Powerful North Korean decision-making body set to decide 'new orientation' ahead of Trump-Moon summit

Abstract: North Korea has announced that the Central Committee of its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was set to hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss and decide what it called a “new orientation” just days ahead of South Korean leader Moon Jae-in’s visit to the White House. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a short dispatch Wednesday morning that the powerful decision-making body would “discuss and decide the new orientation and ways of struggle in line with the need of the prevailing revolutionary situation.” At last year’s meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that his country no longer needed to test nuclear weapons or longer-range missiles, would close its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and was shifting its primary focus to its tattered economy. In a separate report Wednesday, KCNA said that an enlarged meeting of the WPK’s politburo had been held a day earlier, and that Kim had “urged the need for leading officials to fully display a high sense of responsibility and creativity, and the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude … under the prevailing tense situation and thus follow through on the new strategic line of the Party.” With Moon set to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington, Wednesday’s Central Committee meeting will be closely watched for any shifts in the nuclear-armed country’s policy. Moon is believed to be pushing for the targeted easing of crushing sanctions against the North as a way of bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program after the last Trump-Kim summit, held in late February in Hanoi, ended with no agreement. That summit, the pair’s second meeting, collapsed over a failure to reconcile North Korean demands for sanctions relief with U.S. demands for Kim to give up his weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has since warned that it is considering halting talks and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests, in place since late 2017, unless Washington relents and makes concessions. However, the Trump administration has publicly remained firm that crippling economic sanctions will not be lifted until the North relinquishes its nuclear weapons. “President Trump has been unambiguous,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week. “Our administration’s policy is incredibly clear: Economic sanctions, United Nations Security Council sanctions, will not be lifted until we achieve the ultimate objective that we set out now almost two years ago.”

north korea
moon jae-in
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
donald trump
u.s .
south korea
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


South Korean leader has work cut out for him in talks with Trump on North Korean nukes

Abstract: South Korean leader Moon Jae-in heads to Washington for a crucial summit with U.S. President Donald Trump this week in hopes of persuading the mercurial leader to give some ground in his negotiations with North Korea over that country’s nuclear arsenal. But Moon, who has seen his influence in the negotiation process wane, faces a daunting task in his attempt to bridge the gap in the two sides’ thinking in the wake of February’s Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi. That summit, at which the Washington and Pyongyang had been widely expected to reach some kind of agreement, ended in a failure to reconcile North Korean demands for sanctions relief with U.S. demands for Kim to give up his weapons of mass destruction. In announcing Moon’s meeting with Trump in Washington scheduled for Thursday, South Korea’s presidential office said the two would discuss ways “to coordinate their stance on setting up a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization” — a sign that Moon will be pushing hard for more flexibility in the U.S. position. “It is clear that President Moon would like President Trump to return to the table with Kim Jong Un, and, better yet, he would like Trump and Kim to recapture the atmosphere and momentum on display last June in Singapore,” Alexis Dudden, a professor at the University of Connecticut who specializes in the modern history of Japan and Korea, said of last year’s historic U.S.-North Korea summit. At that summit, Kim agreed in a vaguely worded 1½-page joint statement to “work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” while Trump committed to “provide security guarantees” to the regime. Moon’s administration has urged sanctions exemptions for inter-Korean projects, including the reopening of the Kaesong industrial facility and Mount Kumgang tourism site, which he and Kim agreed to during their third summit in September last year. The Trump administration, however, has maintained that it will not let up on sanctions that have crippled North Korea’s economy until it first relinquishes its nuclear weapons. Still, Dudden said that Moon will likely seek “a staged approach” in which the U.S. offers some sanctions relief in exchange for demonstrable reductions in North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, while also signing off on South Korean efforts to engage the North. But U.S. acquiescence to inter-Korean projects already agreed to at prior North-South summits may not be enough for Pyongyang at this point, others say. “I think one of the lessons we learned from Hanoi is that despite what the U.S./ROK might think are good ideas, the North Koreans are not willing to negotiate for things they have already been promised,” Jenny Town, a fellow with the Stimson Center think tank, said using the acronym for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea. Town, who also serves as managing editor of the respected North Korea-watching 38 North website, noted that the inter-Korean economic projects had already been committed to in accords at the two Koreas’ summits, adding that “these are not things that North Korea considers suitable measures” in U.S.-North Korea talks. “It’s up to Moon to negotiate with the U.S. for those exemptions, but it will be to jump-start inter-Korean relations only; it will not help move the needle on the U.S.-DPRK front,” she said, using the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The North Koreans “want something more (or something) different that is unique to the U.S.-DPRK process,” Town added. Indeed, in the weeks since Hanoi, top-ranking Kim regime officials have hinted that some form of sanctions relief could create a path that ultimately leads to a breakthrough. Perhaps more importantly, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui reportedly claimed on March 15 that Trump had initially taken a “flexible position” on sanctions in Hanoi, provided there was a “snapback” clause if Pyongyang restarted nuclear activities. However, she said that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton “created an obstacle” to this approach. Shortly after the Hanoi talks, Choe had warned in an apparent threat to halt talks with the U.S. that Kim may have “lost the will” to make a deal on his country’s nuclear program. But any policy shift could also be decided at a rare meeting of the ruling party’s powerful Central Committee being held Wednesday. Both Bolton and Pompeo have been known to hold hard-line views of North Korea, with Pompeo agreeing with the characterization of Kim as a “tyrant” during a Senate hearing Tuesday and Bolton having the dubious distinction of once being labeled “human scum and a bloodsucker” by North Korea’s state media. On Thursday in the U.S. capital, Moon will have to put Choe’s claim to the test, confirming whether or not Trump is invested in a longer-term process while also determining once-and-for-all who the key decision-makers and policy-crafters are on his team. But even if he is able to make these determinations, Moon must still deal with Trump. “President Trump has made abundantly clear that ultimately he is the only one making decisions about North Korea, and he is reliably unpredictable,” the University of Connecticut’s Dudden said.

south korea
north korea
moon jae-in
donald trump
kim-trump summit
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
u.s .
north korea nuclear crisis


As Balkans sit in EU's waiting room, China gets to work

Abstract: BELGRADE - From coal plants to airports and bridges, China is forking out for investments across the western Balkans, laying groundwork for a new battle for influence on the European Union’s fringe. The West has long eyed Russia as its chief rival in this turbulent corner of Europe. But there is another major player in town as Chinese firms fill development gaps in these cash-strapped countries, where dreams of entering the EU keep sliding toward the horizon. The EU accounts for more than 70 percent of overall direct investment in the region spanning Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo — far above the 1 percent contributed by China, according to European Commission figures. But China has in the past six years leaped forward in infrastructure-related spending, rivaling the sums spent by the EU, and is otherwise making a noticeable impact. In the Serbian steel town of Smederevo, 54-year-old mill worker Zoran Matic thanked “the Chinese — or as we call them, our friends,” for rescuing a factory that was on the brink of bankruptcy before China’s HBIS group bought it in 2014 for €46 million ($52 million at current rates). “Wages are regular. The city has woken up,” added his colleague Novica Djordjevic, standing outside the gate, where China’s red flag flies. The purchase was a triumph where Americans had foundered. Just two years earlier, U.S. Steel sold the plant, and its debts, to the Serbian government for a symbolic $1. Now production is growing and revenue was up 37 percent last year. Thrilled, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic urged China to also take over a debt-hit copper mine farther south — which it did last year. And the requests keep coming. In September, Vucic called for Chinese companies to invest in the tech sector and, ambitiously, turn Serbia into a hub for “flying cars.” As a gateway to Southern Europe, the Balkans form a key link in Beijing’s “Belt and Road” project, a $1 trillion plan to pave a path for its exports to Europe and beyond. Surrounded by EU member states, the region connects the Piraeus port in Greece — already controlled by the Chinese — to the heart of Europe. But the massive concessional loans used to fund much of the building have drawn scrutiny in Brussels. EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees bids to join the bloc, said there are “concerns over the socioeconomic and financial effects some of China’s investments can have.” He cited tiny Montenegro, where public debt shot up to more than 70 percent of its GDP after the country took an €809 million loan from China’s state-owned Export-Import Bank to build a highway through its mountainous terrain. There’s fear the country could fall victim to “debt-trap diplomacy” — when nations that default on China’s loans are forced to hand over assets. “These investments often come with strings attached,” Hahn said. “And that in return has an impact on our aim, namely to improve the stability and economic development” in the Balkans. The “Belt and Road” projects will be at center stage at the annual “16+1” summit in Dubrovnik on Friday, bringing together leaders from Beijing plus 16 Eastern European countries, including five western Balkan states. In the West, the grouping has been eyed warily as a possible Chinese attempt to divide the bloc and gain leverage from within. Beijing denies any geopolitical intentions and says it supports a united Europe. But Brussels has started moving to curb the Asian giant’s reach. In February, EU lawmakers voted in new screening of foreign investments, which will limit China’s ability to buy firms in the strategic technology and infrastructure sectors. The western Balkans, however, remains a open field outside the EU and has already attracted a significant chunk of the 16+1 investment. Between 2007 and 2017 Beijing announced €12 billion in loans for construction projects in the 16 countries — a third of which were earmarked for Serbia, followed by Bosnia (21 percent) and Montenegro (7 percent), according to a European Investment Bank study. Not all projects are guaranteed to materialize. Some, like a railway from Belgrade to Budapest, have already hit significant snags on Hungary’s side. But according to an 2017 IMF study, China is financing at least €6.2 billion in railway, energy and road construction in the western Balkans. With less access to EU funding, the poorer Balkan countries are “not in a position to be turning money away,” explained Matt Ferchen, a China specialist at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. From an EU perspective, there is concern the Chinese model of investment — free of requirements where recipients tackle issues like corruption or press restrictions — will work against Brussels’ goals in the region. For instance, China is also funding the expansion of coal-fired energy plants, bucking an EU trend away from fossil fuels. Bosnian lawmakers are now under fire for approving a state guarantee this month for a €614 million Chinese bank loan to upgrade a coal-fired power plant in Tuzla. In a tweet, Hahn warned “issues like environmental impact assessments, state aid and public procurement procedures will certainly be closely looked at” as EU membership bids are evaluated. The Energy Community, which is tasked with expanding EU energy policies to southeast Europe, has opened a complaint, saying the state guarantee violates subsidy laws. But while Brussels wields red tape, local politicians cast China as coming to the rescue. The Chinese loan is “a historic moment for Bosnia,” said Fadil Novalic, prime minister of the country’s Bosnian-Croat region. “We have not had such an investment in 40 years.”

