Japan's modern, ancient capitals to tighten coronavirus curbs

TOKYO -- Tokyo will ask a range of businesses to close during a month-long emergency to fight the new coronavirus, the governor of the Japanese capital said on Friday, as the ancient capital Kyoto warned of spreading contagion and urged tourists to stay away.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike had been feuding with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government over what businesses should shut during the emergency, highlighting Abe's desire to minimise fallout for a struggling economy and fueling concerns that his measures are too little, too late.

Koike told reporters late on Thursday she and Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura had reached an agreement, and she was expected to hold a news conference on Friday.

The governor will stick to her plan to ask a range of businesses, including pachinko parlors and internet cafes, to close and restaurants to shorten their hours, but bowed to central government pressure to keep department stores, home-furnishing centers and barber shops open, public broadcaster NHK said.

"It's about protecting lives ... so I think Tokyo residents understand the need to act quickly," Koike told reporters, adding she wanted the measures to take effect on Saturday.

Abe declared the emergency on Tuesday for Tokyo and 6 other prefectures, but the details of how life would change in the Japanese capital had to be hammered out in tense inter-governmental talks.

Abe's move came after a jump in coronavirus cases in Tokyo sparked concern that Japan was headed for the sort of explosive outbreak seen in many other countries.

The number of cases in Japan rose to 5,548 on Thursday, with 108 deaths, NHK said. Tokyo accounted for 1,519 cases, heightening concerns about sluggish action.

Other regions are now clamoring to be included in the national emergency.

The governor of Aichi in Japan's industrial heartland, which hosts Toyota Motor Corp, was to declare its own state of emergency on Friday and has asked to be added to the government's targeted regions. Gifu in central Japan was also poised to issue an emergency declaration, media said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that experts consulted by the government had not recommended that other regions be included in the emergency.

KYOTO TELLS TOURISTS TO STAY AWAY

The governor of Kyoto prefecture and the mayor of the ancient capital also asked to be included, while urging tourists to stay away from its famous palaces, temples and gardens.

"I call on all people who love Kyoto and tourists from all over the world - until this situation is ended, to protect yourself and your families, please refrain from visiting Kyoto," Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa told a news conference.

Some experts fear the feud between Tokyo and the central government could undermine Abe's goal to cut person-to-person contact by 80 percent to slow the pace of the pathogen's spread.

"The tension between Koike and the cabinet will definitely damage the impact of the (emergency) declaration," said Kenji Shibuya, head of the Institute for Population Health at King's College, London.

"There is zero chance of achieving 80 percent."

Koike, once seen as a possible future premier, had pressed Abe to declare a state of emergency sooner and made clear she wanted to quickly ask a range of businesses to close.

In late March, she warned Tokyo could face a full "lockdown" if infections surged, although Japanese law does not mandate penalties for residents who refuse to stay home or businesses that stay open.

Abe has stressed Japan's state of emergency is not a lockdown, and critics say he is sending a mixed message that confuses residents as well as businesses.

Koike will also create a fund for businesses that meet her requests to close, NHK said. Abe has rejected calls to compensate such businesses in a 108 trillion yen ($993 billion).

-Reuters-

Japan studio boss at loss for words as he mourns young staff at torched building

KYOTO, Japan - Many victims of an arson attack on an animation studio in the western Japanese city of Kyoto were young with bright futures, some joining only in April, the company president said on Saturday, as the death told climbed to 34.

Thursday's attack on Kyoto Animation, famous in Japan and overseas for its series and movies, was the worst mass killing in two decades in a country with some of the world's lowest crime rates.

Company president Hideaki Hatta said many of the victims were young women.

"Some of them joined us just in April. And on the eighth of July, I gave them a small, but their first, bonus," he said.

"People who had a promising future lost their lives. I don't know what to say. Rather than feeling anger, I just don't have words," Hatta said.

Fifteen of the victims were in their 20s and 11 were in their 30s, public broadcaster NHK said. Six were in their 40s and one was at least 60. The age of the latest victim, a man who died in hospital, was not known. The names of the victims have not been disclosed.

The studio had about 160 employees with an average age of 33, according to its website.

Police have confirmed the identity of the suspect as Shinji Aoba, but have declined to comment further.

Aoba had been convicted of robbery and carried out the attack because he believed his novel had been plagiarized, NHK and other media have said.

But Hatta said he had no idea about any plagiarism claim, adding he had not seen any correspondence from the suspect.

Police have not arrested Aoba, as he is being treated for heavy burns, NHK said, although police have taken the unusual step of releasing his name.

Two days after the fire, animation fans gathered near the burnt out studio to add to a growing pile of flowers, drinks and other offerings.

Bing Xie, 25, a Chinese student at Kyoto University, said she could not forgive the arsonist.

"The criminal who does this seems to have been mentally disturbed, but I can’t forgive him. The young people at Kyoto Animation were beautiful and warm and it is hard to accept they are gone."

Police guarded the site as investigators, some on the roof near where many died in a connecting stairwell, examined the blackened building. The smell of burning lingered over the quiet suburban neighborhood.

Hatta said the building needed to be torn down because it was so badly damaged.

Tributes to the victims lit up social media, with world leaders and Apple Inc's chief executive offering condolences. The hashtag #PrayforKyoAni, as the studio is known among fans, has become popular.

Kyoto Animation, in a quiet suburb about 20 minutes by train from the center of Kyoto, produces popular "anime" series such as the "Sound! Euphonium". It is also known for "Violet Evergarden," which has been shown on Netflix.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Suspected arsonist planned Japan's worst mass killing in 18 years-media

KYOTO, Japan - A man suspected of torching an animation studio in western Japan shouted that he had been plagiarized and appeared to have planned the attack, media said on Friday after a blaze that killed 33 people in Japan's worst mass killing in two decades.

