月: 2021年2月

1. The Japanese government plans to lift a state of emergency for six prefectures on Sunday as the number of coronavirus cases decline. But the declaration will remain in place for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures.
2. Firefighters struggling to contain a forest fire in Ashikaga City, north of Tokyo, say there’s no prospect of bringing the blaze under control soon, as dry conditions are expected to continue for days.
3. Japan’s benchmark long-term interest rate has risen to its highest in over 5 years.

1. Japan’s government is considering lifting a state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus earlier than planned in five prefectures in central and western parts of the country.                                                   2. The International Olympic Committee says the Australian city of Brisbane has been picked as the preferred bidder to host the 2032 Olympic Games.                                                                                                 3. Olympic preparations are ramping up in Tokyo with less than five months until the Games kick off.  It’s still unclear whether overseas spectators will be able to attend due to the coronavirus pandemic. But a senior International Olympic Committee official suggests a decision could be made in the coming months.

1. World-famous golfer Tiger Woods is in the hospital after a serious car accident in Los Angeles. Officials say Woods suffered injuries to both of his legs and local media report he has undergone emergency surgery.
2. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has been producing uranium enriched to 20 percent purity, breaching a 2015 nuclear deal between the country and the world’s major powers.
3. The Hong Kong government has drafted a bill aimed at requiring council members to take an oath of allegiance to the Chinese constitution and the territory’s Basic Law.

1. People across Myanmar went on a general strike on Monday to protest the military coup earlier this month. Local media say millions of people took part in demonstration.
2. The number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States has surpassed half a million.
3. Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and two others have been killed in an attack on a World Food Programme convoy.

1. The International Atomic Energy Agency says starting on Tuesday Iran will stop allowing snap inspections to be conducted on the country’s nuclear sites, but will continue to permit the agency to carry out necessary verification and monitoring activities for the time being.
2. Japan’s transport ministry has instructed domestic airlines to halt operations of a type of Boeing 777 aircraft after a jet engine failed shortly after takeoff in the United States. A United Airlines’ Boeing 777-200 passenger jet departing from Denver, Colorado landed safely on Saturday, local time, but large engine parts fell into a residential area.
3. NHK has learned that Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is considering reprimands for 11 officials who were reportedly treated to dinners by a son of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, who works for a company involved in satellite broadcasting.

1. The United States has expressed a willingness to talk with Iran regarding the U.S. return to the 2015 deal that restricts Iran’s nuclear activities.
2. Britain and Canada have announced sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders for their roles in the coup, following those imposed by the United States.
3. The top diplomats from Japan, the United States, Australia, and India have held phone talks on promoting their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

1. Hashimoto Seiko has officially been chosen as the president of the Tokyo Games organizing committee. She stepped down for her cabinet position as Olympic Minister.
2. The Japanese government is considering plans to maintain the current state of emergency in order to ensure the smooth rollout of coronavirus vaccinations.
3. The United States says it intends to pay over 300 million dollars in obligations to the World Health Organization by the end of this month.

1. Sources say the Olympic organizing committee panel is likely to ask Minister for the Tokyo Games Hashimoto Seiko to replace Mori Yoshiro as the committee’s chief. Hashimoto is a seven-time Olympian. The panel of four men and four women had agreed on five qualities required of the new president. There is no word yet from Hashimoto on whether she’ll accept the request.
2. Health care workers are first in line to receive a coronavirus vaccine in Japan.  About 40,000 workers will make up an initial group that will be vaccinated at 100 hospitals across the country.  The inoculations have begun and are expected to start at all of the hospitals next week at the latest.
3. The former finance minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed as head of the World Trade Organization.

1. Health care workers in Japan are set to get Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday. They’ll be the first in the nation to receive the jab.
2. The World Health Organization has added a coronavirus vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to its list of COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use.
3. A lawyer for Myanmar’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she will be remanded in detention until Wednesday.  She has been under house arrest since the military coup on February 1.

1. Tokyo’s benchmark stock index has hit the 30,000 mark for the first time in over three decades.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says coronavirus vaccinations will begin on Wednesday, starting with medical workers.
3.  Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has formally accepted the Italian premiership, paving the way for a new government to be sworn in on Saturday.