■ Japan
Jobs needed for growth
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yesterday urged Japan to help the young, women and older people to find jobs in a bid to support steady economic growth. "If labor productivity increases as slow as it has in the past 10 to 15 years, economic growth [in Japan] will be very small, something like 0.5 percent," OECD economist Raymond Torres said. He said those figures were estimates based on demographics and not official OECD growth forecasts. The jobless rate among the Japanese youth aged 16 to 24 is at 10 percent, much higher than the national rate of 4.4 percent.
■ Auto Industry
Japan mulls factory in EU
Japanese auto giant Toyota is considering building a new European engine factory or a hefty investment to expand existing plants in Poland in an effort to improve its image as a European carmaker, the Financial Times (FT) reported yesterday. According to the FT report, the company is keen to boost its local credentials to preclude any anti-Japanese backlash as its sales grow strongly, passing 5 percent of the market for the first time last year. A new plant would have the annual production capacity of 120,000 motors.
■ China
GDP forecast at 9.2 percent
China's GDP is expected to grow 9.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, the central bank said in a research report yesterday. That compared with 9.7 percent year-on-year growth rate recorded in the first half of last year. The central bank said in a research report published in the Financial News, a newspaper that it publishes, that it expects the full-year consumer price index to climb 2.7 percent. Some economists have been voicing concern about deflation as CPI growth eases, prices of capital goods fall and fixed-asset investments expand at a slower pace. They have urged the bank to ease its monetary policy slightly to avert possible deflation.
■ Computers
Adobe says security flawed
A security flaw in the popular document-sharing software, Adobe Reader, could be exploited to seize control of a computer system, according to the software's maker. Adobe Systems Inc issued a warning on its Web site on Tuesday saying that the flaw affects only the Adobe Reader versions 5.0.9 and 5.0.10, which were written for the Unix computer operating system. A hacker could exploit the security breach by e-mailing maliciously written PDF files. Unsuspecting computer users who open the PDF files would expose their hard drives to attack, Adobe said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft