Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have visited Ise Shrine as part of a series of rituals leading up to the Emperor's abdication on April 30.
The US administration appears to be carefully studying North Korea's intention after its latest announcement of a test-firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon.
US media are reporting that the United States and China are planning to resume trade talks this month.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190418200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : akihito Ise as part of
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_25/
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have worshipped at Ise Shrine as part of a series of rituals leading up to the Emperor's abdication on April 30.
The Imperial couple began a three-day trip to Mie Prefecture in central Japan on Wednesday. This is their last regional trip as Emperor and Empress.
Shortly after 10 a.m. on Thursday, the couple left their lodging in the Inner Shrine and headed for the Outer Shrine in separate vehicles.
The couple's motorcade slowed down in front of a crowd of well-wishers who lined the streets. The Emperor and Empress waved to them through the open windows.
The motorcade arrived at the Outer Shrine, which is dedicated to a goddess of harvests and well-being, shortly before 10:30 a.m.
The sacred sword and jewel -- two of the three sacred treasures that symbolize the Imperial throne -- were carried into the shrine. The two treasures have been taken out of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for the first time in five years.
Imperial Household officials say the Emperor offered a sprig from the sacred "sakaki" tree at the main hall. They say the Empress also worshipped at the Outer Shrine.
Later on Thursday, the Emperor and Empress are scheduled to worship at the Inner Shrine where Amaterasu-omikami, the sun goddess, is enshrined.
Key words : US administration carefully
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_22/
The US administration appears to be carefully studying North Korea's intention after its latest announcement of a test-firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon.
The North's state-run media have reported that the test was conducted at the Academy of Defense Science on Wednesday in the presence of leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim was reportedly satisfied with the test. The weapon is believed to be a conventional weapon, as opposed to a long-range ballistic missile.
A US Defense Department official told CNN that no missile launch was detected by the US military.
Washington has so far given no official response to the reported test.
A US State Department official told NHK that its officials are aware of the reports of the test but will give no comment.
This is the first time since last November for the North's state-run media to report on Kim overseeing a weapons test. This is also the first such report after the second US-North Korea summit in late February.
US President Donald Trump's administration is considering resuming talks with Pyongyang to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, while looking into the possibility of another US-North Korea summit.
Key words : Iwaya monitoring
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_24/
Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya has said that Japan is closely monitoring North Korea's military activities, but refrained from revealing details about the latest development.
Speaking in an Upper House committee on Thursday, Iwaya said the government will work closely with the US and other countries in collecting and analyzing necessary information and monitoring the situation.
North Korea's state media reported Thursday on the successful test-firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon.
Key words : US media reporting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_19/
US media are reporting that the United States and China are planning to resume trade talks this month. The aim is to hold a signing ceremony in late May or early June.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday quoted sources as saying the two countries have set a tentative timeline for new rounds of the negotiations.
It says that under the schedule, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would travel to Beijing the week of April 29. Chinese envoy Liu He would come to Washington the week of May 6.
Major sticking points remain. The sides are divided over whether the US will scrap its punitive tariffs on Chinese goods after a deal is reached.
Another issue is over what the US calls China's preferential subsidies to state-owned firms.
Key words : panel compiled
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_11/
A panel of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party has compiled proposals urging the government to set rules for IT giants to ensure transparency in handling personal data and contracts with client firms.
Huge IT companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, collectively known as GAFA, have faced criticism for collecting large amounts of customer data that they use to safeguard their market dominance.
The panel interviewed officials from such firms before drawing up the proposals.
The proposals call on the government to consider a new law that requires the firms to give advance notice before revising contracts, to prevent their clients from being harmed by one-sided contract changes.
Panel members also called for drawing up new anti-monopoly law guidelines that apply specifically to IT giants to ensure fair competition.
They also suggest that a panel of experts be established within the government to get an accurate picture of IT giants.
The panel plans to meet on Thursday to formally approve the proposals.
Key words : Fukushima accept
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_28/
The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant says it will accept foreign workers hired under Japan's new visa program for work to decommission the facility.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says it reported the decision at a meeting in late March to dozens of companies carrying out the decommissioning. The firm had not permitted foreign trainees to take part in the work.