china
development
serbia
bosnia
montenegro
north macedonia
albania
kosovo
belt and road
aid


China opens fourth border crossing with North Korea, complete with radiation detectors

Abstract: BEIJING - A Chinese city has opened a new border crossing with North Korea — fitted with radiation detectors — even as talks between Washington and Pyongyang have languished over disagreements for nuclear sanctions relief. The new highway border crossing opened in the northeastern city of Ji’an on Monday, complementing its three existing ports with the North, the city said in a statement published to its website Tuesday. “After three years of unremitting efforts, the China-North Korean Ji’an-Manpo Highway Port was officially opened,” the city said. The project cost 280 million yuan ($42 million) and the city estimated 500,000 tons of goods and 200,000 people would cross through the new port each year. But crippling U.N. sanctions imposed on the North by the U.N. Security Council in 2016 and 2017 have crimped trade between the two Cold War-era allies. China is by far the North’s biggest trading partner. While Pyongyang publishes virtually no economic statistics of its own, Chinese Customs figures show exports to China have plummeted by more than 90 percent since 2016, down to $213 million last year — although some observers question their reliability Sanctions relief was top of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s agenda for his Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in February. But the meeting broke up without a statement or even a lunch as the two sides disagreed over walking back Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for loosening sanctions. After the opening ceremony, the first 120 tourists crossed the border. Chinese tourism to the North has picked up as relations between the countries have improved in recent years. The crossing also has a nuclear radiation detection gate, the city said. China has long been worried about any fallout from North Korea’s nuclear activities and Jilin was rocked by an earthquake after a massive bomb test across the border in September 2017. The main artery for North Korean trade with China has traditionally been through the Chinese border city of Dandong, to the south. Ambitious city planners there started work on a Dandong New Zone in 2012, capped by a massive project to open a bridge connecting the city with the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the other side. Authorities expected billions of dollars in investment to flood into jointly-run free trade zones on both sides of the border. But after construction on the four-lane, $350 million bridge completed, it never opened, and the concrete runs into fields on the North Korean side.

china
north korea
radiation
nuclear weapons
transportation
north korea nuclear crisis
ji'an


New Zealand votes to amend gun laws after Christchurch attack

Abstract: WELLINGTON - Lawmakers in New Zealand voted almost unanimously on Wednesday to change gun laws, less than a month after its worst peacetime mass shooting, in which 50 people were killed in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch. Parliament passed the gun reform bill, the first substantial changes to New Zealand’s gun laws in decades, by 119 to 1. It must now receive royal assent from the governor general to become law. “There have been very few occasions when I have seen parliament come together in this way, and I can’t imagine circumstances when it is more necessary,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in presenting the legislation. Ardern banned the sale of all military style semi-automatics (MSSA) and assault rifles just six days after the March 15 shooting, and announced plans to tighten gun laws. A lone gunman used semi-automatic guns in the Christchurch mosque attacks, killing 50 people as they attended Friday prayers. Authorities have charged Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, with 50 counts of murder following the attacks. The new curbs bar the circulation and use of most semi-automatic firearms, parts that convert firearms into semi-automatic firearms, magazines over a certain capacity, and some shotguns. Existing gun laws had provided for a standard A-category gun license covering semi-automatics limited to seven shots. The bill grants an amnesty until Sept. 30 for people to surrender prohibited items. More than 300 weapons had already been handed in, police minister Stuart Nash told parliament. The government has begun work on a second arms amendment bill it hopes to introduce in June, he said, adding that the measure would tackle issues regarding a gun registry, among others. The government has faced criticism from some quarters for rushing through the bill. Wednesday’s dissenting vote came from David Seymour, leader of the small free-market ACT Party, who questioned why the measure was being rushed through. Ardern said majority lawmakers believe such guns had no place in New Zealand. “We are ultimately here because 50 people died and they do not have a voice,” she added. “We, in this house, are their voice and today we have used that voice wisely.” Since last month’s shooting, New Zealand has tightened security and canceled several events in Auckland, its largest city, intended to commemorate ANZAC Day on April 25. “There is no information about a specific threat to ANZAC events,” police official Karyn Malthus, said in a statement. “However it’s important that the public be safe, and feel safe, at events in the current environment.” In 1996, neighboring Australia banned semi-automatic weapons and launched a gun buyback after the Port Arthur massacre that killed 35 people.

new zealand
gun laws
christchurch
mass shooting
mosques
prime minister jacinda ardern
brenton tarrant


Japan's Emperor and Empress celebrate 60 years of marriage ahead of abdication

Abstract: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko marked their 60th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, with various celebratory events held during the day ahead of the Emperor’s abdication at the end of the month. With their elder son Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, the anniversary of their matrimony was the last they would celebrate during the 85-year-old Emperor’s reign. In 1959, then-Crown Prince Akihito married Michiko Shoda, the daughter of a businessman, making her the first commoner ever to wed an heir to the Imperial throne. More than 500,000 people took to the streets to watch them pass in a horse-drawn carriage. The Emperor will step down on April 30, becoming the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in more than 200 years. 【両陛下 60回目の結婚記念日 皇居で祝賀行事】 天皇皇后両陛下は60年前の10日、昭和34年４月10日に結婚されました。 その時の祝賀パレードなどを伝えたカラー映像です。 https://t.co/2yXhFNOEdT #nhk_news #nhk_video pic.twitter.com/KIML7bpY41 — NHKニュース (@nhk_news) April 10, 2019 The Imperial Couple received words of congratulations Wednesday from Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, as well as other members of the Imperial family, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Imperial Household Agency staff among others. Although the Emperor and Empress Michiko, 84, did not attend, a cross-party group of lawmakers staged a festival later in the day at the National Theatre in Tokyo to celebrate Emperor Akihito’s 30-year reign. The event, which drew an estimated 1,800 people, was set to feature a performance of a song based on poems written by the Emperor and the Empress as well as appearances by popular musicians such as Yumi Matsutoya, Misia and folk duo Yuzu. Film director Takeshi Kitano and Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2012 for developing so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, were also expected to make congratulatory speeches, and Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, was set to attend. At the festival, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “We are determined to create a bright future while keeping in our mind how their majesties, the Emperor and Empress, have constantly stayed by the people.”

marriage
abdication
emperor akihito
empress michiko
imperial family


F-35A fighter jet crashed, Japan's defense ministry says, as hunt for missing pilot continues

Abstract: One of the first 13 F-35A stealth jet fighters deployed in Japan crashed into the sea off Aomori Prefecture on Tuesday evening, leaving the pilot missing, the defense ministry said Wednesday. According to Air Self-Defense Force officers in Tokyo, the incident is the first crash involving an F-35A fighter anywhere in the world. A section of the missing fighter’s tail was found and retrieved from the sea late Tuesday night about 135 kilometers off the coast from the Air Self-Defense Force’s Misawa Air Base in Aomori, a ministry official said. That discovery has led the ministry to conclude that the state-of-the-art fighter — which cost more than ¥10 billion — plunged into the sea. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Tuesday’s incident may raise safety concerns over the stealth jet, and affect Japan’s plan to eventually procure more than 100 F-35As to replace its F-4 fighters and older type F-15 fighters. The ASDF only formed the Misawa-based air squadron comprising the 13 F-35As on March 26. Japan currently plans to procure a total of 147 F-35 fighter jets, 105 of which are expected to be F-35A models. The jet fighter in question was the first of nine F-35As that were assembled and checked prior to delivery by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. The remaining four were assembled and checked in the U.S. The F-35 stealth fighter, produced by U.S.-based manufacturer Lockheed Martin, was jointly developed between nine countries including the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Turkey and Canada. At the end of March last year, the ASDF owned a total of 349 jet fighters. Through Wednesday the SDF was trying to find the pilot and retrieve the wreckage of the F-35A, which is packed with top secret military technologies. The U.S. military is also cooperating in the search and rescue efforts being conducted the Self-Defense Forces. According to the website of the U.S. 7th fleet, a U.S. Navy P-8A maritime patrol airplane and the guided missile destroyer USS Stethem are assisting with the SDF’s search operations. The fighter went missing Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean off Aomori Prefecture during nighttime flight training, the ASDF said. According to the force, the F-35A took off from Misawa base at 6:59 p.m. Tuesday, leading three other F-35A fighters as the formation leader. The pilot, a man in his 40s whose name is being withheld, said via radio that he would discontinue the training shortly before the ASDF’s radar lost track of the jet at 7:27 p.m., when it was about 135 km east of Misawa Air Base in the prefecture. The major was a veteran pilot with a flight experience of 3,200 hours, which includes 60 hours of operating the F-35A. The F-35A in question was engaging in anti-fighter combat training with three other F-35A jets. By late Tuesday the Self-Defense Forces had dispatched airplanes, helicopters and warships to search for the jet and pilot, and the search was continuing as of late Wednesday. Asked about the cause of the incident during a news conference Tuesday evening, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya declined to comment, saying the ministry would “put all our efforts toward saving the life (of the pilot) first.” The Defense Ministry has suspended flights of all remaining F-35As at Misawa Air Base until further notice.

