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Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC September 15, 2014 Myanmar discovers it has only 51 million people YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar has discovered it has only 51 million people — far less than the previously estimated 60 million. State-run television announced the preliminary results from the country’s first census in three decades. It said complete results would be released next year. The census, conducted from March 30 to April 10 with help from the U.N. Population Fund, counted 51.42 million people. The previous estimate of 60 million was based on extrapolations from the last census, conducted in 1983. The tally went smoothly, except in some areas of the western state of Rakhine where an estimated 800,000 members of a long-persecuted Muslim minority were denied the right to identify themselves as “Rohingya.” The government insists they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh and calls them “Bengalis.” Some isolated parts of northern Kachin state controlled by ethnic rebels also were not counted. Five gamblers caned in Indonesia’s Aceh province BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province have caned five men for gambling. Saabaruddin, chief of security guards in the Pidie district capital of Sigli, said the men were caught playing dominos for money at a coffee stall in February. He said the men were detained at a city penitentiary and were convicted by a Shariah court. Saabaruddin, who uses one name, said hundreds of onlookers watched as the men were caned after Friday prayer at Sigli’s main mosque. He said one of the men was caned eight times, while the other four were caned seven times. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has a policy of secularism but allows Aceh, located on Sumatra island, to implement a version of Shariah, or Islamic law. Japan to resume Antarctic whale hunt next year TOKYO (AP) — Japan plans to resume Antarctic whaling next year, but with fewer killings and involving only minke whale, revising a research program that was rejected by the U.N.’s top court. The Antarctic whale hunt is one of two research whaling programs that Japan has conducted since a 1986 international ban on commercial whaling. In March, the International Court of Justice ruled the Antarctic program wasn’t scientific as Japan claimed and must stop. Japan’s Fisheries Agency said officials were working on a new program for fiscal year 2015, for submission to the International Whaling Commission’s scientific committee around November. The agency did not give details. Japan will go to the Antarctic later this year, but only for nonlethal research. Opponents say Japan’s research hunt is a cover for commercial whaling. U.S. investment fund signs on to build Myanmar solar plants YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A U.S investment fund has signed a $480 million deal to build two solar energy plants in central Myanmar, one of the largest investments by an American firm since the easing of U.S. sanctions. The agreement, inked by the ACO Investment Group and the Ministry of Energy, is aimed at easing electricity shortages in the country of 60 million, which only recently emerged from a half-century of military rule and self-imposed isolation. The U.S. Embassy said the two 150-megawatt solar energy plants in the Mandalay region could account for 10 percent to 12 percent of Myanmar’s power generation when completed in 2016. It said the project would create 400 construction jobs in the two Mandalay districts where the plants will be located as well as 100 permanent jobs. Japan Rakuten to buy cash-back site Ebates for $1B TOKYO (AP) — Rakuten Inc. has announced its plans to buy U.S.-based cash- back site Ebates for $1 billion, part of a series of overseas acquisitions aimed at building what the Japanese e-commerce company says will be the “world’s largest product lineup.” With goods ranging from toys and cat beds to luxury watches and golf clubs, Rakuten is the top internet retailer in Japan. It has made numerous overseas acquisitions, including Cyprus-based internet phone application Viber Media, and led a $100-million investment in online scrapbook Pinterest. Rakuten and Ebates, which is based in San Francisco, California, both have membership-based online shopping platforms. Retailers pay Ebates to advertise their products and Ebates then gives rebates for eligible online purchases. Rakuten plans to buy all of Ebates’ 32.852 million shares, financing the deal through cash, bank loans, bonds, and commercial paper. Ebates was founded by two lawyers in 1998. Rakuten founder and president Hiroshi Mikitani has led his company through a rapid expansion in the past several years, while also gaining influence as a government adviser. The company recently announced it had outgrown its offices in Tokyo’s high-tech zone of eastern Shinagawa and plans to move into a new office tower in the suburb of Futako-Tamagawa. China kills nearly 5,000 dogs to control rabies BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities killed almost 5,000 dogs in one city after blaming five human deaths on rabies, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The city of Baoshan in southwestern Yunnan province killed 4,900 dogs and vaccinated another 100,000 in its anti-rabies campaign, Xinhua said. The city issued an urgent order calling for authorities to tightly regulate dogs and kill stray ones. Chinese governments often order such widespread dog culls or ban dog ownership to control the spread of rabies. That has sparked an outcry from some dog owners and animal-rights activists who call for sterilizing and vaccinating dogs rather than killing them. In 2009, authorities in the northern city of Hanzhong reportedly killed about 37,000 dogs after a rabies outbreak, including clubbing some of the animals to death. WOMENOMICS PROPONENT. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie Abe, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo. Akie says her husband gives her time for a wide range of activities, from raising organic rice to appearing in a gay pride parade. Despite her husband’s conservative image, she says he does chores when he can. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Japan’s first lady says husband helps with chores By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — Japan’s first lady says she has such a busy schedule that some- times it’s up to the prime minister to do the dishes or take out the garbage. It’s the kind of flexibility Akie Abe says is needed for the advancement of women in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing companies and the government to hire and promote more women to allow Japan’s economy to grow and create a society where “women can shine.” He appointed five women to his 18-member cabinet this month. Even though Akie Abe, 52, openly refers to herself as a member of the “opposition in the household” on some issues her husband favors, such as nuclear energy, she told The Associ- ated Press she is a big supporter of his “wom- enomics” policy of promoting women’s ad- vancement. In Japan, women are underrepresented in senior-level positions in companies, govern- ment, and universities. They have long been discriminated against in salary and promotion in corporate Japan, and often face obstacles to pursuing their careers due to a lack of help from spouses. Abe, the daughter of the former president of a leading Japanese confectioner, Morinaga & Co., said it’s important for society to allow women enough flexibility to work again after child-rearing or other life events that inter- rupt their professional careers. Her husband’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has conservative views on gender equal- ity, but the first lady is a businesswoman, T owns a bar in downtown Tokyo, and supports local artists and craftsmen. She is active in organic farming and grows rice herself in Yamaguchi, her husband’s hometown in western Japan, and campaigns against AIDS and discrimination against minorities. She spoke at “The World Assembly for Wom- en in Tokyo,” an international symposium at which her goal was to show that Japanese women are also serious about making a society that is friendlier to them. Such activities, along with her differences with some of her husband’s views, have con- tributed to her image as a new breed of first lady. “My husband’s conservative supporters think the wife of a prime minister should keep quiet and support him, so for them my speaking up is unthinkable, but those on the other side of the spectrum say I should speak up even more,” she said in an interview at the prime minister’s official residence. The first lady said people tend to categorize others, like right and left, west versus east, “or men should be this way and women that way,” creating walls and differences. “I want to tear them down,” she said. Abe is often out all day, leaving herself little time for housecleaning. She said she some- times hears her husband mumbling about the house, but that he is never a bossy husband telling her to do things for him. She said he does chores when he can, including sometimes washing the clothes. “Sometimes he tries to move things out of the way, but I end up scolding him for putting things in the wrong place. Poor thing,” she said. Continued on page 7 Black Pearl Acupuncture Asian Currency Exchange Rates Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine are great for: - Acute/Chronic Pain (i.e. neck, back, sciatica & shoulder) - Treating & Preventing the flu and colds - Stress Relief - Headaches/Migraines www.blackpearlacupuncture.com Units per U.S. dollar as of 9/13 Sita Symonette Licensed Acupuncturist seasymonettea@gmail.com Call to schedule an appointment: (503) 308-9363 505 N.W. Ninth Ave., Portland, OR 97209 Bangladesh Taka· · Cambodian Riel · · China Renminbi · · Fijian Dollar · · · · Hong Kong Dollar · Indian Rupee · · · · Indonesian Rupiah · Iranian Rial · · · · Japanese Yen · · · Laos New Kip · · · Malaysian Ringgit · Nepal Rupee · · · · Pakistani Rupee · · Papua N.G. Kina · · Philippine Peso· · · Russian Ruble · · · Saudi Riyal· · · · · Singapore Dollar · · South Korean Won · Sri Lankan Rupee · Taiwan Dollar · · · Thai Baht · · · · · Vietnam Dong · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.375 4090.9 6.1351 1.8797 7.7506 60.66 11822 26448 107.34 8067.7 3.1972 97.166 102.56 2.4688 43.95 37.752 3.7507 1.263 1035.3 130.27 30.018 32.245 21198