APRIL 18, 2018
Two Cases before the U.S. Supreme Court; A Meeting Between the President Trump and Japan`s Prime Minister Abe; The Advent of Animals at Work
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR:
CNN 10 is your objective explanation of today`s news and I`m your anchor, Carl
Azuz. It`s great to have you watching.
Today`s show starts with a pair of significant cases in front of the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The first involves part of a federal law that concerned immigrants to the U.S.
It said that people who came to the country legally but who were not
American citizens could be deported if they`ve been convicted of crimes of violence.
Both the Obama and Trump administrations supported the law when
it came to a legal immigrant from the Philippines who was convicted twice of
home burglary in California.
At first, a lower court ruled that his convictions amounted to a crime of
violence. But the man`s lawyers appealed the decision, arguing their
client wasn`t given notice that his crimes would result in deportation, and
that the "crimes of violence" part of the law wasn`t clear enough.
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court decided the law was too vague to be
constitutional because Congress didn`t define what exactly would qualify
as
a violent crime. So, in this case, the immigrant from the Philippines won`t be
automatically deported.
The ruling is limited though. Experts say the government can still deport legal
immigrants convicted of obvious violent crimes like murder.
The second case involves sales tax in the Internet. Oftentimes, when you buy
something online in the U.S., you don`t have to pay sales tax, unless
you`re buying from Amazon itself, which charges it in most states, or if you`re
shopping at a retail company that has a physical store in your
state.
South Dakota wants this changed. It says states are missing out on billions of
dollars in e-commerce taxes when people don`t pay them online,
and it wants companies that sell more than $100,000 worth of goods in a year to
collect taxes for South Dakota.
But many smaller businesses like ones that sell on eBay don`t want to be forced
to collect taxes. They say they`ll lose thousands of they have to
charge sales tax and that the different taxes that states and cities have are
too complicated to keep up with. The Supreme Court`s decision on this
is expected to come at around the beginning of summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these Japanese companies started making cars in 1917?
Mitsubishi, Honda, Toyota, or Mazda?
The first company on this list to produce a car was the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding
Company which introduced its Model A in 1917.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Right now, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting U.S. President
Donald Trump at his estate in Florida. The two leaders will be
talking about North Korea.
Japan is a close ally of the U.S. and Prime Minister Abe is concerned about the
direct talks that are planned between President Trump and North Korean
dictator Kim Jong Un. Japan`s worried that its interests and safety could be
left out.
Another concern on Mr. Abe`s mind, the new tariffs that the Trump
administration has placed on steel and aluminum imports from other
countries. Japan wants an exemption from those tariffs. So, trade would be a
major factor in their meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I`ll talk to Prime Minister Abe
of Japan and others, great guy, friend of mine, and they`ll be a little
smile in their face and the smile is I can`t believe we`ve been able to take
advantage of the United States for so long.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. has a $68.8 billion
trade deficit with Japan. And at least 70 percent of that is the auto
industry. Despite Japan having zero car import tariffs, while Japan car brands
Nissan, Honda and Toyota are a regular sight in the U.S., it`s a
different story here.
(on camera): There are just four American automakers with dealerships in Japan.
That`s Chrysler, GM, Tesla and Jeep. And it`s pretty rare to see
any of them. In fact, having done a tour of this lovely parking lot, I found
just one American car out of 66.
(voice-over): It tallies with the general stats for the country. Last month,
American car sales were dwarfed by European and domestic brands.
Over 80 percent of the American car sold were Jeep.
PONTUS HAGGSTROM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FCA JAPAN: We committed to this market.
STEWART: From side view mirrors that fold, to Japan`s narrow garages, to a
right hand drive --
(on camera): Arigato.
(voice-over): -- Jeep has tailored its cars to the Japanese consumer. There
were also things like noise and exhaust standards.
HAGGSTROM: There are a few things that are unique to Japan. There are
regulations that relate to importation and certification of vehicles that
are unique, which means that we need to do additional testing, we need to
provide a unique documentation for Japan.
