by Admin | May 1, 2016 | Event Updates
( May 2nd, 2016) Japan’s role in this year’s G7 Summit will be more important than in previous years’ summits, and not just because it will host the conference, to be held May 26-27.
In a Forbes piece, Akihiko Tanaka a professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo, specializing in East Asia, concludes:
“Economic uncertainty and security challenges weigh heavy on all G7 countries. During such difficult times, the foundations of Japanese diplomacy are stronger than ever and its economy, though facing structural challenges, is improving. Through the G7 Summit, Japan should contemplate global issues together, and provide leadership for meaningful collective action.’’
by Admin | May 1, 2016 | Event Updates
( May 2nd, 2016) Japan will hold an outreach meeting during the G7 Ise-Shima Summit, inviting the heads of state and government of non-G7 countries and chairpersons of international organizations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced on April 8.
The G7 Ise-Shima Summit will be the first summit held in Asia in eight years. In light of this, this outreach meeting will engage in discussions that explore what is needed to sustain the well-being of Asia, which is steering economic growth as the growth center of the world. From this perspective, the heads of state and government of mainly ASEAN member states, Asian island countries, countries with infrastructure demand and countries dependent on sea lanes will be invited.
From Asia, the heads of state and government of Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Papua New Guinea will be invited. In addition, the head of state and government of Chad, the Chairperson of the African Union, will be invited to ensure that the summit’s outcomes connect to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Furthermore, from international organizations, the chairpersons of the UN, OECD, ADB, IMF and the World Bank will be invited.
In addition to the discussions focusing on Asia, this meeting will also feature issues that Japan, which holds the G7 Presidency, attaches particular importance to from a global perspective, including quality infrastructure investment, health and women.
by Admin | May 1, 2016 | Event Updates
(May 2nd, 2016) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on Japan to enter talks with the Republic of China on the contested waters surrounding Okinotori following the seizure of an ROC fishing boat April 25.
Japanese coast guard personnel boarded the Dong Sheng Ji No. 16 and then detained the boat and its crew in waters about 150 nautical miles east-southeast of Okinotori (19°29’42” north latitude, 139°42’74” east longitude).
On the issue of whether Japan is entitled to a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone surrounding Okinotori, with a naturally formed land area of 9 square meters, MOFA has reiterated to Japan on numerous occasions that the ROC government has taken note of the controversy regarding the status of Okinotori and proposes that parties involved negotiate the matter according to international law or settle it peacefully with the assistance of international organizations.
Before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf makes a final decision on the legal status of Okinotori, Japan should respect the navigation and fishing rights of the ROC and other countries in those waters and engage in consultations with the ROC as soon as possible so as to reach an outcome that both sides find acceptable.
In accord with the wishes of the families of crewmembers that the boat and crew be released as soon as possible, the captain of DSJ16 paid a security deposit of six million yen (US$54,000) April 26 with assistance from MOFA. The captain and his crew were released in Yokohoma that afternoon at 4:40 p.m. Officials from the ROC representative office in Japan promptly paid them a visit and informed their families of their release.
MOFA stresses again that the deposit paid to Japan by the ship’s owner does not indicate that the ROC government implicitly accepts Japan’s claim to a 200-nautical-mile EEZ surrounding Okinotori.
by Admin | May 1, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
( May 2nd, 2016) The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a rule change that would let U.S. judges issue search warrants for access to computers located in any jurisdiction despite opposition from civil liberties groups who say it will greatly expand the FBI’s hacking authority.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts transmitted the rules to Congress, which will have until Dec. 1 to reject or modify the changes to the federal rules of criminal procedure. If Congress does not act, the rules would take effect automatically.
Magistrate judges normally can order searches only within the jurisdiction of their court, which is typically limited to a few counties.
The U.S. Justice Department, which has pushed for the rule change since 2013, has described it as a minor modification needed to modernize the criminal code for the digital age, and has said it would not permit searches or seizures that are not already legal.
Google, owned by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Access Now contend the change would vastly expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ability to conduct mass hacks on computer networks.
They say it also could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
While Congress can reject amendments to the rules that govern federal courts, it rarely exercises that authority and is not expected to do so during a heated election year. And few lawmakers have shown interest in the subject.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, condemned the rule change as having “significant consequences for Americans’ privacy,” and vowed to introduce legislation to reverse it.
“Under the proposed rules, the government would now be able to obtain a single warrant to access and search thousands or millions of computers at once; and the vast majority of the affected computers would belong to the victims, not the perpetrators, of a cybercrime,” Wyden said in a statement.
The Justice Department’s quest to broaden warrant jurisdiction has not drawn as much attention as other recent confrontations over government access to digital information. These included the FBI’s standoff with Apple over encryption arising from the agency’s effort to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in December’s San Bernardino massacre.
A Justice Department spokesman said the change was necessary because criminals increasingly use “anonymizing” technologies to conceal their identity online, and remote searches are often the only way to apprehend such suspects.
The change does not authorize any new authorities not already permitted by law, the spokesman said.
by Admin | May 1, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
( May 2nd, 2016) “Swift, the global financial network that banks use to transfer billions of dollars every day, has warned its customers it is aware of ‘a number of recent cyber incidents,’ in which attackers sent fraudulent messages over its system.’’
The Boston Global Forum will hold a conference in May 9 in Cambridge, Mass., to discuss “Building Ethics Norms for Cyberbehavior.’’ It will include international financial cybercrime.
The Guardian added: “The disclosure came as law-enforcement authorities in Bangladesh and elsewhere investigated the theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank account at the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Swift said the scheme involved altering Swift software on the Bangladesh Bank’s computers to hide evidence of fraudulent transfers.’’
The network’s news about the attack on the Bengladesh Bank “marked the first acknowledgement that the Bangladesh Bank attack was not an isolated incident but one of several recent criminal schemes that aimed to take advantage of the global messaging platform used by some 11,000 financial institutions.’’
