A town in Japan's <keyword id="21536386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yamagata-prefecture" source="keywords">Yamagata prefecture</keyword> is taking a unique approach to <keyword id="19913584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-health" source="keywords">public health</keyword>. Local lawmakers have passed a law encouraging residents to laugh at least once a day!<br /><br />This unusual ordinance, enacted last week, is based on research conducted at <keyword id="22386082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yamagata-University" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Yamagata University" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Yamagata University">Yamagata University</keyword>. The research suggests <keyword id="19907840" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="laughter" source="keywords">laughter</keyword> has significant health benefits, potentially reducing the risk of heart disease and even extending lifespans.<br /><br />The law doesn't force laughter, but rather aims to nudge residents towards a more cheerful outlook. It encourages daily "sniggers, chortles, or guffaws," along with urging businesses to create laughter-filled work environments.<br /><br />Remember that <em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine </em>episode where Captain Holt is disgruntled after nobody was having a good time despite him “specifically requesting it”?<br />  <div type="image" title="Brooklyn Nine-Nine" msid="111685548" hostid="261" sizebytes="1778319" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>The eighth of every month is now designated as "Laughter Day," further promoting the lighthearted initiative.<br /><br />However, the law has sparked some debate. Critics, including members of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), argue it infringes on personal freedoms. "The right to laugh, or not to laugh, is guaranteed by the constitution," said JCP member Toru Seki. Others, like Satoru Ishiguro of the Constitutional Democratic Party, worry the law disregards those struggling to laugh due to illness or hardship.<br /><br />Defenders of the law, like Kaori Ito of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), emphasise it's an encouragement, not a mandate. "There's no penalty for not laughing," says Ito. Officials also clarified the law is focused on promoting <keyword id="19896695" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="well-being" source="keywords">well-being</keyword>, not forced merriment.<br /><br />Whether laughter truly becomes the best medicine in Yamagata remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure, this lighthearted approach to health is certainly getting a chuckle out of the world.<br />

Japan has ordered its residents to laugh at least once a day; the opposition thinks its human rights violation

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56296e809dd7cc18008c4270-535-401/31298r.jpg" alt="Wall Street Bombing 1920 old car" data-mce-source="Library of Congress" /><p class="source"><span>Library of Congress</span></p><p class="caption">Some things have changed over the years on Wall Street.</p></div><p></p></div></div>There's no question that building a career in finance has always meant working hard.</p><p>For junior bankers, it has traditionally meant long hours, late nights, and doing the grunt work that the senior bankers pass on.</p><p>But is being a junior banker worse today than it was 20-30 years ago?</p><p>One of Wall Street's most senior investment bankers gave us some insight.</p><h2>'Back in my day...'</h2><p>When he was a rookie, the banker said, the wannabe Masters of the Universe were unquestioning in their dedication.</p><p>If a boss told them to jump, he said, they would always respond, 'How high?'</p><p>But nowadays if the banker - who is in his 50s and runs one of the biggest businesses on Wall Street - asks a young analyst to jump, they might respond with something like:</p><p>'Well, I don't know if that's the right move for me. I'm not sure jumping is the right thing to do on this occasion. How is jumping going to help me? I think I would rather skip. I think skipping might be better than jumping.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Let me take some time to think about that. I am going to get back to you on that.'</span></p><p>He chalked that up to the way millennials have been raised.</p><h2>Millennials need protecting from themselves</h2><p>That isn't to say that junior bankers work less hard. In fact, he said it is quite the opposite. They are just more likely to want their opinions heard and to ask whether the thing they are being asked to do is the right thing to do. </p><p>When the banker was young, he and his analysts colleagues were eager and worked hard - but only so long as they were in the office.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56295370bd86ef175c8b90b3-1528-1146/1232025852_b3e2d92900_o.jpg" alt="office sleeping desk" data-mce-source="Flickr/hiroo yamagata" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hiyori13/1232025852" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hiyori13/1232025852">Flickr/hiroo yamagata</a></span></p><p class="caption">Junior bankers today need to be protected from themselves - from their own ambition - to avoid burning out.