Netizens welcome Japan’s visa-free travel plan

 News
Apr 162014
 
Netizens welcome Japan’s visa-free travel plan

By Bong LozadaINQUIRER.net 8:21 pm | Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines—Even without an official announcement, and decision, for a visa-free travel for Filipinos to Japan, Netizens are all hyped up for the possibility. On Tuesday, talks were underway to lift the visa requirement of Filipinos, Indonesians and Vietnamese travelling to Japan. It was a unanimous message on Twitter that Filipinos are elated for the possibility. One Jean Austin Rogers is “looking forward” for the new opportunity. Another user, who goes by the handle Primeputri, said that the visa-free travel is “dream come true.” Jelito de Leon may not be pretty elated with the news but he is one of those “glass is half-full” people. “I have my fingers crossed for the visa-free Japan trips for Filipinos!” he said on his Twitter account. A Twitter user who goes by the handle Dude Interrupted have a more direct emotion toward the news. “Eat this HK!” he posted after Hong Kong required Philippine visas for Filipinos travelling to the country. RELATED STORIES Visa-free travel to Japan could boost tourism Japan mulls no visa rule for Filipinos Japan now issuing multiple-entry visas to Filipinos Follow Us Other Stories: Visa-free travel to Japan could boost tourism Japan backs PH in case before UN Japan mulls no visa rule for Filipinos South Korea, Japan to hold talks on comfort women Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to Read More …

Japan backs PH in case before UN

 News
Apr 152014
 
Japan backs PH in case before UN

Japan Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. AFP file photo MANILA, Philippines—Japan, which is facing similar security issues with China, has reaffirmed its support for the Philippine recourse to international arbitration over its dispute with Beijing involving territories in an area of the South China Sea, called the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines, citing its basis in international law. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has conveyed his government’s support for the Philippines’ filing of a case before a UN tribunal to settle its dispute with China as he reiterated Tokyo’s advocacy of the rule of law, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. “Referring to the Philippines’ submission of its memorial in furtherance of the arbitration proceedings it has initiated relative to South China Sea/West Philippine Sea issues, Minister Kishida reiterated Japan’s support for the Philippines’ effort to seek a resolution grounded on international law, which is consistent with Japan’s own rule of law advocacy,” the DFA said. Kishida met with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario for talks at the former’s residence in Hiroshima on April 11. Hiroshima, which bounced back from the devastation wrought by an atomic bomb in 1945, hosted the 8th ministerial meeting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI). The 12-nation regional grouping of ministers was formed in 2010 with the goal of a “world free from nuclear weapons” through advancing nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament processes, the DFA said. The Philippines joined the initiative in September last year. Bilateral cooperation During the meeting, Kishida Read More …

Japan mulls no visa rule for Filipinos

 News
Apr 152014
 
Japan mulls no visa rule for Filipinos

INQUIRER.net 5:16 pm | Tuesday, April 15th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines – Talks are underway to finally lift the tough visa requirements for Filipinos to visit Japan, a report said Wednesday. Kyodo News reported that the Japanese government and its ruling coalition “are making arrangements” to waive the visa requirements for its visitors from Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. The lifting of the visa is part of the country’s “revised action plan due in June to make Japan a tourism-oriented country,” Kyodo News said quoting government sources. The measure also aims to increase Japan’s annual tourist arrivals to 20 million as the country prepares for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the report said. The Japanese Embassy in Manila has yet to confirm the report. Japanese visa is known to be among the toughest to get for Filipino tourists in light of Japan’s strict requirements and screening process. The Japanese government has eased its visa policy for Southeast Asian countries last year by only issuing multiple-entry tourist visas to Filipinos. Previously, multiple-entry visas only cater to those visiting Japan due to commercial reasons,  artists and specialists (athletes, professors and government officials), and immediate family members of Japan residents. RELATED STORY Japan now issuing multiple-entry visas to Filipinos Follow Us Other Stories: South Korea, Japan to hold talks on comfort women Hiroo Onoda: Hero or villain? US to China: We will protect Philippines Japan envoy apologizes to PH for WW2 Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; Read More …

South Korea, Japan to hold talks on comfort women

 News
Apr 132014
 
South Korea, Japan to hold talks on comfort women

AFP FILE PHOTO South Korea and Japan are likely to hold director general-level talks in Seoul next week to discuss the issue of Japan‘s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, Seoul government sources said Saturday. South Korea and Japan have been trying to set up a director-level meeting to try to resolve a series of pending issues arising from their shared history. Seoul reportedly wants the meeting, if held, to focus on the so-called “comfort women” issue while Japan insists that the topic should include territorial and other issues as well. “The talks will likely be held next week and South Korea is in the final process of discussion to fix the date of the director level-talks with the Japanese side,” one government source said, requesting anonymity. Other sources said that the meeting is likely to be held on Tuesday. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that the sexual enslavement issue will be the main topic of the talks which also are likely to include North Korea as a side issue. The talks, if held, will be the first official attempt by the two governments to tackle the “comfort women” issue. Historians believe that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea, as well as China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to become sex slaves in Japanese army brothels.Grievances among a group of old-aged South Korean women who were sexually enslaved to serve at front-line Japanese military brothels during World War II have been a vexing source of diplomatic tension Read More …

Japanese envoy apologizes for World War II, thanks PHL for ‘moving on’

 Entertainment
Apr 112014
 
Japanese envoy apologizes for World War II, thanks PHL for ‘moving on’

