UNITED STATES FORCES, OKINAWANS YET TO MEET UNDER NEW FORUM OVER ASSAULT CASES - TOKYO

UNITED STATES FORCES, OKINAWANS YET TO MEET UNDER NEW FORUM OVER ASSAULT CASES - TOKYO 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The U.S. military in Japan has yet to convene a new forum it announced in July to enhance cooperation with the Okinawa government and local residents, following alleged sexual assault cases involving its service members in the southern island prefecture.

The schedule for holding the first meeting is unclear, with the topics and participants also not decided.

Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told a press conference Thursday that "final confirmation" of issues to be discussed is planned in mid-November.

U.S. Forces Japan, headquartered at Yokota Air Base in the suburbs of Tokyo, said in a written statement to Kyodo News that it hopes to develop a framework that can help "address shared concerns and improve information sharing."

"This effort is complex and may take some time to jointly coordinate," it said.

When the initiative was announced on July 22, USFJ Commander Lt Gen Ricky Rupp said the "new forum of cooperation" would be launched in coordination with Japan's central government and would "serve as a venue for the constructive exchange of ideas in the pursuit of shared goals."

The Okinawa government hopes the new forum will produce effective steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Okinawa Prefecture hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, and anti-base sentiment runs deep due to aircraft noise, pollution and crimes committed by American service members.

Earlier this year, locals were angered after the Japanese central government failed to report alleged sexual assault cases involving U.S. military members.

Two cases came to light in late June -- one involving a U.S. Air Force serviceman indicted in March for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor and another involving a U.S. Marine arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury.

Speaking about the new forum, an Okinawa prefectural assembly member said, "It is important that the U.S. military shows remorse."

A U.S. military source, meanwhile, expressed concern that the forum will become an arena to face one-sided accusations.

A working-level team for preventing incidents and accidents by U.S. service members, consisting of officials of Japanese and U.S. governments as well as municipalities in Okinawa, has also not met since April 2017. The team was established in 2000.

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JAPAN LAUNCHES H3 ROCKET CARRYING DEFENCE SATELLITE - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN LAUNCHES H3 ROCKET CARRYING DEFENCE SATELLITE - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Japan launched a defense satellite Monday aimed at speedier military operations and communication on a new flagship H3 rocket and successfully placed it into orbit, as the country seeks to build up its military capability amid growing tension in the region.

The East Asian country is accelerating its military buildup under a 2022 security strategy that calls for Japanese troops to play a greater role in regional defense amid rising tension from China, North Korea and Russia.

The H3 No. 4 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went as planned and the satellite was successfully put into a targeted orbit, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, announced.

The rocket was carrying Kirameki No. 3, a Defense Ministry satellite that uses X-band communication for information and data sharing, as well as military operations and command.

X-band satellites are less affected by weather conditions and can support stable communication. Kirameki No. 3 follows two earlier X-band satellites already in operation to meet Japan's growing military communication demands and enhance its satellite operations.

Maj. Gen. Yasuhiro Kato, the Joint Staff Systems Department chief, told an online joint news conference from Tanegashima that the triple X-band communication satellite system would enable high-speed, large-capacity data transmission and communication across Japan's Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces, as well as with units deployed overseas on peacekeeping missions or exercises.

“It will further contribute to Japan's national security and the operational capacity of the Self-Defense Forces,” Kato said.

Ippei Kikuta, a defense ministry acquisition agency official, said Kirameki No. 3 will start operations by the end of March after being shifted to a designated geostationary orbit above Japan and tested, joining forces with the two other X-band satellites, Kirameki No. 1 and No. 2, which are in undisclosed locations.

Monday’s launch was initially planned for Oct. 20 and came after four postponements due to a technical glitch and bad weather. Kato said the delay had no impact on Japan's security and defense activity.

JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said he felt “relieved” that the H3 rocket succeeded in delivering the satellite to its planned location after the two-week delay.

The launch was the third consecutive successful flight of the H3 system after a shocking failed debut attempt last year when the rocket had to be destroyed with its payload.

Japan sees a stable, commercially competitive space transport capability as key to its space program and national security.

