Travelers without insurance cause headaches for Japan's hospitals

Abstract: NARITA, CHIBA PREF. - Are you insured? As Japan sees a record-breaking number of foreign visitors, a major hospital near Narita airport is struggling to deal with an increasing number of uninsured patients who can’t pay for the medical treatment they’ve received. “Most of the foreign visitors we treat are emergency patients, coming directly from the airport. . . . In many cases, they are not covered with by insurance,” said Tomomi Asaka, a surgeon who is also chief of the International Medical Center at Japanese Red Cross Narita Hospital. Emergency treatment can cost several million yen. When patients can’t pay, the hospital tries several ways to collect, such as by contacting their relatives to ask them to shoulder the cost, proposing installment plans or calling embassies for help. But when all these attempts fail, the hospital has no choice but to absorb the cost. Although the Narita hospital declined to disclose how many unpaid medical bills it has, Asaka said it is “a lot.” “When we have such troubled foreign patients, it’s really, really tough for us to deal with,” Asaka said. Sometimes patients decline to receive necessary treatment after learning how much it will cost, she said. “I believe many of these problems would have been solved if they had purchased travel insurance,” she said. Asaka said the patients should have purchased travel insurance. But she also said they are not the only ones to blame. “Many, in my understanding, do not have the knowledge or custom of buying a policy when traveling. And that is partly the responsibility of their countries as well as Japan, which is campaigning hard to draw foreign visitors,” Asaka said. According to records, the hospital treated 409 foreign visitors who could not speak Japanese in 2017. Although it does not have any previous data for comparison, the number definitely has increased in recent years, Asaka said. To better cater to complex cases presented by foreign patients, the hospital set up the International Medical Center in April last year with three fully bilingual staffers — Asaka and two medical clerks. The center gets a phone call when a foreign patient who doesn’t have insurance or Japanese ability seeks help at the hospital. Many of the cases are complicated by linguistic, visa and cultural differences that can take days to sort. The center recently dealt with a man in his 70s who was suffering from arrhythmia and was brought to the hospital from the airport. The patient, whose name and nationality were not disclosed for privacy reasons, had a temporary pacemaker inserted. That cost ¥600,000. He also needed to undergo another operation to replace the pacemaker with a permanent one, a procedure that would set him back another ¥7 million. The man, transiting through Narita on his way home, had no travel insurance. “He was old and was living on a pension. He did not have any savings and he was single, and his siblings also couldn’t pay the cost,” she said. He insisted on flying back to his country where he said he could get free treatment at a veterans’ hospital. But the man’s condition was too unstable to let him return by himself. After mulling several options, Asaka and a nurse decided to fly back with him to his country. If a private company was asked to dispatch doctors to accompany a patient on an international flight, it would cost several million yen, Asaka said. But by doing it themselves, they were able to spare the patient the cost, she said. “In the past year alone, there were three such cases where we had no option but to accompany patients ourselves and take them back to their home countries,” Asaka said. Japan’s legal obligation to provide medical treatment to anyone on request also places a heavy psychological burden on doctors. “We are trained to focus on treating patients without thinking of the bills. . . . So it’s very stressful for doctors to discharge or provide minimum treatment to patients with financial troubles. It’s ethically hard to swallow,” Asaka said. “The government is trying to further increase the number of foreign visitors. But when they fall ill and can’t pay medical bills we are the ones left to shoulder the cost because we have the legal obligation to provide treatment. That’s unreasonable,” Asaka said. “I hope the government creates a legal system that matches today’s environment.”

tourism
insurance
national health care
foreign patients


Medical institutions offering treatment in multiple languages make Japan a haven for foreign patients

Abstract: YAMATO, KANAGAWA PREF. - For foreign residents and tourists who don’t understand Japanese, seeking medical attention can be stressful because few doctors are proficient in English. But some clinics and hospitals , including Kobayashi International Clinic in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, are making efforts to help those who can’t speak the local tongue feel at home. And demand for such institutions is likely to rise as Japan looks to attract more foreign visitors in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games. Yoneyuki Kobayashi, head of the clinic, first noticed the needs of foreign patients while working part-time as a doctor in the mid-1980s at a resettlement promotion center for Indo-Chinese refugees in Yamato. “That was really the first time I saw a great many foreign people,” Kobayashi said. The facility was one of three created in the late 1970s and early 1980s to accept about 10,000 refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. An interpreter from the center would accompany the refugees during hospital visits, Kobayashi said. “But once they left the center, they were on their own. Of course, they couldn’t suddenly speak Japanese fluently, and medical terms are different from everyday conversation, so they had trouble communicating. In some cases, the hospitals weren’t willing to examine them unless they were accompanied by an interpreter,” he said. Kobayashi then noticed that whenever foreign patients came to Yamato Municipal Hospital, they were directed to him. “I was a surgeon but not particularly exceptional at it,” he said. “It may seem like an exaggeration, but I thought I might be the only person who can do something to improve the situation of foreigners undergoing medical treatment.” In 1990 he opened his clinic in Yamato, welcoming all members of the community regardless of nationality. It now has over a dozen staffers covering languages including English, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Spanish. Andile Maqhuzu, a 30-year-old Zimbabwean studying in Japan, found it last year while searching online for a medical clinic with English-speaking staff after his 2-year-old son came down with a cold. “Here it’s great because the doctor speaks English and has English-speaking staff,” said Maqhuzu, who was visiting for a follow-up test that emerged after a medical checkup at his university. Asked if he had encountered any issues with medical institutions in Japan, he said, “The only problem I have is the language. But it’s my fault for not being able to speak Japanese. I think health care in Japan is one of the best.” Kobayashi hopes more medical institutions will become willing to accept foreign patients but noted that simply getting doctors, nurses and other staff members linguistically prepared will not solve everything. “Problems could arise from differences in culture, social norms and the way people think, so they also need to be trained in those aspects so that they can be aware of the differences,” he said. As more tourists explore Japan’s countryside, hospitals in remote regions are coming up with ways to treat them as well. In Gifu Prefecture, the Japanese Red Cross Takayama Hospital is dealing with an influx of tourists seeking a combination of nature and traditional culture in the mountainous Hida Takayama area. The prefecture is also home to a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring traditional “ gassho -style” (thatched roof) homes. In a telephone interview, Deputy Director Katsunobu Takenaka said visits from foreign patients ballooned from just 15 in fiscal 2011 to 363 in 2017, with patients trickling in from over 30 countries and territories including China, Australia, Taiwan and the United States. The institution set up a task force in 2014 to consider ways to welcome foreign patients, and the move caught the eye of a publisher who asked the group to put together a manual on how to treat them. Takenaka said many foreign patients suffer from illnesses triggered by travel fatigue, skiing injuries or playing around in onsen (hot springs). The hospital has some English-speaking staffers and uses a 24-hour medical interpretation telephone service that provides help in 17 languages. It also uses a tablet translation app to communicate with patients. To date, it has not received any complaints and has not encountered cases where patients could not pay their bill, he said. “People may feel lonely and insecure going to a hospital in a foreign land where a foreign language is spoken, but we will continue to stand by our patients and provide medical care with sincerity, smiles and sympathy,” Takenaka said. While most medical institutions operate based on the national health insurance system, there are some that offer services outside it. Karl Che, director of National Medical Clinic in central Tokyo, said he deals primarily with the expat community, allocating ample time to each patient. Many who come to him have private health insurance, but there are a few who are covered by the national insurance program and pay out of their own pocket. “We try to offer them whatever they’re very comfortable with,” said Che, who is fluent in Japanese, English and Korean and speaks some French, adding that he takes his time with each patient and offers a familial atmosphere. In the same posh Minami-Azabu neighborhood, Isao Tsutsumi said he drew on his experience working at hospitals and clinics in the U.S. for 15 years to open Hiroo International Clinic in 2007. Tsutsumi said patients come all the way from places like Fukushima and Yamanashi prefectures to see him. “I think it’s ideal to have someone who can speak (English) actually examine the patients,” he said. “There are international clinics that use interpreters, but some patients want to communicate directly with the doctor.”

