With an eye on her lineups for the April 6-20 tournament in Jordan, coach Asako Takakura made multiple changes throughout the match against the Black Queens, including bringing veteran forward Nahomi Kawasumi off the bench for her first national team appearance since 2016.

Mina Tanaka put Japan ahead in the 14th minute, calmly beating Black Queens goalkeeper Patricia Mantey one-on-one after Rika Masuya had played her into the box with a deft through-ball.

The Black Queens equalized in the 25th minute on a solo effort by Jane Ayieyam, who pounced on a defensive mistake by Japan, hitting the woodwork with a header before scoring off the rebound.

Japan reclaimed the lead following a corner in the 28th minute after Mantey saved a close-range attempt by Tanaka, only to bat the ball toward Mana Iwabuchi, who scrambled the ball across the line.

Mantey stopped Japan extending the lead in the 42nd minute with a diving save off Iwabuchi, but the Nadeshiko added their third less than a minute later when Emi Nakajima made a break down the right side before laying off a cross for the oncoming Masuya, who blasted home from near the penalty spot.

Japan struck again less than three minutes into the second half, with Rin Sumida assisting on a goal by Nakajima. The Nadeshiko added a pair of goals in a three-minute span midway through the half, with Hikari Takagi and substitute Yuika Sugasawa finding the back of the net.

Kawasumi assisted on Japan’s seventh and final goal when she set up fellow World Cup winner Aya Sameshima with a cross in the 83rd minute.

The Women’s Asian Cup serves as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2019 World Cup in France, with the top five teams qualifying. Japan opens its Asian Cup campaign on April 7 against Vietnam in Amman.

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Source: Graphic Online

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The team is introducing a technology that will allow the smelting of gold without the use of mercury which has been found to have serious negative health consequences.

This comes at a time when Ghana has signed the Minamata Convention.

Gold remains one of Ghana’s major export commodities, with its mining largely done on a small-scale level.

The process at the small-scale level involves dissolving the gold ore in mercury then heat-vaporizing the mercury, although this is dangerous. It is carried out untethered in illegal, small-scale mines, run mainly by Chinese enterprises.

Izumi Watanabe, an Environmental toxicology professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology did a study on soil samples from small-scale mines in southwestern Ghana and he detected high concentrations of mercury, up to several tens-of-times higher than normal.

Incidences of serious skin disease of unknown cause among mine workers are increasing in mining areas and there is a close relationship between the two.

Professor Watanabe warned that, “there were also high concentrations of mercury found in vegetables and river fish, and if things continue as is, there is the fear of serious health implications.”

The joint research team is building upon a technology originally developed in 1992 by a former senior researcher at the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Yukimichi Nakao.

Plans are underway to conduct an experimental trial of the non-mecury smelting method in the mines in Ghana.

The process will now use iodine and its compounds dissolved in organic solvents.

Gold is generally stable and impervious to melting, but it dissolves readily in this solvent. A high yield rate of more than 99% was confirmed in experiments using Japanese gold ore.

Dr. Nakao said: “Iodine is highly stable and easy to handle. Although the costs involved need to be considered, it is a promising alternative to mercury.”

The Minamata Convention, which aims to prevent adverse health effects and environmental pollution from mercury, came into force on August 16, 2017, and its goals include reducing mercury from small-scale gold ore mining. Ghana signed the convention in March, but implementation measures are yet to be developed.

Mr. Tanzawa is calling for cooperation from business: “If non-mercury smelting methods are realized in Ghana, it would become a model for other developing countries. I hope to be able to collect the necessary research funding.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Paul’s channels were removed from YouTube’s Google Preferred programme, where brands sell ads on the platform’s top 5% of content creators.

YouTube also said it had put on hold original projects with the US vlogger.

Paul posted the video with a man’s body on 31 December, triggering widespread criticism.

What is YouTube punishing Logan Paul for?
The video showed Paul and his friends at the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji, known to be a frequent site of suicides.

Going in to film the “haunted” forest, they come across a man’s body and are shocked but also make jokes.

The identity of the deceased man is not known. Online comments have called the Japan video, which garnered millions of views on YouTube before it was taken down, “disrespectful” and “disgusting”.

Paul later posted an apology on Twitter, saying he had been “misguided by shock and awe”.

He also uploaded a video apology, and said: “I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through.”

“I’m ashamed of myself,” he added. “I’m disappointed in myself.”

How much is this likely to cost Paul?
It’s hard to calculate exactly. YouTube’s move will cost him financially as his videos will no longer earn top-tier cash per click – but as he hasn’t been completely kicked off the platform, he will still earn money from views.

Google Preferred allows brands to publish ads on the accounts that are most popular among 18-34 year-olds in the US.

YouTube’s own wording calls it a way for companies to “share their messages alongside some of the most engaging and brand safe content on YouTube”.

Aside from his videos, Paul makes money from sponsored social media posts and merchandise – and it’s worth noting that his apology video has racked up nearly 40 million views.

