Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump are expected to discuss North Korea and other issues at their summit at the White House on Friday.
China's President Xi Jinping spoke at an international conference to brush aside concerns over the country's Belt and Road initiative.
Sri Lanka's military says it has confirmed the death of the suspected mastermind of the Easter Sunday bombings.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190426200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : Abe and expected to discuss
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_29/
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump are expected to discuss North Korea and other issues at their summit at the White House on Friday.
A White House official said on Thursday that the summit is an important opportunity for the leaders to exchange views on recent North Korean developments and to coordinate future actions.
The official added that those actions would include consultations with South Korea aimed at final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
The meeting follows the first summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Thursday, US Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty suggested that Abe and Trump are also expected to discuss the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.
Hagerty noted that the abductions were taken up at previous Japan-US summits, and cited Trump's consistent support for Japan on the issue.
Ahead of Friday's summit, the two countries recently opened talks aimed at signing a new trade deal.
The US side hopes for a swift conclusion of the negotiations. Abe and Trump are likely to discuss how to proceed.
On Friday, Abe and Trump are also to celebrate the birthday of First Lady Melania Trump at a banquet.
Key words : trade talk serious problem
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_16/
Japan's minister in charge of trade talks says he's not expecting serious problems to arise at a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump on Friday.
Toshimitsu Motegi met in Washington with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday.
Motegi later told news media that the goal of Japan-US trade talks is an early agreement that is beneficial for both countries. He said, "That's what we're aiming toward and we exchanged frank opinions."
Motegi said they also confirmed what was discussed at the first round of talks last week.
That included issues around tariffs on farm products and automobiles. The pair agreed that digital trade would eventually be addressed as well.
Motegi warned that negotiations would take some time due to the wide range of topics on the table. He said their preliminary talks had helped narrow the focus for Abe and Trump.
Key words : Japan and still disagree
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_14/
Japan and the United States still disagree on whether to ban the practice of lowering currencies for competitive advantage as part of a new trade agreement.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso met on Thursday with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Washington.
Mnuchin reportedly restated the US demand that a trade deal between the two countries include a provision banning competitive currency devaluation.
But Aso said questions of exchange rates should be discussed separately from a trade deal.
He told reporters, "I told the US side that Japan can't agree to a discussion that links trade policy and exchange-rate policy."
The two sides decided to keep talking on how to deal with currency fluctuations in their negotiations.
US officials are keen to get a legally binding provision into the trade deal, but Japan is set against it.
Japanese officials are concerned it could limit Japan's ability to intervene in currency markets when the yen appreciates excessively.
Key words : xi international conference brush aside
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_24/
China's President is using an international conference to brush aside concerns over the country's Belt and Road initiative.
It's been widely criticized for burdening countries with a level of debt they can't repay.
At the event in Beijing, Xi Jinping emphasized that the massive project is moving ahead.
The leaders of 37 nations and representatives of more than 100 others are attending the forum.
The project is aimed at creating a massive economic zone linking Asia and Europe.
President Xi said, "We're trying to share our success with our partner countries through the "Belt and Road" initiative. We can contribute to economic and social development in these countries, without compromising their financial sustainability."
President Xi is also using the event to promote its side of a trade war with the US, without mentioning the country by name.
He said, "We should promote free trade and investments among nations. We should openly oppose protectionism."
Washington didn't send senior officials to the forum claiming Beijing is using the initiative to strengthen its influence abroad.
Key words : defense minister
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_23/
Japan's Defense Minister will visit Vietnam next week to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation amid China's increased maritime activities.
Takeshi Iwaya told reporters on Friday that he will visit Vietnam from May 2 to 4 for talks with the country's defense minister.
The most recent visit to Vietnam by a Japanese Defense Minister was three-and-a-half years ago.
Iwaya said defense exchanges with Vietnam are growing every year and they are increasing in importance.
He says he wants to promote further defense exchanges in the domains of land, sea and air.
He said these exchanges would include port calls in Vietnam by Self-Defense Force aircraft and vessels, along with support for building Vietnam's military capabilities.
Referring to China's increased activity in the East and South China Seas, Iwaya said this has become a major concern not only for Japan, but for the international community as well.
He says he wants to hold frank, in-depth talks with his Vietnamese counterpart on how the two countries can cooperate to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Key words : Sri Lanka military easter Sunday
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_32/
Sri Lanka's military says it has confirmed the death of the suspected mastermind of the Easter Sunday bombings in the country.
Mohamed Zahran is thought to have led Sri Lankan Muslim extremist group National Towheeth Jamaath.
