EU leaders agree to pick new 'Mr. or Ms. Europe' next month

Abstract: BRUSSELS - European Union leaders engaged in a first skirmish Tuesday over who should become the next chief of the European Commission, giving themselves a short deadline to agree on the bloc’s top jobs and a target of assigning half of them to women. Chancellor Angela Merkel was upset with French President Emmanuel Macron’s public dismissal of Berlin’s preferred candidate, a center-right German lawmaker Manfred Weber, as the 28 national EU leaders bargained behind closed doors over the bloc’s new leadership for the next five years. “The key for me is for the people at the most sensitive positions to share our project and be the most charismatic, creative and competent possible,” Macron told reporters as the summit ended in Brussels. “It is important for me to have gender balance, that we name two men and two women,” he added. A bloc-wide election last week returned a European Parliament with a splintered center and gains by pro-EU liberals and Greens as well as euroskeptic nationalists and the far-right, making agreeing a common agenda harder. Held once every five years, the European Union election means new people will take over key EU institutions, including the powerful executive Commission. Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel described the race as searching for the next “Mr. or Ms. Europe.” Stripped of their longtime combined parliamentary majority, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D) would no longer able to decide on the next Commission head alone in the new EU assembly. They are looking for support from the liberal ALDE and the Greens, since the four groups together would command enough seats to approve or reject any nomination by the 28 heads. The national government leaders agreed to finalize their nominations at their next gathering due on June 20-21, in time for the new EU chamber’s first sitting due on July 2. “We agreed that it is essential for us to show we are capable of action and so we want by the June summit … to have … our proposal for the position of Commission president,” Merkel told a news conference. Merkel said Macron needed to be realistic and take into account the fact that the EPP, which has nominated Weber for the Commission, would remain the biggest group in the new chamber. Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker steps down on Oct. 31 as the head of the Commission, which acts as the EU’s competition watchdog, monitors member states’ budgets and proposes policies from climate change to tech regulation. Other big roles up for grabs later this year include the head of the European Parliament and the European Central Bank (ECB), the bloc’s foreign policy chief and the head of the European Council who represents national government leaders. Both France and Germany have ambitions to have one of their own run the ECB after the current president, Italian Mario Draghi, leaves at the end of October. Neither is likely to secure both the bank and the Commission, officials say. The EU would risk an institutional logjam if talks drag on, leaving it unable to make pivotal policy decisions at a time when it faces a more assertive Russia, China’s growing economic might and an unpredictable U.S. president. Macron pushed against Weber, listing EU competition commissioner, Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s Brexit negotiator, center-right Frenchman Michel Barnier, and Dutch Social Democrat Frans Timmermans as appropriate candidates. Spain and Sweden backed Timmermans, while Ireland and Croatia spoke for Weber. Luxembourg and Slovenia supported Vestager, one of few women in the running. “Gender balance means at least two women,” said the summit chairman, Donald Tusk, who will now negotiate between capitals to come up with a list of names for approval by the 28 leaders. Eastern capitals demanded geographical balance in awarding the prominent Brussels roles. Poland and Hungary would strongly oppose Timmermans as he led the EU’s rule of law probes against them in his current Commission vice president role. Unanimity is not required though it is hard to see a candidate succeeding against the will of more than just a handful of leaders, as that would risk damaging their future cooperation and stalling the EU’s decision-making. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, also mooted as a possible contender in the obscure recruitment process, said Tuesday’s meeting was about “content rather than people,” with focus on policy priorities, including climate change and migration. Merkel and Macron are due to hold more talks in the German town of Aachen on Thursday but one country already bound to see its EU representation diminished is Italy. Rome now holds three of the bloc’s top five jobs but its euroskeptic swing and debt problems have left it isolated in the EU, with Spain seeking to claim the space.


Ex-Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga, who shaped island's early independence, dies at 89

Abstract: NEW YORK - Edward Seaga, a former Jamaican prime minister who shaped the island’s post-independence politics and cultural life, died Tuesday at 89. Seaga’s death was announced on Twitter by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Seaga, Jamaica’s prime minister from 1980 until 1989, was the only remaining member of the generation of leaders who drafted the constitution when the Caribbean island gained independence from Britain in 1962. His political career began in the late 1950s and he won a parliamentary seat in 1962. He was West Kingston’s representative for 40 consecutive years and held a parliamentary seat longer than anyone in Jamaica’s history. Born May 28, 1930, in Massachusetts to Lebanese-Jamaican parents, Seaga renounced his U.S. citizenship at a young age to show his loyalty to Jamaica. He studied anthropology at Harvard University and published several papers on Afro-Jamaican folklore and Obeah, a religion combining Christian and African rituals. Prior to entering politics, Seaga was a major record producer who operated the West Indies Record Ltd. distribution company and played a role in introducing ska to the world. At 29, he was appointed to Jamaica’s upper legislative house by Labor Party founder and Jamaica’s first prime minister, Alexander Bustamante. As opposition leader in the 1970s, Seaga railed against the socialist agenda of then-Prime Minister Michael Manley, saying it crippled the island’s fragile economy. When Seaga’s Labor Party ousted the incumbent Manley and the People’s National Party’s “democratic socialist” administration in 1980, Seaga described the landslide victory as a “declaration against communism in Jamaica.” As Jamaica’s leader, Seaga instituted a pro-American, free-market economy, ushering in what many consider the island’s most prosperous era. He was U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s closest Caribbean ally and was able to boost a struggling economy that was hit hard by soaring inflation and widespread joblessness. But national debt soared. The run-up to the 1980 elections that vaulted him to power was extraordinarily bloody. Clashes between rival partisans killed nearly 800 people. For some older Jamaicans, Seaga is forever linked with the state-sponsored political violence of the 1970s, when Jamaica’s two major political factions used gun-toting gangsters to sway voters. In the 1960s, Seaga gained fame for bulldozing an infamous slum and building Tivoli Gardens, the island’s first public housing project, which he filled with supporters of the Labor Party. The politicized complex became a hotbed of what Jamaica calls “garrison politics,” where vote-rich slums become permanent power bases for one party. “Mr. Seaga can be blamed for starting garrison politics but not for the genesis of political violence,” said Christopher Charles, a senior lecturer in political psychology at Jamaica’s University of the West Indies. Following a deadly 1978 military ambush of gang members allied to Seaga’s Labor Party, Jamaica’s leading reggae musicians took the stage at a Kingston concert to support peace. The concert’s highlight was a moment that has become immortalized in Jamaican consciousness: Reggae icon Bob Marley made Seaga and Manley clasp hands over his head and promise an end to the violence. It didn’t work; things only got bloodier. In 1989, Seaga’s party lost the general election to Manley after he transformed into a centrist. But Seaga remained Labor’s leader for many years afterward and he built national institutions such as the annual festival celebrations, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and the HEART National Training Agency, among other institutions. Holness, the current prime minister from the Labor Party, is a Seaga protege. First elected to Parliament in 1997 at the age of 25, he was a special assistant to Seaga, who was chief of the Labor Party until Bruce Golding took over in 2005. When he resigned from the party, he became a senior research fellow at the University of the West Indies. Seaga was married from 1965 to 1996 to the former Marie Constantine, who had been Miss Jamaica 1964. They had three children together — Anabella, Andrew and Christopher — before divorcing. He remarried in 1997 to Carla Vendryes, 30 years younger. The couple had a daughter, Gabrielle, in 2002, when he was 72.

jamaica
edward seaga
caribbean
alexander bustamante
michael manley
u.s .
u.k .
obituary


Civilian toll mounts as Syria regime pounds jihadi bastion

Abstract: BEIRUT - Another wave of regime airstrikes on Tuesday struck a jihadi bastion in northwest Syria where more than 40 civilians have been killed in several days of heavy bombardment, a war monitor said. Six children were among 12 people killed on Tuesday in government fire on several towns in Idlib province and neighboring Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A hospital in the Idlib town of Kafranbel was hit by artillery shells, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian office. “The facility is reportedly out of service due to severe structural damage,” he told AFP. The hospital’s administrative director Majed al-Akraa confirmed the attack. “The hospital is completely out of service,” he said. “It was a strong attack. The generators and even my car caught fire,” he told AFP. It follows two days of intensified regime bombardment on the region that killed a total of 31 civilians on Sunday and Monday, according to the Britain-based Observatory. Rescue volunteers and civilians were seen pulling dust-covered victims from the rubble of destroyed buildings in the wake of those strikes. Idlib and parts of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia are under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadi group led by Syria’s former al-Qaida affiliate. The region is supposed to be protected from a massive government offensive by a September buffer zone deal, but the jihadi bastion has come under increasing bombardment by the regime and its ally Russia since late April. The Observatory says over 260 civilians have been killed in the spike in violence since then. More than 200,000 civilians have already been displaced by the upsurge of violence, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has warned an all-out offensive on the region would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for its nearly 3 million residents. At least 20 health facilities have been hit by the escalation — 19 of which remain out of service, the U.N. has said.

syria
idlib
hama
latakia
al-qaida
conflict
bashar assad


Satellite images show crops on fire in Syria rebel enclave after regime airstrikes

