Performing light-intensity exercises for a short duration was found to have improved the <keyword id="20178149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blood-flow" source="keywords">blood flow</keyword> to <keyword id="19914811" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="children" source="keywords">children</keyword>'s cerebrum, known to help with <keyword id="20943924" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cognition" source="keywords">cognition</keyword>, according to a recent study. The study by Japan's <keyword id="22926399" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Waseda-University" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Waseda University" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Waseda University">Waseda University</keyword> enrolled 41 healthy children from fifth-grade elementary to third-year junior high school students to find out how short-term, light-intensity exercises affected the blood flow to <keyword id="21319112" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prefrontal-cortex" source="keywords">prefrontal cortex</keyword>, located in the cerebrum and known to handle cognitive functions. <br /><br />Researchers focused on exercises that can easily be performed on the spot without special equipment, such as stretching. Most of the exercises were performed while seated, with movements lasting 10 to 20 seconds. <br /><br />The team used an imaging technique -- functional near-infrared spectroscopy -- to measure changes in blood flow to the <keyword id="19985684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="brain" source="keywords">brain</keyword> by looking at concentrations of oxyhaemoglobin (that carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues) while at rest and during the <keyword id="20067991" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exercise" source="keywords">exercise</keyword>. <br /><br />According to the findings published in the <keyword id="20069357" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scientific-reports" source="keywords">Scientific Reports</keyword> journal, the researchers found a significant increase in oxyhaemoglobin levels in multiple regions of the prefrontal cortex during all forms of exercise compared to the resting state. <br /><br />"By combining the types of exercise that easily increase blood flow in the prefrontal cortex identified in this study, it is possible to develop an exercise program that everyone can easily engage in to improve children's executive functions. It may also be used in the future to prevent cognitive decline in adults and the elderly," said Takashi Naito, one of the authors and a doctoral student at Waseda University. <br /><br />The authors further wrote that the study implies that short-duration, light-intensity exercises, provided that they entail a certain degree of cognitive and/or physical demands, can activate the prefrontal cortex and increase blood flow. <br /><br />Previous studies have shown that physical exercise improves cognitive function in many ways such as by improving blood flow to the brain, by causing structural changes in the brain and by promoting the forming of new brain cells, or neurons. <br /><br />However, as children around the world have been shown to insufficiently engage in physical exercise, leading to high levels of sedentary behaviour, the authors said that the study's results offer potential solutions. <br /><br />The study is a significant step forward in combating sedentary lifestyles and activating brain functions in children, thereby supporting their physical and mental growth, they said. <br /><br />"Our goal is to develop a light-intensity exercise program that is accessible to everyone, aiming to enhance brain function and reduce children's sedentary behaviour," Naito said.

Study shows light exercise improves blood flow to children's brain, improve cognition

Most of us have experienced the sharp discomfort of opening a report only to find endless data overflowing across the pages. While charts and diagrams have made data more digestible, imagine experiencing it in a more captivating way.<br /><br />Japanese geo-environmental scientist <keyword id="21391911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hiroto-Nagai" source="keywords">Hiroto Nagai</keyword> has achieved just that with his groundbreaking composition, "<keyword id="21391913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="string-quartet" source="keywords">String Quartet</keyword> No. 1 'Polar Energy Budget'”. Using three decades of <keyword id="21391912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-data" source="keywords">climate data</keyword> from the <keyword id="20197564" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arctic" source="keywords">Arctic</keyword> and <keyword id="20227016" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Antarctic" source="keywords">Antarctic</keyword>, Nagai created a six-minute string quartet played by a four-person group using violins, a viola, and a cello.<br /><br />Nagai's aim was to convey the complexities of <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword> through <keyword id="19909814" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="music" source="keywords">music</keyword>, using publicly-available data from polar locations between 1982 and 2022. This included measurements of radiation, precipitation, temperature, and cloud thickness. Nagai assigned musical elements, such as instrument, pitch, and intervals, to each data point, crafting a piece that was both captivating and informative.<br /><br />While creating the piece was challenging, so was performing it. Violinist Haruka Sakuma described it as initially difficult to memorise and play due to its contemporary nature. Despite the challenges, Sakuma's PRT quartet triumphantly premiered the piece at Waseda University in Tokyo last year.<br /><br />The composition captivates listeners from beginning to end. As the sturdy cello sets the rhythm in the opening section, the violins add a layer of eerie tension, mirroring the intense and growing climate anxieties of recent decades. In a world grappling with climate change, Nagai's work aims to spark curiosity and deepen our connection to <keyword id="21066234" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="environmental-issues" source="keywords">environmental issues</keyword>.<br /><br />You can listen to a version of the piece <a href="https://youtu.be/Tulsx2wt3qU" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>, which also helps break down the climate data conversion into meaningful sheet music.<br /><br />The research findings have been published in iScience and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.109622" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.<br />

