at 20:00 (JST), June 18

North Korea's ambassador to China has returned to Pyongyang two days before a scheduled visit to the North by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

US Acting Defense Secretary says he has authorized the deployment of about 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East.

Japan's Defense Minister says there's no need to dispatch Self-Defense Force personnel in response to the tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190618200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : north ambassador
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_32/

North Korea's ambassador to China has returned to Pyongyang two days before a scheduled visit to the North by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Ambassador Ji Jae Ryong returned to the North on Tuesday. He is expected to meet the country's leaders to fine-tune issues to be discussed at the summit between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Xi is scheduled to make an official visit to North Korea from Thursday for the first time since taking office. He would be the first top Chinese leader in 14 years to make such a visit to the North.

Preparations to welcome Xi are apparently underway. On Monday, many citizens cleaned a monument to China's participation in the Korean War.

The two leaders are expected to discuss issues including stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.

Kim is reportedly frustrated by the US policy of maintaining sanctions until Pyongyang achieves complete denuclearization, and calls the stance unilateral.

Analysts are waiting to see what message the two leaders send to US President Donald Trump.

Key words : acting defense
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_15/

US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says he has authorized the deployment of about 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East.

Shanahan said in a statement on Monday that the move was for "defensive purposes," citing threats posed by Iran.

The United States has blamed Iran for last week's attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denies the accusation.

Shanahan said the US does not seek conflict with Iran. But referring to the tanker attacks, he added that "Iranian forces and their proxy groups" threaten US personnel and interests across the region.

The US has already deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East, citing concerns over Iran. In May, it decided to send 1,500 additional troops to the region.

Key words : iran has suggested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_16/

Iran has suggested it may enrich uranium to higher levels starting next month, saying other parties in an international nuclear deal are not living up to their promises.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran declared on Monday that it would go ahead with the plan if European signatories do not take measures to protect Iran from economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

The US withdrew from the 2015 deal last year and has put pressure on Iran, including imposing sanctions.

The Iranian agency said the country needs uranium enriched to 20 percent. The nuclear deal limits the country to enriching uranium to about 3 percent, which is enough for power plants and other peaceful purposes.

It also said its stockpile of low-enriched uranium would exceed the limit set by the agreement in the next 10 days.

The announcement appears to be putting pressure on the European signatories of France, Germany and Britain, which have tried to save the deal following the US withdrawal.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday expressed regret over the announcement, and urged Iran to be patient and responsible. He said Iran is respecting its commitments, as the International Atomic Energy Agency has stated. He stressed that any form of escalation is not the right direction to go in.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Iran's unilateral decision to abandon part of its responsibilities under the deal cannot be accepted.

Key words : defense minister no need
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_30/

Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya says there's no need to dispatch Self-Defense Force personnel in response to the tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.

One of two tankers attacked last week near the Strait of Hormuz is operated by a Japanese shipping firm.

Iwaya told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that it's unclear who was behind the attacks, and that none of the crew members were Japanese.

He said there have been no subsequent attacks and therefore, the conditions do not meet the requirements to exercise the right to self-defense.

Iwaya also referred to the US claim that Iran was behind the attacks and the heightened tension between the two countries. He said Japan is making an all-out effort to collect information, and he intends to keep a close eye on developments.

Key words : south pointed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_33/

South Korea's foreign ministry has not said whether it has appointed its member of an arbitration panel proposed by Japan aimed at resolving the issue of wartime labor.

Japan has been asking for the establishment of a panel that includes a third country. Japan has already appointed its member. Tuesday is the deadline for South Korea to respond to Tokyo's request last month to appoint an arbitrator.

At a news conference on Tuesday, reporters asked South Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson whether the panel member has been appointed.

The spokesperson only said the government is carefully reviewing the issue.

If South Korea does not appoint a member, the next step for the two countries would be to choose a third country, which in turn would appoint its own member to the panel. But Seoul appears unwilling to set up the panel.

Japan is set to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice or take countermeasures if South Korea does not agree to arbitration based on a 1965 bilateral agreement.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Tuesday that South Korea is obliged to agree to arbitration, and that Japan strongly demands that the country do so.

Suga declined to say whether there would be a Japan-South Korea summit on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka later this month.

Key words : Japan has reported
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_24/

Japan has reported to the UN Security Council more cases of suspected ship-to-ship transfers involving a blacklisted North Korean tanker.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry says a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel confirmed the suspicious activities a total of six times on May 13 and 14.

It says the North Korean tanker and two smaller unidentified ships were connected by hoses in the East China Sea, about 400 kilometer south of Shanghai, China.

The North Korean tanker is already subject to port entry bans and asset freezes as part of UN sanctions, because of suspected ship-to-ship transfers in the past.

