South Koreans spent a record 26 trillion won (US$19.97 billion) on private education last year, despite a declining student population, a joint report by the education ministry and the government statistics bureau showed. Nearly eight in 10 students use in private education products such as cram schools, known as “hagwons”,Continue Reading
A key reason why Mr Modi has made a concerted effort to engage with the community over the years could be due to how many more people of Indian-origin are being represented at the helm of global companies and the US government, said observers.
They head corporate giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. In politics, US Vice President Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking politician in Washington DC with Indian roots.
“I think the point remains that Indians across all income levels, be it those at the lower end of the totem pole or those in the executive board rooms, are being courted by the prime minister,” said Mr Bhandari.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration hopes to raise Japan’s poor cybersecurity performance to an acceptable level by requiring government contractors to meet US standards, according to local media reports. Repeated hacking of Japanese defense contractors and other companies and institutions has made this a top priority.
The US standards, known as NIST SP 800-171, apply to contractors supplying the US Department of Defense and other government agencies. They include access control, audit and accountability, security assessment, communications protection, supply chain risk management and incident response, among others.
They are defined and overseen by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, of the US Department of Commerce. A revised draft of NIST SP 800-171 was published on May 10. Significant changes include more specific requirements to remove ambiguity, improve effectiveness and clarify the scope of assessment. Public comments are due by July 14.
The Japanese government’s Cybersecurity Strategic Headquarters will be in charge of the upgrade, raising the information security standards that external contractors must meet when working with either ministries or administrative agencies. Part of the Cabinet Office, it is led by the Chief Cabinet Secretary.
The new standards will reportedly be implemented by the end of the fiscal year to March 31, 2024. More than 1,000 contractors are likely to be affected.
Cybersecurity is a long-standing US-Japan issue. According to cybersecurity expert Paul Kallender, a senior researcher at the Keio Research Institute at Keio University’s Shonan-Fujisawa Campus (SFC) outside of Tokyo, “the security needs were initially driven by the US to safeguard weapons platforms, primarily Aegis ballistic missile defense,” but “all security is now a hybrid of commercial and military networks.”
Kallender points out that “All this dates back a quarter century when the US, out of concerns about information assurance (what is now called cybersecurity) as Japan and the US geared up towards co-developing and deploying Japan’s BMD [ballistic missile defense] systems, got Japan to sign the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Cooperation Regarding Information Assurance and Computer Network Defence and then, in 2007, the US-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). This latest announcement can be seen in many ways as the grandchild of efforts dating back to GSOMIA.”
In 2011, Japan’s largest defense contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), admitted that unidentified attackers had gained access to and installed malware in servers and computers in several of its offices, factories and R&D facilities. MHI’s missile, submarine and nuclear power plant technology were reportedly targeted.
“What happened to MHI,” says Kallender, “where it is speculated that technologies related to Japan’s work on an advanced version of the Aegis missile being co-developed with US contractors (as well as work on fighter and space technologies) revealed not only the vulnerability of Japan’s leading military contractors but also that industry and research across Japan engaged in strategic R&D was at risk to a concerted campaign of highly coordinated and state-sponsored advanced persistent threats.
“It also seemed to realize the worst fears of the US, and was a kind of year zero for Japan, which started to get to grips with the fact that someone in the government, namely the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, needed to take control and coordinate efforts across a sprawl of ministries and agencies, to come up with a joined-up national cyber security plan and coordination.”
In December 2021, the Asahi Shimbun reported that “A June 2019 cyberattack on Mitsubishi Electric Corp compromised data that constituted the first-ever publicly acknowledged leak of sensitive national security information in Japan, the Defense Ministry admitted.”
Company officials said they thought it was the work of Chinese hackers, but no evidence was ever provided. Mitsubishi Electric makes radar and other electronic systems for Japan’s Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces.
In January 2020, NEC – Japan’s leading producer of telecom equipment and a contractor to both the Defense Ministry and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which leads the nation’s space program – revealed that it had been the victim of a cyberattack in December 2016 but had not detected it until June 2017.
When it was finally able to decrypt the messages involved in July 2018, NEC found that files had been stolen from its defense business. In 2021 and 2022, Fujitsu – Japan’s second largest producer of telecom equipment and a provider of computing and software services – was hacked. These cyberattacks compromised the cloud software-as-a-service provided to several government agencies.
There have also been an increasing number of cyberattacks on non-defense businesses and other organizations in Japan, with targets ranging from automakers to confectionary, national telecom carrier NTT, internet messaging service LINE, Yahoo Japan, Japan Airlines and many others. The number of ransomware attacks rose from 146 in 2021 to 230 in 2022, according to the National Policy Agency.
No wonder the US has been badgering Japan, which it defends under the Japan-US Security Treaty, where it maintains air force, navy and marine corp bases, and with which it builds fighter jets and other weapons systems, to up its cybersecurity game.
On January 6 this year, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura and US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Cybersecurity in Washington.
The MOC covers operational collaboration to improve the security of industrial control systems, capacity building and harmonization of regulations and schemes. The goal is to establish equivalent levels of software security by identifying and reducing risks and vulnerabilities.
Japan and the US will also seek to expand their cooperation in cybersecurity to Australia and India, the other two members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, and other Indo-Pacific allies.
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The record peak was four times higher than during pandemic
MyIX has also installed Ookla Speedtest server in its network
The Malaysia Internet Exchange (MyIX) reported the Internet bandwidth demand in the country reached a record peak of 2.1 TeraBits per second (Tbps) last month (May 2023). This is an almost four-fold increase…Continue Reading
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s police are conducting preliminary inquiries into whether any actions by officials at the country’s drug regulator could amount to criminal wrongdoing, as they expand a probe into tainted cough syrups linked to the deaths of more than 200 children across the nation, two top inspectors told Reuters. TheContinue Reading
LGBTQ+ campaigners take aim at ‘rainbow washing’
LGBTQ+ rights campaigners have criticised businesses for cashing in on products promoted during Pride Month while failing to support the call for equal rights.
Nikki Phinyapincha, founder of TransTalents Consulting Group, told the Bangkok Post that Pride Month, held in June, has been incorporated into companies’ marketing strategies in a move she calls “rainbow washing”.
Businesses use rainbow flags, logos and social media hashtags to promote their goods, she said, adding some have even produced special Pride Month edition goods to generate more income.
However, they are overlooking the true meaning of Pride Month, she said.
“They make us [into] merely a source of income. Pride was not originally a celebration but [a commemoration] of our struggle for not only civil rights but also socio-economic inclusion and empowerment, such as equal rights to employment, promotions and access to education,” she said. “These rights are important as they improve our living conditions.”
The business sector needs to back its support for the LGBTQ+ community with action, she said, adding each company needs to ensure a safe workplace policy for LGBTQ+ people and provide them with mental health support.
“The safe workplace for LGBTQ+ [people] is crucial, they need a place where they can express their sexuality freely,” she said. “This could help increase their productivity as they will not need to be afraid for being who they are.”
She said companies should provide LGBTQ+ people equal opportunities in climbing the corporate ladder.
Many companies still have the perception that having an LGBTQ+ leader makes their business look unprofessional and unreliable, she said.
In fact, having LGBTQ+ people in leadership roles will help companies diversify to drive systematic change in the business, she said.
“If [corporations] seek money from us, please make sure to give back by listening to what we need and what we fight for,” she said.
Nada Chaiyajit, lawyer and human rights adviser, said “rainbow washing” is also being used in politics.
Some parties launched pro-LGBTQ+ campaigns to gain votes from the community, she said.
However, there is real support from some parties, she said, including the Move Forward Party (MFP), which has drafted a marriage equality bill to amend Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which defines marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The MFP bill aims to make the marriage law applicable to all couples, regardless of gender, she said.
In addition, the party has announced support for Thailand to host World Pride in 2028 to promote equality, she said.
However, there is also a need for change at the national level, she said. Politicians need to ensure LGBTQ+-friendly welfare policies that include paid gender affirmation leave, equal pay and civil-servant programmes that extend to partners.
She also supports the idea of having a minimum quota for LGBTQ+ and women politicians in parliament to help them advance their political careers. It would help diversify parliament because they would have a chance to voice their wants, she said.
According to the May 14 general election result, five openly LGBTQ+ MPs from the MFP were elected, but one of them, Nateepat Kulsetthasith, resigned over a drunk driving incident on May 16.
“Having a gender quota is important because we need people who truly know what we need,” Ms Nada said. “We want many political representatives from our community to vote for bills that are necessary for us LGBTQ+ people.
“Many politicians do not know what our problems are, even if they say they support us,” she noted.
The new government should consider the gender issue when assigning ministerial positions to ensure it would be gender-inclusive, she said.
“Our pride is not a one-month-long campaign, but every single second of our lives,” she said.
“We need people like us to sit in parliament to ensure our voices are heard and equally protected.”
I also attended an ESG seminar and realised that the speakers and participants were focused on the environmental aspect and appeared oblivious to WSH issues. More needs to be done in this space.
Engaging stakeholders through ESG reporting or other information sharing is not foolproof. Researchers have suggested that soft interventions should supplement hard regulations.
MOM and WSH Council have done much in that respect over the years, with the former stepping up companies’ accountability for workplace accidents, and the latter providing comprehensive guidelines and timely WSH alerts.
Nevertheless, to effectively engage more organisations in building safety culture, there is a need for more sharing of information.
