Latest News from Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
8 hours ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Long lines for cheap stockpiled rice sold directly to retail firms
Stockpiled rice sold by the government directly to retail companies hit store shelves on May 31 and long lines of customers were waiting to buy the cheaper grain. Supplies quickly sold out. Ito-Yokado Co.'s supermarket in Tokyo's Omori district was one of those outlets. About 250 customers had lined up an hour or so before the supermarket opened at 10 a.m. The first person in line, a man in his 40s, said he came to the outlet at 5:30 a.m. He said he wanted to buy rice as cheaply as possible as it was an irreplaceable menu item. Two outlets operated by the Iris Ohyama Inc. group also began selling the rice bought directly from the government. Other major supermarkets were preparing to sell the rice at their outlets from June 1 and beyond. Faced with mounting criticism that the government had failed to curb a spike in rice prices, Shinjiro Koizumi, the farm minister, switched the distribution of stockpiled rice from auctions to direct sales to retail companies. He said his aim was to provide 5-kilogram bags of rice for around 2,000 yen ($14). According to the farm ministry, a total of 300,000 tons of rice harvested in the 2021-22 season will be directly sold to 61 retail companies that have signed contracts to purchase the rice and passed the evaluation screening. On May 30, the ministry released figures which showed a slight improvement in the pace of stockpiled rice distributed through auctions reaching retail outlets. It said 27,369 tons of rice distributed through auctions in March had reached retailers by May 11. The figure represents 12.9 percent of the total amount of rice released through auctions that month. The figure was an improvement over the 7.1 percent from the April 27 study by the ministry. But the release of stockpiled rice through auctions does not appear to have had the desired effect: lower rice prices. The internal affairs ministry on May 30 released its statistics for rice prices in the 23 wards of Tokyo which showed 5 kg of the Koshihikari brand selling for 4,970 yen, 200 yen more than the previous week. That marked the 13th straight week of an increase in rice prices. (This article was compiled from reports by Masashi Kisanuki, Ryo Oyama, Takumi Wakai, Hisashi Naito and Sho Ito.)
Asahi Shimbun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Hegseth says U.S. will stand by Indo-Pacific allies against ‘imminent' threat of China
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech during 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31. (AP Photo) SINGAPORE--U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific on Saturday that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China, while insisting that they also contribute more to their own defense. He said Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade would look like of the self-governing island, which Beijing claims as its own and the U.S. has pledged to defend. China's army 'is rehearsing for the real deal,' Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. 'We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.' Hegseth says China is training to invade Taiwan China has a stated goal of having its military have the capability to take Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027, a deadline that is seen by experts as more of an aspirational goal than a hard war deadline. But China also has built sophisticated man-made islands in the South China Sea to support new military outposts and developed highly advanced hypersonic and space capabilities, which are driving the United States to create its own space-based 'Golden Dome' missile defenses. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Hegseth said China is no longer just building up its military forces to take Taiwan, it's 'actively training for it, every day.' Hegseth also called out China for its ambitions in Latin America, particularly its efforts to increase its influence over the Panama Canal. He urged countries in the region to increase defense spending to levels similar to the 5% of their gross domestic product European nations are now pressed to contribute. 'We must all do our part,' Hegseth said. Following the speech, the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas pushed back at Hegseth's comment that European countries should focus their defense efforts in their own region and leave the Indo-Pacific more to the U.S. She said that with North Korean troops fighting for Russia and China supporting Moscow, European and Asian security were 'very much interlinked." Questions raised about U.S. commitment to Indo-Pacific He also repeated a pledge made by previous administrations to bolster U.S. military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to provide a more robust deterrent. While both the Obama and Biden administrations had also committed to pivoting to the Pacific and established new military agreements throughout the region, a full shift has never been realized. Instead, U.S. military resources from the Indo-Pacific have been regularly pulled to support military needs in the Middle East and Europe, especially since the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. In the first few months of President Donald Trump's second term, that's also been the case. In the last few months the Trump administration has taken a Patriot missile defense battalion out of the Indo-Pacific in order to send it to the Middle East, a massive logistical operation that required 73 military cargo aircraft flights, and sent Coast Guard ships back to the U.S. to help defend the U.S.-Mexico border. Hegseth was asked why the U.S. pulled those resources if the Indo-Pacific is the priority theater for the U.S. He did not directly answer but said the shift of resources was necessary to defend against Houthi missile attacks launched from Yemen, and to bolster protections against illegal immigration into the U.S. At the same time, he stressed the need for American allies and partners to step up their own defense spending and preparations, saying the U.S. was not interested in going it alone. 'Ultimately a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,' he said. 'China envies what we have together, and it sees what we can collectively bring to bear on defense, but it's up to all of us to ensure that we live up to that potential by investing.' The Indo-Pacific nations caught in between have tried to balance relations with both the U.S. and China over the years. Beijing is the primary trading partner for many, but is also feared as a regional bully, in part due to its increasingly aggressive claims on natural resources such as critical fisheries. Hegseth cautioned that playing both sides, seeking U.S. military support and Chinese economic support, carries risk. 'Economic dependence on China only deepens their malign influence and complicates our defense decision space during times of tension,' Hegseth said. Asked how he would reconcile that statement with Trump's threat of steep tariffs on most in the region, Hegseth he was 'in the business of tanks, not trade.' But Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is part of a congressional delegation attending Shangri-La, objected to pressuring regional allies. 'The United States is not asking people to choose between us and the PRC,' Duckworth said, in reference to the People's Republic of China. Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles welcomed Hegseth's assurance that the Indo-Pacific was an American strategic priority and agreed that Australia and other nations needed to do their part. 'Reality is that there is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States, but we cannot leave it to the United States alone,' he said. Still, Marles suggested the Trump administration's aggressive trade policies were counterproductive. 'The shock and disruption from the high tariffs has been costly and destabilizing.' China sends lower-level delegation China usually sends its own defense minister to this conference, but Dong Jun did not attend this year in a snub to the U.S. over the erratic tariff war Trump has ignited with Beijing. Their absence was something the U.S. delegation said it intended to capitalize on. 'We are here this morning. And somebody else isn't,' Hegseth said. Hegseth was asked by a member of the Chinese delegation, made up of lower level officers from the National Defense University, how committed it would be to regional alliances. In some, China has a more dominant influence. Hegseth said the U.S. would be open to engaging with any countries willing to work with it. 'We are not going to look only inside the confines of how previous administrations looked at this region," he said. "We're opening our arms to countries across the spectrum — traditional allies, non-traditional allies.' Hegseth said committing U.S. support for Indo-Pacific nations would not require local governments to align with the West on cultural or climate issues. It's not clear if the U.S. can or wants to supplant China as the region's primary economic driver. But Hegseth's push follows Trump's visit to the Middle East, which resulted in billions of dollars in new defense agreements.
