Free pending retrial, Japanese boxer sentenced to death keeps up the good fight

Abstract: HAMAMATSU, SHIZUOKA PREF. - Shuffling down the street sporting shorts, a jacket and straw hat, 82-year-old Iwao Hakamada could be mistaken for any Japanese octogenarian going about his daily chores. But the former boxer has had anything but an ordinary life: He has been living under a death sentence for half a century, thought to be the longest-serving condemned man. The accused murderer finds himself in the extraordinary position of being sentenced to death but free awaiting a possible retrial. Supporters say nearly 50 years of detention, mostly in solitary confinement with the ever-present threat of execution looming over him, have taken a heavy toll on Hakamada’s mental health. He now walks the streets of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, for hours at a time, lost in his own world. When AFP joined him on a sweltering summer day, the former boxer said he was “fighting a bout every day.” “Once you think you can’t win, there is no path to victory,” he said. Though he was talking about boxing, there is a nod to his long battle for justice over his death sentence. Supporter Nobuhiro Terazawa says that “building his fantasy world” was Hakamada’s way of surviving the fear he could be executed at any moment, as well as his decadeslong confinement. “Unlike before, he can walk around freely, but mentally, inmates are kept in isolation suffering the anguish of never knowing when they are going to be put to death — sometimes for decades he still can’t escape from the fears of execution and false charges,” he said. Hakamada’s story began in 1966, when he was arrested on suspicion of robbing and murdering his boss, along with his wife and two teenage children, before burning their house. He initially denied the accusations but later confessed following what he subsequently claimed was a brutal police interrogation that included beatings. He tried to retract his confession but was sentenced to death in 1968, the verdict confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1980. Hakamada sought a retrial and in a rare about-face for the rigid Japanese justice system, the district court in the central city of Shizuoka granted this in 2014. That ruling said investigators could have planted evidence and ordered him freed, adding it was “unbearably unjust” to keep him detained. But the legal back-and-forth did not end there as the Tokyo High Court in June overturned the lower court’s ruling, sending the case back to the Supreme Court. Japan is the only major industrialized democracy other than the United States to carry out capital punishment, which still enjoys broad public support, although debate on the issue is rare. The government recently hanged 13 members of the Aum doomsday cult responsible for a fatal gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. For now, due to his advanced age, authorities have allowed him his freedom, but supporters fear he could be locked up again and potentially executed. Last month, the top prosecutor’s office wrote to the Supreme Court urging a prompt rejection of his appeal to “stop the situation in which the sentence is suspended unnecessarily.” But Hakamada’s sister, Hideko, 85, vows to travel the length and breadth of Japan to proclaim her brother’s innocence. A key piece of evidence used to convict him was a set of bloodstained clothes that emerged more than a year after the crime. Supporters say the clothes did not fit him and the bloodstains were too vivid, given the time elapsed. DNA tests found no link between Hakamada, the clothes and the blood, but the high court rejected the testing methods. Hideko tries to relax her brother, feeding him fresh fruit and vegetables he could not have in prison. “I let him live freely at his pace,” she said. However, she recalls her anger when the Supreme Court rejected her brother’s appeal in 1980. “Everyone looked like an enemy. All the people there, lawyers and supporters included, looked like enemies,” she said. “But Iwao was standing at the gates of hell. I had no choice but to keep going.”

capital punishment
death row
iwao hakamada


Cruel, secretive and politically popular: Japan's death penalty

Abstract: Years waiting on death row, inmates told their fate just hours before their execution and guards paid ¥20,000 to do an “unbearable” job — Japan’s capital punishment system is criticized as cruel and secretive, yet remains popular. Unusual for a major industrialized power, capital punishment in Japan enjoys broad public support, with few calls for its abolishment. Inmates are executed not by professionals but by ordinary prison staff who may have been guarding the condemned for months or even years, and who receive extra pay of ¥20,000 ($180) each. “It’s awful, the body bounces like a 70 kilogram object on a nylon rope,” said Toshio Sakamoto, who has witnessed hangings and described the process as “unbearable.” Blindfolded convicts, usually serial murderers, are led to a spot with their feet bound and hands cuffed. Then, a trap-door opens below. The mechanism is triggered by a button in an adjacent room, pressed simultaneously by several officers, although none is told which button is the “live one” that will cause the prisoner’s fall. The guards assigned to carry out the executions “remember the (inmates’) body temperatures, their breathing, their words. … But they must do most of the work,” Sakamoto said. And they received no counseling. They are expected to “digest” the execution themselves, he explained. “There is no worse job,” he said. “The cost of a human life is ¥100,000.” Japan is the only major industrialized democracy other than the United States to carry out capital punishment. The system was thrust into the international spotlight in July when the country hanged 13 Aum cultists, but the secretive methods have come under fire for being cruel for criminals, families and guards. Under law, the death sentence should be carried out six months after being confirmed by the top court. In reality, however, prisoners languish on death row for many years — Japan has a total of 110 awaiting execution. “Prisoners are typically only given a few hours’ notice before execution, but some may be given no warning at all,” said Amnesty International in a recent statement. “Inmates are kept in isolation suffering the anguish of never knowing when they are going to be put to death — sometimes for decades,” added the pressure group. Families are only informed after the execution, noted Amnesty. Munehiro Nishiguchi, a convicted murderer whose appeal against the death sentence is being heard in the Supreme Court, said the news of the Aum cult executions came as “an indescribable shock.” “I feel I’m such a pathetically weak person,” he wrote in a letter to Yo Nagatsuka, who filmed a documentary exploring public perceptions of capital punishment in Japan. “I have realized the real punishment or agony from the death sentence is the fear you feel until the day comes,” he also wrote. Former guard Sakamoto notes that a high reliance on confessions and a conviction rate of well over 90 percent allows room for coercion and false charges. The government cites broad public support as a reason to maintain capital punishment, but there is little public debate as the whole process is veiled in secrecy. The authorities have just once allowed a 30-minute media visit inside the glass-walled execution room in the Tokyo Detention House, arguably the best-kept among Japan’s seven facilities with gallows. A 2014 government survey of about 1,800 people showed 80 percent thought capital punishment was “unavoidable,” with only one in 10 in favor of abolishing it. But 38 percent thought it should be abolished if Japan introduces life imprisonment without parole — something the penal code does not currently allow. One 62-year-old businessman in Tokyo said it would be “insane” to think of scrapping capital punishment. And Mika Koike, a 29-year-old IT engineer, said, “Taking the victims and their families into consideration, I think there is no other clear, absolute way to punish the offenders.” Kotaro Yamakami, a 25-year-old politics student, said murderers should pay in kind. “There is a saying ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ I think it’s unavoidable that those who committed heinous crimes are executed,” he said. But he acknowledged there was an increasing number opposed to the death penalty and urged authorities to consider introducing life imprisonment with no parole. For now, there is no sign that Japan’s leaders are pondering any changes. On July 5, the eve of the executions of seven Aum Shinrikyo cultists, a smiling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was photographed at a drinking party with fellow politicians, giving the thumbs-up for a collective snapshot with his justice minister, who had signed off on the hanging orders.

justice ministry
death row
toshio sakamoto


Japan's three-year cancer survival rate at 71%

Abstract: The three-year survival rate stood at 71.3 percent for people who were diagnosed with cancer in Japan in 2011, the National Cancer Center said in a survey report Wednesday. The survey covered some 300,000 patients at 268 designated hospitals for cancer treatment and other institutions across the country. The three-year survival rate stood as low as 15.1 percent for pancreatic cancer. The rates were also low for liver and lung cancer, at 53.6 percent and 49.4 percent, respectively. “More research needs to be done to improve the treatment” for such cancers, an official of the cancer center said. This was the first disclosure of three-year cancer survival rates by the cancer center. As five-year survival is widely used as a benchmark for determining a cure for cancer, the center has been releasing survival probabilities. Because it takes time to compile data on five-year survival rates, however, the center decided to disclose data on three-year survival in order to make more up-to-date information available for reviews of treatment plans. The three-year survival rate stood at 74.3 percent for stomach cancer, 78.1 percent for colorectal cancer, 95.2 percent for women’s breast cancer, 52 percent for esophageal cancer, 78.8 percent for cervical cancer, 85.5 percent for uterine cancer, 99 percent for prostate cancer and 73.5 percent for bladder cancer. The five-year survival rate for all types of cancer stood at 65.8 percent for people who were diagnosed with the disease in 2008-2009.

