100th anniversary of Amritsar massacre remembered in India

Abstract: AMRITSAR, INDIA - India on Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, one of the worst atrocities of British colonial rule and one for which London has yet to apologize. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as it is known in India, saw British troops fire on thousands of unarmed people in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. The number of casualties is unclear, with colonial-era records showing about 400 deaths, while Indian figures put the number at closer to 1,000. In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath at the site, but her gaffe-prone husband, Prince Philip, stole headlines by reportedly saying Indian estimates for the death count were “vastly exaggerated.” This past week, British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that the massacre was “a shameful scar on British Indian history.” “We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused,” May said — but she, too, avoided saying she was sorry. Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab state, said May’s words were not enough. He said “an unequivocal official apology” is needed for the “monumental barbarity.” Singh was using Twitter, where pictures showed him greeting opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in Amritsar on the eve of the centenary. British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith, a descendant of Herbert Asquith, prime minister from 1908 to 1916, on Saturday followed suit at the Jallianwala Bagh walled garden, where bullet marks are still visible. “You might want to re-write history, as the queen said, but you can’t,” Asquith said. “What you can do, as the queen said, is to learn the lessons of history. I believe strongly we are. There is no question that we will always remember this. We will never forget what happened here.” In the memorial’s guest book Asquith called the events “shameful.” The prelude In March 1919, the British colonial government passed the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, or the Rowlatt Act, extending repressive measures in force during World War I (1914-18). These included incarceration without trial, and caused widespread anger, particularly in the northern Punjab region, with Mahatma Gandhi calling for a nationwide general strike. In Amritsar, news that prominent Indian leaders had been arrested and banished from the city sparked violent protests on April 10. Soldiers fired upon civilians, buildings were looted and burned, and angry mobs killed several foreign nationals and attacked a Christian missionary. High walls Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was tasked with ensuring order, and imposed measures including a ban on public gatherings. On the afternoon of April 13, some 10,000 people gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh, an area in Amritsar surrounded by high walls with only one exit. People were angry in particular about the arrests of two local leaders. April 13 was also Baisakhi, a harvest festival in northern India. The crowd included men, women, children and pilgrims who were visiting the nearby Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism. Some estimates put the crowd at 20,000. Enter Dyer Dyer, later dubbed “The Butcher of Amritsar,” reached the spot with dozens of soldiers and sealed off the exit. Without warning, he ordered the soldiers to fire on the unarmed crowd. Many tried to escape by scaling the walls but failed. Some jumped into a well at the site. Reportedly the troops fired until they ran out of ammunition, letting off hundreds of rounds into the crowd before withdrawing. The Indian Express this past week shared eyewitness accounts compiled by two historians. They included Mani Ram, whose 13-year-old son Madan Mohan used to play in the square with his friends. “On the 13th April, 1919 he went there as usual and met his tragic end, having been shot in the head which fractured his skull, he bled and died instantaneously,” he told the newspaper. “I, with eight or nine others, had to search for about half an hour till I could pick up his corpse as it was mixed up with hundreds of dead bodies lying in heaps there.” Dyer said later that the firing was “not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience.” The aftermath The event marked a nadir in Britain’s occupation of India, and served to boost Indian nationalism and harden support for independence. Reaction in Britain varied, with Dyer receiving support in the House of Lords and not least from Rudyard Kipling, who is said to have called him “the man who saved India.” Winston Churchill, then secretary of state for war, called the massacre “monstrous,” and Prime Minister Asquith called it “one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history.” “The crowd was unarmed, except with bludgeons. It was not attacking anybody or anything …pinned up in a narrow place considerably smaller than Trafalgar Square,” said Churchill. Dyer was removed from command into enforced retirement. He died in 1927. No apology Demands by several past Indian leaders and politicians for Britain to apologize for the massacre have fallen on deaf ears. In 2013 David Cameron became the first serving British prime minister to visit Jallianwala Bagh. He described the episode as “deeply shameful” but stopped short of a public apology. “We must never forget what happened here. And in remembering we must ensure that the United Kingdom stands up for the right of peaceful protest around the world,” Cameron wrote in the visitors’ book. He later defended his decision not to say sorry, explaining that the massacre happened 40 years before he was born and saying: “I don’t think the right thing is to reach back into history and to seek out things you can apologize for.”

anniversaries
amritsar
india
history
u.k .


Malaysia to free Vietnamese woman charged in Kim Jong Nam killing on May 3

Abstract: KUALA LUMPUR - A Vietnamese woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will walk free on May 3, her lawyer said Saturday. Following diplomatic pressure from the Vietnamese government, Malaysian prosecutors dropped the murder charge against Doan Thi Huong on April 1. Subsequently, the 30-year-old former hair salon worker pleaded guilty to “causing injury” and was handed a three-year-and-four-month jail term effective from the date of her arrest in February 2017 and later reduced for good behavior. The brazen killing of Kim Jong Nam with a toxic nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport in broad daylight shocked the world. Seoul accused Pyongyang of plotting the Cold War-style hit as Malaysia allowed the two women’s suspected North Korean handlers to leave in the days after the murder. “We have been told by prison authorities that Huong will be freed on May 3,” lawyer Salim Bashir said. “Huong is in a jovial mood. The young woman is expected to be immediately flown to Hanoi.” Huong’s stepmother was overjoyed with the news her stepdaughter would be coming home. “So great to know that she will be back soon,” Nguyen Thi Vy said Saturday. Last month the charge against a co-accused 27-year-old Indonesian suspect, Siti Aisyah, was dropped. During the women’s long-running trial, which began in October 2017, the court was shown CCTV footage of them approaching Kim as he waited for a flight, one of them placing their hands on his face, and then both of them running to bathrooms before fleeing the airport. But the pair always maintained they were innocent pawns in a plan hatched by North Korea and believed they were carrying out pranks for a reality TV show. The women would have been sentenced to death by hanging if convicted of murder. The women’s lawyers said the real masterminds were four North Koreans who were seen at the airport on the day of the murder meeting the pair, and who fled after the assassination. The four were charged in absentia along with the women over the killing. “Obviously Huong deserves this freedom after her long incarceration. She is looking forward to being with her family and friends,” her lawyer Salim said.

malaysia
kim jong nam
north korea
kim jong un
vietnam
crime


One man killed, three injured in latest Indian cow-lynching case

Abstract: NEW DELHI - In the latest case of so-called cow lynching, Indian police said Saturday one man was killed and three injured in an attack by a mob while they were skinning a dead ox. The animal is revered by Hindus and according to Human Rights Watch, 44 people died in cow-related violence between May 2015 and December last year by Hindu vigilantes. Opponents of Prime Minister Narendra Modi say that such groups have become emboldened since his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014. The latest incident happened in the eastern state of Jharkhand late Thursday when men from a local Christian community were skinning the carcass of an ox in a field. “The men were armed with iron rods and sticks and attacked the group of skinners brutally,” said M.L. Meena, a senior Jharkhand police official. The three men injured in the attack were sent to hospital. Two men have been arrested for alleged murder and five more are on the run, Meena said. It is unclear whether the accused are part of a Hindu vigilante group or acted on their own initiative, he added, saying the four men attacked were from a local tribal group and had been charged with illegal cow slaughter. Meena said the charges were based on a complaint by a Hindu villager who said he witnessed the slaughter of the ox. “So far the investigation has showed the ox died naturally. We are doing a thorough probe,” he said. The slaughter of cows and the consumption of beef is illegal in mineral-rich Jharkhand — and in 19 other states — but restricted slaughter of other bovines like buffalo and ox is allowed. Modi, who is running for a second term in elections that began Thursday and run until May 19, has condemned cow-related violence. Under his government, laws relating to the slaughter of cows are now applied more strictly and punishments have increased. In 2017 his government tried to ban the cattle trade for slaughter nationwide, only for it to be rejected by the Supreme Court. Aside from the violence, which is mostly directed at India’s minority Muslim community and low-caste Dalits, the number of stray cows in India has also risen sharply. This is because the fear of prosecution or violence has led to farmers abandoning old and sick cows instead of selling them for slaughter. Last year a top minister in Modi’s Cabinet was criticized for celebrating eight people convicted of lynching a Muslim cattle trader after they were released on bail. Last week a Muslim man was brutally assaulted by a mob in northeastern Assam state over allegations he was selling beef. There is no prohibition on cow slaughter or beef consumption in the state.


Wartime laborer statue removed from near Japanese Consulate in Busan

Abstract: SEOUL - Authorities in South Korea’s port city of Busan on Friday removed a controversial statue that was erected near the Japanese Consulate by a civic group to symbolize Korean laborers who were forcibly taken to Japan during its colonial rule. Dozens of labor union activists had earlier this year tried to install the bronze statue of an emaciated man in front of the consulate itself, beside an existing statue dedicated to wartime “comfort women,” but were prevented from doing so by police. Police and consulate officials said the wartime labor statue was forcibly removed Friday from a sidewalk in front of a nearby park. The labor union activists and the government of the Dong-gu district, in which the consulate and park are located, had earlier agreed the statue could be temporarily erected in the park. But that idea was subsequently opposed by the municipal government on the grounds that the park is contiguous to the consulate. It suggested they consider another site. Tokyo and Seoul have been clashing over compensation issues related to wartime labor, while the issue of the comfort women remains unresolved despite a 2015 bilateral pact designed to settle it once and for all. Comfort women refers to those who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will, to provide sex to Japanese soldiers Japan has urged South Korea not to allow the installation of such statues, saying Seoul is obligated under the Vienna Convention to prevent any disturbance of the peace at a diplomatic mission or the impairment of its dignity. The comfort women statue in front of the consulate was installed by a different civic group in 2016 and led Japan to temporarily recall its ambassador in protest. A similar statue also exists near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.


Japanese scientists play a role in capturing first photo of black hole

Abstract: Japanese researchers made a significant contribution to an international team that enabled humanity to take its first look at a black hole. The researchers helped visualize data collected by a network of radio telescopes scattered around the world, which effectively worked as a giant, Earth-sized telescope, and they were also a part of the team managing one of the telescopes. A day after the image was released, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the achievement “epoch-making.” “It represents a new step forward in learning the characteristics of black holes,” he said, adding, “I hope research that leads us to learn more about the universe continues to make progress.” Black holes, theorized by Albert Einstein about a century ago, have been confirmed through indirect evidence but never before through an image. The picture of the supermassive black hole in a galaxy called Messier 87, revealed Wednesday by a team led by Sheperd Doeleman of Harvard University, eliminated any doubts about the existence of black holes and reinforced theories founded on their existence. “It visually captured what had been said to exist but never been seen by anyone. This is undoubtedly worthy of a Nobel Prize,” said Yoshiaki Taniguchi, a professor of galactic astronomy at the Open University of Japan, shortly after the announcement. Capturing the black hole some 55 million light-years away was a monumental task, likened to looking for a tennis ball on the Moon with the naked eye. While a radio telescope with a larger dish antenna can collect more data and depict a more accurate picture of a black hole, there is a limit to how big the dish can be. The international team created a network of eight radio telescopes across the world, using a method known as very-long-baseline interferometry, to overcome that limitation. But as some radio waves are beyond the reach of the network, the team used statistics to estimate the missing data. Mareki Homma from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and other Japanese researchers used what is known as sparse modeling to develop a data processing method for putting together images. Kotaro Moriyama, a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the Japanese team made sure of the credibility of the data they obtained by generating images in 60,000 different ways. Japan also contributed as a member of an operation team of ALMA, a giant telescope in Chile, which is one of the eight telescopes taking part in the network. Combining some 40 antennas with a diameter of 12 meters each, the researchers in Chile effectively created a large radio telescope with a diameter of 70 meters. As the telescope is located in a desert at an altitude of 5,000 meters, where low atmospheric pressure prevents the operation team from using hard discs to read out data, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan also provided technologies necessary for sending data to a facility at a lower altitude using light fiber cables.

black holes
astronomy
space
mareki honma


Abe mulls forgoing talks with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in during Osaka G20 summit

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering forgoing bilateral talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit to be held in Japan in June, government sources said Saturday. The move underscores the deteriorating ties between the two neighbors mainly due to disputes over wartime compensation issues related to Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. It is highly unlikely that Abe can have a “constructive” dialogue with Moon, who has shown no signs of eagerness to improve chilled relations, one of the sources said. During the G20 summit to be held for two days from June 28 in Osaka, Abe is arranging face-to-face meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abe and Moon last held talks in September in New York. Since then, they have not even talked on the phone, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo. The two countries are in a standoff over a row stemming from a ruling by a top South Korean court last October ordering Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay compensation for what was recognized as wartime forced labor, among other issues.


LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai to visit China in late April

Abstract: Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has said he will visit China from April 24 to 29 as a special envoy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Nikai is scheduled to give a speech at an international conference in Beijing on China’s “Belt and Road” regional development initiative, he said Friday. He is also planning to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and give him a letter from Abe. Speaking to reporters at the LDP’s headquarters in Tokyo, Nikai called for increased exchanges between Japan and China. During his trip, Nikai will also participate in an event at Tsinghua University, from which Xi graduated, and attend the opening ceremony of a horticulture exposition. Nikai is also considering a visit to Shanghai.

ldp
toshihiro nikai
shinzo abe
china-japan relations


Trump may present trophy at Tokyo sumo tournament as officials weigh security concerns

Abstract: Japan and the United States are considering a plan for U.S. President Donald Trump to present a trophy to the winner of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo in May, Japanese government sources have said. Trump is scheduled to visit Japan as a state guest for three days starting on May 26, which coincides with the final day of the 15-day Summer Basho at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Under the plan, Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would enter the sumo ring together after watching the matches. Trump would then present the 40-kilogram Prime Minister’s Cup or another special trophy to the winner. A major challenge is security at the venue. The ring is surrounded by rows of seats, making security more difficult than in locations with no seats behind the stage. “It is very hard to guard. Some people may throw seat cushions,” a Japanese government source said. While some within the Japanese government are pushing to give Trump a seat near the ring, others insist that he should use a VIP seat on the second floor for security reasons. During his visit to Japan, Trump is also slated to play golf with Abe. Trump is due to become the first foreign leader to meet with the new Emperor. Crown Prince Naruhito is scheduled to ascend to the throne on May 1.

sumo
donald trump
shinzo abe
u.s.-japan relations


Public advised to check schedules of local hospitals and clinics before 10-day Golden Week holiday

Abstract: The government and medical institutions are calling on people to check which hospitals and clinics will be open during the upcoming longer Golden Week holiday as some outpatient departments will be closed. People with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are particularly advised to make sure they are prescribed sufficient amounts of medicine ahead of the holiday, which has been extended to 10 days to celebrate the Imperial succession. During a normal Golden Week holiday, local clinics take turns to treat patients. According to a survey by the Japan Medical Association, mostly comprising self-employed doctors, 60 percent of responding local medical associations said they are planning to do the same during the 10-day-long holiday. As for general hospitals, 24-hour emergency care will be provided as usual, but many of them expect to provide outpatient services for just two to three days during the holiday period from April 27 until May 6. A survey conducted by a medical consulting firm on 123 general hospitals across the country showed 80 percent plan to provide outpatient services and perform operations on certain days during the holiday, but few will be open every day for outpatients. Many general hospitals will treat outpatients on April 30 and May 2, the survey showed. Some, however, have chosen to halt all services except emergency care to allow doctors some time off. At Kanazawa University Hospital in Ishikawa Prefecture, outpatient services will be closed for the entire holiday. However, 24-hour emergency care, radiation therapy and dialysis will be available as usual. “There is a chronic shortage of doctors at local hospitals, so many are unable to take a day off to make up for having worked on a holiday,” said hospital chief of staff Toshifumi Gabata. If the university hospital were to maintain its regular services treating an average 1,500 outpatients per weekday, about 1,800 personnel including doctors, nurses and administrative staff would have to come to work, according to the hospital. The hospital has allocated two days to perform operations during the holiday as the total suspension of surgeries can be life-threatening for some patients. “People can visit ER and if it’s necessary, we will summon physicians” who are on leave, Gabata said in addressing worries of some patients and their families.


