at 20:00 (JST), April 12

The World Trade Organization has ruled in South Korea's favor in a dispute over the country's ban on imports of Japanese fishery products.

US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have discussed denuclearization of North Korea.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations have ended their first day of talks in Washington.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190412200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : world trade has ruled fishery product
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_09/

The World Trade Organization has ruled in South Korea's favor in a dispute over the country's ban on imports of Japanese fishery products.

The ban covers eight Japanese prefectures and was introduced after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.

The ruling by the WTO appellate body overturns a lower panel's decision in Japan's favor last year. In a report on Thursday, the WTO cited several errors in the previous investigation.

Since the appellate body is the highest authority for dispute settlement at the WTO, Thursday's ruling is final. South Korea is expected to maintain the import ban.

In a statement, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he is disappointed with the decision. He said Japan wants negotiations with South Korea to end the restrictions.

Japan's Fisheries Agency says seafood exports to South Korea fell more than 20 percent in a year after Seoul introduced the ban in 2013.

Key words : Kono asked trade dispute
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_24/

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has asked the South Korean ambassador to Japan to convey to his country that Japan hopes to seek a solution to the fishery products trade dispute through bilateral talks.

Kono met with South Korean Ambassador Lee Su-hoon in Tokyo on Friday.

The meeting came after the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of South Korea on its ban on imports of fishery products from eight Japanese prefectures because of safety concerns over radioactive contamination.

Kono told Lee that the ruling was deeply regrettable. He added, however, that he welcomes the WTO's finding that Japanese food products are scientifically safe and easily meet South Korean safety standards.

He said he hopes to convince South Korea to lift its ban through talks.

Lee told reporters after the meeting that he and Kono conveyed to each other their positions on the ruling, but did not elaborate on the South Korean stance.

Key words : south media evening news
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Key words : Trump Moon increase
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_10/

US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have discussed denuclearization of North Korea.

The leaders met at the White House in Washington on Thursday. This is their first meeting since last November.

At the start of the talks, Trump said a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a possibility. He also said whether the summit will take place is largely dependent on Kim.

Trump reiterated his stance of demanding Pyongyang completely abolish its nuclear weapons.

He said, "You could work out step-by-step pieces, but at this moment, we're talking about the big deal. The big deal is we have to get rid of the nuclear weapons."

Moon echoed Trump's goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea.

He stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum of dialogue and offering the world hope that a third US-North Korea summit will be held in the near future.

Before his meeting with Trump, Moon had indicated that some sanctions on North Korea should be eased to achieve progress in denuclearization.

Moon was expected to use the summit to propose restarting the Kaesong industrial complex and Mount Kumgang tours in North Korea.

Trump said the US could increase sanctions, but he didn't want to do so at this time.

In a statement, the White House said the two countries "have been prepared to explore economic development options for North Korea should the right conditions be met."

Key words : central bank ended
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_26/

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations have ended their first day of talks in Washington.

On day one of the two-day meeting, delegates exchanged opinions on the current state of the world economy and the risks facing it.

Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso, who is co-chairing the meeting this year for the first time along with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, called for international cooperation to prevent a further slowdown of the global economy.

Aso said economic growth slowed due to trade frictions between the US and China and other uncertainties in the second half of last year.

But he said the global economy is expected to pick up momentum in the second half of this year as the outlook for US-China trade talks is improving.

Aso then explained Japan's move to raise its consumption tax in October after taking measures to mitigate any effect it may have on the economy.

None of the delegates objected to his view on the global economic outlook, but some were cautious about the US-China trade dispute and Brexit.

After the meeting, Aso told reporters that some people may say the G20's global economic outlook is optimistic.

But he said that optimism is the manifestation of the G20 members' determination toward global economic growth.

Day two of the meeting on Friday will cover current account imbalances as well as the ongoing US-China trade dispute.

Key words : district court allowed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_30/

The Tokyo District Court has allowed investigators to keep former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn in custody for eight more days to investigate his alleged financial misconduct.

The court on Friday decided that a special team at the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office, which is investigating Ghosn, can hold him until April 22.

Ghosn was arrested on April 4 for a fourth time on suspicion of redirecting some Nissan funds sent to the automaker's dealership in Oman to a shell company he effectively owns.

Ghosn's initial detention is due to expire on Sunday, and the team had asked for a maximum 10-day extension.

The detention can be extended if a case involves many people or investigators face difficulty in gathering evidence because a suspect refuses to talk.

Courts sometimes grant extensions that are shorter than requested by prosecutors.

But sources say it's rare for a court not to grant a full extension in a case investigated by a special team of prosecutors.

Key words : latest data
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_32/

Latest data show that Japanese society continues to gray, with the percentage of the population of working age tying a record low.

The Internal Affairs Ministry estimates that the total population, including foreign residents, stood at about 126.4 million as of last October.

The figure marked a drop for the eighth consecutive year. The decline of 263,000 -- or 0.21 percent -- is the largest on record. Japan's population peaked in 2008.

The working-age population, or those aged 15 to 64, was about 75.4 million. This age group accounted for about 60 percent of the population, tying the record low set in 1950 during the post-war period.

The population of people aged 65 or older stood at 35.5 million. They accounted for about 28 percent of the total-- a record high. More than half of this age group were 75 or older.

The population of children younger than 15 totaled 15.4 million, and their proportion fell to 12 percent -- the lowest on record.

The number of foreign residents living in Japan for three months or longer stood at about 2.2 million, marking an increase for the sixth consecutive year.

Key words : today's news keywords segment population decline caused by its low birth rate
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Key words : Sado island
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190412_14/

Media have been given a first look at an information center about gold and silver mines that operated in the Edo period on Sado Island in Japan.

The mines on the island in the Sea of Japan were one of the largest in the country. They were operational between the 17th and the 20th century.

Sado city officials regard them as their most important historical site.

The information center has four theaters showing films on the history of the mines.

The center cost about 9 million dollars. Local government officials hope it can express the historical value of the site to visitors and help it to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The museum will open to the public on April 20.

Key words : low cost
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