Japan's Prime Minister says a new working group of the internal affairs ministry will thoroughly examine the problem of faulty labor surveys to ensure the credibility of the government's statistics.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says Japan understands the concerns of the United States that led to its announcement of its intention to withdraw from a nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
Visitors are flocking to the city of Sapporo on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido to see snow and ice sculptures as the annual snow festival kicks off.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190204200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : prime new working
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_19/
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says a new working group of the internal affairs ministry will thoroughly examine the problem of faulty labor surveys to ensure the credibility of the government's statistics.
Abe was speaking at a Lower House committee on Monday.
The labor ministry has been under fire for using improper methods to conduct its surveys.
A member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party raised the issue of personnel for divisions in charge of compiling statistics. He said they need to have enough staff and adequate training over time to ensure the quality of the data.
He noted that other countries have sufficient capacity for this kind of task, but he questioned if this is also the case in Japan.
He asked Abe if the government intends to secure and train personnel and use advanced technology to improve its ability to gather data.
Abe replied that the internal affairs ministry has set up a working group to thoroughly analyze the statistics compiled by government offices. The members will assess if the survey methods and samples are appropriate.
He said their goals will be to prevent a recurrence of the problems and to raise the quality of official data.
Abe stressed that the government will implement these measures to ensure the credibility of statistics issued by ministries and agencies.
Key words : Suga understand
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_27/
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan understands the concerns of the United States that led to its announcement of its intention to withdraw from a nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
The US on Saturday notified Russia that it would suspend its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by saying it will also suspend the treaty and develop new missiles that are banned by the pact.
Japan's top spokesperson said on Monday that the treaty has played a historic role in arms reduction, and that the situation that is forcing its end is not desirable.
But he said it is also necessary to recognize that Russia continues to be in grave breach of the treaty and that other nations have started developing and deploying missiles that are banned under the treaty.
He said the Japanese government understands the US concerns.
Suga said issues concerning missiles covered by the treaty are directly linked to security in East Asia. He said Japan is highly interested in the matter, and added that it will work with the US and keep communications open with Russia, China and other nations.
Key words : military bahama
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_25/
Military officials in the Bahamas say 28 people have been confirmed dead after a boat smuggling Haitian migrants sank on Saturday.
The officials say the vessel sank about 10 kilometers off the island of Abaco.
The Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard rescued 17 people during the two-day search operation.
Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries. Many Haitians have set out to sea to find new lives in the United States, Central and South America.
The officials say about 300 Haitians have been arrested so far this year on suspicion of illegally entering the Bahamas.
Key words : political parties
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_30/
Political parties in Thailand have started registering candidates for a March general election considered a crucial step towards democracy.
The candidates include the leader of the newly formed Future Forward Party, which is opposed to the current military-run government. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit told reporters that the people are fed up with 12 years of political upheaval that have seen "2 military coup-de-tats, 5 constitutions, 7 prime ministers." He also said the country's problems will not be solved until the political situation is settled.
A pro-military party says it may call on interim prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to stay on as leader if it wins the election. Prayut staged the coup that forced out the last democratically elected government in 2014. He has not said whether he will run.
The main opposition party, aligned with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is also expected to be a force in the election. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup. He fled the country and is barred from political activity but remains popular, especially in the country's north.
The military has repeatedly pledged to hold an election to hand over power to a civilian administration, but it's postponed this several times. Registration for the March 24th vote continues until Friday.
Key words : Russian authorities 7.5 tons
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_20/
Russian authorities say they found about 7.5 tons of crabs in a Japanese fishing boat they seized last week.
The port authorities told NHK they found about 4.5 tons of live crabs, including red snow crabs, and about three tons of frozen ones.
Russian officials suspect some of the crabs were caught in the country's exclusive economic zone. They are reportedly questioning the crew members, and may arrest the captain.
Russia seized the Number 68 Nishino-maru last Wednesday in the Sea of Japan, citing alleged illegal fishing. The boat is currently docked at the port of Nakhodka in the Russian Far East.
The Number 68 Nishino-maru belongs to a crab fishing cooperative in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan. The vessel left a port in Tottori Prefecture on January 26th.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday that officials of the Japanese Consulate General in Vladivostok met the crew on Saturday.
Suga said the crew members are in good health and they have adequate supplies of food, water and fuel.
He said the government will keep urging Russia to release the crew and their boat as soon as possible from a humanitarian standpoint.
Key words : largest festival
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_31/
The world's largest religious festival has reached its climax in India, as tens of millions of Hindu worshippers bathed in holy waters.
Monday is considered the holiest day of Kumbh Mela. The month-and-a-half long festival draws over 100 million worshippers from around the world. It's believed they can wash away their sins by taking a dip at the confluence of three holy rivers.
Government officials say 30 million people were expected to take part on Monday alone.
Key words : visitor flocking
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_18/
Visitors are flocking to the city of Sapporo on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido to see snow and ice sculptures as the annual snow festival kicks off.
The festival, which marks its 70th anniversary this year, is being held in three locations across the city. At its main Odori Park site, the event opened with a trumpet fanfare.
One of the frozen sculptures in the park depicts giant thoroughbreds galloping past city landmarks such as the historic clock tower and red-brick local government building. It was made to express the hope for a speedy recovery from damage caused by last September's major earthquake in Hokkaido.
Visitors can enjoy five such giant sculptures over ten meters high. Almost 200 snow and ice sculptures are on display at the event sites.
A 30-year-old man who was visiting the city on business said he was impressed by the sculptures and that he hopes the quake-hit area will recover quickly.
The festival runs through February 11th. Organizers say they expect two and a half million visitors to the festival.
Key words : today's news keywords segment Sapporo Snow Festival
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Key words : station taxi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_28/
A modified model of a wheelchair-friendly station-wagon type taxi has been shown to the media.
The so-called "universal design" taxi accommodates passengers in wheelchairs. Taxi companies that purchase the vehicles are eligible for government subsidies.
By introducing 10,000 such cars, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government wants the model to make up one-fifth of the area's taxis by April, 2020, before the start of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
But transport ministry officials have been receiving reports that setting up the ramp that enables wheelchair access takes 15 to 20 minutes.
As a result, some wheelchair-bound people have been denied access.
Toyota Motor on Monday unveiled a more driver-friendly model to reporters.
Officials explained that drivers had to undertake 63 procedures to get a wheelchair into the car, but this has been reduced to 24, allowing an experienced driver to complete the task in about three minutes.
The vehicles goes on sale in March. Toyota plans to offer to modify the old design free of charge.
A senior engineer at Toyota acknowledged that the company had not done enough to make the procedures easy to learn. He expressed his readiness to give drivers opportunities to practice the procedures before the start of the 2020 Games.
Key words : Narita airport runway
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190204_21/
An agreement to extend the operating hours of Narita Airport near Tokyo has been reached between the facility's operator, the government, and the heads of nine municipalities.
Under the plan, one of two runways will stay open until midnight from October. The one-hour extension to the airport's operating hours will be the first since it opened in 1978.
The plan is aimed at welcoming more foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The transport ministry and the airport's operator asked the municipalities to give their consent to the extension.
However, some initially opposed the plan, citing the possible negative effects of noise on their residents.
The airport's operator offered to partly bear the cost of noise-control measures.
Narita City Mayor Kazunari Koizumi says all relevant entities have agreed to work together to mitigate any negative effects on the environment.
Koizumi added that he believes the municipalities can win the understanding of many residents.
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