Hard to rewrite history

Loose cannon: Takaichi’s war talks have prompted Xi to call Trump to remind him that US and China were allies during WW2. — AFP

Japan’s new gov­ern­ment has had to take a crash course in inter­na­tional dip­lomacy as it learns for­eign policy on the job.

FROM curtailed Chinese tourism revenues to a suspended summit of Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders, Tokyo continues to reap the fallout from novice Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s combative style.

Just 17 days into taking office, she unnerved Chinese leaders by suggesting that Japan may attack China if Beijing forcibly reclaimed Taiwan. This was the most extreme declaration by any Japanese leader in decades.

 

Takai­chi’s far-right for­eign policy was not unex­pec­ted given her polit­ical record, but its extent and in com­ing so early in her term raised uncom­fort­able geo­pol­it­ical tem­per­at­ures.

Japan’s liab­il­it­ies in for­eign rela­tions con­tinue to grow, not only with China but also much of Asia dev­ast­ated by its war­time aggres­sion. China reacted most robustly because it suffered Imper­ial Japan’s worst depred­a­tions within liv­ing memory, with tens of mil­lions of civil­ians slaughtered and many more bru­tal­ised.

Unlike Ger­many that has fully atoned for its WWII atro­cit­ies, Japan has not. Takai­chi belongs to an ultrana­tion­al­ist fac­tion of the Lib­eral Demo­cratic Party and is a lead­ing mem­ber of the unre­pent­ant Nip­pon Kaigi (NK) organ­isa­tion that routinely denies Japan’s war crimes and praises its con­victed war crim­in­als as her­oes.

Japan and China may one day fully nor­m­al­ise rela­tions, but not yet. The wounds of war still run deep, their grav­ity fur­ther aggrav­ated by a gov­ern­ment that denies its hor­rors at the highest levels.

Hitler’s Holo­caust still haunts a post­war West that con­tin­ues to

give Israel a blank cheque to do any­thing. Revul­sion at Imper­ial Japan’s even worse mas­sacres in China may take longer to sub­side.

What upsets China fur­ther is Takai­chi’s cava­lier indif­fer­ence to the facts. Most coun­tries includ­ing the US and Japan have long had a one-china policy that does not recog­nise Taiwan as an inde­pend­ent nation, yet Japan’s Com­mon Defence doc­trine she cited for Taiwan applies only to assist­ance for sov­er­eign nations.

This implies that no basis exists for identi­fy­ing Taiwan’s per­ceived secur­ity interests with Japan’s. Even efforts to repu­di­ate Art­icle 9 of Japan’s post­war peace Con­sti­tu­tion through re-inter­pret­a­tion have been denounced by crit­ics as uncon­sti­tu­tional.

Attempts at re-inter­pret­a­tion to allow for greater assert­ive­ness are not widely accep­ted. It remains a highly con­tro­ver­sial issue at home and abroad.

Japan’s hope to become a ‘nor­mal coun­try’ no longer beholden to post­war US tutel­age is neither unreas­on­able nor lim­ited to ultra-con­ser­vat­ives, provided it can acknow­ledge its own past, recog­nise cur­rent real­it­ies and engage its neigh­bours fully with ‘nor­mal’ trust and con­fid­ence. That can­not hap­pen with revi­sion­ist lead­ers who are polit­ic­ally unre­formed and his­tor­ic­ally delu­sional bent on rewrit­ing his­tory.

Takai­chi’s state­ment about pos­sibly attack­ing a China that has not attacked it is reason enough for wide­spread alarm. Japan did pre­cisely that to China and a slew of other coun­tries by people who remain unapo­lo­getic about Pearl Har­bor and other tra­gedies.

That loose and dodgy inter­pret­a­tion of Japan’s national secur­ity interests promp­ted Pres­id­ent Xi to call up his US coun­ter­part and recount how China and the US were once allies in the war against fas­cism. Pres­id­ent Trump then advised Takai­chi to cool off.

