Jailed American accused of spying spent years collecting Russian contacts

Abstract: Washington - A corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine who has been jailed in Moscow on spying charges has spent more than a decade cultivating friends and contacts in Russia, both virtual and real. Paul Whelan sought out friends throughout the country, most often through a social networking site that is similar to Facebook and popular largely in Russia. Several told The Associated Press that the American never seemed sinister, merely someone who was interested in Russia and wanted to be pen pals. “I know him as a friendly, polite, educated, and easygoing guy,” said one of his contacts, who, like the other Russians interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because of Whelan’s legal troubles. Whelan was arrested Dec. 28 while on a two-week visit to the country and has been charged with espionage. The Russian government has so far given no details about the allegations against him, but a close look at his social media history suggests why he might have come to the attention of the Russian security services, regardless of his motives. He has collected dozens of contacts on the social media site, nearly all of them men, many of whom have at least some connection to the military. His family back home says he was nothing more than a tourist. In a Washington Post op-ed published Friday, his twin brother, David, urged the U.S. government to pressure Russia to release him. “Paul is a kind and considerate brother, son and uncle, and a generous and loyal friend,” he wrote. “He travels as often as he can, both for work and pleasure. He is many things to many people, but he is not a spy.” Whelan, 48, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of spying. He is also a citizen of Britain, Canada and Ireland, which brings international pressure on Russia from several fronts. He was born in Canada to British parents, but grew up in Michigan, where he now lives. His family said he was in Moscow over the holidays for the wedding of a fellow former Marine and had planned to travel to St. Petersburg before flying home this weekend. Instead he’s in Lefortovo, a notorious prison run by the KGB in Soviet times and still used for foreigners accused of spying. Whelan has been visiting Russia since at least 2007, when he took advantage of a military program for marines deployed in Iraq that gave them 15 days of leave and paid for the travel. Even before then, he had begun developing a network of contacts throughout Russia. Some said they met him online in 2006 and became “pen pals,” trading practice in English for Russian. Whelan seemed fascinated with Russia and its culture, they said. For nearly a decade, he has had an account on VKontakte, which means In Contact. Of his 58 friends at the time of his arrest, 54 were men. Many attended universities affiliated with the military, civil aviation or technical studies. Many share his interest in sports and firearms. “We was guys with guns,” wrote another of his friends, who said he was a student working nights as a security guard when he first met Whalen online. Both men, who live in separate Russian cities far from Moscow, said they first met Whelan in person in 2008 when he traveled around the country to meet some of his new friends. Others said they have only communicated online. Whelan’s brother said it would not be surprising to find Russian soldiers among his contacts. “I’m pretty sure that some of the people he knows through social media are probably Russian soldiers because there are a lot of Russian soldiers and he probably knows one,” David Whelan said in an interview. One of Paul Whelan’s friends on VKontakte said he believed the arrest was a mistake because a true spy would never act as openly as he did. He said Whelan gave him his home address and they exchanged Christmas cards. Former CIA officers also have expressed doubts that Whelan was working for U.S. intelligence. They note that the CIA would be unlikely to use someone in Russia without diplomatic immunity and leave them vulnerable to arrest. Whelan’s marine record also would likely prevent U.S. intelligence from hiring him. He began active duty in 2003 and was deployed twice to Iraq, rising to staff sergeant. But his military career ended with a court martial in 2008, when he was convicted on charges that included attempted larceny and dereliction of duty. Court documents released by the military show he was accused of attempting to steal more than $10,000 while on duty in Iraq, where he worked as a clerk, in September 2006. He was also convicted of using a false social security number and profile for a military computer system to grade his own examinations, and of writing 10 bad checks totaling around $6,000. He was dropped two grades in rank and given a bad conduct discharge from the Marine Corps. “This guy is not an intel asset,” said Malcom Nance, a veteran intelligence officer. “He’s not the type of person you would use as an asset. There is no way.” Nance said he suspects Russian intelligence officers have been watching Whelan for years, wondering if they could use him in some way and maybe trying to flip him. A member of Russia’s parliament suggested Friday that once the investigation into Whelan was completed, he could be swapped for Maria Butina, a Russian woman jailed in the U.S. since July. She pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to act as a foreign agent by trying to infiltrate conservative circles and the National Rifle Association to influence U.S. politics. However, she has been cooperating with federal prosecutors and is unlikely to spend too much time behind bars. Federal sentencing guidelines call for no jail time to six months. After his discharge, Whelan returned to his job in the temporary staffing company Kelly Services, based in Troy, Michigan, where he had worked since 2001 in the IT department until taking the leave of military absence. He was Kelly’s head of global security and investigations until 2016. Early the following year, Whelan joined auto parts supplier BorgWarner as global security director. BorgWarner, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, has facilities around the world but none in Russia and he never traveled to the country for business, company spokeswoman Kathy Graham said.


Trump denies media report he is considering ex-Sen. Jim Webb for Pentagon chief

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday a New York Times report that he was considering former Democratic Se. Jim Webb to be his next defense secretary was “fake news.” The Times, citing an unnamed official, said on Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had reached out to Webb. A senior Pentagon official confirmed Webb’s name had been circulating at the White House, the Times reported. “I’m sure he is a fine man, but I don’t know Jim, and never met him,” Trump said on Twitter. “Patrick Shanahan, who is Acting Secretary of Defense, is doing a great job!” he said. Jim Mattis stepped down from his job as defense secretary on Tuesday and Trump said a day later he had essentially fired Mattis, a retired Marine general whose letter of resignation was seen as a sharp rebuke to the Republican president. Mattis resigned after Trump’s surprise decisions to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria and half of the 14,000-strong contingent in Afghanistan. The Times said Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham and former Republican Sen. Jim Talent had also been mentioned as possible replacements for Mattis.


Mexican president says he owns no cars or real estate — but his wife does

Abstract: MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday he owns no real estate, vehicles or personal property, echoing what experts say is a pattern among the country’s politicians of shifting assets to relatives. Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, told a regular news conference his family’s cars and home are in his wife’s name. The veteran leftist won a landslide victory in July after a campaign centered on rooting out corruption in Mexico, which experts say is among the worst in Latin America. He cuts an austere figure, ditching the presidential residence, flying coach and driving a white Volkswagen Jetta. Transparency advocates welcome Lopez Obrador’s disclosure after battling to get members of his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto’s administration to open up about their finances, said Alexandra Zapata of the Mexican Institution for Competitiveness (IMCO), a think tank that promotes good governance and fighting corruption. But his declaration raised as many questions about his wealth as it answered, she added. “The president, in an effort to send this message of austerity, loses credibility in how he talks about his property, his assets and his interests,” said Zapata, who is the group’s director of education and civic innovation. Lopez Obrador disclosed monthly net income of 108,744 pesos ($5,600) from his government work and savings worth 446,068 pesos. In addition to real estate and vehicles, Lopez Obrador’s personal possessions and household goods, including works of art and other valuable objects, were disclosed in his wife’s name, a spokesman for the president’s office said. Mexican politicians have long been accused of obscuring their wealth by registering assets under relatives’ names. Those who absorb the assets are sometimes referred to as prestanombres , or people who lend their names. Lopez Obrador has slashed salaries for public officials, including his own, and stressed on Friday that others in his administration would be required to declare their assets, too. The president said during the news conference that his principal asset had been a property in the southern state of Chiapas, which he inherited from his parents and is now registered under his children’s names. “Money has never interested me,” he said. “I fight for ideals, for principles.” Under a new national anti-corruption system, federal, state and local officials will soon be required to submit detailed disclosures about their income and assets, as well as those of their families. Lopez Obrador has long cast himself as a man of the people in a poor country. During the news conference, he said he has no credit card, a common refrain in his speeches. Just 37 percent of Mexicans had an account with a bank or other type of financial institution in 2017, according to a World Bank study of people over 15 years old. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who backed another candidate in the election, criticized the disclosure. “Only his grandmother could believe this,” Fox wrote in a post on Twitter. “Wake up, Mexico!!!”


