無題ドキュメント

July 31, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. A court in Myanmar has delayed its ruling on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi until August 11th.

2. Prior to his visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki next month, the president of the U.N. General Assembly says a world without nuclear weapons is the only way to lasting peace.

3. Japan’s unemployment rate worsened to 5.4 percent in June.

July 31, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Prior to his visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki next month, the president of the U.N. General Assembly says a world without nuclear weapons is the only way to lasting peace.

2. A U.S. diplomat has said that the United Nations may impose more sanctions on North Korean entities and individuals linked to the country’s nuclear weapons program.

3. Israel opens criminal inquiries into the conduct of its troops during its 3-week attack on the Gaza Strip that ended in January, insisting that it had both a right and an obligation to stop Hamas rocket and mortar attacks.

4. Britain has begun a formal inquiry into the decision by Tony Blair’s government to join the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003.

July 30, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. China has put 15 people on a wanted list for alleged involvement in the July 5th riot in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that left at least 200 dead.

2. The United Nations secretary-general says he is willing to pay a personal visit to North Korea if doing so will help foster dialogue on the country’s nuclear program.

3. Share prices in Tokyo closed higher on Thursday, with the key Nikkei index soaring to this year’s high.

July 30, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The United Nations secretary-general says he is willing to pay a personal visit to North Korea if doing so will help foster positive dialogue on the country’s nuclear program.

2. A visit to Japan by an exiled Uygur activist leads to summoning Japan’s ambassador in Beijing and threatens to spur another diplomatic row between the two nations.

3. Russia and Ukraine are in a tit-for-tat row, having expelled diplomats in a dispute over the Russian Black Sea Fleet, based in southern Ukraine.

4. An expert panel urging Japan’s government to enact a new legislation to improve the lives of Japan’s indigenous people, the Ainu.

July 29, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. The United States and China have concluded their first round of strategic and economic dialogue was an agreement to further cooperate on issues of concern.

2. Exiled Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer has asked the Japanese government to send a fact-finding mission to China.

3. Japan’s Finance Ministry has upgraded its assessment of regional economies for the first time in five years.

July 29, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Cabinet-level officials from both the United States and China have concluded the first round of their strategic and economic dialogue was an agreement to further cooperate on issues of mutual concern.

2. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has compiled a draft outline of its manifesto ahead of the Lower House election on August 30.

3. As the U.S. defense secretary makes an unannounced visigt to Iraq to discuss the support for Iraqi security forces, gunmen killed eight people during a 7-million dollar Baghdad bank robbery.

4. U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace and the Israeli prime minister failed to reach an agreement on a U.S. call for the freezing of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

July 28, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Prime Minister Taro Aso has repeated his criticism of the election manifesto pledges by the Democratic Party, saying the opposition group’s national security policies are inconsistent.

2. The United States has strongly urged North Korea to return to the six-party talks. It also urged the North to take concrete actions to discard its nuclear ambitions, if it wants to hold direct talks with the U.S.

3. U.S. President Barack Obama has called on China to cooperate in denuclearizing North Korea. He said neither the U.S. nor China has an interest in a nuclear arms race breaking out in East Asia.

July 28, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The United States tells North Korea that if it wants to hold direct talks, it has to take concrete actions to abandon its nuclear ambitions and return to the six-party talks.

2. The U.S. and China open a strategic dialogue to emphasize the significance and responsibility of their bilateral relations in the 21st century.

3. China’s president sends a direct message to Taiwan’s president to congratulate him on being elected as head of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party.

4. Japanese automaker, Mitsubishi Motors, plan to hire 300 seasonal workers in September to boost the production of smaller and fuel-efficient vehicles.

July 27, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Tokyo’s benchmark, Nikkei stock index, hit a new intraday high for the year, on rallies in other parts of Asia on Monday.