defense ministry
asdf
military
accidents
self defense forces
f35


In places where figures made their mark, surprise and joy greet portraits on Japan's new bank notes

Abstract: People with a historical connection to the new faces chosen for redesigned Japanese bank notes have expressed surprise and joy after the government announced the planned revamp on Tuesday. The new ¥10,000 bill will feature a portrait of industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa, while a picture of Umeko Tsuda, a famed educator for women, will be on the new ¥5,000 bill, according to the Finance Ministry. The new ¥1,000 bill will have an image of bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato. The redesigned notes will be circulated from the first half of fiscal 2024. The city of Fukaya in Saitama Prefecture, the birthplace of Shibusawa, updated its website and posted details of the new bank note designs announced by the ministry. The website noted that some of the bricks used for Tokyo Station’s Marunouchi district side building, which will be printed on the reverse of the new ¥10,000 bill, were made by a company established by Shibusawa. “Shibusawa was in Fukaya until the age of 23, and he continued to visit local festivals after he left the prefecture,” said Kazumi Kokubo, 73, who works as a volunteer in Fukaya. “I want many people to know about his achievements and visit Fukaya,” Kokubo said. Students at Tsuda University, a women’s university in Tokyo that was formerly Joshi Eigaku Juku, established by Tsuda in 1900, were also thrilled by the news. “I was surprised to know that the founder of the university I just entered will be featured on the new ¥5,000 bill,” said a first-year student at the school’s Department of English. “It’s a great university, and I hope the news will raise awareness about the school among many people,” she said. A second-year student in the same department also expressed joy, noting that even there being “changes in the designs of bank notes I’ve been used to since I was born are surprising.” A third-year student at the university’s Department of International and Cultural Studies said, “I think her efforts to promote education for women were recognized by the government.” Kitasato was born in what is now the town of Oguni, Kumamoto Prefecture. “I’m proud that a person who was born here will be featured on a bank note,” said Oguni Mayor Kosuke Kitazato, 50, who is a distant relative of Kitasato. “This will be a good opportunity to spread knowledge about the achievements of Kitasato,” he said. Referring to the fact that the current ¥1,000 bill features Hideyo Noguchi, also a bacteriologist, the mayor pointed out that Noguchi was a student at a research institute headed by Kitasato. “That’s quite a story,” Kitazato said.

bank notes
eiichi shibusawa
umeko tsuda
shibasaburo kitasato
yen
currency


Richard Cole, last member of Doolittle Raiders, which carried out surprise attack on Japan in WWII, dies in Texas at 103

Abstract: DALLAS - Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Cole, the last of the 80 Doolittle Raiders who carried out the daring U.S. attack on Japan during World War II, died Tuesday at a military hospital in Texas. He was 103. Robert Whetstone, a spokesman for Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, confirmed Cole’s death. Cole’s daughter, Cindy Chal, said he was having some heart issues but had walked into the emergency room. Cole, who lived in Comfort, Texas, had stayed active even in recent years, attending air shows and participating in commemorative events including ceremonies on April 18, 2017, for the raid’s 75th anniversary at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. Chal said her father “enjoyed every minute” of his long, distinguished life. Cole was mission commander Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot in the attack less than five months after the December 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Doolittle died in 1993. The Gen. James “Jimmy” H. Doolittle Archives are at the University of Texas at Dallas. Cole’s papers are also part of the school’s History of Aviation Collection. Cole was a Dayton-area native who recounted riding his bicycle as a child to watch planes at McCook Field, a military testing air base there. He dreamed of being a pilot and after attending Ohio University, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. Stationed in South Carolina, he signed up as a volunteer for a secret mission he knew little about, only that it would be dangerous. They trained at Eglin Air Force to fly B-25 bombers on short takeoffs, in preparation for flying off an aircraft carrier. The Raiders launched their assault April 18, 1942, in B-25 bombers from the USS Hornet. Suspecting they had been detected by Japanese patrols, they left farther away from Japan than planned. The crews of the 16 planes were “very quiet” as they neared Japan, Cole had recalled, saying his role next to Doolittle was to “be seen, not heard. … You didn’t speak until spoken to.” But the country song “Wabash Cannonball” started running through his head and he unconsciously began tapping his toe, which caught Doolittle’s attention. He shot Cole a look, he recalled with a laugh. Doolittle soon ordered bomb bay doors opened, and the attack was on against what turned out to be limited anti-aircraft fire in the surprise attack. They then headed to China, running out of fuel. Cole said Doolittle gave the command to prepare to bail out as they neared the coast, adding: “I wish you all good luck.” Cole said it was scary to parachute into a dark “unknown” in rough weather. His parachute caught in a tree, leaving him dangling but safe. Chinese partisans helped lead him and other Raiders to safety. Three Raiders died trying to reach China, and eight were captured by Japanese soldiers. Three were executed, and a fourth died in captivity. Cole recalled that Doolittle was distraught at first, upset that he had lost all of his planes and some of his men. Doolittle would later receive the Medal of Honor. The raid inflicted scattered damage while providing a psychological lift back home. The stunned Japanese military diverted resources after a string of Pacific successes. “Seven decades later, we are still awed by the sheer audacity of the Doolittle raid and the incredible men whose grit and bravery made it possible,” Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi of California said when the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Raiders in a 2015 ceremony. “Though time has thinned their ranks, it will never dim the daring of their deeds.” Cole continued to fly missions in the China-Burma-India theater until 1944, and had peacetime service assignments in several states. In an interview in April, 2017, Cole described as “a somber affair” the toast he planned to carry out to end a long Raider tradition. Using goblets engraved with their names, they each year lifted them and sipped cognac in tribute to those who had gone before. Retired Staff Sgt. David Thatcher died in 2016 at age 94 in Missoula, Montana. Doolittle organized reunions that became annual affairs, and Cole was a regular. He also took part in other special events, including leading a special public “final toast” ceremony at the museum in 2013, when four Raiders were still alive. He said then: “May they rest in peace.” He said in April 2017 he hadn’t expected to be the last survivor, since he was older than most on the mission Cole attributed his longevity to being an optimist and living a life of “moderation.” He said he believed he spoke for all Raiders when he said they didn’t want any more recognition than all the others who put their lives on the line in the war effort. “We don’t want to be remembered any more than the rest of the people who took part in beating the Japanese,” Cole said. “They started it, and we finished it.” Chal said a memorial service is planned for April 18 at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. She said her father will be buried later at Arlington National Cemetery.

richard cole
wwii
pearl harbor
tokyo
air raid
doolittle 's raiders


Japan's cultured pearl farms still glisten, despite fears industry will fall victim to aging society

Abstract: SHIMA, MIE PREF. - In picturesque Ago Bay, a couple sit in a little hut picking out oysters from a net, cleaning them carefully one-by-one before placing them gently back in the water. Their hope: in several months, these oysters will produce a glistening white pearl from a cultured farming technique, invented in Japan, that is in decline as experts die out in the aging country. Cultured pearl farming was first commercialized in Ago Bay and spread throughout the world. There are still dozens of farms plying the trade there, which, from a bird’s-eye view look like a series of rafts floating between the steep coast and a string of tiny islets. In 1893, an Ago Bay local called Kokichi Mikimoto became worried the oyster pearls avidly sought in his waters were becoming extinct. So he began introducing artificial foreign bodies into the oysters in a bid to replicate the natural process in which they secrete thousands of layers of nacre when a grain of sand or shell finds its way inside the pearl pocket. After several setbacks — including a bacterial virus that decimated his crop — Mikimoto finally hit the jackpot: one day in July 1893 a semi-spherical pearl appeared, clinging to the oyster. A decade or so later, he had refined his method to produce a perfectly round specimen and immediately patented his technique — the cultured pearl. Success was not immediate — several viewed the cultured pearl as a vulgar replica of the “natural” variety — but eventually Mikimoto built a global empire — with stores now adorning his name in New York, Paris and London among other locations — and Japan became the reference for the small pearls known as Akoya. Around the same time, two other Japanese, Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa, applied for a patent. The Sakaguchi family has been crafting these valuable pearls between 3 and 10 mm in diameter for three generations. Kasuhiro, 73, and Misayo, 68, are now supported by daughter Ruriko. “Our job is to look after the oysters as well as we can for three to four years,” explained the energetic Ruriko, 43, sporting an apron and headscarf. “From harvesting the young oysters, introducing the graft, right up to extracting the pearl,” she added, as she dragged oysters from the net for inspection. The whole delicate operation rests on the insertion of a nucleus — a small, round polished ball made out of shellfish — and the “graft,” a piece of donor mantle tissue from another oyster. Over a period of several months, the oyster reacts to the foreign bodies by secreting thousands of layers of nacre, which form the pearl. The pearls are harvested in December, when the water is around 15 degrees, said Ruriko. “Below this, the pearl will lack strength. Above that, it will lack shine,” she explained. It is a thankless task. Of the 100,000 oysters harvested annually, half die immediately after the operation. The vast majority produce either mediocre pearls or nothing at all. Only around 5 percent of the oysters harvested will result in pearls of sufficient quality to adorn the windows of chic jewelers far away in Tokyo. The Sakaguchis are lucky to have Ruriko take up the family trade, which is suffering — like many other traditional Japanese crafts — from an aging population and a flight from the countryside to booming cities. The number of specialized pearl farmers dropped from 3,760 in the 1960s to just 680 in 2013, according to the most recent data from the Fisheries Agency. But despite this, Japan still dominates the global market, accounting for around 30 percent in terms of value — helped by a focus on top-quality pearls. It has produced around 20 tons of farmed pearls annually over the past 10 years, bringing in around ¥16.6 billion, and is aiming to reach ¥20 billion by 2027. But even that would be a far cry from the heady days of the late 1980s, when the country produced around 70 tons with a value of ¥88 billion. So what sets Japanese cultured pearls apart from competitors in Tahiti, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines or Australia? Aside from centuries of know-how, Japan is helped by its climate, said Yuichi Nakamura, vice chairman of the Mie Pearl promotion council. “The key is the winter season in Japan. It gives the pearls a better shine and sets them apart from the rest of world,” Nakamura said. Rivals from China at one point looked set to threaten Japan’s dominance but “they focused on quantity … whereas we concentrated on quality to stay in the race.” That quality is on glittering display at the luxurious, multistory flagship store of Mikimoto in Tokyo’s posh Ginza district, where pearls can cost up to millions of yen. “For the Japanese, pearls are a family heirloom. We give them as necklaces to women about to marry or as earrings or rings,” said Mikimoto boss Hiroshi Yoshida. They then wear them at grand occasions for the rest of their lives. But perhaps an indication of a shift in the global economy: more than half of Mikimoto’s customers are Chinese.