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Because his bosses could only reach him by speaking face-to-face or on a landline phone, he was pretty much off the hook when he went home for the evening or weekend.</p><p>In other words, there was a limit to how much work he could do.</p><p>The difference today is that junior bankers have smart phones and laptops, which means they are accessible at all times. </p><p>For the most part they're just as eager as they used to be, but today there are fewer boundaries.</p><p>In a sense, junior bankers today need to be protected from themselves - from their own ambition - to avoid burning out, the banker said.</p><p>That's partly why banks across the Street have begun <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-bank-intern-policies-2015-7">implementing rules and guidelines</a> to limit the hours that analysts work. Goldman Sachs, for example, protects Saturdays, while Bank of America analysts are expected to take at least four days off per month.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carl-icahn-video-danger-ahead-taxes-rates-trump-2015-9">This is what Carl Icahn would do first if he ruled America</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="B5cWF0dzrm80_Ke7p6i1txaAjVgvRQyy" 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', 'B5cWF0dzrm80_Ke7p6i1txaAjVgvRQyy',{ 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>

A 'Master of the Universe' nailed the generational shift on Wall Street with one simple story

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Japanese researchers and Peruvian archeologists have discovered new geoglyphs in the Nazca lines.</li><li>168 geoglyphs were found on Peru's southern Pacific coast depicting cats, killer whales, and snakes.</li></ul><p>After two years of scanning Peru's southern Pacific coast with drones, taking aerial photos, and conducting field surveys, researchers and archeologists have discovered 168 additional geoglyphs in the mysterious Nazca lines.</p><p>The massive, carved trenches — attributed by some to aliens — are the latest addition to over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures, and 70 animal and plant designs, which also called biomorphs, <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?postID=63a10d79507e5b64f030c7c2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic.com%2Fhistory%2Farticle%2Fnasca-lines%23%3A~%3Atext%3DThe%2520lines%2520are%2520found%2520in%2Cplant%2520designs%252C%2520also%2520called%2520biomorphs.">according to National Geographic</a>.</p><div type="image" title="A general view shows one of the Nazca lines images found in the Nazca plain as part of research led by Peruvian and Japanese researchers from Yamagata University who discovered 168 new designs at the UNESCO World Heritage site on Peru's southern Pacific coast in this undated photo released on December 19, 2022 by Yamagata University/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES" height="1732" width="2309" msid="96361149" hostid="261" sizebytes="556058"></div>The recently discovered carved figures average between 6 and 19 feet in length and include the outlined figures of cats, snakes, killer whales, and alpacas, according to <a href="https://www.yamagata-u.ac.jp/en/information/info/20221208/">a statement</a> released by Yamagata University, which led the research. Previously known lines measure as long as 1,200 feet.<p>Researchers from Yamagata University, who conducted the mapping with help from Peruvian archaeologists, estimate the geoglyphs date between 100 BCE and 300 CE — approximately 1,700 to 2,100 years ago.</p><div type="image" title="A general view shows one of the Nazca lines images found in the Nazca plain as part of research led by Peruvian and Japanese researchers from Yamagata University who discovered 168 new designs at the UNESCO World Heritage site on Peru's southern Pacific coast in this undated photo released on December 19, 2022 by Yamagata University/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES" height="1732" width="2309" msid="96361150" hostid="261" sizebytes="567548"></div><p>Yamagata University researchers will collaborate with IBM's T.J. Watson Research Centre, to conduct an AI-based study on the distribution patterns of the latest Nazca geoglyphs, <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/168-newly-identified-geoglyphs-added-to-perus-nazca-lines-1234650917/#recipient_hashed=8ffb612d14406a9e75acad85fab454221e89302c08b1d8b7fb3932a44f79d50c&amp;recipient_salt=d06c8486b057bbe750d8b62e2e6f7cfa1e7f1f0a74932a4aadb17850f0183eeb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Art News reported</a>.</p><p>The AI-based study is an expansion of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-used-ibm-watson-to-discover-an-ancient-humanoid-stick-figure-2019-11">previous research the scholars have conducted</a>, which revealed 142 additional Nazca formations — including images of birds, monkeys, fish, snakes, and foxes.</p><p>"The discovery of 41 geoglyphs in this area was previously announced by Yamagata University in 2014 and 2015, which led to the creation of an archaeological park in 2017 in collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture to protect them," read <a href="https://www.yamagata-u.ac.jp/en/information/info/20221208/">a statement</a> from Yamagata University announcing the discovery. "With this discovery, a total of 77 geoglyphs are now known to be concentrated in this archaeological park.