The Japan Times: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009
DPJ heavyweight's clout seen eclipsing Hatoyama's
By ALEX MARTIN
Staff writer
The Democratic Party of Japan's oldest lawmaker recently had a few bitter words for his old friend, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa.
Speaking in Fukuoka earlier this month, Kozo Watabe criticized what he considered the monopolization of party authority in Ozawa's hands.
"If Mr. Ozawa says turn right, we turn right. If he says turn left, we turn left. And if he says five plus five is 15, then we just have to say, 'Yes, sir,' " Watabe said.
Although the 77-year-old veteran lawmaker was apparently unhappy with Ozawa's decision not to reappoint him as the party's top adviser, his comments did provide a glimpse into how Ozawa almost single-handedly dictates policy, trying to reform the way politics are done.
But his top-down management isn't open to criticism, and his overwhelming authority over the DPJ has led many to fear Ozawa's influence may undermine the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the party's president.
There are already signs.
When the Government Revitalization Unit recruited 32 lawmakers as part of a team of inspectors tasked with examining and recommending cuts in unnecessary state budget expenditures, Ozawa muscled in and demanded first-term lawmakers be excluded, drastically cutting their ranks and in the process highlighting Hatoyama's lack of leadership.
"Even after being a lawmaker for 40 years, I still find it difficult to examine fat budget documents — besides, the party was unaware of the entire process," Ozawa said in an Oct. 26 press conference on his reasons for keeping junior ranks out.
The incident was evidence that Ozawa not only had assumed control of the DPJ, but also had a say in government personnel decisions.
In a recent article for the quarterly journal Bungei Shunju, political commentator Takashi Tachibana expressed concern over Ozawa's increasing clout, and compared his dictatorial style to that of Ozawa's Liberal Democratic Party mentor, the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, one of postwar Japan's most powerful, and scandal-tainted, politicians. Known as the "shadow shogun," Tanaka's behind-the-scenes clout lasted long after his prime ministership ended.
But with the entry of some 140 freshmen lawmakers who rode the DPJ's tidal wave into power in the Aug. 30 election, and who owe their success to Ozawa, his political influence now even dwarfs Tanaka's. "Ozawa has now assumed command of the nation's future," Tachibana wrote.
Even though Ozawa was forced by financial scandal to give up the DPJ presidency last spring, and faces fresh allegations of receiving illegal political donations, his influence seems to be on an ever-increasing upward trajectory.
He recently ruled that all petitions directed from municipalities to the government be channeled through the DPJ secretary general's office instead of having their targeted ministries handle them.
Ozawa said this "reform" was intended to prevent various organizations from directly petitioning ministries — a practice that often led to cozy ties between bureaucrats and politicians with vested interests.
"Petitions taken directly to the central bureaucracy via political connections contravene our goal of decentralizing power," Ozawa said this month.
While significantly hiking the authority of his office, the petition rerouting simultaneously serves to bolster the DPJ's control over municipal organizations — key vote-generating machines — ahead of next summer's Upper House poll, in which the party aims to win a majority on its own.
But while such tactics may boost the DPJ's chances of winning elections, experts warn it is essential that Ozawa not become a "back seat driver" who pulls the strings behind the scenes and is immune from responsibility.
Hidekazu Kawai, honorary professor at Gakushuin University, said that considering Ozawa's background and political expertise, it was only natural that he assumed command of the party — especially with most of the other DPJ heavyweights in the Cabinet.
Ozawa — a '90s defector from the LDP — was the point man when it came to whittling away the LDP's traditional support base ahead of the last poll, and is doing likewise for the coming Upper House election, and Hatoyama thus has no choice but to rely on him, Kawai said.
But unless the administration can find a way to hold Ozawa accountable, he could become the next shadow shogun, calling the shots without ever having to take any responsibility for the government's actions, Kawai said, adding the key to the political situation will be whether the kingmaker can be held to account.
Ozawa's rapid changes in the way the government does business are having side effects. Since the DPJ abolished the policy research council, lawmakers who aren't part of the government apparatus are having a hard time getting their voices heard.
Out of the 419 DPJ lawmakers, 160 have been assigned to either government, party or Diet posts, leaving more than 200 with time on their hands.
A rookie DPJ lawmaker, who declined to be named, recently said he was still unsure how he could be involved in policy decisions, voicing hope that a way can be paved for young lawmakers' opinions to be reflected in policymaking.
"It's as if we're only here to vote (on) bills," he said.
But Koichi Nakano, political science professor at Sophia University, said that while it was unlikely Ozawa will loosen his grip on power, he also believed the media might be going overboard with his image as a backroom fixer.
Despite fears of Ozawa's influence, there's a limit to how far his authority can stretch, he said, adding, "After all, he's neither the prime minister nor the president of the DPJ. He can't possibly assume complete control."
(C) All rights reserved
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tariff sinks Japan used car biz in Vladivostok
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Kyodo) Russia's used vehicle import business has been hit hard by an increase in the tariff on imported vehicles to protect the domestic automobile industry.
In Vladivostok, where most Japanese used vehicles enter Russia — the secondhand vehicle business is regarded as the city's largest industry — unemployment and bankruptcies are mounting.
"The time of the Japanese-made used vehicle business is over," said Igor Lyakhta, 42, president of a company that has sold vehicles in Vladivostok for more than 10 years. His company sold 300 vehicles a month on average last year, but this year the number has plunged to 30 after the tariff was raised last January.
The number of used vehicles imported from Japan in the first eight months of this year plunged around 90 percent from the year before. In major cities in the Russian Far East, almost all of the vehicles running are Japanese made, unlike in Moscow, where vehicles produced by European and American automakers are conspicuous.
According to Lyakhta, the tariff hike and the global financial crisis since last fall in combination with a strong yen and weak ruble have raised the open market price of used Japanese vehicles by 30 percent to 60 percent. Secondhand Japanese vehicles, which have been highly popular, are now out of reach for ordinary people.
The spacious Green Corner used vehicle lot on a hill overlooking Vladivostok port displayed 10,000 vehicles in good times. Now there are only around 4,000. Potential buyers are rare and dealers are at their wits' end.
A man identifying himself only as Iliya, 37, who sold secondhand vehicles for eight years until last December, became a taxi driver after the tariff hike.
"Vehicles bring happiness to people. The rise in the tariff rate only destroys life in the Far East," he said.
During the Soviet era, Vladivostok was closed to foreigners. The largest industry in the area is said to be the Japanese used vehicle-related business, which developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Of the city's population of about 600,000, around 100,000 are believed to be engaged in vehicle-related businesses, including sales, transportation, repairs, parts and washing. Since the tariff was raised, unemployment has shot through the roof.
The Russian government is planning to introduce a technical standard that will virtually ban imports of right-hand drive Japanese vehicles next September. Imports of left-hand drive European and American vehicles will continue.
A government official said that in Russia, where traffic drives on the right, right-hand drive vehicles are liable to cause accidents.
A Japanese government source described the regulation as a protectionist measure, saying, "If Russia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, it will be sued without fail."
The planned regulation is reportedly the result of lobbying by Russia's automobile industry to get rid of Japanese-made vehicles.
"European and American automakers appear to regard this as the best chance to expel Japanese imported vehicles from Russia," a Japanese industry source said.
A Japanese businessman involved in the secondhand vehicle business in Russia said: "Right-hand drive vehicles will have the life choked out of them if they are banned. We will have to increase handling of products other than automobiles."
The Japan Times: Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009
(C) All rights reserved
In Vladivostok, where most Japanese used vehicles enter Russia — the secondhand vehicle business is regarded as the city's largest industry — unemployment and bankruptcies are mounting.
"The time of the Japanese-made used vehicle business is over," said Igor Lyakhta, 42, president of a company that has sold vehicles in Vladivostok for more than 10 years. His company sold 300 vehicles a month on average last year, but this year the number has plunged to 30 after the tariff was raised last January.
The number of used vehicles imported from Japan in the first eight months of this year plunged around 90 percent from the year before. In major cities in the Russian Far East, almost all of the vehicles running are Japanese made, unlike in Moscow, where vehicles produced by European and American automakers are conspicuous.
According to Lyakhta, the tariff hike and the global financial crisis since last fall in combination with a strong yen and weak ruble have raised the open market price of used Japanese vehicles by 30 percent to 60 percent. Secondhand Japanese vehicles, which have been highly popular, are now out of reach for ordinary people.
The spacious Green Corner used vehicle lot on a hill overlooking Vladivostok port displayed 10,000 vehicles in good times. Now there are only around 4,000. Potential buyers are rare and dealers are at their wits' end.
A man identifying himself only as Iliya, 37, who sold secondhand vehicles for eight years until last December, became a taxi driver after the tariff hike.
"Vehicles bring happiness to people. The rise in the tariff rate only destroys life in the Far East," he said.
During the Soviet era, Vladivostok was closed to foreigners. The largest industry in the area is said to be the Japanese used vehicle-related business, which developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Of the city's population of about 600,000, around 100,000 are believed to be engaged in vehicle-related businesses, including sales, transportation, repairs, parts and washing. Since the tariff was raised, unemployment has shot through the roof.
The Russian government is planning to introduce a technical standard that will virtually ban imports of right-hand drive Japanese vehicles next September. Imports of left-hand drive European and American vehicles will continue.
A government official said that in Russia, where traffic drives on the right, right-hand drive vehicles are liable to cause accidents.
A Japanese government source described the regulation as a protectionist measure, saying, "If Russia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, it will be sued without fail."
The planned regulation is reportedly the result of lobbying by Russia's automobile industry to get rid of Japanese-made vehicles.
"European and American automakers appear to regard this as the best chance to expel Japanese imported vehicles from Russia," a Japanese industry source said.
A Japanese businessman involved in the secondhand vehicle business in Russia said: "Right-hand drive vehicles will have the life choked out of them if they are banned. We will have to increase handling of products other than automobiles."
The Japan Times: Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009
(C) All rights reserved
Korea builds city of the future - today
CITY SENSE By Paulo Alcazaren (The Philippine Star)
Updated November 21, 2009 12:00 AM
Songdo International City in Incheon, South Korea, is the world’s newest city. It was created to establish a new standard of smart urban development that is environmentally sustainable, blessed with parks and open spaces and networked in the latest communication technology.
I just visited the place and it is not just another hyped-up destination. These audacious Koreans, working in tandem with American developers and a world leader in networking technology, Cisco, have made what seems like a futuristic dream on paper into a pulsating reality.
Korea has built itself up from the ravages of war into one of the world’s leading economic powers. One of the original Asian Tigers emerging in the 1980s, it has since kept pace with the rest of the globe. It has also not rested on its substantial laurels. From cell phones to cars and LCD screens and telenovelas, Korea leads the way.
My visit to Songdo City made me realize that it also wants to lead the way in other areas of innovation. Understanding that the future of the world lies in cities and their interconnectedness, authorities here embarked on an experiment in cutting-edge city building.
Songdo City is an expansion of the city of Incheon, which itself is part of the large metropolitan conurbation of Seoul. It is already the site of the country’s premier new airport, a complex that rivals similar facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Songdo International City is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (1FEZ). In 2000, authorities realized that the existing city of Incheon, 40 kilometers from Seoul, did not have enough land area to accommodate expansion, so over 200 hectares of land was reclaimed from the sea — over 200 square kilometers or about half the size of Metro Manila!
Three clusters of development are being planned: Yeongjong Aeropolis (138.3 square kilometers) containing the airport, an industrial, design and logistics center; Cheongna Leisure City (17.7 square kilometers), which will house eco-friendly financial and high-tech centers along with tourism facilities that will be a portal to 150 islands off the coast, and Robotland, a giant theme park, featuring, you guessed it — robots; and finally Songdo International City, which is the first of the three clusters to be started and is now partially complete and operational.
I went to the city to attend the Sustainable Cities of the Future Conference, jointly organized by the City of Incheon and Cisco. The conference highlighted the amazing technologies being embedded into the city to address urban needs like safety and security, healthcare, intelligent buildings and green energy.
The Philippine delegation stayed, along with other country representatives in the central Songdo Business District. The district is a masterpiece of urban design currently being developed by Cisco and its partner, the American real estate giant Gale International, in cooperation with the Songdo, Incheon government. Gale’s planners and architects were the multi-awarded American firm of Kohn Petersen Fox (KPF).
Cisco toured us around the new city (which was all just water a few years ago), visiting the city’s iconic convention center, residential complexes, international schools and the metropolitan civic center along with the Incheon Global Fair, that showcased the best in Korean and International Technology for future cities.
We were shown and were astounded by the interconnected communications network system Cisco had developed for the city; what they call Smart+Connected Communities solutions, a transformational family of technologies that they hope (and I believe) will change the shape of cities to come. All residential units in the planned new city will have large screen video interfaces that connect residents with schools, post offices, retail establishments, offices and every conceivable convenience and service in the city.
We were shown a demonstration that connected us to an English teacher in the International School a few hundred meters away. We later took a short ride to the school and met the teacher just to prove that he was real. We were also witness to a music lesson and shown how the system also could wirelessly and remotely control all the residential units’ electronics, appliances and security. Songdo residents will be constantly connected with everything and everyone they need to deal or socialize with without having to expend fuel and energy by driving there.
If you do need to go anywhere in the city, the road system is wonderfully maintained and rational. The authorities also built a subway extension to old Incheon and even to Seoul. This road and subway infrastructure was built ahead of any development. Also built ahead of anything was the complete infrastructure for power, sewage treatment and drainage. Easements on all drainage canals and channels are between 50 and 100 meters wide — compared to the measly five-meter easements we have here in Metro Manila!
We met Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer and executive vice president of Cisco Services, who informed us that all this was a product of an “agreement signed by Cisco and Gale International to establish the ‘Cisco Global Center for Smart+Connected Communities’ in Songdo IBD…”
He also told us that Cisco is “working closely with Incheon Metropolitan City to develop network-enabled innovation and to support sustainable economic development…the two companies intend to partner to help accelerate the development of such smart and connected cities, which will be designed to improve economic development, environmental sustainability, and the quality of life for citizens. They will also assemble a broad ecosystem of strategic design, development and technology partners to enable and drive network-enabled, city-scale innovation.”
We met Stan Gale, head honcho of Gale International, at the Global Fair. He said that “the vision for this new city is truly transformational, giving residents, businesses and government leaders within Songdo the opportunity to experience the city of the future — today. Our collaboration on Songdo IBD with Gale International is a living example of the globally replicable model we are building for Smart+Connected Communities. We are thrilled to be part of such a groundbreaking initiative, working closely with Gale International to develop new business models for managing and delivering urban services using the network as the platform for transforming cities and countries. We look forward to future visionary projects like this one, such as the efforts currently underway in Meixi Lake District in China.”
Clearly the intent of Cisco and its partners go beyond Songdo. The possibility of Smart+Connected Cities is replicable in other growing Asian cities, including our own. Technology is fine but I also went around the city on foot to test its pedestrian friendliness and to savor the three large city parks that have already been built.
The city is indeed a walkable city. Instant shade trees were already planted even before the first building came up. There are linear park connectors with bike paths all around. Bus transport for farther destinations is made environmentally friendly with the use of LPG-fueled vehicles.
The parks are wonderfully large and accessible from all corners of the district. The flagship 100-acre “central park” in the district’s center hides the multi-level parking underneath the greenery. An artificial lake also provides ferry services from one end to the other. The park accommodates both active and passive activities and has bike and jogging paths around it. Few, if any, of our parks are professionally designed; KPF had landscape architects design the parks in Songdo.
The future of cities is evident now in Songdo, a city that seems to have found a harmonious connection between nature and technology, innovation and innovative urban design, quality of life and a conscious sustained effort to build their cities smart. When will we here in Metro Manila wisen up?
Updated November 21, 2009 12:00 AM
Songdo International City in Incheon, South Korea, is the world’s newest city. It was created to establish a new standard of smart urban development that is environmentally sustainable, blessed with parks and open spaces and networked in the latest communication technology.
I just visited the place and it is not just another hyped-up destination. These audacious Koreans, working in tandem with American developers and a world leader in networking technology, Cisco, have made what seems like a futuristic dream on paper into a pulsating reality.
Korea has built itself up from the ravages of war into one of the world’s leading economic powers. One of the original Asian Tigers emerging in the 1980s, it has since kept pace with the rest of the globe. It has also not rested on its substantial laurels. From cell phones to cars and LCD screens and telenovelas, Korea leads the way.
My visit to Songdo City made me realize that it also wants to lead the way in other areas of innovation. Understanding that the future of the world lies in cities and their interconnectedness, authorities here embarked on an experiment in cutting-edge city building.
Songdo City is an expansion of the city of Incheon, which itself is part of the large metropolitan conurbation of Seoul. It is already the site of the country’s premier new airport, a complex that rivals similar facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Songdo International City is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (1FEZ). In 2000, authorities realized that the existing city of Incheon, 40 kilometers from Seoul, did not have enough land area to accommodate expansion, so over 200 hectares of land was reclaimed from the sea — over 200 square kilometers or about half the size of Metro Manila!
Three clusters of development are being planned: Yeongjong Aeropolis (138.3 square kilometers) containing the airport, an industrial, design and logistics center; Cheongna Leisure City (17.7 square kilometers), which will house eco-friendly financial and high-tech centers along with tourism facilities that will be a portal to 150 islands off the coast, and Robotland, a giant theme park, featuring, you guessed it — robots; and finally Songdo International City, which is the first of the three clusters to be started and is now partially complete and operational.
