Documents obtained by NHK show that the Soviet Union was prepared to offer the handover of two of the four islands claimed by Japan in the 1950s.
Japan has lodged a protest with China after what appears to be fresh test drilling for natural resources near the two countries' median line in the East China Sea.
The number of criminal offenses in Japan has fallen to a new low, but child abuse and domestic violence are at record highs.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190207200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : document obtained
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_03/
Documents obtained by NHK show that the leadership of the Soviet Union was prepared to offer the handover of two of the four islands claimed by Japan as its biggest concession before negotiations on normalizing diplomatic ties in the 1950s.
Documents dated June 2, 1955, shortly before the start of the talks, say that the Soviet Union could begin negotiations on the handover of Habomai and Shikotan. But it involved the condition that foreign military bases would not be placed on the islands.
The documents show the Soviet Union needed to take measures to strengthen its influence on Japan and weaken the position of the United States.
Hosei University Professor Nobuo Shimotomai says it has become clear that the Soviet Union intended to step up measures against the United States through the offer.
The professor also says the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be acting based on the past documents in the current negotiations.
Japan and the Soviet Union signed a joint declaration in 1956 that states Habomai and Shikotan would be handed over to Japan after concluding a bilateral peace treaty.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Putin agreed that negotiations on the peace treaty should be based on the declaration.
Putin has been seeking to settle the issue of the four Russian-controlled islands that Japan claims through the handover of the two islands.
The Japanese government maintains the four islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.
Key words : prime determine
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_25/
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's determined to settle the country's territorial issue with Russia and conclude a peace treaty.
Abe was speaking in Tokyo at an annual national rally to demand the return of four Russian-held islands. Japan claims them. The event was held on Thursday, Northern Territories Day.
A Japan-Russia treaty signed on February 7th, 1855, recognized the islands as belonging to Japan.
Japan's government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of the country's territory. It says they were illegally occupied after World War Two.
Abe said at the rally that although it's not easy to settle problems left unresolved more than 73 years after the end of the war, the issue must be resolved.
He said he will strongly push for joint efforts with Russia so Japanese and Russian people can deepen mutual trust and find a solution acceptable to both.
Abe said he'll continue negotiations on the basic principle of settling the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty through such efforts.
In the past, Abe used the expression "resolving the issue of the attribution of the four northern islands and concluding a peace treaty." But this year, he omitted the word "attribution."
A statement of appeal adopted at the rally also did not contain the words "illegally occupied," which were included in past statements.
The changes were apparently made in hopes of advancing bilateral negotiations amid recent moves in Russia against handing over the islands.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono also spoke at the rally and pledged efforts to advance negotiations. He said his grandfather Ichiro Kono was one of Japan's delegates who signed a 1956 Japan-Soviet joint declaration.
At last year's rally, Kono called the islands "an inherent part of Japan's territory." He did not use the expression this year.
Last November, Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to speed up treaty negotiations based on the 1956 declaration. It says after a treaty is concluded, two of the four islands will be handed over to Japan.
Key words : former resident signature
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_18/
Former residents of four Russian-held islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories organized a petition drive in Hokkaido for the return of the islands.
A group of about 20 former islanders and their descendants held the event at the Sapporo Snow Festival on Thursday, Northern Territories Day in Japan.
Minoru Itakura, aged 87, was born and raised on Shikotan. But he fled when Soviet forces landed on the island in late August 1945.
Itakura asked tourists for signatures in the hope that more public awareness would help push Japan-Russia negotiations forward.
Itakura has drawn paintings of peaceful life on Shikotan before the Soviet occupation.
He said he feels that bilateral negotiations have moved backward. He said it's best to have all four islands returned, but what he really wants is to be able to travel freely to the island where his mother is buried.
Japan claims the four islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.
Key words : Japan protest
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_23/
Japan has lodged a protest with China after detecting what appears to be fresh test drilling for natural resources in an area near the two countries' median line in the East China Sea.
Japan and China agreed in 2008 to jointly develop gas fields in the region. While negotiations for a related treaty remain stalled, China has unilaterally been carrying out development activities, including building structures near the median line.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Thursday that a protest had been made through diplomatic channels.
Suga said the government has confirmed that a Chinese drilling vessel had been moved from its previous location and was engaged in what appeared to be test drilling at a new site in late January. The activities have been conducted on the Chinese side of the median line.
Suga said it is extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development despite Japan's repeated requests to stop. He noted that Japan and China have yet to establish a maritime boundary in the East China Sea.
Suga also said the government intends to urge China to swiftly resume talks on the joint development of natural resources.
Key words : number of criminal
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_21/
The number of criminal offenses in Japan has fallen to a new low, but child abuse and domestic violence are at record highs.
