Econ_Sep_22

34 Asia

The Economist

September 22nd 2018

pected revenue has already been ear-

marked to provide free child care and nurs-

ery. He has also talked of increasing the

retirement age to 70, and allowing pen-

sions to be drawn later, as well as obliging

wealthier old people to pay more towards

theirmedical care. Those are all good ideas

but will barely dent Japan’s projected

debts. “What Abe is trying to do is kind of

right, but he is really not doing enough to

solve the problem,” says Mieko Naka-

bayashi ofWaseda University.

To make matters worse, Mr Abe may

find it hard to enact reforms as his tenure

draws to a close, thanks to jostling within

the party to choose his successor. There is

also a busy electoral calendar, with voting

for part of the upper house and lots of local

offices next year. If Mr Abe wants to bur-

nish his legacy, he had better getmoving.

HATdo a report on themistreatment

ofmigrant workers, a pamphlet from

Hizb ut-Tahrir (an international group that

wants an Islamic caliphate but disavows

violence) and a Dutch filmcalled “I amgay

and Muslim” have in common? According

to the authorities in Kyrgyzstan, a former

Soviet republic of 6m people, they are all

“extremist material”. Anyone found to be

in possession of such dangerous stuff faces

aminimumprison sentence of three years.

HumanRightsWatch (

HRW

), a pressure

group, says that at least 258 people have

been convicted of possessing extremist

material since 2010. More than 500 new

cases have been opened in the past three

years. The lawhas been amended twice to

make it harsher, first by outlawing mere

possession rather than distribution and

then by setting mandatory minimum sen-

tences. A subsequent softening of the rules

has not been implemented.

Activists say that the woolly definition

of extremist material and the severe sen-

tences encourage abuse. Allegations of po-

lice planting jihadist magazines on sus-

pects, or demanding bribes to make the

charges go away, are common. The lawhas

alsobeenused against journalists and law-

yers. In one particularly Kafkaesque case

in 2016, police raided the house of a lawyer

who had represented a client chargedwith

possession of extremist material. When a

copyof thematerial in questionwas found

in the client’s case file, the lawyer, too, was

convicted of the offence.

Letta Tayler, author of the

HRW

report,

acknowledges that the authorities have

good reason to worry about Islamist ex-

tremism. She says officials have told her

that 764 locals have gone abroad to fight for

groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Ethnic Uzbeks, who live mainly in the

south of the country, are especially suscep-

tible to radicalisation. Although they com-

prise only 15% of the population, they ac-

count for a majority of those convicted of

offences related to extremism, according to

a study by the supreme court from2016.

Noah Tucker, a journalist and academ-

ic, argues that Kyrgyzstan’s ethnic Uzbeks

have beenmarginalised by successive gov-

ernments since inter-ethnic clashes in

2010. They are under-represented in, and

frequently intimidated by, the security ser-

vices. Ms Tayler says that repressive laws,

which many Uzbeks believe are aimed at

them, only aggravate their sense of alien-

ation. Add that to the long list ofgrievances

against a government which still claims,

ever less plausibly, to be the only demo-

cratic one in Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan

Two extremes

The authorities are using radical tactics

against radical Islamists

Careful what you read

HE settingkeeps changing; the pictures,

not so much. Kim Jong Un, North Ko-

rea’s dictator, welcomed Moon Jae-in, the

South’s president, to Pyongyang airport on

September18th for their third summit since

April. As during the previous two, there

were hugs and smiles galore. Some were

reserved for the North Korean children

whopresentedMrMoonandhiswifewith

bouquets and military salutes. Later, the

two leaders went on a jaunt in an open-

topped limo through Pyongyang. The

streets were lined with women in brightly

coloured traditional dresses, who waved

yet more bouquets and sent up cheers of

“Unification!”

On the second day of the three-day

summit the two leaders unveiled a joint

statement at a press conference broadcast

live on North Korean state television as

well as channels from the South. It was as

upbeat asMrMoon’s reception. He andMr

Kim blithely pledged to turn the Korean

peninsula into “a land of peace without

nuclearweapons or nuclear threats”.

Building on the Panmunjom declara-

tion, which the two men signed at their

first summit in April, the agreement

showed a clear commitment to deepen in-

ter-Korean ties. Mr Kim said he would visit

Seoul “in the near future”. The twopledged

to restore road- and rail-links between

North and South before the end of the year

and to put in a joint bid to host the Olym-

pics in 2032. In Seoul, the South’s capital,

subway stationswere decked out in ads for

the summit that featured mock Seoul-

Talks with North Korea

Parading for peace

SEOUL

The leaders of the twoKoreas put on

another great performance