U.S. men avoid spending time with female colleagues in the wake of #MeToo movement

Abstract: LONDON - Women’s careers are being held back as men in the United States avoid spending time with female colleagues in the wake of the #MeToo movement, women’s rights group LeanIn.org said on Friday. Nearly two thirds of male managers reported they would be uncomfortable taking part in a common one-on-one work activity with a woman, found a survey by the group and SurveyMonkey, a rise of a third on the number raising such concerns last year. The findings show women miss out on chances for mentorship and professional links that could lead to promotion, they said. “A lot of men don’t realize sitting on the sidelines is actually continuing to limit the opportunities of women,” Rachel Thomas, president of LeanIn.Org, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “This data really shows that we are moving in the wrong direction at a time when it’s so critical that women are getting mentorship and sponsorship and equal access.” The #MeToo movement that swept through social media saw women share stories of sexual abuse and harassment, leading to the firing of some high-profile figures and a wider debate over pay, representation and sexism. But some suggest it has left men wary of perceived inappropriate conduct or harassment allegations. Thirty-six percent of men in the survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults said they had avoided mentoring or socializing with a woman because they were nervous about how it would look. Senior level men in particular appeared less willing to spend time with junior female colleagues than their male co-workers at a similar level. They were 12 times more likely to hesitate to have one-on-one meetings with a junior woman than a man, nine times more likely to have concerns over traveling together and six times more likely to hesitate to have a work dinner with them. The survey indicated that workplaces are stepping up their misconduct responses, with 70 percent of employees saying their company has taken action to address sexual harassment — a significant increase from 46 percent in 2018. However, half of men believed sexual harassment claims were more damaging to careers of the alleged perpetrators than their victims, while nearly two thirds of women said the person making the complaint paid a higher price. Women’s groups said the findings showed the need for more action to ensure equality at work. “#MeToo helped shine a light on just how prevalent sexual harassment is in the workplace, and laws and policies have not yet caught up with the social awareness around it,” said Shelby Quast, a spokeswomen for women’s rights group Equality Now. “We have to encourage a healthy work environment among all employees and perpetrators need to be held accountable.”


Surging suicide rate among American girls raises questions about social media

Abstract: NEW YORK - A spike in the suicide rate among young American girls is prompting leading researchers to ask questions about the role of social media in adolescent mental health. A study published Friday in the JAMA Open Network led by Donna Ruch, a research scientist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, analyzed suicide trends in 10- to 19-year-olds between 1975 and 2016. The rate of suicide decreased from the early 1990s until 2007, but has increased in years since for both genders. While boys die by suicide at a higher overall rate than girls, female youth suicides have surged most in recent years. In the 10- to 14-year-old age group, the rate of suicide increased 12.7 percent for girls and 7.1 percent for boys since 2007. The data show the gap known as the “gender paradox” in suicide — wherein males typically die by suicide at a rate higher than females, while females report suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide at higher rates than males — appears to be closing. “We really wanted to look at this and say ‘Hey wait a minute, is this just a phenomenon, is it an occurrence, is it a blip or are we seeing a trend?'” Ruch said. Her paper concludes the gap is narrowing most among those 10- to 14-year-olds. “We want to look at treatments, look at interventions and really take into account the unique needs of girls versus boys.” The study wasn’t designed to investigate why the rate of suicide is increasing among young people, but other researchers who looked at the data suggest the prevalence of social media could be an avenue to explore. “The fact that social media has become a primary forum for interpersonal engagement in adolescence, a developmental period when social contact is rapidly rising and becoming increasingly important to well-being, makes this an area of great potential influence and importance,” wrote Joan Luby, of Washington University School of Medicine, and Sarah Kertz, of Southern Illinois University, in an opinion piece in JAMA Open Network. More than 95 percent of youth are now connected to the internet in some form, they point out. Girls’ use of social media could be “more likely to result in interpersonal stress,” a factor implicated in youth suicide, according to Luby and Kertz. The pair noted that girls use social media more frequently than boys and are more likely to face cyberbullying. “Increasing rates of suicidality may be the ‘canary in the coal mine’ signaling important health concerns arising from the increased and pervasive use of social media affecting child and adolescent development,” Luby and Kertz wrote.


Ex-CIA agent Kevin Mallory gets 20-year sentence for spying for China

Abstract: WASHINGTON - An ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an “alarming trend” in the U.S. intelligence community. Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified U.S. “defense information” to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017. “Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid,” he told the Chinese agent in a May 5, 2017, message. The fluent Mandarin speaker had served in the U.S. Army, then as a special agent for the security service of the State Department, before becoming a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. Mallory is one of several U.S. officials with high-level security clearances arrested and charged over unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence. Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Ron Hansen faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to charges of attempting to sell classified information to the Chinese. In April, a former diplomat, Candace Marie Claiborne, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about money she received from Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for U.S. documents. And in the most significant case, on May 1, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China. Lee, 54, faces a possible life sentence. Arrested in January 2018, he was suspected of having provided Beijing the information it needed to bring down a CIA network of informants in China between 2010 and 2012. “This case is one in an alarming trend of former U.S. intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said of the Mallory case. “This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service.”


Norwegian insurer says Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard likely behind attacks on oil tankers off UAE

Abstract: LONDON/OSLO - Reuters — Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) are “highly likely” to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers, including two Saudi ships, off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers’ report. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway are investigating the attacks, which also hit a UAE- and a Norwegian-flagged vessel. A confidential assessment issued this past week by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) concluded that the attack was likely to have been carried out by a surface vessel operating close by that dispatched underwater drones carrying 30 to 50 kg (65 to 110 pounds) of high-grade explosives to detonate on impact. The attacks took place against a backdrop of U.S.-Iranian tension following Washington’s decision this month to try to cut Tehran’s oil exports to zero and beef up its military presence in the Persian Gulf in response to what it called Iranian threats. The DNK based its assessment that the IRGC was likely to have orchestrated the attacks on a number of factors, including: • A high likelihood that the IRGC had previously supplied its allies, the Houthi militia fighting a Saudi-backed government in Yemen, with explosive-laden surface drone boats capable of homing in on GPS navigational positions for accuracy. • The similarity of shrapnel found on the Norwegian tanker to shrapnel from drone boats used off Yemen by Houthis, even though the craft previously used by the Houthis were surface boats rather than the underwater drones likely to have been deployed in Fujairah. • The fact that Iran and particularly the IRGC had recently threatened to use military force and that, against a militarily stronger foe, they were highly likely to choose “asymmetric measures with plausible deniability.” DNK noted that the Fujairah attack had caused “relatively limited damage” and had been carried out at a time when U.S. Navy ships were still en route to the Persian Gulf. Both the Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker Amjad and the UAE-flagged bunker vessel A.Michel sustained damage in the area of their engine rooms. The Saudi tanker Al Marzoqah was damaged in the aft section and the Norwegian tanker Andrea Victory suffered extensive damage to the stern, DNK said. The DNK report said the attacks had been carried out between 6 and 10 nautical miles (11 to 18 kilometers) off Fujairah, which lies close to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has in the past threatened to block all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated one-fifth of the world’s oil passes. According to DNK, it was highly likely that the attacks had been intended to send a message to the United States and its allies that Iran does not need to block the strait to disrupt freedom of navigation in the region. DNK said Iran is also likely to continue similar low-scale attacks on merchant vessels in the future. Iranian officials and the Revolutionary Guard’s spokesman were not available for comment. Tehran has already rejected allegations of involvement and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that “extremist individuals” in the U.S. government are pursuing dangerous policies. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. Svein Ringbakken, DNK’s managing director, declined to comment, except to say that “this is an internal and confidential report produced to inform shipowner members of the DNK about the incidents in Fujairah and the most likely explanation.” The UAE has not so far blamed anyone for the attack. Two U.S. government sources said earlier in the week that U.S. officials believe Iran had encouraged Houthi militants or Iraq-based Shiite militias to carry out the attack. In a joint letter sent to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway said the attacks had been deliberate and could have resulted in casualties and spillages of oil or harmful chemicals. “The attacks damaged the hulls of at least three of the vessels, threatened the safety and lives of those on board, and could have led to an environmental disaster,” the letter said. Last month, the United States designated the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. Washington had previously designated entities and individuals connected with the IRGC, which controls vast segments of Iran’s economy. Tehran responded by designating the regional United States Central Command as a terrorist organization.