Abstract: BEIRUT - New satellite photos obtained on Tuesday show significant damage to Syrian villages and surrounding farmland as a result of a government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in the country. The images, provided to The Associated Press by the Colorado-based Maxar Technologies, show fires in olive groves and orchards during harvest season around Kfar Nabudah and nearby Habeet, two villages on the edge of Idlib province where the latest fighting has focused. The fires were apparently sparked by intense bombing in the area. Fighting has raged in Idlib and surrounding areas since April 30 when Syrian troops began pushing into the enclave from the south while unleashing a wave of intense bombing over the overcrowded area. For President Bashar Assad, Idlib stands in the way of final victory against armed government opposition after eight years of civil war. The satellite photos, which show the area over the past week, show destroyed buildings and a mosque in Kfar Nabudah, which appears surrounded by farm fields, some still burning. Most of the damaged fields appeared north of Kfar Nabudah. In Habeet, farms are pocked by craters, while others appear set on fire. Kfar Nabudah fell under government control on Sunday. Activists, experts and Maxar say the crop burning is part of a “scorched earth” campaign that adds to the hardship of 3 million people in the rebel stronghold. The U.N. said fires, triggered by bombings, destroyed staple crops such as wheat and barley, compounding the already fragile humanitarian conditions in the area. On Tuesday, the Idlib health directorate said government rockets hit a hospital in the town of Kfar Nubul, causing extensive damage to the facility and to its generators and cars parked outside. The directorate said the hospital is currently not functioning. In videos shot by the Syrian Civil Defense, known as White Helmets, fire fighters battle a raging fire in one of the hospital generators as a thick plume of smoke rises above. This brings the total number of regional health facilities directly hit in the offensive to 21, including at least five that the U.N. had identified as medical centers. Amnesty International has said that attacks on health facilities in opposition-held areas in Syria are part of a well-established pattern by government forces and their allies. The White Helmets also reported that at least seven people were killed in sporadic bombings around the stronghold on Tuesday. Rescuers continued to search for two inhabitants of a building that was bombed a day earlier in Ariha village, struggling to remove the pulverized rubble from the narrow streets. At least 11 were killed in the bombing. The U.N says the violence has exacted a heavy toll on civilians, displacing more than 200,000 and targeting health facilities and schools. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said nearly 1.3 million residents of the enclave had already been displaced by violence in other parts of Syria. “The potential longer-term impact on the civilian population may be compounded as the violence is occurring during the harvest season,” it said. “As the hot summer weather sets in, more fires can occur, further disrupting normal food production cycles and potentially reducing food security for months to come.”

syria
maxar technologies
idlib
bashar assad
u.s .


Papua New Guinea leader Peter O'Neill resigns, throwing international gas deal into doubt

Abstract: PORT MORESBY - Papua New Guinea’s veteran prime minister formally resigned on Wednesday, easing a political crisis but calling a multibillion-dollar French and U.S.-backed gas deal into doubt. Facing a vote of no confidence he looked sure to lose, Peter O’Neill told parliament that he had tendered his letter of resignation to the country’s governor general. O’Neill had led the rugged and ethnically diverse nation for eight years but had been criticized for endemic corruption and chronic underdevelopment. Powerful regional politicians had balked at his recent $13 billion deal with Total and ExxonMobil to extract, pipe and ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas. Finance minister James Marape was the first senior cabinet official to resign in protest, saying the money would not go to ordinary Papua New Guineans, local firms or the regions. A similar deal in the last decade has failed to bring wealth to a country where around 70 percent of people do not have access to reliable electricity. O’Neill had earlier promised to resign, but failed to do so and took court action in a bid to cling to power. That prompted angry scenes in parliament Tuesday, including physical confrontations between O’Niell’s supporters and opponents trying to oust him and the speaker of parliament. But on Wednesday O’Neill jumped: “I want to inform this honorable house that at 9:45 a.m. this morning I delivered to … the governor-general of Papua New Guinea my letter of resignation so that we can deal with this matter once and for all.” In a valedictory speech, O’Neill touted his achievements in office, including hosting the 2018 APEC summit, a vast undertaking for a developing country with limited central government capacity. “We have always been known for the wrong reasons,” O’Neill said. A parliamentary vote on a new prime minister is expected to take place in the coming days. Experts said that his departure could see an end to big-ticket infrastructure projects that many believe have benefited only Port Moresby and the country’s connected elite. “O’Neill’s departure has the potential for a wholesale shift in the policy direction taken by PNG’s government,” said Jonathan Ritchie of Melbourne’s Deakin University. “But the suspicion of at least some informed Papua New Guinean observers is that it will result only in the rearranging of the deck chairs,” he wrote ahead of O’Neill’s departure. “A reshuffling of the cards that will lead to another privileged insider, another member of PNG’s political class, taking over the PM’s role from the mostly unlamented O’Neill.”

papua new guinea
peter o'neill
gas
total
exxonmobil
lng


Australian navy pilots struck by lasers in South China Sea, witness says

Abstract: BEIJING - Australia’s military has confirmed that navy pilots were targeted with lasers during flights in the hotly contested South China Sea, with informal Chinese militia vessels believed to be behind the attacks. Beijing has become more assertive in the area, stoking tensions with rival claimants in Southeast Asia as well as Canberra and Washington — traditionally the dominant naval and air power in the Asia-Pacific region. The Australian Defence Force said “assets operating across the region have observed an increase in the use of hand-held lasers by some vessels.” In this specific incident, helicopter pilots flying from the HMAS Canberra were marked with lasers as they took part in the months-long Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 exercise. “With regards to the incident mentioned … the Royal Australian Navy pilots involved were examined as a precautionary measure and cleared of any injury by medical staff.” La Trobe Asia Director Euan Graham was one of several academics invited on the HMAS Canberra as it moved from Vietnam to Singapore. He reported that the vessel was shadowed by a Chinese warship and “helicopter pilots had lasers pointed at them from passing fishing vessels.” China has been accused of operating a maritime militia that includes fishing trawlers that carry out reconnaissance, intelligence and other missions in the South China Sea. The “gray zone” operations are used to challenge or one-up rival powers, while offering deniability and reducing the risk of military conflict. “The reason for vessels using the lasers is unknown but it may be to draw attention to their presence in congested waterways,” the Australian military said. China claims sovereignty over virtually all the resource-rich South China Sea, despite rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbors. The Australian Navy has conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea with other nations, including the United States — which China has sought to deter. Beijing last year rejected U.S. allegations that Chinese nationals shone military-grade lasers at American pilots in Djibouti, where China operates a naval base. Two U.S. pilots suffered minor eye injuries from those lasers, according to the Pentagon.

australia
south china sea
china
disputed islands


'Entire' North Korean WMD program violates U.N. security council resolutions, U.S. says

Abstract: WASHINGTON - North Korea’s “entire” weapons of mass destruction program violates U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday, when asked about recent missile launches by Pyongyang. “I think the entire North Korean WMD program, it’s in conflict with the U.N. Security Council resolutions. But what the U.S. is focused on here … is in trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the North Korean WMD program,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters. Ortagus had been asked to make clear the State Department’s position after President Donald Trump appeared to contradict his national security adviser, John Bolton, over whether North Korean launches this month had violated U.N. resolutions. Bolton said on Saturday there was “no doubt” that the launches had violated U.N. resolutions as they had included short-range ballistic missiles.

north korea
u.s .
kim jong un
u.n .
nuclear weapons
north korea nuclear crisis


Australian gets 10-year sentence for monthlong rape and kidnap ordeal of British backpacker

Abstract: SYDNEY - An Australian man who kidnapped and repeatedly raped a British backpacker during a monthlong ordeal in the country’s Outback has been jailed for 10 years. Marcus Allyn Keith Martin, 25, had pleaded guilty in the District Court of Cairns, in the far north of Queensland state, to charges of rape and deprivation of liberty against the 22-year-old woman from Liverpool, England. Prosecutors told the court the pair met in Cairns in January 2017 and had begun a relationship. When the relationship soured, Martin subjected the woman to weeks of physical abuse while forcing her to drive him far south and then into the west of the state. Police intercepted the pair after the woman drove off from a gas station in the town of Mitchell, 380 miles (600 kilometers) west of Brisbane, without paying for fuel. They found Martin hiding in the back of their 4×4 vehicle. The gas station’s manager, Beverley Page, told reporters at the time that the woman was bruised and battered and was crying and shaking as she explained that she couldn’t pay for fuel because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court Martin had tried to isolate the woman on their road trip, including by cutting up her British passport. “She feared she would be murdered,” Crane said. “She tried to get the attention of other road users as they would drive along and also other service station customers, to no avail.” The court heard the woman suffered injuries including facial fractures, bruising, abrasions to her neck and cuts to her body, as well as psychological harm. A defense lawyer for Martin had told the court his client had been taking drugs at the time, which made him “paranoid and psychotic.” In sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Dean Morzone said Martin would be required to serve at least 80 percent of his 10-year sentence.


