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ASIA / PACIFIC Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER May 19, 2014 South Korea changing maritime rules after sinking By Youkyung Lee The Associated Press S REMAKE REJECTION. Kazuya Haraguchi, 45, a technician for film reel, wearing part of a real Godzilla costume he purchased at an auction, holds the monster’s figure at his apartment in Tokyo. Godzilla-lovers in the nation where the stomping all began say their iconic hero falls into a special phantasmal category called kaiju, different from more mundane monsters like King Kong or Frankenstein. And the Hollywood version is no kaiju, said Haraguchi, who collects Godzilla goods, including a 100,000 yen ($1,000) complete DVD collection from Toho Studios, which came with a huge fangs-baring Godzilla head. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa) Loyal to zip-up Godzilla, Japan wary of U.S. remake Continued from page 2 it’s hard to point at a film where that truly did him justice. Especially with the digital tools we have available today.” Edwards says he grew up watching Godzilla films and has great respect for their deeper meaning, such as raising questions about nuclear weapons. But for many Japanese, the updated, more technologically advanced version of their hero isn’t quite right. Yumiko Yamashita, 40, a welfare worker, thinks Godzilla must be lovable — kawaii, or cute, is the way she describes it. She is proud it is drawing overseas respect but scoffed at U.S. depictions: “They make it too flashy. It becomes too American.” Minami Ichikawa, a Toho Co. director, acknowledged Japanese fans have been waiting for Godzilla’s comeback because Toho hasn’t made a Godzilla film for 10 years, after making 28 in the series. One reason for his absence was that Toho felt the days were over for the old-style special effects, invented by the legendary Eiji Tsuburaya, centering on miniature cityscape models trampled by an actor. The next Godzilla film out of Japan, if there is one, will rely on Hollywood-style computer graphics, he added. “Godzilla is an actor we rented to Hollywood,” Ichikawa said, while declining to disclose terms. “The times are changing.” Haruo Nakajima says a true Godzilla must be a figure of pathos as it destroys buildings and bridges in its path. He should know. He was the first Godzilla. Nakajima, 85, was a stunt actor in samurai films when he was approached to take the Godzilla role. He had to invent the character from scratch, and went to the zoo to study the way elephants and bears moved. The suit was so hot, especially under the glaring lights on set, the sweat he wrung from the shirt off his back would fill half a bucket, he recalled. “I am the original, the real thing,” he said, stressing that later Godzillas are mere imitations. “If Godzilla can’t walk properly, it’s nothing but a freak show.” The theme of his Godzilla was grander and more complex, addressing universal human problems, as it spoke to a Japan that still remembered wartime suffering, he said. “It’s not some cowboy movie,” Nakajima said proudly, sitting among sepia-toned photos of him as a young man and Godzilla figures in his apartment. “Everyone asks me to play Godzilla again,” he said. “My Godzilla was the best.” Tradition & Value Go Hand-in-Hand The most difficult event in anyone’s life is the loss of a loved one. 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As investigators probe cozy links between the shipping industry and its regulators, Seoul has promised new monitoring and regulations for domestic passenger ships, which are not governed by international rules. Here are the initial steps the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries and other groups have taken: Who’s on board? The ministry says all information about passen- gers will be processed electronically beginning in June, with similar changes for vehicles and cargo beginning in July. The measures are meant to fix a system that produced uncertainty about how many people were on the Sewol when it sank, and especially about the amount of cargo it was carrying. Under the current sys- tem, passengers write down their names, gen- ders, birthdays, and contact numbers. Many people, including cargo truck drivers who use ferries on monthly passes, didn’t bother filling them out. Authorities believe 476 people were on the Sewol when it sank, and only 174 of them are known to have survived. Records about the Sewol’s cargo, meanwhile, appear to have been inaccurate. A coast guard official said the captain reported 150 vehicles and 657 tons of cargo, but an official with the company that loaded the vessel’s cargo said it was carrying much more: 3,608 tons. The ministry said pas- senger ID cards will be checked by officials from the ship’s operator and ferry terminal, a measure that has often been skipped. Terminal opera- tors will be ordered to better control ferry port entrances. Local TV stations have shown long lines of pas- sengers at Jeju terminal as coast guard officials check MARITIME SAFETY. Rescue helicopters fly over the Sewol, a South Korean passenger ferry that authorities believe was carrying 476 passengers, mostly high school students, on April 16, 2014 off South Ko- rea’s southern coast. The South Korean government is scrambling to fix what the prime minister calls the “deep-rooted evils” that contributed to the sinking of the ferry, which left more than 300 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Yonhap) Chonghaejin Marine Co. the ID cards of passengers. The report said the coast Ltd. redesigned the Sewol guard has increased the to add passenger space number of officials present after purchasing it from at the port, but it’s unclear Japanese owners in 2012. whether that’s a perma- The redesign resulted in a nent measure. Currently, deterioration of the ferry’s there’s only one coast stability, increasing its guard officer present at the center of gravity by half a Incheon terminal, and the meter, which means its top officer’s main tasks are became heavier than be- anti-terrorism and enforc- fore. The Korean Register of Shipping inspected the ing safety. redesigned vessel and said Black boxes Black boxes that record it would have to carry much date, time, ship location, less cargo to safely operate, speed, direction, weather, but the changes did not and communications on the require approval from the bridge will be installed on ministry because the domestic ferries. Cur- ferry’s width, depth, rently, only international height, and function all ferries and freight vessels remained the same. more than 3,000 tons are The ministry said it required to have the device, plans more restrictions also known as a voyage regarding how ships may data recorder. If one had be redesigned. Details are been installed on the under discussion. Sewol, it could have helped Safety inspections before departure investigators check ship The Korean Shipping operations against Association, which regu- testimony from the crew. Officials say new lates and oversees depar- domestic ferries will install tures and arrivals of the devices and existing domestic passenger ships, ferries will adopt the is a private group, unlike devices after reviewing many of its counterparts in other countries. technical issues. The association gets Speed limits The area off the country’s paperwork from captains southern coast where the on crew, passengers, and accident occurred is known cargo, ensures that ships for its fast currents and for undertake safety measures many small islands located such as evacuation drills, close together, but unlike and decides whether ships some other challenging are safe to depart. Its marine areas, there is no biggest business, however, speed limit for ships. is selling insurance prod- Officials will review ucts to shipping companies whether the narrow stretch and operators. Since the Sewol disaster, of water where the Sewol sank should be designated the oceans ministry has as a special area where a been considering taking the job of overseeing pas- speed limit is applied. senger-ship safety away Ministry approval The ministry will submit from the shipping associa- a proposal to the National tion, ministry official Kwon Assembly seeking revi- Jun-young said. Kwon said sions to ban any redesign of they are discussing which passenger ships aimed at agency or agencies should adding more passengers. take on the job. This pro program rogram gram is not finan financed ced by or o r connected co nnected in connec n any a ny manner m ner r with manne wi th any a ny governmental g ov nmen gover nmental al agency agen gency cy or o veteran’s ve vetera eran’s n’s or other o ther organization. or aniz org ani atio tion. n Go paperless! Read The Asian Reporter – exactly as it’s printed here – online! 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