South Korea begins excavation of war remains along DMZ without previously agreed help from North

Abstract: SEOUL - Seoul began a unilateral effort to excavate Korean War remains along the border Monday as silence from Pyongyang stymied a previously agreed joint operation with the North. The joint excavation along the Demilitarized Zone of remains from the 1950-53 conflict was part of a military agreement signed at a Pyongyang summit in September between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Under the deal — aimed at defusing military tensions — around 100 personnel from the two sides were to jointly carry out the recovery operation from April 1 until Oct. 31. But progress on the key issue of the North’s nuclear weapons has since stalled, with Kim’s Hanoi summit in February with U.S. President Donald Trump breaking up without agreement, raising doubts over the future of inter-Korean projects. Seoul’s Defense Ministry said the North had not responded to its calls and the South Korean military would begin preparatory excavation work Monday on the southern side of the DMZ. “We are making preparations so that it can be immediately shifted to a South-North joint excavation once North Korea responds,” Roh Jae-cheon, the ministry’s deputy spokesman, told reporters. Moon — who met Kim three times last year — has long backed a policy of engagement with nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit Pyongyang and was instrumental in brokering talks between the U.S. and North Korea. At a meeting with his top aides Monday, Moon said the failed U.S.-North Korean summit in Vietnam posed a “temporary difficulty” but added: “It is clearly being confirmed that the South, the North, and the U.S. all do not wish to go back to the past.” Moon, who will fly to Washington next week, said his rapidly arranged summit with the U.S. president shows the allies want to revive the “momentum for dialogue at an early date.” Since Hanoi, Pyongyang and Washington have both sought to blame each other for the deadlock. Pyongyang said it had proposed dismantling the Yongbyon complex — a sprawling site covering multiple different facilities — in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions that have isolated the North. But U.S. officials have said the North wanted all significant sanctions removed while not making clear exactly which facilities at Yongbyon it is willing to give up — and Trump has said that “the weapons themselves need to be on the table.”


Philippines alarmed by roughly 200 Chinese ships spotted near disputed South China Sea isle this year

Abstract: MANILA - Some 200 Chinese ships have been spotted near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island in the South China Sea since the start of the year, triggering alarm in the Philippine military. Philippine soldiers will continue their patrols in the disputed area, military chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said, adding that Chinese fishing vessels have repeatedly been spotted near the island. He urged a panel with representatives from both nations tasked with resolving South China Sea disputes to address Chinese presence in the area. “This is a concern not only for the military, but for other agencies as well, including the Coast Guard. We are looking for ways to address this,” Madrigal told reporters on the sidelines of opening ceremonies for annual joint military drills between the Philippines and the U.S. China’s foreign and defense ministries didn’t immediately reply to faxed requests for comment. Thitu Island, which Manila calls Pag-asa, is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, a series of reefs and shoals in the South China Sea. The area, which lies 480 kilometers (300 miles) west of the Philippines’ Palawan province, is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. China claims over 80 percent of the sea, through which vast amounts of trade passes — and which is estimated to hold billions of dollars worth of gas reserves. Manila won an arbitration case in 2016 nullifying Beijing’s claims. But Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte set aside the victory, opting to foster friendlier ties with China, tap Chinese loans for infrastructure projects, and discuss a possible joint oil exploration deal. More than 7,000 soldiers from the Philippines and the U.S. are participating in this year’s military drills, Madrigal said, which have continued to take place despite Duterte’s 2016 call to split with his biggest military ally. A small delegation from Australia’s armed forces is also joining this year’s military exercises.

philippines
south china sea
china
military
vietnam
u.s .
disputed islands
south china sea ruling


New Zealand gun enthusiasts back controls after massacre

Abstract: New Zealand will crack down on firearms ownership this week after the Christchurch mosques massacre that claimed 50 lives — and the Kiwi gun lobby, for the most part, is OK with that. In stark contrast to the United States, where even the most minor curbs on gun ownership meet ferocious opposition led by the National Rifle Association, New Zealand gun owners agree action is needed. The March 15 rampage by a white supremacist gunman has been a shock to the collective system. “We want to support our government in any changes to prevent a terrorist attack from happening in New Zealand again,” said Nicole McKee, secretary of the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government announced an immediate ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles (MSSAs) after the shooting and will send laws to parliament formalizing its action Tuesday. Finalizing such legislation can often take months, but Ardern says the matter is so urgent it will be done by April 11. Further curbs — potentially including a gun register, tighter vetting and stricter gun storage rules — are set to be passed by the end of the year. In a move that would be unthinkable in the U.S., one of New Zealand’s largest gun retailers, Hunting & Fishing, voluntarily stopped selling MSSAs and halted online firearms sales. “Such weapons of war have no place in our business — or our country,” chief executive Darren Jacobs said. New Zealand has its own National Rifle Association, but since the shooting it has been at pains to point out it is a small sporting organization, not a wealthy political lobby group like its American counterpart. “Our members shoot with single-shot bolt action rifles at paper targets,” President Malcolm Dodson said. Another office holder has told media the New Zealand NRA is considering changing its name to avoid any association with the American body. On the surface, New Zealand and the U.S. share many historical similarities, but they have a fundamentally different attitude towards firearms. Both are former British colonies that fought bitter wars against indigenous populations and forged an individualistic frontier mentality. However, statistics highlight the difference. In 2016, New Zealand, with a population of about 4.7 million, had nine firearms-related homicides. In the U.S., with a population of approximately 327 million, there were 14,415, more than two hundred times the per capita rate as New Zealand. There are approximately 393 million guns in private hands in the U.S., or 1.2 for every person, whereas New Zealand has about 1.5 million, or 0.3 per person. The New Zealand government believes there are 13,500 MSSAs in the country, while estimates put the number in the U.S. at 15 million. Philip Alperts, a gun policy researcher at the University of Sydney, said the crucial difference between New Zealand and the United States was the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. Alperts, himself a Kiwi, said countries such as New Zealand view gun ownership as a privilege, while in America it is seen as an inalienable right. “We have a population who, when they traveled to America would get off the plane and be absolutely horrified to see people walking around with a gun,” he said, adding that safety was at the centre of New Zealand gun culture. Journalist Dawn Picken covered scores of shooting deaths in the U.S. and once bullets lodged in her bedroom when a random gunman opened fire on her apartment building in Spokane, Washington state. She said she found a different mindset since moving to New Zealand in 2011. “It was quite refreshing as an American to come here and hear Kiwis who own guns say ‘I don’t think they should be easy to get and it’s not my right, they should check I’m not predisposed to violence or going to go off the rails,” she said. However, like anywhere, New Zealand has a vocal fringe element. “Tyrant Prime Minister Kills Sports Shooting,” screams the headline on one prominent pro-gun website. But former police minister Judith Collins had a blunt message for the U.S. NRA and any other gun lobbyists who try to inject themselves into New Zealand’s gun control debate: “Bugger off.” The difference in gun cultures has played out on social media since the Christchurch shooting. When a right-wing U.S. website tweeted that “armed government thugs” were carrying out door-to-door gun confiscations in New Zealand, dozens of Kiwis left mocking replies. “I had a self-saucing dessert in my pantry,” said one. “The cops came for it in the dead of night — apparently we aren’t allowed semi-automatic trifles.”


Fugitive tycoon to challenge Hong Kong's extradition plans

Abstract: HONG KONG - A fugitive billionaire has vowed to launch a legal challenge against Hong Kong’s controversial plan to sign an extradition agreement with Macao, Taiwan and mainland China, his lawyers said Monday. Hong Kong property tycoon Joseph Lau is wanted in Macao where he was convicted in absentia for bribery in the gambling enclave in 2014. He remains a free man because Hong Kong and Macao do not currently have an extradition agreement. Hong Kong’s government has recently announced plans to overhaul its extradition rules, allowing the transfer of fugitives with Taiwan, Macao and mainland China on a “case-basis” for the first time. The proposal has sparked large protests and mounting alarm within the city’s business and legal communities who fear it will hammer the financial hub’s international appeal and tangle people up in China’s opaque courts. Lau has applied for leave to challenge the government’s extradition proposal in the courts, law firm Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum said in a statement. “On behalf of Mr. Lau, we have today issued an application in the High Court of Hong Kong for leave to apply for judicial review,” the statement read. Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to demonstrate against the new extradition proposal, which will be discussed in the city’s legislature on Wednesday. Even a number of pro-Beijing politicians and prominent businesspeople have joined a growing chorus of opposition, while Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said it may issue travel warnings if the extradition agreement included China. The proposal comes at a time of roiling distrust over how Beijing wields its authoritarian legal system — and as two Canadian nationals languish in Chinese custody following the arrest of a top Huawei executive in Vancouver. The Hong Kong government backtracked last week under pressure and exempted nine primarily economic crimes from the list of offenses that could be covered by the new extradition law. Critics fear any extradition agreement could leave both business figures and dissidents in Hong Kong vulnerable to China’s politicized courts, fatally undermining a business hub that has thrived off its reputation for a transparent and independent judiciary. The sudden plan to overhaul Hong Kong’s extradition agreement was sparked by a high-profile murder in Taiwan where a Hong Kong man allegedly strangled his pregnant girlfriend during a holiday trip and then fled. Historically Hong Kong has balked at extraditing to the mainland because of the opacity of China’s criminal justice system, and the death penalty — which has been abolished in Hong Kong. Lau made headlines in 2015 when he spent a combined $76.9 million at auction to buy two rare diamonds for his young daughter.

hong kong
macao
taiwan
china
extradition bill


Vietnamese woman pleads guilty over Kim Jong Nam's 2017 killing, could be freed soon

Abstract: SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA - A Vietnamese woman who is the only suspect in custody for the killing of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a Malaysian court Monday and her lawyer said she could be freed as early as next month. Doan Thi Huong had faced a murder charge, which carried the death penalty if she was convicted, in the slaying of Kim Jong Nam, who died after being accosted by two women in a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. Huong nodded as a translator read the new charge to her: voluntarily causing injury with a dangerous weapon, VX nerve agent. High Court Judge Azmi Ariffin sentenced Huong to three years and four months from the day she was arrested on Feb. 15, 2017. Her lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, said his client is expected to be freed by the first week of May, after a one-third reduction in her sentence for good behavior. “I am happy,” Huong told reporters as she left the courtroom, adding she thought it was a fair outcome. While handing out a jail term short of the maximum 10 years the new charge carried, the judge told Huong she was “very, very lucky” and he wished her “all the best.” Vietnamese officials in the courtroom cheered when the decision was announced. Huong is the only suspect in custody after the Malaysian attorney-general’s stunning decision to drop the murder case against Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian national, on March 11 following high-level lobbying from Jakarta. Huong sought to be acquitted after Aisyah was freed, but prosecutors rejected her request. The original charge had alleged the two women colluded with four North Koreans to murder Kim with VX nerve agent they smeared on his face as he was passing through the airport on Feb. 13, 2017. The women had said they thought they were taking part in a harmless prank for a TV show. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia on the same day Kim was killed. The High Court judge last August had found there was enough evidence to infer that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim and had called on the two women to present their defense. Lawyers for the women have said that they were pawns in a political assassination with clear links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and that the prosecution failed to show the women had any intention to kill. Intent to kill is crucial to a murder charge under Malaysian law. Huong’s lawyer told the court Monday that her guilty plea to the lesser charge shows she “has taken responsibility” for her actions. In asking for a lenient sentence, he also told the court that her move saved judicial time. Hisyam had urged the judge to take into account Huong’s honesty, her acceptance of responsibility and the acquittal of her co-defendant. “She is neither a criminal nor has the propensity to commit a crime,” Hisyam said. Huong, the youngest of five children, has a promising future with a degree in accountancy but she is also “naive and gullible,” he said. Hisyam said four North Korean suspects still at large are the “real assassins.” They “exploited her weakness and manipulated her to carry out their evil designs under the camouflage of funny videos and pranks,” he said. Hisyam said Huong had been punished physically and emotionally since she was detained two years ago and had urged the judge to temper justice with mercy. Before the sentencing, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Quy Qunyh said he expected Huong to be freed immediately. After the sentencing he said: “I am highly appreciative that she will be released very soon but I want to emphasize that she is a victim like the Indonesian.” Malaysian officials have never officially accused North Korea and have made it clear they don’t want the trial politicized. Kim Jong Nam was the eldest son in the current generation of North Korea’s ruling family. He had been living abroad for years but could have been seen as a threat to Kim Jong Un’s rule.

kim jong nam
malaysia
north korea
doan thi huong


Imperial era names — once coined by emperors, now by the Cabinet

Abstract: Japan will usher in a new era, Reiwa, when Crown Prince Akihito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 — a day after Emperor Akihito abdicates. Gengō, the Japanese term for era names, aren’t merely used to identify the reign of an emperor. They are symbols of sorts that reflect the zeitgeist of the nation and indicate the path the country as a whole aspires to. The era under Emperor Akihito’s reign, Heisei, was named with hopes to achieve peace following the tumultuous Showa Era, which saw Japan’s descent into World War II and subsequent recovery. Reiwa, in the words of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was named with a desire for the people to be hopeful and to cultivate a new future, as well as pass down the country’s rich history, culture and natural beauty to the next generation. Let’s take a closer look at Japan’s unique way of identifying a year: How do gengō work? The practice originated in ancient China, but historians say Japan is the only country that still adheres to it, as opposed to the internationally used Gregorian, or Western, calendar. To begin with, Gengō do not start at zero. 1989, for example, is called Heisei 1 instead of Heisei 0. 2019 thus corresponds to Heisei 31. It is also possible to see multiple gengō in the same year. This happened at the beginning of Heisei and will happen again this year. At the beginning of 1989, Emperor Hirohito, who represented the Showa Era (1926-1989), died on Jan. 7. So the first seven days of 1989 are recognized as Showa 64 and the remainder as Heisei 1. Each gengō is said to represent an ideal and should in principle consist of two auspicious kanji. Examples include hei (peace), ei (eternal), ten (heaven) and an (safety). The first era, which was named Taika and whose provenance is unknown, began in 645, paving the way for 247 more. Reiwa will be No. 248. The use of era names remains pervasive in modern Japan, taking precedence over the Gregorian calendar in official identification and other documents ranging from driver’s licenses to health insurance cards and bank books. To many Japanese, gengō are a proud part of their identity, with phrases such as “Heisei umare ” (“born in Heisei”) frequently used by youth to emphasize the era they were born in. How did the system become what it is today? Before and during World War II, Emperor Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa) had ultimate responsibility for selecting the name of his era upon accession as per the old version of the Imperial House Law. But Japan’s surrender resulted in a major rewrite of the law under the Allied Occupation, with no mention left of the era system. Deprived of legal status, the tradition faced the danger of extinction, sparking mixed reactions. The Science Council of Japan, for one, petitioned the government to abolish the system in 1950, labeling it impractical because it makes Japanese historical events hard to keep track of in a global context. In the meantime, calls for its enshrinement into law gathered traction, achieving new legal status in the 1970s, according to historian Isao Tokoro, a professor emeritus of Kyoto Sangyo University. In 1979, after an opinion poll a few years earlier by the Cabinet Office found 87.5 percent of the public used gengō in their daily lives, the Diet passed a law officially authorizing the Cabinet to designate eras. When does the name of an era change? The 1979 Era Name Law stipulates an era name can only be updated in tandem with a change on the Imperial throne. This is a holdover from the Meiji Era (1868-1912), when Japan — in what became a turning point in the centuries-old gengō system — adopted the “one reign, one era name” principle to emulate China, meaning only one name could be applied to the reign of each emperor. This has contributed to the relative longevity of recent eras, including Meiji, which lasted 45 years, and Showa, the longest ever at 64 years. But before the “one reign, one era name” system took hold, Japan had witnessed frequent name changes regardless of whoever was taking the throne. The changes often occurred in the wake of calamities such as earthquakes, conflagrations, famines and epidemics, in hopes of putting them behind. As a result, some eras spanned only a few years. How is an era name determined? With the 1979 enactment of the Era Name Law, the power to name an era shifted from the emperor to the Cabinet. This, according to Tokoro, left the government scrambling to commission outside experts to come up with names behind closed doors so it could whittle the list down before the death of Emperor Hirohito. This was done in accordance with a government policy stipulating era names must fulfill certain conditions, including that they can be read and written easily and must not overlap with an existing Japanese word. When Emperor Hirohito died at 87 on Jan. 7, 1989, the government wasted no time submitting the shortlist of candidate names for scrutiny by private experts and the heads of the two chambers of the Diet. Within hours of Emperor Hirohito’s death, then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Keizo Obuchi held an emergency news conference to publicly announce the start of Heisei, meaning “achieving peace,” effective the following day.

emperor akihito
abdication
imperial family


Companies look to seize business opportunities as new era name unveiled

Abstract: Some Japanese firms rushed Monday to secure business opportunities presented by the newly unveiled Imperial era name, which will be used from May 1, preparing or releasing products inscribed with the kanji for Reiwa. Just 2 minutes and 27 seconds after the televised announcement of the era name, a precision parts manufacturer in Hiroshima Prefecture began accepting orders on its homepage for tin sake cups laser printed with the new era name. “We’re happy because our goal was to launch products within 3 minutes. We hope our customers will use them on a daily basis,” said Shinichi Ikeda, an official of Castem Co. The company had been hoping to become one of the fastest businesses to produce items in tribute to the new Imperial era, which will follow Emperor Akihito’s abdication on April 30. A gengō (era name) is used for the length of an emperor’s reign, and a change of era is an important event in Japan with the names used in minting coins and producing calendars and official documents, among other purposes. The Gregorian calendar is also widely used in the country. Major calendar manufacturer Todan Co. will produce a desk calendar that starts from May, with its design including the new gengō as penned by a calligrapher on Monday. Employees worked to dry the ink before transferring the data to the company’s system. In the Jimbocho district of Tokyo, where streets are lined with used bookstores, stamp company Matsushima Seikodo Co. immediately ordered its factory to start making correction seals that can be used for already printed documents that have the current gengō, Heisei, on them. “It’s going to be busy from now on,” said Tatsuaki Koike, a senior official at the company. Demand is high for such stamps as many companies and government offices in the nation maintain stocks of documents and envelopes bearing the Heisei era name. Matsushima Seikodo said it had already received thousands of orders for the products, mainly from banks. A stationery store near the Kasumigaseki district in the capital, where government ministries and agencies are concentrated, said earlier that it had been receiving inquiries for correction stamps and stickers for era names. The start of the new era is also raising hopes for improved business sentiment, amid growing fears of recession. Tokyo shares got off to a brisk start Monday as many firms began the new business year in a festive mood, with the 225-issue Nikkei stock average briefly soaring nearly 500 points in the morning. Itoman Co., a sanitary paper maker in the prefecture of Ehime, hopes to contribute to the celebratory mood by selling boxes of tissues and toilet paper from April 22 in packages designed with Reiwa as well as turtles and cranes, known as symbols of good fortune. Fan manufacturer Hirai Seikodo Co. in the city of Osaka plans to sell new fans from mid-April with Reiwa on the front and all of the previous gengō on the back, starting from Taika in 645. While the era change in itself is expected to have a limited impact on the economy, a 10-day holiday through May 6 to celebrate the Imperial succession is expected to boost spending, said Koya Miyamae, a senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “The economic effects are estimated at around ¥377 billion ($3.4 billion) throughout the 10 days,” Miyamae said. With Emperor Akihito stepping down on April 30, the first Japanese monarch to do so in about 200 years, the government decided to announce the next gengō a month prior to the Imperial succession to minimize possible disruptions caused by the calendar change. When the Heisei era started, in 1989, a number of companies were named after the era name. A credit research agency said similar naming may occur with the Reiwa Era. As of Monday, six companies in Japan had names that read Reiwa, written in hiragana or katakana, according to Tokyo Shoko Research, which looked at a database covering about 3.17 million companies, but none of the names found were written with Chinese characters identical to those selected for the name of the forthcoming era.