I went to the city to attend the Sustainable Cities of the Future Conference, jointly organized by the City of Incheon and Cisco. The conference highlighted the amazing technologies being embedded into the city to address urban needs like safety and security, healthcare, intelligent buildings and green energy.
The Philippine delegation stayed, along with other country representatives in the central Songdo Business District. The district is a masterpiece of urban design currently being developed by Cisco and its partner, the American real estate giant Gale International, in cooperation with the Songdo, Incheon government. Gale’s planners and architects were the multi-awarded American firm of Kohn Petersen Fox (KPF).
Cisco toured us around the new city (which was all just water a few years ago), visiting the city’s iconic convention center, residential complexes, international schools and the metropolitan civic center along with the Incheon Global Fair, that showcased the best in Korean and International Technology for future cities.
We were shown and were astounded by the interconnected communications network system Cisco had developed for the city; what they call Smart+Connected Communities solutions, a transformational family of technologies that they hope (and I believe) will change the shape of cities to come. All residential units in the planned new city will have large screen video interfaces that connect residents with schools, post offices, retail establishments, offices and every conceivable convenience and service in the city.
We were shown a demonstration that connected us to an English teacher in the International School a few hundred meters away. We later took a short ride to the school and met the teacher just to prove that he was real. We were also witness to a music lesson and shown how the system also could wirelessly and remotely control all the residential units’ electronics, appliances and security. Songdo residents will be constantly connected with everything and everyone they need to deal or socialize with without having to expend fuel and energy by driving there.
If you do need to go anywhere in the city, the road system is wonderfully maintained and rational. The authorities also built a subway extension to old Incheon and even to Seoul. This road and subway infrastructure was built ahead of any development. Also built ahead of anything was the complete infrastructure for power, sewage treatment and drainage. Easements on all drainage canals and channels are between 50 and 100 meters wide — compared to the measly five-meter easements we have here in Metro Manila!
We met Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer and executive vice president of Cisco Services, who informed us that all this was a product of an “agreement signed by Cisco and Gale International to establish the ‘Cisco Global Center for Smart+Connected Communities’ in Songdo IBD…”
He also told us that Cisco is “working closely with Incheon Metropolitan City to develop network-enabled innovation and to support sustainable economic development…the two companies intend to partner to help accelerate the development of such smart and connected cities, which will be designed to improve economic development, environmental sustainability, and the quality of life for citizens. They will also assemble a broad ecosystem of strategic design, development and technology partners to enable and drive network-enabled, city-scale innovation.”
We met Stan Gale, head honcho of Gale International, at the Global Fair. He said that “the vision for this new city is truly transformational, giving residents, businesses and government leaders within Songdo the opportunity to experience the city of the future — today. Our collaboration on Songdo IBD with Gale International is a living example of the globally replicable model we are building for Smart+Connected Communities. We are thrilled to be part of such a groundbreaking initiative, working closely with Gale International to develop new business models for managing and delivering urban services using the network as the platform for transforming cities and countries. We look forward to future visionary projects like this one, such as the efforts currently underway in Meixi Lake District in China.”
Clearly the intent of Cisco and its partners go beyond Songdo. The possibility of Smart+Connected Cities is replicable in other growing Asian cities, including our own. Technology is fine but I also went around the city on foot to test its pedestrian friendliness and to savor the three large city parks that have already been built.
The city is indeed a walkable city. Instant shade trees were already planted even before the first building came up. There are linear park connectors with bike paths all around. Bus transport for farther destinations is made environmentally friendly with the use of LPG-fueled vehicles.
The parks are wonderfully large and accessible from all corners of the district. The flagship 100-acre “central park” in the district’s center hides the multi-level parking underneath the greenery. An artificial lake also provides ferry services from one end to the other. The park accommodates both active and passive activities and has bike and jogging paths around it. Few, if any, of our parks are professionally designed; KPF had landscape architects design the parks in Songdo.
The future of cities is evident now in Songdo, a city that seems to have found a harmonious connection between nature and technology, innovation and innovative urban design, quality of life and a conscious sustained effort to build their cities smart. When will we here in Metro Manila wisen up?
Chow Tai Fook Building Highest Building in Tianjin
Mon. November 23, 2009; Posted: 06:30 AM
TIANJIN, Nov 23, 2009
Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer under the aegis of New World Development Company Limited, just launch the Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center project in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin.
The project will be a 530-meter-high skyscraper, the highest building in the northern port city, after being completed with a total investment of CNY 8 billion in 2014 as scheduled.
With a floor area of about 350,000 square meters, the skyscraper will have 100 storeys, with four ones underground. It will grow into a landscape building with first-class offices, a five-star hotel, luxurious apartments. Some other buildings will also be constructed, including a four-storey shopping center.
This September, the highest building in south China broke earth. Invested by Chow Tai Fook, it will be a building with 116 storeys, as high as 530 meters. It is predicted to be completed in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, with an investment of more than CNY 10 billion in 2016.
Source: www.hexun.com (November 23, 2009)
TIANJIN, Nov 23, 2009
Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer under the aegis of New World Development Company Limited, just launch the Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center project in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin.
The project will be a 530-meter-high skyscraper, the highest building in the northern port city, after being completed with a total investment of CNY 8 billion in 2014 as scheduled.
With a floor area of about 350,000 square meters, the skyscraper will have 100 storeys, with four ones underground. It will grow into a landscape building with first-class offices, a five-star hotel, luxurious apartments. Some other buildings will also be constructed, including a four-storey shopping center.
This September, the highest building in south China broke earth. Invested by Chow Tai Fook, it will be a building with 116 storeys, as high as 530 meters. It is predicted to be completed in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, with an investment of more than CNY 10 billion in 2016.
Source: www.hexun.com (November 23, 2009)
As Cargo And Container Levels Drop Ports Fight For Shipping Traffic Worldwide
18 November 2009
WORLDWIDE – Nobody in the industry can be unaware of the rising tension as the dreaded “P” word, Protectionism, gets to be heard more often. As usual in times of strife nation follows nation in trying to ensure the survival of its prime industries and beat off the threat of cheap imports. As the US and Chinese leaders circle the ring this week trade deficits are never far from their thoughts despite all the other pressing matters requiring their immediate attention.
The fight for traffic does not exist of course only in terms of international competition. A look round the worlds ports shows how tough life has become for many, and how neighbour will swiftly turn against neighbour when food needs to be put on the workers and shareholders tables.
Figures out this week in ports across the US and China make for interesting reading. The Port of Los Angeles is feeling pleased with itself, a near 11% jump in TEU’s for September, imports and exports up to a high for 2009. Export figures were actually up against last year, and by a higher percentage than they were down for imports. Just down the coast, Long Beach meant long face, as the port dropped to around 345,000 TEU’s in October. That’s a 10% export and 22% import drop against last year. Local port officials admitted they have never had to worry about local competition before, thirty years of growth has led to complacency, if LA was busy, what the heck, let the guys at Long Beach take the overspill. Not any more, every box handled has a price and hopefully a profit.
Many of the problems faced are due to the shipping lines consolidating their services and moving routes to more profitable, or at least less expensive ports. Maersk pulled out of Tacoma a while ago, this week the port posted a loss of around $18 million, the first time anyone can remember the figures were red not black. Now with NYK pulling out of their new multi modal freight terminal times ahead look far from rosy. Tacoma’s loss of Maersk became Seattle’s gain.
But this wave of internal competition is being as fiercely fought across in China as in the US. With shipping container throughput down around 7% at least this year despite claims of a fractional rise in TEU’s last month. The traditional port strongholds in the South and East of the country, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen and Hong Kong are subject to a concerted attack from the Bohai Rim facilities in areas such as Dalian, Tianjin, and as far south as Qingdao. In Yingkou, in the far north of the Bohai Sea and the closest main port to North Korea, container cargo rose by a staggering 29%.
Now new rivals are entering the fray with such areas as Hebei Province starting its own port organisation which now claims to be the largest by tonnage in the world, whilst Tianjin has grandiose plans to achieve a 17 million TEU, 550 million tonne turnover in the next six years, principally by further dredging works to accommodate 300,000 tonne vessels.
In the meantime the port managements, realising the potential commercial problems, are actively engaged in share swaps to insure against failure. Dalian, with Jinzhou, and more deals on the table; Qingdao putting money in Dongjiakou, for new berths and infrastructure. With shipping lines in no position to refuse a deal and likely to be tempted by lower rates and better facilities, the internal fight for lower traffic levels looks set to continue for some years yet.
WORLDWIDE – Nobody in the industry can be unaware of the rising tension as the dreaded “P” word, Protectionism, gets to be heard more often. As usual in times of strife nation follows nation in trying to ensure the survival of its prime industries and beat off the threat of cheap imports. As the US and Chinese leaders circle the ring this week trade deficits are never far from their thoughts despite all the other pressing matters requiring their immediate attention.
The fight for traffic does not exist of course only in terms of international competition. A look round the worlds ports shows how tough life has become for many, and how neighbour will swiftly turn against neighbour when food needs to be put on the workers and shareholders tables.
Figures out this week in ports across the US and China make for interesting reading. The Port of Los Angeles is feeling pleased with itself, a near 11% jump in TEU’s for September, imports and exports up to a high for 2009. Export figures were actually up against last year, and by a higher percentage than they were down for imports. Just down the coast, Long Beach meant long face, as the port dropped to around 345,000 TEU’s in October. That’s a 10% export and 22% import drop against last year. Local port officials admitted they have never had to worry about local competition before, thirty years of growth has led to complacency, if LA was busy, what the heck, let the guys at Long Beach take the overspill. Not any more, every box handled has a price and hopefully a profit.
Many of the problems faced are due to the shipping lines consolidating their services and moving routes to more profitable, or at least less expensive ports. Maersk pulled out of Tacoma a while ago, this week the port posted a loss of around $18 million, the first time anyone can remember the figures were red not black. Now with NYK pulling out of their new multi modal freight terminal times ahead look far from rosy. Tacoma’s loss of Maersk became Seattle’s gain.
But this wave of internal competition is being as fiercely fought across in China as in the US. With shipping container throughput down around 7% at least this year despite claims of a fractional rise in TEU’s last month. The traditional port strongholds in the South and East of the country, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen and Hong Kong are subject to a concerted attack from the Bohai Rim facilities in areas such as Dalian, Tianjin, and as far south as Qingdao. In Yingkou, in the far north of the Bohai Sea and the closest main port to North Korea, container cargo rose by a staggering 29%.
Now new rivals are entering the fray with such areas as Hebei Province starting its own port organisation which now claims to be the largest by tonnage in the world, whilst Tianjin has grandiose plans to achieve a 17 million TEU, 550 million tonne turnover in the next six years, principally by further dredging works to accommodate 300,000 tonne vessels.
In the meantime the port managements, realising the potential commercial problems, are actively engaged in share swaps to insure against failure. Dalian, with Jinzhou, and more deals on the table; Qingdao putting money in Dongjiakou, for new berths and infrastructure. With shipping lines in no position to refuse a deal and likely to be tempted by lower rates and better facilities, the internal fight for lower traffic levels looks set to continue for some years yet.
Obama in China: What the media missed
Even through a veil of censorship and propaganda, the Chinese people managed a clearer view of Obama's visit than the US media did.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tish Durkin
Let's be frank. The strongest impression that most Chinese people have of Barack Obama is that he is black. The second-strongest is that he is young. And the third-strongest — based on his decision a few months ago to impose a punitive tariff on Chinese tire exports — is that he is perhaps just as willing to screw over China as all his old, white predecessors were.
This is not to downplay the significance of the president's visit here. It's just to refrain from overplaying it. Having started with the notion that Obama just might come to China and make some history, the American media is now collectively bummed that he didn't. This is silly.
To read the bulk of the U.S. press, Obama fell short on three counts:
One, his contribution to China’s human-rights struggle was limited to one answer at a carefully staged student forum in Shanghai, where he extolled the American people's right to Twitter, internet-surf, and diss him personally. (Naturally, that portion of the program was censored by Chinese news outlets — although a pretty full translation of it was easy to pull up the following day.)
Two, he didn’t talk turkey to the Chinese leadership on anything because the U.S. has sold so much debt to China and needs to sell more.
Three, he can't close a deal. The day after Barack stepped foot on the Great Wall, China was the same repressive, polluting, trade-tilting outfit it was before.
The irony here is that, although the Chinese are the ones who get their information through the twin filters of propaganda and censorship, they are also the ones who seem to have a firmer grasp than Americans on what constitutes a realistic expectation. People in the street — at least those in the malls and market-stalls of Dalian, where I have been living — are giving Obama real credit.
They give him credit for coming here in the first year of his first term. They give him credit for saying friendly things about the U.S.-China relationship (although they have serious doubts about whether his actions will prove so nice). They give him credit for holding his own umbrella in the rain, thereby emitting a humanity and a humility that they rarely see in their own, distant leaders. Unfortunately, they also credit him for not meeting with the Dalai Lama, who is commonly — if for reasons of long-term state-sponsored collective brainwashing — seen as a slave-master separatist rabble-rouser whom the world should hold in contempt.
In short, if a goal of this trip was to foster a feeling among the Chinese that they can and should work with the U.S., that goal was certainly achieved.
Other, headier goals were not. But who set those goals in the first place?
The criticism of his uninspiring — if unsurprising — punting on human rights is predicated on the idea that if Obama had come here and forcefully addressed the issue, the earth would have moved. There is no real basis to believe that, and a fairly strong basis not to. It's not as if speaking truth to power hasn't been tried: In 1994, when Beijing hosted the United Nations World Conference on Women, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton showed up and gave them hell about human rights. Her rallying cry — "women's rights are human rights" — stirred the hearts of feminists, including Chinese feminists, and echoed across the world. That speech scared the wits out of the Chinese Communist Party — but didn’t pry a pinky off their grip on power.
Then there's the idea that Obama is tiptoeing around the Chinese because they’re such a large creditor. Everyone can agree that the level of U.S. debt, including debt to China, is a problem. But the question at hand is: what specifically did the president fail to address on this trip for fear of debt-related retribution? Human rights? Currency revaluation? Pushing China to pressure its nasty friends, such as Iran? Come on. The Chinese-American debt scenario didn’t even start unfolding until the George W. Bush administration. Those thorny issues, in all the forms they have taken over time, go back a lot further. Precisely what magic were the Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I and Clinton administrations working before China got all those T-bills?
Last but not least, there is the bupkuss factor: the consenus that Obama, poor jerk, has come away with nothing. No breakthroughs. No deals. Not even an Oprah "a-ha" moment. It's as if everybody thinks that some concrete public concession on at least one of the biggies — carbon emissions or political reform or North Korea — is something a U.S. president just can't leave China without, like a silk robe or a ceramic tea set.
But in reality, it's not like that. Every key element of the Sino-American relationship is too big and too convoluted for the thumbs-up/thumbs-down approach to apply.
So, relax, everybody. Obama came, he charmed, he left. And for now, that's perfectly fine.
Or, as Fox News-certified Maoist and soon-to-be former White House communications director Anita Dunn might put it: Obama's trip wasn't a great leap forward. But it was a step in the right direction.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tish Durkin
Let's be frank. The strongest impression that most Chinese people have of Barack Obama is that he is black. The second-strongest is that he is young. And the third-strongest — based on his decision a few months ago to impose a punitive tariff on Chinese tire exports — is that he is perhaps just as willing to screw over China as all his old, white predecessors were.
This is not to downplay the significance of the president's visit here. It's just to refrain from overplaying it. Having started with the notion that Obama just might come to China and make some history, the American media is now collectively bummed that he didn't. This is silly.
To read the bulk of the U.S. press, Obama fell short on three counts:
One, his contribution to China’s human-rights struggle was limited to one answer at a carefully staged student forum in Shanghai, where he extolled the American people's right to Twitter, internet-surf, and diss him personally. (Naturally, that portion of the program was censored by Chinese news outlets — although a pretty full translation of it was easy to pull up the following day.)
Two, he didn’t talk turkey to the Chinese leadership on anything because the U.S. has sold so much debt to China and needs to sell more.
Three, he can't close a deal. The day after Barack stepped foot on the Great Wall, China was the same repressive, polluting, trade-tilting outfit it was before.
The irony here is that, although the Chinese are the ones who get their information through the twin filters of propaganda and censorship, they are also the ones who seem to have a firmer grasp than Americans on what constitutes a realistic expectation. People in the street — at least those in the malls and market-stalls of Dalian, where I have been living — are giving Obama real credit.
They give him credit for coming here in the first year of his first term. They give him credit for saying friendly things about the U.S.-China relationship (although they have serious doubts about whether his actions will prove so nice). They give him credit for holding his own umbrella in the rain, thereby emitting a humanity and a humility that they rarely see in their own, distant leaders. Unfortunately, they also credit him for not meeting with the Dalai Lama, who is commonly — if for reasons of long-term state-sponsored collective brainwashing — seen as a slave-master separatist rabble-rouser whom the world should hold in contempt.
In short, if a goal of this trip was to foster a feeling among the Chinese that they can and should work with the U.S., that goal was certainly achieved.
Other, headier goals were not. But who set those goals in the first place?
The criticism of his uninspiring — if unsurprising — punting on human rights is predicated on the idea that if Obama had come here and forcefully addressed the issue, the earth would have moved. There is no real basis to believe that, and a fairly strong basis not to. It's not as if speaking truth to power hasn't been tried: In 1994, when Beijing hosted the United Nations World Conference on Women, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton showed up and gave them hell about human rights. Her rallying cry — "women's rights are human rights" — stirred the hearts of feminists, including Chinese feminists, and echoed across the world. That speech scared the wits out of the Chinese Communist Party — but didn’t pry a pinky off their grip on power.
