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Cambodia strongly rebuts report on growing cybercrime sector
BANGKOK -- The Cambodian government has lambasted a report alleging the kingdom is the regional epicenter of a growing online crime industry in which mostly Chinese syndicates control up to 350,000 people and generate annual revenues estimated at between $50 billion and $75 billion.
Authored by Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Center, the 68-page report published last month said: "As of early 2025, Cambodia is a top location -- if not the premier global center -- for large-scale, sophisticated scamming operations."
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Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Accidents by Foreign Drivers Spur License Conversion Review; Tourists from Some Nations May Be Unable to Drive in Japan
The Yomiuri Shimbun Basic traffic rules in Japan are presented in multiple languages in Traffic Safety Textbook, a book produced by the Saitama prefectural police. A series of reckless accidents caused by foreign drivers has prompted the National Police Agency to speed up its review of the requirements for converting foreign driver's licenses to Japanese ones. With an increasing number of foreign nationals driving for work or tourism, there is a growing need to inform them more effectively about traffic rules and ensure stricter adherence. Manabu Sakai, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, on May 26 spoke on a plan to expedite changes to the foreign license conversion system, saying, 'Stronger measures are necessary to ensure that [foreign drivers] fully understand traffic rules.' High-profile accidents involving foreign drivers who obtained their licenses through the conversion system gained prominence last month. There was a hit-and-run incident involving elementary school students on May 14 in Misato, Saitama Prefecture. A Chinese national working as a demolition worker was arrested on May 19 on suspicion of having consumed alcohol shortly before the accident. Police also arrested an unemployed Peruvian national suspected of causing a multicar accident after they allegedly drove more than 14 kilometers in the wrong direction on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, on May 18. The foreign license conversion system, introduced in 1933, was initially designed to help Japanese nationals smoothly obtain Japanese driver's licenses upon returning from abroad. However, since 1990, the number of foreign nationals using the system has surpassed that of Japanese nationals. Last year, foreign nationals accounted for 94% of all foreign license conversions, totaling 69,283 individuals. By country of origin, those from Vietnam led the way with 16,810 license conversions, followed by those from China with 15,458 — about a 40% increase from the previous year. This increase is believed to be due in part to the topic of 'Japan's driver's licenses are easy to obtain' gaining traction on social media. There are three main ways for foreign nationals to drive in Japan: first, by using an International Driving Permit issued by a signatory country to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic; second, by driving with a foreign driver's license from one of six designated countries and regions, including Germany and Taiwan, along with an official Japanese translation of that license; and third, by converting an existing foreign driver's license to a Japanese one. The foreign license conversion process is generally a two-stage examination, consisting of a written knowledge test and a practical skills test. In 2023, the combined pass rate was 91%. The written exam for converting a foreign driver's license has been criticized for being 'too easy' compared to the standard Japanese driver's license test. Additionally, foreign tourists with passports have been permitted to obtain licenses using hotel stay certificates as a proof of address. Traffic accidents caused by foreign nationals has risen noticeably, with 7,286 incidents recorded last year — 342 more the previous year — including 54 fatalities. The share of such accidents has also consistently climbed, reaching 2.7% of all reported accidents last year. This trend has fueled growing concerns regarding the foreign license conversion system within the Diet since the start of this year. In a push for reforming the system, the NPA is set to restrict permissible address verification documents to copies of residence certificates and will bar foreign tourists from utilizing the foreign license conversion system. This measure will effectively prevent tourists from countries like China and Vietnam, which are not signatories to the Geneva Convention, from driving in Japan. For foreign residents in Japan, the NPA plans to increase the number of knowledge-based questions during the license conversion process and strengthen the practical test. It also intends to reinforce traffic safety education for drivers after they obtain their licenses, according to the NPA. Amid ongoing labor shortages, foreign drivers are a valuable resource in the nation. Last year, the government added the automobile transportation business as a new status of residence under the Specified Skilled Worker program. Given that a Japanese driver's license is required to qualify for this status, the number of foreign nationals utilizing the foreign license conversion system is expected to increase further. More effort needed to inform foreign drivers about traffic rules Traffic accidents involving foreign drivers are on the increase in Japan, and the issue is coming under the spotlight. Nevertheless, there are few places where foreign drivers can learn Japanese traffic rules in foreign languages. Moreover, the country has failed to install enough foreigner-friendly traffic signs and to thoroughly inform the drivers about proper Japanese driving etiquette. Measures need to be taken urgently across the country. According to the Japan Federation of Authorized Drivers School Associations in Tokyo, driving lessons in foreign languages were available at only 121 institutions, less than 10% of its 1,261 member schools, as of 2020. 'If instructors and students cannot understand each other, it could lead to dangerous situations during the lessons,' said an official of a driving school that refuses anyone who cannot speak Japanese. On the other hand, some schools offer lessons in foreign languages. Smart Driver School Shiojiri in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, accepts about 150 foreign students a year, including Brazilians and Peruvians. The school uses a translation app in its lessons. At Tokorozawa Driving School in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, foreign residents from India, Nepal, the Philippines and other countries receive their lessons in English. In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, police across the country took steps to make traffic signs that were easy for foreigners to understand, such as by writing 'Stop' alongside its Japanese equivalent, 'Tomare,' on stop signs. However, in Hokkaido, where many foreign tourists travel around in rent-a-cars, only 7% of stop signs had both the Japanese and English words as of the end of March. 'We will replace them gradually, partly because we have a limited budget, starting from places that many foreigners visit,' said a Hokkaido police officer. In an effort to promote awareness of traffic rules among foreign residents, the Saitama prefectural police released its Traffic Safety Textbook. The book teaches basic traffic rules, such as those obligating drivers to report traffic accidents to police and banning driving under the influence of alcohol, in nine languages, including Vietnamese, Chinese and Persian. 'The level of consideration toward pedestrians, what constitutes speeding, and right-of-way rules vary from country to country,' said Prof. Kenji Doi, an expert on transportation planning at the University of Osaka. 'In Asian countries, including Japan, informing foreign drivers about traffic rules is not done as much as in European Union countries.'
Kyodo News
3 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
KYODO NEWS - 3 hours ago - 21:04 | Japan, All, World Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices. The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said. The move will further align both sides' efforts to uphold a rules-based economic order, building on cooperation through a free trade agreement that removes tariffs and other trade barriers between the two economies, which account for 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Under the framework, Japan and the EU will work together to diversify supply chains for rare earth minerals in the face of China's export restrictions on the elements crucial for the production of smartphones and other high-tech products, according to the sources. They will also align subsidy conditions for environmental technology such as electric vehicle and hydrogen production to promote fair competition for manufacturers and reduce development costs. On the trade front, the two sides will seek to promote reform of the World Trade Organization that is deemed dysfunctional, with the United States dissatisfied with the global body's response to addressing Chinese trade practices and other issues. They will also seek to collaborate with the "Global South" emerging and developing economies as partners sharing values of free and fair trade as well as the rule of law, the sources said. The EU is also eager to cooperate with a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement involving Japan and 10 other nations, plus Britain that joined the accord in 2023. Some inside the bloc have called for joining efforts in rulemaking, as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership weigh better business environment for digital trade and climate change countermeasures.
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 21:04 | Japan, All, World Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices. The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said. The move will further align both sides' efforts to uphold a rules-based economic order, building on cooperation through a free trade agreement that removes tariffs and other trade barriers between the two economies, which account for 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Under the framework, Japan and the EU will work together to diversify supply chains for rare earth minerals in the face of China's export restrictions on the elements crucial for the production of smartphones and other high-tech products, according to the sources. They will also align subsidy conditions for environmental technology such as electric vehicle and hydrogen production to promote fair competition for manufacturers and reduce development costs. On the trade front, the two sides will seek to promote reform of the World Trade Organization that is deemed dysfunctional, with the United States dissatisfied with the global body's response to addressing Chinese trade practices and other issues. They will also seek to collaborate with the "Global South" emerging and developing economies as partners sharing values of free and fair trade as well as the rule of law, the sources said. The EU is also eager to cooperate with a vast trans-Pacific free trade agreement involving Japan and 10 other nations, plus Britain that joined the accord in 2023. Some inside the bloc have called for joining efforts in rulemaking, as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership weigh better business environment for digital trade and climate change countermeasures.
