Takeda gains shareholders' approval for Shire buyout plan

Abstract: OSAKA - Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. won approval from shareholders Wednesday for its plan to purchase Irish drugmaker Shire PLC in what would be the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company. Although some founding family members and former employees opposed the purchase at an extraordinary meeting, at least 88 percent of Takeda shareholders gave the nod to a plan to buy the Dublin-based company to create the world’s ninth-largest drugmaker with combined sales of about ¥2.8 trillion ($24.8 billion). “We are delighted that our shareholders have given their strong support to our acquisition of Shire,” Takeda CEO Christophe Weber said in a statement. Takeda has already won approval from antitrust regulators in relevant countries including Japan, China and the United States. The drugmaker aims to complete the purchase by early January. The approval came in the face of opposition from a group of shareholders who had sought to vote down the takeover plan, since their initial attempt to do so was rejected at a general shareholders’ meeting in June. They believe the deal is too costly to pursue. At the meeting in Osaka, an opponent of the takeover asked, “Isn’t the acquisition a gamble?” But Weber said the deal would enable Takeda to strengthen its spending on research and development and gain competitiveness in the pharmaceutical industry. Opponents include founding family members Kunio Takeda and Kazuhisa Takeda, a former chairman and former director of the country’s largest drugmaker, respectively. Kazuhisa Takeda told a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo earlier this week that the deal is too risky. “It may be true that Takeda has not been successful in recent years to strengthen its new drugs. … But I think Shire is not the answer.” The merger is expected to increase Takeda’s net interest-bearing debt to more than ¥5 trillion, about 10 times the amount before the acquisition. Opponents of the Shire acquisition were concerned about the hefty debt and the reduction in earnings per share that will result from the new share issuance to finance the deal. Takeda is looking to add London-listed Shire’s know-how in rare diseases including hemophilia to Takeda’s core businesses of oncology, neuroscience and gastroenterology. More than 60 percent of Shire’s sales come from the United States. Analysts have said the buyout would be a smart move by Takeda as it looks to diversify and could pay off in the long term, but they have also raised concerns that the Japanese firm could be overextending itself financially. Takeda plans to finance the £46 billion (¥6.6 trillion) buyout through issuing new shares in exchange for Shire stock, bank loans and bond issuance. “The company averted the worst-case scenario in which opposition to the deal wins and throws its business planning into a mess,” said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. But Sengoku noted the price was still down more than 30 percent from about ¥6,500 at the start of the year, as investors worried over a dilution of the stock’s value due to the planned issuance of new shares. “From here, market players will be watching details of the deal, including exactly how many shares will be issued,” he said. The buyout is the latest in a flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical industry as traditional players see profits eroded by competition from generic medicines. Japanese firms in particular are facing pressure domestically as the government tries to cut prices of many branded drugs and increase the focus on cheaper generics to curb health spending as the population ages. Takeda, led by Frenchman Weber, has been actively looking overseas for acquisitions. In 2011 it took over Swiss rival Nycomed for €9.6 billion ($13.6 billion at the time).


Local governments in Japan get creative in bid to secure child care workers

Abstract: Local governments are desperately trying to recruit licensed child care workers in a bid to address an acute shortage in day care staff. As part of their strategy, they are emphasizing favorable labor conditions, such as short commuting distances and reasonable working hours, in a bid to attract licensed child care workers, including those who are stay-at-home moms. In April, Ibaraki Prefecture launched a program to introduce prospective licensed child care workers to day care centers for children in cooperation with ManpowerGroup Co., a staffing firm in Yokohama. To recruit as many workers as possible, the prefectural government is prioritizing efforts to meet desired working conditions, without expecting staff to work full time. To make it more likely that workers will stay, Ibaraki offers prospects a one-month trial, fully paid, so that they can get a feel for the workplace — the first such program in Japan. Sachiko Watanabe, 35, of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, has returned to child care work after a one-year hiatus thanks to the program. She works Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. while raising three boys. Watanabe welcomed the one-month trial as she felt it made the job easier once she got started. “I was able to get a good sense of my work environment and the relationships at the day care center during the trial period,” she said. According to ManpowerGroup, 24 child care workers have returned to the workforce under the program, many of whom have opted for part-time work to avoid overtime or weekend work. The oldest is a 63-year-old. Amid a severe shortfall in child care workers, the ratio of effective job offers to seekers stood at 2.79 in September, meaning roughly three child care centers are competing to hire one worker. Local governments are striving to secure child care workers with additional pay or rent subsidies. In urban areas with long waiting lists for day care, facilities are being improved at a fast pace to attract child care workers, while young workers able to work long hours are being lured with higher pay. But in rural areas unable to secure enough workers, understaffed day care centers are going out of business despite the demand that exists for their services. Competition between local governments to recruit child care workers with favorable job terms is nearing its limit, said an official. “At any rate, we’re in no position to compete.” But competition for child care workers is predicted to increase as early childhood education and child care services are expected to become free of charge next October, adding to demand for day care center places. A growing sense of urgency is prompting local governments to take countermeasures. The Toyooka city office in Hyogo Prefecture, for example, has begun to reform working practices at day care centers on a trial basis, in cooperation with child care consultants, to increase options for part-time work, so that even unlicensed people can work as child care staff based on their experience of raising children. “We want to secure workers by making improvements to conditions so that child care work is attractive as an occupation,” an official in charge said.

day care
ibaraki prefecture
children
manpowergroup co .


Swine fever reported at public research institute as Gifu Prefecture logs third case this year

Abstract: GIFU - Officials from the city of Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, said Wednesday that a case of classical swine fever has been discovered at a public research institute — the third such case of the virus being reported this year and just over a decade since it was official declared eradicated in Japan. The latest case follows infections reported in September at a pig farm and another at a public livestock center park in November, both in the same Gifu city. The prefectural government began culling hogs at the research institute, which breeds about 500 pigs for the development of brand-name pork products, after two animals tested positive for the virus that has a high mortality rate. Swine fever does not affect humans even if an infected animal is consumed. The outbreaks at public facilities could spark criticism against the local authority, which is at the forefront of measures to protect livestock. At a meeting held Wednesday to respond to the outbreak, the minister of agriculture, Takamori Yoshikawa, said, “It is extremely serious that the infection was detected at the prefectural institute. It will have a huge impact.” The minister said he may visit Gifu to deal with the outbreak. Gifu Gov. Hajime Furuta apologized at the meeting, saying, “We are very sorry that the outbreak occurred at the prefectural facility, which is supposed to have well-prepared preventive measures in place.” Deputy Gov. Takanori Kawai told reporters, “We make every effort in implementing preventive measures at core livestock industry facilities, but the positive test result indicates there was a failure in the process.” According to the prefecture, on Monday, staff at the facility noticed four pigs had lost their appetite. In tests conducted by the central government, infections were confirmed in two of the pigs on Wednesday. There have also been 63 confirmed cases of wild boars in four municipalities neighboring Minokamo being infected with the virus. The virus detected in the two pigs at the research institute matched the type found in the first two cases and the wild boars. In the outbreak on Sept. 9, prefectural and city officials initially made an incorrect diagnosis that several pigs in a weakened state were suffering from heat exhaustion. The livestock center park where the Nov. 16 outbreak occurred was found to have violated rules of hygiene. Some farmers and experts have criticized the response by authorities to the third outbreak. “The administration has been treating these outbreaks too lightly. It’s incredible that this has happened again,” said a Gifu hog farmer. He noted that even private animal husbandry farms follow hygiene rules as a matter of course, referring to the second outbreak at the park, which was found not to have strictly observed rules such as wearing specifically designated clothing when handling pigs. “I can’t believe that the infections occurred in a prefectural facility,” said a 70-year-old man who lives near the institute and who attended a local briefing session. “(The facility) was not very conscientious” about preventing the epidemic, he added. “It is possible that even within the same prefectural organization, awareness differed between the department that gave guidance to farmers on animal control and the department that encouraged production,” said Masuo Sueyoshi, head of the University of Miyazaki’s Division of Prevention and Control for Animal Diseases. Before the virus was detected in September, swine fever was last seen in the country in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1992 when five pigs were infected. The government declared the virus eradicated in 2007.


