Key words : british tpp
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_07/
The British government says it will apply to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, to expand and deepen its trade links with the Asia-Pacific region.
British International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss is to formally make the request after holding talks with her counterparts from Japan and New Zealand on Monday.
Japan is the chair country and New Zealand serves as the depository for the 11-member TPP, also known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Britain, which left the European Union one year ago, has been seeking to expand its economy by strengthening relationships with countries outside the EU.
It signed an economic partnership agreement with Japan last October and has shown strong interest in joining the TPP. Britain will be the first country other than the founding members to formally apply to join the partnership.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "applying to be the first new country to join the CPTPP demonstrates our ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends and partners all over the world."
Key words : british hong kong resident
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_02/
The British government is set to begin accepting applications for a new visa by Hong Kong residents who hold British National Overseas, or BNO, status.
The UK government announced a plan to introduce the new visa system for BNO holders after the Chinese government imposed the national security law for Hong Kong last year. The law is designed to crack down on anti-government and pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong.
Under the new system, a special visa will be issued to people who were born in Hong Kong before the 1997 handover to China and hold BNO status as well as their eligible family members. Online applications will be available starting Sunday.
Holders of the new visa will be able to study and work in Britain. After five years in the country with the visa, they will be able to apply for settlement, followed by British citizenship.
The British government estimates 5.2 million people, or about 70 percent of Hong Kong's population, will be eligible for the scheme. It also estimates up to 320,000 residents in Hong Kong will move to Britain in the first five years.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "we have stood up for freedom and autonomy -- values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear."
The Chinese government has announced that it would no longer recognize BNO passports as valid travel or identification documents. Beijing also warned that it would reserve the right to take further measures.
Key words : russia tension
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_04/
Tension is growing between the Russian government and supporters of detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny ahead of the second round of nationwide rallies calling for his release.
Navalny has been critical of President Vladimir Putin. He is believed to have been poisoned last August with a toxic nerve agent used in chemical weapons. He received treatment in Germany.
The opposition leader was arrested soon after he returned to Moscow earlier this month on suspicion of violating the terms of a suspended sentence handed down to him in the past.
Navalny's supporters accuse Russian authorities of detaining him unjustly.
In the first pro-Navalny rallies on January 23, protesters clashed with security forces across the country. A human rights group says more than 4,000 demonstrators were detained.
Navalny's supporters are calling on people to take part in protests planned for Sunday.
But the government warns that it will crack down on the rallies, close seven subway stations near the square in Moscow where the protests are expected to take place, and block traffic in the area.
The square is located in front of the headquarters of the FSB -- the security agency that Navalny accuses of involvement in poisoning him.
Key words : turkey and russia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_11/
Turkey and Russia have set up a joint observation center to monitor the cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan is backed by Turkey, and Armenia is allied with Russia.
The Russian-brokered cease-fire was reached last November after more than 5,600 people were killed in a conflict that lasted six weeks.
Turkey's deputy defense minister and his Russian counterpart attended a ceremony on Saturday, where they called for peace and stability in the region.
The two countries will each send up to 60 military personnel and use drones to monitor the cease-fire.
Concerns remain that fighting could resume, as some Armenians are not satisfied with the agreement, which some say favors Azerbaijan.
Key words : 633
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_12/
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 633 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Sunday.
The daily tally has remained below 1,000 for three days in a row.
The total number of people who have tested positive in Tokyo now stands at 99,841.
Key words : ground miyakojima request
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_10/
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Forces have begun providing medical support for people in an Okinawa island city infected with the coronavirus.
Miyakojima City, with a population of about 55,000, reported more than 110 cases during the five-day period through Saturday. With the city's health care system under pressure, Okinawa Prefecture requested the deployment of GSDF nurses to the city.
Five nurses arrived at a nursing care facility in the city on Sunday. A total of 40 people at the facility, including 27 residents, had been confirmed infected with the virus by Saturday. Most of them are recuperating at the facility .
All of the nurses tested negative for the virus before they were sent in. They will help infected people with medication, bathing, meals, and monitoring their health.
One of the nurses, Yoshida Mai, was involved in the response to a coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship last year. She said the team will do all it can to support infected people and the facility staff, while ensuring that no one on the team gets infected.
Key words : panasonic stop solar cell
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Key words : learned biden
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210131_03/
NHK has learned that the US government has responded positively to Japan's proposal over its share of the cost of stationing US forces in the country for the next fiscal year.
Japan and the United States failed to reach an agreement on the sum of Japan's share of the cost in working-level talks that started in November. The two sides put off seeking a conclusion before the end of the year.
The current arrangement, which is agreed upon every five years, is set to expire in March.
NHK has learned the Japanese government proposed that the two countries sign a provisional agreement for fiscal 2021, which begins in April, with the sum kept at the same level as that for this fiscal year.
The administration of President Joe Biden has reportedly displayed a positive reaction to the proposal, saying it is to the point.
The two governments plan to resume working-level talks this week and seek an early conclusion.
Japan hopes to maintain the current level of cost-sharing for fiscal 2022 and following years when the two sides begin separate negotiations later this year.
Attention is focused on how the Biden administration, which appears to be seeking stronger ties with US allies, will approach the issue.