Russia collusion probe's secret grand jury gets extension

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Russia collusion investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller will continue to loom darkly over the White House for some time to come after a judge gave an extension to a secret grand jury empaneled in the probe. An official of the Federal District Court in Washington confirmed on Friday that Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had granted the extension, as the jury’s original 18-month mandate was to expire on Saturday. But there was no information on how much longer the grand jury will be able to work, amid speculation that Mueller is nearing the end of his wide-ranging investigation. The grand jury is believed to be weighing a number of potential charges against members of President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign team, some of whom have already been indicted. The Mueller probe has already issued indictments against 33 people, including three former top Trump aides, has secured guilty pleas in seven cases, and a trial conviction in another. Normally a grand jury is empaneled for a maximum of 18 months, and a maximum six-month extension is permitted. Howell’s office would not say how long an extension she gave Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017. The probe has been conducted in intense secrecy, and given rise to speculation that President Trump himself could be a target, for possible collusion between his campaign and Russia in the 2016 electoral campaign, and perhaps for obstruction of justice. The White House has confirmed that Trump has answered written questions from Mueller, though details of the questions and answers have not been released.

robert mueller
donald trump
2016 u.s. presidential election
russia probe


At Istanbul ceremony, ecumenical patriarch signs decree granting independence to Ukrainian Orthodox church

Abstract: ISTANBUL - The spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide formally granted independence to the Ukrainian church on Saturday, marking a historic split from Russia which Ukrainian leaders see as vital to the country’s security. The decree, granting “autocephaly,” was signed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at a service with the head of the Ukrainian church Metropolitan Epifaniy and President Petro Petroshenko in St. George’s Cathedral at the patriarchate in Istanbul. The patriarchate, the seat of the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, endorsed Ukraine’s request for the new church in October. Ukraine last month chose 39-year-old Metropolitan Epifaniy to head the new church, in a move which Poroshenko compared to Ukraine’s referendum for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The move incensed Moscow, and prompted President Vladimir Putin to warn of possible bloodshed in his annual news conference. Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed after Moscow’s seizure of Crimea in 2014. The Ukrainian Orthodox church has been beholden to Moscow for hundreds of years, and Ukraine’s leaders see church independence as vital to tackling Russian meddling.

istanbul
ukraine
orthodox church
russia
petro petroshenko
vladimir putin
crimea
religion


North defector Thae Yong Ho urges colleague Jo Song Gil to go to Seoul

Abstract: SEOUL - A former North Korean diplomat who staged a high-profile defection in 2016 has urged an old colleague who has gone missing in Italy to defect to Seoul, following a report that he was seeking asylum in the United States. Jo Song Gil, 44, who was until recently North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, disappeared with his wife after leaving the embassy without notice in early November, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday. Jo has applied for asylum in the United States and is under the protection of Italian intelligence, Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper said on Friday, citing an unidentified diplomatic source. The State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to a query from Reuters regarding the report. In an open letter, Thae Yong Ho, Pyongyang’s former deputy ambassador to Britain, who went to the same university as Jo and worked with him before defecting to South Korea, urged Jo to follow in his footsteps. To defect to the South is an “obligation, not a choice” for North Korean diplomats committed to unification, Thae said, calling Seoul “the outpost” for that task. “If you come to South Korea, the day when our suffering colleagues and North Korean citizens are liberated from the fetters would be moved forward,” Thae said in the letter released on his website. “If you come to Seoul, even more of our colleagues would follow suit, and the unification would be accomplished by itself.” Thae said that in 2008 his family visited Jo in Rome, where Jo was studying from 2006 to 2009. He guided them to sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. South Korea could not be “heaven on Earth” but a place where Jo can realize his wishes, Thae said, highlighting the ardent desire for unification among many of the roughly 32,000 defectors there. “The defectors may not be as wealthy as South Koreans,” Thae added. “But isn’t it the only thing you and I, as North Korean diplomats, should do the rest of our lives — to bring about unification and hand over a unified nation to our children?”

thae yong ho
jo song gil
north korea
south korea


Retired U.S. general warns against letting China dominate 5G networks

Abstract: WASHINGTON - China’s desire to dominate new wireless technology poses a global threat that should be thwarted by a new, secure network, according to a former Trump administration official whose call for an enlarged U.S. government role caused an uproar last year. China will gain a capability for mayhem and mass surveillance if it dominates advanced 5G networks that link billions of devices, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding said in a memo that was obtained by Bloomberg News. “The more connected we are, and 5G will make us the most connected by far, the more vulnerable we become,” Spalding, who left the National Security Council last year, said in the memo. Spalding, who is now retired, confirmed in an interview Friday his authorship of the memo. He said he wrote it in recent days, and had circulated it to national security professionals whom he declined to identify. A plan he backed last year aroused protests from Republican regulators and lawmakers and wireless companies who said it diminished the role of private companies. The Trump administration is in tense trade talks with China and has taken steps to restrict its top telecommunications equipment maker, Huawei Technologies Co. The company’s chief financial officer was arrested and extradited from Canada in December on charges of violating sanctions against Iran. U.S. government officials and industry executives have long harbored suspicions that Huawei works for Chinese government interests. Huawei has pushed back against the accusations, with a top executive citing “groundless speculation.” The administration of President Donald Trump and the U.S. wireless industry have embraced the notion of a “race to 5G,” with the main rival being China. Trump in October ordered a national spectrum policy to ensure the U.S. maintains leadership in advanced wireless communications. Commercial providers are working to develop 5G networks that provide faster links than the current fourth-generation wireless service. The idea is that dramatically higher speeds — 10 or even 100 times faster than current service — will eventually help support self-driving cars, smart appliances and even surgical robots. Spalding in his memo paints a future headed toward domination by China. Eventually, alternatives to its network technology won’t exist, because other suppliers won’t be able to compete with government-subsidized offerings from Huawei and fellow Chinese gear maker ZTE Corp., Spalding said. Once China controls the market for internet-connected devices, it will be able “to weaponize cities,” Spalding said in the memo: “Think of self-driving cars that suddenly mow down unsuspecting pedestrians. Think of drones that fly into the intakes of airliners.” Spalding proposed a network to be built in three years using technology to monitor network devices and “isolate them from the adversary if they become infected.” The network would rely on encryption and a secure supply chain, according to Spalding. His recommendations include “push Huawei and ZTE out of other democracies.” Spalding didn’t lay out a government role in the new network, which he said could be built by a company with access to enough airwaves. In the interview he said the new proposal was little changed from last year’s, which he said likewise didn’t call for the government to build the network. A year ago, U.S. regulators and the wireless industry pushed back against Spalding’s plan after it was leaked to the press, with critics saying network construction should come through private efforts. At the time a U.S. official told Bloomberg News unresolved questions included what portion of the project would be taxpayer funded, and whether it would be owned by the government, a private consortium or some combination of public and private entities. Direct participation by the federal government in building a wireless network intended for commercial use would be a departure from the decades-long tradition of auctioning licenses to telecommunications companies to build their own networks.

china
5g
huawei
u.s .
military
espionage
telecoms


Rare Thai typhoon creates floods and blackouts but spares tourist islands

Abstract: NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, THAILAND - Floods and blackouts caused by Tropical Storm Pabuk left nearly 30,000 people in evacuation shelters across southern Thailand Saturday, as relieved tourists stranded on islands further north were spared the worst and began to plot routes home. Pabuk, a once-in-three-decades weather system, packed winds of up to 75 kilometers (45 miles) an hour and brought heavy rains and storm surges as it lashed the entire south of the kingdom on Friday, downing power cables and causing widespread flooding. A fisherman died in southern Pattani province early Friday as high waves smashed into his boat and another crew member was reported missing. But the storm tacked away from the key tourist islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, where large numbers of tourists hunkered down for 24 hours in heavy rains, unable to leave as airports closed and ferry services were canceled. “There were no casualties, there is some sunshine today and I’m confident some tourists will be able to leave today as ferries and flights resume,” Kittipop Roddon, Koh Samui district chief said. But “red flag” warnings banning swimming off what are normally sun-baked paradise beaches at this time of year were still in place. “It’s all over. All 10,000 tourists are safe. … I am relieved,” Krikkrai Songthanee, district chief of neighboring Koh Phangan, an island famed for its full-moon parties, told AFP, adding only minor damage had been caused by high winds. But vacationers keen to leave the islands face long delays as transport links are slowly reopened on Saturday. The storm was downgraded early Saturday to a depression with wind speeds slackening as it moved into the Andaman Sea, the Meteorological Department said. Pabuk made landfall on Friday afternoon in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, south of the tourist hubs on the Gulf of Thailand, hammering the coastal province with rain. Authorities warned of flash floods as some parts remained inundated by a combination of rainfall and storm surges. Around 200,000 people were left without power as dozens of electricity poles were toppled by high winds or falling trees. Some 30,000 customers remained without power early Saturday, according to an update by the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. A similar number of people remained in evacuation shelters, waiting for floods to recede and power to be restored, it added. Pabuk struck in peak tourist season, a blow to the cash-cow sector that is integral to Thailand’s economy. The kingdom is expected to welcome a record 40 million visitors this year.


China's population set to peak at 1.44 billion in 2029 before 'unstoppable' decline starts in 2030, report predicts

Abstract: SHANGHAI - China’s population is set to reach a peak of 1.44 billion in 2029 and start a long period of “unstoppable” decline in 2030, government scholars said in a research report published Friday. The world’s most populous country must now draw up policies to try to cope with a declining labor force and a rapidly aging population, according to the summary of the latest edition of the “Green Book of Population and Labor” published by the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Growth in the working population has now stagnated, the report said, and the rising number of elderly people will have a far-reaching impact on the social and economic development in the country, especially if fertility rates remain low. “From a theoretical point of view, the long-term population decline, especially when it is accompanied by a continuously aging population, is bound to cause very unfavorable social and economic consequences,” it said. China’s population is expected to fall back to 1.36 billion by the middle of the century, it said, which could mean a decline in the workforce of as much as 200 million. If fertility rates remain unchanged, the population could fall to 1.17 billion by 2065, it said. China decided in 2016 to relax a controversial “one-child policy” aimed at curbing population growth and allow all couples to have two children. However, the country’s birth rate still fell 3.5 percent in 2017 and is expected to have fallen again last year. China’s “dependency rate”— or the proportion of non-working people, including children and the elderly, in the total population— rose for the first time in more than 30 years in 2011, and is widely predicted to increase further for at least the next few decades. The proportion of retirees is projected to rise until 2060, the CASS report said, and while the decision to relax “one-child” rules was designed to rebalance China’s age structure, in the short term it will also lead to a greater dependency rate. According to previous forecasts, China’s elderly population is expected to reach 400 million by the end of 2035, up from around 240 million last year.


