Few foreign residents aware of public nursing care plan but more expected to tap it as Japan grays

Abstract: The number of foreign people living and retiring in Japan is expected to increase following the overhaul of the nation’s immigration control law in April, which will introduce new types of working visas. However, only a small number of these residents appear fully aware of the fact they can benefit from the public nursing care insurance program once they turn 65. As complicated procedures and language barriers hinder use of the program by many foreign residents, those here working as nursing care workers or interpreters are helping their peers at the Homi Danchi apartment complex in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, where over half of the residents are foreign, obtain proper care. Katherine Namisato, 42, a Peruvian of Japanese descent employed as a nursing care worker at home-visit nursing agency Care Center Homi in Toyota, took care of her mother at home for about five years until she died in April last year at the age of 80. Her father, 74, had mainly taken care of her mother, who suffered from liver cancer and back pain. But since her mom had been certified as level 3 under the nursing care insurance program, which requires round-the-clock care, the family also received home visits from care workers every day on weekdays and was able to get her taken to a nursing care facility about three days a week. “While my mother was at the nursing care facility, my father could relax and was able to avoid being stressed out,” Namisato said, adding the services helped save her job. “I don’t know how we could have managed without the services.” According to the Justice Ministry, foreign residents hit a record high of 2.64 million in June last year, with those 65 or older rising to 172,000, or about 6 percent of the total. Foreign people are eligible for nursing care if they are registered residents, have lived in Japan for three months or more, paid their insurance premiums and are certified as needing long-term care. But not everyone is aware of the system. Aichi Prefecture — which has the nation’s second-largest population of non-Japanese — conducted a survey on foreign residents in fiscal 2016 that found only 15 percent of the 2,603 respondents were aware of the program and only 8 percent were enrolled. “Some of the people who are staying for work purposes may not care much about pensions or nursing care insurance,” said a prefectural official in charge of the program. “We hope to create multilingual pamphlets on the program to be handed out at counters in city or town offices.” Care Center Homi is making efforts to inform foreign residents about the program, such as by creating Spanish and Portuguese translations of documents outlining it for people who sign contracts for nursing care services. But Namisato says there are many people who don’t even know where to go to find information about them. Furthermore, the nursing care system does not offer interpretation services for people who don’t speak Japanese. “Care managers can’t make proper nursing care plans unless they can accurately grasp what kind of services users are looking for, and users will not be convinced of the services they get unless they understand the explanations given by care managers,” said Mie Asakura, 58, a professor at Kinjo Gakuin University in Nagoya who specializes in community welfare. “It is necessary to assure that people of all nationalities receive interpretation services,” Asakura pointed out. An official at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, however, said the ministry does not plan to offer interpretation services under the program because it only deals with services directly related to nursing care, such as helping the elderly go to the bathroom. “Interpretation services do not match with the program and we have not received requests from local governments for such services,” said the official. The government released a package of policy measures in December to provide greater support for foreign workers, whose numbers are expected to swell under the revised law. The measures include training for medical interpreters, but there is no mention of nursing care interpreters. In Aichi, Care Center Homi provides interpretation on a volunteer basis at the apartment complex, and three nonprofit organizations based in Nagoya have jointly launched a project to dispatch paid Chinese-speaking nursing care interpreters mainly for Japan’s aging war orphans — those left behind in China during the war who could only return to Japan years later. The Aichi Prefectural Government is preparing to set up a nursing care interpretation system as part of its new five-year Multicultural Coexistence Promotion Plan, which started in fiscal 2018. “It is necessary, per se, to create a system friendly to elderly foreign nationals together with the government’s plan to invite more foreign workers,” said an Aichi Prefectural Government official. “If the government includes interpretation services in nursing care insurance plans, it will encourage the nurturing of interpreters across the nation.”

nursing care
immigration
homi danchi
toyota
aichi
elderly
expats
social welfare


'Captain Tsubasa' and friends from popular soccer manga take over Yotsugi Station in Tokyo

Abstract: A local train station in Tokyo has been covered from floor to ceiling with images from the famous soccer manga and anime series “Captain Tsubasa,” and the train arrival chime now features the show’s theme song. The new interior of Keisei Electric Railway’s Yotsugi Station was unveiled Monday at a ceremony attended by “Captain Tsubasa” author Yoichi Takahashi and Spanish soccer superstar Andres Iniesta, who is known to be a big fan of the manga. The Vissel Kobe midfielder revealed at the ceremony that he had watched the anime as a child before going to school. “I remember the characters’ unique playing styles and am happy to be playing in Japan, where the anime was made,” he said. The station in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward is seen as a mecca among “Captain Tsubasa” fans because Takahashi hails from the area. Huge murals of protagonist Tsubasa Ozora and his friends adorn the concourse walls and station signboard, while goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi is featured blocking a goal on the stairs while urging passengers not to rush onto the train. In addition, Tsubasa’s voice is featured in station announcements, and the anime’s ending theme song “Moete Hero” (“Hero on Fire”) is used as the platform chime. The “Captain Tsubasa” manga series, first published in 1981 in Shueisha’s Weekly “Shonen Jump” comic book, is a worldwide hit. It has been adapted into video games in addition to the anime. It remains popular about four decades on and is still broadcast on television.

captain tsubasa
soccer
manga
yotsugi station
anime
keisei electric
andres iniesta
rail


Tensions within Japan's LDP rise over backing of ex-DPJ heavyweight Goshi Hosono in Shizuoka poll

Abstract: Tensions are intensifying between two internal factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a Lower House district in Shizuoka Prefecture currently represented by a former key opposition figure. In the Shizuoka No. 5 district, the faction led by LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai is moving to support former opposition member Goshi Hosono, 47, who served as environment minister and in other senior positions during the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan. Hosono, currently an independent lawmaker, is believed to be seeking to join the LDP. Backing his move, the Nikai faction has recently accepted him as a “special” member. At the same time, the faction led by former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, currently chairman of the party’s Policy Research Council, has a member working to be elected from the Shizuoka district. The Kishida group member, 36-year-old Takeru Yoshikawa, lost to Hosono in the district in the 2012, 2014 and 2017 Lower House polls. In the 2012 election, however, he secured a proportional representation seat for the LDP. Last week, Kishida attended a meeting of Yoshikawa’s supporters in the city of Gotemba. “He will certainly make it through an election and return to the Diet in the near future,” Kishida told the crowd. “We’ll join forces to support him.” Also last week, Nikai organized a welcome party for Hosono at a traditional Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. The participants included LDP Deputy Secretary-General Motoo Hayashi, who is close to Nikai. Asked about the current situation over the Shizuoka district, Nikai told a news conference last week that the electorate “will make the right decision.” Nikai was apparently indicating his confidence in Hosono, who easily beat Yoshikawa in the last three elections. Nikai is slated to visit the Shizuoka district soon in a bid to hand Hosono’s campaign his support. But the visit will almost certainly provoke a backlash from the Kishida faction. A senior member of the Nikai group downplayed any possible criticism. “How do they dare to complain after Yoshikawa was repeatedly beaten by Hosono?” the member asked. The Nikai and Kishida factions have a long history of conflict in another Lower House district in Yamanashi Prefecture. Although momentum for reconciliation grew after the two groups worked together for an LDP-backed candidate in January’s Yamanashi gubernatorial election, the positive mood has been dampened by the new feud in Shizuoka. The Nikai faction has strengthened its push for Hosono since then-faction member Tsuyoshi Tabata left the LDP in February following a sex scandal. On Wednesday, Tabata offered to resign as a lawmaker. With the resignation accepted on Friday, Yoshikawa is set to take over Tabata’s Lower House seat in line with the LDP’s list of proportional representation candidates in the 2017 election. His return to the Diet may further escalate tensions between the Nikai and Kishida factions, observers said.

ldp
goshi hosono
shizuoka
lower house
toshihiro nikai
elections


Public will be invited to greet Japan's new Imperial Couple on May 4, earlier than planned

Abstract: Members of the public will have the chance to greet the new Emperor on May 4, just days after Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne, Imperial Household Agency officials said Monday. Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30 — the first living Japanese monarch to do so in about two centuries — and the Crown Prince will succeed him the following day. The agency had planned to allow commoners to make congratulatory visits to the Imperial Palace after the Sokuirei Seiden no Gi ceremony on Oct. 22 to proclaim the enthronement. But it decided to bring this forward because the traditional Golden Week holiday — starting April 27 — is this year extended to 10 days to incorporate the abdication of the Emperor on April 30 and the Imperial succession the following day. The Prime Minister’s Office also strongly requested that the public greeting be held earlier, according to agency sources. During the event, the Emperor and the Empress will appear on a palace balcony along with other members of the Imperial family. While the agency is still considering which members will join the event, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who will use the titles emperor emeritus and empress emerita following the abdication, are not expected to attend. The agency opens the palace to the public on limited occasions, such as New Year’s Day and the Emperor’s birthday. The last congratulatory visit for Emperor Akihito, in January, attracted 154,800 people, the largest crowd recorded during his 30-year reign. Emperor Akihito received his first congratulatory visit on Nov. 18, 1990, six days after the proclamation ceremony. On that occasion, he appeared eight times and offered greetings to well-wishers. The 85-year-old Emperor expressed his desire to resign in a rare video message in 2016, citing concern that he might not be able to fulfill official duties due to his advanced age. In 2017, the Diet enacted one-off legislation enabling him to step down.

