The US is imposing sanctions on 3 high ranking North Korean officials for human rights abuses and state-sponsored censorship.
Japan's new defense guidelines are to call for having the Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest destroyer function as an aircraft carrier, to strengthen defense of regional waters.
A Taiwanese bread maker has been forced to voice support for the One China principle after his first bakery in the country was labeled as pro-independence.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181211200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : US sanction human rights abuses
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_32/
With negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang not making much progress, the US is imposing sanctions on 3 high ranking North Korean officials for human rights abuses and state-sponsored censorship.
The documents refer to Choe Ryong Hae as Kim Jong Un's 'Number Two,' who exerts control over the party, government and military.
Another is Jong Kyong Thaek...North Korea's Minister of State Security.
The US says he directs censorship activities and abuses.
The US also alleges Pak Kwang Ho suppresses freedom of speech and expression.
The sanctions effectively freeze their property and interests within the US and bans transactions with US citizens.
The US says North Korea's human right abuses are among the worst in the world.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin singled out the case of Otto Warmbier, who died last year after being returned by Pyongyang in a coma.
The US has accused North Korea of treating him brutally during his detention for alleged crimes against the state.
The latest sanctions are largely symbolic as officials in the North are already under heavy sanctions.
But it could be aimed at adding pressure amid denuclearization talks between the two countries.
US President Trump maintains he is open to a second summit with Kim early next year.
Key words : new defense guideline
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_37/
Japan's new defense guidelines are to call for having the Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest destroyer function as an aircraft carrier, to strengthen defense of regional waters.
Japan's government aims to decide next week on the new National Defense Program Guidelines. Its draft was presented to an expert panel on Tuesday.
The draft says Japan will introduce state-of-the-art F-35B stealth fighter jets that can take off from short runways on remote islands and aircraft carriers, and make vertical landings. It calls for refurbishing the destroyer Izumo to accommodate such jets.
The draft also calls for setting up a unit specializing in cyberattacks and giving it priority in allotting a budget and personnel.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the panel that his biggest responsibility is protecting people's lives and their peaceful way of life. He pledged to break away from the notion of "land, sea and air," and reform Japan's defense system into a foundation for the future.
Key words : Taiwanese voice
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_39/
A Taiwanese bread maker has been forced to voice support for the One China principle after his first bakery in the country was labeled as pro-independence.
Wu Pao-chun, a world champion in bread making, runs a popular bakery in Taiwan.
His recently opened first bakery in Shanghai became the target of a false online rumor that the owner once said he would rather starve to death than do business in China. The rumor brought criticism that the owner supports Taiwanese independence.
Fearing a boycott by Chinese customers, Wu issued a statement on Monday saying he was born in Taiwan, China, and that he is proud of being Chinese.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday accused China of using politics to distort economic activity.
She stressed that the Taiwanese people will not accept China's political oppression.
A number of Taiwanese companies doing business in China have been forced to take similar action following online accusations of supporting independence.
Key words : Japanese government panel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_30/
A Japanese government panel on disaster response says that when the likelihood of a mega-quake hitting the country's Pacific coast rises, residents should evacuate at an early stage.
Under a system introduced in November of last year, the Meteorological Agency issues alerts when the possibility of a mega-quake along the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast rises.
But specific responses to be taken by local governments and residents have yet to be decided.
The panel discussed the possibility of a magnitude-8 quake taking place in about half the focal region and raising concerns that a mega-quake would occur in the other half.
They decided that even residents in areas largely unaffected by the initial tremor should evacuate in advance. This includes all the people in areas who will definitely not have enough time to flee a tsunami if they were to wait until after the mega-quake hits.
As for areas where residents may or may not have enough time to escape, the elderly and others who take longer to flee should evacuate in advance.
The panel says these residents will be evacuated for about a week.
In another scenario, if a smaller magnitude-7 quake were to strike, evacuation is not required in anticipation of a mega-quake. Instead, the panel says people should always be prepared and evacuate voluntarily.
The panel will take views expressed in Tuesday's meeting into consideration as it finalizes a report by the end of the year.
The government will then draw up guidelines to suggest what local governments should consider when drawing up plans to deal with disaster.
Key words : Russia denied
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_36/
Russia's deputy prime minister has denied that the leaders of Japan and Russia have ever discussed the transfer of Russian-held islands.
Yury Trutnev, who also serves as presidential envoy to the Far East, was speaking to Russian media on Monday.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have only discussed joint economic activities on the islands.
The two leaders agreed in November that Japan and Russia will accelerate negotiations on a peace treaty based on the 1956 joint declaration. The declaration says Moscow will hand over to Japan 2 of 4 Russian-held islands after the conclusion of a peace treaty.