Social media weighs in on design and purpose of Japan's new bank notes

Abstract: Social media has been awash with posts following the public unveiling of Japan’s new era name, Reiwa, at the beginning of April. The announcement was almost the complete opposite of an April Fools’ Day joke and yet every detail has been picked apart online, from the way the name was officially unveiled to the actual name itself . On April 9, netizens jumped on a related topic after Finance Minister Taro Aso unveiled new designs for the ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bank notes that will be put in circulation from 2024. The bills feature industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa, educator Umeko Tsuda and physician Shibasaburo Kitasato, respectively. Considering the new bank notes will eventually be a part of daily life, it’s not surprising people had plenty to say about the announcement. Many criticized the font that appears on the new bills, suggesting it looked a little janky . A number of people complained that the design on the new notes is inconsistent with older versions, some even presenting the differences side by side . Others pointed out that the font on the new notes is similar to a number of currencies around the world , which reduces their novelty factor somewhat. Whatever the reason, debate on the font used on the new bills trended on Twitter rather quickly. Putting design aside for a second, how did social media react to the historical figures that were selected for the new notes? BuzzFeed Japan was quick to publish snack-sized introductions of the trio before later focusing its attention on Kitasato’s name . Huffington Post Japan produced similar explainers , as did a number of other sites. Many, however, had fun imagining who (or what) could have appeared on the new bills instead. Twitter user @mochiunagi hit retweet pay dirt by saying that they would have preferred to see “Sailor Moon” characters on the notes. 新札がどんなに素晴らしくてもどうせセーラームーンお札メモには敵わないよ。 pic.twitter.com/Tt49CooTPC — 飯島モトハ (@mochiunagi) April 9, 2019 Others came up with their own designs. Twitter user @PonkichiM saw that someone had suggested that a shiba dog should be included — and so they created a detailed rendition of what that might look like, with a flying squirrel thrown in for good measure. This inspired another artist to make a cat version as well . ぽん吉さんの柴犬紙幣の柴部分を（ぽん吉さんに許可もらって背景の絵使わせて頂きました）私が描いた猫絵に入れ替えてみました！猫紙幣も素敵ですね！ 元ツイート https://t.co/MWfN4CvRGn pic.twitter.com/m6lQ0mhyNu — 瞬く🍎 絵のお仕事募集中🍏 (@bokoyai) April 9, 2019 And then there’s the inevitable discussion surrounding other candidates who might have been better suited for the role. Such conversations typically aren’t so interesting but this particular case produced one exchange that was certainly amusing. Many imagined a bank note that featured revered manga and anime artist Osamu Tezuka . Tezuka’s daughter, Rumiko, then chimed in on Twitter , saying how weird it would be to constantly see her dad’s face while shopping. Fans of Tezuka’s work loved Rumiko’s tweet, with one even going so far as to capturing her horror in a quick sketch . Much of the discussion online was pretty light-hearted but eventually the conversation turned to more serious matters. Some sectors have been calling for Japan to embrace digital currency , and so the unveiling of a new physical form of cash from 2024 seems to contradict such moves. It became a major talking point on social media , with many arguing that the redesign reflects a step back at a time when the country should be adopting new technology. Even traditional media outlets such as the Nikkei Asian Review honed in on the issue, giving it greater exposure. The start of the Reiwa Era already looks to be fraught with discussion on social media. Compared to the beginning of the Heisei Era (1989-2019), it seems that people are going to endlessly pick apart issues that crop up online during the next Imperial reign.

eiichi shibusawa
umeko tsuda
osamu tezuka
reiwa era
japan pulse
shibasa kirasato


Japan's news outlets toe the line over Aegis Ashore anti-missile system

Abstract: On March 21, a female student at the Akita University of Art in Araya Okawamachi, Akita Prefecture, was slated to give a valedictory speech at the college’s graduation ceremony. According to the Asahi Shimbun on March 31, the unnamed woman wanted to talk partly about the proposed installation of an Aegis Ashore anti-missile system at the nearby Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) training area in Araya Okawamachi. Some locals are opposed to its installation because it is near a residential area. In her original text, the student touched on the controversy without offering an opinion, saying it was a matter that “couldn’t be ignored.” However, she never got to say those particular words, because after she sent the draft to the head of student affairs, they asked the student if she didn’t mind removing the part about the anti-missile system, since it was a “politically delicate issue.” Thinking her qualification to discuss the matter was insufficient, she decided to leave out any mention of Aegis. Later, the school denied it had pressured her to do so. The head of the university told the Asahi Shimbun that they would never censor anyone. They simply wanted the student to understand there was a wide range of viewpoints in the community. This story illustrates how the media often addresses controversies in an indirect manner. The Aegis Ashore system has been contentious ever since it was proposed by the Defense Ministry and pushed on to two communities — one in Akita Prefecture, the other in Yamaguchi Prefecture — that don’t seem to want it. The government argues that North Korea and China have the ability to strike Japan, so an anti-missile system is needed. However, the discussion in the mainstream media hasn’t gone much further than reports on progress and the occasional pushback from locals. Even when that pushback is covered, it tends to be balanced with uninterrogated reassurances from the authorities. On March 12, the Yamaguchi Shimbun reported on a Defense Ministry survey to measure the amount of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Aegis radar system planned for the GSDF training area in Mutsumi near the town of Abu in Yamaguchi Prefecture. An official from the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau told the newspaper they wanted to assure residents that the system would cause no health problems. Local opposition was not satisfied with the results of a previous, simulated survey, and the article went into detail about how the field survey would be conducted. Although the newspaper quoted one community leader as saying the survey had “no meaning” and didn’t answer the opposition’s questions, most of the article simply reported the survey results. In contrast, a Tokyo Shimbun story on March 18 about the radiation surveys approached the matter from a public interest perspective, since it was written in the context of taxes and implied that the government has already decided to install the Aegis systems. As a result, the government’s main problem in realizing the project is convincing the media and local residents of its safety. According to the March 18 report in the Tokyo Shimbun, the survey was presumably carried out to show that the government took residents’ concerns seriously. Local opposition was not mollified. The financial aspect of the Aegis Ashore system was discussed in more detail on March 12 by veteran military journalist Shunji Taoka on J-Wave. After denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States stalled in Hanoi, the government indicated that Aegis Ashore is more necessary than ever, but Taoka said that activity recently detected at a North Korean military site had nothing to do with ballistic missiles. It was about launching satellites, but the media haven’t challenged the government on this point. Taoka dismisses the need for Aegis Ashore, as Japan already has Aegis capabilities on four destroyers in addition to four more on order. These are more effective than land-based deterrence because the ships are moving and thus difficult to attack. However, sea-based Aegis is more expensive than land-based and so the Defense Ministry can sell the Aegis Ashore system to the public by saying it’s cheaper, but that’s not necessarily true. In addition to the Aegis Ashore system, the government has to guarantee GSDF forces to protect the installation. Moreover, the initial cost quoted by the U.S. government, which is selling the system to Japan, doesn’t include the missiles themselves, and what good is an anti-missile system without missiles? The United States is developing new radar technology and Taoka thinks it wants Japan to pay for it. That much is suggested by the terminology used by both sides of the deal. To the U.S. Defense Department, the Aegis Ashore system comes under the heading of “foreign military sales.” In Japan, it’s classified as enjo , or “aid,” which is how you would qualify the anti-missile systems the U.S. supplied to South Korea and Romania for free. Also, there still hasn’t been a clear explanation for why Akita and Yamaguchi were chosen as candidate locations for Aegis Ashore. Taoka argues these locations benefit the United States, since they are directly below the flight paths for missiles launched by North Korea that target Hawaii and Guam, respectively. If Japan wanted to defend Tokyo from incoming missiles, it would make more sense to install the system on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Taoka doesn’t claim the United States demanded these locations, only that the government chose them in order to please its U.S. counterparts, which have demanded that Japan buy more defense systems. Taoka is only one journalist, but he has covered defense issues closely for years from a practical standpoint. Like many government programs, sometimes defense spending is less about national security than about bureaucrats justifying their existence and satisfying vested interests and, until the media considers the Aegis Ashore controversy from that perspective, it will never tell the whole story.

