Daily English News:

 

April

April 30, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Japan’s government works to arrange an unofficial WTO ministerial meeting on the sidelines of an APEC summit it is hosting in June.

2.      The U.S. Senate begins deliberating the ratification of the nuclear arms control treaty signed earlier this month by the American and Russian presidents.

3.      With the theme of “better city, better life,” the Shanghai World Expo is set to open on Friday night, with some 240 countries and international organizations participating.

4.      In Myanmar, a group headed by the prime minister’s military-led government applies to register as a political party ahead of elections scheduled for later this year.

 

April 29, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      A senior U.S. State Department official hints that Japan and the United States are no closer to an agreement on relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.

2.      The leaders of Japan and the European Union agree to launch a high-level working group to explore the possibility of concluding an economic partnership agreement.

3.      Despite its recall problems, Toyota Motor Corporation is expected to post about a billion dollars in operating profit for the year that ended in March.

4.      Thai security forces have increased their vigilance against anti-government protesters, who they say are gathering weapons at their base in the heart of the capital.

 

April 28, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      The leadership of Japan’s Democratic Party supports the party’s Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa’s decision to remain in his post despite a judicial panel’s ruling that he should be indicted.

2.      Japan’s government is working to make final adjustments to its plan for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.

3.      An Israeli official now visiting Japan wants Japan, the U.S. and European countries to impose new sanctions against Iran if the U.N. Security Council fails to do so.

4.      The South Korean government indicates the difficulty of resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program before determining what caused the sinking of a South Korean navy patrol ship.

 

April 27, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      A day before a senior U.S. State Department official visits Japan, he says recent proposals on the relocation of the Futenma Air Station are encouraging.

2.      Japan’s prime minister pledges relief assistance for earthquake-stricken Chileans and expresses concern about the severe damage from February’s massive earthquake.

3.      The Bank of Japan is expected to upgrade its outlook for the nation’s economic growth and commodity prices, citing a faster than expected domestic economic recovery.

4. Thailand’s king appears in public for the first time since the

    current round of anti-government demonstrations began last       month.

 

April 26, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      On the heels of a massive anti-base rally in an Okinawan village, the Japanese government tries to decide on a relocation site for a U.S. Marine Corps facility as the end of May deadline draws even closer.

2.      Diplomats from Japan and the United States will hold talks in Washington this week to try to find a solution to that air station’s relocation.

3.      The U.S. government invites Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington in an attempt to revive the long-deadlocked Middle East peace talks.

4.      In Thailand, eight people are wounded in a grenade explosion outside the home of former prime minister as anti-government protesters enter a second month.

 

April 25, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      The people of Okinawa, southern Japan, rally on Sunday to demand a U.S. base located in a crowded city move out of the prefecture.

2.      Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejiajive has rejected a compromise demand by anti-government protesters that he dissolve parliament within 30 days.

 

April 24, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 nations expressed hope that the European Union and International Monetary Fund will promptly provide debt-stricken Greece with financial assistance.

2.      In Thailand, anti-government protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejiajiva dissolve parliament within 30 days.

3.      North Korea says it has confiscated five South Korean-owned facilities at the jointly operated Mount Kumgang resort in the country.

 

April 23, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven countries agree to work to rebuild their nations’ public finances.

2.      U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for quick passage in the U.S. Congress of financial reform legislation, that is one of his administration’s top priorities.

3.      A day after a series of the explosions ripped through the Thai capital’s largest business district, tensions continue to increase in Bangkok between anti-government protesters and riot police.

4.      The Middle East’s largest oil exhibition has opened in Tehran in Iran, with European and Chinese companies attending.

 

April 22, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      U.S. officials are apparently expressing their reluctance concerning a Japanese proposal to move some of the functions of a U.S. military air station in Okinawa to another island.

2.      Senior defense and foreign affairs officials from Japan and the U.S. will meet on Thursday in Washington to discuss the security situation in the East Asia region.

3.      The IMF upgrades its outlook for world economic growth for this year as the world economy improved more than its economists had expected.

4.      Nearly all airports across Europe have reopened after days of closure due to volcanic ash from Iceland.

 

April 21, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      As the EU eases flight restrictions, airports in Europe resume operations after days of closure due to volcanic ash clouds from Iceland.

2.      Japan’s prime minister reiterates his resolve to come up with a definite plan by the end of May for the relocation of a U.S. Marine air station in Okinawa.

3.      China’s government and its people mourn the victims of last week’s massive earthquake in the western province of Qinghai.

