A little Island

ヒアリのことでこれほど大騒ぎになっている日本が不思議らしい。^^ アメリカにはもっと危険生物がたくさんいそうだからなぁ。トランスジェンダーの軍入隊禁止の理由も知らなかったので興味深かった。

1)   A Malaysian court says it will begin on October 2nd the trial of 2 women accused of killing the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The two women have been indicted for killing Kim Jong Nam, who died after having his face smeared with the lethal VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February.
2)   NHK has learned that 12 cargo containers have been moved out of a port in Fukuoka City, western Japan, without being checked for venomous fire ants.

The alien species has been sighted at the city’s Hakata Port on a number of occasions. A worker was stung and slightly injured on Thursday.

3)   A survey in Japan shows that one in 6 women have suffered violence by their husbands or others but that most of the victims did not contact the police.
4)   Japan’s defense minister has been replaced, closing a chapter in a major cover-up scandal.

It centers on the withholding of records on Japan’s former peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Tomomi Inada stepped down to take responsibility after an internal inspection found a series of violations.
5)   The leader of Japan’s largest opposition Democratic Party, Renho, has expressed her intention to resign from the post.

Party sources say she told people close to her on Thursday that she intends to step down as president in a bid to revamp the struggling party.
6)    People in Japan are marking the first anniversary of a mass killing at a care home for the disabled just outside Tokyo.

Former care worker Satoshi Uematsu stormed the facility in Sagamihara city last year in the early hours of July 26th, wielding a knife. He killed 19 people. 27 others suffered stabbing wounds.
7)   The US Senate has passed a bill to impose sanctions on Russia over its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

Russia says it will seize some US diplomatic property in the country in retaliation for the passage of a new bill by the US Congress that imposes sanctions against Russia.
8)   US President Donald Trump has declared a ban on transgender people from serving in the US military, citing costs and other reasons. Democrats and human rights advocates have criticized the decision.

9)   Japanese government officials say the country’s unemployment rate in June stood at 2.8 percent.

That’s a 0.3-percentage-point improvement from the previous month.

The ratio of job offers to applicants rose to 1.51.
That means there were 151 job openings for every 100 people looking for work.

10)   The Japanese government has announced that it will impose a safeguard measure on frozen beef imports in order to protect domestic farmers.

Officials will apply higher tariffs on the products starting next month.

Duties on frozen beef imports from countries such as the US, New Zealand and Canada will be raised to 50 percent.

1)   The United States will bar Americans from travelling to North Korea in the coming weeks, two travel agencies said Friday, a month after a U.S. tourist, student Otto Warmbier, died following his imprisonment by Pyongyang.

North Korea’s tourism agency has launched a website offering holiday options ranging from surfing to rice planting, despite strong U.S. warnings to avoid travel to a nation where several trips have ended in jail.

2)   Thief returns stolen bicycle, includes written apology and edible gift to say sorry

3)   A number of books aimed at teaching elementary school children about issues concerning the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have been published recently in an effort to deepen understanding about sexual minorities in Japan.

4)   Chinese censors can’t bear Winnie the Pooh

5)   Sources close to the Defense Ministry say Minister Tomomi Inada was told about the existence of the activity logs in February and this fact was reported to the Inspector General’s Office of Legal Compliance in March.

6)   A pact that allows Japan to export its nuclear power technology to India for peaceful purposes has taken effect.

It entered into force after Japan’s Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu, and Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar exchanged documents in New Delhi on Thursday.

The deal, signed by both governments last November, also enables the countries to exchange know-how on nuclear materials and plant equipment.

7)   An association of Japanese Bitcoin exchanges is considering moving forward a plan to suspend transactions of the virtual currency.

It’s taking the step because of growing concerns over a possible sudden split of the Bitcoin system.

8)    Japan’s government will conduct tests of self-driving buses using the country’s version of a global positioning system. It hopes to use such vehicles during Tokyo’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.

The Cabinet Office says it will start the tests in the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa in November.

9)      The US Justice Department says it has taken down the biggest online black market for illegal goods and services.

Department officials said on Thursday that since its inception, AlphaBay serviced more than 200,000 users, who traded in illegal drugs, toxic chemicals, firearms and stolen identities.

10)   A pro-Russian separatist leader of a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine has proclaimed a new state.

The new state will be called Malorossiya, and its capital will be placed in Donetsk. He added that Malorossiya is consisted of all Ukraine territories except for Russian-annexed Crimea, and a new constitution is being drawn up for the country.

