to boost growth to achieve the ¥600 trillion GDP goal,” Abe said as he closed the panel meeting. “To establish a tourism-based country, I’m determined to take any political measures in advance to be fully prepared.” The new goal is “highly feasible” with the right political will and a continuous effort, tourism minister Keiichi Ishii said. To that end, the government established 10 objectives designed to revamp the country’s tourism industry. Those include opening state guest houses in Kyoto and Akasaka to the public, remodeling national parks by 2020 to provide a more “interactive” experience and strategically enhancing the landscape of major sightseeing spots. The plans also include increasing promotional efforts to attract more tourists from Europe, the United States and Australia, as well as wealthy tourists from other nations. Another key is to ease regulations such as the ban on minpaku private accommodations and to revamp the immigration process at airports through the introduction of advanced technology, according to the panel. “I believe we could successfully establish a new vision of tourism that matches the new era,” Ishii told reporters after the meeting. “I’m determined to make every effort to implement these plans.” In addition, the new goal aims to attract 24 million “repeat” overseas visitors by 2020 — about double the figure in 2015 — and 36 million by 2030. The hope is to attract 70 million foreign guests a year to stay in regional areas by 2020 as well — about 3 times more than in 2015 — and 130 million by 2030. The panel’s plan will also try to boost spending by domestic Japanese tourists to ¥21 trillion by 2020, a 5 percent increase above the average over the past five years, and to ¥22 trillion by 2030. The panel hopes to reach that goal by establishing a system that makes it easier for families to take vacations, thus creating a more constant demand for tourist-linked businesses. After the record number of visitors in 2015, the upward trend shows no signs of slowing. According to JNTO’s data, about 3.74 million people have already visited Japan during the first two month of this year, up 43.7 percent from the same period last year. The surge in the number of foreign tourists and the phenomenon known as bakugai, “explosive” shopping sprees by Chinese tourists, is a positive sign for the slumping economy. Of the record spending seen by overseas tourists in 2015, 40.8 percent was credited to Chinese visitors, according to JNTO.


Tokyo Tower, an enduring tourist landmark

Abstract: Tokyo Tower may no longer be the tallest structure in Japan, nor a full-fledged broadcasting tower, as Tokyo Skytree now holds that joint title. But it is still one of the most popular places for tourists to visit and an icon of the capital, attracting about 2 million visitors annually. From the observation deck, tourists can see myriad skyscrapers below them, all neatly packed in the busy city. In the distance, when the sky is clear, Mount Fuji can be seen. The 333-meter-tall Tokyo Tower ranks 22nd in the world’s tallest towers, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Tokyo Skytree ranks first at 634 meters. Not many know that it costs about ¥21,000 per day to light up the tower, while repainting it, a task carried out every five years, requires 34,000 liters of paint, or a stack of 18-liter paint cans piled twice the height of the red and white tower. It has also helped raise awareness of social issues. In the past, the tower was lit up in purple light in support of a campaign to eradicate violence against women, pink to raise awareness for breast cancer and blue for diabetes. Opened in 1958, Tokyo Tower will be standing for a second Olympics when the capital again hosts the games in 2020. Almost all locations expected to be used by athletes for competition during the Olympics can be observed from Tokyo Tower. A view from Tokyo Tower’s observation deck shows the taillights of cars at Akabanebashi crossing in a scene some say mirrors the tower. | SATOKO KAWASAKI A man takes a photo with his smartphone from the observation deck of Tokyo Tower in Minato Ward last Thursday. | SATOKO KAWASAKI Tourists take in the view from the observation deck of Tokyo Tower last Thursday. | SATOKO KAWASAKI Tokyo Tower is seen last Thursday from Tokyo City View, an observation deck at the Roppongi Hills complex, in Minato Ward. | SATOKO KAWASAKI


Bad driver, bad!: Dog found alone in crashed semi remains mum over who was driving

Abstract: MANKATO, MINNESOTA - One dog apparently has learned a new trick: how to drive a semitruck. Customers at a Minnesota gas station saw a golden Labrador retriever appear to drive the semi across a road Friday. Mankato police say the idling truck apparently was put into gear, then went through a parking lot, across the street and over a curb. The Free Press of Mankato reports a passer-by discovered the dog sitting in the driver’s seat when he jumped into the truck to stop it. David Stegora was at the store when he heard the truck smash into a tree and a parked car. He could not see the driver, but saw the dog climb up near the driver’s side. Police say the truck was taken off the road. The driver had left the unoccupied truck running in a nearby parking lot.


