Ousted Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones vows to keep fighting for gun control

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
April 06, 2023

Democrat Justin Pearson rips Republicans as they move to expel him from Tennessee House

Justin Jones, the Democratic Tennessee lawmaker who was expelled from the state Legislature on Thursday, said he was trying to protect all children from the scourge of gun violence—including the children of the Republican colleagues who subsequently voted to oust him—while vowing to keep fighting for gun control.

Addressing the Republican lawmakers just before the 72-25 party-line vote, Jones (D-52) said, "To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I want to say that you have the votes to do what you're gonna do today but I wanna let you know that when I walked up to this well I was fighting for your children and grandchildren too."

Tennessee House Republicans targeted Jones, as well as state Reps. Gloria Johnson (D-90) and Justin Pearson after they used a bullhorn to lead chants supporting gun control legislation on the chamber floor Monday while thousands of Nashville-area students rallied outside following the March 27 mass shooting at Covenant School that left three 9-year-old students, three staff members, and the shooter dead.

After voting to expel Jones, GOP lawmakers called a vote on a resolution to oust Johnson. Although 65 Republicans voted in favor of the measure, that was not enough to reach the two-thirds majority required. A vote on the resolution to remove Pearson is expected later on Thursday evening.

Speaking before the vote to remove him from office, Jones said:

To those here who will cast a vote for expulsion, I was fighting for your children too, to live free from the terror of school shootings and mass shootings. When I walked up to this well last Thursday, I was thinking about the thousands of students who were outside demanding that we do something. In fact, many of their signs said, "Do something, do something, do something." That was their only ask of us, to respond to their grieving, to respond to a traumatized community. But in response to that, the first action of this body is to expel members for calling for commonsense gun legislation. We were calling for a ban of assault weapons and the response of this body is to assault democracy. This is a historic day for Tennessee but it is also a very dark day for Tennessee because it will signal to the nation that there is no democracy in this state. It will signal to the nation that if it can happen here in Tennessee, it's coming to your state next. And that is why the nation is watching what we do here.

"My prayer to you is even if you expel me that you still act to address the crisis of mass shootings because if I'm expelled from here, I'll be back out there with the people every week demanding that you act," Jones said. "If you expel me I'll continue to show up because this issue is too important."

\u201cBREAKING: Tennessee House Republicans have voted to expel Democrat Rep. Justin Jones as punishment for protesting against gun violence.\n\nThis is an attack on democracy.\n\nThank you @brotherjones_ for standing up for your constituents. This is far from over.\nhttps://t.co/rGrZ2N41Em\u201d

— Voto Latino (@Voto Latino) 1680815339

"And so if you expel me, I recognize that it's not just about expelling me, it's about expelling the people," Jones asserted. "But your action will do the exact opposite. It will galvanize them to see what is happening in this state requires sustained action. And so I hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle regardless of what you decide to do to me, because this is not about me, it's about those young people who are asking us to use our position and uphold our oath to protest and dissent from any action or legislation that is injurious to the people."

"I pray that we uphold our oath on this floor because, colleagues, the world is watching," he added.

\u201cIN THE ROTUNDA: \u201cWE STAND WITH JUSTIN!\u201d - @brotherjones_ right after being expelled. \n\n#TennesseeThree\u201d

— The Tennessee Holler (@The Tennessee Holler) 1680814416

After the expulsion vote, Jones was greeted by a passionate crowd of supporters in the State Capitol Rotunda, where he raised his fist while people chanted, "We stand with Justin."

"Republicans know they are on the losing side of history. This is proof," tweeted David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 massacre of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and co-founder of March for Our Lives—which called Jones' expulsion "fascist, undemocratic behavior."

Olivia Juliana, director of politics and government affairs at the social media-based advocacy group Gen-Z for Change, wrote on Twitter that "Tennessee has given way to fascism."

"The Tennessee Three will not be forgotten," Juliana added. "This fight is far from over."

\u201cRep. \u2066@brotherjones_\u2069 is expelled. This image will remain, along with his powerful words. I believe that something powerful has shifted in Tennessee. The whole world is watching. Especially the young people of Tennessee.\u201d

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sherrilyn Ifill) 1680813490

Sherrilyn Ifill, former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said, "What I saw today was a naked display of power, an utter disregard for the basics of due process, and a window into the country waiting for all of us unless we fight."

Numerous observers said that instead of silencing Jones, Republicans ensured he was "elevated from obscurity to rising Democratic star."

\u201cThe Tennessee Legislature just expelled Justin Jones. They made a colossal mistake because this eloquent, incredibly talented young man is now a political superstar that #GenZ voters will fully support.\n#FreshStrong\n#TennesseeThree \n\u201d

— Southern Sister Resister - Wordsmith #IAmTheStorm (@Southern Sister Resister - Wordsmith #IAmTheStorm) 1680814078

"Young people around this country will be galvanized around him now, come out and vote, and they'll vote for Democrats across the board," predicted one Twitter user. "GOP will suffer tremendously from this."

'Gen Z don’t play': AOC says Tennessee’s ‘fascism’ is firing up young people

Gideon Rubin
April 06, 2023

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on MSNBC (screengrab)

Tennessee Republican lawmakers plunged the Volunteer State into controversy Thursday when the House expelled two Democrats who protested gun violence on the chamber floor last week.

Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, were among three lawmakers who protested gun violence in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a small Nashville Christian school that killed six, including three 9-year-old children. A third lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, survived her expulsion vote.

The expulsions over rules violations are the first in Tennessee House history.

But if the intent of the expulsions was to tamp down opposition to an agenda that in recent years has included loosening gun laws and banning drag shows, Tennessee House Republicans likely failed in spectacular fashion, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Republicans may think they won today in Tennessee, but their fascism is only further radicalizing and awakening an earthquake of young people, both in the South and across the nation. If you thought youth organizing was strong, just wait for what’s coming,”the progressive Democrat from New York tweeted Thursday.

“Gen Z don’t play.”

'Fascism, full stop': Progressives in Congress condemn expulsion of Tennessee Democrats

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
April 07, 2023

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Shutterstock)

Progressives in the U.S. Congress reacted with outrage Thursday after the Republican-dominated Tennessee House voted to expel two lawmakers who joined protesters in demanding gun control legislation during a demonstration inside the state Capitol last week.

"This is fascism," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). "Expelling your political opponents for demanding action on gun violence when children are dying is disgusting."

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) similarly called the expulsion of state Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson "straight-up fascism in its ugliest, most racist form." Jones and Pearson are both Black; a vote to expel their colleague Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, fell short.

"There is no justification for ousting two legislators who were protesting with and for their constituents," Lee said in a statement. "That two Black men were expelled for standing up against the murder of children—but not their white counterpart—says it all. People are dying because Republicans want to put politics over the lives of the people they represent. They ask for safety for themselves, but not for school children, and they'll sacrifice the lives of our loved ones for their lobbyists."
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"Now is not the time to be on the sidelines," Lee added. "We better fight back before it's too late."

Thursday's expulsion votes, held as furious demonstrators gathered inside the Capitol to protest the move, came less than two weeks after a mass shooting at a school in Nashville left three young children and three adults dead.

The expulsion resolutions were led by Republican Reps. Bud Hulsey, Gino Bulso, and Andrew Farmer, fervent opponents of gun control. Hulsey and Farmer have voted to further weaken Tennessee's firearm regulations on a number of occasions in recent years, earning them high marks from the National Rifle Association.

"This is fascism, full stop," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted following Thursday's votes. "MAGA Republicans are no longer content with inaction on gun violence—instead of thoughts and prayers, they want to silence and expel politicians who speak up to protect children. I vehemently condemn this racist, undemocratic assault on freedom of speech."

"Republicans may think they won today in Tennessee, but their fascism is only further radicalizing and awakening an earthquake of young people."

Tennessee Republicans—who likened the peaceful Capitol protests in the wake of the shooting to an "insurrection"—justified the removal of Jones and Pearson as a defense of decorum. Last week, Jones, Pearson, and Johnson took to the podium on the state House floor without recognition to show solidarity with those demanding legislative action in response to the massacre in Nashville—the 129th mass shooting in the U.S. this year.

THIS IS WHAT WHITE SUPREMACY LOOKS LIKE

Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest

BACK TO THE 50'S THE 1850'S
Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House expelled two Democratic lawmakers over their roles in a gun control protest.

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin.

The split votes drew accusations of racism, with lawmakers ousting Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived the vote on her expulsion. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, however.

The visitors’ gallery exploded in screams and boos following the final vote. After sitting quietly for hours and hushing anyone who cried out during the proceedings, people broke into chants of “Shame!” and “Fascists!”

Banishment is a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures have the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents.

GOP leaders said Thursday’s actions were necessary to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated.

