TOKYO – A group of young Japanese volunteers have been roaming the streets of Tokyo collecting trash regularly for over year dressed only in a loincloth, and sometimes with an extra traditional happi coat when the weather turns cold, like it did on Thursday (October 6).
On this bright crisp autumn day, they were in Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya shopping area, known also as the centre of the nation’s youth culture.
They hoped to inspire others not only to keep the city clean but also to re-evaluate the traditional Japanese loincloth underwear, called fundoshi (pronounced foon-doh-shee).
Most of the volunteers this time came from a human resource development company, though the event is a regular event organised by Fundonshi-bu, a company manufacturing and selling the loincloths.
Japanese volunteers clean up downtown Tokyo wearing only loincloths
SINGAPORE: A marketing executive by day, female gamer Calyn Koh heads straight for her home computer after work.
By night, the 24-year-old takes on a different persona, this time as a cyber-warrior on the online multi-player game Overwatch. She spends about four hours on weekday nights playing the game, and even longer on weekends.
“I started playing computer and video games when I was seven and the first first-person-shooter (FPS) games I played were Soldier of Fortune and Counter-Strike,” she said.
Having faced negative experiences in other multiplayer FPS games, she soon found her niche in Overwatch. “I used to be extremely active on Team Fortress 2, but the community was slowly changing, there were more and more trolls in the games and it started feeling like the developers stopped caring about it,” said Ms Koh.
“I tried Overwatch during the Open Beta days, and I have been a convert ever since. In general, I like FPS games because I find the gameplay immersive, engaging and challenging. The learning curve is relatively low, but to be good at it is a whole other feat,” she added.
FEMALE GAMERS INCREASINGLY COMMON
As a female gamer who started off watching her brother play games like Maplestory and Gunbound, 21-year-old Bianca Lai started dabbling in e-gaming during her primary school years.
Just like Ms Koh, Ms Lai has noticed increasing female involvement in the computer game community in the past few years. “Gamer girls are more common now than it was years ago, definitely,” said the full-time tertiary student.
Female gamers facing off against each other at a local tournament. (Photo: Team Asterisk’s Facebook page)
“I believe the stereotype that only guys can play online games isn’t as widely believed now. As a result, more girls are willing to try their hand at e-gaming without the fear of getting mocked.
“In fact, one of my friends is in an all-female Overwatch competitive team,” added Ms Lai, who spends about two to six hours daily on multi-player games such as DOTA 2.
“Female gamers have been around for a while, with girls-only tournaments happening as early as the late 2000s,” said Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association chairman Nicholas Khoo.
“Perhaps two high points were when China’s Team LGD acquired an all-female team and when streaming became a lot more popular in the last few years.”
LIVE STREAMING OPENS UP OPPORTUNITIES
Having set up one of Singapore’s pioneering all-female DOTA teams about 10 years ago, Team Asterisk co-founder Tammy Tang believes the advent of live streaming has led to more attention being paid to female gamers.
“They have always been glamorised. Even back in the early 2000s, there was huge support for female teams and female-only competitions,” she said.
Team Asterisk founder Tammy Tang (right) together with her team during an e-gaming competition in Singapore. (Photo: Team Asterisk’s Facebook page)
The popularity of live-streaming applications like Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Live has also provided a platform for gamers – both male and female – to leverage on their success and personality to attract followers and page views.
Such gamers can then monetise their popularity through ad revenue, paid subscriptions and sponsorships.
Whether it is to boost their popularity or simply to display their skills in a particular game, Ms Tang believes there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to female gamers and live streaming.
“I don’t think (popularity and competency) are mutually exclusive, but I do think that there are girls who play because ‘everyone else is doing it’ versus those who want to be the best.
“Streaming and social media also show that there’s a different angle to gaming, and more routes to pursue other than just aiming to be a professional gamer,” said Ms Tang, a well-known DOTA player.
A female gamer streaming her Counterstrike: GO gameplay on a live streaming platform. (Photo: Team Asterisk’s Facebook page)
Elicia Lee, the founder of gaming convention GameStart Asia, said some female gamers monetise their celebrity status much like social media influencers. “There are definitely gamers who are more like influencers rather that good gamers,” said Ms Lee, whose event later this month will feature major players in the e-gaming industry.
“Some gaming companies even hire influencers, who don’t really play the game, to market their products,” said the 36-year-old, who has played World of Warcraft for nine years. “I think it’s down to culture and what the target market wants, but at the end of the day, gaming is still pretty much a male-oriented landscape.”