Ever wondered what climate change "sounds" like? This six-minute orchestral piece was made from decades of climate data!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Japanese police raided a car dealership suspected of trying to smuggle a Lexus into North Korea.</li><li>Kim Jong Un is a fan of luxury cars and has recently been spotted in a Lexus and a Maybach.</li></ul><p>Police raided a used-car dealership in Chiba, Japan, suspecting it of trying to illegally smuggle a Lexus to North Korea.</p><p>The Japanese newspaper <a target="_blank" href="https://www.asahi.com/international/list/asia.html?iref=pc_international_top">Asahi Shimbun</a> was the first to report the raid, which took place last Thursday.</p><p>Officers were seeking evidence for alleged breaches of customs regulations, the South Korean newspaper<a target="_blank" href="https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-12-10/national/northKorea/Attempt-to-smuggle-Lexus-to-North-Korea-spotlights-Kim-Jonguns-fondness-for-fine-cars/1931959"> Korea JoongAng Daily reported.</a> International sanctions prohibit importing luxury cars to North Korea.</p><p>According to Korea JoongAng Daily, police believe the dealership tried to smuggle a Lexus into North Korea via Bangladesh, falsely declaring Singapore as the final destination.</p><p>An expert on North Korea's ruling family told the Hong-Kong-based <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244737/north-koreas-attempts-smuggle-luxury-goods-expose-un-sanctions-regime-may-be-open-abuse?module=latest&amp;pgtype=homepage%3FregisterSource%3Dloginwall&amp;firstTimeRegister=true">South China Morning Post</a> that the likely recipient of the car was Kim Jong Un.</p><p>"Kim is known to be a big fan of expensive cars – he has been seen with Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, and others," Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, told the SCMP.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nknews.org/2023/11/kim-jong-un-appears-to-import-luxury-maybach-lexus-suvs-despite-sanctions/">According to the US-based NK News,</a> Kim was last month seen using a luxury Maybach and several Lexus SUVs during a visit to North Korea's eastern coast. He has been sighted in Lexus LX SUVs over the years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nknews.org/pro/new-lexus-spotted-with-kim-jong-un-in-latest-public-appearance/">the outlet said.</a></p><p>NK News said it was unclear how and when the vehicles reached North Korea; but that doing so would likely violate sanctions.</p><p>Under United Nations resolutions, the export of expensive cars and other high-end items to North Korea is banned.</p><p>The UN Security Council adopted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/UN-Security-Council-Resolutions-on-North-Korea">several major sanctions</a> resolutions on North Korea in 2006, seeking to ban the sale of luxury goods to punish it for its nuclear program.</p><p>"It is obvious he wants these luxury vehicles to show off his prestige and importance," Shigemura told the SCMP. "At a very basic level, it is a status symbol."</p><p>Robert Dujarric, co-director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, told the SCMP that it is "relatively easy" to get a luxury car into North Korea.</p><p>"It may be a luxury car, but the world's intelligence agencies have better things to do than try to halt cars from being delivered to Pyongyang," Dujarric said, per the SCMP.</p><p>Instead, agencies would likely focus on blocking military equipment.</p><p>Dujarric said it would be "simple" to buy a car in Europe or Asia, ship it to a third country with lax regulation, then transport it to North Korea.</p><p>The North Korean embassy in London did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.</p>

Kim Jong Un is obsessed with Lexus, and won't let sanctions stop him from getting one, North Korea experts say

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The former Japanese prime minister <keyword id="12446420" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shinzo-abe" source="Orion">Shinzo Abe</keyword> was shot dead at a campaign speech on Friday. </li><li>Abe's visit to the city of Nara was only confirmed late Thursday night, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-62088876">the BBC reported.</a></li></ul><p>Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign visit on Friday morning was only confirmed late the night before, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-62088876">BBC reported</a>. </p><p>Abe was giving a speech near a train station in the western city of Nara at around 11.30 a.m. local time <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-collapses-in-nara-gunshots-heard-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">when he was shot twice from behind</a>.</p><p>He suffered fatal wounds to his neck and the left of his chest and was declared dead in the hospital five and a half hours later.</p><p>The former prime minister, who stepped down in 2020 due to health issues, was on the campaign trail for in support of his Liberal Democratic Party ahead of this Sunday's upper house election.<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/08/shinzo-abe-japans-former-prime-minister-dies-after-being-shot"></a></p><p>His visit to Nara was only confirmed late last night, per the BBC.</p><p>That detail raises questions about how his killer was able to act so quickly.</p><p>Police arrested a 41-year-old man at the scene and seized a weapon, <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14664272" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.</a> Officials did not immediately suggest a motive or comment on any planning around the attack.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-gun-used-kill-japanese-pm-shinzo-abe-home-made-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">The weapon appears to have been a rudimentary gun</a>, which could be seen on the ground in video from the scene.</p><p>Airo Hino, a political science professor at Waseda University, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-ex-prime-minister-abe-may-have-been-shot-taken-hospital-nhk-2022-07-08/">told Reuters</a> that a shooting like this is unprecedented in <keyword id="6355311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="japan" source="Orion">Japan</keyword>, which has strict gun-control laws.</p><p>"Senior Japanese politicians are accompanied by armed security agents but often get close to the public, especially during political campaigns when they make roadside speeches and shake hands with passersby," Hino told Reuters.</p>

Shinzo Abe was only confirmed as speaker one day before event where he was killed, deepening questions around assassination

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6355311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="japan" source="Orion">Japan</keyword>'s former prime minister, <keyword id="12446420" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shinzo-abe" source="Orion">Shinzo Abe</keyword>, was fatally shot while giving a speech on Friday.</li><li>Videos show the suspect standing behind Abe with little security around him before the assassination.</li></ul><p>Videos from Shinzo Abe's assassination show the shooting suspect standing closely behind the former Japanese leader with little visible security moments before the attack.</p><p>Abe was giving a campaign speech near a train station in Nara, western Japan, around 11:30 a.m. local time when he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-collapses-in-nara-gunshots-heard-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">shot from behind</a>. He suffered wounds to the neck and chest died in the hospital hours later.</p><p>Police <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-assassination-suspect-what-we-know-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">said</a> the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-shooting-suspect-was-dissatisfied-ex-pm-report-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">shooting suspect</a> had shot Abe from around 10 feet away.</p><p>A video <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220708_41/">published by Japanese public broadcaster NHK</a> shows the suspect standing behind Abe without little visible security around him.</p><p>The footage, which appeared to be from a bystander, showed the shooting suspect walking slowly toward Abe, raising his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-gun-used-kill-japanese-pm-shinzo-abe-home-made-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">gun</a> and immediately firing two shots. Security guards tackled the suspect to the ground moments after the attack. He appeared to be wearing a grey shirt, cargo pants, and a white face mask.</p><p>Another video from Nippon TV 24 showed the suspect standing mere feet behind Abe during the speech.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—sb (@sb_065) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1545255171575271424">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Another video <a href="https://twitter.com/maike809588/status/1545286550568706050">aired by NHK</a> shows the suspect standing in a crowd of people waiting for Abe's speech to begin. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="none">—maike  (@maike809588) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1545286550568706050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Airo Hino, a political science professor at Waseda University, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-ex-prime-minister-abe-may-have-been-shot-taken-hospital-nhk-2022-07-08/">told Reuters</a> that a shooting like this is almost unprecedented in Japan, a nation which has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-low-gun-crime-rate-2022-7">strict gun-control laws</a>.</p><p>"Senior Japanese politicians are accompanied by armed security agents but often get close to the public, especially during political campaigns when they make roadside speeches and shake hands with passersby," Hino said.</p><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/xNsZJ65d-VWaoq3j4.html" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;" title="Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe killed during speech"></iframe>

Videos show Shinzo Abe shooting suspect standing near him with little security moments before assassination

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Training with <keyword id="12020982" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="weight" source="Orion">weight</keyword>s, resistance bands, or body weight can help build strength and muscle. </li><li>It may also reduce your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease, new research suggests.</li></ul><p>Working out to sculpt stronger muscles isn't just for show — it could help you live a longer, healthier life, research suggests. </p><p>Regular <a href="https://www.insider.com/new-year-new-gains-guide-conquer-your-2022-fitness-resolutions-2022-1">muscle-strengthening activity, from weightlifting to calisthenics</a>, is linked to a 10-20% lower risk of dying from serious chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, according to a study published today in the <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061">British Journal of Sports Medicine</a>. </p><p>Researchers from Tohoku University, Kyushu University, and Waseda University in Japan looked at data from 16 studies published between 2012 and 2020, comparing <keyword id="11927625" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="exercise" source="Orion">exercise</keyword> habits with rates of deaths from major illnesses. </p><p>Participants who did some type of strengthening exercise for 30 to 60 minutes a week were significantly less likely to die of any cause during the studies, data showed. They also had a lower risk of specific illnesses like heart disease (17% lower risk), cancer (12% lower risk), and diabetes (17% lower risk). </p><p>Combining strength training with some type of cardio activity to boost the heart rate was linked to even more reductions in disease risk, researchers found.  </p><p>The results are supported by previous research showing both types of exercise can boost <keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">health</keyword> and longevity, and suggest it doesn't take hours in the gym to see the benefits. </p><h2><strong>You don't have to lift weights to build muscle and strength </strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-build-muscle-fast-when-you-start-strength-training-2021-8">Weight training is ideal for building muscle</a>, since it allows you to <a href="https://www.insider.com/progressive-overload-fitness-meaning-and-how-to-do-it-2021-1">progressively challenge your muscles</a> to grow bigger and stronger over time. <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-start-weightlifting-if-only-do-cardio-yoga-2021-10">Lifting weights can also be accessible for all skill levels</a> and nearly all ages, experts previously told Insider. </p><p>However, the study found a wide range of activities count as muscle-building exercise, including bodyweight movements like <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-get-better-at-push-ups-trainer-advice-2021-11">push-ups</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/squats-ways-to-build-strength-and-muscle-no-weights-required-2021-12">squats</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.insider.com/resistance-bands-build-arm-muscle-without-gym-trainer-advice-2022-2">resistance band workouts</a>. </p><h2>Small amounts of exercise can make a big difference, the study suggests</h2><p>Researchers found the disease-prevention benefits of strength training seemed to max out at between 30 to 60 minutes per week for most health risks. </p><p>For some illnesses, like diabetes, the risk significant decreased with less than an hour of exercise a week. Beyond an hour, the additional benefit gradually decreased over time. </p><p>The results suggest you don't need to be a gym rat to benefit from a consistent exercise routine, and corroborate previous evidence that <a href="https://www.insider.com/workout-less-for-maximum-muscle-building-gains-trainer-advice-2021-10">as little as two workouts a week</a> can have results for both health and muscle-building. </p><h2><strong>Combining aerobic and strength exercise could maximize overall health benefits </strong></h2><p>Previous evidence has found aerobic exercise that raises your heart rate is linked to benefits like more stamina, improved mood, and a healthier heart, according to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/aerobic-exercise/art-20045541">Mayo Clinic</a>. </p><p>The current study suggests strength training has additional benefits. The researchers found combining strength and cardio training led to more risk reduction than either exercise alone. Study participants who did both types of exercise had up to 46% lower risk of heart disease and 28% lower risk of cancer, data showed. </p><p>If you're not a fan of the treadmill or jogging outdoors, you can also <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-improve-cardio-without-running-trainer-advice-2021-12">get the benefits of cardio without running</a> by changing up your weight routine to include lighter weights, more reps, and less time resting between exercises. </p>

Doing just 30 minutes of muscle-building workouts a week can reduce your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease, study finds

New Delhi, April 1 () Drug firm Takeda on Wednesday said it has appointed Koki Sato as the country head for the company's India business.<p> He will lead the company's operations with a focus on the expansion of patient access to Takeda's innovative portfolio in the country, the company said in a statement.</p><p> Prior to this role, Sato was the General Manager of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova (UBM) cluster in Takeda's ICMEA area, it added.</p><p> "India is of significant importance for Takeda and we endeavour to develop initiatives which will lead to enhanced patient access to our highly innovative medicines locally," Sato said.</p><p> Takeda remains committed to serving India's patients, and aims to bring newer therapies for rare diseases, gastroenterology, and oncology to them in the coming years, along with hopefully, the company's dengue vaccine candidate, he added.</p> Sato holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from Waseda University, Japan.  AKT  HRS