Republican Rep. Gino Bulso said the three Democrats had “effectively conducted a mutiny.”

At an evening rally, Jones and Pearson pledged to be back at the Capitol next week advocating for change.

“Rather than pass laws that will address red flags and banning assault weapons and universal background checks, they passed resolutions to expel their colleagues,” Jones said. “And they think that the issue is over. We’ll see you on Monday.”

Jones, Pearson and Johnson joined in protesting last week as hundreds of demonstrators packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun-control measures. As the protesters filled galleries, the three approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where six people were killed, including three children.

Pearson told reporters Thursday that in carrying out the protest, the three had broken “a House rule because we’re fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities.”

Johnson, a retired teacher, said her concern about school shootings was personal, recalling a day in 2008 when students came running toward her out of a cafeteria because a student had just been shot and killed.

“The trauma on those faces, you will never, ever forget,” she said.

Thousands of people flocked to the Capitol to support Jones, Pearson and Johnson on Thursday, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber loudly enough to drown out the proceedings.

The trio held hands as they walked onto the floor and Pearson raised a fist during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.

“We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,” he said.

Jones vowed that even if expelled, he would continue pressing for action on guns.

“I’ll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act,” he said.

Bulso accused Jones of acting with “disrespect” and showing “no remorse.”

“He does not even recognize that what he did was wrong,” Bulso said. “So not to expel him would simply invite him and his colleagues to engage in mutiny on the House floor.”

The two expelled lawmakers may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled and they could opt to choose Jones and Pearson. The two also would be eligible to run in those races.

Under the Tennessee Constitution, lawmakers cannot be expelled for the same offense twice.

During discussion, Republican Rep. Sabi Kumar advised Jones to be more collegial and less focused on race.

“You have a lot to offer, but offer it in a vein where people are accepting of your ideas,” Kumar said.

Jones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a change for my community,” he replied.

Fielding questions from lawmakers, Johnson reminded them that she did not raise her voice nor did she use the bullhorn — as did the other two, both of whom are new lawmakers and among the youngest members in the chamber.

But Johnson also suggested race was likely a factor on why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not her, telling reporters it “might have to do with the color of our skin.”

That notion was echoed by state Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat representing Memphis.

Lawmakers “expelled the two black men and kept the white woman,” Lamar, a Black woman, said via Twitter. “The racism that is on display today! Wow!”

However, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican who voted to expel all three, denied that race was at play and said Johnson’s arguments might have swayed other members.

“Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members up for expulsion,” Majority Leader William Lamberth added. He alleged Jones and Pearson were trying to incite a riot last week, while Johnson was more subdued.

In Washington, President Joe Biden also was critical of the expulsions, calling them “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”

“Rather than debating the merits of the issue (of gun control), these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee,” Biden said in a statement.

Before the expulsion votes, House members debated more than 20 bills, including a school safety proposal requiring public and private schools to submit building safety plans to the state. The bill did not address gun control, sparking criticism from some Democrats that it only addresses a symptom and not the cause of school shootings.

Past expulsion votes have taken place under distinctly different circumstances.

In 2019, lawmakers faced pressure to expel former Republican Rep. David Byrd over accusations of sexual misconduct dating to when he was a high school basketball coach three decades earlier. Republicans declined to take action, pointing out that he was reelected as the allegations surfaced. Byrd retired last year.

Last year, the state Senate expelled Democrat Katrina Robinson after she was convicted of using about $3,400 in federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of her nursing school.

Before that, state lawmakers last ousted a House member in 2016 when the chamber voted 70-2 to remove Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham over allegations of improper sexual contact with at least 22 women during his four years in office.

 

 

 

 

 

 Senators seek probes into report on undisclosed luxury trips by Supreme Court's Thomas

http://reut.rs/3GmZVSb

11:35 AM · Apr 6, 2023

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Taiwan faces choice of 'peace and war', ex-president says after China trip

ISN'T THAT SUPPOSED TO BE 'OR'

Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou speaks to the media at Taoyuan international airport after concluding his 12-day trip to China in Taoyuan, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/I-Hwa Cheng

Tension with China has escalated under Taiwan's government and the island will in future have to choose between "peace and war", former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on Friday at the end of a landmark visit to China.

Ma is the first former Taiwanese president to ever visit China. Since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, no serving island leader has visited China.