Ice sculptures, brave swimmers are attractions at China's month-long winter festival in northern Harbin city

Abstract: HARBIN, CHINA - Swimming enthusiast Yu Hongtao, 50, trained for months in the freezing water of the Songhua River to compete in a winter ice swimming tournament held annually in China’s northern city of Harbin, known for its bitterly cold weather. “You have to start swimming from autumn so that the body can conquer the sudden icy impact on one’s cardio-vascular system,” said Yu, a Harbin resident. “The feeling of diving into the water is very cool.” More than 300 men and women, wearing just ordinary trunks and swimsuits, on Saturday braved the bitterly cold waters in the ice swimming meet, part of Harbin’s annual winter festival, among the biggest in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures can plunge as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius in the city in northern Heilongjiang province. The festival, which began Saturday, has drawn millions of visitors from around the world every year since its inception in the early 1980s. Highlights include sled rides on the Songhua river, mass weddings and towering sculptures of ice and snow carved by thousands of artists and workers. Visitors marvel at the mini ice replicas of the Colosseum and of the Milan Cathedral, particularly during the long evenings when soft, colored lights illuminate the sculptures. The festival also attracts hordes of domestic tourists. “The ice castles and sculptures made by workers are very impressive,” said Lin Renlong, who was visiting with his girlfriend. “It’s like Disneyland, Disneyland in winter,” said the 22-year-old from the northern province of Hebei.


Osaka girl, 9, to become Japan's youngest pro go player in April

Abstract: A 9-year-old girl from the city of Osaka will soon become the youngest professional go player in Japan. Sumire Nakamura, a fourth-grader in elementary school, will be 10 when she joins the professional league and receives her ranking of first dan on April 1, officials at Nihon Ki-in, the Tokyo-based association for pro go players, announced at a news conference in the capital on Saturday. Nakamura will break the record of Rina Fujisawa, who went professional at the age of 11 years and six months, in 2010. The object of the traditional strategy game known for its characteristic black and white stones is to use the pieces to surround more territory than your opponent. The stones are placed at intersections on the square board, which has a grid superimposed on it. She attended the news conference with her father, Shinya Nakamura, who holds the higher rank of ninth dan. “It was rather shocking to see her ability, given her age,” said Chang Hsu, a ninth dan player who tested her skills for Nihon Ki-in as part of the screening process. “She was very composed” and flexible while playing, he said. Nakamura will be the first go player to turn pro under Nihon Ki-in’s special screening system for “prospective, talented” players who can compete with top players from other countries, said Nihon Ki-in Director-General Dan Hiroaki.


Agriculture ministry plans to submit bill to Diet for more stringent management of reservoirs in farming areas

Abstract: The agriculture ministry plans to submit to the Diet a new bill for stricter management of reservoirs for farming, after heavy rain that hit western Japan last summer destroyed some ponds and caused damage, it was learned Saturday. The ministry intends to submit the legislation to this year’s ordinary Diet session, likely to be convened later this month, informed sources said. Some 96,000 reservoirs are registered in the ministry’s database. Actually, however, a total of about 200,000 reservoirs are believed to exist across the country. During emergency examinations conducted following the heavy rain, local officials could not confirm the safety of some reservoirs. Other registered reservoirs were found to be in various states of disrepair. The new law will clarify the roles of the central government, local governments and reservoir owners and managers, the sources said. Specifically, the state will take charge of general coordination across a wide area, while prefectural governments would select reservoirs that could cause damage to houses and other facilities if they collapse, the sources said. Municipal governments will be required to check management conditions for reservoirs and give necessary instructions to reservoir managers and to manage reservoirs whose owners and managers are unknown, according to the sources. Owners and managers will be obliged to report basic information about their reservoirs to relevant local governments. The ministry is also considering authorizing prefectural governors to order owners and managers to conduct disaster prevention work if necessary. Governors could also be allowed to conduct such work on behalf of owners and managers in case they do not follow the orders, according to the sources.


Japanese lawmaker takes fire for saying a nation 'would collapse' if everyone became LGBT

Abstract: A Lower House lawmaker is drawing criticism for his comment that “a nation would collapse” if everyone became LGBT. Remarks by Katsuei Hirasawa, a veteran member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, were carried on Nippon News Network’s national broadcast Friday. Outrage has been popping up on social media. Hirasawa told a crowd in Yamanashi Prefecture on Thursday: “Criticizing LGBT would create problems, but if everyone became like them then a nation would collapse.” He also said he didn’t understand moves in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward and other municipalities to recognize same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriages are not recognized in Japan nationally. Hirasawa, like many of the country’s politicians, was lamenting the country’s low birth rate, which has been blamed on a lack of child care and help for working women, as well as sentiments that tend to shift the burden of raising children onto women. Last year, another ruling party lawmaker, Mio Sugita, came under fire after she said in a magazine that the government shouldn’t use tax money for LGBT rights because same-sex couples weren’t “productive.” Tens of thousands of people took part in protests outside LDP headquarters.

lgbt
katsuei hirasawa
ldp
diet
sexuality


Japan seeking to extend U.S. security treaty to cyberattacks

Abstract: Japan is considering stipulating in a document with the United States that Washington’s commitment to defend the Asian country under a key article of their long-standing security treaty extends to cyberattacks, government sources has said. Tokyo is aiming to redefine the coverage of the security treaty in a joint statement of talks involving foreign and defense ministers of the two countries to be held this year, the sources said Friday. Article 5 of the treaty obligates the United States to help protect territory under Japanese administration in the case of an armed attack. The plan comes as Japan last month adopted a new 10-year national defense guideline that stated its Self-Defense Forces’ possession of capabilities to counter cyberattacks. Japanese officials believe it is increasingly important to strengthen cooperation with the United States as there are growing threats of cyberattacks posed by China, Russia and North Korea. Japanese and U.S. defense authorities have already agreed in principle that Washington, based on Article 5, will deal with cyberattacks if it recognizes them as the use of force against Japan, according to government officials. Japan and the United States have a number of times affirmed that Article 5 applies to the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. In September 2014, NATO made clear that cyberattacks against any NATO member would be attacks against all members, falling within the doctrine of collective defense. A Foreign Ministry official said they will use the case of NATO, of which the United States is a member, as a reference, while the question of what type of cyberattacks should be judged as the exercise of force against Japan remains difficult to be defined.

cyberattacks
china
russia
north korea
hacking
u.s.-japan relations


Survey on commuting gripes in Japan spurs wider societal complaints

Abstract: Nothing unites Tokyoites together quite like complaining about daily commuting by train. And it’s a worthy gripe — morning and evening rides practically dispose of the idea of personal space altogether. Being packed tightly with other people also exposes us to all sorts of oddball and annoying behavior, either above or below ground. With this in mind, what train-based behaviors irritate other commuters the most? The Japan Private Railway Association released its annual ranking of inconsiderate behavior at stations and on trains in late December, compiled from information gathered from various train companies and more than 2,500 passengers. It comes after a year in which plenty of online discussions — or, more accurately, arguments — came about as a result of riding the rails. The ranking revealed that a number of daily occurrences attracted plenty of votes. Applying makeup and playing music through headphones loud enough to bleed out both landed in the top 10 (Nos. 8 and 5, respectively), as did being drunk (No. 7). A few other highlights include eating food on the train (No. 10), rude boarding and exiting behavior (No. 4) and reading physical media such as magazines or books (a surprisingly low No. 16 — I’ll take lipstick application over somebody opening a newspaper in my face any day). However, taking the top spot is something that, at first glance, seems slightly unexpected. The way people carry bags comes in at No. 1, with a follow-up question clarifying that the main source of frustration comes when people wear backpacks and similar items on their back instead of moving them to the front. Many online agreed. An article on Toyo Keizai Online covering the ranking went viral, with people noting how annoying bags can be. It appears this has been a gradual development. A Soranews24 post on the survey results notes that complaints about bags has moved up from ranking No. 12 in 2009 all the way up to No. 3 last year before going to the top in 2018. Some speculated this is because more salaryman have been using backpacks and knapsacks in recent years, resulting in them popping up more frequently on daily commutes. As rankings go, however, plenty had differing views of what should have been at the top — or, at least, higher up. Folks who don’t line up in two lines outside of the train , “otaku smells” and “molesters” were mentioned. Others zoomed in on the backpack topic, with some wondering if a better bag for transit could be designed , or asking whether trains themselves were too narrow and were actually to blame for all this . And, of course, a select few wondered if the people who were actually getting annoyed so easily were the real problem , with some blaming the media. One of the more interesting points brought up regarded how this ranking was unfair to kids . Considering how many schools require students to use backpacks — and how many of them in Japan use trains — some users thought this attitude toward bags on the train was toxic . It wasn’t a wrong way to approach the topic, seeing as one notable web-based moment earlier in December centered around kids aged even younger than elementary school. User @kannekolaw tweeted about hearing a mother repeatedly say, “Do not push in, I have a baby” on a crowded train, and yet that didn’t stop more commuters from squeezing in. The user went on to argue that the trains should have child care-only cars, which prompted a wide-ranging discussion online . Many echoed the original situation , with some calling for more flex-time for workers and another breaking down how a crowded train at rush hour could result in the death of a young child. They might be onto something. Some Twitter users reflected on their childhood, when salaryman would ask kids riding the trains solo where they were going to help them rather than treat them coldly. However, venturing into the comments on Togetter revealed plenty who weren’t nostalgic but ready to blame the country’s infrastructure, which jams too many people into Tokyo and doesn’t adjust for crowded transit. Barring a major societal shift in how the government approaches public transportation, work-life balance and urbanization … well, expect those online complaints regarding overcrowded trains to keep on coming. Entire pages on Japanese matome sites collect random rants from people, ranging from riders ignoring the loud ringing of another passenger’s phone to “ guerilla defecation .” Plenty also fantasize about leaving the train system behind forever to the point where books have been written on the subject . Good luck finding a way to make that dream come true. Until then, just remember to flip your backpack to your frontside, try to get off the train in an orderly manner and know the internet will always be there to hear you vent about your daily grind.