Author, disabilities champion Hirotada Ototake admits to adulterous affairs

Abstract: In a blow that could further humiliate the scandal-tainted ruling party, disabled celebrity author and educator Hirotada Ototake, rumored to be tapped for an election run with the Liberal Democratic Party, apologized Thursday for committing adultery following a report by a tabloid magazine. “My action reported by the magazine amounts to a betrayal against my devoted wife and my supporters, and it’s absolutely unforgivable,” he said in a statement after the tabloid reported his infidelities. Ototake, with no arms and legs due to a congenital disease, had come to symbolize those with disabilities in Japan. Also in his statement, he admitted to what he described as “a sin so serious I can never fully atone for it while alive.” In the article published in Thursday’s issue of Shukan Shincho, the magazine detailed a week-long intimate trip Ototake took with a “woman in her late 20s” to Paris and Tunis from the end of last year. When confronted by the tabloid, Ototake acknowledged the woman was his mistress and that they were in a sexual relationship, explaining he initiated the affair to “seek comfort” after his marriage slipped into a rut. Ototake also revealed to the magazine that he has had inappropriate relationships with five different women in total, including the mistress in question, since his eldest son was born eight years ago. The 39-year-old shot to stardom with his 1998 memoir “Gotai Fumanzoku (No One’s Perfect)” while still an undergraduate, before carving out a diverse career as a sports journalist, elementary school teacher, actor and Tokyo education board member. Reports emerged earlier this month that he would run as a LDP-backed candidate in the summer Upper House election. His well-known pronouncement that “disabilities don’t limit one’s potential” was hailed as being in harmony with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s goal to promote “dynamic engagement of all citizens.” The revelations, however, will likely hurt his well-crafted image and undermine his chances of entering politics. Ototake’s sex scandal comes on the heels of LDP lawmaker and “paternity leave pioneer” Kensuke Miyazaki’s shock resignation in February after he admitted to engaging in an extramarital affair with a bikini model. “It’s hard to rebuild trust, but I would like to take this opportunity to do soul-searching and deal with my family matters,” Ototake said in his statement. His apology was followed by a statement by his wife saying she “shares responsibility” for her husband’s infidelity and “feels deeply sorry” for it.

ldp
scandals
upper house election
hirotada ototake


'Black widow' likely to plead not guilty to cyanide murders

Abstract: KYOTO - A woman dubbed the “black widow,” who is accused of murdering her husband and other partners with cyanide, is expected to plead not guilty to all charges in her upcoming trial, sources close to the matter said. Documents submitted by lawyers for 69-year-old defendant Chisako Kakehi indicate she will likely deny the charges of murder and attempted murder-robbery involving four men, the sources said Wednesday. The papers were presented during pretrial talks at the Kyoto District Court. A lay judge trial for the four cases will be held at the court, but the date of the first hearing has yet to be set. Kakehi has been indicted over the killings of her 75-year-old husband Isao, and common-law husbands Masanori Honda, 71, and Minoru Hioki, 75, as well as the attempted murder-robbery of 79-year-old acquaintance Toshiaki Suehiro. During questioning after her arrests, Kahehi admitted involvement in all four cases, saying she had the men take cyanide in capsule form. But her defense counsel will insist on her innocence in the trial, countering the prosecution argument on her criminal responsibility and the cause of the victims’ deaths, according to the sources. Kakehi was first arrested and then indicted in late 2014 over the murder of her husband Isao, who died at their home in Kyoto Prefecture in December 2013. They had married the previous month. She was indicted in February last year on a charge of killing Honda in March 2012 by poisoning him with a lethal dose of cyanide at a coffee shop in Osaka. According to the indictment, she also tried to kill Suehiro by having him ingest cyanide in December 2007 to avoid paying debts owed to him. He died of gastric malignant lymphoma around 18 months afterward. Last September, Kakehi was charged with murdering Hioki in September 2013 by having him take a lethal dose of cyanide at a restaurant in Hyogo Prefecture. Of more than 10 men romantically involved with or associated with Kakehi, eight are known to have died, enabling her to inherit some ¥1 billion ($8.9 million) in total, according to investigative sources.

murder
serial killer
cyanide
black widow


Tree climber disrupts Seattle traffic

Abstract: SEATTLE - Police were trying to coax a man out of a sequoia tree in downtown Seattle after he climbed nearly to the top on Tuesday, disrupting traffic. Police say someone called 911 after 11 a.m. to report a man in the conifer next to Macy’s department store. When authorities arrived, he refused to speak with them and threw an apple at medics. “Issue appears to be between the man and the tree,” Seattle police tweeted. By Tuesday afternoon, traffic was being tied up as officials closed nearby roads as a precaution. “It is quite a spectacle, honestly,” police spokesman Patrick Michaud told The Seattle Times. Michaud said police wanted to make sure the man could get down without hurting himself or someone else and added that rushing it could create a dangerous situation. Police said the man appeared to be suffering from a crisis and had been yelling intermittently. The incident attracted onlookers, and a local TV station showed the incident live all day. It also grew in popularity on social media, with new Twitter accounts dedicated to it and the hashtag #manintree trending. Negotiators on a fire truck’s ladder were still trying to talk the man down from the tree at 6 p.m. The unidentified man, appearing disheveled with a large beard, long hair and a red knit hat he dropped during the day, also ripped branches from the tree and tossed them at the ground and at negotiators, who caught many of them. Seattle Department of Transportation officials will review the health of the tree, believed to have been there since the 1970s, once the incident is resolved, police said.


