[ad_1]
In 2001, a US Navy submarine performed an emergency ballast blow maneuver to impress VIP civilians onboard. It surfaced at high speed directly under a Japanese fishery high-school training ship and sank it, killing nine on board; four high school students, two teachers, and three crew members.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
The Japanese Investment Corporation (JIC) proposed a $6.3 billion buyout of JSR, one of Japan’s most critical chip firms.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A fund backed by the Japanese government on Monday proposed a $6.3 billion acquisition of semiconductor material giant JSR, underscoring the strategic emphasis governments around the world are putting on the critical technology of chips.
The Japanese Investment Corporation proposed an offer of 4,350 Japanese yen ($30.3) per share to buy JSR, marking a 35% premium to Friday’s closing price.
JSR shares rallied more than 20% on Monday on hopes of the deal. JIC could put in a tender offer in December, the company said.
JSR is a major company in the semiconductor supply chain in an area known as photoresists, where Japan is one of the world leaders. Photoresists are light-sensitive materials needed as part of the process to etch patterns into wafers. These eventually are the design of the circuit of a chip.
“Japan wants to double down on its comparative advantage in materials … needed for semiconductor manufacturing,” Pranay Kotasthane, chairperson of the high tech geopolitics program at the Takshashila Institution, told CNBC.
The potential acquisition comes at a time when semiconductors are front and center of a broader technology battle between the U.S. and China.
Last year, the U.S. announced sweeping export restrictions on semiconductor tools and certain chips to China. Countries such as the Netherlands, home to a critical chip firm called ASML, as well as Japan, followed suit with similar restrictions.
At the same time, countries are trying to secure their own supply chains and build up their domestic chip industries, focusing on areas where they are traditionally strong.
For Japan, that is with companies such as JSR in chemicals and materials.
“JIC’s investment in JSR means that the government might have a higher say over its decisions,” Kotasthane said. “Geopolitically, this would make China uncomfortable. Especially since Japan has gone along with its own version of export controls against the Chinese semiconductor industry.”
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Washington and Beijing pledge to stabilise relations after the US secretary of state’s visit to China.
China and the United States have been fighting a trade war for years. But, the economies of the two global powers are deeply interdependent.
And tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which have caused relations to sink to a historic low, are hurting businesses.
During a rare meeting in Beijing, the US secretary of state and China’s president agreed on a need to stabilise relations.
Elsewhere, Kenya’s president wants to reduce the country’s massive public debt. But, many Kenyans are outraged by proposed tax increases.
Plus, Japan’s fishing industry faces a new threat, 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
General view of the financial district of Lujiazui in Pudong district in Shanghai on April 12, 2023.
Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Blinken unexpectedly meets Xi
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his China visit by meeting with Xi Jinping, the country’s president. The meeting was initially unconfirmed, suggesting that it’s a small step in repairing frayed U.S.-China ties. Blinken’s meeting could pave the way for U.S. President Joe Biden to meet Xi in November.
Falling in tandem
U.S. markets were closed Monday to commemorate Juneteenth, the day when slavery in America ended, but stock futures slipped slightly. European stocks traded lower yesterday. In a worrying sign, both stocks and bonds simultaneously fell in the U.K. The FTSE 100 lost 0.71% even as the yield on the country’s 2-year government bond hit a 15-year high of 5.077%.
Buffett bets on the house(s)
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in five Japanese trading houses. The company now owns more than 8.5%, on average, of Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo. Berkshire really believes in Japan: Those stocks, in aggregate, are the most valuable Berkshire holds in any country outside the U.S.
UK mortgage meltdown
Two-year fixed mortgage rates in the U.K. spiked to 6.01%, the highest since November 2008 — discounting an anomalous jump in December just months after the U.K. government announced its disastrous “mini-budget.” The country’s mortgage market’s so volatile that HSBC temporarily stopped offering some home loans earlier this month.
[PRO] Riding the Asian wave
The MSCI Asia Pacific equities index has risen more than 25% from its low last October amid investor enthusiasm in the region. Morgan Stanley picks five of its favorite Asian stocks and thinks all could rise by at least 50% over the next 12 months — with one having a 67% upside.
Since U.S markets were closed yesterday, let’s take a quick look at the second-largest economy of the world: China. Spoiler alert: it isn’t a pretty picture.
Back in January, when China abruptly abandoned its “zero-Covid” policy, analysts were by equal measures worried and excited. Worried, because a massive economic engine suddenly roaring back to life could stoke the flames of inflation even higher. Analysts braced for higher commodities and oil prices. On the other hand, many saw China as a potential driver of a global economy that had lost its way. To quote Standard Chartered Chairman José Viñals: “The Chinese economy is going to be on fire and that’s going to be very, very important for the rest of the world.”
At approximately the halfway mark of the year, here’s how China’s stacking up against those expectations. In short: It seems everyone’s wrong about China. Instead of turning up the heat of inflation, China’s combating a potential deflationary problem domestically. The country’s consumer price index rose only 0.2% year over year, while its producer price index plummeted 4.6%. Recent economic data’s been so disappointing that Wall Street banks have started to cut their expectations of China’s economic growth this year — though their projections are, optimistically, still higher than the country’s own target of “around 5%.” Meanwhile, oil prices have been sliding despite Saudi Arabia announcing surprise cuts to production, and iron ore prices aren’t doing so hot either because China’s demand for steel is projected to fall.
China’s economy, to put it plainly, isn’t doing so well. It’s true things might turn around: The country’s central bank has started cutting rates, and analysts think fiscal stimulus is on its way. But for now, the Chinese dragon’s still dozy — and things are starting to feel a little too chilly.
[ad_1]
Dollar, yuan, yen and euro notes.
Ullstein Bild Dtl. | Ullstein Bild | Getty Images
From hawkish pauses to rate hikes and dovish tones, the world’s biggest central banks last week struck very different tones on monetary policy.
