March 1, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to provide economic aid to help Egypt in its nation-building efforts.
2. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government will continue to seek support from Okinawa’s officials for an early relocation within the prefecture of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.
3. The Japanese government will include a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 in its draft strategy to tackle global warminig.
March 2, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The U.N. Security Council has delayed a vote on a sanctions resolution against North Korea by one day as last-minute haggling continues on details.
2. Vote-counting has begun in the U.S. presidential nominations races on “Super Tuesday.”
3. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged 120 million dollars in aid for the United Nations refugee agency.
March 3, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to tighten sanctions on North Korea, following the country’s recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to strictly impose U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea, while demanding Pyongyang resolve various outstanding issues.
3. North Korea has fired what is believed to be short-range missiles or rockets towards the Sea of Japan.
March 4, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country’s nuclear warheads need to be ready to be used at any time.
2. A Japanese government survey shows real wages rose in January for the first time in 3 months.
3. A top Pakistani official has admitted publicly for the first time the Afghan Taliban’s leadership is within his country.
March 5. Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. China opened the annual session of its parliament, National People’s Congress. Premier Li Keqiang announced a government policy to lower the nation’s 5-year economic growth target.
2. Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry and Japanese electronics maker Sharp are expected to sign a takeover deal by a Taiwanese firm as early as on Monday.
3. Japan’s government has pledged to contribute 16 million dollars to a U.N. body that investigates international terrorism and crime.
March 6. Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated the country’s policy toward Taiwan will not change along with the change of leadership there.
2. Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in Istanbul to protest a court order to seize Turkey’s largest newspaper critical of the government.
3. A group of U.S. scientists say the results of their lab tests on the Zika virus may help clarify the possible link between the virus and the rise in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads.
March 7, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. The United States and South Korea have begun the largest-ever joint military exercises in South Korea.
2. A truck loaded with fuel has exploded at a police checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing 60 police officers and civilians.
3. A group of Japanese students has held an event in Taiwan to thank Taiwanese people for their generous donations to the survivors of the quake and tsunami that hit Japan’s northeast in 2011.
March 8, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s government has decided to submit a set of bills to the Diet that will enable the country to take part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal.
2. The Cabinet Office has revised upward Japan’s Gross Domestic Product in the October – December period.
3. A U.N. anti-discrimination panel says Japan needs to take the viewpoint of victims into consideration when it implements a deal with South Korea on the issue of those individuals referred to as comfort women.
March 9, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Former Japanese and U.S. senior officials involved in relief operations following the March 2011 disaster gathered at a symposium on Tuesday to look back on the disaster.
2. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country has made its nuclear warheads small enough to be mounted on ballistic missiles.
3. A suspected rocket attack by Islamic State militants in Syria has killed 2 people in a Turkish border city.
March 10, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The South Korean military says North Korea has fired 2 missiles toward the Sea of Japan early Thursday.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has convened a 4-minister National Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea’s missile launches toward the Sea of Japan.
3. The operator of the Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, has begun shutting it down following a court injunction.
March 11, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. Friday marks 5 years since a giant earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan.
2. Japan’s cabinet on Friday approved a new 5-year plan for rebuilding areas devastated by the 2011 disaster.
3. North Korea’s official media report that leader Kim Jong Un has watched a ballistic missile launch test and vowed to continue to test nuclear weapons.
March 12, Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Five years after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, a government arbitration body is still accepting damage claims.
2. People around the world have joined memorial services to mark the 5th anniversary of a massive disaster that hit northeastern Japan.
3. Russian and Chinese foreign ministers have reaffirmed their views that North Korea’s nuclear development is unacceptable.
March 13, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has defined the up-coming Upper House election as a battle between the ruling coalition and the largest opposition and Japanese Communist Party.
2. Japan will provide aid in a grand form of 1.2 billion yen or 10 billion dollars, to help Iran improve its medical services.
3. People opposing nuclear power in Taiwan have held a rally in the capital Taipei to mark the 5th anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake that caused a nuclear disaster in Japan.
March 14, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara
1. Turkish authorities say a large explosion in the center of the capital Ankara has left at least 34 people dead.
2. Gunmen have attacked beachgoers outside resort hotels in Grand-Bassam, Cote d’voire, killing at least 16 people.
3. An anti-immigrant political party has won strong support from voters in Germany’s regional elections.
March 15, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. North Korea says it has conducted a successful simulation of a ballistic missile’s re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.
2. A U.N. human rights investigator says the North Korean leadership should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria.
March 16, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. A Japanese district court is to rule on whether the central government failed to protect its citizens during a fierce battle in Okinawa 71 years ago.
2. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has won three out of five states that held presidential primaries on Tuesday.
3. Syrian opposition negotiators have submitted a document outlining their ideas about a new administrative organization to the U.N. envoy to Syria.
March 17, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japanese officials have submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Human Rights Council, calling for the prosecution of the North Korean leadership for its violation of human rights.
2. Japan’s Foreign Ministry is preparing for the possibility of Republican candidate Donald Trump becoming the next U.S. president.
3. A team of researchers says they have succeeded in recovering lost memories in mice with Alzheimer’s diseases by using light to stimulate brain cells.
March 18, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says North Korea fired 2 missiles on Friday morning, with one of them flying about 800 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan.
2. A former Japanese Foreign Ministry official will head the United Nations assistance mission in Afghanistan.
3. Officials at the Tokyo Stock Exchange say the net values of shares sold by foreign investors on main Japanese bourses last week hit a record high.
March 19, Saturday, 2016 (2: 00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. A Flydubai passenger jet from the United Arab Emirates has crashed in southern Russia, killing all 61 people on board.
2. The U.N. Security Council has issued a statement that strongly condemns North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches.
3. Japan’s Self-Defense Force personnel are on high alert following a government order to shoot down all incoming ballistic missiles.
March 20, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Turkish media say a man linked to the Islamic State militant group may have triggered the deadly explosion in Istanbul on Saturday.
2. A group monitoring the civil war in Syria says massive airstrikes in Raqqa have killed at least 55 citizens, including 13 children.
3. The foreign ministers of Japan and Italy have agreed the 2 countries will cooperate to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile development.
March 21, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Leaders of Japan, the United States and South Korea plan to discuss North Korea later this month.
2. The Japanese and French foreign ministers have met in Paris to discuss the upcoming Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Cuba, starting a 3-day visit to the country on Sunday.
March 22, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has attended a state dinner hosted by the Cuban president and a series of other events.
2. The U.S. Department of Defense has condemned North Korea for launching on Monday 5 short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.
3. Japan’s new national security laws will take effect on March 29th.
March 23, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Belgian authorities say they have found an explosive device at the airport hit by the deadly bomb attacks.
2. Turkish security authorities have detained at least 13 people, including some with possible links to the Islamic State militant group.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has called on Cuban leader Raul Castro to promote democracy in the Caribbean nation.
March 24, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Sarah McDonald
1. The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted another resolution calling for the prosecution of North Korea’s leadership for human rights violations.
2. Belgian authorities have identified two brothers as the suspected suicide bombers in attacks in and near Brussels.
3. Child abuse reports in Japan have hit a record high.
March 25, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. Shikoku Electric Power Company has decided to decommission an aging nuclear reactor at its Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, citing huge maintenance costs.
2. Japanese researchers have begun testing a huge telescope to detect and observe gravitational waves.
3. Belgian investigative authorities have detained 6 people in a large-scale manhunt as part of the probe into Tuesday’s deadly bombings.
March 26. Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s hosting of a G7 summit meeting is 2 months away. The government is working to press member countries for coordinated fiscal steps to stabilize the global economy.
2. Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says his country plans to set up a new naval base in what Russia calls the Kuril Islands. The area includes 4 islands claimed by Japan.
3. An explosion at a soccer stadium in central Iraq has killed at least 26 people. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
March 27, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says the government will appoint foreign youth advocates for international nuclear disarmament.
2. Taiwan’s Nationalist Party elected a pro-China woman its new leader.
March 28, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara
1. Syrian authorities say they will start restoration work on the ancient city of Palmyra, now that government forces have recaptured the city from Islamic State militants.
2. Japanese police have detained a 23-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped a girl two years ago.
3. Sumo Grand Champion Hakuho has won a record-extending 36th Emperor’s Cup on Sunday.
March 29, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japan’s new national security laws have now come into effect 6 months after being enacted last September.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea in Washington to discuss North Korean issues.
3. Authorities in Belgium have released a man they had detained in connection with last week’s airport and subway bombings.
March 30, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Ms. Yuma Matsumoto
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will leave for Washington on Wednesday for the Nuclear Security Summit.
2. A British military intelligence institute says China appears to have deployed anti-ship cruise missiles on one of the contested Paracel islands in the South China Sea.
3. Japanese electronics maker Sharp and Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry are about to decide on Hon Hai’s takeover of the troubled firm.
March 31, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Leaders from more than 50 countries are gathering in Washington for the Nuclear Security summit that begins Thursday.
2. Defense analysis institute HIS Jane’s says North Korea’s nuclear missile development appears to be more advanced than previously reported.
3. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have begun freezing soil around reactor buildings.