September 1, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has begun persuading members of Congress to support military action against Syria.
2. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has detected extremely high levels of radiation on some of its storage tanks.
3. Earthquake drills are being held across Japan on Sunday. More than 1.3 million people are expected to take part in various exercises throughout the day.
September 2, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
1. The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama is trying to win Congressional support for a limited attack on Syria for the alleged use of chemical weapons.
2. The operator of a nuclear plant on the Sea of Japan will begin suspending operations of one of the country’s two online reactors for a regular inspection on Monday.
3. Fans of Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki are regretting his decision to retire from making feature films.
September 3, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The Japanese government has decided to spend public funds to deal with the massive buildup of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
2. In telephone talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the use of chemical weapons in Syria cannot be tolerated.
3. Japanese analysts expect the government to raise its estimated Gross Domestic Product for the April to June quarter.
September 4, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has left Tokyo to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Russia.
2. U.S. senators have discussed President Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria.
3. Philippine officials say China appears to be building a concrete structure on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
September 5, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Debate continues in U.S. Congress over President Barack Obama’s proposed military action on Syria.
2. Members of Tokyo’s Olympic bid committee have been questioned by journalists about contaminated water leaking from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.
3. Japan’s top court has ruled that children born out of wedlock have equal rights to inherit from their parents.
September 6, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a defense of his economic policy at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking the support of other G20 leaders for possible military action against the Syrian government.
3. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to security talks in Tokyo.
September 7, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The Group of 20 leaders have confirmed that changes in monetary policy should not be allowed to trigger excessive fluctuations in financial markets.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has underscored his opposition to military action against Syria and says many Group of 20 leaders sided with Russia’s stance.
3. The International Olympic Committee has held a ceremony on the eve of its general assembly that decides on the host city of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
September 8, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Tokyo has been selected to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralimpics. This will be the second time for the Japanese capital to host the games.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama has called on the American people to support him in launching military action in Syria, saying it is not a decision he made lightly.
3. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he will take the initiative in talks with Western nations over the country’s nuclear development program.
September 9, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitagai
1. U.S. President Barack Obama is gearing up to persuade Congress to approve military action against Syria in response to its alleged use of chemical weapons.
2. Former Japanese foreign minister Masahiko Koumura has conveyed a message from the U.S. government to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
3. Wrestling has won the last remaining slot on the list of 28 sports to be played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
September 10, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Mick Corliss
1.U.S. President Barack Obama has welcomed Russia’s proposal urging the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to abandon its chemical weapons.
2.The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has recorded another spike in the level of radioactive substances in groundwater.
3.Turkish police are searching for a car that reportedly sped away from a site where two Japanese tourists were stabbed with a knife in Cappadocia, central Turkey.
September 11, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Americans to support a military strike against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
2. Syria’s prime minister has reportedly accepted a Russian proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.
3. More than 215,000 people are still in temporary housing in three Japanese prefectures 2-and-a-half years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
September 12, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Patrick Devolpi and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Russia has presented the United States with a plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile under international control.
2. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it has found rising tritium levels at a monitoring well near a wastewater storage tank.
3. The Japanese government will make road signs more understandable for foreign tourists ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
September 13, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
1. Top diplomats from the United States and Russia have ended their first day of talks on a Russian proposal to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.
2. The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says some of the water used to decontaminate a drainage ditch may have reached the sea near the plant.
3. The Japanese government is coordinating a new economic package of about 50 billion dollars to secure growth by offsetting the impact of a planned consumption tax increase next April.
September 14, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will continue their talks on Saturday on the plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.
2. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has under-reported the density of radioactive cesium in the seawater near the plant. An erroneous measuring method is being blamed for the discrepancy.
September 15, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. The U.S. and Russia have reached an agreement on a framework for eliminating all chemical weapons held by Syria.
2. The only nuclear reactor in Japan that is generating power will go offline soon for regular inspections.
3. Japan’s science and technology minister will brief the IAEA on the current situation of contaminated water accumulating at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
September 16, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A large tropical storm is moving across Japan, bringing heavy rain to the Kanto and Tohoku regions.
