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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Vijai Sharma, Kyoto Protocol architect & India's ex-chief climate negotiator, dies
For over a decade and a half, Vijai Sharma fought for the rights of India and other developing countries at the international climate negotiations. He was one of the architects of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which strongly safeguarded the interests of the developing countries, and ensured that the primary responsibility of reducing the impacts of climate change was taken by the rich and the developed world. A 1974-batch IAS officer, who served as the Environment Secretary and then as Chief Information Commissioner, Sharma died in the United States, where he was visiting his son on July 23, after suffering a stroke, family sources said. He was 75. Sharma lived in Lucknow. Sharma had two productive stints in the Environment Ministry. During his first stint as joint secretary, between 1995 and 2001, he became India's chief negotiator at international climate talks, which had just been initiated, and strongly influenced the finalisation of the Kyoto Protocol. He was also instrumental in ensuring that Delhi hosted these talks COP8 in 2002. After stints in the Cabinet Secretariat, and other places, Sharma returned to the Environment Ministry as its Secretary in 2008. By this time, the developed countries had already begun the process of dismantling the Kyoto Protocol, and replacing it with something they were more comfortable with. This was also the time when India's environmental governance came under great scrutiny, with an increasing number of industrial and infrastructure projects testing the environmental norms. Sharma presided over a period of strengthening of India's environmental regulatory structure to bring in greater transparency. 'Vijay Sharma was the quintessential civil servant — fearless in giving advice but faithful in execution even when his advice was not taken. I have many fond memories of my close association with him for a decade and a half. He had wide interests and possessed an irreverent sense of humour. He loved it when he himself became the subject of humour, laughing at the description I once gave him — Sir Humphrey Sharma (Humphrey Appleby was a character from the British TV series Yes Minister),' said Jairam Ramesh, then Environment Minister under whom Sharma served as Secretary. After retiring, Sharma became an expert member at the National Green Tribunal, a new institution created during his time, before being appointed the Chief Information Commissioner. Sharma, who had a postgraduate law degree from Harvard University, had a passion for history, and authored, along with his wife and IAS officer Rita Sharma, a few books on the forts of India. But he continued to be sought out for his expertise on environment and climate law and policy. 'As an administrator he had a keen eye for details. He used to recall with great pride how he had to burn midnight oil, as G77 and China coordinator in the climate negotiations, to shape the rules of the carbon market under the Kyoto Protocol. He was also quite proud of his contribution to the introduction of CNG buses in Delhi under the Supreme Court orders and recounted in detail how the decision was implemented. His departure leaves a void in the world of climate negotiators of the Kyoto era. He will be deeply missed by those who worked with him when India's climate policy was still shaping up in the early years of this century,' said R R Rashmi, former IAS officer and chief negotiator on climate talks himself.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
India should push for joint statement in trade talks with US: GTRI
India must proceed with caution in its trade talks with the US, drawing lessons from countries like Vietnam and Japan, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. To prevent any misrepresentation, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said New Delhi should insist on a jointly issued written statement before acknowledging the final terms of any agreement. It added that a Japanese government document released on July 25 shows major gaps between Japan's understanding of a new trade deal with the United States and how President Trump portrayed it just days earlier. Trump claimed on July 22 that the agreement secures massive Japanese investments, strong tariff protections, and guaranteed access for US farm exports, including rice. But Japan's official summary, published by its Cabinet Secretariat, describes a far more limited framework -- still under negotiation and lacking binding commitments, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. "India should tread carefully as it negotiates its trade agreement with the United States, taking a cue from the experiences of countries like Vietnam and now Japan," he said. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. They are aiming to clinch the first phase by fall (September-October) this year.
