May 1, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Seismic activity continues in Japan’s southwestern region of Kyushu after 2 powerful earthquakes shook the area more than 2 weeks ago.
2. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Tokyo on Sunday for a series of visits to 5 European countries.
3. The Group of 7 ministers in charge of energy policies will meet in Japan to discuss ways to ensure a stable supply of energy.
May 2, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. NHK has learned that one quarter of those who died in the earthquakes that hit Japan’s southwest last month had already returned home from shelters before the primary tremor.
2. The mayor of Hiroshima has appealed for a legal framework to ban nuclear weapons as a United Nations’ working group on the issue begins a meeting in Geneva.
2. People in the Philippines have one week to go before choosing the successor to outgoing President Benigno Aquino.
May 3, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The leaders of Japan and France have agreed to announce a counterterrorism action plan during the upcoming G7 summit.
2. A United Nations working group is holding talks on a legal framework to ban nuclear weapons.
3. Seismic activity is continuing in Japan’s southwestern region of Kyushu more than 2 weeks after 2 powerful earthquakes shook the area.
May 4, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s prime minister and the leaders of the European Union have agreed to speed up negotiations on bilateral partnership accords.
2. Finance ministers and central bank governors from Japan, China, South Korea and ASEAN countries have agreed on the need to downsize risks to global economic development.
3. The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military has indicated that he will help promote democracy under the new civilian government.
May 5, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The leaders of Japan and Germany have agreed to issue a clear message at the Group of Seven Summit later this month on sustainable growth of the global economy.
2. Finance Minister Taro Aso has reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting infrastructure development in Asia.
3. Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have called on the international community for cooperation in bringing back the abductees.
May 6, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sarah McDonald and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party is believed to have begun its first congress in 36 years.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the Group of 7 nations should jointly underscore the need for monetary and fiscal stimulus at their upcoming summit.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin will invite Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to an international economic forum in the Russian Far East in September.
May 7, Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The Japanese and Russian leaders have agreed to renew efforts to resolve a longstanding territorial problem and sign a peace treaty.
2. North Korea’s Workers’ Party congress is believed to have begun a second day of meetings. The country’s leader Kim Jong Un is expected to deliver a speech as he did on the opening day.
3. People in southwestern Japan remain on edge three weeks after two powerful earthquakes struck the area.
May 8, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country will strive to make the world free of nuclear weapons. It is the first time since he has referred to denuclearization since he came to power.
2. All elementary and junior high schools in a town hit hardest by the recent earthquakes in southwestern Japan will resume classes next week.
3. Japan’s prime minister has concluded his week-long tour of Europe and Russia.
May 9, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party is expected to decide on leadership changes and amendment to the party rules at its first congress in 36 years.
2. Some schools in disaster-hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan are resuming classes this week after powerful earthquakes struck the region last month.
3. Former fishermen working near the Bikini Attol in the Pacific Ocearn at the time of the U.S. hydrogen bomb test more than 60 years ago filed a damages suit against the Japanese government.
May 10, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. A group of international journalists has published the names of companies and individuals behind more than 200,000 offshore accounts in the Panama Papers.
2. North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party on Monday ended its Congress, the first in 36 years.
3. Rodrigo Duterte is expected to win the presidential election in the Philippines and succeed President Benigno Aquino.
May 11, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The Japanese government and the White House have announced that U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima in late May.
2. North Korea’s ruling party has revised its rules and made clear the country will simultaneously pursue nuclear and economic development
3. A recently-released database shows that the names listed in the Panama Papers as owners of offshore companies include those believed to be Japanese.
May 12, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Nissan Motor is making final arrangements with scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors to provide over 1.8 billion dollars to become the top shareholder in the ailing firm.
2. A White House spokesperson says President Barack Obama may send a message, instead of making a speech, when he visits Hiroshima later this month.
3. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans a 7.2-billion-dollar extra budget to help people and businesses affected by last month’s earthquake in southwestern Japan.
May 13, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Mariko Kojima and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. NHK has learned that Japan, Australia and the Netherlands will join a group led by the United States and Russia to achieve peace in Syria.
2. Japan’s Transport Ministry has launched an on-site investigation at the head office of Mitsubishi Motors in connection with its rigging on fuel consumption data.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama will mention the importance of Japan-U.S. relations when he visits Hiroshima later this month.
May 14, Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. One month after the first powerful earthquake hit Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan, more than 10,000 people are staying outside their homes.
2. NHK has learned that a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has cancelled a plan to visit Hiroshima. Instead, the upper house speaker is studying a visit later this year.
3. The U.S. Defense Department says China could step up its territorial claims in the East China and South China Seas and take action that may further raise tensions.
May 15, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Researchers have discovered that a specific type of seismic movement occurred in the Magnitude 7.3 earthquake that hit Kumamoto in April.
2. Environment ministers from the Group of 7 nations have started a 2-day meeting in Japan. The agenda includes climate change and resource recycling.
3. Education ministers from the Group of Seven countries have adopted a joint declaration saying they will cooperate in training educators who can teach from a global perspective.
May 16, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. A month has passed since the second major earthquake in southwestern Japan that killed 40 people.
2. A senior White House official has stressed that the U.S. president’s visit to Hiroshima will not lead to a renewed discussion on the rights or wrongs of the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.
3. The United Nations Environment Programme is calling on the Group of 7 countries to take the initiative to make more effective use fossil fuels and other resources.
May 17, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. People in Ecuador are struggling to rebuild one month after a massive earthquake hit the south American country.
2. U.S. government officials say they will urge other Group of 7 countries not to engage in competitive currency devaluation.
3. World powers have agreed to try to lift a U.N. arms embargo on Libya to make it easier for the country’s unity government to fight the Islamic State militant group.
May 18, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. Japan’s Cabinet Office says the GDP figures for the three months from January to March were up by 0.4 percent in real terms from the previous quarter.
2. A senior White House official says President Barack Obama is expected to offer his personal reflections after visiting Hiroshima later this month.
3. Leaders of the Group of 7 nations are expected to agree to promote unrestricted Internet communications and step up countermeasures against cyber-attacks.
May 19, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A senior White House official says U.S. veterans who fought Japan in World War II are among those who support the U.S. president’s visit to Hiroshima.
2. Scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors has announced its president will step down.
3. Japan’s prime minister has pledged financial aid to Ghana to help improve medical research in the country.
May 20, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. A senior U.S. official says President Barack Obama is likely to make remarks on the many lives lost during World War II when he visits the atomic bombed city of Hiroshima.
2. Police in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa have arrested a male civilian who works for the U.S. military there on suspicion of abandoning the body of a woman.
3. Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors are to begin discussions on the world economy on Friday in Sendai City, northern Japan.
May 21, Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. President Barack Obama is expected to recognize the United States’ responsibility as the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons when he visits Hiroshima later this month.
2. The leaders of the Group of 7 nations are expected to pledge to lead international efforts to fight corruption.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his readiness for dialogue with Japan, including discussions on a territorial issue and a peace treaty.
May 22, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. U.S. President Barack Obama is on his way to Vietnam and Japan. He will attend the G7 summit talks in the Japanese region of Ise-Shima and make a historic visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima.
2. President Barack Obama gave NHK an exclusive interview ahead of his arrival in Japan. He outlined his wish for a world without nuclear weapons and discussed the horrors of war.
3. Taiwan’s new government will change some high school teaching guidelines that have been criticized for resulting in China-oriented textbooks.
May 23, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara
1. Japan’s prime minister says he hopes the upcoming summit of the Group of 7 industrialized nations in Japan will send a strong message to underscore the group’s unity and leadership before China chairs the G20 summit in September.
2. An atomic bomb survivor in Hiroshima says he wants the U.S. president to tell the world what he feels on his visit there.
3. Leaders from around the world will attend the first U.N.-backed summit on how to respond to humanitarian crises stemming from conflicts and natural disasters.
May 24, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Activists and scholars in the United States are urging President Barack Obama to meet with atomic bomb survivors and apologize when he visits Hiroshima on Friday.
2. Leaders of the Group of Seven countries are expected to emphasize the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in their upcoming joint declaration.
3. At the U.N. humanitarian summit in Turkey, delegates have agreed that there needs to be more cooperation to help Syrian refugees.
May 25, Wednesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Emma Howard
1. World leaders are making their way to Japan for the G7 Ise-Shima Summit.
2. Indonesia has reportedly decided to work with Japan to construct a new port east of Jakarta.
3. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he will urge the Group of Seven nations to exert stronger leadership to resolve humanitarian crises.
May 26, Thursday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed his guests at Ise Shrine on Thursday morning at the opening of the Group of Seven summit.
2. A draft statement for the Group of 7 Summit expressed the leaders’ concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas, apparently based on China’s construction of outposts in the South China Sea.
3. The prime ministers of Britain and Japan have confirmed the importance of wide-ranging trade agreement to boost global economic growth.
May 27, Friday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Mariko Kojima and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The leaders of the Group of 7 nations have released a joint declaration on the final day of the Ise-Shima summit.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive in Hiroshima on Friday.
3. The U.S. military in Okinawa has decided to impose a curfew and other restrictions on its personnel following the arrest of an American civilian base worker.
May 28, Saturday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has delivered a speech in Hiroshima, which suffered a U.S. atomic bombing in 1945. He said Hiroshima should be the start of people’s moral awakening.
2. Italian rescue crews have recovered the bodies of 45 people from the Mediterranean Sea after a boat carrying migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa capsized.
3. Japan’s Transport Ministry says car makers across the country will recall an additional 7 million vehicles that have defective airbags made by Japanese auto-parts maker Takata.
May 29, Sunday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking a consensus within his government and ruling coalition over his proposal to postpone the scheduled consumption tax hike.
2. Experts investigating the jet engine’s fire during takeoff from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport say the turbines were badly damaged.
3. The prime ministers of Japan and Vietnam have agreed to step up defense cooperation between the 2 countries.
May 30, Monday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The leaders of the 4 opposition parties in Japan are hoping to jointly submit a non-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
2. Japan’s foreign minister has stressed that the government will strive to build international momentum for nuclear disarmament.
3. The U.N. refuges agency says more than 700 refugees and migrants from Africa and elsewhere remain missing in the Mediterrranean Sea after a series of shipwrecks
May 31, Tuesday, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe