Latest news with #Uchiyama
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Japan's crucial vote: Why Sunday's election could reshape country's future — all you need to know
Millions of voters in Japan are casting their ballots on Sunday to elect 125 members to the Upper House of Parliament in a vote that could decide the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's minority government. The election comes at a time of rising public concern over inflation, trade tensions with the US, and immigration. It is the first major national vote since Ishiba took office last year. A poor result for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, Komeito, could trigger calls for the prime minister to step down. Here's what you need to know about the election: Japan holds Upper House elections every three years to fill half the chamber's 248 seats. This year, 124 regular seats and one extra vacancy are being contested. Voting is open from 7am to 8pm local time. More than 104 million people are eligible to vote. Each voter casts two votes one for a local candidate and another for a political party under proportional representation. Early voting was completed by nearly 10 million people before election day. The ruling coalition currently holds 75 seats that are not up for re-election. To retain its majority in the Upper House, it needs to win at least 50 of the 125 seats now being contested. The outcome could affect how Japan responds to major domestic and international issues — including trade talks with the US, food prices, and immigration. A loss for the coalition would not immediately bring down the government, but it would weaken Ishiba's position. Analysts say it could also lead to a leadership challenge from within the LDP and slow the passage of laws, budgets, and trade deals. 'If the ruling coalition fails to secure a majority, there will be a move within the LDP to dump Ishiba,' said Yu Uchiyama, professor of political science at the University of Tokyo, speaking to The New York Times. What are the key issues? Inflation, which had been largely absent in Japan for years, has crossed 3%. The cost of rice, a daily staple, has doubled due to supply problems and government policies. Many voters are angry about food prices and low wages. 'It is essential for the government to seek cooperation from the opposition to bring in any meaningful economic reforms,' Uchiyama told The Times. Trade talks with Washington have stalled. US President Donald Trump has warned of a 25% tariff on Japanese exports starting 1 August unless Tokyo opens up its markets, especially for rice and American-made cars. Japan's government fears this could hurt its economy further. Ishiba has resisted making concessions ahead of the vote. If the ruling coalition keeps its majority, Ishiba will be able to continue with planned policies, including a record defence budget. If the LDP-Komeito alliance loses, the government could face gridlock and Ishiba may come under pressure to quit. Even a narrow win could make Ishiba vulnerable. 'His leadership will remain weak, with little hope of improved support ratings,' said Uchiyama to The Times. Japan has taken in one million foreign workers in recent years to tackle labour shortages. This has become a political issue, with parties like Sanseito calling for strict immigration limits and welfare curbs for foreigners. Some opposition parties are also calling for tighter controls on foreign ownership of property. Experts have warned of growing xenophobia. 'Foreigners are used as targets to vent discontent,' Uchiyama said, adding that the rhetoric is similar to what was seen under Trump in the US. Despite rising support, opposition parties remain divided and are unlikely to form a united front. If the LDP loses its majority, it could spark talks of new coalition alignments. Election results are expected late Sunday. If the ruling coalition performs poorly, a shake-up in Japanese politics may follow with Ishiba's future hanging in the balance. (With inputs from agencies) Mashkoora Khan is a sub-editor on the global desk. With a background as a multimedia journalist, her work has been featured in publications such as Al Jazeera, Down to Earth, and The Wire among other national and International outlets. ... Read More
Asahi Shimbun
02-07-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Hurting fishing communities try to lure tourists for extra income
Passengers aboard a boat off Inatori Port in Higashi-Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture, look at the coast on May 5. (Sho Hatsumi) Suffering from steadily shrinking hauls, fishing communities around Japan are targeting something that is much more in abundance: tourists. Some are offering 'fishing boat cruises' during nonfishing hours. Others are promoting land-based attractions to gain extra income. The government is backing such moves under the catchword of 'umigyo' (sea industries), a generic term for projects that use marine resources. Japan's total fishery haul, including from aquaculture, fell below 4 million tons in 2022, less than one-third of the peak levels of the 1980s. The average income for privately operated fishing boats has hovered between 2 million yen and 3 million yen ($14,000 and $21,000), and the demographic of fishermen is shrinking and aging. Inatori Port in Higashi-Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture, known for catches of 'kinmedai' (splendid alfonsino), is one of the many areas around Japan with dwindling catches. Kinmedai are usually caught in the early morning hours. But on one afternoon in early May, the Inari Maru fishing boat with a gross tonnage of 12 tons left Inatori Port. Ten minutes after departure, the voice of a guide called out to the 10 tourists aboard through a speaker. 