Takeda appoints Koki Sato as new country head for India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many people predicted that <keyword id="6355311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="japan">Japan</keyword> would be hit hard by the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic, but the country has been relatively unscathed.</li><li>People have posited several reasons for Japan's success, including an existing culture of mask-wearing.</li><li>Others have said it was the government's clear messaging about avoiding the three C's: closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.</li><li>Some experts have said that Japan might not be as successful as we think and that there may be significant underreporting.</li></ul><p>When the pandemic hit, experts predicted that Japan would be hit hard by the virus, with some saying as many as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan/japan-urges-citizens-to-isolate-as-reports-warn-of-400000-deaths-idUSKCN21X149">400,000 residents</a> could die.</p><p>The country didn't enforce a widespread <keyword id="6379139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shutdown">shutdown</keyword>, tested only 0.2% of its population, and was slow to cancel the summer Olympics even as the countries set to participate locked down. Japan did not use surveillance technology the way <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/technology/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html">China</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-surveillance-used-by-governments-to-fight-pandemic-privacy-concerns.html">Singapore</a> did, and it did not employ widespread testing the way <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-coronavirus-testing-death-rate-2020-3">South Korea</a> did.</p><p>But even though at least 26% of Japan's population <a href="http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/nenkan/1431-02.htm">is over age 65</a> and at a higher risk of getting seriously ill with <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>, most people did not get sick. As of Thursday, the country of 126 million people had reported <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">about 16,600 cases and 858 deaths</a>.</p><p>Japan this week <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/25/861843337/japans-shinzo-abe-lifts-coronavirus-state-of-emergency-as-critics-swarm">declared its state of emergency over</a>, and many have linked its success to the Japanese government's messaging. Instead of encouraging social-distancing practices like staying 6 feet away from other people at all times, the government <a href="https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000615287.pdf">told people to avoid the three C's</a>: closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.</p><p><div type="image" title="Tokyo Japan coronavirus" height="800" width="1067" msid="76071023" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>Some say the secret to Japan's success is a mystery</h2><p>"Just by looking at death numbers, you can say Japan was successful," Mikihito Tanaka, a professor at Waseda University, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/did-japan-just-beat-the-virus-without-lockdowns-or-mass-testing">told Bloomberg last week</a>. "But even experts don't know the reason."</p><p>A <a href="https://anond.hatelabo.jp/20200518004632">list of possible reasons</a> circulating online includes an existing culture of mask-wearing, a lower rate of obesity, the government's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/world/asia/japan-schools-coronavirus.html">early push to close schools</a>, and a claim that speakers of Japanese emit fewer viral droplets than speakers of other languages.</p><p>Some have said there are other cultural factors at play. <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2020/03/japans-winning-its-quiet-fight-against-covid-19/">An Asia Times report described Japan</a> as less of "a touchy-feely nation" than places like the United States, with more of a focus on cleanliness. It also has a dedicated public-health system.</p><p>But many experts say that it's unclear why Japan wasn't devastated by the virus and that we likely won't know until the pandemic ends.</p><h2>Japan acted earlier than other countries</h2><p>Dealing with the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in February and the international scrutiny indicated to Japan that the disease was not some far-off problem for other countries and could affect residents there, Tanaka told the Bloomberg journalists Lisa Du and Grace Huang.</p><p>They also pointed to Japan's robust network of contract tracers <keyword id="6366244" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="who">who</keyword> began tracking the spread of the disease in January and to a possibility raised by researchers that the virus strain in Asia may have been less dangerous than a mutated strain that spread in Europe.</p><p>Early interventions of medical experts and collective action by the public also made a difference, Rob Fahey and Paul Nadeau <a href="https://www.tokyoreview.net/2020/05/time-to-give-japan-credit-for-its-covid-19-response/">wrote in the Tokyo Review</a>.</p><h2>Why Japan took the 3 C's approach instead of locking down</h2><p>Japan didn't enforce shutdowns or social-distancing orders, but it encouraged people to avoid closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places with groups of people, and close-contact settings like one-on-one conversations.</p><p>The method, which leaves decisions about where to go and what kind of risks to take up to individuals, is designed to help minimize the spread of the virus while allowing life to continue, albeit with limits.</p><p>"We need to create a new lifestyle from now on," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a press conference on Monday. "We need to change our way of thinking."</p><p>Lockdowns in the United States have been framed as extreme, temporary procedures, while in Japan the three C's have been framed as a new, permanent lifestyle for residents. This may bode well for the sustainability of the approach.</p><h2>Is it too good to be true?</h2><p>While some experts have lauded Japan's decentralized, bottom-up approach, others have expressed doubts that it works.</p><p>"The Japan conundrum is just the fact that if you don't test for it, you're not going to find a lot of cases," Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor of viral pathogenesis at the University of Manitoba, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-japan-cases-of-coronavirus-are-so-low-2020-3">told Business Insider in March</a>.</p><p>Kenji Shibuya, the World Health Organization's former chief of health policy, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/a-coronavirus-explosion-was-expected-in-japan-where-is-it">told Bloomberg in mid-March</a> that either Japan had contained the spread of the virus by focusing on outbreak clusters or outbreaks haven't been found yet.</p><p>The Tokyo Review cited surveys finding that Japanese citizens were not as pleased with Abe's response to the pandemic. <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/09/national/abe-coronavirus-survey/#.Xs_cHRNKiRt">In one survey last month</a>, Abe received a worse rating from his own citizens than several other world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, whose nation has by far the highest COVID-19 death toll.</p><p>But some Japanese residents have praised the three C's system.</p><p>"The model allows for a certain level of economic activity and maintains people's freedom to move about, and as such is more sustainable over the long term than more burdensome models such as lockdowns," Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of international politics at Hokkaido University's Public Policy School, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/covid-19-strategy-the-japan-model/">wrote in The Diplomat last month</a>.</p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-japan-tackled-coronavirus-without-a-lockdown-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Japan avoided a lockdown by telling everyone to steer clear of the 3 C's. Here's what that means.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/532b47f669beddab1ed7c728-2400/mansudaegrandmonument08.jpg" alt="kim il-sung kim jong-il" data-mce-source="Wikipedia" data-mce-caption="Statues commemorate Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il." data-link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mansudae_Grand_Monument_08.JPG" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mansudae_Grand_Monument_08.JPG">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p class="caption">Statues commemorate Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>North Korea has reportedly had to increase security around monuments to the Kim dynasty as dissent grows among ordinary citizens.</strong></li><li><strong>Experts say citizens are getting tired of the Kim regime because of harsh economic and social circumstances.</strong></li><li><strong>North Korea's highest-level defector predicted that citizens would overthrow Kim within 10 years.</strong></li></ul><p>The North Korean government has ordered security forces to keep a close watch on monuments and paintings of the Kim dynasty, as they fear "<span>hostile elements</span>" within the country may vandalize them, <a href="http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14784&amp;cataId=nk01500" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to South Korea's Daily NK</a>.</p><p>Daily NK, a Seoul-based <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">news</keyword> website that purports to have a large network of informants within North Korea, reports that US-led sanctions have affected the economy in the country and now citizens may turn on the Kim government.</p><p>The Kim dynasty, currently led by Kim Jong Un, has presided over North Korea for more than 70 years.</p><p>During this time, the country has seen famine and hardship unimaginable in the developed world. Lately, under Kim Jong Un, the country's economy has shifted from strict socialism to a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=4&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj3yr6xko7XAhWIvBoKHcNWBZ0QFgg2MAM&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Frealspin%2F2017%2F06%2F01%2Fnorth-korea-experiments-with-freer-markets%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw00zr1P9iv-BqkqwJ8EbU7e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slightly more open market,</a> but a drought earlier this year hurt harvests.</p><p>All the while, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-sanctions-against-north-korea-keep-failing-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">North Korea has prioritized expensive missile and nuclear-weapons programs</a>.</p><p><span>"Orders have been handed down to increase attention towards 'eternal life' towers, oil paintings, and wall murals located all over the country. Public security officers (police) have been mobilized for night patrols," a Pyongyang source told Daily NK.</span></p><p><span>In North Korea, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjMytrLkY7XAhUG0xoKHdR4BMMQFggmMAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fmagazine%2F2017%2F09%2F18%2Fthe-risk-of-nuclear-war-with-north-korea&amp;usg=AOvVaw02T2Hv3Kq_rsfGlu1PhosQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all men older than 16 are expected to wear a pin</a> honoring the Kim dynasty, and nearly every home in the country bears the portraits of the three Kim leaders. Citizens can be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-defector-thae-yong-ho-kim-jong-un-overthrown-10-years-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">killed or sentenced to work in labor camps</a> if they're caught with outside media, and even folding a picture of one of the Kims so that it puts a crease on the leaders face is a punishable offense.</span></p><p><span>Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an expert on North Korea, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/26/north-korea-steps-security-around-monuments-kim-family-anger/?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told the Telegraph</a> that he's seen reports of North Koreans targeting monuments that honor Kim, "particularly in the more remote areas of the country."</span></p><p><span>"Younger generations of North Koreans have little respect for Kim Jong-un and we are beginning to see that come to the surface," he said.</span></p><p><span>Though North Korea tightly controls its messaging and pushes propaganda to the outside world, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-opinions-kim-jong-un-2016-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">citizens of the country often defect and tell different tales</a>.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54948386ecad04994046e3c8-2400/rtr2sakp.jpg" alt="North Korea" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Damir Sagolj  " data-mce-caption="Pak Su Dong, manager of the Soksa-Ri cooperative farm in an area hit by floods and typhoons shows damage to agricultural products in the South Hwanghae province September 29, 2011. In March 2011, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that 6 million North Koreans needed food aid and a third of children were chronically malnourished or stunted." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Damir Sagolj  </span></p><p class="caption">Pak Su Dong, manager of the Soksa-Ri cooperative farm in an area hit by floods and typhoons, shows damage to agricultural products in the South Hwanghae province September 29, 2011.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Only the most fit and patriotic citizens can live in Pyongyang, the country's capital, but outside the city in less productive areas, experts say dissent has remained persistent but in check.</span></p><p>Thae Yong Ho, the highest-level diplomatic official to defect from North Korea, told <a href="http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3037247" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">South Korea's JoongAng Daily</a> in August that <span>"over the past decades, there were a myriad of anti-Workers' Party, anti-revolutionary events in North Korea."</span></p><p>Thae said "ordinary citizens" were "very much against" the leadership.</p><p><span>"The chasm between the Kim Jong Un regime and the general public is widening every year, and some day, the two sides will ultimately break like a rubber band," Thae added. "I think that day will come within the next 10 years."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/who-north-korea-dictator-kim-jong-un-wife-ri-sol-ju-military-defense-politics-hermit-kingdom-pyongyang-2017-9">The mysterious life of the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/Nuub8t5O-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

