Just how convenient are convenience stores in Japan?

Abstract: The recent trend of online videos showing “ baito tero ,” or “ part-timer terrorism ,” enacted by part-time workers has sparked another media discussion about the plight of low wage earners. Most of these videos were recorded by people working in food-related businesses, and explanations for why they are eating merchandise on the job or retrieving food items from the garbage to pass on to customers range from adolescent-grade mischief to payback for suffering the indignities of what the working poor put up with. The implication of all this rude behavior is that the perpetrators don’t seem to care if they are caught because getting fired is no big deal. They can always find another low-paying job. Some of the videos were made in convenience stores, a work environment that is presently being scrutinized from a different angle, that of franchise owners demanding more say in the hours they stay open. The norm for a majority of outlets attached to the big three convenience store companies — Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co. — is round-the-clock operations. Virtually all franchisees are required to keep their stores open 24/7. This complaint has been common for years. The recent flurry of stories was triggered by a Seven-Eleven franchise owner in Osaka who decided to close his store between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. because there were almost no customers during this time period and he couldn’t find enough workers to fill those hours, meaning he’d have to do the work himself. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said it would fine the franchise owner ¥17 million in accordance with the terms of his contract. Using a typical Lawson’s store as a model, a franchise promotion website managed by Fc-convenience.com estimates that when a store’s monthly sales are ¥15 million, then the owner ends up with about ¥4.7 million after paying for stock. From that they have to pay a “franchise royalty” as well as staff wages and overheads such as electricity. In the end, their profit is about ¥458,000. That sounds pretty good but, given the variables, it’s hardly guaranteed. The main problem, according to Haruki Konno of the labor support group Posse, writing in a commentary that was published on Yahoo Japan, is that the franchise owner isn’t really an independent operator. The owner’s more like a contracted employee since he is bound to a franchise agreement. That’s why convenience store companies actively seek out married couples, which are indispensable to the 24/7 system and, as it happens, the Osaka franchise owner’s wife died last May. In order to maximize their own income, franchise owners adjust personnel costs because it’s the only expense they can control. The Osaka owner told the Asahi Shimbun that it was difficult for him to offer higher wages in order to secure staff. According to the website Bengo4.com , these matters were discussed last spring in hearings held by the Central Labor Relations Commission of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which was trying to determine if franchisees are owners or employees in terms of labor law. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Labor Bureau found that 95.5 percent of convenience stores in Tokyo were in violation of the law, mainly in terms of working hours and matters relating to health. One former franchise owner told the bureau his staff were paid at the minimum wage because that’s all he could afford and, as a result, it was difficult to keep employees. According to the website, the industry blames the problem on the labor shortage and management inexperience: franchise owners don’t know how to set wages. Mainstream media organizations have played up the labor shortage angle without sufficiently talking about low wages. Supposedly, wages are rising due to demand for workers, but an article in the online version of the business magazine Diamond made the case that part-timer terrorism and low wages have a close relationship. Still, the conversation about part-timer terrorism is always about wayward youth, not labor exploitation. All the convenience store chains, by the way, are sizable advertisers. Diamond found that the wage for convenience store workers, which averages about ¥974 per hour in the three major urban areas, has not increased significantly since 2013, when there was also an increase in part-timer terrorism. In those days, however, such activities were called “ bakattā ,” a mashup of “ baka ,” meaning “stupid,” and Twitter, where these videos often ended up. Bakattā was being referenced by members of the public around the same time an employee of a food processing company spiked some frozen food with an agricultural chemical. The perpetrator was portrayed as being “weak,” but he was angry because his already low wage had been reduced substantially. Most of the bakattā videos weren’t so much about sabotage but rather workers complaining about pay and conditions. Convenience store clerks were well represented, and the labor support group Black-Arbeit Union cited numerous instances of exploitation at convenience stores: Workers forced to buy unsold merchandise to meet quotas or sales targets, or doing administrative tasks off the clock, or making up for discrepancies in the cash register totals with their own money. The convenience store industry has convinced the government to include store clerks in the list of new occupations approved for work visas . As it stands, most non-Japanese who work at convenience stores are in the country on student visas, which allow them to work a limited number of hours. Writer and editor Kensuke Serizawa, who has written a book about foreign convenience store workers, said in an article published last summer in the online magazine News Post Seven , that more than 40,000 foreign laborers were working at convenience stores in 2017 but the majority were in large cities, presumably because that’s where Japanese-language schools predominantly are. Perhaps the new visa program will get more foreign workers into less populated areas, where convenience stores serve a vital function. In such areas, they really should be open 24 hours a day, since there are fewer public services, but asking franchise owners and part-timers to effectively subsidize that set of circumstances may be asking too much of them without more concessions from the industry or help from the government.

employment
convenience stores
lawson
familymart
seven-eleven japan
part-time employment


Japanese police arrest two men over attempt to bring wagyu cattle sperm into China

Abstract: OSAKA - Police arrested two men Saturday on suspicion of trying to illegally bring fertilized eggs and sperm of wagyu cattle into China last year. The arrests in Osaka Prefecture came as the farm ministry is tightening control of wagyu reproductive material amid the rising popularity of the Japanese beef overseas. As part of a wider investigation into the smuggling of wagyu reproductive material out of the country, the police said Yusuke Maeda, 51, a restaurant owner, and Toshiki Ogura, 64, who is unemployed, are suspected of violating the country’s law on infectious disease control. Maeda and Ogura have admitted to the allegation of attempting to bring the cattle eggs and sperm into China in June 2018 without prior quarantine inspection, the police said. Chinese authorities prevented Ogura, who traveled by ferry with the sperm and eggs stashed in straw-like containers, from entering the country in July last year as he did not have a quarantine certificate, according to the agriculture ministry. The case surfaced after the man returned to Japan with the sperm and eggs and made a declaration at the Animal Quarantine Service. The ministry filed a complaint with the Osaka police in January.


Japan to send MSDF destroyer to China for first time in seven years as Beijing marks naval anniversary

Abstract: The Maritime Self-Defense Force will send a destroyer to Qingdao, China — the first visit to the country by an MSDF vessel in seven years — amid thawing Sino-Japanese ties, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya has announced. The destroyer will visit from April 21 to 26, and will take part in an international fleet review on April 23 to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Navy, Iwaya said Friday. The Japanese Defense Ministry is also considering participation by the MSDF chief of staff in the event. It will be the first dispatch of an MSDF ship to China since the Kirisame destroyer made a port call at Qingdao in December 2011. The latest decision to send the MSDF destroyer was based on a Japan-China agreement, reached at a summit meeting last October, to promote exchanges between the two countries’ defense authorities. “Through the promotion of multilayered dialogue and exchanges, Japan wants to foster mutual understanding and confidence with China,” Iwaya said.

military
self defense forces
china-japan relations
takeshi iwaya


More than 1 million acres of U.S. cropland ravaged by 'bomb cyclone' floods, data show

