Hey, this is Sham Jaff, your very own news curator. Each week, I highlight some of the biggest stories from regions and countries that are historically underreported in "Western media". My goal is to burst our Western-centric bubbles, and expand the view we hold of the world. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime by replying to this mail. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up at whathappenedlastweek.com.
Issue #399 is s diving into two very different but equally fascinating worlds. In Peru, AI is stepping up its game, helping archaeologists uncover hundreds of new symbols at a 2,000-year-old archaeological site—in just days. Meanwhile, over in Japan, they’re about to swear in a new prime minister, and I'm taking you behind the scenes to give you a sneak peek into the quiet but crucial progressive developments happening in a country that’s been dominated by one conservative political party since 1955. Plus (for VIP Members of this newsletter): Some good news from Eswatini and Thailand, an award-winning documentary on India's migrant laborers and what happened to them during the Covid-19 lockdown (they were among the harshest in the world), a Ukrainian band for the displaced, Jamaica's female farmers and how they're re-building the country post-Hurricane Beryl, the world's strongest man and birth control for rats. And so much more. Sign up here to become a VIP member. You support 100% self-funded independent journalism with your subscription. You have no idea how much this means to me.
Good reading, and catch you in your inbox next week!
Sham
|
|
🔍 Estimated reading time: 10 min 🔍
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
Big shout-out to Wikimedia Commons for the helpful maps.
|
|
Who's Japan's new prime minister?
|
|
What happened
Let's dive head first into Japanese politics, shall we? Shigeru Ishiba, a seasoned politician and long-time member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is set to become Japan’s next prime minister. At 67 years old, Ishiba will officially take the reins tomorrow, thanks to the LDP’s control over the parliament, which effectively seals his promotion to the country’s top job.
Why this matters:
The LDP has essentially shaped Japan’s post-World War II political and economic landscape. The party is generally seen as a conservative one in Japan, in a lot of issues. It has dominated Japanese politics since its founding in 1955, and despite its name, it’s quite different from what “liberal” means in other countries. In the U.S., the LDP would align more closely with the Republican Party in terms of conservatism. In Germany, the LDP might be compared to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Ishiba, however, seems like a different kind of conservative and isn’t your typical LDP leader. Japan is at a crossroads: economically stagnant, with rising regional threats and social issues that urgently need addressing, and some say, Ishiba might just be the guy for the job.
Tell me more
The race to lead the LDP wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio decided to step down last month, leaving the party scrambling. His approval ratings were tanking below 30%, largely due to a scandal involving misused political funds. Many in the party were freaking out about possibly losing seats in the next general elections, and long-standing power blocs within the LDP were weakened as a result. The leadership contest was chaotic, with nine candidates—yes, nine—vying for the role. That’s actually the biggest field in 50 years. Despite all the chaos, Ishiba emerged as the winner. It’s not his first attempt; it actually took him five tries over the years to clinch this position.
Who is he?
Shigeru Ishiba has had quite a political journey. A former defense minister, he first entered parliament way back in 1986 after a brief stint in banking. But he’s not exactly a party favorite—he was sidelined during Kishida’s tenure. Still, he’s kept himself in the public eye through media appearances, YouTube videos, and social media posts. He’s got a fan base of over 16,000 subscribers, where he talks about everything from Japan’s declining birthrate to his love of ramen (yes, really). He’s even posed in a Majin Buu costume from Dragon Ball, the (not a) popular manga series of my childhood. Ishiba is one of Japan's few Christian politicians, reads three books a day, builds model planes, trains, and ships and listens to 1970s pop music in his spare time.
What are his views?
He’s known for his policy stances that don’t always align with his party’s more conservative elements. For example, he supports moving away from nuclear power toward renewable energy, and he’s in favor of letting women ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne—both issues that have stirred controversy within the LDP. He’s also an economic reformer, advocating for wage increases and pushing for sales tax exemptions on essential goods to help low-income citizens. When it comes to Japan’s military, he’s all about strengthening the armed forces, but he also emphasizes the need for diplomacy, especially with China. That said, he’s not afraid to ruffle feathers—he once floated the idea of an Asian NATO-style security alliance, which drew a sharp response from the U.S.
What's on his plate now?
Ishiba’s got a full plate. He has to deal with voter frustration over rising living costs and ongoing distrust of "money politics." On top of that, regional tensions with China and North Korea are heating up, meaning he’ll need to walk a tightrope between domestic reforms and international diplomacy.