Nintendo levels up smartphones with wallpapers and cases

Abstract: As gamers anxiously await for the release of Nintendo’s new Miitomo app on March 17, smartphone users can level up their devices now with new wallpapers and cases from the Big N. Nintendo’s Line account Last September, Nintendo jumped into the brave new social media world by releasing its Line account . The profile features a sassy green Toad named Kinopio that will chat with you using pre-programmed messages, but that’s not its main selling point. About twice a month, the Line account will send you free wallpapers for your phone. Usually they are related to recently released games, such as “ Fire Emblem ” or “ The Legend of Zelda ,” but they have been sending out calendars as well. At the end of every month, Nintendo will send users a new calendar that features Nintendo characters celebrating upcoming holidays. They had Kinopio riding a Rudolph-inspired Yoshi in December and him throwing beans at Boos for Setsubun in February. “Super Mario Maker” wallpaper If you’re not happy with Nintendo’s wallpapers, why not create your own using “Super Mario Maker”? Inspired by Nintendo’s Wii U game, users can open up a special website and build their own “Super Mario” level in the browser . After choosing which graphics style they want (anything from 8-bit to polygons), users can download the screenshot for their computer or phone. All of the instructions are in Japanese, but the intuitive interface makes it clear what to do. Just pick computer or phone, the resolution size, and then start decorating your level with as many Goombas as you want. Phone covers Nintendo has been letting third-party companies produce phone cases for a while now, but it’s kicking it up a notch with Kirby covers. A recent line featuring the big pink puffball has a retro feel as it features him from his 8-bit days as he bounces through clouds and rides stars . If that’s not cute enough for you, gamers can also buy a variety of Pikachu and Pokémon smartphone cases and IC card holders . So whether you want to dress up your smartphone on the inside or the outside, Nintendo has you — and your phone — covered.

nintendo
apps
line
super mario
miitomo
japan pulse


Blogger's viral tirade on day care puts Abe on back foot

Abstract: An anonymous Japanese blogger’s tirade about failing to secure a day care place for her child has spurred Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into action. In a Feb. 15 blog post titled “ I couldn’t get day care — die Japan!!! ” a person claiming to be a mother said she was preparing to quit her job as she had nowhere to leave her child. “So what am I supposed to do now?” she wrote, using unusually coarse language in the post shared about 50,000 times on social media. “Give me a damn break Japan.” After initially brushing off the post, Abe has promised remedies. On Friday, he pledged to add detailed measures in legislation this spring to reduce waiting lists for day care — the figure climbed to 23,167 last April. The same day, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads, set up a task force to propose fixes, and the head of Komeito, his coalition partner, suggested using extra budget to this end. “Applications for nursery schools have increased at a pace faster than we can provide places for,” Abe said during a session of the Diet on Monday in response to one of a raft of questions throughout the day on the issue. “We will do our utmost to cut waiting lists to zero so that people can both work and raise children.” Grappling with an aging and shrinking population, Abe has made boosting women’s participation in the workforce a pillar of his economic policies. He may have decided to take action to stem a sagging support rate among women — 37 percent compared with 47 percent for men in a Mainichi newspaper poll this month — ahead of the Upper House election this summer, said Mari Miura, a professor of gender and politics at Sophia University in Tokyo. “It’s clear that Abe has little understanding of the hardships faced by working women,” Miura said. “The LDP is scrambling to ensure that this issue doesn’t blow up before the elections.” Long waiting lists at publicly run day care centers have forced many mothers to stay at home, and made women hesitant about switching jobs due to concerns they may lose places for their children. Baby-sitters aren’t widely available — and are very expensive. “While the number of day care facilities has increased, there are also more working women,” said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “Given how quickly the working population is projected to decrease, we need to ensure that people who want to work, but currently can’t due to child care issues, can actually work.” Unleashing the labor of that population would mean big gains for the workforce. Last year, 950,000 women cited childbirth and child care as reasons why they weren’t searching for a job, even though they had a desire to work. When first questioned about the blog post in the Diet on Feb. 29 by opposition lawmaker and working mother Shiori Yamao, Abe refused to address the issue, saying the anonymous nature of the post meant he “couldn’t verify the content.” That struck a nerve with working parents on Twitter, where people who sympathized with the blogger used a hashtag saying: “It was me who was rejected from day care.” The response to the blog spurred a protest outside the Diet on March 5. Nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition on change.org for the government to reduce waiting lists by improving working conditions for day care workers — a separate blog highlighting the sector’s meager pay was also picked up by the mainstream media. A day care worker makes about ¥214,200 ($1,880) per month, compared with the average across sectors of ¥325,600. Legislation to raise salary subsidies may help attract more workers to the industry or at least stop people from quitting. A survey of 31,550 child-care workers conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government between 2008 and 2013 showed 1 in 5 workers was considering quitting, citing low pay as the top reason.


