Daily English News
September
September 30, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Japanese government has announced it will lift an evacuation advisory for areas outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
2. Japan’s government ministries are expected to request a total budget of 99 trillion yen, or more than 1.2 trillion dollars for the next fiscal year that begins April 1st.
3. Japan’s unemployment rate improved in August for the first time in three months.
September 29, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says that high densities of hydrogen have built up in pipes connected to the No.1 reactor.
2. In Shanghai, concerns are rising following the hasty resumption of a subway service after a collision on Tuesday.
3. The U.N. Security Council has decided to formally assess a Palestinian request for U.N. membership, starting on Friday.
September 28, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A government panel says Tokyo Electric Power Company was unprepared for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and failed to take steps to minimize the damage.
2. Japan is stepping up cooperation with the Philippines and other Asian countries to establish common rules in business and other fields.
3. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he will increase his country’s defense spending to replace more than one third of its arsenal with the most advanced equipment in four years.
September 27, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Japanese government plans to push for a resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
2. Fukushima City, about 60 kilometers from the crippled Daiichi nuclear power plant, plans to remove radioactive materials from all private houses in the city.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has urged European leaders to speed up efforts to deal with the region’s debt crisis.
September 26, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Defense Ministry has received official specifications and prices on fighter jets from U.S. and European military aircraft makers competing to provide Japan’s next mainstay fighter aircraft.
2. A key index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange briefly dropped below this year’s closing low on Monday morning.
3. Japan’s nuclear safety agency has instructed the operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to check if hydrogen is building up in its No.2 and 3 reactors.
September 25, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan and South Korea have agreed to increase efforts for concrete action by North Korea toward denuclearization.
2. A senior official of Libya’s National Transitional Council has appealed for international support for rebuilding the country at the U.N. General Assembly.
3. The International Monetary Fund says the global economy has entered a dangerous phase, and has urged European nations to take whatever actions are necessary to tackle their debt problems.
September 24, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has applied for full membership of the United Nations.
2. Middle East peace mediators have called on Israel and Palestine to resume peace talks to reach a deal by the end of next year.
3. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. He has expressed his resolve to rebuild and revive Japan from the devastating earthquake and tsunami.
September 23, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised that Japan will raise the safety of its nuclear power plants to the highest level in the world.
2. The Group of 20 emerging and developing economies has released an emergence communiqué, saying that it will take “all necessary actions” to preserve the stability of global financial markets.
3. The United States has reopened its embassy in Tripoli, one month after Muammar al-Qadhafi was driven from power in Libya.
September 22, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed to further develop the two countries’ alliance.
2. In New York, U.S. President Barack Obama was making efforts to mediate between Israel and Palestine as Palestinian bid for U.N. membership tops the agenda at the General Assembly.
3. The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to sell 400 billion dollars in short-term securities to buy long-term ones as part of efforts to boost the country’s economy.
September 21, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. A very strong typhoon is approaching central Japan, bringing torrential downpours and increasing risks of mudslides and river flooding.
2. Tokyo Electric Power Company will cut its workforce by about 10 percent in the face of ballooning costs over the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
3. The governor of Okinawa and a group of influential U.S. senators have agreed that Japan and the United States must come up with an alternative to the current plan for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.
September 20, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Yuriko Yamada
1. Japan’s cabinet minister in charge of the nuclear disaster has asked the United States and France for help in scrapping the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
2. Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to proceed with the relocation of a U.S. air base in Okinawa Prefecture, based on a bilateral accord.
3. U.S. credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Italy’s sovereign debt b one notch on concerns that the government’s austerity program could weaken economic growth.
September 19, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Yuriko Yamada
1. The U.N. nuclear agency is due to adopt an action plan aimed at stepping up safety at nuclear power plants around the globe by conducting regular inspections.
2. German industrial and engineering giant Siemens is withdrawing from the nuclear industry following the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power generation.
3. Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has left for New York to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attend a U.N. nuclear safety meeting.
September 18, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will express his resolve to rebuild areas damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, during his first trip abroad as the country’s new leader.
2. Libya’s National Transitional Council announced that an interim government will be launched on Sunday.
3. The Japanese government is considering deploying a Ground Self-Defense Force engineering unit to South Sudan to help improve infrastructure.
September 17, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution setting up an international mission to support Libya’s new reconstruction efforts.
2. Syria’s security troops have attacked districts where many residents take part in anti-government demonstrations at Friday prayers. Thirty-eight people were reportedly killed in two days of the operation.
3. Leading Japanese pop group SMAP has enthralled more than 20,000 Chinese fans in a long-awaited concert in Beijing.
September 16, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. NHK has learned that South Korea is ready to accept the nine defectors from the North found in a boat off the Japanese coast.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will meet with South Korean Lee Myung-bak in New York on September 21st to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and abduction issues.
3. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has urged Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to fully explain what took place after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and what measures will be taken.
September 15, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has condemned North Korea for posing a threat through nuclear proliferation.
2. In a message to the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stressed Japan will contribute to the international community despite the March 11th disaster.
3. The head of the World Bank has warned that the global economy will reach a dangerous level unless industrialized countries take swift action to fix their economic problems.
September 14, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A group of North Korean defectors was found on a small boat in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday. The group’s leader reportedly says he is a fisherman who raises money for the North Korean military.
2. A senior U.S. defense official says he is open to the idea of integrating the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa with another base on the island.
3. The Asian Development Bank has downgraded its economic growth forecast for the Asian-Pacific region for 2011.
September 13, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Authorities in France say radiation levels around the nuclear waste proceeding facility where an explosion occurred are normal.
2. In Kenya, a massive fire caused by a gasoline spill has reportedly killed more than 100 people in a slum in the capital Nairobi.
3. The U.S. State Department says the government of Niger is transferring to its capital the third son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi.
September 12, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
1. A memorial ceremony was held at the site of the World Trade Center in New York on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on Sunday.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda picks former chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano as the country’s new Economy, Trade and Industry Minister on Monday.
3. Heightened credit concerns in Europe send the euro tumbling to a ten-year low against the yen on the Sydney Foreign Exchange Market on Monday.
September 11, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Sunday marks half a year since the major earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.
2. Six months after the nuclear accident in Fukushima efforts are still underway to bring the crippled reactors under control.
3. The United States will observe the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on Sunday.
September 10, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven nations have confirmed their commitment to coordinate policies to try to restore stability in the global financial markets.
2. In Egypt, protestors broke into Israel’s embassy in Cairo in anger over the death of Egyptian border patrol guards allegedly at the hands of Israeli forces.
3. The international police organization, Interpol, has issued arrest warrants for Libya’s ousted leader Muammar al-Qadhafi, one of his sons and the country’s former head of military intelligence.
September 9, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has unveiled an economic stimulus package worth 447 billion dollars in a bid to boost employment.
2. The Japanese economy shrank more than previously estimated in the April-June period.
3. Japan is ending its mandatory power saving requirement for heavy users on Friday.
September 8, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has visited the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since taking office last week.
2. A Russian chartered plane carrying a top ice hockey team has crashed just after takeoff in western Russia, killing 43 people and leaving two others injured.
3. The new policy chief of Japan’s governing Democratic Party has called for a review of Japan’s ban on weapons exports.
September 7, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. Tropical storm Talas has left 50 people dead and 55 missing, mainly in western Japan.
2. Japanese business leaders have agreed with the Chinese vice premier to boost cooperation between firms of the two countries.
3. South Korea is to ask China and other nations to exercise restraint in investing Mount Kumgang tourism project.
September 6, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. Tropical storm Talas has left 39 people dead and 55 missing, mainly in western Japan.
2. Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is hoping to establish a solid national security system under his administration.
3. The head of ousted Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi’s forces has defected to neighboring Niger.
September 5, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Asumi Ukon
1. Torrential rain brought by tropical storm Talas has triggered mudslides and floods across western Japan.
2. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Cabinet is getting down to business on Monday, three days after its inauguration.
3. Iran says its first nuclear power plant is now up and running.
September 4, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Tropical storm Talas, which hit western Japan, has left 10 people dead and 26 others missing.
2. One of the reactors at a nuclear power plant in western Japan has been shut down for regular inspections. About 80 percent of the country’s nuclear reactors are now out of operation.
3. The office of Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says it will investigate alleged political donations from foreign nationals.
September 3, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, says he wants to quickly compile the third supplementary budget for the current fiscal year in order to rebuild areas that were hit by the earthquake and tsunami in March.
2. One of the reactors at a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan is due to be halted for regular inspections on Sunday. With the planned shutdown of this and five other facilities, nearly 90 percent of the country’s nuclear reactors will be offline ahead of winter.
3. Syrian security forces fired on anti-government demonstrators in Damascus and other cities on Friday, killing 18.
September 2, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Mr. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has formed his cabinet.
2. Libya’s new interim rulers have extended the deadline for ousted leader Muammar al-Qadhafi’s loyalist forces to surrender until September 10th.
3. The Japanese government has released the results of detailed radiation measurements in evacuation zones around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
September 1, 2011 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. Earthquake drills are being held across Japan on Thursday to mark the 88th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
2. In-coming Japanese leader Yoshihiko Noda will launch his new cabinet as early as Friday.
3. The presidents of China and the Philippines have agreed that they will settle their territorial disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means.