Assets held by members of Japan's House of Representatives sink to record-low ¥29 million

Abstract: House of Representatives lawmakers held a record-low average of ¥29.17 million ($274,000) in assets, according to a tally based on data they released Monday after the 2017 snap election. The data cover financial assets, land and property held by members of the Lower House who were elected in October. The average is ¥5.46 million lower than the average from the previous survey in May 2015, and the lowest since 1993, when a law requiring lawmakers to release such data took effect. The tally, compiled by Kyodo News, The 2016 death of Kunio Hatoyama, a former minister of internal affairs and communications, had the effect of dragging down the average by some ¥6.6 million. Hatoyama ranked first in the 2015 survey with holdings worth more than ¥3 billion. Born to a prominent political family, Hatoyama had inherited assets from his mother, Yasuko, whose father founded tire maker Bridgestone Corp. Based on the most recent data, Saichi Kamiyama of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had the most assets at ¥930.71 million, followed by former Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa with ¥500.1 million and Finance Minister Taro Aso with ¥486.82 million. The top six positions are held by members of the LDP. The number of Lower House members with over ¥100 million in assets rose to 27, climbing by six, even as the chamber’s seat count was trimmed to 465 from 475 in the 2017 general election. Seventy lawmakers reported having no assets other than stocks, down five from the previous survey. In the meantime, new members of the chamber saw their assets climb by ¥6.68 million to an average of ¥20.36 million. By sex, the 47 women in the Lower House held an average of ¥11.44 million in assets and the men held ¥31.16 million. By party, the opposition Liberal Party ranked first with an average of ¥109.03 million, followed by the LDP with ¥37.35 million and the Democratic Party with ¥25.02 million.


Hong Kong a valuable test market for Japan's campaign to attract foreign tourists

Abstract: With trips to Japan being so popular among people from Hong Kong, Tokyo sees the territory as a testing ground for trying out various initiatives and analyzing behavioral patterns as it seeks to attract more foreign tourists. A record 2.2 million Hong Kong residents visited Japan in 2017, up 21.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. This means that more than 1 in 3 people from the Chinese territory have visited Japan, and almost 21 percent of them have done so more than 10 times. “There is nowhere else that resonates as much as Hong Kong. The locals really like Japan and have deep knowledge that even we Japanese don’t have,” said Yasumasa Shimizu, JNTO’s senior director of the Hong Kong office, citing as an example the popularity among Hong Kong people of the relatively obscure Iya spa resort in Tokushima Prefecture. Japan is the top tourist destination for the people of Hong Kong, surpassing Taiwan and Thailand in second and third, respectively, thanks to the spread of Japanese food and culture, an economic recovery and the yen’s depreciation, which makes Japan a bargain destination, according to the JNTO. “We try to be creative and help people understand Japanese culture” so they will want to travel to Japan and taste the authentic food, said Susanna Wong, CEO of Yata Ltd., which operates 11 department stores and supermarkets in Hong Kong specializing in Japanese foods and lifestyles. Wong said her company also seeks to “show the latest gourmet trends across Japan and re-create the Japanese lifestyle.” “Fruits and green tea are always popular,” she said. “Hong Kong people also like new things, like in snacks.” By country and region, Hong Kong was the largest importer per capita of Japanese agriculture, forestry and fisheries products — at a value of ¥187.7 billion ($1.78 billion) — in 2017 for the 13th straight year. There are more than 1,500 Japanese restaurants in the city, according to the Japanese government. In Yata’s Tseung Kwan O store, the popular Kumamon black bear that serves as the mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture welcomes customers, while wagyu beef, sake, fruits and snacks imported directly from Japan line the shelves. Sushi and sake bars have been set up with eat-in spaces, as has a booth devoted to products from Tokushima, open for a limited period. “Among our products, jams and drinks using yuzu citrus fruit are especially popular,” said Shiro Oka, chief representative for the Shanghai office of the Tokushima Industrial Promotion Organization, adding that the organization held a low-carbohydrate tasting event of konnyaku (devil’s tongue) noodles for health-conscious consumers. “Competition is tough, but I hope more people will visit Tokushima.” There are 15 Japanese cities that have regular flights to and from Hong Kong. JNTO officials said they try to attract tourists to Japan from Hong Kong in different seasons, pitching food items that can only be found at certain times of the year, such as crab in the winter, or experiences like fireworks festivals in the summer or fruit picking in spring. The organization has also set its sights on offering a new type of tourism: Japan as a destination for holding weddings, after data showed that some 10 percent of Hong Kong couples choose to wed outside the territory, and spending an average of $13,000 to do so. Around 97 percent take part in “photo weddings,” in which no actual wedding ceremony is held but only photos are taken, with 70 percent being held overseas. In 2016, more than 1,000 couples came to Japan to have weddings, while 6,111 couples picked Japan for photo weddings. “Hong Kong provides us with insights on what works in tourism,” said JNTO’s Shimizu. “We want to use the experience and implement this in attracting tourists from other countries.” Japan has seen a surge in foreign visitors in recent years, with the number hitting a record of over 28 million in 2017. The government is seeking to increase the figure to 40 million in 2020 when the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held.

hong kong
tourism
2020 tokyo olympics
jnto


Australia aims to be global leader, with strong anti-slavery law expected in 2018

Abstract: LONDON - Australia aims to be a global leader in the fight against modern slavery with a new law that builds upon Britain’s landmark legislation and demands stronger action from the government and businesses, its foreign minister and lawmakers said on Tuesday. The country is expected to this year pass a Modern Slavery Act to tackle the risk of forced labor in supply chains, protect people vulnerable to enslavement such as migrant workers, and compensate victims of slavery, politicians said. Following Britain’s world-leading 2015 anti-slavery law, Australia’s legislation goes further by requiring public bodies as well as companies to outline what they have done to combat slavery in their supply chains, said Senator Linda Reynolds. “One of most significant things is that we aren’t just expecting businesses to act, but will take action ourselves,” she said on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. “This is a game-changer,” she said at an event hosted by Australia and the charity Walk Free Foundation. The British law introduced life sentences for human traffickers, compelled firms to address the risk of forced labor and established the role of independent anti-slavery commissioner. Yet the British government has been criticized by several anti-slavery activists for a lack of support for victims and for working with suppliers who flout the law. “It is important that we are following Britain’s lead, but the requirements of our act have come about as a result of discussions in Australia,” said foreign minister Julie Bishop. “We will be one of the world leaders in introducing modern slavery legislation,” she added. Compared to Britain, Australia’s law would be stricter on the content of the annual statement showing actions taken to ensure supply chains are slavery-free, and the government would also publish a list of all entities required to comply. The proposed law should require firms doing business in Australia with a revenue of more than $50 million to file a statement, a parliamentary inquiry found according to its December report. Yet the threshold should be lower than this to force more companies to fight crime estimated to affect 40 million people globally with annual profits of $150 billion, according to Andrew Forrest, the Australian founder of Walk Free. “Filing out a statement is not hard,” said Forrest, who is also chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, a major iron ore miner. “The Australian government is setting the example and businesses need to follow.” Australia is home to an estimated 4,300 slavery victims — from forced labor and sexual exploitation to domestic servitude — according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index by Walk Free.

australia
rights
u.k .
slavery
human trafficking


24-year prison term sought for ex-NHK reporter accused of serial rapes

Abstract: YAMAGATA - Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a 24-year prison term for a former reporter with public broadcaster NHK, who was accused of raping three women in their 20s. Prosecutors said at the Yamagata District Court that Yasutaka Tsurumoto, 29, has not shown repentance for committing “vicious” crimes, and argued that there is a risk of him offending again. Asked by prosecutors about his state of mind as he took notes during his own trial, Tsurumoto said he could not understand why he was named as the culprit and “wanted to grasp the overall picture of the trial.” He denied the charges. During the trial prosecutors pointed out that DNA samples taken at the three crime scenes matched DNA samples taken from Tsurumoto. The ruling will be delivered next Wednesday. According to the indictment, Tsurumoto broke into the residences of the three women on separate occasions — in February 2016 in the city of Yamagata as well as two in Yamanashi Prefecture in October 2014 and December 2013 — and sexually assaulted them. Two of them were injured in the incidents. Tsurumoto worked at a bureau of Japan Broadcasting Corp., popularly known as NHK, in Yamanashi Prefecture between 2011 and 2015, before transferring to another bureau in Yamagata Prefecture in July 2015. NHK dismissed Tsurumoto in February 2017 following his arrest.


Seven-Eleven store chain forced owner to stay open during Fukui blizzard, union says

Abstract: FUKUI - The owner of a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Fukui Prefecture was allegedly forced to work for about 50 hours without sleep in February after the chain rejected his requests to suspend business amid the heaviest snowfall in decades, a labor union has said. The prefecture saw its heaviest snowfall since 1981 that month, with accumulations reaching 147 cm on Feb. 7. Twelve people died as a result of the snow, which also crushed over 1,000 greenhouses and left at one point some 1,500 vehicles stranded on Route 8, a major artery that connects the Hokuriku and Kansai regions. That prompted the prefecture to ask for the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces for help. The labor union of franchise owners said the store owner, who is in his 50s, began shoveling snow in the store’s parking lot from early on Feb. 6 and ended up working at the store until Feb. 8. He repeatedly asked the company if he could suspend operations, fearing snow on the store’s roof could fall onto customers. But the union said the head office told him to keep the store open, saying any injuries to customers would be covered by insurance. His wife, who is in her 40s and also works at the store, had been removing snow with him and also fell ill from exhaustion by the end of the first day. The head office later sent people to assist at the store, but they left after just a few hours, according to the union. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said its rules state that franchise store owners have the discretion to continue operations in times of disaster, adding it is investigating what happened. It said it supplies each franchise outlet with a manual on how to respond to disasters.


Fruit's pungent smell mistaken for gas leak, prompts panic

Abstract: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - The pungent smell of the rotten durian fruit at an Australian university library has been mistaken for a gas leak, prompting an evacuation of the building. Specialist crews wearing masks searched the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology university campus library Saturday, but all they found was rotting durian in a cupboard. About 600 staff and students had cleared the building. A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said the smell alarmed staff and students as it permeated the air-conditioning system. Durian is a tropical fruit known for its strong smell. It is commonly banned from hotel rooms and public transport across Southeast Asia.


Following outcry, China's Sina Weibo reverses course on gay content clean-up

Abstract: BEIJING - China’s Sina Weibo on Monday reversed a decision to remove gay content after outcry among gay Chinese who say the company had smeared homosexuality by lumping it with pornography as it tried to meet government censorship directives. China’s Twitter-equivalent Weibo said Friday it would remove pornographic, violent or gay videos and cartoons in a three-month campaign, singling out a genre of manga animations and comics that often depict raunchy gay male relationships. In response, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) advocates poured online to criticize the decision using hashtags, open letters and even calls to dump Sina shares. On Monday, Sina said the clean-up will no longer target gay content. The outcry reflects a fear that growing censorship tends to ban all gay content as “dirty,” a setback for efforts to carve out an online space of tolerance for homosexuality in China’s traditionally Confucian society, LGBT advocates say. It was unclear whether Sina’s measure was a direct result of a censorship directive from the government or an initiative taken by the company itself. Sina did not respond to a request for comment. The official People’s Daily newspaper of the ruling Communist Party on Sunday encouraged tolerance toward gay people, but added that “vulgar” content must be removed regardless of sexual orientation. Chinese LGBT advocates hope to promote gay rights by educating society about sexual preferences and pushing back against traditional pressures to marry and have children. Social media is a key “battleground” where LGBT advocates take on conservative celebrities who dish out popular dating advice, such as saying that the best couples marry early, produce sons and are straight, according to Xiao Tie, head of the Beijing LGBT Centre. “The problem with the policy is that it equates LGBT content with porn,” Xiao said on Sunday, adding that she believes the government is not actively anti-LGBT. It just has no clear idea how to deal with the issue. “But the bigger problem is the culture of strict censorship,” she added. “Social media used to be an open space, but in the last year things have started to change.” Sina said the campaign is to ensure that the company is in line with online content regulations released in June last year that lump homosexuality in with sexual abuse and violence as constituting “abnormal sexual relationships.” The fight against Sina’s decision saw LGBT groups, advocates and gay Chinese speaking out through letters and hashtags. The tag “I am gay” was viewed nearly 300 million times on Weibo before being censored Saturday. Beijing-based advocacy group PFLAG China on Sunday called on Sina’s shareholders to punish the “evil” acts of the NASDAQ-listed company by “voting with their feet” and selling shares. Other gay Chinese wrote their own stories in letters to the Sina CEO Charles Chao. Hao Kegui, one such writer, came out as a lesbian in an open letter published on social media last year where she describes how she had felt pressured into marrying a man to please her parents. “The main concern for me is that, because China is very big, and places outside big cities are quite conservative, there are lots of gay people who only learn about their sexuality online,” Hao said. “I worry the censorship will cause more people to just live in the closet and never come out.”

china
internet
rights
protests
social media
sexuality
discrimination


In rapidly aging South Korea, elderly find escape from anxiety in visits to discos

Abstract: SEOUL - A discotheque hidden among the back alleys of eastern Seoul is packed with hundreds of gray-haired couples on a Monday afternoon, dancing to local hits from the 1960s in a basketball court-size hall. Kim Sa-gyu, 85, calls it his “playground.” “What else would I do all day? My family is busy with work. I hate going to senior centers cause all they do there is smoking,” said Kim, wearing a beret as he sat on a bench at the edge of a dance floor decorated with fairy lights and mirror balls. Seven days a week, he gets up at 5 a.m., has breakfast with his son and two grandchildren, gets an hour of massage therapy to relieve knee pain, then hops on a bus. His destination is the daytime disco for the elderly in New Hyundai Core. Kim, who has been jobless since retiring as a hospital administrator 20 years ago, is among about 1,000 customers each weekday at the disco, called a “colatec.” It is one of nearly 1,000 such facilities around the country. Almost 2,000 people visit on Saturday or Sunday, said owner Choi Jung-eun. Colatecs, a portmanteau of cola and discotheque, have arisen to serve South Korea’s rapidly aging population, as a growing number of lonely, impoverished and ailing people rediscover ways to entertain themselves after decades of hard work. Some are there because they simply don’t feel welcome at home. “My wife yaps at me for breathing if I stay home. I love this music and no one minds me here,” a gray-haired man who identified himself only as “white boots” said, after paying an entrance fee of 1,000 won (90 cents) — a fraction of what swanky clubs in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam charge their youthful clientele. Well-dressed patrons can pay another 500 won for coat-check service. And despite the name, the disco’s best-selling beverage is 2,000 won probiotic yogurt, not cola. The generation that helped rebuild Asia’s fourth-largest economy from the ruins of the 1950-1953 Korean War is now the poorest and most depressed among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The relative poverty rate of South Korea’s elderly stood at 49.6 percent in 2013, four times the OECD average, according to the latest available data. The elderly suicide rate rose from 35 per 100,000 persons in 2000 to 82 in 2010, also far above the OECD average of 22. South Korea is aging faster than any other developed country, yet there are few post-retirement jobs, or even cheap leisure, available for the elderly. By 2050, there will be 71 people aged 65 and over for every 100 people aged 15-64 in South Korea, up from just 17.3 per 100 in 2014, according to OECD forecasts. That will make it the third-oldest country in the world, behind Japan and Spain. Heading to a colatec is now they only way many senior citizens can find room to breathe, several customers said. Kim In-gil, still haunted by painful memories related to his failed businesses during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, says two hours of dancing four times a week helps rid him of “suicidal thoughts” from time to time. “If you have music and a partner, you can put all other thoughts out of your mind,” Kim said as beads of sweat dripped off his nose. Colatecs began to spring up in the late 1990s as a no-alcohol dancing club for teens, but soon started to attract the elderly as their main customers. Jitterbug instructor Song-ah’s online videos about how to dance at a colatec sparked interest after she appeared in a TV commercial for insurer LINA’s pension products. A cable TV channel offering dancing tutorials for the elderly, called Silver-I, is also popular. At the New Hyundai Core colatec, a dance instructor walked around the dance hall searching for dancers who looked lost or lonely. Three full-time matchmaking ladies helped dancers who were too shy to find a partner. “Those helpers sometimes take me to new woman and put our hands together to dance. I buy them a bottle of Will during our tea breaks,” the 85-year-old Kim said, referring to the in-house cafe’s best-selling drink, a local probiotic yogurt. Song-ah, the jitterbug dance instructor, says she is always on the lookout for dating-related elder fraud at colatecs. “Sometimes I see young cougars in their 50s asking really old grandpas out for a dance. I report them to the owner and separate them,” she said, adding that lonely seniors can be taken advantage of by strangers. But for the most part, colatecs do more good than harm, says Joo Won, an economist at the Hyundai Research Institute. “We have one unhappy aging society that needs support both from the public and the government. Places like colatecs need to be nurtured,” Joo said. Choi, the owner of New Hyundai Core colatec, said her business made her feel good too. “My take from running this place is knowing that these old people have a place to go to when they wake up. They can’t afford to go travel abroad or play golf every day,” Choi said. She added that she has some senior-friendly expansion plans. “I also plan to open an acupuncture clinic upstairs, so that my customers can take care of their joints before and after dancing,” she said.

suicide
health
south korea
aging
depression
exercise


Finance Ministry's top official Junichi Fukuda to sue Japanese weekly over report accusing him of sexually harassing journalists

Abstract: The top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry said Monday he plans to sue a weekly magazine after it alleged he repeatedly harassed several female journalists with sexually suggestive language. “I don’t think I uttered unpleasant words to a female reporter that can be labeled as sexual harassment,” Administrative Vice Minister Junichi Fukuda said in a statement. The ministry, meanwhile, said it will ask an independent lawyer to continue investigating the allegations made by Shukan Shincho magazine and Fukuda’s denials. In a rare move, the ministry also urged any reporters who think they were harassed by Fukuda as described by the story to come forward. “We will respond in a responsible manner so (the investigation) will not cause problems for those who cooperated,” the ministry said in a statement. It also asked the reporters to directly contact the lawyer, rather than the ministry, to ensure the investigation remains neutral. The article run by Shukan Shincho in its latest issue quotes several unidentified female reporters as saying Fukuda repeatedly harassed them by making unpleasant sexual remarks during one-on-one meetings. Following Fukuda’s initial denial, the magazine posted a clip on YouTube in which the voice of a man believed to Fukuda can be heard in a conversation with someone described as a female journalist. The comments made by the man included: “Can I touch your breast?” “Should we have an affair when the budget is enacted?” and “I will tie your hands.” The voice of the supposed journalist was erased by Shukan Shincho to protect her privacy. The weekly claimed she repeatedly asked Fukuda to stop the conversation, quoting her remarks from the recorded conversation, which were rendered in subtitles in the YouTube file. Fukuda was apparently trying to take advantage of journalists’ desire for information, the magazine alleged. In the ministry-issued statement, Fukuda said he did not have any conversations as alleged with any female journalist, although he might have “played with words” at an entertainment establishment where “women serve customers.” The harassment scandal, if true, will further weaken the political clout of the ministry, which has seen its reputation heavily damaged by the document-tampering scandal involving ultra-nationalist school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which once had close ties with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie. In the meantime, the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun reported in a front-page story the same day that the prime minister has determined that Fukuda’s dismissal “is inevitable.” The daily did not say how it obtained the information. Having joined the Finance Ministry in 1982, Fukuda took the position of administrative vice minister in July last year after playing several key roles at the ministry, including head of the Budget Bureau.

scandal
sexual harassment
finance ministry


Nagoya's Shachihoko Boys look to make global splash

Abstract: Men wearing gold, full-body suits and costume hats, themed as taiyaki (a waffle-like cake shaped like a fish, typically filled with red bean paste), have started to appear in central Nagoya, attracting the attention of pedestrians. The men call themselves the Shachihoko Boys — a reference to a golden imaginary creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a fish, which can be found on the roof of Nagoya Castle. Last year they released a debut CD. They’re ambitious, and are looking to break into the global market. But what exactly do they hope to achieve by strutting around Nagoya in such eye-catching costumes? During a recent public holiday, 32-year-old Motoki Ikeda, who runs a restaurant, and four of his friends — all wearing the gold body suits — strode through the gate of Osu Kannon. The temple was packed with visitors, who immediately turned to the five men. One of them asked, “Are you supposed to be taiyaki?” When they replied that they are the Shachihoko Boys, they were welcomed enthusiastically by those who understood the cultural reference. The five men formed the group in 2012. Ikeda used to work in a large advertising firm. When he was transferred from Osaka to Nagoya, his boss gave him the body suit and cap and said, “You need this if you’re going to Nagoya.” “I wanted to stand out,” recalled Ikeda. He wore the suit as a joke to a friend’s party, but it turned out to be a huge success. After that, he began hitting the streets while wearing the outfit with friends, including 35-year-old designer Tetsuya Ishikawa. The reaction they got was better than expected; people came up to them to take photos or ask them what they were doing. At first, Ikeda only invited people he knew, but once they had more than five, the group began to grow on its own with others seeking to join. To become a member, all they have to do is prepare the costume themselves. The group grew so big that even Ikeda does not know how many people are in it now. Their main activity is walking around the city once a month. Members say they like the “out-of-ordinary experience” of having attention lavished on them, and they stopped feeling embarrassed after the first time. The group is so unique that an acquaintance asked them to appear on a live show, which then led to them appearing on a commercial for AOKI’s Pizza in 2016. Last year they released their first CD featuring a song they had made, called “Sekai Kiseki.” Currently, they are making appearances on self-sponsored radio and online shows. “By walking around the city (in these costumes), I can bring entertainment to people’s daily lives and make them smile. I hope to make Nagoya a more lively place,” said Ikeda. In February, a member from France, 31-year-old Jeanpierre Etienne, returned to his country. Before leaving, he said to Ikeda, “Maybe I’ll try doing this in France too,” planting the idea of introducing the concept globally. “If we explain that the costume is Shachihoko from Nagoya Castle in Japan, maybe we can proudly present it as part of Cool Japan,” he said. To become a member, or for more information, visit the group’s website at shachihokoboys.com (only available in Japanese).


Names of 3,607 members of Imperial Japanese Army's notorious Unit 731 released by national archives

Abstract: KYOTO - The National Archives of Japan has disclosed the names of 3,607 members of the Imperial Japanese Army’s notorious Unit 731, which conducted germ warfare and other biological experiments mainly on prisoners in China before and during World War II, according to a researcher. Katsuo Nishiyama, professor emeritus of Shiga University of Medical Science and head of the group that requested the disclosure, told The Japan Times on Monday that “it is the first time that almost all of the real names and addresses of the unit’s members have been unveiled as a definitive and official document.” The history of secretive Unit 731 had long been concealed. Its commander, Lt. Gen. Shiro Ishii, and others received immunity from prosecution by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East after giving the United States its data on germ warfare. The list, dated Jan. 1, 1945, includes names, ranks and personal information — such as addresses and family members — of 52 surgeons, 49 engineers, 38 nurses and 1,117 combat medics, mainly those attached to the headquarters of the unit, which was officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army. Nishiyama announced the disclosure of the list at a news conference Saturday in Kyoto. The unit, which was established in 1936 to develop biological weapons, conducted research mostly using Chinese and Koreans who had been arrested on espionage charges. The research included infecting prisoners with germs before performing live vivisections on them, and deliberately causing frostbite to observe the process of necrosis. A request to the national archives to disclose the list was first filed by a group led by Nishiyama in 2015. Initially, the released list was mostly blacked out. But almost all of the names and ranks of the members were declassified in January after negotiations. Personal information on some individuals remains secret. A group led by Nishiyama plans to urge Kyoto University to determine the legitimacy of a university degree conferred on one of the medical officers in the unit, arguing his dissertation may have been based on experiments performed on living people. The group has been collecting signatures to back its request. Unit 731 was involved in research on more than 20 types of bacteria including anthrax, smallpox and botulinum. About 3,000 people worked at its headquarters in the suburbs of Harbin in what was then Manchuria. Historians believe that more than 3,000 people died in the human experiments. A U.S. Army report dated May 5, 1982, stated that the desire of various U.S. committees to keep the information on the experiments out of the public domain as well as the hands of the former Soviet Union, also factored into the decision not to prosecute Ishii. Although much of the information regarding the unit has been kept under wraps in the 70-plus years since the end of the war, Nishiyama said he hoped “the disclosure of the official documents will help in shedding more light on the unit and its history.” When asked about the social impact he hoped the disclosure would have, he replied that he “personally believes that Unit 731 has a collective responsibility to account for its war crimes, and that those crimes must be atoned for as a way of showing that those crimes will never be repeated.” The citizens’ group he leads is making a petition to have Kyoto University determine the legitimacy of a university degree conferred on a medical officer in the unit. To support its case, the group’s website draws on examples of suspected human experimentation that were disguised as experiments on monkeys. One example refers to a “monkey” that “complained of headache, fever, and lost appetite” — circumstantial evidence that indicates the experiments were conducted on humans instead. “Kyoto University has not made independent efforts to verify or atone for its role in wartime research. We hope that our petition will precipitate further verification by Kyoto University to look into the legitimacy of the dissertation,” Nishiyama added.The Kwantung Army was part of the Imperial Japanese Army and stationed in northeastern China, which was under Japanese control.


Fukuda scandal highlights how Japan's news outlets take advantage of their female employees

Abstract: For the past two weeks, media outlets in Japan have been interrogating themselves over the revelation that female reporters are exposed to sexual harassment due to the nature of their work. When weekly magazine Shukan Shincho published a story alleging that Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda, who has since quit, made sexually suggestive remarks to a woman assigned by her company to the Finance Ministry press club , the situation was complicated by the circumstances of the exchange. The woman had secretly recorded Fukuda’s remarks, an act considered by some to be a violation of journalistic ethics and an aspect the Finance Ministry exploited when it responded to the accusation by asking the reporter to talk to an outside lawyer who would handle its investigation . The reporter did not come forward, but then TV Asahi announced that the woman in question was its employee and she wanted to reveal the fact in order to bolster the credibility of her claim while remaining anonymous. At a midnight news conference on April 19, a spokesman for the broadcaster explained their actions . The assembled reporters asked why TV Asahi did not act directly on the reporter’s complaint when she first presented the company with the recording. Although the spokesman admitted they did not react “appropriately” to the complaint, he also said she shouldn’t have brought a conversation recorded during newsgathering activities to another media outlet. ( TV Asahi has since reversed this position .) The spokesman tempered these remarks with concern for the reporter’s well-being, saying that to bring the matter up publicly would have risked exposing her to secondary harm. However, as media critic Chiki Ogiue pointed out during an analysis of the news conference on his TBS radio show , TV Asahi was dancing around the issue. Based on the spokesman’s answers, Ogiue concluded that the company’s main fear was being ostracized by the Finance Ministry press club. Otherwise, why didn’t TV Asahi report Fukuda’s remarks? Saying the reporter’s deed was inappropriate — a sentiment later echoed more assertively by former Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura — doesn’t wash because the purpose of the recording was not, in fact, news-gathering but rather to gain evidence of Fukuda’s sexual harassing tendencies, which, according to Shincho, are known among the reporters who cover him. It was obvious to everyone who attended the news conference that the reporter made the recording to protect herself, and when TV Asahi refused to pursue the matter — either by immediately lodging a complaint with the Finance Ministry or running a story about Fukuda — she took the recording to Shincho. Ogiue’s show wasn’t the first media entity to bring up this point. Several days after Shincho published its initial article about Fukuda, daily tabloid Nikkan Gendai contended that the Finance Ministry’s purported investigation into the matter — implemented after Fukuda threatened to sue Shincho for defamation — was nothing more than “sophistry” because it knew no women reporters would expose themselves by giving testimony. The affected reporters most likely belong to the press club, which is run by the ministry, and press club reporters are not supposed to disclose details of meeting members outside of official functions, even though they do it all the time. One former NHK reporter told Gendai that the ministry’s gambit was “definitely a threat,” because media companies, already intimidated by the current administration’s more aggressive policing of the press, wouldn’t want to risk losing access to the government’s most powerful ministry. In 2015, TV Asahi let go of regular commentator Shigeaki Koga, reportedly because of his criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe . The only way they could address the harassment claim and protect their interests would be if they persuaded all mainstream media outlets to protest the ministry’s response in concert, and that wasn’t going to happen. Now, of course, the cat is out of the bag, since the Finance Ministry surely knows the identity of the TV Asahi reporter. Shincho and Gendai can make a fuss because they do not belong to the press club system. Moreover, they made their fortunes with often salacious stories, so their motivation for reporting the Fukuda matter is not necessarily one based on principle. If they see a chance to credibly discredit powerful people they will take it, but it doesn’t mean they are trying to bring down the patriarchy. Sexual harassment is a workplace problem, regardless of occupation, but reporters can be doubly affected. Last week, Shincho, the Tokyo Shimbun and The Japan Times published anonymous stories by female journalists who’d been harassed and assaulted by sources and colleagues. Media companies also need to look at their priorities. On Tuesday, TV Asahi held another news conference where they explained that their female reporter had avoided “one-on-one meetings” with Fukuda because he made her uncomfortable, but then the Moritomo and Finance Ministry scandals heated up again, and the company wanted her to re-engage with him, so when he called her to go drinking she accepted. During his April 20 Bunka Hoso radio show, writer and former Foreign Ministry official Masaru Sato condemned TV Asahi for its failure to follow protocol . Eventually, the broadcaster did lodge a formal complaint with the Finance Ministry, but it did not come from the president of the company and was not sent to Finance Minister Taro Aso. It was, instead, sent to Fukuda’s subordinate, thus indicating that TV Asahi still didn’t want to upset the ministry. Sato understands what’s at stake. “When I was a bureaucrat I always leaked information to reporters,” he said. “Everyone does.” It’s a standard ploy for advancing policies the administration may not like, but officials don’t leak to just any reporter, and so some media companies send women, he added. Male officials may be more willing to talk to them. Putting up with these men’s lewd behavior is part of the job. There’s even a name for these reporters: kunoichi , or “female ninja.”