pearls
mie
kokichi mikimoto
mikimoto
fishing
rural life


Evacuees from parts of town hosting crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant finally free to return

Abstract: FUKUSHIMA - Japan lifted its mandatory evacuation order over parts of the town of Okuma, which hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, on Wednesday as planned, citing the lower radiation levels achieved through decontamination work and progress in infrastructure development. The order had been in place since 2011, when a deadly earthquake and tsunami in the country’s northeast triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters, forcing Okuma’s roughly 10,000 residents to flee. However, even after the lifting of the order, around 60 percent of the town’s land area where the level of radiation is the highest will remain closed. Both the government and the town hope that the change will accelerate the revitalization of the local community, but repopulation is expected to be slow, partly due to the few commercial and medical services in the area. In districts of the town where the evacuation order has been lifted, only 367 people, or around 3.5 percent of the original population of 10,341, had registered as residents as of late March. Day visits had been possible, but few seem to have been preparing to return to their previous homes for good. As of Monday, only 21 households, accounting for 48 people, had registered to stay overnight. Okuma’s Ogawara district was chosen as the central area in the town’s reconstruction efforts, and its new town hall is expected to open in May with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scheduled to attend its opening ceremony on Sunday. During his trip to Fukushima Prefecture, Abe may also visit the nuclear power plant for the first time since September 2013 to check the progress of its decommissioning, according to a government official. In Okuma, public housing for victims of the natural disasters will be ready to welcome residents in June. But the original town center remains a no-go zone. The central government plans to make Okuma inhabitable by 2022, including tearing down buildings and decontaminating the whole town. Still, the temporary storage facility for the prefecture’s waste will remain there for the foreseeable future. Futaba, the other town that hosts the nuclear plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., remains a no-go zone but the government is aiming to lift an evacuation order there by the spring of 2020, in an area that has the lowest radiation level. Seven cities and towns in the prefecture still have areas with no-go zones. The earliest a complete evacuation order is expected to be lifted is 2022.

fukushima
fukushima no . 1
okuma
radiation
tepco


Tokyo court orders Aum Shinrikyo cult successor Aleph to pay ¥1 billion to victims of sarin attack

Abstract: A Tokyo court on Wednesday ordered Aleph, the main successor group of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, to pay more than ¥1 billion in damages to the victims of the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack that shook the country in March 1995. A series of terrorist attacks and other crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo cultists, which left a total of 29 people dead and more than 6,000 injured, resulted in the indictment of 192 people. Last July, Japan executed 13 former members of the cult who were held responsible for the 1995 sarin attack — an act of terror that killed 13 people and injured thousands more. The cultists’ group renamed itself to Aleph in 2000. In July of that year the group apologized to the victims and agreed to pay some ¥900 million to them by 2005 through an administrator, as the group had declared bankruptcy. Since then Aleph paid a certain amount to the victims’ supporters but withheld the payment of the demanded amount, claiming it had no assets to repay the debt. Throughout negotiations in a Tokyo summary court, Aleph admitted to its outstanding debt but continued to delay the payments. The negotiations continued for nearly six years but ended without progress. The lawyers supporting the victims’ group then took the case to the Tokyo District Court demanding some ¥1.05 billion in compensation from Aleph. In Wednesday’s ruling, presiding Judge Kazuhiko Tanaka ordered Aleph to pay the victims around ¥1.02 billion plus interest, taking into account the amount returned over the 19 years. At a news conference held after the Tokyo court’s ruling Wednesday afternoon, attorneys representing the victims in the lawsuit said they were content with the court’s decision, saying the judges apparently recognized the plaintiffs’ claim. The compensation money will be paid to 517 victims and surviving family members. Kenji Utsunomiya, one of the lawyers, concluded the court had taken into account Aleph’s attempts to flee from their responsibility. “The victims are aging and we are hoping this ruling will prompt (Aleph) to return the money to the supporters to satisfy the claims of the victims,” he said. Last year the Justice Ministry executed the 13 cultists — including Shoko Asahara, the founder of the doomsday cult and mastermind behind the deadly March 20, 1995, nerve gas attack. “The victims have been suffering for a long while, many have lost their jobs,” said Shizue Takahashi, the wife of one of the victims named in the lawsuit. “But the victims are still waiting for the redress payments, for them it’s not over yet,” Takahashi added.

tokyo
courts
aum shinrikyo
cults
aleph
sarin
terrorism
executions


Tokyo 16-year-old bought uranium and produced yellowcake to sell online, sources say

Abstract: Tokyo police are investigating the suspected online trade of uranium by a 16-year-old high schooler in the nation’s capital, investigative sources have said. The boy may have violated the law regulating nuclear reactors and materials, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). On Monday, the department sent papers on the boy to prosecutors for allegedly producing and possessing erythritol tetranitrate (ETN), a lethal explosive, last year without permission against the Explosives Control Law. According to the sources, the secretariat for the Nuclear Regulation Authority reported to the MPD in January last year that a substance claimed to be 99.9 percent pure uranium had been put up for sale on an online auction site. The police launched an investigation based on the information, and confirmed that the substance was actually uranium and that it was bought by the boy. He was also found to have made yellowcake, a type of uranium concentrate, and put it up for sale on the site, the sources said. The MPD seized all uranium traded on the auction website and is now questioning several people, including the boy, on a voluntary basis. The boy was found to have contacted through Twitter and Line a 19-year-old former university student in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, who was sentenced to three to five years in prison last month for making an explosive called triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a gun and stimulants. The boy is believed to have reported progress in his ETN production to the former university student. The MPD and the Aichi prefectural police department searched the home of the high school student in October last year and found items including the explosive ETN.

tokyo
uranium
explosives
nagoya
radiation
teens
nuclear weapons


Seoul city authorities cancel permit for Japanese Embassy building, blaming construction delays

Abstract: SEOUL - Authorities in Seoul have canceled a permit for a new Japanese Embassy building citing construction delays, local officials said Wednesday, as relations between South Korea and Tokyo continue to show strain due to historical disputes. The neighbors are both democracies, market economies and U.S. allies faced with an increasingly assertive China and the long-running threat of nuclear-armed North Korea. But ties between the two have remained delicate for years due to bitter rows stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, such as rulings on wartime forced labor and the issue of so-called comfort women. The term is a euphemism used to refer to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during World War II. A statue of a comfort woman stands across the road from the embassy plot, and since 1992 campaigners have held weekly rallies at the site to demand a “full, heartfelt apology” from Tokyo. The 1,382th such gathering took place Wednesday, with activists surrounding the statue. The previous embassy building was demolished some years ago, with staff moving into offices in neighboring high-rises, and the plot is now a patch of bare earth behind a high wall with vines growing through the surrounding barbed wire. City authorities gave permission for a new six-story building in 2015, the same year Seoul and Tokyo signed a controversial deal to settle the comfort women issue. But construction, which under South Korean law must start within a year of a permit being received, was repeatedly delayed. Japan argues that the comfort woman statue is contrary the 2015 bilateral agreement, under which Tokyo offered an apology and a ¥1 billion payment. But South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last year that the deal had been signed by his ousted predecessor Park Geun-hye without consulting the Korean victims, and disbanded a foundation set up with the Japanese funds. An official at the Jongno Ward Office in Seoul said: “We had a meeting with Japanese officials in February, and they said they would accept the revocation of the permit as they cannot start the construction work due to circumstances in their home country.” The dovish Moon, who has brokered talks between Washington and Pyongyang, has stressed that the independence struggle against Japan’s colonial rule is at the heart of national identity in both Koreas. This year marks the 100th anniversaries of the March 1 Independence Movement and the foundation of the Korean Provisional Government. South Korea is pulling out the stops to commemorate them both. The center of the capital is currently festooned with large government-produced posters of heroes of the fight for independence.

