Key words : Hong Kong try to
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_18/
Large crowds are taking part in a protest march in Hong Kong on Saturday. Some protesters hurled objects and destroyed barricades around the Legislative Council and government buildings, and police used tear gas and water cannon to try to disperse them.
On Friday, the police arrested two pro-democracy activists, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who led the 2014 Umbrella Movement as well as three pro-democracy lawmakers. The police also decided not to permit rallies and protest marches scheduled for Saturday.
A pro-democracy organization decided to call off the planned protests for Saturday, but many people gathered in the heart of Hong Kong Island and walked down the streets.
Demonstrators held signs urging police to stop disrupting Hong Kong. They shouted slogans calling for restoring Hong Kong of better days.
A protester in his 30s said the Chinese Communist Party is trying to slowly swallow Hong Kong. He said the protesters will never give up even if the Hong Kong government tries to discourage them.
Armed police under the command of the Chinese military could be seen again at a stadium in the neighboring city of Shenzhen in China's Guangdong Province on Saturday.
More than 100 armored vehicles and trucks were parked around the stadium, and personnel in camouflage fatigues were seen inside.
China's Defense Ministry says the armed police are conducting regular exercises to verify their mobility and ability to maintain public order based on its yearly plan. But officials have not disclosed details such as when the drills will end.
A video of the armed police's exercise to subdue protesters has repeatedly been released through Communist Party affiliated media this month, apparently to put pressure on Hong Kong protesters.
Key words : Trump warned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_14/
US President Donald Trump has warned China that its economy will suffer if it does not make concessions in trade negotiations.
Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Friday.
He said that according to the reports he has seen, 13 percent of some companies will leave China. He said, "We're going to win the fight."
Trump also said trade teams from China and the United States have been continuing their talks and plan to meet in September. He said the meeting has not been cancelled.
Key words : wholesale
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_08/
Shoppers are flocking the US wholesale chain Costco's first outlet in mainland China which opened on Tuesday in Shanghai.
The United States and China are locked in trade disputes, but that did not seem to deter shoppers at the US-based membership store.
The crowd was so large on the first day that the outlet had to close about four hours after opening. It limits the number of shoppers to control crowds.
Local media quoted some shoppers who said that they had to wait three hours to park their cars on the first day.
Costco Shanghai carries not only Chinese products, but also US goods such as beef and fruits, which prove popular among shoppers.
One of them said that he is buying US beef because it is better as cattle is raised differently in the US.
But some shoppers said that if the China-US relationship worsens, they will buy Chinese products.
The store expects a large number of shoppers again this weekend.
Key words : Japanese government lawmaker
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_15/
The Japanese government has protested to South Korea over a visit by South Korean lawmakers to the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan.
South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them.
A group of South Korean lawmakers landed on the islands at around 11:30 AM on Saturday.
They say the purpose is to protest Tokyo's removing South Korea from its list of trading partners entitled to preferential export procedures and its handling of the issue of wartime labor.
They offered encouragement to South Korean guards and visited facilities built on the islets.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General, Kenji Kanasugi, called a senior official at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo to lodge a protest.
Kanasugi said the visit was made despite Japan's protest and a demand that the visit be cancelled. He said it is totally unacceptable and extremely deplorable, given that Takeshima is an integral part of Japanese territory historically, geographically and under international law.
Japan's embassy in Seoul made a similar protest to South Korea's foreign ministry.
Earlier this week, the South Korean military carried out two days of drills in waters near the islets, and Japan lodged a strong protest.
Key words : US government treasury
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_07/
The US government says it is imposing sanctions on two individuals and three entities for engaging in ship-to-ship oil transfers with North Korea.
The Treasury Department said on Friday that two people, two Taiwan-based shipping companies and a Hong Kong-based firm will be subject to US sanctions, including asset freezes. It said the transfers helped North Korea circumvent UN sanctions.
The department said that between April and May last year, the head of one of the Taiwan firms and his partners used a vessel to transfer 1.7 million liters of petroleum products to a North Korean-flagged ship.
They falsely reported that the products were destined for the Philippines.
Treasury officials say the same vessel also conducted a similar transfer with another North Korean ship in June last year.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho issued a statement last week criticizing US sanctions on his country. He said that it would be a miscalculation if the US attempts to stand against the North with sanctions without abandoning its confrontational posture.
But the US Treasury Department says it will continue to implement sanctions on people or entities involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfers with North Korea.
Analysts say the statement underlines the US policy to increase pressure on the North unless it agrees to its denuclearization.
Key words : Tokyo international ended high quality
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_23/
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development ended Friday after three days of discussions between Japan and African leaders. Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said he hopes to see more Japanese investment in his country.
In an interview with NHK, he said, "What makes Japan special, because you focus on quality, innovation. If you see the three themes which are the agenda of TICAD7, people, innovation, resilience. So you are on the right path."
The final declaration of the conference touched on harnessing the power of private sector investments to boost economic and social growth in Africa.
Jhinaoui said countries including China, India and Turkey are aggressively approaching Africa. But he added the country is hoping for Japan to become more active in innovation and high quality products.
Tunisia is regarded as the only success to come out of the "Arab Spring" movement.
The country adopted a democratic constitution through persistent political dialogue, and 26 candidates are running in the second presidential election scheduled for September 15.
Jhinaoui said democracy is taking root in Tunisia .
But he added economic problems -- unemployment among young people in particular -- have not been solved, and there are risks that radical groups could recruit frustrated young people.
Jhinaoui said, "There is a lot of work to be done, to create more jobs, to introduce more dynamism in our economic growth, and to make Tunisia more business -friendly in order to attract foreign investment."
He added that the government is pushing educational reform and has adopted laws to make it easier for foreign companies to invest in Tunisia.
Key words : French newspaper
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190831_10/
French newspaper Le Monde is reporting that France has abandoned research into so-called fourth-generation nuclear reactors, citing mounting costs.
Le Monde quoted a source at France's CEA nuclear agency as saying the project is dead and that the agency is spending no more time or money on it.
Fast breeders turn nuclear waste into fuel, and would theoretically make France self-sufficient in energy for decades, but falling uranium prices have undermined the economic justification for pursuing the expensive technology.
The CEA said it will continue researching fast-breeder reactors but has no plans to develop the project, known as Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration, before the second half of this century.
The report could have consequences for Japan, which has been jointly researching fast reactors with France following Tokyo's decision to scrap its prototype fast-breeder reactor Monju in 2016.