emperor akihito
abdication
imperial family
empress michiko
royalty
emperor naruhito


Skating star Alina Zagitova helps Japan showcase its regional specialties in Moscow

Abstract: MOSCOW - A Japanese festival in Moscow showcased regional specialties from across the country such as food, artisanal goods and tourism spots, with the participation of Russian figure skating star Alina Zagitova. Zagitova, who won gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea last year, appeared with her dog Masaru — an Akita breed gifted from Japanese fans — at the weekend Sakura Festival, which ended Sunday. “Japan is almost like a country in a dream,” she said at the two-day festival organized by Japan’s Foreign Ministry and which involved five prefectures, including Niigata and Okinawa. Surrounded by decorations based on sakura (cherry blossoms), Muscovites stopped by to enjoy demonstrations of Japanese tea ceremony, flower arrangement and cooking. The pounding of taiko drums punctuated the air and the strumming of koto — a traditional Japanese zither — could be heard. Authorities from each prefecture gave presentations and their individual booths introduced attractions from the regions. Okinawa, known for its beautiful beaches and residents’ longevity, showed off its health foods and promoted the shores along its emerald-colored sea. The remote islands of the subtropical chain have been popular with Russian tourists recently. Yamaguchi Prefecture introduced its Ouchinuri lacquers, which have flourished for 600 years and been designated a traditional Japanese handicraft. Russian matryoshka dolls painted in this fashion were also displayed. Niigata Prefecture drew interest for its famous cutlery, including saws from Sanjo, a city known for blacksmithing since the 17th century. Ibaraki Prefecture promoted its alcohol, such as plum wine, while Hokkaido aimed to raise its profile by displaying its abundant regional foods, including a latte made with matcha and cookies.

alina zagitova
tourism
russia
japan-russia relations


Japan Cabinet OKs bill forcing firms to separate mobile phone and data costs in bid to lower prices

Abstract: The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday approved a proposed legal revision to lower fees for mobile phone services amid criticism that domestic carriers charge too much compared to other countries. The bill to revise the telecommunications business law will next move to the Diet. It would ban carriers from offering plans that cover both the price of the phone itself and connection fees. Carriers currently place large fees on data usage in exchange for subsidizing device purchases, a model many users say is needlessly complicated. Instead, the companies would need to charge separately for data and devices. By adding such a requirement, it would become easier for users to compare services, leading to increased competition and lower prices, communications minister Masatoshi Ishida told a news conference following a Cabinet meeting. Two of the country’s three major carriers, SoftBank Corp. and KDDI Corp., through its au brand, say they already comply with the new rules, while NTT Docomo Inc. has said it plans to do so this spring. More than 60 percent of Japanese own smartphones, and the number jumps to 84 percent when including tablets and other devices. Households spent an average of ¥100,250 on mobile fees in 2017, about 3 percent of their overall expenditures, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. From a global perspective, Japan’s mobile fees are relatively high. It costs about ¥7,000 a month to use 20 gigabytes of data in Tokyo, tops among comparable cities including New York, London and Seoul, the ministry’s latest statistics show. The issue came into the spotlight back in August when Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made a rare remark on individual companies, saying the three major carriers could reduce their fees by around 40 percent. A panel of the communications ministry later began discussing a possible legal revision, and in January recommended making changes to the law governing the telecommunications industry. The proposed revision would put the three companies, which together control nearly 90 percent of the domestic mobile phone market, in direct competition with smaller rivals, which have gained popularity in recent years for their cheaper, no-frills services. The changes, which Abe’s government hopes to pass during the current Diet session through June, would also ensure that carriers cannot stop users from opting out in the middle of contracts, which often span two or four years. Other additions include a registration requirement for retailers that would give the government greater oversight, and new penalties for companies that use misleading sales tactics to attract users.

phones
smartphones
internal affairs ministry


U.S. to end preferential trade status for India over tariffs and Turkey due to recent growth

Abstract: At U.S. President Donald Trump’s direction, Washington intends to scrap the preferential trade status granted to India and Turkey, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The move comes as the U.S. and China seek to negotiate an exit from a costly trade war that is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to address what it views as inequitable commercial relationships with other states. Washington “intends to terminate India’s and Turkey’s designations as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer comply with the statutory eligibility criteria,” the trade chief’s office said Monday in a statement. India has failed to provide assurances that it will allow required market access, while Turkey is “sufficiently economically developed” that it no longer qualifies, it added. Under the GSP program, “certain products” can enter the U.S. duty-free if countries meet eligibility criteria including “providing the United States with equitable and reasonable market access.” India, however, “has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on United States commerce,” the statement said. It said Turkey, after being designated a GSP beneficiary in 1975, has meanwhile demonstrated a “higher level of economic development,” meaning that it can be “graduated” from the program. The changes cannot take effect for at least 60 days following notification to the U.S. Congress as well as the countries affected — a process Trump began Monday with letters to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate. The change for India came after “intensive engagement” between New Delhi and Washington, Trump wrote in one letter, the text of which was released by the White House. “I will continue to assess whether the government of India is providing equitable and reasonable access to its markets, in accordance with the GSP eligibility criteria,” the letter states. In his letter on Turkey, Trump said the country’s economy “has grown and diversified,” and noted that Istanbul has already “graduated from other developed countries’ GSP programs.” Trump has made taking aim at what he considers imbalanced trade relationships a central plank of his presidency — sparking a trade war with Beijing that has dragged on for nearly a year. The U.S. and China eventually agreed to a 90-day truce to work out their differences, and Beijing and Washington have been edging closer to an agreement in recent weeks. The truce was scheduled to end Friday, but Trump lifted the ultimatum to further increase tariffs, satisfied by progress made in several rounds of talks. Under an agreement taking shape, Beijing would lower some barriers on U.S. companies’ operations in China and purchase large amounts American agricultural and energy goods if the United States lowered most of the tariffs in return. However, leading news reports have said significant details remained unresolved.


Trump tightens trade embargo on Cuba over aid to Venezuela and OKs suits against firms using seized properties

Abstract: HAVANA - The Trump administration announced Monday that it is tightening the six-decade trade embargo on Cuba by allowing lawsuits against Cuban companies using properties confiscated after its 1959 revolution. The announcement limits lawsuits to a list of about 200 Cuban businesses and government agencies that are already subject to special U.S. sanctions because they are tied to the Cuban military and intelligence ministries. Most of the businesses have no ties of any sort to the U.S. legal or financial systems, meaning the ability to sue them will almost certainly be symbolic. Other businesses, like hotels, are joint ventures with foreign companies, but it is does not appear that the Trump administration measure allows the foreign companies themselves to be sued. That means the new measure will likely have very little real-world impact. Every president since Bill Clinton has suspended a section of the 1996 Helms-Burton act that would allow such lawsuits because they would snarl companies from U.S.-allied countries in years of complicated litigation that could prompt international trade claims against the United States. Major investors in Cuba include British tobacco giant Imperial Brands, which runs a joint venture with the Cuban government making premium cigars; Spanish hoteliers Iberostar and Melia, which run dozens of hotels across the island; and French beverage-maker Pernod-Ricard, which makes Havana Club rum with a Cuban state distiller. The measure is being presented as retaliation for Cuba’s support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. is trying to oust in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaido. After nearly 60 years of trade embargo, the Cuban economy is in a period of consistently low growth of about 1 percent a year, with foreign investment at roughly $2 billion, far below what it needs to spur more prosperity. But tourism, remittances and subsidized oil from Venezuela have allowed the government to maintain basic services and a degree of stability that appears unshaken by the Trump administration’s recent moves against Cuba and its major remaining allies in Latin America — Venezuela and Nicaragua.

cuba
venezuela
helms-burton act
nicolas maduro
u.s .
donald trump


Japan's IHI admits unqualified workers inspected airplane engines

Abstract: Heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. said Tuesday it has discovered unqualified workers inspected airplane engines after routine repair and maintenance operations, becoming the latest Japanese manufacturer involved in quality control misconduct. The company launched an investigation into whether any improper checks had been conducted after such inspections were discovered by the transport ministry during on-site inspections in January and February. “We will consider taking necessary administrative measures,” transport minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference, adding that the matter is “extremely regrettable.” Unqualified workers conducted visual inspections of repaired engine parts at a factory in Tokyo that maintains around 150 engines a year mainly for low-cost carriers, IHI said. In some cases, the workers compiled inspection documents under the names of qualified employees and IHI is delving deeper into the issue. Unauthorized workers conducted inspections during part of the maintenance process, and hundreds of engines may have been affected, the IHI officials said. “We deeply apologize for causing concern and worries to our stakeholders, including customers and clients,” the company said in a statement. IHI said there have been no reported disruptions to flights because of the affected engines and it currently does not plan to recall them as it knows of no safety problems that must be dealt with immediately. IHI is investigating details including when the wrongdoing started. The company will cooperate in the ministry’s investigation, the officials said. The company joins a number of major Japanese manufacturers in admitting to improper quality control in recent years. Carmakers Subaru Corp. and Nissan Motors Co. revealed they conducted inspections by unqualified workers, while Kobe Steel Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. said they fabricated product data. Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday that IHI told them no engines inspected by the company have safety issues. The two airlines consign some of their engine repairs and maintenance operations to IHI. IHI makes engines for Boeing Co. and Airbus S.A.S. and has been strengthening the maintenance side of its business. The company is building a new plant in Saitama Prefecture to begin maintenance operations later this year. Regional airliner Fuji Dream Airlines Co. Ltd., which uses two airports in central Japan as its hub, has its engines inspected by IHI. The airline said it has not yet received any notification from IHI regarding the matter but added that there was no immediate impact on operations. Low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan Co. Ltd. said IHI had told the firm there was no direct impact to operation of the engines inspected by the company. Four other domestic low-cost carriers said they have no ties with IHI for engine maintenance.


Ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn set to be released on bail after court rejects appeal by prosecutors

Abstract: Ahead of his 65th birthday on Saturday, former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn may see his birthday wish come true: regaining his freedom, albeit conditionally. After 107 days behind bars, starting with his sudden detention at Tokyo’s Haneda airport when he was accused of engaging in financial misconduct, the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday granted Ghosn bail. The court rejected a last-ditch effort by prosecutors to reverse its decision to release Ghosn on bail, paving the way for him to be released as soon as Wednesday. He is expected to be released once a bond of ¥1 billion is paid. “I am extremely grateful for my family and friends who have stood by me throughout this terrible ordeal,” Ghosn said in a statement released Tuesday night. “I am also grateful to the NGOs and human rights activists in Japan and around the world who fight for the cause of presumption of innocence and a fair trial. I am innocent and totally committed to vigorously defending myself in a fair trial against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations.” The request for bail, submitted Thursday, was the third attempt to secure his release. This time, though, there was a twist: The request was put forward under a new legal team appointed in mid-February. Experts say legal strategies under the new team might have played a role in the court’s decision to grant him bail despite the allegations put forward by the powerful Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office special investigation unit. Junichiro Hironaka, one of the attorneys representing Ghosn, is an experienced attorney who earned the nickname “Razor” for his sharp acumen and long track record of winning not-guilty verdicts in some of the country’s most high-profile cases. He noted earlier that he believes Ghosn is innocent based on his “gut feeling” as a lawyer, interactions with him and reading his books. The 73-year-old attorney said Monday the legal team listed measures in its latest bail appeal that would diminish Ghosn’s chance of destroying evidence — such as restricting his ability to communicate with people on the outside and being placed under surveillance. As is usual with bail, he will be barred from traveling overseas. “I believe that we have presented our own convincing application showing that there is indeed no flight risk or risk of tampering with evidence,” Hironaka told reporters Monday. Nobuo Gohara, an attorney who has insisted on Ghosn’s innocence from the time of his arrest, said reshuffling the legal team was integral to the successful bail appeal. The new team, unlike the first one, was able to demonstrate and convince the judge that Ghosn does not pose a threat to stifle evidence, a sticking point the prosecutors have used to argue that he should not be granted bail. “I think the requests were not granted because the previous legal team wasn’t able to refute the prosecutors sufficiently,” Gohara said. On the decision itself, Gohara said it was “a matter of course” that should have been approved the first time. But he also characterized it as “a landmark” that the court sided against the prosecutor’s special investigation unit, an unusual occurrence in the Japanese criminal justice system. The court rejected the previous requests after prosecutors brought new allegations against Ghosn in January. The district court said it was not authorizing bail due to the flight risk and potential destruction of evidence. Attorney Yasuyuki Takai acknowledged the importance of including specific steps in the conditions for the bail but downplayed the importance of the legal team shake-up. Rather, Takai said that Ghosn being granted bail is a reflection on the country’s changing legal system. Like many advanced countries, Japan used to release a suspect on bail shortly after arrest, he said. But protracted detention became an issue in the late 1970s amid a major political scandal, establishing the questionable practice, he said. However, in recent years judges have been more prone to grant bail because they specifically focus on the risk of destroying evidence, instead of whether the suspect is admitting guilt or not, he said. “Judges had been hesitant in granting bail,” Takai said. “However the mindset of judges toward it has been changing.” The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested the 64-year-old Brazilian-born French auto executive on Nov. 19, on suspicion of underreporting his income. The prosecutors later rearrested him on two additional counts of financial misconduct, including aggravated breach of trust for the alleged transfer of private investment losses to Nissan during the global financial crisis in 2008. The decision to grant him bail also comes amid growing outcry from critics, particularly outside the country, toward Japan’s legal system that they say is skewed in favor of accusers. Lawyers aren’t allowed to be present during interrogations, and suspects can be held for months before appearing in a trial, especially when they do not admit guilt. Apparently fed up with Ghosn’s long detention, his family was ready to appeal to the United Nations in a bid to have him released, one of his lawyers said Monday. “We have decided to appeal to those U.N. bodies dealing with fundamental rights compliance,” Francois Zimeray said, reading a statement issued by Ghosn’s family. “Carlos Ghosn has now been held for over 100 days in Japan,” in a place “with medieval rules,” the statement said. The lawyer represents Ghosn’s wife, Carole — who in a recent interview with Paris Match magazine described her husband’s detention conditions as “deplorable” — and children Caroline, Maya, Nadine and Anthony.

nissan
carlos ghosn
courts
junichiro hironaka
scandals
corruption
renault


Evidence grows that Trump's trade wars are hitting U.S. economy and Americans are footing the tariffs

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump regularly declares that he’s winning his trade wars. Yet evidence is growing that the U.S. economy is a net loser so far. In two separate papers published over the weekend, some of the world’s leading trade economists declared Trump’s tariffs to be the most consequential trade experiment seen since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs blamed for worsening the Great Depression. They also found the initial cost of Trump’s duties to the U.S. economy was in the billions and being borne largely by American consumers. In a study published on Saturday, economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University and Columbia University found that tariffs imposed last year by Trump on products ranging from washing machines and steel to some $250 billion in Chinese imports were costing U.S. companies and consumers $3 billion a month in additional tax costs and companies a further $1.4 billion in deadweight losses. They also were causing the diversion of $165 billion a year in trade leading to significant costs for companies having to reorganize supply chains. Significantly, the analysis of import price data by Mary Amiti, Stephen Redding and David Weinstein also found that almost all of the cost of the tariffs was being paid by U.S. consumers and companies. That contradicts Trump’s claim that China is paying the tariffs. “This is kind of the worst-case scenario in terms of consumers,” Weinstein said in an interview. “It’s pretty unclear that this trade war is a net win for the economy at this point.” The trade war was only one factor affecting the U.S. economy, Weinstein said, and with the U.S. less exposed to trade than other major Western economies such as Germany, it was not having as much of an impact as it might. But the numbers were still consequential, he insisted. They also did not capture all of the costs to the U.S. economy. The three economists are now working on quantifying the amount of investment that has been put on hold as a result of the heightened uncertainty caused by the trade wars, Weinstein said. In a separate paper published on Sunday four economists, including Pinelopi Goldberg, the World Bank’s chief economist and a former editor-in-chief of the prestigious American Economic Review, put the annual losses from the higher cost of imports alone for the U.S. economy at $68.8 billion, or almost 0.4 percent of gross domestic product. That was offset by the gains from protectionism derived by U.S. producers benefiting from the tariffs, the economists found. After accounting for the impact of higher tariff revenue and the benefits of higher prices to domestic producers the study found the aggregate annual loss for the U.S. economy fell to $6.4 billion, or 0.03 percent of GDP. The study by Goldberg, Pablo Fajgelbaum of UCLA, Patrick Kennedy of the University of California, Berkeley, and Amit Khandelwal of Columbia also found that consumers and U.S. companies were paying most of the costs of the tariffs. But it also went a step further: After factoring in the retaliation by other countries, the main victims of Trump’s trade wars had been farmers and blue-collar workers in areas that supported Trump in the 2016 election. “Workers in very Republican counties bore the brunt of the costs of the trade war, in part because retaliations disproportionately targeted agricultural sectors, and in part because U.S. tariffs raised the costs of inputs used by these counties,” the authors wrote. The studies are the most authoritative yet to document the negative effect of Trump’s tariffs on the U.S. economy, though others have shown the negative consequences. Economists at the Institute of International Finance last week calculated Chinese retaliatory tariffs alone were causing roughly $40 billion a year in lost U.S. exports. Official trade data due to be released on Wednesday also are expected to show the U.S. trade deficit in goods with the world hitting a new record in 2018 because of the combination of a surge in imports to get ahead of the new tariffs last year and slowing exports. A spokeswoman for Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers declinedcomment on the new papers and referred inquiries to the office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Spokespeople for USTR did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a speech Saturday to conservative activists Trump dismissed criticism of his tariffs and boasted that he was simply following what he argued was a glorious history of using import taxes in American history. “I found some very old laws from when our country was rich — really rich — the old tariff laws. We had to dust them off. You could hardly see, they were so dusty,” Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference. At a minimum, Trump said, tariffs were “the greatest negotiating tool in the history of our country,” pointing to talks now underway with China that appear increasingly likely to result in a deal in the coming weeks.


