The Brunei team, led by Her Royal Highness, comprised Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar, Farid Abdullah and Lucas Fernandez, whilst the Indian team was led by Colonel Rajesh Pattu.

The match was organised in conjunction with His Majesty’s 70th birthday celebration.

His Majesty has had a long association with the 61st Cavalry Indian Army team with whom the monarch previously played.

Brunei won 10-4 with Her Royal Highness scoring two goals.

The magnitude 9.0 quake, which struck under the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011, and the tsunami it spawned left about 18,500 people dead or missing.

The massive flow of water overwhelmed cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, causing meltdowns in three of its six reactors in what was the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

The quake and tsunami caused widespread damage to homes while radiation spread over a wide area, with more than 450,000 people evacuating in the immediate aftermath.

More than 123,000 remain displaced, the majority from Fukushima due to high radiation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other participants at a national ceremony in Tokyo bowed their heads in silent prayer, as did many residents across the affected region, at 2:46 pm (0546 GMT) — the exact moment the quake struck.

The disaster “brought unprecedented damage” and “claimed many precious lives”, Abe, dressed in formal mourning attire, told the solemn gathering.

“I possess unceasing sympathy for those who lost beloved family members and friends.”

Japan’s ageing Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko did not attend this year’s ceremony, but were represented by their son Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko.

“Many people are still forced to face difficult times in the disaster areas and evacuation places,” Akishino said.

– Evacuation orders –

=====================

“Especially for those in prolonged evacuations, I feel pain deep in my heart thinking about the health of those ageing year by year in the disaster zone and people who remain unable to return home due to high radiation levels.”

Separately, hundreds of police and firefighters combed beaches along the coast of Fukushima prefecture, as they do on the 11th of each month, in a search for remains or other evidence of people who remain unaccounted for.

The latest National Police Agency figures show that the total of dead or missing from the earthquake and tsunami stood at 18,446 people.

Besides the number of people killed in the quake and tsunami, more than 3,500 deaths from causes such as illness and suicide have been linked to the aftermath of the tragedy, according to government figures.

While no deaths have been attributed to radiation exposure, evacuees are concerned the government is moving too fast to deem once closed off areas safe to inhabit.

“Many voluntary evacuees (from Fukushima) are mothers with small children fleeing from home in fear of radiation and the elderly who sought refuge in the homes of relatives,” evacuee Miyako Kumamoto said at a press conference ahead of the anniversary.

“We fled solely to protect our children and grandchildren from radiation,” she said, criticising authorities for failing to help them.

“I cannot accept this or understand why we have to be in this predicament.”

Government evacuation orders from some 70 percent of the originally closed off areas will be lifted by April 1, except for certain towns near the battered plant, and authorities are encouraging evacuees to return.

But many have criticised the government for moving too fast, saying radiation levels remain unsafe.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the stricken plant, and the government are facing what is expected to be a four-decade task of cleaning up and decommissioning the facility.

The government is keen to change Japan’s image as a puffing paradise — smoking is still allowed in most bars, restaurants and cafes — as Tokyo gets set to host millions of visitors for the 2020 Olympics.

The health ministry is to submit a proposed law to parliament by June that would ban smoking in many restaurants, as well as public facilities.

If approved, rule-breakers would face a penalty of 300,000 yen ($2,600).

But the proposals, unveiled last week, have already been watered down from an initial push for a broad ban on indoor smoking, which ran up against strong opposition from former state monopoly Japan Tobacco (JT) and many small business owners, who fear they’ll lose customers.

Establishments can build a separate smoking room under the latest proposal.

And places with less than 30 square metres (320 square feet) of floor space would not be affected by the restrictions at all — excluding a huge number of establishments in space-challenged Japan.

“It would be better if it’s completely banned” in restaurants, Kumiko Tanaka, a 27-year-old non-smoker, told AFP.

“But I don’t mind as long as smoking areas are strictly separated.”

Even the less-expansive rules could be headed for trouble, however, as opposition brews within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Gaffe-prone finance minister Taro Aso recently questioned the long-established link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer.

And this week, the LDP’s parliamentary affairs chief Wataru Takeshita bemoaned the proposals, as a group in his party suggested restaurant owners instead be allowed to choose — and display their smoking status on the door.

“As a cigarette lover, I feel like this is not a good idea — how would I live if smoking is banned everywhere?” Takeshita told reporters.

