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IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
GNU Extravagance Making a Mockery of Austerity Measures
Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivers opening remarks at a roundtable discussion with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on March 19, 2025. For the past few days, there has been a war of words among different constituencies regarding Mashatile's expenses on international trips, says the writer. Image: GCIS Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu When Deputy President Paul Mashatile appeared before Parliament to answer questions as is required in terms of the Constitution, he found himself having to respond to questions which went beyond his political work but touched on issues related to the current state of the country's finances. Dr Teboko Letlape from ActionSA asked for a complete updated breakdown of all official travels by Mashatile since he assumed office on 3 July 2024. This included information about the purpose of each visit and whether it was justified or not; details about the countries visited; costs involved on each trip; the names and roles of each member of the delegation; and any additional costs on each trip. While this appeared to be a normal question-and-answer session which both the President and Deputy President must honour, the questions triggered a debate which has caught the attention of many South Africans. For the past few days, there has been a war of words among different constituencies regarding Mashatile's expenses on international trips. The bone of contention is about the amounts involved in these international trips which include countries such as Botswana, France, Ireland, Japan, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe. For the Japan trip, one source placed the figure at a staggering R580 582. Responding to this figure, Mashatile's office released a statement on 10 June 2025 arguing that most of the figures (including this one) were blown out of proportion. The statement said that the cost for the Japan trip was less than R66 000. Among other things, the statement reminded the country that South Africa must strengthen relations with other countries. It also indicated that some of Mashatile's trips were undertaken following President Ramaphosa's decision to delegate him (Mashatile) while he was busy with other assignments. To take the nation into confidence, Mashatile's office provided what it called 'correct' figures and other related information. While the question from ActionSA was fair, and while the response from Mashatile's office was justifiable and necessary, the main question becomes: what should South Africans focus on beyond being fixated on the debatable numbers that have been presented by different stakeholders? Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading In addressing this question, we should not lose sight of the need for the executive members to execute their mandate. We should also not ignore the fact that it is important for our country to forge new relations while strengthening preexisting ones. Importantly, as part of multilateral institutions like G20 and others, South Africa must remain visible in the global arena. But, having said all that, there are many critical questions which have been invoked by the ongoing debate about Mashatile's international trips. The first question can be phrased as follows: given the country's economic situation, is it advisable for the executive to embark on too many trips which eat on the country's thin budget? A logical answer is an emphatic no! Any argument against too many trips should not be misconstrued to mean that there should be no international trip at all. Secondly, given the reasons provided by Mashatile's office, what is the role of South Africa's foreign missions or embassies? If our embassies have properly trained staff, can't they do some of the work which is done by the executive? In the same vein, given that most of the countries our executive visits have embassies with staff, is it not possible to use some of the staff members already stationed in those countries to assist our executive so that the delegation from South Africa could be trimmed to cut costs? In short, is there a return on investment when each member of the executive is accompanied by a big delegation? Is it wise for the South African government to equate itself with First World countries like America that can afford huge delegations? If the answer is in the negative, then we should cut the cloth according to our size. Another very critical question is about the political parties which were very critical of the ANC during their campaigns for the 2024 general election. What has become of their criticism? Have they suddenly lost voices? If they were critical of the ANC because they were listening to the cries of many South Africans, did they miraculously become 'deaf-mute' as soon as they signed the historic statement of intent which produced the multiparty coalition which is touted as the Government of National Unity (GNU)? The reality is that poverty is rife in South Africa. The high unemployment rate of 32.9 per cent is unacceptable. The high crime rate does not encourage foreign investment and tourism. Even continued inequality in the country is not something we can be proud of. To what extent has the coalition government assisted in changing this situation for the better? One glaring irony is that many of the ten political parties that are in a coalition were vocal about our bloated cabinet during their campaigns. Even the ANC was in favour of a reduced cabinet. Intriguingly, after the 2024 election, all of that changed. The seventh administration witnessed a bigger cabinet compared to that of the sixth administration. The mundane argument is that this was necessitated by the coalition government. But were politicians more concerned about cabinet positions than being MPs to serve the people?
