Japan to recognise indigenous Ainu people for first time

Yahoo – AFP, February 15, 2019

Japan's indigenous Ainu people have long suffered oppression and
exploitation (AFP Photo/TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA)

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's government introduced a bill Friday to recognise the country's ethnic Ainu minority as an "indigenous" people for the first time, after decades of discrimination against the group.

The Ainu people -- many of whom live in northern Hokkaido -- have long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation, and while discrimination has receded gradually, income and education gaps with the rest of Japan persist.

"It is important to protect the honour and dignity of the Ainu people and to hand those down to the next generation to realise a vibrant society with diverse values," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

"Today we made a cabinet decision on a bill to proceed with policies to preserve the Ainu people's pride."

The bill is the first to recognise the Ainu as "indigenous people" and calls for the government to make "forward-looking policies", including measures to support communities and boost local economies and tourism.

The Ainu have long suffered oppression and exploitation, and the modern Japanese government in the late 19th century banned them from practising their customs and using their language.

Factfile on Japan's ethnic Ainu people. (AFP Photo/John SAEKI)

The Ainu traditionally observed an animist faith, with men wearing full beards and women adorning themselves with facial tattoos before marriage.

But like many indigenous people around the world, most of Japan's Ainu have lost touch with their traditional lifestyle after decades of forced assimilation policies.

The Ainu population is estimated to be at least 12,300, according to a 2017 survey, but the real figure is unknown as many have integrated into mainstream society and some have hidden their cultural roots.

"It is the first step for ensuring equality under the law," Mikiko Maruko, who represents a group of Ainu people in eastern Japan near Tokyo, told AFP.

"There are lots of things to be done, for example, creating a scholarship for families who struggle to send their children to high schools," she added, a system currently only available to Ainu in Hokkaido.

Under the new plan, the government will also allow the Ainu to cut down trees in nationally-owned forests for use in traditional rituals.

"It is a major step forward on policies towards the Ainu people," said Masashi Nagaura, chief of the Ainu policy bureau of the Hokkaido prefectural government that has spearheaded policies for the ethnic minority.

Rescuers scrabble for survivors as Indonesia quake kills 97

Yahoo – AFP, Chaideer Mahyuddin, December 7, 2016

Dozens have died as a 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes western Indonesia
(AFP Photo/Zian Muttaqien)

Rescuers scrabbled through the rubble of shattered homes, shops and mosques in search of survivors Wednesday after a powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia and killed at least 97 people.

The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake struck Pidie Jaya district in Aceh province at dawn as many in the mainly Muslim region on Sumatra island were preparing for morning prayers.

"So far 97 people have been killed and the number keeps growing," Aceh military chief Tatang Sulaiman told AFP after the army took over responsibility for the search and rescue.

"When we retrieve bodies sometimes there's five, sometimes 10 corpses."

More than 1,000 soldiers and about 900 police have been deployed to the worst-hit areas to set up shelters and evacuation points, he added.

It was the second time in just over a decade that tragedy had struck the province's east coast, following the 2004 tsunami disaster.

Hundreds of houses and shops were levelled by the quake, leaving countless people homeless and in need of basic supplies like food and water, officials said.

"The electricity is still off. Some places have generators, but there are not many," local disaster agency head Puteh Manaf told AFP.

"If it rains there will be disease."

Close-up map showing the area hit by a 6.5-magnitude quake in Indonesia's 

Aceh province on December 7, 2016 (AFP Photo)

'Everything was destroyed'

The sole hospital in Pidie Jaya was quickly overwhelmed, with patients treated on the grass out front or sent to neighbouring districts with better facilities.

The district health office chief Said Abdullah said nearly 200 injured had arrived since the quake, but many would not enter the hospital for fear of aftershocks.

"We are treating people outside. We took the beds out because nobody is daring to enter the hospital," he told AFP.

Another regional hospital had suffered serious damage in the quake, along with schools and other key infrastructure, a a national disaster agency spokesman said.