tourism language hospitals gifu kanagawa


Fujifilm sues Xerox for $1 billion over failed takeover bid

Abstract: NEW YORK - Fujifilm Holdings Corp. accused Xerox Corp. of caving to the whims of Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason in backing out of a $6.1 billion takeover deal as it initiated legal action over the unsuccessful transaction. Fujifilm sued Xerox on Monday in Manhattan federal court over the failed takeover, seeking more than $1 billion in damages. Xerox walked away from the deal on May 13. “This change of heart is undoubtedly due to external pressures,” Fujifilm said in the complaint. “Xerox has recently been subject to the whims of activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who, notwithstanding their minority ownership of Xerox shares, have yanked the Xerox Board in more directions than can be counted.” Representatives for Icahn and Deason weren’t immediately available for comment. Xerox said in an emailed statement that it’s “extremely confident” the former board acted correctly in terminating the transaction, “due to, among other things, the continuously expanding unresolved accounting issues at Fuji Xerox,” the companies’ joint venture. Icahn and fellow billionaire Deason had argued the Fujifilm offer undervalued Xerox. The pair, who collectively held about 13 percent of Xerox, reached a settlement with the company after months of public fighting over the merits of the Fujifilm transaction. Under the terms of the settlement, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox pulled out of the Fujifilm deal and Keith Cozza, CEO of Icahn Enterprises, became its chairman. John Visentin replaced Jeff Jacobson as Xerox’s CEO. The newly filed lawsuit and other litigation might drive Xerox bonds into junk territory, Robert Schiffman and Mike Campellone, senior credit analyst and credit associate analyst, respectively, at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a note Monday. “If a white-knight strategic buyer doesn’t emerge, non-investment grade rating action risk looms large,” the analysts said. Moody’s rates Xerox’s debt Baa3, the lowest investment-grade rating. Deason sued Xerox in February in Manhattan state court to block the acquisition, accusing Jacobson of acting without authorization to strike a deal that preserved his job at shareholders’ expense. The lawsuit also claimed that the company’s board breached its fiduciary duties. A judge issued an injunction in April barring Xerox from holding a shareholder vote on the proposed merger at its annual meeting, now scheduled for July. Yet, Fujifilm hasn’t given up on the deal. In May, the company appealed. Fujifilm, based in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, has also asked the state court to dissolve the injunction. The proposed merger, announced in January, would have cemented a longtime relationship between the two firms, which have operated the joint venture Fuji Xerox Co. for the past 50 years. The deal would have generated “billions of dollars in synergies,” lawyers for Fujifilm said in Monday’s complaint. The transaction is “value-enhancing for Fujifilm’s shareholders and thus Fujifilm is compelled to take steps to protect its rights.” The company accused the Xerox board of breaching terms of its January agreement “thanks in no small part to Icahn and Deason’s machinations.” Icahn initially favored the merger, urging Xerox to sell to Fujifilm after it expressed interest in 2017, Fujifilm said in its complaint. As details of the possible merger took shape, Fujifilm indicated that it would seek an “outright buyout” of Xerox, in part to push out activist investors. Following the proposal put forward in January, Icahn and Deason came out against the deal. In May, they said they would consider any cash bid for the company of at least $40 per share, or more than $10 billion. The May 13 agreement under which the deal was ended was basically “a corporate takeover” by the two investors. It “sought to ensure that the Xerox Board is comprised of many individuals with longstanding connections to Icahn and Deason for at least the next year, effectively granting Icahn and Deason control of the Xerox board for no consideration whatsoever,” Fujifilm said. Fujifilm seeks damages for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and a finding that Fujifilm is entitled to a $183 million termination fee.


Osaka quake highlights dangers posed by concrete-block walls

Abstract: The death on Monday of a 9-year-old girl in Osaka Prefecture highlights the potential dangers of violating building codes and of concrete-block walls, which can turn lethal when major earthquakes strike. Following the incident in the city of Takatsuki, in which a 40-meter-long wall surrounding a school’s swimming pool collapsed and crushed the girl, the Takatsuki Municipal Government apologized and admitted that the wall was in violation of building codes. City officials said the total height of the structure was 3.5 meters — a 1.6-meter wall on top of a 1.9-meter concrete foundation — exceeding the legal cap of 2.2 meters. It also lacked legally required support blocks, they said. “I am deeply sorry for the collapse at the school facility, causing the fatal accident. We take on responsibility as it is the city’s property,” Takatsuki Mayor Takeshi Hamada said at a news conference Monday. The city inspected the wall in January last year, but officials said they were not aware of the dangers posed by concrete-block structures. In the wake of the incident, education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that he will ask all elementary and junior high school operators nationwide to conduct safety inspections of concrete-block walls near schools. The city’s failure to detect the vulnerability of the wall during its inspections, however, is not unusual, experts said, noting that similar dangerous structures prone to collapse can be found across the nation. “Many are not aware that their walls could pose serious harm to people if a quake hits. Many leave them as they are without taking any measures,” said Kazuya Koga, a professor at Fukuoka University who is well-versed in disaster prevention. Koga, who has been studying concrete-block walls across the archipelago, said 70 percent to 90 percent of concrete walls in each municipality do not meet legal standards. Miyagi Prefecture is the only exception due to its strict inspection rules for concrete-block structures. “I’ve been conducting inspections since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. And I’ve never seen a concrete-block wall that meets the legal standards collapse (after a quake),” Koga said. “So if the walls were made in accordance with the law, there would be no issue.” The danger of such walls drew wide public attention in 1978, when 18 people were crushed to death by collapsed blocks following a major earthquake off Miyagi. Following that tragedy municipalities called on residents to reinforce their concrete walls, with some providing subsidies for property owners. But the efforts were not effective, Koga said. Miyagi Prefecture went further, hiring experts to check concrete-block walls around schools and sending written warnings to owners of illegally built walls — urging them add reinforcements, Koga said. “Other municipalities should follow in the footsteps of Miyagi” or similar tragedies could happen again, Koga said. Masayoshi Saichi, a professor of construction engineering at Tohoku Institute of Technology, echoed this view, noting the high number of concrete-block walls that could collapse easily if a strong quake occurs. “Aged and illegal concrete-block walls need to be removed and replaced with new ones,” he said. The education ministry has been retrofitting public elementary and junior high school buildings to make them able to withstand earthquakes measuring 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7. As of April 1, 2017, the ministry had completed reinforcement of buildings at 98.9 percent of the schools. The measure, however, does not cover concrete-block walls in the vicinity of schools.

quake
collapse
danger
wall
concrete block


Takatsuki residents mourn death of 9-year-old girl, as cleanup in quake-hit Kansai continues

Abstract: TAKATSUKI, OSAKA PREF. - They came to offer flowers, juice and silent prayers in memory of a 9-year-old girl — some touched by the tragic death of a child they had never seen or met, others by the loss of a neighbor. As the cleanup continued Tuesday across the Kansai region following Monday’s magnitude 6.1 earthquake centered in Takatsuki, residents of the town stopped to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial to Rina Miyake, who had been on her way to her elementary school when a concrete wall surrounding the school’s swimming pool collapsed and killed her. “It was such a tragedy,” said Haruo Kurikoma, 81, who lives nearby but said he did not know Miyake. He added that the incident had many worried about what would happen to homes and structures in the area if aftershocks continue. “I felt about two dozen aftershocks yesterday and this morning, and we’re wondering what will happen if they continue,” he said. The tributes came as — outwardly — life in Takatsuki, which lies between Osaka and Kyoto prefectures, appeared to be improving on Tuesday. Trains from Takatsuki Station, which had been shut down just 24 hours earlier, were running almost normally, although express trains were still behind schedule. But concerns about aftershocks lingered, while households without gas wondered how much longer they would have to wait. Water supplies had yet to be restored in parts of the cities of Takatsuki and Minoo on Tuesday, prompting local authorities to dispatch water trucks. Some 112,000 households in the prefecture were without gas as of Tuesday morning. Osaka Gas Co. said the supply is expected to be back on at all affected households by next Monday. A few shops beside Takatsuki station remained closed due to the quake, but most were open for business. Damage to buildings, houses and other structures appeared minimal. Roads connecting Takatsuki to Osaka and Kyoto were also mostly undamaged, and vehicle traffic was normal. “We have fresh water and getting food and supplies isn’t a problem. Some shops in and around Takatsuki ran short on food items yesterday, though,” said local residents Tatsuyuki Miyazato and Tomomi Oso. “Our house did shake quite a bit, but damage was minimal and everybody was OK,” said Oso. A smaller earthquake occurred in the same area in the early hours of Tuesday as many spent a sleepless night at evacuation centers set up in the prefecture. The number of evacuees stood at about 1,700 as of 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Osaka prefectural government, but many were returning home later in the day. Sanae Ichikawa and her two children Akane, 10, and Masaru, 8, spent the night in a local elementary school that had been turned into an evacuation center. By Tuesday morning, about 20 people remained at the school, Takatsuki officials said. Ichikawa said she and her family would be heading home later Tuesday, adding that she was unsure when her children’s school would reopen. “But it will be a relief to go home and sleep in our own beds tonight. However, we were told that the gas won’t be back on until next week, which is going to make it tough to take a bath,” she said. Others in Takatsuki used the re-establishment of rail links to travel to either Osaka or Kyoto Tuesday to go shopping. “There were a number of household items we had that were damaged and we need to restock the kitchen, so it’s off to Osaka for a shopping trip today, which is what a lot of my friends are doing as well,” said Izumi Fukuda, a 38-year-old Osaka resident who said her family’s house in Takatsuki shook considerably but that there had been no injuries. While authorities reported Monday that, in addition to Rina Miyake, the quake killed three people in their 80s, police said Tuesday that an 81-year-old woman in Takatsuki who had been listed as among the three elderly people who perished is now believed to have died from illness. The police also announced Tuesday that Norihiro Kusumoto, a 66-year old resident in Takatsuki, was killed by the quake. A total of 334 houses have been damaged by the quake, according to a tally by the central government. Of these, 265 were in Osaka Prefecture, 64 in Kyoto , three in Nara and two in Hyogo. Disaster management minister Hachiro Okonogi said he will lead a survey team to the area to assess the extent of the damage.

damage
shelter
supply
takatsuki
osaka earthquake


Different disaster, same story: Osaka quake prompts online hate speech targeting foreigners