aegis ashore anti-missile system
akita
defense
yamaguchi


Japan searches for remedies at the dawn of the Reiwa Era

Abstract: Japan’s weekly magazines do not consider their primary role to be reporting cheery news. It would be more correct to say their practice is to proceed from a pessimistic perspective and then, after readying readers to rude realities, encourage searches for sustenance and survival, if not salvation. To celebrate the advent of the Reiwa Era from May 1, the government has extended the traditional Golden Week string of holidays and weekends, beginning this year from April 27, to 10 days. Masashi Omuro, an occupational health physician, warns in an interview with Weekly Playboy (April 22) that this celebratory act may not bode well for the nation’s salaried workers. Omuro predicts that the dreaded “May disease” ( gogatsu-byō in Japanese) — the name for a malaise that often strikes weeks after the typically frantic month of April — is likely to be “the worst ever recorded.” May disease, Omuro says, affects both new hires who begin their jobs from the start of the government’s fiscal year in April, as well as regular staff, whose careers may be disrupted by promotions or job transfers. It seems that an extended holiday to come so soon after the start of the new business year can lead to a “collapse” of workers’ physical and mental equilibrium, resulting in anxiety, fatigue and a whole host of physical and psychological ailments. “In past times, while people at Japanese companies may have felt symptoms similar to May disease, they were sustained by various activities on the job and afterward, such as going out together for drinks or playing golf on weekends, or even engaging in matchmaking to help a younger colleague find a prospective marriage partner,” Omuro says. “So while perhaps people confronted pressures or annoyances, at least they didn’t feel lonely. “Now, however, it’s become easy for a new worker to resign just by tapping out a short message via Line or some other SNS app.” With the current worker shortage in Japan, Omuro concedes that people in their 20s who walk away from jobs will face fewer problems to find new ones. “So if they are under the impression that a new job wasn’t what they expected, they just stop going to work.” Last month, American Alex Kerr, a longtime Kyoto resident and author, in collaboration with Yumi Kiyono, published a 220-page book with the Chuo Koron imprint titled “Kanko Bokoku-ron” (“The Theory of National Decline Due to Tourism”). In a wide-ranging interview in the Nikkei Marketing Journal (April 3), Kerr denounced the impact mass tourism is having on Japan’s environment. In 2018, the number of foreign visitors to Japan surpassed 30 million. The annual figure is projected to approach or even exceed 40 million in 2020. Kerr has no problem with France’s Michelin Guidebook rating Tokyo the world’s best in terms of quality dining facilities. On the other hand, he feels tourism is generating distortions and the residents are left to deal with the mess. “The overcrowding at Kyoto’s temples has come to resemble Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line during the rush hour,” he complains. “This is cultural pollution. And, unless controls are enforced, ruin will result. “Look at Japanese manufacturing industries, which were once terrible polluters,” Kerr says. “But they got that under control, and still manage to churn out high-quality products. Japan’s water and air are clean. Tourism should be the same. We have got to impose controls on forms of cultural pollution.” As one means of keeping the number of visitors manageable, Kerr stresses “quality over quantity.” “The fees for museums in Japan are too low,” he remarked. “The best facilities should charge ¥4,000, even ¥5,000 per person. There are lots of people who would even be willing to pay ¥10,000 to climb Mount Fuji.” Now imagine, if you will, patronizing a restaurant that may not only get your order wrong, but may even overlook that you’ve ordered something in the first place. Its name is “Restaurant of Mistaken Orders,” and the eponymous NGO’s English website ( www.mistakenorders.com ) states: “You may think it’s crazy. A restaurant that can’t even get your order right. All our servers are living with dementia. They may, or may not, get your order right.” Shukan Asahi (April 12) carried a two-page report on a one-day operation at the establishment, part of the movement to spread awareness about dementia “and make society … more open-minded and relaxed.” It was held March 10 in the town of Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, at a cafe terrace attached to an art museum. An all-female staff of 18, ranging in age from 71 to 94 years, were residents of care facilities in the town or in the neighboring city of Odawara, and suffer from varying degrees of dementia. Organized in teams of five, they worked 90-minute shifts, serving tofu-based dishes developed offsite by a local specialty restaurant. Each member of the restaurant staff was assigned a worker and a volunteer. To avoid mistakes, the staff reconfirmed orders bearing check marks placed on the menus by customers. This, however, appears to be no assurance that the order will be delivered correctly. Three customers — themselves welfare workers who learned about the event from a locally circulated flyer — were upbeat over their experience nonetheless. “At care facilities, you never see this kind of happy smile,” one remarked, adding “Just being here is enough to cheer us up.” More than 250 patrons came to dine during the one-day event, a larger than anticipated turnout credited to dissemination via social media. Yuji Kawaii, operator of the group home where some of the restaurant workers reside, admits that the name of the establishment may invite misunderstandings. “But once they see the atmosphere and faces of the workers, you can tell the customers become captivated by their warmth,” he told Shukan Asahi.


Cairo wants to boost its cooperation with Tokyo to aid Africa, Egyptian ambassador says

Abstract: Egypt is hoping to deepen its cooperation with Japan to help African countries improve access to medical care, Ayman Aly Kamel, Cairo’s ambassador to Tokyo, said in a recent interview. Egypt is keenly anticipating its chance to make the proposal as Japan gears up to host the Group of 20 summit in June and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in October, which Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will attend, Kamel said. “We have a very close relationship with Japan which allows us to engage in more productive projects that could benefit a great deal our African brothers,” Kamel said on Friday in Tokyo. Just as Egypt has learned from Japanese expertise, Egypt would like to communicate its success story to Africa, he said. Japan is “one of the leading countries” regarding universal health care coverage and medical expertise, Kamel said, while Egypt has a successful track record of combatting tropical and neglected diseases. “We will try to use our experience and knowledge in this field with the help of Japan to benefit other African countries,” he said, noting that they could particularly benefit from close cooperation in promoting health education and the training of professionals to provide medical services. He also suggested establishing mobile hospitals in some remote areas and providing them with necessary equipment and staff training, while expressing his hope that the nations could work together to improve access to pharmaceuticals in underdeveloped areas. Japan’s motivation to provide assistance to Egypt, and African nations more widely, is in some part driven by a wish to rival China’s increasing influence in the continent, facilitated by massive investment programs. The TICAD gathering goes some way to achieving this through its basic principles of “transparency, consistency, and follow-ups,” as outlined by Foreign Minister Taro Kono at a meeting with representatives of 52 African nations last October in Tokyo. However, Kamel said security challenges in some parts of the region may make Japan think twice about its commitment. He stressed that Egypt can provide know-how Tokyo may need when it endeavors to provide financial and technical assistance. With Egypt chairing the African Union this year, Kamel said it is in a good position to coordinate with Japan to foster greater relations with Africa. As strategic partners, Egypt can be Japan’s “gateway” to the region, he said. “The potential of cooperation is very high and we have high hopes in the nature of the coordination that we enjoy,” he said. Kamel is already seeing some of the fruits of the relationship in the education sector. He said educational model developments will also be spread to other African countries, mentioning the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in Alexandria, built through a partnership between the two countries, as a platform to transfer Japanese expertise and technology to Africa and the Middle East.

africa
egypt
ayman aly kamel
interviews
ticad


Man arrested in Tokyo for allegedly robbing over 100 cabs by asking for change in advance

Abstract: Tokyo police have arrested a man for allegedly robbing over 100 taxis throughout Japan by asking for change from drivers before paying and then fleeing with the money. The police said Friday that Ryusei Tamayose, a 23-year-old unemployed man with no fixed address, is suspected to have told a cab driver on the night of Oct. 20, upon their arrival in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, that he wanted to pay with a ¥10,000 bill but that he wanted to receive his change before exiting the cab to withdraw the money. He also allegedly asked for smaller bills to exchange ¥10,000 and ¥5,000 notes, which he did not have at the time, robbing the driver of a total of ¥20,000 without paying the fare that amounted to ¥5,000. The suspect admitted to the theft, saying he has swindled money out of taxi drivers for the past three years and lived off the cash, according to the police. In order to gain the drivers’ trust, Tamayose often asked them to stop at convenience stores on the way to his destinations and then returned to the cabs, a tactic meant to make them believe he wouldn’t cheat the fare, the investigators said. The police identified him in footage taken from a taxi after a similar incident was reported in February.


Foreign Ministry says U.S. serviceman in Okinawa allegedly stabbed woman to death, then killed himself

Abstract: A U.S. serviceman has fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself in Okinawa, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in the prefecture. U.S. Forces Japan says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is working with local police to look into the deaths Saturday of a U.S. Navy sailor assigned to a marine unit, and an Okinawa resident. In a statement it said: “This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation.” It said more information will be released later. A U.S. Marine Corps official in Okinawa told Kyodo News the man is believed to be a member of the 3rd Marine Division headquartered in the prefecture. According to local police, the 32-year-old marine was believed to be in a relationship with the 44-year-old woman. The police received an emergency call at around 7:25 a.m. and found the two lying on a bed at the woman’s apartment in the town of Chatan. Their deaths were confirmed later at the scene. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba telephoned U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty, asking for cooperation with the investigation and efforts to prevent a recurrence, and expressed “extreme regrets,” according to the ministry. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. Local residents have long been frustrated with noise, accidents and crimes linked to the bases there.


Currency manipulation rule to be included in any U.S.-Japan trade talk agreement, treasury secretary says

Abstract: WASHIINGTON - With U.S.-Japan trade talks set to begin Monday in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday any agreement will include a requirement to refrain from manipulating currencies to gain an advantage in international trade. But he said there is no arbitrary deadline for completing the talks. The U.S. priority is that countries “don’t in any way manipulate their currency for purposes of competitive advantages,” Mnuchin told reporters on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is set to hold two days of talks with economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday and Tuesday. Mnuchin said the talks will focus on a “broad agenda.” The U.S. has long argued that China kept its currency artificially low to make its exports cheaper, and negotiators have insisted on a provision on exchange rates in the ongoing trade talks with Beijing. And a clause was included in the revised free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, dubbed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). “I think we’ll want to make sure whatever trade agreements there are, that there are currency provisions that reflect that in the agreement similar to USMCA and as we’ve alluded to in our China discussions,” Mnuchin said Saturday.

currency
trade talks
steven mnuchin
u.s.-japan relations


Japanese and Chinese ministers discuss key issues at Beijing economic dialogue meeting

