Sumimasen! I have discovered a Japanese phrase, that I would love to understand more. The phrase is: きしかいせい I know it says "Kishi kai sei", which means Wake from death and return to life. I also know that it's supposed to be the English equivalent of the phrase, "Make the best of a bad situation." But, I would like someone to share with me, is this phrase きしかいせい is this phrase mean something like, getting yourself out of a funk? Pulling yourself out of sadness and coming back to the world? Knowing what I know about the Japanese people and their culture, I think this is how this idiom would be used. But, any insight or thoughts anyone else might have on this Japanese idiom would be so greatly appreciated! Arigato gozaimasu!

source: https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/09/28/eps/1601289207_018573.html

EL PAÍS. Spain. 10-04-2020

by Leila Guerriero

​

PRECURSORS

In June the conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia gave, in Barcelona, ​​a concert for an audience of 2,292 floors

Nobody knows what music they make— techno, noise, free jazz— and their discography is overwhelming: in 2002, when I met them, they had more than 100 released albums, including Blank Tapes, which reproduces the white noise of blank cassettes; and 10,000 Chickens' Symphony , a recording made in a chicken farm that consisted of precisely the sound emitted by those animals. They were well known in Europe, Japan, the United States, but little was known in Argentina. They made headlines in 2001 because they released an album, The Sound of the Argentinian Cooking Pot Revolution, in which they recorded the cacerolazos with which citizens protested during the social crisis of that year.

I interviewed them in 2002, in the house of the Efimus Music Academy that three of them, Alan Courtis, and the brothers Patricio and Roberto Conlazo had founded, open to all musicians, including those with Down syndrome or spectrum disorders autistic. Alan Courtis had been a midshipman in the Navy - "It was a kind of illuminating masochism" -; Roberto Conlazo swore to have recorded the cry that the ants emit when their heads were cut off. There was also Miguel Tomasín, their leader, a man with Down syndrome who had come to the academy in 1993 and had told them: "Hello, I'm Miguel, a famous drummer."

As if Tomasín had been the planet around which they had long hoped to revolve, the afternoon they met him they played together and formed the band. It was called Reynols. When you want to validate them, it is said that the leader of Sonic Youth wanted them to play with him on a show; which in 2001 were the revelation of the No Music Festival in New York. I'm more interested in the way they have thought about issues related to inclusion, ecology, species, fame, the market, over 27 years. In 1999, when no one thought that was possible, they gave an online concert with the composer Pauline Oliveros, she in the United States, they in Buenos Aires. As they did not have money to go on tour, they invented one in the Plaza de Francia, in the Recoleta neighborhood; as they had no audience, they began to do concerts for rocks, for dry ice.

In 1995 they released Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat, an album that does not exist: it is a CD case without a CD. There is a concept behind that: "It's Miguel's idea," said Alan Courtis. "The formats are getting smaller and smaller: first the disc, then the CD, the minidisc , and it got so smaller that it doesn't exist." That non-disc was presented with a concert on the terrace of the Efimus Academy. The audience was made up of natural and plastic plants "to guarantee biodiversity," says Alan Courtis today, with the same reckless energy of 20 years ago. “It was an experimentation. Touching implies listening, and listening implies including the other. Plants have longer times, so we played many hours to connect with that speed ”. Last June, Reynols' networks were filled with messages from his followers. On the 22nd of that month, the conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia gave, at the Liceu in Barcelona, ​​a concert for the biocene in which the theater's string quartet played Crisantemi, by Puccini, for an audience of 2,292 plants installed in the armchairs at throughout 11 hours. The concert lasted six minutes.

Reynols fans asked if the band was going to make a statement. They only wondered what the spectator-plant would have felt when waiting 11 hours for a six-minute concert, and issued a statement that was replicated in Japan, France, Russia, the United States, Germany, Egypt: “We are not going to initiate legal action for considering it a very carefully made cover of our Concert for Plants on its 25th Anniversary. Thank you so much".

Now, Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat is reissued on the Norwegian label Hærverk Industrier, and Reynols is releasing a new studio album after 17 years without doing it, a green vinyl called Gona Rubian Ranesa. The word precursor has two meanings: "That precedes or goes ahead in time or space", and "that initiates or introduces ideas or theories that will be developed in a future time." There are also chemical precursors: essential substances to produce others. The Reynols may fit all three definitions.

source (includes their own English translation)

American President Donald Trump voiced a strong warning against North Korean nuclear threats in a speech at the South Korean National Assembly.

President Trump said that his reason for coming to South Korea was "to deliver a message directly to the leader of the North Korean dictatorship." He clearly stated his administration's policy towards North Korea in the speech in Seoul, located less than 50 km [~30 mi] from the military line dividing North and South Korea.

In conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in the previous day, both leaders stressed the need to exert maximum pressure on North Korea to urge the country to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Trump affirmed Japan's cooperation in the matter in his talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo in the days immediately before coming to South Korea.

It is significant that their unity has been reinforced once again through dialogues at the leadership level.

Trump emphasized "peace through strength". "America does not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will never run from it," he said, warning the North Korean administration against testing the United States' resolve. He showed the USA's posture of not shying away from military force in order to put an end to North Korea's nuclear program.

On the other hand, although President Trump stated that there is no room for compromise when it comes to continued nuclear development, he said that if North Korea complies with denuclearization, the US would "offer a path to a much better future." He indicated that while continuing to view North Korea's human rights violations as a problem, he wasn't asking for regime change. It short, he sent the message "there's an easy way or a hard way" to the Chairman of the North Korean Workers' Party Kim Jong-un.

The most important thing to Chairman Kim is continuation of the current system.

Chairman Kim asserts that if North Korea does not have nuclear weapons, it will be attacked by the United States and driven to collapse. This idea arose from the toppling of the administrations in Libya and Iraq after they came under attack by Europe and the United States.

Possession of nuclear arms does not, however, ensure the continuation of the current political system. Rather, denuclearization is the smart way to go for this purpose. Chairman Kim Jong-un must seriously respond to President Trump's warning.

Coordination between the USA, Japan, and South Korea is fundamental in policies dealing with North Korea. It is precisely for this reason that actions such as inviting former comfort women[1] to the banquet which Trump attended in the Blue House (the South Korean presidential residence) or serving "Dokdo shrimp" at the banquet that were caught in the vicinity of the Takeshima islands are problematic. [2] Such actions can be interpreted as an attempt to hinder Japan. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed his displeasure with the affair at a press conference.

Actions should be avoided which can benefit North Korea, which is attempting to disrupt the unity between the USA, Japan, and South Korea.

[1] See http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Comfort_women

[2] Dokdo and Takeshima are the Korean and Japanese names, respectively, for islands involved in a territorial dispute. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks

source

November 6, 2017 Kim Suhye - Tokyo Correspondent

-Japan's Anti-American demonstrations of 50 years ago are now "Together with Trump." -Looking 10-20 years into the future, a "security quad" plan to counter China.

In November 1967, Tokyo and Seoul were both chaotic. It's impossible to say whether Tokyo or Seoul was more frenzied at that time as the Korean capital was embroiled in the demonstrations throughout that Summer denouncing corruption in the June 8th election. Japan was dealing with protests of its own: the demonstration for the return of Okinawa from American military occupation, the one in support of the Vietnamese people, and the daily protests against Prime Minister Eisaku Sato's visit to the USA that took place in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Nagata-cho, the Kantei. It was here as well in November of that year that a man crying out against war and against the US lit himself on fire in protest of the Japanese government's support of the American bombing of Vietnam.

The Chosun Ilbo Tokyo branch office is located a 10 minute run or a 20 minute walk away. The towering Marunouchi skyscrapers rivalling those of Manhattan are on the right; the site of the grisly act of protest 50 years previous, the Kantei, on the left. President Donald Trump's 2 night-3 day visit to Japan seems like déjà vu. Continuous anti-US protests stopping just short of rock-throwing are expected for Seoul, and in Tokyo the atmosphere everywhere was electric.

The Japanese government mobilized 21,000 police officers along the roads the American and Japanese leadership would pass through in preparation for possible terrorist attacks. They were not, however, put in place to guard against the Japanese protesters shouting for Trump to leave. Trucks patrolling the city with loudspeakers blaring anti-Korean vitriol were also silent during this time.[1]

The Japanese people I met in the afternoon and evening happily grumbled about the streets blocked due to security. Comments of wanting to try the teppanyaki place where Trump and Abe ate, or the golf course where they played in Kasumigaseki having really beautiful scenery padded out the conversations.

We Koreans can't look on light-heartedly and smile at golf scenes or people wearing matching white hats with "Donald and Shinzo" embroidered on them in gold. Instead, it's apparent to us that there's something strange about the Japanese Prime Minister's warm reception and the "Trump Boom" occuring there. Many of us think that Trump is not any less dangerous than Kim Jong-un, that his irresponsible bluffs lead to drops in the Korean stock market, or that he's an even more unpleasant person for his recent closeness with Abe.