South Korean court upholds ruling against Mitsubishi Heavy over forced wartime labor in Japan

Abstract: GWANGJU, SOUTH KOREA - A South Korean high court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to pay compensation to South Koreans conscripted as laborers during World War II, when Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula. The Gwangju High Court told the Japanese company to pay a total of 470 million won (about $422,000) to three female former workers and a bereaved family member of a deceased female worker. In August 2017, the Gwangju District Court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy to pay the compensation. The company appealed to the high court. The plaintiffs said they were promised opportunities to study and earn money but were instead put to work at a wartime munitions factory in Nagoya in central Japan during the war. Wednesday’s court decision is the latest in a string of rulings in favor of those made to work for Japanese firms, following a landmark May 2012 decision by South Korea’s Supreme Court. In its 2012 ruling, the top court ruled that the right of individuals to seek compensation was not invalidated by the 1965 Japan-South Korea accord that Tokyo claims settled all postwar compensation claims “completely and finally.” The treaty also established diplomatic ties between the two countries. The South Korea’s Supreme Court last week ordered Mitsubishi Heavy to compensate two groups of South Koreans over wartime labor, in a move that Japan’s foreign minister, Taro Kono, decried as “extremely regrettable.” In October the top court ruled similarly against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. On Tuesday, lawyers representing South Korean plaintiffs in the case against Nippon Steel said they have set a Dec. 24 deadline for the firm to show willingness to discuss a court verdict on compensation. If the firm fails to respond, the lawyers, who spoke after being denied a meeting with company officials for a second time on Tuesday, said they would start procedures to seize its South Korean assets. Tuesday’s incident stemmed from a ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court late in October that Nippon Steel must pay 100 million won ($90,500) to each of four South Koreans for forced labor during the war. At the time of the ruling, Nippon Steel called it “extremely regrettable,” but added that it would review the decision carefully in considering further steps. On Tuesday, the lawyers visited Nippon Steel’s Tokyo headquarters for a second time, only to be turned away at reception, said Lim Jae-sung, one of the attorneys. The lawyers left documents at reception regarding the case, Lim told a briefing at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Lim said two options for seizing Nippon Steel’s assets include shares of PNR, a joint venture between Nippon Steel and South Korean steel company POSCO, and intellectual property the company owns in South Korea. The Japanese firm confirmed that it refused to meet the lawyers because its stance has not changed, a company spokeswoman said, adding that the company had received a letter, although she did not comment on the contents. Asked about the Dec. 24 deadline, the spokeswoman said the company would consult the Japanese government and take appropriate action.

south korea
wartime labor
gwangju
mitsubishi heavy industries ltd .


Man to face charges for carrying fertilized wagyu eggs into China

Abstract: The agriculture ministry will pursue criminal charges against a man who tried to take the fertilized eggs of wagyu Japanese beef cattle into China, it was learned Tuesday. “We’re taking procedures to file a criminal complaint” against the person, believed to be a Japanese national, in a bid to prevent similar cases and strengthen the management of wagyu cattle, said agriculture minister Takamori Yoshikawa. Wagyu marbled beef is popular among both Japanese and foreign consumers. The ministry plans to refer the man to the Osaka Prefectural Police on suspicion that he violated the law on domestic animal infectious diseases control. According to ministry officials, the man left a port in Osaka Prefecture for Shanghai in July, carrying hundreds of fertilized wagyu eggs in a container. The eggs did not pass Chinese customs. After he returned home, the man claimed that an acquaintance had asked him to transport the eggs and that he did not know the practice was illegal. This is the first case in the last decade in which the transport of fertilized wagyu eggs out of Japan has been detected. Japan bans the export of fertilized and unfertilized wagyu eggs and semen under the animal infectious diseases control law. In practice, however, it is not very difficult to smuggle wagyu eggs or semen abroad, critics say. Yoshikawa suggested the latest case should have been prevented in Japan, saying that the special container he used must have been “easy” to recognize as suspicious. The ministry will consider steps to prevent the smuggling of wagyu eggs and semen, while calling on shipping firms, airlines, customs authorities and others to remain vigilant. The government aims to boost annual exports of wagyu and other beef to ¥25 billion by 2019. Last year, exports totaled ¥19.2 billion, with major importers including Hong Kong, the United States and Singapore. The government is poised to strengthen the promotion of Japanese beef in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Meanwhile, wagyu beef produced in Australia is already popular in Southeast Asian and other markets. The breeding of wagyu cattle in Australia is believed to have started using those taken from Japan in the past. Japan’s beef industry is wary of any further spread of wagyu cattle overseas. “Our efforts to improve the beef quality could end in vain,” an official of the Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council said.


Trump puts Japan in crosshairs after trade truce with China

Abstract: BUENOS AIRES - Now that U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to a cease-fire with Chinese leader Xi Jinping over a trade war between their countries, Trump appears certain to shift his focus toward crafting a bilateral trade deal with Japan. After signing a revamped trade pact Friday with Mexico and Canada with better terms for the United States, Trump agreed with Xi on Saturday to work to resolve issues such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property protection in exchange for suspending new U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports for 90 days. The developments on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires came as Washington readies for negotiations with Tokyo on a bilateral trade deal that could come as early as mid-January. Trump has repeatedly voiced his determination to slash Japan’s trade surplus with the United States. Advocating “fair” and “reciprocal” trade, Trump has called for reducing the U.S. trade deficit with trading partners such as China, Mexico and Japan — the first to third-biggest generators of goods trade deficit with the United States last year. Under Trump’s “America First” mantra, addressing trade imbalances with these countries is a top agenda item in his 2020 re-election bid, especially after his Republican Party lost a majority in the House of Representatives in the Nov. 6 midterm elections. In a meeting Friday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Argentina’s capital, Trump called the U.S. trade deficit with Japan “massive” and “pretty substantial.” “We hope that we’re going to be balancing it very quickly,” he added. While Japanese officials insist Tokyo and Washington aim for a bilateral trade agreement on goods only, U.S. officials have pushed for the inclusion of services and even a provision to prevent currency devaluations in an envisaged deal. Analysts are watching how the Trump administration will balance its ambitions for a comprehensive pact, like a free trade agreement with the U.S. agricultural industry’s thirst for a deal, when other farming nations such as Australia and Canada are gaining greater access to the Japanese market through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-nation FTA that will enter into force on Dec. 30. Similarly, Japan and the European Union are speeding up domestic procedures for the early enforcement of an FTA, making U.S. farmers and ranchers less competitive than their European counterparts in terms of access to the world’s third-largest economy. “What the Japanese are hoping to do is to drag this out as long as they can, even potentially waiting out the end of the Trump administration,” said Benjamin Self, vice president of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation in Washington. Self, an expert on U.S.-Japan relations, was referring to the upcoming trade negotiations, which will be led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s economic revitalization minister. “They’ll agree to a smaller deal faster if what Trump wants is a faster deal,” he said, in reference to Japanese negotiators. In the talks, the Trump administration is expected to demand increased market access to Japan’s automobile market, as well as to push Japanese automakers to expand their manufacturing in the United States, a measure that would reduce exports into the country and create more jobs there. Trump regards automobiles as a symbol of the trade imbalance with Japan, apparently because automobiles and auto parts accounted for about 75 percent of the U.S. deficit with the country as of 2017. Given that Japan imposes no tariffs on foreign cars, analysts expect the administration to focus on nontariff barriers and demand that Tokyo ease safety and environmental requirements for American vehicles, for example. Aside from automobiles, tough negotiations are expected in agriculture, as well. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s calls on Japan to reduce tariffs on farm products beyond levels agreed to under the CPTPP runs counter to the understanding reached between Trump and Abe in September that Washington would not demand deeper farm tariff cuts than levels Tokyo has agreed in other trade pacts, such as the CPTPP and the Japan-EU FTA. Perdue’s action, which may be seen as a hardball negotiation tactic ahead of the talks, may not serve the U.S. farm industry’s desire for a swift deal, either. “Unfortunately, U.S. beef faces a massive 38.5 percent tariff in Japan — a trade barrier that hurts America’s beef producers,” said Kevin Kester, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the marketing organization and trade association for 1 million cattle farmers and ranchers in the United States. The organization “looks forward to working closely with the Trump administration to secure increased market access for our industry,” Kester said in September, when Trump and Abe agreed to launch bilateral trade agreement talks. “The faster negotiations conclude, the faster U.S. producers can provide more Japanese consumers with the high-quality beef they demand,” Kester added. Under the CPTPP — a pact from which Trump withdrew the United States last year — Japan’s 38.5 percent tariff on beef imports will be lowered in stages to 9 percent over 16 years.

trade
china
donald trump
shinzo abe
u.s.-japan relations


Japan to extend tax cuts for sales of inherited houses

Abstract: Japan’s government and ruling bloc are considering extending tax breaks for those who sell houses they inherited from their parents by four years until the end 2023, sources have said. The tax cut extension is aimed at helping shore up real estate trading and preventing an increase in the number of unoccupied houses, the sources said. Under the system, which covers houses that were built on May 31, 1981, or before, income and residential taxes are reduced under certain conditions. If people live apart from their parents, the parents’ houses inherited by the children are highly likely to become unoccupied in the future. The number of empty houses in Japan, excluding those for rent and sale, stood at 3.18 million as of 2013. The figure is expected to increase further reflecting the country’s falling population, becoming a major problem across the country. The government aims to curb the pace of growth, estimating the number of empty houses at about 4 million by 2025.