11)   US President Donald Trump faces uncertainty 6 months after his inauguration, as the overhaul of Obamacare has stalled and investigations continue into Russia’s possible meddling in last year’s election.

Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House on Wednesday to pressure them to pass a bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care program as early as possible. He said they shouldn’t leave Washington until the bill is enacted.

12)   Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has criticized China for its treatment of human rights activist and Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who died last week.July 22nd, 2017

先生はトランプ支持者だから最近のあれこれはFakeニュースだと憤っていた。^^

1)   The leader of the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition on Friday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to focus on regaining public trust after a slide in his popularity, and said revising the pacifist constitution was not a priority for voters.

2)   A vice minister has given up using a chauffeured official car to take her child to daycare after drawing political flak following a media report, but some working mothers expressed sympathy for the 39-year-old lawmaker.

The Shukan Shincho weekly magazine accused Megumi Kaneko of “mixing up official and private matters” when it reported in late June that she had used an official vehicle to transport her 1-year-old son to his nursery.

3)   The operator of nuclear power plants in South Korea has decided to suspend work on 2 reactors.

Massive amounts of radiation-contaminated water that has been processed and stored in hundreds of tanks at the plant are slowing decommissioning work and are a safety risk in case another massive quake or tsunami strikes. TEPCO needs to release the water – which contains radioactive tritium that is not removable but considered not harmful in small amounts – into the Pacific Ocean,

4)   Researchers say large foreign longhorn beetles are spreading in Japan, causing serious damage to cherry, peach and other fruit trees.

The insect spends a few years within fruit trees such as cherry, peach and plum, eating the wood. Cutting down affected trees alone has not stopped the spread of the species.

Hundreds of highly poisonous fire ants have been found at the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo.

5)   Two Japanese firms have created a self-driving car that can deliver sushi to a hungry customer’s doorstep.

The ever-growing demand for home delivery has left many companies with a problem. They don’t have enough drivers to transport the goods.

6)   The Japanese government has compiled a plan to support domestic cheese makers who are facing increased competition from European products.

Japanese and European Union negotiators reached a broad agreement on an economic partnership agreement last week. Japan will create a quota for European soft cheeses and abolish tariffs over a 15-year period. But Japanese cheese producers are worried about greater competition.

7)   Workers at major firms in Japan won an average monthly pay hike of over 60 dollars for the 4th year in a row.
That’s as a result of annual labor negotiations.

8)   Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said his country will provide aid in the amount of 1.4 billion yen, or about 12.4 million dollars, to Jordan.

9)   The death toll from last week’s record downpour in southwestern Japan has risen to 32.
10)   A US Democratic congressman has submitted a resolution to the House of Representatives to seek the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

11)   One of the biggest icebergs on record has broken off Antarctica, raising fears it could create more flow of ice into the sea and possibly raise the sea level.

12)   North Korea has threatened to retaliate if the United Nations Security Council imposes additional sanctions over its nucleaar and missile programs.

13)   The US government wants to renegotiate its free trade agreement with South Korea. Trade Representative Robert Lightheizer sent a letter to his counterpart in Seoul.

The letter says the US and South Korea are important allies and key trading partners. It says they need free, fair and balanced trade to strengthen the relationship.

It also says the US has real concerns about its significant trade imbalance with South Korea.

1)   Torrential rains continue to batter western Japan for a third day. Eleven people are dead and at least 14 are missing.
Over 54,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their homes while thousands of rescuers search for survivors.

Parts of Fukuoka prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, were hit by over 600 millimeters of rain in 2 days, almost double the amount that usually falls in all of July.

2)   A shipment of reprocessed nuclear fuel destined for a Japanese power plant has left France.

Two specially fitted vessels left the port of Cherbourg, northwestern France, on Wednesday.

French nuclear energy firm Areva manufactured the MOX, or mixed oxide, fuel, a mixture of uranium and plutonium reprocessed from spent nuclear fuel.

The fuel is to be used in the No. 4 reactor at the Takahama nuclear plant, which Kansai Electric Power Company restarted in May.

3)   Japan’s defense minister has defended her temporary absence from her office while Self-Defense Force personnel engaged in rescue operations in rain-devastated northern Kyushu, western Japan.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency had issued for parts of the region emergency heavy rain warnings, which are issued for disasters that could occur only once every few decades.

Tomomi Inada left the ministry for about an hour around noon on Thursday to attend a defense policy seminar.