And it's not just us Koreans who think that way. There aren't many people as maligned as Trump. Among all of America's past presidents, nobody has attracted so many jeers due to their careless words and arrogance. You barely find anybody among American reporters saying that Trump is doing a good job. During the chaos of the Choi Soon-sil affair, I was discussing the issue with a veteran American reporter. I said that "leaving aside whether it was right or wrong, this is just an embarrassment." He replied "well we're the ones who elected Trump" and the two of us couldn't help but share a commiserative laugh.

Even so, despite what you could believe with all the Japanese Ivanka fans or the crowds waving at Trump, it's not that we're the only ones with self-respect while the Japanese have none. Longtime foreign affairs and security observers of Japan have been saying for years that Japan's China strategy looms in the background of all of its actions. Korean politicians that have had deep ties to their Japanese counterparts, diplomats working closely in the field, and veteran academics of military affairs unanimously say the same thing.

Abe's strategy for Japan is to further strengthen ties with far-away America to counter nearby China's gradual rise, bringing in India and Australia to form a security quad. [2] In his visit to the US this past February, he told Trump that "North Korea is the threat in the short term, but it's China in the medium and long term."

The problem is the reluctance of many of us Koreans to open our eyes to the reality that Trump shares this idea. The Asahi Shimbun among other Japanese media outlets has reported that Ivanka has advised her father to follow Abe's strategy for security and foreign policy. Inside the White House people joke that Abe is one of Trump's diplomatic aides. President Moon Jae-in will now be greeting President Trump, who has just come away from eating wagyu beef with his good friend Shinzo.

[1] Reference van pictured in http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Uyoku_dantai

[2] An idea which has existed for a while. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrilateral_Security_Dialogue

November 11, 2017 Andrei Kolesnikov

November 10th, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part from the beginning of the APEC summit - unlike US President Donald Trump, who not only disregarded two of the summit's official events even though he had already arrived, but also did not meet with Vladimir Putin even though they had planned to. Special “Ъ” correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov reports from Da Nang, Vietnam on how this all came to pass.

The Vietnamese city of Da Nang is a resort on the coast of the South China Sea. At first glance, it appears to be better at night than during the day - because not everything is visible. But even at night, the picture soon becomes clear. From the darkness of the coast to the numerous cafés furnished with plastic tables and chairs and varying amounts of roof, not a single tourist is present save for the smattering of Russian journalists freely lounging about around these tables.

You soon come to understand why everything is so deserted. At this time of night, this place is ruled by the rats. Big, fat, heading nowhere in a hurry. On the sea front, on the sidewalks, and especially in and around these cafés. This is their night, and there's still so much of it left; what reason is there for them to hurry? It's impossible to suppress the feeling of disgust, especially when you imagine how many of them are in the kitchen or wonder how many of the fish soups are actually made of fish - and you can get fish directly from buckets sitting by the entrances to these cafés. Susceptible to these thoughts, you become unable to shove another bite of meat into your mouth even in the refuge of the hotel restaurant.

And what is there to do; this will be your memory forever of Da Nang, Vietnam, host of APEC 2017...

In the morning, all of the leaders of the APEC countries arrive, and of course, the arrival of Donald Trump in particular sets off a burst of supernatural, feverish activity in the press center. And with his left hand gripping the rail, his descent from the plane takes a strangely long time. Involuntarily, you begin to think that if he continues like this, that if life is as hard on him in the future as it is now, then soon Donald Trump will have to bring an escalator with him like the Saudi Arabian King, Salman ibn Abdulaziz al-Saud, and pray that it doesn't suddenly die at the beginning of its sorrowful journey. [1] The meeting of economic leaders of the APEC countries with the Business Advisory Council followed. Trump was absent, but Putin was there. Assumptions that the Russian and American presidents would meet as early as this event went up in smoke.

Moving on to the bilateral talks: it was planned for Vladimir Putin to meet with the President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang. All bilateral talks in the summit take place in the small two-story hotel Furama, where five positively tiny rooms were assigned to the task. I already see now how the hotel is creaking at the seams with the influx of the leaders of five... now seven... ten... fifteen countries, all constantly trading places with each other. Here, there are already traffic jams in which you stumble upon the President of the PRC Xi Jinping, and there's no place for you nor him to squeeze past. Initially, the leaders and members of the delegation go through a living hallway of elegantly dressed Vietnamese girls with bouquets, and everything is more or less safe, and even spacious. But soon the bouquets, which they constantly bring out from under the reception desk, and even the Vietnamese girls for some strange reason come to an end, dissolving, like the presidents, in the crowd of new arrivals, or those that have just met and don't know where to go, and those searching in vain for the way to the second floor, which is so hard to find. There is the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and there's the Prime Minister of Singapore, and Malaysia, and all of the rest. Indeed, this hotel for this one day of its life has become the home of their meeting, an event which will never repeat itself in all of the rest of its days, and probably not in anybody else's either.

And there is suddenly a message from the White House. As it turns out, Donald Trump does not plan to meet with Vladimir Putin. The Russian side states that it is patiently waiting for confirmation of this information. I find out from one of the members of the Russian delegation at the summit that the news is true. The meeting had already been planned a long time ago. All that had remained was to decide where and when it was to happen in Da Nang.

Here everything collapsed. The Americans suggested holding talks in their territory, in their residence, and a time that was only acceptable to them.

"And this, of course, is rude" my conversation partner shared with me. "By all protocols, the meeting should be held in our territory: last time at the G20 summit in Germany we came to them. And the time they suggested was very awkward. We said that we should find other options... as it usually happens. This evening is the reception and dinner which ends at 10 PM. As such, we were prepared to meet right afterwards and talk until even 1 or 2 AM. They ignored the suggestion."

In effect, only one suggestion was still on the table - the first one: their territory, their time.

"And what did you say?" I asked, wondering if it wouldn't be better for everyone to forget all of these strange conventions, and just meet and speak their minds...

"Nothing," he shrugged. "We didn't answer. That's how it all ended. Maybe they'll meet tomorrow... But tommorow there's just no time... If only they could talk a bit when they greet each other at dinner... Not entirely excluding, of course, that they might change their mind at the last moment. But that's very unlikely..."

But then Vladimir Putin met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe without any problems. And you should've seen how the Prime Minister flew up the stairs: Vladimir Putin had alraedy waited for him for a minute in the room, and apparently Shinzo Abe doesn't like for the Russian President to wait.

In the meeting, Shinzo Abe talked about what had to be talked about: the problem of the [Kuril] islands. [2]

"I would like to work together in the future towards a peaceful agreement..."

And like every time in their meetings, each side talked about what was important to them: Vladimir Putin, that Shinzo Abe should participate in the St. Petersburg [International Economic] Forum, and Shinzo Abe, that there has already been "a survey of the area linked with the joint economic activities on the four [disputed] islands..." and each leader, in his own opinion, felt like he was moving forward, while to the other side it was clear that he was just going in circles.

At any rate, the meeting was not very long, and after an hour the President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang was already waiting for Vladimir Putin. In that same tiny room, the remaining space was taken up by a huge armchair intended for Vladimir Putin. The Russian president went around to the participants counter-clockwise, and then it became clear that the armchair had been pushed underneath the table such that it wasn't clear how the Russian president would sit there. And there were many Russian negotiators there - ministers, the head of Gazprom, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, but only the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachov, managed to see what needed to be done - to pull out the chair. When Vladimir Putin arrived at his place, Likhachov pushed the chair underneath the President with an effortless gesture. It was as elegant as you imagine.

This meeting turned out to be even shorter: all were already awaited at the inevitable ceremony of photos in the national garb of the host country that are a particular feature of these summits. Above all, it is these ceremonies rather than the plenary meetings that people remember from APEC summits. Finally at the end of the show, the players all donned their costumes.

These summits are not just full of ceremonies, they themselves are ceremonies. No decisions are made in them that are vital to the region: this region is too broad and fundamentally varied to decide anything for it. APEC summits are interesting because they host a large number of bilateral meetings. Among these, the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was of course the main attraction, and it eclipsed all others even though it didn't come to fruition.

By this time, Donald Trump had already ignored a second official APEC event: besides the morning meeting of the economic leaders of the APEC countries with the members of the business advisory council, he also didn't go to the evening meeting of the heads of APEC with the ASEAN leaders. And now he was expected somewhere. But almost everybody else showed up to the photo-op at the beginning.

The arrival of the young - or at least younger - playboy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was met with a girlish squeal from the press center. The Vietnamese girls absolutely couldn't contain themselves and let out a weak cry.

The blue, traditional Vietnamese shirt suited the Canadian Prime Minister - as, I imagine, everything else that he wears.

The shirt was, to be frank, too big for some people, such as the Prime Minister of Cambodia Mr. Hun Sen; the sleeves even covered the tips of his thumbs.