China to slash taxes and boost lending as government sets growth target of at least 6%

Abstract: BEIJING - China lowered its goal for economic growth and announced a major tax cut, as policymakers seek to pull off a gradual deceleration while grappling with a debt legacy and the trade standoff with the U.S. The gross domestic product growth target released Tuesday morning in Premier Li Keqiang’s annual work report to the National People’s Congress was set at a range of 6 to 6.5 percent for 2019. The shift to a band from the previous practice of using a point figure gives policy makers room for maneuver and compares with last year’s “about” 6.5 percent goal. The lower bound of the GDP target would be the slowest pace of economic growth in almost three decades, a consequence of China’s long deceleration as policy makers prioritize reining in debt risks, cleaning up the environment and alleviating poverty. Warning of a “tough economic battle ahead,” Li announced tax cuts worth 2 trillion yuan ($298 billion) for the year. “These targets accommodate structural deceleration but not cyclical, which means that policy makers will need to flex their muscles to stimulate the economy,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis SA in Hong Kong. “It’s good news for the market in the short term; bad news for China in the medium term as more leverage will need to be piled up.” Chinese stocks continued rising on Tuesday, after climbing to their highest level since June on Monday as signs of progress in trade talks buoyed investors. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg see output growth slowing to 6.2 percent this year from 6.6 percent in 2018, before easing further in 2020 and 2021. The report pledged to keep China’s leverage ratio “basically stable” in 2019. Policymakers are trying to rekindle lending to the private sector while avoiding an accelerated run up in debt, with the total debt pile now approaching 300 percent of GDP. Unlike in previous years, there were no targets for retail sales growth or fixed-asset investment in the reports. In his speech, Li said the government would “improve the exchange rate mechanism,” phrasing which was missing from the 2018 and 2017 reports. He also pledged to keep the currency “generally stable and at an adaptive and balanced level.” A cut of 3 percentage points to the top bracket of value added tax was announced in a move aimed at benefiting the manufacturing sector. In addition, a 1 percentage point cut to the 10 percent VAT bracket was announced. Combined, the VAT cuts are equivalent to as much as 800 billion yuan and will boost corporate earnings, according to Morgan Stanley. The target budget deficit for 2019 was set at 2.8 percent of GDP, versus last year’s goal of 2.6 percent. The report pledged a “noticeable decrease” in the tax burdens of major industries, with the total of reductions in tax and social security fees coming to 2 trillion yuan. The more modest growth target paired with further targeted stimulus measures typifies the government’s attempt to steady the economy after a bruising 2018 and marks a shift from last year’s edition, when the emphasis was on reining in financial risks and trimming budget outlays. Maintaining employment was given a higher priority than last year. The report reiterated that monetary policy will remain “prudent,” while fiscal policy will be “proactive, stronger, and more effective.” Further cuts to the required reserves ratio for smaller banks are planned, according to the work report. The U.S. and China are close to a trade deal that could lift most or all U.S. tariffs as long as Beijing follows through on pledges ranging from better protecting intellectual-property rights to buying a significant amount of American products. While that would remove one cloud hanging over the economy, debt risks and signs of weakening consumption at home remain. “China will face a graver and more complicated environment as well as risks and challenges that are greater in number and size,” Li said. “China must be fully prepared for a tough struggle.”


NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, to start simultaneous online streaming

Abstract: The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a bill Tuesday to revise the broadcast law to allow NHK to start simultaneous online streaming of its television programs. “We would like to meet public demand for the ability to watch programs on their smartphones,” communications minister Masatoshi Ishida said. The bill is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session. NHK aims to start the service in fiscal 2019, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Under the current law, NHK’s simultaneous streaming is limited to disaster and live sports coverage, since expansion of its services could have an impact on private TV networks. Anyone who installs a TV receiver capable of receiving NHK programs is obliged to sign a subscription contract with the broadcaster under the law. Those who have contracts with NHK are expected to be able to watch programs online without extra fees. NHK plans to maintain the current cost of subscriptions in October when the consumption tax is raised to 10 percent from the current 8 percent and reduce it in October 2020 by 2.5 percent of its subscription contract income. The bill would make it mandatory for NHK to disclose the costs of online distribution to strengthen its disclosure policy, as some worry that the simultaneous online streaming would boost NHK’s dominance. It would also give authority to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry to oversee distribution operations. In exchange for granting permission for online streaming, a communications ministry panel that oversaw discussions on the new rules had also stressed that NHK should be more careful about preventing misconduct. The bill will also stipulate measures to improve corporate governance as requested by the government panel.


China's Huawei opens Brussels security lab in bid to win over EU

Abstract: BRUSSELS - Chinese tech company Huawei on Tuesday opened a cybersecurity lab in Brussels, the heart of the European Union, as it tries to win over government leaders and fight back U.S. allegations that its equipment poses a national security risk. Company executives inaugurated the Huawei European Cybersecurity Center, which will allow the wireless companies that are its customers to review the source code running its network gear. The launch comes amid a standoff between the U.S. and China over Huawei Technologies Co., the world’s biggest maker of telecom infrastructure for new high-speed 5G networks. The U.S. has been lobbying allies to shun Huawei because of fears its equipment could facilitate digital espionage by China’s communist leaders. The new lab in the Belgian capital gives Huawei a venue to reassure the EU’s policymakers about its cybersecurity credentials. It opened a similar center in Bonn, Germany, in November and funds a government-run British testing site, the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, which opened in 2010. Ken Hu, deputy chairman at Huawei, told a crowd gathered for the opening in Brussels that all regulators, standards organizations and customers were welcome to use the center. “Both trust and distrust should be based on facts, not feelings, not speculation, and not baseless rumor,” he said, in a thinly veiled hint at the U.S. allegations. Europe is Huawei’s biggest market outside China, and the company hopes to play a key role in building the continent’s 5G networks, in competition with Nordic rivals Ericsson and Nokia. Fifth-generation mobile networks enable lightning fast download speeds and reduce signal lag, advances that will be used in smart factories, self-driving cars and remote surgery. Both sides went public with their fight last week at MWC Barcelona, the world’s biggest wireless industry show, with Huawei’s rotating chairman saying in a keynote speech that “we don’t do bad things” and would “never plant backdoors” in its equipment. U.S. officials told reporters at the same event that they were pressing other governments and companies to consider the threat posed by Huawei but did not offer any specific evidence it was a risk. Washington’s campaign against Huawei includes criminal charges against its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who the U.S. wants to extradite from Canada to face charges she misled banks about the company’s business with Iran. Despite the U.S. campaign, there are signs that European governments and mobile companies are resisting a blanket ban on Huawei equipment. GSMA, the mobile industry’s trade group, has recommended a testing and certification program. In an annual review of Huawei’s engineering practices published in July, Britain’s cybersecurity agency noted “shortcomings” that “exposed new risks in the U.K. telecommunication networks.” But none were deemed of medium or high priority.

china huawei brussels eu cybersecurity espionage


'Minority Report' gets real as Japan startup develops AI cameras to spot shoplifters before they steal

Abstract: It’s watching, and knows a crime is about to take place before it happens. Vaak, a Japanese startup, has developed artificial intelligence software that hunts for potential shoplifters, using footage from security cameras for fidgeting, restlessness and other potentially suspicious body language. While AI is usually envisioned as a smart personal assistant or self-driving car, it turns out the technology is pretty good at spotting nefarious behavior. Like a scene out of the movie “Minority Report,” algorithms analyze security camera footage and alert staff about potential thieves via a smartphone app. The goal is prevention: If the target is approached and asked if they need help, there’s a good chance the theft never happens. Vaak made headlines last year when it helped to nab a shoplifter at a convenience store in Yokohama. The company had set up its software in the shop as a test case, which picked up on previously undetected shoplifting activity. The perpetrator was arrested a few days later. “I thought then, ‘Ah, at last!'” said Vaak founder Ryo Tanaka, 30. “We took an important step closer to a society where crime can be prevented with AI.” Worldwide, shoplifting cost the retail industry about $34 billion in lost sales in 2017, the biggest source of shrinkage, according to a report by Tyco Retail Solutions. While that amounts to approximately 2 percent of revenue, it can make a huge difference in an industry known for razor-thin margins. The opportunity is huge. Retailers are projected to invest $200 billion in new technology this year, according to Gartner Inc., as they become more open to embracing technology to meet consumer needs, as well as improve bottom lines. “If we go into many retailers whether in the U.S. or U.K., there are very often going to be CCTV cameras or some form of cameras within the store operation,” said Thomas O’Connor, a retail analyst at Gartner. “That’s being leveraged by linking it to an analytics tool, which can then do the actual analysis in a more efficient and effective way.” Because it involves security, retailers have asked AI-software suppliers such as Vaak and London-based Third Eye not to disclose their use of the anti-shoplifting systems. It’s safe to assume, however, that several big-name store chains in Japan have deployed the technology in some form or another. Vaak has met with or been approached by the biggest publicly traded convenience store and drugstore chains in Japan, according to Tanaka. Big retailers have already been adopting AI technology to help them do business. Apart from inventory management, delivery optimization and other enterprise needs, AI algorithms run customer-support chatbots on websites. Image and video analysis is also being deployed, such as Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo Look, which gives users fashion advice. “We’re still just discovering all the market potential,” Tanaka said. “We want to keep expanding the scope of the company.” Founded in 2017, Vaak is currently testing in a few dozen stores in the Tokyo area. The company began selling a market-ready version of its shoplifting-detection software this month, and is aiming to be in 100,000 stores across Japan in three years. It has ¥50 million in funding from SoftBank Group Corp.’s AI fund, and is in the middle of its series A round, seeking to raise ¥1 billion. What makes AI-based shoplifting detection a straightforward proposition is the fact that most of the hardware — security cameras — is usually already in place. “Essentially this is using something that’s been underutilized for decades,” said Vera Merkatz, business development manager at Third Eye. Founded in 2016, the startup offers services similar to Vaak in the U.K. market, where it has a deal with a major grocery chain. Third Eye is looking to expand into Europe. The ability to detect and analyze unusual human behavior has other applications. Vaak is developing a video-based self-checkout system, and wants to use the videos to collect information on how consumers interact with items in the store to help shops display products more effectively. Beyond retail, Tanaka envisions using the video software in public spaces and train platforms to detect suspicious behavior or suicide jumpers. At Third Eye, Merkatz said she’s been approached by security management companies looking to leverage their AI technology. “The potential is broad since it can be applied outside of shoplifting prevention and outside of retail — such as with manufacturing or other types of marketing,” said Hiroaki Ando, a retail consultant at Ernst & Young Advisory & Consulting Co. in Tokyo.