North Korea cracks down on dissidents with 'little respect' for Kim Jong Un - and it could be his undoing

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55788e17eab8eab61e47eb8f-1200-924/aaron-levie-31.jpg" border="0" alt="Aaron Levie "><p class="source"><span>Reuters </span></p><p class="caption">Box CEO Aaron Levie</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Box's stock is up nearly 9% after reporting strong earnings for the second quarter of 2015.</p><p>These are the most important numbers, versus Wall St. expectations:</p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>EPS:</strong> a loss of $0.28 per share vs. a loss of $0.31 per share</span></li><li><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Revenue:</strong> $66 million vs. $63.70 million</span><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></li></ul><p>Box's revenue grew 45% from the same quarter of last year, while adding 2,000 new customers. Billings also saw a healthy growth of 58% year over year, reaching $69.8 million for the quarter.</p><p>But Box still remains hugely unprofitable. It had a net loss of $47.3 million, and a negative operating cash flow of $32.2 million.</p><p>In the first quarter, Box's stock price took a huge hit after hours following what looked to be a miss on its earnings. But it turned out analysts <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/box-earnings-q1-2015-2015-3">had used the wrong number of shares</a> in their estimates, and Box had actually beat by $0.30 a share. Still, investors weren't impressed, sending its shares down by as much as 17% at one point.</p><p>Box is an interesting company to keep an eye on. It's one of the fastest growing <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> software companies, but also has one of the highest burn rates, especially in sales and marketing costs.</p><p><span>For the most recent quarter, Box spent roughly 86% of its revenue on sales and marketing, down from 104% of the same quarter last year.</span></p><p>In 2013, it spent 168% of its revenue on sales and marketing, but it dropped those numbers to around 99% of total revenue in late 2014. In the previous quarter, it brought it down to a more modest 80% of total revenue.</p><p>The big question mark is whether this spending will translate to any meaningful, large enterprise contracts. Over the past three months, Box announced a deal with the Department of Justice, a positive sign that the government is trusting Box as a file sharing repository, and also a school-wide deployment at Japan's Waseda University, reflecting its international growth.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/roar-filmed-with-100-untamed-lions-movie-injured-2015-4">70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Box stock skyrockets after second-ever earnings report

