Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2023)
ASIA / PACIFIC March 6, 2023 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5 Japanese startup unveils balloon flight space viewing tours By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — A Japanese startup has announced plans to launch commercial space viewing balloon flights that it hopes will bring an otherwise astronomically expensive experience down to Earth. Company CEO Keisuke Iwaya said passengers do not need to be billionaires, go through intense training, or have the language skills needed to fly in a rocket. “It’s safe, economical, and gentle for people,” Iwaya told reporters. “The idea is to make space tourism for everyone.” He said he wants to “democratize space.” The company, Iwaya Giken, based in Sapporo in northern Japan, has been working on the project since 2012 and says it has developed an airtight two-seat cabin and a balloon capable of rising up to an altitude of 15 miles, where the curve of the Earth can be clearly viewed. While passengers won’t be in outer space — the balloon only goes up to roughly the middle of the stratosphere — they’ll be higher than a jet plane flies and have an unobstructed view of outer space. The company teamed up with major Japanese travel agency JTB Corp., which announced plans to collaborate on the project when the company is ready for a commercial trip. Initially, a flight would cost about 24 million yen ($180,000), but Iwaya said he aims to eventually bring it down to several million yen (tens of thousands of dollars). While Japanese space ventures have fallen behind U.S. companies like SpaceX, Iwaya said his aim is to make space more reachable. SpaceX launched three rich business- men and their astronaut escort to the T International Space Station in April for $55 million each — the company’s first private charter flight to the orbiting lab after two years of carrying astronauts there for NASA. But unlike a rocket or a hot air balloon, the Iwaya Giken vessel will be lifted by helium that can be largely reused, company officials said, and flights will safely stay above Japanese territory or airspace. The first trip is planned as early as later this year. LOFTY VIEWS. A Japanese entertainer, Arisa Kuroda, boards a two-seat cabin that a startup com- pany says is capable of rising to an altitude of 15 miles, which is roughly the middle of the stratosphere, during a news conference in Tokyo on February 21, 2023. The Japanese startup has announced plans to launch a commercial space viewing balloon flight that it hopes will bring down to Earth an otherwise astro- nomically expensive experience. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The balloon, which can carry a pilot and a passenger, would take off from a balloon port in Hokkaido, rise for two hours to as high as 15 miles, and stay there for one hour before a one-hour descent. The drum-shaped plastic cabin is 4.9 feet in diameter and has several large windows to allow a view of space above or the Earth below, the company said. Applications for a space viewing ride opened in February and will continue through the end of August. The first five passengers selected will be announced in October, company officials said, and flights will be approximately a week apart, depending on the weather. Hong Kong bans CBD, forcing businesses to shut or revamp By Kanis Leung The Associated Press ONG KONG — Hong Kong has banned CBD as a “dangerous drug” and imposed harsh penal- ties for its possession, forcing fledging businesses to shut down or revamp. Supporters say CBD, or cannabidiol, derived from the cannabis plant, can help relieve stress and inflammation without getting its users high, unlike its more famous cousin THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana which has long been illegal in Hong Kong. CBD was once legal in the city, and cafés and shops selling CBD-infused products were popu- H lar among young people. But all that has changed with the prohi- bition, which took effect in early February but had been announced by the govern- ment last year. CBD-related businesses have closed down while others have strug- gled to remodel. Consumers dumped what they saw as a cure for their ailments into special collection boxes set up around the city. The new rule reflects a zero-tolerance policy toward dangerous drugs in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous southern Chi- nese business hub, as well as in mainland China, where CBD was banned in 2022. The city maintains several categories of “dangerous drugs,” which include “hard drugs” such as heroin and cocaine. In explaining the policy change, the Hong Kong government cited the difficulty of isolating pure CBD from cannabis, the possibility of contamination with THC during the production process, and the relative ease by which CBD can be converted to THC. Customs authorities are working to do more to educate residents to help them un- derstand that CBD is prohibited in Hong Kong even though it is legal elsewhere. With the law, possession of CBD can result in up to seven years in jail and a 1 Continued on page 8 Questions about your health care? e? Find us in your neighborhood. MARCH 6 MARCH 20 Cultivate Initiatives 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lents Park Cultivate Initiatives 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lents Park MARCH 7 MARCH 21 Resource Center 9-11 a.m. 650 NW Irving St, Portland River District Navigation Center 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. 1111 NW Naito Pkwy, Portland Jean’s Place (for residents only) 1:30-3:30 p.m. 18 NE 11th Ave, Portland Portland Open Bible Food Pantry 5-7 p.m. 3223 SE 92nd Ave, Portland Nightstrike 7:30-9:30 p.m. Under the Burnside Bridge Street Roots 9-10:30 a.m. 211 NW Davis St, Portland Cultivate Initiatives 11-2 p.m. 660 SE 160th Ave, Portland Nightstrike 7:30-9:30 p.m. Under the Burnside Bridge MARCH 13 MARCH 25 Clark Center (for residents only) 9-11 a.m. 1437 SE MLK Blvd, Portland Doreen’s Place (for residents only) 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. 610 NW Broadway St, Portland Love Your Neighbor 12-2 p.m. 526 SE Grand Ave, Portland MARCH 9 MARCH 14 Cultivate Initiatives 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 247 SE 82nd Ave, Portland Union Gospel Mission 2-3 p.m. 3 NW 3rd Ave, Portland careoregon.org/connect-to-care MARCH 23 MARCH 27 Clark Center 9-11 a.m. 1437 SE MLK Blvd, Portland Doreen’s Place (for residents only) 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 610 NW Broadway St, Portland connect to care