startups
ai
shoplifting
vaak
third eye
surveillance


From 'third arms' to talking walkers, Panasonic ramps up ties with Japan academia on human-help robots

Abstract: A wearable “third arm” for construction workers is among the latest innovations under development in Panasonic Corp.’s burgeoning collaboration with academia to make robots an increasing part of people’s lives in aging Japan. Panasonic already has expertise in using robots in manufacturing but has reached out to academia for robots that can safely assist with everyday human tasks, given the wide range of technologies involved, such as image analysis, voice recognition and artificial intelligence. “Robots previously had the purpose of facilitating automation in the manufacturing sector but are now expected to expand their role to enlarging human capabilities … amid the rapid aging of society and the labor shortage,” Panasonic executive Tatsuo Ogawa said at the opening of the Robotics Hub, a new site in Tokyo for the company’s collaboration with academia. “We lack a lot of knowledge when it comes to robots used in interaction with humans,” said Ogawa, who leads Panasonic’s manufacturing innovation division. “We want to work with academia to speed up the development of robots that humans can cohabitate with and to lower the barrier for their implementation.” The “third arm” is an initiative the company is working on with Waseda University professor Hiroyasu Iwata. It launched the project after learning from group firm Panasonic Homes Co. that construction workers face particular difficulties attaching ceiling boards. The robotic arm, which attaches to the user’s shoulder, is controlled via eye movements and grasps objects in response to voice instructions. “Through the robotic arm, I want to explore opportunities for humans to feel that they can do more and be more productive,” Iwata said. “It could free us from a preset image we have of our bodies. Through a collaboration of our ideas with the techniques of companies like Panasonic, which has expertise in product manufacturing, I hope we can make a product that is attractive to consumers.” Panasonic said it will first collaborate at the Robotics Hub with six universities strong in robotics, including Waseda, the University of Tokyo, Chiba Institute of Technology and Ritsumeikan University, with the number of partners expected to grow. With Chiba Institute of Technology, Panasonic aims to put on sale later this year an AI-powered robot vacuum cleaner that can recognize objects and cope with uneven surfaces by, for instance, lifting itself onto rugs. It can detect the shape of rooms as well as the movements of people within them. Users can remotely control the robot by smartphone or tablet, for instance to make it clean a certain spot or have it travel back to its recharging station. In collaboration with Nagoya University, Panasonic has developed a robot to help the elderly take walks. The device is expected to be particularly useful at nursing homes and hospitals, where there is currently a fear of letting the elderly walk outside since they might fall or be forced to ask for assistance. The robot, shaped like a handcart, plays light music while moving and encourages the elderly user by saying, “Let’s walk more.” It has sensors attached to the handles to measure and collect data on the user’s walking speed and distance covered, from which it can recommend the most suitable usage time. After conducting trials at a nursing facility in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Panasonic hopes to start leasing the robots this summer. “With more elderly expected to live by themselves in the future, this robot can perhaps become like another family member by always being at their side and helping them walk,” said Kazunori Yamada, lead engineer at Panasonic’s Robotics Solutions Division. “I hope to develop the robot so that it will be something fun to exercise with.” The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization estimates that the domestic market for robots used in the services sectors will be worth about ¥5 trillion in 2035, up from ¥373 billion in 2015.

panasonic
robots
waseda university
construction industry


Toyota and Subaru hope to launch jointly developed electric vehicle as early as 2021

Abstract: NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. have started jointly developing a new electric car, aiming to put it on the market possibly in 2021, sources said Monday. The joint production of a midsize car is an expansion of their collaboration in recent years in the development of basic EV technology. Subaru, of which Toyota is a top shareholder, is set to freeze its own EV development project due to the large cost of going it alone, deciding to gain experience from working with Toyota first, according to the sources. Co-developed EVs will be sold under their respective brands, the sources said. The two companies have been working together on interior and exterior equipment for EVs, with Subaru sending several dozen engineers to Toyota. With the transition from conventional vehicles to EVs expected to occur slowly, many automakers are choosing to develop EVs by forming a partnership to share investment and other resources. Toyota has led the industry in the area of hybrid vehicles but is said to be lagging behind rivals in the race to commercialize mass-market EVs. Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co. have joined hands for EVs and autonomous vehicles. Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are jointly working on EV batteries, while the alliance of Nissan Motor Co., Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to expand its EV lineup using common chassis.


Dollar almost flat around ¥111.90 in Tokyo

Abstract: The dollar moved in a tight range around ¥111.90 amid a dearth of trading incentives in Tokyo trading Tuesday. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.88-89, down slightly from ¥111.90-91 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1326-1326, down from $1.1357-1357, and at ¥126.73-74, down from ¥127.09-10. The dollar rose to around ¥111.90 in the midmorning on purchases by Japanese importers after fluctuating between ¥111.70 and ¥111.80. The greenback eased on selling triggered by worsening in Chinese indexes on nonmanufacturing activities, traders said. In the afternoon, the U.S. currency firmed back above ¥111.90 as the Nikkei 225 stock average cut losses but failed to top ¥112. Players retreated to the sidelines before the Institute for Supply Management’s announcement later Tuesday of the U.S. nonmanufacturing index, an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said. The official pointed out that the dollar was underpinned by rosy views on the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations and the euro’s weakening ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting. But the dollar’s sharp advance would be unlikely as long as U.S.-linked trade issues remain unresolved, a domestic bank official said.


Tokyo stocks turn lower on profit-taking

Abstract: Stocks fell back Tuesday, hit by selling to lock in profits following their two-session winning streak. The Nikkei 225 average lost 95.76 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 21,726.28 after rising 219.35 points Monday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 8.36 points, or 0.51 percent, lower at 1,619.23. It scaled 11.87 points Monday. From the outset, a wide range of issues came under profit-taking pressure exerted by an overnight drop on Wall Street in the wake of the release of weaker than expected U.S. construction spending in December. Both the Nikkei and Topix failed to become buoyant for the whole day, as investors retreated to the sidelines amid a dearth of fresh trading incentives, brokers said. Despite growing hopes for an end to the U.S.-China trade dispute, “investors find it difficult to buy stocks further,” said Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc. Optimism cannot be warranted over the course of trade talks between the two largest economies, Fujii noted. He was commenting on recent media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, would meet as early as late this month to make a deal. Profit-taking became active as a sense of achievement spread in the market after the Nikkei, as of Monday, recouped half the losses it incurred between October and December, an official of a major brokerage firm pointed out. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,382 to 663 in the first section, while 87 issues were unchanged. Volume decreased to 1.106 billion shares from 1.127 billion Monday. Heavy machinery maker IHI slumped 2.71 percent, hit by an aircraft engine inspection scandal. Semiconductor-linked Advantest lost 2.72 percent on profit-taking following its three-session winning streak. Other noticeable losers included technology conglomerate SoftBank Group and industrial robot producer Fanuc. On the other hand, clothing retailer Fast Retailing gained 2 percent on a rise in Uniqlo sales on a same-store basis. Drugmaker Eisai and cosmetics giant Shiseido also attracted purchases.

stocks
nikkei
topix
tokyo stock exchange


Japan's Itochu invests in Singapore operator of doctor-focused social networking service

Abstract: Major trading house Itochu Corp. is investing in Docquity Holdings, a Singapore-based operator of a specialized social media network for doctors, to expand its health care business in Southeast Asia. By investing $6 million through private share placements, Itochu became a “major” investor in Docquity last month, Itochu spokesman Kenji Katsumoto said Monday. Docquity does not charge doctors to use its networking service. Instead, it earns fees from pharmaceutical firms and makers of medical equipment in exchange for allowing them to post information about their products and services, Katsumoto said. It currently connects about 80,000 doctors across Southeast Asia, Itochu said in a statement. Katsumoto said the number of doctors registered with the networking service initially increased between 3,000 and 5,000 a month. The service enables doctors to share up-to-date information about treatments and medication with a goal of narrowing the gap in medical expertise among Southeast Asian countries. More than 50,000 doctors are registered for the service in Indonesia, over half of the country’s total physicians, while the remaining members practice in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. There are an estimated 41,000 doctors in Malaysia, 126,000 in the Philippines and 27,000 in Thailand, according to Katsumoto. The spokesman said Itochu aims to expand the number of Docquity doctors via its network of medical institutions in Asia, while also involving Japanese pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies to enhance the content of the platform. Docquity was founded by Indranil Roychowdhury in India in 2013 and is headquartered in Singapore.