'Look toward the coast, please,' the voice said. 'The pair of big rocks you will see are 'Hasami Ishi' (holding rocks).' The passengers trained their cameras on the oddly shaped rocks that appeared to be holding a smaller rock. 'I am taking a ride on a fishing boat for the first time,' said Masami Komon, a 61-year-old passenger from Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. 'A ride on a sightseeing boat is nowhere near this compelling.' The passengers were also treated to 'sanga yaki,' a local fish dish, during the approximately 40-minute cruise. The Inari Maru crew's main job is pole-and-line fishing for deep-sea kinmedai. The total catch of the species across Shizuoka Prefecture dropped from around 3,000 tons in the 2000s to only 1,157 tons in 2024, according to the Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Fishery and Ocean. 'We would catch 300 kilograms in a day 20 years ago,' said Naohisa Uchiyama, captain of the Inari Maru. 'Nowadays, however, we catch only 20 or 30 kg a day, and our earnings are dropping from year to year.' The Inari Maru would remain idly moored at the port during the day after fishing ended at around 8 a.m. Uchiyama, 59, decided on the additional use of the boat. The Inari Maru has so far given rides to more than 1,000 tourists. Earnings from the cruises now match about one-third of the revenue gained from fishing. The captain is still adjusting to the new venture. 'Deciding whether we should be setting out to sea on a cruise is more difficult than when we are setting out to fish,' Uchiyama said. POPULAR MARKET At Tajiri Fishing Port in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture, just across from Kansai Airport, a morning market held every Sunday consistently draws many visitors. The stalls selling seafood fresh from Osaka Bay are manned by fishermen themselves, one of the charms of the market. Customers routinely line up for deep-fried servings of tempura and other products. 'Some customers say they are surprised to learn there are so many fish in Osaka Bay,' one fisherman at a market stall said. 'I feel happy when my customers tell me that my fish tasted good.' Catches at Tajiri dropped when the fishing ground was reduced through land reclamation work for Kansai Airport, which opened in 1994. The morning market started that same year in hoped of improving the fishermen's incomes. 'I never expected the market would be visited by so many people,' said Eiichi Nishiura, the 75-year-old head of the Tajiri fisheries cooperative association. SAUNA WITH A VIEW A Finnish-style sauna complex opened in May in the Kaigan-dori (seaside) district of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, which boasts one of Japan's largest hauls of Pacific saury and silver salmon. Sauna users relaxing under a sea breeze can watch ships come and go. The complex also has a barbecue ground outside the sauna building, and guests can buy food at a supermarket and fish shops nearby. The sauna complex stands on a seaside square that was the seat of Onagawa's most flourishing commercial facility until the area was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Onagawa Future Creation, a community development company, built the sauna complex in hopes of restoring liveliness in the district. 'Being a disaster-stricken area that has since been rebuilt is not enough to attract people,' said Yoshihide Abe, the 56-year-old president of the company. 'I hope people will come here and use the sauna.' GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE The government's Basic Plan for Fisheries in 2022 included umigyo promotion. The goal is to increase the size of the 'exchange population' between cities and fishing villages by 2 million over five years from the current 20 million. Yasuhiro Sanada, head director of the Ocean Governance Institute, expressed a cautious stance toward the government initiative. 'The overall direction for increasing non-fishery earnings has been rightly set,' Sanada said. 'But there is a need to keep watch so the government policy will not be used as a pretext for maintaining budgets and organizations for fishing port development.' 'UMIGYO' PROJECTS UNDER WAY OR BEING PLANNED * Tours to an inland plant for sea urchin aquaculture and hands-on experiences in sea urchin processing (Kamoenai Fishing Port in Kamoenai, Hokkaido) * A glamping complex that draws on the availability of seafood and scenery (Himi Fishing Port in Himi, Toyama Prefecture) * Hands-on experiences in beach seine fishery for students on school excursions (Tomiura Fishing Port in Minami-Boso, Chiba Prefecture) * Tours to a market, mock bidding experiences, and a salon for talking to fishermen (Ohama Fishing Port in Toba, Mie Prefecture) * Hands-on experiences in maintaining forests with fishermen (Miura Bay fishing port in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture) (This article was written by Sho Hatsumi, Takuya Nishie and Hiroyuki Yaginuma.)