conflict
military
iran
elections
donald trump


Venezuela's Maduro says Norway talks sought 'peaceful agenda' with opposition

Abstract: CARACAS - Talks in Norway this week with representatives of Venezuela’s government and the opposition sought to “build a peaceful agenda” for the crisis-stricken South American country, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday. Norway’s foreign ministry, which has a tradition of conflict mediation, said earlier on Friday that the talks were in an “exploratory phase.” The representatives of each side arrived in the Nordic country this week, signaling a fresh approach to ending months of tensions that escalated after a failed uprising last month led by opposition leader Juan Guaido, who called on the military to oust Maduro. So far this year, dozens of people have been killed in opposition protests against Maduro’s government. An economic downturn has driven more than 3 million Venezuelans to emigrate, fleeing hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. The ruling socialist party, which has long said it is open to dialogue, has endorsed the talks. But many sectors of the opposition remain skeptical, arguing that Maduro has in the past used dialogue as a stalling tactic to maintain his grip on power as living standards steadily declined in the oil-rich nation. “Norway announces that it has had preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela, as part of an exploratory phase,” the ministry said in a statement. Venezuela was thrust into a deep power struggle in January when Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. The United States and many European countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader, but Maduro retains control of state functions and the support of the top brass, as well as allies like Russia, Cuba and China. Opposition lawmaker Stalin Gonzalez and two advisors represented Guaido’s side, while Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state governor Hector Rodriguez went to Oslo on behalf of the government. Each side met separately with Norwegian mediators but there was no meeting between government and opposition representatives, Gonzalez told local media. It was not immediately clear if the mediation would continue. Speaking to members of the armed forces, Maduro said his representatives “went to Norway to lead Venezuela’s delegation at the start of an exploration into a conversation and dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition to build a peaceful agenda for the country.” Guaido was more tepid, tweeting on Thursday that any “mediation initiative” should begin with the “end of the usurpation,” a reference to Maduro resigning. Guaido has expressed a growing openness to potential U.S. military intervention to resolve Venezuela’s crisis, and said his envoy to Washington would meet with the U.S. military’s Southern Command next Monday. Guaido said he would meet diplomats from European and Latin American countries who arrived in Caracas this week as part of the so-called International Contact Group on Venezuela.

conflict
rights
venezuela
protests
elections
nicolas maduro


Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigns in wake of 'Ibiza affair'

Abstract: VIENNA - Just days before key European Union elections, Austria’s coalition government was plunged into crisis Saturday when far-right Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned following explosive revelations from a hidden-camera sting. “I tendered my resignation as vice chancellor of Austria to Chancellor (Sebastian) Kurz, and he accepted this decision,” a visibly emotional Strache said in a televised statement. Media reports emerged Friday alleging that Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer. Germany’s Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of a sting operation they say took place in a luxury villa on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017’s parliamentary elections in Austria. In the recordings Strache and his party’s group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch how she can invest in Austria. She says she specifically wants to gain control of the country’s largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung. Strache could be seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party (FPOe) in its election campaign. He went on to suggest the woman would then be able to gain access to public contracts. According the newspapers, Strache said that there would be no resistance among the Krone’s editorial staff as “journalists are the biggest whores on the planet.” Both the newspapers that published the footage say they don’t have any firm information over who set up the elaborate sting. Kurz was due to give a press conference Saturday morning and give his reaction to the scandal. Strache had admitted the meeting took place, but denied any wrongdoing. He told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung that “a lot of alcohol was consumed as the evening progressed” and that there was a “high language barrier” during the conversation. Despite Strache’s denials, Austrian commentators are almost unanimous in declaring that Strache’s and Gudenus’s careers are as good as over. The Krone Zeitung has taken a particularly outraged tone, with its Saturday edition sporting a banner headline reading “The FPOe is done for!” The Die Presse newspaper also talked of a “coalition on the brink.” Austria’s APA agency reported FPOe party sources as saying they want to try to save the coalition with Kurz’s center-right People’s Party (OeVP) by replacing Strache as vice chancellor with Transport Minister Norbert Hofer, also from the FPOe. The main opposition Socialist Party (SPOe) demanded both Strache and Gudenus resign, calling the allegations “the biggest scandal” of Austria’s postwar republic. The liberal NEOS party echoed the call and also said that fresh parliamentary elections are now “unavoidable.” Elsewhere in the video Strache evoked the possibility of privatizing part of Austria’s public broadcaster ORF and says he would like Austria’s media landscape to resemble that in neighboring Hungary. Hungary’s right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has overhauled the country’s public media into a government propaganda organ while allies have steadily bought up swaths of the private media sector. The FPOe has mounted repeated attacks on ORF’s coverage, accusing it of being biased against the party. Strache also appeared to hint at possible ways political donations could be made to a foundation linked to the FPOe and not to the party directly, apparently in order to escape legal scrutiny. In recent weeks Kurz has already had to defend his decision to enter government with the far-right after a string of revelations about extremist sympathies in the FPOe’s ranks. The putative link to Russia in the scandal is particularly embarrassing as the FPOe has a cooperation agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, leading many to accuse the FPOe of an overly close relationship with Moscow. The FPOe’s lead candidate in next week’s elections, MEP Harald Vilimsky, canceled a planned trip to Milan on Saturday where he was due to take part in a campaign event with far-right Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Strache, 49, succeeded the mercurial Joerg Haider as leader of the party in 2005. He himself flirted with neo-Nazism in his youth, but as leader sought to clean up the party’s image and make it more electable.

russia
politics
austria
heinz-christian strache
sebastian kurz


In votes to grant citizenship, Switzerland's direct democracy shows its cracks

Abstract: GIPF-OBERFRICK, SWITZERLAND - Nancy Holten is annoying — so annoying that residents of the small village in Switzerland she calls home voted, twice, to bar her from becoming Swiss. The 45-year-old was born in the Netherlands but moved to Switzerland when she was just 8 years old. She speaks fluent Swiss German, her children are Swiss and she says she feels Swiss. “Switzerland is my home,” she said in a recent interview in the small apartment she shares with her three teenage daughters in the northern village of Gipf-Oberfrick. So when she finally got around to applying for citizenship back in 2015, she expected the process to be easy. She was wrong. As part of Switzerland’s famous direct democratic system, some smaller municipalities leave naturalization decisions up to a vote by the town assembly. Critics say the system allows for more emotionally charged and potentially more discriminatory decisions. When Holten showed up for the vote in the village of around 3,500 inhabitants, her neighbors had turned out in unusually high numbers to reject her. The outspoken vegan and animal rights activist had rubbed many in the small, conservative community the wrong way with her alternative lifestyle and vocal criticism of the ultimate Swiss symbol: the cowbell. “These bells hurt their ears,” she said, picking up a heavy brass cowbell she had purchased. She passed the colorfully embroidered strap over her head and covered her ears as the bell clanged loudly around her neck. “I don’t mind traditions as long as they don’t hurt anyone,” said Holten, who also angered many with calls for silencing the village church bells at night. “I guess I made too much noise for people,” she said. In the village assembly, many railed against her, booed those who came to her defense and overwhelmingly rejected her citizenship application. “Emotions ran a bit high,” said Urs Treier, a spokesman for the village administration, which in vain had urged the inhabitants to allow Holten to become Swiss. Holten appealed the vote to the regional authorities in Aargau Canton, who asked the village assembly to vote again. The result? Even more people turned out to reject Holten, with the media dubbing her “too annoying” to receive citizenship. “It was painful,” she acknowledged. “I cried. It was very hard.” But her persistence paid off. Holten appealed again, and this time the canton overturned the decision, and last year she became Swiss. The case is among several that have raised questions about the pertinence of applying the direct democratic principal in naturalization cases. Across Switzerland, citizenship decisions are first taken locally, then approved at the cantonal level and finally at the federal level. “The most decisive stage is the municipal level,” said Anita Manatschal, a political scientist at Neuchatel University. The vast majority of municipalities leave the decision up to the town administration or a committee, but some, like Gipf-Oberfrick, continue to give all townspeople a say. A few years ago, a family from Kosovo saw their citizenship request rejected by an assembly in the village of Bubendorf in Basel Canton, with some reportedly arguing they did not “act” Swiss because they often wore tracksuits, not jeans. While such decisions raise questions about the legitimacy of the system, experts argue they are increasingly rare. Andreas Bamert-Rizzo, of the Aargau cantonal authority, said the canton is asked by municipalities to grant around 2,000 naturalizations annually, but receives only a handful of appeals for local-level decisions. Accusations of discrimination were far more common around the turn of the century, when some Swiss towns permitted referendums using anonymous ballots to determine citizenship requests. That practice was upended in 2003, when the Supreme Court overturned a controversial referendum in the small town of Emmen in Lucerne Canton, which rejected 48 nationality bids — nearly all submitted by people from the former Yugoslavia — finding it discriminatory. Manatschal pointed to research showing that in the cases prior to the court decision where referendums were used for nationality decisions, the rejection rate on average was 18.4 percent. That compares to 4.9 percent when the decision was taken by a town assembly and a mere 2.1 percent when a town’s executive branch made the call, she said. “The leeway for discrimination was very problematic until 2003,” she said, stressing, though, that “it seems to be fairer since then.” “Laws, not random subjective preferences, should decide whether a person should be naturalized or not,” she said. Holten agrees. In the year since she became Swiss, she has joined the regional chapter of the Pirate Party and is vying for a parliamentary seat in cantonal elections in October. “If I am elected, I will raise this question of access to citizenship,” she said. “I think communal authorities should decide, and not the inhabitants, who are more likely to let their emotions rule.”


