January 31, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.8 percent in the three months from October through December, marking the largest quarterly GDP decline in 16 years.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso is to pledge about 17 billion dollars to stimulate the Asian economy and help stabilize the current global financial turmoil.
3. Two of Japan’s leading home electronics manufacturers have revised their forecasts downward to report losses for the current fiscal year.
January 31, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.8 percent in the three months from October through December, marking the largest quarterly GDP decline in 16 years.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso is to pledge about 17 billion dollars to stimulate the Asian economy and help stabilize the current global financial turmoil.
3. Two of Japan’s leading home electronics manufacturers have revised their forecasts downward to report losses for the current fiscal year.
January 30, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Japan’s unemployment rate for December jumped a half of a percentage point from the previous month, the sharpest monthly rise in over 40 years.
2. North Korea says it will unilaterally scrap all agreements aimed at ending political and military confrontation with South Korea.
January 30, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation is to downgrade its earnings forecast for the current business year for the third time since November.
2. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has pledged emergency aid worth more than 600 million dollars for Gaza and called for international cooperation.
January 29, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed to strengthen the alliance between Japan and the United States.
2. The World Health Organization says cholera has killed more than 1,000 people in Zimbabwe in the past two weeks.
January 29, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed to strengthen the alliance between Japan and the United States.
2. The International Monetary Fund predicts this year’s global economic growth will plunge to 0.5 percent—the lowest level since the end of World War II.
January 28, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Prime Minister Taro Aso has vowed to make Japan a safe and vibrant society.
2. Russian authorities say they have seized a Japanese fishing boat off the coast of Japan.
January 28, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Russian authorities say they have seized a Japanese fishing boat off the coast of Japan.
2. Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force to prepare for an anti-piracy mission off the east African country of Somalia.
January 27, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has shown an willingness to mend relations with Muslim nations.
2. A new international organization has been launched in Germany to promote the use of renewable energy around the world.
3. Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone will visit Okinawa, southern Japan this weekend to hold talks on the long-delayed construction of an airfield for the U.S. military.
January 27, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has vowed to do all he can to bring stability to the Middle East, and has expressed confidence his special envoy to the region can achieve real results.
2. The Japanese government plans to allocate its official development assistance mainly for Asia.
3. The Chinese government says an 18-year-old man has died from bird flu in the southern Quangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
January 26, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama will send new Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, to the region this week.
2. Profits of major Japanese companies are projected to show a decline of more than 40 percent in the current fiscal year.
anuary 26, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama will send special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, to the Middle East this week.
2. A new constitution proposed by Bolivia’s indigenous president Evo Morales is expected to be approved in Sunday’s national referendum.
January 25, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. A poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support new U.S. President Barack Obama, giving him the second highest approval rate among his predecessors in the post-war era.
2. One week after Israel and the Islamist group Hamas entered a ceasefire, it remains uncertain whether or not the situation in the Gaza Strip will stabilize.
3. A 31-year-old woman has died from bird flu in China’s westernmost region, the 4th death from the disease in the country this year.
January 25, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. One week after Israel and the Islamist group Hamas entered a ceasefire, it remains uncertain whether or not the situation in the Gaza Strip will stabilize.
2. A suicide car bomb targeting African Union peacekeepers has killed at least 14 people in Somalia.
3. A poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support new U.S. President Barack Obama, giving him the second highest approval rate among his predecessors in the post-war era.
January 24, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. Prsident Barack Obama has asked Congressional leaders to pass an 825-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan by mid-February,
2. Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have resumed Egyptian-brokered talks aimed at consolidating the truce they reached after three weeks of fighting.
3. North Korean leader Jong Il’s eldest son, Kim Jong Nam, have told reporters in Beijing that his father alone has the right to decide he will be his successor.
January 24, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Congressional leaders to pass an 825-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan by mid-February.
2. Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have resumed Egyptian-brokered talks aimed at consolidating the truce they reached after three weeks of fighting.
January 23, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara
1. A Japanese satellite designed to determine levels of green gases in the Earth’s atmosphere has gone into orbit.
2. Japan has begun airlifting aid supplies of sleeping mats to Palestinians devastated by the three-week conflict in the Gaza Strip.
3. Share prices in Tokyo fell sharply on Friday.
January 23, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara
1. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to collaborate closely on global issues, including North Korea’s nuclear program.
2. The Japanese government has begun airlifting blankets and other relief goods to the United Nations organ, helping Palestinian refugees.
January 22, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has instructed his top military officials to draw up a plan for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.
2. The growth rate of the Chinese economy has dipped below 10 percent for the first time in six years.
3. The South Korean central bank says the country’s economy contracted in the final quarter of 2008 for the first time since the Asian currency crisis 11 years ago.
January 22, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has instructed his top military officials to draw up a plan for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.
2. The dollar slid against the yen in New York on Wednesday on prospects of financial fears deepening in the United States and Europe.
January 21, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.