She added: “Nowadays, I definitely am seeing more and more legit girl gamers coming out into the open. I also foresee more females working in the gaming industry in different roles … even in game development, which was very much male-oriented in the past.”
A JOB, NOT A HOBBY
An avid gamer who started playing Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) 12 years ago, e-gaming is now a source of employment for Yeap Su Fern, who works for e-gaming company Garena as its partnerships manager.
The 27-year-old plays a number of games, including Counterstrike: GO and FIFA Online.
According to Ms Yeap, one of the main reasons she took to e-gaming in the early days was simply to find more like-minded people. “For me, it’s a good way to get to know people as sometimes I’d make in-game friends first and then after spending hours in that game, I’d meet them in a cafe or coffee shop and even address each other by our in-game name rather than real-life name,” she said.
“Online gaming is a social thing and that’s why they’re so addictive,” added Ms Yeap. “Sometimes it’s not just about playing the games alone but also spending time to get to know other people within the game.
“(Gaming) is a great way to meet people who do not judge you based on how much did you earn, or where did you work or even what you’re studying. It is a non-judgmental bubble where all these fellow gamers would come from different walks of life,” she said.
Overwatch player Ms Koh even has regular meet-ups with her gaming peers. “Many people think that gamers are introverts and have no social life but that is definitely not true, said the 24-year-old. “I have made so many new friends through online gaming – friends not only from Singapore, but all over the world. For example, we once had a video Skype call with seven of us all from different countries.
Regular e-gamer Calyn Koh (second from right) together with fellow Overwatch peers during a social gathering. (Photo: Calyn Koh)
“Not only have some of us met in real life, most of us do so regularly. With my Overwatch buddies we have even had barbeque sessions and pizza nights. We also hang out at bars and coffee shops for ice-cold beers,” added Ms Koh.
Despite the general friendliness when they meet in-person, the 24-year-old has come across peers who have preconceived notions of female gamers being “introverted and not well-groomed”.
“I think the stereotypes definitely still exist. When I tell someone new whom I’ve just met that I’m a gamer, the response is usually that I do not look like one,” said Ms Koh.
SINGAPORE — Even as Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers undertake realistic training in the jungles of Brunei, they take care to keep the area in good condition for future trainees, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Oct 6) following a visit to observe jungle and survival training in Temburong.
Mr Lee noted, for instance, that the soldiers used pouches to hold the cartridges of blank rounds fired from their rifles and machine guns.
This was done so that they would not litter the jungle, an important training ground for the SAF for over 40 years, with empty casings.
“I was asking the soldiers, the trainers, about the sustainability because they have been training here for so many years. You want to make sure you do not thrash the jungle,” Mr Lee said after observing and interacting with soldiers from the 6th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cheering with the soldiers from 6th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, at the end of their training today. Photo: Mindef
“So I think we do what we can to make sure that it is kept in good condition, and not just for future trainees, but to keep the jungle a natural environment as it is.”
Mr Lee, who is on a three-day trip to attend the golden jubilee celebration of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne, was accompanied by the Chief of Army Major-General Melvyn Ong and other senior SAF officers during Friday’s training visit.
Temburong is a “unique environment which we cannot duplicate in Singapore”, noted Mr Lee who last observed the SAF training there four years ago in 2013.
“(Soldiers) come here, they learn about the jungle, they also toughen themselves up, they learn about themselves, so that is something very valuable,” he said, adding that a lot of attention has been placed on safety and physical preparations for the tough training involved.
“If anything happens, we will make sure that the doctors are there, all the rescue is in place. I think that the system is working well,” he added.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said that Mr Lee “emphasised the importance of training in a realistic and safe environment, and commended the soldiers for their professionalism and commitment”.
He also told the soldiers about the importance of National Service in ensuring the security of Singapore.
Singapore and Brunei share a close and long-standing defence relationship. Along with the regular training exercises that the SAF conducts in Brunei, which began more than four decades ago, both militaries interact through frequent bilateral exercises, professional exchanges, visits and cross attendance of courses.
“These exchanges have enhanced the professionalism and strengthened the ties between the two armed forces,” Mindef added.
TOKYO – A 32-year-old Japanese man was arrested Friday on suspicion of stabbing his daughter to death and has admitted deliberately torching the house in which his wife and four other children were found dead, police said.
The man, Hirobumi Komatsu, told authorities he started the fire at the family’s home in Hitachi City, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Tokyo, deputy police chief Mitsuru Kaneko told AFP.