seoul
south korea
comfort women
history
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations


Number of people with disabilities working at Japanese firms tops 500,000 for first time

Abstract: The number of people with disabilities working at private-sector companies in Japan as of June 1 last year topped 500,000 for the first time, a survey by the labor ministry has showed. The number of workers with disabilities increased 7.9 percent from the previous year to 534,769.5, accounting for a record 2.05 percent of the total workforce — up 0.08 percentage point and the first reading above 2 percent. Part-time workers were counted in the workforce survey, published Tuesday, as 0.5. The growth came as the legally obliged proportion of workers with disabilities on payrolls was raised from 2.0 percent to 2.2 percent in April 2018, according to the ministry. But only 45.9 percent of all companies met the legal standard, down 4.1 points. Of the workers with disabilities, the number of people with physical disabilities rose 3.8 percent to 346,208, while the number of those with intellectual disabilities increased 7.9 percent to 121,166.5 and that of those with mental disabilities surged 34.7 percent to 67,395. Companies are required by law to hire people with disabilities. Fines are imposed if companies fail to achieve a proportion of such workers that meets the legally set threshold, while subsidies are paid to those that satisfy the requirement. The survey on the employment of people with disabilities is usually released in December. Due to a computer system problem, however, the release of the survey for 2018 was delayed. The proportion of people with disabilities working at government offices stood at 1.22 percent, lower than the figure for the private sector. The government was reported earlier to have padded data for such workers.


Anti-stall software upgrade for 737 Max nearing completion ahead of FAA certification, Boeing says

Abstract: CHICAGO - Boeing Co. has said it is close to a significant milestone that’s one of the last steps before it submits to U.S. regulators a patch for anti-stall software linked to two fatal 737 Max accidents. The company has completed its engineering trial of the updated software, and its technical and engineering leaders were on board the final flight test earlier this week, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said in a video message late Wednesday. Up next is the certification flight, he said, as Boeing prepares to submit the final paperwork to the Federal Aviation Administration. For that flight, Boeing will hand over the controls of a 737 Max to FAA pilots to test design enhancements that the company says ensure the system wouldn’t ever again overwhelm flight crews, as it did in two crashes that killed 346 people. The regulators will determine when the certification flight takes place. “We’re making steady progress toward certification,” Muilenburg said, with a Max aircraft and Boeing Field, an airport south of Seattle, as backdrops. Earlier in the day he had been a passenger on a demonstration flight, watching the final update to the so-called MCAS software “operating as designed across a range of flight conditions.” Muilenburg has been stepping up Boeing’s campaign to boost public confidence in the safety of the 737 Max, and the company’s airplane designs, after two of the jets crashed within five months. The Max, which debuted in May 2017, is the newest version of a single-aisle jetliner family that is Boeing’s biggest source of profit. In all, Chicago-based Boeing has conducted 120 flights, spending 203 hours in the air testing the new system, Muilenburg said. The campaign has included a 737 Max 7 outfitted with flight-testing instrumentation, as well as aircraft that have rolled out of a Boeing factory south of Seattle with the updated software already installed. The upgrade is designed to make the anti-stall system less aggressive and prevent the repeated nose-down commands that overwhelmed flight crews for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. In addition, the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, would no longer be triggered by a single erroneous sensor reading. Boeing’s ultimate goal is “to make the 737 Max one of the safest airplanes to ever fly,” Muilenburg said.

software
737 max
faa
boeing
dennis muilenburg
mcas
lion air
ethiopian airlines
u.s .
aircraft accidents


Life after GOP politics: John Boehner looks to score big on pot deal with legalized weed

Abstract: NEW YORK - Life after politics is working out just fine for John Boehner. The ex-U.S. House speaker is poised to collect $1.59 million in cash once shareholders approve Canopy Growth Corp.’s acquisition of Acreage Holdings Inc., regulatory filings show. If his former colleagues in Congress help make marijuana federally legal, he’d be eligible to receive Canopy shares worth about $16 million as of Thursday’s market close in exchange for his stake in Acreage. Boehner, who left Congress in 2015, was appointed to Acreage’s board last year. He currently holds 625,000 shares in the New York-based cannabis company, some of which still haven’t vested. Restricted shares granted as compensation typically vest ahead of schedule in cases of a merger. Canopy, based in Smiths Falls, Ontario, said Thursday it agreed to buy Acreage on the condition that the U.S. eventually legalizes marijuana for recreational use. It will make an upfront payment of $2.55 a share once the deal is cleared by investors and a Canadian court. If U.S. law is changed, Canopy will pay the remaining consideration in stock. Boehner would end up with about 364,000 Canopy shares in that situation. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who’s also an Acreage director, holds 210,000 shares and 280,000 stock options. The shares would yield him roughly $536,000 in cash if the deal is approved and Canopy stock worth about $5.4 million as of Thursday’s close. Mulroney’s daughter, Caroline, is the attorney general in Ontario and polices pot use in the province.

john boehner
canopy
acreage holdings
marijuana
u.s .
canada


40% of Japan's health insurance unions on course to dissolve by 2022 as costs for elderly rise

Abstract: Over 40 percent of health insurance unions known as kenpo , mainly for employees of large companies, are facing increased pressure to dissolve themselves by fiscal 2022, reflecting sharp increases projected for their contributions to the medical system for the elderly, it was learned Thursday. The National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen, estimates that the number of kenpo unions with premium rates of 10 percent or higher will surge from 302 in fiscal 2019 to 601 in fiscal 2022, accounting for about 43 percent of them, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Pressure on such unions to disband and transfer members to the Japan Health Insurance Association, which operates mainly for workers at smaller firms, is expected to increase, because the average premium rate among workers who participate in the state-subsidized association, also known as Kyokai Kenpo, is only around 10 percent. In the meantime, Kenporen project that total contributions for the elderly made from kenpo unions to the medical system will rise from ¥3.4 trillion in fiscal 2019 to ¥3.9 trillion in fiscal 2022, because baby boomers are beginning to turn 75. The average premium rate among kenpo unions is projected to rise from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent, and the average premium payment per member per year is projected to reach about ¥550,000 in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2025, when most baby boomers are 75 or older, the average premium rate among kenpo unions is forecast to reach 10.4 percent. The proportion of kenpo unions with premium rates of 10 percent or higher is estimated to rise to 65 percent. Kenporen is set to release the estimates at a news conference Monday. Based on the estimates, the group plans to step up its request for increases in the proportion of medical fees for people 75 or older that they cover by themselves, from the current 10 percent to 20 percent. Kenporen is also poised to urge the government to carry out the consumption tax hike to 10 percent in October, as scheduled.


U.S. wins WTO ruling against China grain import quotas in Obama-era case

Abstract: GENEVA - The United States won a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on Thursday against China’s use of tariff-rate quotas for rice, wheat and corn, which it successfully argued limited market access for U.S. grain exports. The case, lodged by the Obama administration in late 2016, marked the second U.S. victory in as many months. It came amid U.S.-China trade talks and on the heels of Washington clinching a WTO ruling on China’s price support for grains in March. A WTO dispute panel ruled on Thursday that under the terms of its 2001 WTO accession, China’s administration of the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) as a whole violated its obligation to administer them on a “transparent, predictable and fair basis.” TRQs are two-level tariffs, with a limited volume of imports allowed at the lower ‘in-quota’ tariff and subsequent imports charged an “out-of-quota” tariff, which is usually much higher. The administration of state trading enterprises and non-state enterprises’ portions of TRQs are inconsistent with WTO rules, the panel said. Australia, Brazil, India, and the European Union were among those reserving their rights in the dispute brought by the world’s largest grain exporter. In a statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue welcomed the decision, saying China’s system “ultimately inhibits TRQs from filling, denying U.S. farmers access to China’s market for grain. If China’s TRQs had been fully used, $3.5 billion worth of corn, wheat and rice would have been imported in 2015 alone, it said, citing U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. The two WTO rulings would help American farmers “compete on a more level playing field,” the USTR statement said, adding: “The (Trump) Administration will continue to press China to promptly come into compliance with its WTO obligations.” The latest WTO panel said that the United States had not proven all of its case, failing to show that China had violated its public notice obligation under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in respect to TRQs. There was no immediate reaction from China. Either side can appeal the ruling within 60 days.

china
trade
tariffs
corn
exports
trqs
ustr
u.s .
barack obama
sonny purdue


Ministers play down Abe aide's comment suggesting Japan consumption tax hike could be delayed

Abstract: Cabinet ministers on Friday played down remarks made the previous day by a close aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hinting at a delay of the consumption tax hike long planned for October. The government has maintained that the consumption tax will be raised from 8 percent to 10 percent unless the economy suffers a shock on the scale of the global financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “It is necessary to raise the tax … to secure a stable source of revenue for a social security system oriented to all generations in dealing with the biggest challenge of a declining birthrate and aging population,” Finance Minister Taro Aso said at a news conference. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also reiterated the government policy, after Koichi Hagiuda, executive acting secretary-general of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, said Thursday, “If the Bank of Japan’s tankan (business sentiment) survey for June shows a risky outlook … there would be a different development.” The BOJ will release the next quarterly tankan business confidence survey on July 1. Hagiuda told reporters Friday his remarks had represented his “personal view” and that he did “not intend to object to the government’s policy.” Health minister Takumi Nemoto said, “It is important to fully prepare for the tax increase,” while education minister Masahiko Shibayama said, “We have a consistent stance to raise the tax after taking every possible measure against a possible reduction in demand.” Aso suggested Hagiuda’s stance had not been widely known by high-ranking ruling party lawmakers and members of the government before his comments, saying, “At least Mr. (Toshihiro) Nikai and some others didn’t know about it in advance,” referring to the LDP secretary general. Abe has postponed the plan to increase consumption tax twice — first from October 2015 to April 2017, and then to October 2019 — after the previous hike from 5 percent in April 2014 dented consumer spending and hurt the economy. Signs of weakness in Japan’s economy shown by some economic indicators amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy have reinforced speculation that Abe may put off raising the consumption tax again.