2. The Chinese ambassador to Japan says an exiled Uyghur leader is coming to Japan to gain political advantage.

3. A suicide bombing in Russia’s southern province of Chechnya has killed six people.

July 27, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. More than 600 millimeters of torrential rains since Friday in western Japan’s Fukuoka’s Prefecture, eight people are dead and two others are missing.

2. A group of researchers is warning that the new H1N1 influenza virus is more infectious than the regular seasonal flu viruses and spreading fast in the southern hemisphere’s current winter season.

3. North Korea’s foreign minister is suggesting an alternative format to the six-party talks on the country’s nuclear programs, saying there is a specific form of dialogue that can address the current situation.

4. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is now on board the International Space Station, prepares to return to the Earth after four and a half months in space.

July 26, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura

1. Heavy rain in a wide area of western Japan has left a number of people dead and missing in mudslides and flooding.

2. Parties in Japan’s governing coalition criticized the largest opposition Democratic Party for shifting its position on the Japanese refueling mission for foreign vessels engaged in anti-terror operations in the Indian Ocean.

July 26, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. Heavy rain in a wide area of western Japan has left a number of people dead and missing in mudslides and flooding.

2. Leaders of Japan’s political parties took to the stump on the first weekend after the Lower House was dissolved. They are preparing for the August 30th general election.

July 25, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. In western Japan, five people died and some others are missing after heavy rains hit the region on Friday night through Saturday morning.

2. In northeastern Iran, at least 16 people died and 21 were injured when a

Russian-made airliner veered off the runway and caught fire during a landing on Friday.

3.The World Health Organization has acknowledged that the new flu has spread to almost every country in the world.

July 25, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The World Health Organization has acknowledged that the new flu has spread to almost every country in the world.

2. In Iran, at least 16 people died and 21 were injured when a Russian-made airliner veered off the runway and caught fire during a landing.

3. Japan is expressing concern over the United States’ “Buy American” provision in a congressional budget bill.

July 24, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Toyota Motor plans to close a joint venture assembly plant with General Motors in California.

2. The chairman’s statement from the just-ended meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum lists participants’ criticisms of North Korea as well as the country’s own views.

3. Japanese police have re-arrested a trader on suspicion of illegally exporting to Myanmar a precision machine that can be useful in missile-development.

July 24, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The ASEAN Regional Forum releases the chairman’s statement which lists criticisms of North Korea but also gives a voice to Pyongyang’s own views.

2. Japan’s ruling coalition government and smaller parties are criticizing the largest opposition party for its sudden about-face on participating n the U.S.-led Indian Ocean refueling effort.

3. The governments of Japan and the United States are looking into a possible visit to Tokyo in the middle of November by President Barack Obama, his first visit to Japan since taking office.

4. Members of a United Nations committee say progress is slow-going in Japan’s efforts to eliminate discrimination against women.

July 23, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. The ASEAN Regional Forum security talks are being held on the Thai island of Phuket on Thursday.

2. The new human trials of a new influenza vaccine have begun in Australia.

3. China says it will continue to put priority on relations with Japan regardless of which party wins the August 30th parliamentary general election and forms the next government.

July 23, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. As a series of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations begin on the Thai resort island of Phuket, a diplomatic tug of war persists between Japan and North Korea.

2. China says it will continue to put priority on relations with Japan regardless of which party wins the August 30th parliamentary election and forms the next government.

3. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Japan to continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, no matter which party comes to power in Tokyo, following next month’s general election.

4. The first human trials of a new influenza vaccine have begun in Australia, with doctors hoping to control a virus that has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide.

July 22, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win has announced that the nation will implement U.N. sanctions against North Korea.

2. Sky gazers on Ioto island and a passenger ship in the Pacific Ocean were able to view the longest total solar eclipse of the century on Wednesday.

3. The World Health Organization says the new flu pandemic continues to spread globally with unprecedented speed.

July 22, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Japanese political parties are gearing up their campaigns ahead of a parliamentary general election scheduled for August 30^th.