Abstract: Monday’s deadly quake in Osaka Prefecture has led to the resurgence of what has become a familiar — if disconcerting — post-disaster trend on the internet: a slew of hate speech-driven tweets warning of “crimes” committed by foreign residents. In the aftermath of the magnitude 6.1 earthquake, which left at least three dead and hundreds injured, scores of tweets were seen labeling ethnic non-Japanese — particularly ethnic Koreans and Chinese — as criminals who may take advantage of post-quake confusion to rob banks and convenience stores, and commit other dangerous crimes. Authorities warned against the propagation of groundless rumors on the internet, and urged people not to spread hate speech and false information. “When a quake happens in the Kansai region, there is a strong possibility of Chinese and Koreans engaging in wrongdoing. It’s possible they will go after ATMs in banks and convenience stores,” one Twitter user wrote. “Who are those Koreans poisoning water in the wells every time a quake happens?” wrote another . This is by no means the first time online rumors vilifying those of Korean descent and other foreign residents have emerged after a disaster. Similar online slurs were seen in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and the 2016 quakes that ravaged Kumamoto Prefecture, as well as the floods and landslides that devastated Hiroshima Prefecture in 2014. “The spread of post-disaster or post-accident disinformation implying crimes have been committed by foreign residents or describing them as dangerous has been a recurring phenomenon,” said Koichi Yasuda, a freelance journalist who has covered extensively issues related to human rights of non-Japanese people. Yasuda cited the so-called Kanto Massacre, which occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, in which scores of ethnic Koreans were murdered by the army, police and vigilantes after unsubstantiated rumors were spread that they were rioting and committing acts of sabotage — including the poisoning of wells. Such baseless information “sows divisions in society,” potentially resulting in a particular demographic being “identified and pilloried as enemies” by the general public, Yasuda said. The tweets denigrating non-Japanese have also drawn fierce condemnation on social media, with some urging their fellow Twitter users to swiftly report such xenophobic language. “Post-disaster, hate-speech talk that foreign residents are committing crimes stokes public suspicions for no good reason, and possibly leads to them being hurt or discriminated against. Let’s report these comments as soon as you find them,” wrote one Twitter user. Central and local governments are taking steps to challenge such hate speech. “When the Kumamoto earthquake happened two years ago, online rumors verging on hate speech, as well as one saying that, for example, a lion has escaped a zoo , spread,” said Ken Kuruma, an official with the Justice Ministry’s Human Rights Bureau. On Monday, the bureau posted a tweet warning against the possible advent of “disinformation” seeking to “stoke discrimination and prejudice” on the internet. The Osaka Prefectural Government, too, posted a similar message on its website voicing dismay over the “proliferation” of factually erroneous online posts that describe “accidents that never happened.” “Please be mindful of the source of information and make a sufficient effort to confirm its credibility,” the prefecture said. Aside from tweets targeting foreign residents, rumors also surfaced Monday that the jolt had resulted in a Keihan Electric Railway train being derailed. When contacted by The Japan Times, a spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that such an accident had never occurred. A picture also went viral of a zebra having escaped a zoo, with multiple media outlets reporting that the photo was thought to have been copied from an old online news page.

internet
twitter
hate speech
osaka earthquake


Kotaro Kake denies meeting Abe to discuss school project amid cronyism claims

Abstract: OKAYAMA - The head of a school operator at the center of cronyism allegations involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied on Tuesday having met with the prime minister regarding a project to open a school of veterinary medicine in a special deregulation zone. “I have no memory and there are no records” of such a meeting with Abe, said Kotaro Kake, a longtime friend of the prime minister who heads Kake Gakuen, at his first news conference since the allegations surfaced. He apologized for what he called a mix-up that saw a school official claim a meeting did take place between the two. Based on information provided by the school’s secretary-general, Yoshihito Watanabe, the Ehime Prefectural Government said in a document submitted to the Diet in May that Kake met with Abe to discuss the opening of a veterinary school before it received government approval. According to the document, the meeting took place on Feb. 25, 2015 — nearly two years before the government endorsed the project on Jan. 20, 2017. Abe has said he only learned about the project the day the government approved it. Watanabe, however, told Kake that he made up the meeting in order “to push forward” the project, according to the school chief. Watanabe visited the Ehime Prefectural Government offices on May 26 and apologized for giving the incorrect statement. As disciplinary measures for violating compliance protocols, Kake said he and Watanabe will take pay cuts. “(The prime minister and I) have been confidants for decades but we only meet on the basis that we do not talk about our work. I believe he is not interested in (my business),” Kake said. Education ministry documents leaked last year stated that Cabinet Office officials used phrases such as “what the highest level of the prime minister’s office has said” and “in line with the prime minister’s wishes” when explaining the veterinary school project. Opposition parties have asked the prime minister to clarify his position, and Abe has repeatedly denied any involvement. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to comment on Kake’s news conference, saying that the matter only concerns correspondence between the school and local authorities.

shinzo abe
scandals
kotaro kake
kake gakuen


Anxious travelers cancel bookings, spooked by deadly Osaka quake

Abstract: Monday morning’s deadly earthquake in Osaka has affected tourism in the region, with travelers at home and overseas canceling bookings in the affected areas. At least four people were killed and hundreds more injured in the quake. The operator of a hotel in central Kyoto said Tuesday that the quake has cost the firm some ¥4.4 million following cancellations of bookings for about 300 rooms. The reservations included several school trips to the city that had been planned this week. The hotel has 408 rooms. “We’re operating as usual, but many people fear for their safety because Osaka and Takatsuki (the site of the quake’s epicenter) are nearby,” said a staffer who requested his name be withheld. “I hope everything will get back to normal within a week, but reports about damage in the area have been hurting (the business) more than I thought.” “We may see more cancellations today and tomorrow,” the staffer added. The operator requested that the name of the hotel be withheld out of concern that information on cancellations could further affect business. A room management employee at another Kyoto hotel reported a wave of cancellations and said some customers were fearful of aftershocks. “Only today we received about 107 cancellation requests, and as many as 602 yesterday,” he said. However, he said the firm has seen some new customers seeking accommodation after being stranded between their homes and their travel destinations. In the heart of the city of Osaka, Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka, which has 1,042 rooms, saw roughly 100 cancellations each for Monday and Tuesday, according to Chie Takahashi, who manages public relations. She said the figures include reservations by foreign guests. Disruptions to transportation networks also hit tour operators. Osaka-based tour operator Hankyu Travel International Co. has been busy responding to a number of inquiries from customers, including non-Japanese travelers. “Only areas close (to the epicenter) have been severely affected by the quake, but disruption in transportation has affected tours, as halts or delays of transport carriers make travel physically impossible,” said the firm’s spokeswoman. The transportation network “collapsed for the entire day… making it impossible to travel, so many people have canceled their trips,” said Reiko Tatsumi, a spokeswoman for tour operator Kinki Nippon Tourist Co.’s Kansai bureau. “But most firms have resumed their services so everything should soon get back to normal.” Keihan Bus Corp., which operates bus tours of Kyoto and shuttle bus services connecting Japan’s ancient capital with Kansai International Airport, suspended two sightseeing routes and about a third of its airport buses on Monday due to the quake. “We’ve had some inquiries from individual customers, but it’s not like they’re canceling reservations one after another,” said public relations officer Hiroshi Takagawa. He said the company does not have a tally of how many people were affected by the suspension of services because there are many who do not make prior reservations. But he noted that some who had planned to go on the bus tours may have had to give up their plans because trains and other transportation options were suspended on Monday. Bus operations returned to normal on Tuesday, he said.


Neighbors and family members mourn those who died in Osaka quake

Abstract: OSAKA - Neighbors and family members mourned Tuesday for those who died in the powerful earthquake that rocked Osaka Prefecture a day earlier, including a 9-year-old girl remembered as a bubbly child who often greeted them with a smile. Rina Miyake, 9, was on her way to elementary school in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, when a concrete wall surrounding the school’s swimming pool collapsed, killing her. The girl, who lived with her brother and parents, had left for school 10 minutes earlier than usual on Monday to join a greeting campaign as a class representative. “She usually left for school around 8 a.m. but told me she had to leave early since it was her turn to join the greeting (campaign),” said a 71-year-old woman who lives across the street from the girl’s family. “It’s unfortunate that the quake occurred on this day.” Another neighbor remembered Rina as a gregarious child. “Since many cars pass close to the school, children usually walked at the side of the road,” the 69-year-old woman said. “I will miss her as she always smiled and waved to me.” A temporary memorial was set up Monday evening in front of the school, where bouquets of flowers lined its main gate in memory of the girl. In Higashiyodogawa Ward, Osaka, Minoru Yasui, 80, was also killed when a wall collapsed in the quake. Yasui, who lived with four other family members, had been bound for his daily practice of keeping watch over children making their way to school. A few minutes after leaving home and immediately after greeting an acquaintance the quake struck, and Yasui, who walked with a cane, was buried under the collapsed wall of a nearby residence. Neighbors and family members rushed to the scene, with his wife holding his hand, though they were unable to revive him. “I feel empty. I just can’t understand how this could have happened,” Yasui’s wife, Sanae, 78, said tearfully. His son Katsuyuki, 54, echoed her thoughts. “We had dinner together Sunday night to celebrate Father’s Day,” he said. “I can’t make sense of my feelings.” Yasui was known to be close to the neighborhood children and was often seen riding his bicycle in the area. “He must’ve felt invigorated by helping keep watch over children,” Katsuyuki said. A third victim of the quake, Motochika Goto, 85, of Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, died after being crushed by a bookshelf in his apartment. He had worked for a major trading company and was known by neighbors to enjoy reading foreign books and taking strolls in the area. “When my two daughters entered university, he gave them books. He also gave us souvenirs from his hometown in the Kyushu region. He was a kind person,” said a 65-year-old neighbor who declined to be identified.


