Ex-education minister Shimomura denies media report claiming undeclared Kake donations

Abstract: Former education minister Hakubun Shimomura denied a report Thursday alleging that he received ¥2 million in undeclared donations from scandal-tainted school operator Kake Gakuen, claiming that the donations were made separately by 11 individuals and corporations and were entirely legal. Shimomura held a news conference Thursday after the latest issue of the weekly Shukan Bunshun exposed alleged donations from the school operator, basing the report on what the weekly claims are digital copies of internal documents from Shimomura’s office. The Shukan Bunshun said the documents showed Kake Gakuen had given ¥2 million in donations which were not reported in Shimomura’s official financial reports in an apparent violation of the Political Funds Control Law. The report could seriously damage Shimomura’s public image and adversely affect his Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. Shimomura, a longtime aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, serves as the head of the LDP’s Tokyo chapter. He is also a deputy secretary general of the party. “We are now consulting with my lawyer to file charges with police or prosecutors” against an unidentified person who allegedly leaked the files to Shukan Bunshun, Shimomura said at the news conference. Shimomura also said he is preparing to file a libel lawsuit against Shukan Bunshun. Shimomura admitted that records from his office included Kake Gakuen on lists of donors who bought tickets for Shimomura’s fundraising parties in 2013 and 2014, as alleged by Shukan Bunshun. But the school operator happened to be recorded as the donor on the private list because the head of the corporate secretariat of Kake Gakuen had collected the donations on behalf of 11 other parties and delivered the money to Shimomura’s office, he claimed. According to Shimomura, the donations from the 11 parties were each ¥200,000 or less. Under the Political Funds Control Law, a donation of ¥200,000 or less does not need to be noted in official reports. However, Shimomura did not identify the 11 donors during the news conference, saying his office doesn’t have records of their names. Shimomura also said he doesn’t know if the 11 include any executive or board members of Kake Gakuen. He said he would try to “confirm” the names. Shukan Bunshun’s report is particularly damaging to Shimomura and the LDP because the Okayama-based school operator has recently made headlines over alleged government favoritism in a special deregulation project. Opposition lawmakers have alleged that Kake Gakuen, whose official English name is Kake Educational Institution, was allowed to start a new veterinary department — the first such opening in the nation in 52 years — at one of its universities because of the school operator’s close ties with the prime minister. Kake Gakuen is chaired by Kotaro Kake, one of Abe’s closest friends. The scandal has remained in the headlines in recent weeks as a number of internal documents have been leaked from the education ministry, all of which suggest that the Cabinet Office repeatedly pressured the ministry to favor Kake Gakuen, citing “the intent of the prime minister.” Shukan Bunshun also reported that it discovered more than ¥10 million in ticket sales for fundraising events were undeclared on Shimomura’s official reports over three years, even though internal documents show that his office received them. Shimomura said only that his office is still investigating that allegation and that the tickets may have been sold in a way similar to that of the ¥2 million from the 11 parties. Concluding the news conference, Shimomura said he would take more questions from the media only after the election so he can concentrate on campaigning. “Now only three days are left before the metropolitan assembly election, including today,” he said. “I will carefully answer questions after the election is over,” he said.

scandals
hakubun shimomura
political donations
kake gakuen


Diet makes historic revision to century-old sex-crime laws

Abstract: Japan revised its sex crime laws for the first time in more than a century on Friday — a historic move that broadens the definition of rape, lengthens prison terms and makes prosecution possible even if those who claim they are victims don’t press charges. A package of amendments unanimously approved by the Upper House in the final hours of this session of the Diet represents the first shake-up of Japan’s sex crime laws, which have remained effectively untouched since their inception in 1907. “Japan’s current legal system doesn’t protect people who went through the most unbearable experience human beings could possibly imagine,” Jun Yamamoto, a survivor of childhood molestation, told the Upper House Committee on Judicial Affairs prior to the revised laws’ passage. For the most part of her adolescence, Yamamoto said she was sexually abused by her own father, who would periodically creep into her bed and fumble her breasts and buttocks. The Diet also passed a supplementary provision stipulating that the revision will be revisited three years after taking effect. With Friday’s update, the definition of rape — which has traditionally been limited to vaginal penetration by a penis — will be expanded to include forced anal and oral sex, thereby recognizing that males can be rape victims. The minimum sentences will be raised to five years from three, while rape resulting in death or injury will from now on entail a minimum six years in prison, up from the current five. Offenses such as rape and indecent assault will become prosecutable even if those who claim they are victims do not file formal complaints. Adults who have taken advantage of “guardianship” roles to sexually abuse children under 18 will face rape and indecent assault charges even if they don’t resort to “violence and intimidation” — currently a prerequisite for convicting sex offenders — in assaulting their victims. The revision will also cover the robbery-rape law, which has applied only to offenders who commit robbery first and rape second. The law will no longer hinge on robbery preceding rape, and will put offenders behind bars for a minimum of seven years. Although a major step forward, Friday’s revision still leaves many issues unresolved. Critics such as Yamamoto want the “violence and intimidation” prerequisite deleted because they say it is out of touch with reality. Rapists, they say, can easily overpower their targets without using force because they are often too scared to put up a fight. Moreover, some critical changes proposed by a panel of outside experts in 2015 went excluded from the amendments submitted by the Justice Ministry during this Diet session. Among the unresolved issues is the question of whether the statute of limitations for rape, currently 10 years, should be scrapped or at least lengthened if victims are juveniles. Some people say that it is often the case that by the time minors come to grips with abuse and are prepared to seek justice, they have already run out of time. Calls for creating a new law banning spousal rape were also unheeded. The age of consent for sex in Japan will remain notoriously low at 13, too, meaning that sex with people that young won’t be considered a crime if it can be established that the sex was consensual. “If you’re sexually abused, you’re not treated as human. You just become a belonging of your offender,” Yamamoto, who herself was first molested when she was 13, told the Diet committee. The nightmare, she said, lasted seven years. “That’s when our souls are killed.” The revision of the sex crime laws caps months of tumultuous debate in the Diet dominated by conflict of interest scandals linked to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, as well as the contentious conspiracy bill that skipped usual Diet procedures to be rammed through the legislature by his ruling coalition. The session is set to wrap up on Sunday. Furor over the allegation that Abe helped finance an ultra-nationalist kindergarten run by Osaka school operator Moritomo Gakuen dominated Diet deliberation before April, denting his Cabinet’s support rate. A separate, ongoing allegation over Abe’s alleged involvement in the opening of a new veterinary department at a university run by his close confidant, Kotaro Kake, led to the prime minister being forced to explain his false denials at the Diet on Friday. On Thursday, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito coalition steamrolled through the Diet a bill to revise the anti-organized crime law, with a view to cracking down on the planning of as many as 277 crimes. Although ostensibly an attempt to better counter terrorism, the revised law, critics say, could be abused by the law enforcement to impinge on various civil liberties, such as the right to privacy. The Diet also enacted one-off legislation that will permit Emperor Akihito to abdicate the Chrysanthemum throne, making him the first monarch to do so in 200 years. The legislation designed to outlaw smoking in pubic institutions such as hospitals, schools and municipal offices, however, ended up not being submitted to this Diet session after the health ministry failed to win approval of the LDP.


Kansai takes measured view on missile drills

Abstract: Over the past two months, hardly a week has passed without news of another North Korean missile launch. It’s become routine: An early morning South Korean media report, based on government sources, says that “an object has been launched,” forcing politicians, bureaucrats, and journalists in Tokyo out of bed. Groggy and red-eyed, they head to their ministries, agencies, offices and press clubs to man their stations and wait for developments. They return home only after confirming the missile has landed somewhere in the Sea of Japan. Inevitably, what follows is a stream of warnings and angry denunciations by the prime minister, the chief Cabinet secretary and the defense minister. A parade of commentary on North Korea, East Asia or the U.S. military also fills the airwaves and newspapers with speculation on what happens next, some of it informed, much of it not. Whatever the odds are of people in Japan actually being injured or killed by an incoming missile, journalists and politicians get the chance to sound serious and concerned and issue dire warnings. But the recent rush by small towns in parts of the country to hold evacuation drills for an incoming missile has been greeted in Kansai with skepticism about their purpose and effectiveness. Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada has questioned such drills, given it could take as little as seven minutes between the time official news of a missile launch is confirmed and the time it strikes Japan. Others, such as Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa, have spoken about the need for the central government to do more in terms of rapid communication with local governments when news of a missile launch is confirmed. But Fukui towns have yet to hold their own evacuation drills. These reactions are interesting because Fukui Prefecture is home to the nation’s, and one of the world’s, largest concentration of nuclear power plants. Maizuru, on the northern edge of Kyoto Prefecture, is the only major Sea of Japan base for the Maritime Self-Defense Force. Kyogamisaki, located north of Maizuru, is a sub-base of the Air Self-Defense Force and the location of a X-band radar facility that was set up specifically to track inbound ballistic missiles. One would assume both locations, especially Maizuru, would be fairly high on North Korea’s list of possible missile targets. Then there is neighboring Fukui Prefecture. An attack on Fukui’s 14 nuclear reactors by North Korea has been the stuff of social media speculation, fiction writing, local assembly discussions and, since the attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2011, some concern on the part of U.S. and Japanese officials. But Fukui’s cities and towns hosting the reactors have not aggressively pushed to hold local evacuation drills based on scenarios of a North Korean missile attack. Various explanations have been offered in the Kansai media for local governments outside the region deciding to hold evacuation drills. Some say the Tohoku area prefectures feel they are closer to the dangers emanating from North Korea than western Japan. Others have suggested the small towns conducting the drills aren’t really that scared of being in the path of an incoming missile. The towns also know very well they would have little time to effectively prepare. But the drills offer an excuse for residents to participate in a community event, a kind of local festival involving old friends, family and neighbors. They also note that because such towns are small, it takes authorities less time and effort to organize such drills. Whatever the reasons, Kansai area governments, starting with Kyoto and Fukui, are keeping calm and carrying on compared to local governments elsewhere. So far, most Kansai leaders appear unconvinced that holding missile evacuation drills are practical, necessary, or anything other than a waste of time and local finances.