<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52a08c9feab8ea4c0b96af77-618-464/china-japan-walmart-1.jpg" border="0" alt="china japan walmart" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5792939973/">Walmart Stores on flickr</a></p></div></div></div>East Asia is trapped in a vicious cycle of escalating tensions, with <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s rising power giving Japanese hawks legitimacy in their bid to bolster the military -- exactly what Beijing says it fears.</p>
<p>The United States -- rival to one power, ally to the other -- finds itself walking a tightrope, with Vice President Joe Biden in China this week urging restraint to "reduce the possibility of crisis or mistake", according to a US administration official.</p>
<p>But that is hard when relations between Asia's two biggest economies are so poisoned by history. Every time Beijing summons the demons of <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>'s past aggression, Tokyo plays on fears of Chinese domination to come.</p>
<p>"This is a battle about pride," said Takehiko Yamamoto, international security professor at Japan's Waseda University. "I cannot, for now, see there being any compromises."</p>
<p>Simmering tensions heated up with Japan's September 2012 purchase of some of the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands, in the East China Sea, from their private Japanese owners. China, which calls them the Diaoyus, regards them as its territory.</p>
<p>Since then, China has sent ships and aircraft into the area on scores of occasions, prompting counter-deployments by Japan, and last month Beijing declared an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering a large stretch of the East China Sea.</p>
<p>Japan already has an ADIZ, which now overlaps China's. In October, a Chinese drone flight prompted Japanese threats to shoot down unmanned aircraft that enter its airspace, something Beijing said would amount to "an act of war".</p>
<p>Each escalation is blamed on the other side, with Japan claiming China is trying to "forcefully change the status quo", and China saying it must stand up to a re-emerging militarism it sees in Japan under conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.</p>
<p>Abe's bid to stoke Japan's slumbering economy has given him political capital to push his long-cherished aim of also rehabilitating Japan's military, which under the post-war pacifist constitution is restricted to defence only.</p>
<p>Abe has used the tense diplomatic situation "cleverly" to manage his government, said Tomoaki Iwai of Nihon University, painting each Chinese action as a crisis and promoting policies that might otherwise be unpopular among a populace deeply wedded to peace.</p>
<p>"Mr Abe has not directly provoked China. He has been waiting for the other side to give," Iwai said.</p>
<p>'No scope for optimism'</p>
<p>Fears about China have opened the door for Abe to boost Japan's defence budget for the first time in 11 years -- albeit by a small fraction of the double-digit rises enjoyed by China's armed forces over the past decade.</p>
<p>Abe has also established a US-style National Security Council, which came into operation Wednesday and is expected to bolster the power of the premier and a handful of senior ministers. China plans a similar body, although details remain scant.</p>
<p>Beijing's declaration of its own air defence zone was largely a response to the way it thinks Japan has "exaggerated the threat of China", said Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.</p>
<p>China's ruling Communist Party regularly seeks to bolster public support by tapping into deep-seated resentment of Japan for its brutal invasion of the country in the 1930s.</p>
<p>The island sovereignty row is portrayed in China as righting a historical injustice.</p>
<p>Beijing says the islands -- believed to harbour vast natural resources below their seabed -- were its possessions for hundreds of years before Japan stole them at the close of the 19th century.</p>
<p>Japan's nationalisation move was greeted by sometimes-violent protests on Chinese streets, a consumer boycott of Japanese goods, and an outpouring of anti-Japanese sentiment which refuses to fade.</p>
<p>"Little Japan is a mean and shameless country," wrote one user on a Twitter-style weibo site on Thursday. "Die little Japan," added another.</p>
<p>These hardened attitudes sometimes play into Beijing's actions.</p>
<p>Its relatively benign response to initial overflights of the ADIZ by Japan and the US -- China said it had "monitored" the incursions -- was lambasted by the domestic media and online.</p>
<p>When Japan next flew planes over the area, China sent up fighter jets.</p>
<p>Jin at Renmin University said China, which has blown past once-mighty Japan to become the world's number-two economy, is proving a point with the new defence zone: it is a force to be reckoned with.</p>
<p>"Now China is really confident about itself," he said.</p>
<p>A conventional solution for taking the heat out of a geopolitical squabble -- one that Biden alluded to while visiting Tokyo this week -- is to establish a hotline, like the one that links Beijing and Washington.</p>
<p>But frayed relations mean even talking about such a crisis-management tool is off the table for now.</p>
<p>"The Abe administration will never back down. Neither will China," said Yamamoto of Waseda University.</p>
<p>"There is no scope for optimism in the immediate future."</p>
<div class="nc_footer">
<p>Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.</p>
</div>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT03NmY0MDljMDZlNGZjMGZiNzdlMDVlYTA1YTE4MjllMiZvd25lcj0xYjhjMzM1YzkwMmFjNGFiMTI4ZWU4ZWQ3NzNiZWUwNCZub25jZT01NzM0ZjI3YS1hZWQ1LTRkZjgtOWM5NS1lMzE3MDY3NmY0YjUmcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p>

Experts: China And Japan Are Not Going To Back Down From Each Other Any Time Soon