The European Central Bank on Thursday hiked rates and surprised markets with a worsening inflation outlook, which led investors to price in even more rate increases in the euro zone.
This followed a Federal Reserve meeting where the central bank decided to pause rate hikes. Just days before that, China’s central bank lowered its key medium-term lending rates to stimulate the economy. In Japan, where inflation is above target, the central bank has left its ultra-loose policy unchanged.
“Taking all these different approaches together shows that not only seems there to be a new divergence on the right approach for monetary policy but it also illustrates that the global economy is no longer synchronized but rather a collection of very different cycles,” Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Germany, told CNBC via email.
In Europe, inflation has come down in the bloc which uses the euro but remains well above the ECB target. This is also the case in the U.K., where the Bank of England is expected to raise rates Thursday after very strong labor data.
The Fed, which started its hiking cycle before the ECB, decided to take a break in June — but said there would be another two rate increases later this year, meaning its hiking cycle is not yet complete.
The picture is different in Asia, however. China’s economic recovery is stalling, with falls in both domestic and external demand leading policymakers to step up support measures in an effort to revive activity.
In Japan — which has battled a deflationary environment for many years — the central bank said it expects inflation to come down later this year and opted not to normalize policy yet.
“Each central bank [tries] to solve for its own economy, which obviously includes considerations for changes in financial conditions imposed from abroad,” Erik Nielsen, group chief economics advisor at UniCredit said via email.
The euro rose to a 15-year high against the Japanese yen on Friday, according to Reuters, off the back of the divergent monetary policy decisions. The euro also broke above the $1.09 threshold as investors digested the ECB’s hawkish tone last Thursday.
In bond markets, the yield on the German 2-year bond hit a fresh 3-month higher Friday, given expectations that the ECB will continue with its approach in the short term.
“Makes sense we start seeing this divergence. In the past, it was clear there was a lot of room to cover for pretty much all the major central banks, while now, given the different stages the jurisdictions are in the cycle, there will be more nuanced decisions to be made,” Konstantin Veit, portfolio manager at PIMCO, told CNBC’s Street Signs Europe on Friday.
“This indeed will create opportunities for the investors.”
ECB President Christine Lagarde was asked during a press conference to compare her team’s decision to increase rates, versus the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause.
“We are not thinking about pausing,” she said. “Are we done? Have we finished the journey? No, we are not at [the] destination,” she said, pointing to at least another potential rate hike in July.
For some economists, it is only a matter of time before the ECB finds itself in a similar position to that of the Fed.
“The Fed is leading the ECB [as] the U.S. economy is leading the eurozone economy by a few quarters. This means that, at the latest after the September meeting, the ECB will also be confronted with the debate on whether or not to pause,” Brzeski said.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Tokyo, Japan
CNN
—
When Kaneko Miyuki reported her sexual assault as a seven-year-old in Japan, she remembers the police laughing at her. “I was already confused and scared,” she said. “They wouldn’t take me seriously as a child.”
The following investigation made things worse. After being questioned, she was taken back to the scene of her assault without a guardian present, against all modern guidelines.
The police never did bring her attacker to justice. The whole experience was so traumatizing for Kaneko that she repressed her memory of it until she began having flashbacks in her twenties, and didn’t come to terms with the fact she had been sexually assaulted until her 40s.
Kaneko is among countless Japanese women who say their experiences of sexual assault and abuse were ignored because they “didn’t fit the criteria” of a victim. About 95% of survivors never report their assault to police, and nearly 60% never tell anyone at all, according to a 2020 government survey.
But that could be about to change. On Friday, the Japanese parliament passed a raft of bills overhauling the country’s sex crime laws, long criticized as outdated and restrictive, reflecting conservative social attitudes that often stigmatize and cast doubt on victims.
The new laws expand the definition of rape to place greater emphasis on the concept of consent; introduce national legislation against taking explicit photos with hidden cameras; and raise the age of consent to 16. The previous age of consent, at 13, had been among the lowest in the developed world.
It marks a major victory for sexual assault survivors and activists, some of whom have spent decades lobbying for these changes.
“We … would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the victims of sexual violence who have raised their voices together with us,” Spring, a survivor advocacy group, said on Friday.
While cautioning there was still more work to be done, such as extending the statute of limitations and in recognizing power imbalances in cases involving authority figures, it said the bills were nonetheless a sign of progress.
“Our earnest wish is that those who have been victims of sexual violence will find hope in their lives, and that sexual violence will disappear from Japanese society,” it said.
One of the biggest reforms passed on Friday is to change the language used to define rape to include a greater emphasis on the concept of consent.
Rape had previously been defined as “forcible sexual intercourse” committed “through assault or intimidation,” including by taking advantage of a victim’s “unconscious state or inability to resist.”
The law had also previously required evidence of “intent to resist.”
But activists had argued this is too hard to prove in many cases, such as when a victim experiences the common “freeze” response, or is too afraid to resist physically.
Tadokoro Yuu, a representative of Spring, said the law had discouraged victims from coming forward due to “a fear of acquittal” if courts found insufficient evidence of resistance.
The new law replaces “forcible sexual intercourse” with “non-consensual sexual intercourse,” and expands the definition of assault to include victims under the influence of alcohol or drugs, those with mental or physical disorders, and those intimidated through their attacker’s economic or social status. It also includes those unable to voice resistance due to shock or other “psychological reactions.”
Other major changes include raising the age of consent to 16 years old except for when both parties are underage – on par with many US states and European nations including the United Kingdom, Finland and Norway.
The amendments also expand protections for minors, establishing grooming as a crime for the first time. They further criminalize activity like asking those under 16 for sexual images, or asking to visit a minor for sexual purposes.