‘Really late’

Japan’s government gets billions of dollars annually in cigarette tax revenue, and still owns a one-third stake in JT — the third-biggest global tobacco company with brands including Winston, Camel and Benson & Hedges.

This conflict leaves anti-smoking campaigners fuming in a country where cigarettes sell for around 430 yen ($3.75) a pack, and carry only modest health warning labels.

It is a far cry from other developed nations, including Australia and France, which have wide-ranging bans on smoking in public places and large, graphic health warnings on cigarette packs, which sell for two or three times more than in Japan.

Almost 50 countries have blanket bans on smoking indoors.

“We are really late,” said Yumiko Mochizuki, a board member at the Japan Society for Tobacco Control (JSTC).

“And we were given a very bad score by the World Health Organization.”

The global health body has given Japan its lowest rating for efforts to prevent passive smoking — just 10 percent of restaurants are non-smoking.

Japan even scores poorly among other Asian nations with smoking cultures such as China and South Korea.

“Countries such as the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and cities including Beijing and Shanghai China… have already introduced comprehensive smoking bans,” said Susan Mercado, a Manila-based director at the WHO.

Smoking kills some 130,000 people in Japan annually, with another 15,000 dying of second-hand smoke related illnesses, Mercado added.

Despite its many smoking venues, tobacco use in Japan has been falling in line with a broader global trend.

More than half of Japanese men smoked in 2000. That number dropped to just below 30 percent in 2016.

‘Unbalanced, unreasonable, excessive’

Japan Tobacco said the proposed smoking rules are cause for concern.

“We are worried that the bill would be unbalanced, unreasonable and excessive,” the company said.

Japan cannot be compared to other nations with strict indoor-smoking bans because outdoor smoking is limited to certain designated areas, JT said.

More than 240 Japanese municipalities restrict lighting up on city streets, meaning smokers must get their fix in clearly marked smoking zones.

But the decade-old bylaws were brought in more to promote good manners and keep cigarette butts off the streets rather than for public health reasons.

Campaigners said less smoking will be a hit with millions of tourists visiting for the Olympics in three years, and might just enhance Japan’s famous service culture, known as omotenashi.

“It’s the last ingredient that we need to give people our best hospitality,” said JSTC president Manabu Sakuta.

Yet, experts on Friday stated Asean’s centrality could propel it forwards amid regional and global challenges.

“There is no specific definition to centrality. It can mean a range of things – from being a facilitator to a convenor of meetings,” said Tang Siew Mun, head of Asean Studies Centre in Singapore. “Still, it can be at least noted that it’s about having collective roles [among member states] with our neighbours and also major powers.”

Tang was speaking at a forum titled “Reporting Asean: Media Forum 2017” held by the Probe Media Foundation Inc, where speakers discussed Asean maturity as it approaches its 50th anniversary.

At the forum, Asean was also praised for its non-interference stance, a policy that was said to result in respectful talks among member states, and its progressive economic cooperation – described as the most prominent development among the three pillars of the Asean community.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the BI turned back 9,738 foreigners from the Philippines’ ports of entry last year in a bid to thwart the entry of undesirable or fugitive aliens.

“That we were able to stop these unwanted aliens from entering our borders is proof of our continued vigilance in the discharge of our mandate as gatekeepers of the country,” he said.

Last year’s figure is 45 per cent more compared to the foreigners turned away in 2015.

Morente said these were part of the agency’s intensified efforts to strengthen border security against undesirable aliens.

Of the 9,738 foreigners who were turned away, 2,034 were Chinese nationals, followed by 269 Indians, 179 Vietnamese, 163 Americans and 119 Indonesians.

Most of the excluded aliens were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport while others were turned away at the international airports in Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilo and Davao.

Marc Red Mariñas, acting BI port operations division chief, said those barred entry included those in their blacklist of undesirables such as fugitives, suspected terrorists and convicted sex offenders.

The new United States President Donald Trump must be “fantastically” happy with a “wonderful” Asean because it is the only “great” regional organisation that has no military might and has not been at war. The problem is, he might not know about the grouping at all.

Here is a six-point dossier on the 50-year-old Asean and its top secrets.

First, Asean is not too weak and is not too strong as a regional organisation. It was established in 1967 out of a desire to prevent conflicts and wars and to promote peace and stability.

