Finance ministers of the Group of 20 wrapped up their discussions on global economic issues in Buenos Aires.
The US and China are at odds over whether to hold a UN Security Council meeting about human rights abuses in North Korea.
Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn is reportedly confronting Japanese prosecutors head-on.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181130200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : finance ministers global economic
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_18/
Finance ministers of the Group of 20 wrapped up their discussions on global economic issues in Buenos Aires on Thursday. They shared the view that the world's economy is stable but the downside risks are increasing due to factors, including trade friction.
Japan stressed the importance of free trade. It said the multilateral trade system, based on free and fair rules, must be maintained to guide economic growth.
After the meeting, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso spoke to reporters about the expected talks between the leaders of the US and China.
Aso said, "We don't expect the current situation will change significantly unless the two sides hold substantial discussions."
Aso said Chinese policies are not always fair. He said he thinks that unless Beijing changes its stance the US will maintain its sanctions against China.
Key words : US and China human rights abuses
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_26/
The US and China are at odds over whether to hold a UN Security Council meeting about human rights abuses in North Korea.
The council has held similar meetings since 2014. 9 Security Council member votes are required for a meeting to take place. But diplomatic sources say only 8 back the idea so far.
The Chinese ambassador to the UN Ma Zhaoxu says his country is maintaining its long-held objection to discussing the issue.
In a letter obtained by the Associated Press, North Korea accused the US and its supporters of trying to 'stoke confrontation' by calling for the meeting.
Countries including China and Russia have been calling for an easing in sanctions since the historic US-North Korea summit. That's where US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un struck a vague promise to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Key words : north and started
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_29/
North and South Korea has started a joint survey to check aging railway facilities in the North by running a test train. The 2 Koreas plans to reconnect their divided railway systems across the demilitarized zone.
The survey follows an agreement by the leaders of the 2 Koreas in September. They decided to hold a groundbreaking ceremony aiming at launching the work to reconnect the rail by this year's end.
On Friday a ceremony was held at Dorasan Station in the South before an approximately 30-member South Korean team leaves for the North.
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said once the railway lines are reconnected, both sides will prosper and peace on the Peninsula will become more tangible.
Cho called on the South Korean team to cooperate with their counterparts in the North and complete their mission.
The joint survey will continue until December 17th. The train from the South will run the 2,600 kilometer-distance to inspect the railway lines in the North.
But for the 2 Koreas, the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council need to be lifted to start full-fledged construction works for the reconnection.
Cho said South Korea will consult with countries involved so the inter-Korean railway project can win support from the international community.
Key words : carlos reportedly confronting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181129_36/
Carlos Ghosn is reportedly confronting prosecutors head-on 10 days after his arrest sent shock waves around the world.
Ghosn, who built the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance, remains at a detention center in Tokyo.
Prosecutors arrested the 64-year-old on Monday last week on suspicion of underreporting his executive compensation in corporate securities reports, in violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
Prosecutors now suspect his unreported compensation totals 8 billion yen, or about 70 million dollars, for the 8-year period beginning in fiscal 2010.
In 2010, it became required by law for executives to disclose compensation exceeding 100 million yen, or about 900,000 dollars, in corporate securities reports.
According to people familiar with the matter, Ghosn received about 2 billion yen, or 18 million dollars, annually before 2010.
Ghosn and Nissan allegedly made an arrangement for roughly 9 million dollars to be declared in a securities report each year starting in 2010, and that Ghosn would receive the undeclared amount after his retirement.
Those payments would be made under a variety of names and would total 70 million dollars.
Prosecutors suspect only a few aides to Ghosn knew of this arrangement, including former Nissan Representative Director Greg Kelly, who was arrested along with Ghosn.
Ghosn is said to have largely admitted that the arrangement was made for post-retirement payments.
He reportedly told investigators that after the 2008 global financial crisis hit Nissan's business, he was worried that many Nissan workers would be demoralized if his massive compensation were disclosed.
Prosecutors think that in Ghosn's case it was required to declare payments planned for after retirement. Such allowances are required by law to be declared in securities reports once their amounts are determined.
They suspect that each year Ghosn and Nissan exchanged documents that say his annual compensation was 18 million dollars and that he would be paid half the amount after retirement. The prosecutors also believe Ghosn had the power to determine compensation for each executive.
They believe these and other facts make it clear that the amounts of post-retirement payments were determined.
Ghosn reportedly denies signing such documents and says he asked Kelly, who is also a lawyer, to make the arrangement in a legal manner, and that Kelly told him it was "legal."
Kelly, too, reportedly says the arrangement was made properly and that he consulted Japan's Financial Services Agency and outside lawyers and got advice when handling the matter.
Key words : Akishino question
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_10/
Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito, has raised the question about the use of public funds for a ritual following next year's Imperial succession.
The Prince was speaking at a news conference prior to his 53rd birthday on Friday. He will be first in line to the throne after the accession of his brother, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1st, 2019.
In reference to the ritual known as "Daijosai," which is to be held in November of next year, Prince Akishino said he wonders whether it is appropriate to pay for the highly religious event with state funds.
He said that after considering relations between the Imperial family and the Constitution, he feels the ritual should be financed from the budget for the Imperial family.
