at 20:00 (JST), August 22

The South Korean government has announced the country will pull out of an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.

Foreign ministers from Japan and South Korea have failed to narrow differences over wartime labor issues when they met in Beijing on Wednesday.

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https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190822200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : south has announced
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_27/

The South Korean government has announced the country will pull out of an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.

The General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, is automatically renewed every year since it was signed in 2016. But either country can withdraw by giving prior notice by this Saturday.

Thursday's decision comes as some in South Korea are calling for a termination in the pact amid souring bilateral relations over Japan's tighter export controls.

Key words : Japan and south failed to
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_04/

Foreign ministers from Japan and South Korea have failed to narrow differences over wartime labor issues when they met in Beijing on Wednesday.

Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha met for the first time since Japan decided to remove South Korea from its list of trading partners entitled to simplified export procedures.

Kono referred to rulings by South Korea's Supreme Court ordering Japanese companies to compensate those who claim they were forced to work for the firms during World War Two.

He reiterated his demand that South Korea immediately correct the situation, saying it is in violation of international law. But Kang refrained from offering an explicit answer.

A senior Japanese foreign ministry official noted differences have not been narrowed at all, and resolving the dispute will take time.

But the Japanese government is set to continue dialogue as diplomatic sources from both countries have agreed to continue diplomatic communication.

Japan is also set to monitor whether South Korea will scrap an intelligence-sharing agreement that is automatically renewed on August 24 every year.

South Korea has hinted at the possibility of pulling out of the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA.

Tokyo is to wait till Friday to learn whether it will receive notice from Seoul to this end.

Key words : China and south agreed to promote
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_20/

The foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to promote cooperation for other countries in Asia in such areas as environmental conservation and disaster risk reduction.

Taro Kono of Japan, Wang Yi of China and Kang Kyung-wha of South Korea drew up a paper on "Trilateral+X" cooperation at their meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.

The paper expresses the countries' willingness to jointly help promote sustainable common development in Asia and beyond.

It says that "given the large number of developing countries in Asia and the acute problem of uneven and inadequate development Asia faces, it is imperative to explore new areas and models to improve trilateral cooperation."

The paper cites sustainable economies, ecological and environmental conservation, and disaster risk reduction as major areas of cooperation. Health, poverty alleviation and people-to-people exchanges are also on the list.

The three countries plan to explore specific models and projects for cooperation that will be voluntary, equal-footed, open, transparent and achieve win-win outcomes.

Key words : China and south reaffirm
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_22/

The foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea have reaffirmed with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that the three countries will work together closely toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. .

Japan's Taro Kono and his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, Wang Yi and Kang Kyung-wha, met Li at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.

This followed a meeting of the three ministers in Beijing the previous day at which they confirmed close cooperation on North Korea.

At the start of the meeting with Li, Kono said the three countries will cooperate on practical matters in a future-oriented way.

Kono also said Japan will proceed with preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned state visit to the country next spring.

The three ministers and Li also agreed to work together to realize a summit among their countries this year.

Key words : Seko
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_19/

Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko has criticized South Korea's plan to tighten radiation checks on food products imported from Japan.

The South Korean government announced on Wednesday that starting Friday some items, including processed fishery products, will be checked twice, rather than the single check currently required.

The screening was first introduced following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident in March 2011.

Asked about the suggestion that the stricter tests are a countermeasure against Japan's tighter controls on export to South Korea, Seko said that the step taken by Japan is part of export management and an internationally accepted administrative measure.

He added that Seoul's posture of spreading the matter to other areas is not desirable.

Seko also touched on South Korea's request for an explanation of Japan's plan to release water containing radioactive substances generated at the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the ocean.

He said the treatment of the water is still under discussion, and that the Japanese government has been briefing the South Korean embassy on the developments.

Seko added that Japan will continue to offer information not only to South Korea, but to the larger international community.

Key words : Mark indicated missile
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_17/

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has indicated that the purpose of the recent US cruise missile test was to counter China's growing stockpile of intermediate-range missiles.

The US on Sunday tested a surface-launched cruise missile, which had been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF.

The nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia expired on August 2.

