月: 2021年3月

1. Japanese government officials are thinking about lifting the coronavirus state of emergency that is currently in place for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, as the strain on the healthcare system is easing.
2.The European Union’s medicines watchdog has reiterated that the benefits of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine outweigh the risks of blood clots that have been reported in some recipients. 3. The British government says it will raise the ceiling on its nuclear warhead stockpile from 180 to 260 as part of a national security policy review.

1. The foreign and defense chiefs of Japan and the U.S. have wrapped up a high-profile meeting focused on the bilateral alliance and countering regional challenges. 2.The coronavirus state of emergency currently in place for Tokyo and 3 neighboring prefectures is slated to expire soon, but questions linger over whether it should be extended. 3. Relatives of Japanese who were abducted by North Korea are asking U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to help bring their family members home as early as possible.

1. The U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy on Myanmar has condemned the continued violence of the country’s security forces against protesters as the number of casualties grows. 2. Travelers crossing borders may one day be able to manage coronavirus test results and vaccination status on their smartphones. Officials in Tokyo have been testing the technology that could help fully restart international travel.
3. The Japanese minister overseeing the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program says he will call on businesses to allow employees to take leave to be vaccinated.

1. U.S. President Joe Biden has unveiled a strategy to beat the coronavirus pandemic and get the country closer to normal by Independence Day on July 4.
2. The U.N. Security Council has issued a presidential statement condemning the violence against protesters in Myanmar, where a number of casualties have been reported. 3. Britain has condemned the Chinese government’s decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the reforms the “latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate” in Hong Kong.

1. People in Japan are remembering those who were killed 10 years ago, when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear catastrophe. A national memorial ceremony has been held in Tokyo.
2. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the water level in a section of the basement of one of the reactor buildings has been rising since Tuesday. 3.People who lost loved ones 10 years ago in the massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan offered their prayers – close to home. Many chose to return to the ocean on Thursday for a quiet moment of reflection.

1. The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden will hold an online meeting with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India on Friday in the first top-level talks by the four countries known as the “Quad.”
2. The head of the Japanese government’s expert panel on the coronavirus has called for preparedness against mutant strains becoming the dominant cause of infections in the country and also called for stepping up monitoring of the variants.
3. The U.S. indicated on Monday that it is rejecting China’s call to reverse what the country referred to as former President Donald Trump’s “dangerous practice” on Taiwan.

1. The minister in charge of Japan’s COVID-19 inoculation program says the government will consider obtaining syringes that can draw seven doses from a single vial of a coronavirus vaccine.
2. School reopened in England on Monday, the first step in the gradual easing of COVID-19 lockdown measures.
3. A U.S. news website has reported that President Joe Biden is planning to host Japan’s Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the White House as soon as this April.

1. People in Fukuoka, western Japan, have expressed concerns about a possible surge of coronavirus infections in the prefecture after the state of emergency was lifted a week ago.
2. Voters in Switzerland approved a proposal to ban full-face coverings in a referendum on Sunday. The measure passed by a narrow margin of 51.2 percent to 48.8 percent.
3. Pope Francis has prayed for the victims of war in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which was once under the control of the Islamic State militant group.

1. The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 has struck off New Zealand.
2. Chinese leaders have unveiled this year’s economic growth target at the National People’s Congress, setting it at more than six percent. Thousands of senior Communist Party members from across the country are now in Beijing for the congress.
3.  Japan’s government is extending its coronavirus state of emergency by two weeks for the greater Tokyo area.  It was set to expire this weekend, but will now continue until March 21 in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures.

1. The Japanese government is expected to decide on Friday to extend the coronavirus state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo area by two weeks until March 21. Officials have been analyzing the infection status and the strain on the healthcare systems in those prefectures. They have determined that hospital bed occupancy rates in the area need to be lowered further.
2. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that his country will work with its allies and partners to deal with China.
3.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has extended the store shutdown over the coronavirus pandemic, but says restrictions will be gradually eased in proportion to regional infection numbers.