Tepco and other nuclear firms to loan Japan Atomic Power cash for safety work at idled Tokai No. 2 plant

Abstract: Japan Atomic Power Co. is expected to receive around ¥300 billion in loans to fund safety work at its idled Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, according to informed sources. Of the total, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., which plans to buy electricity from the nuclear plant, is likely to provide about ¥190 billion in loans and debt guarantees. Tohoku Electric Power Co., Kansai Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Hokuriku Electric Power Co. will also offer financial support to Japan Atomic Power, the sources said Monday. The five electricity companies and major banks aim to finalize their plans by May. But they may face difficulty in coordinating the assistance, due partly to differences in opinion over their respective shares of financial contributions and methods, a senior bank official said. In draft aid plans, Japan Atomic Power is seen restarting the nuclear plant in the village of Tokai in 2023. The company needs to gain approval from nearby municipalities to reactivate the plant. If Japan Atomic Power fails to get their backing for the restart and ends up scrapping the plant, Tepco and others offering financial aid are highly likely to suffer losses, the sources said. Tepco may face criticism for playing a leading role in the financial aid, as it was placed under effective government control after the March 2011 disaster at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, industry sources said. By the end of 2022, Japan Atomic Power is expected to receive some ¥120 billion in financial assistance, of which ¥96 billion is likely to be shouldered by Tepco and ¥24 billion by Tohoku Electric, according to the draft aid plans. Tepco plans to borrow funds from a major bank for its financial support to Japan Atomic Power, while Tohoku Electric is considering utilizing its cash reserves for loans to Japan Atomic Power or providing a debt guarantee to the company, sources familiar with the situation said. After the 2023 restart of the Tokai plant, Japan Atomic Power is expected to receive ¥180 billion in loans from major banks, including Mizuho Bank and the government-backed Development Bank of Japan. For these loans, Tepco and Tohoku Electric are considering providing debt guarantees of some ¥96 billion and ¥24 billion, respectively. Although Kansai Electric, Chubu Electric and Hokuriku Electric have no plans to buy electricity generated at the Tokai plant, they see a need to support Japan Atomic Power’s finances, looking to provide debt guarantees of ¥24 billion in total. But the three electricity companies may face opposition from their shareholders, as the support would not have direct effects on their electricity operations, the sources said.

tepco
japan atomic power
tokai no . 2
tohoku electric
kansai electric
chubu electric
hokuriku electric
nuclear energy


Hope dims to find missing Yazidi women enslaved by Islamic State, sold to its fighters

Abstract: DAHUK, IRAQ - Baseh Hammo was 38 when she was enslaved by militants of the Islamic State group. Raped and abused, she was sold 17 times among members of the so-called “caliphate,” and moved from city to city across a vast stretch of territory IS once controlled in northern Iraq and Syria. Her ordeal came to an end in January in the Syrian village of Baghouz, when an IS member took pity on her as the final battle loomed with U.S.-led Syrian Kurdish forces. He put her on a truck with his own family and allowed them to leave the village. She was picked up by Syrian Kurdish forces and reunited with her two daughters in Iraq a few days later. Yet many Yazidis, followers of a minority faith, are still missing, five years after IS militants stormed Yazidi towns and villages in Iraq’s Sinjar region and abducted women and children. Women were forced into sexual slavery, and boys were taken to be indoctrinated in jihadi ideology. Hopes surged last month during a two-week pause in the U.S.-led coalition’s assault on Baghouz that some of the estimated 3,000 Yazidis still unaccounted for would emerge. But few turned up among the thousands who streamed out of the tiny village. Hussein Karo, who heads the Yazidi Rescue Bureau in Iraq’s regional Kurdish government, said only 47 Yazidis were rescued. Now, as U.S.-backed forces resume their final assault on Baghouz, Hammo and Farha Farman, another rescued Yazidi woman, told The Associated Press they fear many may never return home and that the offensive endangers Yazidis who are still in the village. The two said some are refusing to leave their children behind with their IS fathers while others are staying out of conviction, having adopted the jihadi ideology. Many are simply too terrified to flee. Hammo said her days as a slave were consumed with loneliness and violence. She was sold 17 times. One of her owners, a Swede, would lock her in the home for days without food while he went to fight. Another man, an Albanian, stomped on her hands in his military boots, after she scolded him for buying a 9-year-old slave girl. In the Syrian town of Raqqa, once the seat of the caliphate, her nephews, 12 and 13 years old, carried guns and served as guards to a German IS fighter. When she invited them to eat with her, they refused, saying she was an infidel. She snapped back at them, “You’re one of us. You’re infidels, too.” Hammo’s final months in captivity were especially trying as hunger gripped what was left of the caliphate. Bread grew scarce, and she began making dough for herself out of chicken feed. By the time she was brought to Baghouz, she was eating grass and leaves. “I cannot even look at anything the color green anymore,” said a frail Hammo, her face gaunt, and her hands scarred from the abuse. She had heard there were still 1,000 Yazidis inside Baghouz, including 130 boys training to become jihadis. Farman, 21, who arrived in Iraq in early February, feared for her sister and nine young male relatives still missing after being abducted five years ago. Both Farman and Hammo, now staying in bleak camps for the displaced in Iraq, said international airstrikes had killed some Yazidis living as slaves in the caliphate. Hammo said she had urged a Yazidi woman married to an Uzbek IS fighter to leave Baghouz with her, but the woman, who has had two children with the man, refused. “She said she’d blow herself up first,” said Hammo. Another Yazidi woman in Bahgouz, who had been married off to a Saudi man, was forced to give up two of her boys to be trained as IS fighters. “She said she couldn’t leave without them,” Hammo said. In 2014, when the Islamic State group was at the height of its power and its self-styled caliphate spanned a third of both Syria and Iraq, IS militants stormed Yazidi communities in Iraq’s Sinjar region. The extremists, who consider the Kurdish-speaking religious minority to be heretics, enslaved, raped and killed thousands of Yazidis. Close to 200,000 members of the minority fled their homes. Farman was 17 when she was abducted by IS from Sinjar. She was sold to a Syrian man who went on to carry out a suicide operation for IS. His family then sold her to a Saudi man who beat her savagely for trying to escape — twice. The first time she tried to flee, she slipped out with a group of other Yazidi women to the countryside. “But we couldn’t get anywhere, so we gave ourselves up,” she said, speaking to AP in a tent she is staying in with her aunt. She said she is haunted by nightmares that keep her from sleeping. IS jailed her for a week after her first escape attempt, then turned her over to her captor who beat her savagely with cables and hoses. The second time she tried to escape, her parents sent a paid smuggler to bring her to safety, but he was caught and gave up her name under IS interrogation. The Saudi man again punished Farman. All the while, the militants were losing territory against advancing Syrian government and Syrian Kurdish forces, and she moved from city to city with her abuser along the Euphrates River, until they were finally trapped in Baghouz. “I got to see half of Syria,” she said, ironically. Finally, the Saudi man asked if she would flee with him to Turkey. She refused, so he sold her to a smuggler for $10,000, money arranged by the Yazidi community in exile, to help her leave on her own. Farman made it out, but the Saudi man did not. He was caught by the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces outside Baghouz, and has not been heard of since, she said.

yazidis
islamic state
iraq
syria
baghouz
slavery
conflict
terrorism


Higher education: U.S. colleges add cannabis to curriculum amid pot and hemp boom

