Japan's Cabinet endorsed a plan on Friday to send a Self-Defense Force ship and aircraft to the Middle East.
South Korea's constitutional court has ruled that an agreement with Japan on people referred to as wartime comfort women is not subject to its review.
The Japanese government has decided to delay the process to remove nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pools of two reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20191227200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : cabinet endorse send a self-defense
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191227_11/
Japan's Cabinet endorsed a plan on Friday to send a Self-Defense Force ship and aircraft to the Middle East.
The government is hoping to gather information to ensure commercial ships with ties to Japan can safely navigate the waters of the region. Japan will also continue diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and stabilize the situation there.
The mission will be considered a study and research activity, which the defense minister is allowed to authorize.
The government is considering sending a destroyer to the region. It is also considering dispatching two P3C aircraft that have been engaged in anti-piracy missions off Somalia.
The ship and the planes are likely to be deployed in the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Arabian Sea, as well as in waters of countries in the Gulf of Aden.
There are no plans to send the SDF to the Strait of Hormuz or the Persian Gulf.
The period of deployment will be one year. The government will report to the Diet should it want to extend the mission.
In the event of unexpected developments in the region, the government will consider measures such as mobilizing Self-Defense Force personnel for maritime policing.
Defense Minister Taro Kono directed his senior officials to prepare for possible new duties for their units.
The SDF will then start necessary preparations, such as loading equipment and training the crew.
About 260 personnel will be involved in the mission.
The patrol aircraft is expected to start operating in the Middle East in January. The destroyer will leave Japan in early February before starting its mission in mid-February.
Key words : constitutional court has ruled
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191227_18/
South Korea's constitutional court has ruled that an agreement with Japan on people referred to as wartime comfort women is not subject to its review.
Under the 2015 agreement, the Japanese and South Korean governments confirmed that the issue involving the women had been resolved "finally and irreversibly."
Some former comfort women and bereaved families filed a complaint in 2016. They said the agreement breached their constitutional rights by preventing them from seeking compensation from the Japanese government.
On Friday, the constitutional court dismissed the complaint. It described the bilateral agreement as an official promise jointly announced by the two countries' foreign ministers.
The court said the plaintiffs' rights have not been affected, so the case is not subject to its review.
Under the agreement, Japan has contributed about nine million dollars to a foundation set up in South Korea to support the women.
In November of last year, the administration of President Moon Jae-in decided to dissolve the foundation.
But it also suggested that it will not ask Japan to scrap the agreement or renegotiate its terms.
The Japanese government has repeatedly asked Seoul to steadily implement the accord.
Observers say Friday's ruling may trigger a backlash from former comfort women and citizens' groups supporting them in South Korea.
Key words : government has decided
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191227_15/
The Japanese government has decided to delay by up to five years the process to remove nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pools of two reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The government approved the delays on Friday, after reviewing the decommissioning timetable for the first time in two years.
Under the new timetable, the removal of nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pool of the No.1 reactor will be delayed by four to five years. The new plan is to start in fiscal 2027 or 2028.
The process at the No.2 reactor will be delayed by one to three years. It is now slated to begin in fiscal 2024 to 2026.
The delays are due to changes in work to prevent radioactive dust from spreading.
The government plans to complete the removal of nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pools of all six reactors by the end of 2031.
About 170 tons of radioactive wastewater is produced daily at the Fukushima plant. It is a mix of water pumped in to cool the molten nuclear fuel and underground water entering the reactor buildings.
The new timetable aims to reduce the wastewater to 100 tons or less per day by the end of 2025.
The government hasn't changed the overall deadline for the entire decommissioning process, including the removal of fuel debris. That remains at between 2041 and 2051.
Key words : town of Futaba
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191227_03/
An evacuation order that has been in force for the town of Futaba, which co-hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, will partially be lifted on March 4.
Futaba is the only town where such an order still covers the entire municipality following the 2011 nuclear disaster.
The decision came following a meeting on Thursday between Industry State Minister Yohei Matsumoto, who is in charge of the disaster recovery, Fukushima Vice Governor Masaaki Suzuki, and Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa.
For now, the order will only be lifted in some northeastern parts of the town, as well as the neighborhood of Futaba station on the JR Joban Line.
Town officials say no former residents have expressed the intention to return to the northeastern area in March. The area was badly hit by the tsunami, and officials say restoring water services and other infrastructure has been slow.
The evacuation order was already partially lifted in the plant's other host town, Okuma, earlier the year. It will have its accessible area widened to include the area around a railway station on March 5.
This will enable the JR Joban Line to operate along its entire route. The line mainly runs along the Pacific coast of eastern Japan, north of Tokyo.
The evacuation zones in Futaba and Okuma will be reviewed in three years.
Futaba Mayor Izawa said he is glad he can finally show the town's former residents a step toward reconstruction, nearly nine years after they had to disperse across the country. But he stressed it is only a beginning.
Key words : education ministry says
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191227_01/
Japan's education ministry says more than 100 public libraries were damaged by Typhoon Hagibis, which ripped through the country in October.
The ministry says the powerful storm caused flooding, leaky ceilings, and structural damage at 108 libraries in the greater Tokyo area, the northeastern Tohoku area, and elsewhere. Some libraries remain closed or have their services suspended.
University library associations say nine libraries at national and private universities were damaged.
A Tokyo City University library remains closed after about 83,000 books were drenched -- about 30 percent of the entire collection. The university aims to have the library repaired in time for the start of the academic year in April.
The ministry says the damaged libraries may not have made sufficient preparations for the typhoon. It plans to carry out a detailed survey and implement appropriate steps for future disasters.
Key words : segment wrapping up the top stories of the week
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