July 1, Wednesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1.Eurozone finance ministers and the European Central Bank will separately discuss the Greek financial crisis on Wednesday after the country missed the deadline for loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
2. The United States ahs reached an agreement with Cuba to normalize diplomatic relations as they reopened their embassies. Ties were severed more than 50 years ago.
3. China has announced a plan to significantly reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
July 2, Thursday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. In women’s World Cup soccer in Canada, Japan beat England 2-1 in a semifinal to advance to the final.
2. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called on the people to vote “No” in Sunday’s referendum on whether the debt-ridden country will accept austerity measures.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama says his country will restore diplomatic relations with Cuba on July 20th after 54 years of hiatus.
July 3, Friday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Mari Kojima
1. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he has instructed his ministers to further press North Korea to act swiftly for the return of Japanese abductees.
2. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, has visited Iran and held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
3. A debate is heating up in Greece over whether the country should accept fiscal austerity measures proposed by the European Union in return for a bailout fund.
July 4, Saturday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Jeff Adolf and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Saturday marks just one year since North Korea has opened what it says would be thorough investigations into the whereabouts of Japanese abductees. But so far no progress to settle the issue has been seen.
2. A UNESCO panel is expected to examine Japan’s bid for World Heritage listing of its historical industrial sites on Saturday.
3. People in Greece are divided over whether to accept the austerity measures proposed by the European Union in exchange for a bailout.
July 5, Sunday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japan’s bid to give World Heritage status to 23 historical industrial sites will depend on negotiations between Japan and South Korea.
2. Greek voters are headed to the polls to decide whether they will accept austerity measures in exchange for a fresh bailout.
3. Women’s World Cup soccer defending champion Japan has made their practice fully open to the media as they prepare for the finals.
July 6, Monday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. In the women’s World Cup soccer final match in Canada on Sunday, the United States beat defending champion Japan 5-2.
2. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared victory in Sunday’s referendum that gave his government major public backing for his opposition to the austerity measures proposed by the EU and others.
3. A UNESCO panel has decided to grant World Heritage status to a group of Japanese industrial sites.
July 7, Tuesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The operator of the Sendai nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan will soon begin loading fuel into one of the reactors, preparing to restart it.
2. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he is ready to present new proposals at a summit of eurozone leaders on Tuesday.
3. Differences remain between officials from six world powers and Iran in talks over the country’s nuclear program.
July 8, Wednesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Iran and 6 world powers have once again extended the deadline for negotiations to strike a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
2. The leaders of the United States and Vietnam have agreed that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved in accordance with international law.
3. The eurozone leaders say the Greek government has requested a new bailout and they have urged Athens to submit a reform plan by the end of Thursday.
July 9, Thursday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Share prices in Shanghai rose more than 1 percent on Thursday morning.
2. The Greek government is expected to submit a structural reform plan to its eurozone partners by the Thursday deadline to reach an agreement on a new bailout.
3. Japan and the United States have resumed working-level talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
July 10, Friday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Mariko Kojima and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. Diplomats from Iran and 6 world powers have stressed that their negotiations will continue beyond the deadline to forge a final deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
2. Officials in Greece have presented a package of reform proposals in an attempt to obtain a new financial bailout from the eurozone.
July 11, Saturday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Mr. Jeff Adolf
1. The Greek parliament has approved the government’s structural reform plan which was submitted to the European Union in a bid to receive a new bailout package.
2. Iran and 6 world powers have extended the deadline for the third time for negotiations to strike a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
3. A senior Chinese official says President Xi Jinping offered an invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to an event commemorating “the 70th anniversary of the victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.”
July 12, Sunday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels have failed to reach an agreement on the latest Greek reform plan. They aim to resume their talks later on Sunday.
2. A senior Japanese government security official is arranging to visit China as early as this week to discuss the schedule for the next Japan-China summit.
3. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s main opposition National League for Democracy, says the party will contest a general election on November 8th.
July 13, Monday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Eurozone leaders were unable to agree on conditions to begin discussions on a new bailout plan with Greece after 13 hours of talks through Sunday night in Brussels, Belgium.
2. Japanese people opposing national security bills have held another rally outside the Diet building in Tokyo.
3. The youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai, has marked her 18th birthday by opening a school for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
July 14, Tuesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. A probe of U.S. space agency NASA will make the first ever close flyby of Pluto.
2. The government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has begun drafting legislation on structural reforms and will try to enact it in order to receive a new bailout.
3. The European Central Bank has decided not to increase its line of emergency credit to Greek banks.
July 15, Wednesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsmoto
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government have won crucial approval for a key package of bills on national security.
2. The landmark deal on Iran’s nuclear program may still face challenges over Tehran’s implementation of the agreement.
3. Greece’s government has submitted a structural reform bill to parliament on Tuesday.
July 16, Thursday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A plenary session of Japan’s Lower House is to vote on a set of security bills on Thursday.
2. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has decided to resume work to dismantle the cover of the No.1 reactor building late this month.
3. Renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa has been chosen for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
July 17, Friday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. The Japanese government had decided to aim for a 26-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from the 2013 level.
2. Kenya says it will host next year’s international conference on African development.
3. Friday marks the first anniversary of the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane over eastern Ukraine.
July 18, Saturday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. The Japanese government is considering setting an import quota for U.S. rice as a compromise toward reaching a broad agreement in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations.
2. The European Union has approved emergency financial assistance of more than 7 billion euros, or about 7.7 billion dollars for Greece.
3. A car bombing in a busy market place in central Iraq has killed more than 30 people.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
July 19, Sunday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. A former vice president of soccer’s world governing body FIFA has pleaded not guilty to corruptions charges at a hearing in a U.S. federal court.
2. Authorities in Saudi Arabia say they have arrested hundreds of people linked to the Islamic State militant group, and thwarted attacks planned for the hold mmonth of Ramadan.
3. Japan’s securities watchdog is to consider imposing a financial penalty on Toshiba over its accounting irregularities.
July 20, Monday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Ms. Emma Howard
1. The United States and Cuba will restore full diplomatic relations and re-open their embassies on Monday.
2. Authorities in Sakhalin have told a Russian news agency that they seized a Japanese drift-net fishing boat that was operating in Russia’s exclusive economic zone.
3. The Mongolian government has promised to continue helping Japan in its efforts to bring about the return of Japanese abducted by North Korea.
July 21, Tuesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The United States and Cuba have officially restored full diplomatic relations for the first time since the countries broke off ties more than 50 years ago.
2. The United Nations Security Council has endorsed a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions.
3. India has announced the new standards for its first high-speed railway system that is almost identical to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train.
July 22, Wednesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Toshiba is scrambling to form a new management team after an independent panel accused the firm’s top executives of involvement in an accounting scandal.
2. Japan has disclosed an evidence that China is developing a natural gas field in the East China Sea in breach of a bilateral agreement.
3. North Korea has ruled out the possibility of dialogue like that engaged in by Iran on giving up its nuclear weapons.
July 23, Thursday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Soyuz spacecraft carrying Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and two other crew- members have docked with the International Space Station.
2. Japanese government officials plan to further urge China to resume talks on a pact to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea.
3. An attorney for a U.S. investor who filed a damages suit against Toshiba and its 2 former presidents says that other investors may join the suit.
July 24, Friday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Mariko Kojima and Mr. Raja Pradan
1. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed his Cabinet ministers to speed up preparations for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
2. One of Japan’s leading companies, Nikkei, has agreed to buy the publisher of Britain’s Financial Times newspaper from its parent firm Pearson.
3. Japan and the United States have begun working-level talks in reviewing a bilateral plan to return U.S. military facility sites in Okinawa Prefecture to Japan.
July 25, Saturday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is reportedly considering a trip next month to Etorofu Island, one of the 4 Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
2. Chief negotiators fro the TPP free-trade talks have begun a meeting to help lay the groundwork for the ministerial meeting which aims to reach an agreement.
3. Dozens of countries and regions participating in the WTP talks are expected to reach a broad agreement to remove tariffs on about 200 information technology products.
July 26, Sunday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japanese negotiators have urged their Canadian counterparts to speed up talks with other parties to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal.
2. Saudi-led coalition forces have announced a 5-day humanitarian ceasefire in the Yemen to allow for aid to reach civilians.
3. Kurdish separatists have reacted angrily after Turkey launched air strikes against them.
July 27, Monday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Emma Howard
1. Members of Japan’s Upper House have begun discussions on Monday on a key package of bills on national security.
2. The Sendai nuclear power plant in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima started a 4-day emergency drill on Monday.
3. A string of suicide attacks across Africa have killed dozens of civilians.
July 28, Tuesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The operator of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima has begun work to remove the cover of the Number 1 reactor building, a step toward decommissioning the plant.
2. Share prices in Shanghai fell sharply on Monday, leaving China’s securities regulation authorities to say they will continue measures to prop up share prices.
3. Twelve nations are seeking agreement in the final phase of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks.
July 29, Wednesday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Trade ministers from the 12 nations taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations have begun talks in Hawaii.
2. Members of Japan’s ruling party say the government should do more to refute factual errors concerning those reflected as comfort women.
3. The office of the London-based architect Zaha Hadid says it is to offer to help Japan review the new stadium project for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.
July 30, Thursday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. The Malaysian government has sent investigators to determine if debris found on an island off the coast of Africa is part of a jet that went missing in March last year.
2. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sunday will start the removal of a fuel exchanger inside the Number 3 reactor building.
3. A Belgium-based designer has disclosed that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games emblem revealed last week closely resembles the logo he created for a theater in Belgium.
July 31, Friday, 2015 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Mariko Kojima
1. Trade negotiators from Japan and the United States are close to reaching an agreement on one of their most contentious issues.
2. Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have completed a major undertaking.
3. The minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games says he thinks there is no problem with the design at the recently unveiled official emblem.