It also makes it easier to prosecute people accused of taking or distributing photos of a sexual nature without the subject’s knowledge or consent – a hot button issue in Japan where upskirting and hidden cameras taking explicit photos of women has long been a problem.
A survey last year found that nearly 9% of more than 38,000 respondents across Japan had experienced this kind of “voyeurism,” according to public broadcaster NHK. Victims described having photos taken up their skirt and shared on social media; others had photos secretly taken in changing rooms and bathrooms.
They also described the long-term impact on their mental health, with many feeling unsafe in public spaces including trains and schools. Reporting the issue rarely helped: often, peers and even police officers would place the blame on their clothing, arguing that they had placed themselves at risk by wearing skirts, NHK reported.
Until now, laws against voyeurism have been enforced only by local governments, and can vary across prefectures, complicating matters.
In one notorious incident in 2012, a plane passenger took an upskirt photo of a flight attendant, was caught with several images on his phone, and admitted guilt – but was ultimately never charged, according to NHK. The problem? The crime had taken place midair on a moving plane – so it was impossible to know which prefecture they had been traveling over at the time, thus which location’s law should be applied.
These amendments build on the work of an entire generation of activists who have tried with little success to push forth change, said Nakayama Junko, a lawyer and member of the non-profit Human Rights Now.
“It’s been a long time … It’s not just a movement that has been going on for 50 years, it’s a voice that has been heard for decades,” she said.
These previous attempts were blocked by governmental inertia and sometimes outright opposition from parliament members who believed the changes unnecessary, she said. Many people, including Japanese media, had a limited understanding of consent and believed “the crime of rape was being properly punished,” meaning little attention was paid to the issue.
Things began to change in 2019 when the country was gripped by several high-profile rape acquittals, handed down within the span of a few weeks.
In the most controversial case, a father was acquitted of raping his 19-year-old daughter in the central Japanese city of Nagoya. The court recognized that the sex was non-consensual, that the father had used force, and that he had physically and sexually abused his daughter – but judges argued she could have resisted, according to Reuters, which reviewed the verdict.
The father’s acquittal prompted nationwide protests, with women from Tokyo to Fukuoka taking to the streets for months and calling for legal change. Demonstrators held flowers as a sign of protest, and signs with slogans against sexual violence, including #MeToo.
In the Nagoya case, the father’s acquittal was eventually overturned by Japan’s high court. But the spark had been lit, finally setting into motion the proposed reforms that have for years failed to take hold.
The protests “conveyed (that) the reality of the damage was very significant,” Nakayama said, calling it a “main driving force that led to this amendment.”
Both nonprofit organizations CNN interviewed praised the bills as an important step forward – but cautioned that much work remains to be done.
Japan still lags far behind other developed nations in its ideas toward sex and consent, Nakayama said. Other countries have already begun amending their laws to reflect a “Yes means yes” mentality – meaning sexual partners should seek clear affirmative consent, rather than assuming consent unless told otherwise. Meanwhile, “in Japan, it seems that (the concept of) ‘No means no’ has just been communicated,” she said.
Tadokoro, the Spring representative, echoed this point, saying it was important to recognize that consent isn’t inherently or permanently granted between couples, and can be withdrawn; that “it’s wrong to assume it’s a ‘yes’ even if they come over, or do not say no clearly.”
There are other legal reforms they want to tackle in future amendments: better laws protecting people with disability from sexual abuse, and outlining the ways they can give consent, and extending the statute of limitations since many survivors go decades before coming to terms with what happened to them – as in Kaneko’s case.
Others spend most of their life dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health consequences, before reaching a point where they have healed enough to consider pursuing justice.
But perhaps the biggest obstacle is the Japanese public itself, and the harmful views on sexual abuse and victimhood that are still widespread.
“When I talk to other people about (my assault), I get avoided, and am not accepted,” said Kaneko, recalling people who told her she would “forget with time” or that that’s just life.
Sometimes their responses are far crueler. “I get ruthless reactions like, ‘You got done?’” she said.
There are some positive signs of change, she said, pointing to public awareness campaigns by the government and increasing sexual education in schools. But there is still a gaping lack of systemic support for survivors like counseling, therapy, and public services to help them re-enter society.
“Survivors of sexual assault like myself cannot even work, or go about your life – you become mentally ill, and you can’t take care of yourself,” she said.
Authorities also need to introduce trauma-informed training for law enforcement and other workers dealing with survivors, said Tadokoro, adding that “some police investigators understand (how to approach the situation), while others do not understand at all.”
For Kaneko, who went on to become the general secretary of Spring, the damage done at the police station when she was seven years old compounded the trauma from her assault – leaving scars that took decades to untangle.
“I was implanted with a distrust of people when I experienced that kind of thing in an institution that is supposed to protect citizens, such as the adults and the police,” she said.
“For many years, despite a lot of pain, I had no idea what (the source) was for many years … Having PTSD is not easy to heal on your own.”
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Newswise — A new weevil species was discovered in Japan’s pristine subtropical forests on Ishigaki Island and Yanbaru National Park in Okinawa.
Renowned for their remarkable biodiversity, the Ryukyu Islands are a chain of subtropical islands distributed between mainland Japan and Taiwan that boast a relatively isolated evolutionary history, and are home to a distinctive and fascinating insect fauna.
Researchers at the Okinawan Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have been placing net traps to monitor insects on Okinawa Island since 2015, and have captured a wide range of insects, including beetles, flies, wasps and bees, which are preserved in ethanol, dried and stored in the OIST insect collection. The newly discovered beetle species, Acicnemis ryukyuana, was successfully identified through microscope analysis and dissection by OIST entomologist Jake H. Lewis, who works as Collection Manager in the OIST Environmental Science and Informatics Section.
