at 20:00 (JST), June 12 AS

In a historic summit US President has promised to provide security guarantees to North Korea, while North leader has committed to denuclearizing.

US President has held a news conference about his historic meeting with North Korean leader.

Japan's Prime Minister says the summit is the first step toward resolving various issues concerning the North Korea.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180612200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : US president promised completing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_59/

US President Donald Trump has promised to provide security guarantees to North Korea, while its leader Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed his commitment to completing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The leaders signed a joint statement to wrap up their first meeting in Singapore on Tuesday.

It says the US and North Korea "commit to establish new bilateral relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the 2 countries for peace and prosperity."

The statement also says the US and North Korea will "join efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."

At the signing ceremony, Trump called the document very important" and "pretty comprehensive." He said his country's whole relationship with North Korea and the Korean Peninsula is going to be a very different situation than it has been in the past.

Kim said the 2 leaders are signing a historic document that will leave the past behind and mark a new start. He said the world is going to witness a major change.

He expressed gratitude to Trump for his efforts to make the summit happen.

Asked by a reporter about denuclearization, Trump said he expects the process to happen "very, very quickly."
When asked if he plans to invite Kim to the White House, Trump answered "absolutely." He said they will meet many times.

Key words : Trump held joint statement
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_61/

US President Donald Trump has held a press conference in Singapore about his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump said, "My meeting with Chairman Kim was honest, direct and productive. We got to know each other well in very confined period of time, under very strong circumstances. We are prepared to start a new history, and we're ready to write a new chapter between our nations."

On the key issue of denuclearization, Trump said that process will happen as quickly as possible.

Trump also said, "Chairman Kim is on his way back to North Korea and I know for a fact that as soon as he arrives he will start a process that will make a lot of people very happy and very safe."

A reporter asked about the issue of verification. Trump promised that Pyongyang's denuclearization would be verified by a combination of American and international experts.

He also noted that sanctions will remain in place until what he described as 'the menace of nuclear weapons' is removed.

Trump then said Kim told him that North Korea is destroying a major missile engine testing site.

The president also said he raised an issue of great importance to Japan, the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents decades ago. Trump said it will be worked on.

On the issue of American troops on the Korean Peninsula, Trump said he will not be reducing the US' presence for the time being.

But he noted that the US will be stopping what he called 'war games', saying that move will save the US a lot of money.

He also said there can be hope that the Korean War will end soon. Fighting ended decades ago in an armistice, but no peace treaty was every signed.

Before the news conference, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement.

In the document, the North Korean leader says his country will work toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. US President Donald Trump promises to provide security guarantees in return.
Trump said, "We are very proud of what took place today. I think our whole relationship with North Korea and Korean Peninsula will be much different situation than it has in the past."

Kim said, "At today's historic meeting, we are signing a document that marks a whole new beginning and leaves the past behind. The world will see a major change. I want to express my gratitude to President Trump for working to make this meeting happen."

The statement says North Korea commits to work towards complete denuclearization, reaffirming the Panmunjom Declaration issued between the two Koreas in April.

Key words : Trump raise the issue he added
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_05/

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says US President Donald Trump has promised to raise the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, during his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Abe was speaking to members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday evening.

The prime minister's remarks came after he spoke with Trump over the phone, ahead of the US-North Korea summit, which will be held on Tuesday.

Abe said Trump told him that he wants to spend time talking with Kim.

Abe said he asked Trump to bring up the abduction issue.

The prime minister said Trump responded that he will definitely discuss the matter with Kim.

Abe told his fellow lawmakers that he has renewed his resolve to have the abduction issue settled while he is in office.

He said he believes that the matter should ultimately be resolved through direct dialogue with Pyongyang.

He added that he expects the Trump-Kim summit to be a historic meeting that will lead to progress on the abduction issue, as well as on the issue of North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs.

Key words : Abe first step resolving
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_60/

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is the first step toward resolving various issues concerning the North.

Abe told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that he wants to express his deep respect for Trump's leadership and efforts to make the summit happen.

He said the statement signed at the summit confirms Kim's commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The prime minister said he highly appreciates that Trump raised the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens in the summit talks.

He added he wants to speak with Trump by phone to hear the details of the abductions issue.

Abe also said that Japan and the United States will work with the rest of the international community to resolve North Korean issues.

Key words : the families abducted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_56/

The families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea reacted to US President Donald Trump's mention of the issue at his post-summit news conference in Singapore on Tuesday.

Keiko Arimoto's 89-year-old father Akihiro said he is happy that Trump and Kim Jong Un discussed the abductions issue, just as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had asked Trump to do.

He called for the leaders of Japan and North Korea to hold talks on the matter.

Kaoru Matsuki's 72-year-old sister, Fumiyo Saito, said she got the impression that the issue was discussed lightly, and said she was shocked that it was not included in their statement.
She said she believes the quickest way to bring the abductees home is to have the matter discussed between Japan and North Korea.

Kyoko Matsumoto's older brother Hajime said it's a step forward, and stressed the significance of giving the issue worldwide exposure.

He urged the Japanese government to take action so that the issue does not end here.

Shuichi Ichikawa's 73-year-old brother Kenichi said he would have liked it if Trump explained the matter in detail to Kim, but the fact that Trump directly conveyed it to Kim is significant in itself.

He too called for talks between Japan and North Korea to bring all the abductees home.

The head of the abductee families' group, Shigeo Iizuka, said he wanted the US to demand firmly that North Korea return all the abductees immediately, and to get the North's word that it will do this.

But the 80-year-old brother of Yaeko Taguchi said he welcomes the fact that attention was again focused on the abductions issue.

