Key words : 100,000 first
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_16/
Japan on Saturday topped 100,000 new cases of the coronavirus for the first time.
Health authorities across the country reported 100,949 cases as of 6:30 pm.
They include 21,122 cases in Tokyo. The figure is the second highest daily count after Wednesday's and a record high for Saturday. It is about 1.2 times the number reported a week earlier.
The occupancy rate of hospital beds for coronavirus patients in Tokyo is 55.1 percent, up one percentage point from Friday.
Key words : olympic ski gold
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_18/
The Beijing Winter Olympics has its first gold medalist.
Norway's Therese Johaug dominated the 15-kilometer skiathlon on Saturday.
Johaug was up against more than 60 athletes in the cross-country event, and finished more than 30 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
She was part of a winning relay team at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, but this was her first individual gold.
Natalia Nepryaeva of the Russian Olympic Committee took silver, and Austria's Teresa Stadlober grabbed the bronze.
Also in the race was China's Dinigeer Yilamujiang, an athlete from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who was one of the final torchbearers in Friday's opening ceremony. She finished 43rd.
Key words : US deaths 900,000
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_08/
The US death toll from COVID-19 hit 900,000 on Friday. Case counts are on the decline, but the numbers of deaths and hospitalized patients remain at high levels.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University show fatalities increased by 100,000 from mid-December, when the Omicron variant began to spread rapidly in the country.
The daily tally at one point topped one million, but case numbers have since been falling. As of Thursday, the seven-day average of new infections was about 384,000 per day.
Hospitalizations have risen to around 120,000 as growing numbers of patients develop serious symptoms.
The weekly average of daily fatalities remains high at around 2,400.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts deaths could reach 930,000 to 960,000 by February 26.
CDC officials are urging people to get vaccines or booster shots, wear masks indoors and avoid mass gatherings.
Key words : US house passed bill
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_07/
The US House of Representatives has approved a multibillion dollar bill that will provide subsidies to semiconductor companies that manufacture in the country.
The "America COMPETES Act of 2022" passed by a majority vote on Friday. The aim of the legislation is to strengthen the domestic semiconductor industry and increase US competitiveness with China.
It offers grants and subsidies worth 52 billion dollars to companies such as those that build new factories in the United States.
Semiconductors are becoming increasingly important in cutting-edge technology, including in the military sphere.
The US share of global chip production has decreased over the past three decades from 37 percent to 12 percent.
China, on the other hand, has been boosting domestic chip manufacturing at the initiative of its government.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stressed the importance of the bill at a news conference. She said, "We just cannot wait anymore. We are so far behind."
She said the US is in "a dangerous place as a matter of national security."
The bill will now move to the Senate.
Some chip makers are already responding. Intel announced last month that it will build new plants in the US.
Key words : biden solar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_10/
US President Joe Biden has announced an extension of tariffs imposed by his predecessor on solar energy equipment imported from China and other countries, with some exceptions.
Biden said on Friday that the tariffs will be extended by 4 years. The import restrictions were introduced in 2018 by the Trump administration to protect domestic industries.
Most of the solar panels installed in the US are cheap imports from China and other countries.
Biden said some products will be excluded from the extension.
The move appears to be an effort to strike a balance between protecting domestic industries and combating climate change.
The Biden administration is aiming to promote solar power generation as part of measures to tackle climate change, one of its key policy goals.
The administration has also pledged to nurture the domestic solar energy equipment industry to create jobs.
Key words : security council guam guam
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_06/
The US State Department has announced that the top diplomats of Japan, the United States and South Korea will hold talks in Hawaii to discuss threats from North Korea.
Officials said on Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 12.
It said the three will meet to deepen trilateral cooperation in addressing threats from Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs and confronting global challenges.
North Korea test-fired missiles seven times last month.
A Hwasong-12 type intermediate-range ballistic missile launched on January 30 has an estimated range of up to 5,000 kilometers. That's enough to reach the US territory of Guam, where a US military base is located.
Washington has condemned the tests as violations of UN Security Council resolutions. It is calling on Pyongyang to resume bilateral dialogue toward denuclearization, but North Korea has not agreed.
On Friday, the US State Department also said Blinken will attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Quad alliance during his visit to Australia from February 9 to 12. The Quad partnership includes Japan, the US, Australia and India.
Key words : toshiba split
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_11/
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba is reportedly reconsidering its plan to split into three separate entities, and instead divide into two. The development comes as shareholders voice opposition to a three-way split.
Toshiba announced last November it would spin-off its two core businesses -- infrastructure, including power generation, and devices.
But one of Toshiba's major shareholders, a Singapore-based asset-management company, opposed the plan, saying the decision lacked transparency.
Under the reported new plan, the firm would break off only its device business including the semiconductor concern and get it listed, while retaining its infrastructure business within Toshiba.
Toshiba is apparently trying to reduce costs associated with a breakup. It is also reportedly planning to sell its air conditioning subsidiary.
Officials say they will give detailed briefings at an investors' meeting scheduled for next week.
Key words : shortage labor foreign
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_04/
Researchers estimate that Japan could by 2030 face a shortfall of 630,000 foreign workers required to cover the nation's chronic labor shortage.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency's Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development conducted a study focusing on 13 countries from where many people come to Japan to work. They include Vietnam.
The study hypothesizes that capital investment will reduce the need for human labor. Under the best-case scenario, Japan needs 4.19 million foreign workers in 2030, but will actually have 3.56 million.
The study cites narrowing wage gaps between Japan and countries where workers typically come from, and also declining birthrates in those countries.
The study shows that the required amount of foreign workers in 2040 will account for more than 10 percent of all people aged 15 to 64 in Tokyo and eight other prefectures. The figure in the capital is estimated to exceed 18.9 percent.
JICA Vice President Shishido Kenichi says other countries are also trying to acquire foreign workers, and that fewer people will be willing to work in Japan, even if visa requirements are relaxed. He says the country needs to create a society in which foreigners feel they can settle.
Key words : panel decide age
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_01/
The Japanese government's expert panel on the coronavirus pandemic has decided not to recommend an age at which young children should start wearing masks.
On Friday, the panel proposed a series of measures for schools, childcare facilities and nursing care centers.
The measures take into account the characteristics of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and are based on analyses of cluster infections.
The panel initially planned to recommend that children aged 2 and above should wear masks as much as possible, in line with a request from prefectural governors.
At Friday's meeting, pediatric care experts reportedly expressed caution. They said it may not be easy or realistic for such children to wear masks.
The panel decided not to specify an age, but it does recommend masks for children who can breathe easily in them, when possible.
Key words : nagano snow double
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220205_13/
Weather officials in Japan are forecasting heavy snow for areas mainly along the Sea of Japan over the weekend. They say the dump could create a risk of avalanches, and are also cautioning people to watch out for snow falling from rooftops.
The Japan Meteorological Agency says a strong winter pressure pattern and a cold air mass are affecting areas running from Hokkaido down to the Chugoku region. The snow is intensifying in the prefectures of Niigata and Nagano, and also in the Hokuriku region.
The 24 hours through Sunday morning could deliver up to 90 centimeters in mountainous parts of the Hokuriku region and Niigata Prefecture, 70 centimeters in the regions of Tokai and Kansai, 60 centimeters in the Tohoku region, and 50 centimeters in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture.
Officials say the cold air mass is expected to move across to the Pacific Ocean, which means snow may also accumulate in the flatlands of Tokai and elsewhere.
They say the conditions could disrupt transport services.
In some areas along the Sea of Japan coast, the amount of snow that has accumulated is already more than double that of an average year.
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