at 20:00 (JST), March 15 (Autoscroll)

Japan's opposition parties have agreed to return to Diet debate, ending their boycott over the Finance Ministry's alteration of official documents.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday on the suspected poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.

North Korean Foreign Minister is on his way to Sweden. He is expected to discuss the planned US-North Korean summit with his Swedish counterpart.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180315200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : opposition debate
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_29/

Japan's 6 opposition parties have agreed to return to Diet debate on Friday, ending their boycott over the Finance Ministry's alteration of official documents on a controversial sale of national land.

Representatives of the opposition and governing parties agreed on Thursday to hold a question-and-answer session on the scandal at an Upper House committee meeting on Friday.

They also agreed to hold a longer, more intensive session on the matter and the broader issue of accountability in government documents on Monday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso are to attend the Monday session.

The opposition started its boycott this Monday, after the Finance Ministry admitted to altering documents related to the 2016 land sale before presenting them to the Diet early last year.

Nobuhisa Sagawa, who headed the ministry's section in charge of the sale until last summer, resigned from the current post of tax agency chief on Friday.

At their meeting with the governing parties, opposition members called for a vote to ensure that Sagawa can be called to testify under oath as soon as the committee deems it necessary.

A governing Liberal Democratic Party representative turned down the proposal, saying the party wants to see how Diet debate on the scandal proceeds before deciding whether to summon Sagawa.

Key words : Aso decided not to
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_23/

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has decided not to attend a Group of 20 meeting in order to deal with a political scandal involving the alteration of state documents.

G20 finance ministers and top central bankers are meeting in Buenos Aires on Monday and Tuesday.

But Aso says he's staying Tokyo to attend an Upper House committee session on the scandal on Monday.

The ministry plans to send State Minister of Finance Minoru Kihara to the G20 meeting.

Delegates will discuss the US decision to slap steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

They will also debate tightening regulations on cryptocurrencies.

Investors recently lost hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of the digital coins in a hack targeting a Tokyo-based exchange.

Key words : sri lanka agreed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_18/

Leaders of Japan and Sri Lanka have agreed to strengthen bilateral ties to promote the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena held talks in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.

Japan hopes to promote its Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy through closer ties with Sri Lanka, which has a strategically important location in the Indian Ocean.

The leaders agreed that Japan will help Sri Lanka in constructing seaports and other infrastructure projects, and the 2 countries will cooperate in improving maritime security in the region.

Abe also told the president that Japan will provide a yen loan worth up to 100 million dollars to Sri Lanka to help improve medical facilities and equipment.

In a joint news conference, Abe said Japan and Sri Lanka are both an island nation surrounded by waters. He stressed a free and open maritime order is crucial for both countries' development.

Abe pledged his commitment to making the Indo-Pacific region an international property that brings about peace and prosperity.

Sirisena said he is confident that the meeting will lead to a boost in bilateral relations.

Key words : emergency meeting poisoning
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_19/

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday on the suspected poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.

Britain called the session, which lasted for about 90 minutes.

Former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain in a critical condition after being allegedly exposed to a nerve agent in Britain on March 4th. Britain holds Russia responsible, saying that the nerve agent novichok was developed by the Russian military.

Britain's deputy UN ambassador, Jonathan Allen, told the Security Council that there were "2 plausible explanations: either it was a direct attack on his country by Russia, or Russia had lost control of a military-grade nerve agent which they had developed." He also said Russia "either did not care that the weapon used would be traced back to them, or mistakenly believed they could cover their traces."

US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United States shares Britain's assessment and that "Russia's crime is worthy of the Council's action."

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Russia was not involved in the incident. He dismissed the accusation as propaganda aimed at tarnishing Russia's image.

Nebenzia said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last year inspected all of Russia's chemical weapons, including nerve agents.

The US and European nations are calling for help from the organization to investigate the incident. Russia is proposing that a Security Council press statement on the incident should call for an investigation based on provisions of the chemical weapons watchdog.