How a U.N. committee riled Japan with its criticism of women's rights

Abstract: Recent recommendations issued to Japan by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women sparked a sharp response from Tokyo. The U.N. body touched on several politically sensitive issues, including that of the so-called “comfort women” forced to serve troops during World War II. Below, we look at what the committee does and the accusations it leveled at Japan. What is the committee? The committee monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted at the 34th United Nations General Assembly in 1979. In total 189 countries have signed the convention. Japan joined in 1985. The committee consists of 23 independent experts on women’s issues who convene about three times a year to track progress by member states in meeting the convention’s requirements. The committee is chaired by Japanese women’s rights lawyer Yoko Hayashi, who was elected to the post in February last year. What is the reviews process? About six or seven states party to the convention are reviewed every time the committee meets. At the session that took place between Feb. 15 to March 4, the committee examined eight countries, including Japan. Party states are obliged to submit a report every four years. The country under review must answer preliminary questions in writing before it attends the committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. A task force within the committee is set up to review each country, and the committee produces a final report based on the discussion. What was said about Japan? The committee did recognize Japan’s efforts toward better working conditions for women, but it urged the nation to make changes in several areas, especially those related to parenthood. For one, the committee pointed out that the now-defunct Eugenic Protection Act forced persons with disabilities into sterilization. It said approximately 16,500 cases of sterilization were conducted without consent, noting that Japan made no efforts to compensate victims — and nor did it apologize. The report recommended that Japan conduct a study on the forced sterilizations and prosecute and punish those who conducted them. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights also pointed to this issue back in 1998, but Tokyo has taken no action to remedy it, as the program was allowed under the law of the time. Tomoko Yonezu, a member of DPI Women’s Network Japan, which advocates for the rights of women with disabilities, said the recommendation represents pressure on the Japanese government and is a big step forward. “Some women with disabilities are still asked if they really want to have babies and are even advised to have abortions,” said Yonezu, 67, who suffered from polio. “Some Japanese people still harbor a bias against disabled people, and think they should not have children.” The U.N. body also expressed concerns that Japan prohibits women from remarrying immediately after divorce, but not men. The Supreme Court last December ruled that the six-month ban is unconstitutional. In the wake of that decision, women still must wait 100 days to remarry. The U.N. also urged Japan to amend the Maternal Protection Act to “ensure the legality of abortion.” Under the current law, abortion can only be conducted with spousal consent, even if the pregnancy is a result of rape, or if the economic or physical conditions would gravely endanger the mother’s health. The U.N. urged Japan to remove the requirement of spousal consent and ensure that abortion can be allowed in case of serious fetal impairment. How did the government react? The recommendation this year touched on several politically sensitive areas. Especially controversial were the commission’s comments on the agreement reached between Tokyo and Seoul last December over comfort women: It criticized the deal for not fully adopting a “victim-centered approach.” The report went on to say that some of the victims died “without obtaining an official unequivocal recognition of responsibility” from Japan for the “serious human rights violations that they suffered,” and urged Japan to “provide full and effective redress and reparation, including compensation, satisfaction, official apologies and rehabilitative services.” Under the bilateral accord, Seoul is to set up a foundation to which Tokyo will provide ¥1 billion in a fund for surviving victims. Additionally, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his “most sincere apologies and remorse” to all the women. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the U.N. criticism is “deplorable and unacceptable.” He also holds that the concluding observations are far from the perception of the international community, and said the criticism missed the point. A high-ranking government official said Japan had worked hard to build consensus around the issue. He added, he suspects that the mention of the comfort women was politically motivated, as the task force that reviewed Japan was headed by Xiaoqaio Zou, a Chinese committee member. Tokyo was also unnerved by the committee’s initial intention to criticize the 1947 Imperial Household Law, which only allows a male to succeed the Chrysanthemum throne. The government lodged a protest with the committee, which later removed the criticism. Abe on Monday restated criticism of the matter, saying the Imperial household system, rooted in the county’s history and traditions, has long been supported by the public. “It is obvious that (the law) does not intent to discriminate against women,” Abe said at a meeting of an Upper House committee. He said the move by the U.N. committee was “totally inappropriate.”