cancer
national cancer center
survivial rate


IWC vote backs aboriginal whale hunts — with new quotas

Abstract: SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL - The International Whaling Commission on Wednesday cast a rare strong vote in favor of whale hunting but strictly for small subsistence hunts undertaken by some communities, mostly in the Arctic. The vote confirmed a long-standing commitment to so-called aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW) for nutritional and cultural reasons — an exception to the decades-old ban on commercial whaling. But some NGOs feared the vote could help ease the way for a return to full-scale commercial whaling, eagerly being pushed by Japan and other pro-whaling nations at a tense IWC meeting in Brazil. “What the consequences are for the return of commercial whaling is extremely concerning,” said Aimee Leslie of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Ryan Wulff, the U.S. commissioner to the IWC, said the deal “gives our native communities the much-needed flexibility to operate more safely in dangerous environmental conditions that vary from one year to the next.” The issue is highly sensitive because Japan — with the backing of Iceland, Norway and some other nations — is using many of the same cultural arguments to call for a return to commercial whaling. Both pro- and anti-whaling nations came together in a 68-7 vote to set a catch quota of hundreds of minke, fin, humpback and bowhead whales for the next six years for communities in Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Crawford Patkotak, of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, said he wanted to “thank God first of all,” for the vote result. “This means a lot to our people — we live in harsh conditions. This is a great day for us, the people of the north,” Patkotak said. Anti-whaling NGOs and states had raised fears that higher quotas would increase the chances of more widespread whale hunting. They objected to an original plan for automatic renewal of the quotas after six years, and a carry-over of unused quotas from year to year. The WWF said a compromise — under which the IWC scientific committee would oversee the renewal of quotas — did not provide a sufficient safeguard. “They basically gave a green light to auto-renewal without establishing how any concerns or questions will be addressed,” said Leslie. “The lines just keep getting more blurred between the different types of whaling and that is extremely concerning for the future of whales and how whaling will be managed.” Later this week, the IWC will take up Japan’s proposals to return to commercial whaling. “There is massive support for aboriginal subsistence whaling but that is not to say there would be anything like that support for commercial whaling. Far from it,” said one state representative close to the talks. Iceland, which continues to hunt whales in defiance of a 32-year moratorium, welcomed the green-light for aboriginal whale hunts, saying it was a shift in the IWC’s position. Nicolas Entrup of Swiss-based NGO OceanCare accused Iceland of trying to “instrumentalize indigenous people’s rights to go whaling” to gain momentum for wider acceptance of commercial whaling. Patkotak was one of several whaling captains from Alaska and Russia’s Chukotka peninsula to make presentations to the IWC meeting, bringing the cold chill of their real-life problems to the room. The skipper, who represents 150 whaling captains from 11 villages spread over a large swathe of the North Alaska coast, said the quotas were not to be taken lightly, particularly when the IWC had denied them in the past. “This is something we have struggled with for many years — to see this day where we are able to go about our lives in peace without the anxiety to provide for our people,” Patkotak said. The Hawaii-based Whaleman Foundation said both Alaska’s Makah community and Bequia “do not have a true subsistence need” and should not be given quotas to kill whales. The Caribbean island of Bequia has been given a quota to take four whales a year.

brazil
iceland
whaling
alaska
greenland
japan
iwc
commercial whaling
aboriginal whaling


Belongings of student who perished in A-bomb attack, donated to Hiroshima museum

Abstract: Yoko Moriwaki, who was 13 at the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, is known for the diary she kept until the day before the bombing. The diary is now a symbol of the weapon’s cruelty. Her brother, Koji Hosokawa, 90, an A-bomb survivor living in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, donated her uniform, air-raid hood, and distorted lunch box to the Peace Memorial Museum. Hosokawa had long kept these mementos of his sister at home. Given his advancing age, he decided to ensure they would be kept safe and secure at the museum in the years to come. On Aug. 6, 1945, when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Moriwaki was a student at First Hiroshima Prefectural Girls’ High School who was helping to dismantle buildings to create a firebreak in Dobashi (now part of Naka Ward), about 700 meters from the hypocenter. She was severely burned and died the same night. A total of 301 students and teachers from her school lost their lives in the attack. Moriwaki had made her school uniform by hand, using cloth from her mother’s kimono. Patches that bear her name and the words “Student Corps” were sewn onto the uniform. It is believed Moriwaki changed into her work clothes at the building demolition site, saving her uniform and air-raid hood from being burned in the attack. They were later found and passed on to her family by staff from the school. Hosokawa found Moriwaki’s warped lunch box near the building demolition site with her chopstick pouch lying nearby, serving as a clue. Hosokawa published the book “Yoko Moriwaki’s Diary” in 1996, which is still read today. The diary consists of entries made from the time she entered high school until Aug. 5. The final entry said: “Tomorrow I’ll help clean up at the building demolition site. I will work as hard as I can.” The diary, as well as the fountain pen used to write the entries, which Hosokawa kept, were introduced in a textbook for junior high school students. Four years ago, the diary was published in English in Australia, where it generated a strong response. When the atomic bomb exploded, Hosokawa was about 1.3 km from the hypocenter and managed to survive. He later served as a peace volunteer, guiding visitors through the Peace Memorial Museum and sharing his own A-bomb accounts. He has also dedicated himself to training the “memory keepers” who are inheriting the A-bomb survivors’ experiences and memories. Through his work, Hosokawa has learned about the belongings of the victims and how they silently convey the cruelty of the atomic bomb, the chagrin of the victims, and the grief and sorrow felt by their families. And this is what finally prompted him to part with his sister’s belongings and donate them to the museum. With the establishment of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons last year, visitors to Hiroshima from inside and outside of Japan are likely to increase. “For us, the belongings of the A-bomb victims are not merely objects; they embrace the spirits of both the A-bomb victims and the people who value and cherish them,” Hosokawa said. “I hope that my sister’s possessions will remain etched in the memories of every visitor when they are exhibited at the museum.”

hiroshima
atomic bombing
peace memorial museum
yoko moriwaki


High debt limits China's range of weapons in defending against Trump's tariff blitz

Abstract: Ten years ago, China shielded itself from the global financial crisis with a wall of stimulus. Facing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught, that feat of self-preservation looks much harder to repeat. The simple reason is that even if President Xi Jinping’s government were to conclude that the economy needed massive spending to keep growth on track, he is hamstrung by China’s huge debt. At over 260 percent of gross domestic product, total debt is more than four times what it was in 2008—and much of that is the legacy of stimulus past. The Xi administration’s two-year drive to tame credit growth has consumed political capital, which makes calibrating a response to a slowing economy amid trade tensions a delicate task for policymakers. “There’s a very strong lobby power in China that’s saying, ‘Domestic activity is weak, the tariff war is escalating, China should react more aggressively to prevent a slowdown,’ ” said Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong. But if the government “stops the deleveraging procedure and reverses course, that would be the biggest policy mistake China could make.” The economy started strong in 2018, buoyed by robust global trade. Yet the unexpectedly sharp impact of the campaign to curb credit hit just around the time that higher U.S. tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports took effect and Trump raised the prospect of targeting an additional $200 billion in goods, sending Chinese stocks and the currency into a tailspin. GDP growth is expected to slow to 6.6 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2019. Those predictions don’t factor in Trump’s most recent threats to blanket all Chinese imports with duties, which would slice about 1.3 percentage point off those numbers, according to Morgan Stanley. The impact on employment also would be severe: In a worst-case scenario that envisages an across-the-board 25 percent tariff, China could lose 5.5 million jobs, according to Zhu’s calculations. To keep the economy insulated in a protracted trade war, China may need to sacrifice the progress it has made over the past two years in managing its debt. Beijing has tightened controls on local government finances and imposed restrictions on companies’ overseas investments, which together with other measures have dampened annual credit growth to about 10 percent, from above 12 percent two years ago. Regulators have also reined in the shadow banking sector, steering lending business back to mainstream banks, where it can be more closely monitored. These efforts would have had a more severe impact on economic growth had it not been for some targeted measures. The central bank has cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, freeing up money for lending, and added enticements for investors to extend loans to small businesses. Beijing is also pushing local governments to issue their annual quota of special bonds for infrastructure financing earlier than planned, with more than 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) due to come onto the market from August to October. Some types of big-ticket projects that had been nixed at the height of the belt-tightening campaign—such as new metro lines—may now get the green light. By contrast, real stimulus would involve cutting the central bank’s benchmark interest rate (an unwise move at a time when emerging-market currencies are under pressure), loosening curbs on the property sector, and increasing the size of the fiscal deficit. Steps of that magnitude aren’t likely yet, according to Robin Xing, Morgan Stanley’s Hong Kong-based chief China economist. That is because at the current level of debt, such measures could trigger a crisis by tipping the economy into a vicious cycle where runaway property prices cripple consumer spending. Residents of Beijing and other large cities are already cutting back on purchases in the face of double-digit rent increases. A U.S.-China blowout is not the most likely scenario analysts are contemplating, given renewed efforts by the Trump administration to negotiate a truce. The impact of U.S. tariffs already in place and those in the works could slice about 0.3 percentage point from China’s GDP growth next year, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. JPMorgan Chase’s Zhu sees the government paring back its growth target next year to a range of 6 percent to 6.5 percent, vs. about 6.5 percent this year. That would be consistent with Beijing’s long-stated objective of not trying to maximize growth at any cost, but rather steering the $12 trillion economy, which has been slowing as it matures, on a glide path. For the moment, China is still on course to become a “high-income” nation—a World Bank designation for countries with gross national income per capita above about $12,000—within a decade and match the size of the U.S. economy not long after that. Unless those goals begin to look in doubt under the pressure of Trump’s trade war, leaders in Beijing are showing every sign of wanting to just wait it out.


