Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
January 4, 2016
Australia leader disappointed in Japan’s return to whaling
TOKYO (AP) — Australia’s leader has said his country is “very disappointed”
with Japan’s decision to resume whaling in Antarctic waters. Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull, on his first visit to Japan since taking the helm in Septem-
ber, wants to strengthen Australia-Japan ties, but also faces pressure at home to
confront Japan on the whaling issue. “Australia is very disappointed that Japan
has resumed whaling in the Southern Ocean this year,” he told reporters in
Tokyo. “We will, as good friends should, be upfront and frank about our differ-
ences of opinion.” Japan stopped whaling last year after an international court
ruled against its program, which is ostensibly for scientific research. Since then,
Japan has revised its Antarctic whaling program to reduce the maximum catch
to 333 minke whales, about one-third of its previous quota. A fleet of whaling
ships set out at the beginning of December for a scaled-down, three-month hunt.
Former top leader of Chinese city admits guilt
BEIJING (AP) — A former top official for China’s prosperous southern city of
Guangzhou wept in court as he confessed to taking $17 million in bribes,
according to court reports. The Nanning Intermediate People’s Court said in a
written statement that Wan Qingliang raised no objection to the corruption
charge and showed remorse when he stood trial. The court will announce the
verdict later. It said Wan took the bribes from 15 companies and individuals
from 2000 to 2014, when he served in various government positions in
Guangdong. Wan last served as the party chief for Guangzhou, one of the most
prosperous cities in China. As the party chief, he ranked above the mayor and
was the city’s most senior official. He came under investigation in 2014 amid a
widening anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping,
who came into power in early 2013.
Philippine priest rebuked for riding hoverboard during mass
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Philippine Roman Catholic Church
officials have reprimanded a priest for riding a hoverboard and singing a song
during Christmas Eve mass. The Diocese of San Pablo, south of Manila, said the
Rev. Albert San Jose apologized for his action, which was caught on video and
widely shared on YouTube. The video shows the priest in a white cassock gliding
up and down the church’s aisles on the two-wheeled electric scooter while
singing a Christmas song. Some members of the surprised congregation applaud
as he pivots and moves backward. The performance came just before the final
blessing in the mass at the church in Binan city in Laguna province. “That was
wrong,” the diocese said in a statement, emphasizing that celebrating the mass
is the church’s “highest form” of worship and “demands utmost respect and
reverence. … It is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously
introduce something to get the attention of the people,” it said. Philippine
church officials have urged priests to live simply and humbly as they minister to
the poor in the Asian bastion of Catholicism, especially under the leadership of
Pope Francis, who is known for his frugal lifestyle.
Toyota head resigns from Tokyo Olympic committee
TOKYO (AP) — The head of Toyota Motor Corp. has stepped down as vice
president of the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The
committee announced the resignation of Akio Toyoda in December. He is
expected to be replaced by the president of Panasonic, Kazuhiro Tsuga. A Tokyo
Olympic official told reporters that Toyoda may have been concerned about
serving on both committees, since the organizers are seeking support from the
business community. Toyoda said in a statement that he decided to reorganize
his roles to intensify his efforts to encourage business support for the 2020
Games. He said he is “looking forward to forging even closer ties between the
organizing committee and Japan’s business community.”
China names and shames five tourists over bad behavior
BEIJING (AP) — China’s tourism authority has named and shamed another
five tourists for bad behavior and says it is working with airlines on a possible
flying ban. Those added to the list of “uncivilized behavior” by tourists include
two women and a man who brawled after one woman’s seat was bumped during
boarding of a flight from Cambodia to the western city of Chengdu. The three
were forcibly removed from the plane under captain’s orders and the flight was
delayed for one hour, the China National Tourism Administration said. Another
man was listed after he was arrested in Japan for assaulting a convenience store
clerk whom he accused of disrespecting his wife. The last was a woman who
attacked her tour guide with hot tea after learning the price of her son’s ticket to
a western China scenic site was not included in the package. Their names and a
description of their alleged misbehavior were entered onto the administration’s
list and will remain there for one to three years. Over that period, they can be
refused service by travel agents, airlines, hotels, and scenic sites. In a further
step, the administration said it was working with major Chinese airlines on
“enacting definite restrictive measures” against those on the list, which
currently includes 16 names in total. The government has grown concerned
about the negative impact on China’s image stemming from numerous incidents
of bad behavior by Chinese tourists at home and abroad, ranging from fighting
with air crews to defacing cultural artifacts. Social-media platforms have spread
descriptions and video clips of the incidents, prompting widespread derision
among the public and occasional online campaigns to identify the perpetrators.
Rising incomes, relaxed regulations, and cheap flights have permitted record
numbers of Chinese to travel in recent years. Among other frequent complaints
are line-cutting, smoking where banned, littering, and fouling public toilets.
DESIGN DECISION. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, right, and Japan Sport Council chairman Kazumi Ohigashi
pose for photographers after a press conference in Tokyo. Japan has chosen a scaled-down design for the main stadium
for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, five months after scrapping the initial design and construction plan for being too costly.
Kuma’s new design will still cost 153 billion yen ($1.26 billion) to design, build, and maintain. The initial stadium
proposal would have cost 252 billion yen ($2.1 billion). (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Japan picks new design for
Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
OKYO — Japan has chosen a scaled-
down design for the main stadium for
the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, five months
after scrapping the initial design and
construction plan for being too costly.
The new design, by Japanese architect
Kengo Kuma, will still cost 153 billion yen
($1.26 billion) to design, build, and maintain.
The initial stadium proposal would have cost
252 billion yen ($2.1 billion), which would have
made it the most expensive stadium ever built.
Kuma’s combined steel and wood structure,
with a relatively flat roof with shrubbery along
its outer concourses, echoes traditional temple
designs. It stands 164 feet tall, with the track
and field below ground level.
“This is a wonderful plan which meets the
basic vision in the new construction plan and
requirements for construction period and the
budget,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in
announcing the choice.
The announcement was a major step for
organizers, who were forced to start over on a
new design less than five years before the 2020
Games.
The scrapping of the initial stadium plan
forced the 2019 Rugby World Cup to change
venues, and the late change had raised
concerns about whether it could even be
completed in time for the Olympics.
Organizers also had to deal with a
plagiarism scandal over the logo for the event,
and an investigation found backroom dealings
T
Retirement
in the selection process.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told
reporters that the design selection process was
more transparent than that for the previous
stadium plan, and also addressed the main
problems: cost and post-Olympic use.
The winning project will be led by major
construction company Taisei Corp. Lead archi-
tect Kuma, known for his Japanese aesthetic,
also designed Tokyo’s kabuki theater, which
was renewed in 2013.
Officials said the design won by a small
margin over the alternative plan led by
architect Toyo Ito and three construction com-
panies: Takenaka, Shimizu, and Obayashi.
Suga said Kuma’s plan was superior
because of its ample environmental considera-
tion and a possibility of shrinking the
construction period.
The original plan by British-Iraqi architect
Zaha Hadid was criticized for its massive cost
and scale.
Hadid said Japan’s scrapping of her plan
was “shocking” and that she said it was not
about design or budget.
“In fact, much of our two years of detailed
design work and the cost savings we
recommended have been validated by the
remarkable similarities of our original
detailed stadium layout and our seating bowl
configuration with those of the design
announced today,” she said in a statement to
The Associated Press.
Associated Press writer Ken
Moritsugu contributed to this report.
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