2. Japan’s opposition parties plan to cooperate with each other to achieve a change of government and prevent the ruling coalition from remaining in power.

3. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concern about military ties between Myanmar and North Korea.

4. Heavy rains in western Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture have triggered mudslides that have left at least five people and 11 others missing.

July 21, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura

1. Japan’s Lower House has been dissolved effectively signaling the start of a 40-day election campaign before polling on August 30^th.

2. The interim president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, is resisting pressure from the United States and other countries to allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power.

3. The approval rating of U.S. President Barack Obama has dropped below 60 percent for the first time since he took office six months ago.

July 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The Lower House of the Diet has been dissolved prompting political parties to launch their campaigns for a general election on August 30th.

2. ASEAN foreign ministers agree to set up a new human rights commission and are urging Myanmar’s military government to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

3. Thousands of ethnic Uygurs in Kazakhstan take part in a rally to protect China’s crackdown on their compatriots in the neighboring Chinese region of Xinjiang.

4. A group of Japanese companies will develop technology to produce liquid fuel from wood and other biomass materials.

July 20, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. ASEAN foreign ministers are meeting at a hotel on a Thai resort island to discuss human rights issues.

2. Wild fires have broken out in southwestern Canada, forcing some 11,000 residents to flee their homes.

3. Japanese police have raided an asset management company on suspicion of carrying out foreign exchange trading without government approval.

July 20, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. ASEAN foreign ministers are meeting at a hotel on a Thai resort island to discuss human rights issues as about 10,000 soldiers and police officers provide security.

2. Efforts are being made at an ASEAN summit to get the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program started again despite Pyongyang’s resistance.

3. Indonesian authorities say that explosions at two luxury hotels in the capital Jakarta were suicide attacks carried by Jemmah Islamiyah, a militant Islamic group based in Southeast Asia that denies any involvement.

4. Many people have already arrived on a southern Japanese island for the first total solar eclipse to be seen from Japan in 46 years that takes place on Wednesday.

July 19, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Ahead of the dissolution of the Lower House scheduled for Tuesday, governing parties defended reform policies taken over from former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi while opposition parties called for changing them.

2. Honduras’ interim government has turned down the mediators’ proposal to reinstate ousted president Manuel Zelaya.

July 19, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. Astronauts installed the final component of Japan’s experimental module Kibo on the International Space Station on Sunday.

2. Japan’s Democratic Party is working to finalize its policy platform by the end of July in preparation for the upcoming general election.

3. A senior U.S. official has indicated that additional measures may be imposed on North Korea if the North does not move toward giving up its nuclear program.

July 18, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. A senior U.S. State Department official says the United States agreed with Japan to set up a team to discuss nuclear deterrence and its first meeting will be held in Washington next month.

2. Indonesian investigators suspected that the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiya was behind the hotel bombings in Jakarta that killed eight people and wounded about 50.

1. U.S. space shuttle Endeavor has successfully docked with the International Space Station.

July 18, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Indonesian investigators suspected that the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiya was behind the hotel bombings in Jakarta that killed eight people and wounded about 50.

2. Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says many Iranians questioned the result of last month’s presidential election.

3. U.S. space shuttle Endeavor has successfully docked with the International Space Station.

July 17, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Powerful explosions occurred at two luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, killing nine people, including a foreigner.

2. LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters on Friday that Prime Minister Taro Aso will attend Tuesday’s meeting of all the party’s lawmakers.

3. A Unite Nations Security Council committee has announced new sanctions against North Korea, including five North Korean citizens who are now subject to travel bans and a freeze on their financial assets.

July 17, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. A U.N. Security Council committee announces new sanctions against North Korea, including five North Korean citizens now subject to travel bans and a freeze on their financial assets.

2. Thailand’s prime minister tells NHK that he will use an emergency law to deal with anti-government demonstrators as his country again hosts the upcoming ASEAN summit meeting.

