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Kyodo Top12 News (10:45)
[September 28, 2014]

Kyodo Top12 News (10:45)


(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- 4 climbers confirmed dead after Mt. Ontake eruption TOKYO - Four climbers were confirmed dead after 31 were found in critical condition Sunday on Mt. Ontake, central Japan, which erupted the previous day while hikers were enjoying the climbing season, local police said. The 31 climbers were mostly found near the volcano's peak, around 10 of them near a crater, with continued eruptions making it difficult to rescue them during the day, local officials said. Rescuers took the bodies of the four men down the 3,067-meter volcano to a facility at its base, where they were confirmed dead. They are planning to recover the other 27 on Monday. Another 24 climbers were rescued after operations resumed in the morning following their suspension on Saturday, but the search was halted again in the afternoon due to toxic gas.



---------- Iran nuclear talks to resume in less than 2 weeks NEW YORK - Iran and six world powers will resume their nuclear talks in a European city in less than two weeks, with "differences on major issues" still remaining, Iran's chief negotiator said Sunday. "We have been able to have a much better understanding in a constructive atmosphere but there are differences on major issues," Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Kyodo News. Iran and the six powers -- Russia, France, China, Britain, the United States and Germany -- had 11 days of nuclear talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, which produced "little progress." "Some of the ideas which (were) proposed in the New York meeting are still hopeful but none of them can provide us with a common understanding on key issues and we could not to make substantive progress in negotiations," he added.

---------- Japan, N. Korea to meet for update on probe into abductees SHENYANG, China - Japanese and North Korean diplomats will meet Monday for an update on Pyongyang's fresh investigation, launched nearly three months ago, into the fate of at least 12 and possibly hundreds of Japanese nationals believed to have been abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. The one-day meeting in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang comes as Japan has been disappointed over the pace of the probe by a new North Korean committee set up with a special mandate from the National Defense Commission led by leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea's first report on the findings of its "Special Investigation Committee" was expected to be released around the end of summer or the beginning of autumn. But it informed Japan on Sept. 18 that since the probe into all Japanese residing in the country was still in its "initial stage," it would be unable to provide a thorough explanation beyond this phase.


---------- Hong Kong pro-democracy activists launch "Occupy Central" movement HONG KONG - A mass demonstration in Hong Kong against China's "undemocratic" plan for the territory's 2017 leader election spun out of control Sunday as tens of thousands of protesters broke through police cordons and took over a major thoroughfare, prompting police to repeatedly fire rounds of tear gas in an attempt to disperse them. The federation of students, which co-organized the pro-democracy protest together with the so-called Occupy Central movement, late in the evening called it off, saying through social media that it wants to ensure protesters' safety amid news that police had resorted to firing rubber bullets at them. Over two dozen people were reportedly injured in the day's violence.

---------- N. Korea defends nuke program, raps U.N. Security Council NEW YORK - North Korea, in the first speech at the U.N. General Assembly in 15 years by its foreign minister, defended its nuclear development on Saturday, saying the program is necessary to counter a hostile U.S. policy. Ri Su Yong, North Korea's foreign minister, also criticized the U.N. Security Council for rejecting a proposal to discuss what it saw as a threat from U.S. military maneuvers. There was no mention of issues related to Japan, however, in his 15-plus minute speech at the U.N. General Assembly. "The nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula is a matter of sovereignty and right to life of a U.N. member state before peace and security," Ri said.

---------- LDP's Tanigaki sees need of extra budget for additional tax hike TOKYO - The secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday hinted at the need for the government to compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to next March as a step to raise the consumption tax rate to 10 percent in October 2015 as scheduled. Speaking on a TV program aired in the morning, Sadakazu Tanigaki said that "the time may come when the government needs to consider an extra budget" for the additional hike in the consumption tax, which was raised from 5 percent to 8 percent in April. Tanigaki, the effective No. 2 man in the LDP led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, indicated that it may become necessary for the government to submit an economic stimulus package to the Diet during its ordinary session from early next year.

---------- No. of hospitals to treat radiation exposure doubles from 2011 in Japan TOKYO - The number of hospitals in Japan designated to treat radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear accident stood at 201 as of August, compared with 83 prior to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. But the survey also showed that such hospitals face many challenges including a lack of human resources and necessary equipment, at a time when the central government is pushing to restart the country's idled nuclear reactors. The hospitals are designated by local governments as medical institutions that would provide emergency treatment for radiation exposure if nuclear accidents occur, as advised in a report compiled by the now-defunct Nuclear Safety Commission following a nuclear criticality accident in 1999 at a processing plant in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture.

---------- Ex-mayor raps gov't before 15th anniv. of Japan's 1st criticality accident TOKAIMURA, Japan - The Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 was brought about as the government neglected to learn lessons from Japan's first criticality accident that occurred 15 years ago, the former mayor of the affected village said Sunday. Speaking before an audience of some 350 people who gathered for a public meeting ahead of the accident's 15th anniversary, Tatsuya Murakami, who served as mayor of Tokaimura in Ibaraki Prefecture until last year, said despite the accident Japan has persisted to maintain a "safety myth." "Japan was caught up in a 'safety myth' that a serious nuclear accident would not happen in this country when the criticality accident occurred at a nuclear fuel processor in this village" on Sept. 30, 1999, he said.

---------- Japanese climber's body recovered from Nepal mountain KATHMANDU - The body of a veteran Japanese climber who slipped and fell to his death Friday while climbing Mt. Manaslu in Nepal has been recovered, a trek organizer said Sunday. Yoshimasa Sasaki, 59, from Kanagawa Prefecture, slipped on blue ice and fell about 25 meters after having reached an altitude of 7,300 meters on the 8,163-meter mountain, the world's eighth highest. His death marked the first fatality of Nepal's autumn climbing season. Sasaki's recovered body has been taken to Camp IV of the mountain, said Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, director of Himalayan Trailblazer Trekking and Expedition Pvt. Ltd., which helped organize the expedition, while his Japanese climbing partner, 64, is said to be safe and descending the mountain after calling off the attempt following the death.

---------- Softbank in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation NEW YORK - Japanese telecom giant Softbank Corp. is in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. of the United States, the online edition of The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move by Softbank to acquire the major U.S. animation production company known for popular works like "Shrek" and "Madagascar" is apparently aimed at enhancing content for smartphones and other mobile devices. DreamWorks Animation's long-term strategy is in need of a revamp after the company incurred a net loss of $15.39 million in the April to June quarter, a reversal from a net profit of $22.25 million a year earlier. Its revenue fell 43 percent from a year before to $122.28 million in the quarter due to a lack of hit titles.

---------- Tokyo stocks open higher, dollar trades in lower 109 yen level TOKYO - Tokyo stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was lifted by gains on Wall Street last Friday thanks to an upward revision of U.S. gross domestic product data for the April-June quarter. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 89.07 points, or 0.55 percent, from Friday to 16,318.93. At 10:30 a.m., the Nikkei index was up 70.87 points, or 0.44 percent, at 16,300.73. The broader Topix index was up 4.67 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,336.62. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 109 yen range. At 10:30 a.m., the dollar fetched 109.43-44 yen compared with 109.24-34 yen in New York late Friday afternoon. The euro was quoted at 138.76-79 yen against 138.52-62 yen in New York.

---------- Weather forecast for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather forecast for Monday: Tokyo=fair; Osaka=fair; Nagoya=fair; Sapporo=fair, occasionally cloudy; Sendai=fair, then cloudy; Niigata=fair, occasionally cloudy; Hiroshima=fair; Takamatsu=fair; Fukuoka=fair; Naha=fair.

(c) 2014 Kyodo News

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