Grumpy Cat, the face that launched a thousand memes, dead at 7

Abstract: WASHINGTON - She died just as she had lived, in a blizzard of memes, tweets and news reports celebrating her distinctly unamused expression. On Friday, the world learned that Grumpy Cat, the internet sensation whose scowl launched a thousand memes, earning her 1.5 million Twitter followers, 2.5 million Instagram followers and 8.3 million Facebook fans, had died at the age of 7. Grumpy Cat, whose pre-celebrity name was Tardar Sauce, burst to fame in 2012 when her owner’s brother posted a picture of her mirthless mug on Reddit. It was suggested the photo was a fake, so her owners posted a few videos to prove otherwise. Within 48 hours, her image had been viewed more than a million times. She was a real-life Garfield on social media already obsessed with cats. A star had been born. Six months later, as her fame spread around the world, Grumpy Cat appeared at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, where thousands lined up to have their photo taken with the celebrated sourpuss. She was invited to star-studded movie premieres, had a cameo role in “Sesame Street,” took part in the Hollywood Christmas parade and had her own animatronic wax likeness at Madame Tussaud’s, which she was photographed with as it was unveiled. The Lifetime Channel made a movie featuring the miserable-looking moggie, called “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” and a New York Times bestselling book was written about her. She made appearances on “Good Morning America,” “CBS Evening News” and even “American Idol” and “The Bachelorette.” She did television commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios. Friskies cat food became an official sponsor, and she had her own “meme manager.” Fans could buy Grumpy Cat socks or an endless choice of T-shirts emblazoned with ennui-filled slogans such as “Your face. … I hate it” or “I don’t care what you think, I’m napping.” The branded merchandising, which included pillows, pens, mugs and bags, plus sponsorship and media deals were estimated to have made her owner, Tabatha Bundesen of Arizona, a wealthy woman. It allowed her to quit her job as a waitress at Red Lobster within days of her cat’s internet debut. Bundesen has denied reports that she had made as much as $100 million from the cat’s fame but has declined to say how much her pet earned. The cat’s image was hot property. Last year, a California jury awarded Bundesen’s company, Grumpy Cat Ltd., damages of $710,001 in a lawsuit against a beverage company that had created an unauthorized line of Grumpy Cat Roasted Coffee and was selling Grumppuccino T-shirts without sharing profits. Financially, Grumpy was a fat cat. But she was not bad-tempered in real life, according to her owner, who attributed her scowly expression to the fact that she had feline dwarfism and a marked underbite. Her owners were never sure what her breed was. Her death was due to a urinary tract infection, her Twitter account said along with the announcement, “Some days are grumpier than others.” “We are unimaginably heartbroken to announce the loss of our beloved Grumpy Cat,” Bundesen wrote. “Besides being our baby and a cherished member of the family, Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough,” she said. “Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere,” she said. Described by CNN as a “furry titan of the internet,” Grumpy’s obituary appeared in The Washington Post, Der Spiegel in Germany, Le Monde and even the Russian business magazine Kommersant. And, of course, her demise was the top trending story Friday on Twitter, where fans posted thousands of messages of condolence and mourning.


Scott Morrison's ruling conservative coalition looks set to retain power in Australia election surprise

Abstract: SYDNEY - Australia’s ruling conservative coalition appeared to secure a shock election win Saturday, with the party predicted to have defied expectations and retained power. National broadcaster ABC called the election for Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition, although it was not clear if he will lead a minority or majority government. The result is a monumental upset and a failure of pollsters, who put the opposition Labor Party under Bill Shorten in pole position. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said late Saturday evening that Labor will not be able to form government and he has called Morrison to congratulate him on the election result. “And without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count and important seats yet to be finalized, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government,” Shorten told disappointed Labor supporters at a function in Melbourne. He said he will resign as party leader. Some bookies had paid out early, expecting a coalition defeat, and all but the most ardent partisans had thrown in the towel. Early results appeared to show a fractured electorate with minor populist and right-wing parties playing an outsize role, but it will be a while before the dust settles. They include Pauline Hanson, whose party shrugged off revelations her party solicited money from the U.S. gun lobby, and Clive Palmer — dubbed Australia’s Donald Trump — who splashed out tens of millions of dollars on a populist campaign. Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference, with big political, economic and cultural differences from state to state on the vast island-continent. Liberal supporter Anthony Ching said the projected result was “unbelievable.” “Everybody was expecting that we were not going to win,” he said. Many of the laurels for victory will go to Morrison, who came to power last August after a party-room coup by hard-liners in his Liberal Party ousted the more moderate Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Weeks ago, Morrison looked set for an electoral drubbing, fated to enter the history books as one of the most short-lived prime ministers in Australian history. But he closed the gap with a negative campaign and backing from the country’s biggest media organization — owned by Rupert Murdoch — mainly targeting older, wealthier voters concerned over Labor plans to cut various tax loopholes in order to fund spending on education, health care and climate initiatives. He campaigned almost single-handedly, with many of his Cabinet resigning or being too unpopular to be trotted out on the national stage. As results from northeastern Queensland state began to trickle in, it became clear the Liberals had done better than expected and disbelief set in among Labor’s ranks. “It’s heartbreaking,” said Jango Rust, a 19-year-old at the Labor Party campaign HQ in Melbourne. Sixty-seven-year-old Labor support Julie Nelson said, “I think Morrison campaigned on fear, and people have fallen for it.” Former union leader Shorten, voting in Melbourne, was bullish about forming a majority government after a final poll before the election showed the lead for his party increasing. “In the event that the people of Australia voted to stop the chaos and voted for action on climate change, we will be ready to hit the ground from tomorrow.” And after casting his vote in the Sydney suburbs, Morrison acknowledged the challenge his coalition faced, saying, “I don’t take anyone’s support in this country for granted.” Climate change had featured prominently throughout the campaign. Australia is one of the most vulnerable of all developed nations to climate change and a season of record floods, wildfires and droughts has brought the issue from the political fringes to front and center of the campaign. In traditionally more conservative rural areas, climate-hit farmers are increasingly demanding action, while in several rich suburbs, a generational shift has seen eco-minded candidates running Liberal Party luminaries close. In northern Sydney, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott — who once described climate change as “crap” — lost a seat he has held for a quarter century to independent challenger Zali Steggall, a lawyer and Olympic medalist in Alpine skiing. While admitting his own defeat, mainly over the climate issue, Abbott claimed there had been a “realignment” in Australian politics with Liberals winning more of the working class vote, adding, “I’m not going to let one bad day spoil 25 years.” The national campaign has been an often ill-tempered pitched-battle. Candidates have been egged and abused, and a slew have resigned for racist, sexist and otherwise jaw-dropping social media posts. In Abbott’s battleground seat, a 62-year-old man was arrested and charged with thrusting a corkscrew into the stomach of someone putting up campaign banners on the eve of the election.


Sri Lankans mark 10th anniversary of end of war; thousands are still missing

Abstract: MULLAITTIVU, SRI LANKA - Still reeling from the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, this weekend Sri Lanka commemorates 10 years since the end of a bloody civil war that killed at least 100,000 people, from which the scars are still not healed. Security was tight in the north of the island, home to Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils, ahead of solemn ceremonies Saturday. Sri Lanka’s government and top military brass are due to hold their own commemoration in the capital, Colombo, on Sunday. On May 18, 2009, government forces brought their no-holds-barred military offensive to an end at a lagoon in the northern coastal district of Mullaittivu with the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the rebel Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka’s then-president, Mahinda Rajapakse, declared an end to the 37-year-long separatist conflict — marked by massacres, suicide bombings and assassinations — between Tamil militants and the central government, which is dominated by the majority Sinhalese. But for thousands of war widows and other victims on both sides, this marked the start of a new struggle: to find out the fate of their loved ones. About 20,000 people are still missing, including 5,000 government troops. Anandarasan Nagakanni, 61, is still searching for her son, Arindavadas. “He was last seen with the Sri Lankan Army, and after that we haven’t seen him,” she said at a tiny makeshift office in Mullaittivu, where a notice board was covered with dozens of photos of missing people. Nagaraja Sureshamma, 65, who lost one son and is still looking for the other, recalled the horrors of the final months and how civilians scrambled to escape indiscriminate attacks and shelling. “We were all going together, but my son happened to go on a different route. . . . Ever since, we have not been able to find him,” Sureshamma said. “If they are not alive, then they need to tell us that at least,” said Mariasuresh Easwari, an activist trying to help find the missing. “Did you murder them? Did you bury them? Tell us.” Sri Lankan forces have been accused of killing about 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war, a charge successive governments have denied. Several mass graves containing skeletal remains have been found in the past two decades, but only a handful of those buried have ever been formally identified. Until recently, even remembering the war dead was considered subversive and annual memorial services by Tamils were trashed by government forces. Government forces have set up memorials in the north for fallen security forces and bulldozed Tiger cemeteries, obliterating any sign of the rebels who at their zenith controlled a third of Sri Lanka. The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a recent report that the new government’s promised political reforms and accountability for wartime atrocities have failed to materialize. “For many Sri Lankans living in the bitterly contested north and east, the war has never quite ended,” it said. Although the pain for many families remains, and many in the 2.5-million-strong Tamil community still feel disadvantaged, the end of the war did open a peaceful new chapter in which Sri Lanka’s economy and tourism boomed. But this peace was shattered on April 21 when Islamist suicide bombers targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people — including 45 foreigners. The attackers were homegrown extremists — the Islamic State group also claimed credit — and riots since saw dozens of homes, businesses and mosques of Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority vandalized. One man was killed by a mob wielding swords. According to the ICG, the Easter attacks “compounded the general anxiety, tearing again at the social fabric, unleashing further violence and complicating the road to sustainable peace.” Evoking memories of past dark times, a state of emergency has been in place since April 21 with the return of some wartime restrictions on free movement. Sri Lanka’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, has said his troops will ensure that this year’s commemoration goes ahead peacefully. “As much as we mourn the soldiers who were killed in the war, (minority Tamil) civilians also have a right to commemorate their war dead,” he said Thursday.

