by tyler | May 25, 2023 | asia, CNN
The suspect in a lethal shooting and stabbing attack in Japan remains barricaded inside a building in Nakano City, hours after the rare spate of violence left three dead on Thursday, according to local police.
Police received a call in the late afternoon local time with reports that a “man stabbed a woman,” a Nakano City police official told CNN.
When officers rushed to the scene, the suspect fired something resembling a hunting rifle, striking four people, before barricading himself inside a building, the official added.
The suspect was wearing a camouflage hat, top and bottoms with sunglasses and a mask, according to NHK.
At least one woman has since escaped from the building where the man is in hiding, Nakano City’s police spokesman later told CNN. Authorities suspect that there are more people inside the building, which is the home of a local politician. Police said the politician is not at his home and is uninjured.
The spokesman added that forces are investigating reports a gunshot-like sound was heard near the scene hours after the attack.
Among the casualties is a woman in her 40s, who was been taken to hospital where she was subsequently pronounced dead. Two police officers have also died from their injuries, NHK reported. The officers were aged 46 and 61, according to police.
Nakano City urged citizens to stay indoors in a statement posted onto social media, and the city police spokesman told CNN that authorities had designated an “evacuation zone” with a radius of 300 meters around the scene of the incident.
An evacuation center was later opened at the gymnasium of a middle school in Nakano City, according to a spokesman from Nakano City’s Crisis Management Division. Local officials are providing shelter, blankets, food, drinks, to around 60 people who have evacuated there.
Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, a country of 125 million people. It has one of the lowest rates of gun crimes in the world due to its extremely strict gun control laws.
However, Japan was rocked by a shooting last year that reverberated around the world.
Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara in July.
His murder sent shock waves through Japan and the international community, and also sparked questions about whether enough security was in place to protect him despite Japan’s track record for being a safe place.
Getting hold of a firearm in Japan is extremely difficult and the suspect in Abe’s shooting used a homemade weapon.
In 2022, nine incidents involving firearms took place in Japan including Abe’s assassination, one down from the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.
Of the nine incidents, six are believed to have been committed by gangs and other groups. In total, four people were killed and two injured in the nine incidents.
by tyler | May 25, 2023 | asia, CNN
A rare shooting and stabbing attack in Japan left three dead including two police officers, according to local police.
Police received a call in the late afternoon with reports that a “man stabbed a woman,” a Nakano City police official told CNN.
When officers rushed to the scene, the man fired something resembling a hunting rifle, striking four people, before fleeing the scene and barricading himself in a building, he added.
The woman was taken to hospital where she was subsequently pronounced dead.
NHK later reported that two police officers also died from their injuries and that one other person was injured.
The suspect was wearing a camouflage hat, top and bottoms with sunglasses and a mask, according to NHK.
Nakano City urged citizens to stay indoors in a statement posted onto social media Thursday.
The Nakano city police spokesman told CNN that authorities designated an “evacuation zone” with a radius of 300 meters around the incident scene.
The police spokesman added that its forces are investigating reports a gunshot-like sound was heard near the scene hours after the attack.
Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, a country of 125 million people. It has one of the lowest rates of gun crimes in the world due to its extremely strict gun control laws.
However, Japan was rocked by a shooting last year that reverberated around the world.
Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara in July.
His murder sent shock waves through Japan and the international community, and also sparked questions about whether enough security was in place to protect him despite Japan’s track record for being a safe place.
Getting hold of a firearm in Japan is extremely difficult and the suspect in Abe’s shooting used a homemade weapon.
In 2022, nine incidents involving firearms took place in Japan including Abe’s assassination, one down from the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.
Of the nine incidents, six are believed to have been committed by gangs and other groups. In total, four people were killed and two injured in the nine incidents.
by tyler | May 18, 2023 | asia, CNN
Authorities in New Zealand have arrested a suspect in relation to a fire at a hostel that killed at least six people on Tuesday.
The man has been charged with two counts of arson, but police say they have not ruled out “further, more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene.”
“Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the fire,” a spokesperson added Thursday.
Fire crews were called to Loafers Lodge hostel in the city center just after midnight local time and found the top floor of the four-story building well alight, according to a statement from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
As firefighters fought the blaze, 52 people were evacuated.
Tala Sili, who was staying in the hostel, told CNN affiliate Radio NZ the experience was “really scary.”
He said he saw smoke coming under his door on the top floor of the hostel, and he jumped two floors onto the roof of a nearby building, where he was ultimately rescued by paramedics and treated for a sprained ankle.
Local politician Paul Eagle told RNZ the transient nature of many of the building’s residents had made it hard for authorities to determine who may have been inside the building during the blaze.
“It’s not unusual that they won’t know exactly who’s there right at that moment because people can come and go all the time,” the Rongotai MP told RNZ. “It’s a simple place, there’s a roof over their heads, simple lodging.”
According to the Loafers Lodge website, the hostel offers 92 rooms with common areas, kitchens and laundry facilities within walking distance of Wellington Hospital in Newtown.
Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson told reporters that many residents had “lost absolutely everything that they had.”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited the site on Tuesday and expressed his sympathy for the victims and their loved ones.
“We’ve not seen an event of this scale for quite some time,” he said.
A mayoral relief fund has been set up through the Wellington City Mission for those impacted by the fire, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau told reporters.
Most of the residents evacuated from the hostel were sent to a safe accommodation, where they were given food, shelter and warm blankets, Whanau said in a video shared on her Facebook page.
In a press conference, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken with Hipkins and offered to assist as needed.
“I expressed my condolences on behalf of Australia to our friends in New Zealand at this very difficult time,” Albanese told reporters in Melbourne. “Any assistance of course will, as always, be available from Australia to New Zealand.”
by tyler | May 15, 2023 | asia, CNN
Thai opposition parties swept the board in Sunday’s nationwide election as voters delivered a powerful rebuke of the military-backed establishment that has ruled since a 2014 coup, capping years of rising anger over how conservative cliques have governed the kingdom.
Turnout was at a record high as voters flocked to calls for change, setting the scene for a potentially dramatic showdown as parties now begin jostling for coalition support to form a government under a junta-era constitution that still gives the military significant sway.
With more than 99% of votes counted, the progressive Move Forward party is projected to win 151 seats, with populist Pheu Thai in second place with 141 seats.
That puts the opposition far ahead of the party of incumbent Prime Minister – and 2014 coup leader – Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In the early hours of Monday, Move Forward’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who rode a wave of youth support on social media, tweeted his readiness to assume the leadership.
“We believe that our beloved Thailand can be better, and change is possible if we start today … our dream and hope are simple and straightforward, and no matter if you would agree or disagree with me, I will be your prime minister. And no matter if you have voted for me or have not, I will serve you,” he said.
In a news conference on Monday, Pita invited Pheu Thai and other opposition parties to form an alliance against Prayut. He said four other opposition parties have agreed to “join hands in forming a government” and that all sides would have to respect the poll’s outcome.
Pita, a 42-year-old Harvard alumni with a background in business, said the party would go forward with plans to amend the country’s strict lese majeste laws – a key campaign pledge despite the taboo surrounding any discussion of the royal family in Thailand.
One of his priorities is to support people facing jail terms on lese majeste charges after huge youth-led protests swept the country in 2020 with many rallies breaching taboos in openly calling for royal reform. Pita warned that if the law remains as it is, the relationship between the Thai people and the monarchy would only worsen.
The unofficial result delivers a damning verdict against Thailand’s military-backed establishment and traditionalist forces who were routed in the popular vote.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Susannah Patton, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute.
“Even the fact that you have a party that was articulating those views around reform of the lese majeste law, considering where Thailand was at only five or so years ago… it does introduce a whole new level of of unpredictability.”
But while voters have delivered a vocal call for change by overwhelmingly voting to reject military-backed parties, it’s not clear who will take power.
That’s because the military establishment has made sure they maintain a huge say in who can lead, even if they lose the popular vote.
