at 20:00 (JST), July 30

The Bank of Japan has decided to leave its monetary easing policy unchanged.

Sources close to South Korea's Defense Ministry say the country will resume joint military drills with the United States next Monday.

Kyoto Animation Officials say some of the original images used in the firm for popular anime may have survived the deadly arson attack.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190730200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Bank of Japan leave
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_30/

The Bank of Japan has decided to leave its current monetary easing policy unchanged.

But policymakers at the central bank warn that downside risks to the economy are significant. And they say they won't hesitate to take additional easing measures to hit the bank's target of 2% inflation.

The BOJ says it will continue to focus on managing short- and long-term interest rates. That means the negative interest-rate policy will remain in place.

And the target yield for the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond will be kept at around zero percent.

BOJ officials say they'll purchase JGBs more or less in line with its current pace, boosting the amount by about 80 trillion yen, or 700 billion dollars a year.

The decision comes as central banks in the US and Europe look set to pump more money into their own economies to counter a possible global slowdown.

Key words : US federal reserve policy meeting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_31/

Major central banks, including in the US and Europe, are moving toward monetary easing in their policy decisions. The US Federal Reserve kicks off a 2-day policy meeting on Tuesday. There is strong speculation the Fed will cut interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has indicated the US central bank is ready to make the move which many view as necessary to counter the drag that trade friction with China is having on the economy.

Before the Fed's meeting, US President Donald Trump tweeted, "The Fed has made all of the wrong moves. A small rate cut is not enough".

That is pressuring the central bank to lower borrowing costs by more than Wall Street had expected.

Trump added " The EU and China will further lower interest rates and pump money into their systems, making it much easier for their manufacturers to sell product".

With such clear signals of a policy shift ahead of the meeting, the question now is whether Wednesday's decision will usher in a series of quarter-percentage-point interest-rate cuts or something more limited.

Key words : south resume
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_29/

Sources close to South Korea's Defense Ministry say the country will resume joint military drills with the United States next Monday. The drills will last for 16 days.

South Korea and the US suspended joint military exercises following the first US-North Korea summit last summer.

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles last Thursday. Pyongyang said it fired a new type of tactical guided weapon as a warning to South Korea regarding the military drills.

Key words : south she will seek
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_26/

The South Korean foreign minister says she will seek international support at an upcoming ASEAN meeting in regard to Japan's export control measures on the country.

Kang Kyung-wha spoke at a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

Quoting Japanese media reports, she said it is highly likely that Japan will exclude South Korea on Friday from a list of nations entitled to simplified export procedures. She added that the decision may come into effect by the end of August.

Kang told lawmakers that she will talk with other leaders about the matter at the ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled to take place in Bangkok on Friday.

She said she will stress that Japan should stop the latest export controls on some high-tech materials used in semi-conductors.

Kang also said she will emphasize the planned delisting of the country is unfair.

There are growing concerns that the South Korean economy will be seriously affected by the measures.

Seoul plans to put pressure to Tokyo by gaining the backing of other Asian countries.

Key words : Kyoto original
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_08/

Officials from Kyoto Animation say they have found data of some original anime images on a computer server that survived the deadly arson attack on its studio.

The animation studio lost a lot of material, including original stills of popular anime works that were drawn on paper, in the July 18 fire that killed 35 people.

The officials say the company's server survived undamaged in a room with concrete walls on the first floor of the three-story building.

They say they were able to retrieve all of the original images on the server by Monday with help from experts.

The company plans to sort out the data and use it to continue production.

The studio says it received donations of more than 960 million yen, or about nine million dollars, in six days after it opened a bank account on Wednesday to receive support from people in Japan and abroad.

The firm says it will use the contributions to support distraught employees and their families.

Key words : subway service
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_24/

Subway services in Hong Kong were disrupted Tuesday morning by protesters who are opposed to a bill that would enable suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial.

People in Hong Kong have been demanding that the government retract the extradition bill.

Protesters gathered at subway stations across Hong Kong early Tuesday in response to calls through social media. Young people obstructed train doors, forcing delays and suspension of service.

Rush hour commuters unable to get on the trains crowded the platforms and waited in long lines outside the station for buses and taxis.

As anti-government protests drag on, some demonstrators are resorting to violence and vandalism.
Police are now using tear gas and rubber bullets more often, which in turn has resulted in more injuries.

There's no end in sight to the chaos in Hong Kong, as protesters are planning new tactics such as strikes and public transport disruptions.

