月: 2021年1月

1. The latest data from the Japanese government shows that the number of people out of work grew by 490 thousand in December compared with a year earlier. The figure has risen for 11 consecutive months.                                                                            2.An index of Japan’s industrial production fell in December for a second-straight month.  It was down by 1.6 percent from November.                                                                                           3.The European Union’s law enforcement agency says investigators worldwide have gained control of the Emotet malware infrastructure and taken it down from the inside.

1. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has reiterated the IOC’s commitment to the successful and safe delivery of the Tokyo Games this summer.                                                      2.An NHK survey finds that a majority of large corporations in Japan want the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to go ahead this summer in some form.                                                                3.Major British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca plans to shortly start producing its coronavirus vaccine in Japan.

1. President Joe Biden is making moves to tackle racial inequality in the U.S. Biden signed four executive actions on Tuesday aimed at addressing what he described as “systematic racism that has plagued our nation for far, far too long.”
2.  Antony Blinken has become the new U.S. secretary of state, after winning approval by the Senate.  The 58-year-old assumed the post in a swearing-in-ceremony at the State Department on Tuesday.
3.  Japanese officials say the government may have to extend its state of emergency, if no major improvement is seen in coronavirus infections in Tokyo and elsewhere.  A state of emergency is currently in effect for 11 prefectures, including Tokyo, till February 7.

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned political and business leaders from around the world about a “new Cold War.” Xi delivered a speech at a virtual event for the World Economic Forum on Monday.                                                                                                                                                                  2. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has impressed upon global leaders that the United States will make an all-out effort to address climate change. Kerry referred to the U.S. absence from the Paris Agreement under the former administration.  He said, “with humility for the absence of the last four years” the U.S. will “do everything in our power to make up for it.”                                              3.The White House press secretary says the United States is in “serious competition” with China, and that President Joe Biden’s administration will consult U.S. allies in defining its approach to Beijing.

1. About 200 people who contracted the coronavirus have died at home and places other than hospitals across Japan after their condition suddenly worsened.                                                                                          2. Japan’s major restaurant chains saw a record fall in sales last year due to the pandemic as people refrained from eating out and many businesses closed temporarily or shortened their opening hours. The Japan Food Service Association says sales fell by just over 15 percent from a year earlier.                              3. An event to promote fish caught off Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture ahs been held ahead of the tenth anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

1. U.S. President Joe Biden’s medical advisor on coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the country will join an international effort for fair distribution of vaccines.                                                                2. The Japanese and U.S. national security advisers have stressed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance in their first talks since the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The head of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, Kitamura Shigeru, and the U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, talked over the phone for about 30 minutes on Thursday. Kitamura congratulated Sullivan on his appointment.                                                                                                                        3.The number of suicides in Japan rose last year after 10 straight years of decline. The National Police Agency has published preliminary data that show 20,919 people took their own lives in 2020.

 

1. Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president in Washington. But the inauguration looked very different than in years past, with social-distancing measures in place and tens of thousands of security forces blanketing the capital.                                            2.The United States has a new President and he’s bringing to the White House a spirit of change.  Joe Biden set to work dismantling many of his predecessor’s policies, ushering in sweeping changes to climate, health and immigration.                                                 3.The U.S. Democratic Party officially regained control of the Senate on Wednesday after three new senators were sworn in.  Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won the run-off elections held in the state of Georgia earlier this month.  Alex Padilla filled the vacated seat of Vice President Kamala Harris.

 

 

1. Joe Biden is set to be sworn in as the 46^th president of the United States on Wednesday. The inauguration ceremony with the theme of “America United” will be held in Washington D.C. At the age of 78, Biden will be the oldest president in U.S. history.                        2. Nominees for key position in the administration of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden have stressed the significance of China in the country’s diplomatic and security policies.  Secretary of State nominee, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is no doubt that China posed the most significant challenge to Washington of any nation.                                                                  3. Japan’s Health Ministry officials have confirmed the number of patients with serious conditions has topped 1,000—the highest since the start of the pandemic. Despite a state of emergency in place for Tokyo and 10 other prefectures, rates continue to escalate.

1. A Japanese expert warns that new variants of the coronavirus may prolong the current third wave of infections in Japan.                     2. Japan’s main ruling party has approved a set of draft bills that would penalize businesses or individuals that refuse to comply with measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.             3. In a farewell message, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump has called for reconciliation among the increasingly divided American public. The outgoing first lady posted a video on her Twitter account on Monday, bidding farewell ahead of the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has vowed that he will be on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus to overcome the difficulties. He said he is deeply sorry that the government has to ask people to live under restrictions again. He called for people’s cooperation, and said that the government will do all it can to control the virus.                                                                                        2. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he intends to appoint Regulatory Reform Minister Kono Taro as coordinator of coronavirus vaccinations in Japan.                                                        3. Authorities in Washington D.C. have increased security in preparation for possible violent protests ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration of Joe Biden as U.S. president.