Foreign Minister Taro Kono tells World Economic Forum that Japan is ready to accept more workers from abroad

Abstract: HANOI - Japan is gearing up to accept more foreign workers as its population is on the brink of a steep decline, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Thursday. Kono told a World Economic Forum meeting in Hanoi that Japan gains “value added” by accepting foreign people, especially since its aging population and low birth rate mean the country is shrinking by half a million people a year. “We cannot sustain our society like that,” he said in response to a question during a panel discussion. “We are opening up our country. We are opening up our labor market to foreign countries. We are now trying to come up with a new work permit policy so I think everyone shall be welcome in Japan if they are willing to assimilate into Japanese society.” Japan has traditionally resisted accepting migrant workers, at times easing such restrictions but then re-imposing them during economic downturns. Many Japanese are uncomfortable with outsiders who might not speak their language or conform to expectations for how to behave. Still, there are millions of foreign people living in Japan, including those who work in technical training-related programs or labor-short industries such as restaurants, construction and elderly care. The country has gradually been loosening restrictions to enable families to hire domestic help. It also has short programs to bring in foreign nurses from Indonesia and other countries. But language requirements have made long-term employment in such jobs difficult. Kono cited sports stars including tennis sensation Naomi Osaka, the daughter of a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, as an example of the benefits of welcoming outsiders. Osaka, who was born in Japan but raised in the United States, is being lauded by Japanese following her U.S. Open win. “It’s good to have diversity. It’s good to have an open policy,” Kono said. Also at the meeting, Kono and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh urged the United States to rejoin a sprawling Pacific trade deal, almost two years after President Donald Trump’s withdrawal dealt a major blow to what would have been the world’s largest free trade pact. Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in one of his first post-election moves as part of his “America First” policy, declaring the 12-nation trade pact a “job killer.” The 11 remaining countries have gone ahead with the deal and it could go into effect by the end of this year, although in a significantly watered-down version without the U.S. They have kept a door open for Washington’s return, and have also not ruled out allowing other countries to join the deal. “We believe TPP is still the best option for (the) United States,” Kono said, speaking at a WEF meeting where concerns over trade protectionism have dominated discussions. “It will be very attractive for American industries, American farmers to join it.” Japan, the largest remaining economy in the TPP, led the charge to keep it alive. The newly rebranded deal, dubbed the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) and which forms a market of 500 million people, could go into effect by the end of 2018, Kono added. Minh echoed Kono’s appeal, calling the deal “a very high-standard agreement.” Vietnam stood to be the biggest winner from U.S. involvement before Trump’s withdrawal from the pact, which would have opened access to U.S. markets for its cheap manufactured goods — from shoes and shirts to mobile phones and computer processors. For smaller signatories like Vietnam, unfettered access to U.S. markets was a major draw. In its original iteration, the free trade bloc would have made up 38 percent of the global economy. Today, the remaining signatories comprise about 13.5 percent. The comments by Japan and Vietnam come after Trump said in April the U.S. could re-enter the agreement if it was a “better” deal. Leaders at this year’s regional WEF summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have railed against protectionism and called for breaking down trade barriers. Trade in the region has grown at breakneck pace in the past decade, transforming some of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries into fast-growing export economies. Earlier at the summit, which closed Thursday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo compared trade disputes to “infinity wars” — a reference to the latest Avengers movie — vowing to fight protectionism. “Not since the Great Depression of the 1930s have trade wars erupted with the intensity that they have today,” said the leader, who is seeking re-election next year. “But rest assured I and my fellow avengers stand ready to prevent Thanos from wiping out half the world population,” he said, referring to the film’s villain.

world economic forum
tpp
foreign workers
taro kono


From 'birtherism' to 'deep state,' Puerto Rico death toll joins Trump's conspiracy theory list

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Puerto Rico death toll. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. The 2016 presidential election vote. Hillary Clinton and her emails. President Donald Trump speaks and tweets often about conspiracies against him. That’s not to say they exist as he describes them. A look at some of those issues: ___ PUERTO RICO Trump on Thursday rejected the official hurricane death toll in Puerto Rico, tweeting without evidence that “3,000 people did not die.” “When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000,” Trump tweeted a year after the island was devastated. Twelve minutes after the first tweet, Trump falsely blamed Democrats: “This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!” Puerto Rico’s governor last month raised Maria’s official death toll from 64 to 2,975 after an independent study found that the number of people who succumbed in the sweltering aftermath had been severely undercounted. Previous reports from the Puerto Rican government said the number was closer to 1,400. Researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University determined about 3,000 have died. Those that were hardest hit by the hurricane were the elderly and impoverished. ___ RUSSIA PROBE Trump has railed that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling is a conspiracy carried out by the former FBI director “and his whole group of Angry Democrat Thugs.” Trump denies colluding in the meddling. Trump’s shorthand for discrediting Mueller is calling the probe a “Rigged Witch Hunt” by Mueller’s “17 Angry Democrats.” “You have no Republicans” among Mueller’s team, Trump said on “Fox & Friends” in June. Mueller is a Republican and some on his team owe their jobs largely to Republican presidents. Some have indeed given money to Democratic candidates over the years. But Mueller could not have barred them from serving on that basis because regulations prohibit the consideration of political affiliation for personnel actions involving career attorneys. ___ THE 2016 VOTE Trump has tried to blame his loss of the popular vote to Hillary Clinton on “millions” of illegal votes in her favor. The voting commission he convened to study the issue disbanded with no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump became president after he won the Electoral College vote by 304 to 227. But Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million more votes after racking up lopsided wins in big states such as New York and California, according to election data compiled by The Associated Press. __ HILLARY CLINTON Among Trump’s favorite foils is “Crooked Hillary” Clinton, his 2016 Democratic rival. This month, he sent a tweet that brought a number of his perceived enemies together: “Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps (Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr, FISA, Dirty Dossier etc.), their credibility will be forever gone!” Trump appeared to be citing a story by the right-leaning Daily Caller publication, which reported that a Chinese-owned company in Washington, D.C., area hacked Clinton’s email server. But FBI and Justice Department officials have said publicly that there was no evidence Clinton’s server was hacked by a foreign power. ___ BIRTHERISM Donald Trump was for years the primary propagator of the falsehood that Democrat Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, was not born in the United States and was thus ineligible to hold the nation’s highest office. Obama was born in Hawaii. Then Trump lied about the original lie. In September 2016, he held a news conference at his Washington hotel to declare that he believed Obama had been born in the U.S. He falsely blamed Clinton for starting the rumor and credited himself for ending it. The public record over the past decade undermines Trump’s version. People in Clinton’s orbit did discuss Obama’s background during their bitter primary struggle in 2008. But it appears that when Clinton got wind of smears about Obama’s roots or religion, she either shut down that line of argument or ignored it. There is no evidence that Clinton herself has ever said Obama wasn’t born in America. ___ ‘DEEP STATE’ Trump didn’t invent the term, but “deep state” has been a favorite theory of conservative media outlets such as Breitbart. The idea is that deeply entrenched bureaucrats are working against him. Trump’s been happy to help spread the phrase and the notion. Again referencing Clinton’s emails, some of which were stored on a private server in her home while she was secretary of state, Trump tweeted Nov. 28: “Why aren’t our deep State authorities looking at this?” The Justice Department has closed the case. “There was not a prosecutable case there,” said then-FBI Director James Comey.

hillary clinton
puerto rico
hurricanes
donald trump


Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina

Abstract: WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA - Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early Friday, pushing a life-threatening storm surge of floodwater miles inland and ripping apart buildings with screaming wind and pelting rain. More than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel at the height of the storm, and many more who defied evacuation orders were hoping to be rescued. Pieces of buildings ripped apart by the storm flew through the air. Most ominously, forecasters said the terrifying onslaught would last for hours and hours, because Florence was barely creeping along and still drawing energy from the ocean. Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane a few miles east of Wilmington, as the center of its eye moved onshore near Wrightsville Beach, the National Hurricane Center said. Coastal streets flowed with frothy ocean water and tens of thousands lost electricity. Forecasters said “catastrophic” freshwater flooding was expected along waterways far from the coast of the Carolinas. At 7 a.m., Florence was centered just 5 miles (10 kilometers) east of Wilmington, North Carolina. Its forward movement was 6 mph (9 kph). Hurricane-force winds extended 90 miles (150 kilometers) from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds up to 195 miles (315 kilometers). Winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence moved in for an extended stay, with enough of its killer winds swirling overseas to maintain its power. Forecasters said the onslaught could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas. The wind howled and sheets of rain splattered against windows of a hotel before dawn in Wilmington, where Sandie Orsa of Wilmington sat in a lobby lit by emergency lights after the power failed. “(It’s) very eerie, the wind howling, the rain blowing sideways, debris flying,” said Orsa, who lives nearby and fears splintering trees will pummel her house. The storm’s intensity held at about 90 mph (144 kph), and it appeared that the north side of the eye was the most dangerous place to be as Florence moved ashore. A weather station at a community college recorded a 100 mph wind gust, and forecasters tweeted that a 91 mph wind gust slammed into Wilmington’s airport, surpassing the power of Hurricane Fran two decades ago. The National Hurricane Center said a gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, reported 6.3 feet (1.92 meters) of inundation. Emerald Isle is about 84 miles 135 kilometers) north of Wilmington. And about 46 miles farther up the waterfront, in New Bern, about 150 people were waiting to be rescued from floods on the Neuse River, WXII-TV reported. The city said two FEMA teams were working on swift-water rescues and more were on the way. The worst of the storm’s fury had yet to reach coastal South Carolina, where emergency managers said people could still leave flood-prone areas. “There is still time, but not a lot of time,” said Derrec Becker of the South Carolina Department of Emergency Management. More than 80,000 people in North Carolina already were without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire. North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities. Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it’s unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions. Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers. Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia. Forecasters said conditions will continue to deteriorate as the storm makes its way slowly inland. Its surge could cover all but a sliver of the Carolina coast under as much as 11 feet (3.4 meters) of ocean water, and days of downpours could unload more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) of rain, touching off severe flooding. Once a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (225 kph), the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 on Thursday night. Forecasters said that given the storm’s size and sluggish track, it could cause epic damage akin to what the Houston area saw during Hurricane Harvey just over a year ago, with floodwaters swamping homes and businesses and washing over industrial waste sites and hog-manure ponds. The hurricane was seen as a major test for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was heavily criticized as slow and unprepared for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year. Not everyone was taking Florence too seriously: About two dozen locals gathered Thursday night behind the boarded-up windows of The Barbary Coast bar as Florence blew into Wilmington. Others were at home hoping for the best. “This is our only home. We have two boats and all our worldly possessions,” said Susan Patchkofsky, who refused her family’s pleas to evacuate and stayed at Emerald Isle with her husband. “We have a safe basement and generator that comes on automatically. We chose to hunker down.”