To elect the next prime minister and form a government, a party – or coalition – must win a majority of the combined 750-seat lower and upper houses of parliament.
But under the junta-era constitution, Thailand’s 250-seat senate is chosen entirely by the military, meaning it will likely vote for a pro-military candidate.
In 2019, Prayut’s military-backed coalition gained enough seats to elect him as prime minister and form a government, despite Pheu Thai being the largest party.
In a press conference Monday, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) said voter turnout was the highest on record at 75.2%.
“This is a delightful number,” said ECT Chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong. “It shows the determination of people to participate in this election.”
Ittiporn said the vote count was temporarily delayed because election officials wanted to ensure accuracy, and one polling station had to suspend voting due to severe rain.
Official results should be known in five days and it will take 60 days before the winners are endorsed, he said.
Unofficial results as of 4 a.m. local time, showed the Bhumjai Thai party in third position, projected to win 71 seats, while Prayut’s party United Thai Nation was on course for 35 seats.
Sunday’s election saw political juggernaut Pheu Thai, which has been the main populist force in Thai politics for 20 years and favorite in the polls ahead of the ballot, go up against parties backed by the country’s powerful conservative establishment, which has historically supported candidates connected to the military, monarchy and the ruling elites.
Pheu Thai is the party of the billionaire Shinawatra family – a political dynasty headed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. His daughter, 36-year-old Paetongtarn, contested the election as one of three prime ministerial candidates for Pheu Thai.
On Monday, Pheu Thai said in a statement it agreed to Move Forward proposal to lead the formation of a new government and congratulated the party for gaining the largest number of seats.
“We have to accept (the result) like any sportsmanship. When Move Forward has won as number one, we congratulated them, and we are cheering for democracy and the nation can move forward,” Paetongtarn told reporters Monday.
But this year also saw the emergence of the Move Forward party as an electrifying new political force. Its campaign included a radical national reform agenda, pledging structural changes to the military, the economy, the decentralization of power and even reforms to the previously untouchable monarchy.
It proved hugely popular among Thailand’s young people – including the more than 3 million first-time voters – who felt they had been forgotten through almost a decade of military-led or backed rule.
The election was the first since youth-led mass pro-democracy protests in 2020 demanded democratic and military reforms, constitutional change, and – most shockingly for Thailand – to curb the powers of the monarchy.
It was also only the second since the military coup in 2014, in which a democratically elected government by Yingluck Shinawatra was toppled by Prayut who then installed himself as prime minister.
by tyler | May 12, 2023 | asia, CNN
Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, has been granted bail by Islamabad’s highest court, days after his dramatic arrest over corruption charges set off a deadly outpouring of anger against the country’s military.
A judge in the capital city’s High Court on Friday ordered Khan’s temporary release for two weeks.
“I am 100% sure I will be arrested again. I was allowed by the NAB to talk to my wife, arrest warrants are issued against her too,” Khan told CNN outside the courtroom ahead of his hearing.
It came a day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Khan’s arrest on Tuesday by Pakistan’s anti-graft agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NBI), was unlawful.
Khan’s party had filed a petition to challenge the illegal land acquisition charges against him by the NBI.
He accused the country’s powerful army chief of being behind his arrest, in his first public comments since the arrest.
“There is only one man taking action against me and that is the army chief,” Khan told reporters in court on Friday, referring to army chief General Syed Asim Munir.
CNN has approached Pakistan’s military for comment.
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year and has since led a popular campaign against the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusing it of colluding with senior military leaders to remove him from office and keep him locked out of politics.
He has also made allegations the government worked with the United States in a conspiracy to remove him from office, claims both parties rejected.
The army has previously rejected Khan’s claims it had anything to do with past purported attempts on his life.
Unprecedented scenes emerged following Khan’s arrest of defiant crowds breaking into military properties and setting the homes of army personnel ablaze, directly challenging a usually untouchable force that has long sat at the apex of power in Pakistan.