fukui prefecture
missile
nuclear power plants
north korea-japan relations


Sinister world of the dark web is just a few clicks away

Abstract: The internet has long been an essential fixture of people’s lives. But the candy-colored cupcake photos on Instagram and hilarious animal videos on YouTube are just the sugar-coated, cat-tastic surface of the internet. There’s also the web’s seamy underbelly — an anonymous hidden marketplace that serves as a hotbed of drug and arms trafficking, fraud, hacking and other cybercrimes. The following are questions and answers on the so-called dark web, accessible just a few clicks away on any computer. What is the dark web? The dark web is digital space with hidden content intended in particular for malicious activities. It exists within the so-called deep web, a part of the World Wide Web that is unreachable through regular search engines like Google, but can be accessed using specific software, most commonly Tor, that provides a cloak of anonymity for the user. Anyone who has the free software can gain entry to the dark web without revealing who and where they are, making it difficult for authorities to crack down on illicit activities. It is difficult to gauge how many hidden websites actually exist today. But the size of the hidden web in 2001 was approximately 400 to 500 times larger than the surface web, the regular sites visible through standard search engines, according to a white paper by BrightPlanet. The U.S.-based web research firm estimates that the deep web could be even larger today, as the number of regular web pages has grown significantly since 2001. Neither using Tor nor accessing the dark web is by itself illegal. In fact, people such as whistleblowers and journalists will often use Tor to protect their identities from online surveillance. But, what is illicit is most of the content on the dark web, such as information on drug trafficking and child pornography. Why do people use the dark web? The dark web has flourished as a major marketplace for shady businesses, said Katsuyuki Okamoto, a security expert at Tokyo-based cybersecurity firm Trend Micro Inc. One of the largest e-commerce markets on the dark web today boasts more than 170,000 registered users and sells about 360,000 items, including illegal drugs, guns and how-to instruction manuals on anything imaginable ranging from hacking to making bombs. Personal data obtained by hackers, such as login IDs and passwords for Twitter and Facebook, as well as credit card security information, are openly traded on the dark web. These credentials are then exploited by thieves for account hacking and online shopping, Okamoto said. Most transactions are conducted by using virtual cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, he said. Some sellers say they can send items such as illegal drugs and guns to Japan, although shipments are likely to be seized at customs before they can reach buyers, he added. In one case, apparently hacked health care insurance data on 9.3 million people in the U.S., including names, addresses, phone numbers, email and Social Security numbers, were being sold on the dark web for 200 bitcoin (about ¥14 million at the going exchange rate in July 2016), according to Trend Micro. Some users sell ransomware — malicious software that holds computer files hostage in exchange for a ransom — as a ready-made service, enabling people without programming skills to spread the malware easily via email. Hackers try to make money by selling their ransomware on the dark web as there is no guarantee victims will really pay ransom, Okamoto said. Since it is virtually impossible to identify who is accessing the dark web and from where, it is thus unsurprising that underworld groups and terrorists are exploiting the space, Okamoto said. “We can’t keep track of the flow of money on the dark web. But it is possible the market is being exploited by malicious people,” he said. Is browsing the dark web dangerous? Accessing the dark web poses no risk if it’s only for browsing, Okamoto said. But using Tor may raise flags for the police and draw suspicion about potential wrongdoing, because there are not many legitimate reasons to conduct business through an encrypted network in Japan, he said. People might find trouble once they purchase goods sold on the dark web. “Some items might never be shipped after you pay money,” Okamoto said. However, he pointed out that even if network traffic is encrypted, the police can arrest buyers using other evidence, such as when illegal items are actually shipped by a courier. The dark web has become “a gateway for cyberattacks” and contributed to its unprecedented rise in recent years, said Okamoto. Trend Micro statistics showed it detected 65,400 ransomware attacks in Japan in 2016, about 10 times the year before. Trend Micro spokesman Junsuke Sawarame said the dark web has also motivated hackers to steal personal information, as it has served as a main platform to monetize activities. “Many people are not aware of how hackers treat the personal information they steal after cyberattacks. But I think it’s important to know the information is exchanged for cash,” he said. Is the dark web growing? The dark web has lost some momentum after the crackdown of an online black market in 2013, Okamoto said. In October 2013, U.S. authorities arrested and convicted Ross William Ulbricht — who operated Silk Road, a now-defunct online black market dubbed the “eBay of drugs” — for narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. Ulbricht was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in May 2015. Okamoto warns that the dark web has been gaining a foothold in Japan, especially attracting youths and offering easy access to information that could be used for cybercrimes. In 2015, police arrested a 17-year-old for hacking a publisher’s website. The same year, a 14-year-old in Sapporo was arrested on suspicion of possessing and selling computer virus software designed to steal personal data of online banking users. He told the police that he obtained the software online . National Police Agency statistics show 31 percent of 200 people arrested for illegal computer access, including hacking and phishing fraud, in 2016 were aged between 14 and 19 — more than any other age groups. The trend has continued since 2011.


Diary offers rare glimpse into Japan's early 20th century battles in Russia

Abstract: A diary kept by a member of the Imperial Japanese Navy, recounting fierce battles in Siberia when Japan dispatched troops there in the early 20th century, was recently unearthed by Kyodo News. There are few detailed accounts of the war by Japanese troops, with historians relying mainly on official war records. “A plume of black smoke filled the sky and corpses were washed ashore one after another onto the riverbank,” according to the diary, which also depicts how the Japanese forces set fire to a village and gunned down locals. A year after the Bolsheviks took power in Russia in the October Revolution, Japan fought the battles in Siberia claiming it was seeking to rescue Czech prisoners. The Japanese forces withdrew from Siberia in October 1922 but remained in northern Sakhalin until May 1925 with the aim of securing oil and coal resources. More than 70,000 troops were dispatched over the almost seven-year period, with the Japanese death toll topping 3,000. The diary was kept by Waichi Tanabe, a native of the former village of Sakauchi, which is now part of the town of Ibigawa in Gifu Prefecture. Tanabe died in 1976 at the age of 84. Mainly focusing on a navy mission to Siberia between 1918 and 1920, Tanabe recorded his nearly 11-year military career in the diary and later compiled it into 36 handmade booklets entitled “North, South, East and West.” The booklets were kept by Tanabe’s family, including his 60-year-old grandson Kazumasa. Tanabe, who was a crew member aboard the battleship Mikasa, arrived at a port in Vladivostok in October 1918 before moving to inner Khabarovsk and subsequently being deployed in Blagoveshchensk on the Amur River, where he served as an artilleryman supporting ground troops. A number of railway and communications facilities were destroyed by partisans and some Japanese units were even annihilated. “An incident could occur at any time,” Tanabe wrote, recounting how he had heard that 31 local people were shot dead by Japanese forces searching for saboteurs and enemy sympathizers. With Russian forces poised to advance, Tanabe later wrote, “I have only three hours left.” In Ivanovka, a suburb of Blagoveshchensk, a telegram station was captured by partisans, prompting a ferocious attack by Japanese forces in March 1919 in which around 300 residents were killed. Recounting the attack, Tanabe wrote the commander ordered “those aiding the radical group to be set on fire and the plan was executed.” Tanabe’s gunboat sailed up the Zeya and Shilka rivers, the Amur River’s tributary and headstream, seizing control of areas on the riverbanks. Describing “an extremely accurate attack” by the enemy that nearly hit his vessel, Tanabe noted, “I opened fire again and again as I was ordered.” After retreating to Khabarovsk between April and May 1920, he experienced urban warfare as communication and supply lines were cut, returning fire from his anchored gunboat. “With 30 bomb blasts that fell just meters away, the area was filled with smoke,” he wrote. “The artillery fire from each side came out of the dark of the night. Its fierceness was beyond description,” he said. Masafumi Asada, an associate professor at Iwate University, said the diary provides “valuable historical material” that offers rare insight into a soldier’s daily life, from the beginning of a campaign to his return home. “I hope that this discovery will lead to more materials being found that move research forward,” said Asada, whose historical research focuses on Northeast Asia.