Abstract: NEW YORK - Grace DeNoya is used to getting snickers when people learn she’s majoring in marijuana. “My friends make good-natured jokes about getting a degree in weed,” said DeNoya, one of the first students in a new four-year degree program in medicinal plant chemistry at Northern Michigan University. “I say, ‘No, it’s a serious degree, a chemistry degree first and foremost. It’s hard work. Organic chemistry is a bear.’ ” As a green gold rush in legal marijuana and its nondrug cousin hemp spreads across North America, a growing number of colleges are adding cannabis to the curriculum to prepare graduates for careers cultivating, researching, analyzing and marketing the herb. Research shows there are high times ahead for all kinds of careers in cannabis, ranging from greenhouse and dispensary operators to edible product developers, marketing specialists, quality assurance lab directors and pharmaceutical researchers. Arcview Market Research, which focuses on cannabis industry trends, projects the industry will support 467,000 jobs by 2022. And even in states where recreational marijuana remains illegal, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, some colleges have launched cannabis studies programs in anticipation of legalization or to prepare students for jobs in other states. “We’re providing a fast track to get into the industry,” said Brandon Canfield, a chemistry professor at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Two years ago, he proposed a new major in medicinal plant chemistry after attending a conference where cannabis industry representatives spoke of an urgent need for analytical chemists for product quality assessment and assurance. The four-year degree, which is the closest thing to a marijuana major at an accredited U.S. university, has drawn nearly 300 students from 48 states, Canfield said. Students won’t be growing marijuana, which was recently legalized by Michigan voters for recreational use. But Canfield said students will learn to measure and extract medicinal compounds from plants such as St. John’s Wort and ginseng and transfer that knowledge to marijuana. A similar program is being launched at Minot State University in North Dakota this spring. The college said students will learn lab skills applicable to medical marijuana, hops, botanical supplements and food science industries. “All of our graduates are going to be qualified to be analysts in a lab setting,” Canfield said, noting that experience could lead to a position paying $70,000 right out of school. Those wishing to start their own businesses can choose an entrepreneurial track that adds courses in accounting, legal issues and marketing. “I came in planning to do the bioanalytical track, maybe go work in a lab,” said DeNoya, 27, who was considering nursing school when she heard about the NMU program. “I just switched to the entrepreneurial track. I figured that would better position me, as the industry is still expanding and changing and growing so much.” The expected boom in cannabis-related jobs has colleges responding with a range of offerings. Colorado State University offers a cannabis studies minor focusing on social, legal, political and health impacts. Ohio State University, Harvard, the University of Denver and Vanderbilt offer classes on marijuana policy and law. Universities have done little research on marijuana because of federal restrictions, but that’s starting to change. UCLA’s Cannabis Research Initiative, which bills itself as one of the first academic programs in the world dedicated to the study of cannabis, has studies underway ranging from medical treatments to economic impacts. Agricultural schools are also getting in on the action. The University of Connecticut is launching a cannabis horticulture program this spring. “We’re following the market,” said Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins, an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Morrisville, a college in rural central New York that’s launching a new minor in cannabis studies in its horticulture department this year. Students work with hemp and other plants rather than marijuana, but can take internships at medical marijuana facilities, Jenkins said. In New Jersey, Stockton University started an interdisciplinary cannabis minor last fall and recently forged an academic partnership with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia that gives students the opportunity for internships and research work in medical marijuana and hemp. “Most of the students are interested in novel business opportunities,” said Kathy Sedia, coordinator of the cannabis minor at Stockton. Cannabis businesses range from medical and recreational marijuana to foods, fabrics and myriad other products derived from industrial hemp. The basis for all is the cannabis sativa plant. Marijuana is produced by varieties with high levels of THC, the chemical compound that makes people high. Hemp has only a trace of THC, but produces cannabidiol, or CBD, used in a broad range of nutritional and therapeutic products that are all the rage right now. Marijuana is legal for medical purposes in 33 states and as a recreational drug in 10. While marijuana remains illegal federally, the 2018 Farm bill cleared the way for widespread cultivation of hemp. In New York, where legislators are moving to legalize recreational use of marijuana, hemp has become a new source of income for farmers as well as jobs at processing and manufacturing businesses. The state’s first legal hemp crop was harvested in 2016 under a Morrisville research license, which gave rise to the new cannabis minor. “I see a lot more farmers reaching out and trying to find people who know about this new crop,” said Colton Welch, an agriculture business student pursuing the cannabis minor at Morrisville. “We’re only beginning to see the wide application this plant has.” Karson Humiston, founder of Vangst, an employment agency specializing in cannabis jobs, said the industry outlook is bright for students. “More jobs are being created in this space than in any other space in North America, with salaries sometimes more competitive than other industries,” Humiston said. “With every new state that legalizes, tons of jobs are opening up.”

cannabis
hemp
medicine
chemistry
universities
drugs
u.s .


More marine heat waves threatening fish and corals: study

Abstract: OSLO - The frequency of ocean heat waves has surged more than 50 percent since the early 20th century in a threat to fish, corals and other marine life stoked by global warming, an international study showed on Monday. Abrupt local spikes in temperatures, far less researched than heat waves on land, add to pressures on marine life such as over-fishing and plastic pollution, they wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change. Around the world’s oceans, the number of days of marine heat waves per year rose 54 percent in the period 1987-2016 from 1925-54, according to the scientists in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Spain and the United States. “Extreme temperature events may be one of the most important stresses on the oceans in coming decades,” lead author Dan Smale of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom told Reuters. “Whether it’s seaweeds or corals, fish, seabirds or mammals, you can detect the adverse effects of marine heat waves,” he said. Marine heatw aves, defined as at least five days with temperatures far above average, are caused by heat from blazing sunshine and by shifting warm currents. Among impacts, a 2011 marine heat wave off western Australia killed abalone stocks and a 2012 heat wave off the Eastern United States drove lobster stocks north toward Canada. Many tropical corals have suffered from harmful “bleaching” in recent years. The scientists said marine heat waves were “emerging as forceful agents of disturbance” that could “restructure entire marine ecosystems,” disrupting livelihoods and food supplies for millions of people. Most previous studies about climate change in the oceans have focused on a gradual rise in average temperatures, which hit a new record annual high in 2018, forcing fish to swim towards the poles or into the cooler depths. Heat waves often have natural causes but the report said “there is growing confidence that the observed intensification is due to human activities,” led by the burning of fossil fuels. “Multiple regions in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans are particularly vulnerable to marine heat wave intensification,” they wrote. Joaquim Garrabou, of the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, who was not involved in the study, said the Mediterranean was also at risk because creatures cannot shift north in an almost landlocked sea. In recent years “massive impacts” in the Mediterranean, especially on corals, sponges and mollusks in a devastating 2003 heat wave, he told Reuters.

heat waves
corals
oceans
global warming
climate change


Death toll from EF-3 Alabama twisters likely to rise beyond 23 confirmed as searches resume

Abstract: BEAUREGARD, ALABAMA - Rescuers in Alabama stepped up the search for survivors Monday after two back-to-back tornadoes ripped across the southern state, with the death toll of 23 expected to rise further. “The devastation is incredible,” Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told the local CBS affiliate. “It looks almost as if someone took a giant knife and scraped the ground,” he said. “There are slabs where homes formerly stood, there is debris everywhere, trees are snapped, whole … forested areas are just snapped.” “I cannot recall at least in the last 50 years … a situation where we have had this loss of life,” Jones said. He said the death toll stood at 23, some of them children. One of the dead was just 6 years old, with the toll likely to rise. “We have several people who are still unaccounted for,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, we anticipate the number of fatalities may rise as the day goes on.” Other people were hospitalized, some with “very serious injuries.” Search operations for those still missing had to be halted on Sunday night due to hazardous conditions, but were renewed Monday morning with agencies from across the state and from neighboring Georgia joining the hunt. The swath of destruction left was a quarter mile (0.4 km) wide and stretched for the “several miles that it traveled on the ground,” according to Jones. The powerful winds picked up a billboard from the Lee County Flea Market in Alabama and dumped it some 20 miles away, across the state line in Georgia, local media reported. More than 6,000 homes were left without power in Alabama, according to PowerOutage.US , while 16,000 suffered outages in neighboring Georgia. The search for missing people was focused in the area around Beauregard, about 60 miles (95 km) east of the state capital Montgomery. While the heavy rains that accompanied the high winds had relented overnight, many roads in the worst-hit areas were blocked by debris, hindering search efforts. Residents in the town of Smith Station told local TV news crews of their shock at turning up to work to find their businesses destroyed, and seeing crying co-workers comforting one another. One bar in the town appeared to have lost its roof and most of its walls, in images screened by MSNBC, while a cell tower was completely destroyed. “My sister and niece have been under tornado watch and warnings all day in Montgomery … Prayers up for Alabama,” Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay tweeted Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to those affected and said on Twitter that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, “has been told directly by me to give the A Plus treatment to the Great State of Alabama and the wonderful people who have been so devastated by the Tornadoes.” The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued a tornado warning for areas including Lee County on Sunday, calling on residents to: “TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows.” The warning for the first twister was issued at 2:58 p.m., the NWS said. The warning for the second came less than an hour later, at 3:38 p.m. NWS Birmingham said the first tornado to hit was “at least an EF-3 & at least 1/2 mi wide.” The EF-3 designation — on a scale of 0 to 5 — means the tornado had winds of 136 to 165 mph (218 to 266 kph). Around a dozen tornadoes were reported to have touched down in Alabama and Georgia in the course of the day, CNN reported.

alabama
tornadoes
donald trump
fema
nws
disaster


National emergency: Two more teens killed as knife murders in Britain soar to year tally of at least 24