Then there's the idea that Obama is tiptoeing around the Chinese because they’re such a large creditor. Everyone can agree that the level of U.S. debt, including debt to China, is a problem. But the question at hand is: what specifically did the president fail to address on this trip for fear of debt-related retribution? Human rights? Currency revaluation? Pushing China to pressure its nasty friends, such as Iran? Come on. The Chinese-American debt scenario didn’t even start unfolding until the George W. Bush administration. Those thorny issues, in all the forms they have taken over time, go back a lot further. Precisely what magic were the Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I and Clinton administrations working before China got all those T-bills?
Last but not least, there is the bupkuss factor: the consenus that Obama, poor jerk, has come away with nothing. No breakthroughs. No deals. Not even an Oprah "a-ha" moment. It's as if everybody thinks that some concrete public concession on at least one of the biggies — carbon emissions or political reform or North Korea — is something a U.S. president just can't leave China without, like a silk robe or a ceramic tea set.
But in reality, it's not like that. Every key element of the Sino-American relationship is too big and too convoluted for the thumbs-up/thumbs-down approach to apply.
So, relax, everybody. Obama came, he charmed, he left. And for now, that's perfectly fine.
Or, as Fox News-certified Maoist and soon-to-be former White House communications director Anita Dunn might put it: Obama's trip wasn't a great leap forward. But it was a step in the right direction.
Our man in America: Paradise of consumption where 1 in 6 go hungry
Created: 2009-11-24, Updated: 2009-11-24 1:41:58
Author:Wan Lixin
Editor's note:
Shanghai Daily columnist Wan Lixin is now on a three-month journalism program in Virginia, United States. This is his second article giving his impressions.
IN a recent editorial (November 17) USA Today cited a 2005 data showing China as the world's biggest greenhouse gases emitter (19.12 percent), surpassing the 18.44 percent from the US.
China's fame as the world's factory rests heavily on big-spending America, and as we can now see, any fluctuations in American consumption can lead to serious consequences.
But some statistics can be misleading. Should the carbon footprint be traced to the end consumers as well as the producers? This paradise of consumption is a land of plenty, of overnutrition.
The financial crisis revealed that some well-paid professionals had been engaged in sophisticated, but dishonest work, and in my limited experience here in the US I saw that most non-sophisticated, manual labor is assigned to those who speak broken English. And this at a time when people talk about double-digit unemployment.
In normal, more ideal conditions such people should be more concerned about their ability to feed themselves, and apparently some Americans pretend they are.
Also on November 17, in a report titled "1 in 6 hungry in America last year," USA Today claimed that 49 million people in American households went hungry at some point in 2008, the highest since such figures were available since 1995, reflecting the recession's toll.
A fellow Chinese remarked with sarcasm that these hungry Americans are likely those who cannot have the kind of food they like. As a matter of fact, even though energy is getting more and more expensive, the US still gives the impression of a land of unlimited energy supply.
When we first arrived in the US, as the arrangement for our accommodation had not been settled, some of us were temporarily put up in a hotel.
On entering the hotel, the first feature striking me is that the hotel room does not have the energy-saving gadget where you automatically start or cut the whole power supply in the room as you insert or remove the key there. Nearly all Chinese hotels have this simple, energy-saving apparatus.
I also find that the hotel window cannot be opened to let in some fresh air outside. We are forced to rely on air-conditioning for ventilation.
A few days later, when we moved into an apartment, I found that the apartment is equally devoid of that key-triggered, energy-saving feature, and the whole apartment, complete with bedrooms, drawing room and kitchen, is controlled by one air-conditioning thermostat. And the power and water fees are included in a fixed sum of rental.
Placebos aplenty
A few years ago a friend of mine who had just arrived in an American university observed to me that many of his classmates left their dorms with air-conditioners running, even when they had left for school. I guess that kind of excess is probably due to a similar pay arrangement.
There are placebos aplenty, if you desire. From time to time you espy a brand new bus, usually not in service or half empty, with oversized letters on its sides reading: "This bus is running on clean natural gas." The stove in our kitchen is running on electricity, not clean natural gas.
This nation is assigned the sacred duty of consuming the world out of its recession.
But the fever for consumption is catching on. A guide told us that recently a group of Chinese snapped up 20 bags from a luxury brand shop in Washington, DC, effectively wiping out the stock.
These bags are priced in hundred of dollars, but each buyer is breathless with excitement, as they murmur to themselves, "These are real bargains -- they are worth several thousand yuan more back home."
How much of the exorbitant label value will ultimately trickle down to the modest bag, and then further to the invisible multitudes who actually make the modest bags?
On this point an MBA professor is probably eager to lecture you on the value of branding.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Author:Wan Lixin
Editor's note:
Shanghai Daily columnist Wan Lixin is now on a three-month journalism program in Virginia, United States. This is his second article giving his impressions.
IN a recent editorial (November 17) USA Today cited a 2005 data showing China as the world's biggest greenhouse gases emitter (19.12 percent), surpassing the 18.44 percent from the US.
China's fame as the world's factory rests heavily on big-spending America, and as we can now see, any fluctuations in American consumption can lead to serious consequences.
But some statistics can be misleading. Should the carbon footprint be traced to the end consumers as well as the producers? This paradise of consumption is a land of plenty, of overnutrition.
The financial crisis revealed that some well-paid professionals had been engaged in sophisticated, but dishonest work, and in my limited experience here in the US I saw that most non-sophisticated, manual labor is assigned to those who speak broken English. And this at a time when people talk about double-digit unemployment.
In normal, more ideal conditions such people should be more concerned about their ability to feed themselves, and apparently some Americans pretend they are.
Also on November 17, in a report titled "1 in 6 hungry in America last year," USA Today claimed that 49 million people in American households went hungry at some point in 2008, the highest since such figures were available since 1995, reflecting the recession's toll.
A fellow Chinese remarked with sarcasm that these hungry Americans are likely those who cannot have the kind of food they like. As a matter of fact, even though energy is getting more and more expensive, the US still gives the impression of a land of unlimited energy supply.
When we first arrived in the US, as the arrangement for our accommodation had not been settled, some of us were temporarily put up in a hotel.
On entering the hotel, the first feature striking me is that the hotel room does not have the energy-saving gadget where you automatically start or cut the whole power supply in the room as you insert or remove the key there. Nearly all Chinese hotels have this simple, energy-saving apparatus.
I also find that the hotel window cannot be opened to let in some fresh air outside. We are forced to rely on air-conditioning for ventilation.
A few days later, when we moved into an apartment, I found that the apartment is equally devoid of that key-triggered, energy-saving feature, and the whole apartment, complete with bedrooms, drawing room and kitchen, is controlled by one air-conditioning thermostat. And the power and water fees are included in a fixed sum of rental.
Placebos aplenty
A few years ago a friend of mine who had just arrived in an American university observed to me that many of his classmates left their dorms with air-conditioners running, even when they had left for school. I guess that kind of excess is probably due to a similar pay arrangement.
There are placebos aplenty, if you desire. From time to time you espy a brand new bus, usually not in service or half empty, with oversized letters on its sides reading: "This bus is running on clean natural gas." The stove in our kitchen is running on electricity, not clean natural gas.
This nation is assigned the sacred duty of consuming the world out of its recession.
But the fever for consumption is catching on. A guide told us that recently a group of Chinese snapped up 20 bags from a luxury brand shop in Washington, DC, effectively wiping out the stock.
These bags are priced in hundred of dollars, but each buyer is breathless with excitement, as they murmur to themselves, "These are real bargains -- they are worth several thousand yuan more back home."
How much of the exorbitant label value will ultimately trickle down to the modest bag, and then further to the invisible multitudes who actually make the modest bags?
On this point an MBA professor is probably eager to lecture you on the value of branding.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Japan flirts with disaster as debt deepens
From The Times November 24, 2009
Japan flirts with disaster as debt deepens
Leo Lewis in Tokyo The Japanese Finance Ministry is planning to float 140,000 billion yen (£950 billion) of “ordinary” government bonds in 2010, an unprecedented issuance of debt that will reignite concerns about the creditworthiness of the world’s second biggest economy.
The government is expected to issue about Y100,000 billion in bonds — to roll over previously issued bonds — an increase of Y10,000 billion over the figure for the present financial year. In addition, the Finance Ministry is preparing to issue more than Y44,000 billion to meet new financing and stimulus needs in an environment in which businesses are failing and tax revenues are dwindling. Government efforts to cap new funding at that level are expected to prove futile.
The debt management panel will meet tomorrow and is expected to discuss the move.
If bond issuance does rise, total issuance planned for next year ultimately could challenge the record Y165,000 billion raised in 2005. The final figure will include an as-yet undecided sum in “zaito” bonds used to finance 23 semi-governmental agencies.
With the country’s ratio of gross debt to GDP hovering above 170 per cent, Japan’s debt position is already viewed by some as the most fragile of all leading economies. A glut of new debt — possibly pushing that ratio to nearly 200 per cent — is likely to play into fears in some quarters of the market that Japan is rumbling towards fiscal implosion.
Japan’s huge ratio of debt to GDP has divided the market into two schools of thought. One side takes an apocalyptic view (and investment stance) that Japan has passed the point where it can marshal its debt without calamity. The population is ageing, fewer Japanese children are being born to support the debt mountain and companies are becoming less competitive against Asian rivals.
The doomsday theory — the reason that some have taken enormous short positions on Japanese government bonds — is that bond yields eventually rise to unsustainable levels and Japan, despite its stability and financial might, skirts closer to sovereign default.
A second view, held by veteran Japan-watchers and domestic economists, is that the red flags waved above bonds are ill-argued and unnecessarily bloodcurdling. The situation is startling — but it is manageable, the veterans say, because the bond market is a relatively closed loop: 96 per cent of them are held by Japanese people, institutions and arms of government.
The Japanese household may be saving less these days, but the entire pool of private sector savings is still, by far, the world’s largest. Critics of the doomsday argument do not dismiss Japan’s fiscal problems — it is undoubtedly an economy with structural problems on a grand scale — but suggest that that it is premature to panic.
The ratio of gross debt to GDP, according to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, is not a true gauge of fiscal health. When Japan’s net debt to GDP is compared with other leading economies, it is about the same as Italy’s and not alarmingly worse than Britain’s. In terms of debt servicing costs, Japan is in better shape than Britain, America, France and Germany.
Additionally, Jonathan Allum, the KBC strategist, said that the recent rise in Japanese bond yields had been overplayed as a force for evil. Between October 6 and November 6, yields on the ten-year note did move from 1.24 per cent to 1.45 per cent, before giving ground back to 1.3 per cent last week. “But yields were rising globally during that period and the impartial observer will be impressed not by the speed of the rise in yields, by just how low they remain by any historic standards save those of modern Japan,” Mr Allum said.
However, he added: “Another and even larger dog has failed to bark in the fiscal night: if Japan is really teetering on the edge of a financial volcano, why is the yen so strong?”
Japan flirts with disaster as debt deepens
Leo Lewis in Tokyo The Japanese Finance Ministry is planning to float 140,000 billion yen (£950 billion) of “ordinary” government bonds in 2010, an unprecedented issuance of debt that will reignite concerns about the creditworthiness of the world’s second biggest economy.
The government is expected to issue about Y100,000 billion in bonds — to roll over previously issued bonds — an increase of Y10,000 billion over the figure for the present financial year. In addition, the Finance Ministry is preparing to issue more than Y44,000 billion to meet new financing and stimulus needs in an environment in which businesses are failing and tax revenues are dwindling. Government efforts to cap new funding at that level are expected to prove futile.
The debt management panel will meet tomorrow and is expected to discuss the move.
If bond issuance does rise, total issuance planned for next year ultimately could challenge the record Y165,000 billion raised in 2005. The final figure will include an as-yet undecided sum in “zaito” bonds used to finance 23 semi-governmental agencies.
With the country’s ratio of gross debt to GDP hovering above 170 per cent, Japan’s debt position is already viewed by some as the most fragile of all leading economies. A glut of new debt — possibly pushing that ratio to nearly 200 per cent — is likely to play into fears in some quarters of the market that Japan is rumbling towards fiscal implosion.
Japan’s huge ratio of debt to GDP has divided the market into two schools of thought. One side takes an apocalyptic view (and investment stance) that Japan has passed the point where it can marshal its debt without calamity. The population is ageing, fewer Japanese children are being born to support the debt mountain and companies are becoming less competitive against Asian rivals.
The doomsday theory — the reason that some have taken enormous short positions on Japanese government bonds — is that bond yields eventually rise to unsustainable levels and Japan, despite its stability and financial might, skirts closer to sovereign default.
A second view, held by veteran Japan-watchers and domestic economists, is that the red flags waved above bonds are ill-argued and unnecessarily bloodcurdling. The situation is startling — but it is manageable, the veterans say, because the bond market is a relatively closed loop: 96 per cent of them are held by Japanese people, institutions and arms of government.
The Japanese household may be saving less these days, but the entire pool of private sector savings is still, by far, the world’s largest. Critics of the doomsday argument do not dismiss Japan’s fiscal problems — it is undoubtedly an economy with structural problems on a grand scale — but suggest that that it is premature to panic.
The ratio of gross debt to GDP, according to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, is not a true gauge of fiscal health. When Japan’s net debt to GDP is compared with other leading economies, it is about the same as Italy’s and not alarmingly worse than Britain’s. In terms of debt servicing costs, Japan is in better shape than Britain, America, France and Germany.
Additionally, Jonathan Allum, the KBC strategist, said that the recent rise in Japanese bond yields had been overplayed as a force for evil. Between October 6 and November 6, yields on the ten-year note did move from 1.24 per cent to 1.45 per cent, before giving ground back to 1.3 per cent last week. “But yields were rising globally during that period and the impartial observer will be impressed not by the speed of the rise in yields, by just how low they remain by any historic standards save those of modern Japan,” Mr Allum said.
However, he added: “Another and even larger dog has failed to bark in the fiscal night: if Japan is really teetering on the edge of a financial volcano, why is the yen so strong?”
Tough times for Japanese baseball
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO - Facing losses of US$3.3 million in 2010, Japanese professional baseball is considering a series of international games involving Japan's national team to bring in revenue.
The owners of Japan's 12 professional teams discussed the proposal at league meetings on Wednesday, the Nikkan Sports newspaper reported Thursday.
Under the proposal being discussed, Japan's national team would play as many as 20 international exhibition games in February, March, July and November.
Only players in Japan would take part. Major league players would not be part of the team.
The opponents and venues have yet to be discussed, an official with Nippon Professional Baseball said Thursday.
Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan but is struggling amid the global financial crises like many other sports here.
Yamaha Jubilo rugby club announced Monday it was releasing all its professional players as part of cost-cutting measures by the team's owners Yamaha Motors.
Earlier this month Toyota, the world's largest automaker, withdrew its team from Formula One. Honda pulled out of F1 a year ago, while Subaru and Suzuki withdrew from the World Rally Championship ahead of the 2009 season.
TOKYO - Facing losses of US$3.3 million in 2010, Japanese professional baseball is considering a series of international games involving Japan's national team to bring in revenue.
The owners of Japan's 12 professional teams discussed the proposal at league meetings on Wednesday, the Nikkan Sports newspaper reported Thursday.
Under the proposal being discussed, Japan's national team would play as many as 20 international exhibition games in February, March, July and November.
Only players in Japan would take part. Major league players would not be part of the team.
The opponents and venues have yet to be discussed, an official with Nippon Professional Baseball said Thursday.
Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan but is struggling amid the global financial crises like many other sports here.
Yamaha Jubilo rugby club announced Monday it was releasing all its professional players as part of cost-cutting measures by the team's owners Yamaha Motors.
Earlier this month Toyota, the world's largest automaker, withdrew its team from Formula One. Honda pulled out of F1 a year ago, while Subaru and Suzuki withdrew from the World Rally Championship ahead of the 2009 season.
This Day in History: Mishima commits ritual suicide
On this day in 1970, world-renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima commits suicide after failing to win public support for his often extreme political beliefs.
Born in 1925, Mishima was obsessed with what he saw as the spiritual barrenness of modern life. He preferred prewar Japan, with its austere patriotism and traditional values, to the materialistic, westernized nation that arose after 1945. In this spirit, he founded the “Shield Society,” a controversial private army made up of about 100 students that was to defend the emperor in the event of a leftist uprising.
Mishima wrote his first notable novel in 1948, “Confessions of a Mask.” It was translated into English ten years later and the title was a perfect one to convey the pre-liberation, closeted years of gay life.
Mishima was open about his ambiguous sexuality, but also conservative in terms of nationalism and militarism. His search for purity in those areas drove him to commit ritual suicide, seppuku, self-disembowelment, in 1970.
On November 25, Mishima delivered to his publisher the last installment of The Sea of Fertility, his four-volume epic on Japanese life in the 20th century that is regarded as his greatest work. He then went with several followers to a military building in Tokyo and seized control of a general’s office. There, from a balcony, he gave a brief speech to about 1,000 assembled servicemen, in which he urged them to overthrow Japan’s constitution, which forbids Japanese rearmament. The soldiers were unsympathetic, as they shouted at him “You’re not even logical,” and Mishima committed ritual suicide, by disemboweling himself with his sword.
Though his extreme beliefs did not gain him much of a following, many mourned the loss of such a gifted author.
