Japan's nuclear regulators have turned down requests by power companies to extend the timeframes for installing anti-terror facilities at their nuclear power plants.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East on Wednesday afternoon for the first summit with President Vladimir Putin.
Investigative authorities in Sri Lanka say nine suicide bombers, including one woman, were responsible for Sunday's deadly terror blasts.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190424200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : nuclear regulator
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_21/
Japan's nuclear regulators have turned down requests by power companies to extend the timeframes for installing anti-terror facilities at their nuclear power plants.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday decided to order, in principle, the suspension of operations at the plants if the deadlines for building standby control rooms are not met.
Regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident require operators to build such facilities to retain control of reactors in the event of terrorist attacks, such as planes being flown into the plants.
Operators of nuclear plants are required to construct the facilities within five years after a reactor clears the requirements for going back online.
But earlier this month, three power companies asked the regulators to extend that timeframe. Kyushu Electric, Kansai Electric and Shikoku Electric say they will need one to two-and-a-half years longer to build the facilities at five power plants. Seven reactors at four of the plants are already online.
Kyushu Electric has less than one year left before the deadline to build the required facility for its Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture. The utility may face orders to halt operations at the plant, as it will likely take about two years for the facility to be completed.
The nuclear regulators say they will listen to the operators about their situations, including whether they have alternative plans to address the risks.
But NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa says his agency cannot allow nuclear plants to stay online if they do not meet the regulations.
Key words : Tokyo share price
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_29/
Tokyo share prices ended lower after a turbulent day. Stocks got a boost from Wall Street before selling kicked in ahead of a string of national holidays.
The Nikkei Average hit a year's high in early trading on the back of a record-breaking day in New York. But some Tokyo investors then unloaded stocks to reduce their exposure during Japan's 10-day break that starts Saturday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 ended at 22,200. That's 59 points or nearly 0.3 percent lower than Tuesday's close.
Electric power utilities led the losses. That's after regulators decided to order nuclear plants to suspend operations if they fail to meet deadlines for installing anti-terrorist measures.
Weakness in some other stock indexes in the Asia-Pacific region also weighed on Tokyo shares.
Overnight in New York, strong earnings at US companies pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the broader S&P500 to all-time highs.
Key words : Kim arrived in
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_36/
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East on Wednesday afternoon for the first summit with President Vladimir Putin.
When getting off his train, Kim took off his hat, exchanged greetings and words with senior Russian officials with a smile. He was welcomed with music played by a band at a square in front of the station.
He then headed for an offshore island by car and entered a facility of a university where the summit will take place.
Putin is expected to arrive in Vladivostok on Thursday. The two leaders will likely start talks in the morning to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and other topics.
Kim is believed to be frustrated with the stance of the United States, which maintains it will not lift sanctions on the North until complete denuclearization is achieved. Putin is showing some support for easing sanctions.
Attention is focused on what views they will exchange on their response to the US stance.
Key words : Sri Lanka nine suicide
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_30/
Investigative authorities in Sri Lanka say nine suicide bombers, including one woman, were responsible for Sunday's deadly terror blasts.
The nearly simultaneous explosions at six locations in the country's largest city, Colombo, and elsewhere killed 359 people and injured about 500.
Sri Lanka's state minister of defense Ruwan Wijewardene told reporters on Wednesday that eight of the nine bombers have been identified.
He said most of them came from affluent families and were well-educated, and that some had studied abroad.
The minister suggested the attacks were retaliation for last month's terror shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by an Australian man said to be a white supremacist. The attacks killed 50 people.
The Sri Lankan authorities believe the suicide bombers trained abroad.
They're seeking cooperation from the United Arab Emirates, Australia, India, Britain and the United States in probing the attackers' links to the Islamic State militant group.
Key words : more than 100 gathered
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_25/
More than 100 people have gathered at Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo to pray for the victims of Sunday's deadly bombings.
The embassy has set up a table in front of its building to accept condolences on Wednesday.
Sri Lankans, including students living in Tokyo, have visited the site to offer flowers and messages.
One woman said she was shocked to hear about the attacks. She also told NHK that some visitors to the embassy had lost relatives and friends. She said she felt heartbroken but expressed hope that peace would return soon.
The explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka's largest city of Colombo and a town in the east have so far left 359 people dead and about 500 injured.
Key words : Diet enacted a bill
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_16/
Japan's Diet has enacted a bill that offers redress to people who were forcibly sterilized under the country's now-defunct Eugenic Protection Law.
The Upper House unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday morning.
The state will offer lump-sum payments of 3.2 million yen, or over 28,000 dollars, to each person sterilized on the grounds that they suffered mental disorders, genetic diseases or other ailments, with or without consent.
To receive the payments, individuals will need to ask a special panel of doctors and lawyers to certify that they underwent forced sterilization.
Applications must be filed in person within five years of the law going into effect.
The health ministry estimates that about 25,000 people will be entitled to the compensation. The ministry also plans to look into how the old law was enacted and prevent a recurrence. The government will put the law in force later on Wednesday and start accepting applications.
The former Eugenic Protection Law, which was in effect until 1996, allowed authorities to sterilize people who had mental or genetic disorders or other perceived problems.
Key words : Hiroshima peace
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_31/
The renovated main building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is set to reopen on Thursday.
Media got an advance look on Wednesday.
The building opened in 1955, ten years after the atomic bombing of the city, but has been closed since 2017 to be made more earthquake-resistant. The displays also underwent major renovation, for the first time since 1991.
The building is divided into four sections.
One features scenes of devastation around ground zero after the August 6 bombing. They include architectural damage such as a steel frame that was contorted by the bomb blast, and clothes of students who died while mobilized to work.
Another section features victims' belongings and portraits, and focuses on the suffering of people who lost loved ones.
The museum now mainly displays victims' belongings, to show visitors the reality of the bombing in an easier-to-understand way.
Kenji Shiga, who served as the museum's director until March, says the renovation was aimed at showing exactly what happened on the day of the bombing.
He said he hopes visitors will learn about what occurred under the mushroom cloud and the consequences of using nuclear weapons.
Key words : UN security council
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_22/
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling on warring parties around the globe to implement concrete commitments to ending sexual violence in conflict.
The draft resolution submitted by the council chair Germany was adopted on Tuesday with 13 votes in favor, none against and abstentions by China and Russia.
The resolution holds the countries of warring parties responsible for investigating possible acts of sexual violence committed by belligerents and punishing offenders.
Russia and China abstained on the grounds that the resolution does not fully reflect the importance of national sovereignty.
Before the vote, the two recipients of last year's Nobel Peace Prize gave speeches.
Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, who has been treating rape victims, said sexual violence is a crime against humanity. He added that healing can be complete only when justice has been served.
Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was held as a sex slave by Islamic State militants, said the social fabric of her Yazidi society has been torn apart, and called for international support to rebuild it.
Key words : child daycare
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_24/
Japan's Board of Audit has found that government subsidies for industry-sponsored child daycare centers are not used effectively as many of them are operating below capacity.
Businesses are encouraged to open and run such facilities for their employees and local residents to ease a shortage of places. The government spent nearly 1.9 billion dollars in subsidies for them as of the end of fiscal 2017.
Board of Audit officials checked the management of more than 200 facilities nationwide for fiscal 2016 when the projects started and again the following year.
They found that the number of children at 72 facilities that had been in operation for at least a year, was less than half their capacity. That number represents more than 30 percent of the facilities. Another 27 were found to be operating at less than 20 percent of capacity.
The officials say businesses failed to adequately assess the needs of employees in the process of deciding the capacity of their facilities. They also say the association that examined the daycare project plans decided on the level of government subsidies without fully checking if they were appropriate.
The Board of Audit has demanded that the Cabinet Office ensures the facilities are used more effectively.
Key words : Koide
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190424_32/
Marathon coach Yoshio Koide has died at the age of 80. He trained top Japanese runners including Olympic medalists.
Sources say Koide was suffering from heart problems and was in intensive care this month and died on Wednesday morning.
Koide led corporate workers' teams and trained a number of leading marathon and long-distance runners.
Among them are Naoko Takahashi, who won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the Sydney Olympics, and Yuko Arimori, a silver medalist in Barcelona and bronze winner in Atlanta.
Takahashi said in a statement that it is all thanks to Koide that she won an Olympic medal and set a world record, and made her what she is.
Takahashi also said she is truly grateful to him for patiently training her, running with her, giving her confidence, and spending his precious time coaching her.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