wwii
world war ii
sakhalin
siberia
waichi tanabe


Osaka sets sights on 2025 World Expo, but formidable challenges remain

Abstract: OSAKA - Earlier this month, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui led a delegation of local politicians and business leaders to Paris, where they formally announced at a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions that the prefecture was bidding to host the 2025 World Expo. Speaking to the assembled delegates, who will decide the winner in November 2018 after conducting site visits over the next year or so, Matsui introduced the Osaka bid, but did not delve into specifics. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also delivered a video message of support. Paris, home to the bureau, is also bidding for the event, along with Ekaterinburg, Russia and Baku, Azerbaijan. Why was the name, originally the Osaka Expo 2025 bid, changed to the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 bid? The central government, especially the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, along with local business leaders, were worried that Osaka alone did not have enough international recognition, at least outside of East Asia, to successfully beat Paris, which Japan sees as its main rival. By changing the name to “Osaka Kansai,” Abe’s government hopes the added international appeal will be the chance to visit a number of cities, including Osaka. The decision to change the name was somewhat last minute. At late as April, Osaka officials and Japanese media were talking about the “Osaka Expo 2025” bid. Who is behind the bid? The Osaka Expo bid was formally proposed in 2014 by Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), the political group based in the city that has a plurality in the Osaka prefectural and municipal assemblies and is part of Nippon Ishin no Kai. One key figure backing the proposal is 82-year-old former Economic Planning Agency head Taichi Sakaiya, who has been a major supporter of Osaka Ishin and wields behind-the-scenes influence on the Abe administration. Many in Osaka also credit Sakaiya for helping make the 1970 World Expo there one of the most successful events ever. In addition to Sakaiya and Osaka Ishin, other supporters of the bid include trade minister Hiroshige Seko, who hails from the Kansai region, as well as Kansai Electric Power Co., Osaka Gas and major Osaka-based construction companies. What’s the theme of the proposed Expo? When and where would it take place? Under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” the Expo would run between May 3 and Nov. 3, 2025. The original proposed theme had actually focused on “health and longevity,” but this was rejected by the central government since the topic would hold little appeal to delegates from nations that, unlike Japan, are less concerned about a rapidly aging society. The location would be Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay. So how was the bid presented in Paris? In his address, Matsui emphasized history and technology. He talked about famous temples and World Heritage sites like the Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion while also promoting Osaka as a base for life-science research and a center for food and sports industries. While Matsui spoke of Osaka’s highly developed transportation structure for domestic and international travelers, he also mentioned “world-leading public safety.” Supporters in Osaka have said one way Osaka could conceivably beat Paris is if the Bureau is convinced that hosting the Expo in Japan greatly reduces the chance a terrorist attack, although debate over what kind of a beefed-up police presence would be needed — and who would pay for it — has yet to take place. What are the projected attendance figures and costs for an Osaka Kansai Expo? Assuming basic operating hours of 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. over the six months of operation, official estimates predict between 28 million and 30 million visitors, including about 3.5 million from abroad. That’s less than half the 64 million who attended the 1970 Expo, but more than the 22 million who visited the 2005 Expo in Nagoya. Construction costs are projected at ¥125 billion, and the cumulative economic effect for Japan as a whole will be about ¥1.1 trillion, according to the trade ministry’s estimates. What are the major challenges the Expo faces? There are three: local and national political support, financing a necessary rail link to Yumeshima, and a strong bid by Paris. Unlike the 1970 Expo, Osakans have mixed emotions about hosting another expo. French media polls show Parisians demonstrating more public enthusiasm for their bid than do Osakans. While Seko and Abe are strong backers, there is also concern in Osaka about what happens when Abe finally either steps down or is forced from office, especially if these political shifts were to occur before the expo’s November 2018 vote. It’s unclear whether there would be the same level of support under a new prime minister, even one from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, given that Matsui is close to Abe but less popular with other LDP leaders. Finally, while Matsui regaled the Bureau with details of Osaka’s excellent public transportation system, he neglected to mention that a new rail link to Yumeshima would have to be built. There are concerns in the local business community about who will pay for this. With 2025 a mere eight years away and Bureau officials expected to visit Osaka in the coming months, the issue of the rail link could play an important role in Osaka’s chances in beating out its rivals, especially Paris.

osaka
ichiro matsui
osaka kansai expo 2025


Delivery firms team up with convenience stores as labor shortage bites

Abstract: Faced with a severe labor shortage and grappling with heavy workloads amid a surge in online shopping, courier companies are teaming up with convenience stores to distribute parcels and relieve some of the burden on drivers. In April, Yamato Transport Co., which runs the country’s largest door-to-door delivery service, began installing lockers at 30 Seven-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo. Busy recipients can register online to have packages delivered to the lockers, then pick them up at their leisure. The aim is to reduce the need for delivery workers to make repeated visits until they find the recipient at home. Government data show that nearly 20 percent of packages were not delivered on the first attempt, a huge burden on delivery services that have seen workloads skyrocket as online retail sites such as Amazon.com gain popularity. The number of packages Yamato handled in fiscal 2016 reached a record 1.87 billion, up 7.9 percent from the previous year. The figure has soared 59 percent over the past 10 years. The issue came into sharp focus last year when Yamato took heat for failing to pay delivery workers for overtime hours. The company said it will hire 9,200 more workers this fiscal year and raise fees, and that it is considering doing away with same-day deliveries for clients including Amazon. Facing a similar labor shortage, Japan Post Co. started a trial program in April incentivizing people to retrieve packages at post offices and convenience stores by handing out points usable as store credit. The former state-run postal service said the program will run through September, but may continue past that if it helps cut down workloads. Government data released Tuesday confirmed a labor shortage in the industry, with new job offers in transport and postal services increasing 8.3 percent in April compared to a year earlier, up for the sixth straight month. Meanwhile, convenience stores are also looking for help from couriers in reaching more consumers. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said in April it is partnering with trucking firm Seino Holdings Co. to deliver lunch boxes and other products to homes, a service gaining in popularity as Japan’s population ages and becomes less willing or less able to visit stores. Rival convenience store chain Lawson Inc. has worked with SG Holdings Co., parent of parcel delivery firm Sagawa Express Co., since 2015 to deliver products such as ready-to-eat dishes. “We’re entering an age where companies won’t be able to survive without partners in other industries,” said Hisashi Yamada, chief economist at the Japan Research Institute. “With the current labor shortage, this trend will only gain momentum.” However, some worry that such collaborations between delivery service providers and convenience stores could lead to problems of their own. Being a convenience store clerk used to mostly entail ringing up purchases and managing inventory, but the job has become more demanding as chains now handle various services including serving food products that are cooked in-store, issuing tickets for concerts and sporting events, and processing utilities payments. Adding parcel pick-ups to the list would increase the workload. “(Our staff) may not be able to handle it,” said an official at a major convenience store chain. Couriers say they are not worried about deliveries of convenience store products becoming an extra burden on workers because they are hiring additional staff. But hiring could become more difficult as demand increases and more competitors enter the fray by joining up with convenience stores.

convenience stores
labor shortage
yamato transport
parceldelivery


Seven-Eleven to open 250 stores in Okinawa around fiscal 2019

Abstract: NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the nation’s largest convenience store operator, will start opening outlets in Okinawa around fiscal 2019, extending its presence to the only area in Japan without Seven-Eleven stores, the president of the chain said Friday. President Kazuki Furuya told Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga at the prefectural government office that the company is aiming to set up about 250 stores over the period of five years. “We are finally ready to open our shops in Okinawa. We hope to create good stores and contribute to Okinawa’s economy,” Furuya told Onaga. The governor welcomes the offer, saying, “I feel very happy about it.” The convenience store operator said it plans to open stores mainly in the prefecture’s capital Naha, and establish a subsidiary in Okinawa to ensure smooth operation of the new outlets. “We hope to open up stores that make the lives of Okinawan people rich and convenient,” Furuya said at a news conference. Seven-Eleven Japan opened outlets in Aomori and Tottori prefectures in 2015, leaving Okinawa last among the country’s 47 prefectures without its stores. Rival convenience store operators Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co. have already launched outlets in Okinawa.

okinawa
convenience stores
seven-eleven japan


Declassified papers reveal U.S. held debate on Japan's nuclear ambitions in 1970s

Abstract: OSAKA - Japan’s push to establish a nuclear fuel recycling program and use the plutonium created in the process was the center of an intense debate in the U.S. government four decades ago, pitting those who wanted smooth relations with Tokyo against those who worried the plan might lead to the proliferation of sensitive nuclear technology and plutonium stockpiles. Formerly classified U.S. State Department and National Security Council memos and cables posted Thursday show that Tokyo began pressing Washington in the late 1970s to let it reprocess spent nuclear fuel from U.S. reactors so the extracted plutonium could be used in the so-called fast breeder reactors Japan wanted to build. The documents were made available by the nongovernmental Washington-based National Security Archive at George Washington University and the Nuclear Nonproliferation International History project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In a cable marked “Secret” and dated May 29, 1980, Jerry Oplinger, a staff member at the National Security Council, warned his colleagues that if Japan as well as Britain and France went through with plans to build fuel reprocessing plants, it would create new proliferation risks. “Any one of these three projected projects would more than swamp the projected plutonium needs of all the breeder R&D programs in the world. Three of them will produce a vast surplus of pure, weapons-grade plutonium amounting to several hundred tons by the year 2000. Not only would that stockpile of separated plutonium constitute a danger in itself, it would eventually drive these nations, and those watching their example, into the recycle of plutonium in today’s reactors for economic reasons,” Oplinger wrote. Others in the U.S. government at the time supported Japan’s desire to experiment with plutonium. In an Aug. 29, 1979, U.S. State Department confidential memo, it was noted that Japan’s then-minister of science technology Iwazo Kaneko had pressed Washington on the issue. “He stressed that it was essential for Japan to make maximum use of plutonium, particularly fast-breeder reactors,” the memo says. Other officials, including Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, argued in a memorandum dated June 4, 1980, that U.S. reluctance on Japan’s reprocessing program would hurt bilateral trust. Ultimately, the U.S. would drop its opposition to the plans, but with some apprehension. The debates occurred in the final stage of preparations for Japan’s first reprocessing plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, which become operational in 1981, and reprocessed over 1,000 tons of used fuel for research purposes until 2006, when it no longer had any contracts for reprocessing. In 2014, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency decided to shut down the plant. Last month, the agency said scrapping the facility over a 70-year period will cost an estimated ¥800 billion. The nation still has about 48 tons of plutonium stockpiled with about 11 tons held domestically and the remainder in Britain and France. Next year, the U.S. and Japan are expected to renegotiate an agreement, originally signed in 1988, to cooperate on nuclear power.

national security council
plutonium
u.s. state department
nuclear reprocessing plant
jerry oplinger


Crowdfunding project kicks off to create manga promoting Okinawa history, culture