Paul Schrader adapted his novels into cinema. The movie “Delirious” scoffs at the idea of purity in art, but Schrader’s biopic “Mishima,” on the other hand, beautifully conceived, seems to reveal how the quest for purity in art and life can be disastrous. Divided into life segments and chapters from his novels, the movie blurs Mishima’s life and art, probably just as Mishima himself saw little distinction between the two.
Born in 1925, Mishima was obsessed with what he saw as the spiritual barrenness of modern life. He preferred prewar Japan, with its austere patriotism and traditional values, to the materialistic, westernized nation that arose after 1945. In this spirit, he founded the “Shield Society,” a controversial private army made up of about 100 students that was to defend the emperor in the event of a leftist uprising.
Mishima wrote his first notable novel in 1948, “Confessions of a Mask.” It was translated into English ten years later and the title was a perfect one to convey the pre-liberation, closeted years of gay life.
Mishima was open about his ambiguous sexuality, but also conservative in terms of nationalism and militarism. His search for purity in those areas drove him to commit ritual suicide, seppuku, self-disembowelment, in 1970.
On November 25, Mishima delivered to his publisher the last installment of The Sea of Fertility, his four-volume epic on Japanese life in the 20th century that is regarded as his greatest work. He then went with several followers to a military building in Tokyo and seized control of a general’s office. There, from a balcony, he gave a brief speech to about 1,000 assembled servicemen, in which he urged them to overthrow Japan’s constitution, which forbids Japanese rearmament. The soldiers were unsympathetic, as they shouted at him “You’re not even logical,” and Mishima committed ritual suicide, by disemboweling himself with his sword.
Though his extreme beliefs did not gain him much of a following, many mourned the loss of such a gifted author.
Paul Schrader adapted his novels into cinema. The movie “Delirious” scoffs at the idea of purity in art, but Schrader’s biopic “Mishima,” on the other hand, beautifully conceived, seems to reveal how the quest for purity in art and life can be disastrous. Divided into life segments and chapters from his novels, the movie blurs Mishima’s life and art, probably just as Mishima himself saw little distinction between the two.
“Stalin’s Legacy” debate stirs strong emotions
11:0723/11/2009
Over 100 people attended a public debate on “Stalin’s Legacy for Russia”, which was hosted by independent English-language weekly newspaper The Moscow News on November 16. Strong points of view, both criticizing and praising the Soviet-era dictator, were expressed by speakers and members of the audience, in a passionate, yet civilized discussion – which took place at RIA Novosti’s press center. While some participants argued that Russia would have been better off under the Tsars, others said that Stalin had betrayed the ideas of the 1917 revolution and through his purges was trying to destroy the ideas of democratic socialism. The main conclusion drawn by many in the audience was that the bloody lessons of Russian history teach us to fight for a better society.
Two sides to Japanese health care
By Blaine Harden - The Washington Post
TOKYO - Half a world away from the U.S. health care debate, Japan has a system that costs half as much and often achieves better medical outcomes than its American counterpart. It does so by banning insurance company profits, limiting doctor fees and accepting shortcomings in care that many well-insured Americans would find intolerable.
The Japanese visit a doctor nearly 14 times a year, more than four times as often as Americans. They can choose any primary care physician or specialist they want, and surveys show they are almost always seen on the day they want. All that medical care helps keep the Japanese alive longer than any other people on Earth while fostering one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates.
Health care in Japan - a hybrid system funded by job-based insurance premiums and taxes - is universal and mandatory, and consumes about 8 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, half as much as in the United States. Unlike in the U.S. system, no one is denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition or goes bankrupt because a family member gets sick.
But many health care economists say Japan's low-cost system is probably not sustainable without significant change. Japan already has the world's oldest population; by 2050, 40 percent will be 65 or older. The disease mix is becoming more expensive to treat, as rates of cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's disease steadily increase. Demand for medical care will triple in the next 25 years, according to a recent analysis by McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm.
Japan has a stagnant economy, with a shortage of young people that hobbles prospects for growth and strangles the capacity of the debt-strapped government to increase health-care spending. Without reform, costs are projected to double, reaching current U.S. levels in a decade, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
For generations, Japan has achieved its successes by maintaining a vise-like grip on costs. After hard bargaining with medical providers every two years, the government sets a price for treatment and drugs - and tolerates no fudging.
As a result, most Japanese doctors make far less money than their U.S. counterparts. Administrative costs are four times lower than they are in the United States, in part because insurance companies do not set rates for treatment or deny claims. By law, they cannot make profits or advertise to attract low-risk, high-profit clients.
To keep costs down, Japan has made tradeoffs in other areas - sometimes to the detriment of patients. Some are merely irritating, such as routine hour-long waits before doctor appointments. But others involve worrisome questions about quality control and gaps in treatment for urgent care.
Japanese hospitals experience a "crowding out" effect, with space for emergency care and serious medical conditions sometimes overwhelmed by a flood of patients seeking routine treatment, said Naohiro Yashiro, a professor of economics and health care expert at International Christian University in Tokyo.
"Patients are treated too equally," he said. "Beds are occupied by less-urgent cases, and there are no penalties for those who over-use the system."
The government has largely been unable to reduce the length of hospital stays, which are four times as long in Japan as in the United States. Hospital doctors are often overworked and cannot hone specialized life-saving skills, according to recent reports by McKinsey. Statistics show that the Japanese are much less likely to have heart attacks than people in the United States, but that when they do, their chance of dying is twice as high.
There are shortages of obstetricians, anesthesiologists and emergency room specialists because of relatively low pay, long hours and high stress at many hospitals, doctors and health care analysts said. Emergency room service is often spotty, as ER beds in many hospitals are limited and diagnostic expertise is sometimes lacking. In a highly publicized but not unprecedented incident, a pregnant woman complaining of a severe headache was refused admission last year to seven Tokyo hospitals. She died of an undiagnosed brain hemorrhage after giving birth.
"We are in a hospital desert at night," said Yashiro, citing insufficient pay incentives for the robust 24-hour staffing common at large U.S. hospitals.
Skilled doctors tend to leave Japanese hospitals for the higher pay and predictable hours of private clinics. There, they become primary-care doctors, making up for low treatment fees with astonishingly high volume, seeing patients in an assembly-line process that leaves little time for questions.
Toshihiko Oba had spent most of his medical career in hospitals. As an ear, nose and throat specialist, he worked 80-hour weeks for 13 years, with an annual salary of $100,000. The average salary for a hospital-based doctor in Japan is about $150,000, according to the Ministry of Health.
"The money was not so good and you have lots of responsibility and pressure," said Oba, 47.
Five years ago, he made a career change common for Japanese doctors at the pinnacle of their careers. He left the hospital and opened a private clinic, and now treats mainly colds and allergies.
In his office in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district, Oba works from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., five days a week. He said he works fast, typically treating 150 patients a day, usually for about three minutes each.
Volume has allowed him to increase his income greatly, Oba said, although he declined to be specific. Most doctors in Japan who jump from hospitals to private clinics double their income, according to the Ministry of Health. Medical malpractice insurance in Japan is not a major expense for many doctors, in part because there are relatively few lawyers. Oba pays only about $1,000 a year.
One of the great strengths of Japan's health care system - the ability to see the doctor of one's choice and be seen quickly - has become one of the greatest curses for controlling health care quality and costs, experts here agree.
There is no gatekeeper for medical care or for hospital stays.
"The government has been trying for more than 20 years to put up gates," said Naoki Ikegami, professor of health policy and management at the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo. "But we don't train general practitioners to be gatekeepers."
Japan also has about three times as many hospitals per capita as the United States does. The government has tried to limit hospital beds, but with little success because of institutional inertia and a cultural preference for in-patient treatment. New mothers in Japan often stay in a hospital five days after a routine delivery; in the United States, they rarely stay for more than one or two.
Japan's health care system mixes socialism with individual responsibility and market forces. The government pays one-quarter of the total health care bill, and employers and workers pay the rest through mandatory insurance.
"More than one-third of the workers' premiums are used to transfer wealth from the young, healthy and rich to the old, unhealthy and poor," Ikegami said.
Workers at major corporations pay about 4 percent of their salary to a company-based insurance provider. These premiums are limited to $6,000 a year, but the average salary worker pays $1,931, the government says. Job-based insurance in the United States costs the typical employee $3,354 a year, according to the U.S.-based National Coalition on Health Care.
In Japan, employers pay premiums that match each employee's contribution. In the United States, where health insurance is far more expensive, employers pay private insurers three or four times the amount contributed by each employee.
The self-employed and the unemployed in Japan must pay about $1,600 a year for insurance coverage. In addition, working-age patients are required to make a 30-percent co-payment for treatment and drugs - the highest such fee in the world. But those payments tend to be relatively low because of the tight lid on costs. If the co-payment exceeds $863 in any month, it drops to 1 percent of additional medical bills.
Hana Mukai, a fashion merchandiser in Tokyo, said she can't think of anything wrong with health care in Japan.
She takes her son Yugo, 4, to an ear, nose and throat specialist nearly every week during the cold and flu season. They go about 12 times a year, often when her son has a runny nose. She does not need to make an appointment, but has to wait about 75 minutes to see the doctor.
The doctor checks his ears, irrigates his nose and prescribes medicine. The visit usually lasts a few minutes, and it is free. There is supposed to be a co-payment, but Mukai's local ward government covers all medical costs for children, which is common in much of Japan. Mukai says she never buys over-the-counter drugs for Yugo, because prescribed drugs for children are also free.
As for her own health care costs, she says they are either invisible or negligible. She has never checked to see how much she pays through payroll deductions for health-care premiums. The co-payment for doctor visits is insignificant, she says, since the total bill for most visits comes to less than $30, including drugs.
"I know my medical fee is going to be cheap, so I have never, ever thought about how much it will cost me to go to the doctor," said Mukai, 39.
The health of Mukai, her husband and her son - and of nearly everyone in Japan - also benefits from free annual checkups. Japan requires companies to pay for annual physicals for employees.
Local and national governments also push preventive care. Since Mukai is nearly 40, her local ward government has notified her that she can sign up for a comprehensive, and free, battery of tests. Doctors will examine her eyes and teeth, and they will test for colon, stomach and cervical cancer. She will also receive a free gynecological workup.
For her son, an internal medicine specialist and a dentist visit his public day-care center twice a year to conduct free examinations. Once a year at day care, he is examined at no cost by two other doctors for potential eye, nose and ear problems.
The health care system, though, does not deserve all the credit for the relatively robust health of the Japanese. Diet and lifestyle are generally healthier than they are in the United States. There is less violent crime, fewer car accidents and much less obesity. Only about 3 percent of Japanese are obese, compared with more than 30 percent of Americans, according to the OECD.
Still, Western food has encroached on the diet, and there are increasing numbers of sedentary, overweight Japanese. As part of the preventive focus of health care, the government is pushing back against obesity-related health problems - known here as "metabolic syndrome" - in ways that probably would astonish Americans.
There is compulsory obesity screening for 70 percent of the population. If people are found to be too fat around the waist, they are required to receive counseling on exercise and diet.
The law was passed three years ago, so it is too soon to know whether screening and counseling are effective. But health care experts agree that the government has succeeded in making nearly everyone worry about fat, while thinking more about what they eat and how often they exercise.
It puzzles Mukai that the United States does not imitate the best parts of her country's health care system, particularly preventive care, universal coverage and free treatment for children.
"If the Japanese can do it, why can't the Americans?" she said.
Post special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.
TOKYO - Half a world away from the U.S. health care debate, Japan has a system that costs half as much and often achieves better medical outcomes than its American counterpart. It does so by banning insurance company profits, limiting doctor fees and accepting shortcomings in care that many well-insured Americans would find intolerable.
The Japanese visit a doctor nearly 14 times a year, more than four times as often as Americans. They can choose any primary care physician or specialist they want, and surveys show they are almost always seen on the day they want. All that medical care helps keep the Japanese alive longer than any other people on Earth while fostering one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates.
Health care in Japan - a hybrid system funded by job-based insurance premiums and taxes - is universal and mandatory, and consumes about 8 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, half as much as in the United States. Unlike in the U.S. system, no one is denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition or goes bankrupt because a family member gets sick.
But many health care economists say Japan's low-cost system is probably not sustainable without significant change. Japan already has the world's oldest population; by 2050, 40 percent will be 65 or older. The disease mix is becoming more expensive to treat, as rates of cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's disease steadily increase. Demand for medical care will triple in the next 25 years, according to a recent analysis by McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm.
Japan has a stagnant economy, with a shortage of young people that hobbles prospects for growth and strangles the capacity of the debt-strapped government to increase health-care spending. Without reform, costs are projected to double, reaching current U.S. levels in a decade, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
For generations, Japan has achieved its successes by maintaining a vise-like grip on costs. After hard bargaining with medical providers every two years, the government sets a price for treatment and drugs - and tolerates no fudging.
As a result, most Japanese doctors make far less money than their U.S. counterparts. Administrative costs are four times lower than they are in the United States, in part because insurance companies do not set rates for treatment or deny claims. By law, they cannot make profits or advertise to attract low-risk, high-profit clients.
To keep costs down, Japan has made tradeoffs in other areas - sometimes to the detriment of patients. Some are merely irritating, such as routine hour-long waits before doctor appointments. But others involve worrisome questions about quality control and gaps in treatment for urgent care.
Japanese hospitals experience a "crowding out" effect, with space for emergency care and serious medical conditions sometimes overwhelmed by a flood of patients seeking routine treatment, said Naohiro Yashiro, a professor of economics and health care expert at International Christian University in Tokyo.
"Patients are treated too equally," he said. "Beds are occupied by less-urgent cases, and there are no penalties for those who over-use the system."
The government has largely been unable to reduce the length of hospital stays, which are four times as long in Japan as in the United States. Hospital doctors are often overworked and cannot hone specialized life-saving skills, according to recent reports by McKinsey. Statistics show that the Japanese are much less likely to have heart attacks than people in the United States, but that when they do, their chance of dying is twice as high.
There are shortages of obstetricians, anesthesiologists and emergency room specialists because of relatively low pay, long hours and high stress at many hospitals, doctors and health care analysts said. Emergency room service is often spotty, as ER beds in many hospitals are limited and diagnostic expertise is sometimes lacking. In a highly publicized but not unprecedented incident, a pregnant woman complaining of a severe headache was refused admission last year to seven Tokyo hospitals. She died of an undiagnosed brain hemorrhage after giving birth.
"We are in a hospital desert at night," said Yashiro, citing insufficient pay incentives for the robust 24-hour staffing common at large U.S. hospitals.
Skilled doctors tend to leave Japanese hospitals for the higher pay and predictable hours of private clinics. There, they become primary-care doctors, making up for low treatment fees with astonishingly high volume, seeing patients in an assembly-line process that leaves little time for questions.
Toshihiko Oba had spent most of his medical career in hospitals. As an ear, nose and throat specialist, he worked 80-hour weeks for 13 years, with an annual salary of $100,000. The average salary for a hospital-based doctor in Japan is about $150,000, according to the Ministry of Health.
"The money was not so good and you have lots of responsibility and pressure," said Oba, 47.
Five years ago, he made a career change common for Japanese doctors at the pinnacle of their careers. He left the hospital and opened a private clinic, and now treats mainly colds and allergies.
In his office in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district, Oba works from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., five days a week. He said he works fast, typically treating 150 patients a day, usually for about three minutes each.
Volume has allowed him to increase his income greatly, Oba said, although he declined to be specific. Most doctors in Japan who jump from hospitals to private clinics double their income, according to the Ministry of Health. Medical malpractice insurance in Japan is not a major expense for many doctors, in part because there are relatively few lawyers. Oba pays only about $1,000 a year.
One of the great strengths of Japan's health care system - the ability to see the doctor of one's choice and be seen quickly - has become one of the greatest curses for controlling health care quality and costs, experts here agree.
There is no gatekeeper for medical care or for hospital stays.
"The government has been trying for more than 20 years to put up gates," said Naoki Ikegami, professor of health policy and management at the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo. "But we don't train general practitioners to be gatekeepers."
Japan also has about three times as many hospitals per capita as the United States does. The government has tried to limit hospital beds, but with little success because of institutional inertia and a cultural preference for in-patient treatment. New mothers in Japan often stay in a hospital five days after a routine delivery; in the United States, they rarely stay for more than one or two.
Japan's health care system mixes socialism with individual responsibility and market forces. The government pays one-quarter of the total health care bill, and employers and workers pay the rest through mandatory insurance.
"More than one-third of the workers' premiums are used to transfer wealth from the young, healthy and rich to the old, unhealthy and poor," Ikegami said.
Workers at major corporations pay about 4 percent of their salary to a company-based insurance provider. These premiums are limited to $6,000 a year, but the average salary worker pays $1,931, the government says. Job-based insurance in the United States costs the typical employee $3,354 a year, according to the U.S.-based National Coalition on Health Care.
In Japan, employers pay premiums that match each employee's contribution. In the United States, where health insurance is far more expensive, employers pay private insurers three or four times the amount contributed by each employee.
The self-employed and the unemployed in Japan must pay about $1,600 a year for insurance coverage. In addition, working-age patients are required to make a 30-percent co-payment for treatment and drugs - the highest such fee in the world. But those payments tend to be relatively low because of the tight lid on costs. If the co-payment exceeds $863 in any month, it drops to 1 percent of additional medical bills.
Hana Mukai, a fashion merchandiser in Tokyo, said she can't think of anything wrong with health care in Japan.
She takes her son Yugo, 4, to an ear, nose and throat specialist nearly every week during the cold and flu season. They go about 12 times a year, often when her son has a runny nose. She does not need to make an appointment, but has to wait about 75 minutes to see the doctor.