Warrant issued for Myanmar's 'Buddhist Bin Laden' firebrand monk Wirathu

Abstract: YANGON - Myanmar police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday evening for an ultra-nationalist monk known as the “Buddhist Bin Laden” for his vitriol against Islam and particularly the Rohingya Muslim community. Wirathu has long been the face of the country’s Buddhist nationalist movement, notorious for espousing hate against the Rohingya minority. A warrant was “filed and applied directly at western district court against him (Wirathu) under article 124(a),” police spokesman Myo Thu Soe told AFP late on Tuesday. He said he was unable to give specific details about the reasons behind the warrant. The law prohibits anyone who “attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government” and carries a maximum jail sentence of three years. Wirathu’s monastery is in Mandalay but his whereabouts Tuesday or when he might be detained were unknown. In 2013 the hard-liner appeared on the cover of Time magazine as “The Face of Buddhist Terror. He has called for boycotts of Muslim-owned businesses and restrictions of marriages between Buddhists and Muslims. A council of senior monks stopped him temporarily from speaking in public but the firebrand abbot has spoken at a string of pro-military rallies since the ban ended in March last year. Facebook kicked him off the platform in January 2018 after a string of incendiary posts targeting the Rohingya. Rights groups say these helped whip up animosity toward the community, laying the foundations for a military crackdown in 2017 that forced about 740,000 to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Like many in Myanmar, Wirathu pejoratively refers to the minority as “Bengali,” implying the group are illegal immigrants. Refugees’ testimonies of mass killings, rapes and arson spurred U.N. investigators to call for the prosecution of top generals for “genocide” and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is conducting a preliminary probe. “The day when the ICC comes here … is the day that Wirathu holds a gun,” he said in a speech to a rally of hardline nationalists in October last year. A firebrand Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka, Galagodaatte Gnanasara, has maintained close ties with Wirathu. Gnanasara was freed from prison in Sri Lanka last week following a presidential pardon.

myanmar
wirathu
islam
rohingya
genocide
u.n .
buddhism


Lost lives in Kawasaki rampage: A good-natured schoolgirl and a Burmese-language specialist

Abstract: KAWASAKI - Hanako Kuribayashi was known as being a thoughtful and good-natured girl, while Satoshi Oyama was recognized as a specialist in the Burmese language and a highly qualified Foreign Ministry official, before they were killed in Tuesday’s mass stabbing in Kawasaki. The two fell victim when a man wielding knives stabbed 17 students and two parents waiting with them for their school bus in the city near Tokyo. The suspect, identified by police as 51-year-old Kawasaki resident Ryuichi Iwasaki, died at a hospital as a result of a self-inflicted stab wound to his neck. Hanako, 11, was a sixth-grader at Caritas Elementary School, a private Catholic school. At a news conference, Satoru Shitori, vice principal of the school, said Hanako had approached a family who had come to visit Caritas in hopes of transferring last week to tell them about the appeal of the school. “You can study foreign languages here. Join the school,” she had told them, according to Shitori. “She came to see me even during the breaks,” the vice principal said. “This is a memory I’ll cherish.” Hanako was also known around her neighborhood for her cheerful personality. Next-door neighbor Takashi Kimura, 72, often saw her walking her dog with her mother. “She was an active child who spoke clearly. She was out shopping with her mother the last time I saw her. I can’t believe things like this happen,” he said. Principal Teiko Naito said Hanako was “full of smiles and always said ‘good morning.’ ” “I can’t believe this,” Naito said. Hanako’s father met with reporters outside their home Tuesday afternoon. “Please spare us today,” he said. “We’ll respond in the future, but I can’t leave my wife alone today.” Oyama, who worked for the Foreign Ministry and was the father of one unharmed student, was well-known as a specialist in Burmese — even outside the ministry — and had a promising future ahead of him, likely as a diplomat to Myanmar. According to the Foreign Ministry’s website, Oyama joined the ministry in 2004 and was sent in 2007 to the Japanese Embassy in Myanmar, where he often worked as an interpreter. “He was a Burmese specialist and an extremely brilliant young official. This is very deplorable,” Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a media gathering. “He had worked for the embassy in Myanmar and was someone who led Japan’s diplomacy with Myanmar,” he added. The 39-year-old was married and often seen playing with his child near their home. Former Ambassador to Myanmar Tateshi Higuchi was shaken when he heard news of Oyama’s death. Highly qualified, warm-hearted, humble and genuine were among the words he used to describe him. “He was young, but any manner of praise would apply to him,” the former ambassador said. “I’m incredibly shocked.” Oyama had helped Higuchi in 2014 prior to Higuchi’s move to Myanmar, and had acted as an interpreter when meetings were held by dignitaries from both Japan and Myanmar, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, during the four years Higuchi was ambassador. “I’ll remember how extremely supportive he was,” Higuchi said. “I can picture his friendly smile.” Oyama and his wife were graduates of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. She was also knowledgeable in Burmese and the like-minded couple got along well, the former ambassador said. Ma Myintmyintthan, the manager of a Burmese restaurant in Tokyo that Oyama and his family had been visiting since two years ago, visited the site of the attack Wednesday to offer prayers. “He was always singing Burmese songs joyously. I saw the news on the incident and couldn’t believe it was Oyama (who was killed),” the manager said.

kawasaki
foreign ministry
stabbings
ryuichi iwasaki
murder
children
kanagawa
kawasaki attack


Japan bolsters fight against workplace harassment, but laws lack punitive measures

Abstract: The Diet revised various pieces of legislation Wednesday in an effort to bolster measures against workplace harassment, obligating companies to combat increasingly prevalent reports of bullying and abuse of power. Under revisions to five laws, aspects of workplace harassment were specifically defined and made impermissible for the first time. But none of the legislation prescribes punitive measures that can be taken against violators. Even so, the new regulations set a significant first legislative step in a country where various forms of workplace harassment had been left untouched for years. They prohibit any kind of mistreatment of workers who make allegations against people in more senior positions, or discrimination of workers who allege they have been victims of sexual harassment. Pregnant women or women who have returned to work after being on maternity leave are now similarly protected. The revisions also require, for the first time, businesses to take preventive measures against bosses who abuse their power in the workplace, defining the offenses as “excessive words and behavior by people who take advantage of their superior positions, harming the working environment.” The government will set guidelines on measures to be taken by companies, such as putting in place consultation programs, and give specific examples of types of power abuses. The government received feedback from companies saying it is difficult to draw a line between harassment and stern but fair management. Large companies will be obliged to introduce the preventive steps, possibly by next April. Small and midsize companies are requested to tackle the issue under the revised legislation on a voluntary basis from next spring, but its implementation will be mandatory within two years. As for sexual harassment, firms whose employees target someone in a different workplace are asked to cooperate with the victims’ firm during investigations into the matter. The government will also consider drawing up guidelines to counter harassment by customers or clients, as well as the sexual harassment of job-seeking students. The number of cases of bullying and abuse of power in workplaces reported to labor bureaus reached around 72,000 in fiscal 2017, hitting a record high for the sixth consecutive year. “Although some behavior had to some extent been considered excessive but permissible as a form of instruction, the new legislation will likely help curb extreme abuses of power,” said Masaomi Kaneko, head of the Workplace Harassment Research Institute. Meanwhile, Shino Naito, vice senior researcher at the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training, said it is “regrettable” that the legislation fails to impose punitive measures. Japan “lags behind the global standard, as the International Labor Organization is set to adopt a treaty to ban harassment in the near future,” she said. As for power harassment, the revisions are basically in line with arguments by the business community that it is hard to draw a line between cases in which bosses “give instructions and guidance” and cases of harassment. As harassment may have serious implications for victims, potentially driving them to suffer mental health issues or to engage in self-harm, Japan should introduce punitive measures as quickly as possible, Naito said. Revisions to the laws, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, also aim to empower working women, obliging small and midsize companies with 101 to 300 workers to set numerical goals for the promotion of women in senior positions. Such a requirement has already been imposed on larger companies.

harassment
bullying
discrimination
sexual harassment
women
power harassment
jobs
maternity harassment


Japanese police step up cyberpatrols to counter growing amount of online info urging suicide

Abstract: Police are stepping up cyberpatrols in cooperation with companies and nonprofit organizations to crack down on the increasing amount of information online that encourages people to kill themselves. In 2017, the dismembered bodies of one man and eight women, aged between 15 and 26, were found in an apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture. A 27-year-old man, who was arrested and later confessed to the killings, used multiple Twitter accounts to contact people who had expressed suicidal wishes, offering to help them die. The case prompted the National Police Agency to commission private monitoring companies in January 2018 to conduct cyberpatrols, telling them to report to the Internet Hotline Center when they discover worrisome phrases, such as “Let’s die together.” The IHC, when necessary, asks internet service providers and site operators to delete such information. The IHC received 1,329 such reports in the first six months of 2018 and asked for the deletion of information in 1,255 of them, of which 842 were erased within 14 days of the requests. In emergency cases where suicidal attempts are determined to be imminent, monitoring companies directly report to prefectural police departments. In cooperation with internet service providers, the police then find the people expressing such thoughts and try to prevent them from taking their own lives. Of the 204 people who declared their intentions to die by suicide in 2017, 74 were saved after police either persuaded them not to do so or asked their families to keep watch on them, according to a government report. Jiro Ito, a 34-year-old chief representative of OVA, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization established to prevent suicide, is promoting a system that creates pop-up notices leading to a consultation website if people search the internet using phrases such as “I want to die” or “how to commit suicide.” On the website, clinical psychotherapists and other experts listen to visitors and help them get treatment at hospitals or receive advice from local governments. When necessary, OVA staff write reports on problems on behalf of those people or accompany them to hospitals or local governments. In fiscal 2018, 283 people received advice from OVA on a continuing basis. One of them was a woman in her 20s who shut herself off from society after failing to find a job. She made an internet search with the words “I want to die.” As she showed signs of depression, OVA helped her find a psychosomatic medicine hospital and begin receiving treatment there. She eventually recovered and landed a full-time job, according to the group. “As people who seek means of suicide on the internet are considered highly likely to attempt it, the elimination of suicide-inducing information is not enough,” said Hajime Sueki, associate professor of clinical psychology at Wako University, who serves as adviser to OVA. “It is important to create environments that enable people with suicidal wishes to readily gain information on how and where they can get support,” Sueki said.


