November
November 30, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Bank of Japan governor says the central bank is closely watching the impact of the recent rise of the yen on business sentiment and money markets.
2. Tokyo share prices rebounded sharply on Monday as wide-ranging issues were bought.
3. Iran’s government reveals a plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants.
November 30, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Iran’s government reveals a plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants—a mover which goes against a resolution passed just days ago by the IAEA.
2. World leaders will begin talks on Copenhagen, Denmark, toward reaching a post-2012 framework on climate change to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
3. Tokyo stocks rebounded sharply on Monday morning on eased concern over the financial stability of Debai.
4. The Indian government is investigating the radioactive contamination of a water cooler at a nuclear plant in southern India.
November 29, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has called for an ambitious and binding agreement on fighting global warming ahead of U.N. climate talks in Denmark next month.
2. The death toll from record heavy rain and subsequent floods that hit Saudi Arabia has topped100.
November 29, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The death toll from record heavy rain and subsequent floods that hit Saudi Arabia has topped100.
2. Russian prosecutors suspect handmade explosives are the cause of a deadly high-speed crash of a train linking Moscow and St. Petersburg.
November 28, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan has launched an information-gathering satellite using the country’s mainstay H2A rocket.
2. In northwestern Russia, a passenger train has derailed, killing at least 25 people and injuring 83.
3. In China, a Zimbabwean cargo aircraft has crashed shortly after taking off from Shanghai’s main international airport, killing three crew members.
November 28, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan has launched an information-gathering satellite using the country’s mainstay H2A rocket.
2. In northwestern Russia, a passenger train has derailed, killing at least 25 people and injuring 83.
3. The World Health Organization says the number of deaths related to H1N1 influenza increased by more than 1,000 over the past week.
November 27, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. On the Tokyo foreign exchange market early on Friday morning, the U.S. dollar fell below 85 yen for the first time in 14 years and four months.
2. Japan’s top government spokesman says the Hatoyama administration will take steps to prevent the Japanese economy from further declining amid the rapid appreciation of the yen.
3. The total number of H1N1 influenza patients in Japan since July is estimated at over 10 million.
November 27, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. On the Tokyo foreign exchange market early on Friday morning, the U.S. dollar fell below 85 yen for the first time in 14 years and four months.
2. Japanese government leaders say swift and appropriate action may be taken to counter what they see as abnormal currency movements.
3. China’s government announces its goal for easing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of next month’s U.N. climate change conference in Denmark.
4. Two and a half million Muslims across the world gather in the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual Haj pilgrimage.
November 26, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner
1. The U.S. dollar fell against the yen in Thursday tradings, marking its lowest level in 14 years and four months.
2. The U.S. government has announced plans to achieve a mid-term goal of a 17 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020 from 2005 levels.
3. The Japanese foreign minister says he will pay close attention to how the U.S. Congress deals with a budgetary issue regarding a Japan-U.S. agreement on the transfer of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa.
November 26, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. government announces its plan to achieve a mid-term goal of a 17 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020 from 2005 levels.
2. Scientists warn that by the end of the century, sea levels could rise up to two meters with the melting of glaciers and ice sheets.
3. An American newspaper criticizes the Japanese government for its effort to reveal evidence of decades-old Japan-U.S. secret nuclear agreements.
4. The U.S. dollar is falling against the yen in Thursday tradings, marking its lowest level in 14 years and four months.
November 25, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. The leaders of the U.S. and India agreed to cooperate on controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons and on mitigating global climate change.
2. Prosecutors at a special Cambodian tribunal on the Khmer Rouge genocide have demanded 40 years in prison for a former regime prison chief.
3. Japan marked its largest trade surplus in October since the financial crisis last fall.
November 25, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The leaders of the U.S. and India agreed to cooperate on controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons and on mitigating global climate change.
2. A government team screening budget requests for fiscal 2010 says spending overseas construction projects under official development assistance should be cut about a third.
3. Japan’s prime minister and his British counterpart agreed to work together to call on major greenhouse gas emitting nations to join in a new framework in mitigating global climate change.