Even Asian coun­tries inspired by Japan’s rapid indus­tri­al­isa­tion and eco­nomic growth remain wary of its ultra-nation­al­ists’ fas­cin­a­tion with remil­it­ar­isa­tion. Japan’s post­war rise was made pos­sible only with con­cili­at­ory rela­tions with its neigh­bours.

NK mem­bers have included former Prime Min­is­ters Shinzo Abe and Shi­geru Ishiba, but they have been less extreme than Takai­chi. Fol­low­ing her out­burst last month, Ishiba openly and repeatedly rep­rim­anded her.

Although the late Abe cham­pioned the Us-led Quad­ri­lat­eral Secur­ity Dia­logue (Quad) in try­ing to isol­ate China, he later relen­ted. In 2017 he declared Japan was ready to join the China-led Belt and Road Ini­ti­at­ive (BRI), and the fol­low­ing year Japan was reportedly engaged in sev­eral dozen BRI projects.

After los­ing WWII, Japan’s Yoshida Doc­trine relied on US pro­tec­tion to build its eco­nomic strength, developed the Fukuda Doc­trine to offer a meas­ure of war repar­a­tions, and issued the Murayama State­ment as a means to repair ties with neigh­bours. Now all those efforts may be under­mined, par­tic­u­larly when Trump is seek­ing peace with China and downs­iz­ing alli­ance oblig­a­tions all-round.

How Takai­chi’s admin­is­tra­tion now pro­ceeds with China will decide its own pro­spects. With eco­nomic stag­na­tion already in its fourth dec­ade, the Japan­ese ‘mir­acle’ is over.

But whether Japan then declines or can still thrive will depend on how, and if, it can work with a rising Asia helmed by Chinese entre­pren­eur­ship and pro­ductiv­ity.

Bunn Nagara is Dir­ector and Senior Fel­low at the Renais­sance Stra­tegic Research Insti­tute and Hon­or­ary Fel­low of the Perak Academy. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.

 

 

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Strength­en­ing your core

Your core muscles are essen­tial to sup­port your spine, but many people often for­get to exer­cise them.

     https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-star-malaysia/20251207/282492895014630

By Dr SITARAMARAO NAGESWERARAV

7 Dec 2025

YOUR core is like Wifi – when it’s weak, everything dis­con­nects.

1 Dead bug with heel slide: 1. Lie on your back with both your knees bent at 90° in the air. exhale fully to engage the core, then bring one foot down to touch the floor. — Pho­tos: dr Sit­ara­marao nageswer­arav

A hun­dred sit-ups a day won’t give you a strong core.

That’s because the core isn’t just your abs (abdom­inal muscles) – it’s the net­work of deep muscles around your stom­ach, back and hips that keeps your body bal­anced, sup­por­ted and stable.

Your core is your body’s cent­ral sta­bil­iser, even your spine depends on it for sup­port.

Decreased move­ment or over­do­ing a move­ment, coupled with weight gain and poor nutri­tion, weak­ens the spine and con­nect­ive tis­sues, caus­ing the lat­ter to wear down.

This even­tu­ally leads to chronic lower back pain, disc her­ni­ation and poor pos­ture.

The four lay­ers of the core con­sist of:

> Deep core sta­bil­isers - the 

inner “cor­set” muscles > Super­fi­cial core movers - the vis­ible abs

> Lat­eral and pos­terior core - the core-to-hip con­nect­ors > Func­tional net­work - sup­port­ing sta­bil­isers for every­day move­ment.

A strong core:

> Keeps your pos­ture upright

and con­fid­ent

> Pro­tects your back from injury,

and

> Improves bal­ance and every­day move­ment.

When the core is weak, the spine loses its nat­ural brace.

Spinal seg­ments start to shear and com­press, lead­ing to chronic lower back pain, disc her­ni­ation and poor pos­ture.

Your pos­ture is a mir­ror of your health, so pay atten­tion to it!