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JETRO and CIC to Showcase Promising Japanese Biotech Startups at "Japan Innovation Night" during BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston
BOSTON, June 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and CIC Japan Desk will once again host "Japan Innovation Night: Best in Biotech" - a groundbreaking event showcasing the latest advancements in biotechnology from Japanese startups. This exclusive gathering will take place on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, from 5:30pm to 8pm in Venture Café at CIC Cambridge. This event provides a unique opportunity for U.S. venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies, particularly those based in the Greater Boston Area, to explore potential partnerships and synergies with innovative Japanese biotech firms. That same week, JETRO will also be organizing the Japan Pavilion at BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston; therefore, JETRO is pleased to bring several of the exhibiting startups to present their products in a more intimate setting at Japan Innovation Night. The event will feature ten carefully selected startups that will each be given three-minute pitches to present their latest innovations and partnering strategies and goals. A networking session will also be arranged for after the pitch session. In 2024, the Japanese government updated its Bioeconomy Strategy, expressing its intent to step up its support for bioeconomy fields in Japan. This is on top of an already one trillion-yen budget measure enacted by the Japanese government in fiscal year 2022. The Bioeconomy Strategy underscores the Japanese government's commitment to expanding Japan's bioeconomy in the hopes of providing solutions to a myriad of societal and economic issues, from the environment to food to health and economic development. In the Strategy, the Japanese government commits to enhancing the local startup ecosystem, ensuring its support aligns with the domestic biomanufacturing sector's structure and the challenges its players face. By coordinating initiatives across government efforts, the Bioeconomy Strategy aims to establish environments that foster startup creation, growth, and R&D. JETRO will introduce innovative startups from this market at Japan Innovation Night. Full List of Japanese Startups: Pre-Registration Here: About JETRO The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is a Japanese government-affiliated agency that supports Japanese businesses expanding globally and international businesses entering Japan. JETRO helps to facilitate collaboration and business alliances between Japanese and overseas companies via its business platform "J-Bridge." About CIC CIC builds and operates a global network of innovation campuses where startups, scale-ups, corporations and public entities connect, work, and grow. Founded in 1999, CIC manages 1.5 million square feet of innovation-focused workspace, laboratories, and event space across North America, Europe and Asia. Additionally, CIC develops bespoke programming, builds and enables industry clusters, and provides world-class district consulting—all focused on advancing innovation. View source version on Contacts Ryota HiramotoJETRO New YorkRyota_Hiramoto@ 1-212-997-0400 Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
JETRO and CIC to Showcase Promising Japanese Biotech Startups at "Japan Innovation Night" during BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and CIC Japan Desk will once again host " Japan Innovation Night: Best in Biotech" - a groundbreaking event showcasing the latest advancements in biotechnology from Japanese startups. This exclusive gathering will take place on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, from 5:30pm to 8pm in Venture Café at CIC Cambridge. This event provides a unique opportunity for U.S. venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies, particularly those based in the Greater Boston Area, to explore potential partnerships and synergies with innovative Japanese biotech firms. That same week, JETRO will also be organizing the Japan Pavilion at BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston; therefore, JETRO is pleased to bring several of the exhibiting startups to present their products in a more intimate setting at Japan Innovation Night. The event will feature ten carefully selected startups that will each be given three-minute pitches to present their latest innovations and partnering strategies and goals. A networking session will also be arranged for after the pitch session. In 2024, the Japanese government updated its Bioeconomy Strategy, expressing its intent to step up its support for bioeconomy fields in Japan. This is on top of an already one trillion-yen budget measure enacted by the Japanese government in fiscal year 2022. The Bioeconomy Strategy underscores the Japanese government's commitment to expanding Japan's bioeconomy in the hopes of providing solutions to a myriad of societal and economic issues, from the environment to food to health and economic development. In the Strategy, the Japanese government commits to enhancing the local startup ecosystem, ensuring its support aligns with the domestic biomanufacturing sector's structure and the challenges its players face. By coordinating initiatives across government efforts, the Bioeconomy Strategy aims to establish environments that foster startup creation, growth, and R&D. JETRO will introduce innovative startups from this market at Japan Innovation Night. Full List of Japanese Startups: Pre-Registration Here: About JETRO The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is a Japanese government-affiliated agency that supports Japanese businesses expanding globally and international businesses entering Japan. JETRO helps to facilitate collaboration and business alliances between Japanese and overseas companies via its business platform "J-Bridge." About CIC CIC builds and operates a global network of innovation campuses where startups, scale-ups, corporations and public entities connect, work, and grow. Founded in 1999, CIC manages 1.5 million square feet of innovation-focused workspace, laboratories, and event space across North America, Europe and Asia. Additionally, CIC develops bespoke programming, builds and enables industry clusters, and provides world-class district consulting—all focused on advancing innovation.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JETRO and CIC to Showcase Promising Japanese Biotech Startups at "Japan Innovation Night" during BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston
BOSTON, June 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and CIC Japan Desk will once again host "Japan Innovation Night: Best in Biotech" - a groundbreaking event showcasing the latest advancements in biotechnology from Japanese startups. This exclusive gathering will take place on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, from 5:30pm to 8pm in Venture Café at CIC Cambridge. This event provides a unique opportunity for U.S. venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies, particularly those based in the Greater Boston Area, to explore potential partnerships and synergies with innovative Japanese biotech firms. That same week, JETRO will also be organizing the Japan Pavilion at BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston; therefore, JETRO is pleased to bring several of the exhibiting startups to present their products in a more intimate setting at Japan Innovation Night. The event will feature ten carefully selected startups that will each be given three-minute pitches to present their latest innovations and partnering strategies and goals. A networking session will also be arranged for after the pitch session. In 2024, the Japanese government updated its Bioeconomy Strategy, expressing its intent to step up its support for bioeconomy fields in Japan. This is on top of an already one trillion-yen budget measure enacted by the Japanese government in fiscal year 2022. The Bioeconomy Strategy underscores the Japanese government's commitment to expanding Japan's bioeconomy in the hopes of providing solutions to a myriad of societal and economic issues, from the environment to food to health and economic development. In the Strategy, the Japanese government commits to enhancing the local startup ecosystem, ensuring its support aligns with the domestic biomanufacturing sector's structure and the challenges its players face. By coordinating initiatives across government efforts, the Bioeconomy Strategy aims to establish environments that foster startup creation, growth, and R&D. JETRO will introduce innovative startups from this market at Japan Innovation Night. Full List of Japanese Startups: Pre-Registration Here: About JETRO The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is a Japanese government-affiliated agency that supports Japanese businesses expanding globally and international businesses entering Japan. JETRO helps to facilitate collaboration and business alliances between Japanese and overseas companies via its business platform "J-Bridge." About CIC CIC builds and operates a global network of innovation campuses where startups, scale-ups, corporations and public entities connect, work, and grow. Founded in 1999, CIC manages 1.5 million square feet of innovation-focused workspace, laboratories, and event space across North America, Europe and Asia. Additionally, CIC develops bespoke programming, builds and enables industry clusters, and provides world-class district consulting—all focused on advancing innovation. View source version on Contacts Ryota HiramotoJETRO New YorkRyota_Hiramoto@ 1-212-997-0400
Asahi Shimbun
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Vietnamese craftsmen save Yamagata ‘flower hat' fest
From right, Yoshiaki Henmi, president of Shobido, Yamagata Mayor Takahiro Sato, Kenji Koga, director of the Yamagata commerce information center of the Japan External Trade Organization, and Koga's wife, Tran, show off prototype 'hanagasa' floral hats crafted in Vietnam at the Yamagata city office on Feb. 13. (Koichi Anzai) YAMAGATA--Hats off to Vietnamese artisans who have come to the rescue of a long-established festival here that is famed for its beautiful dancers holding 'hanagasa' in their hands. The Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is among the most renowned summer events in the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. Last summer, the organizer of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival discovered that the traditional flower straw hats carried by the dancers were in short supply. Causing this grave 'incident' was the dearth of materials and craftsmen. In the end, with the kind assistance of Vietnam, which has historically been skilled in making straw hats, the Japanese festival successfully overcame the crisis, at least temporarily. Hanagasa, adorned with imitation flowers and small bells as its Japanese name meaning 'floral hats' suggests, constitutes the essential part of the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival. Shouting energetically and twirling flower-decorated hats in their hands, some 10,000 dancers, led by floats, parade through the central area of Yamagata city in the annual ritual period in early August. A total of 700,000 visitors attended the three-day festival in 2024, according to its organizer. More than 90 percent of the hanagasa are made and sold by Shobido, a souvenir wholesaler and retailer based in Yamagata city. Yoshiaki Henmi, 64, president of Shobido, said that his company sells 4,000 hats primarily to performers' groups every year. Despite this, Shobido had no choice but to decline orders for 1,000 hanagasa last year. LINKED VIA NHK TV DRAMA The hanagasa