“When I arrived at OIST in 2022, I dove headfirst into the OIST weevil collection. As I closely examined them, this species immediately caught my eye. It clearly belonged to the genus Acicnemis, but was unlike anything else described from East Asia,” recounts Lewis. “Its elongated scales and unique coloration set this species apart from other known Japanese species.”
The genus Acicnemis contains over 180 species, so confirming the discovery of a new species within this genus requires thorough examination of the existing literature and museum collections. As the “type specimens” (the original specimens used for species description) in the genus Acicnemis are housed in European and Japanese museums, Lewis had to reach out to several institutions, including the Kyushu University Museum (Japan), the Natural History Museum in London (UK), and the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute (Germany) in order to authenticate the status of Acicnemis ryukyuana as a novel species.
Based on the current knowledge, Acicnemis ryukyuana is endemic to the Ryukyus. The entomologist named this species ryukyuana [from Ryukyu] and リュウキュウカレキゾウムシ [pronunciation: Ryuku-kareki-zoumushi, translation: “Ryukyu dead-tree weevil”] in Japanese to emphasize that it is an endemic element of the Ryukyu biodiversity.
Weevils form one of the most diverse animal groups on the planet and generally feed on plants. Some weevil species are highly specialized and have a narrow range of plants they can feed on. The host plant(s) for this new species remains unknown, and Lewis hopes to conduct further field studies investigating this.
The distinctive features of Acicnemis ryukyuana
Acicnemis ryukyuana can be immediately recognized by the yellow bands on its shoulders, and distinct pattern of grey, black and yellow scales on its tough fore wings. Other unique features visible under the microscope include the long scales (hairs) on the back and the shape of the last segment of the leg.
“Based on the unique set of features observed in this new species, A. ryukyuana appears to be closely related to some other species in southeast Asia, however DNA analyses will be required to confirm this,” explains Lewis.
“I was drawn to Okinawa as there are numerous undescribed weevil species in the region, unlike in Canada, my home country, where weevils have been much more thoroughly studied. Living in Okinawa and having Yanbaru National Park as a backyard is very exciting as it is home to many undescribed, endemic species.” enthuses Lewis. “The Ryukyu Islands offer an irresistible playground for taxonomists, rich in species which you only find here”.
The beetles’ sensitivity to human presence
Although OIST researchers distributed insect traps widely across Okinawa Island including heavily populated and disturbed areas, A. ryukyuana was only captured in a pristine, specially protected part of Yanbaru National Park. The new species was also collected in well-preserved subtropical forest areas on Ishigaki Island; and located by Lewis in the Kyushu University Museum collection. “Based on these collection locations, this weevil species appears to be very sensitive to human disturbance compared to other Acicnemis species commonly found in the Ryukyu Islands.”
“This newly discovered beetle might be considered a vulnerable, endemic element of the Ryukyu fauna, similar to the flight-less bird Okinawa rail, the Yanbaru long-armed scarab beetle and the Okinawa spiny rat,” says Lewis. “I am sure that taxonomists, conservation biologists, and local naturalists in Okinawa will be interested in knowing that yet another remarkable species has been discovered in the Ryukyu Islands.”
[ad_2]
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University – OIST
Source link
[ad_1]
Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
This article is part of the Europe’s strategic impotence Special Report.
At NATO summit after NATO summit, European leaders get a clear public message from Washington — increase spending on defense.
In private, there’s another message that’s just as clear — make sure a lot of that extra spending goes on U.S. weapons.
European leaders are resisting.
“We must develop a genuinely European defense technological and industrial base in all interested countries, and deploy fully sovereign equipment at European level,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava last month.
The decades of cajoling from Washington are paying off. Although most EU countries aren’t yet meeting NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense, the alliance has seen eight years of steady spending increases. In 2022, spending by European countries was up by 13 percent to $345 billion — almost a third higher than a decade ago — much of it a reaction to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Now the question is how that money will be spent.
The U.S. wants to ensure that European countries — which already spend about half of their defense purchasing on American kit — don’t make a radical switch to spending more of that money at home.
Some European leaders are hoping that’s exactly what happens, but it’s an open question whether the Continent’s defense industry can make that happen.
“Traditionally, there was a suspicion about a change in Europe’s defense capabilities which dates back more than 25 years,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, Eurasia Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “What direction would the EU go, would it mean the EU would decouple from NATO, what would the impact be on U.S. defense industrial policy?”
The current tensions in Brussels are over whether new EU-wide defense policy should be limited to EU companies — a position driven by Macron and Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, a Frenchman. That confirms suspicions stateside about European protectionism when it comes to allowing U.S. companies to compete for EU contracts.
“Our plan is to directly support, with EU money, the effort to ramp up our defense industry, and this for Ukraine and for our own security,” Breton said last month.
But there’s an uncomfortable fact for the backers of European strategic autonomy: When it comes to arms, Europe still depends on the U.S.
While European companies have deep expertise in defense — building everything from France’s Rafale fighter to Germany’s Leopard tank and Poland’s man-portable Piorun air-defense system — the scale of the U.S. arms industry, as well as its technological innovation, makes it attractive for European weapons buyers.
The most common big-ticket item is Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, at a cost of $80 million a pop. There is also an immediate surge in demand for off-the-shelf items like shoulder-fired missiles and artillery shells.
“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European states want to import more arms, faster,” said a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The war in Ukraine has underscored the dominance of the U.S. defense industry.
A host of European countries are buying Javelin anti-tank missiles produced by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; Poland this year signed a $1.4 billion deal to buy 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks, as well as another $10 billion agreement to buy High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems produced by Lockheed Martin; Slovakia is buying F-16 fighters, while Romania is in talks to buy F-35s.
Those deals are raising fears in Europe over whether they can wean themselves off of U.S. defense suppliers. In one example, France and Germany worry about Spain’s intentions as it kicks the tires on F-35s while also being a partner in developing the European Future Combat Air System jet fighter.