The centuries-old charm of Japan's cherry blossoms

Abstract: The time of year much awaited by many people across the country is finally near: the blooming period of the nation’s beloved sakura (cherry blossoms). Numerous people plan hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) under the trees, one of the biggest spring events on the Japanese calendar. But when did people first start cherishing sakura? And when and how did they start gathering for viewing parties under the trees? Following are questions and answers about sakura and hanami: What does hanami mean? Hana literally means “flowers” in Japanese, and mi means “viewing.” But when the two terms are combined, it usually means cherry-blossom viewing, indicating cherry blossoms have been adored for centuries. Until the Nara Period (710-794), the nation’s most favorite flower was ume (Japanese apricot), most likely because of a strong cultural influence at that time from China, where ume originated. But in the Heian Period (794-1185), sakura became more popular among Japanese aristocrats. Many experts link this transition to the 894 abolition of Kentoshi, Japan’s official delegations to China. The abolition cut off Japan from Chinese influence and helped people cultivate their own culture based on the local climate and nature, they say. After the mid-Heian Period, “the flower” mentioned in poems usually referred to sakura, even if it wasn’t stated explicitly, according to Yozaburo Shirahata, professor of comparative culture studies at Chubu University who published the book “Hanami to Sakura” (“Hanami and Cherry Blossoms”) in 2000. Did the Heian Period have hanami parties similar to now? No. During the Heian Period, hanami was an elegant custom among the well-educated aristocracy only and did not involve crowds eating and drinking under cherry trees. In 1598, the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi held an extravagant hamani party at Daigoji Temple in Kyoto for feudal lords and their followers, but the practice had yet to spread to the common people. According to Shirahata, today’s hanami parties are characterized by three elements: crowds, food and drinks, and a large number of sakura trees. Today’s hanami parties trace their roots to after the mid-1600s in Edo, today’s Tokyo. One of the earliest hanami venues was Ueno of today’s Taito Ward, which is still a very popular place with numerous sakura trees. How did hanami become popular with nonaristocrats? During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Japan enjoyed freedom from warfare at home and abroad for more than two centuries. This allowed common people, in particular those living in Edo, to nurture a rich culture of their own. Edo was the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), the eighth shogun, planted numerous sakura trees and created several hanami venues in Edo for common people to enjoy. This, too, greatly helped spread the hanami practice among the public, Shirahata wrote in his book. Among the Edo hanami sites Yoshimune created were those in Asukayama, Mukojima, Gotenyama and Koganei. Some of those places are still among the most popular hanami spots in Tokyo today. Are we seeing descendants of the Edo Period cherry trees? Probably not. Until the end of the Edo Period, people viewed various cherry blossom varieties, including yamazakura , edohigan and kanhizakura . But after the someiyoshino hybrid was artificially created, probably in the late Edo Period or early Meiji Era (1868-1912), the variety has become extremely popular in Japan thanks to its beautiful, slightly-pinkish blossoms. Someiyoshino now probably accounts for 70 to 80 percent of all sakura trees in Japan, according to Toshiki Sato, professor at the University of Tokyo who published the book “Sakura ga Tsukutta Nippon” (“A Japan Created by Cherry Blossoms”) in 2005. All someiyoshino trees are planted using a technique called tsugiki (grafting). This means all existing someiyoshino trees have identical DNA, the exact reason most sakura in Japan blossom, then subsequently fall, almost simultaneously. This synchronization makes the scenery of cherry blossoms even more stunning, probably another reason someiyoshino are dominant in Japan. When can we see sakura in Tokyo and elsewhere this year? According to the “cherry-blossom front” forecast released by the Japan Weather Association on March 9, someiyoshino start blooming in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on March 21, and will be in full bloom about a week later. Elsewhere, the cities of Fukuoka and Nagoya will see the first blooms on March 22, Yokohama on March 23, and Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe on March 25. Hirosaki of Aomori Prefecture, known for beautiful cherry trees in Hirosaki Park, will see this year’s first bloom of someiyoshino on April 20, with blooms in Sapporo expected on May 2.


New York state funeral home under investigation after wrong woman is cremated

Abstract: NEW YORK - New York state officials are investigating after a funeral home put the wrong body in the casket for an 81-year-old woman’s viewing and subsequent cremation. The family of Val-Jean McDonald noticed something was different with her appearance during her open-casket viewing in December but thought it might have to do with her long bout with cancer. “Why did they cut off all her hair?” son Errol McDonald remembers thinking. “Maybe it’s the cancer.” “We all did a double-take,” said Richard McDonald, another son. “We thought something happened, and this is the best they could do.” But some of McDonald’s grandchildren were not convinced. “My 10-year-old son said, ‘Daddy, that’s not Grandma,’ ” Errol said. Another son, Darryl, said McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home did not realize its mistake until it came time to find the other woman, The New York Times reported. The owner of the funeral home declined to comment on the case but said they have had a stellar record over 50 years in business.


North Carolina man arrested over rented VHS tape 14 years overdue

Abstract: CHICAGO - A wanted North Carolina man was arrested this week on charges he failed to return a VHS tape to a video store 14 years ago, police said on Thursday. James Meyers, 37, of Concord, was driving his daughter to school when he was pulled over by police for a broken brake light, according to a video Meyers posted on YouTube on Tuesday. Meyers said officers ran his driver’s license and told him he had an outstanding arrest warrant for not returning a movie to J&J Video in Salisbury, North Carolina. “The guy brings me to the back of the car and he goes: ‘Sir, I don’t know how to tell you this, but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented a movie, “Freddy Got Fingered” and you never returned it,’ ” Meyers said in the video, appearing dumbfounded. The Concord Police Department confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday, saying the warrant was issued on Feb. 28, 2002, by the now closed video store and signed by a magistrate. Police said instead of arresting Meyers at the scene, they allowed him to go to the police department later in the day to be served the warrant. Police then took Meyers in handcuffs to the Cabarrus County Magistrates Office. He is required to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of failure to return hired property, police said. Meyers is scheduled to appear in court on April 27, local media reported. Meyers could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Comedian Tom Green, star of the 2001 film “Freddy Got Fingered,” tweeted on Wednesday night: “I just saw this and I am struggling to believe it is real.”