There were also shirts in white, and against this background it was clear that some hadn't ironed the shirts very well, the Sultan of Brunei, for one. (It seemed like it had just been thrown into the trunk until it was to be worn.)

Finally, Donald Trump arrived, patting his stomach for some reason as he left the car and walked the 70 meters separating him from the Vietnamese President, the whole time mouthing something. It was evident that he didn't really need somebody like Vladimir Putin to talk to: it was enough for him to spend the whole time talking to himself...[3]

And there was Vladimir Putin, the man, as it's said, who's always able to surprise. Everyone had guessed that the garment was a shirt, only Putin had thought it was a jacket: he wore a white shirt and tie underneath.

This was inscrutable. This could be the case, but why had the thought not occured to anybody else? Maybe because, after all, it was a shirt, and not a jacket.

At the Photography session, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump stood right next to each other. Vladimir Putin arrived first into the shot and stood for a short while in the first row completely alone. But then the American President arrived and greeting him first, shook his hand, even embraced him, said something, then said something else... But what did these sudden signs of affection mean? Nothing. The American president was just being friendly with his Russian counterpart.

Vladimir Putin, by the way, seemed a bit absent-minded and not paying much attention to the gestures. He smiled to everyone equally, and when they were being photographed, didn't look at anybody in particular, including Donald Trump. Afterwards, he made his way to the doorway to the room where the tables were set for dinner.

There, the two presidents sat far away from each other. The food came much later: at first they ordered for a while, then they heard a speech from the Vietnamese President, and watched dance performances.

At a certain point, I saw Donald Trump take a napkin out of his lap and carefully wipe his lips - as if he had just eaten something. But he hadn't eaten anything.

Maybe, I thought, he had had an appetizer after all.

[1] See Saudi King's visit to Moscow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXZGZTpAJdY

[2] The Kuril island dispute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuril_Islands_dispute

[3] Video here https://eblnews.com/video/trump-arrives-apec-wearing-traditional-shirt-254137

source

Wang Peng

November 9, 2017

China has given the American President the kind of high-quality reception worthy of the title "state visit-plus".[1] Yesterday, from morning until evening, President Trump along with first Lady Melania visited the Forbidden City, saw historical relics, and watched Beijing opera. They had a chat over tea with President Xi Jinping and his wife in the Baoyun building and were guided through the relics together. [2]

The scene was friendly, the atmosphere was warm. Chinese traditional culture became a bridge between both shores of the Pacific. Livestream viewers watched in droves, cheered on the leaders' intimate friendship, and gave "like"s for the spectacle of the two countries' coming together.

Why was Trump's first stop the Forbidden City? Since the break in the ice of Sino-American relations at the end of the 1970s, almost all of the seven American Presidents to visit China have chosen to make their first stop at places with deep historical and cultural significance, with the Forbidden City as the first choice and the Great Wall after that. Of course, among them there have been bigger fans of traditional Chinese culture, such as Bill Clinton, who went directly to the ancient capital Xi'an in order to stop and survey the rapid development of modern China escorted by the Terracotta army.

Therefore, it's not out of the ordinary that Trump chose the Imperial Palace for his first stop. The United States has been a country of contradictions throughout its relatively limited history: on the one hand, the wilderness of the New World was a blank canvas for the descendants of the Mayflower passengers, the site to construct their "City on a Hill." On the other hand, the country couldn't help but face the Old World in its sudden ascent in the post-war period. The problems of how to fulfill the responsibilities of participating in international institutions, how to exercise strategic restraint, and how to rebuild order in the following 70+ years have been some of the most important and difficult for the American Presidents.

"History is a collection of humanity's lessons of the past." Only by thoroughly examining the details of history can you make a strategy rich in historical insight. It's no wonder that American strategists have often turned to their British or Continental counterparts for guidance, for example the Scots Paul Kennedy and Neil Ferguson, the German Jewish immigrant Henry Kissinger, or the Polish born Zbigniew Brzezinski.

In their chat at the Forbidden City, Xi Jinping told Trump that "China's history goes back over 5000 years... The culture has never been interrupted, and only China has that. We are the original people here - black hair, yellow skin, all that was passed down. We are called the descendants of the dragon." Behind Trump's admiring "that's great" was a reverence for history and culture. [3]

Only such a long, continuous history and shining culture could bring about the unwavering second rise of this great country. It is a country that cannot easily be deterred by the author of "the History of the Peloponnesian War" and fall into the so-called "Thucydides Trap"[4], because already in its early history, China had the concepts of political marriage and sworn brotherhood; China will not take its steady growth and beat ploughshares into swords. Its leader has stated that "no matter how much China develops, it will never proclaim itself hegemon, it will never expand", because its ancestors already knew that "though a country is now strong, bellicosity will lead to its ruin". [5] At the same time, it will by no means forget the latent, humiliating dangers of the past due to current prosperity, because "though the country is at peace, forgetting war is certain danger." [5]

Over 30 years ago, President Reagan said to a reporter as he was leaving China: "We may live at nearly opposite ends of the world. We may be distinctly different in language, customs, and political beliefs. But on many vital questions of our time, there is little difference between the American and Chinese people." Today over thirty years later, we can see both leaders standing side by side in the former palace of monarchs, planning for the prosperity and peace of not just the people of both nations, but for all mankind, which shares a common destiny.

[1] See http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2118954/xi-jinping-and-donald-trump-get-personal-state-visit

[2] see video here http://news.ifeng.com/a/20171108/53081046_0.shtml

[3] see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGili0v8yx4

[4] http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/09/the-thucydides-trap/

[5] quotes from the military classic "Methods of Sima"

edit: formatting

Source

Tocqueville November 10, 2017

President Trump's first trip to Asia since taking office had its first upsurge during his state visit to China. The President of China, Xi Jinping, who had just consolidated his power and raised his status at the 19th party congress, recieved Trump according to a "state visit-plus" standard, including signing purchasing contracts amounting to $250 billion.

In this corner, we have the Chinese leader, firmly in possession of a home advantage. And in this corner, the American leader, whose support at home has steadily declined since his inauguration. After testing each other out in April of this year in Florida, this was a continuation of their bout 7 months later. In a joint press conference, Trump praised his great rapport with Xi, going so far as to place all the blame for the China-US trade imbalance on previous American administrations. In contrast, Xi brought out his old saying about US-China relations: "The Pacific Ocean is big enough to accomodate both China and the United States."

Trump and Xi praised each other in public regarding the two key topics of the meeting, North Korea and US-China relations, but shed all pretenses behind closed doors. What are each side's calculations? And who was the winner of this match?

10 months into his Presidency, Trump is stumbling along. His administrative style and way of speaking are repeatedly cause for controversy. Just before leaving for this Asia trip, nationally, he was hamstrung by the Russia scandal, his tax reform legislation hit a bottleneck in congress, and his approval rating didn't even reach 40%. Internationally, among other issues, the crisis on the Korean peninsula continues to worsen, and the international community and the Asia-Pacific nations are watching to see whether Trump can come up with a clearer foreign policy. In addition, some people worry that he could be at a disadvantage facing Xi Jinping, who has concentrated all authority on himself.

But Trump, who doesn't like to lose, retorts that the the American economy has improved and unemployment is in decline. Trump's team reckons that although domestically the country is plagued by potential scandals, his 12 day trip to Asia can shift the focus. Specifically, Trump is visiting Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. He is making state visits in South Korea and China, participating in an informal summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Vietnam, and in the Philippines apart from meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, he will attend the East Asia Summit (EAS).

This 12 day-long trip is sufficient to temporarily leave behind the domestic political storm and the embarrassments of the Democratic wins in gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. It's no wonder that Trump has almost exclusively stuck to the script provided to him by his top advisors and, contrary to expectations, hasn't made any reckless remarks. Focusing on domestic markets is precisely his administration's plan.

In short, the Trump team's strategic goals for this trip are to rouse support domestically for the President and at the same time to assuage the misgivings of countries in the region. Whether or not these goals can be accomplished is dependent on three challenges:

1. To clearly present a wide-reaching strategy that has credibility to the Asia-Pacific countries.

Trump's national security team engaged in "agenda setting" activies prior to the trip. Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Mattis stood at the vanguard. Through speeches and visits to the main countries of Asia, they set the tone for Trump's new strategy in the Asia-Pacific region as the strengthing of "a fair and open Indo-Pacific." This idea has been pioneered by India and Japan. Although the idea is the same old stuff with a new label, to have Trump say it shows at least a specific plan for policy on the Asia-Pacific.