Internet rightists' strategy of provocation gaining traction in Japan

Abstract: Popular TV personality and model Rola recently tweeted her opposition to new U.S. base construction in Okinawa. The comment was immediately derided by people who said celebrities like her had no business in political debates. Although these critics may support base construction, they didn’t engage Rola on the issue. They attacked her , not her views. This rhetorical method is a characteristic of netto uyoku (internet rightists), as put forth in a new book by Koichi Yasuda, “ Uyoku no Sengoshi ” (“A Postwar History of the Right Wing”), which explains how the movement has evolved, particularly since the emergence of the internet. In a J-Wave radio interview with fellow journalist Osamu Aoki in November, Yasuda outlined the differences between classic right-wing activists — the kind who drive big, black trucks blasting martial music — and the anonymous internet species. To him, although classic right-wingers sometimes resort to extortion and other underhanded methods of persuasion, they are typically serious about their patriotism and target ideas rather than individuals. They support freedom of expression and don’t discriminate against marginalized groups. They would never engage in hate speech. “I don’t like rightists,” Yasuda says, “but I admit they have integrity.” That sense of purpose has lost relevance, he says, as society in general “has moved further to the right.” Older activists are pulled into the internet rightist sphere, some as veterans who “instruct” new generations of protestors in the art of provocation. In the old days, Yasuda says, provocation meant parking your truck outside a company or government bureau and yelling about their complicity in activities deemed harmful to Japan. Now, he says, it’s mostly street demonstrations targeting Koreans, Chinese and other foreign groups. Today’s internet rightists rail against people such as Rola who oppose U.S. base construction. The work of many internet rightists is devoid of substance. They have no concrete goals and trade in xenophobia for its own sake. Their politics is about resentment. This is, of course, a worldwide phenomenon. Some call it populism, but the main difference in Japan is that it’s a populism typically divorced from ideology, born of boredom and momentum. Yasumichi Noma of the Counter-Racist Action Collective once described the presence of internet rightists as the antithesis of the cockroach phenomenon, which says that when you see one cockroach in your kitchen it means there are 10 in your walls. Conversely, when you see 100 right-wing troll messages on social media, there are probably only two people behind them. Last month, Mainichi Broadcasting System aired a documentary about how this presence manifests as action. One segment explained how the Tokyo Bar Association received thousands of written requests for disciplinary action against attorney Ryo Sasaki, whom the petitioners accused of working for Pyongyang-affiliated schools in Japan. Sasaki told Mainichi Broadcasting System he has nothing to do with Pyongyang-related schools. His field is labor relations. Because formal disciplinary requests must include the names and addresses of petitioners, Mainichi Broadcasting System contacted some, and most confessed they didn’t know what Sasaki did, only that he was doing something bad. When Sasaki threatened to sue the petitioners for interfering with his business activities, many sent letters of apology. The petitioners were readers of a blog who said they received letters from the administrator, which they then filled out with their names and addresses. They had little or no idea what they were doing but since they agreed with the purport of the blog they thought it was something important. A recent article in Spa , which focused on retired people with time on their hands falling under the sway of right-wing content on the web, described those who regularly petition against lawyers for right-wing causes as being old and impressionable. Mainichi Broadcasting System tracked down the blog writer, who denied sending the letters but said that North Korea is taking over Japan and that lawyers are to blame. When Mainichi Broadcasting System pressed him for the provenance of his views, he admitted that he simply copied writings from other sources. A well-known publisher had compiled some of these blog posts into book form. The publisher refused to talk to Mainichi Broadcasting System, which later discovered that Sasaki was representing a former employee of the publisher who was suing it for firing her after she accused a supervisor of harassment. Did the disciplinary campaign against Sasaki originate with the publisher? It isn’t clear. Nevertheless, the incident shows how easy it is for internet rightists to mobilize followers, even for activities those followers don’t understand. Another subject of the documentary was Kazue Muta , a gender studies scholar doing research into sexual abuse that has outraged rightists because she receives a subsidy from the education ministry. As with the charges against Rola, trolls take issue with her character rather than address her findings. Another victim is Mitsuko Uenishi, the Hosei University professor who revealed that the labor ministry survey data used in a Diet debate last February in support of the ruling party’s discretionary labor bill had been doctored . Although ministry officials admitted to the forgery, Uenishi was bashed incessantly by people who didn’t seem to care about the facts, including at least one politician. This strategy of provocation has moved beyond anonymous rightists to mainstream conservatives. The editor-in-chief of the conservative monthly Hanada told Mainichi Broadcasting System that he consistently targets the Asahi Shimbun because the daily is the bete noire of his readers. The reporter pointed out that Hanada had mistakenly accused the Asahi Shimbun of being the first publication to condemn ruling party lawmaker Mio Sugita after she published her essay denigrating LGBTQ people. Actually, said the reporter, the Mainichi Shimbun broke that story. The editor-in-chief laughed: “No, it has to be the Asahi Shimbun.”


Is international scrutiny of Japan's criminal justice system fair?

Abstract: The Nov. 19 arrest of ousted Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, his 23-day detention, his subsequent arrests and lengthy stay in detention has resulted in international scrutiny of Japan’s criminal justice system. Is that fair? Shin Kukimoto, deputy public prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office, defended the practice at a news conference in the capital last year. “Each country has its own history, culture and systems,” Kukimoto told reporters. “I wonder if it’s appropriate to criticize our system just because it’s different.” Attempts to dismiss criticism of Japan’s criminal justice system as Western prejudice really only work if one ignores numerous voices of dissent that have been raised by criminal defense lawyers in addition to opposition from prosecutors and judges. Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor, believes the criminal justice system in Japan is based on a hostage mentality. “If you admit to the crime you’re arrested for, you’re released on bail relatively quickly,” Gohara says. “However, if you dispute the charges or claim innocence, you will be detained longer. You won’t be released on bail and your detainment will last weeks. You’re basically held hostage until you give the prosecutors what they want. This is not how a criminal justice system should work in a healthy society.” Not only does the application of such a system fly in the face of the widely accepted notion of being innocent until proven guilty, it encourages false confessions. It also punishes those who have the audacity to deny any charges laid against them and even if you are released from detention without an indictment, the odds that your job will still be there 23 days later are rather slim. So long as the police and the prosecutors are correct, Gohara believes “hostage justice” can work. “However, no sooner than they make a mistake and grab an innocent person,” he says, “the whole system becomes a terrifying weapon.” In the past, backroom deals have been struck to elicit a confession. On Nov. 24, 2015, the Tokyo High Court ruled that a 51-year-old fraud suspect had been coerced into confession by the police who promised him a lighter sentence if he confessed. He had been charged with multiple counts of fraud, allegedly because he refused to confess to the initial charges. The defendant later retracted his confession and pleaded innocent. His lawyer asked to cross-examine the police officers who had interrogated the subject, but the court rejected the request. The defendant was sentenced to five years in jail; the sentence was appealed. The suspect then called the arresting officers and recorded them admitting to making a deal with him. On that basis, the Tokyo High Court ruled that the case should be retried and sent it back to the lower courts. In the summer of 2012, a hacker used compromised computers to have four people wrongfully arrested on charges of making online death threats. All of those arrested initially denied the crimes, but two eventually admitted guilt after being held in detention for a number of days. They were all released in October 2012, when the real culprit sent emails to authorities containing details that could only be known by the actual criminal. The prosecutors had coerced a false confession from one suspect, while another believed he was covering up for a crime that his girlfriend might have committed. The Japanese media, which relies on being drip-fed scoops by prosecutors, didn’t delve deeply into the matter. In 2011, the Tsuchiura branch of the Mito District Court delivered a verdict of not guilty to Shoji Sakurai and Takao Sugiyama, both 64, who were sentenced to life in prison in 1970 for the robbery and murder of Shoten Tamamura, a 62-year-old carpenter. The pair had already served nearly 30 years in prison before the court ruled that their confessions had been forced. Once you’re in the system, you’re in trouble. Japan has a 99 percent conviction rate, but this is because prosecutors drop roughly half the cases they are given. Once you’re indicted, however, you have a slim chance of being released. Hiroshi Segi, a former Supreme Court judge, wrote in a book titled “The Hopeless Court” that judges who dare to find people not guilty get punished professionally. Hiroshi Ishikawa, a former prosecutor, wrote in detail about the abuse of prosecutorial power and the ability to detain suspects in a book titled “Kenji Shikaku.” Ishikawa himself had been implicated in a case of false confessions before resigning. He says there’s enormous pressure on police and prosecutors to obtain a guilty verdict by any means. “I was taught that foreigners and gang members have no human rights,” he once told me. “I was taught that winning is everything. And with the de facto power to detain someone who insists they’re innocent all the way up to their trial, we usually win. However, that doesn’t always mean that justice is served.”


