Daily English News: October
October 31, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said he hopes that Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit Japan next month for the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
2. The Japanese government aims to soon finalize its basic policy on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, by coordinating views with governing coalition parties.
3. Tokyo’s Haneda Airport has resumed regular international operations for the first time in 32 years.
October 30, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
October 29, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
October 28, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The death toll from Monday’s tsunami off the Indonesian island of Sumatra surpasses270, while the volcanic eruptions on Java Island leave at least 29 people dead and 40,000 others homeless.
2. Japan’s prime minister prepares to leave for Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi on Thursday to attend a series of ASEAN meetings on security and global economics.
3. The U.S. is demanding that Japan’s government not only open its agricultural market but also reconsider its plans for postal privatization if it is to join a Pacific economic partnership agreement.
4. China’s premier announces a new policy to end the practice of investors buying agricultural commodities to manipulate their prices.
October 27, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s prime minister says his government will provide an additional two billion dollars over the next three years for support fund to help develop nations conserve biodiversity.
2. Indonesian officials deal with the aftermaths of two deadly catastrophes--a tsunami off Sumatra caused by a powerful earthquake and the erupting volcano on the island of Java.
3. An Iraqi court hands down a death sentence to the nation’s former deputy prime minister in the regime of President Saddam Hussein for crime against humanity.
4. Japan’s government will increase its assistance to Afghanistan for the promotion of women’s self-reliance in the war-torn country.
October 26, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The leaders of Japan and India say negotiators have finished talks on an economic partnership agreement between the two countries.
2. The governments of Japan and the U.S. agree to set up a high-level meeting to discuss a bilateral agreement on the status of U.S. forces stationed in Japan.
3. Environment ministers from around the world are set to join marathon talks at the on-going U.N. conference on biodiversity in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.
4. A powerful earthquake with the magnitude of 7.7 occurs off Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, where the country’s most active volcano could erupt at any time.
October 25, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Two Chinese surveillance ships were spotted over the weekend, sailing close to Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. Attention is focused on the yen’s move on Monday’s foreign exchange markets, after the G20 issued a joint statement saying members will refrain from a currency devaluation war.
3. The leaders of Japan and India will confirm on Monday that they intend to sign an economic partnership agreement as soon as possible.
4. The number of visitors to the Shanghai World Expo reached 70 million on Sunday, the target, says the Chinese government.
October 24, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the Self-Defense Forces should be capable of coping with any change in the security situation surrounding Japan.
2. In China, public clamor to stage anti-Japan protests over the Senkaku Islands dispute is intensifying.
3. The Japanese government is coordinating views among participants in the U.N. conference on biodiversity. Industrialized and developing countries are at odds over how to control the use of genetic resources.
October 23, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 countries are now meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea. High on the agenda is the issue of weak currency policies taken by some countries to boost their exports.
2. Academics from Japan and South Korea have proposed that the two countries should deepen their dialogue with China in an effort to maintain peace in the region.
3. Officials negotiating new targets for stopping the loss of the world’s biological diversity will continue talks over the weekend, having failed to draft a protocol that was meant to be proposed on Friday.
October 22, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are expected to have weekend discussions on how some countries are attempting to weaken their currencies to boost exports and spur domestic consumption.
2. Japan’s government rejects a Chinese proposal to jointly develop underwater energy resources around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
3. Toyota announces a recall of more than 930,000 vehicles overseas because of their braking problems of some models.
4. Ahead of its first election in 20 years, Myanmar’s military government unveils the country’s new national flag amid speculation that the move is meant to drum up patriotic feelings among the public.
October 21, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A U.N. report is sounding the alarm that the world’s larger fish species could face extinction by 2050 because of overfishing and marine pollution.
2. Tokyo’s Haneda Airport opens a new international terminal building and a 4th runway in what is seen as a fresh bid to become a major international hub.
3. U.S. officials reveal a plan to sell 60 billion dollars’ worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia over the next 15 to 20 years to contain the growing military power of Iran in the Middle East.
4. Protests are continuing in France against the government’s pension reform plan that includes raising the retirement age of those able to receive a pension from 60 to 62.
October 20, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The leaders of 13 ASEAN nations prepares for a summit later this month as they strive to play an important role as an engine of the global economy.
2. A senior member of Japan’s ruling Democratic Party says China’s foreign minister disapproves of the violent anti-Japan demonstrations across China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
3. An American newspaper says China’s government is halting exports to the United States and Europe of rare earth elements that are essential for the production of a wide variety of high-tech equipment.