Seattle tree-sitter booked into jail

Abstract: SEATTLE - A man who transfixed Seattle and the Internet by perching near the top of an 80-foot (24-meter) tree in the city for more than a day has been booked into jail for investigation of malicious mischief. Seattle police on Thursday identified the man as 28-year-old Cody Lee Miller. He climbed near the top of the tree on Tuesday and stayed for about 25 hours, ignoring police efforts to coax him down. He finally clambered down around midday Wednesday. Officials say he was taken to a hospital and received physical and mental evaluations. He stripped branches off the tree and at times threw aples and branches toward officers.

u.s .
police
social media
psychology
seattle
offbeat


Wild-card topics may trump main agenda in coming Mie G-7 summit

Abstract: On May 26 and 27, the leaders of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, will attend the annual Group of Seven leaders’ summit in the Ise-Shima district of Mie Prefecture. Prior to that, a number of G-7 ministerial-level summits, including foreign, energy, and finance ministers’ meetings, will be held in other cities around Japan. The talks, especially the leaders’ summit, are expected to focus on broad long-term international political, social, and economic issues, as well as specific political and economic issues of more immediate concern to the G-7 members. What are the key agenda items for the Ise-Shima summit? Expected to be discussed are general issues such as the state of the world economy, climate change and energy, as well as sustainable development in developing countries. These issues have formed the basis of many G-7 meetings over the past decade or so. The discussions on energy, and especially climate change, will be of importance as the timing will be six months after a major climate change conference in Paris laid out a new international strategy for dealing with rising greenhouse gases. It will also be the first G-7 summit since the adoption last year by the United Nations of a 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Empowering women through education will also be a focus of talks. What might be added to the general agenda? Responding to international terrorist threats, especially in the wake of the recent attacks in Brussels and Paris, dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis and the situation in North Korea are expected to be discussed in the meetings. A specific political or economic crisis somewhere else in the world just prior to the summit could also prompt some sort of statement or discussion. Are there particular issues that Japan, as G-7 host, wants to emphasize? The issue of universal health care, especially in developing countries, is something Japan has been promoting, and is expected to draw attention to. The issue is based on the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September last year. On another health-related issue, pandemics, particularly concerns over the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil, may be discussed. What kinds of issues will NGOs involved with the summit be emphasizing? From human rights to climate change to universal health care, NGOs have compiled a variety of wish lists they hope the leaders will address. At last year’s summit, G-7 leaders addressed the issue of business and human rights by supporting the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The leaders also stressed the need to identify and prevent human rights risks, especially for women, and strengthen worker grievance mechanisms, urging the private sector to implement due diligence. However, although Japan helped make these commitments last year, they have not been included, so far, in Tokyo’s proposed agenda for the Ise-Shima summit, creating concern among domestic and international human rights groups. This has led to calls for the G-7 to create legal requirements for companies to implement human rights due diligence in accordance with the highest international human rights and environmental standards. On health care, NGOs are calling for governments and administrative institutions to take steps to assure the right of access to health care for everyone, and that the G-7 commit to funding universal health care. It’s also possible the World Bank, with G-7 financing, will launch the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility at the summit. This would be used in the event of a global health crisis. While many details are still lacking, NGOs are calling on political leaders to ensure that, when setting up the funds, civil society groups in different countries and regions are involved. Finally, there are calls on the G-7 nations to help empower women by ensuring fair pay and equal treatment for male and female domestic workers. In particular, the NGOs note, Japan needs to make such assurances in light of its discussions to bring in foreign domestic workers from other parts of Asia. What other issues might arise before, during, or right after the summit? Much attention over the coming days and weeks in Japan will be on whether U.S. President Barack Obama might visit Hiroshima right before or after the summit, and if he does go what, if anything, he would say. As the Ise-Shima summit is Obama’s last major G-7 event, there will no doubt be great interest, if not concern, expressed behind the scenes by the world leaders about Republican Party front-runner candidate Donald Trump winning the November presidential election, and questions for Obama about what direction the U.S. would take if Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, and then the presidency. For Abe, a successful summit, where he is seen at home as a statesman who has the full support of other G-7 leaders, especially on his economic policies, is of paramount importance as he and the ruling coalition head into July’s Upper House, and possibly Lower House, elections. On a practical level, how will the summit affect people who live in Japan? Security in and around the main airports such as Narita, Chubu and Kansai is likely to tighten over coming weeks. On the days just before the summit, be prepared, especially if you look foreign to Japanese police, to be stopped and asked for identification after you pass through customs and immigration. If you are planning a trip to Mie Prefecture, security could be extra tight and it may be impossible to book hotel rooms for most of May.

