News Headlines - 30 March 2021

▽Former top prosecutor fined for gambling | NHK WORLD

A Tokyo court has fined a former high-ranking Japanese prosecutor for gambling. He has been in hot water for playing mahjong for money during the first coronavirus state of emergency.
The Tokyo Summary Court on Tuesday ordered Kurokawa Hiromu to pay a fine of about 1,800 dollars.

▽Racing-boat drivers to return COVID-19 subsidies | NHK WORLD

The Foundation of Japan Motor Boat Racing Association on Tuesday announced that it issued the order following a survey of 1,574 drivers. The foundation says it discovered that 211 of them had received subsidies without properly understanding whom the financial support was intended for.
It says that some drivers applied for subsidies on the grounds that they were adversely affected by race cancellations amid the pandemic.

▽Human Rights Violation Not Found in Reality Show 'Terrace House' - JIJI PRESS

An independent committee of a Japanese media watchdog on Tuesday stopped short of recognizing a human rights violation in popular reality television show "Terrace House," aired by Fuji Television Network Inc.
The human rights committee of the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization, better known as BPO, reviewed the reality show in response to a claim of human rights violation filed by Kyoko Kimura, the mother of Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old professional wrestler, who was among participants in the TV show.
Hana is believed to have killed herself after receiving abusive comments on social media from viewers of the show.

▽Last Korean war criminal in Japan dies : The Hankyoreh

The last surviving Korean Class-B/Class-C war criminal from World War II, Lee Hak-rae, died on Monday at the age of 96... Despite being a mere pawn in the war Japan was waging, 129 Korean prison guards were found guilty of abusing POWs in war crimes tribunals organized by the Allies. Of that number, 14 were sentenced to death and executed.
Lee's death sentence was commuted, sparing his life, but he soon would face the merciless opprobrium of society. Koreans denounced him and others like him as "Japanese collaborators," while the Japanese reviled them as "war criminals."

▽BTS pens statement on racism against Asians, says 'we stand against racial discrimination'

BTS has raised its voice against the ongoing surge of Asian hate crimes. The K-pop group took to Twitter and shared a statement in both Korean and English about the ongoing issue. In the statement, the K-pop group not only condemned the anti-Asian hate crimes in USA but also shared their personal experiences.