JAPAN PROPOSES TOUGHER INCOME, PENSION RULES FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCY - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN PROPOSES TOUGHER INCOME, PENSION RULES FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCY - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Japan's immigration agency on Tuesday proposed tougher requirements for granting permanent residency to foreigners, including requiring applicants to maintain income above the average for Japanese households and a certain level of projected pension benefits.

The proposed guidelines are part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's push to create an "orderly society" in which Japanese and foreign nationals coexist while cracking down on illegal activities.

The Immigration Services Agency will solicit public comments before implementing the new rules from April 2027.

Permanent residents can remain in Japan indefinitely without restrictions on their activities while retaining their original nationality. Applicants generally must have lived in Japan for at least 10 years to qualify.

It differs from naturalization, through which a person acquires Japanese citizenship.

Under the current guidelines, the three main requirements for obtaining permanent residency are good conduct, sufficient assets or skills to maintain an independent livelihood, and that granting permanent residency is in Japan's best interests.

The revised rule would require applicants to maintain annual household income above the average for Japanese households, with the benchmark based on several government data sources.

According to a health ministry survey on living conditions released on July 15, for instance, average income per household in Japan stood at 5.75 million yen in 2024.

Applicants would also be required to have projected pension benefits equivalent to those payable after 30 years of enrollment in the employees' pension program at their income level.

If the projected pension benefits fall short, they will be allowed to cover the difference with their financial assets.

The revised guidelines would also introduce a Japanese-language requirement, with applicants required to demonstrate proficiency at the level of an "independent user."

While the population of Japanese nationals has been on a downtrend, the number of foreign residents has been increasing as Japan has been accepting more workers from abroad.

As of the end of last year, about 947,000 people held permanent residency status, with many from China and the Philippines.

Permanent residency is currently granted to a spouse of a Japanese national or a permanent residency holder when their marriage has lasted for at least three years, and the non-Japanese spouse has resided in Japan for at least one year.

The proposal would raise the thresholds to five years of marriage and three years of residence.

In a related development, Japan's immigration authorities are planning to introduce a five-year period of stay for Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 holders in January 2027.

The change is intended to prevent them from being disadvantaged when applying for permanent residency, bringing their maximum length of stay in line with other visa types.

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MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD IN HIROSHIMA FOR KOREAN VICTIMS OF 1945 A-BOMB - HIROSHIMA JAPAN

MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD IN HIROSHIMA FOR KOREAN VICTIMS OF 1945 A-BOMB - HIROSHIMA JAPAN 

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HIROSHIMA

A memorial service for Korean victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima was held Wednesday in the western Japan city, with organizers dedicating a registry containing the names of 2,826 victims.

The service, which took place a day before the anniversary of the bombing during World War II, was held near a monument for Korean victims in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Two survivors whose deaths were confirmed in the past year were added to the registry.

Many Koreans were in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945, having come to Japan as conscripted laborers or for economic opportunities.

An estimated 70,000 of them were exposed to the blasts, with about 40,000 believed to have died shortly afterward, although the exact figure remains unknown.

Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 until the end of the war in 1945, and many Koreans came to work in Japan, including as conscripted laborers, amid a labor shortage.

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YOKOHAMA MAYOR ABUSED AUTHORITY TO BULLY SUBORINATES: CITY - YOKOHAMA JAPAN

YOKOHAMA MAYOR ABUSED AUTHORITY TO BULLY SUBORINATES: CITY - YOKOHAMA JAPAN

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YOKOHAMA

Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka was found to have abused his authority on multiple occasions to bully his subordinates and verbally assault them, a third-party investigation report released Thursday by the city government showed.

The report said Yamanaka told staff members they would be "sidelined" and "purged" regarding personnel matters, behavior that constituted improper exercise of authority designed to psychologically pressure and control staff.

It concluded that this was a "serious abuse of power that undermines dignity, causes mental distress, and worsens the workplace environment."

A senior city official, then head of the human resources department, publicly accused the mayor in a press conference in January, saying he himself suffered from Yamanaka's verbal abuse.

The report determined that the mayor's remarks such as telling the official to "disembowel" if he failed to secure a bid to host an international conference, as well as behavior like yelling and throwing documents constituted workplace bullying.

Yamanaka also slandered other members of staff, calling them variously as "useless," an "old lady" and "human scum," remarks that the report determined to be personal denigration and misogyny.

The investigation also reported multiple cases of sick leave for adjustment disorders and other mental distress suffered by city employees.