Blood test can predict dementia, but Japanese developers urge caution: There's still no cure

Abstract: Nobel Prize winner Koichi Tanaka says the predictive blood test for Alzheimer’s disease he and colleagues spent almost a decade developing is a double-edged sword. Without medications to stave off the memory-robbing condition, identifying those at risk will do nothing to ease the dementia burden and may fuel anxiety. But if used to identify the best patients to enroll in drug studies, the minimally invasive exam could speed the development of therapies for the 152 million people predicted to develop the illness by 2050. “We must be cautious on how the test is used because there’s no curative treatment,” Tanaka said in an interview at Kyoto-based Shimadzu Corp., where he’s worked for 36 years. The 59-year-old engineer, who shared the Nobel for chemistry in 2002, said he hopes the test he helped pioneer will one day be administered routinely, but right now it belongs in the hands of drug developers and research laboratories. More than a century after the telltale signs of Alzheimer’s were first seen under a microscope, and billions of dollars in research spending by Roche Holding AG, Eli Lilly & Co., Eisai Co. and other companies, there’s still no drug to slow down the disease. In the absence of medical breakthroughs, the worldwide cost of dementia is projected to double to $2 trillion by 2030. While scientists debate the cause of Alzheimer’s, most agree that no treatment is likely to work on patients with significant cognitive impairment. That’s because their brains have been irreversibly damaged by clumps of misfolded and abnormal proteins that jam nerve cells. Nature study “There are many reasons why drugmakers have failed to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s too late to start treatment when patients already show symptoms,” Tanaka said. In a study published in Nature in January last year, Tanaka and colleagues showed it was possible to use a novel biomarker discovered by his lab to accurately quantify minute traces of amyloid-beta from a teaspoonful of blood, and gauge the progression of Alzheimer’s — allowing identification of people likely to develop dementia over the coming decades. Previously, the brain changes that occur long before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear could only be reliably assessed by MRI and positron-emission tomography, or PET scans, and from measuring amyloid and another errant protein called tau in spinal cord fluid — methods that are expensive and, in the case of a spinal tap, invasive. “Our finding overturned the common belief that it wouldn’t be possible to estimate amyloid accumulation in the brain from blood,” Tanaka said. “We’re now being chased by others, and the competition is intensifying.” Major firms on board About a dozen companies and research groups from around the world, including Roche, Spain’s Araclon Biotech SL, and Lexington, Massachusetts-based Quanterix Corp., are pursuing blood-based diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. “These blood tests are very important to that aim of trying to get these groups identified and ready to go into trials, and make them faster and less expensive,” said Christopher Rowe, a neurologist who heads molecular imaging research at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. “That, in turn, is the greatest hope for having a significant impact on the epidemic.” The global Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics and therapeutics market is predicted to reach $11.1 billion in 2024 from $7.5 billion last year, ResearchAndMarkets.com said in March. The greatest benefit from screening blood tests for Alzheimer’s will come once treatments are available to prevent dementia symptoms, said Randall Bateman, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight distinguished professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Bateman and colleagues presented in 2017 a new method for measuring plasma amyloid levels using a similar approach to Tanaka’s group. ‘Exceptional accuracy’ “You really get exceptional accuracy,” said Bateman, whose lab studies the causes, diagnosis and treatments of Alzheimer’s disease. “I could see that easily becoming a clinical standard.” Both the Shimadzu and Washington University groups use an analytical technique called mass spectrometry that can search for a particular compound based on its specific molecular weight and charge. The method was found to be 90 percent accurate when it was checked against brain scans, Tanaka and colleagues said in their Nature paper. Tanaka likens the approach to fishing with bait that only a specific fish will take. It enabled him to more precisely quantify amyloid in blood than an older, antibody-based method, he said. New digital technology has bolstered the antibody-based test, with Quanterix using it to detect the errant proteins associated with the start of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as neurofilament light chain — a marker of neurological injury that can be elevated by conditions including concussion, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. “There’s an incredible opportunity to transform brain health by understanding your neuro baseline,” said Kevin Hrusovsky, Quanterix’s chief executive officer. ‘Game-changing’ Several drugmakers are trying to get tests for neurofilament light chain validated clinically as a complementary diagnostic tool because they will enable patients’ responses to medications to be monitored in real time, providing an early signal of efficacy, Hrusovsky said. “There’s a lot of evidence that this is going to be game-changing,” he said. Roche is evaluating the use of Elecsys, which tests cerebrospinal fluid for signs of Alzheimer’s, in blood plasma, the Swiss company said in an emailed response to questions. The global demand for tests that can provide an early and accurate Alzheimer’s diagnosis, as well as predict the disease trajectory is “enormous, with 50 million people already affected today and many more people going undiagnosed,” according to Roche. “It’s a market that has room for many different technologies and players, from digital biomarkers to imaging and protein biomarkers.” Shimadzu finished analyzing amyloid levels in blood-serum samples from 2,000 patients in Japan in March, Tanaka said. The company is preparing to conduct a similar analysis in the U.S. this year before extending it to Europe and China. “One thing we are looking into is running prospective cohort studies targeting people who have started to build up amyloid in the brain and see whether anything — food, exercise — can intervene to slow the progression of the disease,” the Nobel laureate said. “There are many things to be done.”

dementia
koichi tanaka
disease
drugs
shimadzu
kyoto
aging
elderly


Genetic tests for identifying cancer treatments to be covered by Japan's public health insurance

Abstract: The health ministry decided on Wednesday that genetic tests to help cancer patients identify the best drugs and therapies for their treatment will be covered by the public health insurance system. Insurance coverage for genomic testing starting Saturday will be applied to patients who have not responded to conventional cancer treatment. Patients will only have to pay 10 to 30 percent of the fees, which would otherwise cost several hundred thousand yen. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry approved in December the marketing of cancer genome profiling systems that detect gene mutations in cancer patients by analyzing their tumor tissue. Two systems — one developed by the National Cancer Center and health instrument-maker Sysmex Corp., and another sold by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. — are capable of profiling over 100 types of cancer-related genes in a single test, according to the entities. Without insurance coverage, the fee for testing the use of either product would be ¥560,000 ($5,100). The financial burden on patients can be further reduced if they obtain medical benefits offered to individuals who have exceeded the cap for monthly medical expenses. Patients eligible for insurance coverage are those suffering from solid cancers, which exclude cancers of the blood, and have not responded to surgery and anti-cancer drug treatment, as well as pediatric cancer patients and patients with rare cancers. It is expected that up to 26,000 people will use genomic profiling annually, with yearly sales of the products totaling around ¥15 billion. Patients can provide tumor tissue specimens for testing at 11 hospitals playing a key role in cancer genomic medicine and 156 other hospitals across the country. Experts will assess drugs that will be effective in the treatment of patients and the findings will be conveyed to each patient through the doctors in charge. The health ministry will also ask the hospitals to submit the anonymized results of the genomic profiling to a national cancer research center, after obtaining patients’ consent. The accumulated information is expected to be utilized for the development of new treatments.


Japan to propose Abe-Kim summit to North Korean officials next week

Abstract: The Japanese government plans to reach out to North Korean officials next week in Mongolia to propose a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, government sources said Wednesday. Abe has said he is willing to meet Kim “without conditions,” softening his previous stance. He had said it would be a prerequisite for a summit that North Korea moves closer to returning Japanese nationals abducted by its agents in the 1970s and 1980s. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has met Kim twice for negotiations over the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, said during a visit to Tokyo this week that he supports an Abe-Kim summit. According to the sources, Japanese officials hope to speak with North Korean diplomats on the sidelines of a Northeast Asian security conference to be held June 5 and 6 in Ulaanbaatar. The conference will be a rare opportunity for Japanese and North Korean officials to speak as the countries do not have formal diplomatic ties. Japan is expected to send a senior official from the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau to the conference, while North Korea may send a vice foreign minister, the sources said.

shinzo abe
kim jong un
abductions
north korea-japan relations


Philippine island preserves history of Japanese WWII soldier Hiroo Onoda, who hid in jungles for decades