business
era name
reiwa
abdication
gengo


Simultaneous elections unlikely to be held in both Diet houses this summer, Japan's top government spokesman says

Abstract: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Sunday he believes that simultaneous elections for both chambers of the Diet are unlikely to be held this summer. Noting that the decision on whether to dissolve the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, for a snap election fully rests with the prime minister, Suga said on a radio program, “I cannot say with 100 percent conviction that there won’t be (double elections).” A triennial election for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber, is scheduled to be held this summer. Some speculate that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will dissolve the Lower House to call an election to coincide with the Upper House poll. On the consumption tax increase from 8 percent to 10 percent that is set for October, Suga said the government made steady preparations in its fiscal 2019 budget in order to deal with the effects of the tax hike. There is no change in the government’s stance of going ahead with the tax hike unless an unforeseen event occurs on a scale similar to the economic crisis caused by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, Suga said.


Twitter has its say about Reiwa, Japan's new era name

Abstract: Twitter erupted in a flood of posts Monday morning as the Japanese government revealed the country’s new era name, Reiwa 令和, which is set to go into effect starting May 1. Keywords and hashtags related to the revelation captured most of the top trending spots on the social-media network, but the much-awaited announcement was just one of the final steps toward initiating the Japan’s first Imperial succession in three decades, when Emperor Akihito abdicates at the end of this month. Reactions to Reiwa: Japan’s new era

new era
abdication
shinzo abe
cabinet
imperial family
era change


Japan's Imperial era names are societal bookmarks for politics, history and culture

Abstract: In modern Japan, every emperor’s era has its own name — appearing in places such as coins, official paperwork and newspapers — and with a rare abdication coming at the end of April, there was much speculation about what the new gengō would be. On Monday, authorities announced the new era will be called Reiwa. The new era name is one of the biggest changes — practically and psychologically — for Japan at the start of Crown Prince Naruhito’s reign on May 1. On April 30, Emperor Akihito will abdicate, ending an era, known as Heisei, in the minds of many Japanese. City offices and government agencies, which mostly use gengō in their computer systems and paperwork, have been preparing for months to prevent glitches. To make the public transition easier, authorities announced the new gengō — two Chinese characters that the Cabinet chooses from a short list proposed by scholars — a month in advance on Monday. “We’ve been working on this change for about a year,” said Tsukasa Shizume, an official in the western Tokyo suburb of Mitaka, where the era name will be changed on 55 kinds of paperwork in 20 administrative sections. The month-long lead time should be sufficient, he said. Fujitsu and NEC Corp. have been helping customers ensure the switch doesn’t crash their systems. Programs have been designed to make it easy to change the name, said Shunichi Ueda, an NEC official. “If people want to test their computer systems, they can use a trial gengō and see if it works,” he said. Most major companies use the Western calendar in their computer systems, so it won’t affect them as much, although smaller companies might run into some problems, he said. National mood In Tokyo’s Minato Ward, officials will cross out Heisei on thousands of documents and stamp the new gengō above it. An era name is more than just a way of counting years for many Japanese. It’s a word that captures the national mood of a period, similar to the way “the ’60s” evokes particular feelings or images, or how historians refer to Britain’s “Victorian” or “Edwardian” eras, tying the politics and culture of a period to a monarch. “It’s a way of dividing history,” said Jun Iijima, a 31-year-old lawyer who was born the last year of Showa, the era of Emperor Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously known by that gengō. “If you were just counting years, the Western system might be sufficient. But gengō gives a certain meaning to a historical period.” The 64-year Showa Era, which lasted until 1989, has generally come to be identified with Japan’s recovery and rising global prominence in the decades after World War II. The Imperial era name is also a form of “soft nationalism,” said Ken Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University. “It’s one of these constant low-level reminders that Japan counts years differently and Japan has a monarchy,” he said. The kanji are carefully chosen to have an aspirational meaning. Heisei, which means “achieving peace,” began on Jan. 8, 1989, amid high hopes Japan would play a greater role in global affairs after decades of robust economic growth. Soon afterward, Japan’s bubble economy imploded, ushering in a long period of stagnation and deflation. The rise of China and South Korea diminished Japan’s international prominence, and a series of disasters — including the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the 2011 mega-quake, tsunami and nuclear crises — has marred Heisei’s image. Fading use In daily life, usage of the gengō system is slowly declining as Japan integrates with the global economy. A recent Mainichi Shimbun newspaper survey showed that 34 percent of people said they used mostly gengō, 25 percent mainly the Western calendar, and 34 percent used both about the same. In 1975, 82 percent said they used mostly gengō . Both calendars use Western months. Japanese driver’s licenses also have started to print both kinds of dates instead of just gengō . Iijima, the lawyer, says legal paperwork uses the era name because that’s what the court system uses. But in daily life he uses both. For global events, he thinks in terms of the Western calendar — like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — and uses both dating systems for domestic events. He hopes that the new era will again be one without war, that Japan will keep up economically with China and India, and that it will grow into a “mature,” more tolerant place.

abdication
emperor akihito
computers
imperial family


Emperor set to attend engagements through April ahead of abdication

Abstract: The new era name may have been released Monday for the forthcoming reign of the emperor-in-waiting, but Emperor Akihito is still set to attend a series of ceremonies through this month in preparation for his abdication on April 30. In modern Japan an era name, or gengō , is used for the length of an emperor’s reign. The new era, named Reiwa, will begin May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, ascends the throne to succeed his 85-year-old father. The Heisei Era began in 1989 following the death of Emperor Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, who is known posthumously as Emperor Showa. The Emperor will deliver his last speech in an abdication ceremony to be held at the Imperial Palace on April 30. Before that, on April 10, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary at the Imperial Palace. On April 18 the Imperial Couple will also ceremonially report the Emperor’s abdication to his ancestors during a visit to the Grand Shrines of Ise, an ancient complex of Shinto shrines in Mie Prefecture. The two will also visit the mausoleum of Emperor Hirohito, located in the western suburbs of Tokyo, on April 23 for the same purpose. On May 1, the new Emperor will inherit traditional regalia such as the Sacred Sword and Curved Jewels in the Kenji to Shokei no Gi ceremony, as proof of ascension to the throne. Later in the day he will meet representatives of the public for the first time after his ascension, in the Sokui go Choken no Gi rite.


For some, era system is unnecessary in modern-day Japan

Abstract: As use of the Gregorian calendar has become more prevalent in the postwar period, some see the Japanese era system — which has been in use for more than 1,300 years — as unnecessary and no longer relevant to modern society. Some argue that the gengō system, which initially symbolized what was considered to be the emperor’s control of time, is inconvenient compared with the Gregorian calendar. Others say it contradicts the postwar Constitution that stipulates sovereign power resides with the people. Asked which they prefer to use in their daily life, 39.8 percent of respondents in a Kyodo News opinion poll conducted in January said they want to use both gengō and the Gregorian calendar, while 24.3 percent opted for the former and 34.6 percent the latter. The Japanese era system was first introduced in 645, but lost its legal basis when the country was defeated in World War II and occupied by the U.S.-led Allied forces from 1945. In 1950, a Diet panel had full-fledged discussions for the first time on whether to keep or do away with the gengō system. The debate was rekindled in 1979 when the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda moved to legislate the era name system. Forty years after the system became legal, there are still opponents to gengō. “(Japanese society) is no longer controlled by an emperor,” said Hiroshi Kozen, professor emeritus of Chinese literature at Kyoto University and a member of the Japan Academy, an organization that recognizes eminent researchers. “The era system should reflect people’s desires and we have to start from discussing why we need it,” the 82-year-old said. Last Wednesday, three people — a lawyer from Nagano Prefecture, a journalist from Tokyo and a company executive — filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court to seek suspension of the era name change. In the suit, the plaintiffs claimed changing the era name in every Imperial succession “destroys a sense of time held by each individual” and violates Article 13 of the Constitution that guarantees all of the people shall be respected as individuals.

