JAPAN FINANCE MINISTER TO SKIP G20 AS CRONYISM SCANDAL BALLOONS
TOKYO: Japan’s finance minister will skip a G20 meeting next week, officials said on Friday, to address parliament as pressure mounts over a cronyism scandal and alleged cover-up dogging the prime minister. Taro Aso “will concentrate on” dealing with parliament, and will be represented at the meeting by his deputy Minoru Kihara, a ministry official told Agence France-Presse. The decision comes as a new poll showed support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government down 9.4 percentage points from last month to 39.3 percent, the lowest since his resounding reelection in October. The Jiji Press poll published on Friday, which comes after two other media surveys this week showing drops in support for Abe, put the premier’s disapproval rating at 40.4 percent. Ruling and opposition lawmakers have agreed to hold a hearing Monday on the growing scandal over the cut-price sale of government land to a supporter of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the alteration of finance ministry documents related to the deal. Aso and Abe will attend the parliamentary session, according to opposition Democratic Party officials.
FOOTBRIDGE COLLAPSES IN MIAMI, KILLING FOUR
MIAMI: A newly installed pedestrian bridge over a major road in Miami collapsed on Thursday (Friday in Manila), killing four people and trapping multiple cars below. The walkway, which connected Florida International University to a student housing area, went up less than a week ago but was not yet operational. Miami-Dade Fire Chief Dave Downey told a news conference that they have located four deceased victims. Crews worked into the night at the scene of the disaster. Maurice Kemp, the area’s deputy mayor, said the search for survivors had not been abandoned. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Paul Estopinan said at least eight cars were trapped when the 950-ton concrete bridge suddenly gave way. The bridge was suspended from cables that were determined to have loosened. While they were being tightened, the span collapsed, Florida Senator Marco Rubio wrote on Twitter. The bridge had only been installed on Saturday, ahead if its planned opening in 2019.
HONG KONG MULLS THREE YEARS’ JAIL FOR ANTHEM DISRESPECT
HONG KONG: Hong Kong announced plans on Friday to punish anyone who disrespects the Chinese national anthem with up to three years’ imprisonment as Beijing ups pressure on the semi-autonomous city to fall into line. Hong Kong has been preparing to introduce the controversial law since China fine-tuned legislation last year on the proper way and place to sing the anthem, tightening rules that already bar people from performing it at parties, weddings and funerals. Changes to China’s criminal law made in November increased the punishment for disrespecting the song from a jail term of 15 days to three years in “serious” cases. Defiant Hong Kong football fans have booed the anthem at matches for years as concerns grow that Hong Kong’s liberties are under threat.
Fans have also previously turned their backs and displayed Hong Kong independence banners during matches as some activists call for the city to split with the mainland, a notion that infuriates Beijing. The city is expected to enact a local version of the mainland’s anthem law after China in November inserted the legislation into Hong Kong’s miniconstitution. The proposal, submitted by the Hong Kong government to the city’s legislature for “advice” on Friday, mirrors Beijing’s penalty of prison time along with a fine of HK$50,000 ($6,370).