China sends warships and aircraft around Taiwan for second day

"Our administration continues to lead Taiwan to danger. The future is a choice between peace and war," Ma told reporters at Taiwan's main airport after arriving from Shanghai at the end of his 12-day visit to China.

Ma was president from 2008 to 2016 as the head of a Kuomintang (KMT) government. The party, now in opposition, favours close ties with China, which claims the island as its own.

Ma's visit came at a time of heightened tension with China's anger roused this week by a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, during a stopover by the Taiwan leader in the United States.

Beijing has been stepping up its political and military pressure to get democratically governed Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.

Tsai and her government reject that and say only the island's people can decide their future.

Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticised Ma's trip but he said it had proven that Taiwan and China could engage under the principle that both are part of a single China though each can have its own interpretation of the term.

Ma said Taiwan could share a "common political basis" with China, which would be in the best interests of the people of Taiwan.

Tsai's DPP said in a statement Ma had become an "accomplice" of Beijing's "one China" principle and he had failed to take the opportunity to defend Taiwan's sovereignty.

Tsai has offered talks with China but Beijing, which views her as a separatist, has rebuffed her.

Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 in Singapore, shortly before Tsai was elected president, but he did not meet the Chinese leader on this trip.

He visited historic sites in several cities including Wuhan, where he met Song Tao, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

The KMT has defended its contacts with China saying it is trying to reduce tension and it will trumpet that line in the run-up to a presidential election in January.

Ma said he would continue to work in a private capacity "to ensure Taiwan has a future of real peace and safety".

Japan, S Korea, US concerned over N Korea’s cyber-fundraising

The allies say North Korea uses funds from its ‘malicious’ cyber-operations to finance weapons development.

Envoys from the three countries met amid continued weapons tests by the North

 [Jeon Heon-Kyun/AFP]
 7 Apr 2023

The United States, South Korea and Japan have expressed deep concern over what they described as North Korea’s “malicious” cyber-activities in support of its banned weapons programmes.

Cryptocurrency funds stolen by North Korean hackers have been a key source of funding for the country’s weapons programmes, according to the United Nations, with such theft reaching a record last year.

“We reiterate with concern that overseas DPRK IT workers continue using forged identities and nationalities” to evade UN sanctions and raise funds for missile programmes, the three countries’ envoys said in a joint statement on Friday, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim Gunn, South Korea’s envoy, held talks with his US and Japanese counterparts this week and condemned North Korea’s continued weapons tests.

Japan’s envoy also “strongly condemned” the “unprecedented frequency and manner” of North Korea’s missile launches as a serious and imminent threat to regional security, Japan’s foreign ministry said. Japan on Friday announced a two-year extension of its trade ban on North Korea, with exemptions for humanitarian reasons.

The US and South Korea have been conducting a series of annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills and their first large-scale amphibious landing drills in five years.

North Korea has reacted furiously to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

In response, it has unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads, and fired an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States. It has also tested what it called a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.

As Pyongyang continues to develop its military arsenal, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has also called for raising awareness over the continued human rights abuses in the country.

In its first publicly released report on the situation last week, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said North Korea executes its citizens for drugs, religious activities and sharing South Korean media.

KEEP READING

‘Brink of nuclear war’: North Korea warning on military drills

North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles: South’s military

North Korea fires ballistic missiles after protesting US drills

North Korea executes people for sharing S Korean media: Report

Kyrgyz eco-activist’s ‘trashion’ tackles a burning problem

REUTERS
7 April, 2023 

Kyrgyz artist and environmental activist Cholpon Alamanova poses for a picture in her workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 30, 2023. Alamanova and her team of more than 80 women use the Kyrgyz traditional patchwork sewing technique, kurak, in order to recycle the textile waste, usually burned in landfills, into colourful blankets, clothes and accessories. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

BISHKEK (Reuters) – A Kyrgyz environmental activist has found a way to combat toxic fumes choking her city by literally turning trash into treasure, sewing clothes out of waste that would otherwise be burnt in a landfill or someone’s stove.

Garments are a major industry in the Central Asian nation of 7 million, but manufacturers often discard scrap material in landfills outside the capital, Bishkek, to be burned or scavenged to heat people’s homes.

Those fumes make the air even more toxic in Bishkek, which is already one of the world’s most polluted cities, thanks to its widespread use of coal.

But artist Cholpon Alamanova came up with a solution that makes use of a traditional patchwork sewing technique called kurak to recycle the textile waste into colourful blankets, clothes and accessories.

