at 20:00 (JST), January 25 AS

Japan's labor minister says an inquiry panel will conduct a fresh investigation into the issue of faulty labor surveys.

Nissan's President said he talked with Renault's new chairman on the phone. He said they confirmed they'll cooperate to help synergize the alliance.

Japan's health ministry says an influenza outbreak has now spread across the country, with the estimated number of patients exceeding 2.1 million.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190125200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : labor minister panel will conduct
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_27/

Japan's labor minister Takumi Nemoto says an inquiry panel will conduct a fresh investigation of the problem of faulty labor surveys.

The health and labor committees of the Upper and Lower Houses debated the issue on Thursday.

Lawmakers criticized a report submitted by a panel that included lawyers and outside experts. The legislators said the panel allowed the labor ministry to interview junior officials. They argue that the investigation was merely an in-house probe and the results are inadequate.

Nemoto told reporters on Friday that he believes the report is satisfactory, as the panel adopted a third-party viewpoint in unveiling the facts and identifying those who were responsible.

But he added that the panel will conduct a fresh investigation to allay any skepticism about its report.

The Diet affairs chief of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, called for a new probe.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Diet affairs chief, Hiroshi Moriyama, indicated that the LDP is supporting the calls for a reinvestigation. Moriyama added that he hopes the probe will be completed soon, given the pressing schedule for the upcoming Diet session.

Key words : cabinet office
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_29/

Japan's Cabinet Office has revised upward amounts of compensation for employees that had been estimated based on a faulty survey by the labor ministry.

The Cabinet Office says the revisions for fiscal 2016 and 2017 resulted in increases of about 6.3 billion dollars each.

It says the revisions will not affect GDP as the figures are not used for its calculation.

The labor ministry had been found to have used flawed methods in a monthly survey on wages and work hours.

It released recalculations of data from 2012 and later that are still available.

Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters that the revisions would not change economic assessments.

Key words : Nissan president talk
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_23/

Nissan President Hiroto Saikawa said he talked with Renault's new chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on the phone. He said they confirmed they'll cooperate to help synergize the alliance.

Saikawa told reporters on Friday, "I told Mr Senard we'll work hard together. It's a new start, and I'd like to keep close communication."

Saikawa said he intends to endorse Senard as a Nissan director in an extraordinary shareholders meeting planned for mid-April.

But there are differences between the two automakers on who will take the lead at Nissan after the arrest of chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Key words : referendum may be delayed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_30/

A referendum on relocating a US military base within Japan's southwestern prefecture of Okinawa may be delayed in five cities, due to a lack of preparations.

The February 24th referendum is being held because of widespread local objections to a plan to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to the less populated Henoko area of Nago City.

But Ginowan and four other cities originally decided not to take part, on the grounds that the two options of "yes" and "no" would not allow voters to fully express their views on such a complicated issue.

On Thursday, members of the prefectural assembly agreed to add "neither" as a third choice.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki welcomed the development.

Vice Governor Kiichiro Jahana indicated on Friday that the prefecture would allow the five cities to delay the date of the vote after they complained they did not have sufficient time for preparations.

He added that all the vote-counting will take place on the same day.

Key words : health ministry now spread
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_36/

Japan's health ministry says an influenza outbreak has now spread across the country, with the estimated number of patients exceeding 2.1 million.

The ministry says the average number of patients at around 5,000 medical facilities nationwide was 53.91 in the week through last Sunday.

That's up 15 from a week before and the second-highest figure since the ministry began taking data in 1999.

The three most severely affected prefectures are Aichi, Saitama and Shizuoka.

The ministry says the H1N1 strain accounts for about 60 percent of the cases. The strain caused a global outbreak of a new influenza a decade ago.

The ministry warns that more people could contract the flu, and is urging people to take preventive measures such as washing hands and wearing surgical masks.

Key words : chancellor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_35/

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Japan early next month to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Merkel will arrive for a two-day visit on February fourth. She will hold talks and have dinner with Abe.

Suga said he hopes the meeting will signal that the two countries are committed to maintaining the international order and ensuring global prosperity.

He also said he expects cooperation and goodwill between the countries to deepen.

The visit will be Merkel's fifth to Japan since she took office in 2005.