Police discovered five bodies at their apartment after the blaze was extinguished in the early hours of Friday, he said.
One little girl was found in critical condition with stab wounds and later died in hospital.
The children – a girl and four boys – were aged between three and 11, while the sixth victim was their mother, police said, citing the suspect.
“We first learned about the incident when the man showed up at the police station to report it,” Kaneko said.
The father could also be facing arson charges, police said.
The deaths of the five other victims are under investigation, Masataka Suzuki, another senior police official, told AFP.
“We are investigating to see if the cause of death of the five others was the fire or something else,” he added.
TOKYO – Japan’s public broadcaster apologised Friday to the parents of a young reporter who died of heart failure after logging 159 hours of overtime in a month.
NHK reporter Miwa Sado, 31, who had been covering political news in Tokyo, was found dead in her bed in July 2013, reportedly clutching her mobile phone.
“The chairman met the parents at their home in the morning and apologised,” an NHK spokesman told AFP.
A government inquest a year after her death ruled that it was linked to excessive overtime. She had taken two days off in the month before she died.
NHK eventually made the case public four years later, bowing to pressure from Sado’s parents to take action to prevent a recurrence.
The case has again highlighted the Japanese problem of “karoshi” – meaning death from overwork – and is an embarrassing revelation for NHK, which has campaigned against the nation’s long-hours culture.
Sado covered Tokyo assembly elections for the broadcaster in June 2013 and an upper-house vote for the national parliament the following month.
She died three days after the upper-house election.
“My heart breaks at the thought that she may have wanted to call me” in her last moments, her mother told the Asahi daily.
“With Miwa gone, I feel like half of my body has been torn off. I won’t be able to laugh for real for the rest of my life.”
The revelation shocked the nation as NHK has actively reported tragic deaths at other companies, including the 2015 suicide of a young woman at major advertising agency Dentsu who logged more than 100 hours of overtime in one month.
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LIMIT
NHK’s chief has pledged to improve work conditions at the broadcaster.
“We are sorry that we lost an excellent reporter and take seriously the fact that her death was recognised as work-related,” President Ryoichi Ueda said Thursday.
“We will continue to work for reform in co-operation with her parents,” he told reporters.
Every year in Japan, long working hours are blamed for dozens of deaths due to strokes, heart attacks and suicides.
In July, the parents of an unnamed 23-year-old worker on Tokyo’s Olympic stadium who killed himself applied for compensation and asked the government to recognise his suicide as a case of death from overwork.
The construction firm employee, who began working on the project in December, clocked 200 hours of overtime in the month before his body was found in April with a note that said he had “reached the physical and mental limit”.
According to a government report on death from overwork released on Friday, there were 191 “karoshi” cases in the year ending March 2017.
The report also showed that 7.7 per cent of employees in Japan regularly log more than 20 hours of overtime a week.
Labour minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Friday that the government will “do its best” to reduce the number of people who die from overwork to zero, according to NHK.
In an attempt to tackle the problem, the government in May released its first nationwide employer blacklist, naming-and-shaming more than 300 companies including advertising giant Dentsu and an arm of Panasonic for breaching labour laws.
In February, Japan launched “Premium Friday”, calling on employees to knock off early on the last Friday of the month.
But critics slammed the plan as it was not mandatory and several companies simply opted out.
Singapore – Felise found passion in baking when she started helping her sister with making cupcakes and other pastries around two years ago. Other than the tasty outcome, Felise loves baking as it brings her a sense of fulfilment.
In this episode of A Little Somebody, the filming team invites professional baker Samantha Pua to give cake decorating classes to Felise. One of the challenges Felise faces is creating patterns by piping, as it requires control and accuracy.
Good piping is difficult and requires a lot of practice. Is passion enough to fuel Felise to strive on when stress and commitment weighs in?
“A Little Somebody”（我是小某某） is one of 10 SPH-produced short form digital video series as part of a pilot Public Service Broadcast initiative. In this 13-part series, children between the age of 7 and 12 are given the opportunity to showcase their talent in different fields. While encouraging the young to pursue their interests, this series also hopes to inspire viewers to continue learning in life.
“A Little Somebody”is also available on the zaobao.sg website and mobile app. All episodes come with Chinese and English subtitles.
SINGAPORE: A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighter has been lauded by netizens as a “true hero” for trying to save some cats trapped in a Woodlands flat after a fire broke out.
The incident happened on Sep 22 at about 4pm, at Block 886B Woodlands Drive 50. No one was injured.