4.      Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki says she is happy to be back on earth as the U.S. space shuttle Discovery returns after a 15-day mission.

 

April 20, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      After days of cancellations due to volcanic ash from Iceland, flights have resumed at some of Europe’s major airports.

2.      The death toll from the massive April 14^th earthquake in China’s western province of Qinghai has risen to over 2,000.

3.      Toyota agrees to pay a fine of more than 16 million dollars imposed by U.S. authorities for failing to promptly report problems with its vehicles.

4.      Iraq’s election commission has been ordered to recount the ballots in Baghdad from last month’s parliamentary election amid complaints about election fraud.

 

April 19, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Ash from a volcano in Iceland is still restricting air traffic in 22 European countries as the European Union prepares to hold an emergency meeting of transport ministers on Monday.

2.      The forecast of bad weather has Chinese rescue workers redoubling their efforts to transport aid material to the quake-stricken areas in Qinghai Province.

3.      Tensions are again mounting in Bangkok, Thailand, where hundreds of government troops have been deployed to try and keep protesters from entering the city’s business district.

4.      Former presidents and prime ministers are gathering in Hiroshima to discuss the abolition of nuclear arms at a so-called “Old Boys Summit.”

 

 April 18, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in quake-hit Qinghai Province.

2.      Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a new independent body to oversee nuclear disarmament.

 

         April 17, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      The death toll from the earthquake in China’s Qinghai Province has grown to more than 1,100.  Rescue efforts continue, but the crucial 72 hours before the survival rate dropped sharply will soon be up.

2.      An ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland is spreading to central Europe, disrupting air traffic in more than 20 European countries.

3.      The U.N. Security Council has called for the importance of economic development, as well as strengthening police and military capabilities for building peace in post-conflict countries.

 

April 16, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      The official death toll from Wednesday’s devastating earthquake in China’s mountainous western province of Qinghai has topped 750.

2.      More than 30 bodies are recovered from a sunken South Korean naval patrol ship, 20 days after its mysterious sinking off the border with North Korea.

3.      Three separate explosions rocked Myanmar’s largest city Yangon, killing at least eight people and wounding about 60 others.

4.      Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. takes the issue of a Washington Post column that claims Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was the biggest loser at this week’s nuclear security summit.

 

 April 15, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency says Wednesday’s powerful earthquake has left at least 617 people dead and 9,000 others injured.

2.      Thailand’s military has finally acknowledged that its troops fired live bullets during a clash with anti-government protesters in Bangkok last Saturday.

3.      Top U.S. military officials claim Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single nuclear bomb in one year’s time.

4.      China’s National Bureau of Statistics says the country’s economy grew 11.9 percent in the January to March quarter, compared to the same period last year.

 

April 14, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      World leaders end their nuclear summit in Washington with an endorcement of U.S. President Barack Obama’s call for enhanced nuclear security.

2.      On the sidelines of that summit in Washington, the United States and Russia have signed an agreement to give up 68 tons of weapons-grade plutonium.

3.      Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to meet three times this year to work on a long-standing territorial dispute.

4.      Anti-government protestors in Thailand show no sign of fatigue despite a lull in the  rallies during the country’s New Year holiday.

 

April 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      Japan’s prime minister tells the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington that his government will counter nuclear terrorism and improve the safe management of nuclear materials.

2.      Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama asks Chinese President Hu Jintao to quickly resume talks on the proposed joint development of a natural gas field in the East China Sea.

3.      The leaders of the U.S. and China discuss Iran’s nuclear development and dispute over China’s currency evaluation.

4.      Thailand’s Election Commission recommends dissolving the ruling party, on grounds that it received illegal contributions in the run-up to the general election five years ago.

 

April 12, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Anti-government protestors in Bangkok, Thailand, hold a memorial service for those who died in Saturday’s clashes with security forces.

2.      Japan’s prime minister asks his Thai counterpart to investigate the killing of a Japanese cameraman in the weekend violence, a death he says is "regrettable"..

3.      Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is on his way to the United States to attend a two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington that was proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama.

4.      Iran’s supreme leader criticizes the new United States nuclear strategy to use nuclear weapons against countries it considers not to be in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

April 11, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      Bankok remains tense with anti-government protestors occupying the central part of the Thai capital, following deadly clashes with security forces on Saturday.

2.      A government plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski has crashed in western Russia.  All 97 passengers and crew have been confirmed dead.