2. Japanese government is working for an early summit meeting between Prime Minister Taro Aso and the new U.S. president.
3. Israel says it will pull all its troops out of the Gaza Strip.
January 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, becoming the nation’s first African-American to take that office.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has congratulated Obama on the launch of his new administration and called for a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance.
3. Sporadic exchanges of fire have been reported in the Gaza Strip, raising the likelihood that a complete withdrawal of the Israeli troops will be delayed.
January 20, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday. He will become the nation’s first African-American president.
2. The Japanese government is planning to send blankets and other supplies to Palestinians devastated by the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
3. Japan’s ruling parties have agreed on a plan for the government to send Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to fight piracy off Somalia.
January 20, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Israeli forces are expected to fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
2. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called on the American people to help others to revive the country.
3. The Chinese government has confirmed its 4th case of bird flu this year.
January 19, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has indicated that the country will hasten the withdrawal of its troops from the Gaza Strip, which is now under way.
2. A 27-year-old woman in eastern China has died of bird flu, the country’s second reported death from the disease since the start of this year.
January 19, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Israel began withdrawing its armed forces from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, after Hamas declared a ceasefire.
2. Japan’s opposition-controlled Upper House of the Diet has begun deliberations on the government-sponsored second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008.
January 18, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Israel has implemented a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, saying its goal of dealing a blow to the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas has been achieved.
2. North Korea’s military has criticized South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s policy as confrontational, and warned it would respond with an all-out confrontational posture.
January 18, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Israel has implemented a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, saying its goal of dealing a blow to the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas has been achieved.
2. In Afghanistan, security has been tightened at coalition embassies, after a Taliban car bomb targeted the German Embassy.
January 17, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. A ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza despite Egyptian attempts to bring an end to the three-week-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
2. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia.
3. Memorial ceremonies on the 14th anniversary of the devastating Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan are being held on Saturday.
January 17, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. A ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza despite Egyptian attempts to bring an end to the three-week-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
2. Piracy hit a record high last year due to a surge in attacks off Somalia.
3. Memorial ceremonies on the 14th anniversary of the devastating Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan are being held on Saturday.
January 16, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Israel is sending its foreign minister to the United States to discuss conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza.
2. The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday that it will inject additional 20 billion dollars in public money to bail out Bank of America.
January 16, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Israel is sending its foreign minister to the United States to discuss conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza.
2. A U.S. passenger plane ditched into the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday after both engines failed.
3. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa says the central bank will do all it can to help corporate financing amid the rapidly worsening economy.
January 15, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. The Palestinian death toll in the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip has risen above 1,000 after 19 days of air and ground attacks.
2. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has met Egyptian President Hosni Bubarak in Cairo in a bid to achieve a lasting ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.
3. Japan’s private-sector machinery orders plunged a record 16.2 percent in November from the previous month.
January 15, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo in a bid to achieve a lasting ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.
2. Palestinian death toll in the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip has risen above 1,000 after 19 days of air and ground attacks.
3. Japan’s Finance Ministry has estimated that the issuance of government bonds will hit a record high of 39 trillion yen, or around 438 billion dollars, in three years’ time.
January 14, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. U.S. Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton has stressed her resolve to emphasize cooperation with U.S. allies in diplomacy.
2. The Japanese government says its aim of achieving a primary balance budget surplus will be delayed due to greatly diminished tax revenues in the economic downturn.
January 14, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The Washington Post says President-elect Barack Obama plans to approve a defense department plan to double the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
2. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and called for medical workers to be protected.
January 13, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.N. Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution condemning Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip.
2. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is reportedly planning to issue an executive order just after assuming office to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
January 13, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The Israeli military is preparing to send its troops into urban areas of the Gaza Strip as the Palestinian group Hamas calls for all-out resistance.
2. Japan’s Sony Corporation is expected to post its first operating loss in 14 years due to sagging demand for flat screen televisions and a strong yen.
January 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak have agreed to strengthen ties with the next U.S. administration in solving North Korea’s nuclear and abduction issues.
2. The Russia-Ukraine deal to restore Russian gas supply to Europe via Ukraine appears to be on the verge of collapse.
January 12, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak have agreed to strengthen ties with the next U.S. administration in solving North Korea’s nuclear and abduction issues.
2. The Israeli Cabinet is intent on continuing military operations in the Gaza Strip, citing ongoing Palestinian rocket fire despite the offensive.
January 11, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Komai
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso has arrived in Seoul in South Korea to attend a summit with President Lee Myung Bak.
2. Japan will provide financial assistance for a special Cambodian tribunal that will prosecute those responsible for the genocide by the Pol Pot faction during the 1970s.
January 11, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Komai
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso has arrived in Seoul in South Korea to attend a summit with President Lee Myung Bak.
2. Rallies have been held in cities across Europe to protest Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip with demonstrators clashing with police in London on Saturday.
