Clues undermine Myanmar junta's claims on school air strike
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Japan Times
36 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Myanmar region sees 'dramatic' hunger rise after aid cutbacks
One of Myanmar's most conflict-ravaged regions has witnessed a "dramatic rise in hunger" after U.S. aid cuts pushed by President Donald Trump during a punishing civil war, the World Food Program said Tuesday. Western Rakhine state has seen some of the most intense fighting in Myanmar's many-sided civil conflict, which was sparked by a 2021 military takeover that deposed the democratic government. Junta forces have blockaded the state as they battle local ethnic fighters, throttling vital trade routes and squeezing agriculture in the coastal territory bordering Bangladesh. The situation was exacerbated in April when the World Food Program (WFP) was forced to cut aid to 1 million people nationwide, after a global downturn in aid funding led by its largest donor Washington. In central Rakhine, 57% of families are now unable to meet their basic food needs, a WFP statement said — a rise of 24% since December. "A deadly combination of conflict, blockades, and funding cuts is driving a dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition," the statement added. A vendor sits with her child as she waits for customers at her umbrella stall in Yangon on July 16. | AFP-JIJI Fighting complicates access for aid and media organizations everywhere, but the WFP said it is believed "the situation in northern Rakhine is much worse due to active conflict and access issues." "People are trapped in a vicious cycle; cut off by conflict, stripped of livelihoods, and left with no humanitarian safety net," said WFP Myanmar director Michael Dunford. "Without urgent action, this crisis will spiral into a full-blown disaster." Washington was by far the WFP's biggest donor in 2024 — funding nearly half of the $9.7 billion of contributions it secured from international donors. Trump ordered a pause on all foreign aid projects to determine whether they match his "America first" agenda in one of his first acts back in office in January. Washington's cutbacks, however, are part of a global trend that has also seen countries like the U.K. and Germany rolling back aid budgets to boost defense spending.
The Diplomat
9 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Post-Election, Japan Reassesses Policies on Foreigners
Japan's famed hospitality is under strain as a post-pandemic tourism boom pushes the country's infrastructure and patience to its limits. A surge of foreign visitors crowding popular attractions and public transit has set off a national debate over the economic benefits and social costs of the country's growing foreign presence. At the same time, Japan's foreign resident population is growing at twice the pace the government had forecast, reaching a record 3.77 million at the end of 2024. A recent NHK opinion poll found 64 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that 'foreigners are overly favored in Japanese society.' At the tip of the iceberg are the daily missteps committed by foreign tourists and residents. Foreigners have attracted criticism for flouting Japan's social norms with littering, jaywalking, and boisterous behavior, which locals say disrupts the country's emphasis on order and public courtesy. But, on a deeper level, Japanese society has begun to question policies underpinning the influx of foreigners. In the lead up to the upper house elections on July 20, opposition parties sought to spell out their position on foreigners in light of growing public concerns ranging from reckless driving by foreign nationals to the misuse of Japan's healthcare and welfare systems. In response, the government launched the Office for the Promotion of an Orderly and Cooperative Society with Foreigners in mid-July. The new body serves as a cross-ministerial 'control tower' within the Cabinet Secretariat and aims to address a mixed bag of issues arising from the country's growing foreign resident population. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates that Japan's foreign resident population could grow by about 165,000 a year, surpassing 10 percent of the total population by 2067. But, with births falling faster than predicted, that threshold could be reached much sooner if current trends continue. According to the Immigration Services Agency, the surge is driven by an influx of workers from Southeast and South Asia. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy on foreign residents hinges on a dual strategy – sustaining the economic role of foreign workers while enforcing tighter compliance. During the upper house elections in July, the LDP unveiled its 'Zero Illegal Foreign Residents' initiative. It's a hardline, action-oriented message tapping into public unease over immigration, national security, and 'orderly coexistence.' The LDP has pledged to tighten what critics call overly lax rules for converting foreign driver's licenses, crack down on rule breaking, and impose tougher restrictions on foreigners buying property. In 2024, more than 76,000 foreigners swapped overseas driver's licenses for Japanese ones – more than double the number a decade ago. The increase coincided with a rise in hit-and-run cases and foreigners driving the wrong way on roads, fueling criticism that the current 10-question traffic test is too easy and open even to tourists. Most foreign license conversions in Japan involve drivers from countries that have not signed the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. From October 1, 2025, the traffic knowledge test will contain 50 questions, require a 90 percent pass rate, and will ban temporary visitors from converting their license. A shift is underway in Japan, driven in part by social media claims that an increase in foreign residents is making Japan less safe and that they are moving in to buy vast sums of real estate. These narratives helped fuel the popularity of the populist right-wing party Sanseito and its 'Japan First' message. With metropolitan Tokyo land prices climbing, opposition parties plan to submit a bill this fall to tighten restrictions on property purchases by foreign individuals and companies. Japan is also planning to tighten visa rules to target foreign residents who are behind on taxes or social health insurance premiums. The plan would let immigration and welfare officials share payment records, after a survey showed foreign residents' health insurance payment rate was 63 percent, far below the 93 percent among Japanese citizens. Officials warn that arrears could strain social systems and fuel public resentment. Immigration is a sensitive subject in Japan. Research has shown that the word 'immigration' is rarely uttered in politics. In parliamentary debates, lawmakers from across the spectrum tend to avoid the term altogether, opting instead for phrases like 'foreign human resources,' or 'foreign workers.' The softer language presents the issue in economic terms and skirts a deeper, more uncomfortable reality – which is that for decades, immigration has remained one of the country's most enduring political and cultural taboos. As a result, Japan still lacks an official immigration policy. The government defines an immigration policy as 'accepting a certain scale of foreign nationals, including families, without a set time limit, relative to the size of the national population, to sustain the country.' As part of its growth strategy, the government has sought to expand the admission of highly skilled professionals as well as young workers from developing countries to learn skills in sectors plagued with labor shortages. The ruling-LDP maintains that these programs do not constitute an immigration policy, since residency is only granted for a limited period. Right-wing populists, viral social media posts, and deep-seated economic anxieties have amplified the belief that foreigners enjoy special treatment in Japan. Official data suggest otherwise, but the misperception has proved a powerful political tool.
Japan Times
18 hours ago
- Japan Times
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, U.N. report says
United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the most senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), formed in 2018 to analyze evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, gang rape, strangulation and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. "We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the U.N. team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the U.N. report said. The military has said it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. Perpetrators identified so far include high-level commanders, the report said, although names were withheld due to ongoing investigations and concerns about alerting the individuals. Investigators focused on torture partly because many victims were able to identify perpetrators individually which Koumjian, a former prosecutor, said could help with future convictions. "People often know the names or they certainly know the faces of those who torture them or who torture their friends," Koumjian told reporters in Geneva. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then, the United Nations says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a new government, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIMM is investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017 when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown, and those affecting all groups since the coup. The IIMM is supporting jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain and the International Criminal Court. However, Koumjian said U.N. budget cuts threaten its work. Donations for its research on sexual violence and crimes against children as well as funding for witness security are set to run out at year-end, he said. "All of this would have a very substantial effect on our ability to continue to document the crimes and provide evidence that will be useful to jurisdictions prosecuting these cases," he said.