The doctor checks his ears, irrigates his nose and prescribes medicine. The visit usually lasts a few minutes, and it is free. There is supposed to be a co-payment, but Mukai's local ward government covers all medical costs for children, which is common in much of Japan. Mukai says she never buys over-the-counter drugs for Yugo, because prescribed drugs for children are also free.
As for her own health care costs, she says they are either invisible or negligible. She has never checked to see how much she pays through payroll deductions for health-care premiums. The co-payment for doctor visits is insignificant, she says, since the total bill for most visits comes to less than $30, including drugs.
"I know my medical fee is going to be cheap, so I have never, ever thought about how much it will cost me to go to the doctor," said Mukai, 39.
The health of Mukai, her husband and her son - and of nearly everyone in Japan - also benefits from free annual checkups. Japan requires companies to pay for annual physicals for employees.
Local and national governments also push preventive care. Since Mukai is nearly 40, her local ward government has notified her that she can sign up for a comprehensive, and free, battery of tests. Doctors will examine her eyes and teeth, and they will test for colon, stomach and cervical cancer. She will also receive a free gynecological workup.
For her son, an internal medicine specialist and a dentist visit his public day-care center twice a year to conduct free examinations. Once a year at day care, he is examined at no cost by two other doctors for potential eye, nose and ear problems.
The health care system, though, does not deserve all the credit for the relatively robust health of the Japanese. Diet and lifestyle are generally healthier than they are in the United States. There is less violent crime, fewer car accidents and much less obesity. Only about 3 percent of Japanese are obese, compared with more than 30 percent of Americans, according to the OECD.
Still, Western food has encroached on the diet, and there are increasing numbers of sedentary, overweight Japanese. As part of the preventive focus of health care, the government is pushing back against obesity-related health problems - known here as "metabolic syndrome" - in ways that probably would astonish Americans.
There is compulsory obesity screening for 70 percent of the population. If people are found to be too fat around the waist, they are required to receive counseling on exercise and diet.
The law was passed three years ago, so it is too soon to know whether screening and counseling are effective. But health care experts agree that the government has succeeded in making nearly everyone worry about fat, while thinking more about what they eat and how often they exercise.
It puzzles Mukai that the United States does not imitate the best parts of her country's health care system, particularly preventive care, universal coverage and free treatment for children.
"If the Japanese can do it, why can't the Americans?" she said.
Post special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.
IBM Bets On Beijing
Technology
Andy Greenberg, 11.30.09, 12:00 AM ET
The cameras that watch over hundreds of street intersections in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang (pop. 7.2 million) aren't the sort of technology that pleases privacy advocates or taxi drivers. As in many Chinese metropolises, those robotic eyes--often hidden in small black orbs suspended from lampposts--capture license plate numbers of red-light runners and pass the data to transit cops who mail tickets to offenders.
But Min Wanli, a researcher in IBM's Beijing research lab, wants to exploit those traffic watchdogs for a friendlier purpose. Pulling together automobile movements aggregated from Shenyang's nearly 1,000 cameras as well as sensors beneath its roads, Min says he can predict the time and location of a traffic jam with 85% certainty up to an hour in the future. A few prescient changes of a red light to green or the opening of an extra lane, he says, could evaporate rush-hour congestion before it appears.
"The government has already spent billions around the country collecting this data," says Min. "We just need to make sense of it."
Over the last decade IBM has mutated from a seller of servers and mainframes to a company that pulled in 57% of its $103 billion in 2008 revenue from advising businesses and running their information technology operations. Its latest offering involves making infrastructure "smart." That means supplying the expertise to run the technology behind power utilities, rail, health and traffic systems. The bigger the problem, the more IBM says it stands to profit as a consultant and integrator across hardware, software and services.
Corralling an urban car population--a trick IBM is currently testing in Singapore--is just one piece of the company's ambitions for Shenyang. In September IBM signed a deal with the city government to make it more ecologically benign by reducing carbon emissions, as well as monitoring the city's water quality and food-supply chain.
Shenyang isn't an IBM customer so much as a guinea pig. The city is pitching in $44 million for a joint research project with IBM, which says it's investing at least as much in man-hours and intellectual property. In return IBM gets a large-scale test bed for its urban infrastructure technologies. The market for this kind of work could be worth several billion dollars a year: China has 118 cities with populations over 1 million.
But there's a danger to collaborating with China's authoritarian government. One project IBM is negotiating to handle in the southern city of Kunshan could include a police system for mining criminal data and triangulating suspect locations from surveillance cameras and cell phone emergency calls. Connecting the dots to human rights abuses wouldn't be hard. "This is a government that will use IBM's tools to track down people engaged in the legitimate exercise of their rights: lawyers, writers and activists," says Sharon Hom, director of the advocacy group Human Rights in China.
IBM execs argue the company sticks to a set of guidelines that it applies globally. "We only do work that will improve the way the world works," says Franklin Kern, head of IBM's consulting arm.
Most of China's problems, to be sure, are far less controversial--and far larger. The country has doubled its energy consumption since the year 2000, according to energy tracker Carbon Monitoring for Action. To meet increasing demand, a new coal-fired power plant big enough to power Kansas City comes online in China every eight or nine days. China's carbon dioxide emissions have doubled this decade, surpassing those of the U.S. The number of cars in China, now 25 million, is growing 25% a year, creating traffic crises. To counteract the trend the government plans over the next five years to add 12,000 miles of high-speed rail, more than will be added in all the rest of the world.
The rewards for those who can grab a piece of this buildout are China-size, too. Last year the central government announced a $656 billion stimulus package, including $400 billion aimed at expanding infrastructure. Some $2.3 billion of that will go to information technology aimed at the power grid and $2 billion to data systems for rail, all to be spent in 2010, according to the China Center for Information Industry Development, a government-run think tank. After that initial infusion info technology spending will continue to grow, the CCID predicts, at a clip of 10% a year for power systems and 30% a year for rail.
"Every level of government in China is talking about this," says IBM's head of research in China, Thomas Li. "They have the need. We have the ability."
Since January IBM has been parachuting senior executives into Beijing to launch new divisions aimed at getting rail and power grid projects. Bradley Gammons, IBM's head of energy and utilities sales, moved to Beijing in September to start an energy-and-utilities solution center aimed at building so-called smart grids. These add sensors to power grids to predict outages and integrate unpredictable power sources like wind and solar. Gammons is overseeing several as yet undisclosed smart grid research projects with China's State Grid, the government-run utility that controls most of the country's electricity. It plans to implement nine projects next year.
Keith Dierkx, IBM's most senior rail-focused exec, moved to Beijing over the summer to start a rail innovation center. The center is working on methods of monitoring rail tracks with pressure and acoustic sensors built into train cars, a system that would pinpoint defective tracks before they cause a derailment.
Competitors are also eyeing the tech opportunities in China's infrastructure explosion. Accenture, for instance, says it has launched ten smart-grid pilot projects in the country. Hewlett-Packard and Oracle will vie for hardware and software contracts. But IBM remains the only company that sells hardware, software and the consulting services to integrate them into complex infrastructure projects.
IBM's history in China also goes back further than most competitors. The company first sold a punch card tabulator to a Beijing hospital in 1934. After fleeing the country in the 1949 revolution, IBM ventured back in 1979 following Mao Zedong's death, selling through Chinese partners in the early days of the country's reform and opening period. Even after 1989's Tiananmen massacre and the crackdown on dissidents that followed, IBM held fast, creating a Chinese subsidiary in 1992 and tightening its ties to China and its government.
Are those ties to China's dictatorship too tight? Claudia Fan Munce, the Taiwan-born head of IBM's venture capital group, answers diplomatically. "The government has a strong arm," she says. "But right now they're focused on innovation. And so are we."
By The Numbers: Ultra-Infrastructure
China's backbone buildout offers huge opportunities--and dwarfs what's happening in the U.S.
Coal-fired power plants in use in 20201
U.S.: 420
China: 1250
Investment in renewable energy through 20202
U.S.: $36 billion
China: $208 billion
Government stimulus for high-speed rail
U.S.: $8 billion
China: $100 billion
1Assuming carbon limits; 600 megawatt plants. 2Assuming carbon limits. Sources: International Energy Agency; China Center for Information Industry Development; U.S. Congress.
Andy Greenberg, 11.30.09, 12:00 AM ET
The cameras that watch over hundreds of street intersections in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang (pop. 7.2 million) aren't the sort of technology that pleases privacy advocates or taxi drivers. As in many Chinese metropolises, those robotic eyes--often hidden in small black orbs suspended from lampposts--capture license plate numbers of red-light runners and pass the data to transit cops who mail tickets to offenders.
But Min Wanli, a researcher in IBM's Beijing research lab, wants to exploit those traffic watchdogs for a friendlier purpose. Pulling together automobile movements aggregated from Shenyang's nearly 1,000 cameras as well as sensors beneath its roads, Min says he can predict the time and location of a traffic jam with 85% certainty up to an hour in the future. A few prescient changes of a red light to green or the opening of an extra lane, he says, could evaporate rush-hour congestion before it appears.
"The government has already spent billions around the country collecting this data," says Min. "We just need to make sense of it."
Over the last decade IBM has mutated from a seller of servers and mainframes to a company that pulled in 57% of its $103 billion in 2008 revenue from advising businesses and running their information technology operations. Its latest offering involves making infrastructure "smart." That means supplying the expertise to run the technology behind power utilities, rail, health and traffic systems. The bigger the problem, the more IBM says it stands to profit as a consultant and integrator across hardware, software and services.
Corralling an urban car population--a trick IBM is currently testing in Singapore--is just one piece of the company's ambitions for Shenyang. In September IBM signed a deal with the city government to make it more ecologically benign by reducing carbon emissions, as well as monitoring the city's water quality and food-supply chain.
Shenyang isn't an IBM customer so much as a guinea pig. The city is pitching in $44 million for a joint research project with IBM, which says it's investing at least as much in man-hours and intellectual property. In return IBM gets a large-scale test bed for its urban infrastructure technologies. The market for this kind of work could be worth several billion dollars a year: China has 118 cities with populations over 1 million.
But there's a danger to collaborating with China's authoritarian government. One project IBM is negotiating to handle in the southern city of Kunshan could include a police system for mining criminal data and triangulating suspect locations from surveillance cameras and cell phone emergency calls. Connecting the dots to human rights abuses wouldn't be hard. "This is a government that will use IBM's tools to track down people engaged in the legitimate exercise of their rights: lawyers, writers and activists," says Sharon Hom, director of the advocacy group Human Rights in China.
IBM execs argue the company sticks to a set of guidelines that it applies globally. "We only do work that will improve the way the world works," says Franklin Kern, head of IBM's consulting arm.
Most of China's problems, to be sure, are far less controversial--and far larger. The country has doubled its energy consumption since the year 2000, according to energy tracker Carbon Monitoring for Action. To meet increasing demand, a new coal-fired power plant big enough to power Kansas City comes online in China every eight or nine days. China's carbon dioxide emissions have doubled this decade, surpassing those of the U.S. The number of cars in China, now 25 million, is growing 25% a year, creating traffic crises. To counteract the trend the government plans over the next five years to add 12,000 miles of high-speed rail, more than will be added in all the rest of the world.
The rewards for those who can grab a piece of this buildout are China-size, too. Last year the central government announced a $656 billion stimulus package, including $400 billion aimed at expanding infrastructure. Some $2.3 billion of that will go to information technology aimed at the power grid and $2 billion to data systems for rail, all to be spent in 2010, according to the China Center for Information Industry Development, a government-run think tank. After that initial infusion info technology spending will continue to grow, the CCID predicts, at a clip of 10% a year for power systems and 30% a year for rail.
"Every level of government in China is talking about this," says IBM's head of research in China, Thomas Li. "They have the need. We have the ability."
Since January IBM has been parachuting senior executives into Beijing to launch new divisions aimed at getting rail and power grid projects. Bradley Gammons, IBM's head of energy and utilities sales, moved to Beijing in September to start an energy-and-utilities solution center aimed at building so-called smart grids. These add sensors to power grids to predict outages and integrate unpredictable power sources like wind and solar. Gammons is overseeing several as yet undisclosed smart grid research projects with China's State Grid, the government-run utility that controls most of the country's electricity. It plans to implement nine projects next year.
Keith Dierkx, IBM's most senior rail-focused exec, moved to Beijing over the summer to start a rail innovation center. The center is working on methods of monitoring rail tracks with pressure and acoustic sensors built into train cars, a system that would pinpoint defective tracks before they cause a derailment.
Competitors are also eyeing the tech opportunities in China's infrastructure explosion. Accenture, for instance, says it has launched ten smart-grid pilot projects in the country. Hewlett-Packard and Oracle will vie for hardware and software contracts. But IBM remains the only company that sells hardware, software and the consulting services to integrate them into complex infrastructure projects.
IBM's history in China also goes back further than most competitors. The company first sold a punch card tabulator to a Beijing hospital in 1934. After fleeing the country in the 1949 revolution, IBM ventured back in 1979 following Mao Zedong's death, selling through Chinese partners in the early days of the country's reform and opening period. Even after 1989's Tiananmen massacre and the crackdown on dissidents that followed, IBM held fast, creating a Chinese subsidiary in 1992 and tightening its ties to China and its government.
Are those ties to China's dictatorship too tight? Claudia Fan Munce, the Taiwan-born head of IBM's venture capital group, answers diplomatically. "The government has a strong arm," she says. "But right now they're focused on innovation. And so are we."
By The Numbers: Ultra-Infrastructure
China's backbone buildout offers huge opportunities--and dwarfs what's happening in the U.S.
Coal-fired power plants in use in 20201
U.S.: 420
China: 1250
Investment in renewable energy through 20202
U.S.: $36 billion
China: $208 billion
Government stimulus for high-speed rail
U.S.: $8 billion
China: $100 billion
1Assuming carbon limits; 600 megawatt plants. 2Assuming carbon limits. Sources: International Energy Agency; China Center for Information Industry Development; U.S. Congress.
It's not the world's first electric car, but the Nissan Leaf, launched in August, is the first fully electric vehicle built for mass production for the global market. To help drivers shift their thinking from gas to green, Japan's third largest automaker has about 30 partnerships worldwide focused on developing an infrastructure of battery-recharging stations to keep electric vehicles on the roads. The car's top speed is more than 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h), and its range is 100 miles (160 km) on a full charge. When it moves, it makes a futuristic sound like the flying cars in Blade Runner. Nissan will produce 50,000 Leafs each year at its Oppama plant, southwest of Tokyo, starting in the fall of 2010.
Ambassador Frank Lavin, 11.24.09, 1:45 AM ET
HONG KONG -
In the early morning rain of November 16, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton took a side trip from accompanying President Obama to China to visit a construction site in Shanghai. Just hours later, President Obama held a town hall meeting with a group of Shanghai students. These two events might be more closely linked than they first appear. Secretary Clinton's visit was not to just any building site, but to the final phase of construction of the USA National Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai Exposition (World's Fair). Although the Fair will not open until May 2010, it is something on which Americans should reflect and, if possible, participate. There are three reasons why the Fair is important and one argument for caution.
The first reason is the Fair itself. The Shanghai Expo could prove to be the greatest combination ever of museums, exhibit halls, theaters, amusement parks, scientific displays, pageants, and cultural performances. It will be the largest World's Fair in history, in terms of number of exhibitors (over 240), amount of acreage (over 1200) and number of visitors (projected at over 70 million.) Since the Fair runs for 6 months, this translates into a daily attendance of around 400,000 - one Woodstock a day for 180 days.) The cost will run over $45 billion, a staggering figure for urban redevelopment. But after all, the 70 million fairgoers will make this six-month event not just the largest World's Fair in history, but the largest gathering in human history.
Second is what the fair says about China. The Fair is a national undertaking for China, with the Director General of the Expo Authority accorded Cabinet rank. Anyone who followed the Beijing Olympics last year understands that China does not embark on these initiatives lightly. This is a national project, one that commands the full attention of the Beijing Government. The Fair is an opportunity for China to make a statement about itself to the world and to its own people. The mammoth size of the fair itself is a statement that China views itself second to no one and will use its budget and power accordingly. This is a statement primarily to a domestic audience, as the 70 million fairgoers will be 90% Chinese, but the world will take note. Some might conclude that China is overly concerned about message control or that Chinese leadership is insecure in the need to make such a statement. I believe more will draw a positive conclusion, that as the host for the largest event in the world, it would ill-behoove China to be casual or sloppy about how it presents itself. China is a proud nation and wants to put all the effort it can into hosting the world.
The third reason is what the fair might say about the United States. Every time I visit China, I see a nation that is hungry to learn more about America. The Fair is a chance to share our values, our products, our ideas, and our culture. In short it is "soft power" at its best and that is the reason why Secretary Clinton has taken a leadership role in turning the USA Pavilion into reality. The logic here is that the values Americans cherish are in many respects universal values, shared by people around the world. This was summed up by President Obama in his meeting last week with Shanghai students when he called for freedom of the Internet. Why shouldn't the USA Pavilion include a discussion of the Bill of Rights? Why shouldn't it discuss the long struggle in America for political participation and Civil Rights? Why shouldn't we explain how religious freedoms play an important role in the lives of most Americans? One survey about the Expo by Ogilvy & Mather China showed that the USA Pavilion is expected to be the most popular foreign exhibit for Chinese fairgoers, second only to the Chinese Pavilion. World Fairs are enshrined in American consciousness, but with 60,000 square feet of history, technology, and culture on display in China, the USA Pavilion next year will redefine the experience.