With few blazes to fight, firefighter at north Bangkok station spends time catching snakes in people's homes

Abstract: BANGKOK - A fire department in northern Bangkok has not been called out to put out a fire since June. But for trapping a slithery foe? There is a 24-hour hotline. “We have had several calls asking us to come and catch snakes,” said Suraphong Suepchai, a 46-year-old firefighter working in the Thai capital’s Lat Yao district. “But we have had no calls asking us to fight a fire,” he added. Snakes are a common sight in Bangkok, a bustling city built on what was once swampy land, and it is not unusual to see them slithering across public spaces like parks, canals and schools. But residents might also encounter them in their homes, especially if they have rats. The calls to Suraphong’s fire department increase during the rainy season after new hatchlings are born. If venomous snakes are caught during their calls, they are brought to the Bangkok Snake Farm near the center of the city. As for harmless snakes, Suraphong said he tries to explain to people that it’s good to have them around to keep a balanced ecosystem. “If we kill all the snakes and they disappear, rats will come and bring diseases,” he said, adding that these are brought to a nearby university park to be released. To assuage the fear of locals, the fire department conducts training sessions for anyone who wants to learn how to handle serpents that have temporarily invaded their homes. According to 2016 figures from the Health Ministry, more than 1,700 people in Thailand were bitten by snakes, although none died. During one of the sessions, residents armed with thick gloves attempted to subdue a harmless garden snake — or a hissing cobra — as it suddenly struck at them abruptly. “They’re not as dangerous as I thought,” said Kanoksak Preechakorn, 42. “Now that I know the catching techniques, we don’t need to kill them.” Wrangling pythons was not what Suraphong expected to be doing when he started working at the station, but he is thankful that fires rarely occur in his district. “Firefighting is a job in which sometimes we have to face reality when people lose their lives,” he said. “But when it comes to catching snakes, people are very grateful to us, and it’s fun.”

nature animals thailand pests bangkok snakes


Naomi Osaka is Japan's tennis darling, but could she eventually decide to play for the U.S.?

Abstract: Amid the excitement of Naomi Osaka winning the women’s title at the U.S. Open tennis tournament last weekend, some in Japan are wondering whether she will continue to compete for their country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 20-year-old has dual nationality — Japanese and American — and under Japanese law will have to choose one by the time she turns 22 on Oct. 16 next year, although that regulation is rarely enforced. While the Justice Ministry officially has the right to warn dual nationals to choose one, it has never done so, and the Foreign Ministry has said it does not track dual nationals. “I’m so proud of her,” said Hiromi Shibata, a 32-year-old Tokyo resident and tennis fan. “It doesn’t really matter what flag she represents because that doesn’t change the fact that she has Japanese heritage, but deep down I’m hoping she will play for Japan at the next Olympics.” Osaka, whose world ranking rose 12 spots to No. 7 on Monday, made history on Sept. 8 in New York by becoming the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam singles title, beating decorated veteran Serena Williams in straight sets. Although Osaka was born in Japan, she moved to the United States with her family — including her Japanese mother and Haitian-American father — at age 3. She lacks confidence in her Japanese language ability as a result, and is often assisted by an interpreter during news conferences and other events here. She is among a growing number of prominent athletes representing Team Japan who have fathers from overseas. They include 23-year-old judoka and 2016 Rio Olympic champion Mashu Baker, whose father is American; sprinters Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, 19, who has a Ghanaian father, and Asuka Cambridge, 25, whose father is Jamaican; and 26-year-old javelin thrower Genki Dean, whose father is British. There are some for whom this raises a question over the athletes’ identities as Japanese. But many in the nation welcome their contribution to raising the country’s sporting presence in the world of sports. Kohei Kawashima, professor of sports sciences at Waseda University, emphasized the importance of embracing a “broader, multicultural” notion of what makes someone Japanese. As for the possibility that Osaka might choose to represent the United States in the future, Kawashima said, “I think it’s best for society to respect” any decision she makes. Osaka is said to have expressed her intention to represent Japan at the Tokyo Games. But Shukan Shincho, a Japanese weekly magazine, reported in the spring — after Osaka won her first WTA title in March at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California —that tennis officials here are worried people within U.S. tennis circles might try again to lure the young star, who has spent most of her life in the States, just as they did two years ago. Back then, the Shincho report indicated, people involved in U.S. tennis offered to “look after her in various aspects” but Osaka chose to continue to represent Japan. That apprehension may have been amplified now that she’s won the U.S. Open and taken the tennis world by storm. She was unfazed by facing her idol in the women’s final at Flushing Meadows, in front of a crowd that was overwhelmingly partial to the 36-year-old Williams — who lost her cool during the match and repeatedly confronted the umpire after she was given multiple code violations. Speaking mostly in English at a news conference in Yokohama on Thursday, hours after arriving from the United States, Osaka didn’t seem concerned despite the attention some have paid to her background. “I don’t really think too much about my identity or whatever,” she said when asked what she thinks of overseas media reporting about her Japanese roots. “For me, I’m just me. And I know that the way that I was brought up — I don’t know — people tell me I act kind of Japanese so I guess there’s that.” Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics for the second time from July 24 to Aug. 9, 2020, and the tennis competition will be held on hard courts — the same surface as the U.S. Open. Regardless of which national team Osaka represents, the new darling of women’s tennis, who studies Japanese by watching dramas and listening to music, knows what she will be aiming for in two years’ time. “I’m very excited and I know everyone’s very excited that the Olympics are going to be held in Tokyo,” she said. “I feel like it’s every athlete’s dream to play in the Olympics so I’m looking forward to that a lot, and I feel like if you play then of course you would want to go for gold so that would be my goal, too.”

tennis
2020 tokyo olympics
naomi osaka
nationality


First case of unlicensed private lodging in Japan sent to prosecutors

Abstract: KYOTO - Police in Kyoto referred to prosecutors Friday four officials of a hotel management firm for allegedly running an unlicensed private accommodation service, making it the first case of its kind since a private lodging law came into force in June. The four are suspected of providing accommodation to a total of 15 tourists in Kyoto between June 14 and 23 without obtaining a permit from the local government, according to the police. The Kyoto city government had previously warned the company, Capital Incubator, over the unauthorized lodging operation, but the Kyoto-based firm did not follow the authority’s guidance. The four admitted to the allegation, telling police that it was too much work to renovate the property in order to comply with the law. The operator was recruiting guests via an online reservation site run by a major company. Last month, the Japan Tourism Agency said that about 3,000 of 25,000 lodging facilities on online reservation sites were suspected of operating without permits. The agency is strengthening its monitoring and urging the operators of reservation sites to immediately delete the details of unauthorized businesses. The new law was enacted with the intention of compensating for a shortage of hotel rooms due to the rapidly increasing number of foreign visitors to Japan. It allows private residences to be used as lodging facilities, a practice referred to as minpaku, while prohibiting site operators from listing unauthorized facilities on their websites. The new law also requires keeping a registry of guests, maintaining hygienic conditions and responding promptly to any complaints from neighbors, among other things. The maximum fine for operating an unauthorized private lodging, was raised in June to ¥1 million ($8,900) from ¥30,000, based on the revision of the existing law covering hotel businesses. The Kyoto City Government reported to the agency earlier this year that the U.S. online home-rental service Airbnb Inc. had continued to list unlicensed private lodgings even after the law was implemented. Concerned about potential violations, many municipalities in Japan have set their own restrictions. Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, for example, has banned the operation of private lodging businesses on weekdays. In 2017, a record 28.69 million foreign visitors came to Japan, and the figure is rising at a pace that puts the country on track to post an even higher number this year. In 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and Paralympic Games, the government is aiming to attract 40 million foreign visitors — up 40 percent from 2017 — and sees tourism as a pillar of the country’s growth strategy.

tourists
tourism
hotels
inbound tourism
minpaku


Taiwan expels Texan running 3D-printed gun company who is accused of paying teen for sex