4)   A single poisonous fire ant has been found at Tokyo Port. It was in a shipping container that arrived from China.

The ant was found during an inspection at a port wharf on Monday. An analysis by the Environment Ministry has confirmed that it was a fire ant. Officials have no reports of anyone being stung by the ant.

5)   Japan and the European Union have reached a broad deal on an Economic Partnership Agreement that would affect about 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.

The EPA is the first of its kind among large, advanced economies, and would be one of Japan’s biggest trade deals.

6)   Japan’s tax revenue for the fiscal year that ended in March dropped for the first time in 7 years.

The Finance Ministry says total revenue came to nearly 55.5 trillion yen, or about 490 billion dollars. That’s down 1.5 percent from the figure for the previous year.

Corporate tax income dropped 4.6 percent. The stronger yen has dampened corporate earnings. Revenues from income and consumption taxes both fell 1.1 percent.

One economist says the drop in revenue has brought Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies to a crossroads.

7)   Anti-capitalist protesters have clashed with police in Hamburg ahead of the G20 summit that opens on Friday. Authorities say more than 70 police officers were injured.

Police say about 12,000 people took part in a rally at a port on the Elbe River on Thursday.

8)   A United Nations conference is expected to adopt a final draft on Friday of a legally binding treaty to ban nuclear weapons.

Conference President Elayne Whyte Gomez presented the final draft on Thursday to the 129 non-nuclear countries taking part in the negotiations at the UN headquarters in New York.

9)   A United Nations conference is expected to adopt a final draft on Friday of a legally binding treaty to ban nuclear weapons.

Conference President Elayne Whyte Gomez presented the final draft on Thursday to the 129 non-nuclear countries taking part in the negotiations.
10)   Leaders of the Group of 20 economies have opened their summit in Germany, with free trade and climate change among the key issues.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the leaders in the northern city of Hamburg on Friday. Merkel will chair the 2-day summit.

The leaders will discuss terrorism, the world economy and trade, as well as climate change on the first day.

A key focus is whether the G20 can issue a clear message in support of free trade for sustainable growth, amid rising protectionism.

誕生日プレゼントのレッスンデー。

1)     The Japanese government is exploring ways to use cruise ships in order to cope with accommodation shortages expected during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

2)   These days, we should consider the thought of coming under cyber-attack as just a way of life.

3)   A Japanese team has inspected tourist sites and other facilities on Etorofu Island, one of the 4 Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.

The delegation of about 70 members, including government officials and business people, arrived in Etorofu on Thursday.

They are visiting the islands to study the feasibility of starting joint economic projects with Russia. Etorofu is the second leg of their 5-day tour, which started on Kunashiri Island on Tuesday.

4)   The US government says it is tightening security on inbound flights due to a heightened threat of terror attacks.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced the new aviation safety rules on Wednesday in Washington.

He said he is concerned about terrorist groups’ renewed interest in targeting the aviation sector. He emphasized the necessity of boosting security in airports around the world for direct flights to the US.

5)   Many Japanese follow a tradition of eating grilled eel to beat the summer heat. But with the price of eel rising in recent years, a major supermarket chain is offering grilled catfish, a less expensive alternative.

Retail giant Aeon unveiled the new product for the Midsummer Day, which falls on July 25th. The company is selling catfish raised in Vietnam for the first time.

Company officials say they are using a type of catfish called pangasius, which is known for its fleshy white meat suitable for grilling.

6)     India’s largest port has been hit by a cyberattack, following ransomware attacks targeting government agencies and companies in Europe and the United States.

The Indian government said in a statement on Wednesday that malicious software crippled operations at one terminal of the port in western city of Mumbai.

7)   A major operator of tax-free stores in Japan is launching a new type of outlet that gives tourists a chance to experience a lifestyle rather than just buy a product.
It caters to a growing number of foreign visitors who want to get a taste of the real Japan.

Tax-free items include products that are popular among tourists, such as home appliances and cosmetics.

Visitors to the store can also enjoy a buffet of various Japanese dishes like sushi and tempura.

They can play a survival game using air guns that shoot plastic bullets.

In addition, there’s a shop that specializes in instant noodles. It sells 42 varieties and many of them are exclusive to Japan. There’s hot water available for people who can’t wait to taste their purchase.
8)   Exactly 3 years have passed since the Islamic State militant group unilaterally declared an Islamic caliphate in an area straddling Iraq and Syria.

