May 20, Sunday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara

  1. Pacific island leaders have referred to North Korean issues for the first time in a joint declaration issued at the end of a meeting in Japan.
  2. Top economic officials from the United States and China say they will take measures to substantially reduce the U.S. trade deficit in goods with China.
  3. Japanese Director Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Shoplifters” has won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

May 19, Saturday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. More than 100 people have reportedly died when a Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed just after taking off from an airport in the Cuban capital, Havana.
  2. Ten people were killed and 10 others were injured in a shooting at a high school in the U.S. state of Texas.
  3. The families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have asked the government to step up efforts to secure the return of their loved ones.

May 18, Friday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Ms. Sara Macdonald

  1. U.S. President Donald Trump says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will get what he calls very strong protections if he agrees to denuclearize.
  2. Leaders from Japan as well as 18 Pacific island nations and territories will open two days of talks in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture.
  3. NHK has learned that Chinese anti-trust authorities have given the go-ahead to the sale of a chip-making unit of Japanese electronics maker Toshiba.

May 17, Thursday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will insist on denuclearization at his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
  2. Guatemala has followed the United States in moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
  3. The Japanese government is making final arrangements to inform the World Trade Organization of its readiness to take retaliatory steps against U.S. tariff actions.

May 16, Wednesday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Mariko Kojima

  1. North Korea says it will suspend high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday.
  2. The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran’s central bank governor and 3 other individuals, accusing them of involvement in funding the Shia Muslim group Hezbollah.
  3. Japanese government data on preliminary GDP figures for the January-to-March period shows that the country’s economy shrank for the first time in 9 quarters.

May 15, Tuesday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. Turkey and South Africa are recalling their ambassadors to Israel after Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators in the Gaza Strip, killing scores.
  2. The Japanese foreign minister has called for a calm response to the relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
  3. Iran’s foreign minister is to meet his counterparts from the U.K., France and Germany following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

May 14, Monday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradhan and Ms. Risa Shimizu

  1. Japan’s prime minister says he wants to use occasions such as the G-7 summit to convey his nation’s position on North Korea to U.S. President Donald Trump.
  2. The U.S. government will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday.
  3. Police in Indonesia have revealed that members of the same family were behind Sunday’s suicide bomb attacks on 3 churches.

May 13, Sunday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

  1. North Korea says it will dismantle a nuclear test site in the country’s northeast sometime between May 23rd and Mary 25th.
  2. A man armed with a knife attacked passers-by in the central district of Paris, killing one person and wounding 4 others.
  3. Conservative hardliners in Iran’s parliament have set out conditions for the country’s upcoming talks with 3 European nations over the nuclear deal.

May 12, Saturday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. Japan’s government is arranging a meeting of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the upcoming Group of 7 summit in Canada.
  2. The Russian presidential office has announced that President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks in Moscow on May 26th.
  3. The Iranian foreign minister plans to meet with 3 of his European counterparts next week to discuss the Iran nuclear deal.