A military officer said on Friday that Zahran blew himself up at the Shangri-La Hotel, one of the six targets in the coordinated bombings.
The attacks at 3 churches and 3 hotels in and around Sri Lanka's largest city Colombo left 253 people dead.
Police say there were nine perpetrators, including one woman, and have detained 70 people, including NTJ members.
Police said on Thursday night that they're looking for six more people suspected of deep involvement in the attacks, and released their names and photographs of five of them.
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility through the Amaq news agency on Tuesday and posted footage purportedly of the perpetrators.
Police say the bombers may have trained in the Middle East with the group's support.
Police are working with investigators of other countries to shed light on the background of the attacks.
Key words : Akihito outside waved and
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_11/
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have attended an awards ceremony for an environmental prize. It was their last official engagement outside the Imperial Palace before the Emperor's abdication on April 30.
The Emperor and Empress waved and smiled to well-wishers as their motorcade left the Imperial Palace on Friday morning for the Parliamentary Museum.
The annual MIDORI Academic Prize is awarded ahead of Greenery Day on May 4. The prize decorates people for their studies in the fields of botany and environmental conservation.
The Imperial couple have taken part in the ceremony almost every year since the first prize was awarded in 2007.
The couple applauded as certificates were presented to this year's two winners.
Hajime Koshimizu was awarded for establishing technologies for urban greening by clarifying suitable ground conditions for the growth of plants on rooftops and reclaimed land.
Masahiro Yano was decorated for his contribution to the improvement of rice varieties through the application of his genetic analyses of rice flowering cycles.
Other individuals and groups were also awarded for engaging in greenery activities in their communities.
The Emperor and Empress talked with the prize-winners at a reception after the ceremony.
Key words : benchmark stock
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_30/
Tokyo's benchmark stock index finished slightly lower on the final trading day of the Heisei era.
Investors sold shares on Friday to avoid risk from the suspension of trading during Japan's 10-day holiday from Saturday for the country's Imperial succession.
The Nikkei index of 225 selected issues was briefly down more than 200 points before heading higher on buybacks.
The index ended at 22,258, down 48 points from Thursday's close.
The broader-based TOPIX index was down 2 points, at 1,617.
Market players say investors are worried that an upcoming release of key economic indices and corporate earnings abroad could fuel post-holiday volatility in Tokyo.
Key words : two cambodian
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_31/
Two Cambodian women have become the first to receive a new type of work visa in Japan created under a revised immigration law aimed at accepting more foreign workers.
The Immigration Services Agency said on Friday that it granted the Category-one visa to the women in their 20s to work in the agriculture sector.
The revised law that took effect this month creates two new categories of residential status.
Category-one allows foreigners with vocational skills to work up to five years in 14 fields, such as farming, nursing care and food services.
Tests for applicants for some of the fields have begun.
Foreign workers who complete a three-year government-backed vocational training program can change their visa status to Category-one without a test, if they meet certain conditions.
The Cambodian women are among 27 trainees who applied for the status change.
The agency has drawn up a basic immigration plan. It calls for efforts to create a society that can accommodate foreign nationals as well as eliminate brokers who exploit foreign workers.
Key words : public office
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_19/
Public offices in Japan are busy preparing for the start of the Reiwa era.
Friday is the last business day of Heisei, before Japan enters the Reiwa era next Wednesday, when the new Emperor takes the throne. A 10-day holiday that coincides with the Imperial succession starts on Saturday.
Tokyo's Koto Ward has been handing out specially- designed marriage registration papers.
They feature the word Reiwa, along with the ward's logo and an illustration of its tourism mascot in a wedding dress.
Ward officials say they've handed out around 50 of the newly designed forms so far.
The ward office is now setting up a special section for people to take commemorative photos when they register marriages, births and other changes.
The ward will also hand out Reiwa stickers.
A Koto Ward official says they made the preparations after many people called, wanting to register their marriages on May 1.
Key words : visitor oversea
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190426_37/
With more and more visitors arriving in Japan from overseas, the government is struggling to provide services in a variety of languages. But the ministry of communications has a solution.
It's advising government agencies to use a translation system developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.
It translates 31 foreign languages, including English, Chinese and Vietnamese, with voice translation in 14 of them.
You just speak into your smartphone in Japanese and the program tells what you said in the other language.
The ministry on Friday gathered officials from immigration control, customs, the fire department, police and medical institutions to show them how to use the cloud-based service.
It also urged them to take steps to protect privacy.
Ministry officials said private businesses and individuals can also access the service, using an app.
They said they hope it is used widely in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
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