October
October 31, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. media report that Iran has rejected a United Nations-brokered plan to ship low-level enriched uranium out of the country for processing.
2. Former French president Jacques Chirac has been ordered to stand trial on charges of embezzlement dating back to his time as mayor of Paris in the 1990s.
3. Senior U.S. officials will visit Myanmar next week to promote direct high-level talks with leaders of the military government.
October 31, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. media report that Iran has rejected a United Nations-brokered plan to ship low-level enriched uranium out of the country for processing.
2. Senior U.S. officials will visit Myanmar next week to promote direct high-level talks with leaders of the military government.
3. South Korea says it will send about 300 military and police personnel to Afghanistan to protect its civilian reconstruction workers in the country.
October 30, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. A U.N. General Assembly committee has adopted a resolution proposed by Japan that calls for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
2. Japan’s employment figures improved in September for the first time in 28 months.
3. Japanese health officials say more than one million new patients were treated for H1N1 influenza last week.
October 30, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A U.N. committee adopts a resolution proposed by Japan that calls for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
2. Japan will present a new funding plan for developing nations at the next U.N. climate change talks in Spain.
3. Japan’s employment figures improved in September for the first time in 28 months.
4. The government has endorsed a bill to allow only the coast guard and customs officials to inspect cargo ships traveling to and from North Korea.
October 29, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.N. Security Council has denounced Wednesday’s terrorist attack on a U.N. guesthouse in Kabul, which left six U.N. personnel dead.
2. In Pakistan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemns a huge car bombing in the northwestern city of Peshawar, just hours after her unannounced arrival in the country.
3. The Japanese government is planning to propose the creation of several funds to help developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions.
October 29, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.N. Security Council has denounced Wednesday’s terrorist attack on a U.N. guesthouse in Kabul, which left six U.N. personnel dead.
2. In Pakistan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemns a huge car bombing in the northwestern city of Peshawar, just hours after her unannounced arrival in the country.
3. The Japanese government is planning to propose the creation of several funds to help developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions.
4. The governor of Okinawa calls on the central government to achieve an early return of the site of a U.S. Marine air station in the southern prefecture.
October 28, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. At least five U.N. personnel were killed as militants broke into a guest house in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday.
2. Japan’s Coast Guard says the South Korean container ship strayed off course just before it collided with a Japanese destroyer on Tuesday.
3. The United States and North Korea appear not to have made any progress over the North’s nuclear program at an international meeting held in San Diego, California.
October 28, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Gunmen break into a U.N. guest house in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, taking hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces.
2. The Japanese government plans to give job training to former Taliban members as part of its reconstruction program for Afghanistan.
3. The U.S. and China have agreed to enhance bilateral military exchanges to build mutual understanding and trust between their armed forces.
4. Investigations began into the collision of a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer and a South Korean container ship in western Japan.
October 27, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura
1. A militant group linked to the al Qaeda terrorist organization says it carried out Sunday’s twin suicide bombings in the Iraqi capital that left 155 people dead.
2. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa has approved a 2006 agreement between Japan and the United States to relocate a U.S. military air field in Okinawa to another area inside the prefecture.
3. 14 people, including 11 U.S. soldiers, were killed in military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan on Monday. The death toll of U.S. troops is getting worse as the Obama administration reviews its strategy, such as reinforcement.
October 27, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A decision made by Japan’s foreign minister regarding the relocation of a U.S. military air field in Okinawa is causing tension within the main ruling party.
2. The new Japanese government will honor the former government’s promise to double its official assistance to Africa by the year 2012.
3. The death toll of U.S. troops is rising in Afghanistan with the crashes of military helicopters.
4. A top Chinese general seeks to assure the United States that his country’s military buildup poses no threat.
October 26, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to thoroughly reform Japan’s politics, saying that now is the time to change Japan’s history.
2. South Korea has announced it will send corn and powered milk to North Korea to help ease food shortages.
October 26, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s parliament opens an extraordinary session, nearly six weeks after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama took office.
2. Japan’s prime minister returns home after a three-day visit to Thailand for an ASEAN and East Asia summit, a trip he says helped to establish personal relationships.
3. Two car bomb explosions in the government district of Baghdad on Sunday take the lives of at least 132 people and injure 522 others.
4. A Chinese report says rapid industrialization will increase the nation’s greenhouse emissions until at least 2030, making the reduction target difficult.