Abstract: BEIJING - Amid a dimming global growth outlook, Japan and China on Sunday held an expanded ministerial meeting focusing on key economic issues ranging from trade and investment to better protection of intellectual property rights. The so-called high-level economic dialogue, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, took place in Beijing at a time when the Asian powers are seeking to boost cooperation following years of political tensions. “Economic cooperation between China and Japan is continuously progressing and having a profound impact on the world,” Wang, who is also a state councilor, said at the outset of the meeting. “We should exchange wisdom for the peaceful and stable development of the region and the world.” Kono, who is leading a delegation comprising five other ministers, said, “It goes without saying it’s important that the second- and third-largest economies in the world hold constructive discussions on economic ties.” The dialogue, the first to be held in China since 2010, comes about two months before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s possible visit when Japan hosts this year’s summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka. If realized it will be Xi’s first visit to the country since coming to power in 2013. About 10 ministers from both countries sitting together will search for ways to create a more favorable environment for companies doing business in each other’s country amid worries about an economic slowdown, triggered in part by the ongoing trade war between China and the United States. The trade conflict prompted the International Monetary Fund to say Tuesday that global growth is projected to decline further to 3.3 percent in 2019, down from the 3.5 percent it estimated in January. Japan plans to call on China to crack down on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers, which Chinese companies have long been accused of by foreign competitors, Japanese officials said. Intellectual property theft was one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reasons for imposing tariffs on imports from China. Japan is also expected to ask China to lift restrictions on imports of Japanese food, introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster due to concerns over radioactive contamination. In a blow to Japan’s fishing industry, the World Trade Organization ruled Thursday that South Korea could maintain its import ban on some kinds of Japanese seafood, reversing an earlier decision that called for the prohibition to be lifted. Meanwhile, China may ask Japan to invest in infrastructure projects under Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” development initiative stretching across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. China could also push Japan to reconsider its decision to exclude telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. from government procurement contracts, amid concerns among some developed countries over security breaches. Trade is also likely to be on the agenda, as economic growth in China slows amid the tariff war with the United States, and with Japan slated to begin trade negotiations in Washington over the next several days, according to the officials. Japan and China have held the economic dialogue since 2007, though there was an eight-year hiatus as relations sank to a low due to a dispute over the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands and wartime issues. Japan placed the uninhabited islets in the East China Sea under state control in 2012, drawing the ire of China which claims sovereignty over them and calls them Diaoyu. With relations having since improved, the dialogue restarted with the fourth round last April in Tokyo. For the fifth round, Japan is fielding a larger delegation, featuring six members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet. Besides Kono, they are industry minister Hiroshige Seko, farm minister Takamori Yoshikawa, transport minister Keiichi Ishii, Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada and regulatory reform minister Satsuki Katayama. The Chinese team includes Commerce Minister Zhong Shan and Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology. Kono is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and Wang on Monday.

trade
foreign minister taro kono
china-japan relations


Julian Assange's lawyer says WikiLeaks founder will cooperate with Sweden, but fight extradition to U.S.

Abstract: LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would cooperate with Swedish authorities if they reopen a rape case against him but will continue to resist any bid to extradite him to the United States, his lawyer said Sunday. “We are absolutely happy to answer those queries if and when they come up,” Jennifer Robinson told Sky News television about the rape claims. “The key issue at the moment is U.S. extradition, which we have warned about for many years,” she added. Assange is in custody in London awaiting sentencing for breaching his British bail conditions in 2012 by seeking refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. He was arrested at the embassy last Thursday after Ecuador gave him up, and is now also fighting a U.S. extradition warrant relating to the release by WikiLeaks of a huge cache of official documents. The Australian has always denied the claims of sexual assault and rape in Sweden. The first expired in 2015 and the other was dropped in 2017, but the alleged rape victim has now asked for the case to be reopened. If Stockholm makes a formal extradition request, the British government will have to decide whether to consider it before or after that of the United States. Robinson said Assange would seek assurances from Sweden that he would not be sent on to America, saying: “That is the same assurance we were seeking in 2010 and the refusal to give that is why he sought asylum.” She added: “He’s not above the law. Julian has never been concerned about facing British justice or indeed Swedish justice. This case is and has always been about his concern about being sent to face American injustice.” The U.S. indictment charges Assange with “conspiracy” for working with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password stored on Department of Defense computers in March 2010. He faces up to five years in jail. Manning passed hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, exposing U.S. military wrongdoing in the Iraq war and diplomatic secrets about scores of countries around the world. The conspiracy charge against Assange seems intended to sidestep limits on prosecution potentially arising from the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of press freedom. But Robinson insisted: “This indictment clearly engages newsgathering activities and the kinds of communications that journalists have with sources all the time.” The lawyer condemned as “outrageous” claims made by Ecuador about Assange’s behavior in the embassy, including that he smeared his feces on the wall, saying, “That’s not true.” Quito also accused him of failing to care for his cat. WikiLeaks said Assange had asked his lawyers to “rescue him (the cat) from embassy threats” in October, adding: “They will be reunited in freedom.” Assange’s father, John Shipton, on Sunday urged Australia to bring his son home.

julian assange
wikileaks
ecuador
u.s .
u.k .


Creation of civilian government demanded by protest organizers during talks with Sudan's new military rulers

Abstract: KHARTOUM - Sudanese protest organizers presented demands — including the creation of a civilian government — in talks with the country’s new military rulers late Saturday, the group spearheading demonstrations said. Thousands remained encamped outside army headquarters in the capital overnight to keep up the pressure on a military council that took power after ousting veteran leader Omar al-Bashir on Thursday. A 10-member delegation representing the protesters held talks with the military council and delivered their demands Saturday, according to a statement by the umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change. One of the alliance’s leaders, Omar al-Degier, said in the statement that the demands include restructuring the country’s feared National Intelligence and Security Service, whose chief, Salih Ghosh, has resigned following the ouster of al-Bashir. “We will continue . . . our sit-in until all our demands are met,” including the formation of a fully civilian government, al-Degier said. The alliance insists that civilian representatives should be accepted onto the military council, and that a fully civilian government should be formed to run daily administration. “We surely want our demands to be met, but both sides will have to be flexible to reach a deal,” said a protester who spent the night at the army complex. On Saturday, the chief of the military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, vowed to dismantle al-Bashir’s regime, and he lifted a night time curfew with immediate effect. Al-Burhan also pledged that individuals implicated in killing protesters will face justice and that protesters detained under a recent state of emergency will be freed. Al-Burhan took the oath of office Friday after his predecessor, Gen. Awad Ibn Ouf, stepped down just a day after the ouster of al-Bashir. Tens of thousands of people have massed outside army headquarters since April 6, initially to urge the armed forces to back their demand that al-Bashir be removed. On Thursday the army toppled the veteran leader, who swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. But the protesters have vowed to remain in place until the military council demonstrably accepts its demands. Dozens of people have been killed in protest related violence since demonstrations erupted against al-Bashir’s rule in December.


Drive-by shooting outside Melbourne nightclub leaves one dead and three injured

Abstract: SYDNEY - A drive-by shooting outside a nightclub in the Australian city of Melbourne inflicted “horrific injuries” that killed a security guard and wounded three men, police said Sunday, but there was no suggestion yet that the attack was terrorism-related. Australia has some of the world’s toughest gun control laws, adopted after its worst mass murder, when a gunman killed 35 people at Port Arthur in the island state of Tasmania in 1996. Sunday’s shooting took place around 3.20 a.m. in the lively entertainment district of Melbourne’s southeastern suburb of Prahran, police said. Three security guards and a man waiting to enter were taken to hospital with gunshot injuries, police said in a televised news conference in Melbourne. “It would appear that shots have been discharged from a car in this area into a crowd standing outside the nightclub,” homicide inspector Andrew Stamper said. The victims suffered “horrific injuries” from a weapon fired in close proximity, he added. One guard died in hospital, another man was in critical condition and two escaped life-threatening injuries. One guard was shot in the face, the Age newspaper said. However, there is no suggestion yet that the attack is terror-related, a police spokeswoman said by telephone. Bloodstained clothing and bullet casings littered the street outside the entrance to the second-story Love Machine nightclub early Sunday. Police urged witnesses who saw any vehicle moving at speed around 3 a.m. to come forward, and mentioned a black Porsche SUV that was later found burned-out in the north Melbourne suburb of Wollert. No arrests have yet been made, and investigation continues. A murder-suicide last year in Western Australia that killed seven members of a family was the country’s worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur case. Neighboring New Zealand has adopted legislation to ban semi-automatic firearms and assault rifles after its worst peacetime shooting in March, which killed 50 worshippers in two mosques in the city of Christchurch.


One victim of March attack in Ethiopia is identified as Japanese national

Abstract: LONDON - One of the five fatal victims in an attack by an armed group in Ethiopia in March has been identified as a Japanese woman in her 40s, the Japanese Embassy in the African country said Saturday. The embassy has not disclosed the woman’s name upon request of her family. DNA testing was conducted for the identification. Of the other victims, three were from Ethiopia and one from India. They were all mining-related officials. The five were attacked while traveling by car in a region about 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.


Hyogo police arrest man after he opened door of shinkansen train and stepped out onto tracks

Abstract: OSAKA - A man in his 50s was arrested Sunday after he opened a door of a shinkansen train and stepped onto the tracks after the train made a sudden stop. Hyogo Prefectural Police officials said the man, who was on a Sanyo Shinkansen Line train running between Shin-Osaka and Shin-Kobe stations, opened one of the train doors at around 11:10 a.m. using an emergency handle. The man, who went outside the train after it abruptly stopped, was caught by West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) staff before being arrested, police said. Train services on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line were suspended between the two stations for about 45 minutes due to the incident. According to JR West, someone aboard the train opened a door in the ninth carriage soon after it left Shin-Osaka Station. The driver noticed the warning sign was on and immediately stopped the train. It was not certain whether the man was injured after he went outside or whether he was carrying any dangerous objects.

shinkansen
shin-osaka station
west japan railway co .