Nissan-Renault alliance row developing into diplomatic feud

Abstract: BUENOS AIRES - A hastily arranged Franco-Japanese summit Friday has highlighted how the Nissan-Renault auto alliance is increasingly developing into a diplomatic feud — one that could soon reach a head. The summit-level talks, held at the request of the French side, apparently saw Paris work to put the brakes on an attempt by Nissan Motor Co. to review its capital ties with Renault SA. Those ties currently favor the French auto giant. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Buenos Aires for about 15 minutes on the sidelines of the two-day Group of 20 summit Friday. Despite a jam-packed schedule, the two sides found time to meet, a move that was said to reflect the French government’s strong interest in the fate of the alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. That tie-up has been shaken by the Nov. 19 arrest of alliance chief Carlos Ghosn for allegedly underreporting his executive pay from Nissan. On Thursday, leaders of the three automakers held a meeting, where they agreed to maintain the alliance and introduce a system to decide on management policies by mutual agreement. Renault holds a 43.4 percent equity stake in Nissan. The major Japanese automaker owns 15 percent of the French partner, but its stake does not carry voting rights. According to sources, a number of Nissan officials have voiced unease about Renault’s voting rights in an alliance where the Japanese automaker is actually supporting the French company in terms of earnings and technology. This has prompted Nissan to look at concrete measures for reviewing what it regards as an “unfair” capital alliance with Renault, the sources said. Abe and Macron agreed on the importance of maintaining the stability of the alliance among the three automakers. While Macron hopes to maintain the status quo, Abe said he believes the concerned private-sector parties should themselves decide the course of their relationships, effectively voicing his view that the governments should not excessively intervene. For the French government, which is Renault’s top shareholder, the automaker is a symbol of the country’s industrial prowess. Ceding Renault’s influence over Nissan’s management would have devastating effects for the French economy — and Macron’s government. After holding talks with industry minister Hiroshige Seko following Ghosn’s arrest, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he and the Seko had affirmed that the principle of corporate governance remains unchanged. With this, the focus has now shifted to who will succeed Ghosn as Nissan chairman. The carmaker plans to name one of its incumbent directors as the successor at a board meeting on Dec. 17. Meanwhile, Renault is hoping to dispatch an official to Nissan to serve as its chairman, based on a pact signed when the two companies entered into the alliance in 1999, officials said. As the French government is believed to be in support of this policy, which is being spearheaded by Renault, observers say Nissan and the Japanese government are likely to face a number of difficult decisions about the alliance and its future.

nissan
renault
shinzo abe
emmanuel macron
mitsubishi
carlos ghosn
scandals


Seven-Eleven Japan asks all Tokyo stores to get rid of ashtray receptacles

Abstract: Leading convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has asked franchise outlets in Tokyo to remove ashtray receptacles from the store premises, it was learned Sunday. Seven-Eleven Japan, a unit of retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co., will decide whether to take the step nationwide after examining the results at the Tokyo outlets, informed sources said. The move comes as many customers are complaining about passive smoking and an increasing number of restaurants in Japan are introducing smoking bans, according to the sources. Seven-Eleven Japan has some 2,700 stores in the capital, including about 1,000 with ashtray receptacles standing in front of the shops. The request for removal was made to those 1,000 stores about a month ago, the sources said. While the request is not binding, since the ashtray receptacles belong to the stores, outlets that agreed have posted written notices to shoppers and will remove them starting on Monday, according to the sources. No ashtray receptacles are installed at stores directly run by Seven-Eleven Japan in Tokyo. Seven-Eleven Japan sells tobacco at more than 90 percent of its stores across the country, accounting for about 20 percent of its overall sales. Many outlets have installed the receptacles to promote sales as some customers buy tobacco and smoke in front of the stores after making purchases. The receptacles are also intended to prevent nearby areas from being littered with cigarette butts. It remains unclear whether ashtray receptacles will be removed from all Seven-Eleven Japan outlets, pundits said, noting that convenience stores in suburban areas, especially those with parking spaces, are often used as rest areas by customers.

seven-eleven japan
ashtrays
seven & i holdings
smoking


Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

Abstract: BEIRUT - He may have fallen from grace internationally as one of the auto industry’s most powerful leaders, but Carlos Ghosn can count on continued support in at least one corner of the globe. Lebanon has long held hopes that Ghosn, whose grandparents were Lebanese and who holds extensive development projects in the country, would play a bigger role in politics one day, or help rescue its increasingly sluggish economy. But Ghosn, ex-chairman of Nissan Motor Co., was detained in Tokyo last month on allegations of underreporting his income, and on Friday, a court approved extending his detention for 10 more days. Now, politicians across the board in Lebanon are mobilizing in his defense, with some suggesting his detention may be part of a political or business-motivated conspiracy, and the government even considering extraditing him from Tokyo to face trial here. “To Carlos Ghosn in his predicament I say, a Lebanese phoenix will not be scorched by the Japanese sun,” Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said at a security conference in Beirut last week. Lebanon, a tiny country of 4.5 million, takes excessive pride in its huge emigrant community and successful businessmen and celebrities of Lebanese heritage. They include Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Colombian singer Shakira, Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek, Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney, and fashion designers Elie Saab and Reem Accra. The Lebanese took special pride in the auto industry icon, who holds a Lebanese passport, speaks fluent Arabic and visits regularly, including a last visit right before he was detained in Tokyo. Born in Brazil, where his Lebanese grandfather had sought his fortune, Ghosn grew up in Beirut, where he spent part of his childhood in a Jesuit school. As he began his ascent in the auto industry, first with Renault and then by bringing Nissan back from the brink of bankruptcy, Ghosn kept in touch with old friends. He married twice, first to a Lebanese woman who resides in Beirut and again in 2016 to Carole Nahas, also of Lebanese heritage. As a Maronite Christian, Ghosn’s name occasionally popped up as a possible candidate for the presidency, but he repeatedly dismissed suggestions he would run for office, saying he is not a politician. The post of president is reserved for a Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian-based system of government. Although the extent of his businesses in Lebanon is not known exactly, Ghosn has spoken in interviews about various real estate projects in the country and sits on the board of several universities, hospitals and charities. In 2012, he became a partner in the Lebanese winery IXSIR, and is a board member of family-owned Saradar Bank. In 2017, the government honored him with a special postage stamp, a show of respect to a man considered a model of Lebanese entrepreneurial spirit. So when news broke Nov. 19 that Ghosn, 64, had been detained on allegations he underreported billions of yen in income, and that Nissan is accusing him of using company money for personal gain, people in Lebanon were stunned — and many were unconvinced. Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil promptly issued a statement saying Lebanon would stand by Ghosn, adding he had asked Lebanon’s ambassador to Tokyo to look out for “the model of Lebanese success abroad.” The ambassador has since reportedly met three times with Ghosn — who is being held in a small cell in Tokyo Detention House — providing him with a mattress and food, according to one report on a local TV channel. Ghosn’s dramatic downfall has sparked various conspiracy theories, with some claiming that his arrest was a U.S. ploy to punish him for resisting sanctions on Iran and others speculating it was an internal coup engineered by Nissan executives. Melhem Riachi, the information minister, urged officials to intervene with the Japanese government, tweeting: “An investigation is extremely important. Something stinks.” Allegations against Ghosn that have reported in the Japanese media, but unconfirmed, suggest he spent Nissan funds on fancy homes in Paris, Beirut, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam, and on family vacations and other personal expenses. Ghosn has denied the allegations against him, saying he had no intention of underreporting his income, the reports say. Ghosn’s three-story property in one of Beirut’s most prized real estate districts stands out for its pink walls and blue shuttered windows. The traditional old Lebanese house was acquired and renovated in 2014, according to neighbors who said they occasionally saw him visiting. “He is a successful businessman with a good reputation … he is not someone you would expect to be a cheat,” said Rouba Rabah, who owns an art gallery opposite Ghosn’s property. Another neighbor who declined to give his name said he was stunned by the news like every other Lebanese would be, recalling how he would see Ghosn personally overseeing the renovation work four years ago. Lebanese businessmen, many of them personal friends of Ghosn, have rallied around him, even after he was stripped of his title as chairman at Nissan and at partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. A group of Lebanese lawyers is now considering forming a team for his defense, and Justice Minister Salim Jreissati told Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar that the government is considering asking Japan to extradite Ghosn to face trial on Lebanese soil. Lawyer Amal Haddad said she and the current head of the Lebanese Lawyers’ Syndicate, Andree Chidiac, were considering the options. “That’s all I can say until we are formally assigned the case,” Haddad said. In Ghosn’s downfall, many here see a lost opportunity. The country’s economy is struggling, with experts warning it is dangerously close to collapse after decades of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism. Cabinet Minister Mouin Merhebi said Ghosn’s arrest is regrettable. “He is an important personality, an economic personality we had hoped would one day play a role in Lebanese political life, a role to salvage Lebanon,” he said.