constitution
era name
imperial family
abdication
gengo


Tokyo taxis show off true colors to make ride-hailing easier

Abstract: With the Olympics — and an anticipated influx of even more foreign tourists — a little more than a year away, local companies are finding more ways to get in on the act of showcasing Japanese know-how and enhancing the overall experience of visitors. Take taxis for example. While the industry is world-renowned for its white-gloved drivers and automated doors, there is still room for improvement. In Japan, vacant vehicles display in red LEDs the Sino-Japanese characters of kusha (literally, “empty car”) to indicate that they are available for hire. Naturally, the signage is lost on many tourists visiting from abroad. Foreign visitors aren’t the only ones stymied by taxi displays. Due to the rapid aging of Japan’s population, more elderly people — and especially those who have had to give up their driver’s licenses — are utilizing taxis, and they too have complained how frustrating it can be to determine whether or not an oncoming vehicle is vacant, “reserved” or “off shift.” “Instead of customers having to squint at a moving LED display that might be even harder to see because of the low angle of the sun in wintertime, we thought we’d light up the whole car, so to speak,” explained taxi company owner Teruo Isshiki. From this month, Isshiki’s Kamereon Jidosha K.K. will commence service of what it claims to be the world’s first taxis that change the entire vehicle’s body color to indicate the vehicle’s status. The pale pink color, which Isshiki said was designed to closely approximate the hue of the Somei-Yoshino (Prunus yedoensis) — Japan’s most beloved species of sakura (cherry blossoms) — can be switched on or off at the driver’s prerogative. Isshiki, however, can’t imagine why a driver of a vacant car would want to switch off. “If you look at one of our cars coming down the street, say, at dusk on a rainy day, it sticks out like a flamingo among a bunch of crows. You can’t miss it!” he said. Isshiki credited his brother-in-law, Akira Momota, for the new invention. In an interview at the company’s office in the city of Mitaka in western Tokyo, Momota told The Japan Times he obtained a utility patent several years ago for a process that expedites the color changes in so-called thermochromic color-changing paint pigment. “Thermochromic pigment, which was first developed in the 1970s, is chemically structured to change color in response to temperature changes,” he explained. “As the temperature goes up, the pigment becomes colorless, revealing the base coat or graphics underneath. “I don’t want to reveal any trade secrets at this point, but my process involves retaining heat from the engine’s exhaust to maintain the temperature of the undercoat layer of the car’s paint in a quiescent mode. “For example, think of a printer that comes on right away when you type the command on the computer to print. The color changes quickly because the quiescent mode maintains a state of constant readiness,” he said. Momota’s new quick-change process — for which a trademark name of Pika-ichi (Japanese for “something that stands out above the rest”) is under application — enables the car to change color within approximately 90 seconds, irrespective of the ambient temperature. In addition to the shade of sakura, Momota said they’re considering using “crested Ibis white” to signify the “off shift” status and “imperial purple” for “reserved,” though the technology might not yet be up to the task of multicolor options. He confessed that due to temperature conflicts, early experiments frequently resulted in the cars taking on a muddy, unattractive brown hue. But pink? That they can do. “After many late nights and too much caffeine, we nailed it,” he said, loudly slapping his palms together with a wide grin. And watching a taxi turn from lime green to cherry-blossom pink, as did this reporter, is truly an amazing spectacle to behold … and one guaranteed to bring a smile to the viewer’s face. Isshiki chose Kamereon, which is Japanese for “chameleon,” as the company name, and a cartoon mascot will appear in company promotional materials and emblazoned on the doors of the vehicles in Kameleon’s current fleet of 20 cars, which include a mix of Toyota Prius and Nissan Sylphys. Last November, the Tokyo Association of Taxi and Limousine Carriers, after lively debate, agreed to support Kamereon’s request for the color-change system to the transport ministry, which issued provisional approval for the color-changing taxis at the start of this year. The pilot program will be limited to the Tokyo metropolitan area. “It was the ministry’s view that an experiment involving only 20 cars wouldn’t have a major impact on business conditions. Furthermore, they felt that the taxi industry can only secure a stable future through adoption of new technologies as they become available,” said Isshiki. “Until self-driving cabs — or flying vehicles — become the standard, there’s not a lot of new things to adopt right now. At least this will get more people talking about us.” When queried about Kamereon’s new cars, a spokesperson for the Tokyo branch of All Japan Automobile Transport Workers’ Unions was nonplussed, saying it would adopt a wait-and-see attitude to see if this really is “a horse of a different color.”

taxis
transportation
tech
tokyo 2020 olympics
april fools ' day


Some in China baffled by Japan's era name, with regret that it wasn't inspired by a Chinese classic

Abstract: BEIJING - Some citizens in Beijing on Monday evaluated Japan’s new era name, Reiwa, as “strange” and expressed disappointment, saying it doesn’t make sense in their language and was not derived from Chinese classics. On Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, many young people had tried to guess the name of Japan’s new era, traditionally composed of two Chinese characters, believing that it would derive from Chinese classics as in the past. Contrary to their expectations, however, the 248th era name, the first of which was created in 645, was derived from the Japanese classic “Manyoshu,” a collection of poetry from the late seventh to eighth centuries. The meaning of “rei” — pronounced as “ling” in Chinese — is understood to be “order” in China. The character of “wa” with the sound of “he” in Chinese, meanwhile, signifies “and” and “peace.” The new era name reflects a wish that people will join their hearts to develop Japan’s culture, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference following the announcement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Before hearing Abe’s explanation, “I was not able to understand what the new era name means,” a 36-year-old Chinese woman said. “It looks cool and it is easy to write, but sounds a little strange for Chinese people.” A 24-year-old Chinese man said: “Does the name mean ‘someone orders peace’? It is difficult to understand.” Some observers in China said the choice is indicative of what they see as the nationalist leanings of Abe’s conservative government. “I felt disappointed that Japan did not use Chinese classics to decide the new era name,” another man in Beijing said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that it is a “matter of internal affairs of Japan.” “Recently, China-Japan relations have maintained a good momentum of improvement and development. We will continue to promote healthy and stable development of bilateral ties to benefit the two countries,” Geng said. In modern Japan, era names are used for the length of an emperor’s reign. The name is a matter of huge public interest, as it will be widely used in calendars, newspapers, official documents and certificates, including driver’s licenses. Japan is the only country in the world that currently operates under the era name system, which has its roots in China, although it also commonly uses the Gregorian calendar. The Reiwa Era will begin May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the throne that day and succeeds his father, Emperor Akihito.

china
reiwa
shinzo abe
kanji
nihongo
imperial family
abdication


Top secret: A look at how Japan's new era name, Reiwa, was picked and kept under wraps

Abstract: When Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga unveiled that Reiwa would be the name of Japan’s next Imperial era on Monday, it was a moment that finally put an end to months of fierce media competition to get the scoop before the official announcement. The name of a new Imperial era, or gengō , has traditionally been treated as top secret. But in the past, the name would somehow wriggle its way into the hands of scoop-hungry journalists just before the announcement, shaming the officials involved. So it’s perhaps little surprise this time around that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has gone to great lengths to prevent this. Before Monday, when a select pool of private-sector representatives discussed the shortlist for the new names in a private meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office, reports had emerged that the government might go so far as to confiscate their cellphones, temporarily jam the radio waves and keep them sequestered long after the meeting wrapped up. “We’re doing our best to keep the new era name thoroughly confidential,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular briefing Friday, declining to elaborate on the measures taken. “Given that the new era name is something extremely important that will be deeply rooted in the lives of Japanese, I don’t think it’s appropriate if many of its details are leaked beforehand,” he said. Indeed, the process of picking the gengo was confidential every step of the way. As per a long-held guideline, Abe’s team commissioned scholars to come up with ideas in mid-March, Suga said. He didn’t divulge any details, but a senior official in the Cabinet Secretariat earlier told the Upper House budget committee it would include experts on Japanese and Chinese literature as well as history. The guideline dictates that the chief Cabinet secretary must then narrow down the list submitted by the scholars, checking each name to ensure they are easy to read and write, consist of two kanji, do not overlap with any existing word, and encapsulate an ideal for the times ahead. The government was also reportedly careful to avoid picking any name with a first initial that overlaps with any of its four immediate predecessors, namely H (Heisei), S (Showa), T (Taisho) and M (Meiji). The four initials are widely used in official documents and computer systems, and using a repeat letter would generate confusion. On Monday, the shortlist was handed over for scrutiny by a group of private-sector representatives and legislative leaders before the finalist was selected. Suga said the government won’t disclose the name of a scholar who came up with the name, to prevent “inappropriate” prying. Breaking through this watertight wall of secrecy is often a priority for political reporters in Japan. Most have been falling over themselves to get the scoop on the gengo because it becomes a topic of significant public interest when an era is about to end. When the Meiji Era ended in 1912, it was the daily Asahi Shimbun that exposed the next name, Taisho, in a bombshell exclusive that ran a day before its announcement. A drama unfolded 14 years later when Emperor Taisho died in December 1926. In the morning edition on Dec. 25 that year, the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, a precursor to what is today the Mainichi Shimbun, ran a giant exclusive saying the next era would be called Kobun, only to see the government announce hours later that it had in fact decided on Showa. The “Kobun Incident,” as the mishap came to be known, tarnished the daily’s reputation like never before, at one point even prompting Hikoichi Motoyama, the president, to resign. To this day, it remains unknown whether the error was simply a result of inadequate reporting or a last-minute government change devised to derail the scoop. In any case, the debacle put significant pressure on the chief editor of the Mainichi’s political team six decades later, when Emperor Showa’s health had reached a critical point in 1988, to avenge the ignominy caused by the Kobun Incident and “prepare to be fired” if he let his competitors beat him to the punch, according to “Mainichi no Sanseiki” (“Three Centuries of Mainichi”), an official book on the company’s history. The reporters’ jockeying naturally put government officials on high alert in the closing days of Showa. When talking to reporters, officials back then even threatened to change the era name at the 11th hour if was leaked to prevent potential scoops, former Mainichi Shimbun politics reporter Tadao Kano recalled in an article he contributed to the Japan National Press Club. “It was tantamount to them saying, ‘if you dare to scoop the era name, you better remember what the Mainichi Shimbun went through after the Kobun Incident — you’ll either be doomed to resign or demoted.’ That was basically a threat,” Kano wrote. His strategy, he wrote, was to scoop it at the very last minute — or after a name picked by then-Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita entered the final process of Cabinet approval. In the end, the Mainichi’s efforts to redeem itself paid off — sort of. In Jan. 7, 1989, when Emperor Showa died after a months-long battle with cancer, a Mainichi Shimbun reporter got wind of the new name — Heisei (“achieving peace”) — 30 minutes before then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Keizo Obuchi unveiled it in a hastily arranged news conference. The paper, however, balked at publishing an extra edition based on this knowledge, as some executives in the newsroom demanded more thorough fact-checking to avoid a repetition of the Kobun Incident, according to Kano. Because of this lack of tangible proof, “many newspaper companies like the Yomiuri Shimbun, wire agencies and TV stations still don’t acknowledge we scooped” them, Kano wrote with chagrin.