Abstract: An Okinawa resident, originally from the U.S., is calling for donations to publish a manga book and an animated film through crowdfunding to promote the unique history and culture in the prefecture, which historically had been the independent Ryukyu Kingdom until the late 1800s. The driving force behind the project to create the anime “Tedashiro no Kuniuta” (“The Song of the Sun Goddess”) is Julia Aimi Olivares, 30, from Minnesota, whose mother, Kazumi Mechler, hails from Naha, Okinawa. Olivares, who had lived in Okinawa for about 10 years from when she was age 8, is well-versed in the regional culture and has won a top prize in a Ryukyu buyo dance competition, which was organized by The Okinawa Times. Olivares returned to Okinawa from the United States in 2015 and set up a content production company, Ten Tun Ten Inc., in the town of Nishihara in the prefecture the following year. In establishing the company, she drew from her experience working at a California publishing firm specializing in the gaming and anime business. In a fantasy story written by Olivares, Maka Arakaki, an female college art student who learns to perform Ryukyu traditional dance, meets Ba Kensai, an official from the Ryukyu Kingdom who time-travels to the modern world. The duo defend Ryukyu, struggling against a bid by the central Japanese government to integrate the kingdom as a prefecture under the control of the Meiji Era government. Olivares will try to collect ¥1 million by Aug. 1 to fund the project, aiming to publish a manga e-book based on the story in February 2018 and create an anime film in 2019. “I will promote Okinawa through the anime utilizing a lot of materials and human resources,” Olivares said. “I will let people all over the world know about Okinawa and love it.” The crowdfunding campaign, continuing through Aug. 1, can be found at: https://a-port.asahi.com/okinawatimes/projects/tedautaproject .

okinawa
anime
crowdfunding
ryukyu
julia aimi olivares


Actor Keisuke Koide suspended by talent agency over underage sex

Abstract: Keisuke Koide, a popular actor with a clean-cut image, has been suspended by his talent agency after admitting to having sex with a minor, forcing major broadcasters to cancel a program starring him and remove him from the cast of an upcoming TV program. “It happened because I, as an adult and public figure, failed to have a sense of responsibility and fully control myself. My deed was inexcusable,” Koide, 33, said in a statement Thursday ahead of the publication Friday of a gossip magazine covering the scandal. The magazine’s report says Koide drank alcohol last month with a 17-year-old girl and had sex with her. Koide’s agency, Amuse Inc., said it is suspending the actor from all agency-related activities “for an indefinite period.” The scandal also prompted NHK to cancel a drama starring Koide that was set to debut on Saturday, while Nippon Television Network Corp. removed him from the cast of a drama set to air next month. Koide was cast in the role of Sanma Akashiya, one of the most popular comedians in Japan, for a drama that Netflix Inc. plans to distribute in 190 countries from July 7. Netflix said it is considering how to respond to the scandal. Koide has acted in many films, including “Surely Someday,” “Boku no Kanojo wa Cyborg” (“Cyborg She”)” and “Nodame Cantabile.”


Defector alleges wage skimming at Koreas' joint industrial zone funding Kim Jong Un's arms quest

Abstract: WASHINGTON - North Korea’s party organization funding the leadership siphoned nearly all dollars paid in cash by South Korean companies as salaries for the laborers over an economic cooperative project in the border city of Kaesong, a defector told Kyodo News. Office 39 takes away the salaries of North Korean workers and earns up to $100 million in cash annually, 59-year-old Ri Jong Ho, a former senior official of the secretive office, said in a recent interview in the U.S. capital. The cash is likely to have been used for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development. “The laborers are strictly supervised and do not get the pay. Senior officials (of the North Korean authority) there say that the workers are like slaves, exploited by South Korean companies,” Ri said. Ri has long been involved in the operation of Office 39, which is said to have been established by the late leader Kim Jong Il in May 1974. It is subject to international sanctions as the United States and other Western countries believe it is engaged in illicit economic activities and the management of slush funds for the leadership. The operation of the joint industrial zone at Kaesong is currently halted as South Korea’s previous administration of Park Geun-hye decided on its suspension in February last year in response to Pyongyang’s long-range rocket launch and a nuclear test. New South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who indicated during his election campaign that he favors a softer approach toward North Korea than his conservative predecessors, said he will consider restarting the operation of the industrial park on condition that North Korea agrees to engage in talks to give up its nuclear ambitions. But the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is certain to object to such moves as it seeks to cut off the influx of foreign currency into North Korea to counter its nuclear and missile threats. According to Ri, South Korean companies have handed over the salaries of North Korean laborers at a division under the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which is in charge of the industrial park from the North Korean side. The department has then passed the money to the treasurer of Office 39. Pak Nam Gi, a senior ruling party official in charge of financial planning, had said before being executed in 2010 that he was ordered to transfer such money under the instruction of Kim Jong Il, according to Ri. The South Korean government said the average wage of the laborers was about $140 per month in 2014. But Ri said North Korean authorities did not give them the money but instead supplied them with daily necessities. South Korea said in February last year that a total of about $560 million in cash went to North Korea through the industrial zone project and was partly used for nuclear development. The announcement may have been based on the information provided by Ri, who defected to South Korea with his family in October 2014. Ri also said current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un established “Office 16” inside the ruling party around the latter half of 2012 to proceed with economic reforms. He tried to learn from examples of other countries but the attempt ended as a failure.

north korea
kim jong un
missiles
south korea
nuclear arms
kaesong
ri jong ho


Nursing care attracts fewer candidates despite growing need in graying Japan

Abstract: Prospective nursing care workers and specialist care managers has been dwindling in number, even as the country continues to gray and the need for their services grows. The decline is primarily attributed to the longer time it now takes to train as a care worker or care manager, but industry observers said that a combination of demanding responsibilities and relatively low pay are to blame. Kiyomi Takano, 45, quit her job after working as a home-based care manager for five years, saying the job had kept her extremely busy. Her tasks involved visiting elderly clients at home once a month, meetings, and working as a coordinator for doctors, nurses, families and private nursing care firms. “I didn’t know whether I was working for people receiving nursing care services, or was just there for the paperwork,” she said. “Medical knowledge and communication skills are also required, and I came to a point where I thought I just couldn’t do it any longer.” The position of expert care manager, whose job is to design care plans for the elderly, was created when Japan introduced a nursing care insurance system in 2000. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average monthly wage for care managers in 2016 stood at ¥255,000 excluding overtime pay, compared with an average of ¥304,000 across all industries. The number of people applying for care manager certification dropped to 124,000 in the fiscal year that ended in March, down from its peak of over 200,000 and about 10,000 less than the year before. In the same year, only 16,000 — a record-low 13.1 percent — passed the exam. Moriyasu Nomoto, a senior official at the Japan Care Manager Association, said one of the main reasons for the decrease is that the required period of practical training has almost doubled to 87 hours from 44 previously. “It is difficult for those who want to be a care manager to take the training at their own expense,” he said, adding that finding the time to do also affects their existing work. The number of people applying to take the national exam to qualify as a care worker has also decreased substantially as candidates are required to complete 450 hours of practical training ahead of time. “The exam is now targeting those who really want to become care workers, so we should use this opportunity to boost their skills,” said Junya Ishimoto, chairman at the Japan Association of Certified Care Workers. But Kazuyo Sakurai, who used to be a care worker and has authored books on the topic, said the current situation reflects the fact that society does not value people who work in the industry. “If getting a qualification doesn’t lead to an improvement in working conditions, it’s natural that no one wants to take the exam,” he said. “The lack of care managers will result in a lower quality of care and eventually the burden will be placed on the elderly and their families. Without improving working conditions, we will face a further shortfall in human resources.”


Graffiti vandals deface 11 shrines in Awaji

Abstract: KOBE - Eleven shrines in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, were hit by graffiti vandals from Tuesday to Wednesday and police suspect the same party was behind each case. The Awaji Police Department said the graffiti were first discovered at Izanagi Jingu Shrine on Tuesday afternoon. The daily Asahi Shimbun reported that a shinto priest noticed two kanji scribbles in red ink on a wall of a shrine structure. On Wednesday, graffiti were also found at 10 other shrines in the island city, according the police. Izanagi Jingu Shrine is believed to enshrine Izanagi and Izanami, a divine couple that appear in Japanese mythology. In Sumoto, which is also on Awajishima Island, graffiti were found in a shrine in April and the police are trying to confirm whether the vandalism was connected with that found in the city of Awaji.


Unique reef fish 'kisses' take sting out of coral diet

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Featuring slime and suction, a kiss from a tubelip wrasse — a colorful reef fish — is no one’s idea of romance. But it is perfectly suited for eating a hazardous diet using one of the animal kingdom’s most unique feeding strategies. Scientists on Monday described for the first time how the fish thrives in the Indian Ocean and central-western Pacific as one of the few creatures capable of dining on corals, one of the planet’s most formidable menu items. Corals are marine organisms boasting thin, mucus-covered flesh that contains venomous, stinging cells spread over a razor-sharp skeleton. Of the more than 6,000 fish species that live on reefs, only about 128 eat corals. Scientists knew that the yellow-and-purple tubelip wrasse was one of them, but how it did it was a mystery. The researchers used a scanning electron microscope to determine the structure of its fleshy, pouty-looking lips, and high-speed video to learn what it does while feeding. “Kissing the mucus and flesh of corals with self-lubricating lips was not what we were expecting,” said marine biologist Victor Huertas of James Cook University in Australia. The thick lips of the fish, which reaches about 7 inches (18 cm) long, were found to be made of a tightly packed series of thin folds of tissue, like the underside of a mushroom top, covered in slime from mucus-secreting cells. “To our knowledge, this type of lip has never been recorded before,” James Cook University marine biologist David Bellwood said. They discovered that the fish approaches the coral slowly and inspects its surface, protrudes its jaws, then produces powerful suction as its lips make contact with the coral for two-100ths of a second. In that scant time, it ingests the flesh and coral mucus off the coral skeleton. “It looks exactly like a quick kiss with a distinctive ‘tuk’ sound,” Huertas said, “often leaving a coral ‘hickey,’ which is actually a patch of flesh sucked off the skeleton.” “It would be a good basis for a horror movie,” Bellwood added. The mucous coat may protect the lips from the stinging cells, help to seal them against the coral surface to enhance suction force and serve as a conveyor belt that captures the coral mucus and the stinging cells being ingested, the researchers said. The research was published in the journal Current Biology.