In March, the Yokohama City Council solicited three lawyers recommended by the Kanagawa Bar Association to conduct the investigation, which included interviews with staff and the mayor himself.

In a survey targeting 746 people, including former employees, more than 60 percent of the 294 who responded said they had witnessed or heard about behavior they suspected amounted to abuse of authority.

Yamanaka, 53, became Yokohama mayor in 2021 and was reelected for a second term last August.

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HOW DID A MALAYSIA AIRLINES PILOT'S DRUG-FILLED BAGGAGE CLEAR KLIA? POLICE IDENTIFY PERSON OF INTEREST - SHAH ALAM SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

HOW DID A MALAYSIA AIRLINES PILOT'S DRUG-FILLED BAGGAGE CLEAR KLIA? POLICE IDENTIFY PERSON OF INTEREST - SHAH ALAM SELANGOR, MALAYSIA 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

SHAH ALAM, Aug 4 — Federal police said today they have identified a person of interest in their investigation into how a Malaysian pilot arrested with drugs at an Indonesian airport passed through security screening at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) without his baggage being flagged.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the person of interest is an airport employee in his 30s who was assigned to the security screening area through which the pilot passed.

“We will call him in for questioning and if required, make the necessary arrest,” he told a press conference at the Selangor contingent headquarters here.

Citing Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, Hussein said the pilot’s baggage was not flagged as high risk and was cleared under existing standard operating procedures without undergoing a secondary inspection.

He said the suspect cleared all four security screening stages at the dedicated staff lane, where the inspection procedures are the same as those for passengers.

“We have yet to receive information from our Indonesian counterparts as to how they were able to detect the baggage.”

Nevertheless, Hussein said discussions had been held with the Transport Ministry on measures to further enhance security checks at airport terminals.

“One of the discussion points was to determine whether, in terms of security screening, drugs should be given priority alongside firearms and smuggled currencies.

“All those present agreed that these areas should be given greater priority moving forward,” he said.

Asked about the latest developments in the probe, Hussein said initial investigations found that the pilot had obtained the drugs from an undisclosed location in Ampang two days before his arrest on July 28.

Hussein added that the pilot travelled to Kota Kinabalu after checking in the baggage containing the drugs at KLIA before returning to the airport the same day to depart for Jakarta.

He said police were investigating the entire distribution network, including how the suspect obtained the drugs locally, bypassed security screening at KLIA and whether he had links to an international syndicate in Indonesia, with assistance from the Indonesian authorities.

The case involves a 39-year-old Malaysia Airlines pilot who was arrested shortly after arriving at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Kuala Lumpur on July 28.

Indonesian authorities said more than 26kg of ecstasy tablets and a small quantity of methamphetamine were found in a suitcase collected by the pilot after customs officers flagged it during an X-ray inspection.

Malaysia Airlines has said it is cooperating with the authorities and has launched an internal investigation.

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LAB TEST FOOTAGE CONFIRMS MDMA IN MALAYSIAN PILOT'S SEIZED DRUG HAUL - WASTED

LAB TEST FOOTAGE CONFIRMS MDMA IN MALAYSIAN PILOT'S SEIZED DRUG HAUL - WASTED 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

"Indonesian customs authorities have published a second video documenting the forensic testing of the narcotics allegedly seized from the Malaysian pilot arrested in Jakarta on suspicion of attempting to smuggle drugs"

Uploaded by Soekarno-Hatta Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai) on Instagram on Tuesday, 4 August, the 45-second clip shifts focus away from the arrest itself and instead shows officers analysing the substances allegedly recovered from the pilot's luggage.

One of the video's most striking moments features the word "WASTED" flashing on screen as customs officers conduct a reagent test, which the agency says returned a positive indication for methamphetamine or MDMA (ecstasy).

The 39-year-old Malaysian pilot, identified only by the initials MS, was arrested on 28 July after authorities alleged they discovered 70,114 ecstasy (MDMA) pills, weighing around 26kg, together with a small quantity of methamphetamine inside his luggage after he arrived on a flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Indonesian authorities also alleged that he was under the influence of MDMA, methamphetamine, and cocaine at the time of his arrest.

Two separate tests were used to analyse the suspected drugs.

The footage begins with customs officers carrying out what's labelled a "Narcotics Reagent Test" on samples taken from the suspected drugs.

According to captions embedded in the video, the testing solution turned blue, which customs said indicates a positive result for methamphetamine or MDMA.

The footage then cuts to officers examining the suitcase's contents before demonstrating a Raman Spectrometer, a handheld device commonly used to identify the chemical composition of unknown substances.