LIVESTREAM: Japan announces name of new era

Abstract: In a much awaited moment heralding the opening of a new chapter in Japan’s history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is to announce Monday the name of the new Imperial era, taking one of the final steps toward initiating the nation’s first imperial succession in three decades. The new era will start on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, a day earlier. Above is a livestream from the Prime Minister’s Office of Suga’s announcement.

new era
cabinet
yoshihide suga
abdication
imperial family
era name
reiwa


New Reiwa era name draws positive public responses across Japan

Abstract: The name of the nation’s next Imperial era, announced on Monday, drew largely positive responses from people on the streets through the day. The Reiwa Era, which will begin on May 1 when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne, is written with two kanji characters. The first character, “ rei ,” means “good fortune” while the second, “ wa ,” means peace or harmony. Many members of the public said they thought the name was simple and easy to read and write. A few pointed to the first character, which also can be translated to “command” or “order” in certain contexts, saying that it bears a negative connotation. Minutes before the announcement on Monday, people gathering in front of the Inui gates of the Imperial Palace were restlessly checking their smartphones as they waited for a news update. Cheers erupted when it finally came. Hisako Tamura, a 70-year-old who was visiting Tokyo from Kobe, praised the name, saying that it “has a ring to it and is easy to write.” “It’s a great choice,” she added. With one month to go until the end of the Heisei Era, Tamura said her overall impression of the Heisei Era was “good, except for the fact that the number of heinous crimes, including ones involving parents and their children, is increasing.” Nonetheless, she said, “there was not a war in Japan in Heisei,” adding that working environments for women have improved in terms of advancement in their workplace. Tamura was worried, however, that a graying population and a declining birthrate would top the country’s agenda in the new era. She feared that the inequality between seniors, who have families and financial means, and those who do not will “widen significantly.” “When those people get older and become sick, I wonder what is going to happen,” she said. Atsuhiro Ono, a 21-year-old university student from Hyogo Prefecture, echoed those observations. Ono, who learned of the new era name by watching a live stream via Twitter on his smartphone, said the aging population and low birthrate are among many social issues Japan needs to address. “We as citizens should work together to resolve the issue with a positive mindset,” Ono said, adding that the new era name was “easy to pronounce, and its kanji characters are well-balanced and beautiful.” In Osaka, a large crowd gathered Monday morning in the city’s Dotonbori canal district to watch the announcement on a large television screen. There were audible gasps of surprise as well as pleased expressions when the new name was announced. “It was unexpected but I’m especially happy that they used ‘wa’ in the name, which is reminiscent of Showa as in the Showa Era. Reiwa is easy to understand and resonates with a broad range of Japanese people,” said Masayuki Nakanishi, 73, a shopkeeper in Osaka. Miho Maruyama, 22, an English teacher in Osaka, said she hoped the new era name would create expectations of positive changes in Japan, especially abroad. “There are international events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2025 Osaka World Expo that will take place in the Reiwa Era,” she said. Osaka-area university students Ami Dogan and Fuka Ijima, both 19 years old, said they were quite surprised at the choice. “I’d seen on social media that other words were popular so I thought it might be one of them. I like the inclusion of ‘ wa ,’ as it reminds me of heiwa (peace). But I don’t know about ‘ rei ,’ ” said Dogan. “It sounds a bit stiff,” said Ijima. The name was revealed on Monday by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. The Heisei Era, which began in Jan. 8, 1989, will end the moment the next Emperor ascends the throne on May 1. “Heisei” was comprised of two characters that, when translated, meant “achieving peace.” The country enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of peace over the past three decades, interrupted only by natural crises like the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, both in 1995, and the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Yukari Okada, who was carrying her toddler in front of huge video screens in the Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo as she waited for the new era name to be announced, was born in the first year of the Heisei Era. She said she was currently on maternity leave but that her child had not been accepted into any preschools. She hopes that, among other things, the chronic lack of preschools in Japan will be addressed in the new era. “There were many natural disasters during the Heisei Era,” Okada said. “I hope that in the next era people will suffer less and enjoy life more.”

reiwa
tokyo
heisei
osaka
cabinet
imperial family
abdication


Shizuoka man shares same kanji as Japan's new Reiwa era name

Abstract: SHIZUOKA - A 45-year-old man in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, received many congratulatory messages after the government announced the next era’s name, written with the same kanji as his given name. “I was first surprised and then felt happy,” Norikazu Matsuura said. He learned the era name in a phone call from his father. The pronunciation of his given name, Norikazu, however, is different from that of the new era’s name, Reiwa. “I hope the new era will be a peaceful period with no crime,” Matsuura said.

kanji
reiwa
nihongo
imperial family
abdication


Japanese fleet's return to port spells end to contentious research whaling in Antarctic Ocean

Abstract: SHIMONOSEKI, YAMAGUCHI PREF. - A ceremony to welcome home a fleet of whaling ships, including the 8,145-ton Nisshin Maru, from the Antarctic Ocean took place in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Sunday. The return brings an end to Japan’s whaling in the Antarctic Ocean for scientific research, which started in 1987. Tokyo has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC)and resume commercial whaling in July. The ships, which left for the Antarctic Ocean in November, caught 333 minke whales from which, during processing, about 1,000 tons of meat will be taken, according to officials. This time there were no acts of sabotage by the U.S. antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd, they said. During the ceremony, Fisheries Agency Director-General Shigeto Hase said scientific information gathered during the 30-year-long research whaling program in the Antarctic Ocean can be regarded as the property of mankind. Japan will continue nonlethal scientific whale research in the Antarctic Ocean, such as counting the number of whales by visual inspection, the agency said. Takeharu Bando, chief of the Institute of Cetacean Research’s cetacean biology section, who served as head of the research whaling mission, expressed gratitude to the crew members for working in sub-zero temperatures in the Antarctic Ocean. Japan suspended commercial whaling in 1982, in line with a moratorium adopted by the IWC, but it has been catching whales under what it calls a research whaling program since 1987 — a practice often criticized as a cover for commercial whaling. The government, which insists scientific evidence has confirmed that certain whale species are abundant, notified the IWC of its pullout in December after its proposal to resume sustainable commercial whaling and change decision-making rules at the body was rejected at its annual meeting in September.


Keidanren wants maximum service life of nuclear power plants extended to over 60 years

Abstract: Keidanren will ask the government to consider extending the maximum service life of nuclear power plants beyond the current 60 years, informed sources have said. Keidanren, also known as the Japan Business Federation, will also request that periods in which nuclear plant operations are halted be excluded from their operating life spans, the sources said Friday. The requests will be announced by Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi, also chairman of Hitachi Ltd., at a news conference Monday. Keidanren, the country’s biggest business lobby, regards nuclear power as an energy source essential for the country to move toward the decarbonization of the power sector. In the requests, Keidanren will stress that the use of existing nuclear power facilities that have been confirmed safe is important, according to the sources. Japan effectively limits the service life of nuclear plants to 40 years. Under the current rule, the period may be extended by up to 20 years if state approval is given.


RCEP trade pact likely to be concluded in November: ASEAN chief Lim Jock Hoi

Abstract: CHIANG, RAI THAILAND - An Asiawide free trade deal involving 16 countries will likely be concluded in November at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be held in Thailand, ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi has said. “I am quite hopeful the RCEP will conclude as targeted within the November summit,” Lim told a joint news conference Friday after a meeting of ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai. RCEP refers to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership being negotiated among the 10-member ASEAN as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Those negotiations, he said, are progressing well and according to schedule. His remarks came in the wake of an RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee meeting in Indonesia in February, which was followed by an RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia last month. When the 16 nations’ leaders met last November in Singapore on the occasion of an ASEAN Summit, they resolved to reach a final agreement within 2019, after missing a year-end deadline amid disagreements over tariffs and other politically sensitive issues. The RCEP talks began in 2013 and the initial goal was to wrap them up in 2015. Covering a third of the global economy, it would become one of the world’s largest free trade zones. Thai Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong told the news conference that each country involved in the RCEP negotiations realizes the importance of reaching a deal amid rising trade tensions on the global stage. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors also held discussions on the use of local currencies for trading to reduce foreign-exchange risks. Four ASEAN countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand — are so far working together to establish a local currency settlement framework. That collaboration is expected to expand to encompass other areas, such as cross-border trading between Thailand and Myanmar. ASEAN also includes Brunei, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam. The ministers and governors also discussed cooperation in the areas of payment connectivity, cybersecurity resilience and sustainable finance. ASEAN has set up the ASEAN Payments Policy Framework to guide cross-border, real-time retail payments across the member states to achieve a more competitive economic bloc.


