February 1, Friday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Mr. Raja Pradhan

  1. A comprehensive free trade deal between Japan and the European Union has come into force.
  2. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will announce details of his upcoming summit with North Korean leader next week.
  3. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says the ratio of job offers to applicants averaged 1.61 last year, the second highest after 1.76 marked in 1973.

January 30, Wednesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradhan and Ms. Mariko Kojima

  1. Leaders of the European Union and British Prime Minister Theresa May remain divided on whether they renegotiate part of the Brexit agreement.
  2. Earnings at US IT giant Apple fell in the October-to-December quarter, weighed down by a drop in sales of the iPhone in China.
  3. The U.S. government has formally asked Canada to extradite the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies.

January 26, Saturday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a three-week spending bill to reopen the government until February 15th, ending the longest shutdown in the U.S. history.
  2. The United Nations will begin an independent investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was critical of the Saudi government.
  3. Government figures show the number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high last year.

January 25, Friday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sara Mcdonald and Ms. Emma Howard

  1. French automaker Renault has accepted Carlos Ghosn’s resignation as chairman and CEO as he remains in detention in Tokyo.
  2. Members of the prefectural assembly in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Okinawa have agreed to add another choice for a planned referendum on relocation of a U.S. base.
  3. The U.S. Senate has voted down two competing budget bills that would have reopened the government.

January 24, Thursday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai.

  1. South Korea did not take a stance on Japan’s call for talks on the wartime labor issue at a meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers.
  2. The Japanese prime minister says he hopes to hold telephone talks with the U.S. president before a second U.S.-North Korea summit planned for next month.
  3. Pope Francis has expressed his desire to visit Japan this November. It will be his first trip to Japan as head of the Catholic Church.

January 23, Wednesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Mariko Kojima

  1. The leaders of Japan and Russia have agreed to further accelerate negotiations on concluding a peace treaty that would include resolving the issue of four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
  2. The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea are to hold their first meeting since the South Korean Supreme Court’s ruling on the wartime labor issue.
  3. The U.S. government is likely to speed up its preparations for a second summit between the U.S. president and North Korean leader.