October 25, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is believed to have made the case for the East Asian Community he proposes at a summit of 16 Asian and Oceanic countries in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Sunday.
2. Japan, China, and South Korea have agreed to pursue launching joint research by government, industry and research organizations to study the possibility of creating a free trade zone.
October 25, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. At a summit of 16 Asian and Oceanic countries, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is expected to have made the case for the East Asia Community he proposes.
2. Japan and five Mekong region countries have agreed to promote economic and industrial cooperation, and improve domestic infrastructure.
October 24, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Leaders of ASEAN member countries have adopted a chairman’s statement, calling for promotion of cross-border infrastructure and the launch of a regional community by 2015.
2. North Korea’s senior foreign ministry official has arrived in the United States. He is expected to meet with U.S. officials to lay the groundwork for direct talks between the two nations.
3. In the Philippines, an infectious disease has killed more than 150 people in the aftermath of recent deadly storms.
October 24, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Leaders of the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations have agreed to improve cross-border infrastructure to achieve the goal of launching a regional community by 2015.
2. North Korea’s senior Foreign Ministry official has arrived in the United States. He is expected to meet with U.S. officials to lay the groundwork for direct talks between the two nations.
3. Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada says he is considering a plan to move the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa to the nearby Kadena Air Base.
October 23, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Leaders of the member countries of the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations began their annual summit in Thailand.
2. Myanmar’s military government says that it will permit a U.S. special envoy for human rights to visit the country next month for the first time in nine months.
3. The government task force on employment has finalized a set of urgent measures aimed at creating 100,000 new jobs amid the sluggish economy.
October 23, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. ASEAN member nations and leaders of other Asian countries begin a series of meetings this weekend at a resort in Thailand.
2. A U.S. newspaper claims American diplomats are worried that Japan’s new government is committed to transforming its alliance with the United States.
3. The navies of Japan and China draw closer as a Chinese naval vessel is expected to pay a protocol visit in Hiroshima Prefecture next month.
4. Myanmar’s military government says that it will permit a U.S. special envoy for human rights to visit the country next month for the first time in nine months.
October 22, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Michelle Yamamoto
1. Japan’s prime minister has instructed the newly established administrative reform council to slash wasteful spending in next fiscal year’s budget.
2. China’s economy has picked up its rate of expansion for the second straight quarter, marking year-on-year growth of 8.9 percent between July and September.
3. Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, has been put on sale for users around the world.
October 22, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s prime minister has instructed the newly established administrative reform council to slash wasteful spending in next fiscal year’s budget.
2. The leaders of China and the United States have agreed that the two nations will strengthen efforts for a productive U.N. conference on climate change in December.
3. The U.S. says it won’t ease sanctions against North Korea until the nation takes verifiable and irreversible steps toward complete denuclearization.
4. The Japanese government is drawing up a new aid project for Afghanistan’s civilian sector before U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Tokyo next month.
October 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged Japan’s new government to adhere to the 2006 agreement to relocate a U.S. Marine air station within Okinawa, southern Japan.
2. An international panel on nuclear disarmament has urge all nuclear powers to make a no-first-use pledge by 2025.
3. The Japanese government has announced the appointment of former Vice Minister of France, Jiro Saito, as the next president of Japan Post Group.
October 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese and American defense ministers have agreed to seek an early resolution to the issue of relocating a U.S. air base in Okinawa Prefecture.
2. A presidential run-off election will be held on November 7 in Afghanistan after ballots were invalidated in numerous cases of election fraud uncovered.
3. The prime minister of India says his country is committed to stopping climate change but it has hands full trying to eliminate poverty as well.
4. There are growing signs that the North Korean government wants to improve relations with South Korea.
October 20, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has arrived in Japan to discuss bilateral issues, such as U.S. military bases in Japan and aid to Afghanistan.
2. The cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has approved a plan to review the privatization of Japan Post, in a clear shift from the previous government.
3. Annual auto production in China has surpassed 10 million units for the first time.
October 20, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. secretary of defense will soon arrive in Japan to discuss mutual defense issues with Japanese leaders.
2. Japan’s government has pledged more than 300,000 dollars to support international efforts to remove landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3. The Russian Foreign Ministry criticizes Japan’s land minister over his comments concerning a territorial dispute between the countries.
4. An investigation by a U.N.-backed commission of Afghanistan’s recent presidential election has found evidence of electoral fraud that could force a run-off of the election.
October 19, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Vaccinations against the H1N1 influenza have begun across Japan for doctors and other medical workers.
2. Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan says Japan’s new target for a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 is achievable.
3. Pakistan’s army says 60 Islamic militants were killed in a large-scale military operation that began on Saturday along its border with Afghanistan.
October 19, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Vaccinations against the H1N1 influenza have begun across Japan for doctors and other medical workers.
2. The Japanese government aims to trim more than a trillion dollars at it starts screening budget requests this week for fiscal year 2010.
3. Pakistan’s army says 60 Islamic militants were killed in a large-scale military operation that began on Saturday along its border with Afghanistan.
4. In southeastern Iran, a suicide bomber killed 42 people on Sunday, including members of the elite revolutionary guard corps.
October 18, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. A meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament began in Japan’s atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima on Sunday.
2. Fierce fighting continues as Pakistani troops are staging a massive ground offensive against Islamic militants in the northwestern part of the country.
October 18, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. A meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament began in Japan’s atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima on Sunday.
2. Fierce fighting continues as Pakistani troops are staging a massive ground offensive against Islamic militants in the northwestern part of the country.
October 17, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.S. government says it will allow a senior North Korean official to visit U.S. cities later this month, a move seen as a step toward direct talks between the two countries.
2. The U.S. budget deficit surged to a record high 1.4 trillion dollars in fiscal 2009 which ended last month.
3. An explosion at a fireworks factory in southern India has killed at least 32 people.
October 17, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.S. government says it will allow a senior North Korean official to visit U.S. cities later this month, a move seen as a step toward direct talks between the two countries.
2. The U.S. budget deficit surged to a record high 1.4 trillion dollars in fiscal 2009 which ended last month.
3. A suicide bomber has attacked a mosque in northern Iraq, killing 15 people and wounding 90 others.
October 16, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japan’s Democrat-led government keeps its pledge and scrapped 2.9 trillion yen worth of a stimulus project approved under the previous government.
2. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he hopes that Japan will play a leading role in drawing up a new international agreement on global warming.
3. The United States says it has stepped up the pace of eliminating nuclear warheads.
October 16, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s Democratic Party-led government keeps its pledge and scrapped 2.9 trillion yen worth of a stimulus project approved under the previous government.
2. The United States is finally supporting an 19-year-old Japan’s drafted United Nations resolution whose aim is to abolish the world’s nuclear warheads.
3. Toward that end, the U.S. diplomatic mission at the U.N. says it informs the world body that it will increase the pace of eliminating nuclear warheads.
4. A trade accord between the E.U. and South Korea is giving rise to concern that Japan’s exports to Europe will be affected.
October 15, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japan’s new government is about to make a record high budget request for fiscal 2010. That is worth more than a trillion dollars.
2. Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations expresses hope that the United States will support Japan’s sponsored resolution seeking a total ban on nuclear weapons.
October 15, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s new government is about to make a record high budget request for fiscal 2010. That is worth more than a trillion dollars.
2. The Defense Ministry’s budget request is smaller than the current fiscal year outlays, but there is no plan to cut subsidies for maintaining U.S. forces in Japan.
3. Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations expresses hope that the United States will support a Japan’s sponsored resolution seeking a total ban on nuclear weapons.
4. Japan’s economy, trade and industry minister calls on the United States to join a new framework to fight global warming after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012..
October 14, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Eighteen countries around the Indian Ocean as well as Japan and the United States are conducting their first joint drill to alert residents of possible tsunamis caused by an earthquake.
2. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has promised Japan’s continued assistance for people affected by last month’s earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
3. North Korea has expressed regret over last month’s flooding deaths in South Korea caused by the release of dam water in the north.
October 14, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s foreign minister promises further assistance for people affected by last month’s earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
2. Japan’s government is unlikely to make a final decision on a relocation plan for a U.S. air station in Okinawa before U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit next month.
3. Russia’s president says his country’s cooperation with the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is at a high level.
4. An international energy agency opens its ministerial meeting in Paris on Wednesday to discuss energy conservation and other pressing issues.
October 13, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan has begun working with other U.N. member states on a new draft resolution, urging the world’s nuclear powers to take action toward a total abolishment of nuclear weapons.
2. Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada is visiting Indonesia on Tuesday following his visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
3. Japan has sent two destroyers to waters off Somalia in East Africa, as its third task force in an international anti-piracy mission.
October 13, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada heads to Indonesia for talks with the country’s leaders and to inspect Japanese aid activities on Sumatra, which was hit hard by last month’s earthquake.
2. North Korea fired what’s believed to be five newly-developed short-range rockets into the Sea of Japan.
3. Japan’s weather experts predict the number of hot midsummer days will double in Japan if no major measures are taken to curb global climate change.
4. A Chinese court sentences six Uygur men to death for murder and robbery committed during the riots in July that killed nearly 200 people.
October 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Pakistan’s prime minister has urged the government of Japan to continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
2. Japan’s foreign minister makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to see with his own eyes what sort of aid the country needs.
3. The head of Japan’s leading aid organization has met with Iraqi leaders to talk about a yen loan worth about a billion dollars for the nation’s reconstruction.
October 12, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Pakistan’s prime minister has urged the government of Japan to continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
2. Japan’s foreign minister makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to see with his own eyes what sort of aid the country needs.
3. The head of Japan’s leading aid organization has met with Iraqi leaders to talk about a yen loan worth about a billion dollars for the nation’s reconstruction.
4. An international energy agency convenes its ministers meeting in Paris on Wednesday this week to discuss global energy and environmental challenges.
October 11, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada is visiting Afghanistan to meet President Hamid Karzai and discuss Japanese reconstruction assistance.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has returned to Tokyo from Beijing, where he met China and South Korean leaders.
3. Premier Wen Jiabao has promised China’s cooperation to make a December U.N. conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, a success.
October 11, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has returned to Tokyo from Beijing, where he met China and South Korean leaders.
2. Premier Wen Jiabao has promised China’s cooperation to make a December U.N. conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, a success.
3. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both of which experienced an atomic bombing, are planning to apply to jointly host the 2020 summer Olympic Games.
October 10, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says North Korea has shown signs of flexibility toward returning to the six-party talks on its nuclear development.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he was surprised and deeply humbled to be awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
3. The U.N. climate meeting in Bangkok has ended without any compromise between developing and advanced countries on greenhouse gas reduction targets.
October 10, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to work together to bring North Korea back to the six-party talks on its nuclear program.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he was surprised and deeply humbled to be awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
3. A U.N. climate meeting in Bangkok has ended without any compromise between developing and advanced countries on greenhouse gas reduction targets.
October 9, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak reached agreement at their summit in Seoul on Friday.
2. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved extending the mission of the multinational military force in Afghanistan for another year.
3. Japanese Public Health officials warn that on outbreak of the new type of influenza is rapidly spreading in the country.
October 9, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms.Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The leaders of Japan and South Korea have agreed to closely coordinate their economic policies and cooperate on North Korea’s nuclear, missile and abduction issues.
2. Typhoon Melor swept through Japan on Thursday, leaving four people dead and 117 others injured as well as damaging World Heritage sites.
3. The issue of relocating the U.S. Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on the southern island of Okinawa could develop into a source of contention with Japan’s new coalition.
4. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a defense bill under which the U.S. military will no longer procure the F-22 stealth fight jet.
October 8, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Michelle Yamamoto
1. Typhoon Melor has killed two people and injured 112 others in Japan.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Japan for a two-day s official visit from November 12th for the first time since becoming president in January.
3. In Afghanistan, a powerful car bomb has killed seven people and wounded at least 50 others in central Kabul.
October 8, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Typhoon Melor has killed two people and injured 78 others here in Japan, where more than a thousand people in 17 prefectures voluntarily evacuated to shelters.
2. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii lists its tsunami warning, following the earthquake near Vanuatu Island in the South Pacific.
3. U.S. Presidential Barack Obama will visit Japan for a two-day official visit from November 12th for the first time since becoming president in January.
4. A group of Japanese business leaders pledged to cooperate in realizing the government’s target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
October 7, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. The Japanese government wants to curtail further outlays in the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget that was enacted by the previous administration.
2. Japan’s industry minister has asked business leaders to make efforts to cut greenhouse gases so that the country can achieve its emissions-reduction target.
3. In southern India, the death toll from last month’s floods have exceeded 250. About 1.5 million people have lost their homes.
