Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
October 15, 2018
Nintendo wins damage suit against Tokyo go-kart business
TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo says it has won damages in a lawsuit against a
Japanese business that rents go-karts for people to drive around in Super Mario
costumes. Nintendo said the Tokyo District Court ruled that Mari Mobility
Development must stop renting the Super Mario costumes and pay 10 million
yen ($89,000) in damages to Nintendo Co., the game maker behind the hit series.
Mari Mobility, previously MariCAR, acknowledged the ruling and said it was
considering an appeal. The name MariCAR was contested in Nintendo’s lawsuit,
which was filed last year, but the company changed it in March. The carts have
been popular, mostly with tourists from abroad, but their presence on busy
Tokyo streets raised safety concerns. The transportation ministry says seatbelts
and headrests were added to address those concerns.
South resumes supplying water in N. Korean border town
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is supplying water in the North
Korean border town of Kaesong using a facility in a now-shuttered factory park
that had been jointly operated by the rivals. South Korea’s Unification Ministry
said the water is being supplied to a liaison office between the countries that
opened in Kaesong in September and has been provided to the town’s residents
as well. The ministry says the resumption of water supply does not violate
international sanctions against the North over its nuclear weapons and missile
program. South Korea had shut down water and power supplies when it closed
the Kaesong factory park in February 2016 following a North Korean nuclear
test and long-range rocket launch.
HK to ban e-cigarettes, other new smoking products
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong plans to ban e-cigarettes and other new
smoking products to protect public health, the leader of the semi-autonomous
Chinese territory has said. Carrie Lam said in an annual policy address that her
government was drawing up proposed legislation to forbid the import,
manufacture, sale, distribution, and advertisement of products used in the
pastime known as vaping. E-cigarettes typically contain the stimulant nicotine
and there is little research on the long-term effects, including whether they help
smokers quit. The rise in teenagers using e-cigarettes has alarmed health
officials in the United States who worry users will become addicted and be more
likely to try cigarettes. The use of vaping devices has been widely criticized and
more than two dozen countries have already banned them. Worldwide, the
market for cigarettes is declining, although mainland China remains the largest
producer and consumer of tobacco products, with more than half of the country’s
men being regular smokers. In Hong Kong, bans on smoking in public places
have significantly reduced consumption and the mainland has followed in
recent years by forcing smokers outdoors. Lam’s speech focused on improving
the quality of life in Hong Kong, where education, healthcare, youth
employment, and the high cost of housing are key concerns. Among the new
policies announced is a plan to build new housing units that could provide homes
for more than 1 million people. Lam did not touch on controversial political
issues in the territory, where Beijing has increasingly tightened its grip since
Hong Kong’s 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule.
Tycoon going on SpaceX rocket says he trusts Musk
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese online retail tycoon who plans to travel to the
moon on the SpaceX rocket says he respects and trusts Elon Musk as a fellow
entrepreneur, despite his recent troubles. Zozo chief executive Yusaku Mae-
zawa told reporters he was impressed by Musk’s relationship with employees of
Tesla and SpaceX, but people need to be careful what they tweet. Musk’s tweet
in August that declared he had secured financing for a Tesla buyout got him in
trouble with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under a settle-
ment, Tesla and Musk each must pay a $20 million penalty. Musk also stepped
down as Tesla’s chairman. Maezawa is set to be a passenger on Musk’s Space X,
the first-ever private commercial space trip, scheduled for blastoff in 2023.
POPULATION PROGRESS. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, left, then-Prime Minister of Nepal
Madhav Kumar, center, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, attend the International Tiger Forum in St. Peters-
burg, Russia, in this November 23, 2010 file photo. The number of tigers roaming the jungles of Nepal has nearly doubled
because of initiatives from the government, conservationists, and local authorities who have worked for years to increase
the tiger population in the Himalayan nation, according to an official. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
Nepal says its tiger population
has almost doubled from 2009
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The number
of tigers roaming the jungles of Nepal has
nearly doubled because of initiatives from the
government, conservationists, and local
authorities who have worked for years to
increase the tiger population in the
Himalayan nation, an official said.