Other effects include:

> A roun­ded upper back (kyphosis)

> Pel­vic tilt or exag­ger­ated lumbar curve

> Core inhib­i­tion and glu­teal amne­sia (yes, your butt can “for­get” how to work).

The longer you sit, the more your core muscles dis­en­gage, caus­ing your brain to “for­get” about them.

From the age of 35 onwards, muscle mass begins to decline.

The deep sta­bil­isers, such as the trans­versus abdominis, are often the first to weaken because they’re rarely activ­ated in daily life.

Even reg­u­lar gym-goers tend to train what they can see (e.g. arms, chest and legs), rather than what they can feel (e.g. the deep core).

However, you don’t need fancy machines to train your core. Try this instead:

> Tighten your abdom­inal wall (like bra­cing for a gentle punch) while walk­ing, climb­ing stairs or car­ry­ing gro­cer­ies.

> Sit tall, walk upright and stretch for five minutes every half-an-hour of sit­ting. Small adjust­ments in breath­ing and pos­ture make a big dif­fer­ence.

Two other power­ful core exer­cises you can do at home are:

> Dead bug with heel slide (deep core repat­tern­ing)

This exer­cise tar­gets the trans­verse abdominis, pel­vic sta­bil­isers and deep spinal flex­ors.

It retrains coordin­a­tion between the dia­phragm, core and your pel­vic floor – all cru­cial for pos­ture and spine sup­port. > Half-kneel­ing pal­lof press (rota­tional sta­bil­ity for real life)

This exer­cise tar­gets the obliques, mul­ti­fidus, glu­teus medius and trans­versus abdominis.

It builds anti-rota­tion strength – the body’s defence against twist­ing stress dur­ing daily activ­it­ies.

As uncon­ven­tional as these moves may seem, they’re backed by solid research and proven to improve func­tional strength and pos­ture.

The core doesn’t age – we do. Train it now or pre­pare to make friend­ship brace­lets with your chiro­practor later.

Dr Sit­ara­marao Nageswer­arav is a gen­eral prac­ti­tioner (GP) and cer­ti­fied fit­ness trainer. This is the first of a three-part series, which will be pub­lished fort­nightly. For more inform­a­tion, email star­health@the­star.com.my.

The inform­a­tion provided is for edu­ca­tional and com­mu­nic­a­tion pur­poses only, and should not be con­sidered as med­ical advice. The Star does not give any war­ranty on accur­acy, com­plete­ness, func­tion­al­ity, use­ful­ness or other assur­ances as to the con­tent appear­ing in this art­icle. The Star dis­claims all respons­ib­il­ity for any losses, dam­age to prop­erty or per­sonal injury suffered dir­ectly or indir­ectly from reli­ance on such inform­a­tion.

7 Great Core Strengthening Exercises - Ask Doctor Jo  

896,950 views 22 Mar 2018

Core strengthening exercises are great for improving your core strength. They can help prevent injury, increase core stability, and improve balance. I start with some beginner core exercises & then progresses to harder ones. More core exercises:    • Swiss Ball Core & Back Strengthening Exerc...   Progress through these core strength exercises at your own pace. If this is your first time doing core exercises, you may not be ready for the last ones yet. It's better to do the easy ones first and then see how you feel the next day. The first exercise is a pelvic tilt. This is great to get the core moving, and strengthening the whole pelvic area. The second core exercise is going into a bridge. This not only works your core, but it also works your glutes and hamstrings. If two legs are easy, you can do them with one leg at a time. The third exercise is with a Swiss or therapy ball. A prayer plank on the ball is a great way to activate your core. You can do this modified or a full plank. Next you will do a trunk rotation lying down with your feet on the ball. This is great for your oblique muscles. You can also do the trunk rotation seated on the ball. Using a weight will give you an extra workout, but you don’t have to use one. Now for some harder ones for core strengthening. This one is in tall kneeling, and you will lean back slightly. You can have someone hold onto your feet, or you can place them under something for support. When you are ready, you can do them without any support. This works your core, glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Finally you will do a standing march with elbow tap. You can do this on the same side or opposite sides. Try not do bend your back forward, and use your core to lift your knees. Related Videos: Back Pain Core & Back Strengthening Exercises:    • Back Pain Core & Back Strengthening Exerci...   Exercise Ball Core and Back Strengthening Exercises (Moderate):    • Exercise Ball Core and Back Strengthening ...  

