The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea have concluded thier talks.
A new Chairman of French automaker Renault has met wth the executives from Nissan Motor in Japan.
US President Donald Trump says he will declare a national emergency to fund the building of a wall along the southern border with Mexico.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190215200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : foreign minister Japan and south german city
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_42/
The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea have started talks amid worsening bilateral relations over wartime issues.
Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha began the talks in the German city of Munich on Friday on the sidelines of an international conference.
At the start of the meeting, Kono said the bilateral ties face difficulties but that he hoped for candid exchanges with Kang.
He said he wanted to discuss North Korea ahead of the second US-North Korean summit.
Kang agreed that the two countries have difficulties. She said continuing communications at various diplomatic levels is even more important.
Kono is expected to ask Seoul to handle a wartime labor issue appropriately.
A ruling has been finalized in South Korea that orders a Japanese steelmaker to pay compensation to South Koreans who say they were forced to work for the company during World War Two.
The plaintiffs seized some of the maker's assets in South Korea and indicated that they will start procedures to sell the assets this month.
Japan asked Seoul to hold talks based on a 1965 bilateral agreement on wartime claims, but received no reply. Kono plans to ask Kang to agree to hold talks.
On another wartime issue, the speaker of the South Korean National Assembly said the issue of those referred to as comfort women would be resolved if Japan's emperor were to offer an apology.
Kono is likely to lodge another protest and ask that the speaker retract his comment.
Key words : lawyer south normalize
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_40/
Lawyers for South Korean plaintiffs who won a wartime labor suit against a Japanese company have notified the firm of their intention to begin liquidating seized assets.
The lawyers and others visited the Tokyo head office of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal on Friday. They handed over a letter urging the firm to enter into talks about compensation, but they say the company refused.
South Korea's Supreme Court last year awarded compensation to the plaintiffs who say they were forced to work for the Japanese firm during World War Two.
A separate ruling in January allowed the plaintiffs to seize shares with a value of about 350,000 dollars held by the steelmaker in a joint venture in South Korea.
The plaintiffs are said to be planning to start procedures to sell the stocks as early as this month. The process is expected to take about three months to complete.
Their lawyer told reporters that the plaintiffs want the Japanese steelmaker to hold talks during that period and to apologize.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal issued a statement repeating its position that it will handle the issue in consultation with the Japanese government.
The Japanese government says any right to wartime claims was settled completely and finally in a 1965 agreement that the two countries signed when they normalized ties.
Also on Friday, the lawyers visited the Tokyo head office of machinery maker Nachi-Fujikoshi, which was ordered by a South Korean high court to compensate plaintiffs in a separate wartime labor case.
The lawyers requested a meeting with company officials, but say they were turned away. They said they will soon seek a court injunction to seize assets held by the firm in South Korea.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday that the South Korean government has failed to take any concrete steps to respond to a series of wartime labor rulings. He described the plaintiffs' moves to sell the seized assets as "extremely serious."
Key words : chief cabinet concern move
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_37/
Japan's chief cabinet secretary has expressed concern about moves by South Korean plaintiffs in a wartime labor lawsuit to liquidate the assets of a Japanese firm.
Yoshihide Suga was speaking to reporters on Friday. He said it's "extremely grave" that South Korea's government has not taken any concrete steps to correct a situation that violates a bilateral agreement on wartime claims, and for the plaintiffs to press ahead with the asset seizure.
Japan's government says any right to claims was settled completely and finally in the 1965 accord the two countries signed when they normalized ties.
Japan has asked South Korea to hold, based on the agreement, talks on the country's recent court rulings awarding compensation to Koreans who say they were forced to work for Japanese firms during World War Two.
Suga said that the Japanese government believes Seoul will agree to do so in good faith.
He said the government will deal appropriately with the issue based on its consistent position, while keeping in close touch with the companies involved to protect their legitimate economic activities.
The two countries' foreign ministers are due to meet in Germany on Friday. Suga said the ministers are expected to hold frank discussions on the labor issue and other bilateral topics. He added they are also due to reaffirm close cooperation between the two countries and the United States ahead of the second US-North Korea summit to be held this month.
Key words : executive met joint
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_43/
Renault's new Chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, met with leaders of alliance partners Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors in Japan.
Senard went to Nissan headquarters in Yokohama on Friday morning and had talks with executives about their joint operations, including parts procurement and development.
Senard and Nissan President and CEO Hiroto Saikawa reportedly discussed how to mend relations between their companies and move the alliance forward.
Senard is also said to have met with Mitsubishi Motors executives, including Chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko.
During the meetings, the automakers are believed to have confirmed that they will maintain a stable 3-way partnership.
