月別: 2016年8月

無事今日受講できた。マイケル先生の方が私より日本のニュース通であることに時々ビックリする。^^

1)   Actor Yuta Takahata, 22, also famous for being the son of popular actress Atsuko Takahata, has been arrested for allegedly raping and assaulting a woman in her 40s in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday at a business hotel, where Takahata was staying for the filming of his latest movie “Ao no Kaeri michi.”

Police said Takahata assaulted the victim, an employee at the hotel, after returning from a night out drinking with colleagues.

2)   A man playing the smartphone game Pokemon Go while driving hit 2 people in western Japan, leaving one dead and the other seriously injured.

The accident took place in Tokushima City on Tuesday evening. The 39-year-old man driving a compact car hit 2 women crossing a street.

The 72-year-old woman died. The 60-year-old woman was seriously injured.

The police arrested the driver on the spot.

The police say the man told them that he was playing Pokemon Go

3)   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told African leaders on Saturday that his country will commit $30 billion in public and private support for infrastructure development, education and healthcare expansion in the continent.

Resource-poor Japan has long been interested in tapping Africa’s vast natural resources, even more so since dependence on oil and natural gas imports jumped after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster shut almost all of Japan’s nuclear reactors.

4)   Russia has invited Japan to join a humanitarian mission in civil war-hit Aleppo in northern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov invited Japanese participation during a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Russia Toyohisa Kozuki on Thursday, the ministry said.

In the meeting, Antonov showed readiness to deepen military cooperation between Japan and Russia through joint exercises.

5)   Three years of so-called Abenomics, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bold stimulus program, has failed to dislodge a deflationary mindset among businesses and consumers.

As the world’s third-largest economy falters again – with a stronger yen gnawing at overseas profits and domestic consumption sapping companies’ confidence to invest or sufficiently raise wages – firms that increased their prices in the hope of a sustained recovery are rethinking their strategy.

Many consumers, with little extra to go around, are opting for cheaper products – welcome news for the discount retailers who flourished during two decades of economic stagnation.

6)   While swimming at the wave-generating “Cobalt Beach,” one of the most popular pools at the Tokyo Summerland complex in Akiruno City on August 21, nine women between the ages of 18 to 24 were slashed on their buttocks or torsos by a person or persons unknown. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have been poring over security camera recordings, but have yet to collar a suspect.

As a result, Yukan Fuji (Aug 26) reports that other swimming pools in the greater Tokyo area are taking extra security precautions over the upcoming weekend.

7)   Burkinis banned on dozens of beaches, no veils in schools, no niqabs in the neighbourhood: in secular France, the law imposes restrictions on anything connected religious affiliation.

In 2010, France became the first country in Europe to ban the full-veil with a law banning “the covering of the face in public spaces” which was adopted in October 2010 and applied in April a year later.

8)    Officials in several states are scrambling to deal with a series of heroin overdose outbreaks affecting dozens of people and involving at least six deaths.

The spikes in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia over the past few days have seen rescue workers rushing from scene to scene to provide overdose antidote drugs.

While it’s unclear if one dealer or batch is responsible for the multistate outbreak, the spikes reflect the potency of heroin flooding the Midwest.

In Cincinnati, police on Friday asked for the public’s help in identifying the source of the heroin behind an estimated 78 overdoses in two days.

オリンピックでのアメリカ選手の強盗にあったという嘘が恥ずかしいよ。と言っていた。^^

1)   Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike is on her way to Rio de Janeiro to attend the Olympic flag handover ceremony.

Koike took office earlier this month. She left Haneda Airport for the Brazilian city on Thursday, starting a week-long trip.

She will receive the Olympic flag from the city mayor at the closing ceremony of the Games on Sunday. Tokyo hosts the next Olympics in 2020.
2)   Sweltering heat gripped eastern and western Japan on Wednesday. Temperatures rose to nearly 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.
3)   A human rights advocacy group has criticized an immigration facility near Tokyo for serving a Muslim detainee a dish containing pork.

Islamic teachings ban consumption of pork.

4)   A school event meant to teach students about the plight of atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki City, southwestern Japan, has been cancelled due to a bomb threat.

The school was to hold the event on August 9th, the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing, and on the following day. It is located near ground zero.

The cancellation came after the Nagasaki Prefectural Government last month received an email threatening to bomb elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture. The email stated the bombing would occur on August 10th.

5)   Sweltering heat gripped eastern and western Japan on Wednesday. Temperatures rose to nearly 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.

Daytime highs in Tatebayashi City, Gunma, rose to 39.6 degrees. At Sano City in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture, it reached 38.3 degrees.

6)   The US Olympic Committee has apologized for what it called unacceptable behavior by 4 US swimmers who were found to have lied about being robbed at gunpoint.

The committee on Thursday confirmed the version of events given by Brazilian police who determined that the athletes were not robbed.

The swimmers include Ryan Lochte, who won a gold medal in the men’s 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay at the Rio Games.

Lochte first said they were robbed at gunpoint when their taxi was stopped on the way to the athletes’ village from a club in Rio de Janeiro early on Sunday.

7)   Japanese direct investment in China continues to fall as a result of rising labor costs and concern about the slowing economy.

China’s Commerce Ministry says direct investment from Japan was 1.91 billion dollars from January through July. That’s down 10.9 percent from the figure for the same period of last year.

Officials at an association of Japanese companies in China say investment is especially weak among firms that seek to export products from China to Japan and other countries.

熱中症とか天皇陛下とか中国とかイチローとかの話でした。あ、マックが売り上げが上がったんだってね、って話もしたな。^^ 単語をさぼってるので英語力は伸びないけれど気軽な話をするのが楽しい土曜日の朝。アメリカの大統領選の話はなんとなく聞きづらい。

1)   The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that 6,588 people were taken to hospitals nationwide to be treated for heatstroke in the week from Aug 1 to Aug 7.

The figure was an increase of 2,525 over the previous week as a heatwave covered most of Japan, agency officials said.

Twelve deaths were attributed to heatstroke, while 822 people had to be hospitalized due to their condition. Of the total number hospitalized, 3,330 were aged 65 and older.

5)   Tokyo’s new governor, Yuriko Koike, has reacted positively to the idea of operating a recreational complex including a casino in the city.

In an interview with NHK on Monday, she touched on a bill aimed at legalizing casinos that is under deliberation in the Diet.

Koike said that the city needs to constantly attract more visitors from overseas.

She said the casino plan would make the city more attractive.

6)   The Emperor of Japan addressed the public in a video message.
Emperor Akihito’s message alluded to his wish to abdicate.

He spoke for around 10 minutes.

He said he is worried that it may become difficult for him to carry out his duties as the symbol of the state, considering the gradual decline in his physical condition.

“There are unreasonable aspects to Japan’s imperial system. To justify the restriction of his human rights to that degree, he should have the choice to become emperor or not and one way to secure that right is to enable him to abdicate if he wishes.”

 

Shojiro Sakaguchi, a law professor at Hitotsubashi University, noting that the emperor’s rights are restricted under the system, including the right to express his views and marry freely. (Kyodo)

10)   China’s exports fell again in July by an unexpectedly sharp margin while a decline in imports accelerated.

12)   Ichiro Suzuki defined his career with speed and sharp hits. It was only fitting he flashed both in his historic moment.

Suzuki lined a tripled off the wall for his 3,000th career hit in the major leagues, becoming the 30th player to reach the milestone as the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 10-7 Sunday.

13)   American special operations troops have for the first time started directly supporting Libyan forces battling the Islamic State group in their key stronghold of Sirte, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

15)   The US government says it is in close communication with Japan and monitoring the situation around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Chinese government ships have stepped up activities in the area since last Friday, repeatedly violating Japanese territorial waters.