Abstract: LUBANG ISLAND, PHILIPPINES - The memories of Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda remain alive on the Philippine island of Lubang, southwest of Manila, 45 years after his surrender. Onoda, an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer deployed to the island from December 1944 to lead guerrilla warfare at the height of World War II, did not surrender until March 10, 1974, over 28 years after the war ended, because he had not received orders from his superiors to stop. The native of Wakayama Prefecture died in January 2014 in Tokyo at the age of 91. “Onoda is a historical person. I think he’s the only person who hid for so long and then survived,” said 17-year-old Nico Felix, a high school student on the island that is part of Occidental Mindoro Province. Felix said he knows Onoda’s story because the local community and his school occasionally talk about “the Japanese soldier during WWII who hid in the mountains here.” Many are also aware because of the public opening of the Onoda Trail and Caves tourist site in 2011. The mountain attraction offers visitors a glimpse of Onoda’s life in the forest. Carolyn Villas, 51, a social studies teacher, said that for over two decades now, she makes it a point to bring up the case of Onoda when discussing the war with her students. “Of course, the students need to know that this happened to us, that we are part of the Philippine history, that Onoda was known in history because he was the longest to be in hiding (and) that’s why he was called a Japanese straggler,” Villas said. By making them aware that their own home island played a significant part in history, the younger generation of Lubang residents will be “more curious and interested about our own local history,” she added. Felix said he and other students “should learn about Onoda because that is part of our own history, and it helps to know about the damages of World War II so they won’t be repeated.” Bryan James, 18, another high school student, said that largely because of Onoda, “Lubang is already known to others” and the island’s tourism potential has grown. The Japanese soldier also showed how it is “to live on your own, and survive out of just natural and organic resources,” added fellow student Aaron James, 17. Edwin Trajico, 54, the chief tour guide at Onoda Trail and Caves, similarly said, “One legacy that Onoda left out of his hiding in this mountain is the lesson that people can actually live in a natural environment or in the forest, where food is readily available and even medicine.” “Because of him, we are now also able to preserve this forest, this mountain,” he added. Older folks, on the other hand, who were alive while Onoda was hiding in the mountains, have other narratives and sentiments to share. Adiodato de Lara, 76, said Onoda and his fellow straggler, Kinshichi Kozuka, burned rice plantations tended to by his father, and killed or stole cows, which Onoda admitted to in his book. De Lara also accused Kozuka of killing his father on April 25, 1972, adding that he and other Japanese soldiers “caused so much disturbance here” and that the people should be apologized to and compensated for that. Kozuka was Onoda’s last companion in the mountains of Lubang from May 1954 until October 1972 when he was shot dead by local authorities. Another soldier surrendered in September 1949 and one was shot dead in May 1954. Felito Voluntad, 68, was a high school student joining a local patrol team searching for the Japanese soldiers sometime in 1969 when he was sniped on his back, either by Kozuka or Onoda. The minor injury, which was treated promptly by a local doctor, left a scar that remains visible today. Voluntad said others were not as lucky as him. “There were some they killed by shooting. My uncle was also shot and injured in the stomach. “I was angry at them. … I was happy when (Onoda) surrendered because there was nothing for people to fear about anymore in the mountains,” he said. While he agrees that Onoda and his party should have apologized to and compensated the local people, Voluntad said he understands “where Onoda is coming from because he really thought the war was still ongoing at the time.” Jacobo Balbuena, 76, a retired airman of the Philippine Air Force who was stationed on the island, can still vividly recall how the Japanese and local authorities conducted the search for Onoda and convinced him to surrender. Balbuena said he joined the search patrol immediately after Norio Suzuki, a Japanese civilian who established contact with Onoda in February 1974, eventually leading to his surrender a month later, showed a photo of the Japanese soldier taken in the jungle. Onoda finally yielded after his commanding officer, Maj. Yoshimi Taniguchi, flew to the island and personally relieved him of duty. “We were surprised when we actually saw Onoda in person because he was only around 5 feet tall, and not a very big person,” Balbuena recounted. Balbuena said he was part of the 14 “honor guards” who Onoda passed through upon his surrender at Gozar Air Station. “He walked straight. He was snappy. He looked like a very smart soldier. He looked very strong.” Villas, the social studies teacher, said that despite the negative aspects of Onoda’s stay on the island, “still, we have to appreciate it. Anyway, those are all over now.” “His importance is that, in hiding here, despite the not-too-many very good memories at the time, the place is now preserved. (The Onoda Trail and Caves) is even rightfully named after him now,” she said. “The people of Lubang are very kind. Despite the bad things that happened, he was still given some kind of a tribute.”

philippines
history
wwii
hiroo onoda
imperial japanese army
military


Winner of spelling bee in Japan moves to next round of U.S. contest

Abstract: NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND - Less than three months after winning the 2019 Japan Times Bee, Ariya Narayanasamy spelled himself into the next round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday. The 12-year-old from Tokyo correctly spelled “bandicoot” and will compete in round three on Wednesday. Hosted in National Harbor just outside of Washington, the contest is the premier U.S. spelling competition. The event drew hundreds of spellers from all 50 states and seven other countries. Narayanasamy earned his ticket to compete this week by out-spelling 39 other students at a spelling bee contest organized by The Japan Times in March. Then a student at the India International School campus in Tokyo, he was locked in a dead heat with the other remaining finalist before correctly spelling “forbearance” to win the entire competition. His victory in Tokyo made for a close finish. But — as Narayanasamy acknowledged Monday night before the start of the on-stage oral competition — he anticipated a significant increase in the difficulty of the words he would be asked to spell in the Scripps Bee. Narayanasamy approached the microphone on stage late Tuesday morning before the largest crowd he has ever spelled in front of. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the U.S. contest’s moderator Jacques Bailly asked him to spell “bandicoot.” To help deconstruct a word with which they may be unfamiliar, competitors are permitted to ask for the pronunciation, language of origin and definition of the word they are asked to spell. The moderator can also provide a sample sentence that correctly uses the word. These are the only tools available to spellers on stage. But Narayanasamy did not need any of them. “Once Dr. Bailly said the word, I knew I knew the word,” Narayanasamy said. “I said to myself: ‘OK, I can spell this word.’ So, I just had to take my time and get every single letter right.” To force himself to slow down, Narayanasamy asked the moderator to read the definition of “bandicoot” and its language of origin. While Bailly described the Telugu word, meaning “certain … insectivorous and herbivorous marsupial mammals found in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea,” Narayanasamy was busy neatly arranging nine letters in his head, then out loud: “B-a-n-d-i-c-o-o-t. Bandicoot.” A second moderator waited just a beat before announcing Narayanasamy’s spelling of the word was correct. The audience broke into applause, as they did for every speller on Tuesday. Of the record 562 competitors who spelled on stage Tuesday, 518 advanced with Narayanasamy to the third round. Competitors who both spell correctly in round three and who scored high enough on a paper exam taken Monday will participate in the finals on Thursday. Narayanasamy will prepare for the next phase of competition the same way he always has: a little bit of studying, a little bit of meditation and a little bit of YouTube, to take the edge off. Only one international competitor, from South Korea, was eliminated on Tuesday. On Tuesday, competitors were asked to spell words from a set list of 600. Spellers had the opportunity to study the list ahead of time. The list included words from languages around the world, including those of Japanese origin like “koto,” “daikon” and “tamari.” Starting with round three, there will be no pre-culled list for competitors to study. Instead, words will be pulled from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, of which there are hundreds of thousands to choose from. As a victorious Narayanasamy returned to his seat, the corners of his mouth curling into a small smile, the next competitor took the stage and Bailly read the next word: “forbearance.”

spelling bee
contests
japan times bee
language


Japan enacts bill to allow use of smartphones under some circumstances in self-driving cars

Abstract: The Diet passed into law Tuesday a bill allowing drivers to use their smartphones while their cars are traveling autonomously under certain circumstances and if they are able to shift to manual driving immediately during an emergency. The bill to amend the road traffic law, which includes rules on so-called Level 3 self-driving of vehicles under certain circumstances, passed the House of Representatives. The amended law will come into effect by May next year. In Level 3 situations, automated driving is permitted under conditions that have to do with the type of road, the vehicle speed and other factors. A Level 3 situation includes a traffic jam on an expressway. Drivers will need to switch to manual driving if the conditions are not met. Under the current road traffic law, people are banned from talking on their mobile phones and looking for long periods of time at navigation systems, televisions or other devices. The amended law will allow such actions if drivers are able to change over from automated to manual driving immediately. While the revised law will allow reading and eating, it will prohibit people from drinking alcohol, as there is a possibility that they will have to drive their vehicles manually. The amended law will also require people to equip their vehicles with a device that will record the operating situation of cars and save the data, in order to detect a system malfunction at an early stage and identify the cause of any accidents. Police will be able to ask drivers to disclose such information if their car is found to have a defect.


