An NHK survey has found that over 60 percent of the survivors of the March 2011 quake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan are still suffering from physical and mental problems.
Japan's Cabinet Office indicated on Thursday the economy is possibly in a recessionary phase.
US President says America's trade deficit with Japan is too big and that he has asked the country to further increase its production in the US.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190307200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : NHK survey
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_29/
An NHK survey has found that over 60 percent of the survivors of the March 2011 quake and tsunami disaster are still suffering from physical and mental problems. Many of them also report a decrease in exchanges with people in their communities.
The survey was conducted in December and January ahead of the eighth anniversary of the disaster next Monday.
NHK contacted more than 4,400 people in the hardest-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima in northeastern Japan, including those who fled from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
1,608, or 36 percent, responded.
The questionnaire asked if they still feel physical or psychological effects from the disaster.
More than 33 percent said they do, and nearly 31 percent said they do to some extent.
In a section where respondents could give multiple responses, more than 42 percent complained of insomnia. Over 42 percent said they feel depressed. More than 26 percent said they have difficulty walking. Nearly five percent said they need nursing care or that their health problems have become severe.
Over 67 percent of respondents with physical or psychological problems say they are having fewer conversations and exchanges with friends and acquaintances since they relocated.
Professor Ichiro Tsuji of the Tohoku University School of Medicine says people develop health problems after moving many times -- a syndrome he calls "relocation damage."
He says survivors moved to public housing from temporary shelters in the hope they could happily settle in. But he says, in reality, they find themselves isolated and suffering from poor physical and mental health.
Tsuji says more steps should be taken to prevent these survivors from becoming isolated in their communities.
Key words : environment soil
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_09/
Japan's Environment Ministry says much of the soil generated in decontamination work after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident remains stored at more than 100,000 locations near homes in Fukushima Prefecture.
Top soil and plants collected in the decontamination project were first kept in the gardens of private homes or nearby parking lots. They were then transported to temporary storage sites and finally to intermediate storage facilities in two towns in the prefecture.
The storage at the intermediate facilities began in 2015. But the ministry says only 17 percent of the planned amount of soil and plants has been brought in since the construction of the facilities has only been partially completed.
The ministry says the rest of the material is still being kept at 104,938 locations in the vicinity of housing districts as well as at 933 temporary storage sites.
The ministry says it plans to transfer double the amount of last year to intermediate storage facilities during next fiscal year.
It says it aims to complete the transfer of all the material to the facilities by March of 2022, except for soil that is kept in no-entry zones.
Residents are calling on the ministry to remove the soil, from near their homes as soon as possible, complaining the work has not progressed fast enough.
Key words : operator Daiichi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_32/
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has again postponed work to remove spent nuclear fuel from a storage pool at its No.3 reactor.
566 fuel units remain in the cooling pool of the reactor, which suffered a meltdown in 2011. Removing the fuel is a key step in the plant's decommissioning plan.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, was planning to start removal work at the end of this month, after being forced to delay its previous plan to do so by last November. The delay resulted from problems with a fuel lifting unit and other equipment.
Another equipment glitch in February led to the latest postponement. TEPCO now plans to start the work in April or later.
The plant's No.1 and 2 reactors also suffered meltdowns in the 2011 nuclear accident. Preparing for spent fuel removal at the No.3 reactor has been going ahead faster than at the other two.
But even at the No. 3 reactor, the start of removal work is more than four years behind the initial plan set at the end of 2014.
Key words : cabinet indicated
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_38/
Japan's Cabinet Office indicated on Thursday the economy is potentially in a recessionary phase.
The coincident index, an important gauge of business conditions, was down by 2.7 points in January from the previous month. That's the third-straight monthly decline.
Cabinet Office officials say the main reason was a slump in production of semiconductors and industrial robots.
They say the declines signal "a possible turning point" for the economy. By that, it means there's a strong possibility it peaked several months ago.
In January, the government declared Japan was celebrating its longest unbroken run of postwar growth.
But the index for the same month is now telling a different story.
Cabinet officials say the government will present a more detailed explanation in its upcoming monthly economic report.
Key words : labor ministry discussing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_30/
Japan's labor ministry has begun discussing a plan to introduce a national minimum wage for different types of jobs in the hope that foreign workers will not flock to urban areas that offer better-paying jobs.
A revised immigration law set to take effect in April will allow a wider range of foreign nationals to obtain residential status in Japan.
Labor ministry officials met lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday. They explained that a uniform minimum wage system for foreign workers would also be applied to Japanese workers.
The officials will also begin discussions with other ministries and industrial groups to set a minimum wage for each type of job.