TEPCO noted that construction, industrial machinery and automobile maintenance will be relevant to the decommissioning. The utility also told the contractors to make sure they hire foreign workers legally.
A revised immigration law that took effect on April 1 allows foreign nationals with certain vocational skills to work in a range of sectors under a new visa category.
About 4,000 people work at the plant every day. The facility suffered a triple meltdown following the major quake and tsunami in March 2011.
Most of the plant's compound is radiation-controlled areas where workers must carry dosimeters and know how to protect themselves from radiation exposure.
TEPCO says it's not aware of a shortage of workers in the decommissioning process, but that it is up to the contractors to decide whether to hire foreigners under the new visa category.
Key words : elementary junior school
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Key words : news key word for today English education in Japan
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Key words : group of eye surgery
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_27/
A group of Japanese researchers say they have confirmed the safety of the world's first eye surgery using iPS cells from a donor.
In 2017, the team transplanted retinal tissue grown from donor iPS cells into five patients with age-related macular degeneration. The tissue was created from a special kind of iPS cells, which is less likely to be rejected by a patient's immune system.
The researchers told an academic conference in Tokyo on Thursday that one patient showed a mild rejection response, but the symptoms did not become serious.
They also said that the transplanted tissue did not become cancerous in any of the five patients.
The team said they were able to confirm the safety of the treatment and will continue to hold clinical trials.
The project leader, Masayo Takahashi from the RIKEN Institute, said they are satisfied with the results so far, and have achieved 70 percent of their goal to make the practical use of iPS cells surgery possible.
Key words : Japanese eel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_34/
An international conference to protect declining resources of Japanese eel kicked off in Tokyo on Thursday.
Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan set up the forum in 2012. Overfishing has drastically reduced catches of baby eels. Japanese officials say the domestic harvest during the latest season was the lowest on record.
The participants agreed at a previous conference to cut the total amount of eels delivered to fish farms by 20 percent from the 2014 figure. They are discussing whether to make a deeper cut during the two-day meeting.
But coming up with an effective policy during the current conference could be elusive. That's because the biggest harvester, China, is absent for the fifth straight year.
Key words : organizer
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_31/
Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have set up an official website for selling tickets.
The Olympic organizing committee told a news conference on Thursday that it will accept applications for tickets through a lottery on the official site during a 20-day period from May 9. Only people who live in Japan can apply. The winners will be announced on June 20.
People who want to buy tickets must first register on the official site to get their "Tokyo 2020 ID."
Starting this fall, tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis on the site. The organizers say the sale this year will be limited to people living in Japan, and they are asking people overseas to buy tickets through each country's national Olympic committee, or other official sellers.
From next spring, remaining tickets will be sold through official outlets to be set up in Tokyo.
In all, organizers plan to sell 7.8 million tickets for the 2020 Olympics, and the opening sale by lottery is expected to be the biggest opportunity to buy them.
The organizing committee said three operators of popular online flea market or auction sites, Mercari, Yahoo Japan, and Rakuten, will ban putting Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics tickets up for auction on their sites, in an effort to prevent illegal resale.
Key words : officials Narita
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190418_26/
Officials at Narita Airport near Tokyo have held a counterterrorism drill as the country prepares for large-scale international events for two consecutive years.
The Rugby World Cup will be held this fall and the Olympics and Paralympics will take place the following summer.
Narita Airport and related agencies are stepping up security as more people are expected to visit the country.
As part of the effort, about 130 police officers, firefighters, custom officials, and airport operator staff took part in the drill on Thursday.
They assumed a potential terror suspect tried to enter the country using a fake passport. Officers at the security check immediately held down the man as he became violent.
The drill also dealt with potential bomb attacks. It assumed a sniffer dog had found what appeared to be a bomb in checked baggage. Police officers examined it with an X-ray and put it in a special container to avoid any explosion from causing damage.
The customs chief at Narita Airport says they plan to take more anti-terror measures by working closely with related organizations.
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