Since 2018, the WSH Act has empowered the Manpower Ministry to publish learning reports to share significant lessons learnt following workplace accidents or diseases. Unlike the accident alerts disseminated by the WSH Council, learning reports are more in-depth and are not admissible in court.
However, to date, there are only two learning reports published. More can be shared to ensure that companies can improve from the failures of others. In addition, findings from WSH prosecution cases that had been thoroughly debated in court should be captured and disseminated.
In many instances that danger remains, but the commercial transaction strips away the perceived risks involved. Marketing materials aim to sell “safe” adventures, with the risks often listed in the fine print. A polar plunge in Antarctica, for instance, is often marketed as safe because participants are attached to a tether and the swim time is limited to prevent hypothermia.
Two decades ago, in forecasting the growth of space tourism, anthropologist Valene Smith said what tourists want, the industry will provide. This has become a truism, as the Titan voyages demonstrate.
The massive growth of frontier tourism could lead to even greater problems if the industry doesn’t respond in the right way. If travellers are going to expose themselves to extreme risks, whose responsibility is it, then, to ensure their safety and recovery should accidents occur?
Many tourism businesses and travel insurance companies make risks known to their guests. But regulations on disclosing risks differ between countries. This means travellers may have to evaluate the risks themselves, and this is fraught with danger if company standards are low.
One solution is frontier tourism might be best experienced in controlled and safe environments through digital storytelling or augmented and mixed reality. However, this may not be enough to satisfy the adrenaline junkies out there.
As the Titan incident illustrates, the unpredictable nature and unintended consequences of frontier tourism are very real things. While money can allow us to travel almost anywhere, it’s worth considering whether some places should just remain untouched, sacred and off-limits completely.
Anne Hardy, Can Seng Ooi and Hanne E F Nielsen are academics at University of Tasmania. Joseph M Cheer is Professor of Sustainable Tourism and Heritage, Western Sydney University. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.
The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) held a market sounding on Friday to invite private companies to invest in the 5.1-billion-baht construction of two rest stops in commercial areas.
Exat governor Surachet Laophulsuk said after the event that the roadside services would be built on properties in the Bang Prong area of Samut Prakan province and the park-and-ride station next to Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus in Pathum Thani province.
Investors, financial institutions, and public and private companies heard how the rest stop project in Bang Prong area will be situated on Kanchanaphisek expressway (Bang Phli-Suksawat), an area with high traffic volume. It should cost 627 million baht to build and 1.7 billion baht to manage and operate.
The park-and-ride station next to Thammasat University Rangsit Campus, which would function as a hub connecting regional routes, is estimated to cost 706 million baht, with management and operation expected to total 2 billion baht, he said.
“Exat has also developed commercial areas of 4,250 rai, or about 680 hectares, to benefit non-core businesses. Therefore, we are preparing to take the two rest stop areas in a bid for public-private partnership [PPP],” Mr Surachet said.
The PPP should yield a 10% rate of return during its 33-year contract.
Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) Surachet Laophulsuk speaks to reporters at a market sounding held on Friday to invite private companies to invest in the 5.1-billion-baht construction of two rest stops in commercial areas. (Photo: Exat)
Dr Barkathunnisha from World Women Tourism said the music and entertainment industry is part of the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector, with Singapore being a MICE centre in Southeast Asia.
“There are plenty of grants and incentives provided by STB to support the MICE sector, especially in the pandemic recovery phase,” she said.
“These initiatives have established Singapore’s brand as a global and regional hub for music and entertainment, enabled Singapore to tap the dynamic growth of music markets in the region and, also opened many opportunities for collaboration between our city-state and the stakeholders in the global music industry.”
Many global music companies have also set up shop in Singapore, such as Universal Music Group which established its Southeast Asia regional headquarters here, she added.
Elaborating on STB’s efforts, Dr Barkathunnisha said it has been developing strategic tie-ups in the region and even partnered with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Charlie Puth as well as record label Warner Music to promote Singapore as a music and entertainment destination.
STB also recently collaborated with Hong Kong-born K-pop star Jackson Wang, who recorded a series of travel vlogs in Singapore.
In terms of facilities, Singapore has world-class infrastructure and state-of-the-art venues that are well-equipped to host large-scale concerts, said Dr Barkathunnisha.
Some examples are the Victoria Memorial Hall and Esplanade to “cater to different types of events or concerts”, Mr Khoo noted.
“The venues themselves are also vying for different acts … So that’s good,” he said. “We’ve created a little bit of an ecosystem there that tries its best to pull in K-pop artistes, Japanese artistes, or European or American artistes to come over to Singapore.”
While Singapore has been able to attract big names even before the pandemic, Mr Khoo pointed out that pent-up demand from COVID-19 restrictions could have led to an increase in demand for concerts, leading to artistes like Coldplay adding more performances in Singapore.