In the hard-hit town of Meureudu, terrified residents rushed outside as their homes buckled and crumbled.

"Everything was destroyed," said Hasbi Jaya, who pulled his two children unconscious from the rubble of their home.

"It was pitch black because the electricity was out. I looked around and all my neighbours' homes were completely flattened."

An AFP correspondent said dazed residents were wandering debris-strewn streets, unable to return to their damaged homes in fear of aftershocks.

Women stand next to the bodies of their relatives, killed in an earthquake in

 Pidie Jaya, Indonesia's Aceh province on December 7, 2016 (AFP Photo/

CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

Some fled to higher ground for fear of a tsunami although no alert was issued.

A huge undersea earthquake in 2004 triggered a tsunami that engulfed parts of Aceh and other countries around the Indian Ocean, killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia alone.

Indonesian seismologists said the latest earthquake was felt across much of Aceh province, with many aftershocks following the initial tremor.

The US Geological Survey upgraded the magnitude to 6.5 from an initial reading of 6.4 and issued a yellow alert for expected fatalities and damage.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

Aceh lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, which is particularly prone to quakes.

In June a 6.5-magnitude quake struck off the west of Sumatra, damaging scores of buildings and injuring eight people.

 Women attend a prayer service at Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh, in

 the northern Sumatra island, on December 25, 2014, prior to the 10th anniversary

 of the tsunami that hit the west coast of Aceh province (AFP Photo/

Chaideer Mahyuddin)

Related Articles:

As world honours the dead, Indonesia begins tsunami memorials

Japan prepares to mark three years since devastating quake

"Current" Events –  Apr 10, 2005 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“… Mass Human Death

The final one, dear Human, is the hardest one for my partner and the one we wish to leave you with in this channeling tonight. This is the one that my partner doesn't want to even have me talk about. It's the appropriateness of mass death. For you, built in to your very essence is the honor for life, and the sorrow when it passes. It's correct and appropriate that this is there, and never let it be tempered. But the wisdom of understanding is also needed to help you get past some challenges of the Human heart.

"Dear Kryon, was the tsunami really necessary?" Yes it was. Almost 200,000 Human Beings passed over. It's an event that for you is filled with horror, sorrow, emotion, and challenge. Back in 1989, we told you of those that might have to leave the earth en masse, and here it is. Yet even my partner [Lee] asks the questions, "Why the children? Why the poorest parts of the earth? Why the seeming inappropriateness of all this death?"

And I say to you the same thing I said with respect to Terri: Do you understand yet that death is often as precious as life on this planet of many energies and lessons? They are not gone! They're all here [speaking from Kryon's perspective]. They're having a great time! They're joyful! It seems like a moment ago they leaned into the wind of birth with us beside them. We said, "How would you like to participate in an event that will change the compassion factor of the planet so that energies can move forward and provide faster acceleration of vibratory shift? How would you like to help create peace on earth through a consciousness shift within Gaia itself? And they said, "Show us the way!"

Do you understand why we are in love with humanity... that you would love the earth and the Universe so much that you would go through these things? So much of what you see is horrible tragedy, yet you're looking at the heroes of humanity as they deliver a gift that will change the very fabric of Gaia through the compassion created as a wave of humanity responds to their plight.

They knew the potentials and they went through with it. Even the children knew, for they're old souls within their divinity. There was so much compassion created at that time, in that one week, the earth has never seen anything like it in your lifetime. Billions of Humans were involved with a compassion that instantly went to the core of the planet. It went into the earth and it's still there. It changed the actual energy of where you walk and it planted a seeds that will grow that will indeed emerge later in Israel, and those surrounding Israel.

And that's what it's about. Yet some of you didn't want to hear that, did you? But they're here, with me now... and with you as well. How could you fit them all in this room, you might ask? They can fit on the head of a pin! That's interdimensional talk. They can go home in your purse or your pocket! That's interdimensional talk, too. And they've got a message for you that we've given before, but you can't hear it enough: "We did our part - now you do yours, Lighthouse! For the ones who remain are the only ones who can manipulate the tools we have helped create."

