at 20:00 (JST), March 31 AS

The name of Japan's new era is to be decided on Monday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga will announce the new name at 11:30 a.m.

North Korea has described a February break-in at the country's embassy in Spain as a "grave terrorist attack."

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party has officially launched a campaign for the European Parliament elections in May.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190331200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : name of source
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190331_03/

Japan's next emperor will usher in a new name of the era. Following a Cabinet decision, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga will announce the new name at 11:30 a.m. on Monday.

On March 14, the government officially asked multiple experts to come up with two to five options for the new name. The experts have since submitted their proposals along with the meaning and source of each option.

The government will first narrow down the list according to various criteria such as whether the name is easy to read and write. Then on Monday morning, it is expected to present several candidate names to a panel of representatives from various fields.

The Chief Cabinet Secretary will then hear the opinions of chiefs and deputy-chiefs of both chambers of the Diet before discussing the matter at a meeting of all cabinet ministers.

The new era name will be finalized in a government ordinance for changing the era name, which will be announced during the day.

Following Suga's announcement at 11:30 a.m., Prime Minister Sinzo Abe will explain the selection at around noon.

The new name will take effect on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the throne. Emperor Akihito will abdicate a day earlier on April 30.

The name of the current era is Heisei.

Key words : voters in
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190331_16/

Voters in Ukraine are heading to the polls to choose their next president.

Voting began at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Many people were seen casting their ballots in the capital, Kiev.

Thirty-nine candidates are running in the poll that is held every five years. Opinion surveys held just ahead of the election show Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in the lead. The 41-year-old comedian has no political experience.

He is followed by the incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The candidates accuse Russia of annexing the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014.

But they differ in their degree of opposition to Russia. Poroshenko maintains a hardline stance and does not rule out the possibility of armed conflict. But Zelenskiy has increased his opinion poll ratings by pledging to avoid the use of force.

The Ukrainian situation prompted Western countries to impose sanctions on Russia, which implemented retaliatory steps.

Western nations and Russia are closely monitoring the election. They want to know how the next Ukrainian administration will seek to resolve the issue of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Vote counting will begin immediately after the polling stations close at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Preliminary results are expected to be announced on Monday morning.

Key words : north describe
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190331_15/

North Korea has described a February break-in at the country's embassy in Spain as a "grave terrorist attack."

A spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement through the nation's state-run media on Sunday.

This is Pyongyang's first official comment on the incident, in which men from a group opposed to the North Korean leadership broke into the country's Embassy in Madrid on February 22.

The group calls itself Free Joseon, and was also known as Cheollima Civil Defense. The group said last week that it was behind the break-in and "shared certain information of enormous potential value with the FBI in the United States."

The statement says the men bound, beat and tortured the Embassy staff and "extorted the communication apparatus" at the embassy. The statement describes the incident as a grave breach of state sovereignty and says such acts should never be tolerated.

The statement cites what it says are rumors that the FBI and "small-fry" anti-North Korean forces were involved in the incident.

It calls on the Spanish authorities to investigate the incident in conformity with international law and says North Korea will "wait for the result in patience."

The statement stops short of criticizing the US. But the embassy raid could become another source of tension between the US and North Korea, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Key words : French president
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190331_12/

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party has officially launched a campaign for the European Parliament elections in May.

The "Republic on the Move" party held the first rally on Saturday. It introduced 30 candidates including former cabinet ministers and a former NGO representative for the May election.

They include Natalie Loiseau who resigned as France's European affairs minister to run for the European Parliament. She talked about the importance of international unity against nationalist movements.

She told supporters that she wants to hand over a stronger France and more unified Europe to the next generation.

The crowd cheered, waving French and European flags.

A 55-year-old man said he thought Macron and the "Republic on the Move" party can unite Europe.

In a recent poll 23 percent of respondents said they would vote for the "Republic on the Move." But the right-wing Eurosceptic National Rally party got almost the same level of support.

As skepticism against the EU spreads in European countries, the election is seen as a test for "Republic on the Move" candidates who are calling for more international coordination.

Key words : police in Japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190331_11/

Police in Japan say they will come down hard on cocaine after officers opened a record number of criminal investigations last year into the use, or trafficking, of the drug.

The National Police Agency says officers nationwide took action in 2018 against 197 people in 434 cases, including illicit sales or use of the drug. Both figures are the highest since record-taking began in 1959.

42 percent of those investigated by the police, or 83 people, are foreign nationals.

Cocaine has a high-dependency risk. The stimulant's effects last only a short time, leading to repeated use in a single day. A large intake could result in death.

Agency officials say one of the factors behind the increased use of cocaine by Japanese is the rise of visitors from overseas in recent years.

They plan to cooperate with customs and other agency officials to prevent the influx of cocaine from abroad. They also plan to strengthen its crack down on trafficking by introducing a device that can identify the substance on the spot.