Japanese government officials and members of the ruling coalition are about to finalize the stimulus package worth around 230 billion dollars.
As the world marks 30 years since the end of the Cold War, concerns are rising over new divisions and rivalry among the leading powers: the US, Russia and China.
Japan's industry minister says the country will continue to use coal-fired power plants, but will work to cut emissions with new technologies.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20191203200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : Japanese government officials package
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_21/
Japanese government officials and members of the ruling coalition are about to enter the final negotiations on a stimulus package worth around 25 trillion yen or 230 billion dollars.
The measures are aimed at funding recovery efforts from a series of natural disasters and taking pre-emptive action against the risk of an economic slowdown.
Infrastructure would be strengthened. Some money is earmarked for reinforcing river embankments. Welfare facilities would get their own power generators and water-supply systems.
On the stimulus front, the government plans to financially help out farmers to raise their production of "wagyu" beef for export.
The package also makes money available to small and medium-sized businesses so they can increase the wages of their lowest-paid workers.
Other measures are for funding education. One goal is to give all elementary and junior high-school students access to PCs and tablets by fiscal 2023.
Half of the new spending will come directly from government sources. The officials hope to decide on the exact allocation amounts as early as Thursday.
Key words : low pressure powerful wind
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_15/
Weather officials in Japan are forecasting blizzards and rough seas in northern Japan through Wednesday.
Meteorological agency officials say that there's a rapidly-developing low pressure system near the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, and a winter-type pressure pattern is likely to strengthen.
This is expected to bring in a cold air mass, which will cause powerful winds and snow on the Sea of Japan coast in northern Japan and whip up large waves.
Blizzards will likely pack winds of up to 83 kilometers per hour and have gusts of up to 126 kilometers in the Hokkaido and Tohoku regions. Waves could reach a height of 6 meters.
The agency is calling on people to be on the alert for disruptions to transportation due to the snow as well as stormy winds and high waves.
Key words : space agency
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_23/
Japan's space agency says its asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 is on its way back to Earth after confirming its main engines are working properly.
The probe reached the asteroid Ryugu June last year and spent about one and a half years exploring its surface before leaving on November 13.
Tests were then performed on its four main ion engines over a two-week period.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, announced that the engines were ready before sending the probe on a return journey on Tuesday at 11a.m., Japan time.
JAXA says the probe is more than 250 million kilometers from Earth and is scheduled to arrive home around November or December next year.
The agency plans to let the probe release a re-entry capsule, expected to contain rock samples, that will land in an Australian desert.
The samples will be provided mainly to scientists in Japan, who will begin examining them in the summer of 2021.
Key words : cold war
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_12/
As the world marks 30 years since the end of the Cold War, concerns are rising over new divisions and rivalry among the leading powers: the US, Russia and China.
On December 3, 1989, the West-East divide was officially declared over at a historic summit in Malta between then-President George Bush of the United States and Mikhail Gorbachev, then-leader of the Soviet Union.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States became the world's only superpower, espousing such values as freedom and democracy to build a world order.
But its status was shaken by the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the subsequent Iraq War. In the economic sphere, the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers led to the global financial crisis in 2008.
The presence of Russia and China rose. President Vladimir Putin's ambition is to restore a strong Russia. China is now the world's second-largest economy, with a rapidly-expanding military.
In its 2017 national security strategy, the United States listed competition with Russia and China as its biggest threat. The two countries have strengthened cooperation, looking to counter the US-led international order.
The rivalry led to the expiry of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was signed by the US and the former Soviet Union in 1987. It had played a major role in drastically reducing nuclear arms in a post-Cold War world.
The US, Russia and China are now pushing to acquire advanced weapons, including nuclear arms. Their competition is expanding to space, cyberspace and other domains. Some analysts describe the intensifying power race as a "new Cold War."
Key words : director general appointment
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_13/
Argentine diplomat Rafael Mariano Grossi assumed the position of director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday.
The appointment of Grossi was confirmed at a special session of the UN nuclear watchdog agency held one day earlier.
He succeeds Yukiya Amano from Japan, who died in July. The agency's board elected Grossi as his successor in October.
The 58-year-old diplomat is a nuclear nonproliferation expert and had served as Argentina's ambassador to the IAEA. He will become the first IAEA director general from South America.
In a speech on Monday, Grossi expressed his resolve to tackle nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. Emphasizing the role of the IAEA, he said: "No one else can provide this credible assurance that nobody is diverting nuclear material to make nuclear weapons."
Grossi is likely to face many challenges during his four-year term. These include the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers on the nation's nuclear program. The United States has withdrawn from the pact and Iran is resuming its nuclear program in stages.