A close-up of the instrument's display shows the analysed sample was identified as a mixture containing 75% MDMA hydrochloride (MDMA HCl) and 25% caffeine, with the device displaying the result as a "Mixture of 2".

According to Indonesian customs, the combined testing confirmed their suspicions.

In the caption accompanying the video, Soekarno-Hatta Customs said officers first grew suspicious after physically examining the luggage recovered during the airport inspection.

Samples were then analysed using the Raman Spectrometer before undergoing a reagent test to verify the findings.

According to the agency, the combined testing confirmed the presence of MDMA, reinforcing investigators' suspicions that the luggage contained narcotics.

Customs also credited the successful interception to officers' vigilance, technological support, and cooperation among multiple law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian pilot has been remanded until at least 18 August.

The pilot has been remanded for 20 days, from 30 July until 18 August, while Indonesian authorities continue their investigation, reported Malaysiakini.

The footage's release comes as investigators in both Indonesia and Malaysia continue probing the alleged cross-border trafficking operation.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said this week that Malaysian police have traced the alleged source of the drugs to an apartment in Ampang and are investigating how the luggage cleared security screening at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Investigators are also examining the suspect's alleged links to an international drug trafficking syndicate, with Malaysian authorities seeking permission from their Indonesian counterparts to interview him directly.

If convicted under Indonesia's narcotics laws, the pilot could face life imprisonment or the death penalty, with the possibility of execution by firing squad.

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SNIFFER DOGS SEARCH MALL WRECKED AFTER JAPAN QUAKE - KUMAMOTO JAPAN

SNIFFER DOGS SEARCH MALL WRECKED AFTER JAPAN QUAKE - KUMAMOTO JAPAN  

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

KUMAMOTO

Sniffer dogs in Japan helped rescuers Friday make a final sweep of a shopping mall wrecked by an explosion after a big earthquake, as the death toll from the tremor three days earlier hit 35.

"At the Aeon mall, 11 people were pulled out as of last night (Thursday), among them seven dead. To make sure that no one else is inside, we are finalising our confirmation with the assistance of professionally trained dogs," government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.

Local media quoted the operator of the mall, which was evacuated before being ripped apart by the suspected gas blast over an hour after Tuesday's quake, as saying that all employees were now accounted for.

At the other major disaster site following the 7.1-magnitude jolt, a paper factory, nine bodies have now been recovered and search and rescue operations were terminated, Kihara said.

Two survivors were also extracted from the site where a smokestack collapsed, he said, putting the overall death toll from the quake in the southwestern region of Kumamoto at 35.

The quake caused widespread damage, flattening homes, damaging bridges, triggering fires and leaving tens of thousands of residents without power and water in temperatures forecast to approach 40C (104F) this weekend.

As of Friday, around 4,500 households across Kumamoto still had no electricity and 79,000 households no water, Kihara said, with some 5,100 military personnel mobilised to help.

Thousands of people, many of them elderly, were escaping the heat in evacuation shelters.

One piece of good news was that 25 felines from a "cat cafe" inside the mall were rescued and transferred to Hiroshima, triggering widespread relief on social media.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

Kumamoto itself was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016, which killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800.

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.

Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.

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LOCAL, FOREIGN EVACUEES SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN QUAKE - HIT KUMAMOTO TOWN - HIKAWA, JAPAN

LOCAL, FOREIGN EVACUEES SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN QUAKE - HIT KUMAMOTO TOWN - HIKAWA, JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

HIKAWA, Japan

The recent powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture has left residents reeling from the impact, with local people and foreign nationals in shelters helping each other to overcome their anxiety and daily concerns such as lack of food supplies and water outages.

"It was the most intense shaking I've ever experienced in my life. It was terrifying," said Davina Putri, a 22-year-old Indonesian woman who is among around 100 people staying at an evacuation center in Hikawa town, one of the hardest hit areas.

Tuesday's magnitude-7.1 quake buckled and cracked roads and partially or completely destroyed the roofs of many houses. The town's infrastructure such as water and electricity has also yet to be restored.

Putri, a technical intern at a local strawberry farm in Hikawa for the past two years, has been staying at Ryuhokuhigashi Elementary School, where, according to a town official, there are currently 109 evacuees.

She is with her Indonesian colleague at the farm and two other Indonesian technical interns working at different farms.

She has experienced small earthquakes in Indonesia but said she "never imagined I would experience such a massive earthquake myself."

Recounting what transpired on the day of the quake, she said she was taking a break from farm work at the time and had returned to her home. The furniture in her room fell and dishes were scattered across the floor.

