Japan-China spat over Taiwan comments sinks tourism stocks
Japanese tourism and retail shares dived on Monday after China warned its citizens to avoid the tourist hotspot in a spat over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.A senior Japanese official meanwhile arrived in China seeking to defuse the row sparked by Takaichi’s suggestion that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on the self-ruled island.Asia’s two top economies are closely entwined, with China the biggest source of tourists — almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 — coming to Japan.Drawn by a weak yen making shopping cheaper, they collectively splurged more than a billion dollars a month in the third quarter, accounting for almost 30 percent of all tourist spending.Japan was also the fourth-most popular destination for Chinese tourists last year, helping the land of Mount Fuji, sushi and geishas set new records for foreign arrivals.But in fears that this may now stop, investors wiped nine percent off Japanese cosmetics firm Shiseido’s market value on Monday.Department store group Mitsukoshi fell 11.3 percent and Pan Pacific, behind discount retail chain and tourist magnet Don Quijote, slid 5.3 percent.Japan Airlines, whose shares nosedived 3.4 percent, has not seen any major cancellations on flights to and from China, a spokesperson told AFP.Before taking power last month, Takaichi was a vocal critic of China and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.If a Taiwan emergency entails “battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan)”, Takaichi, 64, told parliament on November 7.Under Japan’s self-imposed rules, an existential threat is one of the few cases where it can act militarily. Taiwan sits around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the nearest Japanese island.- ‘Troublemaker’ -Japan said Monday it scrambled aircraft after detecting a suspected Chinese drone near its southern island of Yonaguni, which is close to Taiwan, on Saturday.Beijing insists Taiwan — which Japan occupied for decades until 1945 — is part of its territory, and the prime minister’s comments have sparked a furore.This has included a Chinese diplomat stationed in Japan threatening to “cut off that dirty neck”, apparently referring to Takaichi, and China and Japan have summoned each other’s ambassadors.Beijing also advised its citizens to avoid travelling to the country and warned the roughly 100,000 Chinese students in Japan that there were risks to their safety.Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters on Monday that the announcements were “incompatible with the broader direction agreed upon by the leaders of the two nations”.On Sunday, Chinese coast guard vessels spent several hours in Japan’s territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and a frequent flashpoint, Kihara said.In Beijing, tech worker Daniel Feng called the Chinese government’s responses “very restrained” given Takaichi’s “extremely unreasonable” remarks.”If she spouts words, that’s not a problem… but if they take real action, our country’s military will definitely defeat them,” the 40-year-old told AFP.Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on Beijing on Monday to “show restraint, act like a major power, and not become the troublemaker” in the Asia-Pacific region, where peace and stability have been “severely impacted”.”China should return to the path of a rules-based international order, which would help maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” Lai told reporters.- Economic hit -Beijing meanwhile said than Chinese premier Li Qiang has no plans to meet with Takaichi in a G20 summit in South Africa later this week which they are both set to attend.A Japanese government official told AFP that Masaaki Kanai, the top foreign ministry official for Asia-Pacific affairs, arrived in China on Monday.”We are trying not to escalate the situation,” the official told AFP.Kanai is expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu Jinsong on Tuesday, according to media reports.The diplomatic spat could spell further bad news for Japan’s economy, which shrank by 0.4 percent in the third quarter, official data showed on Monday.Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics warned that the tensions risked escalating “into a full-blown trade spat” similar to a previous episode in the early 2010s.This could include China restricting exports of rare earths or imposing restrictions on Japanese exports.”Carmakers look particularly vulnerable as they are already under enormous pressure from the ascent of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers,” Thieliant added.hih-jug-stu-aph/nf/ami
Bangladesh’s Hasina condemns guilty crimes against humanity verdict
Bangladesh’s fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated”.Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her.She was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier on Monday.”The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate,” Hasina said in a statement issued from hiding in India.”They are biased and politically motivated.”Critics accused her of jailing political rivals, enacting harsh anti-press laws, and overseeing widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of opposition activists.But the trial centred around the 1,400 people who were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.Hasina was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial but she refused to recognise the court’s authority and said she rejected all charges.”Its guilty verdict against me was a foregone conclusion,” Hasina added in the statement, claiming she would be willing to attend a fresh trial outside her home nation.”I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly,” she said.”That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.”Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and “granting her a platform to spew hatred”.The International Crisis Group said the “political repercussions of this verdict are significant”.”The process has not been without critics,” ICG analyst Thomas Kean said.”In absentia trials are often a source of contention, and in this case the speed with which the hearings were conducted and the apparent lack of resources for the defence also raise questions of fairness… But they should not be used to downplay or deflect from Sheikh Hasina’s actions”.Kean added: “The prospect of Sheikh Hasina mounting a political comeback in Bangladesh now appears very slim”.