How big a star is Logan Paul?
With more than 15 million subscribers and counting, he’s huge.

Last year, Forbes magazine estimated he made $12.5m (£9.3m), making him the fourth highest-paid YouTube star in 2016.

Why are people upset with YouTube?
Some people are frustrated that it took YouTube 10 days to respond to the controversy. The company acknowledged this, saying: “You’re right to be [frustrated]. You deserve to know what’s going on.”

The Japan video itself was not taken down by YouTube; Paul himself took it down, leading some to complain that the platform should have acted more decisively.

What is Aokigahara forest?
Japan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world.

Aokigahara forest has a reputation in Japan and internationally as a destination for people who want to kill themselves.

Data on the number of suicides there each year is not made public, to avoid publicising the site. Signs are posted in the forest urging people to seek medical help rather than take their lives.

–

Source: BBC

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The video showed Logan Paul and friends at the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mt Fuji, known to be a frequent site of suicides.

Going in to film the “haunted” forest, they come across a dead body and are shocked, but also make jokes.

Online comments have called the video “disrespectful” and “disgusting”.

The video was uploaded on Sunday and had millions of views on Youtube before it was taken down.

Logan Paul, who has more than 15 million subscribers on Youtube, has since posted an apology on Twitter, saying he had been “misguided by shock and awe”.

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Police found two severed heads in a cold-storage container outside the flat of the suspect, named as Takahiro Shiraishi, while investigating the disappearance of a woman.

They also found the body parts of seven other people, also stored in cool boxes, in his apartment.

The 27-year-old is being held on suspicion of disposing of the bodies.

Police had found the body parts of eight females and one male, some in varying stages of decomposition, Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.

Mr Shiraishi told police he had killed the nine and hid their bodies, broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Metropolitan Police Department.

“I killed them and did some work on the bodies in order to hide the evidence,” NHK quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, his next-door neighbour said he had started smelling strange odours from the flat after Mr Shiraishi moved in August, NHK and Asahi Shimbun said.

Police made the grisly discovery while looking for a 23-year-old woman, who had been missing since 21 October.

Investigators found that Mr Shiraishi had been in contact with her, after she wrote online that she wanted to commit suicide.

On Tuesday, reporters gathered outside the suspect’s home, while neighbours expressed shock at the incident.

“It’s a quiet residential area here, with a day care centre nearby. I can’t believe the bodies were discovered in an area like this,” a 41-year-old neighbour told Mainichi Shimbun.

–

Source: BBC

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Mr Abe called the election amid rebounding approval ratings after a record low over the summer and with the opposition largely in disarray.

He is predicted to win a majority, after the opposition fell apart.

A challenge from Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike appears to be fizzling out.

Speaking to the BBC, one observer described voting for Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party as TINA, or “there is no alternative”.

Mr Abe is hoping his party will win a two-thirds majority, allowing him to make constitutional changes. In particular, he wants to change Japan’s self-defence force into a national army for the first time since World War II.

What impact, if any, Typhoon Lan will have on turnout remains to be seen. The category four storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to the south of the country, causing flights to be cancelled and rail services to be disrupted.

It is expected to blow into the Tokyo area early on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Mr Abe announced the election on 25 September, saying he needed a fresh mandate in order to deal with the “national crises” facing Japan.

The crises include North Korea, which has threatened to “sink” Japan into the sea. Pyongyang has also fired two missiles over Hokkaido, an island to the north.

Other areas up for debate in the election are the post-Fukushima nuclear policy and the issue of tax.

The polls close at 20:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

–

Source: BBC

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The poll, announced on Monday and which comes a year early, will take place on 22 October.

Mr Abe is seeking a fresh mandate amid a rebound in his approval ratings and the ongoing North Korea nuclear crisis.

The right-wing hawk became prime minister in 2012, and his Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) leads a ruling coalition that controls the Diet.

Mr Abe suffered a drop in popularity earlier this year over allegations of cronyism.

But he’s seen fresh support after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles over Japan, which Mr Abe took a strong stance against.

His call for a snap election was seen as taking advantage of a weak opposition, and the LDP is still leading in opinion polls.

But he now faces a new contender in the form of the fledgling conservative Party of Hope, which was only formally unveiled on Wednesday and has already begun attracting some support.

It is led by the popular Yuriko Koike, Tokyo’s first female governor and a former television news anchor.

Several lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party, which has been struggling, have already defected to the Party of Hope.

On Thursday, the Democratic Party’s leader proposed to his members a de facto merger where all their candidates would run under the Party of Hope’s banner, in order to present a united challenge to Mr Abe and the LDP.

–

Source: BBC

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Mr Abe said he was seeking a fresh mandate to overcome “a national crisis” amid rising threats from North Korea.

His decision comes amid rebounding approval ratings after a record low over the summer and with the opposition largely in disarray.

Mr Abe did not set a date for the vote but Japanese media suggest it will be on 22 October.

Mr Abe’s support has surged as rising tensions with North Korea have overshadowed criticism of alleged cronyism.

