at 20:00 (JST), July 05 AS

Japan's Prime Minister has expressed determination to meet North Korean leader to resolve the issue of the North's abductions of Japanese nationals.

Japan's Foreign Minister will meet with his US and South Korean counterparts in Japan on Sunday to discuss North Korea.

NHK has learned that a top executive of a medical university may have been involved in an unfolding bribery scandal.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180705200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : prime minister expressed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_24/

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed determination to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve the issue of the North's abductions of Japanese.

Abe was speaking at a meeting with former abductee Hitomi Soga, whose mother is still unaccounted for after the two were abducted by North Korean agents decades ago.

Soga said she feels sad every time she thinks of the abductees left in the North and their families in Japan, as both are getting old. She asked Abe for more support for the families.

Abe said he's determined to meet Kim to try to resolve the issue, but that doing so may not be easy.
Abe also said Japan and the North must end their mutual distrust and start new diplomacy.

The meeting was also attended by mayors of 3 Japanese cities where former abductees live after returning from the North.

The mayors urged the central government to take the initiative in direct negotiations with Pyongyang to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Last month, Abe met the leader and other members of a group of abductees' relatives.

Key words : foreign minister will meet counterpart
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_04/

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will meet with his US and South Korean counterparts in Japan on Sunday to discuss North Korea.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Japan for 2 days from Saturday after meetings in North Korea to discuss its denuclearization based on the US-North Korea summit.

Japan's Foreign Ministry announced the 3-way meeting that includes South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. The 3 last met on June 14th after the summit.

The ministry says they will coordinate the actions of their countries after Pompeo briefs the 2 others on the content of the discussions in North Korea.

Kono will also hold separate talks with each of the 2. He wants to confirm close cooperation for a comprehensive resolution of the issues of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear and missile programs.

Key words : north and south working
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_11/

North and South Korea have held working-level talks on reviving and protecting forests in the North. They have agreed to conduct joint on-site inspections in mid-July to find ways to prevent damage from insects.

Officials of the 2 Koreas met on Wednesday on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom on the military demarcation line. The meeting was held to implement part of the joint declaration of the inter-Korean summit in April.

A joint press statement released after the talks says the 2 sides agreed to discuss cooperation on such topics as modernizing sapling cultivation, preventing forest fires and controlling sand erosion.

The statement also says the officials agreed to conduct joint on-site inspections in areas near the military demarcation line and elsewhere.

South Korea's Unification Ministry says around 32 percent of the North's forests had been destroyed as of 2008, due to excessive logging, expansion of farmland and damage from insect pests, raising the risk of floods and landslides.

Key words : rescue workers Thailand forecast
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Key words : Insight fake news
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Key words : nhk has learned top executive
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_16/

NHK has learned that a top executive of a medical university may have been involved in an unfolding bribery scandal that led to the arrest of a senior Education Ministry bureaucrat.

On Wednesday, Tokyo prosecutors arrested Futoshi Sano, 58 years old, on suspicion of illicitly having his son enrolled at Tokyo Medical University in return for giving it favorable treatment in May last year. Sano was head of the ministry's Science and Technology Policy Bureau, but was dismissed from the post after the arrest.

Sources close to the matter told NHK that Masahiko Usui, the head of Tokyo Medical University's board of directors, asked Sano to help his school become a beneficiary of a subsidy program for private universities. The university was one of the 60 chosen for the subsidy last fiscal year.

Usui is alleged to have taken the lead in inflating the score of Sano's son, who took the university's entrance examination in February, so as to ensure his acceptance.

Prosecutors are investigating to shed light on a possible collusion between a high-ranking bureaucrat in charge of education administration and the prominent university's top executive.

As a graduate of Tokyo Medical University, Usui became its president in 2008 after serving as head of its attached hospital. He has been in his current post since 2013.

On the university's website, Usui vows to work to help his institution acquire more research funds from external sources.

Key words : weather officials record-high
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_25/

Weather officials in Japan are warning of record-high rainfall across a wide part of the country through the weekend.

The Meteorological Agency said on Thursday that a seasonal rain front hanging over the country is bringing heavy rain to eastern and western Japan, and Okinawa.

The agency said heavy rain over the next few days will raise the danger of landslides and flooding.

Warm, damp air flowing into the front is creating unstable atmospheric conditions that could also generate lightning and gusts.

The agency is advising people to check for evacuation information from their local governments and move to safe places before conditions worsen.

The agency is asking people to avoid swollen rivers and irrigation canals, steep cliffs and other potential danger.

Drivers in urban areas are advised to be aware of the risk of flooding in road underpasses. The agency says narrow rivers often found in cities also present flood risks as they tend to rise suddenly in downpours.

Local officials say that as of late Thursday afternoon, some rivers in Kyoto Prefecture and another in Hiroshima had risen above flood warning levels.

Officials in Kochi Prefecture said days of intermittent heavy rain caused a 4-meter-wide community road to cave in on Thursday, leaving 13 residents cut off.

Key words : latest forecast
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_13/

The latest forecast from Japan's government sees GDP growing by about 1.5 percent in fiscal 2019. Officials expect the current recovery to continue even after the planned consumption tax hike to 10 percent in October 2019.

Officials expect personal spending to increase, and predict that investment in plant and equipment will also grow solidly. They are expecting about 1.5 percent growth in real terms, excluding price fluctuations, and nominal growth of about 2.8 percent.

Looking to the current fiscal year, officials plan to lower the real growth estimate to about 1.5 percent, down 0.3 points from the January forecast. That's partly due to housing investment being weaker than anticipated.

Key words : soccer team returned home
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_23/

Japan's national soccer team has returned home 3 days after a heartbreaking loss to Belgium at the knock out stage of the World Cup in Russia.

Members of the Samurai Blue were greeted by a cheering crowd at Narita airport near Tokyo.

A victory against Belgium would have meant a first ever Japanese appearance in the quarterfinals. But fans weren't letting the 3-2 loss dampen their enthusiasm.

Head coach Akira Nishino and team captain Makoto Hasebe thanked the supporters after their arrival.

Nishino said, "We were only able to win one game in the end and that signifies how hard it is to score even one goal at the world cup. I am proud of my players for being able to show their best at the highest level in Russia."

Hasebe said, "I think everybody on the team shared the feeling of regret from our previous world cup losses and that's what brought us together as a team. We're obviously not satisfied with this result and hope that future generations will build on top of our experiences."

The Japan Football Association announced Nishino will step down as head coach of the national team at the end of his contract in July.

Key words : emperor resumed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180705_17/

Emperor Akihito resumed his official duties at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday, after resting for 3 days to recover from dizziness and a stomach-ache.

The Emperor had canceled or postponed his official duties since Monday. He was diagnosed with cerebral anemia, a condition caused by insufficient blood flow to the brain.

The Imperial Household Agency says the Emperor has almost fully recovered.

On Thursday morning, the Emperor attended a ceremony at the Imperial Palace to receive the credentials of 2 new foreign ambassadors. The Emperor is to attend a tea party with retired high court presidents in the afternoon.

The agency said the Emperor resumed normal meals on Wednesday and did not feel any dizziness on Thursday morning.

The agency says no changes are planned in the Emperor's official duties from Friday onwards.