Russia has grown distrustful of the watchdog in connection with the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Key words : north way to sweden
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_22/

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is on his way to Sweden. Observers say he is expected to discuss the planned US-North Korean summit with his Swedish counterpart.

Sweden has diplomatic ties with North Korea. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents US interests in the country.

Ri left Pyongyang and flew into a Beijing airport on Thursday. The minister headed to Stockholm later in the day.

Media in Sweden reported last week that Ri is expected to hold talks with the Swedish foreign minister.

The first-ever US-North Korea summit will likely be high on their agenda. The summit is expected to take place by May.

Ri has long been engaged in diplomacy with Washington. His move is attracting attention as Pyongyang has yet to officially respond to US President Donald Trump's acceptance of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to talk.

In January, North Korea sent a vice foreign minister in charge of US affairs to Sweden.

Key words : annual wage talk
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180314_37/

Japan's annual wage talks were in full swing on Wednesday. Major companies announced their responses to labor unions. Many have offered workers a bigger pay raise than they did last year.

A major union with 2 million members says it's had reports of encouraging decisions from various companies.

Management and labor at Toyota Motor have agreed to a monthly base hike that exceeds last year's figure.

Company officials say the increase, combined with seniority-based raises and other benefits, amounts to a 3.3-percent hike on average.

That figure exceeds the 3-percent target promoted by the government and the Japan Business Federation.

Nissan Motor executives have accepted workers' requests for a pay hike twice as high as last year's.
In the electronics industry, Panasonic and other firms have also offered employees bigger raises.

Key words : Insight outcome annual wage talk
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Key words : new chief
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_16/

The new chief of the UN disaster management office, who is from Japan, says she hopes to share the lessons from the 2011 disaster in her country.

Mami Mizutori spoke to Japanese reporters in Geneva on Wednesday. She took up her post as head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on March 1st.

Mizutori said she hopes to make her utmost efforts as a person from Japan, where people are well aware of the importance of disaster preparedness.

She said no one denies the importance of disaster risk reduction, but that taking action is essential.

Mizutori mentioned the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

She said how Japan has been recovering from the damage should be shared with people around the world.
She added it is necessary to inform the global community about the whole picture of Japan's efforts for the recovery, as well as specific measures taken.

Mizutori expressed her hope to visit the disaster-afflicted areas in the northeast in the near future.

Key words : government across Japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_26/

Local governments across Japan have begun accepting applications for operating private lodging rental businesses under a new law going into effect in June.

The law is aimed at responding to a growing need for affordable accommodation amid a sharp rise in foreign tourists, while cracking down on illegal lodging.

The law is to limit the number of days per year that rooms in private homes and apartments can be rented to 180.

Operators will have to put up signs indicating the presence of rental units and respond to noise and other complaints from neighbors. Violators can expect to be fined.

Illegal rentals have been tied to serious crimes in Japan.

Police discovered a woman's body parts at a tourist rental apartment in the western city of Osaka last month. An American man was arrested on suspicion of abandoning her body.

Key words : united nation annual study
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180315_27/

A United Nations report has named Finland as the happiest country in the world.

The UN released its 2018 World Happiness Report on Wednesday. The annual study ranked 156 countries and several territories on factors such as per capita gross domestic product, life expectancy and social freedom.

Finland jumped to the top of the list after placing 5th last year. Norway came 2nd and Denmark 3rd.

The report attributes the happiness levels in these Scandinavian countries to factors including the high quality of social welfare and education.

The report says the top-ranked countries all tend to score highly on 6 key variables found to support well-being. These are income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. It says that yearly changes in the rankings are to be expected because the differences between the top countries are so small.

Japan fell to 54th place from 51st last year, ranking the lowest among the Group of Seven industrialized nations. The country scored poorly on factors such as generosity and perceptions of corruption.

For the first time, the UN also surveyed 117 countries and territories regarding the happiness of immigrants. Finland scored highest. Japan was ranked 25th.