A peace treaty was never signed after World War Two. The stumbling block has been a territorial dispute over the 4 Russian-controlled islands. Japan claims them.
The Japanese government maintains they are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says they were illegally occupied by the Soviet Union after the war.
Analysts say Trutnev tried to show Russia's strong stance in negotiations with Japan to appease the public. In an opinion poll in November, 74 percent opposed transferring the islands to Japan.
Analysts also say Trutnev issued a tacit warning to Japan, indicating that Russia would not go ahead with the negotiations unless both sides agree on the conditions of the transfer. Russia wants to secure a guarantee that the United States will not deploy its troops on the islands following the handover.
Key words : US and China talked over
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_34/
Top officials from the US and China have talked over the phone about how their ongoing trade talks should proceed. This comes after the CFO of major telecom firm Huawei was arrested in Canada on December 1st at the request of the US.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry says China's Vice Premier Liu He spoke to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday.
The ministry says the US side requested the call, and that the officials discussed the timeline of the ongoing negotiations.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed earlier this month to temporarily halt the trade spat between their countries, and hold talks.
But the Huawei arrest has thrown the future of the negotiations into doubt, with experts worried it could lead to further tensions between the countries.
Key words : US military in
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_35/
The US military in Japan has ended search operations for 5 Marines who went missing in last week's mid-air collision of 2 aircraft and declared they are deceased.
An FA-18 fighter jet and a KC-130 refueling aircraft collided during training on Thursday, after taking off from their base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in western Japan.
Two of the 7 crew members were rescued, but one of them died. The remaining 5 aboard the refueling aircraft went missing.
The US forces in Japan announced on Tuesday that the military had called off the search operations with Japan's Self-Defense Forces and Coast Guard, and declared the 5 Marines deceased.
The US military has classified the mid-air crash as a Class A mishap, which is the most serious classification on a 4-level scale.
Key words : Seko drop a budget
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_29/
Japan's industry minister Hiroshige Seko said his ministry will drop a budget request for a public-private fund at the center of a dispute.
Nine executives at the Japan Investment Corporation say they plan to step down, claiming a disagreement over their pay has damaged their trust in the ministry.
Seko told reporters on Tuesday, "JIC's management will be effectively gone once the resignations are announced. It's not appropriate for us to ask for a new budget allocation under those circumstances."
Seko said the JIC plans to appoint new executives from the private sector who have experience in the investment field. A panel of experts will consider candidates.
JIC President and CEO Masaaki Tanaka and the other board members announced their resignations on Monday.
With the ministry's decision, the JIC may not receive any funding out of the government's budget for fiscal 2019.
The ministry was requesting about 1.4 billion dollars for the JIC from a fund that draws money from government bond issuance.
Ministry officials said a budget request would be made if a new board can be set up.
Key words : UN-backed adopted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_26/
A UN-backed conference on migration has adopted an accord for better handling of the issue, the first of its kind.
Delegates of 164 countries attended a conference on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, to finalize the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The pact stresses the importance of the human rights of migrants. It features 23 objectives, including the strengthening of cooperation and global partnership for safe, orderly and regular migration.
Other objectives call for promoting migrants' access to basic services and for more efforts to prevent smuggling and trafficking of migrants.
The global compact is not legally binding. It calls on sovereign nations to decide their own migration policies, apparently in response to some countries' concerns that such a pact could limit national sovereignty.
The draft of the pact was adopted in July with the agreement of all UN members except the United States.
The US walked out from the process last year, saying it is inconsistent with the Trump administration's tough policies towards immigrants.
Some countries with hardline immigration policies, such as Hungary and Austria, were absent from the Marrakech meeting.
A UN source says 10 nations rejected the final document and 6 other nations, including Italy and Switzerland, appear to be thinking about withdrawing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denied any concerns over the content of the document. He said he hopes countries that are opposed will decide to join the accord.
Key words : Japan health ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181211_27/
Japan's health ministry has decided to give vaccinations for rubella, or German measles, free of charge to middle-aged men.
Ministry officials say more than 2,400 people have been infected with rubella this year in Japan. The figure is the most since a large outbreak in 2013.
About 2,000 of them are men, and most of those men are in their 30s to 50s and did not receive rubella vaccinations during childhood. It is said that about 20 percent of men in that generation are not fully immune to rubella.
To contain infection, the ministry has decided to test the men for antibodies and if they are found to not have any, it will inoculate them free of charge over about 3 years from 2019.
The ministry aims to eradicate infections by 2020 when many foreign visitors will be arriving in Japan for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Rubella infections during pregnancy can result in visual, hearing or cardiac disorders in the baby.
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