Abstract: TAIPEI/AUSTIN, TEXAS - A Texan running a 3D-printed gun company who had flown to Taiwan after being accused of paying an underage girl for sex was detained in Taipei on Friday and ordered to leave the island after his U.S. passport was annulled, officials said. Cody Wilson, 30, was taken to immigration authorities in the capital by officers from Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, according to officials. He was ordered to leave Taiwan because he no longer has a valid travel document, said Zhang Wen-xiu, a director of the international affairs and law enforcement division at Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency. Zhang said Wilson was being held by the agency and that its officials were in talks with U.S. representatives in Taiwan concerning his repatriation. The agency hoped to send Wilson back to the United States “as soon as possible,” Zhang said, and was in touch with Wilson’s lawyer. Wilson had agreed to the arrangement and had “expressed willingness to return to the U.S. soon,” he added. The United States’ de facto embassy in Taipei declined to comment on the case, citing privacy concerns. The U.S. Marshals Service, which would likely be responsible for taking Wilson back to the United States, said in a statement it was aware of Wilson’s arrest and was “fully engaged with our international partners on this matter.” Wilson, at the center of a U.S. legal battle over his plan to publish instructions for the manufacture of 3D printed plastic guns, flew into Taiwan legally, the National Immigration Agency said on Friday. Because his U.S. passport was later annulled, the agency said in a statement, he “no longer has the legal status to stay in Taiwan.” A lawyer for Wilson and representatives of the Austin Police Department were not immediately available for comment. Taiwan does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Austin police have said Wilson flew to Taiwan earlier this month after a friend told him officers were investigating an allegation by a 16-year-old girl who said she was paid $500 to have sex with him at a hotel in the Texas capital. Police said investigators interviewed the girl and on Wednesday obtained a warrant for Wilson’s arrest, but he had flown to Taiwan by then. Police said Wilson travels often for business but they did not know why he went to Taiwan. Wilson is the founder of Defense Distributed, the focus of a legal and political battle over its placing on the internet blueprints for plastic guns that can be made with a 3D printer. The files could previously be downloaded for free, but a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction last month that blocked the posting of the blueprints online.

guns
u.s .
internet
taiwan
3-d
sex abuse
police


Hitler runs for mayor despite threat from Lennin in Peruvian Andes

Abstract: LIMA - Hitler hopes to return to power in a small Peruvian town in the Andes, despite a threat from a detractor named Lennin. Campaign slogans reading, “Hitler returns” and “Hitler with the people” have appeared around the highland town of Yungar, where Hitler Alba is seeking a new term as mayor. “I’m the good Hitler,” Alba said on local broadcaster RPP. Stressing that he rejects what Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler stood for, Alba said he wants to oversee a fair and transparent government in Yungar, a farming town in Peru’s central Andes. But Alba’s campaign this year came under attack by Lennin Vladimir Rodriguez Valverde, a resident of a neighboring district who tried to block Alba’s inscription as a candidate. Electoral authorities rejected the request a week ago, allowing Hitler to appear on voting cards for the Oct. 7 elections. In Peru and elsewhere in Latin America, parents often choose foreign and exotic-sounding first names for their children despite negative associations abroad. Last year an Osama Vinladen was named to Peru’s national juvenile soccer team. Alba said his father was unaware of who Adolf Hitler was when he named him. After learning the history behind it, Alba said he considered changing his name but eventually accepted it.

history
elections
adolf hitler
peru
offbeat


Japanese publisher says stories in Shincho 45 magazine expressed 'aberrant prejudice' against LGBT community

Abstract: The president of a publishing company has confirmed there were troublesome opinions expressed in articles that ran in a monthly magazine that supported a national lawmaker who called LGBT couples unproductive. Shinchosha Publishing Co. President Takanobu Sato said in a statement Friday that he found “expressions filled with aberrant prejudice and a lack of recognition in certain parts” of the articles in the October issue of Shincho 45 magazine. Sato pledged to pay due attention to discriminatory expressions but did not clarify which sections of the issue he was referring to. In an article in the magazine’s August issue, Mio Sugita of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party questioned the purpose of spending tax dollars on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples. Those couples “don’t have children. In other words, they are unproductive,” she wrote. One of the seven authors who contributed related articles to the October issue wrote that identifying as LGBT is not about sexual orientation but sexual preference. LGBT is “a sufficiently ridiculous concept for a traditional conservative like me,” the author wrote, drawing criticism.

media
ldp
rights
lgbt
sexuality
mio sugita


Hayabusa2 probe releases two rovers over Ryugu asteroid

Abstract: Japan’s space probe on Friday released a pair of exploring rovers toward an egg-shaped asteroid to collect mineral samples that may shed light on the origin of the solar system. The Hayabusa2 jettisoned the round, cookie tin-shaped robots toward the Ryugu asteroid, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. If the mission is successful, the rovers will conduct the world’s first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid’s surface. Taking advantage of the asteroid’s low gravity, they will jump around on the surface — soaring as high as 15 meters (49 feet) and staying aloft for as long as 15 minutes — to survey its physical features with cameras and sensors. So far so good, but JAXA must still wait for Hayabusa2 to send the rovers’ data to Earth in a day or two to determine whether the release of the probes succeeded, officials said. “We are very much hopeful. We don’t have confirmation yet, but we are very, very hopeful,” JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters. “I am looking forward to seeing pictures. I want to see images of space as seen from the surface of the asteroid,” he said. The cautious announcement came after a similar JAXA probe in 2005 released a rover that failed to reach its target asteroid. Next month, Hayabusa2 will deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the asteroid, shooting a 2-kg (4-lb.) copper object into the surface to blast a crater a few meters in diameter. From this crater, the probe will collect “fresh” materials unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation, hoping for answers to some fundamental questions about life and the universe, including whether elements from space helped give rise to life on Earth. The probe will also release a French-German landing vehicle named Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (Mascot) for surface observation. The Hayabusa2, about the size of a large refridgerator and equipped with solar panels, is the successor to JAXA’s first asteroid explorer, the Hayabusa — Japanese for falcon. That probe, with help from NASA, returned from a smaller, potato-shaped asteroid in 2010 with dust samples — despite various setbacks during its epic seven-year odyssey — and was hailed a scientific triumph. The Hayabusa2 mission was launched in December 2014 and will return to Earth with its samples in 2020.


JAXA confirms tiny robots from Hayabusa2 landed on asteroid

Abstract: A pair of tiny robots released by the Hayabusa2 space probe touched down Saturday on an asteroid 300 million km from Earth, JAXA said. The cylinder-shaped Minerva-II1 explorers will take photos and temperature readings on the asteroid Ryugu before the main probe lands, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. “Each of the rovers is operating normally and has started surveying Ryugu’s surface,” JAXA said in a statement. Measuring just 18 cm by 7 cm and weighing roughly 1 kg, the two explorers will travel across Ryugu’s surface by hopping because its gravity is so weak that rolling along the surface is too difficult. If they succeed, the explorers will have conducted the world’s first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid’s surface. “I am so proud that we have established a new method of space exploration for small celestial bodies,” said JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda. Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014 to gain clues on the formation of the solar system and the origin of life. It is scheduled to stay on the asteroid for about a year and a half before returning to Earth in late 2020, JAXA said. Its predecessor, the Hayabusa, returned to Earth in June 2010 after a seven-year journey that took it to the asteroid Itokawa to conduct scientific observations. Hayabusa means peregrine falcon in Japanese. Next month, the Hayabusa2 will deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the asteroid and shoot a 2-kg copper object into its surface to create a crater a few meters in diameter. The probe will use the crater to collect “fresh” materials unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation in an attempt to glean answers to some fundamental questions about life and the universe, including whether elements from space helped give rise to life on Earth. The probe will also release a French-German landing vehicle named Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (Mascot) for surface observation.


Blood transfusions with iPS cells OK'd by Japanese health ministry

Abstract: The government has given the green light to using blood transfusions including platelets created from artificially derived stem cells to treat patients with intractable diseases. A team from Kyoto University plans to begin a transfusion trial using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) that will be the fourth clinical test using iPS cells approved by the health ministry and the first to use blood components. Researchers are expecting iPS cells to become a new source for platelets, replacing transfusions of donated blood that tend to be deficient. They might also be used for transfusions for surgery or severe injuries on a regular basis, they say. “We will prepare for the tests steadily and take every step carefully,” Kyoto University professor Koji Eto said at a news conference in Tokyo after approval was granted. Under the plan, researchers will generate platelets from the iPS cells of an individual with aplastic anemia, a disease that diminishes red blood cells and platelets, and transfuse them to the individual three times, gradually increasing the number transfused to up to 100 billion in the final round. They aim to initiate the clinical trial in a year and spend another year to confirm its safety. Individuals with aplastic anemia are usually treated by transfusions of other people’s blood, but the individual in the trial cannot receive such treatment as his body rejects it, the researchers said. Leukemia, anemia and other patients who tend to have low platelet counts often get transfusions during operations. At present, blood donated from healthy people is used for transfusions. But since it is stored at room temperature, it may be contaminated by bacteria, which will ruin the platelets. Blood donations have also been leveling out, especially among the younger generation, raising concerns about shortages. Separately, the Kyoto researchers are trying to create platelets from the iPS cells of healthy people that will be stored at the university for transfusion to others. Among other clinical tests with iPS cells, the state-backed Riken institute conducted the world’s first transplant of retina cells grown from iPS cells to an individual with a serious disease in 2014. Osaka University, which is planning a clinical test for treating heart failure by using a heart muscle cell sheet created from iPS cells, and Kyoto University, which is planning to treat Parkinson’s disease with iPS cells, have also received government approval.

