at 20:00 (JST), December 26 AS

Tokyo's stock benchmark saw a slight recovery on Wednesday after a plunge the previous day.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has officially announced the country's pulling out of the International Whaling Commission.

Prosecutors have demanded of five-year prison sentences for three former top executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company, and accusing them being responsible for the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20181226200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : benchmark recovery
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_20/

Tokyo's stock benchmark, the Nikkei Average, saw a slight recovery on Wednesday after a plunge the previous day.

The Nikkei gained about 170 points, or 0.9 percent, to end at 19,327. It snapped 5 days of losses.

The index started the day on a positive note thanks to bargain-hunting following the losing streak through Tuesday. But in the afternoon, it briefly sank below the 19,000 mark amid volatile trading.

Analysts say investors are concerned that the global economy may be slowing down.

Traders are also worried about political uncertainty in the US. Some fear that a partial government shutdown may stretch into the New Year.

Key words : Abe facing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_08/

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is facing a challenge of keeping the country's economy on track to allow the implementation of a planned consumption tax hike, in his seventh year in office.

Wednesday marks six years after Abe formed a coalition Cabinet, following a landslide victory in the general election in 2012.

Abe told reporters on Tuesday that he will continue to do his utmost for the state and the public in his seventh year.

The government plans to raise the consumption tax from 8 to 10 percent in October.

The government hopes to enact its largest-ever budget as early as possible in January's ordinary Diet session, to maintain what Abe calls a virtuous cycle of the economy.

The government stresses the fundamentals of the country's economy are solid. But Japan's stock prices plummeted on Tuesday, amid the growing uncertainties about the global economic outlook.

Key words : Suga announced
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_16/

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has announced Japan is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission, or IWC.

Suga said in a news conference on Wednesday that Japan plans to resume commercial whaling from July.

He said Japan has sought ways to promote sustainable whaling for more than 30 years, but has been unable to find common ground with anti-whaling countries.

He said the outcome of the IWC's September general meeting made clear it was impossible for pro and anti-whaling countries to coexist in the forum.

Suga said Japan will hunt for whales only in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. He said the country would not hunt in the Antarctic Ocean and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

He also said Japan will use the IWC's method for calculating quotas to determine the number of whales it catches.

Japan suspended commercial whaling in 1988, in line with a 1982 IWC moratorium. The country currently says it catches whales for research purposes only.

Japan has proposed resuming commercial whaling more than 20 times in recent years, claiming the numbers of some species have recovered. But these attempts were blocked by anti-whaling nations.

Japan's withdrawal from the IWC will go into effect on June 30th if it notifies the US government by January 1st. The United States is in charge of accepting applications for joining or withdrawing from the commission.

Japan plans to meet this deadline.

The move is expected to draw sharp reactions from around the world. The government is planning to send delegations to some anti-whaling countries to seek their understanding.

Key words : greenpeace
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_21/

The environmental group Greenpeace says it condemns Japan's decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, or IWC, and resume commercial whaling.

Executive Director at Greenpeace Japan, Sam Annesley, said in a statement that the government is trying to sneak in the announcement at the end of year, away from the spotlight of international media.

He said that Japan must urgently act to conserve marine ecosystems, rather than restart whaling.

Annesley maintained that most whale populations have not yet been recovered, and said the world's oceans face multiple threats such as acidification and plastic pollution, in addition to overfishing.

He called on Japan, as an ocean nation that's heavily reliant on marine resources, to work toward resolving these problems.

Key words : prosecutor sentence
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_22/

The court-appointed lawyers, who serve as prosecutors, have demanded five-year prison sentences for three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company. They say the executives are responsible for the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The court-appointed lawyers delivered their closing argument at the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday.

The defendants are former chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, former vice president Ichiro Takekuro, and former vice president Sakae Muto. They all plead not guilty to charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

Public prosecutors decided not to indict the three, but an inquest panel, comprised of randomly chosen citizens, decided that the former executives should stand trial.

In line with that decision, the men were indicted by court-appointed lawyers in February 2016.