The government disbursed public funds earmarked for the Imperial family's official duties to cover the cost of the previous Daijosai ritual the year after Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne in 1989.
The government explained at that time that it was an important ceremony for the state as well. It was the first such rite held under the post-war Constitution, which stipulates the separation of religion and the state.
Following the example, the government has already decided to pay for the upcoming Daijosai event with public money.
The government spent about 20 million dollars of public money for the previous rite.
The Imperial family's budget is relatively small, at about 2.8 million dollars for the current fiscal year.
If the budget is to be used for the next rite, the ritual would have to be scaled back in a major way.
It is very rare for a member of the Imperial family to express an opinion different from what is determined by the government.
Prince Akishino also said he was of the same view about the previous Daijosai event. He said he conveyed his thoughts to the chief of the Imperial Household Agency, adding that it is very regrettable that agency officials would not listen to him.
In reaction, the Agency's Grand Steward, Shinichiro Yamamoto, said he is sorry that the Prince took his attitude that way. Yamamoto added that the Agency will proceed with preparations in accordance with what has been decided.
In the Daijosai ritual, a new Emperor offers freshly harvested rice to the deities and eats it himself to pray for the well-being of the country and its people.
The ritual is said to date back to the era of Emperor Tenmu in the late 7th century.
Key words : kimura
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_23/
Tokyo Metropolitan University Professor Sota Kimura, an expert on Japan's Constitution, says he understands Prince Akishino's concern about the funding for the "Daijosai" Imperial ritual.
Kimura says that after the previous Daijosai in 1990, the Supreme Court judged that the ritual is religious. He says the government should have been more cautious in considering how to fund the upcoming ritual, instead of deciding just to follow suit.
Kimura also says he does not think Prince Akishino's remarks are overtly political, but he was shocked that the prince apparently felt he had to make them.
Another legal scholar, Professor Hidetsugu Yagi of Reitaku University, says he cannot understand the prince's concern.
Yagi says the ritual has a religious character, but it is an important rite for the Imperial succession. He says the succession is stipulated in the Constitution. He stresses that the ritual is not a personal event for the Imperial family.
Yagi also says the method of funding the ritual has been fully debated and there is no problem about using the state budget for this purpose.
He says he thinks the prince's remarks to the public could be taken as political, and this should not be ignored.
Itsuo Sonobe, a former Supreme Court justice, says the fact that an Imperial family member spoke about a Cabinet decision at a news conference is an unwelcome development. But he says he understands the prince's passionate desire to inform the public that a member of the Imperial family has such a view, after conveying it to the Imperial Household Agency in vain.
Sonobe adds that Prince Akishino's remarks may trigger further debate over how to fund the Daijosai rite.
Key words : airline fire
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_33/
Japan Airlines has decided to fire a copilot who was sentenced to prison in Britain for being drunk before a flight.
The carrier cited the grave nature of the copilot's behavior when announcing the punishment on Friday.
Katsutoshi Jitsukawa was arrested last month at London's Heathrow Airport after a breath test found that his alcohol level was more than 10 times Britain's legal limit.
A London court on Thursday sentenced Jitsukawa to 10 months in prison.
JAL says its president Yuji Akasaka will face a 20-percent pay cut for 3 months.
The 2 other pilots on Jitsukawa's flight are also to be disciplined, for failing to check each other's condition during pre-flight alcohol tests.
JAL says it deeply regrets allowing an act that was serious, malicious and unforgivable.
It also says pilots exceeding the firm's alcohol limit will be suspended from duty or receive heavier penalties.
In another case on Wednesday, a group company of the carrier had to delay one of its domestic flights due to a pilot's drinking.
Japan's transport ministry is considering an administrative penalty on the carrier.
Key words : Diet wind power generation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_34/
Japan's Diet enacted on Friday a law to promote offshore wind power generation. The law sets guidelines for building and operating offshore wind farms.
Japan has lagged behind other countries in the field due to a lack of unified rules.
Under the law, the government will set aside around five offshore areas for wind power projects.
Developers will then bid to use the designated areas. Successful bidders will be given the right to use the zones for up to 30 years.
The government expects the law to encourage more developers to start offshore wind power generation.
Key words : UN world
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181130_20/
The UN World Meteorological Organization says the average global temperature this year is the 4th highest on record, and it may rise by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, if the current trend continues.
The WMO released the results of its research on Thursday. The study estimates that average temperatures around the world for the first 10 months of 2018 rose by up to 1.1 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial revolution levels. This is the 4th highest average global temperature since surveys began in 1850.
Wide areas of Europe were hit by unusual heat and droughts this year. Japan also had record-breaking heatwaves.
The city of Kumagaya, near Tokyo, marked a record high temperature for the country of 41.1 degrees.
The extent of Arctic sea ice was considerably smaller than normal in the first 2 months of the year. Antarctic sea ice also showed a similar trend throughout the year.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas warns that if the current trend continues, he doubts that the 2015 Paris Agreement can meet the pledge of limiting temperature rises to less than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
Taalas said this is the first generation to fully understand climate change and the last generation to be able to do something about it.
The UN climate change conference, COP24, will open in Poland on Sunday.