2. To deal with the North Korean problem.

Trump has adopted "carrot and stick" tactics regarding Kim Jong-un. The President and his aides play the roles respectively of "bad cop and good cop". He has continually cranked up the volume on his verbal warnings to Pyongyang, including using phrases such as North Korea "will be met with fire and fury", the military is "locked and loaded", and "total annihilation of North Korea". In addition, he's paired muscle-flexing such as the establishment of military forces near the coast of the Korean peninsula, or joint military exercises with Japan and South Korea with efforts in the UN security council to pass tougher sanctions, all in order to deter Pyongyang. However, Trump's core advisors continue to appeal to North Korea to return to the negotiating table. The US and North Korea also have confidential contact through the so-called "New York Channel."[1] Trump himself stated in his speech at the South Korean National Assembly during this trip, that he wished that North Korea would negotiate with the US. Trump also understands that just relying on Xi Jinping won't cut it, and that Washington must persuade Russia to cooperate, and then pull Japan and South Korea into the same camp. It was for this reason that Trump stated before leaving on this trip that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit to discuss the North Korean problem.

3. To build the future of Sino-American relations

When Trump was first elected in November last year, Beijing promptly courted Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka, then through the lobbying of "New China Lobby" general Henry Kissinger, got Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to propose a new framework for US-China relations that would last for 50 years. Since the first Trump-Xi meeting in April, the four dialogue mechanisms established between the two countries all have completed their first round of talks before Trump's current China visit, but the most important "comprehensive economic dialogue" mechanism has stalled with no clear path forward. Beijing has only made a symbolic purchase of American beef and agricultural products.

During this second Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, Xi's strategic goals are to "reset" Sino-American relations. Having a firm grasp on his power, Xi Jinping is reserved and plans for the long term. By no means does he intend to come into conflict with Trump, but rather has managed to place China and the US on equally strong footing in the international community through clever diplomacy. Thus, for Xi Jinping, if he is able to extend his term in 2022 when it expires, his most preferred goal with this Trump visit is of course to build up a better, interactive atmosphere. Even though both countries still disagree on many issues, Xi Jinping is confident that he has the better position. He has a lot of time yet to spar with Trump. Anyway Trump still has to see if he can pass the test of winning a second term. It's also because of this that Xi Jinping is still doing taichi when it comes to key issues such as trade with North Korea or why he can deliberately and meticulously smooth out the friction with Trump on the major points of contention. In light of Trump's suggestions that "soon something will happen" with the North Korea problem, Trump's dissatisfaction with Xi Jinping regarding this issue has somewhat decreased. As far as the disputes in the South China Sea, Xi Jinping hasn't budged, and there could still be contention about the freedom of navigation, with both sides talking past each other.

In sum, this second meeting between Trump and Xi in Beijing doesn't seem to have sent any sparks flying, mainly due to both sides' different strategic goals. Trump believes that he is strong, and is all the more willing to compete with other strong contenders. Xi Jinping has clearly read Trump's book, and has carefully researched Trump's penchant for business deals. Both people were still sizing each other up in this Beijing meeting, and because of this, everything that was said was all just nice words and formality. So in order to observe Trump's strategy for dealing with the regional hegemon, it depends on what he says in the other countries on this trip, and even more so on whether or not his national security team is able to actually implement the "Indo-Pacific" strategy.

[1] See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/08/11/inside-the-new-york-channel-between-the-united-states-and-north-korea/

Source

November 14, 2017 Karim Raslan

ASEAN, meet Donald Trump.

Donald Trump, meet ASEAN.

Who will win in a meeting between "the great troublemaker" and the most boring regional group of guardians of protocol in the world? I won't be betting on Trump.

Attending an ASEAN meeting is like trying to walk backwards through melted palm sugar - getting stuck and going nowhere.

After a few hours you can only give in and go with the current... even Rodrigo "Dirty Harry" Duterte has to behave himself up against an endless, sleep-inducing ASEAN meeting.

More than a year ago, I had the idea to re-launch my column - the one you are currently reading - namely "Ceritalah ASEAN [The Story of ASEAN]" or "Tell me a story, ASEAN."

The point of it was to meet and interview normal people from the 650 million residents of all of ASEAN. This seemed like a very good idea.

However, as I went down into the field to listen to the stories of farmers, migrant workers, tour guides, day laborers, and schoolteachers from Bassein, Nam Dinh, Manado, and Bacolod, I started to realize that I had made a small error.

Southeast Asia is thrilling, sexy, and full of energy. ASEAN - as a supranational organization - is pompous, arrogant, and extremely boring.

At its core, ASEAN is the antithesis of all that which makes Southeast Asia attractive. Its noisy traffic. Its unpredictability.

As a comparison, ASEAN is the elitist that's more comfortable in hotels, resorts, and convention centers. Their meetings are like well rehearsed dialogue.

Thus, while I am still blown away and totally in love with the region of ASEAN along with its people and various stories, it's difficult for me to find much enthusiasm for its bureaucrats.

I still think that the economic growth of Southeast Asia, which is already very big - with a combined GDP of USD 2.4 trillion in 2013 and predicted by McKinsey to be the 4th largest economy in the world by 2050 - has unlimited potential.

But I have to be honest, ASEAN has no essence. None. Zero.

The organization isn't held up by any mutual emotional ties, unless you consider eating durian as a form of alliance.

Even that which we call "dissent" - in large part about the South China Sea - could already be predicted due to the growing influence of China geopolitically and economically in our region.

Of course, I could recommend books (and many columns) about ASEAN as a cure to insomnia.

Being a little more serious, ASEAN has not actually helped with providing the infrastructure or employment that its 650 million residents need. That is something that has already developed into a difficult problem for each of its nations.

Even less have been the efforts of ASEAN to protect its 650 million citizens which are very vulnerable (some of whom I met through this column) to persecution, exploitation, and the legal immunity of those in power, especially the migrant workers in this region. Here, ASEAN has once again done nothing.

This is the reason why I can't feel enthusiastic about the meeting held in Manila, even though it was ASEAN's 50th anniversary and Trump was apparently there for the whole thing. Yaaawn...

Keeping in mind how boring ASEAN meetings are, I imagine that Trump will regret being at this one. Frankly, it's not too significant in the grand scheme of things if he was present or not.

Foreign policy experts will argue that Trump's presence is to convince Southeast Asia that America is not "retreating from the Asia-Pacific region or the world", but is it really this that's at issue?

The barometer of power and influence of America (as well as China) in this region doesn't depend upon Donald Trump's attendance at this event, which was full of boring speeches and awkward "family photos" in the traditional garb of the host country.

But maybe some of you will protest that such things will become visible proof of his words. Believe me, this is a case where visibility isn't important, at least in the long term.

It might be due time for us to stop believing that the peace, prosperity, and reputation of our region are at stake in each high- level meeting, but I could be being too hard on ASEAN.

Nevertheless, the aim of ASEAN to maintain Southeast Asia relatively peaceful and neutral in the decades since its founding through the Bangkok Declaration in 1967 has already been achieved. So, it could be that this tedium is good, at least for the diplomatic agenda of ASEAN.

When the organization was founded at the height of the Cold War, Southeast Asia was a pot full of distrust, suspicion, and hardship from Vietnam to Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

ASEAN provides a neutral platform for the countries involved to build trust and familiarity with each other. It can be said that the process has been long and arduous with Indonesia and the countries of Indochina which have formed the core of its agenda.

The tedium and awkwardness of the ASEAN process - with its above mentioned proclamations and speeches - tire all of our leaders to such an extent that they don't have the energy or interest to devise attacks against each other.

On the contrary, the only thing they want to do is escape. And maybe, just maybe, that is already sufficient for us in this region.

We can and should focus on building ties between businesses, media outlets, and people regardless of what happens in ASEAN. Regional integration, especially in Southeast Asia, should be driven from below.

So Donald, don't try to feel too smart. ASEAN is structured. It was made to win and achieve lofty positions and score goals. Here's a durian, please just take a seat in the corner.

source

This Samiljeol, [March 1st Movement Day] the seriousness of Japan's problem with right-wing politics has become abundantly clear. For confirmation, let's take a look at what kind of education children are receiving at a famous kindergarten supported by the Abe government.

video provided by Tokyo Correspondent Ho-Won Choi

This is a promotional video for Tsukamoto Kindergarten in Osaka.

During a field day, these youngsters play games that focus on unity and team work and shortly afterwards make a public speech:

Protect the Northern Territories, the Senkaku Islands and Takeshima! Change the thinking of the the Chinese and Koreans, who denigrate Japan, and have them stop telling lies in history books!

They then in one voice begin to powerfully give praise to Prime Minister Abe.

Abe! Abe! The National Security Law passed through Parliament! Hurray!

After the morning festivities, the children made ceremony to a shrine of Emperor Akihito. This school also teaches students to commit to memory the Imperial Education edict from the militant period, 'We must maintain the destiny of the Imperial Family'.

The kindergarten plans to open an elementary school this coming April.

For this purpose, the Japanese government handed over land valued at 800 million yen for just 100 million won.

There is fervent criticism, from even inside of Japan, against Prime Minister Abe, who supports the right-wing indoctrination of children to far-right theories.

Disculpas si mi español es malo...

Goldman Sachs Grupo Inc. presidente Gary Cohn y gobernador de Massachusetts anterior Mitt Romney se reunián Martes con Donald Trump como el Presidente- electo y su equipo consideran candidados para los roles clave en la administracion.

Cohn llegò a la torre de Trump en Manhattan Martes en la tarde por une reunión con Trump y Vicepresidente - electo Mike Pence. Trump entonces fue programado ir a cena con Romney, la 2012 nominado presidencial republicano, quien es un contendiente por Secreterio de Estado. Otra opciones potencial por el máximo diplomático del país, Senador de Tennesee Bob Corker, cuplió con Trump tempraño en la día.

Como se mueve mediante la lista de Empleas de administración de alto nível necesita llenar, Trump en Martes anunció él nominaró representitante de Georgia, Tom Price un crítico de Obamacare, dirígir la Departmenti de Salud y Servicios Humano. Una persona familiarizado can para elegir secretario de trabajo de las ee. uu Elaine Chao, la esposa de Líder de la mayoría de Senado, Mitch McConnell de Kentucky estar Secritario de Transporte.

articulo original

http://www.sankei.com/photo/daily/news/160928/dly1609280011-n1.html

An American assistant language teacher (53) from Mizukami, Kumamoto, was arrested on Wednesday for selling mugs and other items using the Tokyo Olympics welcome logo. The Police Consumer and Economic Crime Division arrested the man on suspicion of violating the Trademark Law by violating the trademarked logo.

According to the Consumer and Economic Crime Division, this is the first time nationally that charges have been laid for violation of the Trademark Law in relation to the Olympic welcome logo.

According to the Division, the man believed that "he was able to sell Olympics merchandise if he made it". Permission is needed from the Olympics Organising Committee, who hold the trademark rights, to use the logo, however they said that the suspect "did not know that he needed permission".

Image

東京五輪招致ロゴ侵害容疑 米国籍の男を逮捕、警視庁

東京五輪の招致ロゴを無断使用して作ったマグカップなどを販売し、商標権を侵害したとして、警視庁生活経済課は２８日までに、商標法違反の疑いで米国籍の外国語指導助手（５３）＝熊本県水上村＝を逮捕した。

生活経済課によると、招致ロゴを巡って同法違反容疑で立件するのは全国初。東京が五輪開催地に決まった１３年９月以降の約２年１０カ月で、１８都府県の３０人以上に２００点以上を販売し、少なくとも二十数万円を売り上げていたとみられる。

同課によると「五輪関連のグッズを作れば売れると思った」と供述。ロゴを使用するには、商標権を持つ大会組織委員会の許可が必要だが、同容疑者は「許可を得なければならないとは知らなかった」と話している。

http://esperanto.china.org.cn/2015-04/23/content_35400205.htm

Teng Jiazhi, a taxi driver in the city of Shenyang in northeast China, received the certificate given by the organization Shanghai Chinese Records, and became the first driver to have the most photos taken with his passengers.

The 60-year-old Teng has worked as a taxi driver for 22 years. Since March 2011 he started taking photos with his passengers. Because the people are smiling in every photo, Teng has been called 'the ambassador of smiles.'

Teng said that the idea was born one winter day, when two people from Shanghai traveled to the train station in his taxi. The passengers wanted to take a photo with him to express their thanks. Then Teng had the idea to take photos with the passengers, with a smile, because smiles are always beautiful. "After retirement, I'll keep bringing smiles to people by other methods," said Teng Jiazhi.

http://media.daum.net/politics/others/newsview?newsid=20150827090812359

North-South relations should adhere to 'prudence'... "The inner atmosphere is that of 'calm reaction' to continued negotiations"

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Sung-Min = The Blue house stated on the 27th that "(The North-South) Negotiations are not over, but rather it has just begun".

Spokesperson Min Kyung-Ook met with reporters today and said that "the inner atmosphere of the (Blue House) is that the North-South negotiations are still continuing and therefore we need to react with calm".

This response by the Blue House is seen as a precaution to the view that the North-South relations have been significantly improved after the initiation of high-level talks between the North and the South on the early morning of the 25th and various hastened suggestions for improving North-South relations, despite there being no real product from the talks.

Spokesperson Min continued to address some reports by the media that the Blue House is trying to contain the speed at which these premature expectations of improvement in North-South relations are coming forth by saying that "fundamentally that is correct. We are saying that we should be more humble".

He also highlighted the seriousness of North-South relations by stating that "revealing every little detail from a past negotiation doesn't help in future negotiations".

Regarding the future talks that were to be held soon, as agreed upon on the 25th, he would "give more information as needed when the structure and level of the talks and other points of curiosity are finalized".

Original title: Apple、「iOS 9」発表

Untranslated:

米Appleは6月8日（現地時間）、モバイル端末向けOSの新バージョン「iOS 9」を発表した。米国で開いた開発者会議「Worldwide Developers Conference」（WWDC）の基調講演で披露した。一般リリースは今秋を予定している。

iOS 9を披露

音声認識エージェント「Siri」が新ユーザーインタフェースを備え、応答速度と精度が40％向上しているという。また「プロアクティブ・アシスタンス」（Proactive assistance）と呼ぶパーソナルアシスタント機能を搭載し、ユーザーの予定に合わせてプッシュ通知をするなどの機能を備える。ユーザーのプライバシーには十分配慮しているという。

Siriを披露

モバイル決済「Apple Pay」は米国に続き英国でサービスを開始する。従来のアプリ「Passbook」は「Wallet」（財布）に名前を変更する。

「メモ」（Notes）アプリは手書き機能などを統合。Safariなどから写真を追加して保存でき、iCloud経由で同期される。

刷新される「メモ」（Notes）アプリ

新アプリ「News」も発表。ユーザーの関心に応じたニュース記事を配信するという。New York Timesなど多くのメディアが参加を予定している。

新アプリ「News」

iPadでは、2つのアプリを同時に表示して使えるマルチタスク機能が加わる。動画を小窓に表示したまま別の作業をするといったことが可能になるという。

iPadでは複数アプリを同時に使うマルチタスクが可能に

バッテリー駆動時間が改善され、平均的な使い方ならバッテリー駆動時間が1時間のびるという。Apple IDには2要素認証が追加され、セキュリティが強化される。

開発言語「Swift」はオープンソース化を発表した。Mac OS X、iOS、linuxに対応する。

My translation:

On June¹ 8th (local time), the American company Apple presented, in the first lecture of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 9, which the company plans on releasing this fall.

Presentation of the iOS 9

The voice recognition agent “Siri” will get a new interface, with an increase of about 40% in both speed and accuracy. Furthermore, it will be equipped with proactive assistance, allowing things like creating push notifications when the date of an appointment draws near, without neglecting users' privacy.

Presentation of Siri

The service of phone payment “Apple Pay”, available in the US, will expand into England as well, and the app “Passbook” will change its name to “Wallet”.

A new feature integrated into the “Notes“ app will allow to take handwritten notes, save them, add images from apps like Safari to them and synchronize them with iCloud.

Reformed “Notes” application

A new app called “News” has been introduced as well. This app will allow to the user to read news the user is interested in from many media like New York Times.

New app “News”

A new feature for the iPad will allow to show two apps at the same time, so that watching a video in a small window while working on another window will be possible.

Multitasking with various apps open at the same time will be possible on iPads

The battery life has been improved, usually lasting until one hour more. The security of the Apple ID has been improved by setting a two-step authentication.

The programming language “Swift” has been open-sourced, and is available for Mac OS X, iOS and Linux.

[Source: http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1506/09/news049.html]

¹ Thanks to /u/SuperDuckMan for the correction (old: Juny)

http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/religion-im-unterricht-schulleiter-in-geretsried-bayern-a-1034993.html

Religious Controversy in a Bavarian School: "Atheists are stupid"

A headmaster wants to put a state school near Munich onto a strict Christian course: He hangs crosses in the classrooms and would like to carry-out daily prayers. By law he is allowed to do this - however parents and pupils are fighting back.

The statement was let fallen in a cover-lesson for the 10th class. The headmaster of the Geretsried school entered the classroom. Prayers should be said, a teacher of the school explains, but some students obviously don't want to. A discussion eases the situation. At the end the headmaster said the words of the upset teachers, parents and pupils: "Atheists are stupid".

Not all pupils of the school are baptised. Some teachers do not believe in God, like the biology teacher of 10th class; the pupils know about this. Does the headmaster also say that stupid teachers teach at the school? That one must believe [in God], in order to become clever at this Bavarian school?

For a long time in Geretsried it has been about something fundamental: how much religion is there allowed to be in a state school?

Since October 2013 the head teacher has had a part-time job as a deacon, a parish worker, authorised for clerical activity by the bishop in the cathedral of Augsburg through the 'imposition of hands'. Parents and teachers with whom you speak describe the headmaster as missionary. A father says the headmaster blessed her daughter without having asked, as she emerged in the school office with a lollypop in her mouth during lent. "You can't enforce your personal religious beliefs in a state school", believes Peter Schneider, the former chairman of the board of governors.