</p><p>Luis Jaime Castillo, a Peruvian archaeologist, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/may/24/nazca-lines-drones-new-discoveries-peru">The Guardian</a> that he suspects only 5% of all existing Nazca lines have so far been found.</p><div type="image" title="A general view shows one of the Nazca lines images found in the Nazca plain as part of research led by Peruvian and Japanese researchers from Yamagata University who discovered 168 new designs at the UNESCO World Heritage site on Peru's southern Pacific coast in this undated photo released on December 19, 2022 by Yamagata University/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES" height="1701" width="2269" msid="96361151" hostid="261" sizebytes="995478"></div><p>Though the reason for the creation of the Nazca lines remains unknown, some archaeologists believe the shapes held a sacred purpose or were early irrigation lines, while local guides believe the lines may relate to sources of water or maps of the region.</p><p><a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?postID=5dd3acb13afd3770dc06f793&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic.com%2Fhistory%2Farchaeology%2Fnasca-lines%2F&amp;amazonTrackingID=null&amp;vikingID=5dd3acb13afd3770dc06f793&amp;platform=browser&amp;sc=false&amp;disabled=false&amp;sessionID=1671499604364y23ewt39" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex">First formally studied in 1926</a>, the exact methods used to create the lines, which are largely impossible to identify from ground level due to their size, also remain a mystery to researchers. </p><p>"These geoglyphs were created by removing black stones from the surface of the earth to expose a white sandy surface below," read <a href="https://www.yamagata-u.ac.jp/en/information/info/20221208/">the statement</a> from Yamagata University, though it is unclear how the black stone was removed. </p><p>In pop culture, the mysterious figures have prompted questions about whether they were <a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/nazca-lines">created by alien visitors or as landing strips for ancient astronauts</a> — particularly because they're only recognizable from the air and human creators would have had no way of viewing their work with the limited technology of 2,000 years ago.  </p><div type="image" title="A general view shows one of the Nazca lines images found in the Nazca plain as part of research led by Peruvian and Japanese researchers from Yamagata University who discovered 168 new designs at the UNESCO World Heritage site on Peru's southern Pacific coast in this undated photo released on December 19, 2022 by Yamagata University/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES" height="1701" width="2268" msid="96361154" hostid="261" sizebytes="1030640"></div><p>The ongoing geoglyph research seeks to reveal a pattern to the lines and has delineated boundaries for the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/700">UNESCO World Heritage site</a> on Peru's southern coast, which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/researchers-discover-over-100-new-ancient-designs-perus-nazca-lines-2022-12-19/">Reuters reports</a> is facing threats from urban and economic developments.</p><p>"Some geoglyphs are in danger of being destroyed due to the recent expansion of mining-related workshops in the archaeological park," Masato Sakai, a professor from Yamagata University who led the study, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/researchers-discover-over-100-new-ancient-designs-perus-nazca-lines-2022-12-19/">told Reuters</a>.</p><p>Representatives of Yamagata University did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p>

Researchers find new biomorphs hidden within Peru's mysterious Nazca lines

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dd3ac003afd3770b616cbf3-954/nazca%20line.png" border="0" alt="Nazca line" data-mce-source="YouTube/IBM Research" data-mce-caption="AI was used to discover an ancient work of art." /></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The Nazca Lines are mysterious ancient images carved into the sands of Peru's Nazca Desert, some of which are over 2,000 years old.</strong></li><li><strong>Although archaeologists have been studying them for over a hundred years, new images are still being discovered which have been obscured over the millennia.</strong></li><li><strong>Researchers from Yamagata University recently discovered a further 142 formations, one of which was discovered using an IBM Watson, which uses artificial intelligence.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The success of the project could help archaeologists find countless more ancient artworks lost to history.</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet"><strong>Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</strong></a></li></ul><p>Artificial intelligence has helped archaeologists uncover an ancient lost work of art.</p><p>The Nazca Lines in Peru are ancient geoglyphs, images carved into the landscape. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/archaeology/nasca-lines/">First formally studied in 1926</a>, they depict people, animals, plants, and geometric shapes. The formations vary in size, with some of the biggest running up to 30 miles long. Their exact purpose is unknown, although some archaeologists think they may have had religious or spiritual significance. Local guides believe the lines relate to sources of water.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dd3b7e27eece5015e02e752-835/3654844773e315ea0a63b.jpg" border="0" alt="Nazca Lines Peru" data-mce-source="Flickr/Christian Haugen" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/christianhaugen/3654844773" /></div></div></div><p>New geoglyphs are still being discovered and can be hard to spot due to changes in the landscape, with natural erosion and urbanization breaking them up.</p><p>A research team from Yamagata University <a href="https://www.yamagata-u.ac.jp/en/files/7615/7381/2393/PRESS_RELEASE_nasca191115EN.pdf">recently announced</a> it had discovered 142 new Nazca formations, including images of birds, monkeys, fish, snakes, and foxes.</p><p>The team partnered with IBM to try and train its deep-learning platform Watson to look for hard-to-find geoglyphs.</p><p>They fed the AI with aerial images to see if it could spot any more Nazca outlines. Watson threw up a few candidates, from which the researchers picked the most promising. Sure enough, their field work confirmed the AI had found an ancient Nazca artwork.</p><p>The find was a relatively small depiction of a humanoid figure spanning just 16 feet. The researchers estimate the figure dates from roughly 100 BC to AD 100, making it at roughly 2,000 years old.</p><p>The project's success has prompted Yamagata University to announce a more prolonged partnership with IBM, and will create a full location map of the geoglyphs to help future archaeologists.&#xa0;</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest IBM stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/ibm-Quote"> here.</a></p><div><iframe width="1168" height="657" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ce3g6vnfSiw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

Scientists used artificial intelligence to discover a 2,000 year-old stick figure in Peru's mysterious Nazca Lines

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dd281ae3afd376e4858a8b6-1494/gettyimages-1092248224.jpg" border="0" alt="Meghan Markle earrings" data-mce-source="Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Meghan Markle, wearing Kimai's lab-grown diamond earrings" /><p class="source"><span>Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Meghan Markle is a fan of lab-grown diamond jewelry startup Kimai.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday.</p><ol><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/android-flaw-secretly-records-cameras-google-pixel-samsung-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">A security flaw in Google's Android lets malicious apps access users' camera and microphone to secretly record them and upload the videos to an external server</a></strong>. The flaw, uncovered by <a href="https://www.checkmarx.com/blog/how-attackers-could-hijack-your-android-camera">Checkmarx</a>, also allowed hackers to track metadata like the GPS location where videos were recorded.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-layoffs-began-on-monday-sources-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">WeWork's layoffs officially began on Monday, sources say, and hit the corporate technology, HR and security departments</a>.</strong> The bulk of the layoffs are still to come, but one employee called this first round a small mercy, as these people will not be required to work long hours executing the layoff only to be laid off themselves at the end.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-npe-team-apps-aux-bump-few-thousand-downloads-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Facebook is struggling to find an audience for its experimental apps</a></strong>. Two apps built by Facebook's experimental apps team, Aux and Bump, have a few thousand downloads between them, according to app analysis firm Apptopia.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/12ecc6">Facebook quietly released a meme-creation app called Whale last week</a>.</strong> The image-editing app is only available in Canada's App Store.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lyft-hires-99-juno-engineers-belarus-part-of-gett-deal-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Ninety-nine members of Juno's engineering and tech team in Minsk, Belarus, will be joining Lyft as part of a deal between the company and Juno's parent, Gett, according to current and former employees</a>.</strong>  Another roughly 100 support and operations staff have been laid off in New York, Portland, and Israel. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ceo-tim-cook-privacy-progress-false-tradeoff-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T"><strong>Apple CEO Tim Cook said there's a 'false tradeoff' between technological progress and forcing people to give up their personal data</strong></a><strong>.</strong> Speaking at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference, Cook did not name any specific companies but his answer was a thinly-veiled jab at companies like Google and Facebook.