月: 2024年8月

1. Typhoon Ampil, now situated off the Pacific coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, has developed into a very strong storm.
2. A court in Russia has sentenced a dual Russian-American citizen to 12 years in prison for treason after she was convicted of sending money to support the Ukrainian military. Ksenia Karelina is reported, however, to have donated the money to a charity which provides humanitarian aid to children and elderly people in Ukraine.
3.Thailand’s ruling coalition parties have nominated a daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as the successor to dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

1. Typhoon Ampil is continuing to strengthen as it moves north. It is likely to approach the Kanto and Tohoku regions in eastern and northern Japan from Friday through Saturday. Weather officials are warning that bands of heavy rain clouds could develop over the Kanto region, Izu Islands and Yamanashi Prefecture, sharply increasing the risk of disasters. They are also urging caution against high waves and landslides.
2. Many people in Japan have been looking forward to traveling this weekend for the traditional summer holidays. But the weather is throwing a kink into their plans. The Central Japan Railway Company, JR Central, says it will cancel all services on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line between Tokyo and Nagoya for the entire day Friday. 3. Japan has remembered approximately 3.1 million war dead in ceremonies across the nation as the country marks the 79 years since the end of World War Two. On August 15, 1945, Emperor Showa gave a recorded radio address announcing the country’s surrender.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced his decision not to run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election next month. It means Japan will soon have a new prime minister.
2. The Paris Olympic Games wrapped up on Sunday as it had started, with a call for peace. However, the Olympic ideal wasn’t always enough t dispel the specter of conflict ad division through the 17-day Cames. For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, spectators were able to watch all the events and most venues were running at full capacity. Athletes were happy to have their families and colleagues close at hand, which they were denied at the Tokyo Games due to pandemic restrictions. But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Online abuse became a serious issue during the Games.
3. Severe tropical storm Ampil is expected to come closest to Tokyo’s remote Ogasawara island chain in the late afternoon through nighttime on Wednesday.

1. The Olympic flag aboard a passenger airplane from Paris has arrived in Los Angeles, which hosts the next Summer Games in 2028. At the closing ceremony of the Paris Games, a prerecorded video showed American movie star Tom Cruise skydiving into Hollywood carrying the flag. The Olympic flag arrived in Los Angeles on Monday. People in a waiting crowd took photos of the aircraft painted with the Olympic logo. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stepped off the plane waving the flag, drawing lud applause. 2. US President Joe Biden and the leaders of four European countries are calling on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel. In a joint statement, they said, “We expressed our support for the defense of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups.
3. Dangerously high temperatures are forecast for many regions across Japan on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency says a high pressure system will cover wide areas from eastern to western Japan and drive temperatures up. By 11:00 a.m., the mercury had risen to 36.5 degrees Celsius in Nagoya City and 35.9 degrees in Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and Yamaguchi City.

1. The Paris Olympics have drawn to a close, marking the handoff to Los Angeles, which will host the next Summer Games in four years. The closing ceremony began on Sunday at the Stade de France, the Games’ venue for rugby and athletics. Flag-bearers for countries and territories that sent delegations entered the stadium first, followed by a parade of the other Olympians. 2. US President Joe Biden says he decided to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race partly because he was concerned about a negative impact on Congressional elections that will take place at the same time. The president said his Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought he would “hurt” them in their elections. He expressed concern that if he stayed in the race, that would be the topic. He added that it would be “a real distraction.” 3. A US political news outlet says Western allies of Ukraine do not appear to be pressing Kyiv to limit the use of weapons they supplied to the country in its ongoing cross-border incursion into Russia. Politico carried an article regarding the offensive that the Ukrainian military has been mounting in the western Russian region of Kursk since Tuesday. The article says, “As Ukraine widens its attacks inside Russia, there is no sign that the country’s sometimes reluctant Western allies are putting pressure on Kyiv to ease off.”

1. Japan is commemorating the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki during World War Two. The city has honored the tens of thousands of victims in an annual ceremony, with representatives from around the world in attendance. But there were some noticeable absences among foreign diplomats.
2. Japanese authorities are urging people in a wide section of the country to take precautions against a possible mega earthquake. They have issued a special advisory for the first time. This comes after a powerful quake rocked Kyushu on Thursday. The advisory is part of a precautionary measure being taken against a possible mega earthquake. The measure is known as the Nanka Trough Earthquake Extra Information protocol. 3. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to hold their first televised debate on September 10 for the US presidential election.

1. The mayor of Nagasaki says he maintains his decision not to invite the Israeli ambassador to Japan to Friday’s annual peace ceremony marking the US atomic bombing of the city. Mayor Suzuki Shiro on Thursday reiterated that this is not a political decision, but is aimed at holding the August 9 ceremony smoothly to mourn the atomic-bomb victims in a calm and solemn atmosphere. Suzuki met reporters after media reports revealed that US and European ambassadors to Japan jointly sent a letter of concern to him in July over the city’s decision. 2. A senior Russian government official has expressed wariness about Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s upcoming visit to Central Asia. Kishida is scheduled to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries from Friday for a summit meeting of regional leaders and one-on-one talks. The tour is aimed at bolstering cooperation with the region in economic and other fields. Officials around 50 Japanese companies are expected to accompany Kishida.
3. A Russian oligarch who is said to be close to the administration of President Vladimir Putin says there will be no winner with Ukraine and it should be brought to an end as quickly as possible. Oleg Deripaska, who founded one of the world’s largest aluminum companies, is visiting Japan for an international business meeting. Deripaska described how Western sanctions on Russia caused aluminum exports to Japan and elsewhere to plunge. He said they’re “painful” and a heavy restriction,” and that Russia needs to “find new partners.” But he added that surprisingly, private businesses found their own way, and stressed that sanctions would not lead to a policy change by the Russian government.

1. Bangladesh’s presidential office has named Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the head of the interim government. Long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stepped down amid massive student-led uprisings.
2. US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her vice presidential running mate Tim Walz have held their first joint campaign rally in a battleground state for the November election.
3. NHK has learned that Japanese motorcycle makers Honda Motor and Suzuki Moto are considering ending production of small bikes in Japan.

1. Tuesday marks 79 years since an atomic bomb dropped by the United States devastated the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Mayor Matsui Kazumi has called on people to press leaders relying on nuclear deterrence to shift their policies. A ceremony to commemorate the victims was held at the city’s Peace Memorial Park from 8 a.m. About 50,000 people participated, including atomic bomb survivors and bereaved families, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and representatives from 109 countries.
2. The United States is engaged in diplomacy to prevent conflicts in the Middle East from expanding. The White House announced that President Joe Biden called Jordan’s King Abdullah on Monday and discussed their efforts to deescalate regional tensions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described the situation in the Middle East as a critical moment. 3. Big pay raises in this year’s salary negotiations saw real wages in Japan rise in June for the first time in 27 months. The labor ministry says the inflation-adjusted wages were up 1.1 percent from a year earlier. It says more businesses paid bonuses in June than in the average year. The figures are from a monthly survey of more than 30,000 businesses with at least five employees.

1.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly said that Iran and the Iran-backed Shia Muslim group Hezbollah could begin retaliatory attacks against Israel as early as the next 24 to 48 hours.
2. The Japanese government is trying to put an end to an extreme work culture that can sometimes have tragic consequences. It’s acting to enforce limits on overtime hours in an effort to prevent deaths from work-related stress.
3. Many parts of Japan remain in the grip of intense heat on Monday, with temperatures rising above 35 degrees Celsius in the morning in some areas.