04/15/2016  NEW USE FOR IPS CELLS
Japanese researchers say they've taken a major step toward improving treatment of people with serious cardiac problems. They've used iPS cells to make heart muscle cells pure enough to transplant into humans.Professor Keiichi Fukuda and his team want to start clinical trials as early as next year. iPS cells can be turned into any kind of tissue. The researchers had previously succeeded in transforming them into heart muscle cells. But when they tested those cells in pigs, they found a small number that hadn't transformed could become tumorous. The team says it used a special solution that killed off the potentially dangerous cells.
(Keiichi Fukuda / Keio University Professor)"We hope to use this technology to help treat people with major heart failure."
04/18/2016  CONTROVERSIAL FILM TAKES TOP AWARD
A controversial movie about the future of Hong Kong claimed top prize at the city's film awards on Sunday.The ceremony is Hong Kong's equivalent to the Oscars. "Ten Years" portrays a dystopian future Hong Kong that is being tightly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. In the film, the language of Hong Kong, Cantonese, is no longer allowed to be used. The film also shows pro-democracy protesters being hit heavily by police during rallies.The film was shown in only one theater in the territory when it was released in December last year, but the film turned out to be a major hit. Free public viewing was held at more than 30 locations. China's state-run TV channels pulled out from broadcasting the award ceremony. China's IT giant Tencent is reported to have abandoned the broadcasting rights it had obtained for the ceremony.
04/20/2016  POOREST PRESIDENT' SPEAKS IN TOKYO
Uruguay's former leader is visiting Japan. Jose Mujica was called "the world's poorest president." A picture book based on a speech he gave at a UN meeting in 2012 was a bestseller in this country.Mujica became president in 2010. During his five-year tenure, he gave nearly all of his salary to charity and lived in a farmhouse. His speech at the UN summit criticized the mass-consumption society.(Jose Mujica)"A poor person is not someone who has little, but a person whose needs are infinite. This is the problem we face today."The picture book inspired by his stirring speech has sold more than 160,000 copies in Japan. Mujica advised young people not to lose hope in their lives by pursuing affluence unthinkingly, but instead help create a world in which they can feel happiness every morning.
04/21/2016  CONSIDERING HIROSHIMA VISIT
President Barack Obama is still considering a visit to Hiroshima during his trip to Japan for May's G7 summit. A White House spokesman says the U.S. leader is pursuing a vision of a world without nuclear weapons.(Josh Earnest / White House Press Secretary)"So, obviously there's probably ― symbolically, there's no more powerful illustration of that commitment than the city that contained the victims of the first use of that weapon."The spokesman says the question about whether to visit Hiroshima comes up whenever the president travels to Japan. He added Obama and his team were considering their options following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit early this week.Kerry became the first sitting U.S. Cabinet member to visit the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. He was joined by the British and French foreign ministers.(John Kerry / U.S. Secretary of State)"... Japan, which was very moving, very long overdue in many respects but quite impressive. And if any of you ever have the chance, you should go and see that particular memorial.”Kerry spoke about his Hiroshima trip during a speech in California.
04/22/2016  CHILD SUICIDE BOMBERS IN AFRICA
The United Nations children's agency says Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram is increasingly using children in suicide bombings.UNICEF said in a report released on Tuesday that the number of children involved in attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries increased from four in 2014 to 44 in 2015. UNICEF officials say children might not know they are carrying explosives, which are often detonated by remote control.Nearly two years ago, Boko Haram abducted more than 200 female students from a school in northeastern Nigeria. The group threatened to sell them as slaves. The girls' whereabouts are still unknown. UNICEF is calling on the international community to step up efforts to support children affected by extremist violence.
04/25/2016  PORCELAIN DESIGNS AIMED AT EUROPEANS
Arita is one of Japan's major regions for porcelain production. Its items are known for their colorful decorations, but sales have been falling. So, officials have gone to Italy to unveil an entirely new set of designs in a bid to attract European customers.The Arita products were created in collaboration with 16 European designers. Potters in and around Arita Town in western Japan have produced about 300 dishes. Dutch designers say they want to have more collaboration with Arita's producers.(Carole Baijings / Designer)"... to be the new gateway and with all these collections, design the future of Arita. The past is already beautiful, but we all need a future."Sales have been falling since peaking in the late 1980s. The region believes expanding into foreign markets holds the key to reviving Arita's porcelain industry.
04/26/2016  FALSIFYING FUEL DATA
Executives at Japan's Mitsubishi Motors say the company falsified data on fuel efficiency tests for four types of mini-vehicles. They say the manipulation affects 625,000 vehicles. President Tetsuro Aikawa apologized at a news conference.(Tetsuro Aikawa / President, Mitsubishi Motors)"I believe the data were intentionally falsified. Investigations are underway as to why it was carried out."Aikawa says the company has halted production and sales of the four models. Two of the models were sold by Mitsubishi. The other two were produced for Nissan Motor. He says Mitsubishi is considering how best to respond to the owners of the vehicles.Company officials say additional tests showed there was a gap between their results and data handed over to the government. They say the manipulation came to light after staff at Nissan pointed out problems with the data. They say the former head of the performance testing department has admitted that he instructed the falsification, but the officials are still trying to confirm this. The company plans to set up a third-party panel to look into the matter.
04/27/2016  CHILDLESS PARENTS WANT GOVT. HELP
About 1,000 Chinese parents who lost their only child have staged a demonstration in Beijing. They say they will have no one to look after them because they were forced to follow the country's one-child policy.The protesters gathered on Monday in front of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. About one million households across China are estimated to have lost their sole offspring due to illness or accident. Many such parents feel it's unfair they had to obey a policy the government decided to scrap earlier this year after more than three decades.(Participant)"My wife and I are too old to have another child. I want the government to look after us."Chinese authorities announced on Sunday the state would provide a monthly allowance of about 50 dollars to such bereaved parents, but the families are not satisfied.
04/28/2016  COUNTRIES GATHER AT ARMS FAIR
Defense industry players are in Malaysia's capital to check out the latest in weapons technology. They've turned out at an arms expo in Kuala Lumpur in record numbers. Buyers from Southeast Asian countries are prioritizing spending amid rising tensions in the contested South China Sea.Manufacturers are showing off their latest technologies, including reconnaissance drones and anti-submarine aircraft.(Robert Laing / Lockheed Martin)"The buyers in Southeast Asia are very careful, very knowledgeable, but very serious about finding solutions to deal with this maritime security issue."ASEAN's 10 member countries are expected to spend 58 billion dollars on new military gear over the next five years, and much of it is expected to be used in the South China Sea. China has reclaimed small islands and reefs there and has built airfields and port facilities. The country is claiming almost all of the resource-rich waters as its own.