In doing so, her workshop has become part of a global “trashion” trend promoting the use of recycled, used, thrown-out and repurposed elements to create garments, jewellery and art.

The task engenders a warming feeling that motivates her to keep doing it, says Alamanova, while helping to keep alive the tradition.

“Every single item that we make with students imparts a very pleasant feeling that at least for a tiny bit, we have made Kyrgyzstan cleaner, and helped maintain the purity of its air, water and land,” she added.

Her team, which has grown to more than 80 women aged between 25 and 79, has processed 300 kg (661 pounds) of fabric within a few months, winning public acclaim for fighting pollution while popularising kurak.

Works by Alamanova and her students, displayed at an art show in neighbouring Kazakhstan last month, have inspired Kazakh women to follow suit, with one of her Kazakh students vowing to start a similar project there.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Kyrgyz artist and environmental activist Cholpon Alamanova sews in her workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 30, 2023. Alamanova and her team of more than 80 women use the Kyrgyz traditional patchwork sewing technique, kurak, in order to recycle the textile waste, usually burned in landfills, into colourful blankets, clothes and accessories. 

 A seamstress works on a piece in the Kyrgyz traditional patchwork sewing technique, kurak, in a workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 30, 2023. Kyrgyz artist and environmental activist Cholpon Alamanova and her team of more than 80 women use the Kyrgyz traditional patchwork sewing technique, kurak, in order to recycle the textile waste, usually burned in landfills, into colourful blankets, clothes and accessories. 

A man searches for recyclable materials as smoke billows from burning garbage at a landfill in the outskirts of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 31, 2023. 

An aerial view shows smoke billowing from burning garbage at a landfill in the outskirts of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan March 31, 2023. 

REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

South Korea to Offer $5.3 Billion in Financing to Support Battery Investment in North America

By Reuters
April 7, 2023

An employee walks past the logo of LG Energy Solution at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, November 23, 2021. 

REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

By Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Friday said it will provide 7 trillion won ($5.32 billion) in financial support for its battery makers seeking to invest in infrastructure in North America over the next five years to help firms cope with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

Government support will include lowering lending rates and insurance premiums by as much as 20% as well as providing more loans and tax credits for Korean firms' battery and material production facilities in the region, the industry ministry said.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week unveiled stricter electric vehicle (EV) tax rules, requiring automakers to source a certain percentage of critical minerals for EV batteries from the United States or a U.S. free-trade partner to qualify for new U.S. federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The act requires 50% of the value of battery components to be produced or assembled in North America to qualify for a $3,750 credit and 40% of the value of critical minerals sourced from the United States or a free trade partner also for a $3,750 credit.

"Both the government and businessmen should cooperate to find solutions together to effectively cope with situations changing rapidly after the Inflation Reduction Act," Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said while presiding over a meeting with major battery cell makers and materials firms.

In November, South Korea launched the government-backed battery alliance to better source key metals dominated by China to bolster battery supply chain stability.

South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES), Samsung SDI Co Ltd and SK On comprise three of the world's five biggest EV battery cell makers, commanding more than a quarter of the global market and supplying the likes of Tesla Inc, Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.

In March, LGES said it would resume a stalled U.S. battery project with a $5.6 billion investment in Arizona to qualify for federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.

($1 = 1,316.2200 won)


(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Virgin Orbit Bankruptcy Casts Shadow Over Japan's Space Dreams

By Reuters

|

April 7, 2023, 

Virgin Orbit Bankruptcy Casts Shadow Over Japan's Space Dreams

More

FILE PHOTO: Cosmic Girl, a Virgin Boeing 747-400 aircraft sits on the tarmac with Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket attached to the wing, ahead of the first UK launch tonight, at Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport in Newquay, Britain, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

By Eimi Yamamitsu

TOKYO (Reuters) - The bankruptcy filing by Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc has dealt a blow to Japan's hopes of building a domestic space industry, with plans for a Kyushu-based spaceport designed to attract tourism on hold for lack of funding.

Oita prefecture, home to Japan's largest number of hot springs, partnered with Virgin Orbit in 2020 to create its first Asian spaceport at Oita Airport using a Boeing 747 for horizontal rocket launches.

Founded by British billionaire Branson, Virgin Orbit had marketed itself as a military and intelligence satellite launch platform for the U.S. and its allies, including Japan, at a time when both Washington and Tokyo see China's rise as a space power as a concern.