3. Explosions at two foreign-owned luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday morning, have killed at least six people.

4. Astronauts aboard the U.S. space shuttle Endeavor inspect their ship for damage after it was hit by debris falling off its fuel tank during Wednesday’s liftoff.

July 16, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. Japan’s main governing party struggles to pre vent a widening rift ahead of a parliamentary general election.

2. China’s gross domestic product grew 7.9 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier.

3. Japanese women have held the world’s longest average lifespan for the 24th straight year.

July 16, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The leadership of Japan’s main governing party struggles to prevent a widening rift ahead of a parliamentary general election on August 30.

2. A U.N. Security Council sanctions committee is expected to name people suspected of being involved in North Korea’s nuclear development.

3. China warns its nationals living in Muslim countries to be on an alert against possible reprisal attacks because of the Chinese government’s treatment of Muslim Uygur.

4. In its annual report on Japan’s economy, the International Monetary Fund forecasts positive growth next year, but predicts deflationary pressure will remain until 2011.

July 15, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. Japan has formally accepted an international treaty banning cluster bombs, becoming the 14th signatory in the world.

2. The government spokesman says there will be no immediate review of Japan’s policy of not allowing nuclear weapons into the country.

3. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the industrialized nations will lose 30 million jobs in the three years through December 2010.

July 15, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Japan becomes the 14th nation to formally ratify an international treaty banning cluster bombs that cause civilian casualties long after military conflicts end.

2. The leader of Japan’s largest opposition party is proposing a review of the government’s policy of not allowing nuclear weapons into the country.

3. The global financial crisis and subsequent recessions in industrialized countries may cause 30 million jobs to be lost in the three years through December 2010.

4. The banking giant, Goldman Sachs, as its profits for the second quarter, stood just above 3.4 billion dollars up 65% from a year earlier.

July 14, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Japan’s Lower House has rejected an opposition non-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso.

2. North Korea will not send its foreign minister to the annual ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled for next week in southern Thailand.

3. Japan is asking China to stick to an agreed joint gas development project in the East China Sea and not undermine mutual trust by going it alone.

July 14, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. An NHK poll reveals that an overwhelming majority of respondents are keenly interested in Japanese national politics ahead of the Lower House election that is slated for the end of August.

2. The secretary general of the United Nations says the world body won’t recognize next year’s general election in Myanmar as fair unless the military government releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

3. A public inquiry has opened in Britain to determine whether a systematic abuse by British soldiers led to the death of an Iraqi detainee.

4. The U.S. space agency NASA says it will try again on Wednesday to launch space shuttle Endeavor after poor weather conditions again keep it earth-bound.

July 13, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso and senior officials of his governing coalition have agreed to dissolve the Lower House on July 21st and hold a general election on August 30th.

2. Tokyo shares dropped sharply on Monday amid mounting concern over Japan’s political future.

3. Japan’s Parliament has passed a revised law on the transplant of organs from brain dead people.

July 13, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. For the first time in 44 years, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has lost its majority in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

2. The outcome of that election is considered to be a bellwether for the upcoming general election in the Lower House which Prime Minister Taro Aso has set for August 30th.

3. In what are thought to be coordinated attacks, bombs have exploded near five Christian churches in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding more than 30 others.

4. Thunderstorms have forced the U.S. space agency NASA to call off Sunday’s launch of space shuttle Endeavor that was to deliver the final piece of Japan’s experimental module Kibo to the International Space Station.

July 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Voters in Tokyo are going to polling stations to cast ballots in the assembly election on Sunday.

2. Tension remains high in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

3. Japan’s Justice Ministry says that the country’s foreign population is growing, with Chinese nationals forming the largest group for the second year in a row.

July 12, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. Voters in Tokyo are going to polling stations to cast ballots in the assembly election on Sunday.

2. Tension remains high in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

3. Japan’s Justice Ministry says that the country’s foreign population is growing, with Chinese nationals forming the largest group for the second year in a row.

July 11, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Candidates in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election are delivering their last pitches before Sunday’s voting. The election results are seen as affecting the timing of dissolution of the Lower House.

2. Japan and India have agreed on the need to conclude an economic partnership agreement as soon as possible.

3. Protesters have rallied in Turkey, Germany and Australia over violence in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

July 11, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

2. The leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations has adopted a statement on food security with emerging economies on the last day of their summit on Friday.

3. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia intends to negotiate with Japan over a territorial dispute on the basis of the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration.

July 10, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. The Group of Eight countries and emerging economies have failed to agree to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases.

2. The G8 leaders discussed WTO trade liberalization with the leaders of China, India, Brazil and other emerging countries.

3. A Japanese research group says that the type of cells used to generate an IPS cell could influence the likelihood of ensuring cancerous growths.

July 10, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations discussed WTO trade liberalization in Italy with the leaders of China, India, Brazil and other emerging countries.

2. At the major economies forum on energy and climate, the G8 countries and emerging economies failed to agree to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases.

3. In Japanese politics, the largest opposition party says it’s considering proposing a vote of non-confidence against Prime Minister Taro Aso early next week.

4. In an effort to show its call for attention, Chinese authorities have taken foreign media to a mosque in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where ethnic violence claimed scores of lives this week.

July 9, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. G8 leaders all over the world call for a world without nuclear arms.

2. They have also pledged 80 percent cut in carbon emissions.

3. China calls for restraint by Han Chinese in the Uygur Autonomous Region.

July 9, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. G8 leaders meeting in Italy issued a declaration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized countries by at least 80 percent by the year 2050.

2. The leaders of Japan and the U.S. find time on the sidelines of the G8 summit to agree to step up bilateral security cooperation in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

3. As ethnic tensions remain high in the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a local leader calls on Han residents to exercise self-restraint.

4. Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is apparently re-elected in Wednesday’s presidential election, but refrains from declaring victory until the official vote-counting is completed.

July 8, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. Police remain on high alert in the regional capital of China’s western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

2. The Group of Eight summit will start on Wednesday in L’Aquila, Italy, where their discussions on nuclear disarmament and the global economic crisis will likely be the major topics.

3. Indonesia’s voting on Wednesday in the presidential election has closed and vote-counting has started.

July 8, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Police remain on high alert in China’s western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as Uygurs living outside China staged demonstrations in protest of the Chinese government’s handling of the turmoil.

2. The Group of Eight summit will soon start in L’Aquila, Italy, where discussions on nuclear issues and the global economic crisis will be the main items on the agenda.

3. North Korea observed the 15th anniversary of the death of its late founder Kim Il Sung with a memorial attended by the current leader Kim Jong Il.

4. Iran’s president has criticized the G8 nations for interfering in his country’s presidential election held last month.

July 7, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The Russian president and his American counterpart meet in Kremlin on Monday and agree to further cut their nations’ stockpiles of nuclear warheads.

2. After rioting kills 156 people in the western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Chinese police arrest more than 1,400 people in connection with the unrest.

3. Japan’s prime minister arrives in Rome, Italy to join his counterpart at this week’s G8 summit, where key topics include the post-election unrest in Iran and North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

4. The U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea’s seven ballistic missile launches into the Sea of Japan last Saturday as a threat to regional and international security.

July 6, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Chinese state media says rioting in the western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has killed 140 people.

2. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone says Japan will urge the U.N. Security Council to take North Korea’s latest missile tests and seek a statement of condemnation for the media.

3. Japan’s prime minister will join other G8 leaders for a three-day summit beginning on Wednesday in L’Aquila, Italy, for talks on such issues as the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

July 6, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. U.S. President Barack Obama is making his first visit to Russia, where he hopes to reach agreement on nuclear arms reductions and to repair bilateral ties damaged by neglect.