But she said the US is aware that the islands have been under Japanese administration and that they fall within the scope of the US-Japan security treaty.

17)   McDonald’s Holdings Japan has posted its first mid-term operating profit in 2 years. The change in fortunes follows a series of food safety scandals that scared away customers.

Company officials on Tuesday reported an operating profit of about 460,000 dollars for the January-June period. Sales were up 23 percent from the year before.

The officials credit the sales rebound to fresh menus and renovated outlets. They say shutting down unprofitable branches also helped to flip earnings into the black.

 

どうして覚えてたはずの単語がどんどん抜けてくのかなー。英語の語彙が少ないから日本語で話すときより選択の幅が少なくて逆にはっきり意見が言える。好きとか嫌いとか。曖昧な言い方を知らないから。ということ。^^

1)   Japan’s troubled 2020 Olympics will be a success, Tokyo’s new governor insisted Thursday, after she and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put aside political differences for the good of the Games.

Tokyo’s Olympic preparations have suffered high-profile setbacks including soaring costs, allegations of corruption.

Responsibility for fixing that now lies with Yuriko Koike who became the first woman to be elected chief executive of the megacity at the weekend, in a vote held after the previous governor resigned over a financial scandal.

2)   Child abuse in Japan reached its worst level on record in fiscal 2015, with the number of cases handled by welfare officials surpassing 100,000 for the first time, a government survey showed Thursday.

A total of 103,260 cases were handled at child consultation centers nationwide in the year through March, up 16 percent from the year before and marking the 25th consecutive annual increase since the government started taking tallies in fiscal 1990, according to the preliminary report.

3)   Tournament officials banned a schoolgirl from a practice game at Koshien Stadium on Tuesday in the lead-up to the 98th National High School Baseball Championship tournament, citing concerns for her safety. The girl, who acts as manager for her high school baseball team, was passing the ball to players on the ground as part of their usual fielding practice, and had been on the field for roughly 10 minutes when tournament officials noticed her and prohibited her from continuing.

4)   Emperor Akihito is likely to express his thoughts on his role in a video message Monday amid growing speculation that he is considering abdicating, sources said Thursday.

The Imperial Household Agency is arranging for the 82-year-old emperor’s message to be made public Monday afternoon, the agency sources said, adding he is expected to read out a statement prepared in consultation with senior agency officials.

5)   Actress Reiko Takashima, 52, has announced her divorce from former actor Noboru Takachi, 51, who was arrested in June on suspicion of possessing stimulants and marijuana.

Takashima’s agency informed the press in a fax that she had filed for divorce after 17 years of marriage from Takachi whose real name is Joji Osaki. The fax read, “We hope you can understand her decision and continue to warmly watch over her,” Sankei Shimbun reported Tuesday.

6)   A rash of thefts around the Haworthia, a popular succulent plant, is taking place in Japan. The plant has been trading at high prices among people who value it recently.

An association of Haworthia lovers in Japan says a pot of Haworthia bred and improved in Japan can be sold online for nearly 1,000 dollars. Some can fetch a price as high as about 10,000 dollars.

7)   The International Olympic Committee has approved 5 sports to be added to the Tokyo 2020 Games. IOC officials approved a proposal by the Tokyo organizers on Wednesday.

They agreed to add surfing, skateboarding, karate, sports climbing, plus returning baseball-and-softball.

The new sports will supplement, rather than replace, regular events.

8)   Japanese government officials have revealed the details of a stimulus package worth more than 280 billion dollars. They are now working on ways of funding it, as they draw up an extra budget for the current fiscal year.

Officials plan to take about 40 billion dollars out of the general account for the secondary supplementary budget.

From that amount, the government plans to float construction bonds of about 30 billion dollars to bridge a funding gap.

The extra budget will cover a one-time payment of about 150 dollars to people on low incomes.