shinzo abe
barack obama
mie
ise-shima summit


Tokyo temple's beckoning cats keep visitors purring in

Abstract: A five-minute walk from Miyanosaka Station on the Tokyu Setagaya Line, Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward offers a fun sight for visitors. By a path leading to the main temple sit a huge number of bright white cat figures placed around a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Many tourists visit just to take photos. These are maneki neko , beckoning cats, figures that are believed to bring good luck and are said to have originated at the temple. Legend has it that during the Edo Period, a chief priest at the temple, had a cat he cared for very much. One day, feudal lord Ii Naotaka passed by with his servants and saw the cat, which appeared to be waving at him to come inside. Curious, they entered and were greeted by the priest. As the priest served them tea and offered a sermon, a thunderstorm broke outside. Grateful to the cat and the priest, Ii later donated rice crops and land to the then-poor temple, elevating it to prosperity. The temple became a designated cemetery for the Ii family, whose members served in central roles in the Tokugawa shogunate. Today, the cats are a symbol of the area. Many maneki neko goods are available in local shops, and feline figures dotted around the neighborhood make it a lovely place to walk. Maneki neko cat ornaments are arranged at Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on March 12. | YOSHIAKI MIURA French tourist Camille Peiret, 19, visits Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on March 12 to see the maneki neko (beckoning cat) figures. | YOSHIAKI MIURA ‘Arigato’ (‘thank you’) is written in the eyes of a maneki neko (beckoning cat) figure displayed at Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, on March 12. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Wooden prayer tablets decorated with images of a beckoning cat and a monkey, this year’s Chinese zodiac symbol, are displayed at Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on March 12. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Cookies and Japanese confectionery shaped like maneki neko (beckoning cat) figures are sold at a shop on March 12 in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. | YOSHIAKI MIURA A maneki neko (beckoning cat) figure is displayed in the window of a store near Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on March 12. | YOSHIAKI MIURA


The drug problem that keeps getting older

Abstract: Former pro baseball player Kazuhiro Kiyohara was released from police custody on ¥5 million bail last month following his arrest and subsequent indictment for alleged possession and use of stimulant drugs. It’s a sad fall from grace but Kiyohara’s been in freefall for sometime. The media frenzy surrounding his release was astonishing, with more than 100 photographers and up to five helicopters trying to capture an image of the former Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants slugger leaving the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo by car. In many ways, Kiyohara’s arrest wasn’t a complete surprise. Shukan Bunshun, the country’s leading weekly magazine, had reported on his alleged addiction as early as March 2014. Some believe this initial report even sparked the police investigation. As usual, there was plenty of hand-wringing over the affair. Most of the conversation was predictable, but a commentator called “Toshi” posted some poignant remarks on the ironna.jp news blog. “Why did he get involved in drugs?” Toshi asked. “Because he’s stupid. Because he spent his whole life immersed in baseball with education being a secondary thing. Because he never received proper education as a person. People from the Showa Era, like me, all remember a time when players from high schools famous for baseball once walked through the town like they owned it. They were a bunch of low-level gangsters.” Toshi’s concluding remark carries a certain amount of truth, because Kiyohara allegedly purchased his drugs from a gang member (although he has yet to name anyone). Gangs are the primary dealers and users of stimulant drugs in Japan. According to statistics compiled by the National Police Agency, members of organized crime groups accounted for 55 percent of the 10,958 people who were arrested for offenses related to stimulant drugs in 2014. The slang term for stimulant drugs is shabu . The term comes from the verb “ shaburu ,” or “to suck upon,” which refers to the thirstiness that meth users often describe and is also a play on a Japanese phrase that means “being sucked to the bone” — basically stripped of everything you have. The drug is highly addictive, with users building up a tolerance to it before they eventually experience extreme delusions, paranoia and hallucinations. However, stimulant drugs weren’t always illegal. According to a 2005 Mainichi Shimbun article, they were sold over the counter at pharmacies during and after World War II. Government-sanctioned production of stimulant drugs began in 1943 and continued until 1950; they were sold both in capsules and in liquid form (for injection). During the war, soldiers allegedly used the drugs to overcome their fear of death and deal with fatigue. Some veterans say they were distributed as part of their military rations. On a side note, the brand name on the officially sanctioned stimulant drug, Hiropon, was allegedly derived from a play on the words “ hirō ,” or fatigue, and “ pon ,” a mimetic word for something flying away. In other words, “Your fatigue will fly away with Hiropon.” Even today, the brand name lives on in slang used by addicts who refer to their addiction as “ pon-chū ” — a combination of chūdoku (addiction) and Hiropon. It became clear a few years after the war that Hiropon had terrible side-effects, and the government effectively banned usage and possession in 1951. Gangs immediately took up the slack and began selling stimulant drugs on the black market, a service that is believed to have continued to this day. Thankfully, it’s not all bad news. Nikkan Spa recently reported that stimulant drug use is declining in Japan, especially among youth. In 2014, 56 percent of the number of people arrested for stimulant drugs were older than 40, while those in their 20s accounted for just 13 percent. A retired detective from the Metropolitan Police Department who spent most of his career investigating gang members or drug addicts notes that young people these days appear to be learning from the mistakes of older generations. “Kiyohara exhibited weird behavior long before his arrest and eventually almost all addicts reach a point where they can’t function normally,” the detective says, insisting on anonymity. “Kids have realized that stimulant drugs just aren’t cool — they’re dangerous. What’s more, no sane person wants to catch hepatitis by sharing needles with other users.” Yes, Japan may be aging but at least the county’s youth appear to be getting smarter and, for that, we can almost thank alleged high-profile drug users such as Kiyohara for setting an example few want to follow.

