Japan's central government is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to relocate the US military base within the southern prefecture of Okinawa.
A court in Yokohama near Tokyo has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison for dangerous driving that caused 2 deaths.
A group of Japanese Diet member is calling on South Korean President to appropriately handle the recent rulings by country's Supreme Court on wartime labor.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181214200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : central government pushing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_31/
Japan's central government is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to relocate an American military base within the southern prefecture of Okinawa. They've started full-scale land reclamation work despite strong local opposition.
Crews have begun pouring sand and dirt into the coastal area of Henoko so the base can be moved there. The reclamation had been suspended due to legal battles between the central and local governments.
The US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station currently sits in a densely populated area and poses a safety concern because of the volume of military air traffic.
Both Tokyo and Washington maintain the planned move is the only solution.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, "With the security environment surrounding Japan becoming increasingly serious, we want to maintain deterrence under the Japan-US alliance. And bearing in mind we also need to eliminate the risks posed by the Futenma base, relocating to Henoko is the only viable option."
Tokyo's move drew an angry response from Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki. He was elected in September and wants the base moved out of the prefecture altogether, just as his predecessor did.
Tamaki said, "By proceeding with the construction quickly, the central government is trying hard to make it a foregone conclusion and get the people of Okinawa to give up. But in fact, such moves will only invite strong opposition from people here. So the central government needs to understand that the more they push ahead with the work, the more they will add fuel to the burning anger of the people in Okinawa."
Dozens of protestors gathered near the site on Friday morning to voice their disapproval.
Many in Okinawa feel they bear an unfair burden. The prefecture hosts about 70 percent of US military facilities in Japan.
Discussions over the relocation started between Washington and Tokyo more than 20 years ago.
The Okinawa government plans to hold a non-binding referendum on the issue in February.
Key words : a court in Yokohama has sentenced incident
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_33/
A court in Yokohama has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison for dangerous driving that caused 2 deaths.
The incident occurred in June last year on the Tomei Expressway. 26-year old Kazuho Ishibashi was accused of tailgating a van, overtaking it and forcing it to stop. The married couple inside were killed when a truck slammed into the back. Their 2 daughters were injured.
Ishibashi was convicted of dangerous driving resulting in death and injury. His lawyer had argued his client was not guilty because he wasn't behind the wheel when the fatal collision happened.
In Friday's ruling, the presiding judge said the charge still applied to this case.
The judge said Ishibashi blocked the van's course 4 times before it was forced to stop. He also ruled that Ishibashi's actions increased the risk that the fatal accident would happen.
Police have cracked down on cases of tailgating since the incident. The National Police Agency has also directed its officers to bring assault charges in addition to issuing tickets for certain cases.
In the first 10 months of this year, police recorded almost 11,000 cases, double last year's figure for the same period.
Key words : news key word segment how to prevent road rage accident
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Key words : diet member
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_29/
A group of Japanese Diet members are calling on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to appropriately handle the recent rulings by South Korea's Supreme Court on wartime labor. They say the rulings run counter to an agreement between the 2 countries.
Former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, who heads the group of Japanese parliamentarians promoting exchanges with South Korea, met Moon in Seoul on Friday morning.
Nukaga referred to the series of rulings that ordered Japanese firms to pay compensation to South Korean plaintiffs for their wartime labor.
He said the rulings violate the 1965 bilateral agreement and this cannot be tolerated.
The Japanese government says any right to claims was settled completely and finally by the agreement signed when the 2 countries normalized bilateral ties.
Moon said judicial decisions must be honored, but his government is debating how to deal with the situation from the viewpoint of maintaining positive and future-oriented bilateral ties.
Moon also referred to North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals. He said he has twice conveyed Japan's position to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He added that a summit between Japan and North Korea must be arranged at some point.
Key words : south court rejected
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_42/
A South Korean court has rejected an appeal by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of a ruling that ordered the Japanese firm to pay damages over wartime labor.