New York man balances lawn mower on chin to set fresh world record

Abstract: NEW YORK - Pushing a running electric lawn mower for 71 meters (233 feet) is not a difficult thing to do, but try doing that distance not pushing it, but balancing it on your chin. New Yorker Ashrita Furman broke, by more than 50 meters, his existing Guinness World Record for “the farthest distance walked balancing a powered lawn mower on the chin.” When he finally lowered the grass-cutter to the pavement, Furman had traveled 71.53 meters, easily besting his previous and still-existing record of 20 meters. “I pushed beyond what I had done before by a lot and I’m very, very happy,” Furman said on Thursday. Although he made it look easy, Furman said he was constantly battling the elements. “Wind is really your enemy in this kind of balancing, and I had a couple of gusts of wind where the lawn mower felt (like) it was going to spin off,” he said. In another attempt to set a record, 40 friends began a nonstop hockey game on Thursday night in Buffalo, New York. The men, mostly in their 40s, aim to play one continuous game spanning 11 days — or 251 hours, to be exact. Their goal is to raise $1 million for cancer research and break the Guinness World Record mark of 250 hours, 3 minutes, 20 seconds set during an outdoor game in Alberta in 2015. Teams will be split into groups of about seven players (five skaters, a goalie and a spare), with each playing four-hour shifts. They will get 10-minute breaks each hour while the ice is being cleaned. The key is pacing themselves and understanding their limits, goalie Les Kuntar said. For him, that means not diving for every puck. “I was very competitive,” said Kuntar, who played professionally, including a six-game stint with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993-94. “But I think now, at 47 years old, I know what my body can and can’t do.” Organizer Mike Lesakowski drew upon friends and fellow adult league players to fill about half the slots. The rest of the roster was filled through an application process. So many applied that players had to be turned away. In selecting an older group of players, Lesakowski wanted to assemble a team of not merely hockey enthusiasts, but those able to commit to the mental and physical challenges as well as generate at least $10,000 in pledges each.


Social entrepreneur taps corporate millennials to engage in developing world

Abstract: When Daichi Konuma was a Hitotsubashi University student, he and his friends used to talk passionately about a future of building a better world. Whether at an investment bank or at a trading company, they had resolved to help small businesses or to focus on projects to reduce poverty. So when Konuma graduated from college, he went to Syria, enlisting in a program by the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to help local farmers. After about two years in the Middle East, Konuma returned to Japan, eager to make a difference in his home country by using his new experience. But when he had drinks together with the same college friends who had previously shared his idealistic outlook, Konuma observed that they had been molded into corporate workers whose passion had been snuffed out. “You’re enthusiastic like you used to be. But that’s not going to sell well at work,” one of Konuma’s friends pulled him aside to impart some advice. “You need to grow up.” Konuma was shocked and dismayed by this shift in attitude. Is it because entry-level workers aren’t able to participate in corporate decision-making or is it because companies expect its workers to conform to the corporate culture? But it kindled within him the fire to found a nonprofit organization, Cross Fields, four years later in 2011 whose mission is to find bright young people in the corporate space who are looking to reignite their motivation and send them overseas to help eradicate social woes. “I believe there is a correlation between personal growth and people’s engagement in tackling social issues on the spot and those who exert most efforts,” Konuma, 34, said in a recent interview. He believes that through active participation in the society, people can restore their ambition and develop leadership skills applicable in all areas of business. To date Cross Fields has matched about 120 workers from over 30 leading companies — such as Benesse Holdings, Inc. and NTT Data Corp. — to around 70 nongovernmental organizations across Asia. Participants are assigned projects in Japan and nine other countries, including Myanmar, Cambodia, India and Laos, that involve technologies and knowledge they have acquired at their companies. They work as a team with local groups or enterprises, and assist in fields such as health care, agriculture or other improvements in livelihood. Established in May 2011, Cross Fields provides participating firms with consultancy services that include mentoring throughout the project. Its revenue relies on coordination fees and donations. But convincing employers to sign up for the program had been the biggest hurdle. At first, Konuma was turned down by around 100 firms that doubted the benefits to the company. Many employers were concerned that “such a fun experience would encourage workers (participating in the program) to leave the company.” An estimated 5 percent of participants have so far left their companies, Konuma said. But clients gradually increased as more companies began to realize they need to give young people a chance to play an active role and that Cross Fields’ programs may actually spark innovation in the long term. A Panasonic employee in his 30s spent a month in the city of Da Nang in central Vietnam in 2012 helping a solar-cooker maker reduce the costs of production and delivery. The project prompted him to reflect upon his own work at Panasonic. He thought about the way technology has made people lose touch with nature and developed a package of services, from ingredients to recipes, that would enable users to ferment their own food at home using Panasonic’s incubator. Hitachi Ltd. dispatched about 40 workers for up to 10 years overseas for Cross Fields’ programs. “It’s an opportunity to gain leadership skills, cultural competence and diversity responsiveness, and a chance to contribute to solving social problems,” said Hitachi spokesman Toru Nishino. Nishino said Hitachi hopes it would benefit and help push forward efforts to use the firm’s know-how and IT technology from its social innovation business to come up with solutions for society’s challenges. Konuma’s work as a social entrepreneur has been recognized at home and abroad. In 2011, he was invited to become a member of the Global Shapers Community, a network of socially engaged and entrepreneurial leaders between the age of 20 and 30 backed by the World Economic Forum. The leaders engage in local-level projects aimed at addressing social issues. Konuma also participated in the World Economic Forum on East Asia held in Myanmar in 2013 as a Global Shaper. Cross Fields received the Nikkei Social Initiative Award in 2015. And last year, Harvard Business Review selected Konuma as one of Japan’s top 20 innovative leaders under 40. Looking back, his passion has always been about contributing back to the global community. When he returned from Syria, Konuma established Compass Point, a network of young people aimed at addressing issues such as disparity in food distribution between developed and developing countries, through cooperation with social support groups. The group now has 1,500 members. Konuma entered the consultancy McKinsey & Co. in 2008 to develop his own business skills, which later spurred him to design the corporate volunteer program. When Konuma founded Cross Fields six years ago, he thought that through the younger and future generation of corporate workers would come a big societal change. But he was wrong. “The original goal was to help young people change their mindset,” Konuma said. “But now, we tell employers that management, too, needs to change its practices” to retain its talent. In 2015, Cross Fields introduced a new program targeting management, enabling visits to developing countries such as Vietnam or the Philippines to learn about local needs and required assistance. “We realized it’s not enough” to give a chance to young employees, Konuma said. “A change in the attitude of young people will only bring about a major change in the organization or a society as long as they get enough support from management.”


Japanese high schools saw record number of foreign students in 2015

Abstract: A record-high 2,147 students from overseas studied at Japanese high schools for a period of three months or longer in fiscal 2015, rebounding from a sharp drop in 2011, the education ministry said Tuesday. The roughly biennial survey on high schools nationwide showed the number of overseas students was up 482 from fiscal 2013 to hit the highest level since the ministry began collecting comparable data in fiscal 1992. The number of Japanese students who studied abroad for three months or longer also rose to 4,197, up 300 from the previous survey, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The figure of students from abroad has recovered following the decline in fiscal 2011, after a major earthquake and tsunami hit eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering nuclear meltdowns at a Fukushima power plant. The ministry said it believes the state’s promotion of educational trips to Japan and local international exchange programs have helped increase the number of foreign students. By country and region, students from China accounted for the largest group of 873, followed by the United States at 173, Thailand at 134, Germany at 131, Australia at 106 and South Korea at 81. Among the students going abroad, the U.S. was the most popular destination with 1,245 students studying there, followed by New Zealand with 833, Canada with 791, Australia with 515 and Britain with 131. The number of Japanese students who studied for periods shorter than three months significantly decreased to 31,645, down 6,507 from fiscal 2013, reflecting suspensions of study-abroad programs by schools and education boards following terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere, the ministry said.

education
foreign students
schools
high schools
mext
surveys


Japan, rights expert trade barbs over Tokyo's record on freedom of expression

Abstract: GENEVA - A senior Japanese diplomat and a U.N. rights expert traded barbs Monday at the U.N. Human Rights Council over a report released in May that criticized Tokyo’s record on freedom of opinion and expression. David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, cited “significant worrying signals” in his report, including government pressure on media and restrictions on information access justified on national security grounds. “It is regrettable that some parts of the report are written without accurate understanding of the government’s explanation and its positions,” Japanese Ambassador to Geneva Junichi Ihara said in his statement to the Council. Regarding Japan’s broadcasting law, in which Article 4 theoretically provides the government with the basis to suspend broadcasting licenses if TV stations are not considered “politically fair,” Ihara said that “the act does not give rise to any pressure on the media.” “There were no cases in which the operation suspension order was applied by the Broadcast Act,” he said. In his statement, Kaye argued that “the authority of the government to suspend broadcast licenses on grounds of fairness, even if the government has never taken advantage of that authority, presents a certain measure of risk for any broadcaster, one that the government would do well to remove.” Ihara also responded to Kaye’s concern about a contentious secrecy law aimed at preventing leaks and state secrets that took effect in 2014, under which civil servants or others who leak designated secrets could face up to 10 years in prison. Those who instigate leaks, including journalists, could be subject to prison terms of up to five years. In his report, Kaye said the law involved the risk of arbitrariness because specific subcategories under which information may be designated as secret remained “overly broad.” “Information designed as specially designated secrets is limited under strict conditions,” Ihara said, adding that “information gathering activities performed by journalists are not punishable under the act.” Kaye’s report, presented on Monday to the Human Rights Council, is the result of the first-ever research on freedom of expression in Japan conducted by a U.N. special rapporteur.