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Ignore the election hype, foreign residents are here to stay
In the lead-up to Sunday's Upper House election, Japan's openness to the growing influx of foreign nationals garnered considerable media attention and spooked even some long-term foreign residents. All the political parties found it necessary to offer policies, but the media focused largely on the new conservative party, Sanseito, which won 14 seats in Sunday's election, with some calling its campaign slogan 'Japanese first' xenophobic. Hype and emotions are always higher in an election cycle, so post-election is a good time to examine the issue dispassionately and in depth. Sanseito was not alone in targeting foreign nationals. Just days before the election, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba formed a new 'control tower' at the Cabinet Secretariat to address what he poorly described as 'crimes, nuisance behavior and inappropriate uses of various systems by some foreign-born persons that are making Japanese citizens feel anxiety and unfairness.' The highly inappropriate lumping together of all foreign nationals, whether by the prime minister, media or candidate stump speeches, without separating the issues associated with the massive increase in tourists from those relatively insignificant issues arising from residents with long-term work and student visas, as well as permanent residents, is what has some members of the foreign-resident population concerned. With tourists now approaching 4 million per month, with year-on-year increases over 20%, local businesses and residents from Hokkaido to Okinawa are pleased with the increased revenue, but not with the overcrowding, public-transportation congestion, littering, localized price inflation, occasional vandalism and an increase in petty crimes. Some spin-off issues have also arisen with a relatively small number of tourists that are taking advantage of Japan's poor management of some basic systems, such as allowing in 2024 about 68,000 short-term tourists to acquire a Japanese driver's license using a hotel address, some tourists gaining access to the national health care system and then skipping payment, and worse, not being blocked from returning to Japan on future trips to do it again. These can become emotional issues, but they have not yet risen to the level of being material. Fixes are under way. The underlying problem is twofold: First is the need for the government and media to distinguish between tourist crowding challenges and the nation's commitment to a continuous but controlled inflow of foreign talent willing to assimilate over the long term. Second, government financial support and regulations have not kept pace to alleviate the stresses of overtourism and address the distinct set of challenges associated with attracting, retaining and supporting foreign nationals and their families who possess the desired skills and are willing to integrate into Japan. Both groups are seeking a positive experience in Japan and the country needs both groups to support its economy. In 2024, the foreign-resident population reached 3.77 million, representing a 10.5% increase from 2023, or 358,000 new arrivals, and a new record for three consecutive years. Over the past three years, 1 million new foreign residents have arrived in Japan. Most came to seek jobs under the "specified skilled worker program" and the "highly skilled professional" visa classes. Chinese nationals are the largest group, at nearly 850,000, including 67,000 Taiwanese, who will be listed separately under new rules. Vietnamese nationals are the second-largest group at almost 650,000. Nationals from Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines were the fastest-growing groups in 2024. South Korean nationals are the third-largest group, and Brazilians are the sixth, but, like the Chinese, their numbers remained generally flat compared to the prior year. The importance of increasing immigration flows is clear when one considers that in 2024 Japan's total population declined for the 14th straight year to 123.8 million, which includes just over 120 million Japanese nationals, down nearly 900,000. Foreign residents now account for just over 3% of the total population, yet only about 20% have acquired permanent residency status, implying a relatively weak long-term commitment to Japan. Immigrants to Japan are overwhelmingly from our closest Asian neighbors, with whom the Japanese share many cultural, religious and societal customs. Those shared traits impact their willingness to assimilate into Japanese society, which is a net positive. Has the experience been stress-free so far for all parties involved? Well, no. But comparatively speaking Japan is doing far better than many other countries seeing an influx of immigrants from nations that share fewer religious and cultural traditions. First, let's deal with the unfounded fear issues. Although overall crime rates in Japan have increased slightly for three consecutive years, with more street snatches and bicycle thefts, serious crime has declined during that period. The available evidence refutes the claims that increased immigration is leading to higher crime rates. Second, foreign residents are not becoming a financial burden on society, as they are overwhelmingly gainfully employed, paying taxes and contributing to the social welfare system. As noted earlier, concerns have recently surfaced about short-term foreign visitors gaining access to Japan's national health services without covering the associated payments. Legal changes are pending that would prevent any foreign national who dodged medical costs during a visit to Japan from returning to the country. Still, the analysis shows that the disbursements from the national health fund to foreign nationals account for only 1.2% of the total, while foreign residents make up 3.04% of the total population. That's not to say that some communities, especially in smaller cities, aren't facing challenges. Towns in Saitama, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures, for example, face ongoing challenges educating children who do not speak Japanese, requiring them to hire teachers who can speak Chinese, Vietnamese or Indonesian. In Gunma, a large influx of Brazilians in the 1990s led to local schools hiring Portuguese speakers, while recent arrivals from Nepal have introduced yet another language requirement. Other towns with growing Indonesian Muslim populations are struggling to find enough cemeteries that can accommodate their burial customs, which exclude cremation. In the city of Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, about 2,000 to 3,000 Kurdish people who are refugees from the Turkey-controlled parts of Kurdistan have garnered unwanted attention because of noisy festivals, garbage collection complaints and one famous intergroup confrontation that required police intervention. But otherwise in Japan, fortunately, such incidents are very rare. Not all immigrants are coming to Japan to work. Some wealthier foreign nationals come for recreation and investment opportunities, causing real-estate values near Hokkaido ski resorts and high-end areas in Tokyo and Osaka to skyrocket. Related issues have surfaced, including nonresident investors failing to pay local taxes or monthly maintenance charges, resulting in financial difficulties for the owners' association and government confiscation of some properties due to unpaid taxes. Others come to Japan so their children can access international and Japanese schools. They tend to concentrate in the few Tokyo wards where the most prestigious high schools and universities are located. Not surprisingly, complaints have arisen from the families of Japanese students squeezed out of those schools. That is also the case concerning graduate universities, where foreign graduate students now occupy more than 50% of the seats in some of Japan's most prestigious schools, such as the University of Tokyo. The enrollment of foreign nationals in schools and universities is not an issue exclusive to Japan, of course, but it does present unique challenges here. In the U.S., for example, universities see international students who pay exorbitant out-of-state tuition as a profit opportunity. In contrast, with tuition already far lower, Japan provides an annual subsidy of ¥2.9 million to every doctoral student, regardless of nationality. Not only are Japanese nationals squeezed out, but they are also subsidizing non-Japanese nationals to take the limited seats available. That is bad policy and is being amended. Interestingly, the number of foreign residents who become Japanese citizens has remained relatively constant at around 10,000 per year. That may change in the future, but such a modest number of naturalizations helps ensure that Japan will not experience a growing issue in the U.K. and elsewhere where a concentrated diaspora who become eligible to vote and run for public office elect people solely from their ethnic or religious background or become vulnerable to influence operations by their former country. While it's true that the number of Japan's foreign residents reached a record high last year, it's still barely over 3% of the total population, low by international standards. Despite the election hype, Japan can continue to accept a controlled flow of new foreign residents with backgrounds that most easily facilitate their integration into Japanese society over time. However, our elected officials must also fully support the integration processes so that this experience is a positive one for new arrivals and Japanese citizens alike. Edo Naito is a commentator on Japanese politics, law and history. He is a retired international business attorney and has held board of director and executive positions at several U.S. and Japanese multinational companies.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Pump it like Kolkata: What IT cities Bengaluru and Gurgaon can learn from a city that stopped sinking a decade ago
Recurring floods in India's major IT cities, Gurgaon and Bengaluru, show how rapid urbanisation without drainage planning can leave infrastructure vulnerable. Kolkata, once known for severe waterlogging, has reversed its fortunes with long-term drainage upgrades and wetland protection. Its model offers crucial lessons for others. Gurgaon and Bengaluru hit by repeated urban flooding On July 10, Gurgaon recorded 133mm of rainfall in 12 hours, flooding roads and homes across the city. The disruption echoed the infamous 2016 'Gurujam,' when heavy rain caused a 20-hour traffic gridlock. In May, a similar downpour brought the city to a standstill again. Experts say Gurgaon's flooding isn't just about rainfall. The city has lost 389 water bodies over four decades. Large parts of the Yamuna floodplain, on which Gurgaon sits, have been built over. Unchecked real estate expansion has wiped out catchment areas and narrowed stormwater channels. Kundan Lal Sharma, a former official with the Cabinet Secretariat and Gurgaon resident, said, 'The city floods because the Najafgarh stormwater drain handles only 15% of the runoff. The rest flows into our homes and streets. Catchment areas near Mullahera have been lost to plotted colonies. Traditional ponds or johads have been encroached upon.' The city also has a gradient disadvantage. Rainwater rushes in from the Aravalis faster than it can be drained. Many stormwater drains remain clogged or unfinished. This year, authorities identified 119 waterlogging-prone locations, 23 of them marked as highly vulnerable. Live Events Bengaluru faces similar issues. Despite being known as India's Silicon Valley, the city floods almost every