The group declared itself the Islamic State after seizing Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, on June 29th, 2014.

An offensive to retake Mosul from the militants has entered the final phase. Iraqi forces say the insurgents are now trapped in a one-square-kilometer area.

9)   A US survey suggests the image of the United States has sharply worsened worldwide under President Donald Trump.

The non-partisan Pew Research Center surveyed about 40,000 people earlier this year, in 37 countries including Japan.

It reports only 49 percent held a favorable view of the US, compared to 64 percent in the closing years of the Obama administration.

10)   The social-networking giant Facebook says its monthly active users reached 2 billion.
The number has doubled in 5 years.

選挙からパンダから将棋まで諸々。全然上手く話せてはいないけれど何故かこの時間がストレス解消に役立ってるのが分かる。来週のレッスンは誕生日プレゼントにするから予約しないでね。とのこと。sweet!

1)    People in Okinawa are marking the 72nd anniversary of the end of a fierce ground battle in the closing days of World War Two.

Every year on June 23rd, Okinawa commemorates the end of the Japanese military’s organized combat against US forces in the southwestern prefecture.

More than 200,000 people, including about a quarter of Okinawa’s residents, were killed in the 1945 battle. The exact figure remains unknown.

2)   Candidates for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly have kicked off their campaigns for an upcoming election.
Political parties in Japan see the assembly election as an important bellwether for national ballots.
3)   The announcer and cancer blogger Mao Kobayashi has died. She was 34 years old.

A Tokyo native, Kobayashi started her career as a TV personality while she was still at college.

After graduation, she became a freelance announcer and was a caster for a news program.

She married the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo in 2010 and had 2 children.

4)   The Shinkansen bullet train service in western Japan was suspended for 5 hours from Wednesday night due to a power outage. 72 trains were immobilized, and more than 50,000 passengers were affected.

Central Japan Railway says overhead wiring got severed in Takatsuki, Osaka, shortly before 8 PM on Wednesday.

5)   A former vice education minister has called for a third-party investigation into a favoritism scandal involving the operator of school run by a close friend of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Kake Educational Institution, headed by Abe’s long-time friend, Kotaro Kake, plans to open a veterinary school in a government-designated special economic zone in Imabari City, western Japan.

Kihei Maekawa told a news conference on Friday that the prime minister’s office and the Cabinet Office are being dishonest in repeatedly denying the contents of documents that have turned up in an education ministry probe into the scandal.

6)   Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo says a newborn giant panda cub has turned out to be female.

Zoo officials say the cub that was born on Monday of last week is steadily growing.

They say they conducted the cub’s third physical checkup on Thursday with a Chinese specialist from a giant panda’s protection and research facility.

7)   Another type of venomous ant has been found in western Japan, at the same port where fire ants were earlier confirmed.

Kobe City officials say about 100 of the ants were discovered on Tuesday in Kobe Port.

On May 26th, fire ants were found at the port in a shipping container from China. In mid-June, about 100 of these ants were also discovered in a container storage area at the port.

The ants found on Tuesday are a different variety that has a lower toxicity. But their sting could cause a severe reaction.

8)   The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is continuing to increase. It hit a new record for the month of May.

The Japan Tourism Organization estimated that nearly 2.3 million foreigners visited in the month. That’s up 21 percent from May last year.

South Korea topped the list.

The number of visitors from the country increased by 85 percent as more direct flights were added. Tourists also returned to Kumamoto, one year after a strong earthquake there.

9)   Japan’s youngest professional shogi player, 14-year-old Souta Fujii, won his 28th game in a row. His winning streak matches a record set 30 years ago.

10)   Tokyo’s governor has been consulting with executives from global firms about how to make the nation’s capital a more attractive place to do business.

Yuriko Koike met Thursday with the CEOs and managers of 8 US- and UK-based institutions that operate in Tokyo.

Koike says she’s determined to turn the capital into an international financial hub.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government this month outlined its plan to attract overseas financial institutions. It includes cutting corporate taxes, and improving workers’ living environments.

One of the people Koike consulted was the president of fund manager BlackRock Japan.

He noted the difficulty of finding talented mid-career women workers. He said this is because childcare in Japan is so poor. And he called for better support for working mothers.

Another participant said Tokyo needs to develop a bigger talent pool. He suggested creating a university that specializes in finance and gives lectures in English.

Koike said the feedback will help make the city a better place for women and highly skilled professionals to work.

The Tokyo government wants to put the finishing touches on its plan around this autumn.