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starling-bank-loses-compliance-head-executive-exodus-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Buzzy UK finance startup Starling Bank lost another senior employee amid an exodus of executives</a>.</strong> Its former head of compliance for banking services, Rachel Coote, is the sixth senior employee to leave the buzzy finance company in 2019. </li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-used-ibm-watson-to-discover-an-ancient-humanoid-stick-figure-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Scientists used artificial intelligence to discover a 2,000 year-old stick figure in Peru's mysterious Nazca Lines</a>.</strong> Researchers from Yamagata University discovered a further 142 formations in Peru's Nazca Desert, one of which was discovered using an IBM Watson.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meghan-markle-lab-grown-diamond-jeweller-kimai-funding-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">A startup which sells lab-grown diamond jewelry and counts Meghan Markle as a fan just raised $1.2 million from investors</a>.</strong> European startup Kimai offers jewelry designed with cultured diamonds and recycled gold direct to consumers.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-will-give-free-scooter-rides-to-helmet-wearing-riders-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Electric scooter startup Bird announced Tuesday that it was rolling out a new initiative to encourage riders to start wearing helmets</a>.</strong> By taking a 'helmet selfie,' scooter users are eligible for 'ride-centric incentives' including credit for free rides in the future. </li></ol><p>Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.</p><p>You can also <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/free">subscribe to this newsletter</a> here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know."...</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ben-horowitz-what-companies-get-wrong-about-corporate-culture-2019-11">Legendary venture capitalist Ben Horowitz on culture mistakes most companies make, diversity in leadership, and the outlook for crypto</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/hk3N1DsX-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>

10 things in tech you need to know today

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2956ff3dbef4db018baa35-1500/japan%20ghost%20ship.jpg" border="0" 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">The Japan Coast Guard found this wooden boat carrying eight partially skeletal bodies in Oga, western Japan, in November 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>An empty wooden vessel was found drifting off Japan's western coast earlier this week.</strong></li><li><strong>It was found floating in a rocky area around 164 feet off the island of Hokkaido.</strong></li><li><strong>Though it's not clear where the boat came from, town authorities think it may be from North Korea.</strong></li><li><strong>Dozens of "ghost ships" from North Korea have drifted on Japanese shores in the past.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>An empty, overturned wooden boat has been found drifting off Japan's western coast, and it could mark the start of another flood of "ghost ships" from North Korea to wash up on Japan's shores.</br></p><p>The vessel, measuring 8-meters (26-feet) long, was found floating in a rocky area off the island of Hokkaido on Wednesday afternoon, <a href="https://www.sankei.com/affairs/news/180712/afr1807120034-n1.html">Japan's&#xa0;Sankei Shimbun reported</a>.</p><p>An unidentified man spotted it while driving around the town of Matsumae-cho around 5:30 p.m. that day.</p><p>The Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting TV station aired a photo of the boat on Thursday:</p><p>Although it's not clear where the boat came from, local media has reported town and maritime authorities as saying it could be from North Korea.</p><p>Local divers who examined the boat on Thursday morning, which by then had drifted about 50 meters (164 feet)&#xa0;off the Hokkaido coast, reported seeing neither crew members, nor writing, nor symbols indicating where it might come from.</p><p>But the shape and color of the boat found on Wednesday resembled other boats from North Korea that had drifted ashore in the past, <a href="https://www.sankei.com/affairs/news/180712/afr1807120034-n1.html">the Sankei Shimbun reported</a>, citing town authorities.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b48c064062a6b1a008b4a16-1200/hokkaido%20wooden%20ship%20sighting.jpg" border="0" alt="hokkaido wooden ship sighting" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider"><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Business Insider</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">One hundred and four "ghost ships"</a> - vessels discovered with no living crew - were found along Japan's shores last year,&#xa0;the highest since authorities started collecting data in 2013. Many were found with dead bodies in them, whlie others were empty.</p><p>While Japanese authorities haven't been able to definitively identify the origins of the boats found last year, multiple factors have suggested that they were from North Korea.</p><p>A boat found on the island of Sado last November <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ghost-ships-suspected-to-be-from-north-korea-showing-up-in-japan-2017-12">contained what appeared to be North Korean cigarette packets</a>, and jackets with Korean writing on them.</p><p>Two bodies recovered from another boat found in Yamagata prefecture in December also wore pins showing the face of Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un.</p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/565e281584307663008b69d3-2400/japan%20mystery%20boats_mill.jpg" border="0" alt="Japan Mystery Boats ship ghost" data-mce-source="Kyodo News via AP" data-mce-caption="This Nov. 29, 2015 photo shows a ship of unknown nationality in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, central Japan, after it was found in mid-November off Noto peninsula and was towed to the shore. Japanese authorities are investigating nearly a dozen wooden boats carrying decomposing bodies found drifting off the northwestern coast over the past month."><p class="source"><span>Kyodo News via AP</span></p><p class="caption">This ship was found drifting off Japan's Noto peninsula in November 2015.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>It remains unclear exactly who&#xa0;those people were, or why they showed up in Japan. Experts have posited theories including <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ghost-ships-suspected-to-be-from-north-korea-showing-up-in-japan-2017-12">food insecurity in North Korea</a>, Kim Jong Un's <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">weakening security on his eastern coast</a>, and local fishermen being forced to travel beyond their limits due to annual quotas and a <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korea-china-fishing-rights-deal-could-be-reason-for-ghost-ships-2017-12">fishing rights deal between North Korea and China</a>.</p><p><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/without-diplomatic-relations-japan-struggles-with-north-korean-ghost-ships-2017-12">Japan has been struggling to deal with the remains</a>. Some cities want to send the remains back to North Korea, but that could prove difficult by the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.</p><p></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%20jong%20un%20fish%20farm.jpg" border="0" 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">Kim Jong Un at a catfish farm in February 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Jeffrey Kingston, the director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan, has urged caution on determining whether the ship found this week is from North Korea.</p><p>North Korea's fishing season typically runs from October to February, he previously told Business Insider, so seeing a vessel in Japanese waters in the summer appears to be an anomaly. The last report of a ghost ship sighting in Japan was <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korean-ghost-ships-in-japan-show-kim-jong-un-is-losing-control-2018-1">this January</a>.</p><p>"Much unknown about this case so hard to draw implications," Kingston told Business Insider on Friday.</p><div><iframe width="800" height="440" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qRLLamqayi8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/border-patrol-agents-us-mexico-border-video-2018-7">I spent a day with Border Patrol agents at the US-Mexico border</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cix8xBqz-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></hr>

An empty wooden ship washed up in Japan - and it looks like another mysterious North Korean 'ghost ship'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2956ff3dbef4db018baa35-1500/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 at Oga, Japan in late November.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Dozens of ships containing dead bodies have washed up in Japan recently.</strong></li><li><strong>All the evidence indicates that the "ghost ships" are coming from North Korea.</strong></li><li><strong>It isn't a new phenomenon, but is happening more and more often.</strong></li><li><strong>One expert told BI it could be because of food scarcity in North Korea.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Dozens of dead bodies have mysteriously washed up on Japan's shores over the past few weeks - and all the evidence points to North Korea.</p><p>At least 40 corpses from around 15 boats have washed up along Japan's west coast since November, according to figures from Japanese authorities and calculated by Business Insider.</p><p>The most recent discovery was made on Thursday, when authorities found two skeletons near an upturned boat near the western city of Oga, <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">according to the Washington Post</a>.</p><p>While Japanese authorities haven't been able to definitively identify the origins of these "ghost ships" - vessels discovered with no living crew - multiple factors suggest that they are from North Korea.</p><p>One of the boats, found on the island of Sado around November 26 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-northkorea/eight-bodies-found-in-boat-washed-up-on-japan-beach-coast-guard-idUSKBN1DR1OP">contained</a> what appeared to be North Korean cigarette packets and jackets with Korean writing on them.