Wall Street plunges amid escalating trade row

Abstract: NEW YORK - U.S. stocks sank in a broad sell-off on Monday, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 1.5 percent and technology firms bearing the brunt of an escalating trade dispute between the United States and other leading economies. The U.S. Treasury Department was drafting curbs that would block firms with at least 25 percent Chinese ownership from buying U.S. technology firms, a government official said on Sunday. A Wall Street Journal report also said the U.S. planned to block additional technology exports to China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the restrictions will not be specific to China but would apply “to all countries that are trying to steal our technology. “Investors are now beginning to worry that this heated rhetoric is something that will last for a while and could actually lead to disruption of trade,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York. “They want to stick with equities, but rather hide out from areas most likely to be adversely affected by a pick up in trade tensions.” The S&P technology index dropped 2.8 percent, set for their biggest-one day plunge in three months. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index dropped 3.8 percent, with chipmakers taking a hit as they depend on China for a large part of their revenue. The so-called FANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon , Netflix and Alphabet — tumbled between 3.2 percent and 6.6 percent, with investors taking profits after the four stocks hit record highs last week. Harley-Davidson tumbled 5.8 percent after it forecast additional costs due to higher European Union tariffs on motorbikes imported from the United States. At 12:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 363.41 points, or 1.48 percent, at 24,217.48, the S&P 500 was down 42.17 points, or 1.53 percent, at 2,712.71 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 187.48 points, or 2.44 percent, at 7,505.34. The CBOE Volatility index, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, spiked to 17.92, highest in two months. Brent crude prices fell as traders factored in an expected output increase agreed at the OPEC meet on Friday. The S&P energy index was down 2.1 percent. Campbell Soup was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 500, rising 10 percent after a New York Post report that Kraft Heinz was considering buying the company. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.84-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 3.94-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded seven new 52-week highs and 17 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 45 new highs and 53 new lows.

china
stocks
wall street
s & p
steve mnuchin
trade war
fang


Migrant deaths from heat on U.S.-Mexico border up 55% to 48: Border Patrol

Abstract: TAOS, NEW MEXICO - The number of migrants dying from extreme heat on the U.S.-Mexico border rose 55 percent in the last nine months after an increase in unaccompanied children and families trying to enter the United States illegally, the U.S. government said on Monday. Heat-related deaths, the main cause of migrant fatalities on the U.S. southwest border, rose to 48, up from 31 over the same period in 2017, said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Salvador Zamora. The death toll is expected to rise in the triple-digit heat of summer months as vulnerable, unacclimatized immigrants attempt to cross harsh environments, putting border fatalities on track for a year-on-year increase in 2018, Zamora said. The Border Patrol recorded a 12 percent year-on-year rise in immigrant arrests in the eight months to May 31, Zamora said. “We are geared up to surpass last year’s heat-related deaths and the summer is just beginning,” he said in a telephone interview. “The demographics of the illegal aliens we are apprehending, the family units, the unaccompanied children, they’re a lot more vulnerable.” Humanitarian groups such as San Diego, California-based Border Angels say the main cause of rising deaths is tighter border security and law enforcement, such as the recent imposition of a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal border crossers. This has prompted migrants to make long treks through hostile terrain via remote crossing points. “We’ve seen people crossing in more dangerous areas, so even though there’s less people crossing there are more people dying,” said Enrique Morones, founder of the group whose volunteers leave water for migrants. Until four years ago, the vast majority of migrants arrested at the border were Mexicans. With improved economic conditions in Mexico, their number has fallen, as have overall arrests on the border, which dropped to 303,916 in 2017, down 26 percent from 2016, according to Border Patrol data. Immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador now top the list of people arrested at the southern border as gun and gang-related violence drives an exodus from those countries, according to U.S. government data. As the number of arrests on the border have fallen, the United Nations International Organization for Migration has recorded a rise in migrant deaths for the last four years, with the total reaching 415 in 2017. Immigrants, including children, from sub-tropical and mountainous areas are arriving at the border poorly nourished, unacclimatized to arid conditions and susceptible to heat-exhaustion, Zamora said. Families apprehended at the border increased five-fold since 2013 while the number of unaccompanied children detained in 2017 was almost double that in 2010, according to Border Patrol data. Morones at Border Angels suspects patrol agents of destroying water supplies the group drops off for migrants in the desert. One such act was caught on video in Arizona by another humanitarian group called No More Deaths. Border patrol spokesman Zamora said actions shown in the No More Deaths video were “unacceptable” and in no way representative of the agency’s values. The agency conducts its own humanitarian rescues, which rose slightly to 748 people in the eight months through May, he said.

u.s .
immigrants
migrants
mexico border
donald trump
border patrol
zero-tolerance policy


Not having children is 'selfish': LDP heavyweight Toshihiro Nikai

Abstract: A leading Liberal Democratic Party official on Tuesday called people opting not to have children “selfish,” in the latest controversial remark from a politician of the ruling party urging people to have babies. “During and after the war when (people) were living on the edge of starvation, nobody said it’s better not to have children because it would be too much trouble,” LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai said, adding, “These days, some people have a selfish idea that it is better not to give birth to children.” “In order for everyone (in Japan) to be happy, we should have many children and develop our country,” the 79-year-old Lower House member also said in a speech in Tokyo. The comments, following controversial remarks regarding childbearing by fellow party members, are likely to draw criticism that politicians are out of sync with realities in Japan, where working parents struggle to place their children in day care. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has sought to promote women’s empowerment and increase the number of women in the workplace as a key pillar of his government’s growth strategy amid a rapidly graying population and labor shortage. In May, Kanji Kato, a third-term LDP Lower House member, stirred controversy by revealing he tells newlywed couples when he attends wedding receptions that they “must raise at least three children.” Later in the month, Koichi Hagiuda, executive acting secretary-general of the LDP and a close aide to Abe, said raising infants and toddlers is a job for mothers and that fathers taking the primary role is an “unwelcome idea.” The LDP members have been criticized as lacking in understanding of the difficulties faced by families with small children, including finding child care facilities. A recent survey conducted by a major Japanese think tank showed an estimated 348,000 children nationwide weren’t able to gain admission to such facilities despite their parents’ wishes. The Nomura Research Institute pointed out that an additional 599,000 children must be accepted at day care facilities — nearly double the capacity for 320,000 the government plans to achieve by the end of fiscal 2020 — if the government hopes to reach its goal of raising the employment rate of women 25 to 44 years old to 80 percent by the end of fiscal 2022 from 66 percent in 2009.


Japan's Foreign Ministry to create new division dedicated solely to North Korea

Abstract: To cope with the growing number of diplomatic tasks concerning the Korean Peninsula, the Foreign Ministry plans to split its Northeast Asia Division into two sections on July 1 to create a new division dedicated solely to North Korean affairs, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference Tuesday. It is rare for a ministry division to be focused only on the affairs of a single country. The First Northeast Asia Division will deal with South Korean issues and the Second Northeast Asia Division will be in charge of North Korean affairs, a Foreign Ministry official said. “Work related to the Korean Peninsula has dramatically increased,” Suga said. “We need to strengthen Japan-South Korea cooperation and efficiently cope with nuclear and missile development and abduction issues involving the North.” Currently, the Northeast Asia Division, which deals with both South and North Korean issues, employs about 30 officials. The total workforce will be boosted at a later date, the ministry official said. On April 6, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a news conference that the ministry had planned to split the division into two in the summer, partly because the workload of officials in charge of North Korean affairs had “abnormally increased” in recent months. “The current division is reaching the limits of what it can handle as a single entity,” Kono said at that time.

north korea
nuclear weapons
foreign ministry
abductions


Scientific study finds asylum seekers boosting European economies

Abstract: NEW YORK - Asylum seekers moving to Europe have raised their adopted nations’ economic output, lowered unemployment and not placed a burden on public finances, scientists said on Wednesday. An analysis of economic and migration data for the last three decades found asylum seekers added to gross domestic products and boosted net tax revenues by as much as 1 percent, said a study published in Science Advances by French economists. The findings come amid a rise of anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, where immigration peaked in 2015 with the arrival of more than a million refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa. An annual report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released on Tuesday showed the global number of refugees grew by a record 2.9 million in 2017 to 25.4 million. The research from 1985 to 2015 looked at asylum seekers — migrants who demonstrate a fear of persecution in their homeland in order to be resettled in a new country. “The cliche that international migration is associated with economic ‘burden’ can be dispelled,” wrote the scientists from the French National Center for Scientific Research, the University of Clermont-Auvergne and Paris-Nanterre University. The research analyzed data from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Asylum seekers contributed most to a country’s gross domestic product after three to seven years, the research found. They marginally lowered unemployment rates and had a near-zero impact on public finances, it said. Greece, where the bulk of migrants fleeing civil war in Syria have entered Europe, was not included because fiscal data before 1990 were unavailable, it said. Chad Sparber, an associate professor of economics at the U.S.-based Colgate University, said the study was a reminder there is no convincing economic case against humanitarian migration. But he warned against dismissing the views of residents who might personally feel a negative consequence of immigration. “There are people who do lose or suffer,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Immigration on balance is good,” he said. “But I still recognize that it’s not true for every person.”

france
europe
syria
gdp
asylum seekers
economies
finances


White House to propose merging Labor and Education departments: report

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The White House plans to propose on Thursday to merge the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Citing a person with knowledge of the proposal, the Journal said the plan follows a review of Cabinet agencies that looked for ways to shrink the federal government. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Congress would likely have to approve the merger, and it was unclear whether lawmakers would be in favor of a major governmental reorganization with November elections looming. Republicans have long complained about the size of the federal government and many have taken particular aim at the Education Department, which they see as intruding on local and state authority. President Donald Trump also plans to propose as early as Thursday moving many social safety net programs into a new “mega-department” that would replace the Health and Human Services Department, The New York Times reported, citing administration officials briefed on the proposal. Among the programs to be moved to the new department is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which serves more than 40 million low-income Americans, the Times said. SNAP currently is run by the Agriculture Department. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is the architect of the plan, the newspaper said. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


North Korea data show slight children's health gains but third of drinking water contaminated: U.N.

Abstract: GENEVA - New data from North Korea show a “slight” improvement in children’s health, the United Nations reported Wednesday, saying the isolated nation had made a step forward by providing better information about the condition of its people. The findings published by UNICEF were based on surveys of more than 8,500 North Korean households conducted by the government’s Central Bureau of Statistics. While North Korean children continue to confront major health challenges, the data show that the national stunting rate, a key indicator of malnutrition among children, dropped from 32.4 percent in 2009 — the last time the surveys were conducted — to 19 percent last year. But the figures on stunting varied significantly across the country. In Pyongyang, 10 percent of children were affected by stunting, while in the rural Ryanggang province the rate was 32 percent. Pyongyang’s cooperation with UNICEF in collecting and releasing the data has also improved substantially since 2009, the agency’s East Asia and Pacific director, Karin Hulshof, told reporters in Geneva. “This new seriousness and improved openness about data is in UNICEF’s view a real step forward,” she said. Hulshof declined to tie North Korea’s increased cooperation to changes that followed the death of leader Kim Jong Il in December 2011. His son and successor, Kim Jong Un, has made a series of outreaches to the international community, including a historic nuclear summit with U.S. President Donald Trump this month. But UNICEF said the improved cooperation on children’s health predated the latest diplomatic developments. “I would just like to remind everyone that these data were collected in 2017, so that is sometime before the latest summits,” Hulshof said, noting the agreement to carry out the fresh surveys was reached between UNICEF and Pyongyang in 2016. The data also indicated that a full third of North Korea’s drinking water is contaminated, posing another major threat to healthy growth among children. UNICEF said those water problems were likely linked to poor systems for managing human waste. And, while the stunting figures indicate nutrition has improved for some, “only 1 in 3 children age 6 to 23 months receive the minimum acceptable diet,” Hulshof said. A separate U.N.-led report last year found chronic food shortages in North Korea, with around 41 percent of the population — or some 10.5 million people — undernourished. The U.N. official credited increased humanitarian aid for the gains made and voiced hope that better data would allow international agencies to more effectively target their assistance in the country. Hulshof said UNICEF would now move on to “a detailed analysis of the data to put the numbers in context.” But, she added, “the data is already providing us with a lot of food for thought.” UNICEF said the methodology it used in North Korea was the same used in the 107 other countries where the surveys, known as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), have been carried out. Still, the actual questionnaires in private homes were filled out by workers from the totalitarian state. Hulshof said there should be no concerns about the quality of the data, as UNICEF was responsible for processing the findings and used cross-referencing to spot any inconsistencies. “We are confident that these numbers are real numbers,” she said.

north korea
children
health
unicef
stunting rate


School uniforms go unisex as Japanese schools seek better fit for LGBT students

Abstract: An emerging number of Japanese schools are introducing unisex uniforms or flexible uniform codes in an effort to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. School officials hope the move will ease the mental anguish of such students, who are usually required to wear gender-based uniforms typified by jackets with stand-up collars and trousers for boys, and sailor-type outfits with skirts for girls. At Kashiwanoha Junior High School, which opened in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in April, students can freely choose whether to wear skirts or slacks or ties or ribbons with blazers, regardless of their sex. Originally, the school did not intend to make students wear a uniform, but had to change course because nearly 90 percent of parents and prospective students surveyed wanted one. A panel of parents, teachers, prospective students and education board members was set up to discuss the uniform designs. Some said consideration should be paid to LGBT students and that girls should also be allowed to wear trousers because they are more practical and warmer in winter. “We thought it would be better to let students wear something they feel comfortable in if they have to struggle to come to school because of uniforms,” said Koshin Taki, the vice principal of Kashiwanoha Junior High. “We chose a subdued color and check patterns so the uniform would be suitable for any student.” Similar moves are spreading in Japan, with a junior high school in Fukuoka Prefecture preparing to abandon the stand-up collars and sailor suits for blazers that will let students mix and match with skirts or trousers when the April 2019 school year kicks off. In Tokyo, the Setagaya Ward Board of Education is set to follow suit in April, while boards of education in the cities of Osaka and Fukuoka plan to broach the topic in the near future. Anri Ishizaki, who heads FRENS, a nonprofit organization supporting LGBT people, said trying to fit all students in gender-specific uniforms can be a burden to sexual minorities who are afraid to come out. “Some students are embarrassed and cannot concentrate on their studies because of uniforms. In some cases, they stop going to school,” said Ishizaki. “Although uniforms are not the only factors tormenting them, it is a significant element as they are required to wear them all the time,” added Ishizaki, noting that offering students more options is likely to provide “a sense of ease.” In 2014, there were 606 cases of consultations related to gender dysphoria, according to a survey by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry covering elementary, junior high and high schools across Japan. The following year, the ministry issued a notice encouraging schools to improve support for sexual minorities and pay consideration to their clothing, hairstyles, and bathroom use. Tombow Co., the uniform maker picked by Kashiwanoha Junior High, said it began developing unisex uniforms after schools began making more inquiries about them around the time of the ministry’s 2015 notice. Ayumi Okuno, a designer at Tombow, said she found in interviews with LGBT students that many do not want to wear uniforms that clearly differentiate male and female shapes and silhouettes, so she tries not to highlight certain aspects, such as curves that emphasize femininity. “We are also offering various suggestions to schools so they can select what works best for them,” said Okuno, noting that it can accommodate flexible dress codes like the one at Kashiwanoha Junior High, styles that suit the gender identity of each student, or even the frequent use of gym clothes except for ceremonies and formal occasions. About 50 percent of Tombow’s uniforms are the stand-up collar and sailor skirt types, but more schools across Japan are introducing slacks for girls, the company said. Although the two schools mentioned above allow female transgender students to wear skirts, Okuno believes such a product will be difficult to develop and market. “Even if schools and students accept such a uniform, it is likely to be frowned upon by many people in society,” she said. While the introduction of a new dress code is seen as a positive step forward, it will be difficult to take such measures without accidentally outing sexual minorities, experts say. In the 2014 survey, only about 20 percent of the students in the 606 consultations on gender dysphoria had revealed their gender identities to their peers, and around 60 percent were in the closet. Kashiwanoha Junior High’s Taki said he is carefully monitoring students’ reactions to the new dress code as some of the female students are fearful about drawing special attention for wearing trousers. He emphasized that the dress code offers options not only to transgender students but also to those who want to be practical. “I hope it will help students choose what they want to wear without necessarily disclosing their gender identity,” he said.

gender lgbt school chiba students uniforms


Half of Japan's visiting nurses suffer some form of harassment: survey

Abstract: Around half of respondents in a survey of visiting nurses said they have suffered some form of harassment when going to patients’ homes, an industry survey showed Thursday. The number of nurses visiting patients outside of medical institutions has been on the rise amid the growing number of elderly people who prefer to receive nursing services at home. But the nurses often have to go to the patients’ homes alone. Asked whether they had experienced forms of physical, mental or sexual harassment, half of the respondents for each category said yes, according to the survey by the National Association for Visiting Nurse Service. The association sent questionnaires to 11,160 nurses and 5,580 administrators in February and March in its first large-scale nationwide survey. About 30 percent of nurses and nearly 40 percent of the administrators responded. According to the survey, 53 percent of respondents said they were verbally harassed, while 45 percent said they have been subjected to violence and 48 percent cited sexual harassment. For every type of harassment, about 30 percent replied that they had suffered abuse within the past year. Among the forms of harassment, many respondents said they were yelled at, told that they were incompetent, or were threatened. Of those who cited sexual harassment, some of them said they were touched or shown adult videos. The study also said that 97 percent of responding nurses reported the problems to their superiors. Among measures to protect the nurses, around 70 percent of the administrators who responded said they have sent nurses in pairs or more in cases where they are at a high risk of being subjected to violence. Some administrators have canceled their contracts after finding out that their employees had been harassed, while others said they are not sure what to do. “Small operators may be unable to deal with such problems, so we need to figure out safety measures for visiting nurses extensively and systematically,” said Akiko Miki, a professor of Kansai Medical University in charge of the survey.