The government has blocked mobile internet services in a bid to quell the chaos, disrupting access to social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as well as key delivery apps and even digital payment platforms.
At least eight people have died and hundreds have been arrested nationwide, according to officials.
Police have also arrested several senior leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for “inciting arson and violent protests.”
The crisis comes as the nation of 220 million people grapples with an acute economic crisis, as soaring inflation leaves people unable to afford food and fuel, heightening fears about the country’s stability in what is an election year for Pakistan.
by tyler | May 12, 2023 | asia, CNN
As Thailand heads to the polls on Sunday a “lost generation” of young voters fired up by a yearning for change are keeping alive previously taboo topics, including the military’s stranglehold on the levers of power – and even royal reform.
The May 14 poll is the first since youth-led mass pro-democracy protests in 2020 and only the second since a military coup in 2014 ousted an elected government, restoring a conservative clique that has pulled the strings in the kingdom’s turbulent politics for decades.
While an old battleground has emerged between democratic allies and pro-military parties, at the heart of this year’s election is a fight led by a young generation who want what they see as a better version of Thailand.
Two parties – populist Pheu Thai and progressive Move Forward – are leading the polls, with both campaigning to remove the military from politics.
The opposition Pheu Thai is aiming for a landslide. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, is one of the party’s three prime ministerial candidates and the latest member of a controversial political dynasty to contest.
Both her father, Thaksin, a former policeman turned billionaire telecoms tycoon, and her aunt Yingluck ran governments that were ousted in military coups. Both also live in exile, with Thai courts sentencing them to prison on corruption charges in their absence.
Enormously popular among Thailand’s rural and urban working classes, Thaksin-aligned parties have won every election since 2001.
But it’s Move Forward that is being described by analysts as a “game changer.”
Contesting for the first time, the party’s platform includes a radical national reform agenda that threatens to shake up Thailand’s conservative establishment.
It is pledging deep structural reforms to how Thailand is run: changes to the military, the economy, the decentralization of power and even reforms to the previously untouchable monarchy.
“That is earth-shaking in Thailand as [the monarchy] is a taboo subject,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University.
“That’s why this election is unlike any other. That’s why this election is the most important so far in Thai elections. Because it’s moving the agenda, it’s moving the frontier to next stage… to the core of Thailand’s problems.”
Two separate opinion polls issued last week put Move Forward’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, as favorite for prime minister, according to Reuters, suggesting the party’s reform platform is appealing to not just young Thais but a wider society.
Three years ago, youth-led protests swept the southeast Asian nation demanding democratic and military reforms, constitutional change, and – most shockingly for Thailand – to curb the powers of the monarchy.
Those protests ended in a police crackdown and hundreds of arrests while the Covid pandemic raged on, but their anger – and the movement that was born out of it – never went away.
Some of those protesters are now contesting Sunday’s election, vowing to enact change from within.
Chonthicha Jangrew, 30, was a prominent fixture at the protests and is now vying for a parliament seat with the Move Forward Party.
“We feel that we are the lost generation. We have been living under an authoritarian government during our most critical years,” she told CNN. “We were repeatedly told we have to work harder, but we just can’t see our future in this country … it is still difficult to buy our own house or even a car.”
Chonthicha has been out on the campaign trail promoting her party’s policies, including to reduce the military’s budget and size, abolish military service, to get rid of military-appointed senators, and to draft a new constitution that “serves the people.”
“We can’t solve our economic problems if we don’t have good and stable politics,” she said. “After we have good politics, we can have a good welfare state for the people. Especially as we are facing economic and environmental challenges, a pandemic and climate change.”
She wants to see the Thai government respect human rights and freedom of expression. And that includes amendments to Article 112 of the Criminal Code – Thailand’s strict lese majeste law that criminalizes criticism of the monarchy and makes any frank discussion of the subject fraught with risk.
Lese majeste convictions carry long prison terms and currently, anyone can bring a case, even if they aren’t connected to the alleged crime.
Before the 2020 protests it was highly unusual to hear Thais talk openly about the monarchy. Now, Chonthicha said people are discussing monarchy reform and the extension of the king’s power.