The 41-year-old man "seemed to be discontented, he seemed to get angry, shouting something about how he had been plagiarized", a woman who saw the suspect being detained told reporters.

The unidentified man shouted "Die!" before dousing the entrance to Kyoto Animation headquarters with what appeared to be petrol and setting it ablaze around 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on Thursday, media reported.

The blaze killed 33 people and another 10 people were in critical condition, authorities said late on Thursday, in Japan's worst mass killing since a suspected arson attack in Tokyo killed 44 people in 2001.

Police searched through the smoldering shell of the building for clues on Friday.

A man resembling the suspect went to a petrol station on Thursday with two 20-liter cans, Japanese media said. Two cans, a rucksack and a trolley were found near the site, and television footage showed what appeared to be five long knives laid out on the ground outside the three-storey building.

The suspect had no connection with Kyoto Animation and his driver's license listed an address in Saitama, a northern suburb of Tokyo, public broadcaster NHK said. Little else was known about the man, who is under police supervision with serious burns to the face and legs, media reports said.

NHK showed footage of what it said appeared to be the suspect lying on his back on the ground as he spoke to a police officer, shoeless and with what appeared to be burns on his right leg below the knee.

Kyoto Animation, located in a quiet suburb about 20 minutes by train from the center of Japan's ancient capital, produces popular "anime" series such as the "Sound! Euphonium".

Its "Free! Road to the World - The Dream" movie is due for release this month.

The studio sits between two train lines close to a stream amid houses and small apartment blocks, a few stores and a taxi company parking lot. The area was cordoned off on Friday morning. A few of the original 30 or so firetrucks remained in the streets but with their lights off. Some firefighters appeared to still be dousing the smoldering building.

Jun Shin, a 30-year-old Chinese man living in nearby Osaka, came to the site on Thursday night to lay flowers near the burnt-out office and say a prayer.

"I am an anime fan," Jun, an information-technology worker, told Reuters. "I have watched animation since I was a student, and this was a terrible event, I just want to come and mourn. It left me speechless."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

110,000 people ordered to evacuate after heavy rain in western Japan

Evacuation orders were issued Thursday for 110,000 people in Japan's Kyoto Prefecture amid an escalating risk of mudslides following heavy rain.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of landslides and rising river levels as the heavy rain may continue through Sunday in the Kinki region including Kyoto, Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, part of which is still reeling from a deadly quake in June.

At a construction site in Inagawa, Hyogo Prefecture, a worker died after being washed away in a drainage pipe with two others. He is believed to be a 59-year-old man from Wakayama city. The rain also disrupted traffic and caused landslides in the city of Otsu in Shiga Prefecture and the city of Kobe in Hyogo.

Evacuation orders were also issued for locations in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, an area hit by the magnitude-6.1 quake on June 18.

In the city of Kyoto, a rise in the water level of the Kamo River running through the city's central area led authorities to prohibit people from entering its riverside promenade, known as one of the city's sightseeing spots. A bridge across the Katsura River in Arashiyama, another famous tourist attraction in the city, was also closed due to the same reason.

Multiple express and local trains were canceled and an expressway connecting central and western Japan was partially closed, according to railway and road operators.

The weather agency says heavy rain of up to 70 millimeters per hour is expected through Friday in the Kinki region. In the 24-hour period through 6 a.m. Friday, up to 350 mm of rainfall is forecast for the area.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nintendo launches new Switch game console

TOKYO - Nintendo's Switch console goes on sale Friday in a global launch seen as key for the Japanese videogame giant to reverse flagging sales and compete with Sony's top-selling PlayStation 4.

The $299 unit, which works both at home and on-the-go, blends the Super Mario maker's history in the console business with its fledgling mobile gaming strategy, which got a big brand win after Pokemon Go's success last summer.

Kyoto-based Nintendo is aiming to sell more than two million Switch consoles in its first month.

Strong demand for the new unit would help Nintendo close the book on poor sales of its last console, Wii U -- the disappointing follow-up to the smash hit Wii, which sold over 100 million units worldwide after its launch a decade ago.

Switch has a removable screen that lets players dock it at home and also use it on the go like a tablet with detachable controllers -- called Joy-Con -- on both sides.

The idea is to give gamers a more immersive experience with realistic physical sensations matched to what is happening on-screen.

A remote control feature means players can take their eyes off the screen to face off, punching the air in a boxing game or getting into a gun duel.

In past years, Nintendo has scored hits with traditional home consoles, such as the Nintendo 64 or GameCube, and portable devices likes GameBoy and the DS handheld.

"Switch is probably one of the most important consoles for Nintendo in the past decades," said Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based games industry consultant.

"(It's) the first time where Nintendo basically combines portable games and home console games into one device, into one platform."

But trying to score a win in two different markets is risky, Toto added.

"Some people could say that Nintendo is trying to kill two birds with one stone and that it could actually land in the middle and not really catch any of the target groups," he said.

Investors have been underwhelmed so far. Nintendo shares are down about 15 percent from October, when the firm gave gamers a sneak peak of its newest console.

While it has dipped a toe into the mobile gaming market, the Nintendo also needs to keep up with console maker rivals Microsoft and Sony, which has racked up huge sales of the latest PlayStation -- it has sold more than 53 million units globally since its debut in late 2013.

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source: news.abs-cbn.com