He added that the challenge is what to do from here, and urged Abe and the Japanese government to do more to resolve the matter.

Hitomi Soga is a returned abductee whose mother is still missing.

She said she had tried to limit her expectations, but her hopes grew as the summit neared. But, she said, nothing came out of it.

Soga said the US and North Korea say they will discuss the matter, but neither side understands the situation the abductee families are in.

She said they wanted concrete answers, and they've been saying time is running out, so she's very disappointed.

She urged Abe to arrange a summit with North Korea.

Key words : Japan put satellite
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_41/

Japan has put another satellite into orbit to gather intelligence for national security purposes.

An H2A rocket carrying the intelligence-gathering satellite lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan, at 1:20 PM on Tuesday. It put the satellite into orbit some 20 minutes later.

The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which carried out the launch, cited security reasons for not disclosing launch details, such as the altitude of the satellite release.

The de-facto reconnaissance satellite is designed to capture images of the Earth's surface from hundreds of kilometers up.

Japan operates optical and radar satellites. The optical type use high-performance cameras to take images during the day, while the radar satellites take photos at night and in bad weather using radio waves. The latest launch was of a radar-type satellite.

The Japanese government uses the satellites to monitor North Korea's missile-launching facilities and to assess the extent of damage in disasters among other things.

Japan now has 8 intelligence-gathering satellites in orbit. Six are in operation. An optical-type satellite launched in February is currently being prepared to go into operation.

Together, the satellites ensure every part of the Earth is covered at least once a day.

The government plans to increase the number of reconnaissance satellites in orbit to 10.

Key words : Abe instructed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_34/

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed his administration to swiftly implement emergency measures against sexual harassment.

The government officially finished drawing up the measures in a meeting attended by Abe and Women's Empowerment Minister Seiko Noda on Tuesday.

The move comes after the Finance Ministry's former top bureaucrat was accused of making inappropriate remarks to a female reporter.

The measures note the lack of awareness about sexual harassment among senior bureaucrats. They require bureaucrats in management positions to undergo training to prevent such misconduct.

They also say divisions will be set up at each government office to protect outside victims and take their complaints.

Abe said sexual harassment is a clear violation of human rights and should never happen.

Key words : policy maker
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_38/

Policymakers at the US Federal Reserve are getting together for a two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Market participants are waiting to see if the Fed will speed up its pace of rate hikes for the rest of the year.

The majority of analysts expect officials to raise their key interest rate from the current range of 1.5 to 1.75 percent. If they decide to do so, it will be the first rate hike since March.

After the meeting, Fed policy makers will also be saying how many times they expect to raise rates by the end of the year.

They have indicated that will be 2 more times, including this meeting. But there is speculation over whether the Fed will bring the annual total to more than 3 hikes.

Eyes will also be on what Chairman Jerome Powell will have to say about the Fed's plans for the next year and beyond.

The US economy continues to expand. The country's jobless rate has fallen to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. Prices are on the rise as well.

But market observers are cautious about the Trump administration's protectionist policy, which is stoking trade friction that could have some impact on the US economy.

Key words : NHK poll
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180611_29/

An NHK poll shows the support rate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet remains unchanged at 38 percent. The disapproval rate is also unchanged at 44 percent.

Disapproval surpassed support for the third straight month.

NHK conducted the survey over the weekend on 2,159 randomly chosen people aged 18 or older. Of them, 1,218, or 56 percent, responded.

Among those who support the Cabinet, 45 percent said the administration seems better than the alternatives. 20 percent said it has the ability to implement policies, while 13 percent said it is comprised of parties they support.

Among those who disapprove of the Cabinet, 54 percent said they don't trust Abe. 20 percent cited low policy expectations, and 9 percent said the Cabinet cannot implement policies.

9 percent of respondents said they believe US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be able to agree on complete denuclearization at their summit on Tuesday. 43 percent believe they won't.

18 percent expect the summit to help resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea. 43 percent do not.

Abe has expressed willingness to meet Kim to resolve the abduction issue. 66 percent viewed this positively, at least to some degree. 28 percent did not.

The survey also asked respondents about tampered Finance Ministry documents involving a sale of state-owned land. The scandal has raised suspicions of favoritism involving Abe's wife.

27 percent said they approve of Finance Minister Taro Aso's decision to return one year's ministerial salary over the scandal, while 64 percent said they do not. The amount Aso would return is about 15,500 dollars, or less than 10 percent of his pay as a lawmaker.

Prosecutors decided not to indict a former senior ministry official and others over the scandal. 24 percent said that decision is acceptable. 66 percent said it is not.

Abe's Cabinet is embroiled in another favoritism scandal involving a veterinary school in a national special strategic zone in Ehime Prefecture that is headed by Abe's close friend.

A document created by the prefecture says the operator's head briefed Abe on the school project long before winning government approval. The operator now says it misinformed the prefecture.

Abe has consistently denied knowing of the project before it was approved.

Only 15 percent of the survey's respondents said the operator's explanation is convincing. 73 percent said it is not.

Key words : business negative
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180612_40/

Business sentiment at major Japanese firms in the April to June period turned negative for the first time in a year.

The Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Office survey covered about 16,000 companies.

The survey showed that the index stood at minus 2.

The figure indicates that more companies feel business has worsened compared with the previous 3 months.

Negative sentiment was stronger among manufacturers. This is due to an increase in prices of materials and parts for automobiles, and sluggish sales of smartphone components.

But, the sentiment is expected to turn positive in the coming months. The index is forecast at plus 6.9 for July to September, and plus 7.9 for October to December.

Finance Ministry officials maintain the view that Japan's economy continues to recover moderately as corporate investment remains positive.