Pierre Moscovici souhaite un candidat social-démocrate à la présidentielle
Le Premier président de la Cour des comptes Pierre Moscovici a souhaité lundi qu’il y ait un candidat social-démocrate à l’élection présidentielle de 2027, “respecté au-delà des frontières” françaises, tout en indiquant n’y avoir jamais pensé pour sa part.M. Moscovici, qui a fait sa carrière politique au Parti socialiste, puis a été ministre des Finances de 2012 à 2014 sous François Hollande, avant d’être Commissaire européen en charge des affaires économiques (2014 à 2019), préside depuis 2020 la Cour des comptes et se doit à cet égard d’être “impartial”, a-t-il rappelé sur Radio-Classique.Il s’apprête cependant à quitter ce poste pour rejoindre dès le 1er janvier la Cour des comptes européenne à Luxembourg, retrouvant ainsi “une liberté d’écrire, de penser”, tout en “respectant l’obligation de réserve de la Cour des comptes européenne”, a-t-il ajouté.”Dans un pays, pour que la démocratie fonctionne, il faut qu’il y ait une droite et (…) une gauche”, “une gauche qui ait à cœur de gouverner, qui soit pour la transformation mais aussi pour le réalisme”, a-t-il dit, en constatant que, “de ce point de vue-là, LFI et les socialistes et les autres, ce n’est pas exactement pareil”.”Donc je souhaite qu’il y ait une doctrine social-démocrate affirmée, séduisante et qui propose des réformes crédibles et je souhaite qu’il y ait un candidat de ce camp à l’élection présidentielle”, a-t-il ajouté, “qui puisse rassembler et qui puisse aussi être respecté au-delà des frontières de son pays”.Comme on lui demandait si ce pourrait être lui, il a répondu “je n’y ai pas pensé de ma vie”. Pierre Moscovici a par ailleurs jugé “souhaitable et possible” qu’un accord finisse par être trouvé au Parlement sur le budget 2026, tout en insistant : “il est impératif que le déficit public final, quelle que soit la procédure (par laquelle le budget verra le jour, NDLR), soit inférieur à 5%” du PIB.Alors que les entreprises françaises, conviées lundi par le gouvernement à un évènement “Choose France” consacré à leurs investissements dans le pays, sont très mécontentes des multiples taxes décidées à leur égard par la discussion budgétaire de l’Assemblée nationale, M. Moscovici a considéré qu’il ne faut pas “une fiscalité confiscatoire qui empêcherait nos entreprises d’investir”, mais qu’elles “doivent être prêtes à prendre leur juste part à l’effort collectif”.