When you go home tonight, you're not going to be in a survival situation - in a tent in a tribe with no lights or clean water, with no food. You're not going to be in sorrow or despair. Instead, you go home to a warm place with plenty of food and friendship and the love of family. That's why you're the Lighthouses, because you have time for it. You've got the intellect for it. You're not in survival mode, as is so much of humanity on the earth. You have the education for it and the intuition for it. Now, do you understand why there are so many Lighthworkers in the western world? It's because your culture has created a situation where there's abundance of these things, and it allows you to lead the way in changing the energy of earth, instead of having all your time spent just trying to survive. Does this help you understand the responsibility of what you have before you?

Strike the light and send it to the Sudanese. Strike light and send it to those dark places with governments where there's corruption. Strike the light and send it to the scientists and researchers who already have the cures for the more virulent diseases on the planet, but can't begin their work due to the barriers of certain leadership and their old ways. Strike the light and send it to Israel and Palestine and get on with this solution! This is why you're here, and this is the agreement you made when you arrived and selected the culture you live in.

Achievable in your lifetime, it is. Peace and compassion will prevail. You shall see. You shall see.

And so it is.

Kryon

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

Indonesia says not to blame for missing WWII shipwrecks

Yahoo – AFP, Dessy Sagita, November 17, 2016

The Dutch and Indonesian naval commanders laid a wreath during a 2014 ceremony
 to commemorate the 1150 sailors who died in the Battle of the Java Sea in
1942 (AFP Photo)

Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesia refused to take the blame Thursday for the disappearance of at least six British and Dutch World War II shipwrecks -- considered war graves -- that investigators believe could have been salvaged for scrap.

Former colonial ruler The Netherlands has launched a probe into how three Dutch navy ships seemingly vanished from the bed of the Java Sea, while Britain has urged Indonesia to investigate what has happened to three of its vessels.

It is believed the military wrecks -- lost in 1942 during the Battle of the Java Sea -- were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal, an effort that could have taken years.

More than 900 Dutch and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors died during the battle in which the Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Indonesian authorities have sought to distance themselves from the mystery, saying they could not be expected to protect the sites without assistance.

"The Dutch government cannot blame the Indonesian government because they never asked us to protect those ships," said Bambang Budi Utomo, head of the National Archeological Centre under the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"As there was no agreement or announcement, when the ships go missing, it is not our responsibility."

Amateur divers in 2002 discovered the long-lost wrecks of three Dutch ships, 60 years after they sank while in action against Japanese forces.

But an international expedition that sailed to the wreck site ahead of next year's 75th anniversary of the battle was shocked to discover the wrecks had vanished.

Britain expressed its distress at the disappearance of its own warships and asked Indonesia to "take appropriate action" to protect the sites from further disturbance.

But Utomo said Indonesia did not have the resources to maintain a constant patrol over its vast archipelago, a hotspot for other criminal enterprises like illegal fishing and people smuggling.

Row over naval war graves (AFP Photo)

'Looters are fearless'

Treasure hunters and scrap collectors are lured to Indonesia's relic-rich seas, experts say, where countless vessels have gone to a watery grave over centuries of trade, colonial conquest and war.

"Looting is really huge, not only on these World War II shipwrecks, but also on ancient shipwrecks," said Veronique Degroot, a Jakarta-based archaeologist.

The prize find for scavengers targeting the warships would be the huge bronze propellers used to power these juggernauts -- a far more lucrative find than iron or other scrap, according to Utomo.

"The looting must have been going on for years for such a huge ship to disappear," he said.

"Looters are fearless," he added, saying that divers risked death and injury sucking air through tubes to retrieve valuable scrap and antiquities, taking the wreck apart piece by piece.

While some larger, commercial operations use cranes and platforms to wrench heavy loads from the seabed, smaller ventures keep a low profile as they ship metal to scrapyards along Indonesia's thousands of kilometres of coastline.