But the need to restock weapons depots and continue shipping materiel to Ukraine is urgent, and after decades of contraction, the Continent’s defense industry is having a difficult time adjusting.
“Our European allies and partners, they’ve never experienced anything like this,” said a senior U.S. Defense Department official, referring to the spasm of spending brought on by Russia’s invasion. The official was granted anonymity to discuss the situation. “They don’t yet have the defense production authorities they need [to move quickly] and they’ve really been looking to us to try to get a handle on how they can increase production, and I think they’re learning a lot from us.”
To help Europe get there, the United States has expanded the number of bilateral security supply arrangements it has with foreign partners since the Russian invasion, signing new agreements with Latvia, Denmark, Japan and Israel since October. These allow countries to more quickly and easily sell and trade defense-related goods and services.
The Biden administration also signed an administrative arrangement with the European Union in late April to establish working groups on supply-chain issues, while giving both sides a seat at the table in internal meetings at the European Defence Agency and the Pentagon.
But there are limits to how far and how fast both sides are able and willing to go.
In the near term, capacity issues and political will means the rhetorical sea change in EU military spending is unlikely to make a huge dent in U.S. military industrial policy.
While the past 18 months have seen a huge spike in defense budgets — Germany announced a special debt-financed fund worth €100 billion after the Russian invasion of Ukraine; Poland’s defense expenditure is set to reach 4 percent of GDP this year — EU-wide projects are facing significant headwinds. European companies say they need longer lead times and long-term contracts to make needed investments.
“You need that visibility and certainty to make those investments. We’re in a chicken game between governments and industry — who are the first ones that are putting the money on the table,” said Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, director of the military expenditure and arms production program at SIPRI.
Ultimately, the global defense boom means that there should be plenty of military spending to go around, at least in the short term as countries rush to prove their worth to their NATO and EU allies and the Russian threat remains acute.
Paul McLeary reported from Washington and Suzanne Lynch from Brussels.
“On Defense” gives you a taste of what POLITICO Pro Defense will bring its readers when it launches on September 5.
We’ll be covering defense industry developments, weapons technology, NATO, cyber and space as well as procurement decisions and political battles over defense budgets.
Want to know what’s really going on in defense policy? Don’t stay in no man’s land. Read POLITICO Pro Defense.
[ad_2]
Paul McLeary and Suzanne Lynch
Source link
[ad_1]
Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
Europe cannot ignore Taiwan’s desire for “better relations” if EU countries such as Germany are keen to acquire advanced microchip-making technologies from the island, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said.
Speaking to POLITICO and other media on his trip to Europe, Wu questioned the enticements Europe is offering TSMC when asked why the world-leading chipmaking giant based in Taiwan has still not come to a decision to build a new plant in Germany.
“If Europe has provided very positive incentive, and also speak with the TSMC in a way that will make the TSMC feel comfortable, that their investment in Europe is going to produce very positive results … their investment in Europe is certainly not going to be stopped by the government,” Wu said.
“Even though we are not selfish in stopping the TSMC, for making investment in other countries, we certainly hope that other countries who want to attract TSMC to make investment can also think about the situation Taiwan is in, or TSMC’s position in Taiwan, and the position Taiwan is seeing in this geo-strategical landscape,” he said.
In contrast, Wu called Japan and the U.S. — where TSMC plants will be completed next year — a “like-minded partner” and “a very good partner of Taiwan,” respectively.
“I think this is some philosophical thinking, rather than government policy of putting conditions on TSMC making investment in other [countries],” Wu said. “That philosophical issue is that when a country is in shortage of computer chips, they will ask Taiwan, ‘you should do this, and you should do that’ — but they don’t seem to be thinking about a broader picture of better relations with Taiwan, economic or otherwise.”
Wu’s comments are a pointed though veiled criticism aimed at Germany.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, then-German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier asked his Taiwanese counterpart, Wang Mei-hua, to intervene regarding TSMC’s reduced supply to the German auto industry, according to a letter reported by Reuters. “I would be pleased if you could take on this matter and underline the importance of additional semiconductor capacities for the German automotive industry to TSMC,” said the letter written by Altmaier, who was a key member of Angela Merkel’s government which put a priority on trade with China.
One of Wu’s main missions in Europe — in a trip that took him to Prague, Brussels and Milan — was to shore up diplomatic support for Taiwan among European leaders.
He welcomed the EU’s repeated calls on Beijing to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. “China might also sense that it might come down with some economic price for their possible aggression against Taiwan, so sanction or other types of economic means against China, and I think the European countries have been discussing about that as well,” he said.
Even if the EU has taken a more critical view of China as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which began in China, as well as Beijing’s stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, Taiwan still faces challenges while engaging with Europe.
On trade, the European Commission has been reluctant to begin negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan, apparently out of concern about retaliation from Beijing.
“We are very concerned that the BIA between Taiwan and EU seems to be called as a hostage to the stalling CAI negotiations,” Wu said, referring to the comprehensive agreement on investment between the EU and China. “But if you look at the linkage — close linkage — between Taiwan and the EU, in economic sense, I think EU needs to find an alternative to strengthen the bilateral economic or trade relations, rather than get bogged down by the CAI which is not going anywhere,” he said.
“We hope we can persuade the EU leadership to think about this in a positive way,” Wu added.
Due to diplomatic protocol under which all EU member countries recognize the “one China” policy, the Taiwanese officials requested that POLITICO and the other media not disclose the location where the interview was conducted. Nor could Wu say which EU officials he met with, or whether he planned to have meetings at NATO, also based in Brussels. (One of the few EU figures confirming Wu’s presence in Brussels was European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer, who tweeted about their meeting and called Taiwan a “firm member of the democratic family.”)