JAXA and its main contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have been developing the H3 launch system as a successor to its current mainstay, H-2A, which is set to retire after one more flight.

MHI will eventually take over H3 production and launches from JAXA and hopes to make it commercially viable by cutting the launch cost to about half of the H-2A. JAXA and MHI have set a goal of six launches per year.

MHI's space segment chief, Iwao Igarashi, told reporters that the strength of the Japanese rocket launch is its reliability and on-time record and that Monday's success was “another big progress.”

The company has so far signed multiple H3 launch deals with UK and French satellite operators and the UAE space agency.

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FOREIGNER ACCIDENTALLY ALLOWED TO VOTE IN JAPANESE ELECTION; BALLOT WILL REMAIN VALID - JAPANESE

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TOKYO

On Sunday, a general election was held in Japan to select members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s Diet (parliament). However, while voting is an important civic duty, those who had other plans for their Sunday afternoon could register to cast their ballots in advance at special polling places.

However, when one resident of the city of Ayase, Kanagawa Prefecture, showed up to vote early on Saturday, the registration system showed that he’d already been issued his ballot and submitted it. This wasn’t a case of someone trying to vote twice when they’re only allowed to vote once, though. Instead, the problem was that someone who had voted once never should have been able to vote at all.

After looking into the matter, the local election committee was able to determine that two days earlier, on Thursday, October 24, a different resident of Ayase had come into the advance polling place to vote. This person did not have the numbered early voting registration ticket that is ordinarily required, but because the tickets had been mailed late, the person was still allowed in, where they filled out the necessary on-site paperwork, which includes declarations of the voter’s name and date of birth. Since the person’s date of birth matched that of someone registered to vote early, they were given a ballot, which they filled out and dropped in the ballot box.

A review of the paperwork, though, has shown that the name of the person who voted on October 24 does not match the name of the person with that birthdate who had registered to vote early. Instead, the registered name is that of the person who showed up to vote on October 26. In other words, there are two residents of Ayase who have the same birthday. One of them registered to vote early, but the other was actually the first to show up at the polling place, obtain a ballot, and cast a vote.

There are several other layers to the weirdness, one of which is that the person who voted on October 24 is a foreign national. While foreign residents of Japan are eligible for various social welfare benefits, voting remains the exclusive privilege of Japanese citizens, which the Ayase foreign resident is not. This means that the foreigner either decided to roll the dice on walking into the advance polling place and got incredibly lucky in that someone who had registered to vote early just happened to have the same birthday, or the foreigner somehow knew ahead of time that they shared a birthday with someone who’d already registered.

The rightful voter was still able to cast his ballot on the 27th, but, as a final oddity, both ballots, the one from the rightful registrant and the foreigner, will be treated as valid votes, presumably because with Japan having a secret ballot system, there’s no way to track down which ballot was the foreigner’s and void its vote. However, since the foreigner did have to provide his/her name in order to receive the ballot, and apparently didn’t use an alias (considering that the election committee was able to determine the non-citizen status of the person who was mistakenly given the ballot), they’re likely to face some sort of legal repercussions for their actions.

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JAPAN HIGH COURT RULES SAME - SEX MARRIAGE BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL

JAPAN HIGH COURT RULES SAME - SEX MARRIAGE BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL

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TOKYO

A Japanese high court ruled Wednesday that the country's lack of legal recognition for same-sex marriage violates the right to equality under the Constitution, saying the ban leads to discriminatory treatment of people based on sexual orientation.

But the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting a demand by plaintiffs for the state to pay damages, citing the lack of a decision by the Supreme Court. It became the second high court to rule that the ban is unconstitutional.

The court also ruled that the marriage ban violates the section of the Constitution that says laws concerning matters pertaining to marriage and family "shall be enacted from the standpoint of individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes."

Current civil law provisions "are not based on reasonable grounds" and lead to "discriminatory treatment (of people) based on their sexual orientation," according to the ruling.

Presiding Judge Sonoe Taniguchi acknowledged that recognition of a person's right to a spousal relationship with a partner should be respected as an "important legal interest" for all including those in same-sex relationships.

"The degree of social acceptance for granting (same-sex couples) the same protection as heterosexuals has heightened considerably," she said.