Key words : south defense various
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_21/

The South Korean Defense Ministry says the country is considering various possibilities to protect its vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry adds that nothing has been decided yet.

A South Korean media outlet reported on Monday that the country is mulling having a naval unit currently deployed off Somalia join a US-initiated maritime coalition.

The United States has proposed the coalition to ensure maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, and is asking its allies and others to join it.

Some observers say South Korea may be forward-looking about participating in the coalition as it is expecting the US to mediate in its strained ties with Japan, another US ally in Asia.

The country's presidential office referred to last week's meeting between US National Security Advisor John Bolton and the chief of South Korea's National Security Office Chung Eui-yong.

It said the two countries agreed on the need to ensure the safety of civilian vessels at sea, and added that they will continue discussing possible cooperation to ensure security and freedom of navigation, in particular in the Strait of Hormuz.

Key words : UN envoy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_10/

The UN envoy for Libya is calling for a truce between the country's warring parties to observe a Muslim holiday that falls around August 10.

Speaking via video conference on Monday, Ghassan Salame briefed the UN Security Council on the recent fighting around the capital, Tripoli.

He said the hostilities have already left nearly 1,100 dead, including 106 civilians. Fighting has intensified since April between eastern forces led by General Khalifa Haftar and forces of the UN-backed interim government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Salame said advanced weapons are flowing into Libya despite a Security Council embargo, and precision air strikes using aircraft and armed drones have intensified.

He added that violence is being fueled by "the hatred and invective on social media and satellite television stations".

The UN envoy called for the truce to be accompanied by confidence-building measures, including a prisoner-exchange, toward a political process.

Observers say the prospects are unclear, as Haftar's forces are showing no sign of halting their advance on Tripoli.

Libya has remained divided since longtime ruler Muammar al-Qadhafi was ousted in 2011.

Key words : US financing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_25/

US financing firm Capital One says personal data of over 100 million customers may have been leaked.

Company officials announced on Monday that the breach could affect up to 100 million individuals in the United States and 6 million in Canada who applied for credit cards from 2005 to early this year.

They say the information includes names, birthdates, addresses, e-mail addresses and in some cases social security numbers and bank account numbers.

The firm said that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a suspect and that the person is in custody.

Capital One runs mainly credit card operations in the US east coast, Britain and Canada.

Local media report that this could be the largest data theft in the financial industry.

In January, the world's leading hotel operator, Marriott International, disclosed that personal information of up to 383 million people may have been stolen.

Key words : industrial worsen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_13/

Japan's industrial production worsened for the first time in three months in June.

The Economy Ministry says output fell 3.6 percent from May. Lower production of cars and machinery contributed to the fall.

Ministry officials point out the decline came after gains in the previous two months. They are maintaining their current assessment that states industrial production has been "fluctuating indecisively."

The officials note output during the April-to-June period grew half a percent from the previous quarter.

The officials also gave an outlook for the months ahead.

They expect production to expand 2.7 percent in July and 0.6 percent in August.

Key words : average life
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_28/

The average life expectancy reached a record high for both male and female Japanese people last year. It was more than five years longer than in 1989, the year the three-decade Japanese era of Heisei started.

Japan's health and welfare ministry says the average lifespan last year was 87.32 years for women and 81.25 years for men. Both marked a year-on-year increase for the seventh consecutive year.

In global comparison, the average lifespan for Japanese women ranked second behind Hong Kong for the fourth year in a row. The average lifespan for Japanese men ranked third behind Hong Kong and Switzerland for the second straight year.

Ministry officials attribute the jump in life expectancy over the past 30 years to medical advances and heightened health awareness during the Japanese era of Heisei.

They plan to work on policies that ensure a comfortable old age, as they expect people to live even longer in the future.

Key words : much of Japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190730_34/

Much of Japan sweltered on Tuesday, as temperatures hovered around 35 degrees Celsius. Weather officials are urging people to take precautions against heatstroke, as the hot weather is expected to continue for about a week.

A high pressure system brought clear skies over much of northern and western Japan on Tuesday. The cloudless conditions helped temperatures soar.

The city of Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, had a daytime high of 37.1 degrees. The mercury in the cities of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, and Kyoto reached 36.8 degrees. Tokyo saw a high of 35.4 degrees.

Overnight temperatures in many places are not expected to fall below 25 degrees.

The heat is expected to continue on Wednesday, with highs of up to 36 degrees forecast across northeastern to southwestern Japan.

Key words : across Japan hosptal heatstroke
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