Sanae Takaichi Poised to Become Japan’s 1st Female Prime Minister
Described as a staunch conservative and China hawk, the 64-year-old former economic security minister and member of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party came to the forefront as the likely successor to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also an LDP member. He annouced in September that he would step down following his party’s defeat in July’s parliamentary election, when the ruling coalition failed in its bid to win a majority in the upper house of Japan’s National Diet. According to Associated Press, Takaichi “supports the imperial family’s male-only succession, opposes same-sex marriage and a revision to the civil law allowing separate last names for married couples.” It is expected that Takaichi would emulate the economic and security policies of the late Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022 after serving as Japan’s prime minister.
L.A. County D.A: Ex-USC Grad Student Drugged, Raped Multiple Victims
Sizhe Weng, aka Steven Weng, 30, is being held without bail after being arrested Aug. 28 for allegedly commiting eight felony counts of sexual assault between 2021 and 2025, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced at an Oct. 15 news conference. Weng has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including allegedly drugging and raping three women while he was a University of Southern California student. A preliminary hearing has been set for Jan. 14. A Chinese national, Weng reportedly graduated in 2020 from USC’s Viterbi Cronin Research Lab with an M.S. in electrical engineering, and in May, he completed his Ph.D. The Los Angeles Police Department is urging other possible victims to contact its Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 486-6890. Si Oh Rhew, 71, president of L.A. Fashion District-based C’est Toi Jeans Inc. was sentenced Sept. 29 to eight years and seven months in federal prison for “avoiding the payment of more than $8 million in customs duties on imported clothing and for running a scheme in which the company laundered money and failed to report on tax returns more than $17 million derived from cash transactions,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Meantime, Rhew’s son, Lance Rhew, 38, a CTJ corporate officer, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, fined $500,000 and ordered to pay restitution. Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra, Calif., was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on Oct. 6 by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $7.6 million in restitution. In June, along with Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China, Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles, Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente, Calif., and Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey, they and Wong pleaded guilty to their respective roles in “laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. This type of crime is known as a “pig-butchering” scam, whereby over time, as trust is gained by the perpetrators via social media and dating apps, victims are drained of their financial assets. Tae Miyaji Jones, 50, of Huntington Beach, Calif., who on her LinkedIn profile was listed as an accounting manager at Garden Grove, Calif.-based instant ramen company Sanyo Foods Corp. of America, pleaded guilty Oct. 9 to 10 counts of embezzlement. According to news reports, between December 2017 and July 2023, she misappropriated more than $2.8 million from her employer. Autopsy results from the New York City medical examiner showed that Shane Tamura, 27, the former high school football standout who on June 28 killed four people and wounded one in an NYC mass shooting, had “unambiguous diagnostic evidence” of low-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy. After shooting himself in the chest, a note was discovered on his person that blamed the National Football League for covering up the risks of developing CTE from the game. He also wrote: “Study my brain please.”
Parents of Late Krysta Tsukahara Sue Tesla, Cite Cybertuck Design Flaw
Noelle and Carl Tsukahara are suing electric vehicle maker Tesla after their 19-year-old daughter and her 20-year-old friend died because, according to the lawsuit, they could not open the Cybertruck’s doors and escape from the vehicle they were passengers in after it crashed and caught fire. According to AP, Tesla doors have been at the center of several crash cases because the battery powering the unlocking mechanism can be destroyed in a fire. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating several similar complaints.
— P.C. Staff