STEWART: Trump says these higher standards make trading unfair.
KENJI KOBAYASHI, E.D., JAPAN AUTO. IMPORT ASSOCIATION: Trade deficits have
various reasons, so the single government cannot control.
STEWART: European carmakers which faced the same regulations have made greater
inwards in Japan. Last month, BMW sold over six times the cars of
all the American brands combined. This week, it launched a new model, the X2.
PETER KRONSCHNABL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BMW JAPAN: In Japan, we have the so-
called machine parkings. Machine parking with a height of one meter 55. But
it`s not only the height, it`s also the widths. The door handles of
the three series, they are 10 millimeters more narrow than in a car which you
are used in Europe.
STEWART: The Japanese market is a tight fit, but has room for foreign
automakers that are prepared to adopt.
Anna Stewart, CNNMoney, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Unless you`re a farmer, your workplace or school probably doesn`t allow
animals. Yes, there are some companies that let their employees
bring their pets, but this can`t work everywhere. Some of the human workers are
allergic in places that serve food, animals violate health
codes.
And what happens if your cat kisses or your dog barks at your boss?
For places that can afford to have virtual animals though or even real ones,
along with people to clean up after them, the workplace is getting
some unfamiliar places.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YASUYUKI NAMBU, CEO, PASONA (translated): We have two cows. And goats. And,
what is it called? The white and pink -- flamingos!
REPORTER: And whether they`re real or fake, animals are impacting how people
work. And we`re seeing that in offices across Japan, like this one
the 24th floor of a Tokyo-based online entertainment and sales company. Digital
art covers the walls, along with over 250 types of plants, creating
an interactive jungle.
NAMBU: We wanted to make something that did not yet exist.
REPORTER: Rainfall is not on visitors but around them. And animals are with you
to meetings, there`s 26 to be exact, each alphabetically assigned
to a room, you know, B stands for bear, H is for hippo, S for skunk, X -- huh!
X
TAKUMI NOMOTO, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, DMM.COM (translated): "X"
stands for Xenopus Laevis.
REPORTER: Hmm, of course.
In part, this $10 million area was built to impress clients. But Mr. Nomoto
also thinks that reinventing office space will trigger creativity
across the company.
NOMOTO: With a standard point of view, nothing new is born.
REPORTER: Meanwhile, across town, a different kind of animal occupies office
space at one of Japan`s largest human resource companies and this
farm is just one of its features.
NAMBU: For wellbeing, we have a salon, a gym, a kids` room. Therefore, I
consider the workspace as a town or village.
REPORTER: And the village isn`t complete without animals.
Yasuyuki Nambu built the ranch partly to raise awareness about Japan`s
shrinking farm industry. But the 60 animals also boost employee wellbeing.
NAMBU: When they play with the soccer ball, I just want to hug them.
REPORTER: That`s kind of the idea.
Reports show how animals at work can improve morale and productivity. OK, maybe
not without alpacas, but with pets. Cats and dogs not only relieve
stress, but they can help with work-life balance, employee retention and
overall satisfaction.
NAMBU: Some people can spend longer at work than at home, so why not make it
less stressful and more fun?
REPORTER: And at the end of the day, that`s the goal, to help make the
workplace of tomorrow a better place to be in. And if that means a few
office pigs -- well, that couldn`t hurt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: For "10 Out of 10", if you think the stonefish doesn`t look
creepy enough just swimming around, think about this, researchers at the
University of Kansas say the animal has a switch blade on its face. They
believe a bony sort of weapon is located under its eyes, controlled by
its
cheek muscles and that the species that have this can flip out the blades when
they think trouble is afoot or aswim. They called the protrusion a
"lachrymal saber".
And if you savor the competition of a staring contest, don`t lock eyes with the
stonefish, they`re no angel fish and you barracuda get hurt if its
piercing gaze comes trout and you`re not with the safe grouper. If a stonefish
ever meets a hatchet fish, they better know a good plastic
sturgeon y`all.
I`m Carl Azuz spinning fish stories for CNN 10.
END