"I don't have to justify it, because it is in the Bible"

Are atheists stupid? In November 2014, shortly after the cover lesson, the head teacher comes into the 10th class with the part-time job [in his role] as deacon for the Holy-Roman-Catholic-Church. He wants to clear-up 'misunderstandings'. However the lesson escalates.

The head teacher shares an article from the notoriously-catholic news site kath.net, which the pupils must read. A Viennese clergyman argues in the text, in a convoluted way, why it is completely legitimate to describe atheists as stupid: atheists behave like cancers, proclaiming themselves beaming with joy, and that there will be no treatment for them, it says in the text.

Likewise the subsequent discussion with the class us conducted confusedly. The headmaster wants to explain why he says the one sentence without meaning the other. Why he indeed regards atheists as stupid, but with it doesn't want to represent any of his atheist-colleagues as such.

He writes on the table: "atheists are stupid". Under it: "I do not dare to call anyone stupid". The word 'anyone' is underlined.

"Those two statements contradict each other", says one pupil.

"Okay", replies the headmaster.

"We say that the statements contradict one another and you say 'okay'''?

"I don't have to justify it, because it is in the bible". He expects enough tolerance from the class that he is allowed to cite the bible.

"What would you say if someone said that Christians or Catholics are stupid?"

"Then I would say: I agree. Christians are often stupid. Take for example the Christians in Syria".

The dialogue stands literally in a protocol that the supply-teacher made-up during the lesson. The headmaster gave it his approval.

Awe before God - an educational goal in the Free State [of Bavaria]

One would like to speak with him personally, how he sees his role as clergyman in a state school. However in the school one cannot reach him, he doesn't reply to e-mails. Telephone him at home, his wife answers now and then and says that he doesn't give interviews. Then she hangs up. One doesn't discuss about God.

The atheism-controversy is not the first case in which the the rector has scandalised with his religious beliefs. As he first joined the school, the teacher with additional spiritual-qualifications confided in a local reporter that he was surprised that no crosses hung in the classrooms. He wanted to change this. Many teachers saw the legal violation against more christian symbolism as crucial, the school body is too heterogenous, the tradition of the school is something else. However the rector retorted - with the Bavarian constitution. In it it states, article 131, paragraph 2: "Awe before God" is one of the foremost educational goals in the Free State. Likewise in this school.

In an advent market in the break hall the headmaster, clothed in sacramental garb, blessed the cross. A peculiar ceremony is had been say some who were there. Pupils cluttered the hall and hardly anyone listened, the youth got a splash of holy water. "Only the smallest number of pupils and parents gave the 15-minute consecration-ceremony their attention", noted a local reporter laconically. Since then the crosses have hung in the classrooms.

The holy headmaster went even further: He wanted to put in place daily prayers for the pupils. Again he saw the law on his side: In the school notices in December 2014 "in the light of recent events" he referred to a newsletter of the Bavarian ministry of culture from 1987 ("which still has validity today").

Parents protest against school prayers

In it it states: "If also the indirect religious schooling and mediation of the content of beliefs are special tasks of the religious education, so the constitutional obligation of education to the reverence of God (article 131, paragraph 2 of the Bavarian constitution) must become effective in residual education". And furthermore: "The state ministry [for culture] appreciates that in many schools daily-prayer is a regularly practiced custom since time immemorial affirmed by pupils and teachers from their own religious belief"

One likes to wonder about it, that the separation of church and state in Bavarian educational-law has not been always been enforced. Still more astounded at the emphasis with which a head teacher wants to push religion into school life.

The board of governors also protested. "In religious education every pupil and every teacher muss be able to decide for themselves whether they say a prayer or take part. In other subjects prayers are not desirable", the council has written to the rector. The letter was printed in the school-notices in January so that all could read it. The prayers have not been carried out for the time being.

The conflict now has now had obvious consequences for the school. The Münchener Merkur reports that according to the ministry for religious affairs the number of applicants for the coming school year has fallen. In the mean time the ministry has sent a mediator to Geretsried, who should calm the mood. I have seen him, says one teacher, but only once and very briefly. From behind.

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASH4R4VPVH4RUDCB01J.html?iref=comtop_6_01 April 24, 2015 01:00AM

Funabashi City, Chiba, interviews with police have revealed a girl (18) has gone missing on the night of April 19. Police said that after getting into a car with acquaintances, she lost contact. Police have arrested two suspects (one male, one female, both in their teens), and are holding them in confinement. Another acquaintance brought in for questioning has explained "She (the girl) is buried," police are carefully examining all facts of the case and are searching for the girl's whereabouts.

According to investigators, the girl was walking down a road in the prefecture on 19th with friends where several boys from a car called out to her. The girl saw a friend she knew in the car and, leaving her friends behind, got in with the friend. After that, she lost contact and did not answer her phone.

On the 21st, a man who knew the girl called the Funabashi Eastern Police Department saying "We lost contact with her a couple days ago. Did they bury her? Was she buried? That's what people are saying." Police began their search with those related to girl.

Police heard of the situation from boys and girls living in Chiba and Tokyo and several boys came forward beginning with "(they) buried her." However, they only gave vague statements, saying they do not know what kind of trouble she had.

Among those the girl knew, several boys and adult men do not know her whereabouts, police are searching.

■Timeline of Events April 19, the girl enters a car with several people on a road in Chiba

April 21, A male who knew the girl contacted police "She passed away" (they're) saying she was buried."

April 22, Police hear about circumstances from parents and friends

(*According to interviews with police)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150419/k10010053241000.html

April 19, 5:01AM

Nearly 150 patients in the past year have been infected with Hepatitis-E, a potentially fatal disease, exhibiting symptoms such as vomiting and fatigue. The National Institue of Infectious Diseases (NIID) has seen raw pork and raw liver to be the most common causes of cases in an investigation.

Hepatitis-E is acquired from eating raw meat, and has symptoms such as vomiting and fatigue, and in the worst cases, is fatal.

The NIID has investigated through health care centers nationwide and found that the number of patients with Hepatitis-E has risen to 146 in the past year.

Also, looking at the causes shows eating raw pork and liver to be the most common case with 27 people affected, subsequently, those who consumed deer meat affected ten people and wild boar meat affected nine people.

When the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare banned the provision of raw cow liver three years ago, the number of stores selling raw pork liver rose in the Tokyo metropolitan area. At this time the year before last, the 190 stores were being supplied raw pork liver.

Tomimasa Sunagawa, Laboratory Manager of NIID cautioned "Whether or not the meat is fresh, the virus is still there, and so it's important that the meat is cooked for ten minutes or more."

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150416/k10010050521000.html

April 16, 4:11PM

Due to foreign materials mixed into food among other things, and deteriorating performance, McDonald's Holdings Japan has disclosed that to restore their performance, they plan to close roughly 130 stores and solicit 100 employees to resign voluntarily within the year.

McDonald's Japan has suffered a severe performance when in July last year, it was revealed that there was an issue with expired food. In addition, eariler this year, foreign substances were found in food. Sales have been falling since September last year with negative growth staying in the double-digits.

On the 16th, Sarah Casanova, CEO of McDonald's Holdings Japan, publicly announced in a press conference plans to, within the year, close 131 of roughly 3000 stores nationwide that did not produce sufficient profits, and to solicit 100 employees out of 3000 to voluntarily resign.

In addition, Casanova and other board members have decided to take 20% and 10~15% pay cuts respectively over the next six months.

In contrast, it has been predicted the company will be in the red for the second year running with the anticipated reaching effects of the contaminated food, the need for large investments in order to renovation around 2000 stores, and lastly the company reaching a maximum deficit of 38 billion yen.

Casanova stated "We have taken a serious blow. In order to regain business, we must do all we can." They emphasized they are trying their hardest to curb customers leaving due to issues with the food.

Why is the Company Failing?

McDonald's Japan's previous CEO, Eiko Harada, had increased the company's performance by actively pursuing a "low-cost route." However, the company has suffered in recent years due to increased competition from convenience stores.

And in July last year, an issue was discovered with one of the company's suppliers from Shanghai, China concerning expired ingredients. In the wake of this, and the family-oriented decline of customers, July last year has suffered a decrease in sales of over 10% compared to the year before. The month of August and beyond have continued this trend with negative growth in the double-digits.

Furthermore at the beginning of the year, more and more cases of foreign substances being mixed into the food came to light.