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Plaque in the neck, Cleaning out the carotid artery

 

Cleaning out the carotid artery

A carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove plaque from this important artery that supplies the brain, without which, a stroke could occur.

A STROKE occurs when an artery that carries oxygen and nutrients to and within the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts.

The most common type is an ischaemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot or fatty deposits (plaques) blocking or narrowing an artery (resulting in stenosis).

Meanwhile, an haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures.

Sometimes, there may only be a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain.

This is known as a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), where symptoms are momentary and resolve on their own in a few minutes, or at most, within 24 hours.

The symptoms – similar to a stroke – include sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arms or legs on one side of the body, trouble speaking, vision problems in one or both eyes, dizziness, and loss of balance resulting in a sudden fall.

Often referred to as mini stroke, a TIA is actually a warning sign of a future stroke, but because the symptoms are brief, people usually just shrug them off.

A shocking discovery

This is what happened to Indonesian businessman Eddy Giantono, 74, who experienced sudden weakness on his left arm, but felt fine subsequently.

He thought nothing of it, but mentioned the incident in passing to his family members.

While Eddy is not a smoker, he has been on medications to manage his high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes for the past 20 years.

In addition, he suffered a heart attack 12 years ago and had to undergo heart bypass surgery.

Due to his medical history and noting that he was getting weaker, his family immediately took him to consult a doctor in Yogyakarta, where they live.

“The doctor said I had suffered a mild stroke (TIA) and there were many blockages in my carotid arteries (blood vessels that extend from each side of the neck to the skull).

“He recommended putting stents in, but since my heart bypass surgery was performed in Penang, I decided to seek a second opinion there as I have more confidence in the Malaysian healthcare system.

“Here I was told both my carotid arteries were blocked by 95% and 75% respectively, and I needed surgery.

“My doctor then referred me to another private hospital in Klang, Selangor,” recalls Eddy in a recent interview.

Removing the plaque

Treatment options to treat a blocked carotid artery depend on the severity of the blockage.

They typically involve a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and medical procedures or surgery.

A blockage in the right carotid artery primarily affects the left side of the body.

This is because the brain has a “crosswired” structure, meaning the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa.

As Eddy was a high-risk patient, he was advised to do a carotid endarterectomy on the right side.

As the block in the left carotid artery had not caused any symptoms, his doctor, consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon Dr Yow Kuan Heng, decided to take a wait-and-see approach.

A carotid endarterectomy involves making an incision in the neck, opening the carotid artery and physically removing the plaque build-up before the artery is stitched closed, often with a patch to widen it.

“Initially, my father wanted to postpone the operation as I was getting married, but the surgeon firmly said no as he was in danger of getting a stroke that could be fatal.

“So although he is a stubborn man, he had no choice but to agree,” says daughter Anatasya Giantono.

The surgery, carried out in August, was successful, and Eddy was already walking the next day, determined to go home as he didn’t want to change Anatasya’s wedding date.

“Even when he was in the intensive care unit, he insisted on being discharged,” she says, laughing.

“He gets homesick easily and doesn’t like being away for long periods.”

A week after he returned home, Eddy proudly walked his firstborn down the aisle. No one could tell he had recently undergone a complicated surgery.

Today, Eddy says he is “sihat sekali” (very well) except for speaking with a

slight lisp, which Dr Yow has said will normalise in time.

The surgical scars at his neck are fading fast and he has resumed his normal routine.

