08/26/2016  HEATSTROKE PRECAUTIONS FOR TOKYO 2020
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are still four years away, but officials are already concerned about heatstroke. They say severe weather may pose a risk to both athletes and spectators, and they want to put measures in place to help.Environment Ministry officials plan to install warning devices on a trial basis at several spots. They will be located along the planned marathon course around the Imperial Palace and other places. The instruments display the risk of heatstroke on a four-level scale ― from "attention" and "warning" to "danger." The level is based on various data, including temperature, humidity, the intensity of sunlight and its reflections.The Tokyo Games are scheduled for late July and early August of 2020. Every year during this season, hundreds of people across Japan are taken to hospitals on especially hot days. Authorities regularly issue advisories to people to beware of heatstroke.
08/29/2016  NEW SCALE FOR ACTIVE FAULTS
The recent powerful quakes in southwestern Japan are a reminder of how the country remains exposed to natural disasters, with nearly 100 major active faults nationwide. Seismic experts are about to change the way they tell people how dangerous each fault is.Currently, members of a government task force give the probability of the active faults triggering an earthquake within the next 30 years. But these figures tend to be small because such quakes usually occur over a span of thousands of years.The experts are now planning to rank the faults on a new four-level scale that uses letters instead of numbers."S" will mean the probability of the fault triggering a quake within 30 years is quite high ― greater than three percent. "A" will stand for a range of between 0.1 and three percent. The rank of "Z" will signify a probability of less than 0.1 percent. Finally, "X" will be used when the probability of a quake occurring is unclear but cannot be ruled out.The members say that about one-third of the country's 97 faults will be ranked "S," the highest level of threat.
08/30/2016  DUTERTE UN COMMENT CONTROVERSY
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's apparent threat to pull out of the United Nations is drawing global attention. He lashed out at UN criticism of the wave of killings in his war on drugs.
(Rodrigo Duterte / Philippine President)"I do not want to insult you. But maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations."
The following day, the foreign minister tried to quell the fallout from Duterte's comments.
(Perfecto Yasay / Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary)"The statement of the president is a statement expressing profound disappointment and frustration, and it is not any statement that should indicate a threat to leave the United Nations."
Last week, UN human rights officials condemned the killings in Manila of hundreds of people suspected of using or selling drugs. They described the deaths as extrajudicial killings. Philippine police said on Monday that more than 700 have been killed in police operations since Duterte took office in late June.
08/31/2016  SETTLEMENT WITH SEA SHEPHERD
Officials in Japan have reached a court-mediated settlement with the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group that's based in the U.S. Representatives from Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research say the agreement permanently stops the group from obstructing Japanese whaling activities.The institute conducts research whaling with permission from the Japanese government. Officials had filed a suit in the U.S., seeking an injunction against the Sea Shepherd's attacks on Japanese research whaling ships.The institute says they reached an agreement earlier this month. It has the Japanese side pay a monetary settlement, while the U.S. group agrees to permanently stop the attacks.The agreement has no legal binding for Sea Shepherd groups in Australia and elsewhere. The groups have been attacking Japanese research whaling ships in the Antarctic Ocean.
09/01/2016  FLAG (has been) HANDED TO TOKYO
After 17 days of competition, the Rio Olympics have ended with a carnival-inspired extravaganza. For the past several weeks, people have gotten to watch the world's top athletes in action ― many of them setting new records. Now, the Olympic flag has been handed over to the host city of the next Games in 2020 ― Tokyo.The closing ceremony in Rio's Maracana Stadium had a distinct Brazilian flavor, complete with samba dancers and traditional singers. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, handed the Olympic flag over to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. Then, a group of dancers and gymnasts from Japan took to the stage.A promotional video featured former Japanese Olympians along with some popular cartoon characters. The crowd let out a loud roar when Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dressed as Super Mario appeared.At the end of the ceremonies, the Olympic torch was extinguished.  09/02/2016  JAPAN TO UPGRADE SECURITY SCREENING
Airports in Japan will be enhancing their ability to detect bombs and other security threats. They will upgrade their carry-on baggage screening ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Games.The transport ministry wants to tighten aviation security, following terror attacks at airports in Turkey and Belgium earlier this year.Most systems currently in use can scan baggage only from above. They require security officers to do a thorough manual check if an unidentified object is spotted. But the system to be introduced can beam X-rays from all directions, giving a clear image of all the contents of any baggage.Such automatic screening systems are currently available, but are large and cost more than two million dollars per unit. They are in use only at a few Japanese airports, such as Haneda and Narita.Officials say the decision to upgrade came after a U.S. firm developed a more compact system for less than half the current cost. Test runs with the new system are planned for Tokyo's Haneda Airport next fiscal year.
09/05/2016  WALKING ON GLASS
Tourists in China have been flocking to a new glass bridge, suspended 300 meters over a canyon.The 430-meter-long structure was built in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province. The park is on UNESCO's World Heritage list for its scenic views of towering sandstone pillars. The first visitors to the bridge took photos of the bottom of the valley. It opened to the public on Saturday.Local authorities held an event in June to ease safety concerns. They demonstrated the strength of the bridge's glass bottom by hitting it with hammers and driving a vehicle over it.
09/06/2016  KOIKE DELAYS TSUKIJI RELOCATION
Tokyo's new governor has explained why she's delaying the relocation of the market at Tsukiji. Yuriko Koike says she's rethinking her predecessors' plan due to fears about contamination at the new site and spiraling building costs. The move was scheduled for November.The iconic Tsukiji Market is more than 80 years old. It handles about 1,700 tons of seafood a day and attracts crowds of tourists. Due to concerns about the ageing facilities, previous governors decided to move the market to a new location at Toyosu, about two kilometers to the east.But Koike pointed to concerns about the toxicity of the soil and groundwater at the Toyosu site, which used to be a gas plant. Experts have been running tests on the water, but they say they won't have the results before November. Koike says she'll wait for the results of the water quality tests due in January before making a decision.
09/07/2016  SENATE OUSTS ROUSSEFF
Brazil's Senate impeached Dilma Rousseff, the country's first female president, on Wednesday. The once-popular politician has been thrown out after five-and-a-half years in office.On the last day of her impeachment trial on Wednesday, Brazil's senators took the case to a vote. Sixty-one voted in favor of impeachment, while 20 were against. More than two-thirds of them said they would support her dismissal.Rousseff became the first Brazilian president to be impeached. She has been suspended from office since May for alleged involvement in manipulating government accounts.Vice President Michel Temer, who has been serving as interim president, will take over her duties until the end of her term.
09/08/2016  NAIROBI DECLARATION ADOPTED
Leaders from Japan and African countries have wrapped up two days of talks by adopting a declaration on African economies. The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, ended in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday.The Nairobi Declaration calls for diversifying African economies, instead of depending heavily on exports of natural resources. It highlights the recent fall in crude oil prices and other natural resources as a factor behind the continent's faltering economies.The declaration calls for improving medical and health systems after the spread of Ebola paralyzed African economic activity. It also refers to the need to maintain maritime order based on the rule of law. The reference comes amid China's increased maritime activities.On Saturday, Abe pledged about 30 billion dollars' worth of private and public Japanese investment for the continent. Japan has few natural resources of its own and is interested in doing more business with resource-rich African countries.