Overlapping with food safety issues, sales in January were at -38.6% the lowest it has been since 2001. Also, February's sales were at -28.7% and last month's were at -29.3% This loss of sales and failure to curb loss of customers has continued severe conditions for the company.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150414/k10010048021000.html

April 14, 3:58PM

Electronics giant Fujitsu has developed software that uses voice recognition to display speech from members at meetings into text to make it easier to participate at meetings and in class for those who are hard of hearing. By plugging a microphone into a computer or tablet, the voice recognition software will convert speech to text, which appears on the display of the device. A microphone is needed for each participant, but even if multiple people talk at the same time, the software displays text for each person individually. Even with sign language, it can be difficult for the hearing impaired to understand what is said when multiple people speak at the same time, but Fujitsu expects this software will make it easier to participate. The software is set to launch next month and, because it can make fast and easy recordings of meetings, is expected to have wide use. Yoshikazu Tsukano(?), Director of Fujitsu's Social Science Laboratories, the division which developed the software said, "In order to allow the hearing-impaired to take part in meetings without difficulty, we pursued displaying information in real-time Capturing an entire conversation is difficult but, because it can record meetings and take the place of notes, we also want to explore those needs." Speech recognition technology is also being developed by other companies, NEC is implementing a system meant for courtrooms and NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) is developing technology which can recognize speech even when laughing. Widespread use of such technology is expected in the future.

As for Tsukano's name, I'm really bad at reading names, so I don't know if this actually is his name. Forgive me if I made a mistake.

Edit: Forgot the [Brazil] tag. :(

Original article by Eduardo Schiavoni, UOL

Translation by Sam Skulls

January 15, 2015

The presence of a horse in the food court of a shopping mall, Villa D'Ouro in Boituva (122 km from São Paulo) surprised shoppers on the night of Wednesday the 14th. The animal hung around for a few minutes and was photographed by a customer. An administrator said that they don't allow animals into the mall, but didn't want to comment on the case.

According to Monize Pereira, a student who was at the mall around 8 PM, the owner of the horse entered with the animal and was in the food court for some time.

"He seemed drunk, went by quickly and yelled at the horse. Soon after, he left and went toward the front door. He hit the animal, and some people got upset and called the police," she said.

The military police of Boituva said that officials were at the scene and were removing the man and the horse. He was released, but was identiifed after leaving the area. The case wasn't recorded by the civil police.

Another student, Amanda Tavares, who took a photo of the animal with her phone, described the the scene as humorous.

"There are lots of line-cutters at the mall, but no one expects someone with a horse to do it. I was with a friend and we fell over laughiing. Only in Boituva," said the student.

Amanda posted the photo on social media and the image quickly went viral. "They said the horse must be ordering some hay juice, to cool off," she said.

When reached for comment, the mall's administrators confirmed that the horse came through the area, but emphasized that animals aren't allowed in the building.

06/12/2014 3:24 PM (updated 06/12/2014 3:48 PM)

Uniformed trash collectors participate in a party held in Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro.

Original article by Juliana Scarini of G1, Região Serrana

Translation by SamSkulls, some guy from the Internet.

Image: Gabriel, costumed in the uniform of a garbage collector, was entertained alongside his superheroes.

The admiration for the work of trash collectors surprised the family of little Gabriel Branco of Barros, just five years old, with the request for a birthday party with the theme. The famous superheroes and animated drawings out of a scene and gave a space to the world of garbage men. the festivities began on Friday the 5th in Nova Friburgo, Região Serrana do Rio, in a local entertainment center.†

Image: Trucks and uniform colors used as decoration

"I like garbage men very much and when I grow up I want to be like them. I was happy that they came", said the birthday boy, who was plainly delighted at having them in uniform at the party. The boy's parents fostered this admiration and had organized the details for the party over the course of four months.

To the surprise of those invited the party included the presence of two uniformed trash collectors from the Brazilian Environmental Corporation (BEC), which is responsible for the collection of garbage in the city. The pair became the central attraction to the kids, and enjoyed having their work recognized and admired.

"I was surprised by the invitation and found it to be sincere††", said José Carlos Moura Mello, age 27, who has worked on collection trucks for two months.

Image: Colleagues participated in the homage to their profession.

According to Gabriel's mother, Thaís Branco, the boy became emotional when he saw a garbage man in the street and asked to speak with him.

Image: The cake was decorated with a garbage truck

"I thought it was wonderful that he was so charmed just talking to the boy. He has great admiration, so much so that he requested a party, and we encouraged it.", she said.

According to Thaís, organizing a the party was not easy work; there aren't many ideas or existing decorations relating to the collection of garbage.

"I had to organize everything. I even went to the BEC††† looking for ideas, and copied the uniform. The souvenirs are all recycled and made from shoes and milk boxes. I decorated the sweets with tags with reminders to recycle", she explained.

Image: Sweets decorated in the theme of sanitation

† The Portuguese term 'casa de festas' probably refers to something like Chuck E. Cheese.

†† He literally said "without prejudice", which I found too unnatural for literal translation.

††† The Empresa Brasileira de Meia Ambiente, translated above as Brazilian Environmental Corporation is here abbreviated BEC.

http://www.postimees.ee/2919467/piiriekspert-eesti-piiri-peamine-probleem-on-selles-et-seda-pole

If we would build a border, we wouldn't have to prove to the whole world that Kohver was taken from Estonian territory, reckons border expert Tõnu Raid.

Raid: "Everyone speaks about Eston Kohver, but no one speaks about the fact that the border is actually left undone."

But what is left undone there, according to Raid, is part of the whole thing.

He worked in the Border Patrol as a cartographer for over 20 years. And he says that he saw "this dance from the top" (he witnessed it first-hand), when Estonia and Russia began border talks between each other in 1995.

Raid, who has already been retired since the beginning of the year, was recently invited over to advise as a technical expert.

In his words, the Estonia-Russia border has one big problem: there isn't one. More correctly, the border doesn't have coordinates put in place, nor is it reinforced.

Estonia's side has only cameras, which eyes don't reach behind every bush along the border, and posts.

Since up until now there hasn't been a ratified border treaty between Estonia and Russia, it is also not possible to clear the border area and properly mark areas, said Southern Prefect Tarmo Kohv a few days ago in commenting about Eston Kohver's mystical kidnapping.

Similarly, we might just speculate, or rather clarify in the case of having the border: Would Kohver have been taken or we have at least gotten to prove easily that he was taken in Estonian territory?

According to Raid, it's embarrassing that we cannot exactly show where the European Union's external boundary runs.

"Currently our border representative jumps in disputes with Russia like a small puppy against a two-meter wall and tries to explain what happens at the border," says Raid, that even if we have the right, we don't even have one document to rely on that shows that the Estonian border goes from here.

The law says that Estonia's national border is an uninterrupted and closed ambiguous line.

Raid: "It isn't closed and it isn't uninterrupted, because then you couldn't come over if it was closed and uninterrupted!"

It's quite a different story with the Russian border: like in the Soviet times, a 30-kilometer zone runs from the border inwards which locals can access with a special permit and where it isn't allowed to sell goods to foreigners.

Two and a half meters from the border inwards is a post that shows which number it is. Behind this is a 20 meter wide sand strip that exposes the footprints of those that may try to come over.

Behind this is three barbed wire fences separated from each other.

"The makeshift Estonia-Russia inspection line is only fenced in individual places, and patrolled with technical monitoring and patrolling operations," Kohv has explained to the Southern Prefect on the conditions of the Estonian border.

Raid rarely went on patrols during his time as an officer.

In important sections, patrols are done up to two times a day. In less important sections, only once a week.

The Ministry of Social Affairs' response to why Estonia didn't have border facilities was:

"The protection of the temporary inspection line takes place with technical instruments as well as patrol operations. Warning signs identified with surveillance devices are inspected with the Border Guard patrol. Likewise, the inspection line is patrolled closely according to daily risk assessments. In sections where the illegal border crossing risk is greater, there are also physical barriers, however, like elsewhere in Europe, Estonia's border is also not fenced everywhere, only marked with border posts."

On the second anniversary of the "21st of July Incident," Beijing again sees 18 cars submerged in an underpass.

"In around 20 minutes, the cars were completely underwater"

(South China Morning Post Chinese Language Online Edition) Yesterday during a rainstorm Beijing once again witnessed a flooded underpass with 18 vehicles flooded and their owners forced to leave the cars and run for their lives.

The last time this happened was on the 21st of July, 2012 when during a particularly large downpour that affected all of Beijing's 19 million inhabitants 79 people lost their lives including 34 year old Ding Zhijian, who died when his car was trapped under the Guangqu Gate overpass with no means of escape from the rising waters.

It's July again, and although the high level storms haven't arrived yet, the phenomenon of submerged cars in an underpass has returned. It's causing people to worry about the upcoming rainy season and worry whether or not the capital city will see a repeat tragedy.

Yesterday evening at around 7, a rainstorm transformed a railway underpass along East Tiancun road in the Haidian district of Beijing into a giant pond, reportedly trapping 18 cars. Police say that there were no people trapped in the vehicles.

Mr Zhang, an owner of one of the trapped cars recounted that he was driving in the neighborhood at 7pm when it began raining. Arriving at the underpass, he discovered the water was already several dozen centimetres deep. "I was afraid that the water was too deep and the car wouldn't make it through, so I decided to park the car next to the underpass," he said. Another owner stated "In around 20 minutes, the cars were completely underwater."