Lost idol: New wave of Myanmar youth activists look beyond Aung San Suu Kyi

Abstract: YANGON - Myanmar youth activist and television host Thinzar Shun Lei Yi would once have called herself one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s greatest fans. Now she is one of her most vocal critics. The 27-year-old belongs to a small but high-profile group of liberal activists, many of them former die-hard Suu Kyi supporters, who are growing increasingly disillusioned with the administration they voted into power with sky-high hopes three years ago. “I lost my idol. I’m confused, frustrated and lost,” said Thinzar Shun Lei Yi, who hosts the “Under 30” talk show on a popular local website. “Most of the activists and youths are now thinking: ‘What is next?’ ‘What will happen?’ ‘What can we do?’ At this stage, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is going her own way, and nobody can intervene, and she won’t listen to civil society organizations,” she said, using the honorific for women in Myanmar. While Suu Kyi continues to inspire devotion among many, the emergence of a dissenting youth movement — driven by anger over her handling of ethnic minorities, including the Muslim Rohingya, as well as curbs on the media and civil society — presents a new challenge for her administration. At stake is the future of Myanmar’s transition toward democracy after years of military rule. With a general election looming in 2020, the first civilian government in decades is confronted by growing divisions among activists who once coalesced around her National League for Democracy party. Suu Kyi took power in 2016 after a landslide election win, vowing to continue democratic reforms and end the country’s long-running civil wars. Since then, the administration has come under pressure over its response to a military crackdown against the Rohingya — which the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing” with “genocidal intent” — as well as faltering peace talks with ethnic armed groups and a stagnating economy. Activists say the civilian government has also become increasingly authoritarian, failing to use its overwhelming parliamentary majority to scrap colonial-era laws that are used to stifle dissent and tightening restrictions on civil society. In recent months, they have staged several protests, including an anti-war march in the commercial capital of Yangon in May that ended in scuffles. A total of 17 people were charged with unlawful protest, including Thinzar Shun Lei Yi. Their trial is ongoing. “Sensitive issues are banned, and protesters arrested and beaten,” she said. “The National League of Democracy, the party using the name of democracy, must respect democracy and human rights.” According to free speech organization Athan, which means “voice” in Burmese, 44 journalists and 142 activists have faced trial since the Suu Kyi government took power. They include Reuters reporters Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who were sentenced to seven years in prison in September after being convicted of breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The journalists are appealing their conviction to the country’s High Court, citing evidence of a police set-up and lack of proof of a crime. Suu Kyi said in September their jailing had nothing to do with freedom of expression. The government says Myanmar’s court’s are independent. While she has no control over the military, Suu Kyi has faced international criticism for failing to defend the Rohingya, more than 730,000 of whom fled a sweeping army cracking in western Rakhine state in 2017, according to U.N. agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces. Myanmar denies almost all the allegations of atrocities made by refugees, saying the army was carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists. While many among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority revile the Rohingya, the young activists offer a rare sympathetic voice. “We acknowledge Rohingya. We totally denounce the fact that they are referred to as ‘Bengali,'” said Maung Saung Kha, referring to a term commonly used in Myanmar to imply the Rohingya are interlopers from Bangladesh despite a long history in the country. “We haven’t seen any acknowledgement or punishment for the things that happened,” he said. “The refugees will not come back as long as these people think of them as less than human, and that it is not a crime to kill them.” Khin Sandar, another young activist facing unlawful protest charges, spent months campaigning for the NLD ahead of the 2015 election but lost faith in Suu Kyi over her handling of the Rakhine crisis. Her family was affected in a wave of communal violence in 2012, when not only Rohingya but members of the Kaman Muslim minority, who also face discrimination but unlike the Rohingya are considered citizens, were driven from their homes. They live in crowded displacement camps outside the Rakhine capital of Sittwe and are subjected to severe restrictions on movement. In a speech after last year’s violence, Suu Kyi said all residents of Rakhine “have access to education and health care services without discrimination.” Khin Sandar said: “My own nephew and nieces are still living in the Sittwe camps, and they don’t have those rights. I was shocked. How can she say that in her speech?” She has now quit her job as researcher for an NLD lawmaker. While the youth activists represent only a small segment of Myanmar society they are increasingly influential in the grassroots activism scene, while their protests and public comments have attracted significant attention from media and from their vast social media followings. Mostly in their 20s and 30s, they highlight the gulf between Myanmar’s young population — the median age is 27 — and its aging leadership, comprised of mostly men in their 60s and 70s. “Myanmar is a very conservative country, these young people especially from Yangon are now challenging that,” said Myat Thu, at the Yangon School of Political Science. “In order to have a revolution of ideas, not many people need to know. They will spread it gradually.”


Trump says three sites under consideration for January or February meeting with North Korea's Kim

Abstract: A second U.S.-North Korea summit is expected to be held in either January or February, with three sites currently under consideration, U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump was quoted as saying that said a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will happen soon, with the location and timing continuing to be hashed out as the two sides work toward the goals agreed to at the landmark first summit in Singapore in June. Media pool reports quoted Trump as saying that he and Kim are “getting along very well” and have a “good relationship,” and that at some point he’d like to invite the North Korean leader to the United States. Trump did not announce the candidate sites, but some observers have speculated that the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and Seoul could be possibilities. At the Singapore meeting, Kim agreed to a vaguely worded 1½-page joint statement to “work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” while Trump committed to “provide security guarantees” to the North Korean regime. But there has been little progress since, with denuclearization talks between the two countries effectively deadlocked. Still, Trump has repeatedly boasted about what he says are North Korean steps toward relinquishing its nukes, hailing the absence of missile or nuclear tests since last year and the return of remains of U.S. service members killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as “incredible progress.” Pyongyang has not tested a missile since November last year. With that test, of its powerful Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile — which experts believe is capable of striking most, if not all, of the United States — the North said it had “completed” its nuclear program. But Trump has faced criticism over his claims of progress, with some saying there is no evidence the North has taken significant steps toward denuclearization, despite the president’s remarks to the contrary. Earlier Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed the White House’s line, saying that the second summit would happen “pretty soon.” “We’re working hard at it. I think it’ll happen shortly after the first of the year,” Pompeo said in an interview with CNN. Pompeo also pointed to the halted missile and nuclear tests, and said that talks between the two sides were ongoing. “We continue to have conversations about the right next step — that is the right substantive next step, not the process next step of meetings,” Pompeo said. “We’re working with partners all across the world — South Koreans, the Japanese.” It was not clear what a “substantive next step” would be, but Washington has reportedly pushed for a declaration detailing the North’s weapons programs or a promise to rein in the deployment of its existing arsenal. For its part, the North has said that crushing economic sanctions must be eased as a “corresponding” measure after its unilateral missile and nuclear test moratorium, the destruction of its main nuclear test site and the ongoing dismantling of a key missile engine test facility. The White House, however, has given no hint that it is ready to lift sanctions. “These are global sanctions put in place by the United Nations Security Council, which deny North Korea the capacity to improve their economy,” he said. “That’s not going to change, unlike previous administrations that when they got to a point that became difficult wrote checks for tens and hundreds of millions of dollars and let the North Koreans off the hook in that sense. We’re determined to fulfill the commitments that were made by Chairman Kim in Singapore and we’re working hard at it.” Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor at International Christian University in Tokyo, said Trump’s interest in a second summit with Kim has likely grown after the midterm elections, which resulted in a Democratic-controlled House that is expected to question and resist his more adventurous foreign policy endeavors. Trump, Nagy said, is now having to orient his efforts toward areas of governance where he has the most ability to act unilaterally — namely on the North Korean nuclear issue. “It is strategically in Trump’s interests” to have the meeting before the new House convenes sometime in January, Nagy said. “If he achieves some real take homes, such as an accounting of DPRK capabilities, a formal moratorium on missile and nuclear development … he may be able to argue that has been an effective statesman in achieving a diplomatic breakthrough with Pyongyang.” DPRK is the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Nagy, who also serves as a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs in Tokyo, added that such a breakthrough could see North Korea making additional gestures such as destroying other missile systems, dismantling launch sites, revealing additional uranium processing sites or agreeing to international inspections. “Pyongyang has numerous (nuclear weapons and missile) sites, according to open sources, and as a result they can allow inspectors to one site to demonstrate a kind of ‘good faith'” move, he said. Such a gesture “may allow the president to provide some targeted sanctions relief, as he is not wedded to any political view.”

north korea
donald trump
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
u.s .
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


Common Japanese language test eyed for new visas

Abstract: The government is mulling introducing a common Japanese language test for applicants seeking one of two new types of visas for foreign workers, informed sources have said. The Foreign Ministry and the Japan Foundation, an independent administrative agency, are making necessary preparations, the sources said Saturday. Of the two new resident statuses, type one will be granted to foreigners with certain professional skills and type two to those with higher skills. The government aims to introduce the new resident statuses in April next year. The language test will be taken for the type one category, the sources said. To pass the test, applicants need to have Japanese skills good enough for daily life, according to the sources. The language test will likely start in April 2019 at the earliest and will be conducted up to about six times a year, mainly in Southeast Asian nations from which Japan has accepted a number of people under its existing on-the-job training program for foreigners, the sources said. Applicants’ professional skills will be tested through paper and practical exams in each industry. Holders of type one status will be allowed to work in 14 industries, including nursing care, construction, agriculture and automobile maintenance. For automobile maintenance, for example, applicants will be tested to see whether they have skills equivalent to those required for grade three under Japan’s national certification system for automobile technicians. Professional skill tests for type two status will be decided later as the government expects to see no applicant for the category in the first year, the sources said.