What happens next?
Here’s the tricky part: Ishiba doesn’t have a huge fan club within the LDP itself. This could make his tenure as prime minister a bit shaky. His first major challenge will come when the LDP heads into general elections, which could happen sooner than expected. Though the current parliament’s term isn’t up until next October, there’s speculation that Ishiba may call for snap elections to ride the wave of his post-election popularity. If he wins, it would give him a stronger mandate to implement his policies.
The opposition, led by former prime minister Noda Yoshihiko, isn’t sitting idly by, though. Noda’s trying to position himself as a centrist alternative to win over voters disillusioned with the LDP. But before any of that unfolds, Ishiba has to assemble his cabinet and officially step into his new role.
|
|
AI in Peru helped discover hundreds of new symbols at a 2,000-year-old archaeological site
|
|
What happened
Archaeologists in Peru just made a mind-blowing discovery using artificial intelligence (AI)—they’ve uncovered hundreds of new geoglyphs near the famous Nazca Lines. These ancient drawings feature everything from parrots and monkeys to killer whales and even creepy decapitated heads! This find almost doubles the number of known geoglyphs in this 2,000-year-old site, which make up part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Peru’s most popular tourist attraction after Machu Picchu.
Why this matters:
Two things. First, these geoglyphs, dating back to 200 BC, help us understand the transition between two ancient cultures in Peru: the Paracas and the Nazca. Before these geoglyphs were found, archaeologists weren’t sure how much influence the Paracas had on the Nazca culture or whether the Nazca culture represented a sharp cultural shift. The discovery of these geoglyphs gives us a window into the early stages of the Nazca’s development and the ways they adopted and expanded upon the Paracas’ geoglyph-making traditions. This discovery offers a more detailed picture of how these ancient cultures evolved over time and interacted with their environment, making it clearer that the Nazca culture was part of a continuum rather than a sudden break from the past. And second, according to Johny Isla, the lead archaeologist in Peru, the use of drones and AI has taken archaeological research to a whole new level—making it faster, more precise, and revealing hidden secrets that would’ve otherwise stayed buried.
Tell me more
A team from Yamagata University in Japan, with help from IBM Research, found 303 new geoglyphs—all relatively small compared to the massive designs of the Nazca Lines that span across 400 square kilometers of desert. These newly discovered geoglyphs feature humans, animals, and abstract shapes, some no bigger than 3 to 7 meters. It’s thanks to AI that these figures were spotted so quickly. According to Masato Sakai, an archaeologist at Yamagata University, AI helped map the area with incredible speed and accuracy.
Just how much faster were they with AI?
The numbers are jaw-dropping. According to a recent study, it took nearly a century to find 430 Nazca geoglyphs using traditional methods. With AI? It took six months to find over 300 new ones. The AI system was able to scan huge amounts of geospatial data from low-flying drones, identifying areas where more geoglyphs might be hiding. Johny Isla explained how, with drones, they can cover several kilometers in just a day. Tasks that used to take years can now be wrapped up in a matter of days (!).
What do we know about the Nazca Lines?
The Nazca Lines have always been a bit of a mystery, drawing in tourists from all over the world. They include a mix of animals, like monkeys and birds, along with strange geometric shapes and a mysterious “astronaut” figure. The new geoglyphs are a bit different from these larger designs. According to Isla, the older, smaller geoglyphs were likely made by humans for humans—showing everyday life scenes, maybe even representing family or social groups. They lack the larger, more mystical meaning tied to water and fertility that the bigger Nazca drawings have, which were believed to be for the gods.
These new geoglyphs feature wild animals, abstract humanoids, and even some gory depictions of humans holding decapitated heads. They also include more domesticated animals like llamas and alpacas. So, while the Nazca Lines might have been grand messages to the gods, these newly discovered geoglyphs could have been more about daily life, marking territories, or showing off local social status. In short, these new geoglyphs help us understand that the famous Nazca Lines didn’t appear out of nowhere. They were the result of cultural innovations that had been brewing for centuries, starting with the Paracas and culminating in the iconic geoglyphs of the Nazca.
Fun fact: Four years ago, it was another technology, drones, that helped cast a new light on the mystery of the Nazca Lines.
|
|
Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and the Americas. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
|
|
|
|