The National Police Agency said on Thursday that it confirmed more than 817,000 criminal offenses last year -- a decline of 10.7 percent. The figure has fallen for the 16th year in a row, and is the lowest since record-keeping began in 1946.
But reports of suspected child abuse soared by about 15,000 from the previous year to about 80,000. Police made about 1,400 arrests.
Consultations with police about domestic violence rose to a new record high of about 77,000. More than 9,000 arrests were made in 2018.
Key words : prime will call meeting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_17/
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will call a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers on Friday over the death of a ten-year-old girl who was apparently abused by her parents.
The girl was found dead at her home near Tokyo in January. Police have arrested her parents on suspicion of inflicting injuries.
Speaking in the Diet on Thursday, Abe expressed regret that both the school and the board of education missed the girl's desperate calls for help.
He said the fact that institutions that are meant to protect children failed to do so is something the government takes seriously.
Abe added that relevant Cabinet ministers will discuss measures for urgent checks on children's safety, new rules for handling information on possibly abused children, and better cooperation between schools and child welfare centers.
Key words : swine fever response
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_19/
Officials in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan say they don't see any problem with their initial decision not to limit shipments of pigs from a farm where an outbreak of swine fever was later confirmed. But they plan to consider revising their inspection methods to check for the disease.
The officials made the remarks on Thursday, following the confirmation of swine fever infections on Wednesday at a farm in Toyota City and another in Tahara City in the same prefecture. Infections have also been confirmed at four rearing facilities that received shipments from the farm in Toyota. They include facilities in Gifu and Nagano prefectures. Cases of the disease have now been reported in five prefectures.
Aichi officials say they were informed on Monday by the Toyota farm that some pigs had been eating less or had been displaying unusual behavior since late January.
Officials conducted an onsite inspection of the farm later on Monday, but shipments of pigs were allowed to continue until Tuesday morning.
The prefectural authorities defended their initial response, saying there were no signs of swine fever infections, such as a large number of pig deaths, although some miscarriages were observed.
But they also said they cannot deny the possibility that the delay in their response may have resulted in the further spread of the disease, so they will review what happened and consider revising the inspection procedures.
Key words : russian korean
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_20/
Russians of Korean descent and officials from the Korean Peninsula expressed hopes for improved inter-Korean relations at a Lunar New Year event in Russia's Far East.
About one hundred people attended the event at a hotel near Vladivostok on Wednesday. Diplomats from both the North and South stationed in the city were among those attending.
Various events to celebrate the New Year are now being held in the far eastern region, where tens of thousands of people with roots in the Korean Peninsula live. Koreans, like Chinese, celebrate the New Year based on the lunar calendar.
Lee Seok-bae, South Korea's Consul General in Vladivostok, gave an address in Russian. He said he hopes the two Koreas will take a significant step toward stability, peace, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula this year.
A consul from North Korea called for efforts to improve inter-Korean ties, expressing hope for resuming cooperation in the economy and other areas.
Key words : US government scientist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_15/
US government scientists have announced that the Earth's average temperature was the fourth hottest on record in 2018.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, along with the space agency NASA, released a report on Wednesday on last year's temperature data from around the world.
The report shows the global average temperature was 14.69 degrees Celsius, or 0.79 degrees above the average for the 20th century. It was the fourth highest since 1880, the earliest year for which records are available.
The hottest year was 2016, and the top five years are the years starting from 2014.
The data indicate that global warming shows no sign of stopping.
The report also noted that the United States experienced 14 natural disasters in 2018 that each caused economic losses of over one billion dollars. These included hurricanes in the southern part of the country and massive wildfires in California.
US President Donald Trump has taken little action to address global warming. One of the report's analysts says the impact is already being felt, and various regions are suffering from intense precipitation and other climate anomalies.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says: "We need to significantly increase the global level of climate action and ambition."
He added that the Climate Action Summit on September 23 this year "aims to mobilize political will to raise ambition for the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement."
Key words : softbank
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190207_11/
Japan's Softbank Group has posted a record net profit for the first three quarters of fiscal 2018, supported by lucrative investments in a variety of tech firms.
Softbank on Wednesday announced the earnings covering April to December.
The Group says the net profit was nearly 14-billion dollars, a surge of over 51 percent, from the same period a year earlier. Sales climbed 5.2 percent to 65 billion dollars.
Officials attribute the results to the growing profitability of the "Softbank Vision Fund." The Group set up the 90-billion dollar fund in 2017, backed by Saudi Arabia and others.
It has so far invested in about 70 businesses. They include US ride-hailing company Uber and share-office operator WeWork.
Softbank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son told reporters he plans to pour more money into artificial intelligence. He said AI is bringing about the greatest revolution in human history.
Son also said he will continue to be the head of the group at least until he turns 69. That would be 8 years from now.