Examining the strange synergy of Heisei Era crimes in Japan

Abstract: There’s a tendency in some societies to associate a period of history with the crimes that occurred therein. This is why we use expressions such as “crime of the century.” And Japan? Crime certainly figures prominently in a 264-page mook published by Bungeishunju titled “Heisei 1989-2019 wo Yomitoku 51 no Jiken” (“Fifty-one Incidents for Reading and Understanding the Heisei Era”), with 14 of the 51 incidents, or 27.4 percent, involving violations of the criminal code. Meanwhile, another mook recently published by Yosensha titled “Gekido no Heisei-shi” (“The Turbulent History of Heisei”) devotes eight pages to crime and four more exclusively to the yakuza, whose full-fledged membership at the end of 2016, author Atsushi Mizoguchi reports, had declined precipitously to 18,100 — with another 20,900 counted as “apprentice gangsters.” Could any types or patterns of crimes be described as Heisei-specific? Possibly. In Shukan Asahi (Jan. 9, 2018), sociologist Shinji Miyadai described the era of Heisei as “a morass of paranoia and megalomania.” Others had already observed a growing trend toward so-called “delusionary crimes” — which are not committed for the usual motives of monetary gain, hatred or revenge, but to satisfy some demented urge, and even for pleasure. In addition to assaults by random slashers, these include forms of erotomania such as stalking, voyeurism and theft of women’s underwear from clotheslines. Like other relatively “new” types of crimes, such as domestic violence, it’s difficult to ascertain as to whether the number of cases actually increased, or if they just reflected enforcement of new laws designed to play catch-up with an already existing situation. The half decade-long economic “bubble” that began in 1986 and its spectacular collapse was blamed for numerous cracks and distortions in society, such as having helped to spawn the doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. Begun as a school teaching yoga and meditation, Aum’s partially blind “guru,” Chizuo Matsumoto — who was hanged in July last year along with a dozen other followers after two decades on death row — indoctrinated (or coerced) thousands of young adherents who lived austerely in communal “satyams,” turning over all their possessions and earnings to the cult. Aum also attracted people with advanced degrees in chemistry, who turned their skills to producing sarin, a toxic nerve gas, in a secret laboratory near Mount Fuji. After testing it one summer night in the city of Matsumoto in 1994 and leaving behind seven corpses, the team of mad scientists slinked back to their lab to prepare for a bigger target. Believed to have been tipped off that a police raid was in the works, the cult struck first, releasing nerve gas on Tokyo subway commuters on the morning of March 20, 1995 — killing 13 and sickening thousands. As the year 2000 approached, the weirder and more bizarre crimes became, leading some to attribute them to a seikimatsu gensho (the fin de siecle phenomenon) — as if humans were becoming infected by an organic version of the much-feared Y2K millennium bug. In spring of 1997, the city of Kobe was terrorized for two months following the murder of an 11-year-old boy, whose decapitated head was placed outside the gate of a junior high school. Thrust into his mouth was a handwritten letter, signed “Seito Sakakibara,” challenging the police to “begin the game.” When police announced an arrest two months later, the suspect turned out to be a 14-year-old boy, and to describe the nation’s reaction as “shocked” was an understatement. “Youth A,” as the perpetrator was referred to in the media, would spend six years and five months in custody, during which he received psychological counseling. Although he has never appeared in public, he published a 294-page autobiographical memoir in 2015 titled “Zekka” (“Song of Desperation”). Unsolved major cases continue to haunt Japanese society. Just over 18 years have passed since businessman Mikio Miyazawa, his wife and their two children were murdered in their home in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on the night of Dec. 30, 2000. In a 12-page article appearing in the New Year’s edition of the monthly magazine Bungei Shunju, author Iku Aso professes to offer “new facts” concerning the killings. As one possible scenario. Aso suggests the murders might have been committed by a foreign intelligence operative (possibly from North Korea) as a “test,” to see if he could be relied upon for future assignments. The killer, Aso claims, would not have been overly cautious about leaving behind fingerprints and his DNA had he known he’d be departing Japan within a matter of hours. Unfortunately, these kind of creative deconstructions don’t qualify as legally admissive evidence, so until the police announce they have caught their man, Aso’s interpretation remains in the realm of speculation. The statute of limitations for murder was finally abolished by the 2010 revision to the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Metropolitan Police Department still maintains a task force of investigators, treating the Miyazawa killings as an open case. While some see proactive attempts at crime prevention like the installation of ubiquitous security cameras — some with facial recognition capability — as evidence of Japan’s continuing evolution into a kanri shakai (regulated society), law enforcement can claim some successes, particularly fewer crimes committed with guns. Ownership of handguns is banned outright in Japan and sales of shotguns and hunting rifles, as well ammunition, are strictly regulated. For the previous half-decade, murders committed by firearms have been held to a single digit per year (with only three in all of 2017).

crime
aum shinrikyo
matsumoto
tokyo subway sarin gas attack


Japan protests China's unapproved maritime survey near Okinotori Island

Abstract: TOKYO/BEIJING - Japan has lodged a protest with China over an unapproved maritime survey around Okinotori Island, a remote atoll in the western Pacific that Tokyo claims as a base point for its exclusive economic zone in the area, a government source has said. The Japan Coast Guard detected a Chinese research ship navigating in waters near the tiny island on Dec. 18 last year. The Chinese vessel told Japan’s maritime safety agency that it was “conducting ocean research on the high seas.” Okinotori Island, located midway between Taiwan and Guam, is Japan’s southernmost territorial point and is located about 1,700 km south of central Tokyo. China, while recognizing Okinotori as Japanese territory, argues that it is a “rock” and not a base point for Japan’s EEZ. “The Chinese oceanographic research ship Xiangyanghong 1 recently conducted marine scientific and research activities in waters near Okinotori in accordance with the law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters Wednesday. “Okinotori reef does not meet the basic requirements to be recognized as an island,” Lu said. “The Japanese side unilaterally calls it an island and claims the so-called EEZ and continental shelf, but the Chinese side has never acknowledged that.” A Chinese ship was also spotted carrying out research activities in waters near Okinotori Island in March 2016.

okinotori island
disputed islands
china-japan relations


Japan counters South Korean rebuttal over radar lock-on

Abstract: The Defense Ministry has issued a statement countering Seoul’s rebuttal of Tokyo’s claim that a South Korean warship directed its fire-control radar at a Japanese patrol plane last month. The ministry issued the statement Friday after South Korea earlier in the day released a video to dispute Japan’s claim over the Dec. 20 incident. “There are different claims from our position,” the ministry said of the South Korean video. The radar lock-on is “a hazardous act that may cause unintended consequences.” The ministry said it “intends to continue to hold necessary consultations between the defense authorities” of the two countries. The video was released by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense after Tokyo disclosed video footage on Dec. 28 showing the radar lock-on incident, which occurred over the Sea of Japan. The South Korean video is “awful,” a senior Defense Ministry official said, adding, “We have to keep rebutting.” The official noted that the South Korean video did not include radio messages sent by the Japanese patrol plane to the South Korean destroyer, which had been on the Japanese video. Depending on the responses of South Korea, Tokyo is considering releasing radar wavelength data, usually a military secret, as additional evidence for its claim, sources familiar with the situation said. Frustration is growing among an increasing number of Japanese government officials at South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s failure to act to resolve tensions over the incident. Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, held telephone talks on Friday and agreed on the importance of resolving the issue at an early date. They also agreed to wait and see what developments come out of talks between the two countries’ defense authorities. Kono also urged South Korea on Friday to prevent Japanese firms from being treated unfairly following the launch of procedures to seize assets from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. over its refusal to compensate over wartime forced labor. After speaking with Kang, Kono said that if needed, Japan will take resolute action based on international law. “I asked (the South Korean side) to take steps quickly so Japanese firms will not suffer from treatment that is unfair and disadvantageous,” Kono told reporters. “We believe that South Korea will take appropriate action, so we will wait and see what happens. But we want to make preparations in case we have to act resolutely based on international law,” he said, without elaborating. Bilateral ties have deteriorated in recent weeks over rulings made by South Korea’s Supreme Court ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for forced labor during the war. In the wartime labor case, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal had until Dec. 24 to respond to a request by lawyers for the South Korean plaintiffs to start talks on compensation. After the deadline passed, the lawyers said Wednesday they had launched a process to seize the steel-maker’s shares in Posco-Nippon Steel RHF Joint Venture, its strategic partnership with South Korean steel-maker Posco. “We take (the request) very seriously,” Kono said after the talks, which were held at Kang’s request.