4. A U.N. staff envoy to Iraq escapes unhurt after a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in the holy city of Najaf.
October 19, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping emerges as a likely successor to President Hu Jintao after being named vice chairman of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission.
2. Japanese cabinet ministers call on the governments of both Japan and China to respond calmly to the latest wave of anti-Japan demonstrations in Chinese cities.
3. The U.S. undersecretary of defense reiterates the U.S. position that the Japan-U.S. security treaty covers the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
4. The leaders of Japan and Botswana agree to increase cooperation in developing the African country’s natural resources, especially rare metals.
October 18, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japanese Embassy officials in Beijing tell Japanese residents to remain on the alert after large-scale anti-Japan protests took place over the weekend.
2. The official sessions of the U.N. Convention on biological diversity has begun in Nagoya, where delegates are working on new rules to share profits from the use of biological resources for medicine and other products.
3. The Japanese government begins studying a possible dispatch of a medical team from the Self-Defense Forces to Afghanistan.
4. A British newspaper causes a stir with its allegations that two FIFA executive committee members offered to sell their votes in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
October 17, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Japanese retailers in Chengdu, China, remumed operations amid tight police security on Sunday, one day after a large-scale anti-Japan rally.
2. Ministers from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economies ended their meeting on Sunday after compiling an action plan aimed at boosting food production in the region.
October 16, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The ministers’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum opened on Saturday in Niigata, central Japan, to discuss food security.
2. Representatives from developing and developed countries are continuing talks to work out a protocol on how to share the benefits from drugs and other products made from biological resources.
3. More than a hundred Chinese activists have signed an open letter calling for Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo to be released from prison.
October 15, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. In Chile, most of the 33 men rescued from a collapsed mine are said to be in good health, a day after the mission to rescue them was completed.
2. Japan and U.S. delegations submit a draft resolution calling for the total abolition of nuclear weapons to a disarmament committee of the General Assembly.
3. A couple and a woman abducted by North Korea in the 1970s have made a fresh plea to Japan’s government for an early resolution of the abduction issue.
4. The European Union conditionally agrees to consider an extension of the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which expires in 2012.
October 14, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. All 33 miners who had been trapped 700 meters underground in Chile for more than two months have been rescued 22 and a half hours after the start of the operation to raise the miners one by one.
2. Japanese and Chinese officials meeting in Beijing try to arrange a bilateral summit in Vietnam this month to mend strained ties between the two nations.
3. In Beirut, Irannian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assures Lebanese people that his country will defend them from any attack from Israel.
4. Ministers of 21 Asian and Pacific economies are expected to adopt an action plan that calls for measures to promote regional trade.
October 15, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. In Chile, most of the 33 men rescued from a collapsed mine are said to be in good health, a day after the mission to rescue them was completed.
2. Japan and U.S. delegations submit a draft resolution calling for the total abolition of nuclear weapons to a disarmament committee of the General Assembly.
3. A couple and a woman abducted by North Korea in the 1970s have made a fresh plea to Japan’s government for an early resolution of the abduction issue.
4. The European Union conditionally agrees to consider an extension of the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which expires in 2012.
October 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The 33 trapped Chilean miners are being brought to the surface one by one after having spent more than two months trapped 700 meters underground.
2. The U.S. conducted its first subcritical nuclear test since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January of 2009, despite his stated policy of creating a world without nuclear weapons.
3. Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she will not vote in the upcoming general elections, even though the military government say she can.
4. China is expected to become the world’s biggest auto market for the second year in a row.
October 12, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Defense ministers of the 10 ASEAN member nations, plus eight other countries including Japan, China and the U.S. begin their first regional security conference in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
2. South Korea’s president says the North’s nuclear program must be addressed, regardless of who becomes the North Korean leader.
3. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary says the government is positive about the possibility of a Japan-China summit meeting in the near future.
4. An American biotechnology firm says it has started the world’s first test using embryonic stem cells on a human patient amid high expectations for the use in regenerative medicine.
October 11, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A series of meetings of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity known as the COP 10 got underway in the central Japanese city of Nagoya on Monday.
2. At a military parade in Pyongyang marking the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of North Korea, the North’s military unveils a new ballistic missile that can reach Japan and Guam.
3. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo had dedicated the award to those who died in Tienanmen Square on June 4, 1989.
4. The yen rose sharply on the Sydney Foreign Exchange Market in Australia on Monday, hitting a new 15-year high against the U.S. dollar.
October 10, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. North Korea staged a military parade in Pyongyang on Sunday, the 65th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. The country’s heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, reviewed the troops along with his father, Kim Jong Il.
2. The Chilean government says rescue workers are planning to start evacuating on Wednesday 33 miners trapped underground.
3. A Japanese company worker, who was released from detention in China, returned home on Sunday. He was taken into custody last month for allegedly videotaping without permission in a military zone.
October 9, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Finance ministers and governors of central banks of Group of Seven industrial nations have talked on tension arising over currencies.
2. China’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Norway’s ambassador in Beijing to protest the Nobel Committee’s decision to give this year’s peace prize to jail Chinese dissident and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo.
3. The Arab League has endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision not to return to peace talks with Israel unless that country freezes construction of new settlements in the West Bank.
October 8, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The World Bank president warns that weak currency policies imposed by governments to boost exports could lead to the rise of new global protectionism.
2. At this weekend’s G7 meeting, the Bank of Japan governor intends to explain a package of measures the bank has on the other earlier this week to maximize the effect of its monetary policy.
3. The top constitutional authority in France has endorsed a law that bans women from wearing Islamic face-covering veils, clearing the way for the first such law in Europe to take effect early next year.
4. The Chilean government says a shaft that is now being drilled to rescue 33 men trapped in a collapsed mine could reach them as early as Saturday.
October 7, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The U.S. dollar fall sharply against the yen, reaching a new 15-year low, despite last month’s massive intervention by Japanese monetary authorities.
2. The IMF revises downward its forecasts for the U.S. economy this year and next, citing the stagnant job market and it also revised lower Japan’s growth rate for next year.
3. Two Japanese and an American scientists will share this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a chemical tool that boosts the possibilities of creating sophisticated chemicals.
4. The E.U. and South Korean negotiators reach a free trade agreement eliminating tariffs on virtually all industrial and farm products.
October 6, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Leaders from 46 Asian and European nations close their 2-day ASEM summit in Brussels, but promising to further cooperate and integrate their economies of their respective regions.
2. Japan’s permanent delegate to the Conference on Disarmament asks the U.N. committee on nuclear disarmament for continued efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama signs a bill into law awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Japanese-American troops who fought in World War II.
4. North Korean state media say Kim Jong Un has accompanied his father to observe drills conducted by the Korean People’s Army.
October 5, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese and Chinese premiers agree to mend bilateral ties after a dispute triggered by a Chinese trawler’s collision with Japanese patrol vessels near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. Leaders from 46 countries attend a two-day meeting of ASEM Asia-Europe meeting in Brussels, Belgium, which ends strengthening ties between Asia and Europe.
3. Iraq’s government has increased its estimated crude oil reserves by almost 25 percent, claiming its petroleum reserves are now the world’s third-largest.
4. A global census of marine life has found that the world’s oceans are far more abundant than previously thought, providing shelter to about 250,000 species.
October 4, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Joseph Quini
1. Prime Minister Naoto Kan is currently in Brussels to take part in the 8th Asia-Europe summit known as ASEM.
2. The United States and Britain have issued warnings of potential terrorist attacks in Europe.
3. Brazil’s ruling party presidential candidate will face a runoff after narrowing failing to secure the majority of votes to win Sunday’s election outright.
4. One of the largest international trade fairs on water and power generation in the Middle East have gotten underway in Saudi Arabia.
October 3, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Japan’s prime minister leaves for Belgium later on Sunday to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting.
2. The deputy secretary general of Japan’s ruling Democratic Party has criticized China’s reaction, following the collision of a Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese patrol vessels near Senkaku Islands off Okinawa.
3. The Palestinian leadership has confirmed they will not return to peace talks unless Israel freezes construction of its new settlements in the West Bank.
October 2, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office arrested two senior prosecutors on Friday for allegedly covering up the destruction of evidence by one of their subordinates.
2. A source in Russia’s presidential office indicated that President Dmitry Medvedev might visit Russian-held islands claimed by Japan next month, while Japan warned against the visit by Medvedev.
3. North and South Korean negotiators have agreed to allow 100 families from each side of the border to meet relatives from the other side some time between October 30 and November 5.
October 1, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. On the eve of China’s national day, Premier Wen Jiabao says his nation will not seek hegemony in Asia even if it becomes powerful.
2. An extraordinary session of Japan’s Diet convenes on Friday for the first time since Prime Minister Naoto Kan reshuffled his Cabinet last month.
3. Russian officials reject the request from Japan’s government that President Dmitry Medvedev not visit Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
4. Cigarette prices here in Japan rise as the higher tax took effect today. The demand is expected to decline by 25 percent compared with this time last year.