The telecom unit of Softbank Group has debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- in Japan's largest-ever Initial Public Offering.
Japan has protested to Russia over its recent construction of housing complexes for military personnel on two of the four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
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https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181219200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : softbank debuted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_31/
The telecom unit of Softbank Group has debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- in Japan's largest-ever Initial Public Offering. The stock's initial price was 1,500 yen, but it fell by 14 percent on the first day to 1,282 yen.
Analysts attribute the drop to a recent network crash and other issues.
Company and exchange officials marked the launch with a ceremony on Wednesday.
The previous record for an IPO in Japan was in 1987. That was by another telecom giant, NTT.
Softbank's offering was valued at 2.6 trillion yen, or about 23 billion dollars. The group plans to invest its new funds into robot development and other areas of artificial intelligence.
Celebrations around the launch were overshadowed by a Softbank network crash earlier this month.
The outage of phone and data communication services lasted for 4 and half hours, affecting more than 30-million subscriber lines.
Another negative factor is Softbank's use of telecom-equipment made by Huawei. The Chinese maker's clients are increasingly voicing doubts about the security of its technology.
Key words : Tokyo stock for the first time
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_32/
Tokyo stocks fell on Wednesday. The benchmark Nikkei Average closed below the psychologically important 21,000-mark for the first time in 9 months.
The index ended the day at 20,987. That was down 127 points, or 0.6 percent, from Tuesday.
The energy sector led the losses, as crude oil prices fell on a gloomy outlook for the global economy.
Sentiment was also dampened by the lackluster share debut of Softbank. The major Japanese telecom firm went public on Wednesday, but saw its stock close below the IPO price.
Analysts also say many traders are in a risk-off mood, ahead of a policy decision by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Key words : finance ministry trade
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_19/
Japan's Finance Ministry says November's trade balance was in the red for a second month in a row. The deficit came in at 737.3 billion yen or about 6.5 billion dollars.
The value of exports grew 0.1 percent from a year earlier in yen terms. Plastic materials to China were a big part of the increase.
Imports climbed by 12.5 percent, as the price of crude oil stayed high in November.
US President Donald Trump has been pressuring Japan over its trade surplus with his country. The surplus in November dropped 5.4 percent to 623.4 billion yen or 5.5 billion dollars.
Key words : government approved
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_37/
The Japanese government has approved a draft of its new IT policy guidelines that call for creating an international framework for data sharing.
The move comes amid growing concerns over massive data collections by overseas IT giants.
Relevant Cabinet ministers approved the draft guidelines on how to use data and protect personal information at a meeting on Wednesday.
They say the government will call on countries to set up a framework for sharing corporate and personal data while maintaining information security.
They say it is considering imposing fines in cases of inappropriate handling of data.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said data is a new resource in the age of artificial intelligence and big data.
He said an environment should be created for data to be freely shared under fair and reciprocal rules that ensure security and protect privacy.
He also said Japan should spearhead global efforts toward such free and open data sharing.
Key words : Japan and Russia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_21/
Ministers from Japan and Russia have pledged to step up economic cooperation ahead of a bilateral summit early next year.
Representatives from the two sides met in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to visit Russia as early as January, with a view to accelerating talks on a territorial dispute.
Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono referred to the upcoming summit, and called for comprehensive discussions to achieve the best possible results.
Russia's Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said there's room for promoting more trade between the two countries. He also said he hopes to work together to deliver specific results.
Attendees also included Japan's Minister for Economic Cooperation with Russia, Hiroshige Seko and Russia's Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East, Alexander Kozlov.
They talked about progress on an eight-point economic cooperation plan, including industrial and energy development in the Far Eastern region.
Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin met last month and agreed to speed up peace-treaty talks based on a 1956 joint declaration.
That document says Moscow will hand over two of the four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan after a peace treaty is concluded.
No treaty was signed after World War Two. The Japanese government maintains that the four islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says they were illegally occupied after the war.
Key words : Japan has protested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_30/
Japan has protested to Russia over its recent construction of housing complexes for military personnel on two of the four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday that the complexes were built for military units deployed on the islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Wednesday that the government had lodged a protest through diplomatic routes. Suga said the construction could lead to a Russian military build-up on the four islands and is incompatible with Japan's stance on them.
Suga added that the matter should be fundamentally addressed by resolving the territorial issue.