North Korea is likely to be another key focus. Pyongyang has hinted at conducting a fresh nuclear test as denuclearization talks with the US continue to stall.
Key words : industry minister coal-fired
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_31/
Japan's industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama says the country will continue to use coal-fired power plants, but will work to cut emissions with new technologies.
Kajiyama told reporters on Tuesday that Japan wants to keep thermal power plants using coal and other fossil fuel as an option. He said it's very important to study every alternative to achieve the best energy mix for the future.
He added Japan will reduce its dependence on nuclear energy as much as possible, and increase renewable energy sources to cut carbon dioxide emissions. He explained this means that Japan will develop technology to reduce emissions in spite of difficult conditions.
The UN Environment Programme urges Japan to halt the construction of new coal-fired power plants in its recent report. The UN agency released the report ahead of the start of the UN climate change conference in Spain on Monday.
Key words : Trump surprised
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_19/
US President Donald Trump has surprised Brazil and Argentina by announcing higher tariffs on their steel and aluminum products. He calls it a response to surging farm exports as the two countries weaken their currencies.
Trump tweeted on Monday that the South American countries were involved in "a massive devaluation of their currencies" that hurts American farmers.
Trump said: "They devaluate their currency very substantially by 10%. It's very unfair for manufacturers, and unfair for farmers."
In March last year, Trump slapped tariffs on metal imports from China, Japan and other countries. But he gave some countries exemptions, including Brazil and Argentina.
Argentina's production minister called Trump's announcement "unexpected." Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said he was confident Trump would listen to his concerns.
Both countries have recently taken steps to shore up their currencies.
Key words : north state media
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_14/
North Korea's state media has reported that the country's leader Kim Jong Un visited a northern mountainous area to celebrate the completion of a newly-built township.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, devoted the first four pages of its Tuesday edition to the new township built in Samjiyon County and carried a photo of Kim at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Samjiyon County is known for Mount Paektu, which is considered a sacred mountain.
The report says more than 4,000 houses have been constructed in the township.
The paper describes it as a "people's utopia."
It also says there is no barrier the people cannot break through, no matter how persistently hostile forces try to stop their advance.
The report is believed to be an attempt to show that the North can achieve economic development on its own despite sanctions from the international community.
Key words : UN conference
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_30/
The UN Conference on Trade and Development has pointed out the fiscal cost of the Israeli occupation for the Palestinians totals more than 2.5 billion dollars annually.
UNCTAD issued a report on Monday outlining how border crossing points block the flow of people and goods and limit economic activities, which means reduced tax revenues.
The report estimates the loss for Palestinians over the 18-year period since 2000 at 47.7 billion dollars.
The report adds that sound fiscal management of the lost revenue would have eliminated the Palestinian budget deficit of roughly 17.7 billion dollars during the same period. It would also have generated a surplus nearly twice the size of the deficit.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967, and blockaded the Gaza Strip.
The report notes that "these conditions have resulted in an increasingly weak and fragile Palestinian economy characterized by inadequate and deteriorating public services," and added "fundamental change is needed in many working arrangements."
Key words : explosion Japanese food
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_33/
An explosion occurred at a Japanese food processing factory in Beijing, leaving four people dead and two others missing.
State-run China Central Television said local firefighters received a report that a blast occurred on Tuesday shortly past 3 a.m., at a bean processing factory in the Shunyi district. The facility is owned by Kyo-nichi Todai Foods.
Ten others who were injured are being treated in hospital.
Factory windows were broken and walls burned with debris scattered inside.
Police are searching for the missing and investigating the cause of the explosion.
Key words : international survey
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191203_34/
An international survey shows that Japanese high school students remain at the world's top levels in science and mathematics, but their reading skills are poor.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, assesses performances in science, mathematics and reading of 15-year-olds around the world every three years.
The results of last year's survey were released on Tuesday. About 600,000 students from 79 countries and economies were surveyed.
Japanese students ranked fifth in science, down three places from the previous survey. In mathematics, they were down one notch to sixth. But in reading, they dropped seven places to 15th.
Chinese students from Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang topped all three categories. Other top countries include Singapore and Estonia.
The survey has had a significant impact on Japan's education policy. When the 2003 survey showed a decline in reading skills, it led to longer class hours, a bigger selection of materials taught and revival of a nationwide scholastic aptitude test.
Japanese education ministry officials say they will study why reading skills have declined with the goal of improving education quality in its new teaching guidelines.
Hiroyuki Tanaka, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, says it takes time to develop reading skills but teachers are now too busy teaching English, morals and other new additions to the curriculum. He says what is needed are measures to trim the curriculum.
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