Daily English News: July
July 31, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has expressed willingness to run in the leadership election of his Democratic Party in September despite the governing coalition losing control of the upper chamber after this month’s Upper House election.
2. In Afghanistan, more than 60 U.S. soldiers have died in July, marking a record high for the second consecutive month amid increased Taliban insurgency.
3. Israel carried out air strikes in the Palestinian territory of Gaza on Friday nigh. Palestinian medical workers say at least 10 people were wounded.
July 30, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. An extraordinary Diet session opens here in Tokyo, the first since the recent election in which the ruling Democratic Party-led coalition lost its majority in the Upper House.
2. Senior U.S. State and Treasury Department officials will visit Japan and South Korea to discuss more sanctions next week against Iran and North Korea.
3. Arab League member countries back direct talks between Israel and Palestine, but on the condition that Israel’s government assures that it will freeze its illegal settlement building.
4. Monsoon rains trigger flooding and mudslides in northwest Pakistan where close to 80 people have died in the heaviest rain fall in the past 35 years.
July 29, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. ambassador to Japan will join the U.N. secretary general and other world leaders at an August 6 ceremony marking the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
2. Japan’s government will follow the U.S. and the E.U. in adopting new sanctions against Iran for failing to comply with the demands to halt its nuclear development program.
3. The United Arab Emirates releases a photo of what is said to be a damaged Japanese oil super tanker that reported an on-board explosion on Wednesday.
4. The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to slash to around one-third the fiscal 2011 funding for relocating the U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
July 28, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. ambassador to Japan is likely to become the first American official to attend a ceremony for the victims of his country’s 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
2. North Korea’s government denounces Japan’s participation in U.S.- South Korean joint military drills, saying it is designed to create a “military confederation triangle.”
3. Miyazaki prefectural officials will ask the central government to introduce a simpler and quicker screening process for foot-and-mouth disease.
4. Japanese steelmakers are competing to form strategic tie-ups with their Indian counterparts as they seek more business in the huge growing market.
July 27, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Officials in Japan’s southwestern Miyazaki Prefecture lift the last remaining ban on the transfer of livestock, three months after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
2. The European Union reviews a new set of sanctions against Iran’s government and urges the country’s leaders to hold more talks on its nuclear development program.
3. A rocket fired last Friday by NATO forces killed 52 Afghan civilians crammed into a house in southern Helmand province.
4. For the first time, U.S. diplomats here in Japan are set to be preparing to attend a ceremony to mark the nation’s atomic bombing in Hiroshima 65 years ago.
July 26, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s government finalizes draft guidelines for next fiscal year’s budget requests, and is urging all ministries to cut spending by 10 percent from this year.
2. A bomb attack on Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand, killed one person and wounded at least 10 others as the city’s residents voted in a by-election for a parliamentary seat.
3. Leaders attending the African Union summit discuss ways to counter increasing terrorist attacks being carried out by militant Islamic groups based in Somalia.
4. The 15-day Grand Sumo Tournament held under unusual circumstances has ended in Nagoya, after wrestlers were barred from their involvement in illegal betting on pro baseball games.
July 25, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. The United States and South Korea have begun a 4-day joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, despite threats of retaliation from North Korea.
2. The chairman’s statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum has not blamed North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
3. The Japanese government’s proposal to uniformly cut next year’s budget allocations by 10% is raising objections from some Cabinet members.
July 24, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A train carrying sightseers has derailed in southern Switzerland, killing one Japanese woman and injuring 42. Of the injured, 38 are Japanese.
2. The ASEAN Regional Forum has not censured North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
3. Japan has reiterated Russia’s military exercise on Etorofu Island, one of four Russian-held islands that Japan claims, are not acceptable.
July 23, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The sinking of a South Korean warship tops the agenda at a foreign ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum that opened in Hanoi on Friday.
2. The governments of Japan and South Korea join forces to increase pressure on North Korea, following its alleged sinking of a South Korean warship.
3. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will visit the two Japanese cities devastated by atomic bombs. The United States dropped on them at the end of the Second World War.
4. The International Court of Justice rules that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia on February 2008 did not violate international law.
July 22, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s foreign minister calls on Asian countries to condemn North Korea’s government over its alleged sinking of a South Korean warship earlier this year.
2. Japan’s top diplomat hopes he will be able to convince his Myanmar counterpart to allow pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in a general election to be held later this year.
3. The U.S. government says It’s strengthening existing sanctions against North Korea and impose new restrictions on groups and individuals involved in nuclear proliferation.
4. The parents of abduction victim Megumi Yokota holds a news conference after their first meeting with former North Korean spy Kim Hyun Hee.