Australia has been working closely with Indonesia to protect HMAS Perth -- which sunk off Java in World War II, claiming hundreds of lives -- after discovering in 2013 that the warship was being plundered for brass.

A spokesman for the Indonesian navy said the missing ships should not have been disturbed as they were war graves.

"However, the Indonesian navy cannot monitor all areas all the time," spokesman Gig Jonias Mozes Sipasulta told AFP.

"If they ask why the ships are missing, I'm going to ask them back, why didn't they guard the ships? They should have been more proactive."

Naval warships and war graves are protected under international law that makes the desecration of such shipwrecks illegal.

The HNLMS Kortenaer in the 1930s

Related Articles:

British start investigation into vanished Java Sea ships

British second world war shipwrecks in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging

Viral Hit Sensation "Pen-Pinapple-Apple-Pen" Sets Guinness World Record

Jakarta Globe, November 03, 2016

A still from "Pen-Apple-Pineapple-Pen" Music Video by Pikotaro. (Photo
courtesy of Youtube)

Jakarta. Viral music video “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” by Japanese comedian Pikotaro has made it to Guinness World Records as the shortest song ever to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

The original music video, which features the 45-second hit sensation, was first released at the end of August earlier this year, and has been viewed more than 75 million times on Youtube. Piko Taro is the alter-ego of the Japanese comedian and DJ Daimaou Kosaka. In the video he dresses in animal-print shirt and trousers, which has now become his trademark, and happily dances to the catchy tunes of his song.

“PPAP” became a viral hit soon after Justin Bieber shared the video with his 89 million Twitter followers, saying it was “his favorite video on the internet.”

The previous record for shortest song to make it to the Billboard Hot 100 was held by US group the Womenfolk, with their 62 second single “Little Boxes.”

Following the success of “PPAP,” Piko-Taro released a longer version this past week. The 2 minutes and 41 seconds video has been viewed more than 11 million times.

Pikotaro is a pseudonym for Kazuhito Kosaka, who also goes by Daimaou Kosaka. He is the first Japanese musician to hit the Billboard chart since 1990. The Daily Mail reported that Piko-Taro announced a contract-signing with record labels such as Sony, CNR Music and Times Records for a worldwide distribution of “PPAP.”

Japan wants foreign tourists to avoid 'public flatulence'

Yahoo – AFP, April 28, 2016

People cover their noses to avoid a foul smell (AFP Photo)

A Japanese tourism board has called on foreign tourists to refrain from public "belching or flatulence" in an etiquette guide which was hastily rewritten, reportedly after complaints from a Chinese resident.

The Hokkaido Tourism Organization, which represents Japan's northern-most island, published a downloadable brochure on its website, with polite instructions on everything from public bathing to using a Japanese toilet.

Helpfully, it even dedicated an entire section to protocol for avoiding bodily functions.

"Japanese etiquette is based on avoiding causing discomfort or nuisance to others," the guide points out.

"Accordingly, Japanese will avoid bodily functions such as belching or flatulence in public entirely, or perform bodily functions as discreetly as possible."

However, the Chinese-language guide -- originally entitled "Common Sense When Travelling in Hokkaido" -- upset a Chinese resident who angrily claimed the diagrams featuring examples of bad tourist behaviour were offensive, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Chinese tourists spent more than $164 billion in 2014, according to a report by

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka)

The complaint prompted a new, foreigner-friendly version with softer explanations of Japanese customs.

In the updated guide available in Chinese and English, gone are the large 'X'-marks next to cartoon illustrations of tourists committing, from a Japanese perspective, embarrassing gaffes, such as putting used toilet paper into the waste bin -- the general custom in China -- instead of flushing it away.

According to The Japan Times newspaper, the original booklet was first published last August and was targeted at Chinese tourists, including a reminder not to open products before buying them when shopping, a habit also seen in China.

China has said it will monitor the behaviour of unruly tourists abroad and punish them on their return home after being shamed by a string of well-publicised incidents in recent years.

Research by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that more than 100 million Chinese tourists went abroad in 2014, spending some $164 billion.

Tourists prepare for a shopping spree in Tokyo (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka)

But reports of disruptive behaviour have tarnished their reputation, such as passengers scalding a flight attendant with hot water and noodles or a holidaymaker fined in Thailand for washing her feet in the wash basin of a public toilet.

Media in Japan have carried a spate of reports of alleged uncouth behaviour by Chinese visitors, though some local commentators have urged understanding, recalling that the emergence five decades ago of Japanese tourists as a force in global travel was often met with complaints about their behaviour.

Around 85,000 copies of the Hokkaido tourist brochure have reportedly been printed in Chinese and English, to be distributed to hotels and tourist attractions across the island.

Related Articles:

Three Chinese passengers grounded for bad behavior

Crackdown on bad behavior by Chinese air passengers

China to 'blacklist' its unruly tourists: report

China desperate to improve image of its overseas tourists

Indonesian Cultural House Opens in Turkey

Jakarta Globe, December 04, 2015

The opening event of Indonesian Cultural House in Ankara, Turkey.
(Photo courtesy of Indonesian Embassy in Turkey)

Jakarta. In an effort to promote Indonesian culture in foreign countries, the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara and the Ministry of Education and Culture officially opened the Indonesian Cultural House, or Rumah Budaya Indonesia, in the Turkish capital last week.

According to the center's official website, the venue will function as a "public space for cultural diplomacy ... to introduce the art and culture of Indonesia to the world in order to improve the country's image and appreciation as well as forge a cultural relationship between the international public and Indonesia."

Known as Endonezya Kultur Evi in Turkey, the cultural house was crowded with guests, from Turkish government officials to fans of Indonesian culture, during the opening event, as reported by Beritasatu.com.

Indonesian dance maestro, Didik Nini Thowok, charmed the audience with his performance of Topeng Dwimuka Jepindo and Lengger Banyumas dances.

From West Sumatra's Tari Piring to Aceh's Saman, a variety of other Indonesian dances were also performed during the event by Indonesian students in Turkey. This was accompanied with a showcase of Turkish traditional dances called Seymenler and Karadenis.

According to Wardana, the Indonesian ambassador to Turkey, the cultural house will be a center to introduce Indonesian culture and provide information to Turkish people.

Various programs will take place at the cultural house in the future, including dance and angklung lessons, Indonesian language courses for Turkish citizens and an array of events to promote Indonesian culture in Turkish cities.

Previously, the Indonesian Cultural House initiative has been launched in nine other countries, including Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Community Leader: Don’t Doubt Papuans’ Indonesianness

Jakarta Globe, Roberth I. Vanwi, Aug 12, 2015

President Joko Widodo, center, and the first lady, Iriana, center second from right,
 arrive in Jayapura, Papua, in 2014 as they are welcomed by Papuan Governor Lukas
Enembe. left, and his wife Yewuce, right. (AFP Photo/Rusman/Presidential Palace)

Jayapura. Celebrations of Indonesia’s 70 years of independence this year reflect Indonesian patriotism across the country as much as Papuans’ love for it, a senior Papuan community said on Wednesday, stressing that Papuans, too, are Indonesians.

“Have you noticed that people in Papua do respond positively to the government’s urging to raise the Indonesian flag and other Independence Day paraphernalia?” George Awi told the Jakarta Globe.

“This tells us Papuans share the outlook of a common archipelago with other Indonesians. But the government needs to continue developing this land, regardless of the obstacles. Indonesia also needs to prove it loves Papua.”

A dearth of mutual confidence is at the heart of the festering issues in Papua, George said. Only recently, he added, have Papuans started seeing Papuan faces in government offices and in other undertakings. All this was despite the insistence in Jakarta that Papua was, and continues to be, an integral part of Indonesia.

