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Bag manufacturer fashions backpacks from old fishing nets

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Old fishing nets have been reworked into nylon randoseru schoolbags by a bag manufacturer in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture. The manufacturer has donated some of the randoseru to Akkeshi, Hokkaido, where the used fishing nets were collected.

The town of Akkeshi will present the donated bags to 13 children who will enter elementary school in April this year, and hopes that the children will take an interest in marine environmental protection together with their parents.

The schoolbags, branded “school backpack UMI,” are being manufactured by bag maker Yuri in Toyooka, a city famous for its bag production. They have been on sale nationwide since November last year.

The product is part of a project by Tokyo-based general incorporated association “Alliance for the Blue,” which promotes the creation of products that contribute to the protection of the marine environment. About 65% of the bags are made of nylon fabric created from pelletized fishing nets, which are collected from fishermen on the east coast of Hokkaido by a fishing net manufacturer and retailer in Akkeshi. In addition to being environmentally friendly, the bags are said to be stronger, more water-resistant and lighter than ordinary schoolbags.

At a gifting ceremony held at Akkeshi’s town hall on Dec. 16, Yuri President Shozaburo Yuri said: “After being processed by a number of different businesses, waste fishing nets collected in Akkeshi were turned into schoolbags. We thought that the children of Akkeshi should be the first to use them.” The deputy mayor of the town said, “I hope that this will be an opportunity for the children and adults of Akkeshi to face environmental issues with newfound enthusiasm.”

The Japan News

Asia News Network

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BOJ Chief Nominee Ueda Known as Outspoken Economist who can Integrate Theory, Practice

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023

The nominee to be the next Bank of Japan governor, Kazuo Ueda, 71, is widely known as an economist who can integrate theory and practice, with a background in academia specializing in international economics.

Japan experienced a turbulent time in the seven years from 1998 when Ueda served as a member of the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board.

In those days, Ueda often sparked controversy in discussions at the bank’s meetings to set monetary policy.

In August 2000, while the Japanese economy was recovering from the financial crisis that had caused the collapse of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Ueda was in the minority at a monetary policy meeting when he voted against ending the central bank’s zero interest rate policy.

He argued that there was a risk of a recurrence of deflationary fears in response to moves by then Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami and other executive members to tighten monetary policy.

Yet he was also cautious about quantitative easing, which was introduced in 2001 to supply massive amounts of money to the market following the economic downturn, saying, “It is difficult to find a positive meaning in it.”

Since retiring as a member of the bank’s Policy Board, Ueda, who speaks fluent English, has chaired discussions at international symposiums sponsored by the Bank of Japan that invited prominent scholars and former heads of central banks worldwide.

He remains a special advisor to the Bank of Japan’s Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies and is highly trusted by the bank’s officials and other experts in Japan and abroad.

“He is a leading outspoken debater at monetary policy meetings who can integrate theory and practice,” said Totan Research Co. chief economist Izuru Kato, who has known Ueda well since the days when the nominee was involved in monetary policy.

Many view him as a person who strikes the proper balance, in contrast to incumbent BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, who has been aggressive in implementing bold monetary easing with the goal of overcoming deflation, which had caused prices to fall continuously.

Commenting on the central bank’s current policy of continuing its massive monetary easing, he said in a media interview on Friday, “Given the current state of the economy and prices, the policy currently taken by the Bank of Japan is appropriate. For the time being, I think it is necessary to continue monetary easing.”

Under Kuroda’s leadership, the central bank supplied unprecedented amounts of money to the market.

Speaking about the Bank of Japan’s exit strategy to normalize its monetary policy, Ueda said: “It will be quite difficult if we are really going to take the exit strategy. And I fully understand that.”

Ueda specializes in international economics. After serving as a professor at the University of Tokyo, he was appointed as the first member of the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board under the new Bank of Japan Law that came into force in April 1998.

Ueda also served as chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Government Pension Investment Fund and was an outside director at the Development Bank of Japan.

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Free coffee for donors to Turkey quake victims at Skopje cafe

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023

In North Macedonia’s capital Skopje, the owner of the cafe Bife Tafdalidze is using his business to raise funds for the victims of the recent earthquake in Turkey.

Sasho Shotarevski, came up with the idea to offer free coffee to customers who call a donation number for the Macedonian Red Cross.

Shotarevski checks each customer’s phone for proof of the donation before serving them their coffee.

“It’s very nice to donate and you also get a coffee for free,” said Martin Naumcevski, a customer and donor. “It’s not so much about the coffee, as it is about the donation, a humane gesture,” he added.

His phone showed a 100 denari ($1,74) donation to the Macedonian Red Cross,

Shotarevski said that the idea was inspired by his daughter and their shared stories about the 1963 earthquake in Skopje.

“The idea was to do something about it,” he said. “As soon as the (telephone) number (for donations) was released, I immediately started. If you’re free, come by, have a coffee, and call the number.”

“You can give as much as you can,” Shotarevski added. “The deal was simple: give up one coffee, and in exchange, you get to drink a coffee,” he said.

($1 = 57,56 denari)

Reuters

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US fighter jet shoots down UFO over Canada, Trudeau says

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023

A US F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Canada on Saturday, the second such shootdown in as many days, as North America appeared on heightened alert following a week-long Chinese spying balloon saga that drew the global spotlight.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the shootdown on Twitter and said it took place over the Yukon territory in the country’s north. He said Canadian forces would recover and analyze the wreckage from the object.

Trudeau also said he had spoken with US President Joe Biden about the incident, a day after Biden ordered a shootdown of an unidentified flying object over sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska. The US military on Saturday was still tight-lipped about what, if anything, it had learned as recovery efforts were underway.

The Pentagon on Friday (February 10) offered only a few details, including that the object was the size of a small car, it was flying at about 40,000 feet and could not manoeuvre and appeared to be unmanned. US pilots and intelligence officials have been trying to learn about the object since it was first spotted on Thursday.

“We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin,” Northern Command said on Saturday.

It noted difficult arctic weather conditions that hinder search and recovery efforts, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight.

“Personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety,” Northern Command said.

On Feb. 4, a US F-22 fighter jet brought down what the US government called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina following its week-long journey across the United States and portions of Canada. China’s government has said it was a civilian research vessel.

Some US lawmakers criticized Biden for not shooting down the Chinese balloon sooner. The US military had recommended waiting until it was over the ocean out of fear of injuries from falling debris.

Reuters

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Seven-month-old baby found alive after 139 hours under rubble in Turkey

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023

A seven-month-old baby was pulled alive by rescuers on Saturday from the wreckage of a deadly earthquake, after 139 hours trapped under the rubble, a handout video from Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality showed.

Faint cries could be heard from beneath the debris, as rescue teams persevered with their search for remaining survivors.

Rescuers applauded as the baby was lifted from the rubble, before wrapping him in a blue jacket and placing him on a stretcher.

Exhausted rescuers pulled dwindling numbers of survivors from earthquake rubble in Turkey and Syria on Saturday, five days on from one of the region’s worst natural disasters whose death toll neared 26,000 and looked set to rise far higher.

Some rescue operations were halted after reports of looting.

Monday’s 7.8 magnitude quake, with several powerful aftershocks across Turkey and Syria, ranks as the world’s seventh deadliest natural disaster this century, approaching the 31,000 killed by a quake in neighbouring Iran in 2003.

With a death toll so far of 22,327 inside Turkey, it is the country’s deadliest earthquake since 1939. More than 3,500 have died in Syria, where tolls have not been updated since Friday.

Reuters