sexual harassment
tv asahi
me too
juinichi fukuda


New Zealand rugby teams tackle diversity and risk in Japan

Abstract: With the Rugby World Cup approaching, New Zealand’s national men’s and women’s rugby teams appear to be using Japan as a backdrop to produce a series on videos that help promote their brand. On April 23, the All Blacks and Black Ferns launched a “diversity is strength” campaign with a stoic two-minute video that was filmed in front of a full stadium of rugby fans in Osaka. After outlining the teams’ all-conquering exploits on the field, the video describes the next “enemy” as being “truly formidable.” “It is discrimination,” the video says, “an enemy that cannot be fought alone and must be defeated together. It will take more than 15 (players on a team) — it will take thousands, millions.” Starring flanker Jerome Kaino , lock Sam Whitelock and halfback Kendra Cocksedge , the video shows the men’s and women’s squads in dressing rooms in Osaka before running onto the field and standing side by side. Placing their hands on their hearts, the players tug the fabric on their chests to show the rainbow colors of the LGBTQ flag, while similarly colored hues appear on jet trails above the stadium and on flags waved by supporters. Meanwhile, Japanese supporters watching on large TV screens outside the stadium join a man in a wheelchair and people of all nationalities around the ground in placing their hands on their chests. The video on the All Blacks’ Twitter feed has been retweeted 1,200 times and received 3,800 likes. It follows a video released in March last year that joins a group of the All Blacks squad, including lock Brodie Retallick , halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow and fullback Damian McKenzie , as they stalk the streets of Shibuya and knock people off their feet in a variety of bone-crunching tackles — seemingly for no reason. It later appears the athletes were actually saving these people’s lives — pushing a couple of office workers out of the path of falling scaffolding, preventing a high school girl from walking in front of a speeding truck and stopping a car from running over a family of ducks. The video, titled “Tackle the risk,” was retweeted more than 21,000 times and received more than 32,000 likes. Last week’s video comes in the wake of a controversial homophobic comment made by Wallabies star Israel Folau . Responding to a question on an image posted on Instagram in early April, Folau said that God’s plan for gay people was “HELL.” “Unless,” he added, “they repent of their sins and turn to God.” The Australian fullback subsequently wrote a column for the Players Voice website, arguing he didn’t mean to offend anyone but was quoting from the Bible, specifically 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10. That verse says that “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” “I believe the Bible is the truth and sometimes the truth can be difficult to hear,” Folau said. All Black halfback T.J. Perenara criticized the comments in a series of tweets supporting “diverse” sexual orientations. “Let it go on record that I am 100% against the comments that were made by Israel” he wrote. “It was not OK to say that. It’s not an attitude I want to see in the game I love. There is no justification for such harmful comments. “To anyone, young Māori/Pasifika people especially, who may be struggling with their identity — please know that it is OK to be you . You are perfect as you are. Do not let these comments keep you from being yourself. Polynesia has been sexually diverse since forever.” Perenara’s posts came a day after one-time All Black halfback Brad Weber also criticized Folau by saying: “Kinda sick of us players staying quiet on some of this stuff. I can’t stand that I have to play this game that I love with people, like Folau, who say what he’s saying.” It appears the issue of inclusivity won’t be far from the All Blacks’ mind when they face off against the Australian fullback in the opening test of this year’s Rugby Championship in Sydney on Aug. 18.


150 years since the Edo Castle surrender

Abstract: What’s done is done. But what if a historic negotiation over the surrender of Edo Castle between Saigo Takamori, who led the Imperial forces during the fall of Edo, and Katsu Kaishu, the shogunate’s army minister, had fallen through 150 years ago? The surrender of the fort, or the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate, which opened the door to Japan’s modernization, might not have happened, and what is now the nation’s capital could have gone up in flames. Edo, renamed Tokyo in September 1868, was controlled by the shogunate for 260 years, but it fell to the alliance of Satsuma and Choshu forces supportive of the formation of a new government under the restored Imperial rule of Emperor Meiji. One of the central conditions for the peaceful handover, which saved Edo and its population of more than 1 million from war, was to spare the life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th and last shogun. Emperor Meiji moved from Kyoto to his new residence in the castle, which today is part of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. With the help of photographs taken by Yokoyama Matsusaburo about 150 years ago, offered by the Edo-Tokyo Museum, and current images of the capital captured around the palace and its environs, the history of Edo Castle is revealed. Tourists take photos in front of the Otemon gate at the Imperial Palace in April. | YOSHIAKI MIURA The Otemon gate of Edo Castle is seen from outside the fort in 1871 in this photo taken by Yokoyama Matsusaburo. | COURTESY OF EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM Police officers guard the Imperial Palace’s Hanzomon gate in April. | YOSHIAKI MIURA People with an ox cart walk in front of Edo Castle’s Hanzomon gate in 1871. courtesy of edo-tokyo museum | COURTESY OF EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM Tourists walk past the Bairinmon gate at the Imperial Palace in April. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Edo Castle’s Bairinmon gate is seen in this photo taken by Yokoyama Matsusaburo in 1871. | COURTESY OF EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM A man jogs along the Sotosakurada moat at the Imperial Palace in April. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Edo Castle’s Sotosakurada moat is captured in this photo taken by Yokoyama Matsusaburo in 1871. | COURTESY OF EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM The statue of Saigo Takamori at Ueno Park in April. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Takamori Saigo (left) and Katsu Kaishu are illustrated in a monument. | YOSHIAKI MIURA A statue of Katsu Kaishu, the shogunate’s army minister, and Sakamoto Ryoma, a pro-Imperial activist assassinated in 1867, is placed near Akasaka Hikawa Shrine in Tokyo. The two nurtured a master-pupil relationship that helped with the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Shunichi Saito (right), president of Tokyo Port Brewery, which dates back to 1812, and his daughter, Kaede, show off the Edo Kaijo (Surrender of Edo Castle) sake brand in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on April 10. | YOSHIAKI MIURA The Tenshudai, or stone base of Edo Castle, is now a tourist destination at the Imperial Palace. | YOSHIAKI MIURA

history
meiji era
saigo takamori
edo castle
katsu kaishu


Japan ministers question fairness of Finance Ministry's sexual harassment probe

Abstract: Cabinet ministers and other lawmakers on Tuesday questioned the Finance Ministry’s handling of a probe into sexual harassment allegations made by female reporters against top bureaucrat Junichi Fukuda, after the ministry asked the reporters to come forward and speak to lawyers. “It’s a high hurdle for victims,” said internal affairs minister Seiko Noda, who is also in charge of female empowerment. “The reality is that such sexual harassment victims cannot even share their experience with family members.” Noda, one of the few female ministers in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso, to deal with the issue carefully. Fukuda, administrative vice minister, has denied the allegations and said he plans to sue the publisher of the Shukan Shincho magazine that broke the story for defamation. The magazine reported last week that Fukuda sexually harassed female reporters while out drinking. It also released an audio clip of the top bureaucrat allegedly making comments such as “Can I give you a hug?” and “Can I touch your breasts?” Fukuda denied the allegations during an interview with the Finance Ministry, saying that he has never made remarks that would “make a female reporter feel uncomfortable and that could be taken as sexual harassment.” To ensure objectivity, the ministry has turned to lawyers to look into the matter independently and asked female reporters who think they have been sexually harassed by Fukuda to come forward and contact the lawyers. But other ministers also joined Noda and expressed concern, saying that protection should be given to female reporters if they have been sexually harassed. “What’s important is not to make it too much of a burden on the part of women,” said Masaji Matsuyama, a state minister in charge of promoting active citizen participation. Shunichi Suzuki, the minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, said careful handling of the matter is necessary as the victims would feel more pain if their names are disclosed. Aso defended the ministry’s move to seek cooperation from female reporters and asked them to contact the attorneys. “We can’t do anything unless they come forward,” he told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. Since the sexual harassment allegations were reported, ruling and opposition party lawmakers have been stepping up calls for Fukuda to resign. “It’s out of touch with the feelings of the public,” said Seiko Hashimoto, an Upper House lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party. The turmoil comes as multiple scandals have undermined public support for the Cabinet. “I will fulfill my duties as head of the government to get to the bottom of each one of the issues to regain the confidence of the people,” Abe told reporters. The Finance Ministry has already been investigating the doctoring of files that pertain to a controversial state land sale to Moritomo Gakuen, a school operator with ties to Abe’s wife, Akie.

sexual harassment
finance ministry
junichi fukuda


Internet piracy taking major bite out of Japan's famed manga culture

Abstract: Japan’s renowned manga culture is facing a crisis. The spread of smartphones and tablet computers allows people to read e-comics anywhere at any time. According to the Research Institute for Publications, annual sales of digital comics last year grew 17.2 percent from the previous year to ¥171.1 billion, surpassing sales of their printed brethren for the first time. But this digitalization has also cast a shadow on the heart of Japanese pop culture. Amid the increasing e-comic readership, some free-riders let visitors read pirated manga online without charge while they line their own pockets with advertising revenue. One of the most notorious manga pirate websites in Japan drew a whopping 174 million visitors in the month of March, making it the 25th busiest website in Japan, according to web analysis tool SimilarWeb. The number was a dramatic increase from the 690,000 visitors it attracted in September. The rapid growth of piracy websites has prompted publishing houses and the government to campaign against piracy, hoping to protect one of Japan’s famed cultural export items. But so far no silver bullet has been found. Here is a closer look at the current picture of comic book piracy in Japan and the struggles of the manga industry: Why does manga piracy matter? Manga creators aren’t being compensated fairly because no royalties are paid for content that is distributed without the consent of the copyright holders. A Tokyo-based manga creators’ group, Manga Japan, has expressed concern that the comic book industry may eventually perish if manga piracy continues unabated on the web. While some legitimate services let visitors read e-comics for free, they are contracted to pay royalties to creators, unlike piracy websites, Manga Japan says. The group is urging readers not to access such websites. Piracy websites “only care about making money. They don’t care about how they will affect the future of manga creators. They are not manga fans. They are just exploiting it,” the group said in a statement. Another group of content creators, the Japan Cartoonists Association, says that while it is “truly wonderful” that more people can enjoy manga on computers and mobile phones, the business ecosystem that nurtured Japan’s manga culture has been devastated by “some thoughtless companies.” Damage done by pirated comics to the domestic manga market may have reached ¥50 billion, according to research commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and released in 2014. The damage in the U.S. was even more severe: An estimated ¥1.3 trillion may have been lost to piracy. Isn’t it illegal to spread pirated copies? Uploading illegal copies obviously violates copyright law. But cracking down isn’t so easy, says Orie Kishimoto, counselor for the Cabinet Office’s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters. Japan’s most notorious piracy website takes the form of a “leech site,” which aggregates links to manga, music, videos and other computer files uploaded on other websites, she said. Such websites often claim they don’t violate copyright law because they neither upload the files themselves nor have illegal copies on their own computer servers. But last October, police arrested nine people on suspicion of violating copyright laws by running a website containing links to illegal copies of content. Another difficulty lies in identifying who runs the malicious websites and where they are located, making it difficult for copyright holders to file a lawsuit, Kishimoto said. One notorious piracy website claims it is breaking no laws because its management body exists in a country “which doesn’t have diplomatic relations” with Japan and therefore this nation’s copyright protection doesn’t apply. In addition, copyright law cannot be used against people who read or download pirated comics online. The current law applies to downloading illegal copies of music and videos, but it does not apply to image files like manga. “Although we can’t say what you are doing is illegal, people (who read pirated copies) should realize that you are hurting manga creators and destroying a significant base of Japan’s prized manga culture,” Kishimoto said. Are there any effective countermeasures? The government has taken a number of measures, but “no definitive solution has been found,” Kishimoto said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched a joint campaign last month with China and South Korea to urge people not to access pirate websites. But “it’s difficult to make people listen to us without naming actual illegal websites. If we do, that would make more people learn about such websites and, as a result, more people may access them. That is a difficult part,” Kishimoto said. With no solution in sight to eradicate manga piracy, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said last month that the government will consider more proactive measures, including blocking access to pirate websites. Kishimoto said the government plans to announce a new strategic program on protecting intellectual property in May, which may include “some new measures” to combat piracy. But some critics claim that shutting down access to a certain website would violate the Constitution, which states: “No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated.” A similar debate on internet freedom occurred in the U.S. over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which triggered protests by some major websites such as Google and Wikipedia in 2012.

internet
manga
intellectual property
copyrights


Bitcoin heist suspect flees Iceland on flight carrying prime minister: state broadcaster

Abstract: REYKJAVIK - An Icelandic man arrested on suspicion of stealing about 600 computers used to mine the cryptocurrency bitcoin escaped prison and fled the country on a commercial flight to Sweden, Icelandic state broadcaster RUV said on Wednesday. The same Icelandair flight was also taking Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir to a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Stockholm, RUV reported, without specifying its sources. The escapee was among 11 people arrested on Feb. 2 on suspicion of taking the computers with an estimated value of 200 million Icelandic crowns ($2 million), Icelandic police said at the time. No criminal case in Iceland has ever involved larger sums of money. RUV, quoting Pall Winkel, director of Iceland’s Prison and Probation Administration, said the man escaped from an open, minimum-security prison early on Tuesday and boarded the Icelandair flight the same morning to Stockholm. It said the heist suspect remained at large and Icelandic police had asked their Swedish counterparts for help in apprehending him. “Swedish police have, as have other European countries, been informed by Iceland about a detained man who has escaped,” Swedish national police spokeswoman Malin Nafver said, declining to comment further. Officials at Iceland’s prison and probation administration could not be reached for comment. The stolen computers were specially programmed to mine bitcoin. Police have yet to locate the computers.


Finance Ministry's top bureaucrat quits over sex harassment claims, dealing another blow to Abe government

Abstract: In a fresh blow to the scandal-hit Abe administration, the Finance Ministry’s top bureaucrat, Administrative Vice Minister Junichi Fukuda, was forced to step down Wednesday after a weekly magazine publicized last week a voice recording of what it claimed was him sexually harassing a female journalist. “I can’t continue my duty in this situation,” Fukuda, 58, told reporters on Wednesday in announcing his resignation. Fukuda also reiterated his denial of the allegations made by the magazine, saying he still plans to file a lawsuit against the publisher. “I haven’t made any remarks like those reported” by the Shukan Shincho, Fukuda said. Last week’s issue of the weekly Shukan Shincho carried an article quoting several anonymous female reporters saying Fukuda repeatedly harassed them with sexual remarks during one-on-one meetings. The magazine also uploaded recorded conversation onto YouTube in which a man believed to be Fukuda can be heard saying, “Can I touch your boobs?,” “Should we have an affair when the budget is enacted?” and “I will tie your hands.” Asked if the recorded voice is genuine or not, Fukuda said on Wednesday that he himself can’t tell because he normally hears his own voice echoing inside his own head. Fukuda has from the beginning denied the allegations made by the magazine, and Finance Minister Taro Aso earlier said he was not thinking of investigating or punishing the vice minister. Then Shukan Shincho posted the YouTube clip, which led to Fukuda stepping down. The latest scandal could impact the government’s plan to raise the consumption tax to 10 percent from the current 8 percent in October next year, with economists saying the incident may make it even more politically difficult to raise the unpopular tax, given growing frustration by voters with the Finance Ministry. Asked about a possible negative effect on tax policy, Fukuda emphasized on Wednesday that any scandals involving ministry officials and policy matters should be addressed separately. “It would be really regrettable if my lack of virtue impacts” policy matters at the Finance Ministry, he said. In the uploaded YouTube video, Shincho erased the voice of a person that is alleged to be the female journalist to protect her privacy. Meanwhile, in a move that has drawn strong public criticism, the Finance Ministry has urged reporters who believe they were harassed by Fukuda to come forward and help in its investigation into the magazine’s allegations. Critics blasted the idea, saying in many cases, particular for women, it is extremely difficult for victims of sexual harassment to come forward in public, given their weak positions in the work place. Joining the Finance Ministry in 1982, Fukuda took up the position in July last year after serving in a number of key roles at the powerful ministry, including the head of the Budget Bureau. The latest scandal is likely to further weaken the political clout of the Finance Ministry, whose public reputation has already been heavily damaged by a document-tapering scandal involving ultra-nationalist school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which once had close ties with Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Last month Aso admitted that some ministry officials falsified dozens of sections of government documents related to the ministry’s heavily discounted land sale deal with Moritomo Gakuen. Deleted sections included all mention of the first lady, which has deepened public suspicion that the ministry gave an 86 percent discount to the school operator believing the first lady might have been behind its bid to buy the land for the school in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture.


Opposition parties abstain from Diet deliberations over alleged sexual harassment by Finance Ministry official

Abstract: Six opposition parties jointly refused Thursday to arrange any new Diet deliberations in protest over alleged sexual harassment of female reporters by a top Finance Ministry official. The official had resigned abruptly over the claims the day before, but political turmoil from the scandal continued to play out as the opposition parties stepped up political pressure on Finance Minister Taro Aso to also resign immediately. Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary-general of largest opposition force the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, met his counterpart Toshihiro Nikai of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the Diet and demanded the immediate resignation of Aso, who was responsible for the appointment of ex-Vice Administrative Minister Junichi Fukuda. The scandal surfaced after weekly magazine Shukan Shincho uploaded last week to YouTube a recording of a conversation involving man believed to be Fukuda. Fukuda has denied the allegations. On Wednesday night, TV Asahi announced that one of its employees had been harassed by Fukuda, confirming the magazine report. The revelation significantly eroded the credibility of Fukuda’s denial and provided more ammunition to opposition lawmakers who had already been trying to force Aso to step down. “We want the government and the ruling parties to quickly give us a response. Until then, we won’t attend any talks” to arrange new parliamentary sessions, the six parties said in a joint letter to Nikai. The new scandal adds to the troubles faced by the Finance Ministry and Abe’s Cabinet, with the government already having been hit by a number of controversies in which key government officials are suspected of having lied to defend the administration. Political observers say Aso could eventually be forced to resign. The 77-year-old lawmaker is also responsible for appointing Nobuhisa Sagawa, who resigned as the head of the National Tax Agency last month. Sagawa stepped down in the wake of a scandal involving the falsification of government documents regarding the ministry’s suspicious land deal with school operator Moritomo Gakuen. If Aso resigns, it would serve a severe blow to Abe’s administration because he has been one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s closest and most powerful allies. The intraparty LDP faction led by Aso would be given a free hand to decide which candidate it would support in the LDP’s September presidential race, in which Abe plans to seek re-election. The female employee said to have been subject to the harassment, whose name is being withheld by TV Asahi, conducted one-on-on meetings with Fukuda as part of her job. She had a conversation with Fukuda on April 4 in which he sexually harassed her, according to Shincho and the network. Each time Fukuda made sexually aggressive comments, which prompted her to record later conversations “to protect herself,” Hiroshi Shinozuka, the head of the network’s news division, told a news conference. “This worker was concerned that sexual harassment (by Fukuda) would be tacitly accepted (by the parties involved) unless his inappropriate acts were revealed to the public,” Shinozuka said. TV Asahi admitted that it refused to respond when the employee first reported the harassment to a supervisor, which worsened her suffering. The woman had proposed that the TV station report on Fukuda’s conduct, but the supervisor rejected the idea, apparently fearing that she would be identified publicly and face further psychological harm. The denial from her supervisor eventually prompted her to approach the weekly magazine, Shinozuka said. “We are doing some deep soul-searching over the fact that we could not appropriately respond when the employee in question reported the sexual harassment,” Shinozuka said in a prepared statement. TV Asahi said it would file a “strong protest” with the Finance Ministry over Fukuda’s conduct and denials, Shinozuka said. Nonetheless, the news organization believes it was “inappropriate” for the woman to provide information, including audio recordings, to an outside party, because she obtained the information through her duties gathering news, Shinozuka said. The alleged sexual harassment has sparked debates over various issues related to the protection of women’s rights and journalism. Some have slammed TV Asahi for failing to respond to the initial complaint by the female employee. TV Asahi admitted it was a grave mistake, but has also criticized the woman for approaching the weekly magazine and providing that outlet with the voice recordings after her proposal to TV Asahi was rejected. During the news conference Shinozuka was asked which parties he believes committed the more serious error — the supervisor or the woman in question. He declined to answer. Meanwhile the Finance Ministry has been criticized for issuing a statement urging any female reporters who believe they were harassed by Fukuda to contact a lawyer hired by the ministry and help its investigation into the magazine’s allegations. Critics say in many cases it is extremely difficult for female victims of sexual harassment to come forward, given their often vulnerable position in the workplace. On Wednesday, major media organizations that belong to the ministry’s press club issued a letter of protest refusing to cooperate with the ministry’s investigation. It is not clear whether the rights of victims would be properly protected by the lawyer hired by the ministry, and journalists are generally urged to keep their sources of information confidential, the letter said.

media
sexual harassment
finance ministry
tv asahi
junichi fukuda


Scientists discover hormone that helps plants sense drought

Abstract: Plants deserve more credit. They can’t move to find food or water, or to escape a predator. But that doesn’t mean they are helpless — far from it. They don’t have eyes, ears, a nose or mouth, but they can sense the world remarkably well — in some cases better than we can. For example, as you might expect, plants are highly sensitive to light. Humans have three different kinds of light-receptors in their eyes to sense light; plants have 15. Plants can monitor light levels very precisely, from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Plants’ powers of communication are also extraordinary. A plant being eaten by a predator such as a caterpillar will release ethylene, and this warns other plants that there is a threat nearby. If you look at a tree infested by herbivores and nearby trees that are untouched, you’ll find that the uneaten trees have produced protective chemicals that render them unpalatable to predators. Ethylene is also produced as fruit ripens, and the gas is sensed by other plants and promotes ripening in them, too. It means fruits ripen at the same time, which attracts the animals needed to eat them and disperse the seeds. If you cut a tomato plant, proteins are produced in response in many distant parts of the plant. There is also evidence of electrical processing of information in the roots of plants that is analogous to what we see in the animal brain. Now, from the Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, comes the discovery of a hormone that helps plants sense drought. It’s a reminder that plants are far more sophisticated than we often give them credit for. “People think that plants are static because they do not move,” says Fuminori Takahashi, of CSRS. “However, in plants there is close and active communication between tissues separated by large distances.” The root can tell the shoot what is going on in the soil, and the information allows the plants to adapt when environmental conditions turn stressful. Plant scientists suspected this communication was going on but, until Takahashi’s discovery, they didn’t know how. A lack of water is one of the most important factors that limits plant growth. The hormone identified by Takahashi and colleagues helps plants retain water when none is available in the soil. The hormone moves through the plant circulatory system in an analogous way to how animal hormones move through the body. For example, if you have low blood pressure, your body produces the hormone vasopressin. The hormone circulates through the body in the blood and causes your arteries to constrict, which increases your blood pressure back to normal levels. Takahashi’s study shows, for the first time, that plants have a similar mobile hormone that can travel through the plant’s body. “The hormone modulates root-to-shoot communications in response to drought stress conditions,” says Takahashi, “and transmits information about the lack of water in soil from root to leaves, to prevent water loss.” Now they have identified the hormone, the team plans to modify it. “We are working on modified peptides that are more effective for stress resistance than the natural ones,” Takahashi says. The team is also working on ways to mix hormones into fertilizer to enhance drought and salt resistance of crops in the field. Scientists have shown in the past that communication goes on between plants. If plants are subjected to drought conditions, those that are in contact via the root system close the stomata, the holes on the leaves that let the plants breathe but which also allow water vapor to escape. The plants are basically shutting up shop in preparation for drought. Perhaps the signal is a hormone such as the one discovered by Takahashi — but this remains to be discovered. The Tsukuba scientists use a plant called Arabidopsis, which is more commonly known as thale cress. It’s a weed; you might see it growing in a crack in the road and think nothing of it. But it was the first plant to have its complete genome sequenced and is grown in labs all over the world. That such a humble and boring-looking plant can yield such deep discoveries is a reminder of how much we still have to learn about the living world.


Government looks to relax requirements for bus and taxi licenses amid labor crunch

Abstract: A National Police Agency panel began talks Wednesday to ease eligibility requirements for those looking to take tests for bus and taxi licenses, in response to chronic labor shortages due to Japan’s graying workforce. The panel, which includes a university professor familiar with the Penal Code and an automotive journalist, will draw up recommendations by the end of March 2019. Currently, people taking such tests must be at least 21 years old and have held an ordinary driving licenses for three years. Under a special rule currently under discussion, the minimum number of licensed years could be cut to two for those who have finished courses at designated driving schools. But those who acquire ordinary licenses at the age of 18 will remain unable to acquire bus or taxi licenses until they turn 21.

national police agency
taxi
drivers ' license


In historic ruling, court says Italian state negotiated with mafia

Abstract: PALERMO, ITALY - An Italian court convicted former high-ranking state officials and mob bosses on Friday for holding secret negotiations in the early 1990s following a devastating wave of mafia murders and bombings. Speaking in a high-security “bunker” courtroom on the outskirts of Palermo, Judge Alfredo Montalto ruled that the negotiations had damaged the interests of the state as he shed light on one of the murkiest chapters in recent Italian history. After the verdict, members of the public clapped and cheered the prosecutors who brought the case to trial five years ago, two decades after a string of mafia bombs and assassinations killed 23 people, including prominent anti-mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. The deadly attacks prompted politicians and state representatives to negotiate with the Sicilian Mafia, then led by the bloodthirsty Corleone crime family. “What the ruling says is that parts of the state acted as go-between for requests from the mob,” said prosecutor Antonino Di Matteo, who lives under armed guard and has been the target of numerous death threats from the Sicilian mob, or Cosa Nostra. “As judges were being blown up, some people in the state helped Cosa Nostra,” he said. “This is a historic ruling.” During the tumultuous years of 1992-93 in Italy, the “Bribesville” corruption investigations brought down the political establishment. Media magnate Silvio Berlusconi stepped into the vacuum, winning the national election in 1994. Marcello Dell’Utri, a former senator and close associate of Berlusconi, brokered a deal with the mob to stop the attacks, according to Friday’s ruling. Berlusconi was not on trial. Dell’Utri was sentenced to 12 years in prison for undermining the state, as were two retired Carabinieri (paramilitary police) generals and an ex-colonel. Dell’Utri is already serving a seven-year sentence for mafia collusion. Former interior minister Nicola Mancino was acquitted for false testimony. A convicted killer for the Corleone mafia family, Leoluca Bagarella, was handed 28 years and Antonio Cina, another high-ranking Corleone mobster, got 12 years. Both are already in prison. The Corleone bosses of that period, Salvatore “Toto” Riina and Bernardo “the Tractor” Provenzano, are dead. The son of convicted Corleone mafia member, Vito Ciancimino, was sentenced to eight years for slander. The defendants can appeal the first degree ruling twice and are not required to serve their sentences in the meantime. According to prosecutors, the talks between the mafia and the Italian state began after judge Falcone, his wife and three bodyguards were assassinated by a bomb under a motorway in 1992. The state’s willingness to enter negotiations after Falcone’s murder encouraged further bombings, prosecutors said, including the one that killed Borsellino two months later, because he had learned of — and opposed — the negotiations. The following year Cosa Nostra stepped up the pressure with unprecedented mainland attacks on cultural and church targets, including Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. Ten people were killed in Milan and Florence. After 1993, the attacks abruptly stopped.

violence murder courts italy mafia gangs


Sumo incident in Kyoto rekindles gender debate in the ring

Abstract: In Japan’s ancient Shinto religion, purity comes before morality. Indeed, purity is morality. Women are impure. They menstruate and bear children. The exclusion of women from certain religious and ceremonial functions went unquestioned for millennia. It no longer does — but it is not extinct either. The nation was reminded of this in the city of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, on April 4, when, during a tour of the provinces by sumo wrestlers, the city’s 66-year-old mayor, Ryozo Tatami, collapsed due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage while greeting the audience. Among those who rushed into the dohyō (sumo ring) to assist Tatami were two female medical professionals. (While their faces clearly appeared in photos and videos, their names have so far been kept out of the news.) Soon afterward the referee ordered, via the public address system, “ Josei wa dohyō kara orite kudasai ” (“Women, please leave the ring”). Tradition dictates that the sumo ring adheres to the old proscription of nyonin kinsei (females prohibited) and, to repair possible “damage,” attendants subsequently performed a purification ritual, festooning the straw ring with heaping piles of salt. The incident in Maizuru rekindled an ongoing debate about where to draw the lines — if lines need to be drawn — between “gender separation,” which is supposedly OK, and “discrimination,” which is not. “If the women had complied with the order to exit the ring, it’s possible the mayor might have died,” an unnamed sports reporter remarked to Shukan Taishu (April 30). “Since complying with that order would be akin to leaving him for dead, it’s natural that demanding the women leave the ring would be criticized.” Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku later apologized, conceding that “the referee … made an inappropriate response because the situation could have been life-threatening.” He also thanked the women “for giving first-aid treatment.” A female impersonator who goes by the stage name “Matsuko Deluxe” told MX TV that “if the young referee who made the announcement believes, from the bottom of his heart, that the ring is a ‘godly place’ from which women should be banned, then it can’t be helped. But at the very least, the people who make such judgments ought to demonstrate a little subtlety.” At least one subsequent event has already fallen casualty to the controversy. The Hochi Sports newspaper (April 12) reported that organizers of the regional Mount Fuji-Shizuoka sumo tournament, scheduled for April 8, had been requested by the Sumo Association to exclude girls — who had previously been allowed to take part — from its “Chibikko Sumo” event for children. In this regard, Yasuko Ikenobo, a former politician who since 2014 has served as chairperson of the seven-member council that serves as the Sumo Association’s key decision-making body, said in a telephone interview broadcast on Fuji TV: “I suppose there are parts than can be changed, and parts that don’t need to be changed, and to think about such things from now is a good thing. First, though, I’d like to see a woman become prime minister.” Actually sumo has been grappling with this issue on and off for decades. Interestingly, the “Sumo Daijiten” (“Dictionary of Sumo”), a comprehensive reference work of nearly 500 pages published under the supervision of the Sumo Association, contains five entries concerning the once-popular but now-defunct onna-zumo — sumo competition by females — but no entry on banning women from the ring. On April 9, the “Hiru Nan Desu” afternoon variety program on Nihon TV devoted nearly an hour covering the current controversy, looking back on the social history of banning women. Women were once, for instance, not allowed to enter tunnels while under construction or perform in kabuki dramas. The premodern Tokugawa government banned women from the stage in the early 17th century. Yet another proscription was to work as a sushi chef. And still another was climbing Mount Fuji. Indeed it was not until 1869 that Fanny Parkes, wife of British Ambassador Harry Parkes, openly climbed the mountain. Nearby residents no doubt shook their heads in bewilderment and braced for an eruption, which has yet to occur. J-Cast News (April 10) reported that only last year Ferrari’s Japan distributor rented out Ryogoku Sumo Hall to promote its car atop an actual-size model of a sumo ring. Why didn’t anyone protest this “desecration” of the dohyō? A spokesperson for the automaker told J-Cast News: “The dohyō used for the event was not a real one, but a model. The event company had informed the Sumo Association of its plan, and no particular objections were raised.” Shukan Taishu magazine used the Maizuru incident to lambaste sumo for numerous other anmoku no okite (tacit laws) that have nothing to do with allowing females into the ring. They include what is essentially a ban on foreign travel. “Previously wrestlers were required to submit an application before going overseas, but following last November’s Kyushu Tournament, the association stopped issuing permission, resulting in an effective ban,” explained a sumo journalist. “It’s a pity that foreign wrestlers can’t make return visits to their home countries even during the new year.” In addition, there are said to be “three big taboos” among practitioners of the sport: “stealing,” “smoking” and the “exposing of secrets.” The third refers to violence inside the sumo stable or other scandalous acts. “Even though the Sumo Association is conducting a survey among all active wrestlers concerning violence, because of this code of silence, there’s no chance of anything coming out,” the aforementioned sumo reporter said. While it appears that the Sumo Association has become increasingly sensitive to criticism from the public, it hasn’t had much luck at adopting an effective system for crisis management.


'Chikan,' the Japanese term for groping, is increasingly being recognized abroad

Abstract: Over the past six months, media organizations at home and abroad have published articles that have examined whether or not Japan has embraced the Me Too movement . The social media campaign, which encouraged victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak up about their experiences, initially failed to gain much traction in Japan, and it wasn’t until journalist Shiori Ito made certain allegations in public against a former bureau chief for TBS Television that it caught the general public’s attention. The Mainichi Shimbun , however, recently wondered whether Japan could actually have pushed this agenda a little earlier, taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese term for groping — chikan — has become something of an internationally recognized term. According to the Mainichi report, there’s even a possibility that the Japanese word for groping could follow in the footsteps of “ karōshi ,” a term that Oxford Dictionary now defines as meaning “ death caused by overwork or job-related exhaustion .” Figures from the Metropolitan Police Department show that 1,750 cases of groping or molestation were reported in 2017 , of which 30 percent occurred between 7 and 9 a.m. during the morning rush hour. More than 50 percent of sexual harassment cases occurred on trains, the report says, with a further 20 percent occuring in train stations. The age of groping victims included in the Metropolitan Police Department report ranges from less than 10 years old to more than 50. Precisely, 0.4 percent of victims in the report were younger than 10 years old, followed by 28.3 percent of teenagers, 42.6 percent of victims in their 20s, 11.3 percent in their 30s, 3.3 percent in their 40s, 1 percent in their 50s and 13.1 percent unknown. Both British and Canadian government websites have used the term “chikan” in their warnings to visitors of sexual harassment on public transportation for a number of years. In its website’s “Safety and Security” section, the British government warns visitors that “ reports of inappropriate touching or ‘chikan’ of female passengers on commuter trains are fairly common .” If ever confronted with an experience of “inappropriate touching,” the U.K. government advises travelers to follow the police’s recommendation and “shout at the perpetrator to attract attention and ask a fellow passenger to call the train staff.” Twitter user @koichi_kawakami appeared to be astonished by this fact. “I searched the British government’s website to check if it was really true,” he wrote. “The term ‘chikan’ was really there.” Meanwhile, a novel about a Japanese woman who was a victim of groping was published last October in France. The novel by French author Emmanuel Arnaud and the protagonist of the novel, Kumi Sasaki, outline the woman’s experiences as a victim of groping on Tokyo’s JR Yamanote Line at the age of 12. Twitter user @hyodo_masatoshi posted a despondent response to news that the term “chikan” was being recognized internationally. “Japan has been recognized as a nation of groping,” he posted. “And the reason is due to working men’s desire for domination and stress. I can see that karōshi can often be related to sex crimes. I’ve read somewhere that some overseas people see Japan as a perverted nation — it’s a notion that’s hard to deny.” Although the terms “chikan” and “karōshi” have started to be recognized internationally, it’s worth noting that they follow in the footsteps of terms that have also conveyed numerous positive influences. Take terms such as karaoke, haiku, ukiyo-e and manga , for example, to name just a few. Twitter user @haraxmaki takes a practical view of the news. “It’s important to note that chikan is now an international word,” @haraxmaki writes, adding a hashtag that called on followers to “avoid allowing discrimination on trains and to protect safety.” Twitter user @okeinan1 asks the question many of us wonder. “Our society makes it easy for gropers,” @okeinan1 writes. “We say that groping is a crime and yet despite the measures taken against this issue — for example, by establishing women-only carriages — the number of groping victims does not seem to be decreasing. Instead, the word has become recognized worldwide. Will it ever be possible to eradicate groping from society?” We can only hope for an answer to the affirmative — the morning commute is difficult enough without having to worry about whether or not you’re going to be violated.

sexual harassment
groping
chikan
japan pulse


Could jealousy link the Financial Ministry scandals together?