consumption tax
taxes
shinzo abe
economy


NTT to launch trial of farming support service with drones and AI tech in Fukushima

Abstract: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) said Thursday it will launch a trial for a farming support service using drones and artificial intelligence technology, with a goal of commercializing the service in Japan and other Asian countries. The new system, which connects drones with GPS satellites, is anticipated to help the farm industry in the nation amid a serious labor shortage. NTT aims to raise crop output by up to 30 percent through the new service. The telecommunications giant will conduct the trial service on 8 hectares of a rice field in Fukushima Prefecture from later this month to March 2021. It aims to launch the service on a commercial basis in Japan in two years. Four camera-equipped drones linked with Michibiki quasi-zenith satellites will fly over the farmland to take images of rice plants. The system will then use AI to analyze the images together with other data, including temperatures, to suggest the best time to add fertilizer. While the drones will also spray pesticides more effectively by detecting insects with the cameras, NTT said it is trying to improve the system so it can provide information about the timing for aerial pesticide spraying. Climate change is believed to be playing a role in bringing new types of insects to farmland, making it difficult to protect crops. It is also making it harder to determine the best time to add fertilizer, NTT said.


India halts cross-border trade in Kashmir in new crackdown on arms and drugs

Abstract: NEW DELHI - India suspended cross-border trade with Pakistan-controlled Kashmir because it was being used to funnel weapons and drugs, the government said on Thursday, in a further crackdown in the volatile territory. Trade across the “Line of Control” (LoC), or the heavily militarized de facto border that divides the two parts of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, has served as a confidence-building measure and to help the local population. But tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high ever since a Pakistan-based militant group claimed responsibility for bombing a security convoy in Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the middle of a tightening election race, ordered air strikes on a suspected camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group in northwest Pakistan, prompting a retaliatory air raid by Pakistan. On Thursday, the Indian home ministry said it had been receiving information that militant groups were using the cross border route to send arms, drugs and fake Indian currency. “Unscrupulous and anti-national elements are using the route as a conduit for money, drugs and weapons, under the garb of this trade,” the ministry said. It said that inquiries by the National Investigation Agency had shown a significant number of firms engaged in the cross border trade were being operated by people with links to militant groups. It did not name anyone. Trade operates on a barter system, where no money is exchanged. Indian traders export cumin, chilli pepper, cloth, cardamom, bananas, pomegranate, grapes and almonds. Prayer mats, carpets, cloth, oranges, mangos and herbs return from the Pakistani side. Soon after the attack on the Indian security convoy, India withdrew Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan, accusing the neighbor of not doing enough to rein in militant groups operating from its soil. Pakistan denied any involvement in the attack. The Indian government said on Thursday it believed that following the withdrawal of favored status, more goods from Pakistan could be routed through the cross-border channels in Kashmir to avoid the higher duties. “It has, therefore, been decided by the Government of India to suspend the LoC trade at Salamabad and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect,” the government said referring to the points from where the trade took place. There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan.

india trade kashmir drugs pakistan loc guns


Coming soon to China: the car of the future — hyper-connected, autonomous and shared

Abstract: SHANGHAI - Global automakers are positioning themselves for a brave new world of on-demand transport that will require a car of the future — hyper-connected, autonomous and shared — and China may become the concept’s laboratory. With ride-hailing services booming and car-sharing not far behind, the need for vehicles tailored to these and other evolving mobility solutions is one of the hottest topics among global automakers gathered for this week’s Shanghai Auto Show. Nearly all agree that there is no better proving ground than China: Its gigantic cities are desperate for answers to gridlock and its population is noted for its ready embrace of new high-tech services. To take advantage of this, manufacturers are competing not only to sell conventional and electric vehicles in the world’s biggest auto market, but also to develop new technologies and even specific interiors designed for the on-demand world. “We cannot just develop electric cars. They will have to be smart, interconnected and of course shared,” Zhao Guoqing, vice president of Chinese auto giant Great Wall Motors, said on the auto show’s sidelines. Discussion of China and ride-hailing inevitably involves Didi Chuxing, the country’s omnipresent answer to Uber. The eagerness of Chinese travelers to hail rides with a smartphone click has unleashed a colossal market: On-demand transport reached $28 billion in turnover in China last year, or about half of global volume, and is expected to double by 2022, according to data firm Statista. Didi accounts for about 90 percent of the Chinese market. On-demand’s potential is bringing automakers and service providers together. Last year, Didi unveiled an alliance of Chinese and foreign manufacturers including Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen dedicated to exploring ways forward. And in February, Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Tencent joined hands with several manufacturers to develop a future platform for on-demand transport. “We can no longer be a conventional manufacturer, we must offer mobility solutions, connectivity,” Stephan Wollenstein, director of Volkswagen China, told reporters. Although a relative newcomer to China’s automotive market, French brand Renault is forging ahead: Its local joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance Auto delivered 600 personal minivans to Didi in February. “Didi wants to develop such vehicles with many carmakers, which are more adapted to (Didi’s) business, redesigned around the passenger,” said Michael Dong, vice president of Renault-Brilliance-Jinbei. For one thing, most passenger cars today are designed to squeeze in a family, and thus feature limited space in the back because that’s where the kids normally sit, said Lawrence Petizon, an analyst with AlixPartners. But for ride-hailing or car-sharing, more space is needed in the back to accommodate grown-up passengers. “The family car is not the right answer,” he said. Didi drivers typically supply their own vehicles, but Chinese authorities are encouraging service firms to build their own fleets, partly to spur the industry and push forward the futuristic transport concept. Some manufacturers are even dipping their toes into ride-hailing, with Germany’s BMW offering a high-end service in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, and Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz doing so in Shanghai. “Admittedly, the volumes ordered are still insufficient for mass production but the potential is enormous,” said Dong. The idea is not confined to China. Daimler and BMW announced in February they would jointly invest more than €1 billion to deepen cooperation between their Car2Go and DriveNow services in Europe, in which cars are available for short-term point-to-point use. One thing that seems certain to eventually change is how cars are bought and sold. “Car manufacturers will no longer provide customers with cars via a one-time sale, but rather with a brand that connects them to the users on a daily basis through the mobility services they offer,” said a recent report by Eurogroup Consulting. This automotive evolution is expected to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles, which are already viewed as the future of overall car transport but seem especially suited to urban car-sharing services. Valeo, the French manufacturer of ultrasonic sensors, cameras and navigational technology, said it received orders totalling €1 billion last year related to the development of “robot-taxis.” Francois Marion, president of Valeo China, said the global advent of driverless cars is just around the bend. “They will hit the road in carefully charted urban environments, with dedicated lanes on the streets, connected infrastructures guiding them and programmed itineraries,” he said of the futuristic vision. “And the companies operating them will always be able to intervene if anything happens to one of the vehicles.” Valeo also is working with Meituan, China’s leader in meal deliveries, to develop a robotic vehicle.

china transportation carmakers tech self-driving ev


National Enquirer reportedly sold to Hudson News heir

Abstract: NEW YORK - American Media Inc. is selling the National Enquirer to Hudson News Deputy Chairman James Cohen, according to the Washington Post, letting the embattled publisher jettison the tabloid after being accused of trying to blackmail the world’s richest man. Cohen will pay $100 million for the Enquirer, the Post reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The executive is part of the family that founded Hudson News, a chain of newsstands famous for their airport locations, and he previously ran it. American Media announced this month that it was putting the 93-year-old tabloid up for sale, following the accusations leveled by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos. The publication was also accused of killing embarrassing stories about President Donald Trump. Billionaire Ron Burkle had been rumored to be interested in buying the National Enquirer, potentially putting a high-profile Democratic Party donor in charge of a tabloid that’s been friendly to Trump. But a representative for the investor said he didn’t want to buy the troubled newspaper. A sale should ease the pressure on American Media, CEO David Pecker and the publisher’s hedge fund backers. Chatham Asset Management is the principal owner of the company and two of the firm’s executives serve on its board. Leon Cooperman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, has said that his stake is relatively small. Reporting Tactics Chatham, run by Anthony Melchiorre, has grown increasingly disgusted with the reporting tactics at the Enquirer and pushed for the sale, according to the Washington Post. The sale also includes American Media’s other tabloids: the Globe and National Examiner. Hudson, meanwhile, is a century-old news distributor founded by the Cohen family. It bills itself as the largest distributor of magazines and books in the Northeast and the second-largest nationwide. That may bring some advantages to aligning with the Enquirer. Hudson Group, based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, posted sales of $1.9 billion last year. The Enquirer and its owner have come under scrutiny since Bezos accused American Media of trying to blackmail him with photos of him with a woman who wasn’t his wife. To support those claims, he also published emails sent to his lawyer, Marty Singer, by American Media executives. The scrutiny extended to Chatham, which was questioned by New Jersey officials over the matter. The firm also has come under review by securities regulators. Unloading the Enquirer would shift American Media’s focus toward fitness and lifestyle brands. In recent years, it acquired Us Weekly and Men’s Journal, as well as Bauer Media’s celebrity and teen brands. A staple of supermarket checkout aisles for decades, the Enquirer has suffered a decline in circulation, along with a heavy debt load

national enquirer
hudson news
american media
jeff bezos
donald trump
david pecker
chatham
amazon
media . u.s .


