US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed hope that his planned visit to Pyongyang will lead to progress in the denuclearization of North Korea.
A US group of foreign policy experts have put forward a set of proposals to better prepare the US-Japan alliance for new challenges in the 21st century.
People in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa are bracing for their second typhoon in less than a week.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181004200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : mike expressed hope
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_06/
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed hope that his planned visit to Pyongyang will lead to progress in paving the way for North Korea's denuclearization process.
Pompeo spoke to reporters on Wednesday. He is scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday to discuss denuclearization and lay the groundwork for a second US-North Korea summit.
Pompeo said he is very happy to go back and get another chance to continue advancing the commitment the 2 leaders made in Singapore.
He also said he is optimistic that the US and North Korea will come away with better understandings, deeper progress, and a plan forward. He showed his determination to get specific results in denuclearization process.
Pyongyang has said it is willing to dismantle the Nyongbyon nuclear facility, but only if the US takes reciprocal steps.
A declaration to end the Korean War is also expected to be discussed.
Asked about those issues, Pompeo declined to comment on the progress of negotiations.
Key words : high-ranking visited
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_43/
A high-ranking North Korean diplomat has visited Beijing.
The trip comes just days before the North hosts the US Secretary of State in Pyongyang.
North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui was seen at Beijing Airport on Thursday.
She has long worked on negotiations with the US.
She headed working-level discussions with the US delegation at last June's US-North Korea summit.
Experts speculate that the North wants to meet with China before Mike Pompeo comes to Pyongyang on Sunday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Meanwhile, a 160-member delegation from the South arrived in Pyongyang for a joint event to commemorate the signing of a 2007 declaration pledging the advancement of inter-Korean relations.
The visit was agreed upon last month at the latest inter-Korean summit.
The South Korean Unification Ministry says this will be the first commemorative event since former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il announced the declaration in 2007.
Key words : foreign policy experts
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_32/
A US group of foreign policy experts have put forward a set of proposals to better prepare the US-Japan alliance for new challenges facing it in the 21st century.
The bi-partisan study group, led by former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage and Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye, announced the report, titled "More Important than Ever," on Wednesday.
The report says "the United States has no better ally than Japan," yet "the alliance's future is less clear today than at any other time in the 21st century." The report points out that "the alliance is beset by both internal and external challenges. President Donald Trump's transactional 'America First' orientation, protectionist policies, and questioning of the value of forward US military presence pose a serious risk to the alliance."
The report warns that "While the United States and Japan debate 20th-century tariffs, the 21st-century threats to regional security and prosperity---particularly from China and North Korea---are growing."
One of its proposals aims to deepen operational coordination to better deal with these threats. The report proposes "the alliance should move toward joint and combined use of their bases" to maximize efficiency. The report goes on to say that "eventually, all US forces in Japan should operate from Japanese-flagged bases."
The report also proposes that "if the United States and Japan are to operate more effectively together in a crisis, they should create a combined joint task force for the western Pacific." It added "Such a joint task force could focus on possible contingencies with China over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the East China Sea."
Regarding security cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea, the report argues that "Despite the recent summit diplomacy with the United States and South Korea, North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles remain an extant threat to the security of all 3 allies."
In an apparent criticism of President Trump's policy, the report says that "Exercises, troop presence, and missile defense should not be bargaining chips for unverifiable and incomplete denuclearization promises from the North because this, in the end, will not make the United States, Japan, or South Korea more secure."
Key words : Tamaki
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_24/
Denny Tamaki has taken office as governor of Okinawa Prefecture after he campaigned to stop a plan to build a new US military base in the southern prefecture.
Tamaki won the vote on September 30th to choose the new governor following the death of Governor Takeshi Onaga in August.
He had promised voters that he will continue Onaga's efforts to stop the central government's plan to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to the Henoko district of Nago City.
On Thursday, Tamaki was welcomed by prefectural workers and residents as he arrived at his office on his first day as governor wearing a black suit and an orange tie.
Tamaki told reporters he will carry out his work by carefully listening to the people of Okinawa. He said he wants to take a steady and realistic approach in everything.
He was then briefed by Deputy Governor Moritake Tomikawa, who had been filling in as governor, about the prefecture's budget status and its organizational structure.
Key words : Tamaki construction
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Key words : people in Japan heading north Korea
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_31/
People in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa are bracing for their second typhoon in under a week. The large Typhoon Kong-rey is packing quite the punch and will come close to the main island of Okinawa from Thursday night to Friday.
The Meteorological Agency says Typhoon Kong-rey is heading north over the sea near the main island of Okinawa.
Weather officials say the storm is then likely to head northeast, and could hit South Korea.