Record number of climbers stranded on Japanese mountains in 2017

Abstract: A record 3,111 people became stranded on mountains last year amid a boom in the popularity of mountaineering that has led many inexperienced climbers to venture into the backcountry, a National Police Agency report showed Thursday. The total was up 182 from the previous year while those that died or weren’t found also hit a record, up 35 to 354, the report said. The agency began compiling such data in 1961. With the rise in inbound tourism in recent years, the number of stranded foreign climbers grew to 121, a nearly threefold increase from 2013, it said. About half of the total number of people stranded were age 60 and over. By age group, those in their 60s accounted for 741, or 23.8 percent of the total, while those in their 70s came in at 669, or 21.5 percent. People in their 50s accounted for 14.6 percent of the total, or 455. By region, Nagano Prefecture saw the largest number of incidents involving stranded climbers with 292, followed by Hokkaido’s 236 and Yamanashi Prefecture’s 161. Attributing the increase in the number of alpine accidents to a lack of mountaineering knowledge, experience and physical strength among many climbers, the agency is urging people to give themselves plenty of time to complete their trips and to always climb with others. An NPA official said foreign visitors who have become stranded tend to be unfamiliar with Japanese mountains, which are prone to drastic weather changes. In October, a Malaysian man and a Singaporean woman, along with a Japanese couple, became stranded on Mount Asahidake in Hokkaido. They were rescued from the snowy 2,291-meter peak via helicopter after losing their way while descending the mountain. They had to spend a night outdoors in frigid temperatures but escaped without serious injuries. Mountaineering has become a popular sport in Japan over the past several years, and the trend is reflected in the growing number of alpine incidents as well. The number of people stranded on mountains has increased 1.7 times from 10 years ago, while the number of those who died or weren’t found grew 1.4 times over the same period. Among last year’s total, an overwhelming 2,223 people, or 71.5 percent, were mountaineering when they became stranded, while 380 people, or 12.2 percent, were hunting for wild vegetables or mushrooms. Among foreign people who became stranded, skiing and mountaineering were the two most popular activities they engaged in.

accidents
tourism
national police agency
climbing
mountains


U.S. blocks U.N. health panel from backing taxes on sugary drinks

Abstract: GENEVA - The Trump administration has torpedoed a plan to recommend higher taxes on sugary drinks, forcing a World Health Organization panel to back off the U.N. agency’s previous call for such taxes as a way to fight obesity, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. The move disappointed many public health experts but was enthusiastically welcomed by the International Food and Beverage Alliance — a group that represents companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo. and Unilever. The revelations came as a WHO panel on non-communicable diseases issued a report that aimed to cut down on diseases like diabetes, cancer and obesity, which kill about 40 million people each year. The fight against such diseases is a priority for the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Dr. Sania Nishtar, co-chair of panel, said most of its 26 members supported a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages but one commissioner — whom she did not identify — hampered drafting stronger language. Eric Hargan, the U.S. deputy secretary for health and human services, reported that he was that member, saying it was not clear that imposing taxes on sugary drinks like sodas and fruit juices would improve public health. WHO has argued exactly that over the last two years. “Deputy Secretary Hargan opposed endorsing increasing taxes on sugary drinks in the commission report,” HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said, noting that the panel’s mandate was to make “bold” recommendations. “Taxes on sugary drinks is not new, bold, or innovative.” She also said that “evidence is lacking that such a tax produces positive health outcomes.” The U.S. provides a significant percentage of the WHO’s yearly budget. The sweetened-drink industry has come out strongly against any such tax, but Nishtar said she was not aware of any industry lobbying of the commissioners. Commission member Ilona Kickbusch, a former WHO staffer who directs the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, said the United States “made it clear” that it did not want more regulation. “They (the Trump administration) felt that the evidence was not strong enough that the tax would reduce the obesity epidemic,” she said. Commission members said they decided to press ahead with the report, leaving open the possibility that the commission could strengthen its call in the future. The independent commission, created last year by Ghebreyesus, did recommend taxes on tobacco and alcohol. Decisions made by the Trump administration have often run afoul of U.S. allies and competitors alike. Last week the U.S. government announced new steel and aluminum tariffs against allies like Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Last year, President Donald Trump rejected the landmark Paris accord to fight global warming. WHO often convenes expert panels to ultimately set its own policies and to make tricky public health decisions. Last month, a separate WHO expert group decided that Congo’s Ebola outbreak did not warrant being designated as an international emergency — a decision WHO accepted as its own. Two years ago Dr. Douglas Bettcher, who heads the WHO’s non-communicable diseases department, said that consumption of free sugars amounted to a “major factor” in the global increase of people suffering from obesity and diabetes. He insisted that taxes on sugary drinks would enable governments to “reduce suffering and save lives.” Back then, WHO said a 20 percent price increase for such drinks would dramatically cut consumption. “WHO’s position cannot change because of this report. What WHO said some years ago holds, because consumption of sugar is associated with obesity and at the same time, taxing sugar was shown to reduce consumption in many countries,” Ghebreyesus said. “Not only that, the money from the taxes can be used to strengthen the health system,” he added. “There are many good examples of countries like Philippines, Ireland, South Africa, and Mexico that have demonstrated this.” But instead of explicitly recommending a sugar tax, the WHO commission said that countries themselves should decide if they want higher taxes on sugary drinks. “When engagement with the private sector fails to contribute to the achievement of public health goals, governments should employ their regulatory and legislative powers to protect” their people, the report says. The beverage trade group applauded their decision. “IFBA strongly agrees with the (WHO panel’s) assessment that the WHO and other government agencies should increase engagement of the private sector to achieve further progress,” the group said in a statement. Jack Winkler, an emeritus professor of nutrition policy at London Metropolitan University, rejected the U.S. claim, saying there’s now convincing evidence that taxing sugary drinks works, citing, among other research, a recent article in the journal, The BMJ. He said policies adopted in the U.K. show that taxing sugar-loaded drinks not only spurred manufacturers to reformulate their products but that “it has made the healthy choice the cheaper choice.” Winkler said the WHO’s own acknowledgment that progress on combating obesity and other non-communicable disease has been slow makes the panel’s refusal to endorse sugar taxes outright especially unfortunate. “When WHO doesn’t pick up on a practical solution that also raises money, it is particularly absurd,” he said. “The recommendation on such taxes is now conspicuously limp.” In its report, the commission also recommended that governments prioritize measures to restrict junk food advertising. Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the failure of the WHO’s commission to reach an agreement on sugar taxes was “difficult to fathom.” He noted that since this was the only the first report from that panel, it might still revise its advice in later reports. “It would be very disappointing if this issue remained unresolved in its next report,” McKee said.

u.s .
food
health
u.n .
who
soft drinks
coca-cola
unilever
pepsico


Malaysia's Najib Razak is out of power but his legacy lives on in giant skyscraper

Abstract: KUALA LUMPUR - As Malaysia seeks to move beyond the excesses associated with nearly a decade of rule under ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, one of his pet projects continues to rise irreversibly skyward to become the tallest building in Southeast Asia. Just months from completion, Exchange 106 — “Najib’s tower” — is one of only a few mega-projects cleared by a new government that has pledged to review deals struck by the previous administration. Yet the 492-meter skyscraper remains an irritant as they try to dismantle Najib’s legacy after the May 9 election upset, which drove the National Front coalition out of power after it had run Malaysia for the six decades since independence from Britain. They can order that his photos be removed from government offices and that posters carrying his “1Malaysia” slogan be taken down. One staff member at the library of a government agency said they had even received a directive to “hide Najib’s books” by not having them displayed on front desks. But it doesn’t make sense to dismantle a giant skyscraper that is almost finished. Symbolically, the building will rise above the famous Petronas Twin Towers built during the previous term of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Najib’s mentor-turned-foe. But financially it could still hurt Malaysia. The new government has said that funds raised to finance the project by the scandal-plagued state fund 1MDB had not been used for that purpose, and that its Indonesian developer needs an “injection of funds” from the government to keep the project on track. “The true picture was not told,” new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said in a video that was posted online. “It is better to get the building completed and owned by us than to let it be abandoned.” Lim said he could not disclose how much money the government has put into the project. In just his first few weeks back in office, Mahathir has canceled a planned high-speed rail project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and pledged to renegotiate a deal with Chinese partners to build a 688-kilometer East Coast Rail Link. He has said both projects are too expensive and have limited economic benefit. Another big property development, Bandar Malaysia, hangs in the balance after a $1.7 billion deal to sell a majority stake to a Malaysian-Chinese consortium fell through in May 2017. A year on, the project has failed to attract any buyers. Exchange 106 was conceived as the centerpiece of a financial district in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, that would rival the likes of London’s Canary Wharf. The Tun Razak Exchange — named after Najib’s father and launched by Najib in 2012 — was expected to be a commercial, residential and leisure hub that would generate a gross development value (GDV) of more than 26 billion ringgit ($6.55 billion), create 500,000 jobs and lure more than 100 top global companies. However, the plan proved to be a tough sell. Questions about the finances of project developer 1MDB, a state fund set up by Najib over a decade ago, started around 2013. By 2015, it had become the center of money laundering investigations worldwide. In a statement last month, the Finance Ministry said some $3 billion of debt raised by 1MDB to fund the development of the complex in 2013 was not used for that purpose. Today, the 70-acre (28-hectare) site remains largely undeveloped and is dominated by a gleaming tower of glass and steel — Exchange 106 — rising from its center. Some big foreign firms have signed up. Banking group HSBC and insurer Prudential plan to move their country headquarters into other buildings on the site, and Australian property firm Lendlease penned a deal to develop a complex consisting of a hotel, residential blocks and a shopping center. A number of plots remain unsold, though, and the government has yet to clarify publicly whether it will stick to the initial plans for the huge new financial district. As for Exchange 106, the finance ministry in March confirmed it had bought back a 51 percent stake in the building, after initially selling all of it to Indonesian developer Mulia Group for 665 million ringgit ($168 million). At the time, the ministry said its participation was pre-agreed and was necessary because of the building’s strategic location and iconic nature. Lim has since said that the development “needed an injection of funds.” A spokeswoman for Mulia said around half the building has been leased since it was first marketed back in 2016. Local media reported that mainly local firms have signed up, with real estate agents saying some parts of the design may not appeal to multinational companies. For example, Sarkunan Subramaniam, managing director at Knight Frank Malaysia, who has visited the site recently, said that unlike other modern office buildings, the floors in Exchange 106 are not raised to allow for wiring for workstations. Market conditions also do not augur well for the project. Malaysia’s capital has been experiencing an oversupply of office space in recent years.


