at 20:00 (JST), September 21 AS

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will reshuffle his Cabinet and key posts in the main governing Liberal Democratic Party as early as October 1st.

Prime Minister Abe will visit New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly.

The newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party has praised the latest summit in the capital Pyongyang.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180921200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Abe reshuffle as early
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_09/

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will reshuffle his Cabinet and key posts in the main governing Liberal Democratic Party as early as October 1st. He appears set to retain Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Aso and Suga have been with the prime minister since the start of his second Cabinet.

Abe spoke to reporters after being reelected to a third term as LDP president on Thursday.

He said he will confront the falling birthrate and aging population, which he called a national crisis, as well as deal with the difficult international situation.

He said he will also try to amend the Constitution, which has never been changed in more than 70 years.

Abe is scheduled to leave on a 5-day trip next week to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. He may hold talks with US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The prime minister plans to compile an extra budget for fiscal 2018 to support areas hit hard by natural disasters. He is expected to convene an extraordinary Diet session as early as late October.

Abe won the LDP leadership election on Thursday with 553 votes. He beat his only opponent, Shigeru Ishiba, a former party secretary general, who won 254 votes.

Key words : Insight LDP leadership election to find out more issue
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Key words : Abe visit to attend
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_26/

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting New York to attend the UN General Assembly next week. He will also have a summit meeting with US President Donald Trump during his stay.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that Abe will visit the United States from Sunday to Thursday.

He will deliver a speech at the general debate of the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday. Suga added Abe will have dinner with Trump on Sunday before he attends a US-Japan summit on Wednesday.

The Japanese prime minister is also planning to meet leaders of other countries during the trip.

Suga said Abe's trip will be a meaningful opportunity to reaffirm close ties with the United States and other nations on longstanding international issues, including North Korea.

Key words : Trump speech annual debate
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_15/

US President Donald Trump will meet world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

The White House announced on Thursday that President Trump will give his speech at the Assembly on Tuesday, the official opening day of the annual debate. He will chair a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday to discuss non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Trump is scheduled to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the UN event. The leaders are expected to discuss how to deal with North Korea in the stalemated US-North Korea talks over its denuclearization.

Trump is also scheduled to have talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They are expected to discuss the situation in Syria as well as Iran. The United States imposed economic sanctions on Iran last month.

Observers say Trump is hoping to demonstrate his diplomatic leadership ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

Key words : newspaper praised
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_30/

The newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party has praised the latest summit between the leaders of North and South Korea in the capital Pyongyang.

The Rodong Sinmun devoted the first 4 pages of its Friday edition to the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in and related news. The report was accompanied by 35 photographs.

The article said the summit had helped to cultivate the "precious fruit" of the rapprochement between the sides, and marked a turning point in the move toward peace, reconciliation and cooperation. It also said the process would eventually lead to the unification of the Koreas.

On its front page, the newspaper published a picture of Moon and Kim raising their joined hands while standing at the summit of Mount Paektu, which is considered sacred by North Koreans.

It said the visit to the mountain left a "clear footstep" in a new era of peace and prosperity.

Key words : survey shows
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_28/

A survey shows that South Korean President Moon Jae-in got a lift in his approval rating thanks to his 3rd summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The poll taken by Gallup Korea from Tuesday to Thursday showed that Moon's rating surged 11 points from last week, to 61 percent.

Forty percent of the respondents said Moon's 3-day visit to Pyongyang through Thursday and his summit with Kim led to progress in inter-Korean relations.

Public support for Moon had been declining since July due to growing dissatisfaction among small businesses over his decision to raise minimum wages.

Early this month, Moon's rating hit 49 percent, the lowest since he took office in May last year.

Thirty percent of the poll respondents said they do not support the president, with nearly half of them citing tough employment conditions and lack of improvement in their daily lives.

Analysts say Moon lacks a decisive economic policy, and that his ratings may drop again if no progress is made in inter-Korean relations and the North's denuclearization.

Key words : Kansai fully affected
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_25/

Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, fully reopened on Friday morning. The airport was severely damaged by a powerful typhoon earlier this month, forcing the suspension of most of its operations.

All services resumed at the North Wing of Terminal 1, which includes the departure lobby for international flights. Part of the terminal and Terminal 2 as well as 2 runways had already reopened.

Passengers formed lines at the check-in counters.

A 61-year-old man heading for Hong Kong said he has been closely following the news to see if his flight would be affected. He said the reopening is good for tourism and other economic activities in the region.

Apprentice geishas, the landladies of local inns and mascots from the region's 6 prefectures welcomed tourists at the arrival lobby.

The airport operator, Kansai Airports, says 471 domestic and international flights are scheduled to use the airport on Friday. That's almost equal to its normal operating capacity.

Kansai Airports CEO Yoshiyuki Yamaya welcomed the reopening, saying it marks a great step forward.

Some lanes of the road section of the access bridge to the airport are still closed, but trains are running fully again.

Powerful winds and waves from the typhoon pushed an oil tanker into the bridge, causing severe damage. The government says it hopes the road can be fully reopened before the holiday season in early May.

Key words : government approved
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_32/

Japan's government has approved an application for a clinical test of treatment for an intractable blood disease using iPS cells, which can grow into any type of body tissue.

A health ministry panel on Friday gave the go-ahead to the application by a team at Kyoto University for the test for aplastic anemia.

People with the disease have blood platelet deficiency and are prone to internal bleeding.

Conventional treatment includes blood transfusions, but some patients cannot receive them due to severe rejection.

The team has chosen a patient for the test. Members plan to create iPS cells from the patient's cells, grow them into blood platelets and transfuse them.

With administrative procedures completed, the team says it wants to start the test once preparations are ready.

The team is also developing blood platelets from iPS cells for general transfusions.

Key words : governing body tattoos should be do not accept
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180921_80/

Rugby's international governing body has called on players and fans at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan to cover their tattoos when they visit public facilities.

World Rugby said tattoos should be concealed at swimming pools and fitness gyms during the tournament that Japan hosts next year. It advises people to wear sports vests.

The organization said tattoos are often associated with Yakuza gangsters in Japan.

Many spas and swimming facilities warn on their websites that they do not accept customers with tattoos.

A survey conducted by the Japan Tourism Agency 3 years ago found that about 56 percent of some 600 hotels and inns said they do not allow people with tattoos to use their common baths.

Tattoos are viewed as part of culture or fashion outside Japan. In New Zealand, a rugby powerhouse, tattoos are used by indigenous Maori people to demonstrate family lineage and social status.

Multiple members of the New Zealand national team wear tattoos. However, the team said it will comply with the request to show respect for Japanese culture. No objection has been raised so far by other participating teams.

But reactions from Japanese fans are mixed. Many tweeted that respect should be paid to other cultures.