yakuza
organized crime
addiction
kazuhiro kiyohara
stimulant drugs


Munitions orders grow; Japan, Soviet Union sign neutrality treaty; Metric system enforced; Public asked to accept gulf mission

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, April 25, 1916 Munitions orders from Allied nations grow Orders for munitions continue to come in from the Allied countries engaged in combatting Germany, and factories in Japan are now busily engaged in the manufacture of supplies. The total value of munitions to be manufactured in the military arsenals during the year is estimated at 80 million yen, and that in the naval arsenals at 20 million yen. If the orders taken up by private concerns are added to the above figure, it makes a grand total of 120 million yen. Besides these, there are the latest orders received from Russia for 30 million yen worth of woollen cloth and 20 million yen worth of shoes and boots to be delivered by March next year. The total proceeds for this year from the sale and manufacturer of arms and ammunition, together with those from the sale of warships, will thus come up to as much as 175 million yen. 75 YEARS AGO Monday, April 14, 1941 Japan, Soviet Union sign neutrality treaty An event of the highest significance for the future peace of East Asia and the world took place yesterday afternoon at Moscow with the signing of a Neutrality Pact between Japan and the Soviet Union. By the treaty, the two nations mutually agreed to observe strict neutrality in case either is subject to attack by one or more third powers. The treaty is to be continued for five years and on expiration of the period, it will automatically be extended 5 more years in case neither of the parties signify their intention of abrogating the agreement one year beforehand. Another important highlight was the fact that immediately after the signing, the two nations issued a joint declaration whereby Japan agreed to respect the territorial integrity of Outer Mongolia, while the Soviet Union on their part agreed to respect the inviolability of the Manchoukuo Empire. It should be noted that this commitment is a virtual recognition of the state by the Soviets. Representing Japan at the signing was Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka, while the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Viacheslav Molotov represented the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union eventually declared war on Japan on Aug. 8, 1945 and invaded Manchoukuo, arguably in violation of the 1941 pact, which required the giving of one year’s notice for withdrawal. 50 YEARS AGO Friday, April 1, 1966 Metric system goes into effect nationwide Today the metric system will be enforced in all aspects of Japanese life. The metric system was put into effect on Jan. 1, 1959, but a period of grace was provided for its enforcement in the areas of real estate and house building up to March 31 this year. From 1959 on, the Japanese have been using the metric system for almost all other things. A housewife today buys rice by the kilogram and soy sauce by the liter. Japan was first exposed to the metric system in 1891 when she acceded to the International Convention on the Metric System of 1875. As of that time, however, the metric system was made legal alongside the traditional weights and measures known as the shakkan system ( shaku for length and kan for weight). With the introduction in 1909 of the British yard-pound system, weights and measures came to be expressed in three different systems in Japan, much to the complication of national life. The coexistence of these systems had no serious consequence until World War I, when the Army found some shells made to British specifications did not fit their cannons, whose calibers were measured by the centimeter. In 1921, the weights and measures law was revised to make the metric system the only official one. But implementation of the new system was postponed due to lack of adequate preparation in 1924 and 1934. In 1938 it was postponed again because it was seen as being “foreign and, therefore, to be rejected.” Eventually, a 1951 law provided for implementation in 1959, with a period of grace till March 1966 for land and buildings because of Japan’s unique modular system of building. Here, every house is planned according to the modules of shaku, ken and tsubo. A ken, the very basis of all other modules, is the length of the Japanese tatami and all the sliding doors. When building a house, a carpenter buys lumber which is also measured to these standard sizes to minimize waste. In spite of the law that goes into full force today, it seems unlikely that tatami makers will alter their ways. Without shaku as units, they feel, it would be impossible to make tatami. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 25, 1991 Public asked to accept ships’ gulf mission Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu sought public support Wednesday for the government’s decision to send minesweepers to the Persian Gulf, saying they are going for “peaceful and humanitarian” purposes. Kaifu said in a news conference that helping secure safe passage for ships in the gulf will contribute to postwar reconstruction efforts in nations hit by the gulf crisis. At the same time, he said, Japan depends heavily on the gulf for its crude oil needs, and cooperation in the minesweeping operation will be “vital” to maintain the present livelihood of its citizens. Four minesweepers, the Yurishima, the Hikoshima, the Awashima and the Sakushima, will sail for the gulf on Friday. In the news conference, Kaifu defended the deployment, saying the mission was possible under Article 99 of the SDF Law. He also stressed that the step is aimed at helping secure safe passage for Japanese and other nations’ ships in the gulf and will not violate Article 9 of the Constitution, which bans the use or threat of force as a means of resolving conflicts.

germany
iraq
soviet union
wwi
toshiki kaifu
gulf war
metric system