4. A U.N. report says the number of new HIV cases worldwide fell 30 percent last year from the peak recorded in 1996.
November 24, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura
1. A government team screening budget requests for fiscal 2010 says that budgets for hosting international conferences in Japan should be slashed by 20 percent.
2. A Japanese engineer kidnapped by Yemeni tribes earlier this month has been released.
3. The United States is to present its target for reducing emissions at next month’s U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen.
November 24, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Prosecutors intend to indict a former aide to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who falsely reported political donations worth more than two million dollars.
2. A 63-year-old Japanese engineer abducted by Yemeni tribes earlier this month has been released in good health.
3. A preparatory meeting in next year’s international summit on nuclear security will begin in Tokyo early next month.
4. The World Meteorological Organization says in 2008 the average global concentration of greenhouse gases reached the highest levels ever recorded.
November 23, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. The Danish prime minister’s office says the leaders of 65 countries will attend next month’s U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen.
2. Health ministers of Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to share information when problems with food safety arise in their countries.
3. Iran’s military starts a large-scale 5-day military exercise simulating an attack on the country’s nuclear facilities.
November 23, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Danish prime minister’s office says the leaders of 65 countries will attend next month’s U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen.
2. Iran’s military starts a large-scale 5-day military exercise simulating an attack on the country’s nuclear facilities.
3. A Japanese consortium bidding for a contract to develop a large oil filed in southern Iraq has begun talks with the Iraqi government.
4. The head of the United Nations Development Program will arrive in Japan on Monday for talks with the nation’s top leaders.
November 22, 2009 (6: 00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and National Strategy Minister Naoto Kan has indicated that a political decision will be made on the screening result on development of a next-generation supercomputer.
2. A security chief in the Gaza Strip says Palestinian militants are ready to halt rocket attacks against Israel from the territory.
November 22, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s economy is forecast to shrink 2.6 percent for the current fiscal year ending in March. The figure is an average of the forecasts made by 13 private Japanese economic institutes.
2. A security chief in the Gaza Strip says Palestinian militants are ready to halt rocket attacks against Israel from the territory.
November 21, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. It has been revealed that a Foreign Ministry project team has found documents suggesting the existence of a past secret pact between Japan and the United States, regarding nuclear weapons.
2. A former North Korean agent Kim Hyung Hee says it is vital for the Japanese government to partially build a relationship of trust with the North in order to resolve the abduction issue.
November 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. A former North Korean agent says she wants to meet the parents of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota to tell them everything she knows about their daughter, who was taken to the North more than 30 years ago.
2. The chief of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog has urged Iran to accept an offer to have its uranium enriched abroad.
3. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has asked Japan not to deport asylum seekers while they are trying to file a lawsuit to seek refugees’ status.
November 20, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The Japanese government says in its monthly economic report that the economy is in a state of deflation—the first such reference in three years and five months.
2. The U.N. Security Council has called on U.N. member states to strictly enforce the sanctions on North Korea.
3. A U.N. committee on human rights has passed a resolution urging the Myanmar government to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
November 20, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.N. ambassador to Japan plans to meet the governor of Okinawa at the end of this month to discuss the relocation of a U.S. Air Station in Japan’s southernmost prefecture.
2. A French presidential envoy says North Korean officials have pledged not to transfer nuclear materials or other missile technology abroad.
3. Japan’s deputy prime minister says the nation’s economy is in a state of deflation, and that prices could further fall to cause yet another economic downturn.
4. On the same day that Afghanistan’s president was sworn in for his second term, 12 peo
November 19, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Michelle Yamamoto
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will send his envoy to Pyongyang in early December to urge the country to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program.
2. Iran’s foreign minister rejects the nation’s low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing.
3. Japan’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs calls on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to create a better environment so that Japan’s financial assistance can be put to good use.
November 19, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Iran’s foreign minister rejects a U.N.-brokered plan to send the nation’s low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing.
