Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
July 15, 2019
Deer at famed park in Japan die after eating plastic bags
TOKYO (AP) — Nine deer at a famed park in western Japan have died
recently after swallowing plastic bags. Nara Park has more than 1,000 deer, and
tourists can feed them special sugar-free crackers sold in shops nearby. The
crackers don’t come in plastic bags, but people still carry them. A veterinarian
says the deer may associate the plastic with food. The Nara Deer Preservation
Foundation says nine of the 14 deer that have died since March had plastic in
their stomachs. Masses of tangled plastic litter and packets of snacks were
retrieved from their stomachs, with the heaviest amount weighing 9.5 pounds.
Rie Maruko, a veterinarian who belongs to the animal conservation group, was
quoted by Kyodo News as saying the dead deer were so skinny he could feel their
bones. Deer have four-chambered stomachs and eating objects that can’t be
digested can leave them malnourished and weakened. Deer are traditionally a
messenger of gods in Japan’s native Shinto religion and roam freely in the park
in the capital city of Nara prefecture. Volunteers participated in a cleanup
campaign in the park in early July.
India’s economy likely to grow 7%, government says
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s government says the economy is expected to grow
at 7% in 2019-2020, up from a five-year low of 6.8% in the past year. Finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the economic report in parliament a
day before unveiling the annual federal budget. India’s financial year runs
April-March. Economic growth slowed to a five-year low of 5.8% in the
January-March quarter with consumer spending and corporate investment
faltering. Declining industrial output and automobile sales also raised fears of a
deeper slowdown. The ministry attributed the slowdown to national elections
and said higher economic growth is likely, with oil prices expected to decline in
coming months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing strong pressure to help
keep growth robust and create jobs for India’s 1.3 billion people.
More than 200 fall ill after eating at party for Imelda Marcos
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say more than 240
people were brought to hospitals due to suspected food poisoning at an event
celebrating the 90th birthday of former first lady Imelda Marcos. Bryant Wong,
a disaster-response officer, said dozens of ambulances transported at least 244
people who either vomited or grew dizzy hours after eating a breakfast of
chicken stew with egg and rice and drinking water in a sports center in suburban
Pasig city in metropolitan Manila. The incident cut short what was supposed to
be a daylong celebration by more than 2,000 Marcos followers. Marcos’s
husband, dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was ousted by a 1986 “people power”
revolt amid accusations of massive corruption and human-rights violations. He
died in Hawai‘i in 1989.
K-Pop star Park Yoo-chun given suspended sentence
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Park Yoo-chun, a former member of the South
Korean boy band JYJ, has received a 10-month suspended sentence for illegal
drug use. Suwon District Court also ordered the 33-year-old star to undergo
probation and drug treatment. The judge said in the ruling that drug crimes
should be harshly punished, but that Park had acknowledged his crime and was
remorseful. Yonhap news agency said Park was indicted in May on charges of
purchasing and injecting 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former
girlfriend. Park briefly teared up and apologized to his fans after leaving the
court following the sentence. Media reports said more than 50 South Korean and
Japanese fans filled the small courtroom.
Woman who took dog into mosque faces blasphemy case
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian woman who doctors say should
receive psychiatric treatment has been named a suspect in a blasphemy case
after taking a dog into a mosque. A video circulated online in Muslim-majority
Indonesia shows the dog running around a mosque in the West Java city of
Bogor while the woman is confronted by angry worshippers. Many Muslims
consider dogs to be impure. Bogor police chief Andi Mochammad Dicky Pastika
said the woman is a blasphemy suspect and an investigation is continuing.
Blasphemy is a criminal offense in Indonesia with a maximum penalty of five
years in prison. It was reported that the woman was detained at a police
hospital. The hospital says doctors are recommending her transfer to a
psychiatric facility. Amnesty International says the case is “unfortunate and
absurd.”
India eyes bigger investment in aviation, media, insurance
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government
has proposed heavy investments in infrastructure, the digital economy, and job
creation to lift a sluggish economy burdened with a 45-year-high unemployment
rate of 6.1%. Unveiling a draft budget after a major victory in national elections,
finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a bigger role for foreign direct
investment in aviation, media, and insurance. The government set a target for
the economy to grow to $5 trillion by 2025 from the present $2.7 trillion.
Sitharaman said it would reach $3 trillion by March next year. She told
parliament that India’s economy is now the sixth largest in the world. In terms of
purchasing power parity, it is the third largest after the United States and
China, she said. She also announced cash handouts for small farmers, a pension
scheme for informal workers, and a doubling of tax relief for the lower middle
class.
POOP PROPS. A woman jokingly poses with large poop-shaped figurines at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south
of Tokyo. Here, the poop is artificial, nothing like what would be in a toilet, and comes in twisty ice cream and cupcake
shapes, in all colors and sizes. “The poops are colorful and come out nicely in photos,” said Haruka Okubo, a student visit-
ing the part of the museum devoted to all-important selfies. “The shape is so round and cute.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Even poop is cute at Japanese
museum that encourages play
By Jae C. Hong
The Associated Press
Y
OKOHAMA, Japan — Japan’s culture
of cute makes no exceptions for poop. It
gets a pop twist at the Unko Museum in
Yokohama near Tokyo.
Here, the poop is artificial, nothing like what
would be in a toilet, and comes in twisty ice
cream and cupcake shapes, in all colors and
sizes.
“The poops are colorful and come out nicely
in photos,” said Haruka Okubo, a student
visiting part of the museum devoted to
all-important selfies. “The shape is so round
and cute.”
In Japan, little poop-shaped erasers with
faces and other small items have long been
popular items collected by children, and
sometimes older folks. As elsewhere,
scatological jokes are popular and bodily
functions discussed openly: a recent morning
variety show by public broadcaster NHK
featured tips on how to deal with farts.
Visitors to the museum get a short video
introduction and then are asked to sit on one of
seven colorful, non-functional toilets lined up
against the wall.
Music plays as a user pretends to poop, then
a brightly colored souvenir “poop” can be
collected from inside the toilet bowl, to be
taken home after the tour.
A ceiling-high poop sculpture in the main
hall erupts every 30 minutes, spitting out little
foam poops.
The “Unstagenic” area of Instagram-worthy
installations includes pastel-hued flying poops
and a neon sign with the word “poop” written
in different languages.
In another room, players use a projection-
Continued on page 8
Japan official to Kardashian West: Kimono belongs to Japan
By Haruka Nuga
The Associated Press
T
OKYO — Japan’s trade minister says
the kimono belongs to Japan — not to
Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear
brand.
West announced the line, Kimono
Solutionwear, in late June. But some
Japanese critics on social media said the
name, which the reality TV star, makeup
mogul, and budding lawyer trademarked, is an
inappropriate take on centuries-old kimono
clothing.
West tweeted that she would launch her
brand under a new name following careful
thought and consideration.
Japan’s trade minister, Hiroshige Seko, said
the kimono is globally known as belonging to
Japan, and urged U.S. trademark officials to
examine the case appropriately.
“Kimono is Japan’s cultural pride that we
boast to the world. Even in the United States,
kimono is highly recognized as a Japanese
thing,” Seko told reporters. “We hope the case
is examined appropriately to reflect the
purpose of the trademark system.”
Seko had said he would dispatch senior
officials to Washington for talks with U.S.
trademark officials.
The planned kimono brand also triggered a
backlash in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto,
home to many kimono makers and a popular
Continued on page 8
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84.49
4073.0
6.8796
2.1128
7.8239
68.574
13989
42076
107.98
8721.2
4.111
110.23
158.25
3.384
51.12
63.015
3.7504
1.3591
1177.6
175.5
31.04
30.94
23282