Trump sees progress in China trade talks but doesn't predict success

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday said talks with Beijing were making progress toward ending the trade war between the world’s two top economies, but he again stopped short of predicting success. “The China meeting was a big success,” Trump told reporters, discussing the latest round of shuttle diplomacy conducted this week in Washington. “I don’t want to predict a deal or not a deal, but we’re very well along,” he added. “We have really negotiated probably the two hardest points.” He offered no detail on what those two points were, however. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin engaged in trade talks with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He from April 3 to 5 in Washington. “Significant work remains” in the talks, the White House said in a statement later in the day, “and the principals, deputy ministers, and delegation members will be in continuous contact to resolve outstanding issues.” Those issues include “intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement.” The statement however did say that both sides had “productive meetings and made progress on numerous key issues.” Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg Television that the talks had been “very productive” and were “moving the ball in the right direction.” The U.S. side was less interested in the timing of a deal than “getting a good deal,” he said. Kudlow said progress had been made on how to enforce the commitments made by both sides, the theft of intellectual property, forced transfers of technology and commodity sales. “I am not here to provide details as those are in the middle of the negotiations that are ongoing,” he said. On Thursday, Trump stopped short of announcing a date for a summit to seal a final deal with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, something he said as far back as February was likely a month away. Instead, the Republican president said the talks were likely to stretch on for another four weeks, with any summit coming shortly thereafter. In China, Xi said Friday he hoped the talks would conclude “as soon as possible,” according to state media. Since last year, the two countries have exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade.

china
trade
donald trump
xi jinping
u.s .


David Malpass confirmed as next president of World Bank

Abstract: WASHINGTON - David Malpass, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the World Bank, won unanimous approval from the institution’s executive board on Friday, continuing the 73-year tradition of an American running the world’s largest development lender. The bank said that Malpass, the U.S. Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs, will start his new role on Tuesday as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings get underway. Malpass, a former Bear Stearns and Co. chief economist who advised Trump’s 2016 election campaign, was the sole candidate. Previous World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who left in January to join a private infrastructure fund, faced two challengers, from Nigeria and Colombia, in 2012 when he was first selected. This time around, bank board members had said there was little appetite for a challenge to a U.S. candidate from developed economies such as Europe and Japan, and from larger emerging markets such as China and Brazil. In a phone interview, Malpass said he would uphold the bank’s commitment to reducing poverty in the poorest countries and to fight climate change, and pursue goals stated in a $13 billion capital increase last year. In an email to World Bank employees, Malpass emphasized the need to fight extreme poverty and “foster broad based growth for each and every borrower, and a stronger, more stable global economy for all.” Since taking his job at the Treasury in 2017, Malpass had been critical of the World Bank’s continued lending to China, arguing that the world’s second-largest economy was too wealthy for such aid while it was loading up some countries with unsustainable debt from its “Belt and Road” infrastructure program. Those comments and Malpass’ role in U.S.-China trade negotiations caused some concern in the development community that he might try to use the bank’s influence to put pressure on China. But Malpass said that he foresees an “evolution” of the bank’s relationship with China “toward one which recognizes China as the world’s second-biggest economy and an important factor in global development. I expect there to be a strong relationship collaboration with China. We have a shared mission of poverty alleviation and reduction.” Malpass said he did not participate in this week’s U.S.-China trade talks and is winding down his role at the Treasury. He said he intends to make his first trip as World Bank president in late April to Africa. World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva will attend China’s second “Belt and Road” forum on April 26 and 27, not Malpass.

david malpass
world bank
banks
donald trump


Malpractice scandal deepens at IHI's jet-engine business

Abstract: Jet-engine-maker IHI Corp., reprimanded last month by the government for improper maintenance work, has discovered more malpractice at two of its plants, people close to the matter said Saturday. Uncertified staff inspected parts for engines supplied to Boeing Co. and Airbus S.A.S., though the Tokyo-based heavy-machinery maker does not expect the latest incidents to raise safety concerns or require immediate inspection of aircraft equipped with its engines, the sources said. IHI has yet to confirm how long workers without necessary qualification were checking parts at the plants in Hiroshima and Fukushima prefectures, or how many parts were involved, they said. The company is likely to disclose details after it finishes its own investigation, while the government is expected to take additional administrative action. In late March, the industry ministry ordered IHI to rectify its jet-engine maintenance operation and stick to state-approved methods, after it reported 6,340 improper inspections affecting 209 engines in the two years through January. In early March, the company initially reported 211 improper checks in engine maintenance work entrusted by airlines after the problem was uncovered in the government’s on-site inspections earlier in the year. The number of cases later jumped as IHI expanded the scope of its internal probe.

scandals
boeing
airbus
aircraft
ihi corp .


French foreign minister mentions Carlos Ghosn's rearrest in talks with Taro Kono

Abstract: DINARD, FRANCE - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred Friday to former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s rearrest during a meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. It remains unclear what Le Drian said about Ghosn’s situation, a day after the once-feted auto tycoon was again put in custody in Tokyo over a new allegation of aggravated breach of trust. Asked by reporters about details of Le Drian’s remarks, the official declined to comment, only saying the French minister touched on the issue briefly at the end of the meeting on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial gathering of the Group of Seven nations in Dinard in western France. Kono listened to Le Drian but there was not enough time to respond, the official said. The fourth arrest warrant against Ghosn — who was also chairman at Nissan’s alliance partners Renault SA of France and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. — was issued as the three automakers were also stepping up their investigation into allegations that he misused company funds for private purposes. Tokyo prosecutors served Ghosn with the latest warrant on suspicion he misused Nissan funds paid to a distributor in Oman. The rearrest came less than a month after Ghosn’s release on bail in Tokyo. The 65-year-old was planning to hold a news conference to “tell the truth about what’s happening” but was rearrested before he could do so.

carlos ghosn
taro kono
nissan
renault
scandals
carmakers


Hoya hit by cyberattack in February, disrupting Thai factory operations

Abstract: Japanese eyeglass lens maker Hoya Corp. was hit by a cyberattack at its key production base in Thailand in late February, leading to a partial shutdown of its factory lines for three days, company officials said Saturday. About 100 computers were infected with a virus that steals user IDs and passwords, which the company believes was a precursor to spreading another virus to enable the unauthorized use of its computers for cryptocurrency mining. The company says it prevented the second phase of the attack. In a process called mining, digital currency is awarded to individuals and groups that leverage their computer processing power to perform complex mathematical calculations necessary to maintain and validate the currency’s transaction history. As the value of cryptocurrencies has risen from 2017, there has been a notable increase in illicit mining cases. With currency prices now falling, however, the number of cases is in decline although they are still being detected and being carried out in more sophisticated ways. In Hoya’s case, a computer server controlling the network slowed down on March 1 and workers were no longer able to use software to manage orders and production. Output at two factories dropped to around 40 percent of normal levels. The company officials said that a heavy load had been placed on the server as the initial virus continued to find its way to other computers. Computers in Japan that were connected to the network were also affected, disrupting the issuing of invoices. No data leak has been detected, the officials said. As the factories in Thailand operate around the clock, Hoya had yet to fully recover from the production delay caused by the cyberattack as of the end of March. But an official said the cyberattack will have “little” impact on business. The company has not made public how many lenses are produced at the factories.


U.S. to designate Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organization

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The United States is expected to designate Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization, three U.S. officials said, marking the first time Washington has formally labeled another country’s military a terrorist group. The decision, which critics warn could open U.S. military and intelligence officials to similar actions by unfriendly governments abroad, is expected to be announced by the U.S. State Department, perhaps as early as Monday, the officials said. It has been rumored for years. The Pentagon declined comment and referred queries to the State Department. The State Department and White House also declined to comment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a strident Iran hawk, has advocated for the change in U.S. policy as part of the Trump administration’s tough posture toward Tehran. The announcement would come ahead of the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran and to reimpose sanctions that had crippled Iran’s economy. The administration’s decision to make the designation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The United States has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliations with the IRGC, but the organization as a whole is not. In 2007, the U.S. Treasury designated the IRGC’s Quds Force, its unit in charge of operations abroad, “for its support of terrorism,” and has described it as Iran’s “primary arm for executing its policy of supporting terrorist and insurgent groups.” Iran has warned of a “crushing” response should the United States go ahead with the designation. IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari warned in 2017 that if Trump went ahead with the move “then the Revolutionary Guard will consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world.” Such threats are particularly ominous for U.S. forces in places such as Iraq, where Iran-aligned Shiite militia are located in close proximity to U.S. troops. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said the move would be an important step in America’s maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. “A formal designation and its consequences may be new, but these IRGC butchers have been terrorists for a long time,” Sasse said in a statement. Former undersecretary of state and lead Iran negotiator, Wendy Sherman, said she worried about implications for U.S. forces. “One might even suggest, since it’s hard to see why this is in our interest, if the president isn’t looking for a basis for a conflict,” said Sherman, who is director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. “The IRGC is already fully sanctioned and this escalation absolutely endangers our troops in the region.” Set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shiite clerical ruling system, the IRGC is Iran’s most powerful security organization. It has control over large sectors of the Iranian economy and has a huge influence in its political system. The IRGC is in charge of Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear programs. Tehran has warned that it has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km (1,240 miles), putting Israel and U.S. military bases in the region within reach. The IRGC has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units and answers to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is unclear what impact the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization might have on America’s activities in countries that have ties with Tehran, including in Iraq. Baghdad has deep cultural and economic ties with Iran and Oman, where the United States recently clinched a strategic ports deal.


