News Headlines - 02 August 2018

▽Japan's massive health and labor ministry targeted for breakup - Nikkei Asian Review

The Japanese government is considering splitting the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, concluding that the mammoth bureaucracy with an extensive portfolio is incapable of responding to the complex needs of an aging society.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will submit a proposal as early as this month recommending a split, which will be part of a broader government review of its 13 agencies and ministries created through a reorganization 20 years ago.
The goal is to break up the ministry into two entities by 2020, with one covering health- and welfare-related duties and the other handling labor ministry matters.

▽Abe keeping a tight lid on who he meets, even if just for drinks：The Asahi Shimbun

He still seems to be smarting from a public backlash over a Twitter post in early July that was accompanied by a photo showing him relaxing over drinks with a large group of lawmakers from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, just hours after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a landslide alert July 5 about torrential rains in western Japan. The deluge went on for days and claimed more than 200 lives.
Stung by the reaction and fearful of inviting more criticism if he was seen having a good time with colleagues, Abe and his close aides did everything possible to keep the wraps on a meeting held on the evening of July 25 at the prime minister's official residence.

▽Where is Merkel? Germany hunts chancellor after holiday no-show | Reuters

Where is Angela Merkel? That question is preoccupying German media after the chancellor’s husband was spotted on holiday in northern Italy without his wife... The couple, who have been married for 20 years, were last seen in public together on July 25 for their traditional appearance at the Bayreuth Festival in Bavaria, a must for fans of composer Richard Wagner.

▽Merkel’s conservatives at record low, far right at record high: poll – POLITICO

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives fell to a record low while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) rose to a record high in a new poll out Thursday.
Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc fell to 29 percent support in the DeutschlandTrend survey — the first time the alliance has ever fallen below the 30 percent mark in the poll by public broadcaster ARD.

▽Aeroméxico crash: How everyone aboard jet survived

Passengers who walked away from the fiery Aeroméxico crash are thankful to be alive but a safety expert on Wednesday said it was “no accident” that everyone aboard the jet survived.
The aircraft attempted to take off in heavy rain during a storm Tuesday afternoon in Durango, Mexico, but crashed into grass near the runway and skidded to a stop before catching fire.
None of the 103 people on board — 99 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants — was killed.