journalists
secrecy law
japan
junichi ihara
freedom of expression
david kaye
u.n. rights council


Wakayama seeks to lift itself out of obscurity with fruit and gambling

Abstract: OSAKA - In the Kansai region, known mostly for the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe, Wakayama Prefecture rarely tops the destination list of most tourists. It’s little known overseas and it’s name doesn’t have the cachet that universally conjures up an iconic Japanese food like, say, Kobe beef. Wakayama wants to change that. Late last month, Wakayama Gov. Yoshinobu Nisaka lobbied Tokyo to help fund or support 58 different proposals to raise the prefecture’s profile — if not to the level of its Kansai neighbors, then at least to the point where it’s better known abroad than it is today. Among the ideas were promoting exports of fruit like Wakayama peaches, persimmons and especially plums. Wakayama plum wine that’s been aged three to five years is rapidly becoming a highly sought summer drink among local gourmands. The prefecture hopes to sell to Vietnam and China in particular, and the governor called on the central government to work with both nations to raise exports of its fruit. Exports of Wakayama fruit and fruit-based products were worth around ¥430 million in 2015. By 2026, the prefecture is hoping to raise that figure 16-fold to around ¥7 billion, viewing Asian markets as particularly ripe for sales. In addition, Wakayama is interested in hosting an integrated resort with casinos. The Diet is slated to pass a legislation by the end of the year establishing guidelines for operating casinos. Potential locations for the first site include the Marina City theme park sitting on an artificial island in the bay south of the city of Wakayama. It takes less than an hour to reach the city on the fastest trains from Kansai airport. But Wakayama faces stiff competition from neighboring Osaka, and there are questions about whether a Wakayama gambling resort could draw enough foreign visitors to turn a profit. Only a few initial projects for casino gambling are expected to be approved. In the end, if it fails to get a casino, Wakayama may find that its fruit may turn out to be the better bet in raising its profile overseas.


Chinese think tank calls for 'democratic' internet governance system

Abstract: WUZHEN, CHINA - China ranks fifth among 38 nations globally in standards of cybergovernance, a top state-backed internet think tank said Monday, calling for a “democratic” internet governance system to eradicate inequalities it said marginalizes developing nations. China has pushed strongly for a unified cybergovernance regime, but other countries, business groups and firms have criticized its strict stance. Officials have sought a greater role for China in strengthening global internet governance. China ranks after the United States, Japan, France and Estonia, the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies said in a report released at China’s World Internet Conference in the eastern town of Wuzhen. “We should promote the establishment of a multinational, democratic and transparent global internet governance system,” it said. For the third straight year, independent U.S. rights watchdog Freedom House ranked China last in internet freedom this year, however. China’s internet governance initiatives include strict new censorship and surveillance curbs introduced this year that target news outlets, social media and individuals on the net. The Cyberspace Administration of China says the new measures, which include the monitoring of private chat apps and censoring tools to block viewing of overseas websites, are designed to maintain social order and protect socialist values. “(All countries) should give full play to the internet to spread positive things like justice, kindness, liveliness and goodness in cyberspace,” the report said, without elaborating. China adopted a new cybersecurity measure this year requiring foreign firms to store data in the country and submit to surveillance checks. Business groups say the law is harsher than comparable policies in Europe and the United States. The report also ranks China as second in global internet development and innovation behind the United States and 23rd in cybersecurity, and gives insight into how China sees its internet development.


Brazilian cartoonist's manga helps his young compatriots adjust to school life in Japan

Abstract: Famous Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa has created a manga introducing Japanese school life to Brazilian children who have migrated to Japan. Well-known for his “Monica’s Gang” series, the 82-year-old resident of Sao Paulo uses his new comic book to depict unique Japanese school culture, including students taking turns serving lunch and going on school trips, through illustrations and Portuguese captions. In the book, Monica — the main character from de Sousa’s popular series — and her friends come to Japan and attend school. They encourage other Brazilian-born children to overcome cultural barriers and become accustomed to school life in Japan. The manga covers Japanese school life in detail, showing scenes of students going to school in groups, changing to indoor shoes while in the school building and saying in unison “ itadakimasu ” before meals. It introduces the shitajiki (pencil board), which is not used in Brazil, as well as school excursions and Sports Day, fixtures at Japanese schools. There is also a scene reminding parents and guardians that they must contact the school when their child is absent. De Sousa often visits Japan and holds lectures for Brazilian immigrants. He decided to publish the special manga after learning that Brazilian children have had difficulties getting used to school life here. Based on stories he heard from teachers, he finished the book at the start of October, covering all the necessary expenses himself. So far, approximately 2,000 copies have been given out to children in Shiga, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Shizuoka and Gunma prefectures, where there are many Japanese-Brazilians, with plans to publish more if necessary. Chiebao Nicoly, 8, a third-grader at an elementary school in Konan, Shiga Prefecture, was happy to receive the book. “It will help me learn about the Japanese school system,” she said. “I think it will also help my friends who come to Japan.” There are also many children from other countries attending school in Japan, so de Sousa is thinking of publishing versions of his book in Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Tagalog. “Studying in two languages (their mother tongue and Japanese) will become an invaluable experience for them in the future,” he said. “I hope I can support them through this picture book so that they can utilize this opportunity.” For inquiries, contact Aya Sasaki from Mauricio de Sousa Productions at 090-2598-0613.


20 years after Kyoto Protocol, where does world stand on climate?

Abstract: On Dec. 11, 1997, representatives from over 150 nations gathered in Kyoto to hammer out what would become the world’s first international agreement to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. In a marathon nearly two-week negotiating session that ran into the early morning hours of the day after the conference was supposed to end, and following a quick fly-in visit by U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who urged all sides and especially the United States to compromise, a deal was struck. The Kyoto Protocol would become one of the most inspirational and controversial treaties ever signed. What was the purpose of the Kyoto Protocol? The agreement came out of the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3), a process that has its origins in the 1992 U.N. Rio Earth Summit held in Brazil. There, a treaty was proposed that would stabilize emissions “at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” Simply put, this treaty was supposed to keep greenhouse gas emissions from human activity at a level scientists believed would offer the best chance of preventing catastrophic climate change. What was the actual agreement that came out of Kyoto? A treaty that committed 37 industrialized nations plus the European Community to cut their emissions of six greenhouse gases by an average of 5 percent by 2012, compared with 1990 levels. The six gases targeted for reduction included carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (used in air conditioning), perfluorocarbons (often produced by aluminum production) and sulfur hexafluoride (used in the electrical industry). Carbon dioxide was the gas that policymakers were most concerned about. Within the average of 5 percent, different countries had different targets. The 15 countries in the European Union at the time, as well as some eastern European countries and Switzerland, had targets of 8 percent below 1990 levels. The United States committed to a 7 percent reduction and Japan, along with Canada, Hungary, and Poland, agreed to a 6 percent cut. But because the premise of the agreement was that industrially developed countries were historically responsible for the rise in global greenhouse gas emissions since the 1800s, and produced the majority of the world’s emissions in 1997, these binding targets covered only developed countries. Emerging economies like China and India were exempted from setting numerical targets and promised only to do their best to reduce emissions. What was the result? Before the meeting in Kyoto, the U.S. Congress warned that unless a deal was struck that forced obligations on developing nations like China and India, America would not ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Barely had the agreement been reached when U.S. congressional representatives in Kyoto who had opposed it said it would never fly. Pressure from the U.S. gas and oil lobbies to scuttle the deal had been strong prior to the deal, and after George W. Bush became president in 2001 he announced that America was pulling out. For the other nations, the Kyoto Protocol took effect in February 2005. Attempts to work out another deal that would include developing nations continued to create tensions, especially between the U.S. and a rapidly growing China. When the Kyoto Protocol’s first stage came to an end in 2012, it was agreed in Doha to extend the period to 2020. However, as of last month, only 88 of the original Kyoto Protocol signatories had accepted the Doha Amendment, which would have kept their reduction goals under the Kyoto Protocol in place until 2020. At least 144 Kyoto Protocol countries are needed for the amendment to go into force. What’s the connection between the 2015 Paris climate agreement and the Kyoto Protocol? After years of failure to reach an international consensus on a plan of action to replace the Kyoto pact, U.N. negotiators agreed in Paris two years ago that all nations would work to keep the global temperature rise this century “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to make serious efforts to keep the rise at just 1.5 degrees. More financing was promised for developing countries in particular to reduce emissions, and new structures for reporting national greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation policies were agreed upon. However, President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Paris agreement, which has since been ratified by 170 countries, including all of the major developed and emerging economies, leaving the U.S. as the sole major polluter to opt out. What is the legacy of the Kyoto Protocol? Politically, opinion is divided. The United Nations calculates that even without U.S. participation, total emissions by advanced countries had dropped 22.6 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2012, the end of the first pact’s period. U.N. Climate Secretary Patricia Espinosa credits the Kyoto Protocol for inspiring innovation and increased use of renewable energy, and energy efficiency in particular, over the past two decades. Others note the general rise in public awareness of the environmental problems caused by climate change, and efforts to live more environment-friendly lifestyles, following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. On the other hand, critics of the climate pact say its failure to include countries like China and India means that attaining the temperature goal set in Paris for this century is all the more harder to reach. In a message to the U.N.’s annual climate change conference in Bonn last month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world was not yet on track to meet this goal. Where does Japan itself stand? Under the Paris agreement, Japan pledged to reduce its emissions 26 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, a goal that has been criticized by climate experts as insufficient to aid in keeping the global temperature rise under 2 degrees. Much of the reduction is predicted to come from greater use of renewable energy, natural gas and nuclear power, as well as more energy-efficiency measures and technological advances. Figures from the Environment Ministry show that Japan’s total greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2015 fell 2.9 percent from fiscal 2014 levels and 6 percent in respect to the base year for Paris of 2013, but were still about 4 percent higher than the Kyoto Protocol’s base year of 1990.

