月別: 2018年4月

南北の話とTOKIOの話にて。

1)   North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embraced after pledging on Friday to work for the “complete denuclearisation.

2)    Police investigated a record 1,813 cases involving minors who fell victim to sexual and other crimes perpetrated through the use of social media in 2017, official data showed Thursday.

3)   A Japanese TV network has released a statement by an employee who is believed to have been sexually harassed by a former Finance Ministry top bureaucrat. This comes after the ministry acknowledged the misconduct by the former administrative vice finance minister, Junichi Fukuda, and punished him.

4)    member of a Japanese all-male pop group has been referred to prosecutors for suspected indecent behavior with a high-school girl. The news is having widespread repercussions.

Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a 46-year-old member of the band TOKIO, is accused of forcibly kissing a high-school girl at his home in February this year. Tokyo police have sent papers to prosecutors on suspicion of an indecent sexual assault.

5)   Japan’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest with the South Korean government over a menu item that will be served at the dinner being prepared for the inter-Korean summit scheduled for Friday.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry says a dessert has a map of the Korean Peninsula along with the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan on the surface.

6)   Chinese scientists say the nuclear test site in North Korea that the country has pledged to scrap has been rendered unsafe by a mountain collapse.

7)   A stabbing spree on Friday evening in China’s Shaanxi Province has left seven junior high school students dead and 12 others injured.

Police have arrested a 28-year-old man, who is believed to be a former student. Police have been quoted as saying that the assailant wanted to exact revenge, because he was bullied during his school years.

8)   The prolonged war in Syria is resulting in donor fatigue among countries struggling to provide humanitarian aid to people displaced by the fighting.

The participants pledged new aid measures and raised 4.4 billion dollars. But the amount fell short of the UN target of 6 billion dollars because the United States has refused to contribute.

9)   Japan’s fast food sector is set to get more competitive with the arrival of another player from the US. Fatburger is the latest in a line of foreign chains aiming to take a bite out of the market.

The Fatburger line-up is slightly more expensive than most afast food here in Japan.

10)   Japanese airline All Nippon Airways is planning to introduce a new type of Airbus A380 with cabins that are equipped with novel bench-style seats.

The group-friendly seating will be available on 3 Airbus A380 airliners going into service between Japan and Hawaii. The flights will begin next spring.

セクハラ問題と北のお話。最近話題が難しい。^^

1)   Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday he has no intention of stepping down over a sexual harassment scandal involving the ministry’s top official.

2)   Japan’s consumer prices edged up 0.9 percent in March, government data showed Friday, but inflation was slightly weaker than the previous month and still far below a longstanding target. Japan has notched up eight straight quarters of economic growth — the longest positive run since the “bubble” boom days.

3)   Trump turned down Prime Minister Abe’s top economic and trade priorities. Principal among them: allowing Japan an exemption from new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and persuading Trump to re-join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

4)   North and South Korea have installed a direct phone link between their leaders. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are to use the hotline before their planned summit next Friday.

5)   A Japanese Cabinet minister will meet women reporters and others to grasp the full picture of sexual harassment in the media industry.

The top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry tendered his resignation on Wednesday in connection with allegations that he made sexually harassing remarks to women journalists.

Women’s Empowerment Minister Seiko Noda suspects that other female employees of media companies may have experienced sexual misconduct.

6)   The newly-discovered email says that on the same day the Ehime officials were to meet Tadao Yanase, who was the prime minister’s secretary at the time. The Ehime document quotes Yanase as saying the school project was a “matter related to the prime minister.” Yanase says he did not meet the Ehime officials as far as he can recall.

7)   Japan and Malaysia have concluded an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and cooperation in defense technology.

This comes as Japan has been signing similar deals with the United States, European and Asian countries to transfer patrol planes, radars and other defense hardware and technology.

8)   A 10-day-old girl has become the first baby to appear on the floor of the US Senate during a vote.

Senator Tammy Duckworth of the Democratic Party brought her daughter, Maile, to the chamber on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously approved a change to its rules to allow senators’ children under the age of one to be brought into the chamber during votes.

9)   The administration of US President Donald Trump has unveiled measures to expand exports of domestically produced weapons.

The measures announced on Thursday include broadening the range of drones that can be exported, and allowing US firms to proceed directly with sales to foreign governments.

But US defense contractors were critical, saying the move allowed Chinese drone manufacturers to increase their share of the global market.

10)   NHK has uncovered hundreds of instances in which inspection data at the Japanese automaker Subaru was falsified.

The alterations were happening on a regular basis.

A probe has revealed that workers at a plant near Tokyo have falsified inspection data on fuel efficiency and exhaust gases for the past several years.