Boston Globe
31-05-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Your cat may or may not love you, but it knows your scent
Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up Through referrals from friends and colleagues, the researchers recruited 30 cats and their owners to participate in the study. The cats' owners captured their own scents by rubbing cotton swabs behind their ears, between their toes and under their armpits. Eight additional people who don't own pets and didn't know the cats' owners were recruited to be 'odor donors.' Advertisement Each of the study cats, in the comfort of its own home, was then presented with an array of test tubes containing the smelly cotton swabs from its owner, a stranger and a blank control. A camera mounted to the experimental setup recorded the cats' reactions to the test tubes. Advertisement The cats spent more time sniffing the samples from the strangers than from their owners -- an indication that the cats could recognize their owners' scents and devoted more time to exploring the ones they'd never smelled before. While this finding might seem like common sense, it's 'a very important piece of information,' said Dr. Carlo Siracusa, an associate professor of animal behavior at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine who was not involved with the study. 'This is how science works. You need to prove everything.' A Black Silver Turkish Angora relaxed between judging sessions at the Catsachusetts show in April. Uchiyama and his colleagues further analyzed video recordings of the cats sniffing the test tubes and observed the cats predominantly using their right nostrils to smell the strangers' test tubes, regardless of where the tube was placed within the array. These findings seemed to corroborate previous studies of other animals, including dogs, which also led with their right nostrils when exploring strange scents. 'The left nostril is used for familiar odors, and the right nostril is used for new and alarming odors, suggesting that scenting may be related to how the brain functions,' Uchiyama said. 'It is likely that the right brain is preferred for processing emotionally alarming odors.' Related : Siracusa urged caution in interpreting whether the cats' sniffing behavior relates to brain function. 'The study did not prove that the right side of the brain is activated,' he said. Proving that will require cats willing to cooperate with having their brains scanned while they sniff things. While further research is needed to confirm whether the nostril cats use to smell people is a window into the feline mind, Siracusa said that studies like Uchiyama's are important for furthering human understanding of feline behavior, which can help us provide better care for them. He also remarked on the logistical feat of designing a study protocol deemed acceptable by its feline participants. Advertisement 'I really commend this group of scientists for being successful in engaging 30 cats in doing this stuff,' Siracusa said. 'Most cats want nothing to do with your research.' This article originally appeared in .
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 storm, 1,400 closures: Rebuilding roads after a devastating hurricane
For months, Interstate 40 in western North Carolina was cut off following the devastation of Hurricane Helene. In February, part of the interstate reopened, but only for drivers who need to use it, and at a reduced speed. There were more than 1,400 road closures and 10 million cubic yards of debris removed from roads and waterways. It's been eight months, and WNC continues to face the aftermath of the most damaging and costly natural disaster in the state's history. Rebuilding has been arduous, and nowhere is that more evident than the work it took to reconnect I-40 from North Carolina to Tennessee. 'Our IMAP crews start driving from the Asheville side and noticed no traffic was coming through, so they know there's a problem. They got together with other local officials and opened a gate and sent traffic back to the Tennessee line,' said David Uchiyama with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. 'Without that emergency response in the moment, I have zero doubt that people would have died. The reconstruction was a historic operation that took 126 days. Although the road hasn't been fully rebuilt, the massive undertaking of opening one lane in each direction was monumental for commuters and for commerce. Some businesses are still feeling the impacts of the storm. Cass Santander with Explore Asheville says that even with 97% of the roads being partially or fully reopened, tourism is down. 'Seventy-five percent of hospitality and tourism-facing businesses are reopened, and there is a determination and grit to come back better than ever, and it's an exciting time to come and visit,' Santander said. Some roads are still struggling to reopen. Highway 64, for example, is still closed from Lake Lure through Chimney Rock and Bat Cave. Roads in Yancey County will likely take years to rebuild. 