The court-appointed lawyers say the defendants were told two to three years before the accident that a massive tsunami could hit the nuclear plant. They also say the defendants did not try to gather information about the potential danger. The court-appointed lawyers indicate that the former executives later claimed that they had not been informed and that the executives put all the blame on their subordinates.

The court-appointed lawyers also say the defendants should have suspended the plant's operations when they were told that a massive tsunami could hit the plant.

The court-appointed lawyers maintain that the defendants are responsible because they didn't do anything to prevent the accident from occurring.

A five-year prison term is the maximum punishment handed down for professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

A lawyer for the bereaved families of the victims will speak at the trial on Thursday. The defense lawyers will deliver their closing argument next March.

Key words : Carlos in a hospital
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_17/

A close aide to former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn is in a hospital being treated for a neck problem. Greg Kelly was released from detention on Tuesday.

He and Ghosn were arrested more than a month ago over alleged financial misconduct. Ghosn is still being detained.

Kelly posted bail for about 635,000 dollars. His release was on the conditions that he cannot leave Japan and that his contact with those involved in the case be restricted.

Kelly's release comes after the Tokyo District Court rejected a request by prosecutors last week to continue holding him and Ghosn.

Kelly's lawyer says his client may remain in hospital for about a week with the court's permission, which he must get before spending a night away from his house.

Kelly must also receive permission to attend Nissan board meetings or general shareholder meetings. But he reportedly told his lawyer he would not take part.

In a statement, Kelly denied falsifying financial records and said he believed he would be exonerated in trial.

Key words : Nissan instructed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_05/

Nissan Motor has instructed all its employees not to contact former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, his aide Greg Kelly or their lawyers.

Nissan sent an e-mail addressed to all employees. The notice was dated December 24.

It says that Ghosn was rearrested for a "severe breach of the law," and that Kelly, a former representative director, has been indicted of a crime.

It says that it is a notice to all Nissan employees instructing them not to speak or engage with Ghosn, Kelly, their attorneys or other related persons.
It says employees should not meet them, either face to face or by other means such as videoconference systems.

The instruction says if employees are contacted by those mentioned by phone, they should say communication is not permitted. Employees are also told not to respond to e-mails or letters from the named parties.

The firm instructs its employees that if they are contacted, they should inform the legal department.

Key words : Japanese researcher
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_09/

Japanese researchers say it is possible that Saturday's tsunami in Indonesia was triggered by part of a volcano slipping into the ocean, according to analysis of satellite images.

Researchers at Japan's Geospatial Information Authority studied topological changes to Krakatau Island. They compared images taken last August by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 known as Daichi-2 with ones captured on Monday.

The study revealed significant topological changes to the island's southwest, such as blurred coastlines and the disappearance of the crater -- all indicative of volcanic sector collapse.

Professor Emeritus Toshitsugu Fujii at the University of Tokyo says this is evidence the tsunami was caused by a debris avalanche into the ocean as a result of volcanic sector collapse.

He says the volcano was formed over a relatively short span of 100 years and may be brittle as a result.

He says continued volcanic activity could lead to more deadly waves and says people should remain vigilant.

Key words : north and
#N/A


Key words : vietnamese work
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181226_11/

With more Vietnamese coming to study and work in Japan, and some getting into trouble, the city of Hanoi held a seminar for agencies that support prospective students.

More than 450 people attended the seminar Tuesday. Many were agents planning to send students to language schools in Japan.

More than 80,000 Vietnamese students were studying in Japan at the end of June this year. That's nearly four times the number in 2013.

Many do part-time work in fields short of labor.

But some have been involved in shoplifting and other crimes as they struggle to repay loans taken out to cover tuition in advance.

Japanese Embassy officials urge agencies to provide students with accurate information about the conditions they can expect. They say some disreputable agencies tell students they can earn at least 1,800 dollars per month in Japan. Others say getting a visa is easy by falsifying documents.

Last year, the embassy began interviewing visa applicants. It posts the names of agencies suspected of forging documents on its website to warn Vietnamese students. The embassy does not accept visa applications from such agencies.

Officials say the embassy will work closely with the Vietnamese authorities to crack down on unscrupulous agencies.