He said the government will tenaciously continue negotiations based on its policy of concluding a peace treaty with Russia by resolving the issue of the islands' sovereignty.
Russia controls the islands of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai and Shikotan. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains they are an inherent part of Japan's territory and says they were illegally occupied after World War Two.
Asked by reporters if the government conveyed its stance on the islands, Suga said it remains unchanged.
Key words : Iwaya
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_36/
Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya has inspected the destroyer Izumo, which is slated to be given the de-facto functions of an aircraft carrier under the country's new defense program guidelines.
Japan's government on Tuesday adopted the guidelines, which focus on the defense of regional waters and which express strong concern over China's growing maritime presence.
Iwaya visited the Maritime Self-Defense Force base at Yokosuka on Wednesday. He inspected the Izumo, which is the force's largest destroyer, for the first time since he assumed his post.
Iwaya toured the vessel and checked the 248 meter-long deck, which will be refurbished.
Iwaya later told reporters there is no change in Japan's "defence-only" policy.
He said the vessel will not be in continual service carrying fighter jets, but will be used as a multi-purpose destroyer so as not to pose a threat to other countries.
Asked about China's opposition to the guidelines, Iwaya said it's a fact that China has been very active, but Japan does not intend to stir up any threat.
He said the important thing is to make efforts to ease tensions while continuing surveillance.
Key words : Japan maritime drill
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_02/
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force is to conduct its first joint drill with the US and British navies in the Pacific off southern Japan later this week.
The MSDF says its largest destroyer, the Izumo, the British Navy's HMS Argyll, and a US naval vessel will take part in the exercise.
In the drill planned for Saturday, personnel will check the roles for each vessel and the procedures for information-sharing based on various scenarios, including conflict situations.
The exercise is apparently aimed at showing the partnership among the three countries amid China's increasing maritime activity.
The mid-term defense program, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, says Japan will actively promote bilateral and multilateral drills. The SDF will be given more opportunities to strengthen its partnerships with the forces of other countries.
Key words : court in Osaka suddenly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_34/
A court in Osaka has sentenced a man to death for the murders of a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.
48-year-old Koji Yamada was accused of suffocating the children from the city of Neyagawa in August 2015.
Prosecutors demanded the death penalty at the lay judge trial.
At the Osaka District Court on Wednesday, presiding judge Ryuta Asaka dismissed the defense lawyers' claims that the boy died of a sudden illness.
He said it's unthinkable that a healthy, energetic boy would suddenly die.
The judge upheld testimony from doctors that the boy had been suffocated.
The judge also ruled that Yamada intended to kill the girl, because he continued strangling her for several minutes, despite knowing the risk that she could die.
The judge also determined that key points of Yamada's court testimony were lies and fabrications.
Yamada's lawyer says he plans to appeal the ruling.
Key words : transport ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_18/
Japan's transport ministry is working on new regulations governing how much airline pilots are allowed to drink before reporting for work.
It's proposing stricter limits than those that already apply to car drivers. The move follows a series of alcohol-related problems involving commercial pilots.
Ministry officials have been discussing introducing pilot alcohol testing for the first time. They will present their plan to a panel of experts later on Wednesday.
The plan also stipulates the type of breath test to be used and that test results will be logged. The ministry says it will bring in the new regulations only after the panel gives its views on the proposals.
Key words : number of foreign surpass
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181219_40/
The number of foreign tourists to Japan this year has surpassed 30 million for the first time, marking a record high.
The Japan National Tourism Organization announced on Wednesday the latest figures of foreigners who recently visited the country.
It said that an estimated 2.45 million foreigners visited in November alone. The figure is up 3.1 percent from a year ago and a record high for the month.
By country, 617,300 were from China, up 8.8 percent year-on-year. 588,200 were from South Korea, down 5.5 percent.
Travelers from South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong dropped following a series of natural disasters, but there was overall growth thanks to the increase in tourists from the United States and Europe.
A total of 30.01 million foreigners visited Japan from the beginning of this year through Tuesday.
Japan Tourism Agency chief Hiroshi Tabata noted that the pace of decline has moderated for tourists from South Korea and Taiwan, which suggests a steady recovery. He said he expects the total number of visitors in 2018 to reach 31 million.
Key words : NHK will launch
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