medicine
ips
kyoto university
disease
koji eto
mhlw


Cafe to showcase robot waiters steered from afar by people with ALS, other debilitating diseases

Abstract: A temporary cafe that will use remotely controlled robots as waiters is set to open in Tokyo’s Akasaka district in November to show how machines can act as proxies for people with severe physical disabilities. The cafe, which will be open on weekdays between Nov. 26 and Dec. 7, will make use of robots controlled by people with diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The 1.2-meter robots, which weigh 20 kg, will transmit video and audio over the internet so they can be directed from home through tablet and personal computers. “I want to create a world in which people who can’t move their bodies can work too,” said Kentaro Yoshifuji, CEO of Ory Lab. Inc., which developed the OriHime-D robots to be used by the cafe. During their debut, a robot controlled by Nozomi Murata, who has auto-phagic vacuolar myopathy, a debilitating disease that weakens the muscles, invited a family to try some chocolate. Due to a stress-induced illness during childhood, Yoshifuji had difficulty communicating. In light of his social isolation, he started developing robots at Waseda University to help connect people, Ory Lab’s website says. Smaller OriHime robots 21.5 cm tall and weighing just 600 grams have been adopted by about 70 firms for telecommuting. They can also be used remotely in classrooms by students who cannot attend due to illness or other reasons. Ory Lab. aims to set up a permanent cafe featuring its robots and promote their adoption by firms in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. “Everyone should have the freedom to work in the way they like,” said Masatane Muto, an ALS patient organizing the project. “I want to send out the message toward 2020 that you can show hospitality even if you have disabilities,” Muto said.


Social media falls in love with Naomi Osaka as tennis star sparks debate

Abstract: Naomi Osaka’s women’s singles final victory at the 2018 U.S. Open on Sept. 6 excited netizens in Japan, turning the young tennis superstar into one of the most popular figures online. Her trip to Japan last week only generated more buzz, with users being perpetually wowed by her and serious discussions about her identity sprouting up on social media. After a brief American media blitz and some viral “Ellen” content , Osaka flew to Tokyo to take part in the Toray Pan Pacific Open. In a sign of things to come, even her plane ride over the Pacific ended up being noteworthy. Japanese musician Yoshiki just happened to be on the same flight , making for an online interaction that charmed many. And that was just the start. Every upload to Osaka’s social media accounts prompted Japanese netizens to congratulate her on her recent success or applaud her itinerary in Tokyo. Watching sumo for the first time ? Shares and excitement on Twitter . Taking photos at a “purikura” booth ? Wade through the Instagram comments and you’ll find Japanese contributors lapping it up. Japanese internet users used the past week as an opportunity to really show their love of Osaka. Some people shared fan art of the young tennis star, including one popular pair of drawings done in the style of “Peanuts.” Others took the chance to dress up as her in cosplay . After she mentioned that she wanted to eat tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlets) and green tea ice cream, fans shared photos of said treats in her honor. One of the narratives to emerge in English-language media following the U.S. Open is that people in Japan saw Osaka win a major title and suddenly embraced her. This isn’t quite right. Osaka has been receiving attention in Japan for a few years now — TV segments devoted to her rising star aired back in 2016, for example. She also appeared in Japanese commercials well before any major wins. Her victory at the Indian Wells Masters this spring served as a warm up to what would follow, with Osaka’s win going to the top of trending in Japan and inspiring excited tweets . She has been in the spotlight long enough to inspire a groan-worthy comedian imitator . Osaka’s U.S. Open triumph fired her into the mainstream, however, and set off an ongoing bonanza around her (which, to be fair, is probably true about her in the United States, too). This is actually far more true of traditional media, especially TV, which has covered her trip to Japan breathlessly and, in the case of TV Asahi’s “Good! Morning,” tried to coin the term “ Naominomics .” That one isn’t sticking. Netizens and a handful of online publications, while celebratory, did raise a few eyebrows at the media hoopla. Osaka’s reference to tonkatsu and green tea ice cream kicked off promotions of such goods — still time to get some U.S. Open-themed ice cream — but Business Journal and online users jumped in to remind people that elite athletes don’t typically eat those items regularly. Another article speculated that Osaka’s clothing choices were inspired by the Korean pop group BTS, which she is a fan of. This charmed some users on 2chan (“She’s just like any other 20-year-old Japanese woman!”), while others thought it was a stretch to connect her style to K-pop. Netizens adopted a more protective stance following Osaka’s first news conference in Japan. Huffington Post Japan reporter Rio Hamada asked her about her identity, seeing as her mother is Japanese, her father Haitian and she grew up in the United States. It was an awkward moment , Osaka first wondering if that was even a question before answering, “I’m me.” The response only won her more praise , while netizens ridiculed Hamada’s question, even piling on via Twitter . While Hamada bungled it, the issue at the center of his inquiry actually has become a point of discussion online in Japan. Osaka’s background — which she stresses in media appearances, a reminder of the importance of all cultures involved — has prompted many to wonder what being Japanese is really about. Gendai ran a large article on the topic, while other posts looked at the social media response to her background . Osaka’s rise to the limelight gave proponents of Japan adopting dual citizenship a chance to raise their points , while other sites condemned the media and politicians ’ use of Osaka to push a “ra-ra-Japan” image forward. Most clearly, Osaka’s rise became a rallying cry for mixed-heritage citizens, as a way to point out the archaic way of “island spirit” and, in an online essay titled “ Goodbye, pure-blooded Japanese ,” allowed others to share their own experiences of coming from a mixed background in Japanese society. This discussion certainly isn’t limited to Japan — it also seems to be playing out in Haitian communities (complete with politicians using it for their own ends), while talk of her background garnered plenty in discourse in the United States, too. While Osaka’s victory has generated plenty of enthusiasm online, she has also helped Japanese netizens question a number of ideas that have long sat dormant.


The problem with padding employment records in Japan

Abstract: In August, it was reported that central government ministries and agencies, not to mention national legislative offices and local governments, have for years been fulfilling their legal responsibility to hire certain numbers of people with disabilities by fudging criteria for determining what qualifies as a disability . The media’s position on the matter has mainly been to point out that the public sector is getting away with murder while the private sector struggles in an honest fashion to reach similar quotas. The government is supposed to set an example for companies when it comes to social change, so its intentional neglect in doing so is doubly appalling. Coverage has focused on how government malfeasance is business as usual, thus dovetailing with the scandal surrounding Tokyo Medical University’s manipulation of test scores to limit the number of female applicants admitted to the school . These organizations did bad things in order to protect entrenched work cultures, but by presenting the issue within that framework, the media has failed to enlighten the public as to why it is beneficial to hire people with disabilities in the first place. All we hear about is how the system is “unfair.” In the case of the university, however, it is women who are treated badly, while in the case of employment padding, it’s the private sector that’s injured, not people with disabilities. Firms that fail to hire enough people with disabilities are fined up to ¥50,000 a year for each position they neglect to fill, while there are no penalties inflicted on public sector organizations that fall short of their quotas. In its Aug. 29 explanation of the law, the Asahi Shimbun said that the aim of the quotas is to “create a society where people with disabilities can live normally.” All laws that attempt to create a level playing field for people with disadvantages are similar in nature, but each group has specific circumstances that need to be tackled. Prominent activist Katsunori Fujii noted during a discussion of the matter on the web program Videonews.com that public infrastructure is more of an immediate concern for people with physical disabilities and one the authorities have yet to address meaningfully. In its own reporting, the weekly Bunshun made much of the notion that ministries did not explain their reasons for making public apologies for padding disabled rolls. All they did was pledge to follow the law in the future. In response to the scandal, Finance Minister Taro Aso told TV Asahi that the number of workers with disabilities is “ limited ,” so there will be heated competition for hiring them thanks to the quotas, as if that were an acceptable excuse. The Tokyo Shimbun implied that while companies are justified in decrying the government’s hypocrisy, the only reason they comply with the law is because they will be punished if they don’t, suggesting that their purposes are self-serving. The newspaper attempted to bolster this point by interviewing employers holding up their end at considerable cost. An office equipment company affiliate located in Hino, Tokyo, employs 12 people with certified mental disabilities who scan documents for digital files. They take a 10-minute break every hour during a six-hour work day because, as one 48-year-old man with depression explains, there are people who “can’t concentrate for long periods of time.” The company also allows them two days off a month to consult with physicians and they meet with a counselor employed by the company every day. Between 2009 and 2012, the company could not meet its quota and ended up paying ¥13 million in penalties. The company’s disability employment rate is now 2.47 percent, well above the 2.2 percent rate mandated for private companies. It has even received commendations from the labor ministry. A human resources representative explains the company’s efforts in practical terms: Not only did they implement these changes to avoid fines, but also in order to bid for public sector projects. The difficulty was finding work that people with disabilities could perform. On the other hand, the president of a company in Shizuoka Prefecture that processes hand towels for the restaurant industry and employs 24 people with developmental disabilities told the Tokyo Shimbun that he treats each of his employees “as an individual,” regardless of their abilities, adjusting work situations accordingly. He does this not to satisfy quotas, but to maintain a payroll of loyal workers. By looking at the scandal from the employers’ point of view, the press invariably misses much of the story. On Sept. 17, the Tokyo Shimbun reported on hearings held by opposition parties in the Diet to reform the disability hiring law. Since the purpose is to “promote an inclusive society,” people with disabilities were invited to explain their situations. Several representatives of groups with disabilities discussed the quotas, but the real problem, they say, is that the working environment of public employers is not suitable for people with disabilities. Strict adherence to hiring requirements would naturally correct this problem, which is what happened in the private sector, but existing law does not allow public entities to provide extra services — such as transportation assistance — to its employees. It’s the same old refrain. People with disabilities can’t hope for a level playing field in the public sector because government entities don’t want to change the way they do things. It’s easier to cheat and lie. As Fujii said during the Videonews discussion, “They simply don’t want to hire (people with disabilities),” but employing them not only provides opportunity to those workers, it also benefits society by changing work culture for the better, something the government says it wants to do but seems unable to accomplish. “By placing people with disabilities at the bureaucratic level, these employees can effect policy changes to their own advantage,” says Fujii, and, in turn, that improves the work situation for all employees. It’s not just about fairness.

employment
disability
tokyo medical university


Will Don Quijote tilt its lance at the Amazon giant?

