Thailand willing to work with China to start railway project

soon: Thai PM
BANGKOK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua)
Thailand is willing to link its development plan with China's, and ready to work with China
to make sure their cooperation on railway can move on, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha
said during his meeting with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao here on Sunday.
Thailand is willing to enhance cooperation with China on tourism, agriculture, and culture,
among others, and work with China to start the railway project soon, said Prayut, adding that the
kingdom supports Belt and Road Initiative. Li asked both countries to dock their development
plans, enhance cooperation in commerce and investment and make sure the railway project move
on smoothly.
China and Thailand, both Asian developing countries, are trying to promote economic
development and improve the livelihood of their people, said Li, adding that two countries
should hold continuous exchange, strengthen mutual political trust and maintain peace and
prosperity in both countries and in the region. He also called for more bilateral cultural
exchanges to promote the friendship.
Li is here in Bangkok to attend the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit to be held on
Monday. China attaches great importance to ACD and hopes the ACD members could play a
greater role in the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative, Li said.

One in five Japan employees face 'death from overwork':

report
TOKYO, Oct. 9 (AFP)
More than one in five Japanese companies have employees who work such long hours they
are at serious risk of death, according to a new government survey into the country's
notoriously strenuous working culture.
Hundreds of deaths related to overwork -- from strokes, heart attacks and suicide -- are
reported every year in Japan, along with a host of serious health problems, sparking lawsuits
and calls to tackle the problem. The survey was part of the nation's first white paper on
"karoshi", or death from overwork, endorsed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet on
Friday.
While the popular image of Japanese salarymen toiling long hours for the company before
taking the last train home is changing, many still spend far more hours at the workplace than
counterparts in other modern economies. According to the paper, 22.7 percent of companies
polled between December 2015 and January 2016 said some of their employees logged more
than 80 hours of overtime a month -- the official threshold at which the prospect of death from
work becomes serious. The report added that approximately 21.3 percent of Japanese
employees work 49 or more hours each week on average, well above the 16.4 percent reported
in the US, 12.5 percent in Britain and 10.4 in France. The survey concluded that Japanese
employees also reported feeling high levels of stress related to their work, pushing officials to
call on companies to improve working conditions.