The original aim was to launch small satellites from Oita as early as last year, but that never occurred, in another setback in Japan's attempt to become a player in the crowded market for commercial satellite launches after two recent rocket launch failures.

Two Japanese companies, ANA Holdings unit All Nippon Airways Trading Co and little-known Japanese satellite development start-up iQPS Inc emerged among the top six creditors when Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

ANA, owed $1.65 million, had been a key partner for the Oita spaceport, entering a provisional deal with Virgin Orbit in 2021 for 20 flights of its LauncherOne rocket there. ANA said it was hopeful Virgin Orbit, which has said it is seeking a buyer, would be able to restructure and resume business.

Fukuoka-based iQPS had paid a $5.2 million deposit to launch its small, lightweight constellation satellites weighing under 100 kilograms (220 pounds), representing a major portion of the $17.2 million Series A funding it had raised in 2017.

"We were disappointed when we heard the announcement as we had hoped the situation would improve," iQPS said of the bankruptcy filing. "We pray that Virgin Orbit will resume their business for the development of the global space industry."

TOURISM HOPES

Oita prefecture had estimated the spaceport, similar to Virgin Orbit's Cornwall, England facility, would produce economic benefits worth about 10.2 billion yen ($77.4 million) in the region over the five years from the initial launch

With expectations of about 240,000 tourists visiting the site, local businesses created alien-related souvenirs, from alien passports to "E.T." bicycles.

Locals are still hopeful that a spaceport will eventually emerge. "It is possible that some other company will buy Virgin Orbit. Also, there are other companies and competitors besides Virgin Orbit that are considering horizontal launches, so Oita still has many options to reenter into a contract with them," said Kunio Ikari, an economics lecturer at Oita University.

Oita prefecture said that its efforts to attract a spaceport remains unchanged, while declining to comment on Virgin Orbit or the current status of the project. Oita Airport also declined to comment.

While Japan has big ambitions for space – Tokyo has said it hopes to put one of its astronauts on the lunar surface in the latter half of the 2020s – it has also had some other recent setbacks.

Japan's medium-lift H3 rocket failed in March following an aborted launch the month before, in a blow to its efforts to cut the cost of accessing space and compete against Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The Japanese space agency's solid-fuel Epsilon rocket, which was set to carry iQPS' small satellites, also failed after launch in October.

After the unsuccessful launches, some experts are urging Japan to shift the focus of its space industry.

"Japan is concentrating too much on launches," said Jun Nagashima, cyber and space expert and adviser at Nakasone Peace Institute. "With SpaceX coming out with affordable rockets that can be used repeatedly, it would be better for Japan to compete in different activities and areas in space."

($1 = 131.7900 yen)

(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu and Nobuhiro Kubo; Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jamie Freed)

THEY EAT WHALES TOO
Vending machine in remote Japan town sells meat from intruding bears

Irene Wang
Thu, April 6, 2023

A vending machine menu offering Asian Black Bear meat, Akita Beef and dried mountain stream fish is seen in front of a Soba Noodle restaurant in Semboku

A display screen of a vending machine for placing the order for Asian Black Bear meat is seen in front of a Soba Noodle restaurant in Semboku

By Irene Wang

SEMBOKU, Japan (Reuters) - A remote Japanese town has taken to selling bear meat from a vending machine, sourcing its supply to Asian black bears, listed as a vulnerable species, caught in traps or in the mountains by hunters.

Bear attacks are an increasing problem in parts of rural Japan due to a shortage of food in the forests that brings the animals into inhabited areas to forage.

"The bears can be dangerous when they come into town, so hunters will set up traps or shoot them," said Daishi Sato, who placed the vending machine outside his "soba" noodle shop near the railway station in Semboku, 400 km (250 miles) north of Tokyo in Akita prefecture.

Asian black bears are listed as vulnerable, but not critically so, and it is legal to eat bear in Japan. Meat from trapped bears is tastier since the blood is drained immediately, according to Sato.

Vending machines throughout Japan offer everything from drinks, snacks and surgical masks to more exotic fare such as edible insects and whale meat.

"Bear meat isn't very common so we want tourists who come to visit the town to buy it," Sato said.

He sells seven to 10 packs of 250 grams costing 2,200 yen ($16.75) each in an average week.

Last year, 75 people were injured in Japan in encounters with bears and two were killed, according to government data. One of the deaths was in Akita.

($1 = 131.3300 yen)

(Reporting by Irene Wang, Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Nick Macfie)