Dollar rises above ¥111.90 in Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar rose modestly above ¥111.90 in calm Tokyo trading Friday. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.91, up from ¥111.84 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.1243, down from $1.1271, and at ¥125.82, down from ¥126.03. The dollar slipped through ¥111.90 following a rise in the yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond prompted by the Bank of Japan’s cut in the amount of JGBs it offered to buy in the day’s market operation, traders said. But the dip attracted some purchases. Later the greenback moved in a tight range between ¥111.90 and ¥111.95. “Players held active trading in check” in view of the special 10-day holiday in Japan starting on April 27, an official at a foreign-affiliated securities company said. Although a risk-on mood has receded thanks to an improved outlook for the Chinese economy, “there are few incentives to push the dollar above ¥112,” an official at a domestic brokerage firm noted. “Expecting Japanese individual investors and firms to sell dollars to gain yen toward the long holiday, hedge funds may boost speculative yen buying,” the foreign securities firm official added.

dollar
yen
exchange rates
forex
currencies


Tokyo stocks bounce back on U.S. market rally

Abstract: Stocks turned higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, following an overnight rebound in U.S. equities. The 225-issue Nikkei average shot up 110.44 points, or 0.50 percent, to end at 22,200.56, after plunging 187.85 points on Thursday. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 1.96 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,616.93, recovering from a 15.71-point slump the previous day. The Tokyo market opened sharply higher in the wake of a sound Wall Street rally Thursday on stronger-than-expected retail sales in the United States in March and brisk earnings reports by U.S. companies, brokers said. But after the initial buy orders were executed, the market gradually paired gains amid the dearth of powerful buying incentives. Stocks recoiled after they were pressured by profit-taking on Thursday, said Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co. But the market’s upside was limited as foreign players began taking Easter holidays and domestic investors refrained from active trading ahead of the weekend, Shimizu pointed out. It was difficult to tilt positions either way before the start in Japan of the full-fledged earnings season next week and the special 10-day Golden Week holiday beginning April 27, brokers said. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,147 to 899 in the TSE’s first section, while 95 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 928 million shares from Thursday’s 1.188 billion shares. Semiconductor-related issues, such as chipmaking gear-maker Tokyo Electron and test device manufacturer Advantest, attracted purchases thanks to overnight rises in their U.S. peers. Nintendo rocketed 14.12 percent following media reports the previous day that the Guangdong provincial government in China had approved sales of the Nintendo Switch console and game software. Among other winners were air conditioner-maker Daikin and auto parts supplier Denso. On the other hand, domestic demand-oriented issues, including railway operator JR East and realtor Sumitomo Realty & Development, met with selling. Parcel delivery firm Yamato Holdings dived on selling sparked by its downward revisions to earnings estimates for the year that ended in March. Also sold were Daiwa House and mobile phone carrier KDDI. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average rose 90 points to end at 22,200.


Nissan backs Notre Dame restoration with €100,000 donation amid push to repair alliance

Abstract: Nissan Motor Co. will donate €100,000 ($112,000) for the rebuilding of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a pledge that comes as the automaker seeks to repair strained relations with the French government and partner Renault SA after former Chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested. Nissan’s contribution is “in recognition of and appreciation for Nissan Europe and Renault employees as well as the people of France,” the company said in a statement Friday. The Yokohama-based manufacturer joined a host of companies and individuals pledging more than $1 billion to rebuild one of the French capital’s most important landmarks after Monday’s blaze. Renault hasn’t announced a gift. Nissan and Renault are trying to move beyond Ghosn, who is awaiting trial in a Tokyo prison on charges of financial misconduct. He has denied the allegations. Ghosn’s legal woes — beginning with the first of four arrests in November — threw the companies’ decades-old alliance into disarray and exposed a climate of deep suspicion at the top echelons of government and management. Months before Ghosn’s arrest, his push to solidify the alliance on the impetus of France raised fears in Japan that it would boost the influence of the French government, Renault’s most powerful shareholder, at Nissan’s expense. Corporate and individual donations for Notre Dame have continued to pour in after a call from President Emmanuel Macron for a fundraising campaign. Macron vowed to rebuild the 850-year-old Gothic monument, with French luxury and cosmetic billionaires and their firms quickly pledging at least €500 million.

nissan
carlos ghosn
carmakers
notredame cathedral


Transport ministry inspects Suzuki's headquarters as part of probe into recall of 2 million vehicles

Abstract: The transport ministry inspected the headquarters of Suzuki Motor Corp. on Friday as part of an investigation into improper quality inspections that has led the automaker to recall more than 2 million cars in Japan. Around a dozen ministry officials entered the building in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, to interview senior officials, check details regarding the misconduct and determine whether the preventive steps the carmaker has vowed to take are sufficient. On Thursday Suzuki reported to the ministry a recall of 2.02 million cars — a record high for a single domestic filing — after an investigation by external lawyers found that uncertified employees had checked brakes before shipment and that some certified workers falsified inspection records over a period from 1981 until January this year. An investigative report, released April 12 by Suzuki, showed that inspection misconduct had continued even after the automaker admitted to improper fuel-efficiency and emissions inspections in August last year. Japan’s auto industry, including giants Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru Corp., has been plagued by scandals involving the falsification of product quality data, including inspections by unqualified employees. Major chemical, steel and airplane parts manufacturers have also admitted to similar instances of malpractice. “We will strictly deal with the matter if there is a need to take action” following the on-site investigation, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference on Friday. Suzuki said in a statement that the firm “will sincerely respond and cooperate fully with the transport ministry’s investigation.” Suzuki’s recall affected 29 models including the Spacia minicar and vehicles it made for Nissan, Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Because of the recall the automaker will book a special loss of around ¥80 billion ($715 million) for fiscal 2018, which ended last month.

suzuki recalls carmakers nissan subaru mlit


SoftBank, Toyota and Denso invest $1 billion to pump up Uber's self-driving unit ahead of IPO

Abstract: SAN FRANCISCO - Uber’s autonomous-vehicle unit has raised $1 billion (¥112 billion) from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp., giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions ahead of its public stock offering. Uber Technologies Inc. said Thursday that the investment values its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), which works to develop autonomous driving technology, at $7.25 billion. SoftBank will invest $333 million from its $100 billion Vision Fund, while Toyota Motor Corp. and automotive parts supplier Denso Corp. will invest a combined $667 million. Toyota will also contribute up to an additional $300 million over the next three years to help cover the costs of building commercial self-driving vehicles, Uber said. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the funding “will help maintain Uber’s position at the forefront of” a transforming transportation industry. The funding allows Uber to transfer some of the substantial cost of developing self-driving cars to outside investors. That is likely to appease some of Wall Street’s concerns over Uber’s spending on the autonomous unit, which has topped $1.07 billion since the program started in 2016. In its filing for an initial public offering this month, Uber cautioned that development of self-driving technology “is expensive and time-consuming and may not be successful,” and that the company lagged certain competitors. The self-driving business unit brings in no meaningful revenue for Uber, which last year lost $3.03 billion. As part of the investment, ATG will become its own legal entity but will remain under the control of Uber. A new ATG board will be formed, with six directors appointed from Uber, one from SoftBank and one from Toyota. Eric Meyhofer, currently the head of ATG, will assume the role of CEO and report to the new board. Such sizable deals are unusual for companies so close to an IPO, because bringing in large new investors changes the company’s capital structure. Uber is preparing to launch its “roadshow,” when it will pitch its company to prospective investors, in the week of April 29 — setting up for an early May debut on the New York Stock Exchange. It is expected to raise $10 billion at a $90 billion to $100 billion valuation. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. The deal, however, will almost certainly require approval from the inter-agency regulatory group called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. A law enacted last year expands that group’s powers to review minority stakes by foreign investors in startups with certain sensitive technologies, and self-driving technology is widely considered to have defense applications. SoftBank’s investment in General Motors Co.’s self-driving car unit Cruise is still under CFIUS review, and is likely weeks away from any decision even though that investment was announced nearly a year ago. Both SoftBank and Toyota are repeat Uber investors. SoftBank took a more than 16 percent stake in the company after investing around $8 billion last year, becoming its largest shareholder. Toyota invested in Uber in 2016 and again in August with a $500 million check to work jointly to develop self-driving cars. The investment comes despite growing disillusion with the self-driving business, which has failed to deliver on bold promises of commercial autonomous cars, and Uber’s setbacks. A crash in March 2018 involving an Uber self-driving SUV killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, and forced the company to shutter its biggest testing operation and halt autonomous driving in other cities. Uber now has a small number of cars testing in Pittsburgh, during the day and in good weather, with two safety drivers. They do not offer rides to passengers. The Tempe crash hurt the entire industry, say self-driving company executives, dealing a blow to public confidence in the safety of robot cars. ATG chief scientist Raquel Urtasun said in an interview this month it “is not clear” when self-driving cars will be deployed on a large scale, and for the next decade at least there will be a mix of robot and human-controlled cars.

