月: 2023年2月

1. Russia is believed to be intensifying its offensive against Ukraine ahead of the first anniversary of its invasion, despite suffering heavy casualties. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a media conference on Monday, “What Russia does now, what President Putin is doing now, is sending thousands of thousands more troops, accepting a very high rate of casualty, taking big losses, but putting pressure on the Ukrainians.”
2. Syria has reportedly agreed to open more land routes from Turkey to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid by the United Nations to earthquake victims in the opposition-controlled northwestern part of the country. UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths informed the UN Security Council in an emergency online meeting that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to open two more border crossings for three months.
3. Search and rescue efforts continue in Turkey and Syria. A 12-year-old boy was reportedly pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment in southern Turkey, more than one week after the devastating earthquake hit. Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported on Monday that the boy had been trapped in the debris for 182 hours in the province of Hatay.

1. The death toll from a series of earthquakes that have rocked Turkey and neighboring Syria over the past week has exceeded 33,000. A magnitude 7.8 quake hit southern Turkey in the early hours of last Monday, followed by more tremors. Turkey has counted 29,605 deaths while Syria tallied at least 3,581 fatalities. Search-and-rescue efforts are underway in quake-stricken areas as many people are believed to be still trapped under collapsed buildings.
2.A government aircraft is delivering medical equipment and supplies to Turkey in the wake of last week’s massive earthquake. The Defense Ministry says the plane is heading to Turkey after stopping at Narita Airport to load about 15 tons of supplies for a Japanese emergency medical team, including tents, beds and operating tables.
3.The United States is calling on UN Security Council members to vote for increased access to quake-stricken Syria by opening more border crossings from Turkey. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen stressed, “We are mobilizing funding and we are trying to tell everyone, put politics aside. This is the time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian people.

1. Japanese weather officials have issued heavy snow warnings for central Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, located north of the capital. It’s the first warning of its kind for central Tokyo since January 6, 2022.
2. The Japanese government plans to allow people to make their own choices about wearing face masks to prevent coronavirus infections, beginning in March. The government currently recommends that masks be worn indoors. It is reviewing the recommendation because the coronavirus will be reclassified to the same category as seasonal influenza from May 8.
3. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says a UN convoy has entered quake-hit Syria to deliver relief supplies.

1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made pitches to allies around the world, but rarely in person. On Wednesday, he went on a surprise visit to London to repeat his demands for fighter jets to use in his country’s fight against Russian forces. Zelenskyy said, “I appeal to you, and the world, with the simple and yet most important words: Combat aircraft for Ukraine. Wings for freedom.” 2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought additional military support from France and Germany in a meeting with the two countries’ leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia could not be allowed to win the war, and stressed the need to continue military support for Ukraine and its future as long as Russia keeps attacking.
3. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a huge military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday night that showcased intercontinental ballistic missiles. The event marked the 75th founding anniversary of the country’s armed forces and was the first large-scale parade since April last year.

1. The death toll from Monday’s earthquake and aftershocks that hit Turkey and Syria has surpassed 8,300, as desperate efforts continue to rescue people trapped under rubble. A powerful quake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit southern Turkey near the Syrian border early on Monday, followed by another major quake and a series of aftershocks.
2. US President Joe Biden stressed his achievements, including the creation of record employment levels, in a State of the Union address that also outlined policies for the coming year. Biden delivered his second State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, as attention is focused on whether he will soon announce his candidacy for reelection. 3. A Tokyo Olympics executive has been arrested on suspicion of violating Japan’s Anti-Monopoly Act. Sources say former deputy director of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee’s operations bureau Mori Yasuo has admitted to involvement in rigging bids for test events. Prosecutors and Japan Fair Trade Commission officials suspect that the organizing committee colluded with Dentsu, the country’s largest ad agency, to steer contracts to specific companies.

1. Two men suspected of orchestrating a series of robberies across Japan have arrived in the country to face separate fraud charges. They were deported from the Philippines. They allegedly coordinated the crimes with another pair of Japanese nationals. Who may also soon face deportation. 2. A senior White House official says the US military has recovered parts of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the US Atlantic Coast on Saturday. A US Air Force fighter jet downed the balloon after it traveled across US territory last week. 3. Crews in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria are searching in near-freezing temperatures to find survivors of earthquakes. At least 3700 people were killed. A magnitude 7.8 quake struck early Monday while many residents were still asleep. In the hours that followed, they felt dozens of aftershocks including one of magnitude 7.5. Thousands of buildings collapsed.

1. A powerful earthquake struck south-east Turkey on Monday morning, reportedly leaving at least 100 people dead in the country and neighboring Syria. Turkish disaster management officials say the quake with an estimated magnitude of 7.4 hit the south-eastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, near Syria, at 01:17 UTC on Monday.
2. Visitors to the port city of Nagasaki in southwestern Japan have enjoyed watching a reenactment of a parade featuring a Chinese goddess of maritime safety. The procession on Sunday was the climax of the two-week Nagasaki Lantern Festival. The event recreates a Chinese sailors’ procession from the Tokugawa period between the 17th and 19th centuries.
3.A Japanese exporter of bonsai trees is preparing to welcome foreign buyers for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The Bonsai Network Japan ships potted ornamental trees and shrubs abroad from its facilities north of Tokyo. Europe is its major export market.

1. US television network ABC has aired images of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been observed flying over the continental United States. They show what appears to be black equipment underneath the white balloon.
2.Japan’s two biggest airlines logged improved results for the April-to-December period last year as demand for travel rebounded. Japan Airlines says group sales for the 9 months roughly doubled from a year earlier in yen terms, to over 1 trillion yen, or over 7.8 billion dollars. Japan Airlines’ main competitor, ANA Holdings, saw group sales for the April-to-December period rise about 70 percent. The figure was just over 1.25 trillion yen, or over 9.7 billion dollars.
3. The value of Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products last year reached a record high owing to the weak yen and recovering demand in the global restaurant industry. The value of exports has increased for 10 consecutive years. The figure in 2022 was about 3.1 times that in 2012.

1.Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa says his country is seriously concerned about the further extension of the state of emergency in Myanmar. He said the country’s military has been failing to work for political progress, such as the release of all of detained people, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
2.A former commander in Russian private military company Wagner who fled to Norway has spoken about the brutality of the fighting in Ukraine. Andrei Medvedev was interviewed by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. Asked why he signed the contract with Wagner, he said he grew up as an orphan and had believed Russian propaganda. Medvedev said he decided to desert after he saw what was happening on the frontline. He added that he wanted to apologize to the Ukrainian people,and expressed a willingness to cooperate with an investigation into war crimes.
3.The transportation authority of the western Japanese city of Kyoto says it will do away with one-day bus passes at the end of March,2024. The aim of the move is to ease passenger congestion by reducing the number of tourists on buses.

1.A UN human rights expert on Myanmar has called for a coordinated response by the international community ahead of Wednesday’s two-year anniversary of the military coup that overturned the democratically elected government.
2.The Philippines is taking steps to repatriate four Japanese nationals who are believed to be linked to a series of robberies in Japan. Attention has been focused on how soon the suspects will be sent. Philippine officials are expected to discuss the matter as early Wednesday afternoon.
3.Police in Pakistan say they suspect a security lapse may have been to blame for a deadly blast that occurred at a crowded mosque on Monday. The massive explosion took place in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar. Local authorities say it left at least 95 people dead and more than 200 others injured.