05/10/2025

theSun on Sunday OCT 5, 2025

WORLD 7

Takaichi set to be Japan’s first female premier

Wanted Australian blogger out on bail BANGKOK: Thai police have confirmed the arrest of Australian blogger Murray Hunter at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sept 29, but he was later released on bail. According to a detention warrant issued by the Bangkok South Criminal Court, Hunter was taken into custody by police on Monday before being handed to investigators at Yannawa police station. “Hunter was apprehended under an arrest warrant dated March 27, 2025, in connection with a criminal case filed at Yannawa police station. “The case stems from an incident on June 21, 2024, when the complainant, while staying at a Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, discovered allegedly defamatory articles published on Hunter’s website,” the warrant stated. The defamation charge carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 baht (RM26,043). It is alleged that the articles defamed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Investigators claim that Hunter published four articles between April 13 and 29 last year containing false statements and accusations that could undermine the credibility and reputation of MCMC. Hunter has posted bail but is not permitted to leave Thailand. Earlier, MCMC said all matters relating to the arrest fall under the jurisdiction of Thai authorities. – Bernama School collapse death toll rises to 14 SIDOARJO: The death toll in a school collapse rose to 14 yesterday, an official said, as rescuers moved to deploy heavy machinery to recover dozens more victims believed still buried under the rubble. The Al Khoziny school in the town of Sidoarjo in East Java province caved in on Monday, crumbling upon hundreds of teenage students during afternoon prayer, as its foundation was unable to support construction work on its upper floors. National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto told reporters rescuers found nine bodies on Friday. “We are still searching for 49 people,” Suharyanto said yesterday as reported by broadcaster Kompas TV . More victims could be found, Suharyanto said, as rescuers moved to use heavy machinery to clear locations where the victims were believed to be buried underneath the rubble. “After the last victim was found last night, we are focusing on a massive cleanup, with heavy equipment entering the collapsed areas.” Investigators have been looking into the cause of the collapse, but initial signs pointed to substandard construction, experts have said. The rescue operation was complex because vibrations in one place could affect other areas, officials said. – AFP/Reuters

So, there is high demand for coffee outlets and the supply is also plenty. “But profit margins are not so high. “The young generation enter this market with a new business model and it shapes a new work culture. “They don’t rely on branding or marketing, one or two outlets are enough for them,” said Rainsey. These makeshift coffee kiosks are quietly rivalling well-established local and foreign brands for a share of the growing market. The energetic Generation Z is certainly emerging as a game-changer. – Bernama country saying we don’t know what LDP stands for anymore,” said Takaichi in her speech before the second round vote. “That sense of urgency drove me. I wanted to turn people’s anxieties about their future into hope.” Takaichi, who says her hero is Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, offered a starker vision for change than Koizumi and is potentially more disruptive. An advocate of late premier Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” strategy to jolt the economy with aggressive spending and easy monetary policy, she has previously criticised the Bank of Japan’s interest rate increases. Such a policy shift could spook investors worried about one of the world’s biggest debt loads. Takaichi has also raised the possibility of redoing an investment deal with President Donald Trump that lowered his punishing tariffs in return for Japanese taxpayer-backed investment. Her nationalistic positions – such as her regular visits to the Yasukuni shrine to Japan’s war dead, viewed by some Asian neighbours as a symbol of its past militarism – may rile South Korea and China. She also favours revising Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution and suggested this year that Japan could form a “quasi-security alliance” with Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China. If elected, Takaichi said she would travel overseas more regularly than her predecessor to spread the word that “Japan is Back!” – Reuters

from the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, who was bidding to become the country’s youngest leader in the modern era. A former internal affairs minister with an expansionary economic agenda, Takaichi inherits a party in crisis. Other parties, including the fiscally expansionist Democratic Party for the People and the anti immigration Sanseito have been steadily luring voters, especially younger ones, away from LDP. “Recently, I have heard harsh voices from across the

A vote in parliament to choose a prime minister to replace Shigeru Ishiba is expected to be held on Oct 15. The new LDP president is likely to succeed Shigeru Ishiba as leader of the world’s fourth-biggest economy because the party, which has governed Japan for almost all the postwar period, is the biggest in parliament. But this is not assured as the party and its coalition partner lost their majorities in both houses under Ishiba in the past year. Takaichi, the only woman among the five LDP candidates, beat a challenge

TOKYO: Japan’s ruling party picked nationalist Sanae Takaichi as its new head yesterday, putting her on course to become the country’s first female prime minister. The Liberal Democratic Party elected Takaichi, 64, to regain trust from a public angered by rising prices and drawn to opposition groups promising big stimulus and clampdowns on foreigners. Nationalist picked to lead ruling party

Takaichi celebrates after winning the LDP leadership election. – AFPPIC

Young Khmer women brew winning formula PHNOM PENH: Young

women who mostly work as baristas. In Cambodia, women are known for their industriousness and sound financial skills. They are envied as tough business negotiators. In cosmopolitan Phnom Penh, mobile coffee kiosks are popping up in every nook and cranny – around malls, markets, universities and residential areas. Cheaper financing for new start-ups, lower operational costs, digital payment options and affordable fancy mobile carts are fuelling the growth. “More teenagers are drinking coffee even at midnight. It is becoming a trend, a new culture.

officer of local brand Alarm Clock Coffee Vy Chandra Rainsey said this trend signals the emergence of a new young workforce that is shaping a fresh vocation. “Coffee lovers are becoming owners of coffee shops. Many young people, especially Generation Z, are entering the business because it is easy to start and does not require major infrastructure or capital. “They learn how to run a business through social media,” Rainsey said. Rainsey started his modest mobile cart business in 2017 with his two partners, and now owns nine outlets in the city. Nearly 70% of his staff are young

enterprising Cambodian women are redefining the local coffee industry by creating new career paths and showcasing their entrepreneurial skills that challenge traditional norms. Thousands of trailblazing Generation Z females are starting their own mobile coffee kiosks or working as baristas in beverage outlets around Phnom Penh. Fuelled by entrepreneurial zeal and a desire to escape monotonous work routines, low-cost mobile coffee stalls are becoming a new pathways that offer career mobility and financial independence. Founder and chief executive