Abstract: CHICAGO/COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA - At least 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) of U.S. farmland were flooded after the “bomb cyclone” storm left wide swaths of nine major grain-producing states under water in March, satellite data analyzed by Gro Intelligence showed. Farms from the Dakotas to Missouri and beyond have been under water for a week or more, possibly impeding planting and damaging soil. The floods, which came just weeks before planting season starts in the Midwest, will likely reduce corn, wheat and soy production this year. “There’s thousands of acres that won’t be able to be planted,” Ryan Sonderup, 36, of Fullerton, Nebraska, who has been farming for 18 years, said in a recent interview. “If we had straight sunshine now until May and June, maybe it can be done, but I don’t see how that soil gets back with expected rainfall.” Spring floods could yet affect an even bigger area of cropland. The U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned of what could be an “unprecedented flood season” as it forecasts heavy spring rains. Rivers may swell further as a deep snow pack in northern growing areas melts. The bomb cyclone of mid-March was the latest blow to farmers suffering from years of falling income and lower exports because of the U.S.-China trade war. Fields are strewn with everything from silt and sand to tires and some may not even be farmed this year. The water has also destroyed billions of dollars of old crops that were in storage, as well as damaged roads and railways. Justin Mensik, a fifth-generation farmer of corn and soybeans in Morse Bluff, Nebraska, said rebuilding roads was the first priority. Then farmers would need to bring in fertilizer trucks and then test soil before seeding, Mensik said. The flood “left a lot of silt and sand and mud in our fields, now we’re not too sure if we’re going to be able to get a good crop this year with all the new mud and junk that’s just laying here,” Mensik. For farmers, “the biggest concern right now is corn planting,” said Aaron Saeugling, an agriculture expert at Iowa State University who does outreach with farmers. “There is just not going to be enough time to move a lot of that debris.” To be fully covered by crop insurance, Iowa farmers must plant corn by May 31 and soybeans by June 15, as yields decline dramatically when planted any later. Deadlines vary state by state. The insurance helps ensure a minimum price farmers will receive when they book sales for their crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Friday farmers would increase corn plantings by 4.1 percent from last year, but the estimate did not account for the flooding. Nearly 1.1 million acres of cropland and more than 84,000 acres of pastureland in the U.S. Midwest had flood water on it for at least seven days between March 8 and March 21, according to a preliminary analysis of government and satellite data by New-York based Gro Intelligence that was requested by Reuters. The extent of the flooding had previously not been made public. The flooded acreage represents less than 1 percent of U.S. land used to grow corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, sorghum and barley. In 2018, some 240 million total acres of these crops were planted in the United States, USDA data shows. Iowa, the top producer of U.S. corn and No. 2 producer of soy, had the most water, covering 474,271 acres, followed by Missouri with 203,188 acres, according to Gro Intelligence. That was in line with estimates given last week by government officials in Iowa and Missouri. Gro Intelligence used satellite data from NASA’s Near Real-Time Global Flood Mapping product, to calculate the approximate extent and intensity of flooding. It then identified how much of this area was either cropland or pastureland, according to data from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Gro Intelligence analysts cautioned the satellite imagery did not show the full extent of flooding in Nebraska, where officials declined to provide acreage estimates to Reuters, or in North Dakota. Nebraska’s governor has said the floods caused agricultural damage of $1 billion in his state. Cloud cover or snow on the ground makes it difficult to identify the flood waters in NASA satellite data, said Sara Menker, chief executive of the agricultural artificial intelligence company. In Missouri, floodwaters covered roughly 200,000 acres in five northwest counties adjoining the Missouri River as of Wednesday morning, said Charlie Rahm, spokesman for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Columbia. In Wisconsin more than 1,000 dairy and beef animals were lost during winter storms and 480 agricultural structures collapsed or damaged, according to an email from Sandy Chalmers, executive director of the Wisconsin state office of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. In the Dakotas and Minnesota, melting snows in the coming months will put spring wheat planting at risk. Gro Intelligence found nearly 160,000 acres have already been flooded in Minnesota. “That’s yet to come and we will deal with that at least until the middle of April,” said Dave Nicolai, an agriculture expert at the University of Minnesota.


Facebook's Zuckerberg calls for a 'more active' government role in regulating internet

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday called for governments to play a “more active role” in regulating the internet, and urged more countries to adopt versions of sweeping European rules aimed at safeguarding user privacy. Facebook and other internet giants have long resisted government intervention, but the leading social network has reversed course amid growing calls for regulation, in an apparent bid to help steer the debate. “I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators,” Zuckerberg wrote in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post. “By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what’s best about it — the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things — while also protecting society from broader harms,” he said. Zuckerberg argues that new regulations are needed in four areas: harmful content, protection of elections, privacy and data portability. Facebook has drawn fire over all four, from hate speech on the platform and the recent live streaming of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, to its use in foreign efforts to meddle in elections and concerns over its collection of personal user data. Addressing protection of user privacy, Zuckerberg said he would support more countries adopting rules in line with the European Union’s sweeping General Data Protection Regulation, which gives regulators sweeping powers to sanction organizations that fail to adhere to heightened standards of security when processing personal data. “I believe it would be good for the internet if more countries adopted regulation such as GDPR as a common framework,” Zuckerberg wrote, also calling for regulation to guarantee data portability between services. Facebook built a content-scanning system that over the years has added rules based on reactions to changes in user behavior or public uproar after an event such as the New Zealand mass shooting. A week ago, the company moved to ban content that references white nationalism or white separatism. When users or computer systems report posts as problematic, those are sent to one of the company’s 15,000 content moderators around the world, who are allowed to take content down only if it violates a rule. But that process is not always precise. “Lawmakers often tell me we have too much power over speech, and frankly I agree,” Zuckerberg wrote. ‘I’ve come to believe that we shouldn’t make so many important decisions about speech on our own.” He said “third-party bodies” could set standards on distribution of harmful material and “measure companies against those standards.” And on elections, Zuckerberg noted that existing laws are focused on candidates and elections instead of “divisive political issues where we’ve seen more attempted interference,” urging legislation to be updated to “reflect the reality of the threats.” “The rules governing the internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people’s lives,” Zuckerberg wrote. “It’s time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward.”

internet
privacy
computers
social media
facebook
mark zuckerberg


Investigator says Amazon chief's phone hacked by Saudis

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The investigator hired to look into the release of intimate images of Jeff Bezos said Saturday he has concluded that Saudi Arabian authorities hacked the Amazon chief’s phone to access his personal data. Gavin de Becker linked the hack to extensive coverage by The Washington Post newspaper, which is owned by Bezos, of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul last year. “Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information,” de Becker wrote on The Daily Beast website. He said that while the brother of Bezos’ mistress was paid by the National Enquirer scandal sheet for the release of the information, his role may have been a red herring, and the plot went far beyond one man seeking to cash in. “It’s clear that MBS considers The Washington Post to be a major enemy,” de Becker wrote, referring to the kingdom’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the U.S. Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, named as “responsible” for the murder. De Becker did not specify which part of the Saudi government he was blaming for the hack, and gave few details about the investigation that led him to the conclusion that the kingdom was responsible. The results, he wrote, “have been turned over to federal officials.” Bezos hired Gavin de Becker & Associates to find out how his intimate text messages and photos made their way into the hands of the Enquirer, which reported on the Amazon chief’s extramarital affair, leading to his divorce. Bezos has accused Enquirer publisher American Media, led by David Pecker, of “blackmail” for threatening to publish the intimate photos if he did not halt the investigation and say in public that the tabloid’s reporting on him was not politically motivated. The Amazon chief declined to do so, instead publishing copies of emails from AMI. Saudi Arabia has stressed that the crown prince was not involved in the killing of Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist. Riyadh initially said it had no knowledge of his fate but later blamed the murder on rogue agents.

saudi arabia
hacking
scandals
amazon.com
jeff bezos
adultery
mohammed bin salman
national enquirer


Donald Trump, critical of NATO, looms over body's 70th anniversary meeting

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Seventy years after it was formed to counter the Soviet Union, Russia has returned to the top of the agenda for NATO. But the alliance faces another, more unlikely problem: criticism from the U.S. president. The 29-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization is celebrating its 70th anniversary with talks among foreign ministers Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, where, in a Cold War redux, the resurgent power of Russia will be the chief item. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the ministers will work “to make sure that NATO is around for the next 70 years” and take aim at Russia over its 2014 takeover of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Pompeo told a congressional hearing he is hopeful “we will be able to announce another series of actions that we will jointly take together to push back against what Russia is doing there in Crimea.” But if countering Russia is a familiar role for NATO, its new internal dynamics are not, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly suggesting that the allies are freeloaders. The businessman-turned-president, who berated allies at a NATO summit last year at the group’s Brussels headquarters, is pressing member states to meet the alliance’s goal set in 2014 of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. Trump has even derisively asked whether it is worth defending small NATO states such as Montenegro. Pompeo said he will discuss spending and again pointed to Germany, which plans for defense spending well below 2 percent and declining by 2023. “When I talk to my counterparts, they will begin by saying, ‘America needs to do X and Y because Russia poses a threat,'” Pompeo told a forum of the conservative National Review magazine. “Then you ask them: ‘Well, that’s awesome. Tell me what you’re prepared to do.’ And they say: ‘It’s tough. Our voters just really don’t like to spend money on defense,” he said to laughter. NATO leaders will hold an annual summit in December in London, but the 70th anniversary celebrations are notably low-key. It marks a stark contrast with the 50th anniversary in 1999, which rattled Russia and sealed off Washington streets in a way that locals still talk about. Heads of state visited President Bill Clinton’s White House, new members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were inducted, and leaders plotted the next moves in NATO’s bombing campaign in Serbia. This year foreign ministers will be speaking at The Anthem, a hip new music venue booked for the occasion. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will meet Trump on Tuesday and deliver an address to Congress the following day. NATO on Thursday extended Stoltenberg’s term by two years until late 2022. If he completes his term as the alliance’s top civilian, he will be the second-longest-serving NATO chief, after former Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Luns, who was in the job from October 1971 to May 1984. Stoltenberg is popular with allies, particularly Trump, who credits him with helping increase European defense spending, diplomats have said. Derek Chollet, who managed U.S. defense policy on NATO under former President Barack Obama, said he expects NATO members to present a “good news story” on the value of the alliance without the drama of a high-stakes summit. “But the concern is Trump. There is a sort of tangerine cloud hanging over all of this,” said Chollet, executive vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “They are concerned that the founding member of the alliance has become the most unpredictable, and perhaps most unreliable.” While the populist right has stepped up attacks on NATO, the alliance has long been a bane for the left, which plans to be out in force to protest the anniversary. “NATO should have been retired rather than reprogrammed for domination in the 21st century,” said Joseph Gerson, disarmament coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee, the Quakers’ peace advocacy organization. He said that, even if one does not empathize with President Vladimir Putin, it should have been expected that Russia would be “snapping back” in response to NATO’s expansion. “Just think how concerned the U.S. is with a couple of Russian planes going to Venezuela,” he said. “We also want people to understand that NATO has become a global alliance in ways that have very little to do with the defense of Europe,” he said. Indeed, Trump recently proposed bringing Brazil into the alliance as he welcomed the country’s new hard-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. And NATO has been engaged for 17 years in the war in Afghanistan — a mission unlikely to have been envisioned by NATO’s first secretary-general, Hastings Ismay, who famously said the alliance was designed to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.” Chollet said that recent years have shown that Russia remains the core threat for NATO, although he said the alliance could also increasingly discuss the challenges from a fast-growing China. “You ask yourself — how many partners do Russia and China have that are willing to work with them and defend them in the spirit of all for one, one for all?” he said. “Despite its problems, NATO is a unique asset that has never really existed before in history and which the United States is lucky to have,” he said.