Nikkei tumbles to 15-month low after U.S. equities fall

Abstract: The benchmark Nikkei average hit a 15-month closing low on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday following an overnight slump in U.S. equities. The 225-issue Nikkei tumbled 595.34 points, or 2.84 percent, to 20,392.58, its lowest finish since Sept. 29, 2017. On Wednesday, the index lost 127.53 points. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 38.99 points, or 2.51 percent, at 1,517.16, a level unseen since April 24, 2017. It shed 6.36 points Wednesday. In afternoon trading, Japanese shares accelerated their downswing due to speculative futures-led selling, market sources said. Foreign investors “beat the Tokyo market blindly ahead of the Christmas holidays,” an official of a bank-affiliated securities firm said. Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., said that investor sentiment was battered by a fall in Chinese equities amid concerns over the course of the global economy. Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief market analyst at Saxo Bank Securities Ltd., said that market participants were disappointed at the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. The Fed on Wednesday hinted at a slower pace of interest rate hikes next year, but this was not as dovish as expected, brokers said. The Fed “lacked consideration for (U.S. and Japanese) stocks being in a correction phase,” Kuramochi said. Falling issues far outnumbered rising ones 2,047 to 74 in the TSE’s first section, while nine issues were unchanged. Volume grew to 1.82 billion shares from 1.73 billion Wednesday. Semiconductor-related Tokyo Electron, Advantest and Shin-Etsu Chemical fell sharply after their U.S. peers fared poorly on Wednesday. Other major losers included clothing retailer Fast Retailing and convenience store operator FamilyMart Uny. By contrast, mobile phone carrier SoftBank closed 1.09 percent higher a day after its disappointing debut on the TSE. Also on the plus side were daily goods manufacturer Kao and automaker Suzuki as well as Takeda Pharmaceutical. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key March contract on the Nikkei average plummeted 710 points to 20,210.

nikkei
tokyo stock exchange
stocks
topix


Dollar falls below ¥112 line in Tokyo after sharp drop in stocks

Abstract: The dollar fell below ¥112 in Tokyo trading Thursday after being dragged down by a tumble in Japanese shares. Speculative selling apparently from European players pushed the dollar below ¥112 in late trading, an official of a foreign-exchange margin trading service company said. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.85-85, down from ¥112.40-40 at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1414-1415, up from $1.1397-1397, and at ¥127.69-70, down from ¥128.11-11. The dollar rose to around ¥112.60 in the morning on purchases by Japanese importers but lost momentum on the sharp fall in Japanese stocks. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average dropped 2.84 percent to 20,392.58, its lowest finish since September last year, amid growing concerns about a global economic slowdown. “A fall in long-term U.S. interest rates in off-hours trading also prompted dollar selling against the yen,” a Japanese bank official said. The dollar may test October lows of around ¥111.40 in the days to come, a think tank official said. Market players reacted little to the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep its massive monetary easing policy unchanged as it was widely expected.


Tokyo stocks slide 595 points as Fed's outlook on rates disappoints global markets

Abstract: Tokyo stocks tumbled Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei average falling to its lowest level in about 15 months after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates as expected and kept most of its guidance for additional hikes next two years, dashing investor hopes for a more dovish policy outlook. The 225-issue Nikkei stock average closed down 2.84 percent, or 595.34 points, at 20,392.58, after shedding 3.3 percent at one point. The broader Topix index dropped 2.51 percent, or 38.99 points, to close at 1,517.16. The Tokyo market opened lower, extending losses in U.S. shares amid worries the Fed would hike rates at a faster pace than expected, analysts said. In addition to disappointment over the Fed meeting, “concerns over the slowing of the global economy also weighed on the market,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary. Markets across Asia are nearing gloomy milestones, with the Topix and South Korea’s Kospi heading into bear market territory, or down over 20 percent from their recent highs, to join Shanghai and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite and the blue-chip CSI 300 fell 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was off 1.5 percent. In New York, U.S. S&P 500 Index lost 1.54 percent to hit its lowest level since September 2017. U.S. stocks are on pace for their biggest December decline since 1931, when America was in the depths of the Great Depression. “I think the Fed may be underestimating other factors at play,” said Bob Baur, chief global economist at Principal Global Investors in Des Moines, Iowa. “Trade has been making headlines, but I think a gradual tightening of monetary policy has been the driving force behind recent market volatility. With corporate borrowing and spending still high, and the Fed continuing to reduce its balance sheet, I’d expect volatility to remain if this tightening continues,” he said. The Fed raised key overnight lending rate rates by 0.25 point as expected to a range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent, after weeks of  market volatility and calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Fed to stop raising interest rates. It said “some further” rate hikes would be necessary in the year ahead, with its policymakers projecting two rate hikes on average next year instead of the three they saw back in September, a change that was also largely in line with expectations. But the slight revision was not enough to ease market fears over a further U.S. economic slowdown on the back of trade tensions, a waning boost from tax cuts and tightening monetary conditions for companies. U.S. junk bonds sold off sharply, with their exchange-traded funds falling 0.9 percent, the biggest decline since March 1. As investors flocked to the safety of government bonds, the 10-year U.S. Treasurys yield fell below its May 29 low of 2.759 percent to as low as 2.750 percent, a level last seen in early April. A rise in short-term interest rates and a fall in the long-date yield rekindled worries of an inversion in the yield curve, where shorter-debt yields become higher than longer-term ones. Historically, an inversion between short yields, such as three-month and two-year yields, and 10-year yields has been seen as a fairly reliable indicator of a recession down the road. “We expect additional rate hikes will invert the three-months to 10-year yield curve, which is a reliable signal for a bear market for stocks and a coming recession for both the U.S. and the rest of the world,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab in Boston. “So, seriously something to keep a close eye on. We do expect a very difficult year for investors.” The two-year U.S. yield stood at 2.656 percent, just 0.097 percent less than the 10-year yield. As one 25 basis point rate hike would likely invert the yield curve, many market players are skeptical whether the Fed can raise rates at all next year. Fed funds futures are now pricing in only about 50 percent chance of one rate hike. The dollar bounced back against major currencies after the Fed was perceived to be more hawkish than anticipated. The euro traded at $1.1383, off Wednesday’s high of $1.14395 before the Fed’s policy announcement. The dollar stood at ¥112.20, slightly off the seven-week low of ¥112.09 touched just before the Fed. “Traders sold the dollar yesterday, on hopes today’s Fed would be even more dovish,” said Kengo Suzuki, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.


Japan Post to take 7% stake in U.S. insurer Aflac for closer tie-up

Abstract: Japan Post Holdings Co. will acquire a 7 percent stake in U.S. insurer Aflac Inc. in 2019, after gaining regulatory approval, and make it an affiliate four years after the purchase to expand their cooperation, both firms said Wednesday. Following the stake purchase — worth about ¥270 billion ($2.4 billion) — Japan Post and Aflac will jointly develop new insurance products and make investments. The Japanese financial and postal service firm will not get involved in the U.S. firm’s management, they said. The former state enterprise has been in partnership with Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd., selling Aflac’s cancer insurance products at its post offices in Japan. The share purchase is subject to regulatory approval in Japan and the United States, expected by the end of 2019. Aflac’s shareholder rules state that an entity holding ordinary shares of the company for four years will receive 10 units of voting rights per share. Japan Post’s stake will eventually increase to 20 percent. Under its three-year business plan through fiscal 2020, Japan Post is expanding its businesses in Japan and abroad by investing several hundreds of billions of yen in corporate acquisitions.


Smiling at danger, China's finless porpoise fights to survive

Abstract: HUBEI, CHINA - In an oxbow lake along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, a breathy sigh pierces the surface stillness as one of China’s most endangered animals comes up for a gulp of hazy air. A slick black back with no dorsal fin arches briefly above the water line before plunging back down. Such glimpses of the shy Yangtze finless porpoise, the only aquatic mammal left in China’s longest river and known in Chinese as the “smiling angel” for its perma-grin, are increasingly rare. Pollution, overfishing, hydroelectric dams and shipping traffic have rendered them critically endangered, worse off even than China’s best-known symbol of animal conservation, the panda. China’s government estimates there were 1,012 wild Yangtze finless porpoises in 2017, compared to more than 1,800 giant pandas, which are no longer endangered. But researchers see signs of hope. Porpoise numbers fell by nearly half from 2006 to 2012, to an estimated 1,040. But the rate of decline has slowed markedly since then, suggesting that conservation may be making a dent. A central component of the rescue effort is the introduction of porpoises to several conservation areas off the busy river, where researchers say numbers have been actually increasing. At the Tianezhou Oxbow Nature Reserve in central China’s Hubei province, a curving lake linked to the Yangtze by a stream, around 30 to 40 porpoises were brought in beginning in the 1990s. There are now around 80. “We found out animals can not only survive but also reproduce naturally and successfully at Tianezhou. That’s very encouraging,” said Wang Ding, 60, a porpoise expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researchers also credit official clampdowns on polluting activities and fish over-harvesting, artificial reproduction projects, and growing environmental awareness among China’s emerging middle class. “The voice and supervision of the public has played an important role,” said Zhang Xinqiao, the species’ project manager at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Chinese officials are keen to avoid a repeat of the “baiji,” or Yangtze dolphin, the river’s only other aquatic mammal, which since 2006 has been considered extinct in a huge conservation setback for China. Losing the “smiling angel” would be a further tragedy, conservationists say. One of the world’s few freshwater porpoise subspecies, it is considered a natural barometer of the overall health of China’s most important river. The finless porpoise is mentioned in ancient Chinese poems and has been considered a harbinger of rain. Some locals call it the “river pig” for its plump body and rounded head. Adults can reach 2 meters (6 feet) long and were sometimes eaten, despite not being considered particularly tasty. Their livers were used in traditional medicines. Since China reopened to the world four decades ago, living standards have soared, but so have air and water pollution. The Yangtze contributes more to ocean pollution than any other world river, according to Dutch NGO Ocean Cleanup. Hydroelectric dams built on the river to satisfy soaring energy demand have also been disastrous for biodiversity. But in January 2016, President Xi Jinping called for a river protection push. Steps have included curbs on development, stricter fishing rules and other protection projects. Later that year, a formal porpoise action plan was launched, including increased relocations away from the river, more reserve sites and research on artificial breeding. The Tianezhou reserve, established in 1992, claims to be the world’s first and only example of cetaceans — which include dolphins and porpoises — surviving and reproducing after relocation. Local fishermen near the lake were encouraged to change professions. One, Wang Hesong, 46, became a patrolman at the reserve. “Look over there, a mother and a baby,” Wang said, as his pilot cut their patrol boat’s engine at the sight of two arched backs breaking the silvery surface. The shy mammals quickly submerged. “They only come up for a couple of seconds to breathe. … We go out patrolling every day and we see them every day,” Wang said. The 21-kilometer-long (13-mile) lake offers sanctuary, but porpoises within the river face intense pressure. The WWF’s Zhang said the species’ days in the river may be numbered. “They have nowhere to hide in the river,” he said. “As long as danger exists, such as a further deterioration of natural habitat, it’s very likely their numbers could drastically decrease again.” With the clock ticking, a research facility in the nearby industrial city of Wuhan hosts six finless porpoises for research, breeding and to engage the public. Two gracefully circled by an observation window that looks into their huge tank, playfully tilting their bodies to glimpse the human visitors. “They are saying ‘hi’ to us,” said Liu Hanhui, a volunteer. “I think they understand human feelings.” The WWF says adult Yangtze finless porpoises have the intelligence of a 3- to 5-year-old child. Just before feeding, they are coaxed to open their mouths on cue, show off their smiles, and shake hands by extending a flipper. Yet they are difficult to breed in captivity. A calf born in June at the dolphin aquarium — founded in 1980 — is just the second produced there to survive more than 100 days. Wild calves often die before adulthood due to human impact on the environment. Liu, an aquaculture student at a nearby university, and 40 other volunteers help feed them on weekends and holidays, and take part in various activities to promote awareness. Conservation programs and events in the region have proliferated in recent years, backed by scores of businesses and NGOs aiming to instruct the public and encourage greater government protection efforts. “Our development has caused a species to rapidly disappear. I feel like I’m atoning for mankind’s crimes,” Liu said.