Diet approves simultaneous streaming for Japan's public broadcaster NHK

Abstract: The Diet on Wednesday authorized public broadcaster NHK to start simultaneous online streaming of its television programs amid the increasing popularity of computer- and handset-based services. NHK, formally called Japan Broadcasting Corp., plans to launch the new service by next March in order to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics torch relay, which is scheduled to start that month. To date, NHK has streamed disaster reports and some live sports coverage but the revised broadcasting law approved by the House of Councilors will help expand streaming video services via devices including smartphones. People who possess a TV set are required to pay for an NHK subscription, but the revised law does not require any additional fee. The law obliges the Tokyo-based broadcaster to disclose the costs of online distribution, amid criticism that its business expansion could have a negative impact on private broadcasters. The communications minister will give NHK a warning if the broadcaster does not follow the requirements, according to the revised law. The law also strengthens NHK’s corporate governance by stipulating measures that give the audit committee the authority to investigate executives. This comes after a series of scandals that hit the broadcaster, including two separate cases involving the embezzlement of subscription fees by employees. During discussions on the bill, NHK was urged to improve its management operations. The broadcaster has already decided to cut the subscription fee starting in October 2020. “In the era of converging broadcasting and communication services, we will work to play the role of a trusted core component of social infrastructure that viewers can rely on,” NHK said. The bill cleared the House of Representatives on May 16.

nhk
online streaming
television
internet


Parents of Osaka nightclub worker who died from chugging alcohol granted workers' benefits

Abstract: OSAKA - The parents of a man in the nighttime entertainment industry who died after chugging alcoholic drinks at work in 2012 were granted workers’ benefits Wednesday in the first such court ruling in Japan. Yuya Tanaka, who worked at a host club, died at age 21 after suffering from acute alcohol poisoning at the establishment where young male staff typically attend to female customers. His parents were previously refused compensation based on workplace injury claims. But the Osaka District Court overrode the decision made by labor inspectors, ruling that “drinking alcohol was part of the job.” It was exceedingly difficult for Tanaka to refuse demands from his older coworkers to drink alcohol at the club, presiding Judge Hiroyuki Naito said in handing down the ruling. His death represents a “realized hazard related to working at a host club,” as drinking is used to increase sales, the judge said. Tanaka started working at the club in Osaka in April 2012. He chugged shōchū and tequila to liven up the atmosphere among customers during the early hours of Aug. 1 that year. He subsequently passed out drunk. He was later found frothing at the mouth by a coworker and sent to a hospital, where he died from acute alcohol poisoning. Tanaka’s parents applied for workers’ compensation in June 2013 at a local labor bureau, but their request was denied in November that year. However, the club was ordered by the court to pay the parents ¥73 million ($668,000) in February this year after they filed a claim for damages against its operator. Two former managers were also referred to prosecutors in 2016 on suspicion of causing death by negligence in the conduct of business, but both cases were later dismissed. The parents are currently considering filing a complaint with the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution.


Kawasaki stabbing spree lasted less than 20 seconds; man behind mass attack said to have had short fuse

Abstract: YOKOHAMA/KAWASAKI - A mass stabbing around a school bus stop in Kawasaki that claimed the lives of two occurred over a period of less than 20 seconds, investigators said Wednesday. Seventeen students of Caritas Elementary School, a private Catholic school in the city near Tokyo, and two parents were attacked Tuesday, most while waiting for the school bus. Police searched the suspect’s home in Kawasaki on Wednesday looking for clues about the attack, in which a schoolgirl and the father of an unharmed pupil were killed. Wielding knives in both hands, Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, allegedly carried out the attack before taking his own life from a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck, police said. The entire incident happened over a distance of 50 meters along a street. Both knives were 30 centimeters long, and investigators found two more knives in a backpack believed to have belonged to the assailant. The police have confirmed through security camera footage that Iwasaki took a train from Yomiurilandmae Station on the Odakyu Line, the train station nearest his home, and arrived at Noborito Station near the attack site. He is believed to have then walked to a convenience store, where he left his backpack before starting his rampage, carrying knives in each hand, according to the police. The cameras installed around the area captured Iwasaki moving rapidly among his victims as he carried out the attack, they said. Investigators said they believe the suspect began the attack by slashing 39-year-old parent and Foreign Ministry official Satoshi Oyama multiple times before continuing his spree. Oyama was found lying on his back on the street near the convenience store and was later confirmed dead at a hospital. Iwasaki then seriously wounded the 45-year-old mother of a Caritas student and attacked Hanako Kuribayashi, an 11-year-old sixth-grader from Tama, western Tokyo, who later died, and other children who were forming a line to get on a school bus, according to the police. The incident occurred at around 7:40 a.m. Tuesday on a street in Kawasaki’s Tama Ward near Noborito Station. Amid intermittent rain, a number of people offered prayers near the site around the same hour as the attack the previous day, while many flowers, snacks and beverages were left as offerings for the victims. Hiroko Moriya, a 22-year-old graduate school student, left a bottle of fruit juice, saying she always takes the same train as Caritas students. “The victimized children may have been the ones I took trains with. I can’t think of it as someone else’s business,” she said as she cried. Iwasaki lived in a house in Kawasaki’s Asao Ward with an elderly couple believed to be his relatives. Neighbors of Iwasaki said they had very few dealings with him although one thought he was short-tempered. Forty minutes before the incident, which ended when he stabbed himself in the neck, Iwasaki said good morning to a female neighbor, a rare and unusual occurrence, she said. He then went in the direction of nearby Yomiurilandmae Station. The two had a troubling interaction, according to the neighbor, when Iwasaki rang her doorbell early one morning last summer to complain that a branch from her garden that had grown over the sidewalk had hit him in the eye. Iwasaki is said to have attended local elementary and junior high schools, though few people knew much about him, with one man saying his mother recently mentioned she had seen him for the first time in a long time. “I can’t believe he would cause such a horrible incident,” said another female neighbor, who added that she had seen him walking a few days ago looking down and carrying some shopping bags. A newspaper deliveryman said he had initially believed that the only people living at Iwasaki’s home were an elderly couple, but recalled seeing a large amount of youth magazines lined up outside the house three or four months ago on a paper recycling day.

kawasaki
stabbings
ryuichi iwasaki
children
murder
kanagawa
kawasaki attack


Father arrested in Japan for using shock collar to discipline children

Abstract: A 45-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for the alleged use of a shock collar to discipline his three children, police said, the latest in a series of child abuse cases that have prompted legislators to seek a ban on corporal punishment. Takahiro Goto in the city of Kitakyushu told police he used a shock collar on his two daughters, aged 17 and 13, and 12-year-old son “when they didn’t follow the rules,” police said. Police officials said the suspect ordered his children to place a shock collar, used to train pets, on their bodies and controlled it remotely. The boy suffered a minor burn on his arm and there were no visible injuries on the girls, a police official said. The case surfaced after the elder daughter told her vocational school teacher in February that she has been abused by her father via a shock collar, according to police. The school then reported the statement to a child consultation center and the center took the children under its protection. A series of high-profile child abuse cases in recent years has shaken Japan, including the death last year of a 5-year-old girl, Yua Funato, whose father allegedly beat and starved her in the name of discipline. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at the time her death was “soul crushing” and he promised steps to prevent more deaths. Legislators in the Lower House on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to ban corporal punishment of children by their parents, paving the way for passage of a revised law during the current session. More than 50 countries — mostly in Europe — have laws prohibiting corporal punishment of children in the home, which some researchers say is an ineffective form of discipline. Japan would be the third country in Asia to institute such a ban after Mongolia in 2016 and Nepal two years later.


Japanese education ministry official arrested over drug possession

Abstract: A career bureaucrat in the education ministry was arrested Tuesday for allegedly possessing a stimulant drug and marijuana, drug regulatory authorities said. Mitsuhiro Fukuzawa, 44, assistant director to the counselor for the elementary and secondary education bureau of the ministry, has admitted to possessing a stimulant drug for personal use, in violation of the stimulant drug control law, according to the health ministry’s narcotics control unit. Syringes were confiscated after the unit raided his home and office at the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. Earlier this year, a bureaucrat of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle a stimulant drug from the United States. A senior education ministry official said the case could again damage the reputation of the ministry, which was rattled by a corruption scandal last year, with two senior officials being arrested on graft charges involving Tokyo Medical University.


Following Kawasaki attack, attention turns to survivors' mental trauma

Abstract: Even before a knife-wielding man attacked a group of elementary school students in Kawasaki on Tuesday, Japan had already seen news of children dragged into dreadful circumstances this year. Earlier this month, a vehicle plowed into a group of toddlers on a sidewalk in Shiga Prefecture, killing two 2-year-olds and injuring 13 people. In April, an 87-year-old driver rammed into pedestrians in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, fatally striking a 3-year-old girl and her mother and injuring nine. Although Tuesday’s attack, which left an 11-year-old girl and a 39-year-old father dead, differed in that it was a mass stabbing, all could be described as distressing events. And children are more at risk of suffering severe mental trauma, said Dr. Toshiko Kamo, a Tokyo-based psychiatrist. “There are statistics and studies that have been done that show that the younger a child encounters a traumatic occurrence, the longer symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder tend to stay,” Kamo said. Victims of the Tuesday attack were mostly students at Caritas Elementary School, a nearby private Catholic school, waiting for a school bus to arrive. The government has recommended schools employ school buses for safety. The grisly incident stunned the world, as Japan is known for having one of the lowest violent crime rates among developed countries. Japan also has strict gun control laws that some say prevent mass killings from happening in the first place. But according to 2013 statistics by the Justice Ministry, children under 9 years old comprise the largest group of victims of indiscriminate attacks by age group. The research examined random attacks whose suspects were convicted between March 2000 and March 2010. Of the 126 victims, 32 were children age below 9, or 25.4 percent. Fifteen were boys and 17 were girls. Since a man stabbed eight students to death at an elementary school in Osaka in June 2001, schools nationwide have tightened up security. Tami Yanagita, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Taisho University in Tokyo, said following the 2001 Osaka attack, professionals have become more ready to respond to tragedies. “I believe (Caritas Elementary School) is taking appropriate measures regarding care,” Yanagita said, emphasizing how the school was in touch with Kawasaki’s mental health team and Kanagawa Prefecture’s emergency response team within the same day. At this point, the victims of the Kawasaki attack are likely going through acute stress, which usually lasts up to a week depending on individuals, Kamo said. The symptoms — appearing 80 percent of the time — include nightmares, sudden flashbacks to the episode and memory loss. Counselors usually perform an assessment shortly after a tragic event instead of diving straight into treatment, Kamo said. If such symptoms last for more than a month, Kamo said doctors would diagnose PTSD. In some cases, the effects of PTSD persist for years, the psychiatrist added. “If a child is scared to go to school, it is effective if a guardian accompanies the child to and from the school,” Kamo said. The children and family members affected by Tuesday’s attack are in a great state of shock, Yanagita said, so it is important for local residents to step up to support them in regaining normalcy. She advised people to not be inquisitive about the case, to avoid engaging in rumors and to reach out to help with daily tasks. “(The children) experienced an extraordinary event,” Yanagita said. “What is ordinary for those children are their lives at home and school. Thus, I think it is important for the local community to help them feel at ease and function well in those places.” For households with a child, Yanagita suggests parents avoid exposure to graphic images and explain what happened.