The leaders are expected to discuss free trade and other global issues ahead of the G20 summit scheduled to be held in Osaka in June.

Key words : Japan and other launched
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_22/

Japan and other countries launched a group at the United Nations on Thursday to pursue the UN goal of promoting quality education.

Delegates launched an advocacy initiative, the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning, on January 24th, the first International Day of Education.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, to eradicate poverty and promote quality education by 2030.

The group will strive to provide equal educational opportunities for all boys and girls in Asian and African countries and will also address the shortage of teachers.

A high-level UN meeting will be held in July to hear reports about the action being taken to achieve the global education goal. The new group plans to organize meetings and information sessions to invite more UN members to join the effort.

Japan's UN ambassador, Koro Bessho, says Japan has supported education in Africa and the training of engineers in Southeast Asia for nearly 20 years. He says Japan wants to share its experiences with many countries.

Key words : government figure
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_39/

Government figures show the number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high last year.

The labor ministry compiles the statistics based on data from employers.

The ministry says that as of October 31st, the number of foreigners working in Japan topped 1,460,000. That's up about 180,000, or 14 percent, from a year earlier. The figure has set a new record for six years straight.

By nationality, Chinese workers topped the list at about 389,000. Vietnamese came second, with 317,000, followed by Philippine nationals, on 164,000.

The number of people from Vietnam was up by about 30 percent, the largest increase of any nationality.

About 439,000 foreign workers, or 30 percent of the total, are concentrated in Tokyo. The next highest concentrations are in Aichi Prefecture, which has 152,000, and Osaka, 90,000.

The labor ministry says the trend is largely a result of Japan's chronic labor shortage.

Key words : learned that justice
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_31/

NHK has learned that a report by Japan's Justice Ministry on deaths of foreign technical trainees failed to account for multiple cases.

The Ministry reported last month that 174 trainees died in the 8 years up to 2017.

The report came after the Diet approved a bill to allow more foreign workers into the country to address serious labor shortages. The number of deaths was a focus of debate during deliberations on the bill.

According to government sources, an investigation by the labor ministry has found that the Justice Ministry overlooked multiple fatalities.

All of the cases reportedly involved foreign trainees who died from work-related illnesses or accidents, and were recognized as being eligible for workers' compensation.

Justice Ministry officials say they plan to clarify the precise number of deaths. They say it appears that the mistake was due to omissions in reports by organizations that bring in foreign trainees.

A lawyer who is an expert in the issue of foreign labor, Shoichi Ibusuki, says it is a serious problem that the government cannot get basic figures right at a time when the country is preparing to take more foreign workers. He says the ministry should examine every case, and devise measures that will ensure the safety of all trainees.

Key words : Authorities suspended
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_33/

Japanese authorities have suspended four firms including Mitsubishi Motors and Panasonic from a foreign technical trainee program after they had trainees engage in work they were not supposed to do.

The justice and labor ministries on Friday revoked for five years the companies' authorization as hosts of trainees under the government-backed program.

The Justice Ministry says it inspected a Mitsubishi plant in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, last May and found that the automaker had 28 Filipino trainees do work not listed in a paper filed in advance with the ministry.

In the paper, the automaker said the trainees would learn welding.

The ministry says Panasonic had trainees do illegal overtime work at a plant in Tonami, Toyama Prefecture.

The firm was ordered to pay fines over the issue. The ministry says this is why it nullified the company's authorization.

Panasonic says the punishment affects 158 trainees, and promised to work to enable them to continue their training. It added that the trainees are expected to be able to shift to and stay at other companies.

The authorities are planning similar administrative measures to revoke the firms' permission to accept foreign workers under a new labor program going into effect in April.

Key words : Hitachi withdraw
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190125_34/

Japanese electronics maker Hitachi says it plans to withdraw from wind turbine production in the face of intensifying competition from foreign manufacturers.

The announcement is a turnaround for the firm, which in recent years has been increasing its presence in the domestic market to match growing interest in renewable energy.

In 2012, the firm acquired the wind power generation system business of what was then Fuji Heavy Industries.

But Hitachi now says fierce competition from foreign rivals will make it difficult to increase profits.

The firm says it has not made a decision about the future of its wind power generator factory in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

It says it will continue to provide equipment maintenance and malfunction forecast devices in collaboration with a German partner.