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a33e3494aa6b5bc198b504e-1375/north korea boat japan.jpg" alt="north korea boat japan" data-mce-source="Kyodo via Reuters" data-mce-caption="A wooden boat, which according to a police official carried eight men who said they were from North Korea and appear to be fishermen whose vessel ran into trouble, is seen near a breakwater in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, Japan, November 24, 2017. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS" /><p class="source"><span>Kyodo via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Japanese police say this boat contained eight men who they claimed were North Korean fishermen.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Dozens of boats containing dead bodies from North Korea have washed up on Japan's west coast recently.</strong></li><li><strong>Experts say this could be due to a fishing deal between North Korea and China.</strong></li><li><strong>The phenomenon also reveals the country's desperate need for fish and foreign currency.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />A fishing deal between North Korea and China could be why dozens of boats containing dead bodies have appeared in Japan recently, experts have said.</p><p>The Japanese coast guard has found around 50 dilapidated boats believed to be from North Korea - many containing corpses or skeletons - along the country's western coast since the beginning of November, <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/12/national/north-korean-bodies-boats-reach-japans-coasts-survivors/#.Wi_IQ1SFhTY">the Japan Times reported on Tuesday</a>.</p><p>The latest discovery came on Wednesday, when officials in Akita found a wooden boat containing partially decomposed bodies, one of which was wearing a badge of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/13/asia/ghost-ship-north-korea-niigata-japan/index.html">according to CNN</a>.</p><p>The exact reasons behind the phenomenon remain unclear - it could be due to food scarcity in North Korea, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ghost-ships-suspected-to-be-from-north-korea-showing-up-in-japan-2017-12">as one expert previously told Business Insider</a>, or it could be due to annual quotas imposed on North Korean fishermen.</p><p>It could also be because North Korea has sold fishing rights off its west coast to China, forcing fishermen to flock to its east coast near Japan, where sea conditions are too rough for rickety wooden boats this time of year.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a29738bf914c354018b899b-1162/japan ghost ship.jpg" alt="japan ghost ship" data-mce-source="Kyodo via Reuters" data-mce-caption="A wooden boat, which drifted ashore with eight partially skeletal bodies and was found by the Japan Coast Guard, is seen in Oga, Akita Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on November 27, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>Kyodo via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A wooden boat, which drifted ashore with eight partially skeletal bodies and was found by the Japan Coast Guard, is seen in Oga, Akita Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on November 27, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Why North Koreans can't fish in some of their own waters</h2><p>Experts say North Korea has sold fishing rights off its west coast to China to earn foreign currency, forcing fishermen to go east instead.</p><p>Chinese boats were given the right to fish in waters above the Northern Limit Line - a border dividing the Yellow Sea between North and South Korea - last year, an anonymous South Korean intelligence source <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2016/08/10/0401000000AEN20160810011300315.html">told the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a327b074aa6b54d008b4d96-1466/northern limit line skitch.jpg" alt="northern limit line skitch" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider" /><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">The Northern Limit Line, which divides the East Sea between the two Koreas. A South Korean government source said North Korea had sold the fishing rights in the waters above the line to China.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The nature of the fishing rights deals remains unclear, however.</p><p>According to the South Korean official, the Kim Jong Un regime sold the fishing licenses through intermediaries, He reportedly stood to earn $75 million (£57.2 million at the time) from the deal.</p><p>But Professor Hazel Smith, a researcher at SOAS who lived in North Korea from 1998 to 2001, said they were deals between private enterprises.</p><p>She told Business Insider: "North Korean companies of all different sizes do individual deals - all of which have to be ratified at some level and licensed by the government - with Chinese companies on all sorts of businesses. Fishing is one of them.</p><p>"A lot of them are verbal contracts," she said, meaning they are hard to prove.</p><h2><strong>The importance of fish in North Korea</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a33d4c94aa6b5b51a8b500a-1500/kim jong un fish farm.jpg" alt="kim jong un fish farm" data-mce-source="KCNA via Reuters" data-mce-caption="North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Samchon Catfish Farm, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on February 21, 2017. KCNA/Handout via Reuters" /><p class="source"><span>KCNA via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Samchon Catfish Farm in this photo released in February 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Pyongyang has for years encouraged its citizens to fish more - even likening it to military duty.</p><p>The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun wrote in a November editorial, <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Spike-in-North-Korean-ghost-boats-signals-deepening-desperation?page=2">according to the Nikkei Asian Review</a>: "Fishing boats are like warships, protecting the people and the motherland. Fish are like bullets and artillery shells."</p><p>Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Japan's Waseda University, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-koreanghost-ships-are-washing-up-on-the-shores-of-japan-why/2017/12/06/261e60ea-da89-11e7-8e5f-ccc94e22b133_story.html?utm_term=.8c88c4c5d0a1">told The Washington Post</a>: "Fishermen usually have a set quota, and they used to sell the seafood to China. Now with the new sanctions, they can't sell the seafood overseas, but the quota still exists, so fishermen... probably stay out too long to catch more fish."</p><p>Pyongyang also encourages fishing to introduce more protein to the national diet, Smith said - although whether it's worked is a different matter.</p><p>She said: "The North Korean government for the past 25 years has tried to promote the development of freshwater fish because it's been aware for a long time that there needs to be protein in the diet. Most North Koreans don't get sufficient protein, so they've promoted these big catfish farms internally.</p><p>However, she said, it's still not a dietary staple in the country because it's "extremely expensive" to trade and transport and very few people own fridges.</p><p>"Fish is, cannot be, and has never been seen as a major form of protein for the majority of people in North Korea."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a33d3c24aa6b54d008b52a0-1500/north korea catfish farm.jpg" alt="north korea catfish farm" data-mce-source="KCNA via Reuters" data-mce-caption="North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the newly built Suncheon Catfish Factory in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang November 28, 2017. KCNA via REUTERS" /><p class="source"><span>KCNA via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Kim visits the Suncheon Catfish Factory in Pyongyang in this photo released in November 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Regardless, many fishermen continue to venture out to dangerous waters out of desperation, Smith added.</p><p>"People are still hungry and in the winter when it's often -20 [Celsius], you need food to fuel your own body. People are still fighting poverty.</p><p>"It's a lot easier to get through security apparatus these days, compared to 20 years ago, because security officials are also looking for money to buy food for their families.</p><p>"But they are in a relative position of power in their communities, either to turn a blind eye to a boat going out or to say that they can do a deal where they get part of the profits if something comes back in."</p><p>Commenting on the ghost ships, she added: "It doesn't surprise me that we're seeing more of this happening now. People are more desperate, [and they have] more opportunities. It shows a terribly sad state of the country."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/f-22-most-dangerous-jet-fighter-20-years-united-states-air-force-2017-9">Watch the F-22 in action - the most dangerous jet fighter in the US Air Force for the last 20 years</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/al8YVzHU-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A fishing deal with China could be the reason North Korean 'ghost ships' are flooding Japan