In a Facebook post the next day, Mr Zul Monsor, who lives in a neighbouring flat, said that one of the firefighters had just finished helping to put out the fire when he was told that there were still four cats in the flat.
“When we told him that there are still four cats in the house, he ask(ed) for his fellow firefighter’s breathing tank and went in again to search and rescue the cats,” said Mr Monsor. “Commendable act indeed.”
He also posted a video showing the firefighter picking up and donning more gear before heading back towards the flat. After he retrieved the cats, firefighters then performed CPR on the animals.
Two of the cats survived and were taken to a vet, but the other two cats died, according to Mr Monsor in a later post.
Channel NewsAsia understands that the fire, which was extinguished by firefighters using a hose reel, was caused by an e-scooter.
MORE THAN S$4,000 RAISED FOR FAMILY
More than S$4,000 has been raised to help the flat owners rebuild their home.
A GIVE.asia fundraising page had raised S$1,935 as of Friday morning, and S$2,500 has been raised from other sources, according to the page.
Neighbours and friends also posted on social media, with netizens pledging offers of household furniture from cabinets to electronics and bathroom accessories.
In a video interview with the flat’s owners Rizal and Yati on the GIVE.asia page, the couple said they were coping with the incident.
“For now we’re coping bit by bit,” said Ms Yati. “Two of my favourite cats are lost … so much lost.”
Mr Rizal added that one of the surviving cats was still in shock, and that the couple were trying to “keep him quiet, by himself”.
Two cats died after a fire broke out in the flat. (Photo: Facebook / Zul Monsor)
The couple also expressed their appreciation towards their neighbours and other people who had come forward to help.
“We are lucky to have good neighbours,” said Mr Rizal. “They straight away came forward to help (with) whatever they can, especially on the day.
“I’d never seen some of the faces before … they just straight away dashed in to help. We were really touched by that.”
The two also said that the Housing and Development Board was restoring the flat to the standard of a new Build-to-Order flat, however, they still needed funds for renovation works.
THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been urged to take urgent action on the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, which has seen more than half a million Rohingya Muslims flee into Bangladesh in little over a month.
Amnesty International sent a letter to the Asean Secretary on Friday – Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano – calling upon the regional bloc to end “grave human rights abuses” against the stateless Rohingya population of Burma (Myanmar).
“Asean is failing to take a stand as one of its member states carries out a violent campaign of ethnic cleansing,” said James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Rohingya refugees wait for humanitarian aid to be distributed at the Balu Khali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh October 5, 2017. Source: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
More than 500,000 mostly Muslim refugees have flooded into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh since Aug 25 when members of the Rohingya militant group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) launched attacks on the outposts of Burmese security forces, sparking a violent backlash from the Tatmadaw.
The army has been accused of extrajudicial killings, arson of Rohingya villages and rape.
In its letter, Amnesty accused the security forces of unleashing a “unlawful and disproportionate campaign of violence” against the persecuted minority group. Along with Human Rights Watch, Amnesty has accused Burma of crimes against humanity.
The group called for the government to end violence, ensure assistance for Rohingya refugees and the safe return to Burma of those wishing to go back, ending “entrenched discrimination” against Rohingya Muslims, and supporting independent investigations into human rights violations.
International criticism of the government of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been widespread over her failure to end what UN Human Rights Chief has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
According to the US-based watchdog Human Rights Foundation the situation “fits the legal definition of genocide under international law.” Asean, however, has been divided over the issue.
Late last month, Cayetano released a statement on behalf of Asean regarding the Rohingya situation which did not criticise Burma’s military, rather referring to the situation as “a complex inter-communal issue with deep historical roots.”
The Foreign Minister of Muslim-majority Malaysia Anifah Aman subsequently distanced his government from the statement, stating that it was a “misrepresentation” of reality in the Rakhine.
Philippine’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Cayetano gives a speech at Asia Society in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. Source: Reuters/Amr Alfiky
Indonesia has also publicly expressed its concern and has sent aid to the Rakhine for displaced Rohingyas. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi flew to Burma soon after violence broke out in August for high level meetings with Suu Kyi and the military chief General Min Aung Hlaing.
“Governments in the region must uphold the commitments to human rights enshrined in the Asean Charter, commitments which Myanmar’s military is showing clear contempt for as they perpetrate crimes against humanity against the Rohingya,” added Gomez.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it would provide 10 million Baht (US$300,000) in aid to displaced persons in Burma and Bangladesh.