During visit to crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, Abe gets updated about ongoing reconstruction work

Abstract: FUKUSHIMA - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant complex and nearby areas on Sunday to check on progress in reconstruction following the 2011 crisis. His visit came after Olympics minister Yoshitaka Sakurada stepped down last week when remarks he made were deemed offensive to people affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which also triggered one of world’s worst nuclear disasters. “The government will do its utmost to rebuild (this area), engraving in our heart once again that each minister is in charge of reconstruction,” Abe said following his visit to the disaster-hit nuclear complex, his first since September 2013. Abe said he confirmed “steady progress” in the decommissioning work at the plant that suffered core meltdowns in three of its reactors but noted that “many challenges” remain. “The state will continue to stand at the forefront of the decommissioning work and the containment of radioactive water (that is accumulating at the plant),” he said. Earlier in the day, Abe attended a ceremony to open a new town hall in Okuma, one of the two municipalities hosting the nuclear plant, and visited a soccer facility from which the Japan leg of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay will start in March 2020. Abe said he wants to visit again to see the first torchbearer start the relay. The J-Village facility, which was used as an operational base for dealing with the nuclear crisis, will fully reopen on Saturday. The government lifted its mandatory evacuation order just last Wednesday over parts of Okuma. The new town hall, however, is in a different area from where the original town hall was located in what was once Okuma’s center, as that part remains a no-go zone. At the opening ceremony, Okuma Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe said, “The new government building is at the forefront of the town’s revival, and it’s a symbol of the pledge to realize our reconstruction.” The new town hall will start providing services on May 7. But in the parts of Okuma where the evacuation order has been lifted — which cover 40 percent of the town’s total land area — only 367 people, or around 3.5 percent of the original population of 10,341, had registered as residents as of late March. With people in parts of the Tohoku region still struggling to return to the lives they led before the disasters hit, Abe effectively sacked Sakurada over his gaffes and apologized to the public for appointing him. At a fundraising party for a fellow ruling party lawmaker last Wednesday, Sakurada joked that the lawmaker’s political career was “more important” than the reconstruction of the affected region.

fukushima
fukushima no . 1
shinzo abe
disasters
okuma
radiation
tepco
nuclear energy
3.11


The week ahead April 15 to April 21

Abstract: Monday Japan and the United States to start the first round of new bilateral trade talks in Washington. They are scheduled to run through Tuesday. Officials will discuss the scope of negotiations, with Washington hoping for a pact that will cover a range of areas such as goods, services and investment, and Japan aiming to limit the talks to goods only. Foreign Minister Taro Kono to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing. Kono is visiting China for a high-level economic dialogue, which is expected to lay the groundwork for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Japan in June to attend the Group of 20 summit. Fukuoka High Court to hand down ruling on lawsuit filed by two chronic hepatitis B sufferers seeking compensation. Tuesday Third anniversary of one of the two powerful quakes that successively hit Kumamoto Prefecture. The jolts registered the highest level of 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale in the town of Mashiki, killing 50 people. Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court to hand down ruling on lawsuit filed by Okinawa residents seeking compensation over U.S. military aircraft noise near the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Wednesday Finance Ministry to release preliminary customs-cleared trade statistics for March, the last month of fiscal 2018. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to visit Mie Prefecture through Friday. It will likely be the Imperial Couple’s last trip outside Tokyo before the Emperor abdicates on April 30. Thursday Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to pay respects at Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture. Cabinet Office to release monthly economic report for April. Friday Japan to send two Ground Self-Defense Force officers to the headquarters of an international organization monitoring the cease-fire between Egypt and Israel in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Their dispatch is based on controversial security legislation that expanded the role of the Self-Defense Forces overseas. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to release nationwide consumer price index for March, the final month of fiscal 2018. Saturday Fukushima soccer facility J-Village, used as an operational base for dealing with the 2011 nuclear disaster, to fully reopen. Sunday Lower House by-elections in Osaka No. 12 and Okinawa No. 3 constituencies to be held. The elections are seen as a prelude to the Upper House election later this summer. Elections to be held to choose mayors in 11 of Tokyo’s wards and in dozens of cities across the nation. The annual spring festival at Tokyo’s war-linked Yasukuni Shrine to begin. It will run for three days. World Table Tennis Championships to be held in Budapest through April 28. Japanese players including Tomokazu Harimoto, Kasumi Ishikawa and Mima Ito are expected to take part.


Police in Georgia clash with gorge-dwelling protesters hoping to block hydro plant

Abstract: TBILISI - Georgian police used tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday to break up a protest by residents of a mountainous region against the construction of a hydropower plant, the independent Rustavi-2 TV station reported. Around 300 residents of the Pankisi gorge gathered near the village of Birkiani to protest the planned plant, saying it could damage the environment and force them to leave their homes. Some threw stones at the police, Rustavi-2 reported. The TV station showed several residents with minor injuries from rubber bullets and said some police officers were also hurt. Interior ministry officials and a spokeswoman were not immediately available to comment.


Gulf powers promise Sudan $3 billion in latest bailout for ally

Abstract: KHARTOUM - Oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have just written another check to bail out their latest troubled ally. The Gulf nations on Sunday pledged $3 billion to Sudan after longtime President Omar al-Bashir was toppled this month. In a statement, they said they’ll deposit $500 million in Sudan’s central bank to ease pressure on the currency. The remainder will go toward food, medicine and fuel. It’s the latest in a string of pledges as the two nations seek to maintain their political influence and prop up allies in the Middle East and beyond, even as lower oil prices weigh on their own economies. Over the past two years, they’ve promised aid to countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Pakistan. Reasons for the support vary. The two nations, along with Kuwait, signed off on a bailout package for Bahrain to avert a currency devaluation that could have harmed the riyal. Jordan was teetering on the brink of an economic crisis that threatened the stability of a fellow Sunni Arab monarchy. Sudan is one of the leading contributors of troops to the Saudi-led war in Yemen, where the kingdom and the U.A.E. are fighting rebels allied with Iran. Al-Bashir’s government renounced ties with Iran when it joined the coalition in 2015. The move may give some breathing space for Sudan, whose military overthrew al-Bashir on April 11 and is under pressure from protesters, the African Union and U.S. to give way to a civilian government. Africa’s third-largest country, it’s been rocked by four months of fatal unrest sparked by soaring living costs. Demonstrations continued in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities over the weekend. The funds were pledged “out of a sense of duty toward the Sudanese people,” Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. said in the statement. Al-Bashir, who himself took charge in a 1989 coup, became the second leader on the continent to be forced from office this month in the face of nationwide demonstrations, following Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The events have stirred echoes of the Arab Spring uprisings that rocked the region from 2011. The military council’s head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said Sunday in televised comments that it’s ready to hand over power as soon as Sudan’s political factions agree on a way forward. In what appeared a bid to deflect activists’ criticisms that al-Bashir’s ousting was a palace coup replacing one form of autocratic rule with another, al-Burhan described the council as a “bridge” to building a new Sudan. He said a Sudanese delegation will visit Washington to discuss the U.S. removing the country from its list of state sponsors of terror, where it was placed in 1993. The Declaration of Freedom and Change, an opposition coalition organizing the protests, earlier said there’d been no progress in Saturday’s talks with the council on establishing a timetable for civilian rule. Authorities have met other demands, including lifting a curfew, replacing some of the council’s leaders and arresting key figures of al-Bashir’s 30-year regime. The 75-year-old, who’s wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide, was last week moved to a notorious prison in Khartoum. Prominent members of his National Congress Party have since been jailed too. Al-Burhan on Sunday said more than €7 million ($7.9 million) had been found in al-Bashir’s home. Local media reported the previous day that the ex-president was being investigated for alleged money laundering.