nato
military
anniversaries
donald trump


Four killed as thousands protest at Gaza-Israel border, but truce holds

Abstract: GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - Five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, prompting Israeli tanks to respond by firing on Hamas military posts early Sunday, hours after a massive Palestinian protest along the border between Israel and Gaza. The rocket attack and Israeli response did not cause any casualties, according to the Israeli army and witnesses in Gaza. The Israeli tanks fired at Hamas posts in the central Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City, witnesses said. Tens of thousands of Gazans earlier gathered at the Israeli border to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations. Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during a demonstration ahead of the main rally and three 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded. But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise. Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections. Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence. Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm. Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence. East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire. The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers. An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar. Israel’s army said around 40,000 “rioters and demonstrators” had gathered in spots throughout the border. It said grenades and explosive devices were hurled at troops, who responded “in accordance with standard operating procedures.” Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed. At least 50 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the protests began, charity Save the Children said. In the run-up to the anniversary, long-time mediator Egypt had shuttled back and forth in a bid to avoid major bloodshed. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday’s protest “a very important message” that thousands had gathered “peacefully to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza.” He confirmed that Egypt had made progress towards a deal that media reports said would see Israel allow more Qatari aid into the strip and ease some restrictions. In exchange Hamas would maintain calm at the border protests. Khalil al-Hayya, another senior figure in the Islamist movement, said they were expecting to receive a timetable from Israel on Sunday. There was no Israeli comment on the alleged agreement. Israel goes to the polls in a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz. He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has faced accusations of being soft on Hamas, including from former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned in November the day after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire was agreed. The anniversary came only days after another severe flare-up between Israel and Hamas, sparked by a rare long-range rocket strike from Gaza that struck north of Tel Aviv. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire restored calm. The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation. Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border. It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers’ use of live fire has come under heavy criticism. In February a United Nations probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes. Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean. Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the protests. Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza’s only other gateway to the outside world. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and others. Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers and clashed with soldiers. Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float them over the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes and farmland.


U.S. president's battle with Obamacare moves to the courts

Abstract: WASHINGTON - After losing in Congress, President Donald Trump is counting on the courts to kill off “Obamacare.” But some cases are going against him, and time is not on his side as he tries to score a big win for his re-election campaign. Two federal judges in Washington, D.C., this past week blocked parts of Trump’s health care agenda: Work requirements for some low-income people on Medicaid, and new small business health plans that don’t have to provide full benefits required by the Affordable Care Act. But in the biggest case, a federal judge in Texas ruled last December that the ACA is unconstitutional and should be struck down in its entirety. That ruling is now on appeal. At the urging of the White House, the Justice Department said this past week it will support the Texas judge’s position and argue that all of Obamacare must go. A problem for Trump is that the litigation could take months to resolve — or longer — and there’s no guarantee he’ll get the outcomes he wants before the 2020 election. “Was this a good week for the Trump administration? No,” said economist Gail Wilensky, who headed up Medicare under former Republican President George Bush. “But this is the beginning of a series of judicial challenges.” It’s early innings in the court cases, and “the clock is going to run out,” said Timothy Jost, a retired law professor who has followed the Obama health law since its inception. “By the time these cases get through the courts there simply isn’t going to be time for the administration to straighten out any messes that get created, much less get a comprehensive plan through Congress,” added Jost, who supports the ACA. In the Texas case, Trump could lose by winning. If former President Barack Obama’s health law is struck down entirely, Congress would face an impossible task: pass a comprehensive health overhaul to replace it that both Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Trump can agree to. The failed attempt to repeal Obamacare in 2017 proved to be toxic for congressional Republicans in last year’s midterm elections and they are in no mood to repeat it. “The ACA now is nine years old and it would be incredibly disruptive to uproot the whole thing,” said Thomas Barker, an attorney with the law firm Foley Hoag, who served as a top lawyer at the federal Health and Human Services department under former Republican President George W. Bush. “It seems to me that you can resolve this issue more narrowly than by striking down the ACA.” Trump seems unfazed by the potential risks. “Right now, it’s losing in court,” he asserted Friday, referring to the Texas case against “Obamacare.” The case “probably ends up in the Supreme Court,” Trump continued. “But we’re doing something that is going to be much less expensive than Obamacare for the people . . . and we’re going to have (protections for) pre-existing conditions and will have a much lower deductible. So, and I’ve been saying that, the Republicans are going to end up being the party of health care.” There is no sign that his administration has a comprehensive health care plan, and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among Republicans in Congress. A common thread in the various health care cases is that they involve lower-court rulings for now, and there’s no telling how they may ultimately be decided. Here’s a status check on major lawsuits: Obamacare repeal: U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, ruled that when Congress repealed the ACA’s fines for being uninsured, it knocked the constitutional foundation out from under the entire law. His ruling is being appealed by attorneys general from Democratic-led states to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The challenge to the ACA was filed by officials from Texas and other GOP-led states. It’s now fully supported by the Trump administration, which earlier had argued that only the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions and its limits on how much insurers could charge older, sicker customers were constitutionally tainted. All sides expect the case to go to the Supreme Court, which has twice before upheld the ACA. Medicaid work requirements: U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., recently blocked Medicaid work requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas approved by the Trump administration. The judge questioned whether the requirements were compatible with Medicaid’s central purpose of providing “medical assistance” to low-income people. He found that administration officials failed to account for coverage losses and other potential harm, and sent the Health and Human Services department back to the drawing board. The Trump administration says it will continue to approve state requests for work requirements, but has not indicated if it will appeal. Small business health plans: U.S. District Court Judge John Bates this past week struck down the administration’s health plans for small business and sole proprietors, which allowed less generous benefits than required by the ACA. Bates found that administration regulations creating the plans were “clearly an end-run” around the Obama health law and also ran afoul of other federal laws governing employee benefits. The administration said it disagrees but has not formally announced an appeal. Also facing challenges in courts around the country are an administration regulation that bars federally funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions and a rule that allows employers with religious and moral objections to opt out of offering free birth control to women workers as a preventive care service.