kyoto protocol
environment
greenhouse gas
cop3


MacArthur-requested memoir by Emperor Hirohito expected to fetch up to $150,000 at New York auction

Abstract: NEW YORK - A memoir by the late Emperor Hirohito that offers his recollections of World War II is predicted to fetch between $100,000 (about ¥11.2 million) and $150,000 at an auction in New York. The 173-page document was dictated by the leader — who is posthumously called Emperor Showa — to several of his aides soon after the end of the war. It was created at the request of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, whose administration controlled Japan at the time. The memoir, also known as the Imperial monologue, covers events from the Japanese assassination of Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin in 1928 to the Emperor’s surrender broadcast recorded on Aug. 14, 1945. The document’s contents caused a sensation when they were first published in Japan in 1990, just after the Emperor’s death. It’s scheduled to be auctioned at Bonhams on Dec. 6.

wwii
douglas macarthur
auctions
occupation
emperor hirohito
memoirs
manchuria
japan


Women in Japan too tired to care about dating or searching for a partner

Abstract: While Japanese society and the media continue to exhort — nay plead — with women to find marriage partners, 60 percent of eligible women say they cannot feel relaxed enough to get interested in renai (love relationships) , according to a Yomeishu survey picked up by cocolini jp. As sad as it sounds, the nation’s women appear to have joined the ranks of men as overworked employees, too drained from the daily grind. Specifically, women appear to be fatigued by the alternative — shokubano ningenkankei (workplace relationships) — and avoid going out on random dates, as they have now become synonymous with stress. And when women can muster the energy to go out, 1 in 4 have confessed to having fallen asleep during a date. The overall feeling among these women is that the whole renai thing is overrated, strenuous and, ultimately, unsatisfying. Why waste time dating strangers when you can watch “Terrace House” in your pajamas or use a “love app” to hear the velvety voices of actors Takumi Saito or Sota Fukushi telling you to relax after a hard day’s work? Have Japanese women given up on love? A cautious “yes, sort of” seems to be the answer. While that may indeed be the case, they have not given up on marriage. Although few women have the time or inclination for the rollercoaster ride of love relationships, a whopping 80 percent told cocoloni.jp they wanted to find a husband and settle down. They’re seeking antei (stability), preceded by a sumptuous wedding that would wow multitudes on Instagram. Lovely Media, another online dating site, says that a growing number of women are reluctant to “waste time” on “dating that leads nowhere .” These women are eyeing childbirth — the longer they play the field, the higher the risks when it comes to pregnancy. This is why an increasing number of women are taking the konkatsu (matchmaking) route, pooling their resources into what they see as a serious life project. Interestingly, the numbers are reversed when it comes to men. Sixty percent of those surveyed say they are not interested in marriage but close to 80 percent claim to want girlfriends. These men view marriage warily, aware that tying the knot will involve complications and baggage they aren’t ready to take on. Marriage would also cramp their style and eat into precious disposable income. It seems, therefore, that the concepts of love and marriage have become two separate entities in the minds of young men and women in Japan. The bubble era of the late 1980s saw the rise of a phenomenon known as renaishijyōshugi (the principle of “only love matters”). Author Haruki Murakami captured this in his best-selling novel “Norwegian Wood,” calling on Japanese youths to throw themselves into love, come hell or high water. Back in those days, 60-70 percent of young people in their 20s were in relationships , according to data compiled by the National Population Institute. These days, people in their 20s with partners are in the minority. It’s arguably best to change workplace attitudes before women nationwide throw themselves into matchmaking. Shorter working hours, guaranteed maternity and paternity leaves, and a less forbidding atmosphere will go a long way in getting women to think about love. Until then, however, the combination of pajamas and a couch remains irresistible.

relationships
marriage
dating
japan pulse


Life as a gangster in Japan just isn't as fun as it used to be

Abstract: A number of theories have been put forward on the reasons behind the 2015 split of the country’s largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Some say the factions that left the organization and formed a group called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi were egged on by the police, who had deliberately encouraged suspicions to grow among rival syndicates. It’s worth noting that police officers stood guard outside the new group’s headquarters when it announced its existence to the public. Others believe the split was supported by several former Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate bosses who had been expelled with Tadamasa Goto in 2008. Those involved in organized crime call the cull the “Goto Shock,” a nod to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the same year. Indeed, Goto allegedly bankrolled the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, allowing the new organization to get up and running. And then there’s Morimasa Ohta, a syndicate leader who had been banished with Goto before eventually joining the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi as a boss. Ohta’s tell-all memoir, “Ketsubetsu” (“ Blood Parting “) which was published in July 2015, weeks before the split, is now believed to have been a call to revolt. The book sales have since become problematic because Ohta had retired from organized crime when it was published. Now that he’s joined the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, however, Ohta’s royalty payments could contradict legislation on organized crime. The law prohibits payments to anyone involved in a crime syndicate. Yet, none of these theories completely explain why the veteran Yamaguchi-gumi members decided to leave the powerful crime syndicate when they were nearing the end of their careers. Ryo Fujiwara, author of “The Three Yamaguchi-gumi,” believes he has an answer. “It simply wasn’t fun to be in the Yamaguchi-gumi anymore,” Fujiwara says.”It was like working for Toyota. What was once a criminal family was becoming a corporation.” Fujiwara, who interviewed myriad gang members when researching material for his book, describes the conditions at the Yamaguchi-gumi under the Kodo-kai faction as being stifling. Fujiwara says the Yamaguchi-gumi is made up of many factions, but the Kodo-kai syndicate is believed to be the most high-handed. Life in the gang became regimented and oppressive after Shinobu Tsukasa assumed leadership of the syndicate with his trusted lieutenant Kiyoshi Takayama, he says. “If you were an underboss, you had to be at the syndicate’s headquarters every day before 7:30 a.m. because Takayama would arrive at 8 a.m.,” Fujiwara says. “Gang members had to wear a white dress shirt at regular scheduled meetings. There was no clowning around, everything was deadly serious. That’s not fun at all.” The syndicate’s leadership also demanded unconditional obedience, he says, adding that when gang members speak to their superiors, they were not allowed to make eye contact but only look at their mouths. Fujiwara says every gang had to show their books and ledgers to the boss. All income had to be accounted for, he says, and if you drove a Mercedes, you had to prove you could afford it. The Yamaguchi-gumi collects association dues called jonokin but it was always a flexible system, Fujiwara says. However, that wasn’t the Kodo-kai way. “Bosses who missed a payment were told, ‘Do whatever it takes. Take a mortgage out on your house. Pay up,'” he says. “There was no mercy.” The Kodo-kai leaders kept the lucrative jobs for themselves, but anyone else outside of the elite circle, life was tough and tedious, he says. Fujiwara recalls an incident at at Shin-Kobe Station in September 2016 in which members of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi approached Shinobu and his entourage as they exited the ticket gates and loudly asked their former boss to sign an autograph. Police officers held the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi members back as they begged for a signature and at least one news outlet later screened footage of the incident. Sometimes the pen is mightier than the sword. “This kind of attack — with a joke — probably did more damage than a grenade,” Fujiwara says. “It was a classic Osaka gag. That sort of comic sensibility has been missing from the gang for years. It was like the good old days.” One doesn’t typically think that life in a gang is all fun and games. On this occasion, however, the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi put one up on their rivals. When asked whether the Yamaguchi-gumi might ever reconcile their differences with their rivals and reunite, Fujisawa answers fairly emphatically. “That’s about as likely as all gang members living by the chivalrous code they are supposed to uphold,” he says. Dark Side of the Rising Sun is a monthly column that takes a behind-the-scenes look at news in Japan.