Nebraska mom says carrying her gay son's baby was her gift

Abstract: SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - When Cecile Eledge offered to carry a baby for her adult son and his husband, they thought she was kidding — and that her doctors in the family’s Nebraska hometown would balk at a 61-year-old woman serving as a surrogate for a gay couple. But two weeks ago the entire family — along with proud doctors — beamed as Uma Louise Dougherty came into the world at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Grandmother and baby are both healthy — and Uma was delivered the old-fashioned way. The circumstances of Uma’s birth are a testament to changing social mores as well as the dramatic advances in senior health made by modern medicine and healthy lifestyles. “I wanted to do it as a gift from a mother to her son,” Cecile Eledge said. News of Uma’s conception, delivery and birth made headlines across the globe. On social media, the family was inundated with messages — most of them positive but some extremely angry and negative, Matthew Eledge said. “People from all around the world have been reaching out,” Matthew Eledge said. “They want to help in any way that they can.” The family is trying to ignore the negative reactions — the people who wrongly think that Matthew had sex with his own mother to produce the baby, or who leave homophobic remarks. When they set out to start their family, Matthew Eledge and Elliott Dougherty were already aware of the toll that prejudice could take. In 2015, Matthew Eledge had lost his job as a teacher at a Catholic school after the pair announced they would be married. That led to concerns that they would be denied permission to adopt a baby in their conservative home state. So they decided to try in vitro fertilization with a donated egg and a surrogate to carry the fetus. To their delight, Dougherty’s sister, Lea Yribe, offered to donate her eggs. The eggs were fertilized with sperm from Matthew Eledge, giving Uma genetic material from both sides of the family. The men jokingly told their IVF doctor that Matthew Eledge’s mother had offered to be the surrogate — even though she was at that point 59 and had gone through menopause. “Matt would comically say, ‘Well my mom keeps offering but we know that’s not an option,'” Cecile Eledge said. But the doctors, Matthew Eledge said, just wanted to know if his mom was healthy — and if she still had her uterus. After testing to make sure that Cecile Eledge’s body could tolerate the pregnancy, the embryo that would become Uma was implanted. Dr. Carl Smith, a specialist in maternal and fetal medicine at the medical center, said Cecile Eledge was healthy and fit, and looked years younger than her age. Among possible complications for older mothers are gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, and the team watched her health carefully, viewing the pregnancy as high-risk. Cecile Eledge took estrogen supplements for the first part of the pregnancy, Smith said, until the placenta holding Uma was able to make hormones of its own. The politics of helping a gay couple and the unusual choice of a grandmother for a surrogate did not deter the team, Smith said. “We never gave that a second thought,” Smith said. “She was pregnant and the circumstances of how she got pregnant are between her and her family.”

in vitro
pregnancy
lgbt
sexuality
parenthood
surrogacy


Cosmic monster photos: Scientists prepare to unveil first images of a black hole

Abstract: PARIS - The world, it seems, is soon to see the first picture of a black hole. On Wednesday, astronomers across the globe will hold “six major press conferences” simultaneously to announce the first results of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which was designed precisely for that purpose. It has been a long wait. Of all the forces or objects in the universe that we cannot see — including dark energy and dark matter — none has frustrated human curiosity so much as the invisible maws that shred and swallow stars like so many specks of dust. Astronomers began speculating about omnivorous “dark stars” in the 1700s, and since then indirect evidence has slowly accumulated. “More than 50 years ago, scientists saw that there was something very bright at the center of our galaxy,” said Paul McNamara, an astrophysicist at the European Space Agency and an expert on black holes. “It has a gravitational pull strong enough to make stars orbit around it very quickly — as fast as 20 years.” To put that in perspective, our solar system takes about 230 million years to circle the center of the Milky Way. Eventually, astronomers speculated that these bright spots were in fact “black holes” — a term coined by American physicist John Archibald Wheeler in the mid-1960s — surrounded by a swirling band of white-hot gas and plasma. At the inner edge of these luminous accretion disks, things abruptly go dark. “The event horizon” — the point of no return — “is not a physical barrier, you couldn’t stand on it,” McNamara explained. “If you’re on the inside of it, you can’t escape because you would need infinite energy. And if you are on the other side, you can — in principle.” At its center, the mass of a black hole is compressed into a single, zero-dimensional point. The distance between this “singularity” and the event horizon is the radius of a black hole. The EHT that collected the data for the first-ever image is unlike any ever devised. “Instead of constructing a giant telescope — which would collapse under its own weight — we combined several observatories as if they were fragments of a giant mirror,” said Michael Bremer, an astronomer at the Institute for Millimetric Radio Astronomy in Grenoble. In April 2017, eight such radio telescopes scattered across the globe — in Hawaii, Arizona, Spain, Mexico, Chile and the South Pole — were trained on two black holes in very different corners of the universe to collect data. Studies that could be unveiled in the coming week are likely to zoom in on one or the other. Oddsmakers favor Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A star”), the black hole at the center of our elliptical galaxy that first caught the eye of astronomers. Sag A* has 4 million times the mass of our sun, which means that the black hole is generates is about 44 million kilometers across. That may sound like a big target, but for the telescope array on Earth some 26,000 light-years (or 245 trillion kilometers) away, it’s like trying to photograph a golf ball on the moon. The other candidate is a monster black hole — 1,500 times more massive even than Sag A* — in an elliptical galaxy known as M87. It is also a lot farther from Earth, but distance and size balance out, making it roughly as easy (or difficult) to pinpoint. One reason this dark horse might be the one revealed in the coming week is light smog within the Milky Way. “We are sitting in the plain of our galaxy — you have to look through all the stars and dust to get to the center,” said McNamara. The data collected by the far-flung telescope array still had to be collected and collated. “The imaging algorithms we developed fill the gaps of data we are missing in order to reconstruct a picture of a black hole,” the team said on their website. Astrophysicists not involved in the project, including McNamara, are waiting to see if the findings challenge Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which has never been tested on this scale. Breakthrough observations in 2015 that earned the scientists involved a Nobel Prize used gravitational wave detectors to track two black holes smashing together. As they merged, ripples in the curvatures of time-space creating a unique, and detectable, signature. “Einstein’s theory of general relativity says that this is exactly what should happen,” said McNamara. But those were tiny black holes — only 60 times more massive than the sun — compared to either of the ones under the gaze of the EHT. “Maybe the ones that are millions of times more massive are different — we just don’t know yet.”


Finely painted Ptolemaic tomb unveiled in Egypt

Abstract: SOHAG, EGYPT - Archaeologists on Friday unveiled a well preserved and finely painted tomb thought to be from the early Ptolemaic period near the Egyptian town of Sohag. The tomb was built for a man named Tutu and his wife, and is one of seven discovered in the area last October, when authorities found smugglers digging illegally for artifacts, officials said. Its painted walls depict funeral processions and images of the owner working in the fields, as well as his family genealogy written in hieroglyphics. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, described the burial chamber as a “beautiful, colorful tomb.” “The tomb is made up of a central lobby, and a burial room with two stone coffins. The lobby is divided in two,” he said. “It shows images of the owner of the burial room, Tutu, giving and receiving gifts before different gods and goddesses.” “We see the same thing for his wife, Ta-Shirit-Iziz, with the difference that (we see) verses from a book, the book of the afterlife,” he added. Two mummies, a woman age 35 to 50 and a boy age 12 to 14, were on display outside the shallow burial chamber, in a desert area near the Nile about 390 km (240 miles) south of Cairo. Around 50 mummified animals, including mice and falcons, were also recovered from the tomb. Ptolemaic rule spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 B.C. Egypt’s ancient sites are a draw for tourists and authorities hope new finds can help boost the sector, which has been recovering after foreigners were scared off by the North African country’s 2011 popular uprising and the turmoil and insecurity that followed.