Finally, there is one point to keep in mind about what the Fair is not. The Fair is not a policy mechanism. It is not a platform for trade negotiations, though it will see the introduction of new products. It will not solve human rights issues, though it should strengthen the discussion. It will not guarantee agreement on environmental issues, but it will certainly increase awareness. Whatever complaints or criticisms one has regarding China before the Fair will probably be in place when the Fair is over. But maybe we will have chipped away at some of these issues. And maybe at this largest peaceful gathering of nations in history, Americans will have the opportunity to learn a few things as well.
Americans should come to the fair proud of our story, humble in awareness of our short-comings, willing to learn from others and share experiences, and most of all, ready for fun. See you at the Fair.
HONG KONG -
In the early morning rain of November 16, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton took a side trip from accompanying President Obama to China to visit a construction site in Shanghai. Just hours later, President Obama held a town hall meeting with a group of Shanghai students. These two events might be more closely linked than they first appear. Secretary Clinton's visit was not to just any building site, but to the final phase of construction of the USA National Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai Exposition (World's Fair). Although the Fair will not open until May 2010, it is something on which Americans should reflect and, if possible, participate. There are three reasons why the Fair is important and one argument for caution.
The first reason is the Fair itself. The Shanghai Expo could prove to be the greatest combination ever of museums, exhibit halls, theaters, amusement parks, scientific displays, pageants, and cultural performances. It will be the largest World's Fair in history, in terms of number of exhibitors (over 240), amount of acreage (over 1200) and number of visitors (projected at over 70 million.) Since the Fair runs for 6 months, this translates into a daily attendance of around 400,000 - one Woodstock a day for 180 days.) The cost will run over $45 billion, a staggering figure for urban redevelopment. But after all, the 70 million fairgoers will make this six-month event not just the largest World's Fair in history, but the largest gathering in human history.
Second is what the fair says about China. The Fair is a national undertaking for China, with the Director General of the Expo Authority accorded Cabinet rank. Anyone who followed the Beijing Olympics last year understands that China does not embark on these initiatives lightly. This is a national project, one that commands the full attention of the Beijing Government. The Fair is an opportunity for China to make a statement about itself to the world and to its own people. The mammoth size of the fair itself is a statement that China views itself second to no one and will use its budget and power accordingly. This is a statement primarily to a domestic audience, as the 70 million fairgoers will be 90% Chinese, but the world will take note. Some might conclude that China is overly concerned about message control or that Chinese leadership is insecure in the need to make such a statement. I believe more will draw a positive conclusion, that as the host for the largest event in the world, it would ill-behoove China to be casual or sloppy about how it presents itself. China is a proud nation and wants to put all the effort it can into hosting the world.
The third reason is what the fair might say about the United States. Every time I visit China, I see a nation that is hungry to learn more about America. The Fair is a chance to share our values, our products, our ideas, and our culture. In short it is "soft power" at its best and that is the reason why Secretary Clinton has taken a leadership role in turning the USA Pavilion into reality. The logic here is that the values Americans cherish are in many respects universal values, shared by people around the world. This was summed up by President Obama in his meeting last week with Shanghai students when he called for freedom of the Internet. Why shouldn't the USA Pavilion include a discussion of the Bill of Rights? Why shouldn't it discuss the long struggle in America for political participation and Civil Rights? Why shouldn't we explain how religious freedoms play an important role in the lives of most Americans? One survey about the Expo by Ogilvy & Mather China showed that the USA Pavilion is expected to be the most popular foreign exhibit for Chinese fairgoers, second only to the Chinese Pavilion. World Fairs are enshrined in American consciousness, but with 60,000 square feet of history, technology, and culture on display in China, the USA Pavilion next year will redefine the experience.
Finally, there is one point to keep in mind about what the Fair is not. The Fair is not a policy mechanism. It is not a platform for trade negotiations, though it will see the introduction of new products. It will not solve human rights issues, though it should strengthen the discussion. It will not guarantee agreement on environmental issues, but it will certainly increase awareness. Whatever complaints or criticisms one has regarding China before the Fair will probably be in place when the Fair is over. But maybe we will have chipped away at some of these issues. And maybe at this largest peaceful gathering of nations in history, Americans will have the opportunity to learn a few things as well.
Americans should come to the fair proud of our story, humble in awareness of our short-comings, willing to learn from others and share experiences, and most of all, ready for fun. See you at the Fair.
Nissan Leaf One of Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2009
It's not the world's first electric car, but the Nissan Leaf, launched in August, is the first fully electric vehicle built for mass production for the global market. To help drivers shift their thinking from gas to green, Japan's third largest automaker has about 30 partnerships worldwide focused on developing an infrastructure of battery-recharging stations to keep electric vehicles on the roads. The car's top speed is more than 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h), and its range is 100 miles (160 km) on a full charge. When it moves, it makes a futuristic sound like the flying cars in Blade Runner. Nissan will produce 50,000 Leafs each year at its Oppama plant, southwest of Tokyo, starting in the fall of 2010.
Japan's Obama town welcomes president with Hawaiian dance
Fri Nov 13, 12:17 pm ET
TOKYO (AFP) – When the US president arrived in Japan on Friday to kick off his first Asia tour in office, no-one was happier than his most fervent fans in the country -- the residents of the town of Obama.
To welcome the US leader, who spent part of his youth in Hawaii, and whose father was Kenyan, the town of 30,000 people dispatched its team of hula dancers to perform a dance outside the embassy of the African country.
The tropical-style welcome was actually performed several hours before Barack Obama's Air Force One touched down in a cold drizzle -- but the undeterred organisers suggested it was the symbolism that mattered.
The namesake of their ancient fishing town, which means "small shore" in Japanese, had been unable to make time to visit Obama town during his busy two-day trip, or even to watch the heartfelt Hawaiian welcome, they said.
"Security is so tight that we only hope to get a glance of the president at some point," said the group's leader, Seiji Fujihara, referring to the 16,000 police who are on duty in Tokyo during the state visit.
"We danced for friendship with Kenya and for the new ambassador," he said. "We also danced with the wish that we will meet President Obama."
Fujihara later said he and his dancers would wait again on Saturday to perform another show somewhere along Obama's route.
"We know it will be impossible to bring him to Obama," he said. "But we hope something will happen, and we are thrilled."
The people of Obama have rallied hard for the US President since his election campaign, creating a hula dance in his honour and distributing "I Love Obama" T-shirts.
The western Japan town, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Tokyo, has turned its accidental world fame into a cottage industry, selling presidential souvenirs and snacks, and enjoying a spike in tourism.
The town's officials had made every possible effort to contact Obama, sending him a gift of lacquer-coated chopsticks, the town's traditional craft, and offering him an invitation to the coastal settlement.
"The invitation was not accepted, due to the tight schedule of the president, but instead the US government invited the mayor to his speech," which is to be held in Tokyo on Saturday, a city official told AFP.
Obama Mayor Koji Matsuzaki gladly accepted the offer, she added.
TOKYO (AFP) – When the US president arrived in Japan on Friday to kick off his first Asia tour in office, no-one was happier than his most fervent fans in the country -- the residents of the town of Obama.
To welcome the US leader, who spent part of his youth in Hawaii, and whose father was Kenyan, the town of 30,000 people dispatched its team of hula dancers to perform a dance outside the embassy of the African country.
The tropical-style welcome was actually performed several hours before Barack Obama's Air Force One touched down in a cold drizzle -- but the undeterred organisers suggested it was the symbolism that mattered.
The namesake of their ancient fishing town, which means "small shore" in Japanese, had been unable to make time to visit Obama town during his busy two-day trip, or even to watch the heartfelt Hawaiian welcome, they said.
"Security is so tight that we only hope to get a glance of the president at some point," said the group's leader, Seiji Fujihara, referring to the 16,000 police who are on duty in Tokyo during the state visit.
"We danced for friendship with Kenya and for the new ambassador," he said. "We also danced with the wish that we will meet President Obama."
Fujihara later said he and his dancers would wait again on Saturday to perform another show somewhere along Obama's route.
"We know it will be impossible to bring him to Obama," he said. "But we hope something will happen, and we are thrilled."
The people of Obama have rallied hard for the US President since his election campaign, creating a hula dance in his honour and distributing "I Love Obama" T-shirts.
The western Japan town, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Tokyo, has turned its accidental world fame into a cottage industry, selling presidential souvenirs and snacks, and enjoying a spike in tourism.
The town's officials had made every possible effort to contact Obama, sending him a gift of lacquer-coated chopsticks, the town's traditional craft, and offering him an invitation to the coastal settlement.
"The invitation was not accepted, due to the tight schedule of the president, but instead the US government invited the mayor to his speech," which is to be held in Tokyo on Saturday, a city official told AFP.
Obama Mayor Koji Matsuzaki gladly accepted the offer, she added.
.Japan PM says nation should embrace migrants
Sat Nov 14, 2:53 pm ET
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an ageing population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.
Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue".
But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there.
"I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan," he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.
"I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy', but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan," he said.
Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some Southeast Asian countries.
"First, we will improve support for child-rearing by offering cash allowances for families with children," before thinking about immigration to address the country's low birth rate, the premier said.
Japan's population has been shrinking since 2005. Despite efforts to raise the birth rate, a woman's average number of offspring now hovers around 1.3, well below the 2.07 needed to maintain the population.
Japan rejected the prospect of mass immigration under the conservative government led by the Liberal Democratic Party. Hatoyama's centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ousted them in September.
Some politicians have argued that an influx of immigrants would lead to lower wages for Japanese workers and a higher crime rate.
Hatoyama's DPJ has not detailed its immigration policy.
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an ageing population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.
Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue".
But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there.
"I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan," he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.
"I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy', but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan," he said.
Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some Southeast Asian countries.
"First, we will improve support for child-rearing by offering cash allowances for families with children," before thinking about immigration to address the country's low birth rate, the premier said.
Japan's population has been shrinking since 2005. Despite efforts to raise the birth rate, a woman's average number of offspring now hovers around 1.3, well below the 2.07 needed to maintain the population.
Japan rejected the prospect of mass immigration under the conservative government led by the Liberal Democratic Party. Hatoyama's centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ousted them in September.
Some politicians have argued that an influx of immigrants would lead to lower wages for Japanese workers and a higher crime rate.
Hatoyama's DPJ has not detailed its immigration policy.
Beaujolais nouveau hot in Japan - literally
Thu Nov 19, 12:12 pm ET
HAKONE, Japan (AFP) – Japan's craze for Beaujolais nouveau has beaten the global recession, with tourists taking a dip Thursday in a hot mountain spring coloured red with the fruity wine.
The Hakone Kowakien Yunessun spa resort celebrated the annual uncorking of the seasonal drop by having a sommelier pour a few bottles into an open-air hot spring bath as holiday-makers enjoyed soaking themselves.
"It's a very fruity taste," said visitor Eri Yamagida, 21, who also experienced the wine bath last year and said she planned to return next year for the same aromatic pleasure.
It was the fourth annual bath using the produce of the French winery Laboure Roi at the spa, which also offers baths with green tea, coffee and sake.
The Beaujolais service, in which patrons also sip the wine, has struck a chord with Japanese people, who highly value seasonal events, said spa official Mika Okitsu.
Outside the hot spring's soothing waters, however, enthusiasm has waned for the wine, which is traditionally released at the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday in November.
Japanese sales of Beaujolais nouveau have fallen since before the global financial crisis hit the world's second largest economy last year, although Japan remains among its top foreign markets.
Sales in Japan have fallen from a record 12.5 million bottles in 2004 to 8.26 million in 2007 and 6.7 million in 2008.
HAKONE, Japan (AFP) – Japan's craze for Beaujolais nouveau has beaten the global recession, with tourists taking a dip Thursday in a hot mountain spring coloured red with the fruity wine.
The Hakone Kowakien Yunessun spa resort celebrated the annual uncorking of the seasonal drop by having a sommelier pour a few bottles into an open-air hot spring bath as holiday-makers enjoyed soaking themselves.
"It's a very fruity taste," said visitor Eri Yamagida, 21, who also experienced the wine bath last year and said she planned to return next year for the same aromatic pleasure.
It was the fourth annual bath using the produce of the French winery Laboure Roi at the spa, which also offers baths with green tea, coffee and sake.
The Beaujolais service, in which patrons also sip the wine, has struck a chord with Japanese people, who highly value seasonal events, said spa official Mika Okitsu.
Outside the hot spring's soothing waters, however, enthusiasm has waned for the wine, which is traditionally released at the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday in November.
Japanese sales of Beaujolais nouveau have fallen since before the global financial crisis hit the world's second largest economy last year, although Japan remains among its top foreign markets.
Sales in Japan have fallen from a record 12.5 million bottles in 2004 to 8.26 million in 2007 and 6.7 million in 2008.
Deadly redback creeps into Japan
By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy
Posted Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:00am AEDT
Updated Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:54am AEDT
There are fears in Japan that a potentially deadly Australian invader is beginning to close in on some of the country's most crowded urban areas.
It is believed redback spiders originally hitched a ride in a container ship, possibly one carrying woodchips.
A few months ago a six-year-old boy from Osaka was bitten by a redback in the first case where anti-venom was used in Japan.
His case is just one of a dozen this year in which Japanese have been nipped by this Australian arachnid, which is spinning its silk web from Nagoya to Fukuoka, to Osaka.
In fact the Environment Ministry says redbacks have now been reported in 16 of Japan's 47 prefectures. And in Osaka prefecture alone this year, 12 people have been bitten.
The managing director of the Aichi Prefecture Pest Control Association, Takesada Ohashi, is concerned by the trend.
"If redback numbers keep increasing and they spread throughout Osaka city, then I'll be very worried that more people could be bitten," he said.
He says the big fear is they may even be bitten without knowing.
Serious risk
If people are bitten they will need anti-venom, but it has not yet been officially approved for use in Japan.
Only a handful of hospitals in western Japan stock the anti-venom and luckily for the six-year-old Osaka boy, the anti-venom was in stock.
A former researcher at the Osaka Institute of Public Health, Masahiro Yoshida, says the Japanese government has done nothing.
"They only deal with the redback problem after someone is bitten," he said.
"Accidents must be prevented, so I think homes should be checked."
Dr Yoshida warns that someone will die if no steps are taken to halt the spider's spread.
Chopstick defence
Mr Ohashi has a uniquely Japanese approach to dealing with the deadly pests.
"In the case of big factories, we must move in and exterminate at once," he said.
"But in the case of households, we can use pesticides, although I'd rather pick up the redbacks with chopsticks and then kill them.
"Pesticides can flow into water supplies."
What is alarming many in Japan is that redbacks can survive the biting Japanese winter, which officially begins next week, mostly by nesting near heating systems.
And with electrically warmed toilet seats in almost every home, it may be best for the Japanese to check carefully before sitting.
Posted Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:00am AEDT
Updated Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:54am AEDT
There are fears in Japan that a potentially deadly Australian invader is beginning to close in on some of the country's most crowded urban areas.
It is believed redback spiders originally hitched a ride in a container ship, possibly one carrying woodchips.
A few months ago a six-year-old boy from Osaka was bitten by a redback in the first case where anti-venom was used in Japan.
His case is just one of a dozen this year in which Japanese have been nipped by this Australian arachnid, which is spinning its silk web from Nagoya to Fukuoka, to Osaka.
In fact the Environment Ministry says redbacks have now been reported in 16 of Japan's 47 prefectures. And in Osaka prefecture alone this year, 12 people have been bitten.
The managing director of the Aichi Prefecture Pest Control Association, Takesada Ohashi, is concerned by the trend.
"If redback numbers keep increasing and they spread throughout Osaka city, then I'll be very worried that more people could be bitten," he said.
He says the big fear is they may even be bitten without knowing.
Serious risk
If people are bitten they will need anti-venom, but it has not yet been officially approved for use in Japan.
Only a handful of hospitals in western Japan stock the anti-venom and luckily for the six-year-old Osaka boy, the anti-venom was in stock.
A former researcher at the Osaka Institute of Public Health, Masahiro Yoshida, says the Japanese government has done nothing.
"They only deal with the redback problem after someone is bitten," he said.
"Accidents must be prevented, so I think homes should be checked."
Dr Yoshida warns that someone will die if no steps are taken to halt the spider's spread.
Chopstick defence
Mr Ohashi has a uniquely Japanese approach to dealing with the deadly pests.
"In the case of big factories, we must move in and exterminate at once," he said.
"But in the case of households, we can use pesticides, although I'd rather pick up the redbacks with chopsticks and then kill them.
"Pesticides can flow into water supplies."
What is alarming many in Japan is that redbacks can survive the biting Japanese winter, which officially begins next week, mostly by nesting near heating systems.
And with electrically warmed toilet seats in almost every home, it may be best for the Japanese to check carefully before sitting.
Indian PM Visits Amid Worries Over U.S.-China Ties
November 23, 2009
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the guest Tuesday at President Obama's first White House state dinner. Arvind Sumbramanian, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says Singh's visit comes amid fears in India that its relationship with the U.S. is playing second fiddle to U.S. ties with China.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
TRANSCRIPT
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
Tomorrow, the Obama White House will host its first state dinner with another key player in the region, the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh. That country has had a long and complicated relationship with the U.S. It's a nuclear power and an economic powerhouse and also a bitter rival of neighboring Pakistan, whose support is crucial to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
For more on Prime Minister Singh's visit to Washington, we're joined by Arvind Subramanian. He is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Welcome to the program.
Mr. ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics): Thanks for having me, Michele.
