June 1, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged a new aid package worth about 32 billion dollars for African countries.
2. Russian aircraft maker MiG says it will provide more than 10 MiG-29 fighter jets to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
3. India has been hit by severe heat waves over the last two months. More than 500 people have died in a southern state due mainly to heat stroke.
June 2, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s prime minister has pledged to invest one billion dollars for strengthening social systems and security in nations in the conflict-stricken Sahel region in Africa.
2. African countries have sought Japan’s assistance in their efforts to deal with climate change, at a symposium held to discuss the issue.
3. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera says he was able to share concerns with U.S. and Australian counterparts regarding China’s increasing maritime activities.
June 3, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, has closed with a declaration for promoting foreign investment in Africa.
2. South Korea’s government may issue an order for electricity austerity this summer, including a ban on the use of air-conditioning in public places.
3. A group of evacuees from the nuclear accident in Fukushima has won a compensation settlement decision from a state-backed arbitration body.
June 4, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. The dollar tumbled to the 98 yen level at one point overnight in New York on Monday, for the first time in about a month.
2. Japan’s government is already considering a draft budget for fiscal 2014. The aim is to boost demand and technological innovation.
3. Tuesday marks the 24th anniversary of China’s military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
June 5, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. Japan’s soccer squad has won its 5th straight ticket to the World Cup final.
2. The Chinese government has unveiled new policies to attract foreign investment ahead of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama.
3. The latest report by an independent U.N. commission of inquiry on Syria points to the use of chemical weapons in the country this year.
June 6, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
1. The Japanese government plans to swiftly prepare laws and measures necessary for realizing its growth strategies.
2. Turkish leaders are struggling to end anti-government demonstrations that are spreading across the country.
3. A former Beijing mayor who was allegedly involved in the 1989 Tienanmen Square crackdown has died.
June 7, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
1.The U.S. dollar briefly fell to the 95 yen level in New York on Thursday.
2.Officials from North and South Korea are expected to hold working-level talks as early as Sunday.
3.U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to start a two-day summit in California on Friday.
June 8, Saturday, 2013(2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have begun two days of talks in the U.S. state of California.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Francois Hollande have agreed to cooperate on the development of defense equipment and the export of nuclear power technology.
3. In the state of California, a gunman has gone on a rampage on the street, and on a college campus, killing four people. The suspect was shot dead by police.
June 9, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to de-escalate a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea.
2. French President Francois Hollande has emphasized strengthening a partnership with Japan on anti-terrorism efforts and nuclear development.
3. North and South Korea have begun working-level talks in the true village of Panmunjom. It is the first official inter-Korean dialogue in about two years.
June 10, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
1. North and South Korean delegates have agreed to hold non-ministerial government-level talks in Seoul this week.
2. Japan’s government wants to hold a summit of Japanese and U.S. leaders in Britain next week to coordinate their policies on China.
3. The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization suggests the construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor is nearly finished.
June 11, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan’s prime minister has decided to send supplies to Syria’s opposition forces.
2. The Turkish prime minister is expected to meet with representatives of ongoing anti-government demonstrations.
3. Chinese space officials say they will launch a manned space flight on Tuesday evening.
June 12, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A U.N. organization says more civilians are being killed in Afghanistan, particularly children.
2. Turkish police and anti-government protesters clashed again in Istanbul on Tuesday night.
3. North Korea says it is still open to dialogue with South Korea after talks planned for Wednesday in Seoul were suddenly cancelled.
June 13, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Share prices fell across the board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday morning, following a negative performance in New York.
2. The Turkish prime minister appears to have offered an olive branch to angry protesters, but there is no end in sight to anti-government rallies.
3. Researchers have found that fish close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant absorbed a large amount of radioactive material immediately after the March 2011 accident.
June 14, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The U.S. government has concluded that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in the country’s civil war.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama urged Chinese President Xi Jinping in their recent meeting to ease tensions with Japan over the Senkaku Islands.
3. Defense officials from Japan and the United States have agreed that the U.S. will return a U.S. military camp housing area in Okinawa as early as December.
June 15, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The European Union has approved the start of talks for free trade agreements with the United States. If completed, two blocs would create an ambitious free trade zone, accounting for a third of all global trade.
2. Iran’s Interior Ministry says reformist candidate Hassan Rohani is leading the vote in the nation’s presidential election.
3. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is leaving for Northern Ireland in Britain to attend the Group of Eight summit there.
June 16, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Keiko Kitagawa and Mr. David Crystal
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now on a tour of Europe. He will join the leaders of four Eastern European countries on Sunday for a summit meeting.
2. In Iran, Hassan Rohani has won Friday’s presidential election, with a wide lead over hard-line conservative candidates.
3. North Korea has proposed unconditional high-level talks with the United States to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula.
June 17, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. The Group of Eight summit will start on Monday in Northern Ireland.
2. Turkish police have again clashed with thousands of anti-government demonstrators.
3. Iran’s president-elect Hassan Rouhani met on Sunday with the hard-line conservative Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament, to ask for his cooperation in the future management of the national politics.
June 18, Tuesday, 2013(2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. The Group of Eight leaders have indicated they are supporters of the economic policies of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
2. U.S. and E.U. leaders say they will start negotiations for a free trade agreement.
3. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to accelerate talks over four disputed islands.
June 19, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. The Group of Eight leaders have wrapped up their summit with a renewed pledge for joint efforts to achieve a global economic recovery.
2. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority decided a set of new and stricter safety guidelines for nuclear power plants on Wednesday.
3. Japan’s trade balance in May showed a deficit for the 11th straight month.
June 20, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
1. U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for further reductions to U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapon stockpiles.
2. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Fed may scale back monetary easing in the latter half of the year if the job market continues to improve.
3. A senior North Korean official says his country is ready to restart discussions over the nuclear program.
June 21, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Stock prices in Tokyo plunged on Friday morning, following a drop in New York’s stock prices the day before.
2. A growing number of demonstrators are continuing protests in Brazil to oppose the large sums of money the government is spending to host next year’s soccer World Cup.
3. Senior officials from Japanese and Russian foreign ministries have agreed to immediately arrange a schedule for vice-ministerial talks.
June 22, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is likely to recognize Japan’s Mt. Fuji as a World Heritage site.
2. Researchers have reported infection clusters of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. A total of 64 cases have been confirmed in the Middle East and Europe, with 38 deaths so far.
3. Heavy monsoon rains have triggered massive flooding and landslides in northern India, killing more than 500 people.
June 23, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa is observing the 68th anniversary of the end of ground battles in the closing days of World War II.
2. Voters in Tokyo are going to the polls in the metropolitan assembly election on Sunday.
3. The United States is urging Hong Kong to swiftly extradite a former national security agency contractor who faces charges of leaking secret information.
June 24, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. In Sunday’s Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party won 82 seats, giving them a majority.
2. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is in a critical condition with a lung infection.
3. A former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, accused of exposing the details of a covert national surveillance program, is seeking asylum in Ecuador in South America.
June 25, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The U.N. Security Council has released a report accusing North Korea of persistently violating U.N. sanctions to further its nuclear and missile programs.
2. Japanese and Filipino officials have agreed to stand together against any unilateral expression of force that threatens the status quo in the East and South China Sea.
3. The governments of Japan and South Korea have decided not to extend a currency swap agreement that expires next month.
June 26, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The final destination of former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden remains unclear, with Venezuela emerging as a possible candidate.
2. The International Olympic Committee has released the evaluation reports on three cities bidding to host the 2020 Summer Games.
3. China’s central bank says it has pumped money into markets to ensure that financial institutions can secure enough funds.
June 27, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s political parties are gearing up for the Upper House election next month, now that the Diet session has closed.
2. The Japanese government and the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will officially endorse a renewed roadmap for dismantling its crippled reactors later on Thursday.
3. Australia has demanded in a U.N. court that Japan immediately stop whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.
June 28, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The leaders of South Korea and China have agreed to seek a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue.
2. Japanese police have started publishing personal information online of more than 800 missing people who may have been abducted by North Korea.
3. Egypt’s military has deployed troops to prepare for violence during protests planned to force President Mohamed Morsi out of office.
June 29, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Asian foreign ministers will hold a series of meetings over four days beginning on Saturday in Brunei.
2. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has reiterated her resolve to strengthen cooperation with China.
3. Supporters and opponents of Egypt’s President Morsi have staged protests across the country. Clashes have left at least 4 people dead and more than 480 wounded.
June 30, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi are staging demonstrations across the country to mark the first anniversary of his presidency.
2. Southeast Asian countries will discuss with China about making legally binding rules for peaceful settlement of territorial issues in the South China Sea.
3. Personnel from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have withdrawn missile interceptors from central Tokyo.