After three days of “sport-shirt” diplomacy in Bang Saen in August five decades ago – as former Philippine President Fidel Ramos described it – the foreign ministers from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore signed the Bangkok Declaration.

This 752-word document, excluding their long names, has saved the region from the scourges of many potential wars.

Like the European Union, Asean should be a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in the coming decade, given its long and impressive stretch of peace and stability.

Well, the US has one less region to worry about.

Second, Asean members talk a lot among themselves. Outsiders often describe the regional grouping as a talk shop.

Indeed, it is. But that is nothing to be ashamed of. Those talks have not been in vain as they have effectively prevented wars and promoted cooperation.

There would be less talk in the future, meaning fewer meetings, if the current Asean chairmanship, the Philippines, has its way.

Manila wants to streamline Asean meetings.

On an average day, at least two or three meetings are being held. That makes it approximately 1,200 annually.

Last year, Laos cut it down to less than 1,000 meetings.

The Asean members discuss and consult a lot until they reach a consensus — very few organisations have that kind of perseverance.

It is an open secret that sometimes when Asean members agree, they do so not because they thought it was the best solution but rather it was the lowest denominator that all members would accept.

In Indonesia, it is called “mushiwara” or the art of bringing everybody together to make decisions by consensus rather than choosing winners and losers, which has helped Asean to survive without any “exit” from the 10-member grouping.

Asean seldom says “you are fired” because it prefers to say “you are hired” — to be inclusive and people-centred.

Third, Asean has a longstanding tradition – it does not promise what it cannot deliver.

It is a bit different from Trump’s style of leadership. Say it out loud first and then follow-up on those promises.

In Asean, action speaks louder than words — that is the reason the regional grouping has so many action plans. For the Asean Vision 2025, a total of 571 action plans have been identified for the next 10 years.

That explains why Asean goes slow before any decision is reached.

They have to be sure all promises could be delivered. Failure is not an option.

Quite often, outsiders do not understand the Asean way of handling challenges, whether they are disruptive or longstanding issues. In short, slow but sure is a preferred approach.

Fourth, Asean is not a military alliance akin to the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

So, Asean is not taking any advantage of the US and it is an important US strategic partnership – a pillar of the US rebalancing policy.

It is neither a military burden for the advance of American greatness nor does it pose any threat to the US.

Asean uses non-violent means to resolve conflicts as well as its goodwill to connect major powers.

Asean’s former secretary-general, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, often described the grouping as a fulcrum for all major powers to meet and get engaged.

Asean prefers security cooperation rather than forming military alliances.

Many Asean-led security dialogue platforms are designed to increase mutual confidence and promote preventive measures.

Now both foreign and defence ministers have their own ministerial level forums—the Asean Regional Forum and Asean Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus – to meet annually with their dialogue partners.

Fifth, Asean is good for Trump’s America, as it has created jobs both in blue and red states.

US trade with Asean has already created 500,000 jobs for American people.

Asean is the fourth-largest trade partner of the US, with deals worth about US$226 billion in 2015. And the US companies are the biggest beneficiaries of the grouping’s prosperity and modern lifestyle.

More and more US companies want to invest in Asean, not stay away.

In 2014, they pumped in nearly $25 billion.

With economies of new Asean members such as Vietnam and Myanmar growing, investment opportunities will be even more.

As a group, Asean is Asia’s third-largest economy after China and Japan and the seventh-largest in the world with a combined gross domestic product of $2.4 trillion.

By 2030, it could be the fourth largest in the world.

Today, Asean has a total population of 646 million and more than 65 per cent are under 35 years old.

Under the Obama administration, the US has been cleverly engaged in winning the hearts and minds of the Asean youngsters.

The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative is an inexpensive programme to promote the networking of people-to-people ties that will keep Asean-US ties in the hands of future generation.

Sixth, each year Asean hosts one of the world’s most important leaders-only security forum, known as the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Leaders from Asean and dialogue partners, including the US, China, Russia, Japan and India will to the capital of the Asean chair to forge common positions on critical global issues such as epidemics, terrorism and climate change.

This forum is gradually becoming more dynamic and interactive, which could in the future transform into a new regional architecture.

If Trump decides not to attend the EAS at the Clark Airbase (he can easily find an excuse given his calibre) during his first year of presidency, it would be a big loss to US security interests.

Other participants are eager as always to inject their ideas and energy into the emerging security framework.

The writer is a former assistant group editor of Nation Group.