sri lanka
tamil tigers
anniversaries
mahinda rajapakse
colombo


U.S. says it may scale back some Huawei trade restrictions

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei Technologies after this week’s blacklisting would have made it nearly impossible for the Chinese company to service its existing customers. The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei’s ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to “prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment,” a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and Eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years. In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products. The potential rule roll back suggests changes to Huawei’s supply chain may have immediate, far-reaching and unintended consequences. The blacklisting, officially known as placing Huawei on the Commerce Department’s entity list, was one or two efforts by the Trump administration this week allegedly made in an attempt to thwart national security risks. In an executive order, U.S. President Donald Trump also effectively barred the use of its equipment in U.S. telecom networks. The United States believes Huawei’s smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied. The latest Commerce move comes as China has struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world’s two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course. A spokesman for Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Out of $70 billion Huawei spent for buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. If the Commerce Department issues the license, U.S. suppliers would still need separate licenses to conduct new business with Huawei, which would be extremely difficult to obtain, the spokeswoman said. The temporary general license would last for 90 days, she said, and would be posted in the Federal Register, just as the rule adding Huawei to the entity list will be published in the government publication on Tuesday. “The goal is to prevent collateral harm on non-Huawei entities that use their equipment,” said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official. The entity listing bans Huawei and 68 affiliates in 26 countries from buying American-made goods and technology without licenses that would likely be denied. The entities list identifies companies believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. In a final rule posted on Thursday, the government tied Huawei’s entity listing to a criminal case pending against the company in Brooklyn, New York. U.S. prosecutors unsealed the indictment in January accusing the company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system. Huawei Chief Executive Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the company’s founder, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment, a move that has led to a three-way diplomatic crisis involving the U.S., China and Canada. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence, and Huawei has entered a plea of not guilty in New York. Trump injected other considerations into the criminal case after Meng’s arrest when he told Reuters he would intervene if it helped close a trade deal.


Japanese convenience stores tackle food waste issue; households and restaurants slow to get on board

Abstract: Major convenience store operators are the latest firms to introduce measures to curb food waste as companies step up efforts to address the issue in the country, where 6 million tons of edible products are discarded annually. However, restaurants and households, which are responsible for some 66 percent of discarded food, are moving more slowly to slash the amount of leftover items. Eateries are concerned they will lose customers if they serve smaller portions, while Japanese consumers tend to prioritize product freshness. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. and Lawson Inc. said Friday they will start discounting rice balls and bento lunchboxes as they near the end of their shelf life. Under the plan, they will offer customers enrolled in the chains’ point programs shopping credits worth 5 percent of the purchase price of such items. “Food loss is a big problem domestically and globally as well, so convenience stores also need to confront this issue,” Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu said Friday. “We will continue to make efforts to sell out our food products.” Takemasu said that around 10 percent of the chain’s rice balls and lunchboxes are discarded as waste. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, roughly 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally every year, while 1 in 9 people in the world — or 815 million — are undernourished. Overproduction of food and incineration of food waste consumes energy and contributes to carbon dioxide emissions. In its sustainable development goals, the U.N. calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains by 2030. Against this backdrop, agriculture ministers from the Group of 20 major economies at a meeting earlier this month in the city of Niigata agreed to take a leading role in reducing food waste. “Productivity needs to increase and distribution needs to be more efficient, including by reducing food loss and waste, in order to achieve food security and improve nutrition for the growing world population,” said the ministers’ declaration issued May 12. The government has also been pushing to reduce food waste amid rising global awareness of the issue, which is linked to greenhouse warming and poverty. In January, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry urged industry groups of convenience stores and supermarkets not to overproduce seasonal sushi rolls. The request by the ministry, the first of its kind, came after images of large amounts of discarded sushi rolls went viral on social media, sparking controversy. “Reducing food loss means less waste of natural resources and it is also important from the standpoint of easing burdens on companies and households,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday. “Related ministries and agencies will continue to work as one” to deal with the challenge, he said. While convenience stores and supermarkets tend to be blamed as massive waste producers, the retail sector discarded only around 10 percent or 660,000 tons of the total 6.43 million tons in fiscal 2016 through March 2017, according to government data. Food-related manufacturing and restaurants sectors, meanwhile, threw away 1.37 million tons and 1.33 million tons, respectively. Households alone made up over 40 percent of the total at 2.91 million tons. Among companies that have been taking steps to address the issue of food waste are major restaurant chain operator Skylark Holdings Co., which offers customers a container in which to take home leftover food, although the concept of a doggy bag has yet to take root in Japan. Other initiatives include one launched by Prince Hotels Inc., which has introduced plates with nine partitions at a buffet-style restaurant it operates in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, as a way to discourage diners from helping themselves to more than they can eat. But restaurant operators remain wary that serving smaller portions could upset their customers. “It’s up to the customer whether or not he finishes his meal,” a restaurant official said. As for household food waste, which the government wants to reduce by 50 percent by fiscal 2030 from fiscal 2000 levels, amounts have been edging up of late. This could be a reflection of Japanese food culture’s emphasis on product freshness and safety, and shows that where tackling food waste is concerned, the country still has plenty of work to do.

restaurants
convenience stores
food loss
food waste


Liberal Demoratic Party and Komeito flip-flop on Osaka merger

Abstract: OSAKA - Just over a month after local elections in which Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) surprised even itself with resounding victories, the established parties’ local chapters appear to be on the ropes. Earlier this month, Komeito, which had long partnered with Osaka Ishin to form a majority in the municipal and prefectural assemblies but was staunchly opposed to Osaka Ishin’s efforts to merge the city’s wards, abruptly flip-flopped. Komeito agreed to a referendum on the issue, and said it would work in a “positive manner” to help Osaka Ishin create a merger plan. Immediately afterward, the Liberal Democratic Party’s Osaka chapter, which also opposed the merger plan, declared that, following the drubbing by Osaka Ishin at the polls in April, it had seen the light and would agree to a referendum on the issue. With these announcements, a referendum before the next round of local elections in 2023 appears certain and Osaka voters seem to want it. Unlike the previous referendum in 2015, where the merger was defeated by a narrow margin, in a possible second referendum to merge Osaka’s 24 wards into four semiautonomous entities, the “yes” side now appears favored to win. Why the about-face by Komeito and the LDP? There are two main reasons: First, Osaka Ishin captured the majority of seats in the prefectural assembly and came up just a couple shy of a majority in the city assembly. They won partially at the expense of local LDP candidates. Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui also successfully swapped seats, defeating LDP and Komeito-backed candidates. Voter anger at the LDP and Komeito for being obstinate over the merger issues, or worries that the parties were too entrenched, were also reasons Osaka Ishin did well. Another one lies with the national LDP and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe has a final domestic goal to accomplish before his term as LDP president ends in September 2021: constitutional revision. The July Upper House poll will determine if the LDP, Komeito, and Nippon Ishin no Kai, Osaka Ishin’s national party, can secure the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to hold a national referendum on constitutional revision. The parties are the best of friends in the Diet but throw mud at each other in Osaka over the merger plan. Years of squabbling between the three parties over what the rest of the country sees as a minor local issue appear to have finally snapped the patience of not only voters who cast their ballots for Osaka Ishin but also senior LDP and Komeito officials. Yet Komeito’s promise to support a referendum within four years is already causing problems, as Matsui wants it in the autumn of next year, just after the Tokyo Olympics and while Matsui’s good friend Abe is still in power (assuming this summer’s Upper House election is not a disaster for the LDP). The LDP’s change of position has not been without controversy in the Osaka chapter. Many feel the decision was forced on them by senior LDP officials in Tokyo in the hope that cooperation between the LDP, Komeito, and Osaka Ishin in Osaka translates into smoother cooperation between the LDP, Komeito and Nippon Ishin in the Diet. They worry, rightly, about accusations of betraying their campaign promises to oppose a merger referendum. And what of the voters? An eventual referendum will decide the future of Osaka’s local democracy. April’s elections showed voters are still willing to trust Osaka Ishin to that future. But a large number also voted for Osaka Ishin on the condition that the party first explains, in a way it hasn’t so far, what a merger will mean. For anti-merger LDP and Komeito politicians, convincing voters there is no meaning to a merger and hoping that message has gotten through when the referendum is held, all the while remaining on good terms with their Nippon Ishin-friendly Tokyo bosses, is now the key to their political survival. View from Osaka is a monthly column that examines the latest news from a Kansai perspective.