U.S. to eliminate Iran oil waivers for countries including Japan after May 2 expiration

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Trump administration won’t renew the waivers that let countries buy Iranian crude oil without facing U.S. sanctions, according to four people familiar with the matter, a move that could roil energy markets and risks upsetting major importers such as India and China. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will announce the decision on Monday morning, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a plan that hasn’t been formally unveiled. The current set of waivers — issued to China, India, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Taiwan — expire on May 2. The administration also will announce commitments from other suppliers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that will offset the loss of Iranian crude on the market, according to two of the people. It was not immediately clear how the move would affect Japan, but Japanese refineries put a halt on imports of Iranian oil late last month after buying 15.3 million barrels between January and March ahead of the expiry of the temporary waiver, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon. Japanese refiners had wanted to ensure enough time for all cargoes already loaded to arrive in Japan and for payments to be completed. The decision not to renew the waivers is a victory for national security adviser John Bolton and his allies who had argued that U.S. promises to get tough on Iran were meaningless with waivers still in place. Pompeo and his team had been more cautious, though they also had argued that the market was well-enough supplied to ramp up the pressure on Iran. “The maximum pressure campaign could not be maximalist until the administration cut off Iran’s oil exports,” said Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a supporter of additional sanctions on Iran. “With this decision, Iran’s economy will be under severe pressure as its hard currency earnings dry up and its foreign exchange reserves plummet.” The State Department declined to comment on Sunday night. One of the people said that President Donald Trump had briefed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed on the decision in phone calls in the last few days. The U.S. decision was reported earlier by The Washington Post. Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers almost a year ago and revived a range of sanctions against Iran and any countries doing business with the Islamic Republic. But he and his top advisers have been wary of roiling energy markets — and spurring a hike in prices at the pump in the U.S. For that reason, they allowed waivers for Iran’s biggest buyers of crude, including China, India and Turkey. One of the people said that some of the countries that had previously received waivers would be given a little more time to wind down purchases. The person described that not as a waiver but more as a brief grace period. Bolton and officials in the Energy Department argue that it’s time for the administration to make good on its desire to push Iran’s oil exports to zero. Pompeo’s team, led by Iran special representative Brian Hook, cautioned that a sudden removal of Iranian crude from the market — about 1.1 million barrels a day — could fuel volatility and lead to a price spike. “We certainly aren’t looking to grant any exceptions or waivers,” Hook said in an interview this month with Kevin Cirilli on Bloomberg Radio’s “Sound On.” Oil markets are better supplied this year than last, and that “puts us in a better position to accelerate the path to zero,” he said. The risk now is the decision could spike crude prices just as Trump begins to gear up to campaign for a second term. His administration had been wary of doing anything that could push crude prices above $70 a barrel, but as of Friday, the price of Brent was at $72. The administration had also faced growing pressure from Iran hawks in the Senate, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, to cut waivers to zero. Some senators had threatened to hold up administration nominees if the waivers stayed in place and argued that continuing to grant exemptions would be a direct contradiction of the Trump administration’s decision to leave the Iran deal.


Home appliance shipments in Japan hit 22-year high in 2018 due to heat wave

Abstract: Domestic shipments of large household electric appliances hit their highest level in 22 years in fiscal 2018, with the heat wave last summer contributing to an uptick in sales of air conditioners, according to an industry body. The shipments in the year that ended March 31 reached ¥2.47 trillion, up 4.3 percent from the previous year, marking a year-on-year increase for the fourth year in a row, the Japan Electrical Manufacturers Association said Monday. By product, shipments of air conditioners increased 8.4 percent to 9.82 million units due to extreme summer heat, the most since 1972, when officials started collating comparable data. Shipment values jumped 9.5 percent to ¥804.44 billion. The association said there has been consistent demand for other large household appliances, with refrigerator shipment values rising 4.3 percent and those of washing machines increasing 5.0 percent. But the association, according to a projection released last month, expects overall shipments of white goods to fall in 2019 for the first time in five years, dropping to ¥2.41 trillion because shipments of air conditioners will likely drop back to normal.


Facebook signals softer stance on political ad rules for EU elections

Abstract: NEW YORK - Facebook Inc.’s head of global affairs said the social-media company is willing to explore ways to exempt some European parties and EU elections from its rules about online political advertising, the Financial Times reported. Executive Nick Clegg made the offer in a letter to the president of the European Parliament, the FT reported, citing a document it reviewed. The comments are a response to a backlash created by Facebook’s new transparency rules that would require people or groups posting political ads to register in each EU state where the ads appear, the FT said. Clegg identified 19 EU institutions that the platform could exempt from the rules for a month leading up to the European elections, which run from May 23-26, according to the letter to Antonio Tajani. Facebook is “exploring whether we can technically build tools that would allow authorized administrators of the 19 institutional pages we identified to target ads to people right across the EU,” Clegg wrote in the letter, according to the FT. “It will be a challenge to do this in the requested timescale and I will need to confirm whether or not it is possible with you if we agree that this is the right solution.” A spokesman for the European Parliament told the FT it expected Facebook to grant the temporary exemption, while Facebook declined comment.


Singapore talking with more electric car companies after Dyson, but Tesla apparently not among them

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - Following Dyson Ltd.’s plans late last year to manufacture its first electric car in Singapore, the city-state is now in talks with other makers of green vehicles to set up shop on the island. Singapore is pitching its connectivity to global markets through free-trade agreements, its high-skilled workforce and stringent protection of intellectual property, which is critical for the industry, according to the government agency set up to attract investments to the country. “Hopefully they won’t be the only one we land,” Chng Kai Fong, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board, said in an interview, referring to Dyson’s plans. “We’re in active negotiations or discussions with a couple of others. The whole idea is to build clusters.” Bringing in other electric car manufacturers will create scale for the sector in Singapore, which is also spurring the development of autonomous vehicles in the country. The use of high-tech robotics and automation, as well as supply chain management and connectivity, could help dispel concerns on the high labor costs in Singapore. “It’s much more of a capital game than a labor game,” Chng said in San Francisco, where his agency hosted two technology-related conferences, including the Bridge Forum. “That plays to our strength.” Dyson, the closely held manufacturer of hand dryers and vacuum cleaners, said in October it plans to complete its factory by 2020 with the goal of rolling out its first model by 2021 as part of a £2 billion ($2.6 billion) effort to expand into automobiles. Earlier this year, billionaire inventor James Dyson raised the stakes by announcing plans to relocate his company’s head office to Singapore from the U.K. with the growing importance of Asia to its business. Singapore doesn’t have a single car-manufacturing plant and is one of the costliest places in the world to buy an automobile. And not every electric carmaker is a fan. Elon Musk tweeted in January that Singapore has been unwelcoming to Tesla Inc., adding to his previous assertions that the government doesn’t support electric vehicles. The billionaire chief executive officer was responding to a tweet inquiring why Tesla wasn’t in the Southeast Asian nation. Musk had said in May that Tesla tried to bring its cars to Singapore but was unsuccessful because the government was “not supportive” of electric vehicles. Singapore is also getting pushback from some companies for introducing a carbon tax. The government says it’s to help meet its Paris Agreement obligations, but it would also in turn drive up costs compared with other Asian markets. “Increasingly, carbon will be a constraint,” Chng said. “But we have to do it. It’s a trade off between our obligations, our environmental sustainability, and our economic growth.”

singapore
dyson
tesla
bridge forum
carmakers
elon musk
transportation
ev


'Anomaly' incident on SpaceX pad could delay its first manned flight

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A mysterious but apparently serious incident occurred Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, involving the SpaceX capsule intended to carry American astronauts into space late this year, the private company and NASA announced. “Earlier today, SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test stand at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” a SpaceX spokesman said in a statement. “The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand.” A photo on the Florida Today website showed large amounts of smoke pouring out of the test site, and there was speculation about a possible explosion, but neither SpaceX nor NASA would provide any immediate detail. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine referred on Twitter only to an “anomaly.” “This is why we test,” he added. “We will learn, make the necessary adjustments and safely move forward.” Crew Dragon undertook a successful test flight in March, sending an unmanned capsule to dock for five days with the International Space Station before returning to Earth. NASA called the flight “a major milestone,” and it raised hopes that the Crew Dragon’s first manned flight could take place before year’s end. The capsule is equipped with eight rocket engines (named SuperDraco) that can provide an emergency backup system: for example, if the launch vehicle encounters a problem, SuperDraco allows the capsule to quickly detach and return the astronauts safely to Earth. NASA is counting on SpaceX’s capsule, as well as Boeing’s Starliner, to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS, a task handled since 2011 by Russia. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to help reduce space transportation costs — and with an ultimate goal of helping colonize Mars.

space
spacex
florida
nasa
crew dragon
jim bridenstine
elon musk


Half of economists now expect Bank of Japan's next move to be more easing

Abstract: About half of economists now expect the Bank of Japan’s next policy move to be monetary easing, including three who see it coming this week, according to a Bloomberg survey. The other 45 of 48 economists surveyed said they expect the BOJ to leave its policy settings unchanged at a two-day meeting ending this Thursday. The number of economists predicting further easing from the BOJ has risen sharply in recent months, from 14 percent in December to 48 percent this month, as economic growth has slowed and inflation sagged. In April 2018, more than 90 percent said the next move would be tightening. Japan’s key inflation gauge remains below 1 percent, less than halfway to the BOJ’s target, after six years of radical monetary stimulus. And other central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have recently taken dovish turns, bolstering expectations that the BOJ will follow suit. One of the three economists who expect the BOJ to add easing this week said it would come in the form of a stronger commitment in its “forward guidance” to keep interest rates at extremely low levels. One also predicted the central bank would increase its buying of exchange-traded funds. Overall, 31 percent said they expected the BOJ to revise its forward guidance by October. The BOJ’s guidance currently states that it “intends to maintain the current extremely low levels of short- and long-term interest rates for an extended period of time,” taking into account the effects of the consumption tax hike set for October. As the date for the tax increase comes closer, some economists expect a change of wording. The survey also found that 90 percent of economists expect the BOJ to cut at least one inflation forecast for coming years when it releases its quarterly outlook report with its policy statement. More than three-quarters said it would also trim at least one growth forecast. One focus in the outlook report will be the inflation forecast for the fiscal year starting in April 2021. The figure will be 1.6 percent, the lowest for a new year during BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s six-year tenure, according to a median forecast of 39 economists. Key elements of the BOJ’s yield-curve control policy: interest rate of minus 0.1 percent on some commercial bank reserves; yield target of about zero percent for 10-year Japanese government bonds; pledge to keep interest rates extremely low for an extended period; increase JGB holdings by about ¥80 trillion a year. (Actual pace is now far slower); and increase holdings of exchange-traded funds by ¥6 trillion a year.