sea of japan
military
self defense forces
south korea-japan relations


Japan Times 1969: Police battle students at Tokyo university

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Thursday, Jan. 16 1919 Baby smothered on crowded street car THE JAPAN TIMES Kuwa Ogasawara, wife of a bank employee, who was riding in a crowded street car on Tuesday afternoon carrying her 4-month-old son on her back on reaching home discovered that her baby had been suffocated to death while on the car. The spectacle afforded at many of the street car stopping places, of which the one at Hibya Park is typical, is one of the sights of Tokyo. There, one may see a line of small cars gingerly moving forward by fits and starts, crowded and packed with their victims to the utmost capacity of every platform step and ledge outside (there is as yet no means available for climbing on to the roof), with hundreds of would-be passengers ironically told by the carmen to wait for the next car. Able-bodied are able here and there by various means to get aboard somehow, generally by jumping on while the car is in motion. But old men, women and children may wait for an hour or more without being able to get on a car. Children are sometimes seen weeping bitterly at the vexation of the interminable waiting. 75 YEARS AGO Monday, Jan. 17, 1944 One-legged pilot training to rejoin unit THE JAPAN TIMES Visitors to the Military Preparation School in Tokyo might have seen an old-type fighter lying in a corner of the school grounds. Their attention may have been attracted by the pathetic yet manly sight of a young non-commissioned officer in the white uniform of an army patient, handling the plane and operating the rudder bar with his artificial limb. The young soldier is Sgt. Maj. Mitsumasa Seo, who, though minus one leg, is awaiting the day when he may again resume his service with the Army Air Corps, reports the Asahi. Looking forward to the day when he may again be accepted as an army flier, the sergeant-major redoubled his efforts by undergoing all sorts of physical exercises usually imposed upon members of the Army Air Corps. At last, the authorities of the First Army Hospital, where the sergeant-major was receiving medical attention, were impressed by his ardor and assured him that he might return to the Army Air Corps some day. They referred him to the Army Air Service Headquarters so that the sergeant-major might sit for a physical examination as a candidate. 50 YEARS AGO Sunday, Jan. 19, 1969 Police battle students at Tokyo University THE JAPAN TIMES Radical students holed up in Tokyo University’s Yasuda Auditorium on Saturday withstood a 10-hour siege by riot police who seized control of 16 other buildings held by the students on the university’s Hongo campus. The students hurled blazing Molotov cocktails, acid bottles and huge chunks of concrete slabs and rocks at the policemen from the roof of the auditorium. Police used helicopters to drop tear gas shells and tear gas grenades were used from the ground. Pressurized water was also used to break the resistance of the students. The command of the Metropolitan Police Department ordered a halt to the day’s operations at 5:30 p.m. because of darkness. About 60 policemen entered the auditorium but left it by 6 p.m. An MPD spokesman said police did not continue their assault on the students in the auditorium after dark because one of the important guidelines in the police action Saturday was to keep police casualties minimum. Police did not want to repeat the mistake they made during an assault at Nihon University on Sept. 6 in which a police sergeant was hit on the head by a heavy chunk of concrete and died later, according to police sources. During the day-long battle at Tokyo University, police arrested 256 radical students, including 15 coeds, on the campus and an additional 55, including two coeds, near the JR Ochanomizu Station where about 1,000 students staged a riot. Fifty-six policemen were injured in the clashes with the students and two of them were hospitalized with serious injuries. Fourteen passersby and an unidentified number of students were also injured. Police eventually quelled the riot the following day, arresting 69 demonstrators and removing more than a dozen barricades erected at various sections of the street in the Ochanomizu-Surugadai area in Kanda. 25 YEARS AGO Friday, Jan. 14, 1994 Parents instructed to change name of son THE JAPAN TIMES The Justice Ministry and municipal government officials have asked parents in Akishima, Tokyo, to change the name of their first son from “Akuma,” which means devil or demon, to something else. The father submitted registration documents naming their son Akuma to the city government in August. After the municipal government refused to register the name and instructed the father to change it, he filed a lawsuit with the Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court. The father is in his late 30s and the son was born in late July. After consulting the Tokyo District Legal Affairs Bureau of the Justice Ministry, the city instructed the father to change the name. The city told the parents that the name is socially irresponsible and that the child may be a target of discrimination in the future. The city said other people would also rather not call the child Akuma. The father says there is no problem with the name because it does not violate any law. The family Registration Law says parents should use easy-to-recognize characters when naming a child. The father says the name should be allowable because the two characters to denote Akuma — “ aku ” and “ ma ” — are included in the list of suggested names.


Precious metals dealer is robbed of ¥80 million in cash on street near Tokyo's Roppongi district

Abstract: A precious metals dealer was robbed of a roller bag containing some ¥80 million in cash Saturday after being assaulted by three men on a street near Tokyo’s Roppongi district, police said. The 27-year-old man sustained minor injuries to a hand after he was attacked from behind at around 2 p.m. in an area dotted with apartment and other buildings, about 500 meters north of the Roppongi subway station, the police said. According to police, two of the three were about 170 cm tall. The man was heading to meet a customer who intended to sell some precious metals products, police said. The search is continuing for the three suspects, they said.


Gold smuggling to Japan falls, but concerns remain ahead of planned October tax hike

Abstract: The amount of gold bullion smuggled into Japan and seized by customs authorities in 2018 is estimated to have fallen by half from the previous year, according to sources. More stringent penalties are believed to have contributed to the plunge. Customs authorities and the National Tax Agency have stepped up oversight, however, as the number of smuggling cases remained high. The planned October consumption tax hike from 8 percent to 10 percent is expected to further boost profit margins for smugglers. People who import gold must pay the tax at customs. If gold bullion is procured from overseas locations without a consumption tax, such as Hong Kong, smuggled into Japan with no tax payments, and then sold in the country at prices including the tax, the difference can be pocketed as profit by smugglers. As trading houses that export gold by legitimate distribution routes receive consumption tax refunds, amounts equivalent to the tax end up flowing out of state coffers. Gold smuggling surged after the consumption tax was raised from 5 percent in 2014. The number of smuggling cases detected by customs authorities in 2017 rose 60 percent from the previous year to a record 1,347 and the amount of seized gold jumped 2.2 times to about 6.2 tons, also an all-time high. From January to September 2018, the number of smuggling cases remained high, at 1,011, while the seized amount plunged to about 1.9 tons. The annual total for 2018 is estimated at 2.5 tons, less than half of the 2017 level. In April, the government put the revised Customs Act and other regulations into force, lifting the penalty for gold smuggling to five times the price of the smuggled metal. Smuggling of gold bullion valued at ¥100 million can be punished with a fine of up to ¥500 million. At the same time, smuggling methods have grown more sophisticated. In addition to conventional smuggling by plane, an increasing number of cases involve international mail or smugglers disguised as foreign nationals on cruise ships. Regulators have boosted surveillance. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees gold traders, imposed administrative punishments on six buyers in April for failing to report suspicious trading — the first action of its kind. In July, the National Tax Agency set up teams of specialists at the three regional taxation bureaus of Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. The specialists analyze consumption tax evasion by methods such as gold smuggling. The agency is determined to conduct thorough checks for gold smuggling, which threatens public confidence in the consumption tax system, an official said.


Japan traffic deaths hit record low in 2018

Abstract: The number of traffic deaths nationwide in 2018 fell by 162, or 4.4 percent, from the previous year to 3,532, hitting the lowest level since data became available in 1948, the National Police Agency said Friday. The decrease reflected police efforts to step up traffic safety education programs and crack down on traffic offenses, the agency said. The annual number of traffic deaths peaked at 16,765 in 1970 before falling gradually. The government aims to reduce the figure to 2,500 or less by 2020. The 2018 data showed that among people 65 or older, traffic deaths dropped by 54, or 2.7 percent, to 1,966 on a preliminary basis, slipping below 2,000 for the first time since 1985, when the figure stood at 1,957. But the share of elderly victims in the total grew 1 point to 55.7 percent, hitting its highest level since statistics became available in 1967. Traffic deaths per 100,000 people fell to 2.79 for all ages and to 5.59 for people 65 or older. By prefecture, Aichi topped the death toll list for the 16th consecutive year, with 189, followed by Chiba with 186, and Saitama with 175. Fukui saw the highest death toll per 100,000 people at 5.26, followed by Toyama at 5.11, and Mie at 4.83. The number of traffic accidents that left three or more people dead totaled 10, including a crash involving three motorcycles that killed six teenagers in Nara in August. According to the NPA, the country had fewer traffic accidents and injuries in 2018, at 430,345 and 524,695, respectively, based on preliminary data.