Currently, each prefecture in Japan has its own minimum hourly wage. Tokyo offers the highest pay of 985 yen, or about nine dollars, while Kagoshima has the lowest with 761 yen, or about seven dollars. The gap is nearly two dollars an hour.
Key words : Trump too big
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_25/
US President Donald Trump says America's trade deficit with Japan is too big and that he has asked the country to further increase its production in the US.
Trump spoke at a meeting at the White House on Wednesday where he was discussing employment problems with business leaders.
Trump said, "We have a lot of companies coming in. I was with Prime Minister Abe the other day and he said that Japan is going to be sending about at least 7 more big factories into this country."
Trump did not explain the plan in detail. But he reiterated his demand that Japan bring additional production to the US.
US data released on Wednesday show that the country's trade deficit in goods with Japan totaled 67.6 billion dollars in 2018. That's a slight decrease from the previous year.
The Trump administration hopes to start bilateral trade talks with Japan as soon as possible. The US apparently wants to reduce imports of automobiles and other goods from Japan to reduce the deficit.
Key words : top government
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_37/
Japan's top government spokesperson declined to comment on remarks by US President Donald Trump that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told him Japan is preparing to "send" at least seven big factories to the US.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Thursday that he wouldn't comment on Trump's claim.
Suga said that whatever was spoken between Abe and Trump remains a matter between them.
Suga said, "It's important and mutually beneficial for Japan and the US that trade and investment between our countries continue to expand in a stable way."
Suga said Abe has repeatedly made it clear to Trump that Japan is making a big contribution to the US economy.
Key words : UN is sounding
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_27/
The UN is sounding the alarm about the need for urgent humanitarian aid in North Korea. It says it needs 120 million dollars to help save the lives of millions of people.
A new report says 11 million North Koreans can't access enough healthy food, clean water or basic services.
The Secretary General's spokesperson warned that many children are undernourished and could die from curable diseases.
Stephane Dujarric pointed out that last year's humanitarian plan only received about a quarter of the funds needed.
He said obviously the environment in the DPRK is challenging and it's important the humanitarian needs are separated from political dynamics.
The report said the North is hit hard by natural disasters and suffers from a shortage of land that can be used for farming.
Its author noted that UN sanctions against the North's weapons programs are not supposed to affect humanitarian work but they do.
Key words : female representation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_19/
An international survey of the percentage of female representation in national parliaments has ranked Japan in 165th place. It's the lowest among all industrialized countries.
The Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union released the results of the survey of the number of women in parliament in 193 countries as of January 1 this year. The publication comes ahead of International Women's Day, on March 8.
The IPU says female representation is highest in the African country of Rwanda at 61.3 percent.
Japan fell seven notches from a year earlier, with female lawmakers accounting for only 10.2 percent of Lower House seats.
It is the only member of the G7 countries that ranked lower than 100th.
France is ranked 16th on 39.7 percent, Italy 30th with 35.7 percent and the US 78th with 23.5 percent.
Globally, the average ratio of women in national parliaments increased from 11.3 percent in 1995 to 24.3 percent, contrasting sharply with the position in Japan.
Key words : email
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_22/
Japanese police say the number of targeted cyber-attacks using emails hit a new high last year.
The National Police Agency on Thursday released the findings of its annual survey of cyber-attacks. The survey involved more than 7,700 domestic firms, mainly in the defense and nuclear power industries.
The agency says the number of confirmed targeted cyber-attacks reached 6,740, up 713 from a year earlier. The figure is the highest since the agency began compiling the data in 2012.
In this type of attack, virus-carrying emails are sent to businesses and other entities with the aim of stealing confidential information.
The National Police Agency says 71 percent of the email addresses used by hackers are not publicly available.
They include addresses for internal sections and individuals.
The agency says this suggests the cyber-attacks were carefully premeditated.
In the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Japanese police plan to step up information-sharing with relevant organizations and to carry out joint drills in an effort to stave off cyber-attacks.
Key words : female tennis
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190307_20/
Top-seeded Japanese female tennis player Naomi Osaka will appear at the BNP Paribas Open tournament in the United States this week under her new coach.
Osaka, who has won two Grand Slam singles titles, will begin the defense of her title on Wednesday at the tournament in Indian Wells, California.
She won the Australian Open in January this year for her second straight Grand Slam victory, following the 2018 US Open.
Osaka recently hired Jermaine Jenkins to be her new coach after splitting with Sascha Bajin, who coached her for more than a year through the Australian Open.
The tournament, ranked just below the four Grand Slam events, will be her first appearance under Jenkins.
Last month, Osaka lost in straight sets in her first match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Attention is focused on whether Osaka can create momentum for this season by winning the tournament under her new coach.
Japan's Kei Nishikori, ranked 7th in the world, will also compete in the men's singles event that starts on Thursday.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