“But opportunities are now open to those who can compete; we now have a Papuan at the head of the provincial police. The government deems us trustworthy so we need to repay this by keeping Papua safe and peaceful,” George said.

“Don’t underestimate the Indonesianness of Papuans,” George added. But what of those who demand independence? “That’s the task of the government and our collective responsibility to ensure they, too, enjoy the results of an advancing Papua.”

“This country loves Papua; that much is clear. We now have the Special Autonomy Law; President Joko [Widodo] visited us three times in one year. That capable Papuans can now move Papua forward is not just hot air.”

Meanwhile, the Papuan provincial government will take a “sensible but lively” approach to the 70th anniversary of Indonesian independence.

Elia I. Loupatty, assistant for development and people’s welfare at Papua’s provincial secretariat and head of preparations for Independence Day, said, as entertainment for the locals in Jayapura traditional games will be organized as well as a marathon and an arts, sports and culture competition.

“We are mindful of the traffic and other logistical challenges so we will focus most activities at the Kusuma Trikora Military Cemetery for a public commemoration ceremony and at the Mandala-Jayapura Stadium for the flag-raising ceremony,” Elia added.

Representatives from Papua New Guinea and other neighboring countries will attend the ceremonies in Papua, similar to previous years. “They will arrive on Aug. 15 or 16, and we look forward to welcoming them as they are our close neighbors,” Elia said.

Indonesia celebrates its independence from Dutch colonial rule on Aug. 17.

Tongan king crowned in traditional ceremony

Yahoo – AFP, 4 July 2015

Tonga's King Tupou VI (L) and Queen Nanasipau'u attend "Education Day" at

 the Teufaiva Stadium during the week-long coronation celebrations in 

Nuku'alofa on July 1, 2015 (AFP Photo/Pesi Fonua)

Nuku'alofa (Tonga) (AFP) - Tupou VI was formally crowned King of Tonga on Saturday before thousands of people including heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, capping a week steeped in traditional rites.

Because it is taboo for Tongans to touch their king's head, a retired Australian minister was flown in to perform the televised crowning.

The new king also becomes the 24th Tu'i Kanokupolu, an ancient Tongan title that pre-dates the monarchy by centuries.

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito 

(centre L) and Crown Princess Masako

 (centre R) arrives at Nuku'alofa on 

July 3, 2015 (AFP Photo)

Celebrations and ancient rituals leading up to the coronation began last Saturday with a Taumafa Kava, a traditional ceremony in which Tupou VI drank the mildly narcotic kava drink to confirm his title as king of Tonga.

The historic rite -- in which about 150 nobles, wearing traditional ta'ovala mats around their waists, sat in a circle to drink kava from coconut shells -- launched seven days of street parties, black-tie balls, fashion shows and feasting before the king was crowned by Australian D'Arcy Wood.

"No Tongan citizen can do it as it is forbidden for a Tongan to touch the king's head," the 78-year-old retired Methodist minister said last week before flying to Tonga from his home near Melbourne.

Wood was born in Tonga when his father worked there in 1924 and met the new king when he was Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia in the 1990s.

Tupou VI, 55, ascended to the throne following the death of his bachelor brother Tupou V, who died in 2012 after a six-year reign of major reforms that expanded democracy in the nation of about 110,000 people.

An estimated 15,000 people, mainly expatriate Tongans, flew in for the coronation, with the invited guests including Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, his wife Princess Masako, and European royals Prince Georg von Habsburg from Hungary and Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg from Austria.

Hundreds of school children sitting on traditional mats, formed a guard of honour as the robed King Tupou VI and his wife, Queen Nanasipau'u arrived at the Free Wesleyan Centenary Church for the ceremony.

The celebrations were to continue in the evening with a Tupakapakanava -- the lighting of torches along the coast line -- and will end on Tuesday with a military tattoo.