In dismissing the damages claim by the seven plaintiffs, Taniguchi said that since the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the issue, the court cannot find the government liable to compensate for the Diet's failure to take legislative action.

The seven plaintiffs, including same-sex couples, had demanded 1 million yen ($6,500) each from the state. They argued that civil law provisions not allowing same-sex marriage violate the right to equality under the Constitution and its guarantee of the freedom of marriage.

Article 24 of the Constitution that guarantees the freedom of marriage stipulates, "Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes."

Some of the plaintiffs and their supporters expressed joy after the ruling.

"The presiding judge's words flowed into my head and I realized that the judge took our arguments to heart. I am happy to be here today," said Chizuka Oe, one the plaintiffs.

Meanwhile, the government's top spokesman said the state will closely monitor developments of other similar lawsuits, adding that it also needs to take into account Diet deliberation as well as some local governments' move to recognize same-sex partnership.

The introduction of the same-sex marriage system "concerns the fundamentals of people's lives and is closely related to each person's view of the family," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference.

The plaintiffs appealed after the Tokyo District Court rejected their damages claim in November 2022, while saying that the same-sex marriage ban is in a "state of unconstitutionality" -- a term used to indicate a call for the Diet to take action on the issue.

Japan remains the only Group of Seven major industrialized country that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBT community and its supporters.

Previous district rulings have varied, with the Sapporo and Nagoya courts saying that the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and the Tokyo and Fukuoka courts ruling it is in a "state of unconstitutionality."

In the first high court ruling earlier this year, the Sapporo High Court said the country's lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding the lower court ruling in 2021.

Every court, however, had dismissed compensation claims.

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Saga Baloon Fiesta To Mpo Full Marathon 2024

 

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SOUTH KOREAN WARTIME FORCED LABOR PLAINTIFF RECEIVES GOVERNMENT COMPENSATION 

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SEOUL

A South Korean plaintiff in a wartime labor case against a Japanese firm, who had opposed South Korea's decision to compensate plaintiffs through a government-backed foundation instead of the sued Japanese companies, received payment from the foundation on Wednesday, it said.

Yang Geum Deok, 94, who worked in a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd factory in Japan during World War II, is one of the plaintiffs who won a lawsuit in 2018 over the company's use of forced labor.

She was at the forefront of opposition to the solution proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol's government for the compensation issue. South Korea's relations with Japan deteriorated following 2018 Supreme Court rulings that ordered Mitsubishi Heavy and another company to pay damages for forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.

However, a South Korean civic group supporting plaintiffs in forced labor lawsuits said it is unclear why Yang, who is suffering from dementia and is currently hospitalized, and her family members changed their stance, though it has confirmed they accepted the compensation from the fund.

Japan has said all issues stemming from its colonization of the Korean Peninsula were settled "completely and finally" under a 1965 bilateral agreement.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Yang was the 12th person out of the 15 plaintiffs who won the forced labor cases in 2018 to accept compensation from the foundation.

Bilateral relations between Japan and South Korea have improved since Yoon's government announced a solution to the wartime labor issue in March 2023.

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SEMI-FINAL BADMINTON (Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024)

 

 https://youtu.be/0RzkuVJJsrw?si=xdPCz1tLaw2F1uDS

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MULLS MANDATORY ANTI-HARASSMENT STEPS FOR JOB - HUNTING STUDENTS IN JAPAN  

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TOKYO

Japan's labor ministry is considering making it mandatory for companies to take measures to prevent sexual harassment toward students searching for jobs, a source close to the matter said Tuesday.

Possible measures include establishing rules for interviews between students and company officials, as well as creating an inquiry counter for harassment cases. The government aims to submit a bill during next year's ordinary Diet session to amend related laws.

Currently, companies are required under the equal employment law to take measures against sexual harassment in the workplace for their employees. However, no legal obligation exists to do the same for job-hunting students.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has recognized the need to offer more protection to vulnerable groups, with one survey revealing that around 30 percent of students have experienced sexual harassment during the job search process.

Common cases include being asked sexual questions or teased during interviews, as well as being persistently pressured to go out for a meal.

In the past, sexual harassment during job hunting has led to the arrests of employees from major companies, highlighting the seriousness of the issue.