Municipales: au Conseil de Paris, la droite, divisée depuis 2024, resserre les rangs derrière Dati
Les élus LR du premier groupe d’opposition de droite au Conseil de Paris, qui avaient fait scission avec le groupe de Rachida Dati en 2024, ont annoncé lundi rejoindre la candidate LR aux municipales pour “accompagner sa dynamique de campagne”.Les 17 conseillers LR du groupe Union Capitale, qui en compte 22, rejoindront “dans les prochaines semaines” les 19 élus du groupe dirigé par Rachida Dati Changer Paris, pour reconstituer le plus grand groupe d’opposition de l’assemblée parisienne, a annoncé à l’AFP le maire du 17e arrondissement Geoffroy Boulard, président d’Union Capitale.”Dans un esprit de cohérence et d’unité en vue des municipales de 2026″, ils souhaitent “contribuer pleinement à la dynamique et au rassemblement portés par la candidate de la droite et du centre” Rachida Dati, investie par les LR pour les municipales de mars 2026, expliquent les conseillers dans un communiqué en amont du Conseil de Paris qui s’ouvre mardi.Parmi les cinq élus restants d’Union Capitale figurent Pierre-Yves Bournazel, candidat Horizons à la mairie de Paris soutenu par Renaissance, ainsi que la maire Horizons du 5e arrondissement Florence Berthout.”Rachida Dati est la mieux placée pour gagner et offrir aux Parisiens le changement qu’ils attendent après 25 ans de gestion de la même majorité”, a justifié Geoffroy Boulard. Le maire LR du 17e arrondissement avait quitté les troupes de Rachida Dati pour fonder Union Capitale en juillet 2024, aux côtés de Pierre-Yves Bournazel et d’Agnès Evren, présidente de la fédération LR de Paris.Cette dernière, également sénatrice et conseillère de Paris, a lancé vendredi aux élus de la capitale un “appel à l’unité” pour “travailler efficacement en amont” à quatre mois des élections municipales de mars 2026.Union Capitale, constitué d’une majorité de LR et de quelques élus Horizons et Renaissance, “a porté une méthode, une ouverture nécessaire pour revitaliser l’opposition à Paris. Cette dynamique n’a pas vocation à disparaître car Rachida Dati a organisé un large rassemblement”, estime Geoffroy Boulard. Il assure qu'”aucune tractation” n’a eu lieu avec la maire du 7e arrondissement pour la constitution des listes en vue du scrutin.La droite est aujourd’hui éclatée en trois groupes au Conseil de Paris (163 élus) où la gauche dirigée par Anne Hidalgo est majoritaire. En mars 2024, le sénateur LR Francis Szpiner avait lui aussi créé son propre groupe LR et centristes (Demain Paris, 16 élus) pour marquer son désaccord avec l’entrée de Rachida Dati dans le gouvernement d’Emmanuel Macron.
Kurdish PKK militants say have left key area in north Iraq
The Kurdish militant PKK said Monday its forces had withdrawn from a key border area in northern Iraq in a move aimed at shoring up the peace process with Turkey. The pull out comes six months after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) formally renounced its armed struggle against Turkey, drawing a line under four decades of violence that had claimed some 50,000 lives.”As of the evening of November 16, our forces.. in the Zap region have been withdrawn,” the group said in a statement published by Firat news agency. “Currently the risk of conflict in the area has been completely eliminated,” it said, describing the withdrawal from Zap as a “significant practical contribution” that showed the PKK’s “commitment” to ongoing efforts to reset ties with Ankara.”We believe this new step will serve the resolution of the Kurdish issue and will help with the peace and democratisation of Turkey.”Ankara began indirect talks with the PKK late last year, with its jailed founder Abdullah Ocalan in February urging his militants to lay down their weapons and embrace democratic means to advance the Kurdish cause. After formally announcing their dissolution in May, they began destroying their weapons in July and in late October, began withdrawing all their forces from Turkish soil to northern Iraq. Turkey has set up a cross-party parliamentary commission to lay the groundwork for the peace process and prepare a legal framework for the political integration of the PKK and its fighters. The PKK has long had bases in the Zap region of northern Iraq, which was targeted by Turkish troops in a ground operation in 2008. The Turkish military has consistently focused its operations on the Zap area, which has seen intense clashes over the years, despite the operational difficulties of advancing in such mountainous terrain. Until recently, the PKK has maintained a strong presence in Zap, which has symbolic importance for the militants as the place where its headquarters were initially located before moving further east to the Qandil Mountains. A resident in a nearby area told AFP the Zap region was very sparsely populated with only PKK militants and Turkish troops operating there, apart from shepherds who would go there during the summer months. Due to the rugged nature of the terrain, the PKK sometimes used drones to deliver food and clothes to its fighters, the resident said. The PKK says it wants to pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority in line with a historic call in February by Ocalan who has led the process from his prison cell on Imrali island near Istanbul. The 76-year-old has been serving a life sentence there in solitary confinement since 1999.burs-hmw/yad