barack obama
congress
health
medical
george bush
donald trump


Ukraine comedian Volodymyr Zelensky tipped to win first round of election

Abstract: KIEV - A comedian whose political experience is limited to playing the president on TV vowed to tackle Ukraine’s corruption, as he voted Sunday in the first stage of a presidential election he is tipped to win. Actor Volodymyr Zelensky’s bid began as a long shot but he has leapfrogged establishment politicians amid public anger over graft and stagnating living standards. “A new life is beginning, a good life, without corruption, without bribes,” the 41-year-old told journalists as he voted with his wife at a Kiev polling station. If elected, the entertainer will take the reins of a country fighting Russia-backed separatists in its east and struggling to recover from an economic crisis. Incumbent Petro Poroshenko was vying with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to face Zelensky in a run-off in April, according to final opinion polls. A recent survey put them neck and neck at around 17 percent, though another showed Poroshenko — who amassed a vast fortune in the chocolate business before being elected leader in 2014 — pulling ahead of ally-turned-foe Tymoshenko to make the second round. Zelensky, the star of a political comedy series called “Servant of the People” that returned for its third season this past week, had more than 25 percent support in final surveys. In polling stations across Ukraine, voters expressed dissatisfaction with the candidates and many said they were opting for what they saw as the least of three evils. “I’m voting for anyone apart from Poroshenko. I don’t believe him, he cheated us,” said 40-year-old housewife Olga, who had come to a polling station in the western city of Lviv with her young daughter. “I’m just going to go into the booth and decide who to vote for. I just don’t know. Definitely not for Zelensky,” said Irina, a 35-year-old manicurist in central Kiev. In the eastern city of Mariupol, near the frontline of the separatist conflict that has cost 13,000 lives over five years, soldiers were among those casting their ballots. The war is “the main question for everyone,” said 22-year-old soldier Sergiy, without specifying who he was voting for. “The country is tired of this situation, people are tired.” Casting his vote in central Kiev, Poroshenko said he regretted mud slinging during the campaign but praised the “well prepared” and “secure” election. Security services said armed special forces officers had been deployed in towns and cities across the country on polling day. There are a record 39 candidates on the ballot paper — which is more than 80 cm long — but only the three frontrunners have a realistic chance of progressing to a run-off vote. All three have said they will keep Ukraine on the European course it has charted since a 2014 revolution forced pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych from office. The popular uprising was followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko was elected after he pledged to tackle graft, align Ukraine with the West and end the separatist fighting. But the conflict is grinding on, corruption is rife and the country is struggling to recover from an economic crisis that began in 2014. Zelensky, meanwhile, has been criticized for the vagueness of his manifesto, the key pledges of which were chosen following a public vote on social media. The entertainer has eschewed rallies and interviews in favor of playing gigs with his comedy troupe up to the final days of campaigning. But supporters say only a brand new face can clean up the murky politics of one of the poorest nations in Europe. Some accuse Zelensky of acting as a front for the interests of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, who owns the channel that broadcasts the entertainer’s shows, but he denies any political links. Tymoshenko — who came to international prominence during the 2004 Orange Revolution and is a divisive figure in Ukraine — has focused on the cost of living. She has promised to cut consumer gas prices in half and boost pensions as she appeals to an older base during her third bid for the presidency. “Today we have a chance to change everything,” Tymoshenko said as she cast her vote in the capital Exit polls are expected when polling stations close at 8 p.m. local time. First preliminary results were expected several hours later. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off is to be held on April 21.

russia
ukraine
orange revolution
petro poroshenko
kievl
volodymyr zelensky


Britain's Theresa May under pressure to forge softer EU divorce deal

Abstract: LONDON - Britain’s exit from the European Union was in disarray after the implosion of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy left her under pressure from rival factions to leave without a deal, go for an election or forge a much softer divorce. After one of the most tumultuous weeks in British politics since the 2016 referendum, it is still uncertain how, when or even if the United Kingdom will ever leave the bloc it first joined 46 years ago. A third defeat of May’s divorce deal, after her pledge to quit if it was passed, left one of the weakest leaders in a generation grappling with a perilous crisis over Brexit, the United Kingdom’s most significant move since World War II. Parliament on Monday will vote on different Brexit options and then May could try one last roll of the dice by bringing her deal back to a vote in Parliament as soon as Tuesday. “There are no ideal choices available and there are very good arguments against any possible outcome at the moment but we are going to have to do something,” said Justice Secretary David Gauke, who voted in the 2016 referendum to stay in the EU. “The prime minister is reflecting on what the options are, and is considering what may happen but I don’t think any decisions have been made,” he told BBC TV. Many in May’s party, though, have lost patience. The Sun newspaper reported that 170 of her 314 Conservative lawmakers had sent her a letter demanding that Brexit take place in the next few months — deal or no deal. The United Kingdom was due to leave the EU on March 29 but the political deadlock in London forced May to ask the bloc for a delay. Currently, Brexit is due to take place at 2200 GMT on April 12 unless May comes up with another option. The labyrinthine Brexit crisis has left the United Kingdom divided: Supporters of both Brexit and EU membership marched through London last week. Many on both sides feel betrayed by a political elite that has failed to show leadership. Parliament is due to vote at around 1900 GMT on Monday on a range of alternative Brexit options selected by Speaker John Bercow from nine proposals put forward by lawmakers, including a no-deal exit, preventing a no-deal exit, a customs union, or a second referendum. “We are clearly going to have to consider very carefully the will of Parliament,” Gauke said. With no majority yet in the House of Commons for any of the Brexit options, there is speculation that an election could be called, though such a vote would be unpredictable and it is unclear who would lead the Conservatives into it. The Sunday Times said May’s media chief, Robbie Gibb, and Stephen Parkinson, her political aide, are pushing for an election against the will of her chief enforcer in Parliament, Julian Smith. The Conservative Party’s deputy chair, James Cleverly, said it is not planning for an election. But Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said his party is on an election footing. Labour’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Emily Thornberry, said it could try to call a vote of no confidence in May’s government. “We don’t know if she is going to remain prime minister, if we are going to get somebody else, who that other person is going to be — it is a mess,” Thornberry said. Opponents of Brexit fear it will make Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China. Supporters of Brexit say while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed attempt in European unity.

u.k .
politics
london
brexit
theresa may


Progressive Democrat Beto O'Rourke officially joins U.S. presidential race

Abstract: EL PASO, TEXAS - Beto O’Rourke, the youthful Democrat who seized national attention last fall with an unexpectedly strong Senate campaign in conservative Texas, formally launched his presidential candidacy Saturday in his hometown of El Paso, vowing to bring a unifying dynamic, progressive values and generational change to American politics. “This is our moment of truth, and we cannot be found wanting,” he told an enthusiastic crowd of at least 1,000. Speaking from a spot only blocks from the border with Mexico, he underscored some of his most vigorous differences with the man he hopes to succeed in the White House — Donald Trump — without ever naming the U.S. president. While Trump seeks to build a border wall and threatened just days ago to close the frontier if Mexico fails to stem the influx of undocumented immigrants, O’Rourke described America as “a country of immigrants and asylum seekers and refugees (who) are the very premise of our strength, of our success and, yes, our security.” In an implicit rebuke to Trump, O’Rourke said that his hometown was safer because of its immigrants, not more dangerous. If elected he said he would pursue comprehensive immigration reform, reunite immigrant families separated at the border and “bring millions more (undocumented immigrants) out of the shadows.” Speaking energetically as he roamed about a stage with the sleeves of his Oxford shirt rolled, the 46-year-old listed his priorities: remaking an economy “that works too well for too few and not at all for too many”; moving toward “high-quality universal health care”; and seizing the nation’s “last best hope of averting a (climate) catastrophe.” He called for the U.S. to wind down its foreign wars, strengthen its alliances, and “end these love affairs with dictators and strongmen.” His message clearly was geared not just to El Pasoans but to Democrats nationwide as the party gears up for an extended campaign to see who will challenge Trump in 2020. O’Rourke pointed out that he helped boost voter turnout in Texas — particularly among the young — to some of its highest levels in years. He had made his intention to run for the presidency known in mid-March, and in a single day raked in a huge $6.1 million in donations, giving himself instant relevance in the crowded Democratic field. He since has been campaigning — usually before large crowds — in early-voting states including Iowa and New Hampshire. And on Saturday, O’Rourke — who during his Senate campaign visited every one of Texas’s 254 counties — continued his peripatetic ways, heading from his El Paso kickoff to rallies in Houston and Austin, the state capital. The 46-year-old former congressman and onetime punk rocker was born Robert O’Rourke but widely known as “Beto.” His nearly successful campaign in November against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz brought him national attention. Some Democrats hope O’Rourke might even be able to turn reliably red Texas to Democratic blue, though first he would have to wade through the huge field of 16 Democrats now in the running — including a popular fellow Texan, Julian Castro. Other Democratic rivals include senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar. The Democratic frontrunner, former vice president Joe Biden, is not even officially in the race, but polls show him as the leading contender for the party’s nomination, with 29.2 percent support, according to the RealClearPolitics average of the six latest surveys. Sanders is second at 21.8 percent, followed by Harris at 9.8 and O’Rourke at 9.2. The newest rising star of the pack is Pete Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a military veteran, who would be the youngest and the first openly gay president should he win. O’Rourke is an unorthodox candidate, with a comparatively thin political resume and with a seeming allergy to being labeled a liberal. During his six years in Congress, O’Rourke was more politically cautious, joining the House’s centrist coalition. But as the Democratic presidential field tilts leftward, he has hit on several progressive talking points. In addition to supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, he backs marijuana legalization and champions the Green New Deal, a sweeping climate change mitigation framework. He called Saturday for paid family leave, equal pay for women and an end to for-profit prisons. On his first major campaign tour, which took him to eight states including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Ohio, he met people in coffee shops, school gyms and taquerias, offering a unifying vision packed with optimism but short on policy specifics.