Abstract: Although not directly related, the allegation that former Administrative Vice Minister Junichi Fukuda was a sexual harasser was initially reported as a sideshow to the ongoing Moritomo Gakuen influence scandal that is dogging both Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Finance Ministry. Fukuda was the top bureaucrat in the ministry and, thus, more intimately connected to its operations than Finance Minister Taro Aso, who responded to the story, broken by weekly magazine Shukan Shincho and denied by Fukuda, by saying he had scolded the vice minister but, pending concrete evidence of any harassment, wouldn’t fire him. Then Fukuda quit . However, the damage was already done. The Finance Ministry has already admitted to falsifying documents that could indicate favoritism toward Moritomo for its proposed Osaka primary school in deference to Abe’s wife, Akie, because she was going to be the honorary head of the school. Fukuda was not in charge of the ministry at the time of the falsification, and the press wasn’t saying that Aso was trying to protect him or the ministry for anything related to Moritomo. What they were saying is that both scandals represent a sea change in the relationship between the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet. As explained by former TV Asahi reporter Koji Kawamura during an April 13 discussion of the situation on the web channel Democracy Times , the bureaucratic head of the Finance Ministry was once the most powerful person in Japan. When Kawamura was covering the ministry in the late 1970s and early ’80s, it was still called the Okurasho in Japanese, and prime ministers would defer to the administrative vice minister on economic-related decisions. According to Kawamura, when then-Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone promised during a campaign speech that he would not introduce an “indirect tax,” he was immediately warned by then-Administrative Vice Minister Yoshihiko Yoshino not to say such a thing in public ever again, since the Finance Ministry’s goal was to implement an indirect tax. Journalist Kensuke Karube relates the same story in his new book about Abe’s economic policies as a prelude to the power shift that came about when the Okurasho split into the current Zaimusho (Finance Ministry) and Kinyucho (Financial Services Agency) in 2000-01 after losing control of monetary policy to the Bank of Japan in 1998. Kawamura claims that, ever since then, the caliber of Finance Ministry employees has declined significantly. Advancement is everything in a bureaucracy, and competition within the Okurasho for promotions was fierce, producing officials who could wield their authority with confidence and expertise. Competition is no less fierce today, but since 2014 promotions are all about who can suck up to the administration more convincingly, since they are no longer decided internally but overseen by the new Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs . The elected government has the upper hand. These circumstances were outlined by former Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto on an Abema TV talk show on March 15 after a viewer asked about the “responsibility” of Abe and Aso for the Moritomo scandal. Hashimoto answered that if this type of incident had happened in “a commercial company,” the CEO would have to resign but the relationship between the political administration and the civil service is different. Each has to fight the other for what it wants, but in the past the Finance Ministry was always more powerful, using its status to intimidate. The top university graduates have always gravitated to Kasumigaseki, the heart of the national bureaucracy, and the best of those to the Finance Ministry, where they cultivated a superior attitude toward the rest of the public sector. As the Nakasone anecdote suggests, the Finance Ministry had always advocated for an indirect consumption tax. It finally got one in 1989, but it wasn’t enough. When the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan was the ruling party, it agreed to eventually increase the tax to 10 percent, but in 2012 it lost the government to the resurgent Liberal Democratic Party and Abe, who has since postponed the planned hike to 10 percent for political reasons. In addition, Abe said the tax will pay for social security, thus angering the Finance Ministry, which has always wanted to apply it to debt reduction. If the Finance Ministry thinks the government is politically vulnerable, they push their agenda more forcefully, says Hashimoto, but they saw the Abe Cabinet as being strong and, since it now controls their fate, they do what they can to please the prime minister. That’s why they allegedly approved the drastically discounted Moritomo land sale and then falsified documents after the Asahi Shimbun broke the story, he says. If the daily hadn’t reported it, it would have been “a perfect crime,” in Hashimoto’s words. Abe’s mistake, he adds, is that he didn’t acknowledge the Finance Ministry’s deed. If he had ordered a proper investigation a year ago, the scandal would have gone away, but he didn’t want to admit to being the possible cause of it, even if he had no direct involvement in the decision to give Moritomo a discount. According to financial journalist Hiroko Ogiwara during the April 13 Democracy Times discussion, the “sudden” decision to approve the discounted land sale coincided with Abe’s announcement that he was postponing the consumption tax hike for a second time. The Finance Ministry was determined to change his mind, but they were confounded by the trade ministry, which is against the hike and has more influence over Abe since many of his aides formerly worked for the trade ministry. In that regard, the subtext that connects the Moritomo and Fukuda scandals could be class jealousy. Although Abe is the scion of a powerful political dynasty, he graduated from unexceptional Seikei University and seems to resent the University of Tokyo graduates who run the Finance Ministry . To the media, that’s what makes the Moritomo scandal so delicious: “Elite” bureaucrats trying to score brownie points with a relatively unsophisticated prime minister. Who can resist such a tale?

sexual harassment
moritomo gakuen
junichi fukuda


Magazines indulge Japan's healthy obsession with staying spry

Abstract: Last September, travel data service Recruit Lifestyle Jalan, asked adults in a nationwide survey about what they had recently become interested in or concerned about. In the findings, released in February, the top three responses were diet, travel and health and relaxation. In a follow-up question, subjects were asked, “What topics are you taking more of an interest in now than previously?” Again, the top responses given (in percent) were health and relaxation (62.8), travel (61.8) and food (59.5). Broken down into age groups, respondents showed increased interest in pursuing a healthy lifestyle across the board. This may account for the recent surge of articles in the weekly magazines about diet, health and avoiding illnesses. Which brings us to the subject of a dish referred to as “Popeye bacon.” Would you like to venture a guess at what this might be? Well, Popeye bacon is the colloquial name for slices of bacon sauteed with spinach, a popular appetizer found on menus at family restaurants and izakaya (Japanese pubs). In Flash (April 17), dietician Reimi Aso advises avoiding it. But if you insist on chowing down, she suggests squeezing juice from a fresh lemon over it to curb absorption of nitrosamine, a substance in cured meats that has been known to be carcinogenic since as long ago as 1956. The gist of the Flash article is “the potential dangers of foods that appear to be good for health.” Other items to avoid eating in combination include black tea with lemon (carcinogens present), nattō (fermented soybeans) with hot rice (damages enzymes), pork liver with beer (breaks down iron) and a fresh salad with non-oil dressing (destroys vitamins A, E and K). Instead, the magazine recommends: an egg salad sandwich and vitamin C drink (good anti-aging properties); a grilled salmon bento lunch box with cheese on the side (wards off diseases blamed on poor diet, lack of exercise and other unhealthy lifestyles); fresh avocado with raw tuna (fortifies the protein in the fish); and cold sliced chicken breast with umeboshi (pickled plum) (aids in recovery from fatigue). Shukan Asahi (April 6) reviews the market for chocolate confections after the passing of Valentine’s Day and White Day (March 14). It seems that as more people become aware of the purported beneficial properties of chocolate, sales have been booming. Citing industry-wide figures for 2016, the total sales of ¥526 billion represent 30 percent growth over the previous decade. Some years ago, sales of chocolate surpassed Japanese-style confections, and its lead continues to grow. A key factor behind the growth has been so-called high-cacao products, which consist of at least 70 percent cacao — roughly double the amount in conventional chocolate candies. The buyers of these are believed to be older people who purchase them for their supposed health benefits. The high-cacao share of the overall market has expanded from 1 percent in 2013 to 6.3 percent last year. Lotte, which observes its 70th anniversary this year, boasts that it has invested an additional ¥32 billion in new facilities that should raise its production capacity by 40 percent. Meiji HD, meanwhile, announced an outlay of some ¥27 billion for equipment at its plants in Saitama and Osaka. Sunday Mainichi (April 8) turns to the subject of a food highly popular with Japanese, the ika (squid or cuttlefish). “Japanese are a rare case in the world in that they are a people with an unmistakable love for cuttlefish,” the article asserts. As proof, it lists the many ways to prepare and consume it, ranging from sashimi, as a side dish with sōmen (wheat noodles), shiokara (eaten with its own salted intestines), dried squid jerky, raw with nattō, pan-fried and so on. While about 15 species of ika are commonly eaten, according to professor Yuzuru Ikeda of Ryukyu University, the overwhelming majority, accounting for 80 to 90 percent, is surume ika (Todarodes pacificus), also known as the “Japanese flying squid” because it avoids predators by propelling itself a distance of up to 30 meters above the ocean surface. In passing, Ikeda adds that the cuttlefish is quite intelligent. “Among invertebrates they have a high learning ability and their abilities for memorizing and learning have been recognized,” he says. The article also notes that as squid contain such substances as DHA and EPA, consuming them will benefit the liver. And their umami mixes well with such vegetables as satoimo (taro) or grated giant radish. Asahi Geino (April 12) examines the rankings of healthy life expectancy in Japan’s 47 prefectures, as compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The top three for males (with number of years in brackets) were Yamanashi (73.21), Saitama (73.1) and Aichi (73.06), and for females, Aichi (76.32), Mie (76.3) and Yamanashi (76.22). A landlocked prefecture, Yamanashi is No. 1 in both wine production and consumption. Geino also provides a recipe for preparing a “healthy” local concoction called sarumiso , prepared using raw shiitake mushrooms, garlic, umeboshi pulp, honey and rice wine. Besides healthy eating, Geino focused on other beneficial factors such as environment and community, and then proceeds to introduce male-oriented recreational activities, including the sole soapland (bathhouse offering sexual services) at the Isawa hot spring near Kofu, where elderly men in work clothes and driving mini-trucks of the type used by farmers can be seen coming and going. Akira Ikoma, who edits “Ore no Tabi,” a guidebook that covers sex and travel, tells the magazine, “Yamanashi is relatively free from earthquakes and other natural disasters, and the girls who work in the soaplands there tend to be easygoing.” While the health ministry so far has remained mum on this topic, Asahi Geino implies that the relaxation and ambience accorded to Yamanashi’s spry male seniors by the local soaplands may be a contributing factor in the prefecture’s top ranking for healthy longevity.

food health yamanashi magazines weeklies