October 7, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s new government plans to curtail further outlays in the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget that was enacted by the previous administration.
2. Survivors of the devastating earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, are still enduring hardship one week after the disaster left 704 people dead.
3. Pakistani militants have claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed five people at a United Nations facility in the capital Islamabad.
4. China’s health authorities have confirmed the country’s first death from the H1N1 flu in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
October 6, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il says his country will return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program after it sees developments in talks with the United States.
2. Heavy rains may cause further devastation in Sumatra, Indonesia, which was hit by a powerful earthquake last Wednesday.
3. U.N. secretary general has strongly condemned a suicide attack at a United Nations office in central Islamabad in Pakistan.
October 6, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. North Korea’s leader says his country will return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program, but only after it sees positive developments in talks with the United States.
2. Japan’s prime minister says he wants to study new aid programs for Afghanistan instead of continuing the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
3. Six days after a massive quake off Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, the government is shifting the focus of its response from searching the missing to providing support for survivors.
4. One of Asia’s largest exhibitions of digital household appliances and electronic technologies opened near Tokyo on Tuesday.
October 5, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Public health conditions on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are rapidly deteriorating in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake.
2. The Thai military says a passenger train has derailed in central Thailand, killing at least seven people and injuring 67.
3. North Korean Premier Kim Yong Il has blamed the United States for a dispute over the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
October 5, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is in Pyongyang on a three-day visit and was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who appears to be in good health.
2. A severe tropical storm has caused flooding and mudslides in the Philippines that have killed 14 people in yet another blow to the nation already hard-hit by a storm last week.
3. The government of Iran will allow U.N. inspectors to visit a recently disclosed nuclear enrichment facility on October 25.
4. Global spending on mergers and acquisitions reflect the world economic downturn, following its lowest level in five years during the six months ending in September.
October 4, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s former finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa was found dead in bed at his home in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on Sunday morning.
2. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday morning and received a greeting from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the airport.
October 4, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s former finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa was found dead in bed at his home in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on Sunday morning.
2. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven industrialized nations have agreed that excess volatility in exchange rates have adverse implications for economic and financial stability.
October 3, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Rio de Janeiro has become the first South American city to be chosen to host the Olympics.
2. Indonesian authorities are appealing for more international aid following the discovery of further devastation in mountainous areas caused by a powerful earthquake off Sumatra.
3. Aid organizations and authorities in Tonga, Samoa and nearby South Pacific islands are struggling to find ways to bring relief supplies to areas affected by a tsunami.
October 3, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Rio de Janeiro has become the first South American city to be chosen to host the Olympics.
2. Indonesian authorities are appealing for more international aid, following the discovery of further devastation in mountainous areas caused by a powerful earthquake off Sumatra.
3. Aid organizations and authorities in Tonga, Samoa and near-by South Pacific islands are struggling to find ways to bring relief supplies to areas affected by a tsunami.
October 2, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Indonesia says the earthquake off Sumatra has flattened more than 10,000 buildings. Rescue efforts continue to save people who have been trapped beneath rubbles for two days.
2. International rescue workers are helping people in the South Pacific island nation of Samoa devastated by a tsunami.
3. Four cities vying to host the 2016 Summer Olympics are conducting last-minute campaigns.
October 2, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. An emergency relief team from Japan leaves for Indonesia to help rescue operations to disaster-hit areas in Sumatra with the death toll approaching 400.
2. International rescue workers are also helping people in the South Pacific island nation of Samoa that have been devastated by a tsunami.
3. Four cities vying to host the 2016 Summer Olympics are conducting last-minute campaigns to win support for their bids ahead of a crucial meeting of the International Olympic Committee.
4. Iran and six Western countries have agreed to continue talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
October 1, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Indonesian officials say at least 200 people are now known to have died in Wednesday night’s earthquake off Sumatra, but it says the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama has started talks with his national security officials on how to address the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
3. China has celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding with huge military and civilian parades in Beijing.
October 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Indonesian officials say 200 people are now known to have died in Wednesday night’s earthquake off Sumatra, but it says the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
2. More deaths are likely in the South Pacific islands of Samoa and American Samoa, following a tsunami on Tuesday that was triggered by an earthquake.
3. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has expressed confidence that Japan has the technological expertise to achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse emissions.
4. China has celebrated the 60th anniversary of its modern founding with huge military and civilian parades in Beijing.