- 2 days ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to News in Tokyo. I'm Yamasawa Rina and I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki.
00:07Here are the headlines.
00:09As the row between Japan and China continues, a scheduled summit in January is under threat.
00:16Ukrainian civil wrestler Aonishiki is climbing the ranks after fleeing his home country only three years ago.
00:23A new approach to peace education out of Okinawa is drawing attention to World War II history.
00:30We check in with the group that's spearheading it.
00:34We begin with breaking news.
00:36At least four people have reportedly died after a massive fire engulfed multiple high-rise towers in Hong Kong.
00:44As you can see, black smoke is billowing from multiple apartment buildings.
00:49According to Reuters, Wangfuk Court is a housing complex made up of eight blocks with close to 2,000 residential units.
00:58Hong Kong's transport department says that due to the fire, an entire section of the Taipo Road has been closed.
01:05The thoroughfare is one of Hong Kong's two main highways.
01:10Observers expect the current row between Japan and China will drag on.
01:17Beijing continues to urge Japanese Prime Minister Takahichi Sanae to retract her recent remarks about Taiwan.
01:24Takahichi spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone Tuesday.
01:30Trump explained the latest on the state of U.S.-China relations, including an earlier call he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
01:40I believe we could affirm close cooperation between Japan and the U.S.
01:47Tokyo thinks the talks were significant as they were held at the request of the U.S. and demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
01:57Meanwhile, Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Funakoshi Takehiro met with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao.
02:06Funakoshi is believed to have reported on that conversation at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
02:12The Cabinet affirmed the government's conventional view on the circumstances constituting a survival-threatening situation.
02:22A trilateral summit in Japan with China and South Korea scheduled for January seems unlikely to take place.
02:30Beijing said this week that conditions for holding the summit are not right at the moment.
02:37Tokyo intends to maintain communication with China on many different levels.
02:42But officials are likely to face difficulty in finding a compromise acceptable to both sides.
02:50Following his phone talks with the Japanese and Chinese leaders, President Trump spoke positively about the situation in East Asia.
02:58But he did not go into specifics.
03:02How was your call with the Japanese Prime Minister?
03:04Great, it was great.
03:05I had a great talk.
03:06I have a very good relationship with her.
03:08I also had a very good talk with President Xi of China.
03:12And I think that part of the world is doing fine.
03:15Trump said he spoke with Xi mostly about trade.
03:20He said he asked China to buy more U.S. farm products and to speed up its purchases.
03:26He added that Xi more or less agreed to do that.
03:29Trump also said he expects to be pleasantly surprised by Xi's actions.
03:35He stressed that he has a good relationship with the Chinese leader.
03:41Japan's Prime Minister also faces challenges at home.
03:54Among them is the rising cost of living.
03:57For more, we bring in Yanaka Murray from our business desk.
04:00Mari, Japan has been trying to raise real wages, but pay hikes haven't kept up with inflation, which is now at 3%.
04:08So how does Takaichi plan to tackle this?
04:11Well, salary increases have more or less centered on big firms, so she's pushing to change that.
04:18Prime Minister Takaichi wants the wage hike trend at corporate giants to spill over to small and medium-sized firms.
04:26She explained her policies to business and union leaders on Tuesday.
04:31It was her first meeting bringing together representatives of government, business and labor.
04:38We sincerely ask for cooperation to realize an increase in base pay that will not be eroded by price hikes.
04:45Needless to say, the government will also work hard on this issue.
04:49Takaichi said the government plans to provide support worth around 1 trillion yen or about 6.4 billion dollars to help smaller firms make investments that drive growth.
05:01She added that she plans to use government subsidies for municipalities to make it easier for such companies to raise pay.
05:08The head of the Japanese trade union confederation said after the meeting she hopes pay trends will continue in a positive direction.
05:19Companies have been able to raise wages by more than 5% for two years in a row.
05:24Now we aim to continue that for the third straight year in next spring's wage negotiations.
05:30Takaichi's new economic measures are included in the supplementary budget for the current fiscal year.
05:37It's expected to gain cabinet approval on Friday.
05:41Now it's not just inflation that's up in Japan, but home prices too.
05:46The land ministry's first ever survey of new condominium purchases showed foreign ownership is also on the rise.
05:53Their share in Tokyo has doubled since 2024 to reach 3%.
05:59The survey covered sales in the first half of the year across three metropolitan areas as well as four major cities.
06:07The ratio of foreign owners is higher in central areas, hitting 3.5% in Tokyo's 23 wards.
06:15When looking at only six of those wards considered the inner core of the capital, the figure jumps up to 7.5%.
06:23The highest is in Shinjuku Ward at 14.6%.
06:29The largest numbers of buyers in the 23 wards were from Taiwan, followed by those from China.
06:36Looking at regional cities, over 4% of new apartments in Osaka were acquired by people based abroad.
06:43In Kyoto, it was 2.5%, and in Sapporo, 2%.
06:49The survey also looked at resale trends unrelated to where the owners were based.
06:54It found that 8.5% of condos that were new in the first six months of 2024 in Tokyo were resold within one year of the initial purchase.
07:05That was a jump of 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier.
07:10The ministry plans to analyze the results and discuss if measures are needed against speculative transactions.
07:18People from overseas aren't just buying homes in Japan's capital, they're booking rooms.
07:23And in the future, they might pay more.
07:26The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to revise a tax on hotel stays.
07:31The amount is fixed at virtually pocket change now.
07:35Tokyo introduced the tax in 2002.
07:38Guests at a hotel or inn are currently charged 100 yen per night if their room rate is at least 10,000 yen or about 64 dollars.
07:48For pricier rooms, it goes up to 200 yen.
07:51The plan is to change it to 3% for rooms above 13,000 yen.
07:56The Tokyo government also plans to extend the tax to cover short stays at rented private lodgings that are currently excluded.
08:05Officials have been reviewing the rules as the growing number of visitors has driven up administrative costs.
08:12The draft proposal was announced on Wednesday.
08:15Officials plan to seek opinions from the public with a view to enact the new ordinance after April 2027.
08:24Let's finish with a check on the markets.
08:26Stocks in the Asia Pacific followed Wall Street higher as optimism grew about the U.S. economy.
08:33Investors priced in a rate cut from the central bank after data on consumer confidence and retail sales suggested cooling demand.
08:41Reports that the front runner for the next central bank chief is someone seen as pro-easing added to the mood.
08:47Tokyo's Nikkei average jumped 1.9% and Seoul's Kospi surged 2.7%.
08:54China's Shanghai Composite bucked the trend after bonds of a state-backed real estate developer tumbled, reigniting concerns about the property market.
09:04And that's the biz for this Wednesday.
09:07Thank you very much for that, Marie.
09:09Now let's go to Rosalind Devavalia in our Bangkok studio for stories making headlines across the Asia Pacific.
09:17People in southern Thailand are struggling with widespread flooding following several days of record rains.
09:24Authorities say 33 people have died with more than two and a half million affected.
09:30Roads and buildings in the southern provinces including Songkla and Nakhansi Tamarat have been inundated with water.
09:37Many people have been trapped in their houses and are being rescued by boats.
09:41Weather authorities warn of more rain and are urging people to stay alert for flash floods and landslides.
09:48Prime Minister Anutin Chanwere-kun on Wednesday traveled to Songkla province where he instructed officials and military personnel to beef up rescue and aid efforts.
09:59The monsoon rains have also flooded areas in neighboring Malaysia.
10:03Disaster management officials say more than 24,000 people, many in the northern states, have been forced to flee their homes.
10:12Experts in both countries point to climate change as the driver behind the increased severity and frequency of extreme weather-related disasters.
10:22Afghanistan's Taliban authorities say air strikes by Pakistani forces in three eastern provinces bordering Pakistan have left ten people dead, most of them children.
10:34Pakistan's military has rejected the claim.
10:37A spokesperson for Afghanistan's interim Taliban government said in a social media post that Pakistani forces bombed a house in Kost province on Monday night, killing nine children and one woman.
10:51He said air strikes also hit targets in the provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four people.
10:58He said a necessary response would be taken at the proper time.
11:02According to local media, a Pakistani military spokesperson denied the attacks occurred, saying Pakistan does not target civilians nor kill them.
11:12Pakistan initially backed the interim Taliban government, but ties began to fray over Pakistani extremists,
11:19using Afghanistan's border areas to set up bases.
11:23Relations between the two sides are now said to be at the worst ever, with repeated military clashes.
11:30In October, Afghanistan's interim government and Pakistan agreed on an immediate ceasefire, but negotiations on a lasting peace ended in failure.
11:41As tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan mount, people living along the border between the two countries are expressing increasing concerns about their future.
11:52NHK World's Nazarul Islam reports.
11:57Nazmin and his family live in a village near the Pakistan border.
12:04That place was hit by a shell. My son was sleeping there.
12:11Nazmin says his home was shelled by the Pakistani military in October. His 18-year-old son Dawood was killed.
12:21Dawood studied hard, hoping to become a doctor or engineer.
12:27Nazmin worries the conflict may resume and he fears for his family's safety.
12:34We are scared the shelling may start again. I demand that they stop shelling and bombing us.
12:48In the border area on the Pakistan side, local businesses are suffering.
12:54The closure on the outskirts of Peshawar has created a long line of trucks bringing logistics to a standstill.
13:03Our truck has been stuck here for almost a month. We aren't getting any money while we sit idle.
13:13Afghan fruits and vegetables once filled the markets, but now they are empty.
13:20The border closure has also sent produce prices soaring.
13:26Tomatoes have jumped from 20 cents a kilogram to over a dollar.
13:34Onions now cost eight times more than before.
13:39The conflict is hitting Afghan refugees in Pakistan hard.
13:45The Pakistani government has tightened residency rules and stepped up crackdowns on refugees under the pretext of counter-terrorism measures.
13:56The refugee issue has a long history.
13:58In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
14:02After the 9-11 attacks, US-led forces carried out military operations in the country.
14:09As a result, more than 2.3 million Afghans are still in Pakistan.
14:14One refugee, Ruhullah, lives with his family in the outskirts of Peshawar.
14:21He fled to Pakistan 45 years ago.
14:25Now Islamabad has ordered him and his family to leave.
14:32There are no jobs, no schools, no place to live in Afghanistan.
14:38Nobody is leaving by choice.
14:41We are being forced to leave.
14:44A stream of trucks loaded with refugees' belongings trundled toward the border with Afghanistan.
14:54Despite calls for a diplomatic solution between Kabul and Islamabad, no resolution is in sight.
15:01People caught in the crisis continue to long for peace and stability.
15:06Natural Islam, NHK World, Islamabad.
15:12And that wraps up our bulletin.
15:13I'm Roslinda Bovalia in Bangkok.
15:25Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki has reached a new milestone in his lightning-fast rise in Japan's national sport.
15:32The 21-year-old who fled his war-torn country just three years ago has been promoted to Oozeki, sumo's second-highest rank.
15:41Thank you so much for your honor.
15:45Oozeki, what are you doing?
15:47I will be proud of you.
15:49I will be proud of you.
15:53Two messengers from the Japan Sumo Association delivered the news to Aonishiki and his Ajigawa stablemaster on Wednesday.
16:04The association decided on the promotion at an extraordinary meeting of his board of directors earlier in the day.
16:11Aonishiki earned his first grand sumo tournament title in the Kyushu tourney that ended last weekend.
16:18He has notched 34 wins over the past three tournaments and achieved his new rank in just 14.
16:25Aonishiki left Ukraine in 2022 to escape the Russian invasion.
16:31He moved to Japan to pursue his passion for sumo, training first at Kansai University before joining the professional stable.
16:39He made his grand sumo debut in September 2023 and has rocketed through the ranks.
16:45Aonishiki is now just one step below Yokozuna and the first person from his country to climb so high.
16:54Major League Baseball superstar Ootani Shohei says he's looking forward to playing for Japan for the second time at the World Baseball Classic.
17:05I played in the previous competition for the first time and thought it was great.
17:12I think next year's WBC will be even more wonderful.
17:17I'm honored to be selected as a member, so I'm looking forward to the competition.
17:23Ootani had earlier announced on social media his plans to take part in the WBC next year.
17:30He spoke at an online news conference for Japanese media on Wednesday.
17:35There are many great players and teams from around the world, not just from Major League Baseball.
17:47Representing Japan will be a different experience from playing in the MLB.
17:54Ootani was asked whether he will both pitch and hit as a two-way player during the games
18:00and if he will join Japan's team for training.
18:04He responded he hasn't yet decided and he would discuss it with Dodgers staff members.
18:11Ootani said he would prepare for multiple scenarios regardless of whether or not he pitches.
18:1880 years after the end of World War II, few who actually have experienced the war are still alive to share their memories directly with the younger generations.
