Asia in 3 minutes: Korea summit dessert leaves sour taste in Japanese mouths
Indonesia considers child marriage ban; Leeds United owner defends tour of Myanmar; Indian doctor drills hole in leg of wrong patient
Dessert at landmark Korean summit is hard to digest in Tokyo
A mango mousse that was on the menu for Friday’s summit between the leaders of North and South Korea caused a stir in Tokyo – because it featured a map of the Korean peninsula that included islands Japan claims as its own. The mousse, subtitled “Spring of the People” in a publicity photo for the dinner between the South’s President Moon Jae-in and the North’s Kim Jong-un featured the islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea. The islands also feature on the Korean unification flag. “It is extremely regrettable,” a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday, adding that Japan had lodged a protest.
What next? The same flag with the disputed islands featured on the specially made walnut chairs the two leaders sat on during their talks. In February, Japan lodged a protest against a unification flag that was on display during a women’s ice hockey match between a joint North-South Korean team and Sweden. Seoul had earlier said it would not put the islands on the flag it intended to use during the Winter Olympics. But North Korean cheerleaders at the Games used the flag anyway.
Indonesia to consider child marriage ban
Jakarta is moving towards a ban on child marriage after a photo of a teenage couple who tried to tie the knot went viral. Indonesia is among the 10 countries with the highest number of girls marrying before they turn 18, according to campaign group Girls Not Brides. A photo of a boy, 15, and a girl, 14, trying to register their marriage on the island of Sulawesi has been shared widely online, renewing pressure on the government to act.
What next? President Joko Widodo has agreed to sign a decree that would ban child marriage, according to the Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry. The ministry has been pressing to raise the minimum age for marriage to 20 for girls, and 22 for boys. Under Indonesian laws, girls can marry at 16 and boys 19. Girls can marry younger if religious courts agree. “Child marriage has reached an emergency level in Indonesia. If we don’t take action quick enough, it will destroy the future of our children,” said Ninik Rahayu, an Islamic cleric who issued a fatwa against child marriage last year. Over 3,500 Indonesian girls are married off every day.
Owner of English soccer team defends plan for tour of Myanmar
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has defended the club’s controversial tour of Myanmar after criticism from politicians and Amnesty International, saying it could have a “positive impact”. The club, which plays in England’s second tier, the Championship, has been urged to scrap the trip, described as “morally corrupt” by Britain’s opposition Labour Party’s shadow sports minister Rosena Allin-Khan. Leeds are to play friendlies in Yangon and Mandalay. Myanmar is under criticism for its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Around 700,000 have been driven into Bangladesh since August last year in what the UN says amounts to “ethnic cleansing”.