Officials are warning people to be prepared for heavy rain, strong winds, high waves, mudslides and flooding.
Nearly 300 domestic flights to and from Okinawa have already been canceled.
Almost all ferries and high-speed ships connecting Okinawa's main island to nearby islands have also been cancelled.
Key words : female researcher
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_33/
The scarcity of female scientists among the Nobel Prize winners has been highlighted after 2 female researchers won this year's prizes in physics and chemistry.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday chose Donna Strickland from Canada as the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics with two other male scientists. She became the third woman ever to win the physics award and the first since 1963.
On Wednesday, American female biochemist Frances Arnold became a co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She is the fifth woman in history to win in the chemistry category.
It's the first time that both the physics and chemistry prizes go to women in a single year.
ABC News in the United States reported "2 female scientists make history with Nobel Prize wins."
France's AFP news agency highlighted the fact that of more than 600 laureates in the physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine categories, just 19, including Strickland and Arnold, have been female.
It called for an improvement in the treatment and work conditions of women scientists, saying they remain undervalued compared to men.
The Associated Press cited an expert who attributed the gender bias to the process of nominations, which comes largely from tenured professors who aren't putting women forward.
Officials at the Royal Swedish Academy reportedly told AP that they have asked nominators for the 2019 prizes to make sure they do not miss women or people of other ethnicities or nationalities in their nominations.
Key words : Tokyo hate speech
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_21/
Tokyo is set to approve an ordinance to eliminate hate speeches and discrimination against sexual minorities in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
A committee of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly voted on the draft ordinance late on Wednesday.
The draft calls for non-discrimination in line with the spirit of the Olympic Charter.
It urges efforts by the Tokyo metropolitan government to eliminate sexual and ethnic discrimination and promote public understanding. It also calls for groups that repeat hate speeches to be barred from using public facilities.
The Liberal Democratic Party voted against the draft, claiming that the definition of unfair discrimination lacks clarity.
But the draft was approved and is expected to be passed by the full assembly on Friday.
Key words : vietnamese doctor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_42/
Thirty years ago, a major surgical operation was conducted in Vietnam to separate a pair of conjoined twins.
One of the twins, Nguyen Duc, recently commemorated the success of the operation with his family and those involved in the surgery.
Duc was born with his lower body connected to his twin brother, Viet.
The surgery was performed in 1988 by a team of Japanese and Vietnamese doctors.
Sadly, Viet remained bed-ridden due to a brain disorder and died in 2007.
At a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, Duc said that he was always grateful to his late brother and that he would like to express gratitude to everyone on his behalf.
He went on to say that he wants to share his experience with those less fortunate, to help them realize the kind of happy life he has now.
The twin's condition is believed to have been caused by the toxic defoliant known as Agent Orange, which was used by the US military during the Vietnam War.
An estimated 5 million people suffer from health problems said to be linked to the defoliant, but the US has yet to acknowledge any link between it and disabilities or other health problems.
Key words : softbank automaker
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_28/
Japanese telecom giant Softbank is partnering with automaker Toyota for a venture that could help to usher in a new era of transportation.
The companies will create a mobility services firm that will initially offer ride-hailing services to businesses and local governments.
By the second half of the next decade, it will aim to use self-driving electric vehicles to deliver food, take people to hospital and more.
Key words : Isuzu
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_29/
Japanese truck company Isuzu Motors is considering a tie-up with one of the world's biggest engine makers, US firm Cummins.
The firms say the collaboration would focus on delivering a cheap, next-generation diesel engine.
Cummins makes 1.2 million engines for trucks and construction machinery every year. Most of them are diesel.
The US and Japanese firms expect demand for diesel to remain strong, mainly for commercial trucks, which rely on the more powerful engines to cover long distances.
Isuzu executives are aiming to develop low-cost models. They've been seeking a partner for the project since August, when they ended a 10-year tie-up with Toyota Motor.
Key words : Honda
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181004_15/
Japan's Honda Motor is teaming up with General Motors to develop a self-driving vehicle. Honda officials say their future plans include launching ride-sharing services using autonomous vehicles.
The officials say they will make an equity investment of 750 million dollars in the GM subsidiary, Cruise, which is developing auto-driving technology. Honda will also provide 2 billion dollars to Cruise, over the next 12 years, to fund the development effort.
A Honda executive says the company will pursue its own development of self-driving cars. The official says the tie-up with GM will allow Honda to enter the expanding ride-share market.
Japanese telecom giant Softbank Group has also decided to invest more than 2 billion dollars in GM's Cruise.
Separately, Japan's Toyota Motor is investing 500 million dollars in US ride-hailing firm Uber.
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