monetary easing
boj
federal reserve
haruhiko kuroda
etfs


Dollar almost unchanged around ¥111.90 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar was almost unchanged around ¥111.90 in Tokyo on Monday as trading was subdued amid a lack of fresh incentives. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.89-90, compared with ¥111.91-92 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1246-1246, against $1.1243-1243, and at ¥125.84-85, against ¥125.82-83. “Trading was thin during Tokyo hours as the Australian and Hong Kong markets were closed,” an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said. The dollar briefly rose to around ¥112 thanks to higher U.S. long-term interest rates in off-hours trading. But it fell back shortly. The currency tends to be sold when it rises to around ¥112, an asset management company official said. In late trading, the greenback was pressured by selling from market players to square positions as well as from Japanese exporters before the Golden Week holidays start Saturday, an official of a Japanese bank said. An official at a bank-linked securities firm said currency market players are paying attention to the Bank of Japan’s two-day monetary policy meeting starting Wednesday and a meeting between Finance Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later this week.


Japan and China sign agreement on exchange-traded funds cross-investment program

Abstract: BEIJING/SHANGHAI - Japan and China have signed an agreement for a program that will make it easier for investors to buy exchange-traded funds listed in each other’s markets. Under the program, a Japanese or Chinese firm would create an ETF that mainly invests in the other country’s listed ETFs, the Japan Exchange Group Inc. and Shanghai Stock Exchange said in a joint statement Monday. Nomura’s asset management unit will partner with China Asset Management to participate in the project, Nomura Holdings Inc. said separately. China is pressing ahead with plans to allow more foreign investors into its market, including those from Japan, before Xi Jinping makes his first visit to the country as president for the Group of 20 summit in June. The ETF program would allow some of the trillions of dollars stashed away by Japanese savers to flow into the world’s best-performing stock market. The Shanghai Composite Index has risen almost 30 percent this year, the biggest gain among more than 90 global indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Inflows are expected to increase after global equity index provider MSCI Inc. said it will more than quadruple the weighting of China-listed equities in a benchmark index. The ETF providers would need to obtain quotas under China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor or Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor programs. Additional investment quotas for this program will be subject to special treatment, meaning approval will take less time than usual, the bourses said. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission is discussing with Chinese authorities about the possibility of dual-listed exchange-traded funds in China. But an ETF Connect, a scheme that aims to link the ETF of Hong Kong and China, is proving difficult to build, Christina Choi, SFC executive director and head of the investment products division, said last year. She cited issues including differences in cross-border settlement systems and operating timings.


Tokyo stocks see slight rise

Abstract: Stocks closed marginally higher in directionless trading Monday amid a dearth of fresh market-moving incentives. The Nikkei 225 average rose 17.34 points, or 0.08 percent, to end at 22,217.90. It gained 110.44 points Friday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 1.69 points, or 0.10 percent, higher at 1,618.62 after a gain of 1.96 points Friday. Both indexes fluctuated around Friday’s closing levels before inching higher in late trading. Investors retreated to the sidelines ahead of announcements of earnings by major Japanese and U.S. firms later this week, market sources said. “Nonresidents and institutional investors were unable to move” ahead of the full-fledged earnings season, said Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. While indicating that active trading was held in check before the Golden Week holidays begin Saturday, Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., noted that short-term players hunted stocks. “Domestic demand-oriented issues attracted repurchases with investors expecting demand to grow during the holiday period,” said Hiroaki Hiwada, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,058 to 976 in the first section, while 106 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 869 million shares from 928 million Friday. Daiwa House jumped 6.82 percent with investors taking heart from an upward revision in its operating profit forecast for the year ended last month. Convenience store operator FamilyMart Uny, optical equipment maker Olympus and drugmaker Eisai were among other major winners. By contrast, Shima Seiki sagged 1.71 percent after the knitting machine maker cut its operating profit estimate for the year ended in March. Also sold were advertising agency Dentsu, chipmaking gear maker Tokyo Electron and technology investor SoftBank Group.


Nomura Holdings CEO Koji Nagai vows to cut costs and keep struggling brokerage independent

Abstract: Nomura Holdings Inc.’s chief executive vowed to keep Japan’s biggest brokerage independent and quickly implement his latest turnaround plan as a slumping share price puts the question of a potential merger in focus. “We cherish the strengths and utility that we have through our independence as a Japanese financial group,” CEO Koji Nagai said in an interview Friday in Tokyo. “It’s not going to happen that we’ll become part of a financial company elsewhere. We’re not thinking about such a thing.” Nagai, 60, unveiled plans this month to cut $1 billion worth of expenses from Nomura’s struggling global trading and investment banking business, a move that has already resulted in dozens of job cuts worldwide. The firm’s valuation is close to the biggest discount to global peers in two decades, as investors digest whether the restructuring plan will end years of overseas losses since it bought Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. operations in 2008. Nomura is among firms worldwide that have been battling to compete with Wall Street banks since the global financial crisis, prompting some to consider mergers as a solution. Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG are now in talks on a potential deal as the German government seeks a “national champion” for its exporters. Yet Nagai doused any speculation for a similar move in Japan, saying he’s not interested in teaming up the 94-year-old brokerage with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the nation’s biggest bank. MUFG already has an investment-banking alliance with Morgan Stanley, and is the U.S. firm’s largest shareholder. Nagai signaled that he may step down before the completion of the three-year overhaul as long as it goes smoothly. Two previous efforts since he became CEO in August 2012 failed to sustain an earnings recovery overseas, where Nomura has only posted an annual profit once during his reign. “I will take responsibility until things get on track,” said Nagai, who is Nomura’s longest-serving CEO in more than 30 years. He said it would be “natural” for him to leave in less than three years. Overseas operations will probably start generating annual profit if Nomura achieves 60 percent of its $1 billion in wholesale business cost cuts in the year ending March as planned, he said. Nomura is on course to post its first annual net loss in a decade when it reports earnings Thursday. It lost ¥101.3 billion in the nine months ended December, thanks mainly to write-downs, including of its acquisition of Lehman Brothers operations in Europe and Asia. Shares of Nomura have gained almost 4 percent since the revamp was announced April 4, and are down 32 percent over the past 12 months. It’s trading at 0.54 times the book value of its assets, close to the cheapest relative to global financial companies in the 20 years since Bloomberg began tracking the data. Analysts have questioned how Nomura can grow revenue after cutting front-line trading staff. Nagai is pivoting toward what he calls “client-focused” businesses, such as advisory, which tend to be less volatile. However, he suggested that it’s too early to get into details on where revenue growth will come from as the restructuring program has just started. “What we are saying is, let’s remove our old clothes and put on something that matches the new era,” he said. “What we do in our new clothes is something that we should tackle later.” Nagai isn’t entirely in retrenchment mode. He said he may look to acquire wealth management assets in Asia excluding China to make the most of the region’s growing ranks of rich people. “If there’s a good opportunity, we will naturally consider it,” he said, without elaborating on potential targets. At home, Nagai said he wants to swiftly launch the securities venture being formed with messaging platform provider Line Corp. once the Financial Services Agency approves it. The company filed a registration application in late March, he said. Nomura is turning to technology to modernize its domestic retail business, which has relied on expensive face-to-face services at branches and is confronted by intensifying competition with online brokers. The firm is cutting about a fifth of its outlets under the latest overhaul plan.

nomura
nomura holdings
koji nagai
brokerages


Toyota to tie up with major Chinese automaker on fuel cell vehicles

Abstract: NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will supply its fuel cell vehicle technology to major Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Group Co. as it seeks to expand business in the world’s largest auto market by volume. In the first such tie-up between Toyota and a Chinese automaker for hydrogen-powered vehicles, the commercial car division of Beijing Automotive Group will manufacture buses with Toyota’s fuel cell system. The production of the buses may increase toward the Winter Olympics to be held in the Chinese capital in 2022. Fuel cell technology, which converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, is attracting attention in China along with electric vehicles as the country seeks to address air pollution. Toyota announced earlier this month that it is allowing royalty-free access to nearly 24,000 patents for electrified vehicles, such as gasoline-electric hybrids, seeking to become a “supplier” of low-emission technology as the industry adopts stricter emissions regulations. The patents include those for the fuel cell vehicles.

toyota
beijing automotive group
hydrogen
carmakers