In 2019, a male employee from the construction company Obayashi Corp was arrested for allegedly committing an obscene act with a female student at his home. The student had approached him seeking advice from male alumni.

Some crimes may go unreported, as students might refrain from speaking out for fear that it could negatively impact their job-hunting process.

Details will be finalized by an advisory body to the labor minister. Implementing the new measures would require amendments to either the equal employment law or the labor policy promotion law, according to the source.

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1st shipment of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau arrives in Japan

FIRST SHIPMENT OF YEAR 2024 BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU ARRIVES IN JAPAN 

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TOKYO

This year's first shipment of Beaujolais Nouveau wine arrived from France at Tokyo's Haneda airport and Kansai airport in Osaka on Wednesday.

A spokesman for importer Suntory's wine division said 2,640 bottles arrived on an ANA flight at around 6:30 a.m.

Further shipments will arrive at Haneda, Narita, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and Shin-Chitose airports over the next two weeks.

Japan will uncork the first Beaujolais Nouveau of the season at midnight on Nov 21. The wine will sell for around 3,256 yen per 750-milliliter bottle, the same as last year.

The third Thursday in November traditionally marks the official debut of the new season's Beaujolais around the world, and the Japanese are the first to get a taste of the light red wine because of their time zone, holding midnight parties.

Suntory plans to import about 457,000 bottles, or about 342,000 liters, a 17% increase from last year.

The record for Japan was 12.5 million bottles sold in 2004.

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Japan Trying to Draw Digital Nomads, Who Are Seen as Beneficial to Economy, Society

JAPAN TRYING TO DRAW DIGITAL NOMADS, WHO ARE SEEN AS BENEFICIAL TO ECONOMY, SOCIETY

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Richard Keil is German, but any place in the world can be his workplace as long as he has his laptop and Wi-Fi. If there is also a room for online meetings, that would be perfect.

Keil, 26-year-old software engineer who works for an IT company based in Germany, has traveled and worked remotely in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. “I would say the nice part [of this working style] is the flexibility. The option to see and experience a different country,” he said. “I am free to choose my workplace.”

People like Keil are called digital nomads. These are people who do remote work as they travel the world. The term first appeared in the late 1990s, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more people to adopt this way of living and working, according to the Japan Digital Nomad Association in Mitane, Akita Prefecture.

The government is currently trying to attract more digital nomads as a part of efforts to boost regional economies and create business opportunities.

During a stay in Japan between August and September of this year, Keil engaged in remote work out of “S-TOKYO,” a co-working office in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, that reopened in April and caters to digital nomads.

The office is open 24 hours a day, as most of its customers work for firms located outside Japan, and English-friendly staff are available. During his time here, Keil explored sightseeing spots at night in Tokyo, while staying in a share house in the city. He also traveled to rural areas on weekends, he said.

S-TOKYO also offers events to help digital nomads to get to know each other and Japanese locals and provides opportunities for digital nomads and key players such as company executives from various regions across Japan to exchange ideas.

“I feel comfortable staying in Japan, because it offers good digital infrastructure,” Keil said.

According to U.S. traveling information website A Brother Abroad, it is estimated that there are about 35 million digital nomads all over the world. Because many of them are high-income earners and tend to stay in one country longer than tourists, they are believed to contribute to the expansion of local economies. They are also expected to create new business opportunities by interacting with and fostering people with high-level IT skills.

The Japanese government and municipalities have also kicked efforts into gear to bring digital nomads to the country. The Japan Tourism Agency has chosen five residency programs offered by local municipalities and firms as pilot projects. The agency is providing up to ¥10 million for each project, all of which are to be conducted by next January, and plans to review the impacts they have on local economies and points that need improvement.

October 1 saw the opening of “Colive Fukuoka,” an event to attract digital nomads to that city. The event, which is expected to receive about 400 digital nomads from over 50 countries and regions, features many tourist programs, including stalls offering local foods — a popular option for visitors in the city — and an experience on a houseboat called a yakatabune. It also offers meetup events for digital nomads and people from local startups, as the city hopes that those kinds of interactions will lead to new business opportunities.