NORRIS: I'm curious about what you think Prime Minister Singh hopes to achieve with this visit to Washington. It seemed that stakes are rather high.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think that the most important thing from India's point of view perhaps, Michele, is that it feels that it's relationship with the U.S. is kind of playing second fiddle to the United States relationship with China. Now, especially after this historic nuclear deal that the United States and India signed, that was really a high point in the relationship. And now, with that behind us, there's a sense that there isn't that much important going on between the two countries. And President Obama's visit to China, where a number of things were said which slightly disconcerted the Indians and made them feel that, you know, maybe this relationship isn't as strong as it ought to be.
NORRIS: The Obama administration has taken the view that it can achieve much more on a number of things - climate change, monetary policy, even curbing terrorism.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Right.
NORRIS: by taking a multilateral approach. And in order to do that, the U.S. needs India. So, in that regard, is India coming here to the U.S. from a position of power?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Absolutely. I think, for example, on a number of issues like, you know, climate change, for example, that's an issue where, you know, the U.S. and India have not exactly seen eye to eye. But then it's equally clear that any global agreement will require cooperation between the U.S., China and also India because India is actually a big emitter of CO2. On that issue, I think, India is a key player. Even on what is now called AfPak, but actually the broader South Asia region, I think India and the United States have a lot of shared objectives, even if they may disagree on tactics and what to be done in the short run.
NORRIS: Interesting the timing there because this week is the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Correct.
NORRIS: and which we later learned were planned by militants based in Pakistan.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Right.
NORRIS: How does Prime Minister Singh envision India's role in the war on terror?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think there are number of things going on here. First of all, there is a sense in Pakistan, or the sense that's been conveyed by Pakistan to the United States that if it has to go after the Taliban and the militants within Pakistan, then it will need help from India because a lot of Indian troops are stationed at Pakistan's eastern border. So, the Pakistani military establishment is keen to convey the impression that unless there is some help as it were from India, say solving the Kashmir issue, Pakistan will not be able to combat the terrorist threat it faces internally.
But that's something that India doesn't buy into because the feeling is that if Pakistan were to recognize that its fundamental problem is actually an internal one, from the Taliban and terrorism, rather than an external one from India, then it's more likely that here Pakistan will find the will to combat terrorism. But then there is also Afghanistan because India now has a big presence in Afghanistan and is providing support to the Karzai government.
And I think that's why Prime Minister Singh said today it's very important for the United States to show patience and stamina to stay in the region because if the U.S. pulls out, the fear is that the Taliban, the terrorists, will once again take hold and that will be a problem, not just for India and for Pakistan, but for the world as a whole.
NORRIS: He is often described - Prime Minister Singh is often described as a very quite man. He is an economist by training. He is quite an accomplished economist. On issues of trade, is that where you would expect him to roar?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think, yes. He - because he - in fact, his Ph.D. thesis was on India's exports. So, I think trade is a matter dear to his heart. And I think partly that's why, you know, India has been now negotiating a series of free trade agreements with a lot of Asian countries: Singapore, Korea, ASEAN. It's negotiating a partnership agreement with China, the European Union and also with Canada. So, I think trade is something that he is very keen on to promote for India's sake, yes.
NORRIS: Arvind Subramanian, thank you very much for coming in to talk to us.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Thanks for having me, Michele.
NORRIS: Arvind Subramanian is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the guest Tuesday at President Obama's first White House state dinner. Arvind Sumbramanian, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says Singh's visit comes amid fears in India that its relationship with the U.S. is playing second fiddle to U.S. ties with China.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
TRANSCRIPT
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
Tomorrow, the Obama White House will host its first state dinner with another key player in the region, the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh. That country has had a long and complicated relationship with the U.S. It's a nuclear power and an economic powerhouse and also a bitter rival of neighboring Pakistan, whose support is crucial to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
For more on Prime Minister Singh's visit to Washington, we're joined by Arvind Subramanian. He is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Welcome to the program.
Mr. ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics): Thanks for having me, Michele.
NORRIS: I'm curious about what you think Prime Minister Singh hopes to achieve with this visit to Washington. It seemed that stakes are rather high.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think that the most important thing from India's point of view perhaps, Michele, is that it feels that it's relationship with the U.S. is kind of playing second fiddle to the United States relationship with China. Now, especially after this historic nuclear deal that the United States and India signed, that was really a high point in the relationship. And now, with that behind us, there's a sense that there isn't that much important going on between the two countries. And President Obama's visit to China, where a number of things were said which slightly disconcerted the Indians and made them feel that, you know, maybe this relationship isn't as strong as it ought to be.
NORRIS: The Obama administration has taken the view that it can achieve much more on a number of things - climate change, monetary policy, even curbing terrorism.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Right.
NORRIS: by taking a multilateral approach. And in order to do that, the U.S. needs India. So, in that regard, is India coming here to the U.S. from a position of power?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Absolutely. I think, for example, on a number of issues like, you know, climate change, for example, that's an issue where, you know, the U.S. and India have not exactly seen eye to eye. But then it's equally clear that any global agreement will require cooperation between the U.S., China and also India because India is actually a big emitter of CO2. On that issue, I think, India is a key player. Even on what is now called AfPak, but actually the broader South Asia region, I think India and the United States have a lot of shared objectives, even if they may disagree on tactics and what to be done in the short run.
NORRIS: Interesting the timing there because this week is the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Correct.
NORRIS: and which we later learned were planned by militants based in Pakistan.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Right.
NORRIS: How does Prime Minister Singh envision India's role in the war on terror?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think there are number of things going on here. First of all, there is a sense in Pakistan, or the sense that's been conveyed by Pakistan to the United States that if it has to go after the Taliban and the militants within Pakistan, then it will need help from India because a lot of Indian troops are stationed at Pakistan's eastern border. So, the Pakistani military establishment is keen to convey the impression that unless there is some help as it were from India, say solving the Kashmir issue, Pakistan will not be able to combat the terrorist threat it faces internally.
But that's something that India doesn't buy into because the feeling is that if Pakistan were to recognize that its fundamental problem is actually an internal one, from the Taliban and terrorism, rather than an external one from India, then it's more likely that here Pakistan will find the will to combat terrorism. But then there is also Afghanistan because India now has a big presence in Afghanistan and is providing support to the Karzai government.
And I think that's why Prime Minister Singh said today it's very important for the United States to show patience and stamina to stay in the region because if the U.S. pulls out, the fear is that the Taliban, the terrorists, will once again take hold and that will be a problem, not just for India and for Pakistan, but for the world as a whole.
NORRIS: He is often described - Prime Minister Singh is often described as a very quite man. He is an economist by training. He is quite an accomplished economist. On issues of trade, is that where you would expect him to roar?
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: I think, yes. He - because he - in fact, his Ph.D. thesis was on India's exports. So, I think trade is a matter dear to his heart. And I think partly that's why, you know, India has been now negotiating a series of free trade agreements with a lot of Asian countries: Singapore, Korea, ASEAN. It's negotiating a partnership agreement with China, the European Union and also with Canada. So, I think trade is something that he is very keen on to promote for India's sake, yes.
NORRIS: Arvind Subramanian, thank you very much for coming in to talk to us.
Mr. SUBRAMANIAN: Thanks for having me, Michele.
NORRIS: Arvind Subramanian is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved
Monday, November 23, 2009
President Obama will not change any U.S. Taiwan policy: AIT chief
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2009-11-23 06:25 PM
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – United States President Barack Obama will not change anything about his country’s policies towards Taiwan, visiting American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt said Monday.
The top U.S. liaison officer with Taiwan is visiting the country to inform political leaders about last week’s meeting by President Obama with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing.
After talking to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, Burghardt said Obama had told Hu face to face that he would not change existing Taiwan policies, including the sale of American arms.
Taiwan is expecting Washington to approve the sale of more advanced F-16 C/D fighter jets, but concern continues that the deal will be postponed or canceled altogether because of China’s vehement protests against arms sales to the island nation.
The Taiwan Relations Act approved by the U.S. Congress after Washington switched recognition to China in 1979 allows for the sale of defensive weapons to Taipei.
Obama mentioned the act in the news communiqué, Burghardt said. “That was a personal desire by him to make sure it was mentioned,” the AIT chief was quoted as saying.
Wang said he told Burghardt that U.S. leaders would carefully weigh any public statement involving Taiwan’s sovereignty because it could have a grave impact on the country’s status. Any such U.S. comment should be clear and not leave any room for interpretation or imagination, Wang said.
The chief of the Legislative Yuan said he expected the U.S. to evaluate seriously how to protect Taiwan’s security and the rights of its people.
Burghardt described the recent concerns over the safety of U.S. bone-in beef as a “phony issue” because the meat to be imported to Taiwan was the same consumed each day by millions of Americans.
A public outcry broke out last month after Taipei and Washington signed a protocol to allow the import of bone-in beef and other products thought to carry the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease.
Consecutive Taiwanese governments evaluated the risks of U.S. beef and concluded that it was safe, Burghardt said Monday.
During the discussions, Wang said he also brought up Taiwan’s wish for a U.S. visa waiver and for trade liberalization talks.
The AIT chief is scheduled to meet President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday, while talks with Premier Wu Den-yih, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan and opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen were also on the agenda.
2009-11-23 06:25 PM
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – United States President Barack Obama will not change anything about his country’s policies towards Taiwan, visiting American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt said Monday.
The top U.S. liaison officer with Taiwan is visiting the country to inform political leaders about last week’s meeting by President Obama with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing.
After talking to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, Burghardt said Obama had told Hu face to face that he would not change existing Taiwan policies, including the sale of American arms.
Taiwan is expecting Washington to approve the sale of more advanced F-16 C/D fighter jets, but concern continues that the deal will be postponed or canceled altogether because of China’s vehement protests against arms sales to the island nation.
The Taiwan Relations Act approved by the U.S. Congress after Washington switched recognition to China in 1979 allows for the sale of defensive weapons to Taipei.
Obama mentioned the act in the news communiqué, Burghardt said. “That was a personal desire by him to make sure it was mentioned,” the AIT chief was quoted as saying.
Wang said he told Burghardt that U.S. leaders would carefully weigh any public statement involving Taiwan’s sovereignty because it could have a grave impact on the country’s status. Any such U.S. comment should be clear and not leave any room for interpretation or imagination, Wang said.
The chief of the Legislative Yuan said he expected the U.S. to evaluate seriously how to protect Taiwan’s security and the rights of its people.
Burghardt described the recent concerns over the safety of U.S. bone-in beef as a “phony issue” because the meat to be imported to Taiwan was the same consumed each day by millions of Americans.
A public outcry broke out last month after Taipei and Washington signed a protocol to allow the import of bone-in beef and other products thought to carry the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease.
Consecutive Taiwanese governments evaluated the risks of U.S. beef and concluded that it was safe, Burghardt said Monday.
During the discussions, Wang said he also brought up Taiwan’s wish for a U.S. visa waiver and for trade liberalization talks.
The AIT chief is scheduled to meet President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday, while talks with Premier Wu Den-yih, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan and opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen were also on the agenda.
Obama Seeks Time for Policies to Take
November 23, 2009
The Caucus
By JOHN HARWOOD
President Obama’s scramble for a health care overhaul, like his dash across Asia last week, obscures an irony of his first year in office.
As he tries to effect his agenda, the politician who campaigned on “the fierce urgency of now” plays for time to demonstrate the benefits of policies that, if they work, will not work quickly.
Mr. Obama, backed by some independent economists, believes that his stimulus plan has helped pull the economy into recovery. But he is at least months away from being able to make that case by pointing to a decline in joblessness.
Mr. Obama returned from Asia to lobby Congress on his health policy goals, and won a significant preliminary victory in the Senate over the weekend. Many changes would not even be in place until 2013 — including such popular provisions as subsidies for buying coverage and prohibitions against insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
His initiative to curb global warming by limiting carbon emissions may raise energy costs long before Americans perceive environmental or economic benefits, if they ever do. The most demonstrable near-term result of his forthcoming Afghanistan strategy will be more troops for an unpopular war.
In Asia, Mr. Obama pushed to “rebalance” the world economy through policy shifts in Beijing that he hoped would benefit Americans via more exports to China. The world’s oldest continuous major civilization showed no sign of a quick pivot.
The president’s challenge is pursuing far-reaching changes in a political and media culture centered on short-term consequences. He has disdained the values of the “24-hour news cycle” and vowed to ignore day-to-day fluctuations in polls, financial markets and cable-TV chatter.
“I’ve got to be looking at the horizon,” Mr. Obama said in a January interview. That becomes harder to afford with an approaching election.
Not to Be Rushed
In Beijing, Mr. Obama praised China’s $585 billion economic stimulus, whose emphasis on infrastructure projects paid immediate dividends for American exporters of heavy equipment.
“There are opportunities right now that are available for American companies,” said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who accompanied the president.
More promising for American companies and workers in the long term is the prospect of an expanding Chinese middle class going on American-style shopping sprees. Mr. Obama wants China to make American imports cheaper by letting its currency rise in value, and to provide more incentives for Chinese families to spend.
Signs exist that the Chinese government and families want that to happen as they adapt to explosive economic growth. But statements from Mr. Obama and President Hu Jintao of China after their consultations made clear Beijing would not be rushed on its currency policy. Other changes to spur domestic spending, like development of broad-scale consumer credit and investments in a social safety net, will not happen quickly either.
“Changing the orientation of this economy is not something that can be achieved in two to three years,” said Arthur Kroeber, an analyst at the Beijing consulting firm Dragonomics. “It’s more like a five- to 10-year process.”
Needing Results Soon
White House aides bristled at news media reviews suggesting Mr. Obama had failed to secure diplomatic victories in China. “This isn’t an immediate gratification business,” said David Axelrod, the presidential adviser.
But midterm elections arrive in 11 months. For Congressional Democrats — facing politically risky votes on Mr. Obama’s health care, energy, budget and immigration initiatives — the horizon is approaching rapidly.
For their sake and its own, Team Obama is not ignoring that reality.
A White House “jobs summit” will explore near-term steps to accelerate job creation, even though the administration is loath to widen the budget deficit and additional spending may not reduce unemployment rapidly anyway.
To ensure that voters see immediate benefits from health legislation, Democrats have included quick-trigger provisions to bar insurers from putting lifetime caps on benefits and to help expensive-to-cover patients buy insurance through government “high-risk pools.” Weeks before visiting Beijing, Mr. Obama nodded to the anxieties of American workers by imposing tariffs on Chinese tires.
Mr. Obama enjoys thicker political insulation than Democrats in Congress; polls show that voters like him personally, and he does not face re-election until 2012. But he feels the pressures of his strategy, nonetheless.
Before returning to Washington, he took solace in the timelessness of the Great Wall. “It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-day things,” he mused. “They don’t amount to much in the scope of history.”
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
The Caucus
By JOHN HARWOOD
President Obama’s scramble for a health care overhaul, like his dash across Asia last week, obscures an irony of his first year in office.
As he tries to effect his agenda, the politician who campaigned on “the fierce urgency of now” plays for time to demonstrate the benefits of policies that, if they work, will not work quickly.
Mr. Obama, backed by some independent economists, believes that his stimulus plan has helped pull the economy into recovery. But he is at least months away from being able to make that case by pointing to a decline in joblessness.
Mr. Obama returned from Asia to lobby Congress on his health policy goals, and won a significant preliminary victory in the Senate over the weekend. Many changes would not even be in place until 2013 — including such popular provisions as subsidies for buying coverage and prohibitions against insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
His initiative to curb global warming by limiting carbon emissions may raise energy costs long before Americans perceive environmental or economic benefits, if they ever do. The most demonstrable near-term result of his forthcoming Afghanistan strategy will be more troops for an unpopular war.
In Asia, Mr. Obama pushed to “rebalance” the world economy through policy shifts in Beijing that he hoped would benefit Americans via more exports to China. The world’s oldest continuous major civilization showed no sign of a quick pivot.
The president’s challenge is pursuing far-reaching changes in a political and media culture centered on short-term consequences. He has disdained the values of the “24-hour news cycle” and vowed to ignore day-to-day fluctuations in polls, financial markets and cable-TV chatter.
“I’ve got to be looking at the horizon,” Mr. Obama said in a January interview. That becomes harder to afford with an approaching election.
Not to Be Rushed
In Beijing, Mr. Obama praised China’s $585 billion economic stimulus, whose emphasis on infrastructure projects paid immediate dividends for American exporters of heavy equipment.
“There are opportunities right now that are available for American companies,” said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who accompanied the president.
More promising for American companies and workers in the long term is the prospect of an expanding Chinese middle class going on American-style shopping sprees. Mr. Obama wants China to make American imports cheaper by letting its currency rise in value, and to provide more incentives for Chinese families to spend.
Signs exist that the Chinese government and families want that to happen as they adapt to explosive economic growth. But statements from Mr. Obama and President Hu Jintao of China after their consultations made clear Beijing would not be rushed on its currency policy. Other changes to spur domestic spending, like development of broad-scale consumer credit and investments in a social safety net, will not happen quickly either.
“Changing the orientation of this economy is not something that can be achieved in two to three years,” said Arthur Kroeber, an analyst at the Beijing consulting firm Dragonomics. “It’s more like a five- to 10-year process.”
Needing Results Soon
White House aides bristled at news media reviews suggesting Mr. Obama had failed to secure diplomatic victories in China. “This isn’t an immediate gratification business,” said David Axelrod, the presidential adviser.
But midterm elections arrive in 11 months. For Congressional Democrats — facing politically risky votes on Mr. Obama’s health care, energy, budget and immigration initiatives — the horizon is approaching rapidly.
For their sake and its own, Team Obama is not ignoring that reality.
A White House “jobs summit” will explore near-term steps to accelerate job creation, even though the administration is loath to widen the budget deficit and additional spending may not reduce unemployment rapidly anyway.
To ensure that voters see immediate benefits from health legislation, Democrats have included quick-trigger provisions to bar insurers from putting lifetime caps on benefits and to help expensive-to-cover patients buy insurance through government “high-risk pools.” Weeks before visiting Beijing, Mr. Obama nodded to the anxieties of American workers by imposing tariffs on Chinese tires.
Mr. Obama enjoys thicker political insulation than Democrats in Congress; polls show that voters like him personally, and he does not face re-election until 2012. But he feels the pressures of his strategy, nonetheless.
Before returning to Washington, he took solace in the timelessness of the Great Wall. “It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-day things,” he mused. “They don’t amount to much in the scope of history.”
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Russian Convents Face Obstacles To Restoring Past
November 23, 2009
Russia has seen an explosion in the number of Orthodox convents over the past two decades.
After the 1917 revolution, all were closed. Some women continued to live as nuns in secret, but with the end of communist rule, convents had to start from scratch. There are now more than 240, outnumbering monasteries.
Most of the renovated convents — many in remote areas — are based on their distant history and devotion to their particular icons. But for many reasons, restoring the past is far from easy.
Restoring A Convent
The restored convent in the provincial town of Serpukhov, a two-hour train ride from Moscow, is jammed on a Sunday morning. Founded in the 14th century, the convent became known for its miracle-working icon, which the nuns say has long helped those trying to stop drinking.
They believe it can now also help those battling drug addictions — a growing Russian affliction — and they welcome those seeking spiritual rehabilitation.
Mother Superior Aleksiya, 45, was brought up during the Soviet Union, where she says she was unable to find out much about religion. It was only in the 1980s, as restrictions lifted, that she even dared enter a church. As convents reopened in the early 1990s, she decided to become a nun.
"If I was going to serve God, I had to do it completely," she says. "Maybe that's just my character."
Fifteen years ago, she was sent to resurrect the convent in Serpukhov. "There were nothing but ruins, skeletons of buildings, trash and debris," she remembers.
She has since restored one of two churches and a residence. Initially alone, she attracted helpers, then new nuns. Some have since died; two have been tapped to start their own convents. She now has 12 sisters — far fewer than convents in major centers like Moscow.
Nonetheless, the convent is considered a historic monument, and the government has paid for the rebuilding. For daily needs and upkeep, the convent depends on pilgrims, donations and the sale of icons, as well as its gardens and livestock.
Mother Aleksiya says attracting new nuns is not as easy as it was a decade ago.
"Enthusiasm for becoming a nun is not as great as it was with the first explosion of interest in the church," she explains. "But maybe that's not so bad. Some thought it was an escape from poverty in the villages, an alcoholic husband or the loneliness of old age. Now, women fully understand what they are really getting into."
Facing Frustrations
Orthodox nuns live within convent walls, largely cut off from the world, wearing formal black habits and bound by centuries of tradition. While happy with her vocation, Mother Aleksiya still expresses a little frustration.
"The current church does not fully value the role of women. I do not think women should be priests, but in the past women could be deacons," she says. "It's the same in the church as society. Many men don't understand women. They tell us to be quiet. They are wrong."
Orthodox churches have been criticized for being standoffish. Another nun here, 33-year-old Mother Georgia, hopes the Serperkhov convent can be a comforting place.
"People finally come to church for the first time. They don't know what to do. It's not right when people snub them for their ignorance," she says.
Greater Goals, Greater Problems
Compared with the modest goals at Serpukhov, the Spaso-Yeleazarovsky convent in distant western Russia has far greater ambitions — and, with this, far greater problems.
"At first, people were delighted that the convent was restored," says Raisa Shumkina, head of the local government, "and they could live within the sound of its bells. But then the mother superior demanded the only store for miles be closed because it is on what is now convent land.
"She started to expand the convent territory even farther. People are confused and angry."
Wood is still what heats most houses here. There are 10 tiny, poor villages, a beautiful lake and an abandoned communist-era farm, where a century ago there were acres of church territory.
Mother Superior Elizaveta wants to get it all back. She says she is willing to relocate villagers.
Grigory Nikolaichuk, 72, who lives next to the convent, says she has intimidated residents.
"She told those who didn't want to sell her their houses they would end up on the hill — the hill is where the cemetery is," he says. "That's how she curses and threatens people."
Mother Elizaveta believes God is on her side. And she's also got big political support. With pressure from the governor, a recent Kremlin appointee, the entire area was recently declared a protected zone, putting limits on what villagers can build.
A Messy Situation
So much attention is focused on this remote place because it was here that a 16th century monk espoused what many believe is Russia's religious destiny. According to this thinking, ancient Rome fell because of heresy. The second Rome, Constantinople, was brought down by infidels. The third Rome, Russia, is to illuminate the world.
As Mother Elizaveta explains, there is to be no fourth Rome. "Russia is the hope for all mankind. We answer for the whole world," she says. "And through the help of the state, we have been able to restore Russia's spiritual legacy."
Though there are only 20 nuns here, she has rebuilt not only the church but eight substantial buildings, with plans for a lot more development.
Longtime resident Sergei Borodulin has no intention of being pushed out — even to an apartment with modern conveniences — and he is none too happy with how government funds are being spent.
"This is serious money — millions and millions," he says.
Irina Golubeva, a respected art historian who heads the Pskov branch of the Russian Society for Restoration, says ambition, nationalism and bad public relations have created a huge mess.
She agrees this convent has historical importance, but she says Mother Elizaveta has been allowed to create a Disneyland of a convent that may satisfy dreams of greatness, but has little to do with the past.
"And this just adds to the mess," says Golubeva. "The big two-story buildings in no way resemble what was once there. As a historian, I am not happy, the local people are unhappy and, ultimately, she has ill-served the church."
As Russia seeks to restore its past and its identity, nothing, not even a convent, is simple — certainly not where property, money and politics are concerned.
Russia has seen an explosion in the number of Orthodox convents over the past two decades.
After the 1917 revolution, all were closed. Some women continued to live as nuns in secret, but with the end of communist rule, convents had to start from scratch. There are now more than 240, outnumbering monasteries.
Most of the renovated convents — many in remote areas — are based on their distant history and devotion to their particular icons. But for many reasons, restoring the past is far from easy.
Restoring A Convent
The restored convent in the provincial town of Serpukhov, a two-hour train ride from Moscow, is jammed on a Sunday morning. Founded in the 14th century, the convent became known for its miracle-working icon, which the nuns say has long helped those trying to stop drinking.
They believe it can now also help those battling drug addictions — a growing Russian affliction — and they welcome those seeking spiritual rehabilitation.
Mother Superior Aleksiya, 45, was brought up during the Soviet Union, where she says she was unable to find out much about religion. It was only in the 1980s, as restrictions lifted, that she even dared enter a church. As convents reopened in the early 1990s, she decided to become a nun.
"If I was going to serve God, I had to do it completely," she says. "Maybe that's just my character."
Fifteen years ago, she was sent to resurrect the convent in Serpukhov. "There were nothing but ruins, skeletons of buildings, trash and debris," she remembers.
She has since restored one of two churches and a residence. Initially alone, she attracted helpers, then new nuns. Some have since died; two have been tapped to start their own convents. She now has 12 sisters — far fewer than convents in major centers like Moscow.
Nonetheless, the convent is considered a historic monument, and the government has paid for the rebuilding. For daily needs and upkeep, the convent depends on pilgrims, donations and the sale of icons, as well as its gardens and livestock.
Mother Aleksiya says attracting new nuns is not as easy as it was a decade ago.
"Enthusiasm for becoming a nun is not as great as it was with the first explosion of interest in the church," she explains. "But maybe that's not so bad. Some thought it was an escape from poverty in the villages, an alcoholic husband or the loneliness of old age. Now, women fully understand what they are really getting into."
Facing Frustrations
Orthodox nuns live within convent walls, largely cut off from the world, wearing formal black habits and bound by centuries of tradition. While happy with her vocation, Mother Aleksiya still expresses a little frustration.
"The current church does not fully value the role of women. I do not think women should be priests, but in the past women could be deacons," she says. "It's the same in the church as society. Many men don't understand women. They tell us to be quiet. They are wrong."
Orthodox churches have been criticized for being standoffish. Another nun here, 33-year-old Mother Georgia, hopes the Serperkhov convent can be a comforting place.
"People finally come to church for the first time. They don't know what to do. It's not right when people snub them for their ignorance," she says.
Greater Goals, Greater Problems
Compared with the modest goals at Serpukhov, the Spaso-Yeleazarovsky convent in distant western Russia has far greater ambitions — and, with this, far greater problems.
"At first, people were delighted that the convent was restored," says Raisa Shumkina, head of the local government, "and they could live within the sound of its bells. But then the mother superior demanded the only store for miles be closed because it is on what is now convent land.
"She started to expand the convent territory even farther. People are confused and angry."
Wood is still what heats most houses here. There are 10 tiny, poor villages, a beautiful lake and an abandoned communist-era farm, where a century ago there were acres of church territory.
Mother Superior Elizaveta wants to get it all back. She says she is willing to relocate villagers.
Grigory Nikolaichuk, 72, who lives next to the convent, says she has intimidated residents.
"She told those who didn't want to sell her their houses they would end up on the hill — the hill is where the cemetery is," he says. "That's how she curses and threatens people."
Mother Elizaveta believes God is on her side. And she's also got big political support. With pressure from the governor, a recent Kremlin appointee, the entire area was recently declared a protected zone, putting limits on what villagers can build.
A Messy Situation
So much attention is focused on this remote place because it was here that a 16th century monk espoused what many believe is Russia's religious destiny. According to this thinking, ancient Rome fell because of heresy. The second Rome, Constantinople, was brought down by infidels. The third Rome, Russia, is to illuminate the world.
As Mother Elizaveta explains, there is to be no fourth Rome. "Russia is the hope for all mankind. We answer for the whole world," she says. "And through the help of the state, we have been able to restore Russia's spiritual legacy."
Though there are only 20 nuns here, she has rebuilt not only the church but eight substantial buildings, with plans for a lot more development.
Longtime resident Sergei Borodulin has no intention of being pushed out — even to an apartment with modern conveniences — and he is none too happy with how government funds are being spent.
"This is serious money — millions and millions," he says.
Irina Golubeva, a respected art historian who heads the Pskov branch of the Russian Society for Restoration, says ambition, nationalism and bad public relations have created a huge mess.
She agrees this convent has historical importance, but she says Mother Elizaveta has been allowed to create a Disneyland of a convent that may satisfy dreams of greatness, but has little to do with the past.
"And this just adds to the mess," says Golubeva. "The big two-story buildings in no way resemble what was once there. As a historian, I am not happy, the local people are unhappy and, ultimately, she has ill-served the church."
As Russia seeks to restore its past and its identity, nothing, not even a convent, is simple — certainly not where property, money and politics are concerned.
China families protest mine disaster, toll hits 104
Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:39am EST
By Maxim Duncan
HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of miners killed by a gas blast at a coal pit in northeast China scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as the toll hit 104 and hopes faded that any more survivors would be found.
The protest came a day after another 11 miners were killed in a blast at a pit in the southern province of Hunan, the official Xinhua agency said. China's stability-obsessed government is nervous about protests, and keen to control discontent.
China has the world's deadliest coal-mining industry with more than 3,000 people killed in mine floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents in 2008 alone.
Saturday's explosion at the mine in Hegang in the frigid province of Heilongjiang came as more than 500 miners were underground, though most were rescued.
Mine operators were at fault because they failed to evacuate workers fast enough after dangerously high gas levels were detected in the mine, said Luo Lin, head of the country's safety watchdog, the State Administration of Work Safety(SAWS).
Nearly an hour before the explosion, a gas detector showed levels five times the trigger for an evacuation, Xinhua said. An official said the mine was too big for workers to escape in time.
Four miners were still unaccounted for on Sunday with almost no hope for survival, but even as smoke drifted out of the mine mouth near the site of the explosion, other miners were heading into undamaged parts of the pit to start the evening's shift.
A dozen women, relatives of the dead, had braved the freezing temperatures on Monday morning to take their complaints about a lack of information to the mine's entrance, where they argued and scuffled with police and mine security.
"None of the officials have died, all of the dead are the workers," one shouted. "Not one of those officials has even been down into that mine."
Some of the women were taken inside the mine compound, while others were put into a large white van. Men who declined to identify themselves tried to stop reporters speaking to the women, putting their hands in front of cameras.
SUFFERING FAMILIES
Anxious families were also milling around the hospital where 54 miners, six of them seriously injured, are being treated. Hospital staff were trying to calm tensions.
"When the patients see their families going through this suffering, they become very emotional, overemotional, and they can become restless," said Wang Jun, Director of the surgical department at Hegang mining hospital.
In 2007, after more than 180 miners died in a flooded coal mine in the northern province of Shandong, relatives stormed the offices of the company that operated the mine, smashing windows and accusing managers of not telling families what was happening.
Compared with other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.
The Xinxing mine in Hegang lies near China's border with Russia and produced more than a million tonnes of coal in the first 10 months of this year, local reports said.
It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, making it larger than most operations where accidents occur.
(Additional reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison in BEIJING, Writing by Ben Blanchard)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
By Maxim Duncan
HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of miners killed by a gas blast at a coal pit in northeast China scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as the toll hit 104 and hopes faded that any more survivors would be found.
The protest came a day after another 11 miners were killed in a blast at a pit in the southern province of Hunan, the official Xinhua agency said. China's stability-obsessed government is nervous about protests, and keen to control discontent.
China has the world's deadliest coal-mining industry with more than 3,000 people killed in mine floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents in 2008 alone.
Saturday's explosion at the mine in Hegang in the frigid province of Heilongjiang came as more than 500 miners were underground, though most were rescued.
Mine operators were at fault because they failed to evacuate workers fast enough after dangerously high gas levels were detected in the mine, said Luo Lin, head of the country's safety watchdog, the State Administration of Work Safety(SAWS).
Nearly an hour before the explosion, a gas detector showed levels five times the trigger for an evacuation, Xinhua said. An official said the mine was too big for workers to escape in time.
Four miners were still unaccounted for on Sunday with almost no hope for survival, but even as smoke drifted out of the mine mouth near the site of the explosion, other miners were heading into undamaged parts of the pit to start the evening's shift.
A dozen women, relatives of the dead, had braved the freezing temperatures on Monday morning to take their complaints about a lack of information to the mine's entrance, where they argued and scuffled with police and mine security.
"None of the officials have died, all of the dead are the workers," one shouted. "Not one of those officials has even been down into that mine."
Some of the women were taken inside the mine compound, while others were put into a large white van. Men who declined to identify themselves tried to stop reporters speaking to the women, putting their hands in front of cameras.
SUFFERING FAMILIES
Anxious families were also milling around the hospital where 54 miners, six of them seriously injured, are being treated. Hospital staff were trying to calm tensions.
"When the patients see their families going through this suffering, they become very emotional, overemotional, and they can become restless," said Wang Jun, Director of the surgical department at Hegang mining hospital.
In 2007, after more than 180 miners died in a flooded coal mine in the northern province of Shandong, relatives stormed the offices of the company that operated the mine, smashing windows and accusing managers of not telling families what was happening.
Compared with other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.
The Xinxing mine in Hegang lies near China's border with Russia and produced more than a million tonnes of coal in the first 10 months of this year, local reports said.
It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, making it larger than most operations where accidents occur.
(Additional reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison in BEIJING, Writing by Ben Blanchard)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
China attacks "biased" U.S. cyber-spying report
Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:01am EST
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday accused a U.S. congressional advisory panel of bias for a report in which it said the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be piercing U.S. computer networks to gather useful data for its military.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its 2009 report to Congress released last week that there was growing evidence of Chinese state involvement in such activity.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the report was a twisted attack on China.
"This report disregards the facts, is full of bias and has ulterior motives," Qin said in a brief statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn), less than a week after President Barack Obama wrapped up his first official China trip.
"We advise this so-called commission to not always look at China through tinted glasses and stop interfering with China's internal politics and damaging Sino-U.S. ties," he added.
China regularly dismisses such allegations.
The 12-member, bipartisan U.S. commission was set up in 2000 to analyze the implications of growing trade with China.
Beijing had begun to broaden its national security concerns beyond a potential clash across the Taiwan Strait and issues around its periphery, the 367-page report said.
China was the most aggressive country conducting espionage against the United States, focused on obtaining data and know-how to help military modernization and economic development, it added.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday accused a U.S. congressional advisory panel of bias for a report in which it said the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be piercing U.S. computer networks to gather useful data for its military.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its 2009 report to Congress released last week that there was growing evidence of Chinese state involvement in such activity.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the report was a twisted attack on China.
"This report disregards the facts, is full of bias and has ulterior motives," Qin said in a brief statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn), less than a week after President Barack Obama wrapped up his first official China trip.
"We advise this so-called commission to not always look at China through tinted glasses and stop interfering with China's internal politics and damaging Sino-U.S. ties," he added.
China regularly dismisses such allegations.
The 12-member, bipartisan U.S. commission was set up in 2000 to analyze the implications of growing trade with China.
Beijing had begun to broaden its national security concerns beyond a potential clash across the Taiwan Strait and issues around its periphery, the 367-page report said.
China was the most aggressive country conducting espionage against the United States, focused on obtaining data and know-how to help military modernization and economic development, it added.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
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