Latest news with #Chinese-Japanese
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Japan says China removes last buoy from Tokyo's economic waters
Japan says China removes last buoy from Tokyo's economic waters TOKYO: China has removed its last buoy from Japanese economic waters, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday, in what may be a move by Beijing to improve ties. Japan said in December it had spotted a new buoy in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of Yonaguni Island, near Taiwan, and demanded that China remove it immediately. The Japan Coast Guard issued a statement late Wednesday saying that the buoy was no longer in place. A spokesman told AFP on Thursday that this means all Chinese buoys in Japanese economic waters have been removed. Japanese media said this could signal an intention by Beijing to improve strained ties with Tokyo, as China faces political and economic pressure from US President Donald Trump's government. "I decline to speculate on China's intentions," top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Thursday when asked about the removal of the buoy. Beijing had in July 2023 installed another buoy within Tokyo's EEZ-near a group of islets that Japan controls and calls the Senkakus, but are also claimed by China which calls them the Diaoyus. In February, China moved that buoy out of Japan's EEZ, the coast guard spokesman said. Tokyo accused Beijing earlier this week of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote atoll of Okinotori in the Pacific Ocean. Adding to decades-old strain between the two countries over history and territorial disputes, Chinese-Japanese ties have soured recently due partly to Beijing's ban on seafood imports from Japan following Tokyo's 2023 release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Increased Chinese military activities, including brief intrusions into Japanese territory, have also led to a deterioration in Japanese public sentiment towards China. This has been fuelled by the 2024 fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in China, and a series of detentions of Japanese nationals by the Chinese authorities.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Japan says China removes last buoy from Tokyo's economic waters
China has removed its last buoy from Japanese economic waters, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday, in what may be a move by Beijing to improve ties. Japan said in December it had spotted a new buoy in its exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island, near Taiwan, and demanded that China remove it immediately. The Japan Coast Guard issued a statement late Wednesday saying that the buoy was no longer in place. A spokesman told AFP on Thursday that this means all Chinese buoys in Japanese economic waters have been removed. Japanese media said this could signal an intention by Beijing to improve strained ties with Tokyo, as China faces political and economic pressure from US President Donald Trump's government. "I decline to speculate on China's intentions," top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Thursday when asked about the removal of the buoy. Beijing had in July 2023 installed another buoy within Tokyo's EEZ near a group of islets that Japan controls and calls the Senkakus, but are also claimed by China which calls them the Diaoyus. In February, China moved that buoy out of Japan's EEZ, the coast guard spokesman said. Tokyo accused Beijing earlier this week of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote atoll of Okinotori in the Pacific Ocean. Adding to decades-old strain between the two countries over history and territorial disputes, Chinese-Japanese ties have soured recently due partly to Beijing's ban on seafood imports from Japan following Tokyo's 2023 release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Increased Chinese military activities, including brief intrusions into Japanese territory, have also led to a deterioration in Japanese public sentiment towards China. This has been fuelled by the 2024 fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in China, and a series of detentions of Japanese nationals by the Chinese authorities. kh/kaf/rsc
Asahi Shimbun
07-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Disappearing pollinators add sobering edge to spring flowers
Azaleas are in full bloom at a park in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, on May 3. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) It's the season when azaleas burst into bloom. In Japanese, the word for azalea is 'tsutsuji,' written with two Chinese characters, pronounced 'teki' and 'choku.' According to a Chinese-Japanese character dictionary, both characters carry the meaning 'to stop' or 'to pause.' It seems that these characters were chosen to evoke the feeling of being stopped in your tracks by something breathtakingly beautiful. Let's pause for a moment, just as the characters suggest, and take a closer look at these radiant blossoms in their full glory. On closer inspection, one notices that only the upper petals of the azalea bear dark-colored spots. These markings are known as nectar guides. In his book 'Hana to Konchu, Fushigina Damashiai Hakkenki' ("Flowers and insects: discovering the mysteries of deception"), Japanese plant expert Hajime Tanaka explains that these spots act as signposts for pollinators—bees, butterflies and other insects—conveying the message, 'Sweet nectar awaits deep within.' Drawn to these visual cues amid a sea of blossoms, butterflies flutter their wings delicately as they sip the nectar. In the process, pollen clings to their bodies from the flower's stamens, which they then carry to the next bloom. Who first conceived of such an exquisitely clever system—and when? The Asiatic dayflower, too, is a master of deception in its dealings with insects. It has bright yellow stamens that contrast with the flower's vibrant blue petals, making them visually striking and enticing pollinators with the illusion of rich, accessible pollen. But these showy stamens are, in fact, sterile, serving purely as visual bait. The real work is done by the fertile stamens—curved, modest in appearance and tucked just beneath the more conspicuous ones. As the unsuspecting insect reaches in, these subtle structures quietly deposit pollen onto its abdomen, completing the plant's clever sleight of hand. But will we continue to witness these delicate and fascinating dramas between flowers and insects far into the future? We may be nearing a tipping point in nature's fragile balance. Across the globe, insect populations are quietly vanishing. Just last month, a team of researchers in Britain reported a 60-percent decline in the number of flying insects between 2021 and last year. With the help of citizens, they tallied the number of insects stuck on car license plates. Climate change, pesticide use and many other factors contribute to this disturbing trend. Can we really afford to let it continue unchecked? Perhaps now is the time to do what the characters for 'azalea' suggest: to pause. We clearly need to stop and confront this sobering reality. —The Asahi Shimbun, May 7 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘We'll be tested': Fran's 110km-a-day sprint across Australia
