The Japan's Agency says its Hayabusa2 space probe has successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu.
The US government says it is ready to extend economic assistance to North Korea if the country commits to complete denuclearization.
NHK has learned that US National Security Advisor will hold talks with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, ahead of the second US-North Korea summit.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190222200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : Hayabusa successfully landed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_27/
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, says its Hayabusa2 space probe has successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu in its first attempt to collect rock samples there.
JAXA says the spacecraft touched down on the asteroid at around 7:29 AM on Friday, Japan time.
Hayabusa2 began its decent toward Ryugu a little after 1:00 PM on Thursday from an altitude of 20,000 meters, aiming for a small, six-meter-wide touchdown zone.
The spacecraft switched to autonomous landing mode about 500 meters above the asteroid. It then used sensors to calculate its position and maneuver itself to the landing point.
Hayabusa2 features a rock-collecting device about one meter long that extends from its bottom and comes in contact with the asteroid's surface. It is designed to fire bullets into the surface and gather the rocks that this stirs up.
JAXA says one bullet was successfully fired as planned.
Cheers erupted in JAXA's control room near Tokyo when the probe's successful touchdown was confirmed.
Mission Manager Makoto Yoshikawa expressed relief, saying he believes the achievement represents a new start for planetary science.
Hayabusa2 is to return to an altitude of 20,000 meters after completing its scheduled steps, and prepare for the next touchdown.
JAXA plans to make one or two more attempts to collect rock samples before the spacecraft leaves Ryugu.
Hayabusa2 started its journey in 2014 and arrived above the asteroid 300 million kilometers from Earth in June of last year. The mission's primary goal is to collect rock samples that could provide insights into the origin of life. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth toward the end of 2020.
Key words : manager mission world leader
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_44/
The manager of Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe mission has expressed confidence that the country remains the world leader in exploring asteroids.
Makoto Yoshikawa told NHK on Friday that the probe's first touchdown on the asteroid Ryugu was the mission's biggest challenge.
Yoshikawa said the probe stayed above Ryugu longer than its predecessor did above another asteroid before landing on it. He said this enabled Hayabusa2 to search Ryugu in detail and run touchdown simulations.
He said Hayabusa2's one or two more touchdowns will be very risky, so the project team won't be too optimistic.
Yoshikawa added that he'll be truly relieved when the probe returns to Earth.
He said the project involves many young scientists and that experiences from the first Hayabusa mission have been passed on to the current team.
Key words : high hope
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_29/
Japanese science minister Masahiko Shibayama has expressed high hopes for the ongoing Hayabusa2 mission.
Shibayama said on Friday that the details will remain unknown until the space probe returns to Earth, but he hopes that rock samples were successfully collected from the asteroid Ryugu and that the samples will shed light on the origin and the evolution of the solar system as well as the study of life.
He added that the Hayabusa2 mission is attracting significant attention from overseas. He praised the mission for demonstrating Japan's technological prowess to the world.
Key words : economic assistance
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_19/
The US government says it is ready to extend economic assistance to North Korea if the country commits to complete denuclearization.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday ahead of the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, scheduled to be held next week in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
It said that President Trump has made it clear that if North Korea follows through on its commitment to denuclearize, the United States will work to ensure there are economic development options.
Earlier in the day, high-ranking US government officials told reporters in a teleconference that one-on-one talks between the two leaders and an expanded meeting attended by ministers from both sides are scheduled at the upcoming summit. The officials also said that a joint statement is expected to be issued after the talks.
The officials denied that the United States and North Korea are discussing the possibility of withdrawing US troops from South Korea in exchange for the North's denuclearization, saying that the topic has never been brought up in preparatory talks with the North.
Key words : foreign minister expressed hope
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_46/
Japan's foreign minister has expressed hope for reaching a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea before the 2020 US presidential election.
Taro Kono was speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of the planned second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week in Vietnam.
Kono noted that the US has a presidential race every four years, and that the presidential term is four years.
He said he understands that scrapping all of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles will take time.
He stressed that a certain decision to that end should be made while Trump is in office.
Kono also commented on South Korea's proposal to reestablish railway links between the two Koreas as part of inter-Korean economic cooperation to help implement denuclearization. He said he understands that any economic cooperation should come after sanctions against the North are lifted.
He also said reopening the Kaesong industrial complex and the Mount Kumgang resort in the North, whose operations were suspended as part of the sanctions, should not be allowed.
Key words : learned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_34/
NHK has learned that US National Security Advisor John Bolton will hold talks with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, ahead of the second US-North Korea summit scheduled for next week in Vietnam.
US and South Korean sources say Bolton will visit Busan in South Korea on Sunday. He will meet the head of Japan's National Security Council Secretariat, Shotaro Yachi, and South Korea's National Security Office chief, Chung Eui-yong.
