The benchmark index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange has marked its highest final-day close in 29 years.
Monday marks one year since the Trans-Pacific Partnership came into effect.
Japan's Defense Minister has visited Oman to explain a plan to use a port there to supply a Self-Defense Force ship that will be dispatched to the region.
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Key words : benchmark index 29 years topix
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_18/
The benchmark index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange has marked its highest final-day close in 29 years.
The Nikkei Average ended Monday at 23,656 points, down 181 points from Friday.
But the closing level was 3,641 points higher than a year before, marking a rise of about 18 percent.
The broader TOPIX index ended at 1,721, down 11 points from Friday.
Tokyo shares plummeted on multiple occasions this year, as market players became wary of the trade friction between the United States and China, with no end in sight.
But shares began to rise in the fall, as trade talks between the two economic powers reportedly showed progress.
The Nikkei index closed above the 24,000 mark for the first time in 14 months in December, after the two countries announced they have reached a "phase one" trade deal.
Market sources say the index set a new high for the year three times this month, prompting players to place sell orders to mark gains.
They say players remain concerned of what the future may bring, including the outcome of the US-China trade deal, and how Japanese firms will perform, although stock prices are on an upward trend.
Key words : ceremony trading
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_19/
A ceremony marking the last trading day of the year was held at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday after the benchmark Nikkei Average marked its highest final-day close in 29 years.
Leading Kyogen actor Nomura Mansai, who will direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, was among those invited.
Akira Kiyota, the head of the Japan Exchange Group, which operates the market, looked back on the year.
He said 2019 has been volatile due to factors, such as the US-China trade friction, that have prevailed since the year before.
But, he said, in retrospect the market started the year poorly and ended it well, so it was a good year overall.
Nomura addressed the participants, saying the "One Team" philosophy of the Japan rugby squad at this year's World Cup left an impression on him.
He said the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be staged next year. He expressed his hope that the year will be a fruitful one, with Japan, the world and the entire planet showing that unified "One Team" spirit.
The bell at the exchange was then rung five times to call for rising stock prices for the next year.
The event wrapped up with a ceremonial hand-clap by more than 630 people.
Key words : Monday marks one year
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_01/
Monday marks one year since the Trans-Pacific Partnership came into effect. Japan has seen a change in the volume of both imports and exports.
The Finance Ministry's trade statistics show the amount of beef imports from Canada from January to November this year nearly doubled compared to the same period a year ago.
Beef imports from New Zealand rose 32 percent, and those from Mexico increased by 18 percent. But imports from the United States, which pulled out of the TPP, were down 4 percent.
Pork imports from Canada and Mexico were also higher, while those from the US fell.
The competitiveness of TPP member nations' agricultural products increased as the trade pact lowered tariffs, which led to a lowering of prices.
Exports of Japanese mackerel to Vietnam increased by 42 percent after tariffs imposed on Japanese fishery products were eliminated under the pact.
Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products for 2019 are expected to fall short of the projected target of one trillion yen, or about 9 billion dollars.
Japan's government wants to increase exports by taking advantage of the Trans Pacific treaty, as well as a new trade pact with the US that takes effect on January 1, 2020.
Key words : defense minister visited Oman
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191229_18/
Japan's Defense Minister has visited Oman to explain a plan to use an Omani port to provide supplies for a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship.
Taro Kono met with Omani Defense Minister Sayyid Badr bin Saud al-Busaidi on Sunday, two days after Japan's Cabinet approved a plan to send an SDF destroyer to the Middle East and to use SDF aircraft that are based in the East African nation of Djibouti.
Japan plans to begin the mission in February to ensure commercial ships with ties to Japan can safely navigate in the Middle East.
Kono told Badr that the ship and the aircraft are likely to be deployed in areas including the Gulf of Oman and the northern part of the Arabian Sea, and asked for his understanding.