Former New Zealand sex worker given award in U.K. queen's birthday honors list

Abstract: LONDON - Catherine Healy, a former New Zealand sex worker-turned-women’s rights activist who successfully campaigned to decriminalize prostitution in the country, was awarded the title of dame to mark the official birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. New Zealand awards such honors twice a year — at New Year and again in June to mark the monarch’s official birthday. Healy, 62, who founded the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective and helped to draft a law passed in 2003 that legitimized brothels and gave employment rights to sex workers, was awarded the title of dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Countries have been divided over how to address prostitution with some such as Canada, Sweden and Norway introducing laws to punish the client without criminalizing those in sex work. Almost 30 countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand, have legalized or decriminalized prostitution. Women’s rights campaigners who support decriminalization or legalization of sex work hope Healy’s honor will help tackle stigma and encourage sex workers who are victims of violence to report crimes to the police without fear of retribution. “Stigma and criminalization create an environment of impunity in which violence and exploitation thrive,” Luca Stevenson of the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, said. “It is crucial that the needs of the most marginalized such as undocumented migrant sex workers, trans women sex workers or sex workers who use drugs are listened to and prioritized. Sex workers, even the most stigmatized, can speak for themselves.” Yet other activists call for the abolition of prostitution and say most women are victims of human trafficking and have been lured, duped or forced into sexual slavery by pimps and traffickers, largely due to their poor socioeconomic status. The royal endorsement given to Healy is a “slap in the face to women everywhere,” said Rachel Moran, an activist who opposes decriminalization as she argues it will increase violence against women and make exploitation easier for sex traffickers.

awards
sex
new zealand
prostitution
queen elizabeth


60,000 elderly drivers in Japan suspected of having dementia during license renewal: police

Abstract: Nearly 60,000 drivers aged 75 and over were judged to possibly have dementia when renewing their licenses in the first year of stricter screening for elderly drivers, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The revised road traffic law, which requires elderly drivers to see a doctor if dementia is suspected during a preliminary screening, took effect on March 12 last year. Fatal crashes involving senior citizens have become a major issue due to the rapid aging of the population. The agency said in a report that 2,105,477 holders of driver’s licenses took cognitive function tests in the first year of the revised law, and 57,099 of them were suspected of having dementia. A total of 1,892 of those drivers had their licenses suspended or nullified, up about threefold from 597 in 2016. A further 16,115 gave up their licenses after being judged as possibly having dementia, while 4,517 people stopped their renewal procedure and their licenses became null and void. Some 1,515 others are still in the middle of their renewal procedures, suggesting the number of suspensions and nullifications is likely to grow. Overall, 151,528 people in Japan voluntarily returned their licenses to the police between January and April this year, with some 70 percent of them (105,560) age 75 or older, according to preliminary data from the NPA. Before the law’s revision, doctors’ diagnoses were encouraged but not mandatory when dementia was suspected in cognitive tests. The number of traffic deaths in Japan has been on the decline, dropping to a record-low of 3,694 people in 2017. But serious accidents caused by elderly drivers have continued to attract national attention, particularly as the country is expected to have more elderly drivers in coming years. Last month, a 90-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly running a red light and hitting four pedestrians in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. One of the pedestrians died. The latest police tally showed 13,063 drivers were allowed to continue driving after seeing doctors, but 9,563 of them are required to have another medical exam conducted in six months as their cognitive functions are seen to be deteriorating. The number of people feared to be experiencing lower levels of deterioration in their cognitive functions and who were not required to have a medical examination totaled 553,810, while 1,494,568 didn’t show any signs of cognitive problems. As alternative transportation services for the elderly who give up their licenses are limited, the NPA set up an expert group last October to study whether to introduce driving permits that would limit where, when and what type of vehicles senior citizens can drive. Such licenses have been issued in Europe and the United States. An NPA official said the agency also plans to ask automakers how advanced safety technologies might make up for the deterioration in the driving skills of the elderly.

survey
national police agency
elderly
cars


Hiroshima hibakusha, 86, kept horror of A-bombing to himself, until now

Abstract: For more than 70 years, Hiroshima resident Tokuo Shimizu kept the gruesome memories of the hellish scenes he saw at ground zero the day after the atomic bombing to himself. But at the age of 86, Shimizu has decided to share his A-bomb memories with younger generations to pass on the message that human beings should never wage war again. Shimizu was a second-year student at the Hiroshima Municipal Shipbuilding Engineering School (now Hiroshima Municipal Commercial High School) when the atomic bomb exploded over the city on Aug. 6, 1945. On that day, he was at Mitsubishi Heavy Industry’s Hiroshima Shipyard, which had been mobilized to build naval weapons to be used for suicide attacks. Suddenly, a strong flash of light streamed into the workplace. At first, he thought it was a short circuit. After taking refuge in a nearby air raid shelter, he saw a huge mushroom cloud rise above the central part of the city. After spending the night at the shelter worrying about his family, Shimizu headed back to his home in the city in what is now known as Higashi Ward. “I walked past people who were severely burned to the extent that they no longer looked human,” Shimizu recalled. “I tried to avoid stepping on the bodies.” Under the eaves of a house, he saw several dead bodies with their heads stuck in a water tank. Shimizu was so thirsty that he pushed the bodies aside and drank from the tank. “It was strange to see mosquito larvae floating in the water even under such circumstances,” he said. Shimizu still can’t forget the grim sights he witnessed around the Aioi Bridge, which had been used by the Allies as an aiming point for the bomb. The river was filled with so many bodies he couldn’t see the surface of the water. On the bridge was an American prisoner. A man who looked like a military policeman was standing beside him, urging people to torture him with sticks and stones. When he finally reached home, he found that the house was severely damaged but his mother was safe. Shimizu’s 27-year-old sister, Yasuko, however, was injured. She became ill while searching for her daughter, Mieko, who was a first-grader in elementary school. While in bed, she said she wanted to eat zenzai (sweet red bean soup), so the family begged a farmer and managed to get the ingredients. But she died before the dish was ready. “I wanted her to eat it,” Shimizu recalled. Yasuko’s husband was severely burned in the bombing and died before the war ended. Mieko was never found. Shimizu later heard from the late Keiji Nakazawa, who penned the famous manga series “Hadashi no Gen” (“Barefoot Gen”) and went to the same elementary school, that his niece was with him near the school’s gate when the bomb hit, blowing them both off their feet. Shimizu also lost close friends. All the first-year students who were mobilized to the area near where the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum now stands were killed. Among them was a former classmate who had waited a year to enter the shipbuilding engineering school because it was popular. His heart still aches when he thinks of these friends. Shimizu himself began showing acute symptoms of radiation sickness, including hair loss and bleeding gums. As he lost his father during the war, Shimizu went through difficult times making ends meet afterward. To survive, he ate weeds that grew near the railway tracks and earned meager wages from the black market. But things got better with time. In 1949, he moved to a liquor shop run by the family that another of his sisters had married into. There, he met his future but now deceased wife, Sachie, and ran the shop together for many years. Shimizu devoted himself to promoting the economy, serving as the first chairman of the shopping district promotion association. Together with other residents, he also built a shrine on the roof of his shop. Shimizu currently lives with a grandchild’s family and has been blessed with four great-grandchildren. “Without everyone’s efforts after the war, Hiroshima wouldn’t have recovered and become the city it is now. We should never ever wage war again,” Shimizu said.

history
hiroshima
hibakusha
atomic bombing


Undocumented workers in Japan in a constant state of uncertainty

Abstract: People who live in a state of daily desperation sometimes react to their circumstances with violence against others or themselves and, while such actions are a manifestation of frustration, they can also alert the larger world to that frustration, even if it wasn’t intended. During a single week in May there were four suicide attempts involving three people at the East Japan Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, where more than 300 foreign nationals are being detained as they await deportation. These acts follow the suicide of an Indian man at the center in April, which then led to a hunger strike by more than 100 detainees. Attorney Shoichi Ibuski, an expert on immigration issues who has represented foreign detainees, discussed the matter during the May 29 edition of the TBS Radio talk show Session 22 , saying that “there are more suicide attempts (at immigration facilities) than are reported.” Nevertheless, leading news outlets, which mostly ignore the issue of detained foreign nationals, have started to pay attention. The reason for the sudden interest isn’t clear, although it seems to be a confluence of sensational stories, the large increase in inbound tourism and the government’s sensitivity toward foreign visitors in the runup to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In May, the Asahi Shimbun and other publications posted a security video of a Turkish man being severely manhandled last July by employees of the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau, fracturing his arm in the process. The man filed a lawsuit against the state on May 29. As Session 22 host Chiki Ogiue commented, the video was made public at around the same time that the “dangerous tackle” images from a Japanese college American football game were dominating the TV news cycle , and he wondered if the footage would have received more attention if the football scandal hadn’t happened. Ogiue suggests that the detention video is much more disturbing, a quality that by itself might have kept it off the nightly news, but the more pertinent consideration is whether broadcasters think the Japanese public is ready or willing to accept the treatment detainees receive in immigration control centers, treatment that Ibuski says amounts to violations of their human rights. He wonders if the public has bought into the government’s narrative that detainees are criminals even if they never actually call them criminals or characterize their detention as punishment. At issue is the length of their detention, which, for some, can be as much as several years. As Ibuski points out, detainees are technically being processed for departure. Once the procedure is complete, they will presumably leave Japan, but during the process they have to remain locked up. Most are overstayers, though a good number are seeking asylum. In effect, they have no status, which means they aren’t “prisoners” in a legal sense because “imprisonment” indicates a process that includes indictment and a conviction. Under indictment, a judge determines whether the accused is to be detained prior to and during a trial. When it comes to immigration problems, however, immigration officials make such determinations and do what they please. This vague status can also apply to those who have Japanese spouses or relatives residing legally in Japan, because until the process is finished, they are at the mercy of the Justice Ministry. Ibuski isn’t sure why the ministry keeps detainees locked up for so long. Session 22 also talked to Yugo Hirano, a reporter for Kyodo News who has probably covered the detainee issue more thoroughly than anyone. Hirano discussed one young man from India who came to Japan seeking asylum to avoid the military draft in his country and was granted permission for provisional stay ( kari taizai ). He married a Japanese woman, but ended up violating a condition of his approved stay and was detained in April 2017. He applied for provisional release ( kari homen ), but was not allowed to meet with his wife. After waiting a year, he swallowed shampoo in front of some staff, more out of desperation than in any attempt to kill himself. In a constant state of uncertainty, detainees follow the process but get no feedback as to how that process is progressing. Ibuski thinks the government wants to wear them down so that they leave Japan of their own will — and, perhaps more significantly, at their own expense. Forced deportations look bad to the rest of the world. Hirano has talked to Ministry of Justice officials who told him the detention policy is a “safety countermeasure” for the Tokyo Olympics, thus implying that undocumented foreign nationals are considered potential wrongdoers who will ruin the games for others. Hirano can find no data that supports this supposition. The vast majority of undocumented foreign nationals are law-abiding, since they would not do anything to risk their situation. The only thing “illegal” about them is their presence. As with the current controversy in the United States regarding asylum seekers detained and separated from their children as soon as they show up at the border, it is in the Japanese government’s interest to characterize undocumented foreign nationals as lawbreakers even though they have the right, at least as far as international society is concerned, to apply for residence. Ogiue says this thinking applies to all inbound foreign nationals, including tourists and workers. Everyone is seen as either an economic benefit or an economic liability. Thousands work in low-paying jobs, including many who have applied for refugee status, because Japan desperately needs them, but the government doesn’t know how to deal with them in a forthright manner, and so insists they are only here for a short period or pretends they don’t exist. In a discussion of the matter in the June issue of Sekai , Swiss novelist Max Frisch is quoted regarding his own country’s immigration policy as a means of explaining Japan’s current situation: “We asked for workers, but we got human beings instead.”