“This is already a success for us, we have already turned a taboo subject into a public debate. It used to be a prohibited topic to discuss, now everyone is talking about it,” she said.
It could be an uphill battle for Chonthicha. She is facing dozens of legal charges linked to her activism including two counts of lese majeste, and four charges of sedition for her role in the protest movement between 2020 and 2022.
Im Jeepetch, a 24-year-old IT engineer from Bangkok, says she plans to vote for Move Forward.
“It has been not OK for me at all for the past eight years,” Im said, citing in particular frustration with the job market and Thailand’s education system.
Move Forward is the de facto successor to the Future Forward Party, which won the third most number of seats in the 2019 election. Shortly after the vote, Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the party and banned its leaders from politics for 10 years.
That brought thousands of young people out onto the streets across the country – sparking the 2020 movement.
This time, the party is hoping to beat Future Forward’s 81 seats. Chonthicha believes the demands from the street protests can become a reality as Move Forward could become part of a coalition government, likely joining forces with Pheu Thai.
Political juggernaut Pheu Thai also wants to kick the military out of power, amend the constitution, and end military service – but the party has made it clear it won’t touch Article 112.
Paetongtarn, who was back campaigning just days after giving birth, is the youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin. He has again vowed to return to Thailand from self-imposed exile, even though he faces potential prison time.
The family has been the main populist force in Thai politics for more than two decades but leading a new government could fall to political newbie and property tycoon Srettha Thavisin.
Srettha, one of Pheu Thai’s three picks for prime minister, says he’s not Thaksin’s man and is keen to focus on fixing Thailand’s income inequality, promote LGBTQ+ rights including same-sex marriage, root out corruption and put Thailand back on the world stage.
“I want to be a prime minister who can make the difference,” Srettha told CNN. “We really need to be boosting foreign activities. We need to go out and talk to the world. We need to sell Thailand. What are the advantages of investing in Thailand? What do we have to offer the world?”
Many parties are offering populist welfare policies to attract voters, but Pheu Thai has pledged to give 10,000 baht (about $300) in a digital wallet to every Thai over the age of 16, prompting questions of where the cash will come from.
“Thailand has been in a bad economic situation for the last five to eight years. We are kind of in a coma. You need a big economic stimulus policy just to get them back on their feet and start being economic producing members of society again,” Srettha said.
Pheu Thai and Move Forward’s policies present a “full frontal assault” on Thailand’s powerful conservative establishment, political scientist Thitinan said.
That is unlikely to go unchallenged, and in the past, lawmakers have faced bans, parties have been dissolved, and governments have been overthrown.
Thailand has witnessed a dozen successful coups since 1932, including two in the past 17 years.
And there are other roadblocks to the progressive movement’s potential election success.
Under a constitution drafted by the military following their last coup, the 250-seat Senate was appointed by the junta and is able to influence who becomes the next prime minister.
A party needs a majority of the combined houses – 750 seats – to elect a prime minister. With the Senate likely to vote for a pro-military candidate, it means opposition parties need almost three times as many votes in the lower house to be able to elect the next leader.
And while the pro-democracy parties are leading polls, experts warn against underestimating incumbent Prime Minister and former coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha.
He’s ruled Thailand since seizing power from former Prime Minister Yingluck in 2014. His military-drafted constitution ensured his party’s coalition gained enough seats to elect him as prime minister in 2019, despite Pheu Thai being the largest party.
“His numbers are not high but he’ll leverage the Senate to become Prime Minister first,” said political scientist Thitinan. “Once he’s got the backing of the Senate, he could convince other lawmakers to join his camp and govern with a minority in the lower house.”
Whoever wins Sunday’s election, the progressive movement, strengthened by an increasingly politically aware and determined young generation, is not going anywhere.
“It will not take long to see the real change,” said Move Forward’s Chonthicha. “The change is already here, these kids in the near future they will be able cast their votes. They are the deciding factor of Thai society.”