While the building did not collapse and she was not injured, she explained, "We can't use water or electricity. It was too hot to stay at home, so I evacuated to the elementary school last night."

Citing how the evacuation center is equipped with air conditioning, she said she is "truly grateful" for being able to eat and sleep comfortably. "This is all thanks to the cooperation and support of the local community."

Using the Japanese she learned while on the job, she asked a town hall staff member what was for lunch and received a packet of instant curry.

Putri said she and her fellow Indonesians are getting along well with Japanese residents taking shelter with them, occasionally helping each other, such as by talking to each other to forget the fear they experienced during the quake.

Even so, she remains fearful of another strong temblor as aftershocks continue in the area.

Putri said she feels the tremors occasionally at night and in the early morning. "I'm terrified that another big earthquake might hit," she added, and expressed hope that she can return home and resume work.

On Thursday, Keisuke Morita, a 42-year-old grape farmer, and his 36-year-old wife Misato delivered several boxes of grapes to the school, hoping they might be of use to someone.

The couple had been harvesting the fruit from their farm when the earthquake struck. The grapes they delivered were those left unsold at a shop on the day of the temblor.

"The shaking threw us off our feet and the grapes we had loaded into the car fell out," Misato said.

Although they had experienced the earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago, Misato described this one as "so intense that you couldn't stay standing even if you were holding onto something."

As soon as the tremors stopped, she went to pick up her elementary school-age daughter, and tears welled up in her eyes when she saw her daughter's face.

With their home strewn with items and the air conditioner unusable, the family is currently sleeping in their car.

"I want our normal life of being able to eat a warm meal under a roof and sleep in our beds back as soon as possible," Morita said.

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TWENTY-FIVE CATS ESCAPE JAPAN MALL DAMAGED BY QUAKE - KUMAMOTO JAPAN

TWENTY-FIVE CATS ESCAPE JAPAN MALL DAMAGED BY QUAKE - KUMAMOTO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

KUMAMOTO

Twenty-five cats stuck inside a shopping mall in Japan gutted in an explosion after a major earthquake have been rescued, the operator said Thursday, triggering huge relief on social media.

Momo, Kohaku, Tango, Shandy -- a fluffy Norwegian Forest Cat -- and the others were in Cat Cafe MOFF on the ground floor of the Aeon mall in Kashima when the deadly 7.1-magnitude quake hit on Tuesday.

The mall was evacuated and employees returned to retrieve the cats when a huge explosion -- likely caused by gas -- ripped through the building, and staff "hurriedly evacuated", the cafe said.

At least 34 people died in the quake, according to authorities in the southwestern Kumamoto region.

On Wednesday, with permission from the fire service, the police and the mall operator, MOFF's manager entered the building and safely rescue all 25 cats, which were unharmed.

Around 10:00 pm (1300 GMT) the same day, the animals arrived safely in the city of Hiroshima in western Japan, where the company has another cat cafe, it said.

"We were concerned about fatigue from the long journey from Kumamoto, but after arriving we provided individual care for each of them," it said.

It added that the cats were "spending their time quietly and calmly".

An online news article about the cats' miraculous escape posted on X by Livedoor News garnered 7.9 million views.

"People say human lives come first, but human lives and cat lives are both equally precious... I'm glad everyone's safe," said one user on Instagram.

Cat cafes -- as well as other similar establishments in Japan where people can pet anything from hedgehogs to miniature pigs -- are, however, controversial.

"If possible, I hope they won't be sent back to the cat cafe, but instead find them adoptive homes where they can live a safe and secure life surrounded by love," said another user on Instagram.

Others criticised people's focus on the animals rather than the human toll at the mall, where seven bodies were found.

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JAPAN DESTROYER CONDUCTS 1ST TEST-FIRING OF TOMAHAWK CRUISE MISSILES - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN DESTROYER CONDUCTS 1ST TEST-FIRING OF TOMAHAWK CRUISE MISSILES - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Japan's Self-Defense Forces conducted their first test-firing of U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Aegis-equipped destroyer Chokai, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The test, conducted in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the United States on Tuesday local time, is part of Japan's efforts to bolster its defense capabilities.

The Asian country's national security strategy adopted in 2022 paves the way for Japan to acquire the ability to strike enemy missile bases as a self-defense measure within the bounds of its pacifist Constitution.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer is expected to return to its home port in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, around September before being deployed to waters around Japan with the missile capability.

All eight Aegis destroyers will be armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to the Defense Ministry.

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