Thanks to early intervention, Eddy was most likely saved from a major stroke in the nick of time.

Get assessed quickly

Atherosclerosis – the thickening or hardening of the arteries caused by a build-up of plaque in the inner lining of an artery – can affect almost any artery in the body, including those in the heart, brain, arms, legs, pelvis and kidneys.

If the build-up is in the neck, it is called carotid artery disease; in the heart, it is coronary artery disease, in the leg, it is peripheral artery disease, etc.

According to Dr Yow, carotid stenosis from narrowing in the neck area is the fastest rising cause of ischaemic stroke in the world, particularly in the Asian region.

“Traditionally, doctors from this region felt that most strokes were happening in the skull, but that pattern has now changed due to the diabetic pandemic.

“The risk of a stroke is greatest when the narrowing in the neck is higher than 50% (classified as critical carotid stenosis).

“If there is a major stroke, you need drugs to break up the clot, but for TIA, you need to see a vascular surgeon as soon as possible to get assessed by scans,” he says.

A TIA is usually an indication of an unstable plaque in an artery supplying the brain, which can rupture at any time and cause a blood clot to form.

This clot can then break off, travel to the brain and block blood flow, leading to a stroke.

“It is important for the public to know that carotid endarterectomy is the firstline treatment for symptomatic carotid stenosis.

“In surgery, you immediately clamp the artery before opening it up, but in stenting, you have to push a guided wire through a hot zone of clot.

“That process, even with protection devices or filters, has a higher rate of stroke than surgery,” explains Dr Yow.

He adds: “In Eddy’s case, after discussions with my multidisciplinary team, we decided to operate only on the side that was symptomatic because he has moderate heart failure.

“Since he had no symptoms on the left side, we didn’t touch it.

“If he develops symptoms in future, then we have to think about surgery.”

He emphasises that physiotherapy must be done as soon as possible after surgery, and on average, patients are discharged from hospital by day three.

A repeat scan of the repaired carotid artery is carried out six weeks after surgery.

So, if you experience a TIA, head to the doctor as soon as possible and request for a carotid artery ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) angiography.

Don’t delay as every minute can make a difference.

By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN starhealth@thestar.com.my

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End of era for iconic Penang festival

The Sungai Nibong venue has become synonymous with the festival, drawing families during the year-end school holidays. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

PESTA Pulau Pinang is taking place one last time at its Sungai Nibong home before the site is taken up for the Mutiara Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

The month-long festival, which runs from today until Jan 10, will not be held in following years as the land is scheduled to be handed over to MRT Corp in June for the building of the LRT depot and station.

Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said there was no alternative venue ready and setting one up would require major infrastructure.

“Pesta will not be continuing in the interim as no alternative site has been identified,” he said.

“We understand that the Prime Minister has said the iconic festival should continue, but we have no site for now.

(Below) The scene at last year’s Pesta Pulau Pinang. — Filepic

“As such, this year will be the last Pesta until the Mutiara Line is completed.”

Wong said the state might bring the event back to Sungai Nibong after 2031, though in a reduced format due to space constraints.

“Replicating what we have here from scratch would take time and substantial investment.

“So, instead of shifting to a temporary site that may not be suitable, the state has decided to pause Pesta and possibly return once the LRT is ready,” he said.

He said the state was open to ideas of relocating the festival to Seberang Perai, but there were no concrete plans yet.

“Any move must ensure Pesta remains accessible and attractive to families from both the island and mainland,” he added.

Wong’s remarks followed earlier announcements that the Sungai Nibong grounds would be partially absorbed into the Mutiara Line LRT project as a station and supporting facility zone.

The LRT line is expected to be completed in 2031.

This marks the longest pause in the festival’s history.

Pesta Pulau Pinang began in the late 1960s as a year-end state fair to promote tourism and community activities.

It moved across various venues before settling in Sungai Nibong in the early 1970s.