Gopal Prakash Bhattarai of the Department
of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
said that the latest tiger count showed there
were 235 tigers in the jungles — almost twice
as many as the 121 that were found in 2009.
Philippine president: Tests show “I’m not yet cancerous”
By Jim Gomez
The Associated Press
ANILA, The Philippines — Philip-
pine President Rodrigo Duterte says
medical tests show he doesn’t have
cancer, but added that he won’t release a
detailed report on his health.
“I’m not yet cancerous, so do not be afraid to
go near me. I will not contaminate you,” the
73-year-old leader told a journalist in jest
during a news conference. When asked if
tissue samples taken from him tested negative
for cancer, the president nodded.
Interior officer in charge Eduardo Ano
earlier told reporters that Duterte announced
his test results at a cabinet meeting, eliciting
applause from top officials. Ano said the
president looked well and attended back-to-
back meetings that day.
“We can drink now, really. I’ll give you a run
for your money,” Duterte told a journalist. He
denied speculation that he flew to Hong Kong
to seek treatment, saying he went there with
M
his family to buy larger clothes because he had
gained weight.
Duterte said in a speech that he might have
cancer and was awaiting test results, adding to
growing uncertainty about his health.
Duterte failed to hold a scheduled cabinet
meeting and skipped another ceremony,
leading to speculation that he had been
hospitalized. His spokesman, Harry Roque,
denied that.
Rumors have swirled since last year that
Duterte might have a serious illness. Duterte
and his aides, however, have given assurances
that he’s generally fit, although he had said in
recent months that he had grown tired of
politics, including deeply entrenched govern-
ment corruption and the country’s drug
problem.
Duterte took office in June 2016 for a
six-year term. He is known for his deadly
crackdown on illegal drugs, which has drawn
international condemnation.
He has said in the past that he has various
Continued on page 4
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Bishop: Possible pope trip to North Korea “a gigantic step”
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A South Korean bishop says a visit by Pope Francis to
North Korea would mark a “gigantic step” for peace on the peninsula but also
said there are many issues about religious freedom that must be resolved. South
Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to relay North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un’s invitation for Francis to visit the atheist country when Moon meets
with Francis. The bishop of Daejeon, South Korea, Monsignor Lazarus You
Heung-sik, told Vatican reporters that it would be “beautiful” if Francis could
visit but that “some things must change” — a reference to the lack of priests or
religious freedom in the North. But he added: “If the pope goes there he will
make a gigantic step, a qualitative step for the Korean peninsula.”
Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Kelaiah Erickson
Units per U.S. dollar as of 10/12
(Key-lay or Mrs. Erickson)
Funeral & Cemetery
Arrangement Specialist
(971) 407-3243
Kelaiah.Erickson@DignityMemorial.com
Lincoln Memorial Park & Funeral Home
11801 S.E. Mt. Scott Blvd.
Portland, OR 97086
Canada revokes Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary citizenship
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s parliament has formally stripped Aung
San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship for complicity in the
atrocities committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya people. The senate voted
unanimously to strip Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader, of the symbolic honor
bestowed on her in 2007. The upper house’s move follows a similar unanimous
vote in the House of Commons. Suu Kyi is the first person to have her honorary
Canadian citizenship revoked. A United Nations fact-finding mission reported
in September that Myanmar’s military has systematically killed thousands of
Rohingya civilians, burned hundreds of their villages, and engaged in ethnic
cleansing and mass gang rape. It called for top generals to be investigated and
prosecuted for genocide.
“Even the nation’s prime minister is
involved and he heads the National Tiger
Conservation Committee,” Bhattarai said,
adding that there has been better security in
the conservation areas and awareness among
the people living near these locations.
Leaders of nations with tiger populations
met in 2010 and pledged to double the number
by 2022.
Bhattarai said Nepal is already heading in
that direction and could be among the first
nations to meet the goal.
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Volunteer to help Portland area
seniors get the groceries they
need.
Lear
ore at:
StoretoDoorofOrego .org/volu teer/
.
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79.004
4058.6
6.918
2.0871
7.8359
73.548
15209
42025
112.04
8531.2
4.1509
118.35
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23270