2. The only nuclear reactor in Japan that was generating electricity was halted on early Monday morning.
3. French President Francois Hollande is seeking a U.N. resolution for Syria to abandon its chemical weapons.
September 17, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has submitted to the Security Council an investigators’ report confirming chemical-weapon usage in Syria.
2. Japan’s science and technology policy minister has pledged strong leadership to deal with the leakage of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
3. The defense ministers of Japan and Vietnam have agreed to boost security cooperation amid concern over China’s growing maritime activity.
September 18, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The U.N. General Assembly has opened, with new development goals and Syria high on the agenda.
2. U.N. investigators say systematic and gross human rights violations are taking place in North Korea.
3. France and Russia remain apart on whether a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria should include military action as an option.
September 19, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The U.S. Federal Reserve says it will retain its stimulus measures for the time being.
2. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has praised Moscow’s efforts at averting a U.S. military strike against his country.
3. The people in charge of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say they have found cracks in a steel framework that supports an unused ventilation pipe.
September 20, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A rebel group affiliated with Al Qaeda has overrun a northern Syrian town following heavy clashes with Western-backed opposition forces.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to accomplish a plan to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons.
3. Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani has urged leaders of Western nations to engage in dialogue with him.
September 21, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing to give the green light to a consumption tax increase.
2.The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has sent reports on its chemical weapons program to an international watchdog.
3.The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says radioactive water may have leaked from a storage tank whose pivot bolts used for the joints of steel sheets had become loose.
September 22, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Armed militants in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have reportedly killed at least 39 people, including four foreigners. They stormed a shopping mall at around noon on Saturday.
2. Two car bombs have killed more than 60 people in a northeastern Shia district, in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
3. Pakistani authorities have compiled with a request from Afghanistan to release from jail a former Taliban second-in-command.
September 23, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Paradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Operations are underway in Kenya to rescue the hostages still held by armed militants at a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi.
2. A pair of suicide bombers have detonated their explosives during Mass at a historic church in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 77 people.
3. More than a thousand people have taken to the streets of Tokyo to show their opposition to hate speech against racial and ethnic groups.
September 24, Tuesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Mick Corliss
1. World leaders are expected to discuss the crisis in Syria when they meet at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she has contacted the leader of the largest opposition party to try to form a grand coalition.
3. Foreign ministers from Iran and 6 major nations will meet on Thursday to discuss resuming stalled negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
September 25, Wednesday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Francois Hollande have agreed to pursue a U.N. Security Council resolution that ensures Syria hands over its chemical weapons.
2. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that Iran is seeking to improve ties with the U.S. and other countries.
3. A powerful earthquake hit Pakistan on Tuesday. Local authorities say at least 70 people
were killed and a hundred were injured.
September26, Thursday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Patrick Devolpi and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan should review the interpretation of its pacifist Constitution in order to contribute more to global peace.
2. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it may have identified the cause of a highly radioactive water leak from a storage tank in August.
3. Officials in southern Pakistan say a powerful earthquake has killed more than 300 people.
September 27, Friday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The United States, Russia and three other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have agreed on a draft resolution, demanding that Syria eliminate its chemical weapons.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged additional humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees and to help realize a society that empowers women.
3. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has resumed test-runs of its filtration equipment to decontaminate radioactive wastewater.
September 28, Saturday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. A resolution demanding Syria eliminate its chemical weapons has been unanimously adopted at the U.N. Security Council.
2. U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani have agreed to work together to quickly resolve the issue of Tehran’s nuclear program. This is the first direct conversation between top leaders of the two countries since 1979.
September 29, Sunday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Experts on a Japanese government panel will discuss changing the interpretation of the country’s pacifist Constitution.
2. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it has suspended the process of decontaminating radioactive wastewater with a new filtration system.
3. The foreign minister of Syria has expressed his government’s intention to abide by the U.N. Security Council resolution demanding the elimination of chemical weapons in his country.
September 30, Monday, 2013 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
1. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad says his government will comply wit the U.N. Security Council’s resolution to destroy the country’s chemical weapons.
2. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif have agreed to improve bilateral relations and work to ease tensions in the Kashmir region.
3. Many parts of China had poor visibility on Sunday due to severe air pollution.