 

April 10, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to mobilize all available resources and manpower against anti-government protestors to end their activity.

2.      Kyrgyzstan’s interim government urged President Kumanbek Bakiyev to step down and leave the country.

3.      The U.S. government has strongly criticized Iran over its new centrifuge for enriching uranium, and hinted at adopting a U.N. resolution for additional sanctions.

 

April 9, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will tell nearly 50 world leaders at a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington next week that he welcomes the new U.S.-Russia nuclear disarmament treaty.

2.      The U.S. and Russian leaders agree on the need for new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

3.      Kyrgyzstan’s celebratory mood prevails among Bishkek citizens after the collapse of the government led by President Kumanbek Bakiyev.

4.      Officials from 21 nations attending a conference in Cairo have agreed to jointly identify and recover artifacts and cultural assets taken abroad from ancient ruins.

 

April 8, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will hold informal talks on a base in Okinawa with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington next week on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.

2.      The situation remains chaotic in Kyrgyzstan, where the opposition has declared an interim government and the whereabouts of President Kumanbek Bakiyev remain unknown.

3.      Tensions are rising in Thailand where anti-government protesters continue to demonstrate despite a state of emergency declared by the prime minister.

4.      Afghan security authorities continue their search for a missing Japanese journalist who may have been kidnapped.

 

April 7, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      The U.S. government announces a major policy shift from its former position of pledging not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries that complies with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

2.      Japan’s foreign ministry sets up a panel to examine the possible destruction of diplomatic documents on the Japan-U.S. secret agreement.

3.      A strong earthquake has occurred off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.  The nation’s health ministry says twelve people were injured.

4.      The U.S. space shuttle Discovery is approaching the International Space Station for a docking scheduled for shortly after 4:40 p.m. Japan Time on Wednesday.

 

April 6, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      The U.N. secretary general considers visiting Hiroshima for the 65^th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.

2.      A senior U.S. official says the Obama administration should not be held responsible for any failure to resolve a base relocation issue with Japan by the end of May.

3.      The U.S. Transportation Department is seeking the maximum penalty of more than 16 million dollars for Toyota Motors knowingly hiding dangerous defects in its autos.

4.      A team of Japanese election monitors arrive in Sudan to observe the first election there in 24 years.

 

April 5, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Japanese firms are showing stronger interest in expanding their sales in China, Vietnam and other fast-growing Asian economies.

2.      Of the 153 miners trapped in China’s Shanxi Province, nine have been rescued from a flooded coal mine after a week underground.

3.      The U.N. secretary general is calling for action to stop the shrinkage of the Aral Sea located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

4.      A strong earthquake strikes the northern Mexico state of Baja California that borders the United States.

 

April 4, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      Former Japanese finance minister Kaoru Yosano says he expects to form a new party this week, after holding talks with former economic minister Takeo Hiranuma on Monday.

2.      It has been three weeks since the current round of anti-government protests began in the Thai capital, Bangkok.  Thailand’s economy and people’s lives have been affected, as demonstrators surround the city’s luxury shopping district.

 

April 3, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1.      The United States showed its largest job increase in three years last month.  It is raising hopes for a slow but steady recovery in the labor market.

2.      In central Peru, landslides caused by heavy rain have hit two towns, killing at least 25 people.

3.      A cargo ship unloaded containers of whale meat bound for Japan at a Dutch port after being blocked by anti-whaling activists from Greenpeace.

 

April 2, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Japan’s foreign minister briefs the prime minister on talks he held this week with American officials on where to relocate a U.S. Marine air station in Okinawa.

2.      Russia’s president is calling for tougher measures against Islamic militants in response to this week’s subway bombings in Moscow.

3.      New Zealand’s government plants to support limited whale hunting at the next International Whaling Commission meeting scheduled for June in Moscow.

4.      Leading Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel will build the first full-scale billion-dollar steel mill in Vietnam to satisfy the country’s high demand for steel products.

 

April 1, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.      Delegates attending a U.N. conference on rebuilding Haiti following the January devastating earthquake have pledged more than five billion dollars in assistance.

2.      An Islamic militant leader has claimed responsibility for Monday’s bomb attacks on the Moscow subway system that killed 39 people and wounded more than 80 others.

3.      The U.N.’s nuclear inspection agency begins construction of a new facility at its laboratory in Austria to improve the ability to analyze nuclear material.

4.      A U.S. government report on trade barrier says a current review of postal services in Japan could influence competition in the country’s financial market.