Despite the EU’s lack of public acknowledgment of his visit — as well as the European public’s preference of “staying neutral” in the event of a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan — Wu still has high hopes that the bloc’s attitude would change.
“I don’t think morally, any sensible country, any sensible leader can stay neutral and say, ‘No, we’re not going to pay any attention to [the] atrocity,'” he said, referring to potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“And I think the same can apply to the situation between the U.S. and China. If China initiated any aggression against other countries, in killing innocent people, violating international laws, causing atrocities and destructions, and killing innocent people, and all that, and the United States is trying to help, I don’t think the European countries can say that it’s a matter … between the U.S. and China,” Wu said.
“When the international community discuss about the major international principles,” he said, “I think it’s going to be very hard for Europe to say that ‘I don’t care’.”
[ad_2]
Stuart Lau
Source link
[ad_1]
An 18-year-old army trainee shot three fellow soldiers at a firing range on a Japanese army base Wednesday, killing two of them, officials said.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in the Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said.
The suspect fired a rifle at other soldiers during a shooting exercise at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. Among the three wounded is a 25-year-old soldier, police said.
The Ground Self Defense Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital.
A number of other people were believed to be participating in the training when the shooting occurred, but details are still under investigation, an army official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
Japan has been known for its safety, with strict gun control laws, but high-profile violence has occurred in recent years, including shootings and random knifings on subways and arson attacks, and there is growing concern about homemade guns and explosives.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was almost hit by a pipe bomb thrown by a suspect at an election campaign venue in April.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in July 2022 by an attacker using a handmade gun.
Last month, a man was arrested after he allegedly shot two police officers to death after killing two women with a knife in Nagano prefecture.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., beside an Apple Vision Pro mixed reality (XR) headset during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 5, 2023.
Philip Pacheco | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Hopes for a pause in interest rates helped to send stocks higher Monday. The technology sector, which is more sensitive to rate fluctuations, especially benefitted. (Higher rates today lower the value of tech’s growth tomorrow.)
Traders are betting there’s a 72% chance the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged at this week’s meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. That’s because economists think the consumer price index, coming out later today, will show May’s inflation slowing to just 0.1% from the previous month, or 4% year over year. That’s a “headline number [that] is going to feel good,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Big Tech stocks mostly rose at least 1%; Apple even hit an all-time high of $183.79 per share. Meanwhile, Oracle’s better-than-expected earnings report pushed its shares 3% higher in extended trading.
The Nasdaq popped 1.53% to reach its highest level since April. The S&P 500 added 0.93%, further adding to the gains it’s accumulated over the past few days, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.56%.
Despite those big moves, it was a relatively light trading day. On an average day, 80.6 million shares of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, a tracker of the broad S&P 500 index, are traded. Yesterday, only 31.5 million exchanged hands. That’s probably wise, considering inflation data coming out tomorrow and the Fed meeting happening right after that. Tech greatly benefits from lower interest rates, but remember that the converse applies too.
[ad_1]
For workers who dream of quitting but dread the thought of having to confront their boss, Japanese company Exit offers a solution: It will resign on their behalf.
The six-year-old company fills a niche exclusive to Japan’s unique labor market, where job-hopping is much less common than in other developed nations and overt social conflict is frowned upon.
“When you try to quit, they give you a guilt trip,” Exit co-founder Toshiyuki Niino told Al Jazeera.
“It seems like if you quit or you don’t complete it, it’s like a sin,” he told the news outlet. “It’s like you made some sort of bad mistake.”
Niino started the company in 2017 with his childhood friend in order to relieve people of the “soul-crushing hassle” of quitting, he told the The Japan Times.
Exit’s resignation services costs about $144 (20,000 yen) today, down from about $450 (50,000 yen) five years ago, according to media reports.
Exit did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch.
As for how the service works, the procedure, outlined in a Financial Times article, is simple. On a designated day, Exit will call a worker’s boss to say that the employee is handing in their two weeks’ notice and will no longer be taking phone calls or emails. Most Japanese workers have enough paid leave saved up to cover the two-week period, the FT said, although some take the time off unpaid to prepare for new work.
The company seems to have struck a chord with some discontented employees in Japan. Some 10,000 workers, mostly male, inquire about Exit’s services every year, Niino told Al Jazeera, although not everyone ultimately signs up. The service has spawned several competitors, the FT and NPR reported.
Japan is famous for its grueling work culture, even creating a word — “karoshi” — for death from overwork. Until fairly recently, it was common for Japanese workers to spend their entire career at a single company. Some unhappy employees contacted Exit because the idea of quitting made them so stressed they even considered suicide, according to the FT.
Perhaps not surprisingly, employers aren’t thrilled with the service.
One manager on the receiving end of a quitting notice from Exit described his feelings to Al Jazeera as something akin to a hostage situation. The manager, Koji Takahashi, said he was so disturbed by the third-party resignation notice on behalf of a recent employee that he visited the young man’s family to verify what had happened.
“I told them that I would accept the resignation as he wished, but would like him to contact me first to confirm his safety,” he said.
Takahashi added that the interaction left him with a bad taste in his mouth. An employee who subcontracts the resignation process, he told the news outlet, is “an unfortunate personality who sees work as nothing more than a means to get money.”
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
What to gift the man who is barred from receiving anything, and also is Vladimir Putin’s biggest political foe?
How about a mass demonstration?
That’s what supporters of Alexei Navalny are ginning up for the jailed Russian opposition leader’s 47th birthday on Sunday.
From exile, they are calling Russians to action, both inside and outside the country.
“Let’s show him on his birthday that he has not been forgotten,” Georgy Alburov, who works for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), said in a YouTube video posted in mid-May. “Wherever you are, whichever country, go out to support Navalny.”
Sunday marks the third birthday that Navalny will spend in prison since he was arrested after recovering from a poison attack, which his team says was carried out on Russian President Putin’s direct orders.