Record ¥333.6 million paid for giant tuna at Toyosu market's first New Year's tuna auction

Abstract: A sushi entrepreneur paid a record ¥333.6 million for a giant tuna Saturday as Tokyo’s new Toyosu fish market, which replaced the world-famous Tsukiji late last year, held its first pre-dawn auction of the new year. Bidding stopped at the whopping price of about $3.1 million for the enormous 278-kg (612-pound) fish — an endangered species — that was caught off Japan’s northern coast. Self-styled “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura paid the top price, which more than doubled the previous record of ¥155 million from 2013. “I bought a good tuna,” Kimura said after the auction. “The price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers will eat this excellent tuna.” Tsukiji — the world’s biggest fish market and a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops — moved in October to Toyosu, a former gas plant a bit further east. Opened in 1935, Tsukiji was best known for its pre-dawn daily auctions of tuna caught from all corners of the world and used by everyone from top Michelin-starred sushi chefs to ordinary grocery stores. Wholesalers and sushi tycoons have been known to pay eye-watering prices for the biggest and best fish, particularly at the first auction of the new year. Despite the relocation, the auction ritual remained intact: before dawn, buyers in rubber boots were inspecting the quality of the giant fresh and frozen tunas by examining the neatly cut tail end with flashlights and rubbing slices between their fingers. At 5:10 a.m., hand bells rang to signal the auction was underway and the air filled with the sound of auctioneers yelling prices at buyers, who raised fingers to indicate interest. “Finally, the first New Year’s auction was held at Toyosu market,” said Yoshihiko Otaki, a market official. “We have a lot of tuna here like we did in Tsukiji,” he said. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said: “I sincerely hope this market will be loved by many people.” The relocation was a lengthy and controversial process. Few would contest the fact that Tsukiji was past its prime, and there were concerns about outdated fire regulations and hygiene controls. In contrast, the new market, located around 2 km to the east, boasts state-of-the-art refrigeration facilities and is nearly twice as big as Tsukiji. But Toyosu is located on the site of a former gas plant and the soil was found to be contaminated, forcing local authorities to spend millions of dollars to clean it up, delaying the move.


Deep underground, new NYC train hub slowly takes shape

Abstract: NEW YORK - Deep in the bedrock 15 stories below the famous Grand Central Terminal, a cavernous construction site is slowly — and expensively — taking shape as a commuter rail hub that will accommodate more than 150,000 passengers a day. East Side Access has been dogged by massive cost overruns and delays since construction began nearly a dozen years ago. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo has brought in a manager who is focused on bringing the $11 billion project to completion by a new deadline in four years. “We can all see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel,” said Janno Lieber, who came to the state-run Metropolitan Transit Authority a year ago, drawing upon his private-sector experience planning the rebuilding of skyscrapers around the World Trade Center. Massive boring machines that excavated the space have been replaced by workers clanging, sawing and hammering against concrete and steel to create a concourse and two levels of platforms with eight tracks in all. The aim is to create a direct route for riders of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to and from Manhattan’s East Side, alleviating traffic that now flows through the chaotically congested Penn Station, on the West Side. On a recent morning, MTA officials led a walking and stair-climbing tour to showcase progress on the unfinished, cavern-like terminal with ceilings as high as six stories. Dozens of high-speed escalators are being built to lead down to a 350,000-square-foot (32,500-square-meter) LIRR concourse with marble already laid on its walls and space reserved for retail shops and dining areas. It will be the hub for 8 miles (13 kilometers) of new tunnels blasted and drilled out from 400-million-year-old bedrock, winding their way under Park Avenue and the East River and on to Queens and Long Island. It is all focused on alleviating some of the pain for about 150,000 LIRR commuters who must somehow get to and from Grand Central every day. Currently, they have to joust, push and elbow their way to platforms at Penn Station, which also accommodates Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains, adding up to 40 minutes to their commutes. For years, critics have pounced on unforeseen construction that they say has been mired in politics, bureaucracy and disorganization. MTA officials have blamed such factors as the difficulty of carving through the bedrock, the need to work around an active transportation system, and the challenge of carting away 75,000 truckloads of rock, mud and other refuse. Much of it was used as fill in parks and other projects. But there are other reasons for work moving at a snail’s pace, says Kathryn Wylde, chief executive officer and president of the Partnership for New York City, a business community group. The MTA has 75,000 employees, including managers, she said, and the result is a massive bureaucracy with multiple agencies that all want to be involved in decisions, no matter how small. In an effort to speed things up, the governor has become the de facto “project manager” of East Side Access, Wylde said. Cuomo brought in Lieber and other private-sector and government professionals who are allowing contractors more flexibility in dealing with details or unexpected circumstances, Wylde said. “The challenge is, can they move the bureaucracy to get things done?” she asked. Lieber says he is focused on hitting the deadline of Dec. 31, 2022. “We now, at the MTA, are determined,” he said. “We’re changing the culture of construction management and development at the MTA.”


Italian populist Luigi Di Maio promises to cut lawmaker pay via 'wonderful law'

Abstract: ROME - Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said there is plenty more to be done on the populist agenda, including cutting the pay of the nation’s lawmakers. “We are only at the end of the beginning,” Di Maio said in a New Year’s Day message two days after Parliament passed a budget that includes scaled-back income support for the poor and measures to lower the retirement age for some. Di Maio, the head of coalition partner Five Star Movement, promised the passage of a “wonderful law” to trim the compensation for members of Parliament this year. President Sergio Mattarella has sought to rein in Italy’s populist leaders: Di Maio and fellow Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. In a New Year’s Eve address, the head of state warned that the country’s debt mountain, at more than 130 percent of gross domestic product, penalizes ordinary citizens. In his remarks on Tuesday, Di Maio also promised to work on environmental and foreign affairs issues in 2019, adding that it was a pleasure to fight against those “who used public money and national laws to take advantage of a series of rights to which they weren’t entitled.”

italy
populist
luigi di maio
parliament
sergio mattarella
matteo salvini
salaries


China's generic drug makers struggle to survive bulk-buy policy onslaught

Abstract: SHANGHAI - Even after a plunge last month that wiped $46 billion off Chinese health-care stocks, domestic drug makers may be far from their floor as a Beijing-led policy shift gathers pace. China’s plan to drive down generic drug prices through a centralized bulk procurement program is set to redraw the industry by forcing its thousands of small generic drug makers to streamline and consolidate after decades of enjoying outsized profit margins. “There won’t be a second act for traditional generic drug makers in China,” said Dai Ming, Shanghai-based fund manager at Hengsheng Asset Management Co. “In the past, there was hope that these companies would benefit from more government investment in health care due to the aging population, but now these health-care stocks will be further hurt by policy and undergo a greater correction.” In order to survive the shifting landscape and rely less on generics — drugs whose patents have expired — many companies are scrambling to pump money into research and development. Discovering a new medicine allows companies to earn high profits for as long as the new drug is covered by a patent, balancing out the loss of revenue from the fall in generic drug prices. Chinese companies had been in a sweet spot. Among the top 100 generic drugmakers, Chinese firms had a 74 percent gross margin and an 18 percent profit margin in the third quarter, compared with a global average of 55 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The privileged position was due to the quirks of China’s regulatory system. While multinational giants had to wait years for approval to import their new drugs, the domestic generic makers could do a thriving business in copying, testing and getting local permission for the medicines. At the same time, the industry benefited because of the lack of a centralized system for quality control. Multinationals like Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC could win more hospital tenders for their off-patent drugs, as they could more easily offer quality assurances for their higher-cost medicines. That kept prices elevated throughout the pharma sector. Now, China has embarked on a pilot program in which major cities bulk-buy certain drugs together, forcing companies to bid for contracts and driving prices by an average of 52 percent, one by as much as 90 percent. Last week, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said China would be expanding the program to cover more cities and drugs, as medicine prices must fall for health care to be affordable for the people. Chinese companies that are already heavily invested in R&D stand the best chance of surviving the new landscape. Among mainland shares, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. has invested the most in research by far — amounting to 16 percent of revenue in the latest quarter. Guangzhou-based Yipinhong Pharmaceutical Co. is in second place with 8.4 percent. Zhejiang Jingxin Pharmaceutical Co., Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceutical Group Co. and Tianjin Lisheng Pharmaceutical Co. have invested about 8 percent of sales into research. Among Hong Kong-traded shares, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. has 8.14 percent of sales invested in research and Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. has 6.23 percent. At present, Jiangsu Hengrui gets 20 percent of its revenue from novel drugs and 80 percent from generics, a ratio it wants to flip, Lianshan Zhang, president of global R&D, said in an interview last month. But a successful novel drug can take decades to develop, and the Chinese pharmaceuticals are up against the deep pockets and research talent of the multinationals, which are now enjoying rapid approval from Chinese regulators for their new medicine. And since their investment funds come from revenue generated by generics, the plunge in prices may set off a vicious circle, said analysts. “With generic drug revenue being compressed, there’s a chance that it can’t cover the necessary investment to transition to novel drugs,” said Huarong Securities Co. analyst Zhang Keran. “The market does worry whether or not there will be sustainable cash flow going forward.”