July 21, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Delegates attending an international conference on Afghanistan have agreed that the country should take over security responsibilities from coalition forces by the end of 2014.
2. At an ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting in Hanoi, delegates refrain from asking the military government to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of a general election later this year.
3. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea ahead of a meeting with South Korean ministers.
4. Former North Korean spy Kim Hyun Hee will meet the parents of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in 1977 by North Korean agents at the age of 13.
July 20, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A former North Korean spy arrives in Japan from South Korea to meet the families of Japanese abducted more than 30 years ago by North Korean agents.
2. North Korea’s nuclear program and democratization of Myanmar will likely top the agenda at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Vietnam this week.
3. Afghanistan’s government and the United Nations are hosting an international aid conference in the Afghan capital Kabul to discuss the country’s future.
4. Energy ministers and senior officials from more than 20 nations are gathering in Washington, D.C. for a two-day meeting to discuss clean energy.
July 19, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Meetings between Middle East and Cairo in Egypt on Sunday failed to set a stage for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
2. Monday marks three months since the BP oil well explosion killed 11 workers and caused the on-going environmental devastation in the Gulf of Mexico.
3. An international AIDS conference is underway in Vienna, Austria, to discuss ways to support people infected with HIV.
4. The Japanese and Chinese government officials prepare for formal negotiations later this month toward a treaty on joint oil field development in the East China Sea.
July 18, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Sparks could fly at the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi as Japan, South Korea and the U.S. lock horns with North Korea over the sinking of a warship.
2. A ban on the transfer of livestock was lifted on Sunday in eastern Miyazaki Prefecture, the site of a massive outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease which began about three months ago.
July 17, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Japanese government estimates the damage caused by torrential rains in southwest Japan at 200 million dollars.
2. On the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa, Japan has made a new proposal to build a single runway instead of the original plan to build two runways in a V-shape.
3. Japan’s revised organ transplant law went into effect on Saturday. It paves the way for children who are seriously ill to receive organs in Japan.
July 16, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. secretary of state arrives in Asia next week to coordinate the future response to the sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea.
2. The U.S. Senate has given final approval to what has been called “sweeping financial regulatory reforms” designed to overhaul the U.S. financial system.
3. An Iranian scientist, who Iranian authorities say was abducted by the United Sates, returns home to deny allegations that he leaked information on his nation’s nuclear program to the CIA.
4. The British oil firm BP says the oil that has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, has stopped after it successfully capped an underground well as part of a key pressure test.
July 15, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Delegates from ASEAN members and neighboring countries, including North Korea, will take part in an ASEAN Regional Forum that opens next week in Hanoi, Vietnam.
2. Despite approving new U.N. sanctions against Iran because of the country’s nuclear programs, Russia’s government plans to strengthen its energy cooperation with Tehran.
3. The International Monetary Fund calls on Japan’s government to raise the nation’s consumption tax rate incrementally from the next fiscal year to restore fiscal balance.
4. A newly-released figure shows that China’s economy has slowed for the first time since early 2009.
July 14, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese government decides against sending a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter unit to Sudan to join a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
2. Japanese and U.S. officials reaffirm their cooperation on relocating a Marine Corps air base in Okinawa despite Democratic Party’s defeat this week in the Upper House election.
3. The U.N. calls for increased treatment measures for HIV carriers and AIDS patients, saying that 10 million people with HIV cannot get access to proper treatment.
4. A Libyan ship carrying 15 activists and 2,000 tons of humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip is heading to Egypt after being intercepted by Israeli naval vessels.
July 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Sunday’s election setback suffered by Japan’s Democratic Party has triggered intensive debate over whether its top executives should be replaced.
2. The U.S. State Department and North Korea ratched up the rhetoric over the North’s denuclearization and resumption of six-party talks.
3. The Israeli report criticizes the intelligence gathering ability of senior military officials, who say its soldiers were justified in filling activists on board a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip.
4. An anti-whaling activist deported from Japan to New Zealand has criticized the court proceedings in which he was found guilty of disrupting Japan’s research whaling program.
July 12, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s ruling coalition led by the Democratic Party loses its majority in the Upper House of Parliament, while the opposition Liberal Democratic Party won the largest number of seats.
2. Japan’s allies and trading partners expressed concern about the election results, having negative effects on their respective relationships with the country.
3. Amid on-going gambling scandal that linked wrestlers and stable masters to illegal betting organized by mobsters, Japan’s sumo association says it will continue to maintain its vigilance with the help of police.
4. Spain has won the World Cup for the first time, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final games played on Sunday at soccer city stadium in Johannesburg.
July 11, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Japanese voters are casting ballots in an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday.
2. China is buying up record numbers of Japanese government bonds this year.
3. Germany took third place by beating Uruguay 3-2 at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
July 10, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan will hold the Upper House election on Sunday. The biggest issue is a possible consumption tax rise.
2. The U.N. Security Council has condemned the sinking of a South Korean warship and the killing of 46 crewmembers, but stopped short of blaming North Korea, which international investigators said carried out the attack.
3. The United States and Russia completed a spy swap in Vienna, Austria, on Friday. It’s the first move of its kind since the Cold War.
July 9, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.N. Security Council is expected to approve a presidential statement that condemns the March attack on a South Korean naval ship, but without directly accusing North Korea.
2. In a flashback to the Cold War era, the U.S. deports 10 accused Russian spies in exchange for four people imprisoned in Russia for alleged espionage activities.
3. A U.S. government report claims the Chinese yuan remains undervalued against the dollar, but it stopped short of accusing China’s government of manipulating its currency.
4. The Marine Corps general, who publicly said it was fun to shoot people in Afghanistan, has been named to oversee operations in countries including Iraq and Afghanistan.
July 8, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Newly declassified documents indicate that the Japanese government since the 1960s viewed U.S. bases in Japan, particularly those in Okinawa as a deterrent against a possible trouble in the Korean Peninsula.
2. In Baghdad, Iraq, a suicide bomber has killed at least 28 people, apparently targeting Shia pilgrims who gathered to commemorate the life of a revered saint.
3. An investigation by Tokyo police into illegal gambling by sumo wrestlers reveals cell phones and emails were used to place bets with bookmakers.
4. South Korea police have arrested a man who threw a stone at Japan’s ambassador to South Korea while he gave a lecture in Seoul on Wednesday evening.
July 7, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. In a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, the U.S. president urges Israel’s prime minister to begin direct peace talks with the Palestinians by September.
2. The Israeli military has indicted a soldier on a charge of killing two Palestinian women during last year’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
3. Japan’s government says it will make a final decision next week on whether to send a helicopter unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force to Sudan to join the U.N. peace keeping mission.
4. Toyo police begin searching sumo stables in connection with the illegal gambling by wrestlers to determine the full scope of the scandal that is rocking Japan’s traditional sport.
July 6, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A group of experts who have met recently in Vienna is calling for the establishment of a global center to come up with proposals for abolishing nuclear weapons.
2. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Georgia and pledges her nation’ support for the former Soviet state.
3. Nationwide strikes paralyzes cities across India after the government cut fuel subsidies for people with lower incomes.
4. Japan’s largest steelmaker plans to open a steel plant in Vietnam as demand rises for infrastructure projects through all of Asia.
July 5, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. On the first anniversary of large-scale rioting, authorities in China are increasing surveillance in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
2. The Iraqi government plans to convene an international conference to discuss the possible effects of depleted uranium shells by U.S. forces during the Gulf and Iraq wars.
3. Poland’s acting president Bronislaw Komorowski has won his country’s presidential run-off and is expected to try to improve relations with Russia and the European Union.
4. Japanese space officials say they found tidy particles inside a capsule released by the unmanned asteroid probe Hayabusa.
July 4, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. John Quini
1. With only one week until the Upper House election, candidates are stepping up their campaigning.
2. Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as president on Saturday.
A law has taken effect that allows Japan to inspect cargo ships trading to and from North Korea on the high seas, as well as in Japanese territorial waters.
July 3, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The chief of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza immediately.
2. China has revised its economic growth rate in real terms for 200 to 9.1 percent from a preliminary figure of 8.7 percent.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has announced a large-scale investment in a project to expand broadband access throughout the country as part of the economic stimulus.
July 2, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. On the Tokyo foreign exchange market, the dollar continues to fall against the yen, continuing the trends to set an overnight low in New York.
2. As the Japanese economy shows some signs of recovery, small and mid-sized companies lag behind large firms as the strong yen and deflationary pressures continue to take a toll on the bottomline.
3. Divisions over the handling of the consumption tax issue plague Japan’s Democratic Party ahead of this month’s parliamentary election.
4. Shipments of cattle and pigs have resumed in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture, after a ban on the transfer of livestock that lasted for more than three weeks.
July 1, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Tokyo stocks continue following Thursday morning setting a new low for the year in mid-day trading, following the downturn trends on New York and European markets.
2. The latest Bank of Japan Tankan survey shows business confidence among Japanese companies continue to increase, an improved sentiment among large manufacturers.
3. Japan’s government implements sweeping changes that ease conditions for individual tourists from China to receive visas.
4. The U.N. Security Council president says its members remain divided over how to deal with North Korea for its alleged sinking of a South Korean naval ship.