January 10, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is continuing in Gaza with both sides rejecting a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
2. In the southern Pakistan city of Karachi, fire swept through a slum, killing more than 40 people, many of whom were children.
3. The U.S. jobless rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December, reaching its highest level in 16 years.
January 10, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is continuing in Gaza with both sides rejecting a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
2. In the southern Pakistan city of Karachi, fire swept through a slum, killing more than 40 people, many of whom were children.
3. The U.S. jobless rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December, reaching its highest level in 16 years.
January 9, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1.The U.N. Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces and Hamas militants continue to engage in heavy fighting. But the United States abstained from voting.
2. The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East says further assistance to Pakistan is vital in improving the security situation in Afghanistan.
January 9, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. The U.N. Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces and Hamas militants continue to engage in heavy fighting. But the United States abstained from voting.
2. The U.S. Navy says it will launch a multinational naval force next week to cope with pirates off the coast of Somalia.
January 8, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says that the Japanese doctor who was released after being kidnapped appears to be in good health.
2. Representatives from Israel and the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas are to visit Egypt shortly to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
3. The South Korean president has ordered his officials to quickly introduce steps to help small companies preparing for a protracted economic slowdown.
January 8, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says the country’s ambassador to Kenya has confirmed that the Japanese doctor who was released after being kidnapped appears to be in good health.
2. Representatives from Israel and the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas are to visit Egypt shortly to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
3. There is growing concern in European countries over the impact that Russia’s suspension of natural gas supplies will have on people’s lives in mid-winter.
January 7, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The U.N. Security Council has held an emergency session to discuss ways to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including a new plan proposed by Egypt.
2. Mitsubishi Motors will cut by March more than 900 temporary jobs at its plant in western Japan to cope with the worsening economy.
January 7, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The U.N. Security Council has met to discuss ways to end the conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
2. The prime minister’s adviser on the abductions issue, Kyoko Nakayama, says she is now convinced that the incoming U.S. administration will help Japan solve the abductions of its nationals by North Korea.
January 6, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants has intensified in the Gaza Strip.
2. The South Korean government has come up with a plan to create 960,000 jobs in eco-friendly projects over the next four years.
January 6, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Israel has rebuffed European proposals for an immediate cease-fire to its assaults against the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
2. Russia has instructed its state monopoly Gazprom to reduce its natural gas supplies to Europe carried through Ukraine.
3. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama went to the U.S. capital on Monday to press for swift passage of a huge economic stimulus plan.
January 5, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. The Japanese government has called on Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza.
2. The Japanese government has protested to China, accusing it of developing a gas field in the East China Sea that the two countries had agreed to work on together.
January 5, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. The Japanese government has called on Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza.
2. Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose on the first trading day of 2009 on Monday.
3. The Japanese government has protested to China, accusing it of developing a gas field in the East China Sea that the two countries had agreed to work on together.
January 4, 2008 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Israel has begun a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip following eight days of air srikes.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has told Pelestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Japan will provide humanitarian aid worth 10 million dollars to Gaza.
January 4, 2008 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Two people are confirmed dead in two consecutive strong earthquakes that hit the island of New Guinea on Sunday morning.
2. Israel has begun a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip following eight days of air strikes.
January 3, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. More children have died in Gaza during a 7th straight day of Israeli air strikes.
2. In Iraq, a suicide bombing has killed 30 people and wounded more than 100 at a lunch hosted by a Sunni Muslim leader.
3. The Sri Lankan government has announced the capture of the unofficial capital of the Tamil Tigers rebels—a major turning point in a civil war that has continued for 25 years.
January 3, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. More children have died in Gaza during a 7th straight day of Israeli air strikes.
2. In Iraq, a suicide bombing has killed 30 people and wounded more than 100 at a lunch hosted by a Sunni Muslim leader.
3. The Sri Lankan government has announced the capture of the unofficial capital of the Tamil Tigers rebels—a major turning point in a civil war that has continued for 25 years.
January 2, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Israeli forces have killed a senior leader of the Islamist Palestinian group, Hamas, in an air attack on the Gaza Strip.
2. International humanitarian officials say a cholera epidemic raging in Zimbabwe has claimed more than 1,500 lives and shows no signs of slowing down.
January 2, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sumi Zushi
1. Israeli forces have killed a senior leader of the Islamist Palestinian group, Hamas, in an air attack on the Gaza Strip.
2. The European Union has urged Russia and Ukraine to avoid any suspension of gas deliveries to Europe.
January 1, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Arab countries have submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that condemns the Israeli air attacks on Gaza.
2. Russia says it has started to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine from Thursday after contract talks broke down.
3. Japan is preparing for a Lower House election in 2009.January 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. In Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly condemned Israel’s decision to continue its military attacks on the Gaza Strip.
2. Russia says it will cut off gas supplies to Ukraine from Thursday after contract talks broke down.
3. In Bangkok, a midnight blaze has killed at least 59 people celebrating the New Year at a nightclub.