2020 u.s. presidential election
beto o'rourke


Outsider and activist Zuzana Caputova wins Slovak presidency

Abstract: BRATISLAVA - Slovak government critic Zuzana Caputova will become the EU member’s first female president after winning a run-off election Saturday against the ruling party’s candidate. “Let us look for what connects us. Let us promote cooperation above personal interests,” the 45-year-old environmental lawyer told reporters after the results rolled in. The community activist was largely unknown before she launched her presidential run in the eurozone member of 5.4 million. She won the election with 58 percent of the ballot thanks in part to voter disillusionment with the governing coalition a year after the murder of a journalist investigating high-level corruption plunged the country into crisis. Caputova was among the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets after Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, were gunned down at home in February 2018. Kuciak was about to publish a report on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian Mafia and associated irregularities in EU farm subsidy payments. Then-Prime Minister Robert Fico was forced to resign, but he remains the leader of the ruling Smer-SD party and is a close ally of current Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini. Caputova, who gave up membership in the nonparliamentary party Progressive Slovakia before the runoff, has vowed to fight for justice for all. “In the eyes of voters, she is a response to our current problems,” analyst Grigorij Meseznikov said. Caputova has a gift for rhetoric and was endorsed by outgoing liberal President Andrej Kiska as well as Jozef Kuciak, the slain journalist’s brother. She is pro-choice and promotes greater rights for same-sex couples, arguing that a child “would be better off with two loving beings of the same sex” than having to grow up in an orphanage. Caputova concedes that her lack of knowledge in the field of defense and security is a disadvantage. “I will have to rely on my advisers when it comes to those topics,” she said on the campaign trail. “Also, punctuality is not my strong suit.” Born in the capital, Bratislava, on June 21, 1973, Caputova spent her early years in the nearby town of Pezinok. After studying law at Bratislava’s Comenius University, she joined Via Iuris, a leading Slovak legal advocacy organization. There, she spearheaded a successful campaign to block a dump site proposed for her native Pezinok that would have been the size of 12 football fields. For 14 years the town’s residents fought against the planned landfill, with Caputova organizing what was dubbed the largest mobilization of citizens since the 1989 Velvet Revolution — the peaceful uprising that toppled the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. In 2013, the Slovak Supreme Court ruled in favor of the residents and annulled the authorization to build the landfill. The case also prompted the Court of Justice of the European Union to lay down rules requiring public access to urban planning decisions concerning projects that affect the environment. “This story from small-town Slovakia has actually had an important international impact,” Caputova later said. Caputova won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s top award for grassroots environmental activism, for her efforts. A member of the nonprofit organization Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, Caputova lists drawing, basketball, hiking and swimming among her hobbies. The English-speaker says she regrets having forgotten her Russian, which she would like to brush up on. She is divorced and has two teenage daughters. Her current partner is a musician and photographer.

eu
women
elections
slovakia
zuzana caputova


In first reaction to raid, North Korea brands Madrid embassy break-in 'a grave terrorist attack'

Abstract: North Korea has called a February raid on its embassy in Spain by a shadowy anti-regime group “a grave terrorist attack,” state-run media said Sunday in Pyongyang’s first reaction to the break-in. A spokesperson for the North’s Foreign Ministry labeled the raid “an illegal intrusion into and occupation of a diplomatic mission and act of extortion,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, with the spokesman calling it “a grave breach of state sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international law.” The raid saw a group of reportedly armed men break into the Madrid embassy compound, allegedly roughing up employees and stealing computers and key documents. Free Joseon, a mysterious dissident group, claimed responsibility for the break-in but denied that anyone was “gagged or beaten” and said that “no weapons were used.” The group said Wednesday its actions were in response “to an urgent situation in the Madrid embassy” and that it had “shared certain information of enormous potential value” it obtained from the embassy with the FBI at its request. The KCNA report quoted the Foreign Ministry spokesman said Pyongyang is “following the rumors of all hues now in the air” that the FBI “and the small fry” anti-North Korean group were involved in the “terror incident.” It said the North expects Spanish authorities to “carry out an investigation into the incident to the last in a responsible manner in order to bring the terrorists and their wire-pullers to justice in conformity with the relevant international law.” “This kind of act should never be tolerated,” it added. The United States has denied it had anything to do with the raid, which came just days ahead of a second nuclear summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. That meeting ultimately collapsed after the two sides failed to reach an accord. An investigation into the raid is already underway in Madrid. On Wednesday, a Spanish court named Mexican national Adrian Hong Chang as leader of the group who contacted “the FBI in New York five days after the assault.” A day later, the group released a short statement saying that its activities had been suspended after “speculative” articles in the media and that the media should refrain from focusing on individual members of the group. Previously known as the Cheollima Civil Defense, the group — which offers assistance to people attempting to defect from North Korea — first emerged in 2017, claiming to be providing protection for Kim Han Sol, the son of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of Kim Jong Un who was assassinated, allegedly by agents from his brother’s regime, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in February 2017. In March, the group declared itself to be North Korea’s government-in-exile, calling itself Free Joseon. Joseon is an old name used to refer to the Korean Peninsula.

u.s .
north korea
terrorism
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
espionage
spain
fbi


Activists say deaths of 14 farmers during shootout by Philippine police was a 'massacre'

Abstract: MANILA - Rights groups Sunday condemned what they called a “massacre” of 14 farmers by police in the central Philippines as authorities defended the incident as a legitimate operation against suspected communist rebels. Police say the 14 men Saturday shot at officers with search warrants for illegal firearms, prompting them to return fire. But rights groups insist the men were “farmers asserting their rights to land,” the latest victims caught up in a violent crackdown under President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte’s government has canceled peace talks with communist rebels — who are waging a 50-year-old insurgency that has killed thousands — and has ordered his troops to “destroy” them. The latest violence occurred in three separate incidents in Negros Island, the center of the nation’s sugar industry and home to some of the country’s wealthiest landowners as well as some of its poorest farm workers. Authorities say the operation was a response to communist rebel attacks in Negros, adding one policeman was wounded. “They fought back against our operating units. We were forced to fire back. Some of (the 14 men) are farmers but we cannot confirm how many,” provincial police spokesman Edilberto Euraoba said. Police arrested another 12 men while they recovered various firearms from those killed, Euraoba added. However rights and peasant groups said the 14 men killed Saturday were farmers, some elderly, citing witness accounts contradicting the police’s statement. “They were defenseless. It’s clear that it was a massacre. They are tagged as members and sympathizers (of communist rebels) but they are farmers asserting their rights to land,” Maria Sol Taule, legal counsel for rights group Karapatan, said. “President Duterte is attacking his critics including people fighting for their rights. It’s an all-out attack on all they suspect to be enemies, whether farmers or lawyers.” Rows over land have become increasingly common as Manila faces criticism for its slow-moving program to redistribute farmland to millions of sharecroppers — tenant farmers who give a part of each crop as rent — who remain mired in poverty. The Federation of Agricultural Workers condemned the latest deaths, saying it highlights growing rights violations on Negros Island. The nation’s rights body said it will investigate Saturday’s incident, expressing “grave concern” over what it called a rising number of killings in the country. Taule added that the incident is the latest in a series of attacks on farmers, following the killing of nine farmers by gunmen also in Negros last October. Farm workers account for about 20 million people, a fifth of the Philippine population, who live on less than $2 a day, the government says.

murder
terrorism
philippines
rodrigo duterte
police


South Korean prime minister says he's keen to improve ties with Japan

Abstract: SEOUL - South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon expressed an eagerness to improve relations with Japan, during a ceremony in Chongqing, China. South Korea is trying to overcome its unfortunate history with Japan and develop their 1,500-year history of bilateral exchanges and cooperation in a future-oriented way, Lee emphasized. Lee made the remarks at a ceremony Friday to commemorate the restoration of the headquarters building of the Korean Liberation Army, which was set up by the Korean provisional government during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The prime minister’s office released the remarks. Lee did not refer to specific political issues, such as recent rulings by the South Korean Supreme Court that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Koreans who claim to have been forced to work for them during World War II. During a recent legislative session, Lee also expressed his readiness to make efforts to improve relations with Japan, saying that back-door talks were underway. The Korean provisional government was established in Shanghai in April 1919 to achieve independence from Japan. The government was later transferred to Chongqing. South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked China to restore the building that housed the army headquarters to mark the 100th anniversary of the provisional government’s establishment. The South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, in an editorial on Saturday, criticized the Moon administration for apparently giving up on resolving the friction with Japan even as bilateral relations continued to worsen after the court rulings against the Japanese companies. The paper cited a speech by U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris on Wednesday calling for an improvement of relations between Japan and South Korea. In the speech, Harris quoted U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks highlighting the importance of Japan-South Korea relations in the trilateral ties including the United States. The United States started speaking out on Japan-South Korea relations after keeping silent on bilateral disputes for two years, as it sees the current situation as serious, the daily said. The editorial urged Moon and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to hold talks at an early date to find a realistic solution.

wwii
history
comfort women
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations
lee nak-yon