Japan to regularly release figures for foreign workers by region and sector under new visa system

Abstract: The government said Thursday it plans to regularly release data on the number of foreign nationals working in Japan under a new visa system from April, as part of its efforts to avoid having them concentrate in large cities. Regional communities face more severe labor crunches than metropolises. To prevent the excessive concentration of foreign workers in Tokyo and other big cities, the Justice Ministry plans to make it publicly known how many foreign people are working under the new system by prefecture and industry once every three months. The ministry unveiled the plan in a meeting with ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, who adopted a set of government steps to accept more foreign workers under the revised immigration law that was enacted earlier this month. The government is expected to formally endorse the measures, which also include support for foreign workers, on Tuesday. Japan plans to accept up to 345,150 blue-collar workers from abroad across 14 business sectors, including construction, farming and nursing care, over five years from 2019 under the new visa system. The move marks a major policy shift for the country, which has typically granted working visas mainly to doctors, professors and other highly skilled professionals. The government has rushed to come up with concrete steps to accept foreign laborers amid criticism that the legislation, which was railroaded through the Diet by the ruling parties, lacks specifics, including what types of jobs the foreign workers would engage in. Under the draft basic policy, Japan would accept foreign workers in sectors that suffer from manpower shortages despite their efforts to improve productivity or secure human resources domestically. The new visa system calls for the creation of two new resident statuses. The first type allows people to engage in work that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience, while the second type is for workers with a higher level of skill. Applicants for the new working status will be required to pass Japanese-language and technical skill exams. The industry-specific draft policies stipulate the estimated number of workers to be accepted by sector and when Japanese-language assessment tests for hopeful applicants can start. The technical exams are expected to be conducted from next April in only three sectors: nursing care, accommodation and restaurants. The remaining 11 industries are likely to initially take in interns that possess visas under the existing government-sponsored technical training program, which doesn’t require such tests, and start conducting technical exams later. Support measures for foreign workers may include the creation of one-stop consultation centers, and the provision of administrative services and multilingual natural disaster information.


Lovot, Japan's new touchy-feely family robot, aims to spread a little love

Abstract: Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world, but it also might be the loneliest. So much so that its people may need to be taught how to love by a robot. On Tuesday, robotics venture company Groove X Inc. unveiled a cute knee-high robot called Lovot. The name is a combination of the words “love” and “robot,” which befits a device whose primary function is to provide people with comfort and companionship. “Lovot does not have life, but being with one is comforting and warm,” said Kaname Hayashi, president of Groove X and leader of the development team that created Pepper, the semi-humanoid robot from SoftBank Robotics. “We want people to see that though something may seem useless at first glance, it serves a meaningful function in other ways.” Born from the concept that “a small amount of love will change the world,” Lovot was created to redefine the role that robots play in our society. A thermographic camera on its head allows Lovot to track the motion of people around it. It pays careful attention to minute details like facial expressions, hand gestures and even posture. It has tactile sensors on every surface, LCD eye displays, high speed movement and a high-powered computer. It even has dilating pupils. Lovot also functions as a makeshift surveillance camera or baby monitor by transmitting live footage from a device on its head. For those concerned about privacy, it can function without an internet connection and its cameras can be configured so the footage is not preserved in any way. “But it can do much more than that,” Hayashi said. “Lovot is a mysterious and cute presence that will behave differently based on its interactions with its owner.” Lovot responds to individuals based on how they treat it, the company said. Someone who treats it well, for example, will gain its affection. On the other hand, Lovot will likely avoid or ignore anybody who abuses or neglects it. Beyond its technical capabilities, Lovot has many eerily human attributes as well. The small, spherical robot wanders around, mapping the layout of the room as it goes. When it encounters a person, it often flaps its arms to signal that it wants to be held. With a soft outer shell, interchangeable clothing and an internal temperature just above human body heat, Lovot was designed with the family in mind, Hayashi said. Lovot is being sold in sets of two for ¥598,000. In 2020, individual units will be available for ¥349,000. Online orders can be made as of Tuesday and most units will be delivered around fall or winter 2019. “It’s important for trust to be created between people and machines,” Hayashi said. “Until now, such things were beyond the reach of modern technology. Our predecessors predicted that this day would come.”


Dollar weaker below ¥112.60 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar was softer below ¥112.60 in Tokyo trading late Tuesday, hurt by a slide in Japanese and U.S. stock prices. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥112.52-52, down from ¥113.40-40 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1357-1357, up from $1.1318-1318, and at ¥127.80-80, down from ¥128.36-37. After moving around ¥112.80 in early trading, the dollar lost ground gradually in line with a fall in the Nikkei 225 average. “The absence of follow-up buying made any rally in the dollar short-lived as sentiment was hurt by weak stock prices,” an official at a foreign exchange brokerage service firm said. “The dollar may fall further against the yen in overseas trading hours if U.S. and European stocks retreat,” the official said. A technical chart suggests that the dollar will fall below ¥112.50 briefly and explore its near-term bottom, an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said.


Tokyo stocks turn sharply lower on Wall Street's rout

Abstract: Stocks turned substantially lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight plunge on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 average tumbled 391.43 points, or 1.82 percent, to end at 21,115.45. On Monday, the key market gauge gained 132.05 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was down 31.69 points, or 1.99 percent, at 1,562.51, its lowest finish since May 19, 2017. It climbed 2.04 points Monday. Japanese equities came under heavy selling pressure after U.S. stocks plumetted Monday amid growing concerns about slowing global growth, brokers said. The Tokyo market was also hurt by the yen’s strengthening against the dollar, they said. Stocks met with “futures-led selling by short-term players,” said Ryuta Otsuka, strategist at the investment information department of Toyo Securities Co. A sluggish performance of Chinese stocks was another factor prompting massive sell-offs of Japanese equities, Otsuka added. Worries about a global economic slowdown intensified after the Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s general business conditions index for December, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday, fell far short of market expectations, an official of a bank-linked securities firm said. Falling issues overwhelmed rising ones 1,982 to 132 in the first section, while 15 issues were unchanged. Trading volume increased to 1.625 billion shares from Monday’s 1.362 billion. Park24 plummeted 12.50 percent after the hourly parking service provider on Monday gave disappointing profit estimates for the year through next October, brokers said. Lower crude oil prices dragged down oil companies JXTG, Cosmo Energy and Inpex. Takeda Pharmaceutical and mobile phone carrier SoftBank Group were also on the minus side. By contrast, Daito Trust Construction rose after the company announced a boost in its share buyback plan. Other major winners included Semiconductor equipment maker Advantest and automaker Suzuki.