ldp
referendum
komeito
ichiro matsui
osaka ishin no kai


Abe, Trump unlikely to issue joint statement following their meeting in Tokyo in late May

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are unlikely to issue a joint statement when they meet in Tokyo later this month, apparently to avoid exposing differing views on bilateral trade and North Korea issues, Japanese government sources said Saturday. Joint statements are not legally binding but are treated as an important diplomatic document. The talks between Abe and Trump are being arranged for May 27 upon Trump’s visit to Japan as the first state guest to meet with Emperor Naruhito. According to the sources, Abe and Trump are facing difficulties in striking a deal on the bilateral trade agreement launched in April, with Washington seeking to reduce the hefty U.S. trade deficit with Japan. The longtime security allies have also found themselves on different pages when it comes to dealing with Pyongyang following its recent launch of short-range ballistic missiles. Japan protested the move as a violation of U.N. resolutions while Trump reportedly said he did not regard it as a “breach of trust” by North Korea. Given the divide, the Japanese and U.S. governments believe the differences are great enough that a joint statement is not feasible at this time, the sources said. When Trump’s predecessor, U.S. President Barack Obama, visited Japan in 2014 as a state guest, the two governments crafted a joint statement that touched on, among other issues, the U.S. defense commitment extending to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China claims as its territory. Instead of issuing such a document this time, the Japanese government plans to showcase the “strong relationship of trust” between Abe and Trump through the holding of a joint news conference after their talks, the sources said. The two will also watch live sumo bouts together at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, A Foreign Ministry source said the government plans to explain to the public that there is no need to prepare a new statement, as the two countries issued one following the leaders’ summit in February 2017 in Washington. Trump will visit Japan with first lady Melania Trump for four days from May 25. The Trumps are expected to meet the new emperor, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, and attend a state banquet to be held at the Imperial Palace. Abe and Trump also plan to play golf and inspect the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s helicopter carrier Kaga.

shinzo abe
joint statement
donald trump
japan-u.s .


Possible no-confidence motion against Abe Cabinet could trigger snap election, Japan's top government spokesman says

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might call a snap election for the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of the Diet, if opposition parties submit a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has suggested. Asked whether the submission of a no-confidence motion would be a fair reason for dissolving the Lower House, Suga told a news conference on Friday that it was definitely in the realm of possibility. “That would certainly be the case,” he said. It is unusual for the government’s top spokesman to mention the possibility of a Lower House breakup for a snap election, as dissolving the chamber is considered to be an exclusive matter for the prime minister. The suggestion by Suga came as opposition parties are carefully considering the timing for the possible submission of a no-confidence motion against the Abe Cabinet ahead of the triennial election for the House of Councilors in the summer. There is lingering speculation that Abe could go for a double election covering both chambers to seek public support for a possible decision to postpone — for a third time — a consumption tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent, currently planned for October.

shinzo abe
yoshihide suga
elections
diet
cabinet


Kono to discuss economic cooperation between Japan and Central Asian with nations' foreign ministers

Abstract: DUSHANBE - Foreign Minister Taro Kono held talks with his counterparts from Central Asia on Saturday to discuss economic cooperation and regional security. In the meeting with the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Kono is expected to promote Japan’s high-quality infrastructure exports, according to Japanese officials. The ministers are also likely to discuss ways to promote Central Asia as a tourist destination, the officials said. Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani also participated in the talks. The meeting in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, comes as China increases its influence in the region through its “Belt and Road” development initiative. Kono is scheduled to hold separate talks with the ministers through Sunday before returning home.


TBS drama misses an opportunity to shine a light on genuine workplace issues

Abstract: The most common gripe I hear from white-collar employees at Japanese companies is about the fluid meaning of “quitting time.” The feeling is that even if a worker has finished their tasks for the day, it is considered bad form to leave the office before their colleagues or supervisors do. There are, of course, no established rules that dictate such conduct, and I hesitate to call it a custom but even after three decades of debate over the question of unnecessary overtime and lost productivity in the Japanese workplace, there is still great hesitancy on the part of employees to go home “on time.” This issue is the premise of the TBS drama series “ Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu. ” (“I Will Not Work Overtime, Period!”; Tuesdays, 10 p.m.), which is based on a popular novel. The bluntness of the title suggests it’s a comedy. After all, leaving work at 6 p.m. should hardly be considered a rebellious act. So far, the show has used its pseudo-provocative high concept as a means of addressing other workplace issues, such as gender distinctions in job advancement, paid parental leave and problematic hierarchical structures, and, in doing so, passes over the comic potential of its titular idea, that someone who makes a point of leaving the office when they’re supposed to is an iconoclast. The “ watashi ” of the title is Yui Higashiyama (Yuriko Yoshitaka), an employee of a web design firm who hardly knew her father because of his punishing work schedule, and so has made it clear that she will go home every day at 6 p.m., using her favorite Chinese restaurant’s happy hour, which ends at 6:10 p.m., as frivolous justification. Her company, Net Heroes, seems OK with her somewhat defiant stance against convention, and over the course of the first five episodes a philosophy emerges. Higashiyama wants to get married and have kids, and intends to build a career without compromising those goals. When the firm lands a contract with a beverage maker, the project is handed over to Yae Shizugatake (Yuki Uchida), Higashiyama’s mentor at the company who has just returned from maternity leave. Higashiyama is encouraged by the choice, but another colleague, the no-nonsense Mitani (Shishido Kavka), seems slightly miffed since it was her proposal that won the contract. The idea of sticking Shizugatake with this responsibility is that of the new division manager, Fukunaga (Yusuke Santamaria), who, rumor has it, is rebounding from bankruptcy. He gives Shizugatake a chance to jump back on the career track as a working mother, but even with her husband acting as a mostly stay-at-home dad, Shizugatake finds it difficult to juggle her domestic responsibilities and her workload, and immediately makes a huge miscalculation that angers the client. Higashiyama sticks to her designated work hour policy but starts to feel guilty watching Shizugatake put in overtime in her new capacity and then show up in the morning groggy from lack of sleep. Complicating matters is the fact that Fukunaga has brought with him an assistant, Taneda (Osamu Mukai), who was once engaged to Higashiyama. She broke off the relationship because he proved to be too much of a workaholic. Higashiyama’s present fiancee, the mellow, kitchen-savvy Takumi Sawa (Yuichi Nakamaru), works for a rival web design company. She tries to keep this intelligence from her colleagues and when they’re together, she insists Sawa not talk about work. But work is what the series is about, and gradually it reveals its true intentions, which are only marginally concerned with Higashiyama’s contrarian attitude. The fact is, she’s good at her job. As a challenge to her carefree facade Taneda puts her in charge of another new account with a sporting goods manufacturer knowing that she hates sports, which she admits to at the start of her presentation. At first, the company seems offended by her candor, but one executive appreciates it, as well as her idea, which is to broaden the company’s customer base from diehard athletes to the general public. In other words, the show isn’t really about working hours, and although there are similarities in the way advertising campaigns are incorporated into storylines, no viewer is going to expect “Mad Men” (no sex, no existential angst). At the same time, no one should expect the late Hitoshi Ueki , either. In the 1960s, Ueki starred in a series of feature films as “Japan’s most irresponsible man,” an office factotum who took advantage of his company position to have fun and basically shirk work. He was a corrective to the stereotype of the selfless “corporate warrior” even before the stereotype was firmly established, a pop-culture figure of resistance during Japan’s headlong charge into the global industrial breach. More significantly, he was genuinely funny. “I Will Not Work Overtime, Period!” is too respectful of viewers’ feelings about work to make fun of its situations, preferring instead to be critical of office norms that confound productivity or interfere with workers’ nonwork existence. It’s obvious that Shizugatake’s work-life imbalance cannot be solely blamed on her job. Although her husband is a thoroughly hands-on father, he still expects Shizugatake to fold laundry and pack lunch boxes. In what passes for a running joke, she inadvertently keeps important baby-related documents in her handbag and has to dispatch Higashiyama to messenger them to her husband when emergencies arise. Then there’s Higashiyama’s subordinate, Kurusu (Yuki Izumisawa), a freshman employee who keeps threatening to quit. It’s a common enough real-life circumstance that the producers could have exploited it for a laugh, but they address it earnestly, as if it were an issue on par with Fukunaga’s cluelessly oppressive management style. This semi-serious approach might have made sense 20 years ago when gratuitous overtime was still a rarely discussed problem, but it’s been in the news for at least a decade now and has even been debated in the Diet . At this point, the most effective route to change is probably not through legislation but via the funny bone.