kawasaki
kawasaki attack
children
stabbings
mental health
kanagawa
ptsd
murder
ryuichi iwasaki


Okinawa's Orion Breweries debuts first chūhai lineup with regional fruit twist

Abstract: Orion Breweries Ltd. launched its first lineup of canned chūhai — a drink typically made of shōchū or vodka mixed with a nonalcholic beverage — on Tuesday, seeking to win over young drinkers who are increasingly drawn to the beverages and away from beer. Three kinds of chūhai products containing vodka and locally grown shiikuwāsā (flat lemon) fruit juice debuted under the brand Watta. “ Wattā ” means “we” in the local dialect. “By adding local fruit and spices, we aim to make it a brand that conveys the appeal of ingredients produced in the prefecture,” Orion Breweries executive Masakazu Miyazato told reporters on May 8. According to the maker of Orion beer, the products have different alcohol content and flavors, and also use shiikuwāsā supplied by the prefecture’s agricultural cooperative, JA Okinawa. There are three varieties under the Watta brand. The 4-percent low alcohol version has a refreshing aroma and sweetness derived from a blend of unripe and ripe shiikuwāsā. The 9-percent alcohol version targeting middle-aged consumers and those who prefer stronger beverages comes in two kinds — one is sugar- and purine-free, while the other features an extract of local shiikuwāsā. Orion Breweries commissioned Okinawa Bottlers to manufacture the drinks, and some manufacturing will be done outside the prefecture. In the future, Miyazato said, the company wants to make the products at its own factory. The drinks will be available at mass retailers and farmers markets within the prefecture. After the beverages are distributed in Okinawa, the brewer will expand its sales to other places in Japan. It plans to release a second and third chūhai range this fiscal year, which will end next March. The aim is to sell 325 kiloliters of Watta chūhai this fiscal year. Miyazato said his company began considering entry into the chūhai market four to five years ago as “people, mainly the young, are increasingly staying away from beer and their preferences for alcoholic beverages have become more diverse.” Around the time the company began exploring the move, sales of canned chūhai, cocktails, highballs and other so-called ready-to-drink beverages clearly started climbing in the prefecture, according to Ken Nakachi, who heads Okinawa’s association of liquor retailers. Orion Breweries believes that chūhai, which is cheap and has many different variations, will further increase its share of the alcoholic beverage market as domestic beer sales continue to fall. Brewers’ shipments of beer and beer-like beverages hit a record low for the 14th straight year in 2018. Meanwhile, RTD beverages are highly popular among young consumers. The implementation of a revised liquor tax law, which unifies tax rates for different beer categories in mid-2026, will make the cheapest, no-malt “third-category” beer more expensive. This could further accelerate consumers’ shift to canned chūhai, so Orion Breweries hopes to retain customers by creating a new line of drinks. Still, an Orion Breweries employee noted that beer will remain “the center of its branding strategy.” Acknowledging that a continued focus on beer and beer-like beverages would undermine its edge in a competitive market, the employee said, “By introducing chūhai, we want to cater to young drinkers who don’t like beer.” While Orion Breweries is a latecomer to the chūhai market, it intends to set itself apart from other major producers with its lineup of unique products. It plans to get inspiration from a whole range of Okinawan food, including snacks and seasonings, for product development. “While ingredients for making beer are restricted, chūhai can express flavors freely. We want to jointly develop products with other businesses in the prefecture and expand our market share,” the employee said.


Trump weighs six-month window for Japan and EU to agree cuts in auto imports into U.S. before tariffs

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump will give Japan and the EU 180 days to agree to a deal that would “limit or restrict” imports into the U.S. of automobiles and their parts in return for delaying new auto tariffs, according to a draft executive order seen by Bloomberg. According to the order, which people familiar with the matter say Trump is expected to sign this week, the administration has determined that imports of cars into the U.S. present a threat to national security because they have hurt domestic producers and their ability to invest in new technologies. General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and others have warned of the damaging impacts of imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported cars and parts. Shares of BMW AG surged as much as 5 percent Wednesday, while Toyota and Honda Motor Co. ended slightly lower in Tokyo in line with the broader market. Korean automakers including Kia Motors Corp. advanced on news the proclamation will exempt South Korea from any future tariffs because it renegotiated the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement last year. A report by the Commerce Department had found that America’s innovation capacity “is now at serious risk as imports continue to displace American-owned production.” Trump was facing a May 18 deadline to make a decision on auto tariffs. “The lag in R&D expenditures by American-owned firms is weakening innovation and, accordingly, threatening to impair our national security,” according to the draft executive order. Spokespeople for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump will refrain from imposing tariffs for up to six months as trade negotiations with the EU and Japan are underway. In February, the Commerce Department submitted its Section 232 national security report to the White House. The agency was investigating whether imports harmed U.S. national security by weakening American automakers’ ability to invest in future technologies. The Commerce Department’s specific recommendations have not been revealed. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga noted Thursday that when Japan and the U.S. agreed last year to open bilateral trade talks, the U.S. pledged not to impose auto tariffs while talks were underway. “At the Japan-U.S. summit last September, Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe confirmed directly with President Trump that while trade talks are going on no actions will be taken against the spirit of the joint statement, and additional tariffs will not be imposed under Section 232 on cars or car parts,” Suga said. As talks proceed, the U.S. appears poised to add pressure on Japan. So far the U.S. position on autos has been unclear, but it is easy now to envision that the U.S. will demand Japan agree to limit auto shipments to the U.S. the same way that Mexico and Canada did, said Junichi Sugawara, senior research officer at Mizuho Research Institute. “Plus, Japan now has the 180-day limit, so it’s not a good development for Japan,” Sugawara said. Japanese and European officials have made clear a quota arrangement like the one that Mexico and Canada agreed to in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA, is a red line for them. The U.S. is in talks with both trading partners, but autos are not currently part of discussions with the EU. The U.S. imported $191.7 billion in passenger vehicles and light trucks in 2018, with more than $90 billion of those imports coming from Canada and Mexico, which are duty-free under USMCA. Passenger cars are now subject to a 2.5 percent U.S. tariff but Trump has threatened to raise that to 25 percent, arguing that the EU and other countries have higher barriers to U.S. auto exports. American allies Mexico, Canada, Japan and Germany are the leading sources of imported cars and trucks.

eu
tariffs
donald trump
trade
carmakers
trade war


Japan's Watami restaurant operator to set up Singapore unit to source Southeast Asian workers

Abstract: SINGAPORE - Major Japanese restaurant chain operator Watami Co. will establish a joint venture in Singapore to train and send Southeast Asian workers to Japan in response to Tokyo’s drive to accept more foreign workers. Watami said Wednesday the joint venture with IT Global Corp., a Japanese human resources provider under the wing of ITbook Holdings Co., will be established this month, with a plan to initially dispatch Cambodian workers. The equally owned joint venture, tentatively named Global Dream Street, will be capitalized at $1 million (¥109.55 million) and provide language education, practical job training and follow-through service, Watami said in a statement. “We are in tie-up talks with a Japanese-language school in Cambodia. We also have a plan to form a staffing entity,” a Watami spokesman said. The joint venture plans to mainly train workers for the restaurant sector, he said. Watami and IT Global said they will also establish another joint venture in Tokyo, tentatively named W&I Dream Model, in June to offer Japanese-language training for foreign workers and staffing services for Japanese companies in various sectors. On April 1, Japan launched a new visa system to bring in more foreign workers to the country, which is struggling with an acute labor shortage due to a rapidly graying population.

watami
restaurants
singapore
foreign workers
southeast asia
izakaya
expats


China blocks all language editions of Wikipedia ahead of Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