immigration
expats
foreign workers
shoichi ibuski


Japan's YouTubers go long with crowdfunded content

Abstract: Natsuki Aso did not become a punk rock star, much to his teenage self’s regret. Around 15 minutes into the documentary “Natsuki: The Movie,” however, you’ll see that the 44-year-old was able to achieve a different kind of celebrity — replacing “concert appearances” with “vlog appearances,” and “screaming fans” with “adoring commenters.” That’s the underlying — and uplifting — takeaway in Chris Broad’s documentary on his friend: YouTube can make dreams happen in ways you’ve never thought of. This goes for Broad as well, his channel Abroad in Japan usually produces short videos on life here but, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, he was able to produce his first full-length documentary. “Without Patreon, there’s no way this could ever have happened,” Broad says. “YouTube ad revenue alone simply isn’t enough to fund projects like this.” The campaign helped the film get the financial support it needed within three months. As incentives, Broad gave donors behind-the-scenes access to the production and sometimes even used their ideas in the documentary. Once the project was complete, he just had to upload it to his site and watch the view count rise. “The tragedy of many documentaries is that they’re often seen by small audiences due to the manner in which they’re distributed,” says Broad, whose film has now been viewed 280,000 times. “I’m incredibly lucky to have several hundred thousand amazing people who follow the YouTube channel, and it made sense for them all to be able to watch it through YouTube.” Broad’s choice of platform didn’t just make sense because of its ease, however. According to Alexa Internet, YouTube is the second-most popular website worldwide, and younger generations in Japan have taken to the service with “YouTuber” being selected as the ninth most popular career choice for those between 6 and 12. “It would have been extremely unlikely for a traditional production company to green-light a film like this, about an eccentric Japanese guy living in a remote, rural region of Japan, running a beauty salon and being at the end of his tether,” Broad says. He may be selling himself short. While audiences may not equate the idea of a YouTuber-produced documentary with the fare on Netflix or Amazon, or screened at a festival like Hot Docs, “Natsuki: The Movie” is incredibly touching and well-produced. “Making around 130 YouTube videos has taught me to think very carefully about every shot and sequence, and to ask whether it’s essential to the overall story,” Broad says. Aso, who makes frequent appearances in Abroad in Japan videos and is known for his exuberant personality, is genuinely relatable in the documentary. “I think I was able to show a part of me that you don’t usually see in the funny videos that I’m in,” Aso says. “Natsuki: The Movie” is one of many documentaries popping up on YouTube and YouTube Premium. The channel Japanese Ammo with Misa is also using Patreon to produce longer content. It can be a harder platform for creators to stand out on, but once noticed their audiences tend to be extremely loyal. “It’s incredibly exciting to think that, through crowdfunding, nearly anyone with a reasonable social media following of just a few thousand people could dream up an idea and conceivably fund it,” Broad says. “Hopefully, it means we’ll see a far greater diversity in original films going forward.”


Communication difficulties continue to torment Japan

Abstract: If communication is measurable in terms of number of words, we are the greatest communicators in the history of our species. Question: Who’s listening? There’s the rub, says President magazine. Listening is the hard part. It’s harder than talking — in part, writes Toshiyuki Goda of the NHK Broadcast Research Center in his contribution to President’s feature on “listening ability,” because, as speakers, we can keep the dialogue within our comfort zone, while listening may take us outside it — into the realm of our own ignorance, which is uncomfortable enough; or, worse, into that of the awkward silence. The on-air broadcaster is particularly sensitive to the latter, but it bedevils all social intercourse. Goda gives an innocuous but clear example. “What,” asks the interviewer, “were your thoughts at the time?” The guest struggles to recall. “Hmm. Well … it was 20 years ago.” “You must have felt sad?” “Yes, I suppose I did.” “And angry?” “Well … yes.” The faux pas leaps off the page at you — putting words in the interviewee’s mouth. Even on-air, a little silence is permissible. Off-air, much is. Our torrent of words chokes the silence in which words can acquire depth and meaning. All too often we speak — and the word must be understood in its broadest sense, to include mailing, posting, tweeting, messaging, thumbs up, thumbs down, and all the other communicating tools at our increasingly restless fingertips — past each other rather than to each other, fears AI researcher Noriko Arai, a National Institute of Informatics mathematician best known for her efforts to develop an artificially intelligent robot smart enough to pass Tokyo University’s entrance exam. Her concern, in her article written for President, is a perceived decline in reading skills. Just as speaking now often means writing, so listening includes reading. To read badly is to listen badly. President being a business publication, Arai focuses on the office implications. Bosses despair, she says, at how their simplest instructions get misconstrued. She doesn’t seem to consider the possibility that the writing is muddy. The fault is assumed to be the reader’s. Maybe it is. Reading tests she cites suggest as much. Persistent misunderstanding of simple texts bewilder researchers who take elementary literacy for granted. We communicate and communicate, young people especially, and yet, says Arai, young people in particular, particularly nowadays, are shockingly deprived of what she calls “real life experience.” Parents take care of their daily needs, extracurricular cram schools guide them step by step up the exam ladder, package tour operators send them on trips to remote places with all the conveniences of home packed into the package, and so on — to say nothing, as she for some reason does, of mass absorption in virtual reality, which is reality scrubbed of what makes it real. What does this have to do with communication? Simply this: To speak (or write) we must have something to say; to listen (or read) with attention requires faith that the speaker has something to say. Arai mentions a test question. Make a sentence, it says, with the word katto , meaning trouble, conflict, anxiety, to be upset. She presents three sample answers, one from a student who was upset when his parents challenged his choice of university arts over science; another from a young woman who suffered anxiety when her mother emailed to ask whether she wanted curry or hamburger for dinner — didn’t her mother know she was on a diet? The third is from a young man who feels katto when he thinks about the end of the world. Arai’s objections, respectively: (1) trivial; (2) trivial; (3) spacey; vision focused either too close or too far to bear practical fruit, like marketable products, innovative sales campaigns and so on, which is what your employer hired you to think about, and if that’s what you were thinking about, maybe you’d misread your boss’s emails less often. Many Tokyo University students, Arai says, want to work not for corporations but for NGOs and NPOs. They want to be of use, to help people in need — people, that is, coping with real katto. Many fail to make the cut. They have good intentions and good heads — but their real-life experience is so thin, Arai says, that they are judged to have nothing substantial to contribute. Her overriding concern is expressed by the title of her recent bestselling book: “AI vs. Children who Can’t Read their Textbooks.” With AI gaining ground as rapidly as it is, insufficiently literate children face a bleak future — a redundant future, a “hiring ice age” to make the last one, which relegated much of the generation born in the 1970s and ’80s to a life of unrewarding part-time labor, seem warm by comparison. Why hire human intelligence when artificial intelligence is so much more intelligent, inexpensive, indefatigable, and obedient? ( Will it be obedient? Or will we have to be, to it?) Maybe even adequate literacy will be no protection. The themes President addresses — speaking and listening, reading and writing, communicating and failing to communicate — are always timely, doubly so now, as Japan wallows in scandal, corporate and political, faked data being the common thread, and the world braces for what is shaping up as a most extraordinary summit. The summiteers are surely the most remarkable ever to meet at this level of power and urgency. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is heir to an established tradition in his country of rule by terror and has yet to break new ground, unless his summiteering is the new ground. U.S. President Donald Trump, any way you look at him, is revolutionary. He communicates, as President notes, in a manner quite foreign to world leaders of comparable importance. His tweets proclaim a new era, the “Trump Era,” in which nuanced articulateness is an unlamented thing of the failed past. Real leaders are actors, not orators. Their speaking is doing, not speechifying. They make deals, not speeches. So we’ll see what kind of deal these two leaders make.