2. Japan’s prime minister will join other G8 leaders for a three-day summit beginning on Wednesday in L’Aquila, Italy, for talks on such issues as the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

3. An aircraft carrying the ousted president of Honduras is diverted to Nicaragua after being blocked from landing in the Honduran capital.

4. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party faces a tougher road ahead after a candidate backed by the largest opposition party wins a local election that it considered to be a bellwether for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

July 5, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The Chinese government has urged North Korea’s neighbors to remain calm after the country’s missile tests, and work together to maintain peace and stability in northeast Asia.

2. Iran has indicted a British Embassy employee and key reformist leaders who had been under detention since the protest began over the country’s disputed presidential election.

July 5, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says he was deeply disappointed over the Myanmar government’s refusal to let him meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

2. Iran has indicted a British Embassy employee and key reformist leaders who have been under detention since protests began over the country’s disputed presidential election.

July 4, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. North Korea has reportedly test-fired six more missiles that appear to be a short-range type toward the Sea of Japan.

2. A North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit weapons is likely to have been forced to change course thanks to a recent U.N. resolution that imposed tougher sanctions on the North.

3. The United States and Russia will sign a joint statement in Moscow on Monday to set up a new framework for arms cuts.

July 4, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. North Korea has reportedly test-fired three more missiles that appear to be a short-range type toward the Sea of Japan.

2. The leaders of Group of Eight industrialized nations are to adopt a joint declaration, seeking a resolution to the stalled Doha Round of world trade talks.

3. The International Atomic Energy Agency has appointed Japanese IAEA ambassador Yukiya Amano as its new director general.

July 3, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Campaigning has begun for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on July12.

2. The International Atomic Energy Agency has chosen Japanese IAEA ambassador Yukiya Amano as its near director general.

3. A teenage girl was killed on Thursday when what is believed to be an Israeli shell exploded in the Gaza Strip.

July 3, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Beijing, stressing the need to fully implement U.N. sanctions they hope will force North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program.

2. Newly released documents show former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein considered Iran a more significant threat to the nation than the United States.

3. The 35-nation governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency has chosen Japan’s Yukiya Amano as its new director general.

4. As the unemployment rate in the Euro zone hit a 10-year high, workers in almost all the EU countries are being battered by the global financial crisis.

July 2, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Amid mounting international criticism, the Honduran interim government is increasing its isolation by defying international calls for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

2. Thousands of U.S. Marines have poured into Taliban-infested areas in southern Afghanistan in the first major operation under President Barack Obama’s strategy to stabilize the country.

3. Japan’s prime minister and the U.N. secretary general agreed that the international community must force North Korea to abandon its nuclear development.

July 2, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Amid mounting international criticism, the Honduran interim government is increasing its isolation by defying international calls for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

2. Japan’s prime minister and the U.N. secretary-general have agreed that the international community must force North Korea to abandon its nuclear development.

3. Japan wants to propose international rules for obtaining large portions of farmland in developing nations so that regional food shortages are not made worse.

4. The Chinese government is stepping up efforts to combat new influenza strain that is spreading rapidly across the country.

July 1, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. A survey by the Bank of Japan shows, improvements in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers for the first time in two and a half years.

2. Japan’s Diet has approved the extension of the ban on North Korea’s vessels entering Japanese ports until next April.

3. Average land prices have plunged in major Japanese cities for the first time in four years.

July 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. A day after U.S. combat troops completed their withdrawal from Iraqi cities, yet another car bomb has killed at least 30 people, this time, in Kilkuk in northern Iraq.

2. Representatives of international oil companies gathered in Iraq for the country’s first option of its oil and gas fields since the U.S.-led war against the nation began in 2003.

3. The U.S. government is imposing sanctions on two Asian countries with links to North Korea’s missile and nuclear activities.

4. For the first time in two and a half years, a Bank of Japan survey shows improvement in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers.