Asia News

---

JAPAN:
Just 2 days after his appointment as Japan’s new ambassador to China, Shinichi Nishimiya fell ill in Tokyo and was hospitalized last weekend. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry he died on Sunday but revealed few details about the death which raised some speculation it could be related to the volatile situation between China and Japan over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China has declared Japan’s purchase of the islands from a private owner to be invalid. Japan sent a survey team to the islands and China countered by sending patrol boats to the islands and anti-Japan protests erupted all over China. Japan has said that the new ambassador’s death had nothing to do with the dispute, but his death is just another bizarre development in this story.
Also this week, Panasonic announced it was suspending it operations at 3 plants in China in response to the dispute. The U.S. is urging both sides to show restraint.
THAILAND:
Late last week the Thai government initiated a three-day and two-night operation to surround dozens of Vietnamese fishing trawlers that Thai fishermen had complained were encroaching on Thai waters. They were fishing for giant cuttlefish. The Thai Royal Navy led the joint operation with 5 other Thai agencies and managed to arrest 108 Vietnamese fishermen and detained 10 trawlers while another 10 escaped.
Also in Thailand, a dispute has started between the Thai government and a group of private citizens over the validity of a government program that is accepting the surrender of rebel insurgents in the Deep South. On their website the private individuals claim the surrender of 93 insurgents was completely staged. The website claims the insurgents purported to surrender were not the ones who did the acts of violence. A government spokesman said they were indeed the perpetrators and that they had records to prove it. He said that the surrender program should end the violence caused by Muslim extremists in the South.
INDIA:
Last Friday heavy monsoon rains in the Rudraprayag and Bageshwar districts in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand caused landslides and floods which killed at least 28 people and trapped more than 20. Nineteen bodies were discovered in four villages in Rudraprayag and another 9 were found in Bageshwar. Emergency teams were dispatched to the area.
THE KOREAS:
South Korea’s Jiyai Shin set a course record with a 64 last Saturday at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in the women’s British Open. Adverse weather had suspended play on Friday. The 3rd and 4th rounds were both played on Sunday, because of the delay. Shin dominated with a 73 and a nine stroke victory in the final round. She had six birdies and an eagle to leave her on nine-under par after 36 holes.
As many as 35,000 followers attended the 92 year old Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s funeral last Saturday in Gapyeong, South Korea. His seventh and youngest son, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon conducted the eulogy and a video was shown featuring the highlights of Rev Moon’s career.
Also in Korea, powerful typhoon Sanba raked the North and South with heavy rain and strong winds last Monday. The storm packed winds of up to 120 mph. At least one person was left dead and more than 170 were left homeless. Homes and businesses lost power in the South.
Before it hit Korea, Sanba wreaked havoc on Japan with about 67,000 homes left without power. Some areas were flooded.