<p><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img class="float_right" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5106649f6bb3f77906000025-378/dreamliner.gif" border="0" alt="Dreamliner" /><keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>'s government stepped in to give <keyword id="6357957" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boeing">Boeing</keyword> Co's now-grounded 787 Dreamliner and its made-in-Japan technology a boost in 2008 by easing safety regulations, fast-tracking the rollout of the groundbreaking jet for Japan's biggest airlines, according to records and participants in the process.</span></p>
<p>The concessions by an advisory panel to Japan's transport ministry reflected pressure from All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) and a push to support Japanese firms that supply 35 percent of the 787 from the carbon-fiber in its wings to sophisticated electrical systems and batteries used to save fuel, people involved in the deliberations told <keyword id="76338" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Reuters">Reuters</keyword>.</p>
<p>"I believe the request for the changes came initially from the airlines. Ultimately, it was a discussion of measures to lower operating costs for the airlines," said Masatoshi Harigae, head of aviation at Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, one of the outside advisers who urged the eased regulatory standards.</p>
<p>There is no suggestion that easing regulatory standards contributed to the problems facing the Dreamliner, idled around the world after a string of malfunctions ranging from fuel leaks to battery meltdowns. There is also no evidence to suggest that continuing the mandate for more frequent manual inspections for new aircraft, including the Boeing 787, before 2008 would have helped catch signs of trouble earlier.</p>
<p>The looser regulations did not specifically address the risk of the Dreamliner's powerful batteries catching fire, the risk that safety investigators have zeroed in on in recent weeks.</p>
<p>But the steps taken by Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau in 2008 underscore how the deep commercial ties between Boeing and its Japanese suppliers and the backing of ANA and JAL helped build support for an easing of certification standards, based on a review of meeting records by the advisory panel released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and comments from three of the seven experts who participated.</p>
<p>ANA and JAL declined to comment, deferring questions on regulatory standards to aviation officials and the ministry.</p>
<p>"We have not brought down our standards in comparison to other countries. This was a pragmatic revision," Tatsuyuki Shimazu, Chief Air Worthiness Engineer at the Civil Aviation Bureau, said.</p>
<h3>ONGOING PROBE</h3>
<p>Earlier this month, ANA was forced to make an emergency landing on a 787 domestic flight after a battery overheated and partially melted, triggering smoke alarms in the cockpit. The probe into that incident may take weeks or months as investigators still lack basic data to understand what went wrong, people involved have said.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the indefinite grounding of the Dreamliner has raised costs for both ANA and JAL and threatened to push back plans both carriers had for growth and new routes based on the new aircraft, analysts have said.</p>
<p>After three meetings by a panel of industry and policy experts that concluded in March 2008, Japan's transport ministry said it would adopt 40 proposals to streamline regulations surrounding new aircraft. At the time, the ministry said the easier regulatory standards were designed in part to "quickly realize the benefits from the introduction of the 787."</p>
<p>ANA, the Dreamliner's biggest customer, and JAL committed to buy the first 787 in 2004, helping Boeing kick-start orders for the futuristic plane. Both subsequently increased their orders, with ANA planning to eventually fly 66 Dreamliners.</p>
<p>"At the time there was a lot of confidence in the aircraft. It was a discussion of measures to lower operating costs for the airlines," said Harigae.</p>
<p>Japan's government agencies often convene blue-ribbon panels of outside experts to review regulatory policy changes, as the transport ministry did for aircraft safety rules in 2007.</p>
<h3>QUICKER TURNAROUNDS</h3>
<p>Changes endorsed by the aviation group, including 40 revised safety guidelines, were presented as an effort to bring Japan into line with the framework of regulations in other markets, including the United States. At least five recommendations in the advisory report benefited the 787. Four mentioned support for the Dreamliner directly.</p>
<p>Three of the rule changes dealt with abbreviated testing and approval of pilots who had been cleared to fly the Boeing 777 and were preparing to switch to the 787. "It (787) is highly innovative and its safety is also advanced, but it's also very similar in design to the 777," said Kinya Fujiishi, an aviation journalist who sat on the panel. "This is why we thought it would be fine to revise the rule."</p>
<p>Another approved rule change exempted Boeing's new jet from the need for detailed inspections by ground crew after each landing that would have meant higher costs - and longer delays - for the airlines with each flight. Participants said the panel concluded such checks were not needed because of the Dreamliner's sophisticated on-board diagnostic system.</p>
<p>JAL said it still performs checks between 787 flights because it is still required to do so after international routes. ANA said it checks domestic 777 and 787 flights although rules no longer mandate them to perform these.</p>
<p>At the same time, the revised rules opened up potentially lucrative trans-Pacific detinations to ANA and JAL with the Dreamliner sooner than previous standards would have allowed. Changes shortened the time needed to win approval - known as Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) - to fly two-engined jets on routes distant from emergency airfields.</p>
<p>But production and design snags meant ANA, even so, had to wait until 2011 for its first Dreamliner.</p>
<h3>DEEP TIES</h3>
<p>In 2009, a bilateral agreement between Japan and the United States provided further support for the Dreamliner to enter service in Asia. That pact allowed aviation officials in Tokyo to certify the airworthiness of the U.S.-built jets based on testing mostly approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).</p>
<p>In 2007, the FAA cleared Boeing's use of a potentially flammable battery in the Dreamliner because Boeing's design was expected to contain any potential fire and divert smoke and fumes away from the passenger cabin.</p>
<p>Japan's support for the Dreamliner reflects how closely integrated the nation's aerospace industry has become in Boeing's supply chain, experts say. "If the 787 prevails all over the world it's good for Japanese industry, so the government wants to support it," said Hajime Tozaki, an aviation policy specialist and professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, who was not part of the 2008 review.</p>
<p>Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd maker of the wartime Zero fighter, build a third of the Dreamliner including its wings. With each succeeding Boeing model, Japanese suppliers have deepened their involvement from supplying parts for the 747 jumbo jet to becoming full-fledged, risk-sharing partners with the U.S. aircraft builder.</p>
<p>The stake of Japanese suppliers rose from less than a fifth for the 767 to a quarter for the 777 and 35 percent for the 787. As many as 22,000 aerospace jobs at 65 firms in Japan are pegged to Boeing's fortunes, Boeing estimates.</p>
<p>After years of trying, Europe's Airbus has failed to drive a wedge into Japan's ties to Boeing, which in the past decade has won more than 80 percent of Japan's aircraft orders.</p>
<h3>POTENTIAL DAMAGE</h3>
<p>For now, Japan is sticking by Boeing with some even calling for a more conspicuous government support for the 787.</p>
<p>"I didn't feel there was enough (government) effort to promote the 787," said Hiroyasu Hagio, a former JAL pilot who represented flight crews in the 2008 review as head of the Japan Aircraft Pilot Association. He added: "In other countries it's normal for countries to aggressively get involved in sales."</p>
<p>The two big Japanese carriers remain committed to putting the 787 at the core of their fleet planning and say there has been no change to their order plans.</p>
<p>But there are signs the Dreamliner's problems have strained ties between Japan and Boeing. Last week, U.S. diplomats met Japanese officials in Tokyo to discuss the political and economic fallout from the Dreamliner's grounding.</p>
<p>"If Boeing intentionally and politically puts the losses on to Japanese companies, the damage for Japan will be huge," said Isao Iijima, a political adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Additional reporting by Maki Shiraki, James Topham, Antoni Slodkowski and Yumi Muranaka; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ian Geoghegan)</p>
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