A Japanese woman who returned home after being abducted to North Korea 40 years ago has launched a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees.
Japan's foreign minister has met his new Colombian counterpart and asked the South American country to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.
UN special rapporteurs have called on the Japanese government to act quickly to protect workers engaged in decontamination of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180817200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : Japanese woman
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_23/
A Japanese woman who returned home after being abducted to North Korea 40 years ago has launched a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees.
Hitomi Soga was abducted by North Korean agents from Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture along with her mother Miyoshi on August 12th, 1978.
She was able to return to Japan in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit, but her mother's whereabouts remain unknown.
Soga launched the drive for signatures in Sado on Friday. She was joined by former abductees Yasushi and Fukie Chimura, who returned home on the same day as Soga.
Many people stopped by to sign the petition.
Soga said both the families waiting in Japan and the abductees in North Korea are growing old. She said she hopes the issue can be settled as soon as possible so everyone can live happily in their hometowns.
Yasushi Chimura called for public support, saying there's little time left. He said the abductees earnestly hope that the government will take quick action to seek the return of all abductees who are still alive in the North.
The government says at least 17 Japanese nationals were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. Only 5 have returned, including Soga and the Chimuras.
Key words : foreign minister colombia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_07/
Japan's foreign minister has met his new Colombian counterpart and asked the South American country to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.
Taro Kono held talks with Carlos Holmes Trujillo in Colombia on Thursday. Kono is on a tour of Central and South America.
Colombia's new government took office earlier this month. Its previous government expressed willingness to take part in the TPP, which has 11 member nations, including Japan.
Trujillo floated his intention to first negotiate with Japan on an economic partnership agreement.
Both ministers agreed to cooperate to preserve free trade.
Kono conveyed his intention to support land mine removal, rural development, and other projects in Colombia. A civil war longer than 50 years ended in 2016 in that country.
Key words : UN special
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_80/
UN special rapporteurs have called on the Japanese government to act quickly to protect workers engaged in decontamination of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The 3 independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council jointly issued a statement on Thursday.
The statement says tens of thousands of workers are reportedly "being exploited and exposed to toxic nuclear radiation" in efforts to clean up the plant.
It expressed deep concern about "possible exploitation by deception regarding the risks of exposure to radiation" and about "the adequacy of training and protective measures." It says the workers at threat include homeless people.
One of the experts, lawyer Baskut Tuncak, told NHK that they have asked the Japanese government for an explanation but their concerns have not been dispelled.
He added that the special rapporteurs want to conduct an on-site investigation to establish the facts.
The Japanese government says it has lodged a protest in reaction to the statement by the UN special rapporteurs.
The Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva issued a comment.
The mission says it is regrettable that the special rapporteurs released the statement based on one-sided information despite the Japanese government's sincere response to a request for explanation.
The mission says the statement could unnecessarily increase concern, cause confusion, and add to the suffering of people in disaster-hit areas who are struggling with the effects of false rumors.
Key words : US defense has expressed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_18/
The US Defense Department has expressed caution about China's rapidly expanding bomber operating areas. It says Beijing is likely training for strikes against the United States and allied targets.
The Department of Defense submitted its annual report on military and security developments involving China to Congress on Thursday.
The report cites the August 2017 incident in which 6 Chinese bombers flew through the Miyako Strait of southwestern Japan. They then turned and flew as far north as the Kii Peninsula on the Pacific coast.
It says the Chinese air force has demonstrated its capability to strike US and allied forces, as well as military bases in the western Pacific Ocean, including Guam.
The report also notes that China is developing missiles that can destroy information and intelligence satellites. It says Beijing continues to strengthen its military space capabilities despite taking a public stance against the militarization of space.
The Pentagon recently cancelled its invitation to China to join a multi-nation naval exercise. The cancellation was a show of disapproval over what the US sees as China's militarization of the South China Sea. The biennial exercise took place in Hawaii from June through the beginning of August.
Key words : US defense postpone
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_19/
The US Defense Department says it will postpone a military parade in Washington that was planned for Veterans Day in November.
Defense Department spokesman Rob Manning announced on Thursday that the military and the White House agreed to explore opportunities next year. But he did not mention the reason for the postponement.
President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to plan a military parade after attending France's Bastille Day parade last year as a guest of President Emmanuel Macron.
The last large-scale military parade in Washington took place in 1991 to commemorate the end of the Gulf War.
US media have reported that the parade would cost 92 million dollars, more than 3 times preliminary estimates.
Some critics have said it is a waste of taxpayers' money and reminiscent of a dictatorship.