Abstract: LONDON - Two teenagers were killed in knife attacks in Britain over the weekend, bringing the number of people killed in stabbings this year to at least 24 and pushing the bloodshed to the forefront of national concern. British Interior Minister Sajid Javid said he would be meeting police chiefs this week to find ways to tackle the problem as he called for an end to the “senseless violence. “There is no hiding from this issue … serious violence is on the rise, communities are being torn apart and families are losing their children,” Javid said in parliament. Police say the surge in knife crime in a country where guns are hard to obtain has been driven by several factors, including rivalries between drug gangs, cuts to youth services and provocations on social media. Many have occurred in poor pockets of London. The issue has shot to the top of the political agenda after figures show the number of deaths from stabbings reached a record last year. The number of children in England aged 16 and under being stabbed rose by 93 percent between 2016 and 2018. At the same time, police have suffered big cuts in staffing and funding under austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, particularly during her tenure as interior minister in the years before she took the top job. In the latest deaths, 17-year-old schoolboy Yousef Ghaleb Makki was stabbed in a village near Manchester while he was visiting a friend. Two boys, also aged 17, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Jodie Chesney, a 17-year-old Girl Scout, was killed in a knife attack in a park in east London. Her family have called her murder a “totally random and unprovoked attack. “A Knife to the Heart of Britain,” the Daily Mail splashed across its front page on Monday along with a photograph of Chesney. British media also made much of the fact that Makki lived in an affluent area and went to a private school. Most attacks take place in more deprived areas with higher general crime rates. Two weeks ago, three teenagers were stabbed in Birmingham, central England, prompting a senior regional police official to say Britain was facing a national emergency. A total of 285 knife and sharp instrument homicides recorded in the year ending March 2018, the highest number since Home Office records began in 1946. The previous high was in the year ending in March 2008, with 268 homicides by stabbing. Nineteen murders have taken place in London this year, according to London Metropolitan Police. The force had arranged more officers to be on duty in response to the violent crime wave, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said. Prime Minister May rejected claims that falling police numbers following funding cuts was fueling the rise in knife crime. “If you look at the figures what you see is there is no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers,” she said. The government said it had set out a range of actions to tackle violent crime, including a £200 million ($265 million) youth fund and an independent review of drug misuse. It has also proposed an extra £970 million in police funding for 2019-20. “We’re taking action on many fronts & I’ll be meeting police chiefs this week to hear what more can be done. Vital we unite to stop this senseless violence,” Javid said.


House Judiciary panel launches sweeping Trump probe, targeting 81 people

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee is launching a sweeping new probe of U.S. President Donald Trump, his White House, his campaign and his businesses, sending document requests to 81 people linked to the president and his associates. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Monday the investigation will be focused on possible obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power. The aggressive, broad investigation could set the stage for an impeachment effort, although Democratic leaders have pledged to investigate all avenues and review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before trying any drastic action. Nadler said that the document requests, with responses to most due by March 18, are a way to “begin building the public record” and that the committee has the responsibility to investigate and hold public hearings. “Over the last several years, President Trump has evaded accountability for his near-daily attacks on our basic legal, ethical, and constitutional rules and norms,” Nadler said in announcing the beginning of the probe. “Investigating these threats to the rule of law is an obligation of Congress and a core function of the House Judiciary Committee.” Now that Democrats hold a majority in the House, the new probe is a sign that Trump’s legal and political peril is nowhere near over, even as the special counsel’s Russia investigation winds down. The move all but guarantees that potentially damaging allegations will shadow Trump for months to come as Democrats try to keep them in the public eye. Nadler’s announcement comes after the House intelligence panel has already announced a separate probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s foreign financial interests. The House Oversight and Reform Committee has launched multiple investigations. Several other committees are probing related matters as well, and while many might overlap, the committee chairmen and chairwomen say they are working together on the investigations. The list of 81 names touches on all parts of Trump’s life — his businesses, his campaign, the committee that oversaw the transition from the campaign to the White House and the White House. There are also people connected to Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, including participants in a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer before the election. In a letter to the White House, the committee asks for information surrounding former FBI Director James Comey’s termination, communications with Justice Department officials, the Trump Tower meeting and multiple other matters. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday the White House had received the letter and that “the counsel’s office and relevant White House officials will review it and respond at the appropriate time.” The list includes two of the president’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and many of his current and former close advisers, including Steve Bannon. It also includes his embattled charitable foundation, which he is shutting down after agreeing to a court-supervised process, and officials at the FBI and Justice Department. The committee is expected to use the information to amass information that officials can then comb through, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The person declined to be named to discuss the committee’s internal process. The committee expects some people to produce right away, and others may eventually face subpoenas, the official said. It is unclear how many will eventually be called in for interviews. The announcement of the new investigation follows a bad political week for Trump. He emerged empty-handed from a high-profile summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization, and Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in three days of congressional testimony, publicly characterized the president as a “con man” and “cheat.” Nadler previewed the announcement on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, contending it’s “very clear” that Trump obstructed justice. He said House Democrats, now in the majority, are simply doing “our job to protect the rule of law” after Republicans during the first two years of Trump’s term were “shielding the president from any proper accountability.” “We’re far from making decisions” about impeachment, he said. In a tweet on Sunday, Trump blasted Mueller’s Russia investigation, calling it a partisan probe unfairly aimed at discrediting his win in the 2016 presidential election. “I am an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad, conflicted & corrupt people in a Witch Hunt that is illegal & should never have been allowed to start — And only because I won the Election!” he wrote. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, on Sunday accused House Democrats of prejudging Trump as part of a query based on partisan politics. “I think Congressman Nadler decided to impeach the president the day the president won the election,” McCarthy said. “Listen to exactly what he said. He talks about impeachment before he even became chairman and then he says, ‘you’ve got to persuade people to get there.’ There’s nothing that the president did wrong.” “Show me where the president did anything to be impeached,” he said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, has kept calls for impeachment at bay by insisting that Mueller first must be allowed to finish his work, and present his findings publicly — though it’s unclear whether the White House will allow the full release.

donald trump
jerrold nadler
democrats
robert mueller
congress
michael cohen
u.s .
russia probe


Democrats demand details of Trump-Putin talks from White House amid reports records were destroyed

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. Democrats on Monday demanded the White House provide details of communications between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, after reports that such information was destroyed or hidden. The chairmen of three U.S. House committees — on intelligence, foreign affairs, and oversight — wrote the White House seeking information on the substance of the leaders conversations, any notes or documents related to the talks, and whether Trump or anyone acting on his behalf concealed or misrepresented the substance of the communications — a violation of federal law. “According to media reports, President Trump, on multiple occasions, appears to have taken steps to conceal the details of his communications with President Putin from other administration officials, Congress, and the American people,” committee chairmen Adam Schiff, Elliot Engel and Elijah Cummings wrote in a statement.

democrats
donald trump
vladimir putin
congress
adam schiff
u.s .
russia


Colorado ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper joins growing list of Democrats making 2020 White House bid

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, the second governor and 14th candidate to join the field seeking to take on Republican Donald Trump in 2020. In a video announcing his candidacy, the 67-year-old Hickenlooper said he’s seeking the White House “because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.” “I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver,” he said. A former geologist and self-described “nerd,” Hickenlooper went into politics after earning a fortune opening up a string of brewpubs in Denver, Colorado’s largest city, and other towns. A political moderate, Hickenlooper took aim at Trump in his campaign launch video. “As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” he said. Hickenlooper served as mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011 and as governor of Colorado from 2011 to January 2019. He oversaw Colorado’s economic boom during his tenure as governor, which was also marked by devastating wildfires, floods and a mass shooting at a movie theater that left 12 people dead. Colorado passed tough gun control legislation following the 2012 shooting and the state also moved to legalize marijuana while Hickenlooper was in office. A former chair of the National Governors Association, Hickenlooper is well known in Democratic leadership circles, but not to the larger public outside his home state. Speaking on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, Hickenlooper said the United States is suffering from a “crisis of division.” “I think it’s probably the worst period of division that we’ve had in this country since the Civil War,” he said. “Ultimately I’m running for president because I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump but that I am the person that can bring people together on the other side and actually get stuff done.” Others who have announced bids to become the Democratic nominee are U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, 77, Kamala Harris, 54, Elizabeth Warren, 69, Cory Booker, 49, Amy Klobuchar, 58, and Kirsten Gillibrand, 52. Also running are Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, 68, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, 37, of Hawaii, former Maryland congressman John Delaney, 55, Obama-era housing secretary Julian Castro, 44, of Texas, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 37, who would be the first openly gay nominee of a major party. Two nonpoliticians are also in the race — Andrew Yang, 44, a technology executive, and Marianne Williamson, a 66-year-old self-help author. And several other potential candidates are waiting in the wings, including former vice president Joe Biden, 76, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, 46, and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, 66. Four former U.S. governors have become president since 1976. Democrat Jimmy Carter, a former governor of Georgia, was elected to the White House in 1976 and was followed by former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, a Republican, in 1980. Former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, a Democrat, won the 1992 presidential election and was succeeded by former Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a Republican.

colorado
john hickenlooper
democrats
donald trump
2020 u.s. presidential election