2. Iraq’s national assembly election scheduled for January will likely have to be delayed after the Sunni Muslim vice president vetoed the election bill.
3. Japan’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs calls for Hamid Karzai to create a better environment so that Japan’s financial assistance can be put to good use.
4. U.S. President Barack Obama publicly acknowledges for the first time that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, won’t be closed in January as he had promised.
November 18, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said again that Japan will not accept the return of only two of the four northern islands off the coast of Hokkaido, held by Russia.
2. Environment ministers have agreed on the need to reach a political deal at the U.N. climate change conference in Denmark next month.
3. South Korean police investigating Saturday’s fire at an indoor shooting range in Pusan say, “The fire was likely caused by an explosion that occurred inside the shooting room.”
November 18, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s foreign minister says he will explore a possibility of integrating the functions of the U.S. Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa with those of the U.S. Kadena Air Base.
2. A new team set up to slash wasteful government spending has completed its first round of reviews and found 4.7 billion dollars worth of waste.
3. China’s vice president meets a senior North Korean military official in Beijing on Tuesday to work with the North to preserve peace.
4. The world’s environment ministers agreed on the need to reach a political deal at next month’s U.N. climate change conference in Denmark.
November 17, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner
1. U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation on global-scale issues.
2. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has rejected any revision of borders that were drawn after World War II.
3. Authorities in Yemen are negotiating with members of tribes who kidnapped a Japanese engineer and a Yemeni driver on Sunday.
November 17, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The presidents of China and the United States hold a meeting in Beijing that is aimed at building a cooperative relationship to deal with global challenges.
2. In remarks that are likely to have implications for a territorial dispute with Japan, Russia’s president rejects any revision of borders drawn after World War II.
3. Japan’s Defense Ministry is considering sending Self-Defense Forces to join international humanitarian efforts in Southeast Asia.
4. For the sake of the nation’s interest, Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she is willing to cooperate with the country’s military government.
November 16, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s economy grew in the July-September period at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in real terms from the previous quarter.
2. Next year’s catch quotas for bluefin tuna in the East Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea will be slashed by about 40 percent.
3. Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada says restarting Japan-U.S. negotiations from scratch over the relocation of Futenma Air Station in Okinawa is difficult.
November 15, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum concluded their talks on Sunday on the theme of sustainable economic growth, following the latest financial crisis.
2. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has urged Pacific Rim leaders to make green technology a centerpiece of their growth strategy.
3. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says a newly set-up Japan-U.S. framework to discuss the planned relocation of a U.S. military base in Japan is not designed to be limited by a 2006 bilateral accord.
November 15, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum will continue their talks on Sunday on the theme of sustainable economic growth following the latest financial crisis.
2. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has urged the Pacific Rim leaders to make green technology a centerpiece of their growth strategy.
November 14, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has emphasized U.S. engagement in Asia and cooperation with Japan for prosperity and security in the Asia Pacific region.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Obama have signed a joint agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector with a view to developing new green technologies.
3. A two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum has opened in Singapore, following ministerial meetings earlier in the week.
November 14, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has emphasized U.S. engagement in Asia and cooperation with Japan for prosperity and security in the Asia Pacific region.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has agreed with U.S. President Obama to seek a swift conclusion to the issue of relocating a major U.S. military base in Okinawa.
3. Hatoyama and Obama have also signed a joint agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector with a view to developing new green technologies.
November 13, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Japan for talks with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on a wide range of global issues.
2. Japan’s Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa says a Japan-U.S. working panel will begin discussions next week on the relocation of a U.S. air station in Okinawa.
3. The finance ministers of the 21 Asian and Pacific economies say they will maintain fiscal policies supportive of growth until a durable growth is secured.
November 13, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. U.S. President Barack Obama is about to make his first visit to Japan on the first leg of an Asian tour that will also take him to the APEC Forum in Singapore.
2. The finance ministers of the 21Asian and Pacific economies say they maintain their fiscal policies that are supportive of growth until a durable recovery is secured.
3. Legislators in Japan’s governing coalition parties say they will examine the support for the U.S. war on Iraq by the government of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
4. Japan’s defense minister says a Japan-U.S. working panel will begin discussions next week on the relocation of a U.S. air station in Okinawa.
November 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner
1. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry has expressed concern about sending more troops to the country.
2. Cabinet ministers of APEC countries will adopt a joint statement calling for a long term strategy for sustainable economic growth.
3. Japan’s government has held a ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Emperor’s enthronement.
November 12, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s prime minister and the U.S. president pledged to confirm their close cooperation in trying to resume the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.
2. Officials from the two Koreas failed to set up a summit between South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
3. This weekend, APEC Forum in Singapore is expected to call for an economic growth strategy and an effort to deal with global climate change.
4. Japan’s Emperor and Empress prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of their enthronement.
November 11, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Cabinet ministers from 21 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States , China and Japan, have begun discussing in Singapore on trade and other economic matters.
2. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and a visiting Chinese Communist Party official have discussed strengthening their countries’ ties.
3. Japanese police are interrogating a man arrested in connection with the 2007 murder of a British language teacher in Japan.
November 11, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Foreign ministers gather in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, bringing together leaders from 21 economies and regions.
2. A suspected hit-and-run traffic incident in Okinawa has prompted new calls here in Japan for the revision of the U.S. forces status agreement.
3. Police in Osaka say they have arrested a man in connection with the 2007 murder of a female British language teacher.
4. Developing countries vulnerable to global climate disruptions gathered in the island nation of Maldives to appeal for an early agreement on the international emissions reduction framework.
November 10, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama have talked by phone ahead of Obama’s first visit to Japan later this week.
2. Japan’s Hatoyama administration has decided to provide 5-billion dollars in civilian aid to help rebuild Afghanistan.
3. Navy vessels from North and South Korea have briefly exchanged fire in the Yellow Sea, west of the Korean Peninsula.
November 10, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama have talked by phone ahead of Obama’s first visit to Japan later this week.
2. Japanese Cabinet ministers have proposed a 5 billion=dollar five-year civilian aid package to help Afghanistan rebuild.
3. Delegates from 48 countries and regions including Japan, the U.S. and the E.U. attended an international conference on bluefin tuna fishing quotas in northern Brazil.
4. World leaders joined tens of thousands of people to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
November 9, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano says the up-coming Japan-U.S. summit meeting is likely to be held on Friday.
2. Two of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels leave Japan for the last refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
3. Japan and the U.S. will unveil their plan to launch a new fund to promote energy-saving technologies at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum this week in Singapore.
November 9, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan and the U.S. will unveil their plan to launch a new fund to promote energy-saving technologies at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum this week in Singapore.
2. Predictions are being made that Japan’s GDP grew in the third quarter of this year, thanks to the government’s stimulus measures.
3. Two of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels leave Japan for the last refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
4. The Dalai Lama braces for China’s condemnation of his visit to a Northeastern Indian state that Chinese lay claim to.
November 8, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 countries have agreed to continue coordinated stimulus measures and to build a new framework to assess each nation’s policies.
2. The International Monetary Fund has called on countries to coordinate with one another and consider their own economic conditions in deciding when and how to withdraw stimulus.
November 8, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 countries have agreed to continue coordinated stimulus measures and to build a new framework to assess each nation’s policies.
2. The International Monetary Fund has called on countries to coordinate with one another and consider their own economic conditions in deciding when and how to withdraw stimulus.
November 7, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan has pledged to provide more than 5.5 billion dollars in aid for five Southeast Asian countries located on the Mekong River.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama has asked the Japanese government to delay his first visit to Japan for one day so that he can attend a memorial service for those killed in a shooting rampage at a military base in Texas.
3. U.N. climate change meeting in Barcelona, Spain, has ended with little progress made on the key issues.
November 7, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan has pledged to provide more than 5.5 billion dollars in aid for five Southeast Asian countries located on the Mekong River.
2. Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors are meeting in Britain to discuss ways to lead the world economy on a path to sustainable growth.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has asked the Japanese government to delay his first visit to Japan for one day so that he can attend a memorial service for those killed in a shooting rampage at a military base in Texas.
November 6, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wants to focus on discussing Afghanistan when he meets with the U.S. president in Tokyo next week.
2. The leaders of Japan and five Southeast Asian countries opened their first summit meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
3. An estimated 1.54 million new people went to clinics or hospitals to be treated for the H1N1 influenza across Japan last week.
November 6, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s prime minister wants to focus on discussing Afghanistan when he meets with the U.S. president in Tokyo next week.
2. The U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and pacific affairs says he is confident an up-coming Japan-U.S. summit will be a success.
3. The leaders of Japan and five Southeast Asian countries will open the first summit meeting in Tokyo on Friday to discuss economic development in the Mekong region.
4. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he won’t seek re-election in the polls scheduled for next January.
November 5, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. A nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan has become the nation’s first power generation facility to operate a reactor using a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxide.
2. Japanese ministers have yet to hammer out a package to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan next week.
3. The World Bank says it hopes for continued financial support from Japan’s new government amid a serious fund shortage.
November 5 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan has become the nation’s first power generation facility to operate a reactor using a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxide.
2. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will make his first official visit to Japan next week on his way to an APEC finance ministers’ meeting in Singapore.
3. Former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah says that he won’t take part in President Hamid Karzai’s next government.
4. In Iran, supporters and opponents of the government held rallies in Tehran on the 30th anniversary of the start of the U.S. embassy hostage crisis.
November 4, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano has expressed regret over North Korea’s announcement that it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods.
2. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says Japan’s aid to Afghanistan should focus on the civilian sector.
3. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has met Myanmar’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.
November 4, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese government is studying an Afghan reconstruction aid package worth more than 4.4 billion dollars.
2. The U.S. government stands firm on the agreed plan for relocation of U.S. forces in Japan, saying it considers the best way forward in the bilateral relationship.
3. The government of Iraq signs a contract for the country’s largest oil field for Britain’s energy giant BP and China’s biggest oil firm, China’s National Petroleum Company.
4. The U.S. government sends a high-ranking official to Myanmar for the first time for direct talks with the military government.
November 3, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazau Sakamaki
1. China’s Vice President Xi Jinping is planning to visit Japan within this year.
2. Japan and the United States seem indecisive about whether the foreign ministers will meet in Washington on Friday. The U.S. State Department now says it is up to Japan.
3. The Emperor of Japan awarded the national highest cultural honor to five people at the Imperial Palace on Tuesday. The public holiday celebrates Japanese culture.
November 3, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan proposes a new aid schedule to help developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions at a U.N. climate change meeting in Barcelona.
2. A next generation of Chinese leader will soon meet the recently formed Japanese administration to promote relations between the two countries.
3. The Afghan election commission declares incumbent President Hamid Karzai the victor in the October presidential election.
4. Japan’s Emperor awards this year’s Order of Cultural Merits to five recipients at the Imperial Palace.
November 2, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki
1. North Korea has again called on the United States to accept direct talks, saying that depending on the outcome, the North may return to the six-party framework on its nuclear program.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he will make utmost efforts to hold government bond issuance for fiscal 2010 below the level of this fiscal year.
November 2, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims the Afghan Presidential challenger’s withdrawal from a run-off election won’t affect the legitimacy of the poll.
2. G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors try to put the world economy on a path of sustainable growth.
3. Delegates gathered for final working-level meetings in Barcelona from Monday to Friday this week, ahead of next month’s U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagan.
4. The Hatoyama government’s fiscal policies are under review on the first day of a three-day question-and-answer session.
November 1, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The U.S. State Department says a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not take place on Friday.
2. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed for an early resumption of Middle East peace talks in meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders but failed to achieve a breakthrough.
November 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed for an early resumption of Middle East peace talks in meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders but failed to achieve a breakthrough.
2. Japan says it is not yet certain that Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada can visit the United States for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday, a plan announced by the United States.