October 9, Tuesday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. Leaders of Japan and 5 Southeast Asian nations along the Mekong River have agreed to cooperate to promote a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region.
  2. Russia’s defense chief says the massive military exercises in September did not include islands claimed by Japan.
  3. A co-winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has called on the international community to work together to fight genocide and sexual violence.

October 8, Monday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara

  1. The South Korean presidential office says U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have agreed to arrange a second summit as soon as possible.
  2. The Unite Nations is offering assistance to Haiti, which was hit by an earthquake over the weekend.
  3. Monday marks 20 years since the leaders of Japan and the South Korea issued a joint declaration calling for future-oriented relations based on mutual understanding and trust.

October 6, Saturday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu

  1. Japan is facing its second major storm in a week. Typhoon Kong-rey, now classified as a severe tropical storm, is battering the country’s southwestern regions.
  2. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to two people for their efforts to end the use of rape as a weapon of conflict.
  3. Tokyo’s Tsukiji Wholesale Market, often dubbed the “ Kitchen of Japan,” permanently shuts at noon on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on 85 years of trade.

October 4, Thursday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

  1. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed hope that his planned visit to Pyongyang will lead to progress in paving the way for North Korea’s denuclearization process.
  2. The death toll has now topped 1,400 from the powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday.
  3. Peru’s Supreme Court has annulled a medical pardon granted to former president Albert Fujimori and ordered he be returned to prison.

October 3, Wednesday, 2018 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Reese and Ms. Eriko Kojima

  1. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea on Sunday to meet the country’s leader Kim Jong Un.
  2. A suspicious letter has been sent to U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. media say it may contain ricin, a deadly poison.
  3. The Japanese co-winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for medicine reportedly plans to donate the prize money to his university to support young researchers.

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

  1. The lineup of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new cabinet has been officially announced.
  2. A cancer patient has congratulated Japanese molecular immunologist Tasuku Honjo for winning this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
  3. Survivors of last week’s powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi are facing severe shortages of relief supplies.