monsoon. In September 2022, parts of East Bengaluru, home to major tech parks, were submerged after days of rain. The city has lost over 80% of its lakes since the 1970s, and its stormwater drains often overflow during heavy downpours. Experts say both cities face the consequences of ignoring natural drainage systems, building over water bodies, and delaying infrastructure upgrades. Kolkata's 15-year transformation offers a roadmap Once notorious for flooding after even 40mm of rain, Kolkata has steadily improved its monsoon resilience. A turning point came with the launch of the Rs 500-crore 'Mission Nikashi' in 2009 to address chronic waterlogging in North Kolkata. It was later expanded to South Kolkata. Shantanu Ghosh, director-general of Kolkata Municipal Corporation's sewerage and drainage department, said, 'A decade ago, Kolkata had the capacity to drain 6mm of rainfall in an hour. Now, capacity has doubled.' Last August, when Kolkata received 120mm of rain in just three hours, the water receded in under six hours. A KMC official said, 'The stormwater receded in under six hours because of drainage pumping stations.' Today, the city operates over 100 such stations. Kolkata has also invested in large-scale desilting of underground sewers. Since 2020, the city has removed around 20 lakh tonnes of silt and spent over Rs 900 crore to boost drainage capacity. Amherst Street resident Amitava Bose recalled, 'We would take boats to buy essentials. Now, we don't panic even in heavy rain.' Sayantani Basu, who lives in Alipore, said improved drainage systems had reduced the risk of flooding in her area. Wetlands and canals play a critical role Kolkata's natural geography supports its urban systems. The East Kolkata Wetlands — a protected Ramsar site — soak up excess rainwater and treat sewage naturally. This natural buffer works alongside man-made infrastructure to keep the city from flooding. In Salt Lake and New Town, authorities worked on desilting and dredging 16 canals, including the 45-km-long Bagjola canal. Upgrades to eight sewage pumping stations and construction of drop-pumping stations at Kestopur Canal and the Eastern Drainage Channel further help flush out rainwater efficiently. A lesson in planning and preservation Urban planning experts believe that solutions for cities like Gurgaon and Bengaluru lie not just in constructing more drains but also in reviving traditional water bodies and protecting natural drainage paths. C R Babu, professor emeritus at Delhi University's Centre for Environmental Management, said, 'Rampant destruction of natural drainage channels, encroachment on wetlands, and loss of Aravali forests have dismantled the region's ecological resilience.' (Inputs from TOI)
Japan Today
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Ishiba eyes tighter oversight of foreign residents via new office
Demonstrators take part in a "protest rave" against racism and nationalist party Sanseito ahead of the upper house election, in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, on July 13. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday launched a new office within the Cabinet Secretariat tasked with reviewing and reworking government responses to perceived issues linked to Japan's growing foreign population. The new office has been established at a time when the topic of foreigners in Japan has become a hot-button issue in campaigning for Sunday's House of Councillors election. Sanseito, an ultraconservative minor party which recent polls show is gaining in popularity, has led calls for tougher regulations and a reduced intake of foreigners. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi denied that Ishiba has established the new office, staffed by around 80 officials, as an election ploy. At a ceremony to mark the office's launch, Ishiba cited the need to address issues such as proper immigration control, unpaid social security premiums and the acquisition of land by foreigners. However, the government faces a delicate balancing act in considering more stringent regulations while ensuring it does not open itself up to allegations of discrimination. Ishiba said Japan sees the inflow of foreign nationals as a key driver of economic growth. But he said, "It's important for us to take stricter responses to those who do not follow our rules and rework the existing system if it does not match the reality." The new office will share information on issues related to foreign residents in Japan and coordinate responses among relevant offices such as the Immigration Services Agency, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Having long had a strict immigration policy, Japan has been gradually opening its doors to foreign workers to address labor shortages, which are expected to worsen in the coming years due to the rapid aging of the population. In recent weeks, Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party has said Japan needs to tighten rules on foreign driver's license conversions after recent serious accidents involving foreign nationals, and on the negative impacts on the property market caused by foreign buying. The major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has said a new law is needed to ensure Japanese and their foreign neighbors can live in harmony while having their rights respected. Sanseito has campaigned on a "Japanese First" platform that calls for limiting the intake of foreign workers to Japan. The spread of false information on social media has also emerged as a key challenge in the election campaign. Japan's health minister Takamaro Fukuoka was forced to deny claims made online that unpaid social insurance premiums by foreigners total some 400 billion yen ($2.7 billion) a year. "It is different from our understanding," the minister said, while still committing the government to investigating the issue. © KYODO
