Daily English News
December
December 1, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The Israeli government has decided to expand settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
2. Angry Egyptians have taken to the streets in Cairo. They are protesting President Mohammed Morsi’s recent decrees and a hastily approved draft constitution.
3. The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment committing the U.S. to defend Japan in the event of a military challenge over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
December 2, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. North Korea has announced it will launch a satellite-carrying rocket between the 10th and 22nd of this month.
2. The Japanese government has begun deploying interceptor missiles following North Korea’s announcement that it will launch a satellite-carrying rocket late this month.
3. The International Atomic Energy Agency plans to set up a facility in Fukushima to help remove radioactive substances in the environment resulting from last year’s nuclear accident.
December 3, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japan’s government will soon start talks with the United States, South Korea and other countries to coordinate pressure on North Korea to keep it from launching a missile.
2. Nine people have been confirmed dead in Sunday’s collapse of an aging express tunnel near Tokyo.
3. Official campaigning for Japan’s Lower House election will begin on Tuesday, with more than 1,470 candidates expected to contest 480 seats.
December 4, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. Official campaigning kicked off on Tuesday for Japan’s Lower House election on December 16th.
2. The U.N. agency in charge of communication technologies says North Korea has notified it a plan to launch a missile.
3. Radioactive decontamination following last year’s disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant has not been completed at more than 80 percent of homes.
December 5, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Senior officials from Japan, the United States, and South Korea have confirmed that they will work together to stop North Korea’s planned rocket launch.
2. Vietnam says it has filed a protest with China over alleged interference in Vietnam’s exploration activities in the South China Sea.
3. NATO has agreed to station Patriot surface-to-air missiles in Turkey to intercept cross-border shelling from Syria.
December 6, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
1. Japanese destroyers equipped with high-performance radar have been deployed in readiness for the launch of a North Korean rocket.
2. Delegates from industrialized nations and emerging economies have clashed at a U.N. climate change conference.
3. Talks between the Japanese government and municipalities to find storage sites for soil contaminated with nuclear radiation are tense.
December 7, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
1. The Japanese government has issued an order to the Self-Defense Forces to intercept any missile debris from a North Korean rocket that could fall on Japanese territory.
2. Former South Korean independent presidential contender, Ahn Cheol-soo says he gives his full support to the opposition candidate. Moon Jae-in, in the upcoming election.
3. At the U.N. climate change talks in Doha, Qatar, countries are divided over financial support for developing nations.
December 8, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The Japanese government is to complete the deployment of interceptor missiles both on the ground and at sea by the end of Saturday in preparation for North Korea’s planned rocket launch.
2. Egypt’s opposition leaders are rejecting President Mohamed Morsi’s proposal for a national dialogue to end the crisis on a draft constitution.
3. Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, a recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize, has delivered his Nobel lecture at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute.
December 9, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. South Korean officials speculate technical problems or weather conditions are likely to have caused North Korea to reschedule the planned launch of a rocket.
2. Delegates at a U.N. climate change conference in Doha, Qatar, have agreed to adopt a new framework in 2015, where all countries will work to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
3. The leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas vow to continue fighting against Israel despite the Egypt-brokered ceasefire.
December 10, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
1. There is still no indication that North Korea is moving ahead with the launch of what it says is a satellite-carrying rocket.
2. The Japanese government has declared most parts of a town that hosts the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as unsuitable to live in for the foreseeable future.
3. Japan’s economy shrank in the July-September quarter and marked a second straight quarter of decline.
December 11, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. The second day of North Korea’s rocket launch window passed without incident on Tuesday.
2. Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka collected this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine on Monday.
3. A U.S. government agency says China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economic power by 2030.
December 12, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. North Korea announced on Wednesday that it has succeeded in placing the satellite into orbit.
2. Japan and Belarus will conclude a pact that helps the two countries tackle problems caused by nuclear accidents.
3. China has sent its largest fishery patrol vessel for a surveillance mission in the East China Sea.
December 13, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. North Korea has released video footage of its long-range rocket launch.
2. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously condemned North Korea’s long-range rocket launch, calling it a clear violation of a U.N. resolution.
3. Representatives from major countries have recognized Syria’s opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the people.
December 14, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Major manufacturers in Japan say business sentiment is getting worse.
2. Finance ministers from the 17 eurozone nations have agreed to give an additional loan of nearly 45 U.S. dollars to Greece.
3. North Koreans gathered in Pyongyang to celebrate Wednesday’s launch of what the government says is a satellite-carrying rocket.
December 15, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Party leaders and candidates in Japan are making their final appeals ahead of Sunday’s Lower House election.
2. The United States says it has raised concern with China over the first intrusion of its aircraft into Japanese air space over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
3. In the U.S. eastern state of Connecticut, a shooting at an elementary school has left at least 26 people dead. 20 of them were children.
December 16, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hisakazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japanese voters are casting ballots on Sunday in a general election for the Lower House. Voter turnout before noon is lower than the figure for the previous election in 2009.
2. In Egypt, vote counting has begun for a referendum on a new constitution. Local media report the number of votes in favor of the draft constitution surpasses those against.
3. In the Pakistani northwestern city of Peshawar, militants fired rockets at an airport. The attack was followed by a series of car bombs around the airport, leaving at least 4 residents dead and more than 50 people wounded.
December 17, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party have scored a sweeping victory in Sunday’s Lower House election.
2. Tokyo’s Vice Governor Naoki Inose scored an overwhelming victory in Sunday’s gubernatorial election for Japan’s capital.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has urged action to prevent a recurrence of last week’s shooting spree at an elementary school in Connecticut.
December 18, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe, who is set to become Japan’s next prime minister, has expressed his intention to fight deflation.
2. In South Korea, two leading candidates in the presidential election have held two major rallies in big cities on Tuesday, which is the final day of campaigning.
3. U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, the veteran Democrat and one of the longest-serving members of the Senate ever, has died.
December 19, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe says he will create a new ministerial position responsible for boosting Japan’s economic growth.
2. Voters in South Korea are going to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new president.
3. An Iranian lawmaker says North Korea informed Iran in October of its plan to launch a satellite.
December 20, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
1. Park Geun-hye of South Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party won the country’s presidential election.
2. The head of Japan’s watchdog says it cannot begin safety screening of off-line reactors until new safety standards are set up next July.
3. French President Francois Hollande has called for a new era of relations with Algeria on his first official visit to the north African country.
December 21, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. David Crystal
1. Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe says he will send a special envoy to meet with South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye to further enhance bilateral relations.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced his hope for constructive dialogue with Japan to settle a bilateral territorial dispute and conclude a peace treaty.
3. Japan’s new ambassador to China has promised his best efforts to improve the soured ties between the two nations.
December 22, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The U.S. Congress has approved a bill that reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Japan under the bilateral security treaty. The pact acknowledges Japanese administration of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea which China and Taiwan claim.
2. The leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party Shinzo Abe says his party is considering not holding a government-organized event aimed at promoting the country’s claim to the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan from next year.
3. In North Korea, an American citizen has been detained for committing what is being called a “crime against the country.”
December 23, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. North Korea is suspected of trying to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
2. Vote counting has begun in Egypt for a referendum on a divisive draft constitution.
3. Japan’s Emperor Akihito turned 79 years old on Sunday. Thousands of people visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to celebrate his birthday.
December 24, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. North Korea is suspected of trying to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
2. Japan’s new ambassador to China says he will seek a peaceful solution to his country’s dispute with Chinese over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
3. Egypt’s main opposition group is arguing that voter fraud was rampant in the constitutional referendum.
December 25, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s outgoing ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, will choose its new leader in an election on Tuesday.
2. South Korea’s President-elect Park Geun-hye has named a lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party, Yoo Il-ho, as her chief of staff.
3. U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held talks onMonday with Syrain President Bashar al-Assad.
December 26, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Members of Japan’s Diet are meeting to elect Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe as the country’s new prime minister.
2. Iran says it will conduct naval drills in the Strait of hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
3. Egypt’s election supervisors say a draft new constitution has been passed in a referendum with majority support, but opposition groups allege vote-rigging.
December 27, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will compile a supplementary budget for this fiscal year to pull the nation out of deflation.
2. Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has suggested that Shinzo Abe’s new administration will review the previous government ‘s nuclear energy policy.
3. A Chinese government aircraft has approached Japan’s air space over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea for the third straight day on Wednesday.
December 28, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera to review Japan’s defense program guidelines.
2. The dollar has risen to the 86-yen range for the first time in almost 2 years and 4 montsh.
3. A Japanese media organization reports that China recognized the Senkaku Islands as part of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands in a 1950 diplomatic document.
December 29, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Keith McPharen and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japan has filed an objection at the United Nations over China’s application to extend its continental shelf to areas including the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
2. A senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official says Japan and China should settle their territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea through dialogue.
3. Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to spur their foreign ministries towards signing a peace treaty.
December 30, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s Self-Defense Force troops have ended their 16-year-long peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights, following the government’s decision to withdraw them due to the civil war in Syria.
2. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says his country cannot agree to a demand by Syrian opposition forces that President Bashar al-Assad step down before they start any negotiations to end the violence.
3. Experts from Japan’s nuclear regulatory body are trying to determine whether there are any active faults running underneath the country’s only online nuclear power plant.
December 31, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. U.S. Congressional leaders are facing a year-end deadline as they try to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff”.
2. Japanese peacekeepers in the Golan Heights have returned home, ending their 16-year-long mission.
3. U.N.-Arab League special envoy Lakdar Brahimi is urging Syrian opposition forces to engage in dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad’s government and his ally Russia.