Key words : lift emergency 299
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_15/
Japanese officials say the government is ready to lift the state of emergency for at least some prefectures at the end of this month as daily infections continue to fall.
Tokyo reported 299 new cases on Sunday. The figure has been under 1,000 for 11 consecutive days. Tokyo and 18 other prefectures are currently under a state of emergency.
Over 2,100 new infections were reported across the country on Sunday.
Health Minister Tamura Norihisa says the situation has reached a stage where restrictions can be gradually eased.
Tamura says, "There is still a risk of infection even after a large number of people have been vaccinated. But we need to ease the restrictions on daily activities."
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has returned from Washington, where he held summit talks with the leaders of the US, Australia and India.
Suga will make a decision about lifting the state of emergency as early as Tuesday after consulting experts.
Key words : germany decide
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_10/
Voting has started in Germany's general election to decide the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has led the country for 16 years.
Opinion polls show that Sunday's election will be a close race between the center-left Social Democratic Party and the coalition of Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union. They are followed by the environmentalist Greens.
The new chancellor is expected to be selected as a result of coalition talks, as none of the parties is likely to win a majority.
The qualities and abilities of the party leaders will be looked at closely, as Merkel exerted her presence as a European leader with an emphasis on multilateralism.
The German election is also attracting a high level of interest around the world.
Voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday local time.
Vote-counting will start after the ballot closes. But it may take longer than usual for the results to become known as there have been a large number of postal votes due to the pandemic.
Key words : train derail
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_09/
US media say at least three people were killed and more than 50 others injured after an Amtrak train derailed in the western state of Montana.
The passenger train jumped the tracks near Joplin at around 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Amtrak says the train, which was traveling westbound from Chicago, was carrying nearly 160 passengers and crew members.
The Associated Press and other outlets say three people have been confirmed dead. The New York Times reports more than 50 injuries.
Amtrak says the train consisted of two locomotives and 10 cars, with eight of those cars derailing.
Images from the scene show several double-decker cars off the tracks, with some on their sides, as well as apparent survivors near the tracks.
Local authorities are conducting rescue operations and investigating the cause.
Key words : huawei return
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_02/
A senior executive of Huawei Technologies has returned to China after three years in detention in Canada.
The Chinese telecom giant's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, arrived at an airport in Shenzhen on Saturday night. She left Canada after striking a deal with US authorities.
Meng was detained in 2018 at Washington's request for violating sanctions against Iran. She was later indicted on fraud and other charges.
Meng emerged from the plane in a red dress. After receiving flowers, she said, "I'm finally back home."
Chinese media are reporting extensively on Meng's return with live broadcasts. Their reports say she was freed from political persecution.
And two Canadians who had been arrested in China shortly after Meng's detention arrived in Calgary, western Canada, on Saturday. Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an airport.
Key words : huawei return biden
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210925_03/
The United States has reportedly agreed to let a senior executive of Huawei Technologies return to China after being held in Canada for three years.
The Chinese telecom giant's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was detained at Washington's request in 2018.
She was later indicted on charges including fraud. The case became a sticking point amid deteriorating bilateral ties with Beijing.
US newspaper The Wall Street Journal and Canadian public broadcaster CBC say the US Justice Department has struck a deal for Meng's return.
They say it requires her to admit to some wrongdoing in exchange for prosecutors deferring and dropping fraud charges.
Meng was released on bail, but has since been staying at her home in Vancouver under strict surveillance.
A Canadian court had been expected to set a date next month for handing down a ruling on whether she should be extradited to the United States.
The reports say two Canadians who were arrested in China immediately after Meng was detained could now be released.
However, the animosity between Washington and Beijing is unlikely to fade anytime soon. The administration of US President Joe Biden regards Huawei as a security threat, and is tightening regulations against the company.
Key words : taliban criminal
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_05/
The Taliban in Afghanistan have hung the bodies of alleged kidnappers in public, as what they call a warning.
Reports, including ones from local media, say that four men who had tried to kidnap a man and his family in the western city of Herat were killed in a gunfight with Taliban fighters.
The four bodies were brought to a central square and crossroads in the city and hung from a crane on Saturday.
A local Taliban commander said that it was meant to put all criminals on the alert.
When the Taliban were previously in power, they carried out severe punishments, such as public executions and amputating limbs in accordance with an extreme interpretation of the teachings of Islam.
Since taking power in August, the Taliban caretaker government has promised that their rule will consider human rights within the limits of Islamic teachings.
But such actions as the public display of bodies may deepen concerns both inside and outside the country.
Key words : hong kong tiananmen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_01/
A Hong Kong pro-democracy group that organized annual vigils for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident has decided to disband, amid an intensifying government crackdown.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China reached the decision at an emergency meeting on Saturday.
The alliance was established in 1989 just before the Tiananmen Square incident with the goal of showing solidarity with student protesters.
The group was banned from holding its annual June 4 vigil last year and this year.
Alliance leaders, including Lee Cheuk-yan, have been jailed for organizing rallies without permission.
On September 9, police charged the group and three of its senior members, including Lee, with inciting subversion in violation of the national security law for Hong Kong.
Representing the alliance, Richard Tsoi told reporters that he believes the group's basic belief has taken root in the hearts of Hong Kong people.
The alliance had been a symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement for more than 30 years. It is the latest of pro-democracy unions and other organizations to decide to fold.
Key words : finance ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_07/
The finance ministry says Japanese customs officials have confiscated a total of 83 kilograms of cannabis at seaports and airports during the first six months of this year.
That is almost triple the amount seized during the same period last year.
Officials say that smugglers are growing more sophisticated. Some tried to bring liquefied cannabis inside bottles for hair styling products.
Also, the number of cannabis-related arrests has grown recently, hitting record numbers in the past four years.
And the majority of those arrested were in their 20s, which some say shows that young people feel less hesitant about using the substance.
The ministry warns that awareness of the risk is declining due to misinformation on the Internet, such as claims that marijuana is safe.
Key words : fuji cancel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_06/
Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, drew the smallest number of hikers during the summer climbing season in 40 years.
Between July 1 and September 10 this year, 65,519 people went up the mountain on the trail that starts in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The number is the lowest since the earliest available records from 1981, and 120,288 less than the figure from two years ago.
The summer climbing season was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The city of Fujiyoshida counts trekkers at the sixth station of the trail.
City officials say that limited use of the road and the smaller capacity of cabins were factors in the declining number of visitors.
The toll road connecting the foot of the mountain and the fifth station was open only between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. It had been open around the clock during the climbing season before the pandemic.
The officials are grateful for all the cooperation to open the season this summer even with the pandemic ongoing. They hope to see an increase in visitor numbers next year.
There are other paths up Mount Fuji from Shizuoka Prefecture.