yuki uchida
tbs
yuriko yoshitaka
kafka shishido
yusuke santamaria


Elementary school kids can say the darndest things online

Abstract: People usually don’t take the thoughts of a 10-year-old child too seriously. Elementary school kids can say the darndest things, and only the nastiest of bullies take any notice of them saying something stupid. Unless, that is, the child in question happens to be an online influencer with tens of thousands of followers — then it’s open season. Ten-year-old YouTuber Yutabon operates a channel boasting just over 30,000 followers. Such numbers aren’t particularly impressive in the grand scheme of things, but they’re much better than what most children his age can manage. A clip uploaded during Golden Week includes a segment in which Yutabon tells other children that they shouldn’t attend school classes if they didn’t want to. He has regularly skipped school, according to his videos, and he believes it’s better for kids to do whatever they want instead of subjecting themselves to the misery of compulsory education. Netizens and online media responded with outrage. The video currently boasts 660,000 dislikes compared to just over 4000 likes, a staggering ratio. Scroll further down and brace yourselves as anonymous YouTube commenters rip into Yutabon and his philosophy on life. The conversation suddenly took on a life of its own online, with users on 2chan expressing concern about the future of humanity before digging deeper into the Yutabon’s history, figuring out who his father was in the process. This whole saga spread online, before being picked up by mainstream newspapers and network TV . This in turn spawned more YouTube content, with other popular creators riffing on news segments focused on Yutabon and his parents, while others commented on the entire situation. The father responded to the outcry , while others astutely pointed out that generating controversy only helped influencers’ careers. Yutabon carried on as usual in the midst of all this hate. He has shared videos of him hanging out with a famous scientist , flaunting newspaper articles about himself and giving free hugs to strangers (which, hey, he probably could use after all of this). He didn’t seem to mind that people were downvoting all videos he has ever made and adding a slew of negative comments to his channel. After all, it’s important to keep the content fresh. The Japanese internet ecosystem is fractured, with people divided by political and demographic differences. In spite of this, everyone can unite around a common cause. Take, for example, recent gaffes from Nippon Ishin no Kai’s Hodaka Maruyama or TV presenters trying to wrestle with issues of gender . The issue gets more complicated when kids are involved. Children have become fixtures on social media as platforms such as YouTube and Instagram become part of their lives. Some of the most popular channels on the former prominently feature young children, including Kan & Aki’s Channel (more than 2.6 million subscribers) and Sen, Momo, Ai & Shii’s Channel (which officially has zero subscribers, but tracking site socialbreakers ranks as the fifth most subscribed channel in the country, with videos attracting hundreds of thousands of views). Most of these kid-centric creators make videos for other children — popular clips often feature nothing more than tots opening up toys or visiting kid-friendly places . This is the type of stuff busy parents play (or let their kids stumble upon) when they need a break and, while it may not be particularly nourishing, these uploads tend to be pretty harmless. The presence of kids online, however, seems to unsettle some netizens. Videos featuring children typically receive many dislikes and if comments are enabled, it’s easy to find at least a few negative ones. (YouTube recently disabled comments for videos featuring young children but, as is the case with most policies rolled out by the platform, this has seemingly been applied haphazardly). While some offerings probably do deserve the criticism — a playlist titled “ Videos of children crying ” is an obvious example — the reaction can often feel a little over the top. Compare the videos that are made in Japan to, say, an American child creating videos that feature far-right talking points and you should feel a little better. Yutabon’s controversial remarks bring this online tension to the forefront. If your own 10-year-old child or a student said something like what Yutabon said, you’d probably just roll with it because they are 10 years old . When a kid tries to become the center of attention online, however, people come out swinging, partially out of concern over how it might influence younger viewers and also because it has become almost second nature to lambaste ridiculous statements. It’s a weird sensation, but seems to be the new norm in the social-media age.


Road damage after torrential rain on Yakushima Island leaves about 200 people stranded

Abstract: KAGOSHIMA - A total of at least 10 buses being used to transport mountain hikers and several cars became stranded on Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Saturday following torrential rain, leaving about 200 people trapped there, local officials said. The heavy downpour caused a road near one of the starting points for climbing to cave in, officials at the Yakushima town office said. Rescue workers headed to the area but decided to postpone rescue operations until early Sunday due to continuing bad weather. All the people trapped were safe in the buses and cars as of Saturday night, town officials said. The Yakushima town office issued an evacuation advisory for 6,667 households on the island. Later Saturday night, Kagoshima Prefecture officials requested Ground Self-Defense Force personnel be dispatched to help rescue the stranded people. According to the local meteorological observatory, torrential rain amounting to around 120 millimeters per hour was recorded in the southern area of the town during the late afternoon. Other areas in southern Kyushu also received heavy rain. The Meteorological Agency warned up to 200 millimeters of rain could fall in Kagoshima Prefecture and 180 millimeters could fall in Miyazaki Prefecture in the 24-hour period through 6 p.m. Sunday.


U.S. approves missile sales to Japan and South Korea as tensions with Pyongyang return

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it had approved more than $600 million in sales of air defense missiles to Japan and South Korea as tensions return with North Korea. The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of $313.9 million. It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for $317 million. The sales “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States” by assisting key allies and “will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” a State Department statement said. North Korea last week tested what the South Korean military said appeared to be two short-range missiles in its second launch in less than a week. The tests come amid a standstill in negotiations between North Korea and the United States, where U.S. President Donald Trump had boasted of ending Pyongyang’s missile tests. A second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended in deadlock in February, with the U.S. side refusing demands to ease sanctions until Pyongyang takes major steps to end its nuclear program.

military
weapons
south korea
self defense forces


Chinese court sentences Japanese man accused of stealing state secrets to 5½ years in prison

Abstract: BEIJING - A Chinese court has sentenced a Japanese man who was detained some two years ago on charges of spying to 5½ years in prison, sources have said. The court in the city of Yantai, in the eastern province of Shandong, also ordered the seizure of 30,000 yuan (about ¥480,000) of the man’s personal assets after he was convicted of stealing Chinese state secrets and providing them to an overseas organization, according to the sources. The man in his 70s, who is an official of Chiba Prefecture-based NC Geophysical Survey Co., was detained in March 2017 while he was conducting a geological survey for hot-spring development in Shandong along with his colleagues. A Chinese newspaper had reported that the man was in possession of a massive amount of confidential material, including maps. Six Japanese men involved in hot-spring development were detained in March 2017 in Shandong and the southern Chinese province of Hainan. Four of the six were released later that year. At least nine Japanese nationals are currently detained in China for suspected involvement in espionage or other charges. The man in his 70s is the sixth to face a verdict.

courts
prisons
espionage
china-japan relations


Police grill 87-year-old driver over Tokyo crash that left mother and daughter dead

Abstract: An 87-year-old former government official whose car was involved in a fatal crash last month in Tokyo was released from hospital on Saturday before being questioned by police on a voluntary basis, investigators said. “I’m sorry,” Kozo Iizuka, who sustained broken bones after the crash around noon on April 19 in the capital’s Ikebukuro district, said in a weak voice upon entering Mejiro Police Station. When he exited the police station, Iizuka was wearing a face mask and sunglasses and using canes to aid walking. He again said “I’m sorry” to reporters gathered at the entrance, but did not answer questions about possible causes of the accident. While hospitalized, Iizuka also underwent voluntarily questioning by police officers, who seek to charge him with causing death and injury through negligence. The crash killed a 3-year-old girl and her mother, and injured nine others including Iizuka’s wife, who was in the car with him. Iizuka has so far claimed that the brake did not work when his car started to accelerate before striking a guardrail, plowing through crossings and hitting a garbage truck. But police believe he most likely stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake as they have found no technical problems with his car. The accident has added to concerns about the increasing number of elderly drivers on Japan’s roads as the nation’s population rapidly grays.

aging society
ikebukuro
car accidents
elderly drivers
kozo iizuka


Failing to hire women, ECB extends supervision board job deadline: sources

Abstract: FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank has extended a deadline for filling three top jobs at its bank supervision arm after it failed to hire any women for the roles, two sources said, illustrating the bank’s long struggle to attract female talent for senior positions. With only one woman on its 25-member Governing Council and just a handful of women on the Supervisory Board, the ECB has long been criticized by European lawmakers for fostering a culture that favors men, with males holding over three quarters of senior managerial positions. Pressure on the bank only increased in recent months when the top two bank supervisors, Daniele Nouy and Sabine Lautenschlaeger, were replaced by men, seemingly countering the ECB’s stated goal of improving its gender balance. The ECB, which oversees 117 of the eurozone’s biggest banks with €21 trillion ($23.5 trillion) in assets, will now seek applications for the three internal Supervisory Board vacancies until June 12 instead of the original May 15 deadline. An ECB spokesman declined to comment. While the ECB is under no legal obligation to find women for the jobs, picking only men would put it in a politically untenable position and would likely hold up the approval of board member Yves Mersch to become the vice chair of the Supervisory Board, the sources said. Mersch was picked by the ECB’s Governing Council in April to replace Lautenschlaeger as the second-in-command of bank supervision but he still requires the approval of EU lawmakers before he can take up the job. The sources said that ideally there should be at least two women filling the six internal Supervisory Board seats to diffuse political tension over gender inequality. A conflict over gender also risks slowing the Parliamentary approval of ECB board members, a potential headache as ECB President Mario Draghi and board member Benoit Coeure are both due to leave the bank in the coming months. The appointment of Mersch to the ECB board in 2012 was held up for several months due to complaints by lawmakers about gender imbalance.