“Putin wants Navalny to feel alone. Moreover, he wants every single one of us to feel that way,” Lyubov Sobol, another Navalny associate, said in the video calling for protests.
The Navalny team is counting on Russian exiles spread around the globe to participate in the protests. Demonstrations have been announced in dozens of countries, from Australia to Brazil to Japan.
But Russians still in the country are given special status in the call to protest.
“Those who come out in protest [in Russia] are the real heroes,” another political activist, Ruslan Shaveddinov, said in the video.
The demonstration drive is designed to be a unifying moment, but it has exposed divisions among those Russians who have stayed in Russia and those who have left. And it has hit a nerve among some of Navalny’s staunchest supporters.
At stake is the question: Who has the right to ask Russians to take to the streets to protest their government, and is it worth the risk they run?
Since Navalny’s jailing, his supporters still in Russia have been living on a knife edge.
A Russian court decision in June 2021 labeling his movement as “extremist” has led to his network of campaign offices being dissolved. His allies have fled, gone underground, or been locked up. Any day now, Lilia Chanysheva, a former regional coordinator of Navalny’s team, is expected to be sentenced to 12 years in prison on extremism charges.
The pressure on Navalny himself shows no sign of abating, either, now that he has been transferred to a maximum-security prison in Melekhovo, a town some 250 kilometers east of Moscow. New criminal charges are constantly being lodged against him, including for extremism and most recently terrorism, which could see his sentence of 11 and a half years extended by decades.
His team members say he is being harassed in jail and being denied food and access to medical care. The only way to save him, they argue, is to keep him in the public eye.
Admitting the risk of prosecution for Russians inside the country, they have promised to provide legal and financial aid to those who are detained on Sunday.
But that has sparked further irritation, with some pointing out that in today’s Russia, any link to Navalny is toxic. Critics question the logic that to help one man, supporters must expose themselves to jail sentences; they accuse Navalny’s team-in-exile of being detached from the reality on the ground.
“[In Russia,] anyone who stages even a one-man picket can be slapped with criminal charges,” Alexei Vorsin, a former Navalny coordinator in Khabarovsk, wrote on Telegram on May 29. Vorsin has fled the country after being charged with extremism.
Vladimir Pastukhov, a Russian analyst based in London, drew a parallel with Bloody Sunday in 1905, when Father Gapon famously led a march of peaceful protesters right into the path of the Winter Palace’s guards’ bullets.
”It’s a question of responsibility [that Navalny has] toward his congregation, and the right to use it as cannon fodder against the Kremlin,” Pastukhov said in a YouTube video broadcast of “Khodorkovsky Live.”
Activists in Russia have been issued with pre-emptive warnings by the authorities not to act on the June 4 protest call, and several are already facing charges of organizing an unsanctioned event, for simply sharing information on the protest online.
Nonetheless, there are those like Moscow opposition politician Elvira Vikhareva, who has gone as far as publicly announcing her intention to take to the street.
“I am convinced that politically motivated murders, the persecution of dissidents, and assassination attempts will continue as long as we allow these scoundrels to continue making a fool out of people,” she said in a post on Telegram.
In a written comment to POLITICO, Vikhareva, who in March said traces of poison had been found in her blood, specified that she thought it was “up to every individual to decide” which risks they were prepared to take.
Faced with public backlash over the potential dangers, Navalny’s team has partially backtracked or at least softened its message. It recently released a second video saying there were other, less risky, ways of showing Navalny “that he is not alone.”
Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s closest allies, recently listed a number of such “in-between options” during a breakfast radio show hosted by the Russian journalist Alexander Plushev. They included putting up flyers at building entrances, “talking to acquaintances on social media,” or chalking Navalny a birthday message in a public place.
But Volkov defended his team’s overall strategy, saying that there was a demand for protest, and that excluding Russia from a worldwide demonstration would be “strange.”
Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst based in Riga, told POLITICO that even a high turnout in Russia, which he thought unlikely, would not impact the Kremlin’s current course.
“This type of regime does not listen to street protests, and easily suppresses them,” Oreshkin said.
And yet, he argued, the alternative is for Russians “to sit at home and do nothing,” normalizing their government’s politics of repression and war.
“That is the monstrous ambivalence facing Russians today.”
[ad_2]
POLITICO Staff
Source link
[ad_1]
TOKYO, May 31, 2023 (Newswire.com)
–
We are pleased to announce the launch of Blackbox, a media outlet for startup stakeholders who are interested in the Japanese startup landscape but did not have access to boots-on-the-ground information — until now. Queue, Inc., headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, was commissioned by Shibuya-ku’s Startup Support Project, a project to build a global startup ecosystem.
Queue, Inc. already provides the Business Development Departments of Japanese companies with SUNRYSE, a database that communicates information on startups from around the world. Through Blackbox, we will ensure that this information becomes a two-way street, promoting information on current Japanese startups to startup stakeholders around the world.
What Blackbox achieves
Blackbox communicates the Japanese startup scene to the world in an open and fair manner.
In current-day Japan, there is so much going on behind the scenes. Sensing that Japan was falling behind in the tech industry, both public and private companies have dedicated money, effort, and legislature towards reinvigorating the Japanese startup ecosystem. This includes new initiatives to attract and foster startups from abroad.
The problem is not many people outside Japan know this.
At Blackbox, we want to make as many people as possible aware of what is happening in Japan right now and what opportunities and possibilities exist in relation to startups in Japan. By presenting startup news and stories in English, we hope to raise awareness of startup-related movements in Japan as a whole and, in the future, attract international founders, startups and funds as well.
