Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
April 20, 2015
Indian mountaineers mourn climber who died in Chile
KOLKATA, India (AP) — India’s mountaineering community is mourning the
death of a well-known Indian climber who died trying to summit an Andean
mountain in Chile. Malli Mastan Babu died in extreme bad weather during an
ascent of Cerro Tres Cruces, a mountain in Chile’s Atacama region. The death of
the 40-year-old, known in India for climbing the highest peaks on each of the
seven continents, was confirmed by an official at India’s embassy in Santiago,
Chile. He had been missing since March 23. Mohan Singh Kohli, leader of the
first Indian expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1965, said Malli
“definitely had the guts and courage to take risks in life.” Many climbers noted
Malli had degrees from some of India’s top universities, which would have all but
guaranteed him a well-paid corporate position. “But his dedication and love for
adventure drew him to mountaineering,” said Debashish Biswas, a top Indian
climber.
Same-sex partnerships win recognition in Shibuya ward
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s Shibuya ward has become the first locale in Japan to
recognize same-sex partnerships as the “equivalent of a marriage,”
guaranteeing the identical rights of married couples, including hospital
visitations and apartment rentals. The ward assembly voted to approve an
initiative to start issuing same-sex marriage certificates. The new ordinance
applies only to Shibuya, and it’s technically not legally binding. Violators,
however, will have their names posted on the ward’s website. Shibuya is also
planning an aggressive educational campaign on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) issues. Although gay celebrities are visible and popular in
Japan, LGBT Japanese say a culture that values harmony and uniformity
makes growing up and living as LGBT extremely difficult.
Tibet chief demands monasteries display Chinese flags
BEIJING (AP) — Tibet’s Communist Party chief has reiterated a demand that
Buddhist monasteries display the national flag as part of efforts to shore up
Chinese control over the restive region. Chen Quanguo wrote in an editorial
appearing in state newspapers that national flags should be among the
elements found in monasteries. Those also include newspapers, television,
telephones, and water and electrical services. Demands to display Chinese flags
have frequently sparked protests by Tibetans who complain of heavy-handed
Chinese rule. Tibetan monks and nuns are among the most active opponents of
Chinese rule in the region and face some of the harshest restrictions on their
activities. Chen’s demand was contained in a lengthy editorial that first
appeared in the party flagship People’s Daily and was reprinted in other papers.
2004 Olympic hurdles champ Liu Xiang confirms retirement
BEIJING (AP) — Former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang has confirmed
his retirement more than two years after his last race, citing age and injuries.
The 31-year-old Liu said on his microblog that the decision is sad and painful,
but he felt he had no other choice after years of nagging injuries. The Shanghai
native hasn’t competed since withdrawing at the London Olympics in 2012 after
rupturing his Achilles tendon. He pulled out of the 2008 Beijing Games with a
similar injury, and years of treatment have apparently failed to fix the problem.
Liu became one of China’s best-known athletes by winning the 110-meter
hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics in a then-world record time. He went on to
become one of the country’s highest-earning sports stars.
Four arrested at boutique after hidden camera found
PANAJI, India (AP) — Indian police have arrested four people following a
federal government minister’s complaint that a niche boutique in the
southwestern resort of Goa had a closed-circuit television looking into a
changing room where she was trying on clothes. Police officer Umesh Gaonkar
said the four boutique employees face charges of insulting a woman and
outraging her modesty, which carry a maximum prison sentence of two years.
Human resources development minister Smriti Irani was in the store when one
of her assistants informed her about the camera, which the officer said was
aimed through the changing room’s ventilator, said Nilesh Rane, another police
officer. The store is in the beach village of Candolim, popular with international
tourists. The camera was found to be recording customers inside the room,
Gaonkar said. Complaints of hidden changing-room cameras have been pouring
in from around India.
RADIATING WELCOME. Godzilla’s head is unveiled as the irradiated monster was appointed special resident and
tourism ambassador for Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward during its awards ceremony in Tokyo. The giant Godzilla head towering
171-feet above ground level was unveiled at an office of Toho, the studio behind the original 1954 film. (AP Photo/
Shizuo Kambayashi)
Godzilla welcomed in Tokyo —
to lure visitors, not to scare
By Yuri Kageyama
AP Business Writer
OKYO — Fire-breathing, building-
stomping Godzilla has been welcomed
in part of Tokyo as a sign of prosperity,
not destruction.
The irradiated monster was appointed
special resident and tourism ambassador for
Shinjuku ward, known for its down-home bars
and noodle restaurants.
A Godzilla-size head towering 171 feet above
ground level was unveiled at an office of Toho,
the Japanese studio behind the 1954 original.
Toho is shooting a comeback film this year
after a decade-long hiatus.
Godzilla’s standing as an icon has had its
ups and downs, but its stature has been
reinstated after the Hollywood Godzilla,
directed by Gareth Edwards, became a global
hit last year.
Japan is hoping the biggest star in the
nation’s movie history will help lure tourists
during a market-opening strategy launched by
the prime minister.
At an awards ceremony next to the giant
Godzilla head, an actor in a rubber suit
waddled to Shinjuku mayor Kenichi
Yoshizumi. However, Toho executive Minami
Ichikawa had to accept the residency
certificate in Godzilla’s place, since the suit’s
claws aren’t designed to grab anything.
The longtime belief is that any place
Godzilla destructs in the movies is sure to
prosper in real life, Yoshizumi said.
“Godzilla is a character that is the pride of
T
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China’s Ninebot buys U.S. personal scooter maker Segway
HONG KONG (AP) — Segway, the iconic but struggling U.S. maker of
self-balancing personal electric scooters, has been bought by a Chinese rival.
Beijing-based Ninebot Inc., which makes a range of short-distance motorized
transport devices, said it bought Segway Inc. for an undisclosed amount. It said
it received $80 million from a group of investors to finance the purchase.
Ninebot’s purchase of Segway, based in New Hampshire, is the latest example of
a Chinese company acquiring foreign brands or technology. It’s also the latest
chapter for Segway, which has passed through several owners and generally
failed to live up to the great hype surrounding its launch in 2002. Segway
founder Dean Kamen famously promised that his invention would revolutionize
transportation, claiming it “will be to the car what the car was to the horse and
buggy.” But sales of the two-wheeler failed to take off and it earned a goofy
reputation thanks to some high-profile mishaps, including President George W.
Bush toppling over on one in 2003.
Japan,” he said.
Hiroshi Ohnishi, chief executive of the
Isetan-Mitsukoshi department store chain,
who heads the area’s tourism promotion, kept
referring to Godzilla with the very polite
honorific sama — used at the end of a name —
underlining respect for the creature as a
business-drawing landmark for the region.
The fire-breathing gojira — as it is
pronounced in Japanese, combining gorilla
and kujira, or “whale” — was born a genetic
aberration, caused by nuclear testing in the
Pacific Ocean.
The reptilian mutation also symbolized a
national trauma over the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World
War II.
The first Godzilla, directed by Ishiro Honda,
with both an unforgettable score and bestial
screech, is revered as a classic.
But in 2004, Toho announced it had made its
last Godzilla, the 28th in the series.
Toho’s reboot is set for release next year,
ahead of a sequel by Edwards for Legendary
Pictures and Warner Brothers, planned for
2018.
Over the years, Godzilla has demolished
Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge, the Parliament
building, and several castles in Japan, as well
as Golden Gate Bridge and other chunks of
San Francisco in the Hollywood version.
Shinjuku ward has not been spared, having
been flattened in three Toho movies. If God-
zilla chooses to return, it can now stomp on its
own giant head. But Ichikawa told reporters
where it will show up was still undecided.
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