Abstract: A somewhat cynical commentary attributed to the late American TV comedian Jackie Gleason goes, “Anybody who says money can’t buy happiness doesn’t know where to shop.” Shopping per se, however, is an essential daily activity for many, and no one was particularly happy when the owner of a major retail chain signaled its intention to bail out of the market — as U.S. giant Walmart did in July when it announced plans to divest itself of its Seiyu stores. For a number of reasons, Walmart’s “Everyday Low Price” business model adopted by Seiyu did not resonate with consumers in Japan. While drug stores have also been carving out a larger share of the retail trade — a few have even begun emulating convenience stores by setting up counters for customers to eat and drink — the biggest threat is clearly online shopping. In a survey of 520 consumers conducted by Nikkei Business (Sept. 5), 50.2 percent of respondents said they’ve increased their purchases via the internet, as opposed to 35.8 percent who had not changed. (Only 7.3 percent said they cut back on their online shopping.) Sales of apparel in particular have been significantly affected. So in terms of the “threat” of a foreign incursion, Walmart is now off the hook, which leaves the media to take aim at Amazon. “Until now, the strength of general supermarkets (of which Seiyu is one) was that they carried all kinds of products under one roof,” Norio Seki, editor of the Keizaikai business magazine, told Shukan Post (Sept. 14). “However, Amazon lets you use your smartphone to order up to 200 million items that can be delivered to your door. From 2010 to 2017, its sales grew threefold to about ¥1.33 trillion. In terms of sheer efficiency, it can’t be matched.” Taking a cue from Miguel de Cervantes, Shukan Post urged Don Quijote to “thrust its lance” into the “retailing trade’s huge windmill” — Amazon. It seems that Tokyo-based Don Quixote Holdings, a nationwide chain of 421 discount stores, might become Seiyu’s next owner. On Aug. 13, Koji Ohara, president of “Donki” (as Don Quijote is popularly called), made remarks to the effect that his 38-year-old company was looking into acquiring the chain. Donki posted total revenue of ¥941.5 billion in the fiscal year ending in June, an increase of 13.6 percent over the previous year. It currently operates 421 outlets and foresees expansion to 500 by 2020. “In this day and age, that rate of growth by a retail organization is astonishing,” an unnamed business reporter told the magazine. Don Quijote, however, has proved a difficult business model to emulate. Shukan Post refers to the company as an onikko (a badly behaved child). “When you browse at a Don Quijote shop, you get the sense that merchandise is heaped willy-nilly almost to the ceiling,” the aforementioned Seki remarked. “And instead of the symmetrical aisles in supermarkets, it’s like negotiating a maze, where you might unexpectedly encounter cheap goods — kind of like being on a treasure hunt. I guess that has the effect of extending the time customers spend in the stores.” Meanwhile, not all is rosy for Amazon or rival e-commerce firms such as Rakuten. In a 32-page special section, Toyo Keizai (Aug. 25) examined the worsening crisis in the transport business, particularly an acute shortage of drivers of delivery vehicles. According to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare data, there were 2.71 jobs for every driver application in June. (A government survey in 2016 found that 83 percent of transport companies were overworking their drivers.) The employment crunch has led to higher driver salaries, with the resultant cost increases passed along in the form of higher delivery rates. The transport companies have been forced to redouble efforts to cut down on second (or third) visits due to missed deliveries. Over the past year, Amazon and Rakuten have cut back sharply on their reliance on Yamato Transport. The main beneficiary of this change has been Japan Post, which increased its share to 20.7 percent of the market, third after Yamato and Sagawa Express at 43.3 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively. To cope with the driver shortage, Amazon, Rakuten, Yodobashi Camera and other firms have been tying up with smaller regional transport companies in Hokkaido and elsewhere, and Rakuten is also said to be mulling setting up its own fleet of vehicles, as does Yodobashi, which operates some 300 vehicles driven by its own staff. Some consumers appear to prefer online shopping to stores because when visiting the latter they “tend to purchase things they don’t need.” This indeed seems to be one of the rationales behind Don Quijote, which crams its outlets with cheap and glitzy merchandise that appeals to impulse buyers. Nevertheless, Keizaikai’s Seki reserved praise for Donki’s business model. “One of Donki’s strengths is that it harnesses ‘people power,’ allowing outlets to set their own sales strategies,” he told Shukan Post. “In the future, for instance, if stores are able to devote more attention to specific customer needs, such as in neighborhoods with a large population of frail elderly customers, this may open up a “wind-hole.” Seki’s choice of words — “kazeana” (wind-hole ) — is double-edged: Literally, it means to physically penetrate an opponent’s body with a spear or arrow; but the expression may figuratively mean to breathe new life into the shopping experience. Interpretation of the article’s conclusion, like its pugnacious headline, is left to Shukan Post readers to decide.

e-commerce
amazon.com
don quijote
seiyu
walmart


Japan's Financial Services Agency criticizes hacked crypto-exchange over lack of details on $62 million theft

Abstract: Cryptocurrency firm Tech Bureau Corp. has failed to provide adequate details on how thieves hacked into its exchange to steal ¥7 billion ($62 million), or explained its delay in reporting the hack, the country’s financial regulator said on Tuesday. The Financial Services Agency issued a business improvement order to the Osaka-based firm ordering it to provide details how the theft occurred and how it would compensate clients. It was the third business improvement order served on the firm. Tech Bureau said last week its Zaif exchange was hacked and ¥7 billion worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were stolen. “We have not received enough explanation on what exactly happened. What they told us is an employee’s PC was hacked,” a senior official at the agency told reporters at a briefing. The official, who declined to be identified, warned that further action could be taken against the company if needed. Tech Bureau has said its exchange was hacked over a two-hour period on Sept. 14. It detected server problems on Sept. 17, confirmed the hack the following day, and notified authorities. One of the business orders served on Tech Bureau earlier this year had required the firm to rectify its computer system risk management. “It is extremely regrettable that such an incident happened when (Tech Bureau) was given two business improvement orders,” the FSA official said. Reached by phone, Tech Bureau officials said they would only answer media inquiry by email but a reply to a message seeking comment went unanswered. The country’s crypto-exchanges have been under close regulatory scrutiny after the theft of $530 million in digital coins at Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. in January. Coincheck has since been acquired by Japanese online brokerage Monex Group Inc. Japan last year became the first country to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges, as it encourages technological innovation while ensuring consumer protection. Exchanges have to register with the FSA. The FSA said earlier this month that more than 160 entities have expressed interest in entering the cryptocurrency exchange business but it has not issued any approvals since December last year. The senior FSA official said the agency would not stop the screening process of new entrants in the wake of the Tech Bureau incident.