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista, troops the line upon arrival at the Dambana ng Kagitingan, Mt. Samat Shrine in Pilar, Bataan on Wednesday (April 9, 2014) for the 72nd Commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor). This year’s theme is: “Balik-Tanaw sa Sakripisyo ng Beterano, Gabay sa Landas ng Pagbabago.”(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe used the commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan on Wednesday to apologize for Japan’s role during World War II, saying it has learned its lesson from those days. “Seventy-two years have passed. Still, it hurts to remember the hardship and pain suffered by so many during those fateful days. I wish to express our heartfelt apologies and deep sense of remorse for such inexplicable suffering,” Urabe said during his speech at a program in Bataan. He said Japan has learned the “valuable lesson” from history that using force does not solve anything. “It only creates problems. That is why we have vowed never to wage war never again,” he said. This, he said, is the reason for their actions in the last seven decades. “Fortunately, the Filipinos have accepted to move on. We have been building the future together ever since. Thanks to the efforts of our predecessors, we are now strategic partners sharing common values,” he said. Urabe specifically cited the exchange visits between the two countries, Filipino and Japanese soldiers working Read More …

Delta Air heeds DOTC call to transfer to NAIA3

 Economy
Mar 272014
 
Delta Air heeds DOTC call to transfer to NAIA3

MANILA, Philippines – Delta Air Lines has heeded the call of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to transfer its operations to the newer Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 3 (NAIA3) to pave the way for the P1.3-billion rehabilitation of NAIA1. Steven Crowdey, director, Philippines, Australia and Micronesia of Delta, said the relocation of its operations to the NAIA3 from NAIA1 effective Aug. 1 would be permanent. At NAIA3, customers would experience larger departure and arrival immigration halls, a smooth flow from the airport entrance to the departure gates, more seating areas and less security congestion. In addition, passengers could enjoy more shopping and dining choices and better natural lighting throughout the lobby and departure gate areas. Furthermore, Delta would install more self service check-in kiosks in the lobby, reducing the wait time for check-in which will result in a better customer experience at the airport. Terminal 3 features a two-tiered design with its ground level designed for arrivals and the second level for departures. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Each level has 600 square meters of curbside space allowing for more efficient drop offs and pickups. The center of the building contains passenger processing function. Retail shops and food courts line the departure and arrival levels while parking for over 1,200 cars is provided in front of the terminal. Terminal 3 also offers a 232 square meters contemporary lounge with modern furnishings. “This exciting news is another big step for Delta as it has Read More …

Phl lifts decade-long ban on Japanese beef

 Economy
Mar 152014
 
Phl lifts decade-long ban on Japanese beef

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is now allowing the entry of Japanese beef after a decade-long ban due to the outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan. The Philippines banned the entry of Japanese beef in 2001 following the outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease. Talks for the resumption for exports commenced in 2004 and were concluded recently. As of last year, the World Organization for Animal Health said Japan has a “negligible risk” of mad cow disease. In a statement, the Japanese embassy in Manila said discussions with the Philippine government on the re-entry of Japanese beef into the Philippine market had been finalized. “Since 2004, both governments of the Philippines and Japan have been discussing animal health conditions to import Japanese beef from Japan to the Philippines. The discussion has recently been finalized and the Philippine government has finally approved the importation of Japanese beef from Japan,” the embassy said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Philippines and the Animal Quarantine Service of Japan (AQS) will soon start issuing the foreign meat establishment (FME) certificates to the accredited exporters. These certificates will accompany beef shipments.

Tokyo bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy

 Economy
Feb 282014
 
Tokyo bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy

TOKYO — The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and its chief executive said 850,000 bitcoins, worth several hundred million dollars, are unaccounted for. The exchange’s CEO Mark Karpeles appeared before Japanese TV news cameras, bowing deeply. He said a weakness in the exchange’s systems was behind a massive loss of the virtual currency involving 750,000 bitcoins from users and 100,000 of the company’s own bitcoins. That would amount to about $425 million at recent prices. The online exchange’s unplugging earlier this week and accusations it had suffered a catastrophic theft have drawn renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks. It remains unclear if the missing bitcoins were stolen, voided by technological flaws or both. “I am sorry for the troubles I have caused all the people,” Karpeles, a Frenchman, said in Japanese at a Tokyo court. Karpeles had not made a public appearance since rumors of the exchange’s insolvency surfaced last month. He said in a web post Wednesday that he was working to resolve Mt. Gox’s problems. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The loss is a giant setback to the currency’s image because its boosters have promoted bitcoin’s cryptography as protecting it from counterfeiting and theft. Bitcoin proponents have insisted that Mt. Gox is an isolated case, caused by the company’s technological failures, and the potential of virtual currencies remains great. Debts at Read More …

Mexico to trump Japan as No. 2 car exporter to US

 Economy
Feb 212014
 
Mexico to trump Japan as No. 2 car exporter to US

Volkswagen Jettas produced in Mexico for export are parked at the port terminal in the Gulf city of Veracruz, Mexico. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez) CELAYA, Mexico — Mexico is on track to become the United States’ No. 1 source of imported cars by the end of next year, overtaking Japan and Canada in a manufacturing boom that’s turning the auto industry into a bigger source of dollars than money sent home by migrants. The boom is raising hopes that Mexico can create enough new jobs to pull millions out of poverty as northbound migration slows sharply, but critics caution that most of the new car jobs are low-skill and pay too little. Mexico’s low and stagnant wages have helped kept the poverty rate between 40 and 50 percent since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement two decades ago. An $800 million Honda plant that opened Friday in the central state of Guanajuato will produce more than 200,000 Fit hatchbacks and compact sport-utility vehicles a year, helping push total Mexican car exports to the U.S. to 1.7 million in 2014, roughly 200,000 more than Japan, consulting firm IHS Automotive says. And with another big plant starting next week, Mexico is expected to surpass Canada for the top spot by the end of 2015. “It’s a safe bet,” said Eduardo Solis, president of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. “Mexico is now one of the major global players in car manufacturing.” When NAFTA was signed two decades ago, Mexico produced 6 Read More …

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