18:37But a theater project started in Okinawa, the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific War, has a fresh approach to peace education.
18:47The battle of Okinawa claimed more than 200,000 lives as Japanese and American forces clashed
19:05and civilians were caught in the crossfire.
19:10Young actors from Okinawa bring to life this dark chapter of the war through what they call peace theater.
19:17Their performance is more than just a play. What makes it unique is the learning that comes with it.
19:25Schools across the country are hosting performances as a potential new model for peace education.
19:32Because the play comes after students learn the background, they can understand it better.
19:39It's far more effective than just showing them the play without context.
19:44For years, the core of peace education in Japan has been school trips to places like Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa.
19:54But travel agencies organizing those programs increasingly struggle to find survivors to share their memories, longer key component of the experience.
20:06A school asked to hear testimony from an atomic bomb survivor living in Nagasaki, but no one was available.
20:16This agency is changing the structure of peace education in school trips.
20:22Starting from December, they will trial a new immersive experience with peace theater at its center.
20:30I am a master of peace.
20:32It feels as if you are right there, experiencing the raw human reality, the emotions, and the tension.
20:41I am a master of peace.
20:43I am a master of peace in this country.
20:45This is a hero, the police Körper.
20:47You're a master of peace, I am a master of peace.
20:49Okinawa native Nagata Kenzaku created a play.
20:53Nagata says he used to think the battle of Okinawa was just a sad piece of history.
20:59But an encounter with an energetic 87-year-old survivor changed that.
21:05She shared her philosophy with him.
21:10She said, I lost so many classmates, friends and family during the Battle of Okinawa.
21:17If I stop speaking, the proof that they once lived will also disappear.
21:24That's why I can't die easily.
21:27I have a mission.
21:38Nagata feels he must continue that mission.
21:42The former actor chose to bring war memories to life through the power of theater.
21:48He has collected stories from 14 war survivors.
21:52One of them, 92-year-old Ooshiro Yuichi, was just 11 years old.
21:59The play draws on what happened when his family took shelter in a cave.
22:05A Japanese soldier hiding there threatened them if they tried to surrender.
22:09You Okinawans are all spies.
22:15I will throw a grenade from behind and kill you.
22:19Don't you forget it.
22:20Soldiers had been trained that suicide was more honorable than surrender.
22:30Ooshiro told Nagata that the soldier in the cave expected them to die too.
22:37Nagata inserted Ooshiro's vivid memory into the play, word for word.
22:42Ooshiro told Nagata is not the only one who died in the cave, but it was the only one who died in the cave in the cave.
22:51What do you want to do with this word?
22:53to bring more realism to the play Nagata wanted to see the cave where Oshiro took
23:03refuge before surrendering 80 years ago the terrain was bare and rocky now it is
23:12thick with vegetation Nagata is unable to find the cave but coming here brings
23:18home to him that this island paradise was once a living hell
23:35like a munu know
23:43Nagata knows that memories must be shared or they will be forgotten
23:48garden. It's a mission he feels compelled to continue, despite the emotional toll.
24:10After the play, Nagata also speaks with the students.
24:17Peace isn't something that simply exists like water or air. It's something that countless
24:23people whose faces and names we'll never know have worked together to protect. That's what
24:31peace truly is.
24:35It was so powerful. It really hit me in a way that what we learned in class never could.
24:43When we go out into society, we should have a strong will to get rid of war. And from
24:48now on, I want to work hard and study to get involved in making that happen.
24:55Nagata says he took the baton from war survivors and, through peace theater, is passing it to
25:01children to do the same. Educators and businesses with the same goal
25:06are joining in, exploring new approaches to keep war from ever happening again.
25:13The peace theater program consists of pre-study, the play itself, and workshops after the play,
25:25providing inquiry-based peace education. Students interact with the content to develop empathy
25:32and determine what peace means to them. Amid efforts to pass on the lessons of war,
25:38from AI to gaming, eyes are on how this Okinawa-born theater will impact peace education.
25:54So this time will keep that together.
25:56First time...
25:59...
26:03...
26:04...
26:05...
26:08...
26:16...
26:18...
26:20Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
26:50Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
27:20And that's it for this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:28You can catch this program on our website.
27:31I'm Yanoguchi Hiroaki.
27:32And I'm Yamasawa Rina.
27:33Thank you very much for watching.
27:35Please join us again tomorrow.
Be the first to comment