Since then, the venue has become synonymous with the festival, drawing families from across Penang and the northern region during the year-end school holidays.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had earlier said the fair held sentimental value and the takeover should be handled with care.

Wong said the state’s long-term plans aligned with that view.

“We are not scrapping Pesta. Construction must take place and once the LRT is completed, we could bring it back within the new site’s layout,” he said.

This year’s edition of the festival features concerts, rides and cultural showcases.

According to Pesta Pulau Pinang deputy manager Nuar Rizal Kamarudin, one of the highlights is the new Air Force ride, imported from Italy, and is suspended about 30m in the air.

“It joins the Kids Roller Coaster, Euro Wheel, Vortex, Sky Rider and Daytona rides.

“There are 17 game booths this year, with prizes like toys and teddy bears,” he said.

Daily concerts will feature popular Malaysian acts including Datuk Awie and Ella.

“We have multiple sought- after musical acts every night.

“This is a big deal, as it is rare that one has the opportunity to witness such acts for a mere RM5 entry fee,” said Nuar Rizal.

Other activities include silat and muay thai demonstrations, e-sports tournaments, a Bollywood night, colouring contests, a boria showcase and boxing matches.

Food-wise, there are 20 food trucks, 40 stalls and five kiosks serving Thai cuisine.

“We even have some surprises in store for our visitors, as we want to celebrate this final Pesta here,” said Nuar Rizal.

Pesta Pulau Pinang is open daily from 5.30pm to midnight.

Entry is RM5 for Malaysian adults and RM10 for foreigners. Children aged 12 and below enter free.

Silence is golden in new call scam

 

This visual is human-created, AI-aided.

AI used to gather sound metadata to clone voices

PETALING JAYA: Silence is golden. This is exactly what one should do to avoid becoming a victim of the latest AI-generated silent call scam, says the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

A recent video released by Friends of MCMC warning of the latest tactic used by scammers saw several Malaysians coming forward to relate their personal experiences.

Sean Ang, 34, a data analyst from Kuala Lumpur, said he grew suspicious of phone calls from unknown numbers recently.

ALSO READ: Stay smart and be suspicious of scammers

“The calls would come in but there would be no one speaking on the other side.

“Fortunately, I was aware of the latest scam and had also read about how scammers are using AI to dupe people in Thailand.

ALSO READ: Chasing easy money leaves victims with big losses

“When I get such calls from unknown numbers, I will remain silent and hang up if no one is on the other end,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Sabahan Francis Magawun, 43, currently working in Petaling Jaya, said he received calls from unknown local mobile numbers and overseas phone numbers.

“I am a sceptical person by nature and wary of getting unknown calls even before the recent warning issued by the MCMC.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

“If I get such calls, I remain silent to see if there is any response before hanging up,” he said.

Magawun is concerned that senior citizens may fall prey to such scams as they are not aware of evolving online threats, particularly those using AI technology.

The silent call is a tactic used by scammers to phish for victims. It begins with ringing up the target, but the caller deliberately leaves the line silent when the call is answered.

By answering, a person is deemed to have an active number and is placed on a target list for scam messages or calls impersonating banks or other authorities.

If the target answers, his voice is recorded and later cloned with AI for impersonation purposes.

The MCMC had recently posted a two-minute video on social media to warn Malaysians that AI technology is being used to gather sound metadata to clone voices.

The AI-cloned voice is then used to scam the target’s family by requesting help due to an emergency, to get a company staff member to transfer money or to by-pass voice verification used by certain commercial institutions.

Mohamed Hussain Rasool Mohd became more alert after reading a warning posted on the Penang Community Facebook page of such modus operandi.

Kaizen Sun, in a posting in the same Facebook page, said those who answered a silent call would usually get follow-up calls the very same day and for the next several days.

“All sorts of numbers – local, mobile and international.

“There was even one WhatsApp text message telling me that he was my long-lost contact from wine trading (and I’m wondering in which lifetime was I involved in the alcohol business),” the post read.

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