Japan to keep official records of new era name's selection process

Abstract: Following concerns over how official documents were handled in the changeover from Showa to Heisei, the government will officially record the process of selecting the new era name that will be announced Monday, government sources have said. Among a set of documents to be kept for a maximum 30 years under the law will be calligraphy of the gengō (era name) that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is expected to show in an announcement Monday, the sources said Saturday. The era name change will come on May 1 when Crown Prince Naruhito is due to ascend the throne, taking over from his father, Emperor Akihito, who is set to abdicate on April 30. A panel of representatives from the business world, academia and media organizations will review proposed candidate names Monday morning and an outline of their discussions will also be part of the documents. Following the announcement by the top government spokesman, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to explain its meaning and detail the literary work from which it is derived. But the government is unlikely to reveal further details that day, including other candidate names that were discussed. Still, the government plans to keep records of such proposals, including over who came up with the ideas, the sources said. The government’s move comes amid growing calls for proper management of official documents and archives to ensure the public’s right to know is protected. Under the law, the government is required to keep official documents for a maximum 30 years, after which they will be moved to the National Archives of Japan or discarded with the consent of the prime minister. Japan adopted the current era name, Heisei, meaning “achieving peace,” in 1989 following the death of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. The calligraphy of Heisei, shown publicly for the first time by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Keizo Obuchi, was temporarily kept at Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita’s house, prompting calls for the government to improve how it keeps official documents. At the time, Japan did not have the current legal framework concerning official documents. Official documents related to the era name change from Showa to Heisei remain classified as the government decided to keep them confidential for five more years. They are due to be made public in April 2024.

yoshihide suga
emperor akihito
imperial family
abdication
reiwa
emperor naruhito


Plants and bugs: Japanese government pulls out all the stops to prevent leak ahead of era announcement

Abstract: The government is making every effort to keep information on the new Imperial era name secret until its announcement Monday and officials are even checking plants inside the Prime Minister’s Office for possible bugging devices. “It is also my duty to carry out events related to the Imperial succession smoothly,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a speech Saturday in Yokohama. “We’ll move forward (preparations) steadily so Japanese people will celebrate the succession.” The new era name proposals are kept in a safe at the Cabinet Secretariat. The government will present them to members of a panel of experts at a meeting from 9:30 a.m. Monday, followed by a hearing with the speaker and vice speaker of the Lower House and the president and vice president of the Upper House. After discussions by all Cabinet ministers, the government will formally adopt the new era name at a Cabinet meeting, and Suga will announce the decision at a news conference starting at around 11:30 a.m. The government will ask members of the expert panel, parliamentary leaders and Cabinet ministers not to bring any recording devices, including smartphones, into the rooms where the new era name will be presented and not to leave there before the announcement. The government plans to check the belongings of panel members before they enter the Prime Minister’s Office and have government personnel escort them to restrooms so they will not make any contact with outsiders. “There is a strained atmosphere in the Prime Minister’s Office,” one government official said. If the new era name is leaked to the media beforehand, the government plans to replace it. The government initially considered conducting a hearing with the parliamentary leaders at a room in the National Diet Building, but Lower House Vice Speaker Hirotaka Akamatsu from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan objected because it meant they would be effectively placed in custody. It was eventually decided that the hearing will take place at the official residence of the Lower House speaker from 10:20 a.m. The parliamentary leaders will stay at the residence “voluntarily” until the era name is announced. The government is taking every possible step to keep the new era name confidential, but with the wide range of electronic devices used for communications and bugging available, top officials are likely to remain apprehensive over the possibility of a leak until the last minute before the announcement.

shinzo abe
cabinet
imperial family
abdication


Colleague from baby care facility arrested after woman stabbed to death in Tokyo apartment

Abstract: A 31-year-old worker at a special care facility for babies has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a colleague to death in her apartment in Tokyo last week, police have said. Yusuke Matsuoka, 31, was identified as the man seen in security camera footage leaving the apartment in Suginami Ward where Tsugumi Terui, 32, was found on the floor with a knife in her back Tuesday, investigative sources said Saturday. Matsuoka, who was sent to prosecutors Sunday, has denied the allegations, they said. Matsuoka had several scratches on his neck and wrists when he was arrested. As possible evidence, police removed a black coat from Matsuoka’s home which resembled one worn by the man seen in the video footage, they said. Investigations so far suggest the suspect and the victim had not been in an intimate relationship, the sources said. Matsuoka is believed to have broken into Terui’s apartment on the second floor of the two-story building after apparently climbing over the roof and dropping down to the balcony, according to the sources. He is suspected of having heated and shattered a section of glass with a burner so that he could unlock the sliding windows on the balcony, a method often used by thieves, the sources said. As they worked at the same facility, Matsuoka was in a position to know Terui’s work schedule and could have broken into her apartment and waited until she came home after finishing a night shift, they said. Matsuoka had been working at the care facility for about six years. Furniture in her room had been knocked over, police said earlier, indicating a struggle. They received a call around noon last Tuesday from a neighbor who heard a woman calling for help in an apartment.


Bumpy ride feared in Japan as new visa types issued to ease labor crunch

Abstract: Japan, a country long regarded as immigration-averse, opened its doors wider to workers from abroad on Monday as the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act took effect. As part of the change, the government has put forward an action plan and guidelines that focus on creating a better living environment for foreign residents. And while the people on the ground tasked with accommodating them say it is a slight step forward, they will have their work cut out for them dealing with the many challenges the newcomers face in adjusting to Japanese society. Two new residency statuses provided by the visas are expected to let certain industrial sectors alleviate the pinch from Japan’s national labor shortage. The Type 1 visa can be renewed for five years. Applicants must pass a Japanese test, have a certain skill level in the field they want to work in, and are barred in principle from bringing their families to Japan. Vietnamese aspiring to work in Japan practice their Japanese. | KYODO The Type 2 visa can be renewed indefinitely as long as one is employed. People employed under this category will have higher skill levels than Type 1 visa holders and are permitted to bring their spouses and children along. Holders of both can only work in 14 designated sectors facing major labor crunches. These include nursing, construction, and agriculture. They are free to change jobs as long as they stay in the same industry. The government maintains the overhaul does not represent an “immigration policy” as it doesn’t allow the workers to immediately bring their families to Japan on a permanent basis, under a national policy intended to “maintain” the population. And yet, the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adopted an action plan last December that detailed measures on how foreign individuals — including students, workers, and family members of Japanese — could obtain support they need to better integrate in Japan. The plan lists 126 steps the government plans to take, such as improving language education, encouraging newcomers to enroll in social insurance programs, and increasing multilingual services at hospitals, schools and municipal offices. One step calls for establishing “one stop” consultation centers for non-Japanese residents in about 100 municipalities that will help those who don’t speak Japanese complete their paperwork at municipal offices. The government has allocated about ¥2 billion in funding over the past two years for such consultation services. The city of Ota, Gunma Prefecture, is one municipality that requested such funding to improve its consultation center. It hopes to add new machines that will translate some 11 spoken languages into Japanese text in April. “We requested the funding so we can provide consulting services in so-called rare languages like Vietnamese and Nepalese,” explained Fukashi Kawakami, an Ota city official. The city already provides consultation services in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese, but the extent to which the machines will really help is hard to gauge, Kawakami said. “The reality is that foreign residents sometimes already speak fluent Japanese, or visit with friends who can speak Japanese,” Kawakami added. “Under the foreign trainee system, for example, workers would be accompanied with people from their workplace. We’ll just have to see how we can make use of the translation machines that we plan to put in place.” Another plan proposes call-in translation services for hospitals and doctor’s offices. However, just calling in to translate medical diagnoses does not bridge the language barrier, explained Yoko Iwamoto, a Yokohama-based medical translator. “A lot of medical translation relies on visuals,” she explained. Visual cues such as a patient’s reaction or explaining details of how illnesses could affect the body might not necessarily translate well over the phone. As a medical translator who has almost 20 years of experience in the field, she believes the new plan may help provide medical services to people who only speak rare languages. That being said, Iwamoto believes “Japan needs a stronger culture of translation” so residents who live and work in the country can obtain equal access to medical services regardless of what language they speak. The discrepancy between what the action plan posits and what people on the ground feel means that it’s important for the government to continue getting feedback on how to improve policies for non-Japanese, said Kumi Sato, a professor of intercultural studies at Kinjo Gakuin University. “There is also an imbalance between what municipalities that have a long history of having foreign residents and municipalities that are new to accommodating them need, and the new policies don’t necessarily address that,” she said, adding that a structure where municipalities can share know-how and information on accommodating people from different cultures may be more effective. “There needs to be a bigger vision” on how Japan plans to accommodate foreign residents, Sato added. “Just talking about numbers to address the labor crunch isn’t going to do anything for the future of this country,” she said. “Japan needs to envision a future that’s not about making up for a lack of people via foreign resources, but about creating stronger industries … and truly welcoming newcomers into the country,” she said.

restaurants
immigration
language
hotels
ethnicity
foreign workers
nursing care


The week ahead for April 1 to April 7

Abstract: Monday Government to announce name of next era for use from May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito takes the throne following his father Emperor Akihito’s abdication on April 30 after 30 years of reign. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to unveil the new gengō (name) and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to explain the meaning. Japan to launch new visa system to attract more foreign workers to address labor crunch, departing from traditionally tight controls on immigration. New immigration agency to manage and support those who come to work in Japan. Government expects to receive up to 345,000 laborers over five years. Bank of Japan to release quarterly tankan business sentiment survey. Confidence among major manufacturers expected to fall for first time in two quarters amid concern about slackening domestic production and overseas demand as Chinese growth slows. Law to promote work-style reform takes effect. Major changes include legal cap on overtime work to address karōshi (death from overwork). Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu to merge, creating new oil giant in realignment of domestic oil wholesale industry. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to change name to Nippon Steel Corp. Tuesday Japan, Russia to hold strategic dialogue in Tokyo. Wednesday No major events. Thursday Japan Automobile Dealers Association to release auto sales by model for March, fiscal 2018. Friday Hayabusa2 space probe to create crater by shooting projectile into asteroid Ryugu, then land and collect subsurface samples. Ryugu, 340 million km away from Earth, is believed to contain organic substances and water with remnants of the primitive solar system. Hayabusa2 is due to return with samples in December 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to release household spending data for February. Cabinet Office to release preliminary composite indexes of key economic indicators for February. Saturday No major events. Sunday Local elections held to choose 11 governors and six mayors, with outcome likely to impact House of Councilors election this summer. Osaka gubernatorial and mayoral elections also to be held after former governor and mayor resigned in bid to swap posts to continue push for their political party’s goal of merging Osaka’s wards to create a metropolis structure similar to Tokyo’s.


Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange's Mark Karpeles appeals conviction

Abstract: Mark Karpeles, who headed Mt. Gox, a Japan-based bitcoin exchange that went bankrupt after a massive hack, is appealing his conviction on charges of manipulating electronic data. Karpeles’ lawyer Nobuyasu Ogata said Friday his client was just trying to reduce risks for Mt. Gox users. The Tokyo District Court cleared Karpeles earlier this month of embezzlement and breach of trust charges, handing him a suspended sentence, meaning he wouldn’t have to serve prison time. But he was found guilty of the dubious data charges. The court said he had manipulated data to harm his clients, betraying their trust and abusing his engineering skills. Prosecutors had demanded 10 years in prison. Karpeles, a 33-year-old Frenchman and longtime resident of Japan, was arrested in August 2015. His case, coming at a time when cryptocurrencies were still relatively new, drew global attention. Karpeles said he decided to appeal because the judge had not fully looked at the defense arguments. “During the opening of my trial in 2017, I swore to God that I am innocent of all charges,” he said in an email. “I believe appealing to the judgment is appropriate so that I can be judged again in full consideration of all the facts.” Ogata said he welcomed the court’s ruling on Karpeles’ innocence of some charges as “a proper decision.” But he defended Karpeles’ actions following the massive bitcoin theft by still unidentified hackers as an effort to minimize the damage. “We cannot think of such actions as illegitimate,” he said in a statement. Karpeles earlier said that he and his lawyer were considering an appeal. The Mt. Gox case raised alarm over what had been a legal gray area. Afterward, the government set up a system requiring exchanges to be licensed as the nation set out to become a global leader in the technology. Bitcoin has been a legal form of payment in Japan since April 2017, and a handful of major retailers accept it. Ogata has argued the authorities were confused about how cryptocurrency exchanges worked and were trying to pin the blame for a cybercrime on Karpeles, who was actually a victim. Karpeles’ incarceration for nearly a year ahead of his trial drew attention to Japanese judicial practices that also came under intensified scrutiny with the arrest of Nissan Motor Co.’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, in November. Ghosn, who says he is innocent of all the financial misconduct allegations he faces, was released on ¥1 billion ($9 million) bail this month after more than three months of detention.

courts
scandals
bitcoin
mt . gox
cryptocurrency


Takata air bags claim another life after Arizona crash

Abstract: DETROIT - An Arizona man killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator brings the worldwide death toll to at least 24. Armando V. Ortega, 55, of Yuma, died June 11, 2018, three days after his 2002 Honda Civic was involved in a crash near Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Honda said in a statement that the Civic driver was hit by shrapnel and injured. He later died at a hospital. The death, which wasn’t reported to a federal agency until this month, is the 16th in the U.S. caused by the air bags, which can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Seven people were killed in Malaysia and one in Australia. More than 200 people also have been hurt by the inflators, which have caused the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide. “This is a critical reminder of the serious nature of the Takata airbag recall and serves as an important call to action,” NHTSA said in a statement Friday. The agency urged owners to check for open recalls by keying in their 17-digit vehicle identification number into the NHTSA website, www.nhtsa.gov/recalls . Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the bags. But it can deteriorate due to high temperatures and humidity and explode too forcefully, spewing metal fragments. The deaths and recalls forced Takata into bankruptcy with its assets purchased by a company owned by a Chinese investment firm. The owner of the Civic, identified by Arizona officials as Ortega, purchased the car used less than three months before the crash. But there is no federal requirement that used car sellers have the cars repaired or inform buyers of any unrepaired recall problems. Honda said it did not know the car had been sold until recently. The Civic in the crash has been under recall since December 2014 due to a faulty driver’s front air bag inflator. Honda said it mailed 12 recall notices over three years to the previous owners. The company also said it made more than 20 phone calls in an effort to reach the owners, but Honda records show the repairs were never done. Honda said the death was first reported to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 11 of this year. The safety agency notified Honda on March 14, and it inspected the car with Honda on Friday and determined that the inflator was blown apart in the crash. “The rupture was confirmed at this inspection, and we announced the findings the same day,” Honda spokesman Chris Martin said. Honda said it has sufficient supplies of replacement inflators, and it urged people to get recalled vehicles repaired as soon as possible. Older vehicles, especially from the 2001 through 2003 model years, are most at risk, the company said. Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said Ortega’s Civic collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Maricopa County near the city of Buckeye. He did not know further details of the crash.

honda
scandals
carmakers
cars
takata
air bags


U.S. and China report progress in Beijing trade talks as Trump pushes for 'great deal'

Abstract: BEIJING/PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a “great deal” after top U.S. and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing. Both sides reported progress in the talks and China also approved majority-owned brokerage joint ventures for U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase and Japan’s Nomura, a step toward meeting U.S. demands for more access to China’s financial services market. “The trade deal is going very well,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “It is a very comprehensive, very detailed enlisting of problems that we’ve had with China over the years,” Trump said of the talks. “And it’s going to have to be a great deal. If it’s not a great deal, we can’t do it.” In an earlier statement, the White House said the two sides “continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps,” but did not elaborate on the nature of the progress. The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China’s state news agency Xinhua said the two sides discussed “relevant agreement documents” and made new progress in their talks, but did not elaborate in a brief report. U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said in Malvern, Iowa, that he has been told the Trump administration is planning to complete a deal with China by the end of April. However, Trump administration officials, including White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, have said the negotiations are “not time dependent” and could take weeks or even months to complete. “We’ve made great progress on intellectual property, on trade secrets, on their government not forcing our business to give them our technologies and on currency manipulation, among several other things,” Grassley said at a farm event. But the Iowa Republican, whose state has been hit hard by China’s retaliation against U.S. tariffs, added that without an effective enforcement mechanism to hold China to its promises, “none of this other stuff matters.” Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports beginning last July in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of its economy to U.S. companies. Though his blunt-force use of tariffs has angered many, Trump’s push to change what are widely viewed as China’s market-distorting trade and subsidy practices has drawn broad support. Lobbyists, company executives and U.S. lawmakers from both parties have urged Trump not to settle simply for Beijing’s offers to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap. Going into the talks at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, people familiar with the negotiations had said there were still significant differences on enforcement and the sequence of when and how U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would be lifted. Analysts had anticipated the scope of this round of talks to be quite narrow, but that both countries hoped to signal they were working hard toward a resolution. Reuters reported previously that the two sides were negotiating written pacts in six areas: forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and nontariff barriers to trade. One person with knowledge of the talks said “translation is definitely an issue,” referring to discrepancies between the Chinese- and English-language versions. There remains skepticism that any deal can permanently resolve U.S.-China trade tensions. “Whatever implementation mechanism China agrees to, whether it is monthly or quarterly meetings or other check-ins, there are going to be problems,” James Green, a senior adviser at McLarty Associates who until August was the top USTR official at the embassy in Beijing, said. Trump’s demands include an end to Beijing practices that Washington says result in systematic theft of U.S. intellectual property and the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese companies. U.S. companies say they are often pressured into handing over technological know-how to Chinese joint venture partners, local officials or regulators as a condition for doing business in China. The U.S. government says technology is often subsequently transferred to, and used by, Chinese competitors. China says its laws enshrine no requirements on technology transfers that are a result of legitimate transactions.