As the water level rose quickly, many drivers and their passengers braved the rain and ran to the safety of higher ground.

One car owner took a photo of the scene which showed many cars submerged in the waters, some with only the roof visible. There were even several cars which appeared to have fled up the pedestrian walkway.

Several Tiancun area residents told the Beijing Youth News that the space under the railway overpass spanned for about 150 metres, but that all it took was for a little bit of rain and it would start filling up. However it seemed that this time rising waters rapidly flooded the 18 cars, and that only the 21st of July incident the year before last had a comparable downpour.

It took until 11:30 in the evening for the majority of the water in the underpass below the railway bridge to drain. Yet even so there were still 9 cars remaining in the muddy road, the majority of which had not closed their windows, resulting in the interiors being coated in leaves, mud, and debris.

From the watermark on the walls of the underpass one can speculate that the water must have reached a depth of 2 metres.

At one in the morning, Mr Zhang's car was still trapped in the mud awaiting rescue.

According to a spokesman from the Beijing Flood Control Office, East Tiancun road is not far from Minzhuang, which experienced a total rainfall of 49.4mm yesterday. Of that number, the period between 7 and 8 in the evening saw rainfall of 48.4mm, a high level of intensity for such a short period and an amount which exceeded local draining standards. When combined with the hail and strong winds, as well as a large quantity of fallen leaves from trees, drainage time was certainly affected.

The Beijing Flood Control Office also confirmed that the stretch of road where 18 cars submerged yesterday evening was not on the list of places to be renovated for flood resistance, although nearby Tiancun South road had indeed already undergone renovation and a new stormwater pumping station had been built. They stated that "this occasion was certainly the result of a sudden and comparably large downpour."

Authorities close to the matter reveal that the affected location will also be added to the lists of places for flood resistance, and once renovated will be assigned into a 'drainage group.'

According to a post from the 'Beijing Police' account on Weibo yesterday, the Shawo overpass on the Western Fourth Ringroad running in both directions, the Baishi overpass on Xizhimen Avenue, Fuxing road from the intersection with Yuquan road to the intersection with South road, the Liuli overpass towards Nanpu road on the Western Third Ringroad, and the area near Xiangquan roundabout on the Northwest Fifth Ringroad all experienced flooding.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10013000961000/k10013000961000.html

JR West and a toy company have created plans for a special train in which [children] can play with toys.

Inside the train, the walls are covered with soft cushions and to enter you take off your shoes. The children line up in the designated line for the train to be able to play in it. Train picture books are also found in it.

There's also a train driver's seat for the children. The children can actually see what's going on at the actual train driver's seat while moving a driving lever.

On the 14th, 17 children from a nursery school in Hiroshima rode in the train for around 40 minutes until Okayama train station.

This train, starting from this month's 19th and until next year in March, will make a trip once a day back and forth from San'youshinkansen's Hakata Station to Shin'oosaka Station.

^These ^translations ^aren't ^guaranteed ^to ^be ^100% ^correct.

http://www.nanzao.com/sc/china/31968/zhong-ri-wai-jiao-huan-qiu-sai-pao-xi-jin-ping-bei-jiang-xian-hou-fang-nan-mei

The Sino-Japanese Global Race - Xi Jing Ping and Abe will successively visit South America

Chinese President Xi Jing Ping will travel to South America from the 17th to the 23rd of July, while Abe plans to leave for Central and South America on the 25th of July and leave on the 4th of August.

(South China Morning Post Chinese Language Online Version) Japanese Prime Minister Abe is fighting a new round of 'global diplomacy' from Oceania to Central and South America, as he follows hot on Xi Jing Ping's heels in a trip to Latin American countries. A Japanese government spokesperson revealed yesterday (9th of July) that Abe has made a preliminary decision to complete the fundamentals of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Columbia within the year, and from the 25th of July to the 4th of August he will leave for Central and South America to finalize expanded ties with five other nations.

This week, in the midst of China's high profile commemoration of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Abe visited New Zealand, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, signing defense equipment contracts and an Economic Parternship Agreement with Australia. Japan described its agreements with Australia as establishing a 'quasi-alliance' relationship second only to its alliance with the United States.

Next week, Chinese President Xi Jing Ping will go to South America, with successive state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba from the 17th to the 23rd of July, and expects to finalize the establishment of a 'BRIC Development Bank.' Abe's trip in late July will see him as the first Japanese prime minister ever to pay a state visit to Columbia, and from there he will then continue on to Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, and other countries.

There were similar 'global diplomacy' races between Japan and China at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. On those occasions, Abe visited multiple African nations and four nations in South East Asia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also went to Africa, competing to offer international support and form alliances.

A Japanese government spokesperson quoted in Kyodo said that with regards to Japan and Columbia's current discussions over an Economic Partnership Agreement, Abe has determined to reach an agreement with Columbia on the fundamentals within the year.

Japan already has already signed EPAs with Mexico, Peru, and Chile.

Abe will also go to five Central and South American countries to finalize agreements for expanded ties, and has decided to confirm the year-end deadline for an agreement with Columbia at a summit meeting with Columbian President Santos.

Japan and Columbia's EPA negotiations were previously been suspended due to the influence of presidential elections, but due to Santo's June election victory Japan considers that the time is now ripe to quickly press ahead with the relevant consultations.

Columbia has the third largest population in Central and South America with approximately 48 million people, and imports mostly cars and steel from Japan. In turn, Columbia exports coffee and flowers to Japan.

The two countries began negotiations towards an EPA in December of 2012, but problems surrounding the repeal or lowering of tariffs associated with cars, steel, and other industrial goods have prevented a successful agreement.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10015480811000/k10015480811000.html

Bob Dylan is a famous American artist. The memo for the song he created, Like A Rollingstone, was put out on an auction in New York.

Like a Rollingstone was released in 1965. Because the song had such a strong influence on the many people who listened to it, it received a special award in America. The memo put on auction had the lyrics of Dylan's song written on it one month before the song was released. In Japanese yen it was sold for approximately 2 million yen. The memo is 4 pages and on it was the song's name and lyrics written on paper from a hotel, and moreover it has animals and the like drawn on it.

The auction company has said the price of Dylan's memo is the highest that they've ever sold of lyrics written by a popular artist themselves.

^These ^translations ^aren't ^guaranteed ^to ^be ^100% ^correct.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10015270391000/k10015270391000.html

The convenience store company 7-11・Japan for the first time will, around the summer of next year, set up a shop in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.

7-11・Japan will tell the UAE company the way of selling and will obtain money from that company. The UAE's economy is becoming very good, and because the number of foreigners who come for business and travel is increasing, stores's sales are believed to increase as well. In about three years there are plans to set up approximately 100 stores.

Japan's convenience store companies have, up until now, set up stores in China and Southeast Asia. This is now the first time they've set up in the Middle East.

Source: http://www.20minutes.fr/sciences/1393273-la-photo-la-plus-coloree-de-l-univers-capturee-par-le-telescope-hubble

SPACE — 10,000 galaxies are located in this shot taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope...

The universe like you’ve never seen it before. Tuesday, the web site of the Hubble Space Telescope, managed by the American space agency (NASA) and the European space agency (ESA), published its most colorful photograph of the universe.

On its site, NASA explains that it is an combination of 841 images taken between 2003 and 2012 targeting a precise point in our universe located at the south of the constellation Fornax and capturing infrared as well as ultraviolet rays. This combination was made by means of different filters. The photograph, which boasts over 10,000 galaxies, needed 600 hours of exposure time. It was realized thanks to a team of around twenty researchers.

Capable of capturing visible light and infrared rays emitted by the galaxies, Hubble has been equipped since 2009 with an apparatus that permits recording ultraviolet rays. These rays are emitted by the youngest celestial bodies, born after the galaxies.

The photograph permits life to be given, thanks to retransmitted light, to celestial objects that existed 5 to 10 billion years ago.

— A.G.

Source: http://m.20minutes.fr/sport/1398566-video-nba-tony-parker-felicite-coach-gregg-popovich

BASKETBALL — The French team captain scored 15 points during the Spurs’ victory against the Miami Heat…

During the Spurs’ victory against the Heat (111–92), Tony Parker was perhaps not the most dazzling player (15 points, 4 assists). But Gregg Popovich complimented the French captain for his solid game.

“Great leadership. You didn’t score thirty points but you showed great leadership. You have been solid with ball handling, with your teammates. Good job,” the Spurs coach whispered into the ear of TP [Tony Parker] at the end of the fourth quarter.

“I have confidence in my teammates,” responded Tony Parker. A very classy exchange.

TLG

[Note: While I tried my best to translate the translated quotations from the French article, Mr. Popovich actually said, “Great leadership. You didn’t get 30...but great leadership and solid, solid play with the ball.” Mr. Parker responded, “I have to trust my teammates in this series.”]