Japan, China, Korea News

For updates regarding Japan, China, Korea, and East Asia generally.

Natural disasters cost Japan over $10 billion

http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/123999.php

Japanese foreign minister thanks Turkish counterpart over release of journalist Jumpei Yasuda

Following his entry into Syria to cover the civil war, Yasuda was held hostage by a warring faction that later demanded a ransom for his release. Yasuda spent over three years in captivity until he was freed last month.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1564619

Here's China's Massive Plan To Retool The Web

In 1998, China formally launched its Golden Shield Project, a feat of digital engineering on a par with mighty physical creations like the Three Gorges Dam. The intent was to transform the Chinese internet into the largest surveillance network in history—a database with records of every citizen, an army of censors and internet police, and automated systems to track and control every piece of information transmitted over the web. The project cost billions of dollars and employed tens of thousands of workers. Its development continues to this day. Notably, the design and construction of some of the key components of this internal internet were outsourced to American companies—particularly Sun Microsystems and Cisco—which provided the experience gained from building vast, closed networks for major businesses.

The most prominent part of the Golden Shield Project is its system of keyword filtering. Should a word or phrase be added to the list of banned terms, it effectively ceases to be. Web searches won’t find prohibited results; messages with banned words will simply fail to reach the intended recipient. As the list of banned terms updates in real time, events that happen on the rest of the internet simply never occur inside China.

So ubiquitous is the filter that it has spawned a wave of surreal wordplay to try to get around it. For years, Chinese internet users referred to “censorship” as “harmony”—a coy reference to Hu Jintao’s “harmonious society.” To censor a term, they’d say, was to “harmonize” it. Eventually, the censors caught on and banned the use of the word “harmony.” As it happens, however, the Chinese word for “harmony” sounds similar to the word for “river crab.” When a word had been censored, savvy Chinese internet users then took to calling it “river crab’d.” And, as social media has become more visual, the back-and-forth expanded to image blocks. In 2017, the lovable bear Winnie-the-Pooh was disappeared from the Chinese internet. Censors figured out “Pooh” was a reference to President Xi, as he walks with a similar waddle.


Yet, even stronger programs of control lurk on the horizon. In the restive Muslim-minority region of Xinjiang, residents have been forced to install the Jingwang (web-cleansing) app on their smartphones. The app not only allows their messages to be tracked or blocked, but it also comes with a remote-control feature, allowing authorities direct access to residents’ phones and home networks. To ensure that people are installing these “electronic handcuffs,” the police have set up roving checkpoints in the streets to inspect people’s phones for the app.

The most ambitious project of mass control is China’s “social credit” system. Unveiled in 2015, the vision document for the system explains how it will create an “upward, charitable, sincere and mutually helpful social atmosphere”—one characterized by unwavering loyalty to the state. To accomplish this goal, all Chinese citizens will receive a numerical score reflecting their “trustworthiness ... in all facets of life, from business deals to social behavior.”

In a particularly Orwellian twist, the system’s planning document also explains that the “new system will reward those who report acts of breach of trust.” That is, if you report others for bad behavior, your score goes up. Your score also depends on the scores of your friends and family. If they aren’t positive enough, you get penalized for their negativity, thus motivating everyone to shape the behavior of the members of their social network.

What gives the trustworthiness score its power, however, are the rewards and risks, both real and perceived, that underpin it. Slated for deployment throughout China in 2020, the scoring system is already used in job application evaluations as well as doling out micro-rewards, like free phone charging at coffee shops for people with good scores. If your score is too low, however, you can lose access to anything from reserved beds on overnight trains to welfare benefits. The score has even been woven into China’s largest online matchmaking service. Value in the eyes of the Chinese government thus will also shape citizens’ romantic and reproductive prospects.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/heres-chinas-massive-plan-retool-web

Xi Tells China's Critics To "Mind Your Own Business" In Trade Expo Speech; Pledges $30 Trillion In Imports

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-05/xi-tells-chinas-critics-mind-their-own-business-during-trade-expo-speech

UK To Sell China "Unlimited" Military Technology, Radar Equipment

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-03/uk-sell-china-unlimited-military-technology-radar-equipment

Good thread!

KneelB4Zod! wrote:Good thread!

South Korean warships visit Japan port after row over wartime flag

Three South Korean warships made a goodwill visit Monday to a Nagasaki Prefecture port, following a bilateral spat last month over Seoul’s demand that Tokyo refrain from flying its Rising Sun flag, which was used during World War II, at a naval review.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1564238

NEC facial recognition adopted for Rugby World Cup next year in Japan

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1564610

China's Xi promises market opening as import fair begins

Facing a blizzard of trade complaints, China is throwing an "open for business" import fair hosted by President Xi Jinping to rebrand itself as a welcoming market and positive global force.

http://www.topix.com/world/china/2018/11/chinas-xi-promises-market-opening-as-import-fair-begins?fromrss=1

S. Korea granted waiver on Iran oil embargo

South Korea said Monday it has received a waiver on the renewed U.S. ban on Iranian oil imports after agreeing to reduce its purchases by a "significant amount."

The Donald Trump administration has notified Seoul of the conditional decision, a result of months of negotiations between the allies, the ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

It did not reveal the exact scale of reduction, citing a bilateral agreement to keep it secret.

The waiver is valid for six months and is extendable.

In May, Washington declared an exit from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and the resumption of tough sanctions in the energy and financial sectors.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/11/05/0200000000AEN20181105006353315.html

Seoul to investigate construction logistics for North Korean rail modernization

https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/seoul-to-investigate-construction-logistics-for-north-korean-rail-renovation/

Two Koreas to begin field survey on shared use of Han/Imjin River Estuary

https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/two-koreas-to-begin-field-survey-on-shared-use-of-hanimjin-river-estuary/

amin dada
@kambrone64
7 s
N. Korea threatens revival of its two-track approach of nuclear and economic development

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/868906.html

Two Koreas, UNC agree on guard duty rules for new-look Joint Security Area

https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/two-koreas-unc-agree-on-guard-duty-rules-for-new-look-joint-security-area-mnd/

PM apologizes for sexual violence by troops in 1980 crackdown on Gwangju uprising

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/11/06/0200000000AEN20181106008700315.html

Abe and Mike Pence may meet next week to discuss North Korea: Japanese government sources

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1565858

China Set To Unveil New Aircraft, Drones, Missiles, & Lasers At Zhuhai Airshow

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-05/china-set-unveil-new-aircraft-drones-missiles-lasers-zhuhai-airshow

The Hidden One wrote:China Set To Unveil New Aircraft, Drones, Missiles, & Lasers At Zhuhai Airshow

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-05/china-set-unveil-new-aircraft-drones-missiles-lasers-zhuhai-airshow

Something here:

http://zodlikeproductions.forumotion.com/t48p30-military-weapon-systems-upgrades-news-developement#21198

Nice thread! And good to see ya, bud!

SouthFront‏ @southfronteng · 10 min.
Japan, U.S. Prepare Plans For Conflict With China Over Contested Islands In East China Sea

https://southfront.org/japan-u-s-prepare-plans-for-conflict-with-china-over-contested-islands-in-east-china-sea/

FoShizzle wrote:Nice thread!  And good to see ya, bud!  

Thanks! Good here - working a lot. Should be getting a nice promotion into management next year, which I can't fucking wait for. How's you?

Japan's youth suicides hit 30-year high

http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/124007.php