Deepening probe reveals 6,340 improper aircraft engine checks by IHI

Abstract: Major Japanese heavy machinery-maker IHI Corp. has reported 6,340 cases of improper maintenance checks of engines for commercial aircraft, a dramatic jump from the 211 announced in its interim investigation report on March 8. The surge came as the company added engines of aircraft used by foreign airlines in its probe into the irregularities, it said Friday. The interim report covered only engines of airplanes operated by domestic carriers. The industry ministry imposed an administrative penalty on the company based on the aircraft manufacturing business act. IHI was ordered to conduct engine maintenance and repair work under approved methods. It is very rare for an administrative penalty to be doled out based on the law. The number of cases of improper aircraft engine checks at IHI may continue to grow as the transport ministry continues its investigation. IHI said it has confirmed that the irregularities do not affect the safety of aircraft concerned. Between January 2017 and this January, the company carried out maintenance checks on a total of 212 engines used in planes operated by domestic and foreign carriers. Of them, 209 engines were checked by unqualified workers, and inspection documents were falsified using seals of qualified workers, according to the firm. Such fraudulent use of qualified inspection workers’ seals were found in 5,846 of the overall cases. The remaining cases involved such misconduct as unauthorized changes in inspection procedures and manipulation of inspection dates. The irregularities at IHI were uncovered during an on-site inspection by the transport ministry.


Japan Display nears deal to raise ¥100 billion from China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese investment fund

Abstract: Japan Display Inc. is making final arrangements to procure some ¥100 billion from a China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese public-private investment fund INCJ Ltd., informed sources said Saturday. Japan Display, a major maker of small and midsize liquid crystal displays that is now under business rehabilitation, is in negotiations with the consortium, comprising a Chinese fund and Taiwanese touch-screen manufacturer TPK Holding Co. According to the sources, Japan Display hopes to reach a basic agreement with the consortium as early as next week. Initially, the company aimed to strike a deal within fiscal 2018. The China-Taiwan consortium is expected to secure some 30 percent of the voting rights in Japan Display with investment totaling ¥60 billion, the sources said. With INCJ considering additional financial assistance, Japan Display is expected to procure a total of about ¥100 billion, the sources said. INCJ is the top shareholder of Japan Display with a stake of over 25 percent at present. The raised funds will be used mainly for debt repayment and parts procurement for the latest version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, a major revenue source for Japan Display. If an agreement is made, Japan Display plans to build a cutting-edge organic electroluminescence panel plant in China, using assistance from the consortium. Japan Display is expected to post a net loss for the fifth straight year in fiscal 2018, reflecting a sales slump of Apple products in China. In 2012, Japan Display launched operations by integrating the small and midsize LCD businesses of Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Sony Corp., backed also by government assistance. But the company is facing an extremely tough business situation due to a delay in its development of technologies related to organic electroluminescence panels.


Nomura receives Chinese approval to establish majority-controlled brokerage

Abstract: Nomura Holdings Inc. said Friday it has won approval from Chinese regulators to establish a majority-controlled brokerage, as the world’s second-largest economy seeks to open up its financial sector to foreign companies. The move follows UBS Group AG based in Switzerland, which became the first foreign bank to increase its stake to gain majority control of a securities joint venture in China. The bank said in November that it won approval. Nomura Holdings requested the approval to establish a securities joint venture in China last May. It expects the Shanghai-based Nomura Orient International Securities Co. to start operating possibly by the end of this year. The company said in a news release it will initially focus on the wealth management business for high-net-worth individuals, later developing its product distribution channels and expanding into wholesale and other business segments. Its ultimate goal is to grow the business into a “full-fledged brokerage that will form a core part of the firm’s strategy in Asia,” it said. Beijing said last year it will raise the limits on foreign ownership in securities joint ventures to 51 percent and allow full control within three years.


Great Pompeii Project offers new glimpses into city's life before calamity

Abstract: POMPEII, ITALY - Nearly 2,000 years after Pompeii was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, the ancient Roman city is still giving up its long-buried secrets. Fantastic frescos, preserved mosaics and obscene graffiti are just some of the discoveries emerging from the largest archaeological dig at the site since the 1950s. As teams of construction workers shore up mounds of earth pressing down on the excavated areas to prevent them from crushing the ruins, archaeologists and conservationists are busy restoring newly discovered art and bolstering fragile walls. The burst of activity marks the final stages of the Great Pompeii Project, launched in 2012 after a spate of cave-ins, with the European Union and the Italian state handing over €105 million ($118 million) to halt the decay. “The risk of collapse, of serious damage is past. Now Pompeii is quite safe,” said Francesco Muscolino, 42, an archaeologist working on the program. The extensive conservation work has enabled scholars to uncover a few more areas of Pompeii still buried under volcanic debris, including two large houses, alleyways, highly decorated interiors and a brightly colored snack bar. Pompeii was submerged by volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius exploded in A.D. 79, killing thousands of Romans who had no idea they were living beneath one of Europe’s biggest volcanoes. Memory of the catastrophe faded over time, and it was not until 1748 that any meaningful exploration was undertaken. More systematic excavations were launched the following century, but by the end of the 20th century, neglect, lack of funds and repeated flooding were taking a heavy toll. In 2010, less than 15 percent of the excavated area was accessible to tourists, wild dogs roamed the paved streets and only 10 buildings were open, against 64 in 1956. Today, around 70 percent of the uncovered city is accessible and more than 30 fully restored buildings can be visited. The improved access has helped lift tourist numbers, with some 3.5 million people coming to Pompeii last year, an increase of 1 million in just a decade. Even more visitors are expected as the latest finds are gradually unveiled to the public. Among the highlights are a fresco of the Greek mythological figure Narcissus leaning languidly on a block of stone and staring down at his own reflection in a pool of water. In the same house, archaeologists found a small, exquisite wall painting portraying the seduction of the Spartan queen Leda by the Greek god Zeus, disguised as a swan. “It was wonderful because it is very beautiful and in very good condition,” said Stefania Giudice, one of the conservationists tasked with preserving the new discoveries. The fresco’s bright colors have already faded since the ash and pumice were painstakingly removed last year as moisture on the surface of the wall dried out, dulling the rich tones. “We will clean it and protect it and get the beautiful colors back,” Giudice said, predicting that the fresco-rich house, still partially buried, would be opened to the public within one or two years as new tourist routes were laid out. Elsewhere, some graffiti contains graphic sexual references. Perhaps one of the most significant finds was the least spectacular at first sight — a brief charcoal inscription that cites the date Oct. 17. It was written in the hallway of a grand house where at least six bodies were discovered. Archaeologists believe the faint note might have been written just before the eruption, meaning the disaster probably struck two months later than previously thought. Muscolino predicted it would take many years for scholars to assimilate and interpret all the material recovered in recent months, with trays of delicate glass, fresco fragments, plaster mouldings, coins and amphora stored away for future research. More than 270 years after the first serious excavations began, a third of the city, which covers roughly 165 acres (67 hectares), remains buried and unexplored. But there are no plans for further major digs after this latest project ends, with the emphasis now on conservation. “Excavations are like having children. You have to take care of them. You can’t just abandon what you find and move on to the next thing,” said Giudice. “It is a real responsibility.”


Russia develops first washing machine for space

Abstract: MOSCOW - The days of astronauts packing enough clean clothes to last a whole mission could soon be over as Russia said Friday it is developing a washing machine for space. The RKK Energiya corporation, which builds spacecraft, dropped a brief mention of the innovation in a video posted on YouTube. “By the way, for future lunar expeditions and other interplanetary crafts, RKK Energiya has started developing a special space washing machine,” the voice-over says, without giving further details. With water at a premium, currently astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) for stints of some six months cannot wash their clothes in any way and simply put on new outfits when their clothes get dirty. Astronauts usually wear the same outfit for three to four days and then throw them away with other rubbish. In 2017, a Russian space industry journal published a paper by RKK Energiya researchers with a description and diagrams of a washing machine that could be used on the ISS. It said that for three crew members, up to 660 kilograms (1,450 pounds) of clothes have to be ferried to the ISS over a year. For a two-year flight to Mars with six crew members this could increase to three tons, the authors warned. Having onboard “equipment for hygienic treatment could significantly lessen the stocks of personal hygiene products and items of clothing,” the report said. Researchers proposed using not water, which would be wasteful and require extra storage, but carbon dioxide that is produced by humans’ breathing and can be turned into a liquid under pressure. Last year, the Moscow Institute of Chemical Machine-Building said that it was going to develop a shower and sauna for astronauts as well as facilities for them to wash hands and clothes. NASA has also wrestled with the problem, funding research into methods of washing clothes without water and anti-microbial clothing that could be worn longer. The announcement of the washing machine project comes as NASA this week canceled the first ever two-woman spacewalk from the ISS because there was only one spacesuit on board of the right size.