Kono told reporters that he thinks the response from his Omani counterpart was positive as the Japanese mission will be beneficial for regional stability.
Kono expressed hope to deepen ties with Oman based on past activities. The Maritime Self-Defense Force has made port calls in the country.
Key words : Putin thanked
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_10/
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked US President Donald Trump for information that helped Russia foil terrorist attacks.
Russia's presidential office said that the two leaders talked by a phone on Sunday and they also agreed to continue cooperation to tackle terrorism.
The Russian Federal Security Service revealed that a tip-off from the US helped them detain two Russians who were planning an attack during new year celebrations in St. Petersburg.
Two years ago Putin also thanked Trump for information provided by the CIA that helped Russia uncover a terrorist plot.
The relations between the two countries have deteriorated to the level which some call the worst since the Cold War era.
Analysts say that Sunday's phone call maybe an indication that Putin is hoping to find a way to improve relations.
Key words : Taiwanese president
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_02/
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has said in her election pledge that she will not let Taiwan become the next Hong Kong.
Tsai made the remark during a televised debate on Sunday ahead of the coming presidential election slated for January 11.
Tsai, who heads the Democratic Progressive Party, faces a challenge from Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, who represents the main opposition Nationalist Party.
Tsai mentioned increasing pressure from Beijing and said Taiwan's sovereignty is already facing a serious challenge. She said her top priority is to protect Taiwan's sovereignty and prevent it from being swallowed up.
Han criticized Tsai's party for its independence-leaning stance. He said its policies are isolating Taiwan and called for a change of government.
The latest polls show Tsai is in the lead as people are taking a cautious view of China.
The ruling party plans to pass an anti-infiltration bill on Tuesday, which aims to prevent foreign interference in Taiwan's politics. The party wants to use the legislation to counter China's influence and boost voter support.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party says the Tsai administration's policy is not sufficient, citing people's dissatisfaction with their lives.
Key words : Trump many option
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_05/
US President Donald Trump's national security adviser said the United States has many options to respond if North Korea resumes long-range ballistic missile tests or nuclear tests.
Robert O'Brien was speaking in an interview with ABC News on Sunday as Pyongyang suggested it may take action unless the US makes concessions for progress on denuclearization talks by the end of this year.
The North has warned that it is entirely up to the US what kind of "Christmas gift" it gets.
O'Brien said the North's leader, Kim Jong Un, may have reconsidered his threat, but added that Washington will have to wait and see.
O'Brien said that if North Korea launches a long-range ballistic missile or conducts a nuclear test again, the US will be "extraordinary disappointed" and it will demonstrate that disappointment.
He said Washington has "a lot of tools in its tool kit" and that it could impose additional pressure on North Korea.
Key words : US department of defense
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_08/
The US Department of Defense says military strikes were carried out against five facilities of a militia group that is backed by Iran in Iraq and Syria.
Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement on Sunday that the locations included weapon-storage facilities and command and control locations.
He said the strikes were in response to attacks with more than 30 rockets by Kataib Hezbollah on Friday on a northern Iraqi base where US soldiers are stationed.
He said the rocket attacks near Kirkuk killed one US civilian and wounded four US service members.
Hoffman noted that Kataib Hezbollah has a strong link to Iranian forces and has repeatedly received support from Tehran that it has used to attack the coalition forces.
He added that "Iran and their proxy forces must cease their attacks on US and coalition forces" to prevent additional defensive actions by US forces.
Analysts say the strikes may aggravate the already strained relationship between the US and Iran.
Key words : Russian separatist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_06/
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow have conducted a prisoner exchange based on an agreement reached earlier this month.
Ukraine's presidential office and local media reports say they completed the swap at a checkpoint near a separatists-held city in eastern Ukraine on Sunday.
Pro-Russian separatist forces reportedly released 76 prisoners, while the Ukrainian government handed over about the same number.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a summit in Paris on December 9, which was brokered by Germany and France.