This month, former English soccer international Fran Hurndall (right), 32, is running from Perth to Sydney to raise money for domestic violence victims. Her partner in 'logistics' and love, police officer Natalie Gidas, 39, will be by her side. Fran: I met Nat online, in December 2022, on the Gold Coast; I'd just moved there from Sydney. Our first date was at a Chinese-Japanese restaurant in Mermaid Beach. She was 15 minutes late; she'd come from work. I knew she was a forensic police officer, which I found fascinating, so the whole conversation, virtually, was about her job. I asked about her worst case, and she said it was a woman who'd been set alight by her husband. I found it so honourable that Nat was putting herself on the line like that every day. I also thought she was beautiful. Even though her heritage is Greek, she has these lovely blue eyes you get lost in. We started seeing each other. I was renting at the time but, after four weeks, I was spending so much time with Nat that I moved in with her. It had its challenges. For instance, we both have dogs. Mine's a dachshund called Seven, which was my football-jersey number. She has a dalmatian called Pirate. At the beginning, Pirate would sleep on her bed and the couch. I'm a bit OCD and it made me feel so unclean. I said to Nat, 'I can't deal with the dog hair,' so she agreed to stop letting Pirate get on the couch and bed. There was also Nat's eating. She chews quite loudly and, at the beginning of the relationship, she'd chew with her mouth open. I was like, 'Do you know that it's rude to eat with your mouth open?' And she said, 'Oh, no one ever told me that.' 'I realised then that she chose love over being right, whereas, in the past, I'd chosen being right over love.' Fran Hurndall At the time, I thought, 'The chewing, the dog hair – how does someone get through life like that?' I was judging her. Then I realised that Nat wasn't judging me. She was like, 'How do we resolve this?' I realised then that she chose love over being right, whereas, in the past, I'd chosen being right over love. At the time, I was working remotely for Transport NSW. But then, a week before Christmas 2023, I was made redundant, which was very stressful. I'd be at the shops and I'd call her and say, 'I don't have enough money for groceries' and she'd calm me down. It went on for three months. Sometimes I struggled to get out of bed. She'd come home from work and see me crying and jump into bed and hug me and say, 'It's OK; I've got you, babe.' It was then that I got the idea to dribble a soccer ball from the Gold Coast to Sydney, which raised $20,000 for women's sport. After that, I thought, 'What'll I do next?' So I decided to run from Perth to Sydney in less than 40 days to raise money for domestic violence, which has affected my sister. As a police officer, Nat has seen lots of DV, so it means a lot to her, too. We've thrown caution to the wind and taken out a loan to pay for everything, but Nat has never wavered. She says: 'You're going to change the world, babe.' She sees more potential in me than I see in myself. We have a saying, 'As long as we're both in the boat and willing to row, then that's all we'll ever need.'
The Age
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘We'll be tested': Fran's 110km-a-day sprint across Australia
This month, former English soccer international Fran Hurndall (right), 32, is running from Perth to Sydney to raise money for domestic violence victims. Her partner in 'logistics' and love, police officer Natalie Gidas, 39, will be by her side. Fran: I met Nat online, in December 2022, on the Gold Coast; I'd just moved there from Sydney. Our first date was at a Chinese-Japanese restaurant in Mermaid Beach. She was 15 minutes late; she'd come from work. I knew she was a forensic police officer, which I found fascinating, so the whole conversation, virtually, was about her job. I asked about her worst case, and she said it was a woman who'd been set alight by her husband. I found it so honourable that Nat was putting herself on the line like that every day. I also thought she was beautiful. Even though her heritage is Greek, she has these lovely blue eyes you get lost in. We started seeing each other. I was renting at the time but, after four weeks, I was spending so much time with Nat that I moved in with her. It had its challenges. For instance, we both have dogs. Mine's a dachshund called Seven, which was my football-jersey number. She has a dalmatian called Pirate. At the beginning, Pirate would sleep on her bed and the couch. I'm a bit OCD and it made me feel so unclean. I said to Nat, 'I can't deal with the dog hair,' so she agreed to stop letting Pirate get on the couch and bed. There was also Nat's eating. She chews quite loudly and, at the beginning of the relationship, she'd chew with her mouth open. I was like, 'Do you know that it's rude to eat with your mouth open?' And she said, 'Oh, no one ever told me that.' 'I realised then that she chose love over being right, whereas, in the past, I'd chosen being right over love.' Fran Hurndall At the time, I thought, 'The chewing, the dog hair – how does someone get through life like that?' I was judging her. Then I realised that Nat wasn't judging me. She was like, 'How do we resolve this?' I realised then that she chose love over being right, whereas, in the past, I'd chosen being right over love. At the time, I was working remotely for Transport NSW. But then, a week before Christmas 2023, I was made redundant, which was very stressful. I'd be at the shops and I'd call her and say, 'I don't have enough money for groceries' and she'd calm me down. It went on for three months. Sometimes I struggled to get out of bed. She'd come home from work and see me crying and jump into bed and hug me and say, 'It's OK; I've got you, babe.' It was then that I got the idea to dribble a soccer ball from the Gold Coast to Sydney, which raised $20,000 for women's sport. After that, I thought, 'What'll I do next?' So I decided to run from Perth to Sydney in less than 40 days to raise money for domestic violence, which has affected my sister. As a police officer, Nat has seen lots of DV, so it means a lot to her, too. We've thrown caution to the wind and taken out a loan to pay for everything, but Nat has never wavered. She says: 'You're going to change the world, babe.' She sees more potential in me than I see in myself. We have a saying, 'As long as we're both in the boat and willing to row, then that's all we'll ever need.'