softbank
toyota
denso
investments
uber
self-driving
ipos
vision fund
carmakers


Nintendo soars as Tencent wins approval to sell Super Mario game for Switch in China

Abstract: Nintendo Co. shares jumped Friday after China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. won approval to distribute one of the company’s games for its Switch console — a sign the Japanese company may benefit from growth in the world’s largest games market. Tencent received approval for the test version of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe for the compact device, according to a notice on the website of China’s Guangdong provincial culture and tourism department. A Nintendo spokesman confirmed that Tencent had applied for the sale of Switch hardware, but could not comment specifically on the Guangdong approval saying it was just one part of the entire process. Nintendo’s stock surged as much as 17 percent, the most on an intraday basis since September 2016. Tencent could prove an invaluable ally for the Kyoto-based company in China, where gamers have historically shunned consoles in favor of smartphones and PCs, and the alliance could provide a jolt to growth prospects for the Switch. Nintendo cut its outlook in January for the console’s shipments, raising questions about demand for the 3-year-old device. “With its huge gamer population, China is like a dry sponge for Nintendo,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities Co. “We’re now starting to see a scenario for Switch sales to continue increasing, and for earnings growth.” Tencent shares didn’t trade in Hong Kong because of a national holiday. Its U.S.-listed ADRs rose less than 1 percent on Thursday after the news. Shares of other Japanese game publishers like Capcom Co., Square Enix Holdings Co., and Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. also rose more than 3 percent after the reports. All three release software for the Switch, raising the prospect of sales on the mainland. China is the world’s largest gaming market, but consoles accounted for less than 2 percent of industry revenue in 2018, researcher Newzoo estimated last year. Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. have seen limited demand since releasing their newest consoles on the mainland in 2014 and 2015, as gamers have opted to play free titles on their phones instead of spending hundreds of dollars on dedicated gaming devices. But the Tencent partnership may put Nintendo on a different footing from its Western rivals, with the prospect of a strong distribution network and the marketing prowess of a household name in China. Nintendo’s family-friendly series like Zelda and Pokemon may also receive a warmer reception from Beijing regulators, which have hurt PlayStation and Xbox demand by not approving more-violent blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. “Nintendo will be at the mercy of China’s regulators and piracy dealers, but if more people try and enjoy the real thing that’s a plus for the Switch,” said Tomoaki Kawasaki, an analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. The partnership also raises prospects for releasing Nintendo’s mobile games on the mainland or bringing Tencent’s existing mobile titles to the Switch, which offers superior controls over smartphones. A fan-made video of gamers playing Tencent’s Honour of Kings on the Switch has already made the rounds on Chinese social media sites. The title is already available for the Switch in Western markets and Japan. “Although the market for games in China is incredibly huge, the market for dedicated video game platforms is small,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told investors in October. “So even if we were to enter into China, the challenges we would face there certainly would not be simple ones. Even so, I would very much like to try and see how receptive the Chinese market would be to Nintendo IP.” The selection of the New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was puzzling. Originally released in 2012 for the Wii U, the aging title is hardly the ideal vehicle for showcasing the Switch’s hardware. Still, Morgan Stanley analysts estimated it has a potential to be “a million unit seller per quarter.” No other Nintendo games were mentioned by Guangdong regulators in their statement on Thursday. The game has been available on the mainland through Nintendo’s unique partnership with Nvidia Corp., but has seen limited demand from Chinese consumers since being released there in 2017.

nintendo
tencent
switch
china
video games


Carlos Ghosn to be indicted Monday on fresh charge of misusing Nissan funds: source

Abstract: Prosecutors are ready to again indict former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn on Monday for allegedly misusing company funds that were paid to a distributor in Oman, sources close to the matter said Friday. Tokyo prosecutors arrested Ghosn for the fourth time on April 4 on allegations he channeled some of the funds to a bank account he effectively controlled, causing the automaker a $5 million loss. His arrest came less than a month after he was released on bail following 108 consecutive days in detention. Monday will be the last day of his most recent detention period, approved by the Tokyo District Court, and is also the deadline for prosecutors to decide whether to indict or release him. If indicted, Ghosn’s defense team will again request that he be released on bail, one of his lawyers said. Ghosn has already been charged with breaking the financial instruments law by underreporting remuneration to regulators over a number of years, and with aggravated breach of trust in relation to the alleged transfer of private investment losses to Nissan. Regarding the latest allegation, Ghosn’s wife, Carole, agreed to pretrial questioning by prosecutors on April 11 over suspicions the alleged transfer of Nissan funds to the Omani distributor ended with her company purchasing a luxury yacht worth ¥1.6 billion ($14 million) and a water scooter. Ghosn has consistently denied all the allegations. Ghosn lost his chairmanship posts at Nissan and partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. during the prolonged detention initiated by his initial arrest in November.

carlos ghosn
nissan
corruption
scandals
carmakers


ANA lands test flight of new A380, 'Flying Honu,' in Hawaii

Abstract: HONOLULU - All Nippon Airways has completed a test flight of a new wide-body aircraft, which arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday. The Japanese airline completed the first of two tests when the Airbus A380 “Flying Honu” touched down at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, according to news reports. The four-engine jet, which is painted to look like a giant turtle, arrived from Narita International Airport in Tokyo at around 7:45 a.m. Its arrival was followed by a blessing ceremony. The test flight carried two pilots, three airline employees and three passengers from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, a body that is equivalent to the Federal Aviation Administration. The state Department of Transportation said it was “very happy” that Hawaii’s largest airport is the 11th in the U.S. able to accommodate the double-decker planes, which will seat about 520 passengers. “It’s a double-decker; you have to be able to have a jet bridge on the second and third levels of the plane, so two gates here in Honolulu are able to accommodate the A380,” said Tim Sakahara, a transportation department spokesman. The test was another step toward All Nippon Airways’ 2020 goal of doubling the number of seats on flights connecting Honolulu and Tokyo. The airline currently offers three daily flights between the cities on Boeing 787 aircraft, which carry 200 to 250 passengers. Honu — Hawaii’s green sea turtle — was chosen for the aircraft’s name to symbolize “good fortune and prosperity” and the company’s support of Hawaii conservation efforts, the airline said.

ana
flying honu
hawaii
honolulu
airbus a380


America's first female astronaut candidate, Jerrie Cobb, one of the 'Mercury 13,' dies at 88

Abstract: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - America’s first female astronaut candidate, pilot Jerrie Cobb, who pushed for equality in space but never reached its heights, has died. Cobb died in Florida at age 88 on March 18 following a brief illness. News of her death came Thursday from journalist Miles O’Brien, serving as a family spokesman. In 1961, Cobb became the first woman to pass astronaut testing. Altogether, 13 women passed the arduous physical testing and became known as the Mercury 13. But NASA already had its Mercury 7 astronauts, all jet test pilots and all military men. None of the Mercury 13 ever reached space, despite Cobb’s testimony in 1962 before a Congressional panel. “We seek, only, a place in our nation’s space future without discrimination,” she told a special House subcommittee on the selection of astronauts. Instead of making her an astronaut, NASA tapped her as a consultant to talk up the space program. She was dismissed one week after commenting: “I’m the most unconsulted consultant in any government agency.” She wrote in her 1997 autobiography “Jerrie Cobb, Solo Pilot,” “My country, my culture, was not ready to allow a woman to fly in space.” Cobb served for decades as a humanitarian aid pilot in the Amazon jungle. “She should have gone to space, but turned her life into one of service with grace,” tweeted Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and a former NASA scientist. The Soviet Union ended up putting the first woman into space in 1963: Valentina Tereshkova. NASA didn’t fly a woman in space — Sally Ride — until 1983. Cobb and other surviving members of the Mercury 13 attended the 1995 shuttle launch of Eileen Collins, NASA’s first female space pilot and later its first female space commander. “Jerrie Cobb served as an inspiration to many of our members in her record breaking, her desire to go into space, and just to prove that women could do what men could do,” said Laura Ohrenberg, headquarters manager in Oklahoma City for the Ninety-Nines Inc., an international organization of licensed women pilots. Still hopeful, Cobb emerged in 1998 to make another pitch for space as NASA prepared to launch Mercury astronaut John Glenn — the first American to orbit the world — on shuttle Discovery at age 77. Cobb maintained that the geriatric space study should also include an older woman. “I would give my life to fly in space, I really would,” Cobb told The Associated Press at age 67 in 1998. “It’s hard for me to talk about it, but I would. I would then, and I will now.” “It just didn’t work out then, and I just hope and pray it will now,” she added. It didn’t. NASA never flew another elderly person in space, male or female. Geraldyn Cobb was born on March 5, 1931, in Norman, Oklahoma, the second daughter of a military pilot and his wife. She flew her father’s open cockpit Waco biplane at age 12 and got her private pilot’s license four years later. The Mercury 13’s story is told in a recent Netflix documentary and a play based on Cobb’s life, “They Promised Her the Moon,” is currently running in San Diego. In her autobiography, Cobb described how she danced on the wings of her plane in the Amazon moonlight, when learning via radio on July 20, 1969, that Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had landed on the moon. She wrote: “Yes, I wish I were on the moon with my fellow pilots, exploring another celestial body. How I would love to see our beautiful blue planet Earth floating in the blackness of space. And see the stars and galaxies in their true brilliance, without the filter of our atmosphere. But I’m happy flying here in Amazonas, serving my brethren. ‘Contenta, Senor, contenta.’ (I am happy, Lord, happy.)”

astronauts
jerrie cobb
mercury 13
space
women
nasa
sally ride
rights