Of those subject to Trump travel ban, only 6% got waivers

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. government granted waivers to just 6 percent of visa applicants subject to its travel ban on a handful of countries during the first 11 months of the ban, new data show. Trump administration officials have pointed to the waiver process embedded in the travel ban as proof it was not motivated by animus toward Muslims, as critics have charged, but rather serves to protect the United States. In June 2018, after legal challenges defeated earlier iterations of the ban, the Supreme Court upheld a revised version and wrote in its majority opinion that the waiver program supported the government’s claims that the ban served “a legitimate national security interest.” But new data show that only 6 percent of people subject to the travel ban were ultimately granted waivers during the first 11 months of the ban’s full implementation. Between Dec. 8, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2018, State Department officers ruled on nearly 38,000 applications for nonimmigrant and immigrant visas filed by people subject to the travel ban who otherwise qualified for the visas and needed waivers to get them. They determined that just 6 percent — or 2,216 applicants — met the criteria for a waiver. Of those, 670 had not yet received their visas but were expected to do so. The data were provided in a Feb. 22 letter from Assistant Secretary of State Mary Taylor to Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen. The letter was received by Van Hollen’s office on Wednesday, and his office provided it to Reuters. “This data paints a clear — and deeply disturbing — picture of the Trump travel ban,” Van Hollen said in a statement to Reuters. “The administration repeatedly swore to the Supreme Court and the American people that this was not a de-facto Muslim ban and that there was a clear waiver process to ensure fairness. That couldn’t be further from reality.” A State Department spokesman said on condition of anonymity that “a consular officer carefully reviews each case to determine if the applicant is covered” by the travel ban and “if so, whether the case qualifies for a waiver.” The travel ban blocks citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as some Venezuelan officials and their relatives, from obtaining a broad range of U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. Chad was previously covered by the ban but was removed in April 2018. The latest data show a slight increase in the waiver issuance rate. Data from December 2017 through April 2018 showed that waivers were issued in 2 percent of visa applications filed by people subject to the travel ban. The ban’s restrictions vary from country to country — Somalis, for instance, can receive short-term visas and Iranians are allowed to get student visas, while North Koreans are blocked from all visas. In addition to the almost 38,000 applications considered for a travel ban waiver, around 8,100 by people from countries subject to the travel ban were refused in the 11-month period for reasons unrelated to the ban, and nearly 2,600 applicants were found eligible for visas based on exceptions to the ban and thus did not need a waiver. Critics say the waiver process is shrouded in secrecy, with vague standards and little information given to applicants about how they can qualify or apply for one. Two federal lawsuits are contesting the fairness of the process. The official criteria for a waiver is a three-part test assessing whether denying entry to an applicant would cause “undue hardship,” if entry of the person would not pose a threat to the United States, and if entry would be in the national interest. There is no application for a waiver — the State Department says it “automatically” considers applicants for them. “They (the State Department) are actually actively telling applicants, ‘We don’t want your materials in support of a waiver,’ ” said Mahsa Khanbabai, an immigration attorney in Massachusetts who has clients subject to the ban. “Even in the cases where they do take them, the extraordinary amount of time that it takes to make a decision causes tremendous hardships for people.”

immigration
u.s .
terrorism
discrimination
donald trump


May's Brexit talks with Labour stall as delay request fails to convince EU

Abstract: LONDON/BRUSSELS - Britain’s opposition Labour Party said Friday that talks with the government on a last-ditch Brexit deal had made no progress, as EU leaders said Prime Minister Theresa May had not convinced them that they should let Britain delay its departure next week. May wrote to Brussels asking European Union leaders to postpone Britain’s exit from next Friday until June 30. But they have insisted that she must first show a viable plan to secure agreement on her divorce deal in the deadlocked Parliament. Labour, which she turned to reluctantly after failing three times to get her deal passed, said the government “has not offered real change or compromise” in three days of talks. “We urge the prime minister to come forward with genuine changes to her deal,” a statement said. Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said his party wanted the talks to go on, and a spokesman for May’s office said the government had “made serious proposals” in the talks and wanted them to continue over the weekend “in order to deliver a deal that is acceptable to both sides.” May badly needs evidence of a viable divorce strategy to persuade the other 27 EU leaders at a summit next Wednesday to grant a delay, preferably on her preferred departure date. Any extension would require unanimous approval from the other EU countries, all weary of Britain’s Brexit indecision, and could come with conditions. “If we are not able to understand the reason why the U.K. is asking for an extension, we cannot give a positive answer,” said French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. German Justice Minister Katarina Barley tweeted: “This playing for time must end.” Deep divisions in May’s Conservative Party and government, and in Labour, have led to a marathon of votes in Parliament, in which scenarios ranging from abandoning the EU with no transition period to canceling Brexit have all been defeated. Last Friday, May did the unthinkable by asking Labour to negotiate with her on a deal that might work for both — although some in Labour said she was luring the party into sharing responsibility for her failure. Hoping this would satisfy EU leaders, May wrote to EU summit chair Donald Tusk proposing a delay until June 30 at the latest, accepting that Britain might have to hold European Parliament elections on May 23, which she had hoped to avoid. “The government will want to agree a timetable for ratification that allows the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union before 23 May, 2019, and therefore cancel the European Parliament elections, but will continue to make responsible preparations to hold the elections should this not prove possible,” the letter said. So far, there has been little appetite in Brussels for an extension that could create another cliff edge in three months. May asked two weeks ago for a delay until June 30, only to be turned down. Tusk is planning to propose an extension of a year, which could also be shortened if Britain ratifies the withdrawal agreement, senior EU officials said. “The only reasonable way out would be a long but flexible extension. I would call it a ‘flextension,’ ” one official said. “It seems to be a good scenario for both sides, as it gives the U.K. all the necessary flexibility, while avoiding the need to meet every few weeks to further discuss Brexit extensions.” But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said May’s letter raised questions, adding: “We hope for more clarity from London before next Wednesday.” And France, which wants the EU to move on to other business including reforms proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, indicated it was not ready to accept any delay without a clear plan. “If we are not able to understand the reason why the U.K. is asking for an extension, we cannot give a positive answer,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters in Bucharest. With time running out, it was not clear how Britain would avoid the abrupt “no-deal” departure that business leaders in Britain and also neighboring Ireland say would cause huge disruption. Germany, as one of those with most to lose from a sudden dislocation of trade, has been one of those most tolerant of Britain’s turmoil. Justice Minister Barley tweeted that “there can only be an extension with a clear direction,” but also proposed a potential way out by adding: “This includes the question of a second referendum.” The idea of asking Britons — who voted by 52 percent to 48 to leave the EU three years ago — to confirm or reject any divorce deal has been gaining ground in Britain. Yet May herself and many lawmakers in both main parties are strongly opposed, saying it would betray voters and undermine democracy, especially if it offered an option to stay in the EU. Both main parties made commitments after the referendum to deliver Brexit, but they never settled on a plan for how to leave or what future relationship to seek. May long insisted that her plan — quitting all EU institutions, with a 21-month standstill period to negotiate a bespoke free trade deal — was the only viable one. But it still split her cabinet and infuriated the most euroskeptic of her Conservatives. Labour wants closer ties than May has sought, including a customs union, which she has so far ruled out. Many Labour members of Parliament insist that any agreement must be put to a second public vote.


Joe Biden jokes about hugging in first speech since new accusations

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Democrat Joe Biden, who signaled Friday he was on the cusp of announcing a presidential bid, brushed off allegations of inappropriate conduct with women by joking about hugging in his first public appearance since the accusations broke. The former vice president said he was “very close” to revealing his 2020 plans, and that he and his team were busy “putting everything together.” But the will-he-or-won’t-he campaign game by the 76-year-old, who is his party’s frontrunner in opinion polls despite not officially joining the race, has been clouded by allegations about his behavior with women. Over the past week, Biden has been accused of inappropriately touching women or making them feel uncomfortable with his affection. That was “never my intention,” he said at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Washington, as he sought, unsuccessfully, to defuse the turmoil. He added that while he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more women came forward with similar claims, “I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of people contact me — who I don’t know — and say the exact opposite.” But while he sought to move past the controversy, the veteran politician made an awkward joke about the situation. After embracing union chief Lonnie Stephenson, Biden turned to the crowd and said “I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie.” The overwhelmingly male audience laughed. Further into his speech, he brought young children onstage and repeated a similar joke, before adding: “Everyone knows I like kids more than people.” Biden has said that in his constant effort to make “a human connection,” he shakes hands, hugs voters, and sometimes grasps their shoulders in moments of compassion or good will. That behavior has sparked criticism from his own party and its increasingly diverse base, with some saying he is out of step with changing social norms. Biden addressed the concerns, saying he would likely adjust how he campaigns should he enter the race. But he stopped short of an outright apology to those who have found fault with his actions. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden told reporters. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I’ve ever done. I’ve never been disrespectful intentionally, to a man or a woman.” After the remarks, two women who had recounted their uncomfortable encounters with Biden made clear they remained troubled. “To make light of something as serious as consent degrades the conversation women everywhere are courageously trying to have,” tweeted Lucy Flores of Nevada. The former state legislator has accused Biden of smelling her hair and then kissing her head at a 2014 rally when she ran for lieutenant governor. Amy Lappos of Connecticut, who recounted this week that Biden rubbed noses with her, told The Washington Post that the candidate-in-waiting’s joke “is a clear indication Biden doesn’t get it and doesn’t take the voice of the women who have come forward seriously.” The fact Biden joked about consent from a child “adds a new level of creepy and gross,” she added. Biden released a video Wednesday in which he pledged to “be more mindful” about people’s personal space going forward. President Donald Trump, who himself has faced accusations of sexual misconduct, was quick to mock Biden on Twitter, dismissing him as a potential challenger in 2020. “I don’t see Joe Biden as a threat,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I think he’s only a threat to himself.” Trump later posted what appeared to be a goading tweet just as the Democrat concluded his speech. “I’ve employed thousands of Electrical Workers. They will be voting for me!” Trump tweeted. In his address, Biden stressed his traditional themes of solidarity, union strength and his family’s blue-collar roots. “This country was not built by Wall Street bankers and CEOs and hedge fund managers,” Biden said. “It was built by the great American middle class,” and the group that forged the country’s middle class was “unions,” he added. Biden’s tactile politics are not the only concern raised by his decades of experience in public life. He faces renewed focus on how, as chairman of a Senate committee, he handled the 1991 hearings featuring Anita Hill, a former aide to then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, whom she accused of sexual harassment. Biden is also under scrutiny for supporting 1990s tough-on-crime legislation that helped create a mass incarceration crisis that disproportionately affected black Americans.

joe biden
women
donald trump
harassment
elections