Key words : chinese boat
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_26/
A large fleet of Chinese boats left port on Friday, one day after Chinese authorities lifted a seasonal fishing ban on parts of the South China Sea and East China Sea.
A departure ceremony took place in the southern province of Guangdong. The ban had been in place since May.
Some of the boats are expected to head to the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam and Taiwan are in dispute over sovereignty.
An international arbitration tribunal rejected Chinese claims over most of the South China Sea in 2016. But China continues to assert its rights by designating a fishing season in the region to manage resources.
A 52-year-old fisherman said the body of water belongs to China. He said he has fished there for a long time and hopes for a good catch this season too.
The parts of the East China Sea where China lifted the ban include waters off the Senkaku Islands. Japan controls the islands. China and Taiwan claim them. The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory.
Two years ago, Chinese fishing boats swarmed near the islands, with some entering Japanese territorial waters.
This year, authorities in Fujian Province instructed boat operators not to fish in diplomatically sensitive zones.
The move comes as the 2 countries' relations show signs of improvement. Preparations are being made for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit China this year.
Key words : chinese it
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_24/
A Chinese IT firm that claimed to have developed a homegrown web browser has apologized after it was found to be using an American company's technology.
Chinese media reported that Redcore recently unveiled the software, boasting that it had broken the American monopoly by developing an original Chinese browser.
But soon after the release, users discovered that the browser was based on Google Chrome and pointed out online that Redcore had only changed the appearance of the software.
The firm on Friday offered an apology, saying that its advertising was misleading and that it will clearly state that the browser is based on Google's technology.
The incident comes amid increasing trade frictions between the United States and China. China has been criticized by the US for its intellectual property rights violations.
Some Chinese net users say the incident is shameful. Others say it will cause national confusion and help the US side.
Key words : chinese president
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_10/
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned that authorities will hold dozens of officials accountable for a vaccine safety scandal.
China's state-run media say Xi presided over a meeting of top Communist Party leaders on the issue on Thursday.
A major vaccine maker based in Changchun in the northeastern province of Jilin was found last month to have falsified production records for an anti-rabies vaccine.
The company also sold about 500,000 substandard vaccines for children.
Party leaders said the producer violated regulations in the pursuit of profits. They said supervisory departments were also in dereliction of duty.
The leaders agreed to relieve the provincial vice governor and several other party officials of their duties. Altogether, more than 40 officials will be held accountable.
The Communist Party leadership rarely discusses misconduct by a private company. Observers say the direct intervention may be an attempt to ease public discontent over the matter.
Key words : daylight saving
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_21/
While Japan considers introducing daylight saving time as a measure to avoid the heat during the 2020 summer Olympics and Paralympics, the European Union is debating whether to end the practice.
EU member states move their clocks forward an hour from March through October. Daylight saving was introduced in the belief that it would save electricity by effectively shifting daylight from the sleepy early hours to the busy evening and create more leisure time.
But critics say research shows that the energy-saving benefits are limited. Many also point out that daylight saving disrupts the human biological clock and has negative effects on both physical and mental health.
Finland is one EU country that does not benefit much from daylight saving because it is at a higher latitude with long daylight hours during the summer months.
In January, Finland called on the European Union to end the clock change after more than 70,000 Finns signed a petition calling for the practice to be abolished.
Following the request, the European Commission polled citizens on the issue from July to August 16. The Commission will review the results of the poll, but the decision is expected to take time as member states have varying views.
Key words : team of researcher
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180817_22/
A team of researchers at Kyoto University has unveiled the largest telescope ever built in East Asia or Japan.
The researchers at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science on Friday gave the media access to the telescope, Seimei, located on a mountaintop in the western prefecture of Okayama. It measures 3.8-meters in diameter.
The team built Seimei in the hope of being able to pursue unrestricted research, because the world's huge telescopes are usually constructed as part of multinational projects.
Scientists need to apply to use them and they are allocated only a limited amount of time.
The researchers at Kyoto University developed original parts to cut costs. They founded a joint venture in the city of Seki, known for traditional sword-making, to produce 18 mirrors that make up the core part of the telescope.
Together with other cost-cutting efforts, the team built Seimei for 1.5 billion yen, or about 14 million dollars. That's one-third the cost of a similar size telescope.
The team says the government budget wasn't enough to cover the costs and it had to solicit donations from supporters.
The team will use the telescope to try and figure out how black holes are born and why supernovas explode. It also wants to become the first to discover an extrasolar planet that harbors life.
Associate Professor Mikio Kurita says team members put together their ideas and built a simple but high-performance telescope on a limited budget.
He says the team wants to conduct challenging studies.
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