'Yancey County was one of the more devastated areas because of the rivers,' Uchiyama said. 'The Cane River, Nolichucky River that flow through it, just wiping out everything along its way.' So how do we prepare for future storms? Uchiyama says it's not about preparation, but more about resilience. 'Design standards have changed over the decades. So anything that is newer is better. And anything that is going in new now is going to be better than anything built even five years ago,' Uchiyama said. But through the noise of the bulldozers and the debris still lingering, what was once seen as a near-impossible task of rebuilding has transformed into inspiring stories of what can be achieved. (VIDEO: FEMA offers to sell temporary housing units to WNC families displaced by Hurricane Helene)
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Is I-40 still closed? Interstate 40 at Tennessee/North Carolina border to open this spring
After a months-long closure of Interstate 40 at the North Carolina and Tennessee state line, the highway is expected to reopen this spring. I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge has remained closed since late September when Hurricane Helene ripped through the region, leaving mass devastation in the storm's wake. Helene temporarily closed or damaged thousands of roads in both Tennessee and North Carolina. The storm triggered at least 10 collapses alone across a 9-mile stretch of I-40 in North Carolina. Originally, the highway was going to reopen to traffic in "early 2025," however, another chunk of the road fell away from an eastbound lane in December, further delaying the possibility of establishing the traffic flow so soon. Once the highway is deemed safe, I-40 across the state line will reopen in directions, according to David Uchiyama, spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The heavily traveled four-lane highway will be reduced to just two narrowed lanes. This will accommodate eastbound and westbound traffic while leaving space for crews to work on long-term repairs with the goal of eventually opening the important route through the Appalachians. Additionally, vehicles traveling through the gorge will have to obey a 40 mph speed limit. This logistical information has not changed since it was announced in November. Commercial vehicles will be allowed to use the reopened highway, according to Uchiyama. NCDOT and the Tennessee Department of Transportation are working together. Tennessee will open its side of the highway at I-40 Mile Marker 451 to the state line once North Carolina is "ready to handle traffic again," according to TDOT spokesperson Drew Rutherford. "TDOT and NCDOT have been and will continue to meet regularly to coordinate recovery efforts," Rutherford said. There will likely be congestion when I-40 reopens at the state line, according to Uchiyama. He "highly recommends" that drivers use an alternate route to travel between Tennessee and North Carolina. To stabilize and reopen a portion of I-40 has taken NCDOT months. To fully repair I-40 at the gorge, it will take years, according to Uchiyama. NCDOT hired Wright Brothers Construction, with GeoStabilization International as a sub-contractor, to stabilize the eastbound lanes, according to an NCDOT press release. Uchiyama said fully restoring I-40 could take "multiple years." "We are barely 10% into designing the reconstruction," Uchiyama said. Still, you're unable to drive across the Tennessee state line into North Carolina on I-40. In Tennessee, there is one lane of traffic open in each direction between Mile Marker 446 and Mile Marker 451 at the state line. Commercial traffic cannot go any further than Mile Marker 440 on I-40 East, according to TDOT SmartWay. The highway is closed in both directions from Mile Marker zero to 20 in North Carolina. The initial partial collapse of Interstate 40 happened along the Pigeon River Gorge. Flooding from Tropical Storm Helene triggered a mudslide which caused part of the highway to collapse. Following the devastating storm, I-40 East was closed from Mile Marker 432 in Tennessee until Mile Marker 3 in North Carolina. I-40 West was closed starting at Mile Marker 3 in North Carolina through Mile Marker 435 in Tennessee. Much of that highway stretch has reopened since. I-40 is a major thoroughfare through the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The stretch of I-40 in North Carolina that was damaged by Helene supports about 7,610 trucks daily and a total average daily traffic of over 26,000 vehicles. The highway is 2,559 miles long. It passes through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. Of that total, 455 miles of I-40 go through through Tennessee. Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Myron Thompson contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: I-40 closure: When will I-40 reopen in Tennessee, North Carolina?
