月: 2025年7月

1. Japanese eel restaurants were busy on Thursday as it marked this year’s second midsummer Day of the Ox. Eating eel on the day is traditionally believed to help people overcome the summer heat. The Urawa district in Saitama City, north of Tokyo, is known as a place for good eel dishes as the area used to have marshes where eels were caught. The city designates the area’s eel cuisine as a traditional industry.
2. Scorching weather continues across Japan on Thursday, with life-threatening temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius recorded in some places for a second day. The extreme heat is mainly affecting western Japan. The mercury hit 40.4 degrees in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, on Thursday afternoon.
3. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September if the Palestinian Authority commits to democratic reforms. Carney condemned the Israeli government at a news conference on Wednesday saying it “allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza.”

1. A tsunami warning of up to 3 meters has been issued along Japan’s Pacific coast from Hokkaido to Wakayama. Officials are calling on people to stay evacuated until all alerts are lifted despite the hot weather. A magnitude 8.7 quake struck the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia on Wednesday morning.
2. The highest temperature ever recorded in Japan has been observed in the western prefecture of Hyogo. The Japan Meteorological Agency says a high-pressure system pushed up temperatures across the country on Wednesday. Tamba City in Hyogo Prefecture hit 41.2 degrees Celsius.
3. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation” in the Gaza Strip.

1. NHK has learned that work to remove molten fuel debris at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is not likely to start until the late 2030s at the earliest. That’s behind a scheduled start of sometime in the early 2030s, as stated in a roadmap compiled by the government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company.
2. Top officials of the United States and China have started trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the talks began on Monday. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who oversees his country’s economic policy, are attending the talks.
3. A division within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is deepening as its leader and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru reiterated his intention to remain in office. The party suffered a bitter defeat in the recent Upper House election. The LDP held a meeting of lawmakers from both houses of the Diet on Monday, following the loss in the election earlier this month.

1. Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a truce after days of clashes along their disputed border. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who mediated the peace talks, said Monday the countries agreed on an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” effective from midnight that day.
2. Former Japanese Major Leaguer Suzuki Ichiro said attending the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in the US state of New York was “like a fantastic dream.”　Ichiro is the first Japanese to receive the honor.　　During his 19-year career in the United States, he set an MLB record of 262 hits in a season while playing for the Seattle Mariners.
3. US President Donald Trump says he has reached a tariff agreement with the European Union. He met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on Sunday. Trump had said Washington would impose a 30 percent levy on goods from the EU starting on August 1. But he said the rate will be set at 15 percent. Trump explained that automobile and nearly everything else will be subject to that rate. But he said the 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports will remain unchanged.

1. Scorching temperatures are expected to continue across Japan on Friday. People are advised to take measures to avoid heatstroke. Heatstroke alerts have been issued across the country. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the current high temperatures are life-threatening.
2. French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The move would make France the first among Group of Seven nations to recognize Palestine. Macron announced his decision on social media on Thursday, saying “the French people want peace in the Middle East – as French citizens, alongside Israelis, Palestinians, and our European and international partners – to prove that peace is possible.”
3. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has received a briefing from the country’s chief tariff negotiator over the term of a trade agreement reached with the United States earlier this week. Ishiba met Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei in Tokyo on Thursday. Akazawa held talks with US President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Tuesdsay. Ishiba told reporters after the briefing that the outcome of the negotiations is in line with his idea that investment should come before tariffs. He said he first floated the proposal when he met President Trump at the White House in February.

1. Ornately decorated floats have paraded through the streets of Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto in the annual Gion Festival. The parade of 11 floats began at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Leading the procession was one depicting a famous scene of fighting on bridge between the warrior monk Benkei and the young samurai Ushiwakamaru. Gion is one of Japan’s three biggest festivals. It is said to have originated more than 1,000 years ago to pray for an end to a plague.
2. A passenger plane carrying more than 4 people has crashed in Russia’s Far Eastern region of Amur. The state-run TASS news agency quotes an aviation official as saying there are no signs of survivors.
3. Japan’s police agency says it identified nearly 900 disturbing social media posts targeting lawmakers and election candidates over the recent Upper House election.
The National Police Agency says a total of 889 threatening posts related to the election were confirmed between June 16 and July 19. The agency also says most of the contents were threats to harm politicians and election contenders, such as, “I will shoot you if I find you” or “Watch your back.”

1. Japan and the United States say they have reached an agreement on trade and tariffs after months of negotiations. US President Donald Trump announced the deal on social media, calling it “massive” for both countries.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has reiterated his intention to remain in office despite his ruling bloc’s defeat in Sunday’s Upper House election.
3. Japan’s weather officials say that temperatures across the country on Wednesday may reach record highs, posing a danger to people in eastern Hokkaido, including areas near the Sea of Okhotsk.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has pledged to stay in office after his ruling coalition lost its majority in the Upper House in Sunday’s election. The disappointing results have stirred calls from inside Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party for him to step down as party leader. The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the house, securing just 47 of the seats up for grabs. That was below the 50 they needed to maintain a majority. It’s the first time in the LDP’s 70-year history for it to lead a coalition that does not control either house.
2. Scorching heat gripped Japan with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius in wide areas from western to northern areas on Tuesday. High temperatures are expected to persist throughout much of the country.
3. Police in Tokyo say they have found that English proficiency test examinees involved in suspected group cheating had been given miniature earphones and other devices prior to the test. They suspect that there may be other collaborators in Japan in addition to a Chinese national arrested in relation to cheating on the Test of English for International Communication, or TOEIC.

1. More than 300 people of all ages took part in tug-of-war contests held on the sea in western Japan to mark the national holiday known as Marine Day.
2. Iranian state television reported on Monday that Tehran is scheduled to hold talks on its nuclear development program with Britain, France and Germany. It said the talks will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday.
3. Russia has shown a positive reaction to Ukraine’s proposal to hold a new round of direct talks on a ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that his country had proposed a new meeting with Russia to be held this week. Russia’s state-run media have quoted informed sources as saying that the Kremlin will likely announce a date for the meeting soon, and that the Turkish city of Istanbul will likely remain the host city.

1. A Japanese high court has in a retrial acquitted a man who was convicted of killing a junior high school girl 39 years ago. He has already completed his prison term.
2. The British and German leaders have concluded a pact aimed at boosting their security, diplomacy and other collaboration in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
3. The White House says US President Donald Trump has received a medical checkup, and that he has venous insufficiency, but remains in “excellent health.”