yamaguchi-gumi
yakuza
organized crime
kobe yamaguchi-gumi
ryo fujiwara


Pachinko parlors are losing their balls while Japan considers a cashless economy

Abstract: With the Diet’s passing of a law last December that will legalize casino gambling, many are wondering how this development will affect the few forms of tightly controlled gambling and gaming that have been permitted up to now — like pachinko (a type of pinball machine). “Customers at casinos and those at pachinko parlors are different, so I think they can co-exist and co-prosper,” the manager of a large pachinko emporium remarked to Asahi Geino (Nov. 30). “That’s because part of pachinko’s appeal is that you can walk into a shop by a train station while wearing your sandals.” Pachinko’s popularity, however, has declined considerably over the past two decades. Compared to some 30 million customers who paid out an estimated ¥30 trillion in revenue in 1995, the figure last year was down to fewer than 10 million players at approximately 10,000 parlors that generated revenue of ¥22 trillion. Along with demographic factors such as the aging of the population have been tightened regulations on the industry. In July of this year, a new regulation reducing the maximum payoff by machines by around one-third was announced, to take effect from Feb. 1 of next year. As a result, the maximum value of balls paid off to a player over a period of four hours will be less than ¥50,000. The justification for the new regulation is supposedly to safeguard those susceptible to gambling dependency. Actually, the ¥50,000 mentioned above only represents equivalent value, as pachinko parlors pay off in keihin (prizes), not cash. What typically happens is that via the nearly universal “three-shop system,” the keihin — usually items like ball-point pens or cigarette lighters — are carried to a nearby window and exchanged for cash. The items are then transferred to a wholesale broker who sells it back to the pachinko parlor. To add insult to injury, it’s now rumored that the authorities intend to abolish this system. “By prohibiting this kankin (literally, “conversion to gold”), the government intends to drive the pachinko industry out of business,” a political insider tells the magazine. The pachinko industry is closely overseen by an organization made up of retired police officials — who have been accused of treating it as a cozy post-career perk. As the body that will provide oversight of the new casinos has yet to be designated, the crackdown on pachinko, Asahi Geino suggests, may be a strategic move by the National Police Agency to grab a share of the action. Peripheral to this story, or perhaps not, is the fact that many Korean residents of Japan, or naturalized Japanese with Korean backgrounds, operate pachinko parlors. This topic was covered last August by America’s MSNBC network, which noted that remittances by Koreans in Japan to family members in North Korea have helped to prop up that country’s staggering economy, some 25 percent of which is said to be channeled into military expenditures. Yet strangely, and considering the timing of the latest move — coming as it does amid heightened tensions between Japan and North Korea — Asahi Geino does not raise this topic at all. While the rest of the world has been engaged in genkin-banare (abandoning cash), Japanese have tenaciously stuck with conducting a majority of their commerce using the coin of the realm. Some Japanese have looked on in envy at Chinese, who are now use their smartphones to conduct speedy electronic transactions in their own national currency in thousands of shops in Japan, even at convenience stores. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun recently reviewed a bestselling book on this topic by Kei Nakajima titled “Why don’t Chinese carry wallets?”) Japan is running fast to catch up. In a cover story titled “The termination of cash: Your job will vanish as well,” Nikkei Business (Nov. 20) introduces the coming changes and how they are likely to affect our lives. “The progression in digitalization of currency will overturn the nature of money as it has existed up to now,” the magazine predicts. “And the effects won’t stop there. The ‘termination of cash’ is no more than the beginning.” To understand what’s going on, one needs to read up on “blockchain technology.” Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared — and continually reconciled — database, which supposedly makes it incorruptible. As an example of how it would work, consider the sale of property, conducted directly between buyer and seller without use of a licensed broker. Once the terms of the sale are agreed upon, the transaction can be performed virtually instantaneously via computer, with the data registered in the blockchain serving as proof of the completed transaction. And thus greatly reducing the need for attorneys or legal scriveners to hammer out contracts and verify their contents. Online retailers such as Amazon or Rakuten will also be affected. A consumer will be able to enter the details of the merchandise he or she seeks, and would be automatically linked to the seller. If both parties agree on the terms, the merchandise will be shipped and payment processed automatically. Recording of digital transactions can also be expected to discourage illegal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion. Nikkei Business predicts the spread of direct transactions will eventually reduce the demand for employment in such sectors as civil service, banking, e-commerce, sharing services and what the magazine refers to as “antisocial elements,” meaning yakuza. Another impact will be on freelancing. If Japan follows the employment trends in the U.S., the percentage of freelance workers is likely to increase appreciably. (In the U.S., the ratio of freelancers to the total working population rose from 17 percent in 1989 to 36 percent in 2015, and is predicted to rise further to 43 percent by 2020.) Japan became the first country to assign a position to virtual currency in its financial system; what the magazine wants to know is, can blockchain technology be tweaked to ensure the whole thing works seamlessly?

national police agency
gambling
pachinko
msnbc
nikkei business
blockchain
asahi geino
nihon keizai
kei nakajima


Japan Times 1942: 'Public to be trained to stab enemies with bamboo spears'

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Saturday, Dec. 1 1917 Rice to be sold by weight not measure Soon rice will be sold in Japan by weight and not measure. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce has been long investigating the question, and requested the Commercial and Industrial Investigation Committee of Tokyo to submit a report upon the plan of selling rice by weight. After thorough study, the committee decided that the new method would be more practical and beneficial to the public, and submitted its report to that effect to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. It is not known whether the department will at once issue an order to prohibit the sale of rice by measure, but as the report of the committee supported the change of system, it is believed that in due time sale by measure will be stopped. If rice is sold by weight, the practice of using illegal measures will cease, and the public, especially the poor, will benefit much from the change. 75 YEARS AGO Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1942 Public trained to stab enemies with spears The simplest form of suicide for any enemy parachutist would be to attempt a landing on Japan, for the Dai Nippon Martial Arts Association and the Dai Nippon Physical Training Association will train every Japanese in the manly art of stabbing enemy paratroops with bamboo spears. Furthermore, the two agencies, both under the control of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, have jointly decided to train all Japanese behind the guns in kendo, judo, bayonet exercise and other forms of physical training so that each will be a formidable warrior on the home front. “Annihilation of America and Britain Even With Bamboo Spears” will be the slogan for the movement to arm the people with effective defensive training, which is one of the undertakings of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association decided by the Cabinet last May. Simultaneously, impracticable adaptations of various sports and martial arts will be abolished so that greatest stress can be laid on the question of national defense. Meanwhile, another enterprise, sea defense training, is also expected to be launched shortly. 50 YEARS AGO Saturday, Dec. 2, 1967 Free treatment given to people with disabilities Forty-two persons stricken with progressive muscular dystrophy, a fatal disease that slowly weakens the muscle, and cerebral palsy visited a free roving clinic at Senju Public Health Center, Adachi Ward, Sunday to receive treatment. The clinic, sponsored by the Japanese Association for Muscular Dystrophy Children, was manned voluntarily by six doctors, all members of the Department of Internal Medicine of Tokyo University, headed by Dr. Kiku Nakao. Most of the victims learned of the clinic through newspapers and many of them received a diagnosis for the first time by progressive muscular dystrophy specialists. A few of them found out for the first time that they did not have progressive muscular dystrophy but cerebral palsy, a crippling but not fatal disease. The association paid the transportation expenses of not only the patients but for relatives who accompanied the patients. One mother came all the way from Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, to have her 6-year-old son diagnosed by the doctors. An association member said that some of the patients told them that they were encouraged to know that there were many others who were stricken with the same crippling disease and were bravely fighting it. The association estimates there are about 30,000 people stricken with progressive muscular dystrophy across the nation and many of them are not getting necessary advice from doctors who know the disease well. Futao Kawabata, president of the association, said he planned to continue the clinic for the next four months in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures. He said that many families who have obese dystrophy patients are hoping to acquire wheelchairs so that the victims could get some exercise outside of their homes by themselves. A Tokyo University doctor who served at the clinic said: “Certainly a wheelchair will be a great psychological help to progressive muscular dystrophy patients.” 25 YEARS AGO Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1992 Madonna book sold: ‘sex’ photos left intact The Japanese-language edition of rock singer Madonna’s photo collection went on sale Tuesday with some of its controversial pictures left intact. The publisher, Dohosha Publishing Co., said some of the photos showing pubic hair were not retouched at all. The Tokyo Customs House originally impounded imported copies of the book, only permitting them to enter the country on condition that some of the photos be retouched. The publisher said some of the photos in Madonna’s book were not retouched in the Japanese-language edition because such photos are now socially accepted. However, before sending the plates to Japan, the American publisher retouched some pictures with the Japanese version in mind. The Japanese-language edition, titled “Sex by Madonna,” is expected to rekindle the controversy over whether pubic hair should be allowed in publications. The publisher printed a first run of 150,000 copies of the book, but is prepared to make more issues available by year end to fill the more than 150,000 orders that have been placed for the book. Other recent photo collections of actresses Kanako Higuchi and Yoko Shimada also contain photos showing pubic hair and are selling well.

wwii
defense
censorship
world war ii
rice
madonna
muscular dystrophy


Israel's Peres sent 'secret envoy' to sound out Japan in 1985 on playing Mideast peace role

Abstract: An Israeli-American political cartoonist secretly passed a request from Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres to Japanese counterpart Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1985 to get more involved in the Middle East peace process, according to Japanese diplomatic records declassified Wednesday. But Nakasone decided to turn down the request, deeming it too risky to center Japanese foreign policy on personal ties with Peres. Japan feared protests from the surrounding Arab countries, with which it had built deep ties through the purchase of oil. Tokyo’s eagerness at that time to maintain a sense of balance between different parties in the Middle East was echoed earlier this month in its conservative response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Peres’ “secret envoy” was political cartoonist and journalist Ranan Lurie, according to the files. He was sent to Japan in order to deliver Peres’ message without having to go through the foreign minister of the time, Yitzhak Shamir, who took a hard line on relations with the Arab world. The meeting between Nakasone and Lurie on Jan. 23, 1985, was originally explained as having been a discussion about cartoons. But a declassified file dating from the same day says Lurie told the prime minister of Peres’ wish to achieve peace in the Middle East in a way that would not allow Israeli hard-liners to say he had folded to Arab interests. Touching on potential areas for compromise, including the release of the West Bank from Israeli control, Lurie urged Nakasone to lend Japan’s influence as a major neutral country and hold a summit with Peres. But judging that Arab countries would be up in arms over the idea, Nakasone answered that “talks with Peres would be difficult in the current circumstances,” according to the file. Subsequently serving as foreign minister, Peres was part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the following year along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

israel
middle east
diplomacy
shimon peres
yasuhiro nakasone
ranan lurie