The prime minister also announced a 2tn yen ($17.8bn, £13.2bn) stimulus package on education and social spending.

In a press conference on Monday evening, he said the fresh stimulus was needed for programmes to prepare Japan for the future.

He also said he would continue on his path of fiscal reform and would use the revenue from the recently introduced sales tax to balance the budget and reduce debt.

Why snap elections?

Analysts see the early vote as his way to seize the resurgent support and exploit the current weakness of the opposition.

For months, Mr Abe’s popular support has been badly hit by a string of scandals and unpopular policies.

In July, his ratings had dropped to less than 30% but then recovered to above 50% in September.

He denies allegations of cronyism and on Monday said dissolving the lower house was not an attempt at avoiding those allegations.

Mr Abe is also is trying to push through a controversial shift in Japan’s post-war pacifist defence policy, calling for formal recognition of the military in the constitution.

–

Soure: BBC

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The missile, launched early on Tuesday Korean time, flew over Hokkaido island before crashing into the sea.

The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting in response.

North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile tests recently, but this is the first time it has fired what is thought to be a ballistic weapon over Japan.

On the two previous occasions its rockets crossed Japan – in 1998 and 2009 – North Korea said they were for satellite launch vehicles, not weapons.

The BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo says this latest launch appears to be the first of a missile powerful enough to potentially carry a nuclear warhead.

Residents told to seek shelter

The South Korean military said the missile was fired eastward just before 06:00 local time (21:00 GMT) from near the North’s capital, Pyongyang – which is rare.

Early analysis of the launch suggests the missile:

• flew a distance of more than 2,700km (1,678 miles)
• was likely a Hwasong-12, a newly developed intermediate range weapon
• reached a maximum altitude of about 550km (342 miles), lower than most previous North Korean tests
• fell into the North Pacific Ocean 1,180km off the Japanese coast after breaking into three pieces

No effort was made by Japan to shoot down the missile but it issued a safety warning telling citizens in Hokkaido to take shelter in “a sturdy building or basement”.

US and Japanese forces have just finished a joint drill in Hokkaido while another annual military exercise involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US soldiers is still under way in South Korea.

The North sees these regular military drills involving the US as highly provocative, perceiving them as a rehearsal for an invasion.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered a show of “overwhelming” force in response to the launch. Four South Korean jets staged a live bombing drill on Tuesday.

Mr Abe said he had spoken to US President Donald Trump and that both agreed to increase pressure on North Korea. The Pentagon meanwhile said the launch did not represent a threat to the US itself but that the military was working to gather more intelligence about it.

Russia also weighed in on the debate, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov saying the country was “extremely worried” about the situation and warning of a “tendency towards an escalation”

Analysis: Yogita Limaye, BBC News Seoul

Over the past week it seemed as though the rhetoric from North Korea had abated. There was less fiery commentary from the country’s media than we’d seen in preceding weeks.

But the latest missile launch will certainly dispel any notions that Pyongyang is backing down, even though there’s been international condemnation and UN sanctions passed against it.

In some ways, a provocation was expected as US and South Korean forces are currently conducting joint military exercises. These drills are held every August, and there’s always some retaliation to them from North Korea. Last year, Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test shortly after the exercises.

But few North Korea watchers expected an overt missile test over Japanese territory – especially over the north, as previous threats on Guam would take missiles over the south of Japan.

Mr Abe said North Korea’s “reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and a grave threat to our nation” which also “greatly damages regional peace and security”.

He said his government was doing its utmost to protect people’s lives.

North Korea’s conventional and nuclear weapons programmes are a breach of international sanctions, so the test is being seen as a major provocation and an escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, while US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face “fire and fury” if it continued to threaten the US.

There have also been some reports in recent months that North Korea is preparing to carry out its sixth nuclear test.

But last week, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the fact that North Korea had not carried out any missile launches since the UN imposed a fresh round of sanctions was an indication of restraint by Pyongyang.

–

Source: BBC

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Authorities warned of more downpours over the weekend, compounding the misery that the summer storms have brought to southwest Japan since Wednesday.

Some neighborhoods have been devastated by flooding and landslides, and rescue workers and residents have been picking their way through expanses of broken, water-logged trees, branches and mud.

“All the mud and debris is making the clean-up effort difficult,” said Susumu Higuchi, a resident of Asakura.

The city was pounded by more than 600 mm (24 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to 5 a.m. (2000 GMT) on Saturday, according to Japan’s weather agency.

Heavy machinery was working to clear almost knee-deep mud from streets while nearby, an uprooted tree was tangled in cables from an electricity power pole.

A police dog was hunting for victims in flooded homes, many now clogged with debris.

The weather agency said 150 mm of rain was forecast to fall in industrialized Northern Kyushu in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on Sunday. Some places have seen more rain in a matter of hours than they usually get in the whole month of July.

The rain has been caused by a low pressure over the Pacific that has been feeding into moist air into Japan’s seasonal rainy front.

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Source: Reuters

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