Dutch judge rules Schiphol trains must run during strike

Abstract: THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - A Dutch judge Sunday ruled against plans by the country’s largest trade union to allow train drivers serving Amsterdam’s busy Schiphol airport to join a country-wide strike. Thousands of bus, train and tram drivers are expected strike on Tuesday in protest at government plans to raise the retirement age from 66 and to demand higher pension payments. “Our right to call a 24-hour strike remains, with the exception of a limited number of trains running to and from Schiphol,” the FNV union said in a statement. “There will be four trains an hour between Schiphol and Amsterdam Central station … in order to guarantee public order at the airport,” the FNV said. Last year, Schiphol was Europe’s third-busiest airport, with 71.5 million passengers, behind London Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, according to figures by the Airports Council International Europe (ACI). Apart from being the gateway to Amsterdam, Schiphol is also a major transit hub for flights from all around the globe. The decision by the judge comes after negotiations between Schiphol Airport’s management and the FNV broke down earlier on Sunday “despite intensive talks,” the FNV said. Schiphol, in a statement, warned of “traffic congestion, limited train access and no buses” during Tuesday’s strike. “If you’re traveling to or from Schiphol Airport on 28 May, please note that traveling by train is limited and trains and stations will be crowded,” the airport said. Although no figures are available, FNV spokeswoman Mariette van Dijk told AFP that “thousands of bus, train and tram drivers, as well as ferry boat captains” were expected to join the strike. Tuesday’s day-long strike follows similar industrial action in March, when public transport was shut down for 66 minutes — symbolic of the current retirement age. But the government led by business-friendly Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal VVD party accelerated plans to increase the etirement age to 67 years in 2021 and 67 years and three months in 2022. “People are healthier and they live longer,” the Dutch government said on its pensions website. “The higher life expectancy makes working for longer and a gradual increase in the state pension age possible,” the Dutch government said.

netherlands
unions
strikes
fnv
schiphol airport


Teva to pay $85 million settlement in Oklahoma opioid case; J&J trial looms

Abstract: WILMINGTON, DELAWARE/NEW YORK - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to pay $85 million to settle an Oklahoma lawsuit claiming that illegal marketing of its opioid painkillers contributed to a public health crisis in the state. The deal, announced Sunday, was reached just as the case was about to go to trial next week. The state had alleged Teva and co-defendant Johnson & Johnson persuaded doctors to boost prescriptions of the powerful medications to treat ailments for which they weren’t approved, causing overdose deaths and drug addiction. The trial against remaining defendant J&J, which the state has called the “kingpin” of the U.S. opioid crisis, is expected to start on Tuesday. The terms of the settlement may take up to two weeks to finalize, and the money will be used to “abate the opioid crisis in Oklahoma,” Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement. Oklahoma had been seeking at least $10 billion in damages and penalties. The trial will be the first test of public-nuisance laws against opioid manufacturers and distributors. At least 42 states and more than 1,600 municipalities have sued companies in the industry, demanding billions of dollars in damages. The last-minute deal in Oklahoma means some of the focus on opioid litigation shifts to Cleveland, where a federal judge has set two test trials for October to allow juries to consider public-nuisance claims over drug-marketing campaigns. The accord comes about two months after Purdue Pharma LP agreed to pay $270 million to resolve Oklahoma’s claims over sales pitches for its opioid-based painkiller, OxyContin. Purdue sought a deal to ease mounting liabilities that have threatened to push the company into bankruptcy. The money was earmarked for research and treatment. Oklahoma said J&J and Teva helped create a public-health crisis from opioid abuse that killed thousands of its residents. The state, in its lawsuit, accused the companies of overstating the painkillers’ benefits and understating their risks, which created a “devastating cycle of over-prescription” that was “built on addiction, dependence and a market saturated with misinformation regarding the benefits and safety of those drugs.” Teva’s settlement doesn’t establish any wrongdoing on the part of the company. The case is State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma LP, CJ-2017-816, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, District Court (Norman).

u.s .
medicine
drugs
oklahoma
opioids
j & j
teva


Carlos Ghosn's family seeks U.N. help against 'judicial persecution' in Japan

Abstract: PARIS - The family of former Renault and Nissan head Carlos Ghosn has submitted another request for U.N. intervention against what it says is his “judicial persecution” in Japan, according to one of their lawyers. Jessica Finelle said the family had approached the working group on arbitrary detention at the Office of the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights to see if they could provide some redress. In the request, the lawyers say bail conditions imposed on Ghosn amounted to “house arrest” and were intended to weaken him psychologically ahead of his trial. Ghosn was dramatically arrested in November as he stepped off his private jet in Tokyo. He was held for 108 days as prosecutors investigated financial misconduct allegations and charged him with three counts. He finally won bail in March, agreeing to conditions including living in a court-appointed residence monitored by cameras. But prosecutors then leveled a fresh allegation against him in April and he was rearrested, spending another 21 days in detention before winning bail a second time. The former Nissan chief is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct, ranging from concealing part of his salary to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. Lawyers for the family claimed in the latest request to the U.N.’s working committee on arbitrary detention that the number and scale of the conditions imposed on Ghosn amounted “in effect to house arrest, meaning that his provisional detention continues and he is still deprived of his liberty.” The restrictions, “especially the prohibition of any direct contact with his wife, appear to be abuse aimed at tiring him out psychologically and to put him in a position of weakness … in violation of the right to a fair trial,” according to the documents. “This really amounts to a form of judicial persecution of Carlos Ghosn, who is prohibited from meeting his wife, even for an hour in the presence of lawyers,” they said. Describing Ghosn as being held “hostage,” the lawyers go on to demand that the U.N. working group declare the Japanese measures to be “arbitrary” and to urge authorities to “release (him) without delay. Lawyer Finelle said that even if the U.N. working group has no power to compel Japan to act differently, “it is still a matter of image for the Japanese.” She said she hopes for a decision before Ghosn’s court case begins, which might not be until next year.

tokyo
france
u.n .
nissan
renault
carlos ghosn
jessica finelle


Company clears early hurdle for Alaska North Slope oil project

Abstract: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - A company seeking to develop a large oil project on Alaska’s North Slope has won a key federal permit. Alaska’s Energy Desk reported that Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search announced that it had received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Pikka development, which is planned west of Prudhoe Bay. The permit was issued Tuesday, Corps spokesman John Budnik told The Associated Press by email. The permit is one of many the project will need to advance. The company also needs dozens of state and local permits. State analysts say the project has potential to contribute significantly to future Alaska production. Oil Search estimates the project could produce about 120,000 barrels of oil per day. So far this year, the trans-Alaska pipeline system, which was designed to move oil from the North Slope to a port in Valdez, has been averaging around 515,000 barrels of oil a day. Oil Search has proposed building up to three drill sites, about 25 miles of roads and about 35 miles of pipelines, a central processing facility, two bridges and an operations center with beds for 200 workers. Its project is in an area seen as a new hot spot for oil activity on the western North Slope, with ConocoPhillips also pursuing projects in the region. The Pikka development would be on state and Alaska Native-owned land, as close as seven miles to the village of Nuiqsut. There have been talks to reach a land-use agreement with Kuukpik Corp., the Alaska Native village corporation for Nuiqsut. Questions have been raised about how the project will affect subsistence hunting and fishing for Nuiqsut residents. Oil Search has made several changes to address the village’s concerns. Oil Search Alaska President Keiran Wulff in a statement said the company is committed to “close collaboration with the people and organizations of Nuiqsut.”

u.s .
environment
alaska
papua new guinea
oil search
prudhoe bay


New consortium to accelerate climate-related corporate disclosures in Japan

Abstract: A consortium designed to facilitate corporate information disclosures on climate change was launched Monday — a move aimed at encouraging financial institutions to make investments based on climate risks. The body is expected to provide financial institutions with better access to information on how the businesses they plan to invest in will affect climate change. “Growth of ESG (environmental, social and governance) investment has been remarkable in recent years … the global capital flow is about to change drastically,” Kunio Ito, a professor at Hitotsubashi University and one of the founders of the consortium, said during the launch event in Tokyo. The 2015 Paris agreement has encouraged financial institutions to evaluate how climate change would affect the businesses they are investing in, Ito said. Following a request from the Group of 20 financial leaders, the Financial Stability Board, an international organization that monitors global financial systems, established in 2015 the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to look into climate risks. As of Monday, the new Japanese organization had 164 company members, making it the world’s biggest TCFD-supporting consortium. Still, critics claim that companies are not providing enough information, with many complaining of the cost. Discussions on the matter between companies and financial institutions, expected to take place monthly or bimonthly, will be based on recommendations from the TCFD. The consortium will draft a guideline for financial institutions by October. The TCFD recommendations compiled in 2017 are mainly built around four themes — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. Last December, an industry ministry panel drafted a guideline on how companies should disclose climate-related information. The consortium has four other founders — Keidanren Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi, Mitsubishi Corp. President Takehiko Kakiuchi, Japanese Bankers Association Chairman Makoto Takashima and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. Chairman Shuzo Sumi.


