at 20:00 (JST), July 11

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20210710200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : volunteer
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_11/

Local governments in Japan are rushing to rethink assignments for volunteers recruited to act as city guides following the decision to hold most events of the Tokyo Olympics without spectators.

Organizers of the Tokyo Games decided on Thursday to ban spectators in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures. They announced later that venues in the prefectures of Hokkaido and Fukushima will also have no fans.

This has left about 40,000 volunteers' scheduled activities uncertain, with less than two weeks to go before the opening of the Olympics on July 23.

The cities of Yokohama and Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture have notified their registered volunteers that their work as guides has been canceled.

Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture plan to ask their volunteers to serve at the Paralympics. They are also considering having them assist in promoting local attractions online.

Saitama Prefecture is planning a project to allow their city volunteers to help give momentum to the Games. It says it will unveil a detailed plan as it monitors the coronavirus situation.

Key words : tokyo delta variant
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_02/

Japanese researchers estimate that more than 30 percent of the coronavirus infections in Tokyo and its surrounding areas are caused by the highly contagious Delta variant.

Scientists at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said at a meeting of the health ministry's expert panel on Wednesday that they made the estimate based on results from screenings for coronavirus variants.

The screenings use samples from people who tested positive to detect the variant. The L452R mutation was first observed in India.

The researchers say the number of samples containing the Delta variant began to increase in mid-June in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa. They say the variant is estimated to account for 34 percent of all infections in the areas.

The scientists also estimate that the ratio will likely rise above 75 percent by the end of July, and that the variant will account for nearly all cases in August.

In three western prefectures -- Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo -- the variant is estimated to account for 12 percent of all cases, much lower than the figure in the Tokyo area. But the researchers warn that the variant has possibly been replacing the original strain as the rate has gradually increased.

They also estimate that the Delta variant is 1.4 times more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first detected in Britain.

The health ministry's panel has stressed the need to strengthen nationwide monitoring of the Delta variant and prevent it from spreading further by conducting screenings thoroughly.

Key words : used price shortage
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_09/

The price of used vehicles has soared in Japan, hitting the second-highest level in the past decade, last month.

Japan's leading auto auction house, USS, says the average closing price for used vehicles sold through the firm in June was 859,000 yen, or about 7,800 dollars.

That's up about 18 percent from the same month last year, marking the second-highest level in the past 10 years after March 2012.

Sources in the used vehicle market say the global shortage of semiconductors has affected the production of new vehicles, causing short supplies and pushing up auction prices.

Senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center, Sugiura Seiji says prices of used vehicles are expected to remain high for the time being, as it will likely take some time for the semiconductor shortage to be resolved and the production of new vehicles to return to the previous level.

Key words : bookstore reopen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_07/

A bookstore that opened over a century ago and served as a salon for intellectuals from Japan and China has been revived in Tianjin, near Beijing.

The Uchiyama bookstore was founded in 1917 in Shanghai by Uchiyama Kanzo, who came from Japan.
It became renowned as a place where intellectuals from both countries shared ideas. Its clientele included celebrated Chinese writer Lu Xun.

A branch was later opened in Tokyo, but the one in Shanghai was closed in 1945 at the end of World War Two.

Zhao Qi, who manages the new store, worked as a television director and made a program about the history of the bookstore.

A company worked with the local government to secure the right to use the trademarked name from the store in Tokyo.

Uchiyama Shin, who operates the store in Tokyo, sent a video message for the opening ceremony on Saturday.

He thanked everybody for their efforts to reopen the store in China, fulfilling a dream that spanned decades.

Zhou Lingfei, the grandchild of Lu Xun, said at the ceremony that hopes are high that the shop in Shanghai will one day be revived through joint efforts.

Zhao Qi said that if he can do one percent of what Uchiyama did, the shop would contribute to the relationship between the two countries. He added that he wants to be a good manager and friend.

Key words : kim xi anniversary
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_08/

North Korean media says the country's leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of a friendship treaty.

North Korea and China signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in the event of an armed attack, on July 11, 1961.

The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Sunday that Kim praises the treaty in his message.

Kim was quoted as saying the treaty ensures peace and stability in Asia and the rest of the world at a time when hostile forces have become more desperate in their challenges and obstructive moves.

Xi reportedly said he is willing to provide greater happiness to the two countries and their peoples by continuing to lead the bilateral relations of cooperation to a new stage.

North Korea apparently hopes to emphasize its ties with China, as it struggles with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, and to show willingness to work with Beijing to counter the United States.

Key words : ethiopian election
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_06/

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has secured a second term in office following the parliamentary election on June 21.

The election board said Abiy's Prosperity Party won most of the seats. Reuters reported that the party won 410 of the 436 seats.

The opposition, led by academics, challenged him for the office he has occupied since 2018.

Voting is held once every five years in more than 540 constituencies. It was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But this year's voting was not held in Tigray and other regions which comprise 20 percent of all constituencies.

Tigray, in the north, has been in conflict with the central government.

Forces loyal to a local political power have retaken the regional capital, Mekele.

The result of the election could fan anti-Abiy sentiment in the excluded areas.

Key words : G20 corporate tax
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_04/

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations have reached a "historic agreement" on new rules to tax multinational companies.

The G20 finance chiefs wrapped up two days of talks in the Italian city of Venice on Saturday with the adoption of a joint communique.

It says the finance chiefs endorse the action of a group of 132 countries and territories to set a minimum global corporate tax at 15 percent. That is in a bid to end global competition to offer the lowest corporate tax.

The group is mainly made up of member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

The G20 finance chiefs also endorse the group's broad agreement on a plan to introduce new rules for taxing cross-border businesses.

Ireland and other countries have tried to attract multinationals with lower corporate tax rates. They have not joined the agreement.

The communique urges all nations and territories which have not joined the agreement to do so.

And it also encourages finalizing the details of the rules by the next G20 meeting scheduled for October.

Negotiations will continue with the goal of reaching a final deal by October.

Key words : supernova
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210711_10/

An international team headed by a Japanese researcher has discovered evidence for a phenomenon called an electron-capture supernova.

A supernova is caused when a star explodes in a phenomenon called gravitational collapse when its lifespan is exhausted.

Nomoto Kenichi of the University of Tokyo and other scientists first theorized an electron-capture supernova some 40 years ago by showing an explosion can also occur when the core of a star loses electrons.

A graduate school student at the University of California Santa Barbara, Hiramatsu Daichi, and his group analyzed the energy level and the elements released in an explosion observed in 2018 and found that it was an electron-capture supernova.

A Japanese amateur astronomer discovered the supernova right after it exploded.

A supernova is an important phenomenon for assessing the variety and amounts of elements that exist in space.

Hiramatsu says he is happy that his team was able to find the answer to a 40-year-old question through observation.

He says it was significant that relevant Japanese experts were able to join forces to achieve the goal.