The city hosted the same event last October. 49 digital nomads from 24 countries and regions participated and spent about ¥20 million in one month. Toshio Haraguchi, head of the city’s Tourism Industry Section, said, “We want to promote Fukuoka so that the city becomes a destination for digital nomads.”

The government has created a visa for digital nomads. If certain conditions, such as an annual income of over ¥10 million, are met, individuals can obtain the visa allowing them to stay for up to six months.

“It is a significant step that the government has recognized digital nomads through initiatives including the creation of this visa,” Ryo Osera, an executive officer for the Japan Digital Nomad Association, said.

At the same time, there is still plenty of room for improvement, he says. The visa has certain drawbacks, such as a shorter stay duration compared to similar visas in South Korea and Taiwan, and the inability of visa holders to sign employment contracts with domestic companies during the stay.

Osera, 41, said, “To bring more digital nomads, we need to create an environment that makes it easy for them to stay and work comfortably.”

However, some foreign media outlets have reported that the influx of digital nomads has contributed to rising rental costs in countries such as Portugal and Mexico. Osera said that it might happen in Japan. He added, “Tourism also increases land prices through development.”

As Japan’s population is shrinking, “we have to do something for the economy in rural areas,” he said. “I think rather than short-term tourists, it’s much better to attract digital nomads who have the potential to contribute to the economy in the long run, looking 10 or 20 years ahead.”

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JICA Employee Suspected of Leaking Info on ODA Project in Manila; Bidding for Railway Renovation May Have Been Impacted

JICA EMPLOYEE SUSPECTED OF LEAKING INFO ON ODA PROJECT IN MANILA; BIDDING FOR RAILWAY RENOVATION MAY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED

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A Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) employee is suspected of leaking confidential information regarding a project to renovate a railway in the Philippines through official development assistance (ODA), including the estimated cost of the work, to a Tokyo construction consulting firm, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The work was offered by the Philippine government in 2019 through competitive bidding, and a joint venture that included the consulting firm won the contract.

JICA disciplined the employee with a one-month suspension based on its rules of employment, but the act may violate a confidentiality law that employees of JICA are subject to.

JICA is an independent administrative corporation under the Foreign Ministry’s jurisdiction and serves as the Japanese implementing agency for ODA projects. Its staff are quasi-civil servants.

It is extremely unusual for the alleged leakage of confidential information from JICA to come to light. In ODA for developing countries, a recipient country often sets a planned tender price based on an estimate by JICA. As such, it is suspected that the leakage made the bidding process a mere formality.

According to documents obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun and sources close to the matter, the suspected leak involved the supervision work for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation Project, which was ordered by the Philippine government as part of a ¥38.1 billion Japanese-government-backed yen loan agreement with Japan.

The Philippine government set the planned tender price based on an estimated cost calculated by JICA from field surveys. JICA apparently invited six Japanese companies, including the consulting firm, to participate in the tender.

The JICA employee who oversaw the work is suspected of leaking JICA’s estimate, as well as details of the work content and manpower plan prepared by the Philippine government, to an employee of the consulting company via multiple emails sent around May 2018.

The yen loan contract was signed in November that year, and the joint venture including the consulting company, another one of the six firms and others won the contract with a bid of around ¥1.7 billion in June 2019. The other four companies did not participate in the bidding.

The MRT project involves rebuilding a section of the Philippine urban railway system and is seen as important for Japan under its policy of expanding the export of infrastructure such as the railway industry. The JICA employee in question likely aimed to secure a contractor in advance to avoid the possible stagnation of the project due to such factors as an unsuccessful bidding process.

JICA announced in July that it had punished an employee for “leaking confidential information about procurement procedures,” but did not reveal the recipient country of the yen loan nor the project concerned. The consulting company said it would not respond to any request for an interview.

Jun Kitajima, a professor at The Graduate School of Social Design and an expert on ODA projects and compliance, said: “The way a JICA employee undermined the bidding process conducted by recipient countries was malicious.” He also described JICA’s reluctance to disclose information on the matter as “inappropriate.”

“Unless the agency explains the details of the leak and takes preventative measures, it could lead to the credibility of Japan’s ODA, with its 70-year history, being called into question.”

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