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TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese entertainment company that has acknowledged its founder sexually assaulted hundreds of boys over the span of half a century, took a new name on Monday: Smile-Up. Higashiyama, tapped last month to head the old Johnny’s, will now be president of both Smile-Up and the new company. “All things with the Johnny’s name will have to go,” Higashiyama told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. Payments will begin next month, Higashiyama said. That causes great pain to the victims,” said Junya Hiramoto, who heads a group of Johnny’s victims.

Persons: Noriyuki Higashiyama, Johnny’s, ” Higashiyama, “, Johnny Kitagawa, Higashiyama, Kitagawa’s, Julie Keiko Fujishima, Fujishima, ”, Mary, Kitagawa, Johnny, Yoshihito Kawakami, Junya Hiramoto, Yuri Kageyama Organizations: TOKYO, Johnny, Associates, Johnny’s, BBC, Johnny & Associates, Associated Press Locations: Tokyo, Johnny’s, Japan

☆ Japan's new cabinet reflects PM's focus on gender, defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during the leaders talk of the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) in Jakarta, Indonesia September 6, 2023. Top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said the role of defence minister went to Minoru Kihara, a pro-Taiwan politician who has visited the island in the past and belongs to a Japan-Taiwan interparliamentary group. Kihara will also oversee the bolstering of Japan's military as part of a plan to double defence spending over five years by 2027. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and will be sensitive to any shift in Japan's stance on the democratically governed island. "Even if the foreign and defence minister posts change, there won't be any change or impact on Japan's diplomatic policy."

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Adek Berry, Yoko Kamikawa, Hirokazu Matsuno, Minoru Kihara, Kihara, Takashi Kawakami, Shigenobu Tamura, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, Sakura Murakami, Chang, Ran Kim, Kantaro, Clarence Fernandez, Stephen Coates Organizations: ASEAN, Pacific, Rights, Liberal Democratic Party, Takushoku University, LDP, NHK, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Tokyo, China, East Asia, United States

Although the H-IIA rocket, the Japanese flagship launch vehicle, has a 98% launch success rate, unsuitable wind conditions in the upper atmosphere forced a suspension 27 minutes before the planned liftoff. "High-altitude winds hit our constraint for a launch... which had been set to ensure no impact from debris falling outside of pre-warned areas," said MHI H-IIA launch unit chief Tatsuru Tokunaga. It will mark the 47th H-IIA Japan has launched. H-IIA, jointly developed by JAXA and MHI, has been Japan's flagship space launch vehicle, with 45 successful launches in 46 tries since 2001. However, after JAXA's new medium-lift H3 rocket failed on its debut in March, the agency postponed the launch of H-IIA No.

Persons: MHI, Tatsuru Tokunaga, Michio Kawakami, Tokunaga, JAXA's Smart Lander, India's, SLIM, Ray, Kantaro Komiya, Rocky Swift, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Kyodo, REUTERS Acquire, MHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, Ray Imaging, NASA, European Space Agency, Epsilon, Thomson Locations: Tanegashima, Japan, TOKYO, Tokyo

☆ Maui business owners need tourism to survive, but say visitors should rethink how they use resources: 'It's not Disneyland'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Now, businesses say they need tourism to stay afloat and keep their workers employed. Kawakami said in the short term, though, local businesses need visitors to come back. But right now, local businesses need tourists in the short run to survive, and some told Insider that residents urging tourists to stay away were misguided. What locals say relief should look likeOn Thursday, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said on Twitter that South Maui resorts "NEED visitors," adding "now we have housed virtually everyone, temporarily." AdvertisementAdvertisement"It was through the efforts of local community, not the government," Nakoa said.

Persons: Garrett Marrero, Marrero, Kyle Kawakami, Kawakami, COVID, we're, Kaniela Ing, " Marrero, Sen, Brian Schatz, Josh Green of, Green, Ing, Julia Tallman, Leonard Junya Nakoa, Nakoa, Tallman, She's, she's Organizations: Service, Maui Brewing Company, Maui Brewing, —, Green New Deal Network, Hawaii, Twitter, Maui Economic Development Board, New Deal Locations: Maui, Wall, Silicon, Lahaina, West Maui, Josh Green of Hawaii

Yet the small companies that provide most of Japan's jobs generally can't increase pay, business owners, economists and officials say. Battered by the pandemic, small firms now struggle to pass on higher costs out of fear of losing customers. They feel they have no choice but to put up with impossible demands from big companies." The trend is most apparent in industries with many small suppliers. The fair trade watchdog last month named 13 big companies it said refused to accept higher prices from suppliers.

☆ Analysis: Why is North Korea testing so many missiles?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems to genuinely dislike the allied drills, and particularly the involvement of U.S. stealth fighters. After North Korea conducted an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on Thursday, the allies announced they would be extending Vigilant Storm past Friday. "North Korea is aiming to increase its deterrence capabilities," he said. If North Korea prefers to conduct a nuclear test in a crisis, it is well on its way to manufacturing one." North Korea has completed all the technical preparations for a nuclear test - its first since 2017 - according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

By pointing to 2027 as the moment when East Asia's power balance may tip in China's favour, Japan's government can rally support for greater defence spending, he added. At a congressional hearing last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral Philip Davidson said that China's threat against Taiwan could "manifest" that year. Japanese defence ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won national upper house elections with a pledge to "substantially" increase defence spending. The splurge of defence spending should also benefit U.S. suppliers such as Lockheed, Boeing Co (BA.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N).

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