About Shibuya Startup Support
Shibuya Startup Support is one of the projects of Shibuya City to support international startups and entrepreneurs, and acts as a concierge to support the launch and growth of businesses in Shibuya City. SSS provides support for procedures such as visa acquisition and registration for overseas startups, admin for acquiring office space, housing, and bank loans, as well as advice on social implementation, support for community participation, and other support projects for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs.
Shibuya City considers it an issue that Japan has almost no media that disseminate news about the local startup scene in English. Based on this, Shibuya City believes that the establishment of a media outlet that transmits information on the Japanese startup scene to the rest of the world will promote Japan to the world and attract foreign human resources and investment centered on Shibuya, thereby accelerating the internationalization of the startup industry and the creation of innovation in Japan as well as in Shibuya.
What does Blackbox Publish?
News: news and market trends related to startups
Insights: long-form articles on domestic startup trends
Interviews: with founders active in Japan
Introduction of the first round of interviews
Bilal Kharouni
ekei labs / co-founder
Wei Chai
MaWaRoute / co-founder
Jun Iinuma
alphaspace inc / Co-founder & CEO
nuuma inc / CEO
Come and Say Hi
Blackbox
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
See here for our media kit
Source: Blackbox
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
North Korea’s attempt to put a military reconnaissance satellite in space failed Wednesday when the second stage of the rocket malfunctioned, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that Pyongyang planned to carry out a second launch as soon as possible.
“The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight,” KCNA said.
The report said “the reliability and stability of the new engine system” was “low” and the fuel used “unstable,” leading to the mission’s failure.
North Korea’s National Space Development Agency said it would investigate the failure “urgently” and carry out another launch after new testing, KCNA reported.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it identified an object presumed to be part of what North Korea claims to be its space launch vehicle in the sea about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Eocheong Island at around 8:05 a.m. and is in the process of obtaining it.
Earlier, South Korea’s military said Pyongyang fired a “space projectile,” triggering emergency alerts in Seoul and Japan, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite.
Both countries later canceled those alerts when it became clear there was no danger to civilian areas from the North Korean launch.
Analysts said Wednesday morning’s events illustrated problems for both North and South Korea, for Pyongyang in its space program and for Seoul in its public alert process.
“North Korean space efforts have consistently failed, indicating that whereas its military ballistic capabilities are being developed, its space launch capabilities are not proceeding at the same pace of development,” said Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at The Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“That is curious because space launch capabilities and ballistic missile systems are essentially similar technologies in many respects, and North Korean testing of ballistic missile systems have been more successful,” Davis said.
North Korea has performed dozens of ballistic missile tests over the past two years, which analysts have said have shown a maturation in the program.
The test of a new solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in April showed that Pyongyang could launch the missiles more quickly in the event of any nuclear confrontation, analysts said.
The North Korean launch sparked air raid sirens around Seoul about 6:30 a.m., causing confusion among residents who are used to pre-announced tests of the warning system in the middle of the day.
The sirens were followed by a text sent to cell phones, telling people to prepare to seek shelter.
The alert was canceled about 20 minutes after it was issued.
Who implemented the alert remains uncertain. The Interior Ministry said it was issued by the Seoul city government in error.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologized to the citizens for “causing confusion” over sending a citywide alert, adding that efforts will be made to refine the system to avoid similar situations.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said any criticism of government leaders for the alert may be unwarranted.
“The government would receive more criticism if it did not make every effort for public safety,” Easley said.
In fact, he said the alert could help shake South Korean residents from complacency about the dangers posed by Pyongyang’s missile programs.
“The Yoon administration will likely promise improvements to the alert system but may also expect that greater awareness of the North Korean threat will increase support for the government’s military deterrence policies,” Easley said.
Both the South Korean and Japanese governments condemned the North Korean launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“Whether it was a success or not (it was) a serious provocation that threatens peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the international community,” according to a statement from Yoon’s office.
In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tokyo “vehemently protested” to North Korea. He promised continued “vigilance and surveillance” from the Japanese government.
Japan’s Defense Ministry had warned on Monday it would destroy any North Korean missile that entered its territory after Pyongyang notified the country of plans to launch a “satellite.”
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Turkish actress Merve Dizdar and Japan’s Koji Yakusho won the best actress and actor awards on Saturday at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Turkey’s Merve Dizdar won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for “About Dry Grasses”, the latest from festival favorite Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
She said she played “someone who is fighting for her life and she has overcome a lot of difficulties.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would have to work hard on this character in order to understand her but I live in a part of the country which enabled me to fully understand who she is,” she said.
“I understand what it is, being a woman in that area.”
The film focuses on a dejected schoolteacher frustrated with his life in a remote Anatolian village.
Shot in Ceylan’s visually arresting style, it looks at teacher-pupil relations and the roots of political engagement.
Ceylan previously won the Palme d’Or for “Winter Sleep”, among multiple awards he has received over the years at the Cannes Film Festival.
Japan’s Koji Yakusho won best actor at Cannes for “Perfect Days” by German director Wim Wenders, a touching tale about a Tokyo toilet cleaner.
“I want to specifically thank Wim Wenders… who truly created a magnificent character,” he said as he received the award.
The festival, which closed on Saturday evening, sometimes felt like a dream retirement home populated by aging male icons.
There was a glitzy out-of-competition premiere for the new Indiana Jones movie, with an 80-year-old Harrison Ford getting weepy when he received an honorary Palme d’Or.
Martin Scorsese, also 80, premiered his much-anticipated Native American epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” with Robert De Niro, 79.
European auteurs Marco Bellocchio, 83, Wim Wenders, 77, and Victor Erice, 82, all brought new films.
The oldest of all, 86-year-old Ken Loach, showed he still had fighting spirit with the final entry in the competition on Friday, “The Old Oak”, a moving homage to working-class solidarity.
Loach has had no fewer than 15 films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and a win on Saturday would give him a record-breaking third Palme d’Or.
[ad_2]
