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International News

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #4 (April 7, 2025), page 2.

Japan’s cherry blossom season officially arrived March 24

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s official cherry blossom spotters confirmed the first blooming of the country’s favorite flower on March 24, declaring the official start of the festive season in the Japanese capital. An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) carefully examined the specimen tree of Somei Yoshino variety at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine and announced that more than five blossoms — the minimum required for the announcement — were flowering on it. The opening matched the average year and was five days earlier than last year, according to the JMA. Cherry blossoms, or "sakura," are Japan’s favorite flower and usually reach their peak in late March to early April, just as the country celebrates the start of a new school and business year. Many Japanese enjoy walking or picnicking under the trees. Sakura have deeply influenced Japanese culture for centuries and have regularly been used in poetry and literature, with their fragility seen as a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. The announcement in Tokyo, which has enjoyed warmer-than-usual temperatures of around 66º Fahrenheit, came just one day after the blooming of the nation’s first cherry blossom was confirmed in the southwestern city of Kochi on the island of Shikoku. The JMA tracks more than 50 "benchmark" cherry trees across the country. The trees normally bloom for about two weeks each year from first bud to all the blossoms falling off. They were expected to reach their peak in about 10 days. Cherry trees are sensitive to temperature changes and the timing of their blooming can provide valuable data for climate change studies. In recent years, Japan’s cherry blossom season has tended to come earlier than the average, prompting concerns of a possible impact of climate change.

Indonesian sharia clown teaches Islamic values to children

TANGERANG, Indonesia (AP) — Wearing a colorful costume, red nose, and a turban on his head, Yahya Hendrawan performs as a clown in Indonesian schools, teaching Islamic values to children and teenagers. He started out working birthday parties as a side hustle. But in 2010, his religious teacher encouraged him to become a modern-day Abu Nawas, a legendary Arabic poet known for his wit, wisdom, humor, and clever wordplay, so he could bring a cheerful, lighthearted approach to teaching religion. Hendrawan, now known as Yahya Badut, or Yahya the Clown, has embraced that vision. He founded, along with some fellow clowns, the Sharia Clown Foundation, a neighborhood initiative that blends entertainment with religious education. Hendrawan teaches every weekday afternoon in a library at his house and occasionally at a school or orphanage with his clown partners. He often begins lessons with a cheerful song, encouraging children to share a smile. Other clowns open with magic tricks. "There is a hadith that says: Your sweet smile in front of your brothers is charity. So we must prioritize smiles and greetings. When meeting friends, shaking hands, smile … You are good. I am good. Thank god," Hendrawan said. By being funny and cheerful, Hendrawan says he hopes the children will quickly absorb his lessons about morals, manners, and Islamic values.

Rohingya refugees welcome new U.S. financial aid

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — The U.S. government confirmed in late March that it would provide $73 million in new financial aid for Rohingya refugees through the United Nations’ food agency, easing worries among more than 1 million refugees that essential food rations would be cut. Aid agencies, the U.N., and refugees have voiced concerns after the World Food Program (WFP) warned it may be affected after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was cutting international aid. The WFP said that if it is not able to raise funds, it will have no option but to halve food rations to $6 a month from the previous $12.50 in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, where the Rohingya live in sprawling camps. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, the Bangladesh government’s Refugee, Relief, and Repatriation commissioner, told reporters that he received confirmation from the WFP that refugees in Cox’s Bazar — as well as the thousands who have been relocated to Bhashan Char island — will continue to receive $12 to $13 a month each in aid. The U.S. had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017 and providing the U.N. with emergency food and nutrition assistance, according to the State Department.

Marathon organizers apologize for gun-shaped prizes

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The organizers of a marathon in southern Taiwan, including a member of the self-governing island republic’s legislature, have apologized after giving out prizes in the shape of a golden Chinese machine gun. Legislator Hsu Chi-chieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive party that favors the island’s independence from China apologized and said the use of the image of a Chinese QBZ-95 on trophies for top winners was an unintentional mistake. Those given the trophies would be given the option of choosing a different one. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to use force to bring it under its control. In an address to the island in mid-March, President William Lai Ching-te reminded residents that Taiwan law designates mainland China as a "foreign hostile force" and said tougher measures were being taken to prevent Chinese subversion through the media and civic exchanges. Lai warned also of the danger of influential figures and serving and retired members of the military selling secrets to China. Underscoring the apparent incompetence behind the incident, the Fengshan Marathon held near the major southern port of Kaohsiung wound its way through the Taiwanese Military Academy, the Army Infantry Training Command, and the Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School, all affiliated with the Defense Ministry. The Fengshan Road Running Association apologized for the use of the Chinese rifle.