Democrats jockeying over coming probes into Trump's finances, Russia ties

Abstract: WASHINGTON - With less than three weeks to go before they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats are jockeying to lead overlapping investigations into President Donald Trump in a scramble that could cause headaches for Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to be House speaker. The investigations will be led by as many as six different House committees with some falling under the possible jurisdiction of two or more, Democratic congressional sources said. The main areas of investigation include Trump’s tax returns and business properties; any collusion between his campaign team and Russian interference in the 2016 election; any violations of a constitutional clause that forbids the president from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the consent of Congress; and allegations that he broke campaign finance laws with hush money payments to two women who said they had sex with him. Democrats are keen to start digging but could face problems if they move too quickly and are seen to be neglecting legislation on key issues or if they bicker among themselves over who leads the investigations. Democratic sources familiar with weeks of regular talks between the senior lawmakers who will lead the House committees said a key issue has been how to prevent overlap between dozens of possible probes. Most of the investigative roles have been agreed on but there is still some jostling, especially from rank-and-file committee members who want a piece of the action. “There’s going to be jockeying. But there’s also got to be some refereeing,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, who is in line to chair the House Oversight Committee. “One thing we’ve vowed to do is not step on each other. We may be in disagreement but we’re not going to be disagreeable,” he said. Nancy Pelosi, likely to be elected speaker of the House in January, will have a central role in deciding which committees take on the investigations, and how they coordinate. Ashley Etienne, a senior adviser to Pelosi, said Democrats have had weekly strategy meetings on their oversight work throughout Trump’s presidency and are “incredibly coordinated” and ready to go after winning a House majority in elections last month. “The American people deserve answers and demand accountability,” Etienne said. “Given the magnitude of the corruption, cronyism and incompetency in this administration, it’s definitely a war room-style effort.” Most of the investigative work will be done by six House committees — Intelligence, Government Reform and Oversight, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Financial Services and Foreign Affairs. Sources say Democrats on several committees want to probe Trump’s ties to Russia, especially his plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and whether he told his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie about them in testimony to Congress. “The Russia piece is the most complicated because there are so many moving parts,” Cummings said. The incoming chairs of at least three committees also have expressed interest in examining Trump’s debts and financial relationships, including his dealings with Deutsche Bank. Other issues that could attract multiple committees include the Trump administration’s controversial immigration policies. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the likely House investigations. Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow ahead of the election, calling an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and congressional probes part of a “witch hunt” against him. He also has denied any wrongdoing in his business affairs, the efforts to seek a property deal in Moscow or in his government’s immigration policies. Pelosi said last week that obtaining Trump’s tax returns will be a priority. “There is popular demand for the Congress to request the president’s tax returns,” she said, adding that “the first steps” will be taken by Ways and Means, the only House committee authorized to request them from Treasury. Some Democrats are concerned, however, that an aggressive early effort to dig into Trump’s taxes could be risky, with Trump’s allies almost certain to allege he is being harassed. To avoid that, Democrats are debating a different approach: investigate other companies and individuals involved in controversial Trump properties and combine that with transaction data on file with government agencies in order to justify a request for Trump’s tax returns. When he was running for president, Trump refused to release his tax returns, saying he would do it once an audit was completed. He has yet to release them and his administration is expected to resist any congressional request for them, meaning a likely legal battle ahead. Other elements of Trump’s financial and business dealings also are in House Democrats’ crosshairs. The Intelligence Committee’s incoming chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, has said Democrats need to look into “credible allegations that the Russians may have been laundering money through the Trump organization.” Aides to Rep. Jackie Speier, a key Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, already are compiling evidence about the alleged involvement of organized crime figures in Trump property deals, including some outside the United States. Trump has said he wants to work with Democrats on passing bipartisan legislation but that it will not happen if they start investigations against him. “We’re going to go down one of two tracks,” he said in an interview last week. “We’re either going to start the campaign and they’re going to do presidential harassment. Or we’re going to get tremendous amounts of legislation passed working together. There’s not a third track.”

democrats
finances
russia
donald trump
nancy pelosi
congress
adam schiff
trump organization
u.s. house


U.N. Security Council considers move to push Myanmar on Rohingya crisis, but Russia and China boycott talks

Abstract: UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council is considering action to push Myanmar to work with the United Nations to address the Rohingya refugee crisis, although China and Russia have so far boycotted talks on a British-drafted resolution, diplomats said Monday. The draft resolution aims to put a timeline on Myanmar allowing the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees from neighboring Bangladesh and addressing accountability, diplomats said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August last year, when attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents triggered a military crackdown that the United Nations, the United States, Britain and others described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies the accusations of ethnic cleansing. The draft resolution would warn that the 15-member Security Council could consider further steps, including sanctions, if there was not enough progress made by Myanmar, diplomats said. It would also ask U.N. officials to report back regularly to the council. It was unclear if or when the draft resolution could be put to a vote. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass. “I think it’s inappropriate, untimely and useless,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Monday. China’s U.N. Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu declined to comment. Myanmar’s U.N. Ambassador Hau Do Suan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The draft was circulated to council members late last month and diplomats said that there had been several rounds of discussions. Russia and China attended an initial meeting, but have not taken part in any further talks, diplomats said. The text would push Myanmar to implement a memorandum of understanding with the U.N. development and refugee agencies that Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government signed in June, as well recommendations made by the Rakhine Advisory Commission that was led by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. The draft resolution does not include a referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, diplomats said. Security Council envoys traveled to Bangladesh and Myanmar in late April. In October, China, backed by Russia, failed to stop a Security Council briefing by the chair of a U.N. inquiry that accused Myanmar’s military of genocide against Rohingya Muslims. Myanmar has rejected the findings of the U.N. report.

myanmar
rohingya
russia
china
united nations
refugee
genocide
human rights
u.n. security council


'No place for a mother': South Korea battles to raise birthrate

Abstract: SEOUL - When Ashley Park started her marketing job at a Seoul drugmaker she had a near-perfect college record, flawless English, and got on well with her colleagues — none of which mattered to her employer once she fell pregnant. Nine months after she joined, Park said, “They said to my face that there is no place in the company for a woman with a child, so I needed to quit.” All the women working at the firm were single or childless, she suddenly realized, and mostly below 40. Park’s case exemplifies why so many South Korean women are put off marriage and childbirth, pushing the country’s birthrate — one of the world’s lowest — ever further down. Earlier this month Seoul announced its latest set of measures to try to stem the decline, but critics say they will have little to no effect in the face of deep-seated underlying causes. Many South Korean firms are reluctant to employ mothers, doubting their commitment to the company and fearing that they will not put in the long hours that are standard in the country — as well as to avoid paying for their legally-entitled birth leave. When Park refused to quit, her boss relentlessly bullied her — banning her from attending business meetings and ignoring her at the office “like I was an invisible ghost” — and management threatened to fire her husband, who worked at the same company. After fighting for about six months, she finally relented and offered her resignation, giving birth to a daughter a month later. Aside from a brief stint at an IT start-up that did not keep its promise of flexible working hours, she has been a stay-at-home mother ever since. “I studied and worked so hard for years to get a job when youth unemployment was so high, and enjoyed my work so much … and look what happened to me,” Park said. Now 27, she has been rejected at several job interviews as soon as she revealed she had a child, and has given up seeking employment, trying to set up her own trading business instead. “The government kept telling women to have more children… but how, in a country like this?” she asked. The South’s fertility rate — the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — fell to 0.95 in the third quarter of 2018, the first time it has dropped below 1 and far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain stability. As a result of the trend, which has been dubbed a “birth strike” by women, the population of the world’s 11th largest economy, currently 51 million, is expected to start falling in 2028. Many cite reasons ranging from the expense of child-rearing, high youth unemployment, long working hours and limited day care to career setbacks for working mothers. Even if women hold on to their jobs, they bear a double burden of carrying out the brunt of household chores. Patriarchal values remain deeply ingrained in the South: nearly 85 percent of South Korean men back the idea of women working, according to a state survey, but that plummets to 47 percent when asked whether they would support their own wives having a job. Employment rates for married men and women are dramatically different — 82 percent and 53 percent respectively. Now nearly three-quarters of South Korean women aged 20-40 see marriage as unnecessary, an opinion poll by a financial magazine and a recruitment website showed. But almost all children in the South are born in wedlock. Against that backdrop, the South’s government has spent a whopping 136 trillion won ($121 billion) since 2005 to try to boost the birthrate, mostly through campaigns to encourage more young people to wed and reproduce, without success. Earlier this month it announced yet another round of measures. They included expanding child subsidies of up to 300,000 won ($270) a month, and allowing parents with children younger than eight to work an hour less each day to take care of their offspring. More day care centers and kindergartens will be built, and men will be allowed — but not obliged — to take 10 days of paid birth leave, up from the current three. But many measures were not legally binding and carried no punishment for firms that denied their workers the promised benefits, and the package met a disdainful response. “The government policies are based on this simplistic assumption that ‘if we give more money, people would have more children,’ ” the Korea Women Workers Association said in a statement. Seoul should first address “relentless sexual discrimination at work and the double burden of work and house chores” for women, it added. The centrist Korea Times newspaper also questioned whether such “lackluster” state policies would bring in real change unless the government tackled the real drivers of women shunning marriage and childbirth. “Unless these harsh conditions for women change, no amount of government subsidies will convince women having children is a happy choice.”