shortage in 2024 was attributed to not only underdeveloped sedge--the grass-like material used for the floral headwear--but also the lack of successors capable of weaving hanagasa. Sedge in Yamagata Prefecture is cultured mainly in Yamagata city alongside Iide and Obanazawa. The plant did not grow thick due to high temperatures and dry weather over the past few years. Thinner sedge stalks required more stems to complete each hat, reportedly resulting in a plunge in hanagasa output. Aside from this, hanagasa artisans in areas like the Nakatsugawa district of Iide, where the old-style hat is aggressively crafted by hand by farmers for earning money on the side in the off-season, are becoming increasingly elderly. About 15 individuals were engaged in hanagasa production in Nakatsugawa 10 years ago. Now, only five women in their 70s to 90s continue to make the headgear, marking a sharp decline in the number of makers. In the peak period, as many as 10,000 hanagasa were shipped annually from Nakatsugawa. The district has delivered 2,000 pieces in the face of the challenging situation in recent years. A dedicated training program was organized to nurture and develop younger craftsmen. However, the workshop was reportedly discontinued shortly thereafter. Last summer, 2,000 hats were barely completed. An additional 1,000 pieces were prepared by releasing stockpiled hanagasa and applying floral-printed surfaces to their frames. Still, the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival found itself short of 1,000 hanagasa. As a result, performer groups and individual dancers were encouraged to share floral hats in an effort to hold the event as usual. After the festival, Henmi therefore decided to secure a 'new procurement source.' 'We must preserve the representative summer festival of Yamagata,' Henmi recalled thinking at the time. Henmi contacted the Yamagata commerce information center of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) through the mediation of Yamagata city. Kenji Koga, 44, director of the center, aka JETRO Yamagata, had, incidentally, been stationed at the JETRO's Hanoi office in Vietnam for three and a half years. His wife, Tran, 37, is from Vietnam, too. After being consulted by Henmi, Koga quickly had an idea in his mind: importing the 'non la' cone-shaped headwear, which is worn to block the harsh sunlight in Vietnam, might work. The hat, commonly donned in the agriculture-rich country, resembles Japan's hanagasa in appearance. Koga suggested that substitutes for hanagasa 'could be made in Vietnam,' advising that Henmi purchase flower hats from makers in the country. Koga enlisted the help of an acquaintance in Vietnam for the plan at the same time. He likewise won his spouse's cooperation to embark on expanding the supply chain for the sake of the Yamagata festival. The project was further buoyed by the popularity of the 1980s Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) TV drama 'Oshin' in Vietnam, which was filmed in Yamagata, to enhance the Vietnamese affinity for the Japanese prefecture. Zai Tay village in the outskirts of Hanoi was specifically selected because 200 residents there produce 80,000 non la hats each year. The village mayor agreed to 'assist in Japan's hanagasa making given their difficulty' in response. Both the Japanese and Vietnamese sides discussed the issue numerous times via video conferences. Toward the end of last year, Koga and Henmi left for Vietnam. They spent three days at the village mayor's home so they could provide guidance on the weaving method for hanagasa. INTERVENTION SAVES THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL Vietnamese craftspeople promptly created a prototype hanagasa by combining palm leaves and bamboo bark, achieving strength and flexibility simultaneously. Seeing that, Henmi became confident about the plan's success. 'I was stunned by their adeptness, though the materials and techniques used were different from ours,' said Henmi. 'I felt that simply fine-tuning the details would lead to the completion of a quality hat.' Koga was similarly satisfied with the outcome. 'I covered all the costs of the business trip to attend meetings on my own, beyond my official duties at JETRO,' Koga said. 'It was a valuable experience for me, as a Yamagata citizen, to be able to think of and contribute to the conservation of the festival, taking full advantage of my personal connections.' Henmi placed an order for Zai Tay village for a total of 1,500 hanagasa in two sizes--33 centimeters and 48 cm in diameter, respectively--in late January of this year. They are expected to arrive in Yamagata by the end of May, with finished hanagasa inspected by Koga during his visit to Vietnam in late April. Koga expressed high expectations for the two nations' mutual relationship in the future. 'I believe it will be best for Japan and Vietnam if our initiative this time deepens the bonds between Vietnam and Yamagata,' Koga said. Henmi made a courtesy call to Yamagata Mayor Takahiro Sato in February. 'I have heard about the shortage of hats from citizens, so it is delightful for all relevant parties to come together with full force to start on a solution on an international scale,' Sato said about the hanagasa prototype presented to him. 'I am looking forward to seeing hats from Vietnam add color to the festivity.' Whereas the envisioned delivery from Vietnam will likely allow the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival to avoid a critical situation for some time, the lack of hanagasa producers remains unresolved. Offers have come from nearby Iwate and Miyagi prefectures to make up for the latest scarcity of hanagasa. 'We will maintain our deal with Vietnam for the time being, while fostering hat weavers in Japan in earnest,' Henmi said. The iconic scene of performers dancing in Yamagata while holding up made-in-Vietnam hanagasa will soon be seen this summer.