The court in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Friday upheld the ruling handed down in August last year.
The firm is ordered to pay 120 million won, or about 106,000 dollars, to a woman, and 2,800 dollars to the bereaved family of another woman.
The plaintiffs insist the women were forced to work in harsh conditions at a munitions factory in Nagoya, central Japan, from 1944.
This is the latest court decision in South Korea concerning the wartime labor issue.
In October, the Supreme Court finalized a damages lawsuit filed against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal by 4 former workers.
Their lawyers say they would start procedures to seize the steel company's assets in South Korea unless the firm agrees to hold talks with the plaintiffs by December 24th.
The Japanese government maintains the issue of the right to compensation claims has already been settled when bilateral diplomatic relations were normalized in 1965. It has been asking the South Korean government to handle the matter appropriately.
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in told visiting Japanese lawmakers on Friday that his government plans to take time to find a solution.
Key words : world trade
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_16/
The World Trade Organization has ruled in favor of Japan and the European Union in a case involving Brazilian tax measures for domestically produced goods.
Brazil has been reducing taxes since the 1990s on cars and industrial goods whose production processes are mostly based inside the country.
Japan and the EU filed a complaint with the WTO, saying the measures were aimed at protecting domestic industries and that they distorted the free market.
The highest dispute panel of the WTO ruled on Thursday that the Brazilian measures gave domestic producers an unfair advantage and violated WTO rules.
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko says the ruling has confirmed that protectionist measures often taken by emerging countries go against WTO standards.
Key words : annual number
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_44/
The annual number of foreign visitors to Japan is on track to top 30 million for the first time this year.
Japan's government says the number is expected to hit the mark as early as next week.
It's an important milestone as officials have an even bigger target in mind for the year Tokyo hosts the Olympics and Paralympics.
Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii said, "We continue to implement measures to attract more visitors to achieve the government target of 40 million by 2020."
Japan attracted over 26 million visitors during the period from January to October.
The number dropped in September due to a series of natural disasters, but has been recovering steadily since then.
Japan will charge a departure tax of 1,000 yen or about 9 US dollars, from January 7th. Both Japanese and foreigners leaving Japan by air or sea will pay the tax when they buy tickets.
The government says the revenue will be used for improving tourism services.
Key words : education ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_37/
Japan's education ministry says it has found 10 universities conducted their entrance examinations for their medical schools inappropriately.
The ministry released a final report on Friday on its nationwide probe into medical school admission processes.
The report says that the 10 universities are suspected of having discriminated against female applicants and those who had failed examinations in the past. In some cases, relatives of graduates and those from local areas were given favorable treatment.
The universities failed to explain the practices in their application guidelines.
Nine of the 10 universities, including Tokyo Medical University, Juntendo University, Showa University and Nihon University, have admitted to misconduct and apologized.
But St. Marianna University School of Medicine has denied any wrongdoing.
Juntendo University plans to admit 48 affected applicants who said they want to enroll at the start of the next academic year in April. Tokyo Medical University plans to admit 44 and Nihon University plans to admit 10.
Each university has a cap on the number of admissions to its medical school. Therefore, the 3 universities will likely admit fewer applicants for the next school year.
The education ministry apologized people who are going to take the upcoming examinations for having kept them anxious so long.
Ministry officials say they are sorry that they had to release the final report when people are about to submit applications for examinations.
Key words : largest business
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181214_38/
Japan's largest business group has welcomed 2 big names from the IT industry to its ranks. They are online retailer Amazon Japan and flea market app Mercari.
Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, aims to raise its profile by bringing in more tech firms. It hopes the new members will make proposals in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
Keidanren is seen as mainly representing companies from older industries in Japan. It has traditionally been led by executives from major manufacturers.
But the country's business structure is changing as firms from the IT and service sectors gain more influence. Analysts say the group needs to attract more of these companies to stay relevant.
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