TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition early Saturday rammed through legislation to bring more blue-collar foreign workers into the country, in a controversial move to address chronic labor shortages.
The bill was enacted after the upper house gave approval despite a raft of criticism by opposition parties following its passage through the lower house in late November. Both chambers are controlled by Abe’s ruling camp.
Under the new system, the government plans to bring in as many as 345,000 foreign workers in construction, food services, nursing and other designated sectors for five years.
“We aim at starting it in April next year because we need to swiftly launch the new system in order to deal with the current labor shortage,” Abe told parliament on Thursday.
But opposition parties claimed that the law fails to address the potential impact on Japanese society of new foreign labor, and does not protect foreign workers’ rights.
In a bid to block its passage, opposition parties submitted censure motions against Abe and Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, but they were easily rejected by the ruling bloc.
The law allows foreign nationals with skills in sectors facing particularly severe shortages to obtain five-year visas, which would not allow them to bring their families.
Foreign workers in those fields who hold stronger qualifications and pass a more difficult Japanese language test will be able to obtain a visa that can be extended indefinitely, eventually leading to residency, and will be able to bring over family.
But there have been questions about whether an influx of foreign workers will depress wages, how the workers will be incorporated into Japan’s social security system, and worries about exploitation of migrant labor.
Many of Japan’s low-skilled foreign workers are in the country under a so-called “technical training” program, which has repeatedly faced allegations of abuse.
“We should not create a new system hastily without reviewing the technical training program in which problems are mounting,” Yoshifu Arita, an opposition lawmaker, told parliament.
Businesses have long lobbied for looser immigration rules, saying they struggle to find workers in a country where unemployment hovers around 2.5 percent.
The chronic labor shortages are only worsening as Japan’s aging and shrinking population means a declining pool of workers.
Japan enacts controversial law to accept foreign workers
Japan enacts controversial law to accept foreign workers
- The law allows foreign nationals with skills in sectors facing particularly severe shortages to obtain five-year visas, which would not allow them to bring their families
Russian president Putin to make a state visit to China this week
- The Kremlin in a statement confirmed the trip and said Putin was going on Xi’s invitation
Putin will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his visit starting on Thurday, it said.
The Kremlin in a statement confirmed the trip and said Putin was going on Xi’s invitation. It said that this will be Putin’s first foreign trip since he was sworn in as president and began his fifth term in office.
The two continent-sized authoritarian states, increasingly in dispute with democracies and NATO, seek to gain influence in Africa, the Middle East and South America. China has backed Russia’s claim that President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine in 2022 because of Western provocations, without producing any solid evidence.
Pro-Palestinian protesters cleared from Geneva university
- Geneva university officials had asked the protesters on Monday to vacate the premises and protest in a different manner.
About 20 officers entered the UniMail building around 0300 GMT, a journalist from the Keystone-ATS news agency said.
“Most of the students were sleeping. After being gathered they were led to the underground parking garage,” Julie Zaugg, a journalist with LemanbleuTV channel, said on X.
She said they shouted pro-Palestinian slogans before being handcuffed and taken away in vans.
Geneva university officials had asked the protesters on Monday to vacate the premises and protest in a different manner.
Students demonstrations have gathered pace across Western Europe in recent weeks with protesters demanding an end to the Gaza bloodshed and to cut ties with Israel, taking their cue from demonstrations that have swept US campuses.
There have been similar protests in other Swiss universities and polytechnic schools including Lausanne, Berne, Basel and Zurich.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized hostages, of whom Israel estimates 128 remain in Gaza, including 36 the military says are dead.
Israel’s bombardment and offensive in Gaza have killed at least 35,091 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Modi files candidacy for India election in Hindu holy city
- Varanasi is spiritual capital of Hinduism, where devotees come to cremate loved ones by Ganges river
- Modi has made acts of religious worship central fixture of his premiership since coming into power in 2014
Varanasi, India: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday formally submitted his candidacy to recontest the parliamentary seat for the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in a general election he is widely expected to win.
The marathon six-week poll concludes next month, and the 73-year-old premier used the election formality as a campaign event that paid deference to the country’s majority faith.
Varanasi is the spiritu
al capital of Hinduism, where devotees from around India come to cremate deceased loved ones by the Ganges river, and the premier has represented the city since sweeping to power a decade ago.
Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside a local government office to greet Modi when he arrived to lodge his nomination.
Footage showed the premier handing over his candidacy paperwork, flanked by a Hindu mystic.
“It’s our good fortune that Modi represents our constituency of Varanasi,” devout Hindu and farmer Jitendra Singh Kumar, 52, told AFP while waiting for the leader to emerge.
“He is like a God to people of Varanasi. He thinks about the country first, unlike other politicians.”
Modi, who has made acts of religious worship a central fixture of his premiership, had spent the morning visiting temples and offering prayers at the banks of the Ganges.
Tens of thousands of supporters had lined the streets of Varanasi to greet Modi as he arrived in the city on Monday, waving to the crowd from atop a flatbed truck as loudspeakers blared devotional songs.