The three are expected to confirm the close coordination of their stances ahead of the summit. The US government has hinted that the country may be ready to help with North Korea's economic development if the North commits to complete denuclearization. The three are likely to discuss how to bring about the denuclearization of North Korea.
Yachi is also expected to seek cooperation from the US side on resolving the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals.
Bolton will travel to the summit venue of Hanoi after the talks.
Key words : authorities assessing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_33/
Authorities are assessing the damage from a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido on Thursday night.
Four people reported minor injuries following the quake. More than 70 households are still without water.
Officials are warning of more seismic activity.
The quake occurred at 9:22 PM in the central part of the island at a depth of 33 kilometers.
Last September, a magnitude 6.7 quake in the area killed 41 people.
Toshiyuki Matsumori of the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday's quake was an aftershock.
Officials in Atsuma say some mudslides occurred, but no damage has been reported.
An earthquake expert is warning of possible landslides. He says last year's quake has loosened the ground and warned people living near sloping land or hillsides to evacuate as a precaution.
At Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport, about 120 people were forced to stay overnight.
Across Hokkaido, as many as 680 passengers were stranded in trains for hours. Officials say some rail services were still disrupted in the morning, but that operations will mostly resume by early afternoon.
Key words : senior pledge
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_80/
A senior Japanese government official has pledged to continue efforts to resolve a territorial dispute with South Korea over the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan. South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them.
Cabinet Office Parliamentary Vice-Minister Hiroshi Ando was speaking at an event on Friday to mark Japan's incorporation of the islands into Shimane Prefecture on February 22nd, 1905.
In 2005, Shimane Prefecture designated the date as Takeshima Day, and has since held a commemorative ceremony every year.
This year's event took place in the prefectural capital Matsue, with relations between Japan and South Korea strained over historical matters including a wartime labor issue. Some 460 people took part.
Ando, who is in charge of territorial matters, said it is clear that the Takeshima issue is a problem that goes to the very foundations of a nation.
He said he will work even harder with local government officials to promote a correct understanding of Japan's stance on the issue at home and abroad.
Shimane Governor Zembee Mizoguchi also spoke at the ceremony. He said South Korea is stepping up its efforts to establish its control over the islands as fact.
He said talks between the governments of Japan and South Korea are essential to resolve the issue.
He called on the central government to keep discussing the matter with Seoul at the negotiation table.
The Japanese government maintains the Takeshima Islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says South Korea is illegally occupying them.
Kim Yong-kil, the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Northeast Asia Affairs Bureau chief, lodged a protest over the ceremony with Koichi Mizushima, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
A statement by the South Korean Foreign Ministry demands that Japan's government immediately stop all provocations over the islands, calling them an integral part of South Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law.
Key words : hundreds of people
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_42/
Hundreds of people in New Zealand have remembered victims of a powerful earthquake that hit the southern city of Christchurch in 2011.
Friday marks 8 years since the magnitude-6.3 quake that killed 185 people, including 28 Japanese.
A memorial service was held along a river in the city where a monument inscribed with victims' names has been built. Some 400 people, including local residents and bereaved families, took part.
Victims' names were read out and participants offered silent prayers at 12:51 PM, the time of the quake. People also laid flowers at the monument.
The quake toppled a building in central Christchurch that housed a language school. All 28 Japanese victims were found dead there.
Investigators confirmed that the building had been designed with grave structural defects. But police decided not to pursue criminal prosecution against those in charge, citing a lack of evidence.
But victims' families continue to seek an apology from them and urge authorities to hold them responsible for the collapse.
Key words : purchase foreign
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_23/
Purchases by foreign tourists at department stores in Japan have dropped, despite a record number of overseas visitors. It marks the first decrease in more than 2 years.
Officials at the Japan Department Stores Association say purchases by foreign visitors last month fell 7.7 percent from a year earlier.
They say Chinese travelers spent less on the back of the country's economic slowdown stemming from the ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
Another factor is China's stricter regulations on reselling products purchased in Japan online.
Overall department store sales in January also fell 2.9 percent year-on-year, marking a decrease for the third straight month.
Key words : post office
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190222_41/
Post offices around Japan are selling stamps to mark the 30th anniversary of Emperor Akihito's enthronement.
There are two designs available, both included in sheets of 10 stamps. One image features a crane and a turtle, and the other chrysanthemum flowers. The motifs are based on kimonos worn by the Emperor when he was young.
One sheet costs 820 yen, or about 7-and-a-half dollars. Post offices will sell one million sheets nationwide.
Japan Post has also issued a book that contains a sheet of the stamps and photos of the Imperial couple, as well as explanations about the designs.
People lined up at a post office in central Tokyo on Friday morning to get their hands on the memento.
A 69-year-old man who bought the book says he will treasure it with his family.
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