Abstract: BEIJING - Beijing has broadened its block of online encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, an internet censorship research group reported just weeks ahead of China’s most politically explosive anniversary. According to a report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), China started blocking all language editions of Wikipedia last month. Previously, most editions of Wikipedia — besides the Chinese language version, which was reportedly blocked in 2015 — were available, OONI said in their report. AFP could not open any of Wikipedia’s versions in China on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, the content that really matters is Chinese-language content,” said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of one of the co-founders of Greatfire.org , which tracks online censorship in China. “Blocking access to all language versions of Wikipedia for internet users in China is just symbolic,” he told AFP. “It symbolizes the fear that the Chinese authorities have of the truth.” Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia, said it had not received any notices explaining the latest block. According to the organization, Wikipedia has been blocked intermittently in China since 2004. “With the expansion of this block, millions of readers and volunteer editors, writers, academics, and researchers within China cannot access this resource or share their knowledge and achievements with the world,” Samantha Lien, communications manager at Wikimedia Foundation, told AFP over email. “When one country, region, or culture cannot join the global conversation on Wikipedia, the entire world is poorer,” she said. China’s online censorship apparatus — dubbed the “Great Firewall” — blocks a large number of foreign sites in the country, such as Google, Facebook and The New York Times. Topics that are deemed too “sensitive” are also scrubbed, such as the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters that will mark its 30th anniversary on June 4. The expanded block of Wikipedia comes as Chinese authorities under Chinese President Xi Jinping ramp up online controls and crack down on Great Firewall circumvention tools, such as virtual private network (VPN) software. In November, China’s cyberspace authority said it had “cleaned up” 9,800 accounts on Chinese social media platforms like messaging app WeChat and the Twitter-like Weibo that it accused of spreading “politically harmful” information and rumours. Chinese Twitter users have also told AFP that they have experienced intimidation from local authorities — and even detention — for their tweets. The latest move to block all versions of Wikipedia could be linked to online translation tools, which make it easy for Chinese users to read anything on Wikipedia, Smith said. Images can also be considered taboo, he said. “A picture is worth a thousand words, and there is no dearth of Tiananmen-related imagery on the Wikipedia website,” Smith added.

china
wikipedia
censorship
great firewall
facebook
new york times
xi jinping
tiananmen square


Government to urge firms in Japan to hire employees until age 70 amid labor crunch

Abstract: The government on Wednesday urged companies to extend employees’ retirement until the age of 70 as part of measures to address a severe labor shortage due to Japan’s rapidly graying population. The government will urge companies to make efforts to secure employment for workers up to the age of 70 through a host of options such as continued employment after reaching retirement age, support in finding new jobs at other firms, financial assistance for freelance contracts and entrepreneurship support. Many companies set a retirement age of 60, but employees can work until 65 if they desire and employers are legally obliged to continue hiring them. “It is necessary to provide a variety of options to make use of the expertise of elderly workers,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a gathering to discuss future growth policies. “I want healthy, willing elderly people to use their experience and wisdom in society.” The plans were presented at a meeting of the Council on Investment for the Future, headed by Abe. The government plans to submit a bill to the Diet next year to revise related laws for stable employment for elderly people, the prime minister said. The government will not make the string of measures mandatory under the revised law, but will consider making it so in the future, sources said. Ensuring an adequate workforce is also important for securing funds to meet the rising social security costs of an aging society. One in every three people in Japan is expected to be 65 or older in 2025, government data shows. The government has already introduced a series of steps to make up for the labor shortfall, such as bringing in more foreign workers and promoting women’s participation in the labor market. Still, Japan is expected to face a shortage of 6.44 million workers in 2030, according to an estimate by Chuo University and Persol Research and Consulting. Among the 66.64 million workers aged 15 or older last year, 8.62 million, or 13 percent, were 65 or older, the government said. While increasing employment opportunities for elderly people, the government is not considering raising the starting age for receiving pensions, the sources said.


Trump declares emergency barring U.S. firms from business with foreign telecoms deemed security risks

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Wednesday barring U.S. companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk — a move that appeared aimed at Chinese giant Huawei. The order signed by Trump prohibits purchase or use of equipment from companies that pose “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai applauded Trump’s executive order, saying it will safeguard the U.S. communications supply chain. “Given the threats presented by certain foreign companies’ equipment and services, this is a significant step toward securing America’s networks,” he said. A senior White House official insisted that no particular country or company was targeted in the “company- and country-agnostic” declaration. However, the measure — announced just as a U.S.-China trade war deepens — is widely seen as prompted by already deep concerns over an alleged spying threat from Huawei. U.S. officials have been trying to persuade allies not to allow China a role in building next-generation 5G mobile networks, warning that doing so would result in restrictions on sharing of information with the United States. U.S. government agencies are already banned from buying equipment from Huawei, a rapidly expanding leader in the 5G technology. China’s government is furious. “For some time, the United States has abused its national power to deliberately discredit and suppress by any means specific Chinese enterprises, which is neither honorable nor fair,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. “We urge the U.S. side to stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises on the pretext of national security and to provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment,” the spokesman said. Earlier, David Wang, executive director of Huawei’s board, shrugged off news of the upcoming emergency declaration. “Our business in the U.S. is not very big. We are a company with global operations, so if there is this or that change in any country, the impact on our global business is very little,” he said. The U.S. portrayal of Huawei as a national security danger dovetails with Washington’s wider complaint that Chinese companies are unfairly protected by the state, making fair trade impossible. On an even broader scale, the United States and some European allies fear that Chinese economic expansion, particularly in the “Belt and Road” global infrastructure program, is part of a bid for geopolitical dominance. Amid those worries, Huawei is portrayed as an especially potent Trojan horse that could leverage its ultra-rapid telecoms technology into a Chinese government spy network reaching deep into American society and business fields. “Chinese telecom companies like Huawei effectively serve as an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party,” Sen. Tom Cotton, from Trump’s Republican Party, said after Trump’s emergency declaration. “The administration is right to restrict the use of their products.” Early this year, the Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against Huawei, a top company executive and several subsidiaries, alleging the company stole trade secrets, misled banks about its business and violated U.S. sanctions. The sweeping indictments accuse the company of using extreme efforts to steal trade secrets from American businesses — including trying to take a piece of a robot from a T-Mobile lab. The executive charged is Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada in December. The U.S. is seeking to have her extradited. Still, so far, the U.S. campaign to lobby other countries to turn their backs on Huawei has had mixed results. Even the British government, one of Washington’s closest allies, is mired in debate over whether to follow the U.S. lead or allow Huawei’s proven expertise in developing the 5G capacities. On Tuesday, Liang Hua, the chairman of the company, visited London to insist that Huawei will “commit ourselves, to commit our equipment to meeting the no-spy, no back-door standards.”

donald trump
huawei
ajit pai
china
u.s .
eu
espionage
fcc
zte


How can AI help? Japan's teamLab and Sony feature at London show on how tech can aid humans

Abstract: LONDON - An ambitious London exhibition aims to prove that the fields in which artificial intelligence can help humans are countless: managing the health of the planet, fighting discrimination or boosting innovation in the arts. Under the title “AI: More than Human,” the immense Barbican Centre brings together more than 200 installations, exhibits and projects by artists, scientists and researchers from all over the world. From Thursday until August, visitors will be able to take a journey from the long-held dream of creating artificial life to the reality of today’s most cutting-edge projects. An immersive space by Japanese collective teamLab forms one of the most intriguing exhibits, with art and science combining to let the visitor leave their mark on an evolving digital wall projection. There are also robots of all shapes and sizes, from Sony Corp.’s small dog Aibo — whose first version from 1999 has now evolved into an AI model — to a large mechanical arm that prepares and serves cocktails. Other exhibits explore the complex systems that keep big cities ticking and push forward research into medical conditions from cancer to blindness. The current limits of AI are looked into, including racial bias in some facial recognition software. Properly designed AI can help prevent harm, said Francesca Rossi, head of ethics at IBM Research. “If the machine can understand this concept of bias, then it can alert us if it sees that there is bias in our decision making,” she said. Although the idea of decoding the human brain and imitating its functions was born in the mid-1950s, AI only exploded in 2010 thanks to very fast state-of-the-art processors that allow the analysis of huge amounts of data. The machines have since come on leaps and bounds. A woman receives a cocktail from a robot bartender at the Barbican Centre in London on Wednesday. | AP IBM’s Deep Blue beat Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997 while AlphaGo — developed by Google LLC’s DeepMind team — in 2016 beat Lee Sedol, world champion in the 3,000-year-old Chinese board game known as Go. Both are present in the exhibition, helping to outline how AI can help solve problems of enormous complexity, such as climate change. “The thing that we dream about would be, what if a machine could say: ‘Here is a clever way of changing how we run our economy that fixes climate,'” explained Swedish philosopher Anders Sandberg, senior research fellow at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. But for that, “we need to find a good way of putting human values into machines so they will act without accidentally harming you,” he added, joking that AI could conclude the best solution was to eradicate human beings. Despite its ambitious scope, the exhibition is only one part of a larger project called “Life Rewired,” which explores the impact of technology on society. The center recently held a concert of baroque music composed by AI after analyzing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. “We gave the machine-learning algorithm all of Bach’s keyboard works,” explained the project’s architect Marcus du Sautoy. “That’s a lot of music, but often machine-learning needs millions of data points to learn from,” added the Oxford mathematician. He hopes to demonstrate that, rather than competing with humans, artificial intelligence can help humans “to think outside of our narrow creative window.” “Humans get very stuck in ways of thinking; we often end up behaving like machines,” he said.

ai
teamlab
sony
london
robots
aibo
ibm
u.k .