Many along the roadside waved saffron-colored flags bearing the emblem of his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), throwing marigold flowers at the procession as it passed by.
Modi and the BJP are widely expected to win this year’s election, which is conducted over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging the democratic exercise in the world’s most populous country.
Varanasi is one of the last constituencies to vote on June 1, with counting and results expected three days later.
Since the vote began last month, Modi has made a number of strident comments against India’s 200-million-plus Muslim minority in an apparent effort to galvanize support.
He has used public speeches to refer to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children,” prompting condemnation from opposition politicians and complaints to India’s election commission.
The ascent of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist politics despite India’s officially secular constitution has made the Muslims in the country increasingly anxious.
“We are made to feel as if we are not wanted in this country,” Shauqat Mohamed, who runs a tea shop in the city, told AFP.
“If the country’s premier speaks of us in disparaging terms, what else can we expect?” the 41-year-old added.
“We have to accept our fate and move on.”
At least 14 killed after billboard collapses in Mumbai during thunderstorm
- Agency owning the billboard did not have a permit to put up the hoarding, which was bigger than an Olympic swimming pool
MUMBAI: At least 14 people died and 75 others were injured after a billboard bigger than an Olympic swimming pool fell on them during a thunderstorm in India’s financial capital Mumbai, authorities said on Tuesday, with dozens still feared trapped.
Videos showed the towering hoarding billowing in the wind before collapsing on houses and a fuel station next to a busy road in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar on Monday as a dust storm and rain lashed the city in the evening, bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting flights at Mumbai airport.
Mumbai’s municipal corporation (BMC) said at least 75 injured people were taken to hospitals following the accident and 31 have been discharged.
The agency owning the billboard did not have a permit from the BMC to put up the hoarding, the municipal body said in a statement. The hoarding measured about 1,338 square meters (14,400 square feet), it said, bigger than an Olympic pool’s 1,250 square meters and nine times more than the maximum permitted size for a hoarding.
The BMC said it has instructed the agency to remove all its hoardings immediately.
“To prevent such accidents from happening again, instructions have been given to conduct a structural audit of all hoardings in Mumbai and immediately take down dangerous ones,” Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said in a post on X.
About 25 people and some cars were still trapped under the crumpled hoarding, said a BMC official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Officials from fire services, police, disaster response and other authorities continued rescue operations that were taking longer because gas cutters could not be used at the site due to the presence of the fuel pump.
Melinda Gates to leave Gates Foundation
- Nonprofit organization has become one of the most influential in the world
- Melinda to receive $12.5 billion for use on her philanthropic efforts ‘on behalf of women and families’
LOS ANGELES: Philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced Monday she was leaving the nonprofit foundation she established with her ex-husband Bill Gates — an organization that has become one of the most influential in the world.
The announcement from the 59-year-old French Gates comes three years after her divorce from the 68-year-old Microsoft co-founder.
Under the agreement between the former power couple, French Gates — whose resignation will take effect on June 7 — will receive $12.5 billion for use on her philanthropic efforts “on behalf of women and families.”
“After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” French Gates wrote in a statement posted on social media.
“This is a critical moment for women and girls in the US and around the world — and those fighting to protect and advance equality are in urgent need of support.”
The announcement comes in an election year in the United States when abortion is expected to play a pivotal role, as Democrats seek to exploit voter dissatisfaction with Republican efforts to restrict access to the procedure.
French Gates has long-standing links to prominent Democratic Party politicians.
“Melinda, this is so exciting,” former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote on X.
“Thanks for everything you’ve already done, and I can’t wait to see all you do next. Onward!“
Bill Gates married Melinda French in 1994. The couple have three children together, but announced their divorce in 2021.
They had continued to co-chair the foundation they set up using the vast wealth acquired through the success of Microsoft.
But the break in leadership had always been a possibility.
In July 2021, the Seattle-based foundation announced that while the pair would continue to work together in the aftermath of their marital separation, the arrangement was subject to review.
“If after two years either decides they cannot continue to work together as co-chairs, French Gates will resign her position as co-chair and trustee,” a statement at the time said.
“In such a case, French Gates would receive personal resources from Gates for her philanthropic work. These resources would be completely separate from the foundation’s endowment, which would not be affected.”
With a focus on child poverty and preventable diseases, the foundation has been heavily involved in the fight against malaria and in providing toilets and sanitation in poorer parts of the world.
The foundation’s website says it has spent $53.8 billion since 2000, and claims the number of children around the world who die before their fifth birthday has halved in this time.
Bill Gates on Monday thanked his ex-wife for her “critical contributions” to the organization.
“As a co-founder and co-chair Melinda has been instrumental in shaping our strategies and initiatives, significantly impacting global health and gender equality,” he said.
“I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.”
The organization’s chief executive, Mark Suzman, said its name would change to simply the Gates Foundation.
“I truly admire Melinda, and the critical role she has played in starting the foundation and in setting our values, she has played an essential role in all that we’ve accomplished over the past 24 years,” he said in a video posted to social media.
“I will miss working with her and learning from her. I look forward to seeing her continued impact.”