Schoolchildren perform for Tonga's King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau'u on

 "Education Day" at the Teufaiva Stadium during the week-long coronation 

celebrations in Nuku'alofa on July 1, 2015 (AFP Photo/Linny Folau)

Deep respect for Tongan monarchy

Although Tonga has economic problems including high youth unemployment, most of its citizens have deep respect for their monarchy and the lavishness of the coronation was not a concern.

Auckland-based Ofa Taufo'ou, who returned home for the celebrations, told Radio New Zealand that Tongans valued their royalty and culture.

"I don't have the words to explain how much it means to me to have royalty, and to have this occasion," he said.

Wood said Tonga's affection for their monarch was deeply entrenched in their history.

"The monarch represents for them continuity and security -- a symbolic role which unites and reassures the people."

Tonga's monarchy can trace its history back 1,000 years and by the 13th century the nation wielded power and influence over surrounding islands, including Samoa, nearly 900 kilometres (560 miles) to the east.

Tupou I, who converted to Christianity after coming under the influence of missionaries, was proclaimed king in 1845 after winning control of the monarchy from two other royal lines.

By 1900 the country had become a British protectorate and acquired its independence in 1970. It remains the only monarchy among South Pacific island nations.

Indonesian Court Sentences Japanese Grandfather, 73, to Life for Drug Smuggling

Jakarta Globe, May 21, 2015

Masaru Kawada, 73, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for drug
smuggling, but maintains that he was an unwitting mule. (Antara Photo/Iggoy el Fitra)

Jakarta. An Indonesian court has sentenced a 73-year-old Japanese man to life in prison for trafficking 2.35 kilograms of methamphetamine into the country from Macau.

The Pariaman District Court in West Sumatra ruled on Wednesday that Masaru Kawada acted as part of an international drug-trafficking syndicate when he brought the drugs in his bag on a flight from the Chinese city by way of Kuala Lumpur last November.

Customs officers arrested Kawada at Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, the provincial capital, after an X-ray scan of his bag revealed the drugs concealed in the lining.

The sentence handed down was heavier than the 16 years sought by prosecutors, who cited Kawada’s advanced age. Kawada’s lawyer said on Thursday that they would mount an appeal, and reiterated his defense that he was an unwitting drug mule and not a trafficker.

Syusvida Lastri, the lawyer, said her client had from the start argued that the bag with the drugs was not his, and that he had been paid to carry it to Indonesia by an Englishman identified only as Edward Mark. Kawada, who worked as an English translator in his homeland, claimed Mark asked him to travel to Macau, paying his fare from Japan and giving him $500 up front. In Macau, he said, he met an associate of Mark’s, who asked him to take the bag to Padang and paid him $200.

Kawada claimed he didn’t notice the drugs when he first received the bag, and only found out when customs officers in Padang identified the package on their X-ray scanner.

Syusvida said Kawada, a grandfather of two, had initially feared he might get the death sentence. The Indonesian government has garnered international condemnation for two sets of executions carried out this year on drug convicts. President Joko Widodo, citing dubious data to justify his response to a so-called “drug emergency,” ordered 14 people put to death by firing squad this year, 12 of them foreigners.

The Spirit Of Bandung Helped Japan To Gain International’s Acceptance

Jakarta Globe, aacc2015.id, Apr 23, 2015

AACC2015, Jakarta – The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that the Bandung Spirit had helped his country to gain international community’s acceptance after the World War II.

“Live and let live. That’s the President Sukarno’s quotation which is better known as the Spirit of Bandung. The spirit allows us to re-enter the international community after the World War II,” said Prime Minister Abe at the Asian-African Summit in the Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of Asian-African Conference in Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC), Wednesday (4/22).

According to him, the value of the Spirit of Bandung, which prohibited colonialism, helped his country to recover from the World War’s impact. “To those friends of ours who had formulated the Bandung Spirit, let me take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude,” he stated.

The Spirit of Bandung, he added, is enhancing the relation between the two continents. “It is time for us to show strong unity, which was built between the two continents, to the rest of the world. Let’s show them,” he concluded. (Photo: Host)