Marshall Islands marches toward zero greenhouse emissions by 2050

Abstract: NEW YORK - The Marshall Islands, an atoll-nation vulnerable to sea level rise from climate change, announced steps on Monday toward an ambitious plan to cut its greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050. The Pacific country became the first small island nation to present such a strategy to the United Nations amid increasing interest from governments worldwide toward eliminating planet-warming emissions in a bid to curb man-made climate change. “If we can do it so can you,” Hilda Heine, Marshall Islands president, said at an event on the sidelines of the annual U.N. summit that featured a handful of heads of small island nations. The announcement came as more than 150 heads of state and government gathered on Monday for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Heine upped the pressure on world leaders to go beyond current pledges to reduce their heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions as agreed in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. “I challenge you all to develop your own vision to fully decarbonize by 2050,” she told an audience of climate policymakers and advocates brought together by U.S. nonprofit The Climate Group. Worldwide, nine other countries have so far unveiled long-term plans to completely eradicate carbon emissions at home, from Britain to France and the United States under the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Since then, the United States has become the only country to announce its intention to withdraw from the Paris pact, following a decision by President Donald Trump last year. The Paris accord aims to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), and ideally to 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a sweeping goal of ending the fossil fuel era this century. Aseem Prakash, founding director of the University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Politics, said the Marshall Islands’ move spoke to a growing trend around carbon neutrality by cities, companies, and now countries. Cities, regions and companies, including Indian conglomerate Mahindra and the state of California, made similar carbon-zero commitments in the run-up and at a global climate summit held in San Francisco earlier this month. The announcement was charged with symbolism, said Prakash, with the Marshall Islands contributing less than 0.00001 percent of the global total of emissions. The Marshall Islands’ net-zero strategy, in addition to seeking to slow climate change in the transport, electricity and waste sector, stresses the need to invest into adapting to freak weather events linked to global warming, from hurricanes to floods, said Heine. At the event New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged $300 million over four years to help Pacific countries set up defenses to ward off the impact of climate change. “The challenge of climate change requires us to look beyond our domestic borders,” she said in a press release.

carbon
global warming
marshall islands
emissions
greenhouse gases
donald trump
paris climate accord


Te reo, New Zealand's Maori language, comes back from the brink

Abstract: WELLINGTON - Beneath the carved timber roof of a traditional “marae” meeting house at Wellington High School, dozens of students watch entranced as a play performed entirely in the Maori language unfolds. Many only understand a smattering of the indigenous language, but pick up emotional cues from the performers. Some audience members are close to tears as the production in the New Zealand capital ends. It is a scene that actor Eds Eramiha says would have been difficult to imagine as recently as two decades ago, when te reo Maori was widely regarded as a dying language not worth teaching. “Attitudes have changed immensely,” he said. “When I was at school, te reo Maori wasn’t held in high value, it wasn’t spoken, it wasn’t as freely available as it is to our kids today.” Te reo was banned in schools for much of the 20th century which, combined with the urbanization of rural Maori, meant that by the 1980s, only 20 percent of indigenous New Zealanders were fluent in the language. That number was virtually unchanged by 2013, when census figures showed that just 21.3 percent of the Maori population could converse in te reo. An official report published in 2010 warned the language was on the verge of extinction. “Te reo Maori is approaching crisis point,” it said, with older native speakers “simply not being replaced” as they passed away. The contrast with New Zealand today is striking. The language is enjoying a surge in popularity among Kiwis — Maori or otherwise — embracing their South Pacific nation’s indigenous culture. Te reo courses are booked out at community colleges, while bands, poets and rappers perform using the language. Te reo words such as “kai” (food), “ka pai” (congratulations), “whanau” (family) and “mana” (prestige) have entered everyday usage. Even the way Kiwis define themselves has taken on a te reo tone, with an increasing number preferring to use “Aotearoa” rather than New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a passionate champion of the language, saying one of her great regrets is not being able to converse fluently in it. “We have a guardianship role, a duty of care to te reo Maori,” she said this month. “It’s our job to nurture it because it’s about more than a language.” Ardern chose to give her daughter Neve a Maori middle name ‘Te Aroha’ (‘the love’) when she was born in June. Her government has set a target of having 1 million fluent te reo speakers by 2040. With the Maori comprising only about 15 percent of New Zealand’s 4.5 million population, that would mean many non-Maoris adopting the language. It is a prospect that excites Charles Royal, a Maori academic and storyteller at the national museum Te Papa (Our Place). “We’ve never had so many te reo speakers as we have now,” he said. “What te reo enables me to do is articulate who I am in a very particular way . . . as a New Zealander,” he added. “It’s the vehicle by which humanity first gained a voice in this part of the world.” Royal said the earlier rejection of te reo stemmed from a sense of inferiority and a mistaken belief that European history was more important than that of New Zealand. But he said Kiwis now feel more positive about their place in the world and the rising popularity of te reo is an expression of this confidence. As an actor, Eramiha observes that te reo “flies off my tongue a bit better (than English), the flow’s different.” Head teacher Angela Fieldes has noticed a similar phenomenon among toddlers exposed to te reo at the Wellington child care center she helps run. “They pick it up really, really quickly, so it just becomes part of their day,” she said after the children performed a “waiata” (song), reciting Maori colors, numbers and vowels. “They love the singing and I think a big part of learning te reo is that it’s so rich in the way you can use song.” Royal said there are still New Zealanders who maintain Maori culture is not valuable, but they are an aging minority. He said the fact that so many non-Maori, including “pakeha” (New Zealanders of European descent) want to learn te reo is “absolutely fantastic.” “It makes me feel proud to be Maori, it’s an act of generosity on both sides,” he said. Eramiha echoes the sentiment, saying the passion for the language has been evident as his Taki Rua theater troupe performs in te reo across the country. He expressed confidence in the language’s future, saying: “People from other cultures come up to me after our shows and say, ‘Can you teach me how to say ‘Hello?’ “ “It’s a treasure for us to be able to pass it on and a great gift to see other people wanting to learn it. It’s amazing.”

new zealand
maori
languages
wellington
native cultures


Singapore diplomat urges repeal of 'antiquated' gay sex law

Abstract: SINGAPORE - One of Singapore’s most influential diplomats called Tuesday for the repeal of a law criminalizing sex between men, saying it was time for the modern city-state to abandon the “antiquated” legislation. The Indian Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to decriminalize homosexual sex has sparked fresh debate in Singapore, and a new legal challenge has been lodged against the city’s anti-gay sex law. Sex between men remains illegal in Singapore under “Section 377A” of the penal code, inherited from the British colonial era, although it is rarely enforced. Tommy Koh, a veteran diplomat and former ambassador to the United Nations and the U.S., wrote in a column for the pro-government newspaper The Straits Times that the statute should be abandoned. “Section 377A is an antiquated law, not supported by science, and should be repealed,” said Koh, an international law expert and ambassador at large in the foreign ministry. The 80-year-old said Singapore is one of a minority of countries that still outlaw sodomy because the law was inherited from the old British penal code. “For a country which embraces science and technology, it is surprising that, on this one aspect, the law has not been updated in light of the scientific evidence,” he said. Koh said the World Health Organization had removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, and while religious leaders consider sodomy a sin it should not be a crime. The last time a challenge was brought against the law was in 2014 but the city-state’s appeals court dismissed it, saying it was up to Parliament to repeal the law. Singaporean DJ Johnson Ong lodged a new challenge earlier this month. Lawyers for Ong, known as DJ Big Kid, said they will seek to show the ban runs counter to the constitution’s guarantee of personal liberty. While affluent Singapore boasts a modern and vibrant culture, official attitudes toward homosexuality remain conservative. But public support for gay rights has been growing, with thousands turning up in recent years for Singapore’s annual Pink Dot gay rights rally.

human rights
singapore
lgbt
same sex relations


Japan panel suggests relaxing rules for foreign lawyers in international arbitration

Abstract: A Justice Ministry panel on Tuesday proposed easing regulations to allow foreign lawyers to participate in arbitration cases involving the Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies. The panel also suggested in a report that such disputes should be eligible for international arbitration in Japan as the decisions of Japanese subsidiaries are influenced by their foreign parent companies. As of April last year, there were 411 foreign lawyers registered with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. They are currently able to provide legal services related to other countries’ laws and can represent parties in international arbitration proceedings as counsel, with the approval of the justice minister. The ministry aims to revise the law regarding foreign lawyers as soon as possible and is planning to include rules for foreign and Japanese lawyers to jointly establish law firms so people can receive legal consultations on a variety of issues. The ministry also wants to revise the law to allow foreign lawyers in the country to be involved in international arbitration proceedings being conducted overseas. Companies use international arbitration to settle commercial disputes as they can often reach a settlement more quickly than by seeking a resolution in court.


Southern Europe issues heat alert; German drought yields WWII munitions on Elbe's banks

Abstract: ROME - Mediterranean countries issued severe weather warnings on Thursday, as a heatwave pushed temperatures above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Europe and falling water levels exposed World War II munitions along the banks of a river in Germany. Italy issued red alerts — the highest of three warning levels — across the center and north, indicating widespread health risks in cities, including tourist magnets Rome, Florence and Venice. Heatwaves have become common in Italy, and between 2005 and 2016 some 23,880 people died in 23 Italian cities of heat-related problems, a report by the region of Lazio found. Forecasters expect Italy’s heatwave to break over the weekend with powerful thunderstorms across much of the country. Portugal said temperatures in the coming days could beat records and warned of a high risk of forest fires, fearful of a repeat of blazes that killed 114 people in 2017, a disaster that forced the interior minister to resign. Wildfires in Greece last month killed 91 people. In the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, police warned people not to touch the grenades, mines and other weapons that have emerged from the mud on the banks of the River Elbe since the heatwave caused a drastic reduction in the water level. In just a few weeks, police have found 24 pieces of World War II munitions — dumped at the end of the conflict by Russian, Western and German forces — near the water, compared with 12 in the whole of last year. Specialist technicians are working overtime to make them safe, in some cases defusing them on site.

wwii
italy
germany
drought
heatwave
southern europe
elbe


Leading Chinese Buddhist monk accused of sexual misconduct

Abstract: BEIJING - One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation after he was accused of demanding sexual favors from nuns. Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous female nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied Beijing monastery. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored. China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations. Xuecheng heads the Buddhist Association of China and serves on a political advisory body to the central government. He has published numerous books and has a large social media following. Included in the statement were extensive details and screenshots of explicit text messages allegedly sent by Xuecheng, including claims to nuns that they could be “purified” through the physical contact and that sex was part of their study of religious doctrines.