During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Esper described China as more of a priority for the US Department of Defense in the long-term than Russia, considering China's economic power and ambitions.

Esper said, "We want to make sure we have the capability to deter Chinese bad behavior by having our own capability to strike at intermediate ranges."

The US has been downplaying recent short-range missile test by North Korea. Esper explained that long-range missiles are a greater concern, adding they "need to take a look at the bigger picture."

Key words : international expert
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Key words : United Nations call on
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_07/

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to call on world leaders to accelerate efforts to tackle global warming in international conferences due to be held later this month.

A UN spokesperson said on Wednesday that Guterres will attend the G7 summit in France this weekend, as well as the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, to be held in Yokohama, near Tokyo, next week.

He said that during the G7 summit, Guterres will take part in a session to discuss the effects of climate change on biodiversity, and will hold separate meetings with G7 leaders.

During TICAD, co-hosted by the Japanese government, the United Nations and other organizations, Guterres will deliver a speech on measures against climate change, and disaster prevention and mitigation. He will also meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as leaders from African nations.

Guterres has expressed concerns that global warming is accelerating faster than expected. He is calling on the leaders of UN member states to participate in the Climate Action Summit that he will host at the UN General Assembly in September.

He apparently hopes to make an appeal directly to the world leaders at the G7 summit and the TICAD to make the Climate Action Summit a success.

Key words : self-defense held
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_21/

Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the US military have held a competition to test their skills in coping with cyberattacks.

Twelve teams of experts from the Ground Self-Defense Force, the US Army Cyber School and others took part in the online competition.

The participants competed to see how quickly and accurately they could analyze networks and break codes.

Cyberattacks in the military field are often intended to disrupt command systems.

Improving Japan's capabilities to counter cyberattacks is cited as a major security challenge in the national defense program guidelines.

In the last fiscal year, Japan's Defense Ministry increased the members of the Cyber Defense Group, which was established in 2014. Cyber-security training of SDF personnel is also underway.

The SDF asked the US forces to hold the competition. SDF officials say they hope to promote cyber-defense cooperation with the US forces, which are more advanced in this area.

A senior official of the Ground Staff Office, Jiro Hiroe, says there's a lot to learn from the contest. He says he hopes the event will help review bilateral cooperation and the SDF's training programs.

Key words : tallest
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_24/

A Japanese real estate developer says it will build Japan's tallest skyscraper in central Tokyo.

Mori Building executives say the 64-story main tower of the Toranomon-Azabudai redevelopment project in Minato Ward will be about 330 meters tall.

When it's completed in March 2023, it will top the current tallest building, the 300-meter Abeno Harukas in Osaka.

The executives say the tower will mainly be used for office space, but the top 11 floors will have residential units.

The project features three more buildings, one of which will be 270 meters high.

The buildings will accommodate a luxury hotel, an international school and a hospital providing services in multiple languages. The entire project will cost about 5.5 billion dollars.

Mori Building President and CEO Shingo Tsuji says that as other Asian cities rise, Tokyo's international competitiveness must be enhanced by attracting businesses and skilled workers from abroad.

Tsuji says he hopes the main tower will become a landmark in the Japanese capital.

Many new high-rises are being built in Tokyo as part of redevelopment projects. Just north of Tokyo Station, Mitsubishi Estate and other firms are constructing a 390-meter skyscraper that will be completed by fiscal 2027.

Key words : organizer online applications ticket price
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190822_12/

The organizers of next year's Tokyo Paralympics have begun accepting online applications for tickets.

The website went live at the stroke of midnight on Thursday in Japan.

Ticket prices start at just 500 yen, or about 5 dollars.

Applicants must first register for a "Tokyo 2020 ID," which allows them to buy tickets for Olympic events.

About 7.6 million people had registered as of August 1. Each person can apply for up to 30 tickets as their first choice and an additional 30 as their second choice. The maximum number of tickets each applicant will be able to purchase is 30.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 a.m. on September 9. The first set of results, based on a lottery selection, will be announced on October 2.

A second lottery will be held early next year. After that, tickets will be sold at vendors nationwide.

The Paralympics open on August 25 next year. Athletes will vie for medals in 540 events over 12 days.