The latest six cases brings the number of such illegal acts Japan has reported to the Security Council to 20.

The Japanese government maintains that sanctions must be strictly carried out to get North Korea to denuclearize. It plans to step up monitoring by sharing information with other countries.

Key words : series of powerful 13 people
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_43/

Rescue efforts are underway after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit China's Sichuan province on Monday.

At least 13 people are dead and about 200 others are injured. The area has also been hit by a series of powerful aftershocks in the hours since.

Rescue operations have so far been hampered by the damage. Footage from China's state-run broadcaster shows a road blocked after a landslide. More than 70 buildings have collapsed and there have also been reports of disruptions in communications.

Emergency officers are racing against time to rescue survivors trapped under rubble. The initial quake was centered near the city of Yibin and had an estimated depth of 16 kilometers.

Sichuan Province is prone to earthquakes. A major tremor in 2008 killed more than 87,000 people.

Key words : swedish
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_17/

A Swedish think tank says the number of nuclear warheads around the world has dropped but expresses concern about a future reduction due to lack of talks between the United States and Russia.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released its annual assessment of armaments, disarmament and international security on Monday.

It says as of January 2019, nine nuclear states possessed about 13,865 nuclear weapons, marking a decrease of 600 from the previous year.

It attributes the decline mainly to efforts by the US and Russia which together hold more than 90 percent of all nuclear weapons.

The two countries announced that they had achieved a reduction limit set in a 2010 treaty, known as New START.

The Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms expires in 2021 unless both countries agree to extend it.

The report says, however, "there are currently no discussions about extending New START or negotiating a follow-on treaty."

The report estimates that China, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea increased their arsenals over the past year.

It estimates that North Korea has 20 to 30 warheads this year, compared to between 10 and 20 in 2018.

The report says, "North Korea continues to prioritize its military nuclear program as a central element of its national security strategy."

It says this is even though in 2018 the country announced a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons as well as medium- and long-range ballistic missile delivery systems.

Key words : Japanese government approved measures
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_21/

The Japanese government has approved measures to assist an increasing number of foreign workers, including setting up a one-stop administrative office in Tokyo.

Relevant Cabinet ministers met to discuss such measures on Tuesday.

The one-stop office, which contains a public job placement center and a bureau of the Immigration Services Agency, will be opened in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in the next fiscal year starting in next April.

The meeting also decided to implement measures to alleviate the concentration of foreign workers in urban areas, where wages are relatively high, and let workers head for rural areas to help address regional labor shortages.

Local governments and public job placement centers will be encouraged to coordinate their efforts in helping foreign workers find jobs at small and midsize firms outside urban areas.

Key words : Japanese government compiled
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_26/

The Japanese government has compiled policy guidelines to tackle dementia, with an emphasis on implementing measures to delay its onset.

A meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers approved the guidelines on Tuesday.

It is estimated that in 2025 one in five people in Japan aged 65 or older will have dementia.

The guidelines emphasize preventive measures. They call for community-level efforts to let elderly citizens engage in physical exercise, as well as academic efforts to promote research toward establishing effective prevention.

The guidelines also call for seminars aimed at raising awareness across a broader spectrum of Japanese society -- including public transport workers and bank clerks, who may interact with sufferers on a daily basis.

Earlier, the government was criticized for setting a numerical target to delay the onset of the condition in people in their 70s by a year, to be achieved over a 10-year period. This proposed goal is offered as a point of reference in the guidelines.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in the meeting that the guidelines see dementia from the viewpoints of both sufferers and their families, putting emphasis on both bringing about an inclusive society and preventing the onset of the condition. He instructed the participants to implement necessary policies soon to achieve a society where everyone can live positively at any age.

Key words : survey shows population
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190618_19/

A Japanese government survey shows a quarter of the country's population aged 80 or older drive cars.

This year's white paper on Japan's aging society has been released amid growing concerns over a series of serious traffic accidents involving elderly drivers.

The government asked 3,000 men and women aged over 60 across Japan last year about their means of transportation when they go out.

The survey shows 56.6 percent of the responders said they drive vehicles, followed by 56.4 percent who said they go out on foot. 22.4 percent said they use bicycles.

The survey also shows 78.8 percent of those aged between 60 and 64 drive, and the proportion gradually gets smaller as they get older.

But 26.4 percent, or about one in four, of those aged 80 or older said they still drive.

The report says that the government needs to consider how it can ensure that elderly citizens have means of transportation other than vehicles, as their cognitive functions deteriorate as they get older.

It stresses the need to expand public transportation systems and build "compact" communities, such as one in the city of Toyama, with facilities in a concentrated area that can been reached on foot.