mothers
south korea
birthrate
children
population


Defendant suffers setback in Malaysia trial over murder of Kim Jong Nam

Abstract: SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA - An Indonesian woman due to begin her defense next month in her trial for the murder in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother suffered a setback Tuesday when a judge rejected her bid to secure statements given to police by seven witnesses. Siti Aisyah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, said he will appeal the High Court’s ruling that the statements were privileged. He said the statements were crucial because most of the witnesses were unreachable. In August, a High Court judge found there was enough evidence to infer that Aisyah and her Vietnamese co-defendant, Doan Thi Huong, along with four missing North Korean suspects, had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim Jong Nam. The two young women are accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim’s face in an airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13, 2017. They have said they thought they were taking part in a prank for a TV show. They are the only suspects in custody. The four North Korean suspects fled the country the same morning Kim was killed. Aisyah was due to begin testifying on Jan. 7, but Gooi said there will be a delay pending the appeal. He said one of the witnesses, the man who chauffeured Kim to the airport, had died. He said they have managed to interview only two of the seven witnesses offered by prosecutors, while the others couldn’t be contacted. As such, what they had told police could help provide a clearer picture of Kim’s death, he said. Gooi said Tuesday’s ruling would “compromise our case.” In his ruling, the judge agreed with prosecutors’ contention that the statements shouldn’t be made public because there is a risk of tampering with witnesses. The judge said, however, that prosecutors are required to ensure that the witnesses turn up for the trial. The court didn’t set any new trial dates.

malaysia
murder
kim jong nam
kim jong un
north korea


Japan defense plan calls for aircraft carriers at sea and vigilance in space and cyberspace

Abstract: Japan decided Tuesday to pursue the deployment of aircraft carriers for the first time since the end of World War II and beef up its defense in new domains of warfare, such as cyberspace, under its new 10-year defense policy. The latest national defense guidelines, which will enable Japan to modify helicopter carriers so they can launch U.S.-made F-35B fighter jets, were adopted as the government sees the security environment as increasing in uncertainty amid China’s expanding military activities and rapid advances in technology. “We need to develop truly effective defense abilities, rather than simply expanding traditional ones,” the government said in the policy, which covers a period from fiscal 2019 and is endorsed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet. The policy was last updated in 2013. In the new guidelines, the government says China’s military activities in the East China Sea and other surrounding waters are a source of “strong concern” in the region, while warning of China’s quest for military supremacy in space and the cyber domain, which could enable the country to disrupt command and control systems. As part of its efforts to enhance the defense of islands in the Pacific Ocean and other areas where not many airfields exist, the government said it plans to upgrade Izumo-class flat-top helicopter carriers to enable it to transport and launch fighter jets, such as F-35Bs. “We will refit Maritime Self-Defense Force multipurpose helicopter destroyers so fighter jets capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings can be deployed when necessary,” the government said in its new five-year midterm defense buildup program, which was endorsed along with the defense guidelines the same day. The idea, however, has already been criticized by some defense experts who call it a deviation from the country’s self-defense policy under the pacifist Constitution. In an apparent effort to reassure the public, the government has stipulated in the defense buildup program that it has no intention of possessing an offensive type of aircraft carrier deemed to exceed the constitutional limit. “The planned modification to the Izumo-class carriers is to increase their applications,” Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference after the guidelines were approved. Given that the ships will not constantly carry fighters, their operations will be defensive in nature and will not violate the Constitution, Iwaya added. The government has placed considerable emphasis on the need to address the fields of cyberspace, outer space and electronic warfare, saying in the guidelines that the areas have the potential to “fundamentally change the shape of national security,” which has so far mainly focused on conventional ground, sea and air domains. Noting the increasing need for the country’s ground, maritime and air units to act flexibly across all kinds of domains, the government says it will aim to form a “multidimensional joint defense force.” The Self-Defense Forces are also expected to drastically improve their cyberdefense capabilities, such as by possessing an ability to obstruct the enemy’s use of cyberspace when the nation is under attack, it says. But it may require careful consideration for Japan to carry out such “counterattacks,” as the country restricts the use of force for self-defense to certain conditions in light of the Constitution. Further complicating the issue is the lack of an established definition of cyberattacks internationally, and it is also believed to be difficult to identify the attacking source at an early stage. Regarding outer space, where Japan is seen to be lagging behind other countries in the race to gain military superiority, a new unit will be created inside the Air Self-Defense Force to continuously monitor space and act for the nation’s defense. The government also plans to invest in artificial intelligence technologies and underwater drones. To achieve the latest Medium Term Defense Program, which covers a five-year period from fiscal 2019, the government says it expects to spend around ¥27.47 trillion, a record high. The program includes a plan to purchase a total of 18 fighter jets — apparently to put them on Izumo-class carriers — and install two U.S.-developed land-based Aegis missile systems to counter the North Korean nuclear and missile threat. The defense budget has been on the rise under the administration of Abe, who took office in 2012. For the next fiscal year starting in April, the Defense Ministry has requested another record-high budget of about ¥5.3 trillion, including around ¥235 billion in costs related to the acquisition of the Aegis Ashore system. With Japan purchasing U.S. defense equipment mainly through the foreign military sales arrangement, the government says in the latest defense guidelines it will seek to “streamline” the process to procure the sophisticated armaments “efficiently.” Japan has been under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Buy American” policy. The foreign military sales arrangement is used by Washington to prevent sensitive military technology from leaking, but critics say it is making Japan buy equipment at an asking price that is extremely expensive. To secure enough SDF personnel as the country’s overall population ages and birthrates decline, the government says in the guidelines it plans to raise the retirement age of members and more actively recruit women. New defense guidelines and midterm buildup program The following is the gist of the new National Defense Program Guidelines and the fiscal 2019-2023 midterm defense buildup program approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday. Japan: will upgrade Izumo-class helicopter carriers so that they can transport and launch fighter jets. will buy 18 F-35B fighter jets capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings. will beef up defense in new domains of warfare such as cyber and outer space. aims to build “multidimensional” defense capabilities for operations across various domains. expresses “strong concern” over China’s military activities. will install two land-based Aegis missile systems. will spend over ¥27 trillion — a record — in the five-year period.

defense
aircraft carriers
cyberspace
guidelines
izumo


Petition calling for halt to Okinawa base work meets threshold to warrant White House reply

Abstract: NEW YORK - A petition to Washington that calls for a temporary halt to reclamation work for the construction of a U.S. base off Okinawa hit the signature threshold on Tuesday to warrant a response from the White House. Robert Kajiwara, a 32-year-old Japanese-American from Hawaii, started the online petition on Dec. 8 through the White House’s We the People website and garnered more than 100,000 signatures within 10 days, well within the 30 days necessary for a reply. Full-fledged reclamation work off the Henoko coastal district of Nago started on Friday despite stiff local opposition. The work is being carried out for the planned transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, based on a bilateral agreement in 1996. Addressing U.S. President Donald Trump, the petition asks the work to be stopped until Feb. 24 when the southern island will hold a prefectural referendum on the base transfer plan. “Please STOP the landfill work in Okinawa until a democratic referendum can be held,” it asks. The petition also references the election this September of Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki who ran on a platform to end the transfer of the Futenma base within Okinawa. His predecessor, Takeshi Onaga, died of cancer in the midst of his fight to oppose the plan. “The Japanese government and U.S. military have so far IGNORED the democratic will of Gov. Tamaki & the Okinawan people,” the petition says. Requesting a halt to the construction work “to ensure that democracy prevails,” the petition says, “Please show Okinawans that America is indeed an honorable and GREAT nation.” The petition also mentions that continuing the work will “forever strain U.S.-Okinawa relations.” Having hosted the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan for decades, many people in Okinawa are frustrated with noise, crime and accidents linked to the military and do not want to see any new bases built in the prefecture. The White House is supposed to respond within 60 days to any petition that gathers 100,000 signatures within 30 days of its starting date. Petitioners can be of any nationality but must be over 13 years of age. Japan-based celebrities such as model and actress Rola and pop star Ryuchell, who hails from Okinawa, have raised awareness about the petition via their social media accounts. On her Instagram account, which has some 5.2 million followers, Rola said that the reclamation of Okinawa’s beautiful sea can be stopped if people join hands, calling for their messages to be delivered to the White House.

okinawa
white house
futenma
rola
u.s. bases


Japan rises four places to lowly 110th in WEF's global gender equality rankings

Abstract: LONDON - Japan has been placed 110th in the World Economic Forum’s global gender equality rankings for 2018, released Tuesday, up from 114th last year. The rise reflected narrower wage gaps and an increase in women’s labor participation rate. Still, the nation remains low in the WEF rankings five years after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set out a policy of promoting the empowerment of women as part of his government’s growth strategy and more than three years after a related law was partially implemented. The WEF survey, covering 149 countries, examined gender equality in the fields of politics, economy, education and health. Japan received poor marks for political empowerment, such as the proportions of women among lawmakers and Cabinet ministers. In the economic field, the country ranked low for annual income equality and the proportion of women in managerial positions. In education, the country received a low evaluation for the proportion of women enrolled in higher educational institutions. Iceland topped the rankings for the 10th straight year, followed by Norway, Sweden and Finland. The United States came 51st, China 103rd, South Korea 115th and Saudi Arabia, 141st.

gender equality rankings
world economic forum
women
discrimination