Daily English News
September 1, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Earthquake drills are being held across Japan as September 1st is Disaster Prevention Day.
2. A Japanese government official says Japan and North Korea will hold high-level talks on a wide range of matters of mutual concern, including the abduction of Japanese nationals by the North.
3. The International Atomic Energy Agency will help Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan implement decontamination measures and conduct health checks on local residents.
September 2, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. A team from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has begun a survey of the Senkaku Islands from surrounding waters as a step toward the purchase of the islands.
2. Syrian insurgents have released a video showing a captured soldier confessing his involvement in the killing of Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto.
3. North Korean and Iranian leaders have agreed to strengthen ties to jointly resist the United States.
September 3, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A Tokyo Metropolitan Government team says they need to land on the Senkaku Islands to further investigate the ecosystem there.
2. The Japanese government says it has reached a general agreement for the purchase of the Senkaku Islands from their owner for about 26 million dollars.
3. Iran says its first and only nuclear power plant is now operating at full capacity.
September 4, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Ministers involved in drawing up new energy policies were informed about issues that may arise if nuclear power is no longer used in Japan.
2. A senior Syrian anti-government leader has claimed their forces control 60% of the key northern city of Aleppo.
3. The president of Mongolia has taken a tour of Iran’s main nuclear facility in Natanz. This is the first time Iran has opened the site to a foreign leader.
September 5, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. U.S. Democrats have launched their national convention to re-nominate President Barack Obama for the November presidential election.
2. Police in Beijing have detained two Chinese men who snatched the flag from a car carrying the Japanese ambassador, but police say they won’t pursue criminal charges.
3. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he welcomes the humanitarian work by the international committee of the Red Cross in his country as long as it is carried out in a neutral way.
September 6, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum wraps up two days of talks in Russia’s Vladivostok on Thursday.
2. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton has blamed the Republicans for the years of economic weakness, saying President Barack Obama has begun a long road to recovery after inheriting the mess from the Republicans.
3. A steam blast occurred at France’s oldest nuclear power plant on Wednesday. The plant is reporting no radioactive leaks.
September 7, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to discuss measures to promote free trade and food security at the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
2. Requests for funding from Japanese government ministries and agencies for the fiscal agencies for the fiscal 2013 budget will top 100 trillion yen, or 1.27 trillion dollars, for the first time ever.
3. The European Central Bank has set up a new program to buy the government bonds of countries of the 17-member eurozone.
September 8, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region have begun discussing how to liberalize regional trade and investments.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has met Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing on the importance of building stronger economic ties between the two countries as well as solving the issue of four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
3. Strong earthquakes hit a mountainous area in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, killing 67 people and injuring more than 700.
September 9, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region will wrap up on Sunday a two-day discussion on food, energy, security, and other regional issues.
2. The South Korean government says the Japanese foreign minister and the South Korean counterpart have agreed to stabilize bilateral relationships as soon as possible. The ties between the two nations have soured over a territorial dispute.
3. A wide spectrum of people in Okinawa has gathered to rally against the U.S. military deployment of Osprey aircraft at Futenma Air Base in the southwestern prefecture.
September 10, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Efforts to deal with problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan still face many challenges more than a year after the meltdown.
2. Fierce fighting between Syria’s government and opposition forces continue across the country.
3. An Iraqi court has sentenced the country’s Sunni vice president to death. The ruling is raising concerns that it could further fuel sectarian tensions.
September 11, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. Today marks a year and a half since the earthquake that triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as the operator continues to struggle to decommission the crippled plant.
2. Japan’s government has put three islets in the Senkaku Island chain under state ownership.
3. The new U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria , Lakhdar Brahimi, says he is prepared to make a new proposal to stop the bloodshed in Syria.
September 12, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. China is taking a barrage of measures to show its anger about Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. A senior U.S. official has urged Japan and China to deal calmly with Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands and China’s ensuing reaction.
3. The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it has set up a third-party panel to improve nuclear safety and corporate management.
September 13, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Patrick devolpi and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has condemned a fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.
2. Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has officially launched his new national political party, with seven Diet members joining in.
3. Officials from Japan and China have met to discuss the issue of the Senkaku Islands. The discussions ended with China’s foreign ministry stressing the need for talks to continue to resolve the issue.
September 14, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. David Crystal
1. The Japan Coast Gurad spotted eight Chinese government ships near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Friday morning.
2. Five lawmakers of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party have officially filed their candidacies for the party’s presidential eletion later this month.
3. Anti-U.S. protests have broken out in Yemen, leaving at least one dead and others injured.
September 15, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and
Ms. Fumiko Kunoe
1. Anti-US demonstrations in Muslim countries around the world
areturning violent—
some even fatal. Protesters are furious at a US-made video, which they say
denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.
2. Protests against Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands are
taking place across
China on Saturday. Some protesters in Beijing tried to break in the compound of the
Japanese embassy.
3. The Japanese government has adopted a new energy policy to realize a
society that
does not rely on nuclear power generation in the 2030s, but maintains nuclear fuel
recycling.
September 16, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and
Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Rallies to protest Japan's nationalization of Senkaku islands are
spreading across
China.
2. US-led joint naval exercises are set to begin in the Persian Gulf on
Sunday. The
drills are apparent response to Iran's repeated threat to close the strategic oil
shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
3. Large public demonstrations against the government of Russian
President Vladimir
Putin have been held in dozens of cities including Moscow.
September 17, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and
Mr. David Crystal
1. Japan is to step up its patrol around the Senkaku Islands ahead of an
anniversary
connected with Japan’s 1931 invasion of Manchuria in northeastern China.
2. Muslims in Europe have joined anti-US demonstrations provoked by the
video they
say insults the Prophet Muhammad.
3. US-led international forces in Afghanistan killed at least 8 Afghan
women and
wounded 7 other people in an air strike on Sunday.
September 18, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and
Mr. Mick Corliss
1. Anti-Japanese protests are being staged in 52 cities across China on
Tuesday.
2. Japan detailed its new energy policy to the UN nuclear watchdog on
Monday.
3. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force unit is preparing for a
mine-sweeping drill in
the Persian Gulf.
September 19, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and
Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Anti-Japan protests appear to be abating across China on Wednesday, a
day after the
country saw massive demonstrations in more than 110cities.
2. The government has stepped up surveillance and security around the
Senkaku Islands
in the East China Sea.
3. Japan is set to launch a new nuclear watchdog later today.
September 20, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. In China, anti-Japan demonstrations ceased on Thursday and life seems to be getting back to normal for Japanese residents in the capital Beijing.
2. The US Marin Corps is ready to begin test flights of a controversial aircraft in the skies over Japan as early as Friday.
3. The US government says it has conducted a new type of non-explosive nuclear test in order to check capabilities of the county's nuclear arsenal.
September 21, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms.
Hiroko Kitadai
1. The US military has conducted test flights of the Osprey transport
aircraft at a base
in western Japan.
2. The European Union has expressed concern over the protests across
China against
Japan 's
nationalization of the disputed Senkaku Islands
in the East China Sea .
3. International Atomic Energy Agency has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for stronger safety measures at nuclear power plants worldwide.
September 22, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japanese Coast Guard officials say a Taiwanese patrol ship was detected on Friday
outside Japanese territorial waters off the Senakaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. No major anti-Japan demonstrations were reported in China on Saturday.
3. Protests in Pakistan over an anti-Muslim video have turned violent,
leaving at least 15 people dead.
September 23, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by
Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Chinese authorities continue to keep tight control on anti-Japan
demonstrations
on Sunday.
2. Demonstrators have attacked an Islamic extremist group’s military
compound in the
eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, leaving at least four dead and 70
injured.
3. Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is calling for
reconciliation to
help develop her country during a 17-day tour of the United States.
September 24, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. China has cancelled a ceremony marking 40 years of normalized diplomatic ties with Japan.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will call for territorial disputes to be resolved under the rules of international law when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly later this week.
3. The anti-government Free Syrian Army is expanding its control into northern Syria.September 25, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. The Japanese and Chinese vice foreign ministers are meeting in Beijing amid a rip between the two countries over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. A fleet of Taiwanese fishing boats are heading back home after most of them entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands.
3. Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has called for territorial issues to be resolved at the International Court of Justice at a high- level meeting on the rule of law held at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
September 26, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. The foreign ministers of Japan and China have held talks to address soured bilateral relations in the wake of Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands.
2. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he wants to sound the alarm about widespread insecurity, injustice, inequality and intolerance in many countries.
3. Japan’s research institutes say the upcoming quarterly Tankan survey will show the worsening business sentiment, due to the effects of the current global economic slowdown.
September 27, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Patrick Devopli
1. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that Japan is committed to resolving territorial issues peacefully.
2. China has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly.
3. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran is under constant threat of military action by Israel.
September 28, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
1. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has criticized Japan’s recent nationalization of the Senkaku Islands, calling them Chinese territory.
2. Foreign ministers from the signatories to a nuclear test ban treaty have urged all countries to work toward an early implementation of the pact.
3. Spain has unveiled its budget plan for next year.
September 29, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba says Japan will respond calmly to the dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands without losing a broad perspective.
2. South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan referred to the issue of Korean women who were forced to work in wartime brothels for Japanese soldiers for the first time at the United National ministerial General Debate.
3. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Japan and South Korea to quickly resolve their territorial dispute through dialogue. She said the United States will not act as a mediator in the issue.
September 30, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. In Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, fighting has escalated between government and opposition rebel forces.
2. As China prepared to celebrate its National Day on October 1st, Premier Wen Jiabao vowed that his country will firmly defend its territory.
3. A powerful typhoon is approaching Japan’s main island, with officials warning of the danger of wind storms, landslides, and flooding.