They agreed to swap prisoners from the conflict between the Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists by the end of this year.
Russia's presidential office said Putin spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday and welcomed the exchange of prisoners as a positive move.
It remains to be seen how much progress will be made toward a ceasefire based on the agreement.
Ukraine and Russia remain divided over the governance of eastern Ukraine after a truce. Putin wants a high degree of autonomy for the region, but Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says a federation of states is unacceptable.
Key words : United Nations Children
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_11/
The United Nations Children's Fund has called on countries in conflict to take immediate action to protect children from grave human rights violations and threats to life.
UNICEF says in a report just released that more than 170,000 cases of armed attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions and sexual violence involving children have been verified since 2010.
The report says attacks on children have not let up throughout 2019. It says in January at least 32 children died in the northern and eastern parts of war-torn Syria from violence, displacement and harsh winter conditions.
The report says an attack by an armed group on a village in the western African country of Mali killed 85 children in March.
It also says in Afghanistan, an average of nine children were killed or maimed every day in the first nine months of this year.
UNICEF says 2019 concludes a "deadly decade" for children in conflict.
It calls on all warring parties to abide by their obligations under international law and to immediately end violations against children and the targeting of schools and hospitals.
Key words : Chinese scientist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_20/
A Chinese scientist who claims to have created genetically edited babies has been sentenced to three years in prison for illegally practicing medicine.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday that a court in Shenzhen fined He Jiankui about 430,000 dollars in addition to the prison term.
The former associate professor of the Southern University of Science and Technology, also in Shenzen, announced in November last year that his embryo gene-editing had led to the birth of twins. He said the technology was used to make the children resistant to the HIV virus.
The researcher has been under investigation since authorities confirmed the births.
He Jiankui and two other researchers reportedly recruited married couples with an HIV-positive male and HIV-negative female, and that two women became pregnant using gene-edited embryos, resulting in the birth of three babies.
The three researchers also reportedly forged documents needed for the ethical clearance of their work.
The verdict found the three deliberately violated the regulations "in pursuit of personal fame and gain." It noted that they "crossed an ethical line in both scientific research and medicine, and disrupted medical order."
The three have reportedly admitted to the charges.
Key words : trains airplanes
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191229_17/
Trains, airplanes and highways in Japan were packed on Sunday evening, and will likely remain crowded on Monday as year-end travelers head for their hometowns and holiday destinations.
Japan Railway group companies say Shinkansen bullet trains heading out of major cities were almost fully booked on Sunday and Monday.
The non-reserved cars of many Shinkansen trains were at full capacity or above -- up to 180 percent on the Tokaido and Sanyo line, and up to 130 percent on the Tohoku and Yamagata lines on Sunday.
The operators say the rush will peak on Monday for the Tohoku, Yamagata, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines.
Airline officials say domestic flights leaving Tokyo and Osaka on Sunday were almost fully booked, and will remain crowded on Monday.
Expressways were clogged by traffic jams in some places. The Japan Road Traffic Information Center says the Tomei Expressway heading out of the Tokyo area in Kanagawa Prefecture was backed up for 13 kilometers at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Traffic officials predict the traffic jam will extend to more than 30 kilometers on Monday morning.
Key words : giant-size
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191230_16/
Giant-sized rice cakes have been offered to a shrine in central Japan to ensure good health and an abundant harvest in the coming year.
Farmers and other residents of Aichi Prefecture make an offering of round-shaped rice cakes every year to the Atsuta Jingu shrine in Nagoya City.
Four rice cakes were offered on Monday--the largest measuring 1.5 meters in diameter and weighing around 450 kilograms.
People dressed in traditional white coats endured cold rain as they carried the giant rice cakes to the shrine's main hall. They later clapped their hands to offer a prayer.
The rice cakes will adorn the main hall till January 7. They will then be broken into pieces and distributed to worshippers in a tradition known as kagami biraki, or the rice cake breaking ceremony.