Asahi Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Asahi Shimbun
SUMO/ Onosato puts on ring-entering ritual indoors at Meiji Jingu
Yokozuna Onosato performs the ring-entering ceremony at Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on March 30. (Pool) Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato performed his first ring-entering ceremony at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu shrine, but did so indoors because of rain. The May 30 ceremony was closed to general visitors. The 24-year-old Onosato is the 75th sumo wrestler to hold the title of yokozuna and the third to do so from Ishikawa Prefecture. He was accompanied to the venue in Shibuya Ward by two sumo wrestlers from the same Nishonoseki stable. Komusubi Takayasu served as a sword-bearer and maegashira No. 15 Ryuden as an usher. Onosato performed the Unryu-style ring-entering ceremony just as his stablemaster Nishonoseki, the former yokozuna Kisenosato, did. It was the first time the ceremony has been held inside Meiji Jingu shrine due to bad weather since Chiyonoyama, the 41st yokozuna, began to hold a ring-entering ceremony at the shrine, according to the Japan Sumo Association.
Asahi Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
U.S. Embassy halts interviews for student visa applicants
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he had confirmed that the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has suspended new interview appointments for student visa applicants. The move reflects a May 27 directive by President Donald Trump to all U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. Iwaya told a May 30 news conference that the U.S. Embassy had formally notified his ministry of the development. 'We believe this is a temporary measure,' a ministry official said. The official inferred the pause is purely temporary until Washington announces expanded vetting of social media posts by those interested in studying in the United States. An official with the U.S. Embassy told The Asahi Shimbun the new measure is a 'global policy' that will affect nations around the world. The Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy said applications for student visas were continuing to be accepted and those with appointments for interviews will be accommodated as scheduled. Iwaya, noting concerns raised by those planning to travel to the United States, said at his news conference: 'We have asked the U.S. government to provide the appropriate information. We will strive to make the appropriate response by grasping what the situation is through close contact with our U.S. counterparts.'
Asahi Shimbun
12 hours ago
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Dazzled by the enigmatic smile of an ancient sculpture
'Nyoirin Kannon,' or statue of Seated Bodhisattva with One Leg Pendent, from Chuguji temple on display at Nara National Museum in Nara on May 20 (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Wanting to see a particular enigmatic smile in person, I traveled to the ancient Japanese capital of Nara. My destination was the Nara National Museum, where the celebrated Asuka Period (592-710) 'Nyoirin Kannon,' or statue of Seated Bodhisattva with One Leg Pendent, was on display in a special feature exhibition titled 'Oh! Kokuho: Resplendent Treasures of Devotion and Heritage.' The statue went on display on May 20 when some of the exhibits were replaced. To see the famed smile, one had to first complete a tour of the exhibition and see all the national treasures the museum had to offer. Only then, could a visitor be led into a dazzling white room that made one feel as if they were stepping into an alternate universe. There, in the center, materialized the 'kannon bosatsu'--or the goddess of mercy in Japanese Buddhism. The plump middle finger of her right hand touched her chin. Her left foot was on a lotus flower. With her eyes lowered serenely, she seemed to be contemplating the salvation of humanity. I had been told before that her face changed noticeably depending on the angle of view. That proved to be true. Up close, she looked infinitely gentle. Scrutinized from afar, she gave the impression of being determined or intense. This sculpture is made of wood, but its ebony sheen could have misled anyone into thinking it was metal. Everything about this treasure simply mesmerized me. In fact, many people have been captivated by this Japanese version of 'The Thinker.' Philosopher Tetsuro Watsuji (1889-1960) extolled it as 'the crystallization, in the shape of a human body, of our deepest and commonest yearning for mercy.' Photographer Ken Domon (1909-1990) put it much more simply: 'This is Japan's Madonna.' Domon deemed this bosatsu as a woman, probably because it was the main object of worship at Chuguji temple, a nunnery in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. Originally, the statue was said to have been painted in bright colors and had a pectoral ornament. I learned this only after I left the museum, but that certainly did not detract from my appreciation for this treasure in any way. A tanka poem by Yaichi Aizu (1881-1956) goes: 'Looking up a Buddha statue/ lost in a reverie/ then I heard the footsteps/ on the museum floor' I was so immersed in the experience that I must have forgotten the time. When I 'came to,' so to speak, there were far more visitors around me than when I started. I left the small white room with reluctance. --The Asahi Shimbun, May 31 * * * 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.