Warning that tax hike would doom Abenomics, former aide vows to convince PM to delay yet again

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should postpone the consumption tax increase scheduled for October or face the failure of Abenomics, his six-year economic revival program, according to one of the architects of that program. “Abenomics will fail for real if the tax is raised now,” Etsuro Honda, a former economic adviser to Abe, said during an interview last week. Honda has convinced Abe to postpone the tax increase twice before and said he is determined to do so again. He said the rise should be put on hold until the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target is reached. Raising the tax now would make it impossible to achieve that target — a key part of efforts to achieve sustainable growth, he said. Abe and his ministers have repeatedly insisted the tax will rise to 10 percent from 8 percent as planned unless there is a crisis on the scale of the global financial meltdown of the late 2000s. However, Honda said Abe seems to be contemplating delaying the increase. He met with Abe at the prime minister’s residence last month and delivered a PowerPoint presentation on the matter. Abe met with other economists earlier this month, adding fuel to speculation about a postponement. The debate over the tax hike grew more complicated when data released May 20 showed the Japanese economy unexpectedly grew in the first quarter, a somewhat misleading sign of resilience. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said last week that economic fundamentals are “solid” in delivering the latest message that there is no change in the tax plan. Still, key elements of the economy — exports, industrial production and capital spending — are in decline, and rising trade tensions are adding to uncertainty about the outlook. Koichi Hagiuda, another Abe ally and senior ruling party member, has suggested that bad economic data could put the tax hike on hold and that any decision to postpone it will need to come before Upper House elections due in July. Those in favor of delaying the tax increase say it would derail a fragile economic recovery made more vulnerable by slowing growth overseas. The last increase, in April 2014, sent consumption into a tailspin and the economy into contraction. Proponents say it would be a vital source of extra revenue needed to address Japan’s public debt burden, the largest in the developed world. Honda said he expects Abe to decide by the end of the Group of 20 summit in June. Abe laid the groundwork for the last postponement at a Group of Seven meeting in Japan in 2016, arguing that Japan faced the risk of an economic crisis if the tax went up. Similarly, it would not take an existing crisis for Abe to justify a postponement this time, because the tax increase itself could create one, Honda said. It may not hit the global economy as badly as the financial crisis did, but it could hurt the domestic economy as much — about a 3 percent contraction in annual gross domestic product, he said. “You can’t completely deny the possibility that the impact of the tax hike on Japan’s economy could be similar to the one we saw after the Lehman shock,” Honda said, using the Japanese shorthand for the global financial crisis. “The phrase ‘Lehman-like crisis’ should be understood as a metaphor for very serious risk.” With momentum toward the inflation target already stalled, the tax hike would end progress toward completing the “virtuous cycle” of higher wages, spending and inflation by hitting consumer spending power, resulting in lower consumption and weakening corporate sentiment and investment, Honda said. It would be extremely hard to recover, he said. Honda argued for an aggressive rise in fiscal spending, saying it has become clear that the BOJ alone can’t achieve a permanent escape from deflation, and must now carefully watch the side effects of its six-year stimulus program.

shinzo abe
taxes
abenomics
consumption tax
etsuro honda


Dollar edges slightly higher to ¥109.57 in Tokyo

Abstract: The dollar on Monday crept up above ¥109.55 in lackluster Tokyo trading. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.57-57, up from ¥109.53-53 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1196-1197, up from $1.1188-1188, and at ¥122.68-68, up from ¥122.54-55. The dollar firmed in late trading after fluctuating mostly around ¥109.45 amid a dearth of fresh trading incentives, traders said. “The dollar-yen pair reacted little to the day’s Japan-U.S. summit, as investors had neither pinned hope on nor been vigilant against the talks,” said an official at a major Japanese bank. Trading will become active after the three-day weekend through Monday is over in the United States and Britain, a major brokerage firm official said. A think tank analyst called for caution against boosted yen buying vis-a-vis the dollar after the release of Chinese manufacturing data on Friday, saying it “will not be surprising” if the manufacturing PMI for May drops below the boom-or-bust threshold of 50 amid the escalating trade conflict with the United States.


Tokyo stocks follow Wall Street higher

Abstract: Stocks went up Monday, following a rebound on Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 average gained 65.36 points, or 0.31 percent, to end at 21,182.58. On Friday, the key market gauge lost 33.92 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 5.79 points, or 0.38 percent, higher at 1,547.00 after rising 0.63 point Friday. The market extended gains until midmorning, with investors heartened by upturns late last week in key U.S. market indicators, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average. After the initial buying sentiment subsided, the Nikkei and Topix both lost steam in the absence of major trading incentives, brokers said. Some investors retreated to the sidelines to see the outcome of a Japan-U.S. summit in Tokyo, brokers said. Trading was “extremely thin” as foreign investors were inactive due to the three-day weekend in the United States and Britain, an official of a major securities firm said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump held talks from the morning. At the outset of the summit, Trump said that the two countries are expected to make a major announcement on bilateral trade in August. The leaders held a joint news conference after the market was closed. Now that Washington’s stance of waiting for striking a trade deal with Tokyo until the Upper House election in July is over, investors are likely to “put off” reacting to any negative developments in the bilateral trade negotiations for the time being, Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Naito Securities Co., pointed out. Although the Abe-Trump meeting had little impact, the market turned top-heavy due to “worries about growing effects of U.S. tariff hikes for Chinese goods on the global economy,” Tabei also said. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,293 to 734 in the first section, while 114 issues were unchanged. Volume fell to 901 million shares from 1.246 billion Friday. Cryptocurrency-related issues, including online exchange Monex Group, attracted purchases thanks to a Bitcoin price rise. Hitachi Transport jumped as investors cheered the company’s midterm business plan through March 2022, brokers said. Among other winners were technology investor SoftBank Group and clothing store chain Fast Retailing. On the other hand, semiconductor inspection device maker Advantest fell 2.18 percent, down for the fourth consecutive session. Also on the negative side were air conditioner maker Daikin and industrial robot producer Fanuc.


Stories of success and failure among Europe's carmakers

Abstract: PARIS - French auto giant Renault and its Italian-U.S. counterpart, Fiat Chrysler, are planning to announce an alliance, further reshaping Europe’s auto sector that has already witnessed two decades of takeovers, alliances and breakups. Here is a look at other major deals, some of which floundered, beginning in the 1990s. DaimlerChrysler — a flop In 1998 the German group Daimler-Benz struck a deal to fuse the troubled U.S. automaker Chrysler with its prestigious Mercedes brand. It was presented as a merger of equals, but Daimler invested $36 billion in the affair and ran the show from the start. By 2005, the combination had soured; Daimler boss Juergen Schrempp stepped down and his successor, Dieter Zetsche, announced in February 2007 that Daimler would sell most of its shares in Chrysler. It did so three months later, ceding 80.1 percent to the U.S. investment firm Cerberus Capital Management for €5.5 billion. Fiat: Two U.S. adventures In the late 1990s the ailing Italian group Fiat, which is controlled by the Agnelli family, went looking for a partner. In 2000 it agreed to hand over 20 percent of its shares to U.S. giant General Motors. But Fiat’s situation did not improve, and in February 2005 GM bailed out of the deal, paying €1.55 billion to cancel a so-called put option that would have required it to buy the rest of Fiat’s equity. In mid-2009 a fitter Fiat struck a deal approved by U.S. President Barack Obama to rescue Chrysler by starting to purchase shares in the U.S. group. Renault-Nissan — under strain In 1999, Renault acquired a 36.8 percent stake in Nissan, which was close to bankruptcy, and the Romanian brand Dacia. Renault boss Carlos Ghosn succeeded in pulling the three companies together and became head of all of them in 2005. Dacia blossomed from a derided East European carmaker to a respected low-cost brand that contributes regularly to the parent company’s bottom line. A cross-shareholding deal has put 43 percent of Nissan’s shares in Renault’s hands, while the Japanese group owns 15 percent of Renault. Nissan also took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors. In 2018 Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi became the world’s No. 1 carmaker and currently makes around 10.8 million automobiles annually. However, the imbalance in the relationship has led to serious friction, highlighted by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Ghosn last November Tokyo. Volvo: First Ford, then Geely In 1999, when Ford was the most profitable U.S. automaker, it bought Sweden’s storied Volvo brand for $6.45 billion. A few years later, however, a combination of Japanese competition and rising oil and steel prices convinced Ford that it was time to look for a new buyer. In December 2009, it said it would sell Volvo to the Chinese group Geely for $1.8 billion. PSA buys Opel In 2017 France’s PSA, which owns the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, said that it would buy GM’s European subsidiary, which includes Opel and Vauxhall, to create the second-biggest European automaker, behind Volkswagen. Germany’s Opel, which booked its first profit in 2018 after years of losses, is accelerating its international expansion in 2019 and has said it will return to Russia after a more than three-year absence.