</p><p>Two bodies recovered from another boat in Yamagata prefecture on Tuesday were also wearing pins showing the face of Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un, <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/04/national/bodies-presumed-deceased-north-koreans-ghost-boats-wash-along-sea-japan-coastline/#.WipnzLSFii4">according to Japanese news agency Kyodo and the Associated Press</a>.</p><p>Most of the discoveries have been gruesome: Japanese authorities reportedly found skulls and decaying corpses in multiple cases.</p><h2><strong>Not a new phenomenon</strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2a98bf8a4986fd3f8b4678-1421/japan ghost ship appearance skitch.jpg" alt="japan ghost ship appearance skitch" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="Map showing the locations where vessels suspected to be North Korean have been found since the start of November." /><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A map showing the locations where vessels have been found since the start of November.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p>North Korean vessels have been showing up in Japan for years.</p><p>Eighty such ships drifted ashore in Japan in 2013, 65 in 2014, 45 in 2015, and 66 in 2016, said Satoru Miyamoto, a political science and economics professor at Japan's Seigakuin University, citing Japan Coast Guard statistics.</p><p>But the trend appears to have worsened this year: at least 76 vessels have showed up on Japanese shores since the beginning of 2017, 28 of which in November alone, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/07/world/asia/japan-north-korea-ghost-ships.html?_r=0">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>These appearances most frequently occur toward the end of the year, when bad weather proves most dangerous to seafarers using old boats and equipment, the Times said.</p><p>So why is this happening?</p><h2>Life in North Korea is "grim and desperate"</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2a9ccd8a4986772c8b4765-2400/webpnet-resizeimage 1.jpg" alt="North Korea" data-mce-source="Wong Maye-E (Associated Press)" data-mce-caption="In this Friday, July 21, 2017, photo, men and boys rest at a construction site on the outskirts of Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city." /><p class="source"><span>Wong Maye-E (Associated Press)</span></p><p class="caption">Men and boys rest at a construction site on the outskirts of the eastern city of Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city, in July 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The rising number of ghost ships in Japan indicates the dire food insecurity facing North Korea, some experts say.</p><p>Professor Jeffrey Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Japan, told Business Insider: "The ghost ships are a barometer for the state of living conditions in North Korea - grim and desperate.</p><p>"They signal both desperation and the limits of 'juche,'" he added, using the word for an <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/030101LeePoliticalPhilosophyJuche.pdf">ideology developed by Kim Il Sung</a>, which justifies state policies despite famine and economic difficulties within the country.</p><p>To make matters worse, North Korea suffered a severe drought earlier this year, which dramatically damaged the country's food production and will likely result in further food shortages, <a href="http://www.fao.org/giews/countrybrief/country.jsp?code=PRK">the United Nations said in July</a>.</p><p>While the exact extent of crop damage remains unclear, the UN said the areas accounting for two-thirds of North Korea's main cereal production had been severely affected.</p><p>Earlier this year, a North Korean soldier who was shot while defecting to the south was found with a large number of parasites in his stomach - suggestive of a widespread health crisis gripping the country, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/19/what-the-parasites-in-a-defectors-stomach-tell-us-about-north-korea/">The Washington Post reported</a>.</p><p>Seo Yu Suk, a research manager at the North Korean Studies Institution in Seoul, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-northkorea/eight-bodies-found-in-boat-washed-up-on-japan-beach-coast-guard-idUKKBN1DR1QB">also told Reuters</a>: "North Korea pushes so hard for its people to gather more fish so that they can make up their food shortages."</p><p>Professor Kingston added: "These rickety vessels are unsuitable for the rough seas of the Sea of Japan in autumn, and one imagines that far more are capsizing that we will never know about."</p><h2>... Or are they a sign of a booming North Korean economy?</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2a9a1aa3b47485028b49b4-1500/kim jong un seafood.jpg" alt="kim jong un seafood" 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 inspects seafood at the Samchon Catfish Farm in February.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Not all agree with the above assessment, however.</p><p>Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, an editor at North Korean Economy Watch, told BI: "It's unclear to what degree it's directly related to food shortages per se.