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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2016)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC July 4, 2016 City in Japan offering public funds to freeze women’s eggs URAYASU, Japan (AP) — A Tokyo suburb will help women cover the cost of freezing their eggs in a pilot program aimed at tackling the nation’s declining birth rate. The Japanese city of Urayasu is allocating 90 million yen ($850,000) over three years to fund the research project conducted by Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital. The hospital hopes that preserving the eggs will encourage women to give birth when they are ready instead of giving up having children. Dr. Iwaho Kikuchi of the hospital said that using public funds to support this kind of study may be a first in the world. Chinese supercomputer tops list of fastest computers again BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese supercomputer has topped a list of the world’s fastest computers again this year, and for the first time the winning system uses Chinese-designed processors instead of U.S. technology. Researchers in the United States and Germany who maintain the TOP500 ranking said the latest unit to top the speed list is the Sunway TaihuLight developed by China’s National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology. It displaced Tianhe-2, another Chinese computer that held the top ranking for the past six years. Supercomputers, long a field dominated by the United States, are used for weather forecasting, designing nuclear weapons, and other specialized purposes. The Sunway TaihuLight was built entirely with proc- essors designed and produced in China. The Tianhe-2 uses chips manufactured by Intel Corp. Diners at Michelin-starred Japan eatery get food poisoning TOKYO (AP) — A Michelin-starred restaurant in Japan closed temporarily after 14 people got food poisoning from a fancy Japanese-style meal. The Kanagawa prefectural government said six men and eight women complained of diarrhea and stomach pains after eating at Kita Kamakura Saryo Gentoan on June 11. The restaurant’s menu offerings included squid, jelly with sea urchin, pumpkin cooked with fish, eel, and sweets, according to the prefecture. A picturesque restaurant among the trees of Kamakura, a coastal town south of Tokyo, it is known for serving meals in quiet Japanese-style rooms. It serves kaiseki, or small, multiple-course dishes, and has one star in the latest Michelin guide. The restaurant closed on its own June 14. The prefecture’s closure order was lifted, although the cause of the food poisoning remained under investigation, prefecture official Takeshi Ishihara said. Cambodia to expel Taiwanese scam suspects to China PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia plans to deport 21 Taiwanese arrested for suspected fraud to China instead of the self-ruled island. Gen. Ouk Haiseila, chief of the Interior Ministry’s Immigration Investigation Bureau, said the Taiwanese citizens, along with 14 Chinese also arrested this month, were sent to China because Cambodia regards Taiwan as part of China. Those arrested allegedly defrauded victims in China using phone calls made over the internet, making them harder to trace. China claims jurisdiction in such cases because it says the victims are residents of mainland China. Kenya and Malaysia have also deported Taiwanese internet scam suspects to China despite protests by Taiwanese officials. Dozens of Nepal docs arrested for alleged false papers KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — In a nationwide crackdown on medical charlatans, Nepalese police have arrested 53 people for allegedly working as doctors with fake credentials or false education certificates and said more suspects would be arrested. Weekend raids at reputed hospitals, health clinics, and medical schools across the Himalayan nation ended with police handcuffing 36 white-coated men and women and taking them away while patients and medical staff looked on. Another 17 were arrested in February when authorities began the investigation, called “Operation Quack.” The suspects — believed to have presented phony practicing licenses or fake medical degrees when applying for work — are being charged with forgery and face up to five years in prison if convicted, according to Central Investigation Bureau official Dibesh Lohani. While a group representing Nepalese doctors protested the indignity of the raids, patients said they were appalled and angry about the scandal — even afraid to seek treatment after learning that some doctors had been entrusted to practice medicine despite not meeting the training requirements. Another patient at Bir, visibly shaken by the scandal, also said the bogus doctors should be prosecuted. Nepal has long had a deficit of doctors, with just 17,000 trained and qualified for the whole country, or just one doctor for every 1,700 people. As a result, many who live in remote areas or who cannot afford access to medical care still rely on traditional healers or village quacks. Three men detained in latest Chinese air rage incidents BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police have detained a man over an attack on an airline check-in clerk that left her lying in a pool of blood and arrested two others who charged the cockpit as their flight was taxiing for takeoff. The incidents are the latest in a series of dangerous acts involving Chinese airline travellers who have developed a reputation for occasionally being difficult and sometimes violent. A statement from the Civil Aviation Administration of China said two men aboard a Hainan Airlines flight demanded to be upgraded to business class as their flight was taxiing, fought with a member of the cabin crew and a passenger, and pounded on the cockpit door. Another passenger was ordered detained for 10 days after attacking the clerk with a brass plaque. INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY. Indian youth perform yoga at an event to celebrate International Yoga Day near Victoria Memorial, the iconic heritage landmark in Kolkata, India, on June 21, 2016. Millions of yoga enthusiasts bent their bodies in complex postures across India while taking part in a mass yoga program to mark the second International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Twist and Om: Millions exercise together for global Yoga Day By Saurabh Das The Associated Press C HANDIGARH, India — Millions of people twisted their bodies in complex positions in celebration of Interna- tional Yoga Day. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a crowd of 30,000 schoolchildren and other residents of the northern city of Chandigarh for a mass yoga session. Before starting, Modi urged people to make yoga a part of their lives, saying the practice — which began in ancient India — doesn’t differentiate between the rich and poor, and is accessible to all. “With zero budget, yoga provides health assurance and it does not discriminate between rich and poor,” Modi told participants at the event. Similar yoga events were held in villages, towns, and cities all over India. Last year, the United Nations proclaimed June 21 as Inter- national Day of Yoga. At the United Nations in New York, various yoga poses were projected on a side wall of the U.N. headquarters building to highlight the role yoga can play in helping the U.N. achieve its sustainable development goals. The day was celebrated outside the U.N. building with a demonstration by Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru, and a musical incantation. Thousands of people gathered in New York’s Times Square to celebrate the summer solstice by doing downward dogs. Yoga classes were held all day amid the chaos of Midtown. Many believe that practicing yoga is the best way to calm the mind and the best form of exercise for the body. In New Delhi, hundreds of thousands gathered at several venues where mass yoga exercises were organized by the government in parks and in a central plaza. N. Korea warns freed U.S. missionary to stop criticizing it SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it won’t negotiate to release arrested American citizens if a former detainee doesn’t stop using what it called slanderous language about the North. American missionary Kenneth Bae, who was freed by North Korea in 2014 along with another imprisoned American, has written a book about his detention and given media interviews in which he described the treatment he received. Bae had been serving a 15-year sentence with hard labor for alleged anti-state activities. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described Bae as a “filthy object” and a “Judas” who betrayed the North’s humanitarian gesture. It also accused the U.S. government of supporting critics of North Korea like Bae to arouse hostility toward the North. North Korea is extremely sensitive about any criticism of its leadership and political system. It is known to hold two other Ameri- cans for alleged espionage, subversion, and other activities. KCNA said North Korea will not hold negotiations for the release of other American Continued on page 5 Retirement Living . Studio & One-Bedroom Apartments . Dining Room, Beauty and Barber Shop . 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Kina · · Philippine Peso· · · Russian Ruble · · · Saudi Riyal· · · · · Singapore Dollar · · South Korean Won · Sri Lankan Rupee · Taiwan Dollar · · · Thai Baht · · · · · Vietnam Dong · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 78.325 4084.0 6.6597 2.0777 7.7581 67.32 13115 30589 102.6 8096.5 3.9983 107.75 104.72 3.1646 46.947 64.025 3.7512 1.3431 1145.1 146.0 32.213 35.06 22300