china
generic drugs
health care
pharmaceuticals


Goodbye Stalin: Moscow metro sheds Soviet look in bold new stations

Abstract: MOSCOW - Moscow’s metro system is famed for its Stalin-era stations with glittering chandeliers and mosaics, but architects are taking a radical new approach as the network undergoes a massive expansion. While the original stations were conceived as “palaces for the people” in an era when the people supposedly ruled, the new designs are less formal, with light boxes for seats and laser-printed glass patterns. In a major break with tradition, the Moscow city government has allowed outside architects to submit designs for several new stations in competitions that included a public vote on a phone app. It has paved the way for “truly interesting and original stations that are outside any tradition,” said architecture journalist Nina Frolova. The first of these to open is in the high-rise suburb of Solntsevo, once notorious for its local mafia. Moscow’s Nefa Architects won with a design inspired by the sun — the Russian word for which forms the root of the suburb’s name. “We wanted to let the sun inside,” said Nefa’s lead architect, Dmitry Ovcharov, surveying the newly opened station on a recent afternoon. They punched holes in the walls of the station entrances to “create light and shadow,” he said. Down on the platform, cylindrical white light boxes serve as seats that Ovcharov promises are sturdy enough to withstand passengers’ weight. In 2018, the transportation system, which dates back to 1935, opened 16 new stations and carried around 2 billion passengers in total. Frolova, the editorial director at the architecture website Archi.ru , said that Solntsevo is a bright example of new metro transit trends. “There’s a concept that any passenger can see,” she said. “It feels pleasant being in the station.” But she said another design competition for the Novoperedelkino station ended less happily, with “significant changes” to the design. It featured dramatic patterned glass ceilings that ended broken up with ugly seams and “turned out much less interesting than was planned,” she said. Architect Ovcharov has grumbled about Solntsevo too, pointing out incorrectly printed panels and overhead lights that do not work. “It was a really unrelenting battle for quality, to get the design decisions complied with,” he said. Yet he adds that he is now considering taking part in another metro design competition. Another architect with a winning station design, Tatiana Leontyeva of Moscow’s Blank Architects, said the prestige of the commission was a draw. She was part of a team that designed a station called Rzhevskaya, which will have an “archway” theme in a nod to its location near a mainline railway station. The brief was to create a station for “the new times,” she said, using Russian materials and “without excessive decoration.” “There was a large number of applications, and (the competition) had a big impact — not just on the Russian architectural scene but abroad too because, of course, a lot of people wanted to get their hands on a site like the Moscow metro.” The historic Moscow subway system was a monumental construction in the 1930s, built as an example of quality and solidity, symbolizing the grandeur of Stalin and the young Soviet Union. The country’s history was told in the mosaics that adorned the stations’ walls, and the metro could serve as a bunker if needed. Previously, the state company Metrogiprotrans had a monopoly on the transport system’s architecture, and it still designs the majority of new stations. One of its architects recently argued that the company is the only one with the expertise to design the facilities. “There’s a popular opinion that you can just come along to the metro and draw a picture of a station,” Alexander Orlov said at a recent presentation. “Even if a drawing of something seems beautiful, it can be incompatible with all the metro technology.” But Metrogiprotrans is also modernizing. The company’s latest station interiors feature laser-printed designs on glass or glossy aluminum panels — a simple approach that critic Frolova says also works. “I think they kept a good balance with not many details and some simple, modern forms,” she said. The company is also behind more elaborate stations such as Fonvizinskaya, which depicts characters from the work of a playwright by the same name in ceiling-high 3D panels. “I’d never dreamed I’d do the metro,” digital artist Konstantin Khudyakov said. “That’s monumental art,” said the designer, who explained that his work is usually much smaller in scale. Khudyakov’s stereoscopic panels use the same technology as novelty rulers or pens in which figures appear to move — but using many more high-resolution images. “It’s the first time in the world that this has been done” in a metro system, Khudyakov said. Public reaction to the decor at the station has been mixed. School teacher Lyudmila said she didn’t much care for the “gloomy” pictures but was glad the metro system had been linked up to her neighborhood. But designer Alexandra, traveling on a weekday afternoon, said she liked the images. “Purely visually — they’re cool,” she said. Either way, Khudyakov believes the metro should still be a showcase for decorative art in a city with relatively few galleries. “There’s not enough art. People are deprived of art. … Let there be art, at least in the metro.”

moscow architecture transportation art rail


Italy's Uffizi demands return of Nazi-looted painting, refuses to pay intermediaries

Abstract: FLORENCE, ITALY - Italy’s Uffizi Galleries called on Germany on Tuesday to return a still-life painting by the Dutch master Jan van Huysum, which was looted by retreating Nazi troops in World War II. “Germany has a moral duty to return this painting to our museum,” said Uffizi chief Eike Schmidt, who is himself German. “This story is preventing the wounds inflicted by World War II and the horrors of Nazism from healing.” The “Vase of Flowers” painting, worth millions of dollars, was originally put on display in Florence in 1824 after it was bought by Grande Duke Leopoldo II for his art collection. The oil canvas hung in the city’s Pitti Palace until 1940, when it was evacuated to a nearby village following the outbreak of World War II. Three years later it was seized by German troops and eventually taken to Germany where it only resurfaced following German reunification in 1991 in the hands of a family. Intermediaries have demanded payment for its return, which the Uffizi is refusing. All efforts to get it back via legal channels have failed, with Germany saying it cannot intervene because of a statute of limitations that prevents prosecution for alleged crimes committed more than 30 years ago. “Germany should not apply the statute of limitations to works of art stolen during the war,” said Schmidt, who on Tuesday hung a black and white photograph of the missing canvas in the Pitti Palace museum. The word “stolen” written in Italian, English and German is prominently printed on the photo and the picture was put on the Uffizi’s Twitter feed.

uffizi
nazis
germany
jan van huysum
vase of flowers
wwii


Economy said key issue as post-Castro Cuba fetes 60 years of revolution amid challenges and change

Abstract: HAVANA - Cuba celebrated 60 years of revolution on Tuesday amid economic crises and political reforms, the first such anniversary of the post-Castro era. The symbolic commemoration was set for late afternoon in the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba, the “cradle of the revolution.” Ex-President Raul Castro was slated to give the keynote speech at the tombs of national heroes Jose Marti and Fidel Castro. For the first time since 1976, Cuba’s president is not a Castro. Miguel Diaz-Canel, 58, took over in April as president from Raul Castro, who retains significant influence. “Today the date is with Raul in Santiago,” wrote Diaz-Canel on Twitter. “The brave and noble people of Cuba” will be honored — with Fidel, Raul and “all those who have fought, and fight, to maintain the homeland free, sovereign and happy.” The streets of Santiago were adorned with flags and posters. In one, a vigorous Fidel raises a rifle next to Raul, with the legend “60 years of victories.” Concerts and dances were held across the island on New Year’s Eve, and a 21-gun salute rang out across Havana Bay to usher in the anniversary of the revolution. Diaz-Canel wasn’t even born when Fidel Castro declared victory for his revolution on Jan. 1, 1959. U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista had fled the country earlier that day, opening the way for Castro to install a one-party communist system. The celebrations in Cuba, an island country that once inspired left-wing governments across Latin America, coincided with the inauguration in Brazil of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose recent election victory is one of several for right-wing governments across the region. Last week, a defiant Diaz-Canel wrote on Twitter: “The Cuban revolution is invincible, it grows, it lasts.” But not everyone is convinced. Dissident Vladimiro Roca, whose father, Blas Roca, served as a high-ranking official under Fidel Castro, insists “the revolution died a long time ago.” Abroad, Cuba’s government has faced heavy criticism for its authoritarian nature, intolerance of opposition and persecution of detractors. Vladimiro Roca was jailed from 1997 to 2002 for his protests. And while U.S.-Cuba relations thawed under Barack Obama, the Caribbean island of 11 million people has had to contend with an increasingly hostile administration under President Donald Trump these last two years. Change is coming, though. In February, the communist regime is to submit to referendum a new constitution that will officially recognize private property, markets and foreign investment. However, the document also ratifies communism as the nation’s “social goal,” insists the country will “never” return to capitalism, and defines the Communist Party as “unique” and the “supreme political force of state and society.” Economic changes are coming as well. One deal, between Major League Baseball in the U.S. and the Cuban Baseball Federation, will allow the island’s top talents to sign multimillion-dollar deals with MLB clubs. “For sure a new cycle is being opened. This cycle is continuity and change,” academic Arturo Lopez-Levy, from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, told AFP. That’s not the view of Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. “For now, it looks like Castrism without a Castro” in power, he said. Vladimiro Roca, for his part, believes the revolution “will blow itself out” due to the indifference of the new generations and a lack of outside support. Russia and China remain allies, but neither has shown willingness to subsidize the country’s economy in the way the former Soviet Union did for 30 years. Diaz-Canel has repeatedly said that the “most important battle is the economy,” which has grown barely 1 percent in recent years, not enough to support its population. For many Cubans, their hopes for an improved life depend “on whether they can work for themselves or emigrate,” said Duany. Once the world’s primary exporter of sugar, Cuba recently had to import that commodity from France, while over the last few weeks, eggs, rice and flour have disappeared from supermarket aisles. It leaves “Diaz-Canel and his team with the challenge of applying a contradictory policy,” said Lopez-Levy. The country is institutionalizing the revolution in a time of economic crisis, while the Communist Party creates a market economy allowing inhabitants to get rich in a society based on egalitarian principles. “The challenge is to square the circle in order to avoid sinking,” said Lopez-Levy. It’s not a hopeless dream, though, in a country that has resisted a U.S.-led embargo since 1962 by showing “its ability to adapt, identifying and applying policies that manage to meet the challenges,” he said.

economy
cuba
raul castro
fidel castro
miguel diaz-canel
barack obama
donald trump
u.s. embargo