</p><p>"If fishers are ordered out for longer periods of time, with bigger demands on the catch they bring back - and with less gasoline with them than they need, due to the sanctions and shortages - that is certainly a connection of sorts.</p><p>"It is also possible that to make the same level of revenue through selling seafood domestically - which seems to be the best option given that they cannot export their products to China through formal ways due to current sanctions on seafood imports from North Korea - they would simply need to make bigger catches."</p><p>The UN Security Council, of which China is a member, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-un-security-council-imposes-new-north-korea-sanctions-over-missile-tests-2017-8">unanimously imposed sanctions on North Korean seafood and other commodities this August</a> in response to two missile tests Pyongyang conducted the month before.</p><p>It's unclear this point how much sanctions have affected the North Korean food situation or economy, however.</p><p>Katzeff Silberstein said: "Though the economy overall is under pressure from sanctions, food prices have not gone up to the degree that some may have expected, which suggests that there isn't any acute scarcity as of now.</p><p>"On the other hand, there have been anecdotal reports of food scarcity increasing, particularly in the northeastern parts of the country, near the border to China, where agriculture is not at all as widely spread as in the southern regions."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2a9ad28a4986b0008b4a4c-1200/rtx16knz.jpg" alt="kim jong un squid" data-mce-source="REUTERS/KCNA" data-mce-caption="North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang December 16, 2013. " /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/KCNA</span></p><p class="caption">Kim inspects walls of squid at the August 25 Fisheries Station in Pyongyang in 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Miyamoto, the Seigakuin University professor, even said the rise in North Korean fishing vessels in Japan is indicative of a booming North Korean economy - because seafood is a luxury item.</p><p>He told BI: "Many North Korean vessels are in the Sea of Japan because North Korea has promoted fishery policy since 2013.</p><p>"They are fishermen [trying] to earn money. Now North Korean economics, which adopted free market partly, have grown, and generated a wealthy class. A wealthy class demands not caloric food, but healthy food. So seafood, which are healthy, is popular in North Korea. [...]</p><p>"It is evidence not that the North Korean economy is deteriorating, but that the North Korean economy is growing... Hungry people demand not seafood which are low-calorie, but cereal and meat which are high-calorie."</p><p><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/28/asia/north-korea-japan-ship/index.html">He also told CNN</a> the "ghost ship" phenomenon increased "after Kim Jong Un decided to expand the fisheries industry as a way of increasing revenue for the military. They are using old boats manned by the military, by people who have no knowledge about fishing.</p><p>"It will continue."</p><h2><strong>Japan's response</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a00f8d658a0c15d1f8b6da8-1848/japan trump abducted families.jpg" alt="Japan Trump Abducted Families" data-mce-source="Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP" data-mce-caption="U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks to families of Japanese abducted by North Korea during their meeting in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 6, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP</span></p><p class="caption">US President Donald Trump speaks to the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea during his visit in November.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The increased appearance of the vessels have reignited fears among some Japanese citizens who remain haunted by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/world/asia/north-korea-kidnap-japanese-trump.html">spate of kidnappings</a> that occurred along Japan's west coast in the 1970s and 1980s.</p><p>When eight (living) men, claiming to be North Korean fishermen, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/north-korea-fisherman-adrift-japans-shores-2017-11">turned up at the coastal city of Yurihonjo</a> two weeks ago, local newspaper Akita Sakigake Shimpo <a href="http://www.sakigake.jp/news/article/20171124AK0033/">ran the headline</a>: "Are they North Korean spies?" (They are not, local police told The New York Times.)</p><p>Pyongyang's nuclear development programme and recent missile tests have also increased Japanese suspicion toward North Korea.</p><p>Kingston, of Temple University, said: "Given recent missile and hydrogen bomb tests, public anxieties and anger towards North Korea has increased, so sympathy for the ghost ship crews has been limited."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/life-camp-humphreys-closest-us-military-base-north-korea-2017-12">What life is like on the $11 billion US military base right next to the North Korean border</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/X2zPssTp-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>

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