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日本の少子化問題がメインかな。後大谷選手の話。もりかけ問題も少し。まだシリア攻撃前だった。

1)   Agriculture Minister Ken Saito says a document related to a controversial project to open a veterinary school in Ehime Prefecture has been found in his ministry.

The document outlines exchanges that took place when Ehime officials and representatives of the school’s operator visited the prime minister’s office 3 years ago to discuss opening the school.

The document includes Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s then secretary Tadao Yanase’s description of the project as “a matter related to the prime minister.”

2)   A Japanese government survey shows the country’s population continues to shrink and age.

The internal affairs ministry said on Friday that the total population, including foreign residents, was 126.7 million on October 1st last year.

That’s a fall of 227,000 from the previous year, for a 7th straight year of decline.

3)   A 19-year-old police officer accused of murdering his colleague in western Japan has reportedly said that he fired his gun without hesitation.

Police in Shiga Prefecture arrested the officer on Thursday for fatally shooting the 41-year-old sergeant in Hikone City the previous day.

4)   French President Emmanuel Macron says he has proof that the Syrian government attacked a town near Damascus with chemical weapons last weekend.

Macron said France has “proof that last week chemical weapons were used, at least chlorine, and that they were used by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.” Macron did not describe the evidence or say how France got it.

US President Donald Trump tweeted earlier that Russia needed to get ready. His post indicated that missiles would be coming.

5)   Japan’s Major League Baseball newcomer Shohei Ohtani is already having a big impact for the Los Angeles Angels.

In the 6th inning, Ohtani was intentionally walked and, in his next at-bat, he hit the ball to right-center, for a three-run triple, capping a 5 run, 7th inning.

6)   US President Donald Trump has welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech signaling that he wants to further open up China’s economy to other countries.

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he is “very thankful for President Xi of China’s kind words on tariffs and automobile barriers.”

Trump was referring to Xi’s indication on Tuesday that China will step up efforts to open its markets. Xi said the measures will include major cuts in tariffs on automobiles.

7)   Japan is facing a serious labor shortage with a shrinking working population. The government has come up with a plan to address the problem by allowing certain non-Japanese to come and work in the country.

The newly proposed status would allow foreigners with certain skills to work in the country for up to 5 years. Those who have completed internships would be eligible on the condition they do not bring their families to Japan.

8)   Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that he is one of the 87 million people whose personal data was leaked. He has again stated the need for regulation of the social media industry.

Zuckerberg faced a second day of congressional testimony at a House committee in Washington on Wednesday. He gave about 5 hours of testimony.

9)   The Japanese government on Friday greeted with cautious optimism the news that U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to explore re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, while stressing that Washington should accept the original terms.

10)   Hundreds of Japanese police searched on Thursday for a convicted thief who escaped from prison and was believed to be on a small island with abundant hide-outs – about 1,000 houses made vacant by an aging and shrinking population.

Tatsuma Hirao, 27, has been at large since Sunday, when he fled from a low-security prison in Ehime Prefecture while serving a 5 ½ year sentence for theft.

11)   A California technology billionaire said on Thursday that his longtime effort to partition the Golden State into multiple new states could soon be put before voters.

The plan would divide the state into Northern California, Southern California and California. Los Angeles, home to the state’s storied movie industry, would remain in the new California, but farmland and forested areas, along with San Francisco and the Silicon Valley technology hub, would be separated into the two other states.

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今日は相撲での女性の人命救助のことを最初に聞かれた。土俵になぜ女性が入っちゃいけないのかとか今後それは変わっていくと思うかとか。

1)   Japan’s household spending suffered the biggest annual decline in nearly a year in February as inflation-adjusted wages continued to fall, data showed on Friday, suggesting the economy’s longest run of growth since the 1980s asset bubble has peaked

2)   Police arrested two acquaintances of conservative commentator Susumu Nishibe late Thursday for allegedly helping the 78-year-old in his suicide preparations in January.

3)   A South Korean court jailed former President Park Geun-hye for 24 years on Friday over a scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country’s conglomerates.

4)   Some fans of professional baseball team the Chunichi Dragons have been caught on video chanting “Let the atomic bomb drop” on the Hiroshima Carp, Dragons officials said Thursday.

In the 20-second footage uploaded to YouTube, believed to have been taken during a game last weekend at Mazda Stadium in the city of Hiroshima, several men can be heard chanting, “Go for it. Die. Let the atomic bomb drop (on the) Carp.” Hiroshima was devastated by the first U.S. atomic bombing in 1945.

5)   The Japan Sumo Association chairman has apologized after women who were trying to save the life of the mayor, who suddenly collapsed during a sumo event here on April 4, were ordered to leave the dohyo.

Traditionally, women are barred from entering the sumo ring.

6)   Police said Thursday they noted 68 cases of illegal drone flights in 2017, almost double the previous year’s 36.

Japan’s aviation law bans drone flights in airspace around airports and above densely populated areas. Drones are restricted to flying in daylight hours and need to be monitored at all times.

7)   In an unprecedented move, the Olympic torch will visit three prefectures in the disaster-hit Tohoku region before starting its relay in Okinawa Prefecture, Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics sources said April 5.

The sacred flame, which will be brought from Greece, is to be lit during the three events in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures before being moved to the southernmost prefecture to start the relay in late March, the sources said.

8)   Shohei Ohtani, a two-way baseball star from Japan, hit his first major league homerun at his Los Angeles Angels’ home stadium in Anaheim.

It was the first inning. Ohtani came to the plate as designated hitter against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.

9)   US President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum to deploy the National Guard along the border with Mexico.

Trump signed the memo on Wednesday as part of measures to tighten control of illegal immigrants.

10)   Facebook officials are responding to revelations that a major privacy breach went deeper than first thought. They have instructed engineers to remove a search function that could be used to expose personal details.

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もうアメリカ国民はアメリカが世界の警察でいることにうんざりしてるそうだ。トランプさんの品格にはやれやれと思っているけれど、発言や政策は多くのアメリカ人がずっと思っていたのと同じなのだそうだ。

1)   The education ministry is taking more action after learning that 32 female students at public high schools dropped out due to pregnancy or childbirth after being advised to do so in fiscal 2015 and 2016.

In some cases, schools urged them to drop out despite the fact that students were willing to continue their education or take a leave of absence. There is a concern that some may have ended up leaving school against their will.

2)   Five cryptocurrency exchanges have withdrawn their applications to be licensed in Japan, saying they can’t meet the government’s requirements.

The Financial Services Agency said Thursday that two exchanges, Tokyo GateWay and Mr. Exchange, recently told the government they no longer want to apply for licenses. Three other exchanges: Raimu, bitExpress and Bit Station, dropped out earlier.

3)   U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that U.S. forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars.

4)   Sumo elder Takanohana, who was faulted for his absence from the most recent Spring Grand Sumo Tournament and lack of supervision of a wrestler from his stable, was handed a two-rank demotion by the Japan Sumo Association on Thursday.

5)   The organizer of Japan’s famed Awa Odori festival collapsed, as a court said Thursday it decided to begin bankruptcy proceedings.

6)   Russia expelled 60 U.S. diplomats on Thursday and announced it would eject scores from other countries that have joined London and Washington in censuring Moscow over the poisoning of a spy.

7)   Japan’s education ministry has completed the screening of moral education textbooks to be used in junior high schools. Textbooks published by 8 companies passed the screening and they all take up the issue of bullying.

Moral education is currently an extracurricular activity.
It will become a subject in the regular curriculum for junior high schools from April 2019.

8)   A 5-day work week is something many people take for granted. But that’s often not the case for construction workers in Japan. Now, government officials promoting labor reforms are looking to change that.

Japan’s infrastructure ministry will lengthen the timeframe for construction on public works projects.
Officials say workers currently have a hard time taking days off due to tight build schedules. They note that this also leads to labor shortages and increased accidents.

9)   Chinese state-run media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met President Xi Jinping in Beijing. This was Kim’s first official overseas trip since he took power in 2012.

10)   One year from today, Britain’s membership in the European Union will come to an end. British people opted to leave the bloc in a referendum in June 2016.
But the future outlook for the UK and the European Union remains unclear.

The 2 sides have reached a basic agreement on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal, which includes Britain’s financial settlement with the bloc, and ensuring the rights of EU citizens living in the country after Brexit.

11)   Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is back in her home country of Pakistan.
It’s her first visit since she was shot by the Pakistani Taliban more than 5 years ago.

The 20-year-old university student was greeted by a heavy security presence when she landed in Pakistan.
She’s using her trip to urge people in the country to join her campaign for girls’ education and women’s rights.

12)   US electric car maker Tesla is recalling 123,000 of its “Model S” vehicles to replace power steering bolts.

In an announcement on Thursday, Tesla cited “excessive corrosion” in the power steering bolts of cars built before April 2016.

13)   Japan’s finance minister has apologized for saying newspapers think a document-falsifying scandal involving his ministry is more important than the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.

Taro Aso made the apology at a meeting of an Upper House committee on Friday, amid mounting criticism that he takes the scandal lightly.

14)   Japanese government officials are discussing what regulations are needed to ensure that self-driving vehicles are safe to put on the road.

Officials expect such vehicles to be on highways and in other places by 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. They say guidelines on what equipment the cars need must be decided by the middle of this year.

15)   Trump Claims Amazon Doesn’t Pay Taxes and is Abusing US Postal System

16)   A top Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official pushed back Friday on reports that frontline border agents do not support President Trump’s border wall, telling reporters that “walls work” and that “agents know it.”

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