But Nissan and Renault are split over which carmaker will take the initiative in Nissan's management, including the appointment of a successor to former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Key words : Trump national emergency dollar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_25/
US President Donald Trump says he will declare a national emergency to fund the building of a wall along the southern border with Mexico.
The White House said in a statement on Thursday that Trump will take executive action, including a national emergency, to ensure that his administration will stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border.
Both Houses of Congress approved a budget bill on Thursday that includes about 1.3 billion dollars for the wall.
But Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the budget deal as he had asked for 5.7 billion dollars for the border wall.
Trump is expected to sign the bill to avoid another government shutdown. But he will declare a national emergency so he can exercise his presidential power to secure enough funding for the wall.
Democrats say the situation at the border is not a national emergency, and a declaration would be an abuse of presidential power.
Key words : and China number of issue
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_19/
Top officials from the US and China began their second day of trade talks on Friday. But they reportedly remain deadlocked over major issues, including China's forcing of American firms operating in the country to transfer technologies.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are attending the two-day talks in Beijing. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is also taking part.
The two sides are trying to hammer out a deal on a number of issues by March 1st. These include the US trade deficit with China and Beijing's alleged violations of intellectual-property rights.
The Wall Street Journal reported that China proposed to purchase more American semiconductors and asked the US to postpone the deadline.
But the reports say China didn't offer concrete measures against forced technology transfers.
Lighthizer is scheduled to meet China's President, Xi Jinping, after the talks.
Key words : bill Ainu
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_24/
The Japanese government has mapped out a bill to officially recognize the Ainu ethnic minority as an indigenous people of Japan.
The bill, which was endorsed at a Cabinet meeting on Friday, legally stipulates for the first time that the Ainu are an indigenous people and calls for the creation of a society in which they can take pride in their heritage.
It features the establishment of a subsidy program for regional revitalization aimed at helping local authorities implement projects to promote Ainu culture.
The bill also calls for deregulation to make it easier for the Ainu people to gather wood in state-owned forests and catch salmon in local rivers, as part of efforts to help them conserve their cultural traditions.
The government plans to submit the bill to the Diet during the current session with an eye to an early enactment.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it is necessary to ensure that the Ainu people can maintain their dignity if Japan wants to be a vibrant society where diverse values are respected. He said the government is determined to steadily take steps to help the Ainu tackle the challenges they face.
The head of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Tadashi Kato, praised the proposed legislation as a first step toward the harmonious coexistence of his people and other Japanese. But he pointed out that the bill does not incorporate measures to improve the Ainu's living standards. He added that the bill achieves 70 percent of what he expected.
Key words : Ainu Ezo
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_30/
Japan's Ainu people have been forced to change their lifestyles and language due to the government's assimilation policies.
In 1869, the government changed the name of Japan's northern main island from Ezo to Hokkaido. After the Hokkaido Development Commission was established in the region, Ainu children began learning Japanese at school and had fewer opportunities to speak their language. The Ainu were also prohibited from catching salmon in rivers for food or rituals.
The government in1899 enacted the Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act, which resulted in increased discrimination.
After the Ainu demanded that the law be abolished, the government replaced it in 1997 with legislation to promote their language and culture. But the Ainu continued to suffer from a gap in living standards.
In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a declaration to protect rights of the world's indigenous people. The next year, Japan's Diet adopted a resolution urging the government to take more steps to improve Ainu status.
Key words : oil wholesaler
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_16/
Major Japanese oil wholesalers have downsized their earnings estimates in light of a fall in crude oil prices.
Officials at Japan's largest oil wholesaler JXTG Holdings lowered their estimate for net profits through March by 30 percent.
The estimate at Idemitsu Kosan dropped by 57 percent; at Cosmo Energy Holdings, 50 percent and at Showa Shell Sekiyu, 75 percent.
The officials say their profits are declining because they had to reduce the price of gasoline made from crude oil bought before crude prices began to fall.
The officials say the trade spat between the United States and China will have a great impact on crude oil prices and that they're closely watching negotiations between the two countries.
Key words : regional agricultural
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190215_34/
A regional agricultural cooperative north of Tokyo is conducting an experiment that it hopes will help to dramatically increase the size of its strawberry harvests.
Tochigi Prefecture produces the largest volume of strawberries in Japan, but is struggling to increase productivity and revenue as many farmers get older.
Officials with the local branch of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations have equipped a greenhouse in Moka City with sensors to gauge temperature and humidity, and devices to emit carbon dioxide. They can monitor the data on their smartphones around the clock.
The officials hope to learn more about ideal growing conditions, and share the data and expertise they acquire from the experiment with local farmers, hopefully this year.
The cooperative hopes to raise production per 1,000 square meters of farmland from an average of 4.2 tons to eight.
Key words : asian art museum
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