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00:00And I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki.
00:01Here are the headlines.
00:04As the row between Japan and China continues,
00:07a scheduled summit in January is under threat.
00:11Ukrainian civil wrestler Aonishiki is climbing the ranks
00:15after fleeing his home country only three years ago.
00:19A new approach to peace education out of Okinawa
00:22is drawing attention to World War II history.
00:25We check in with the group that's spearheading it.
00:28We begin with breaking news.
00:31At least four people have reportedly died
00:33after a massive fire engulfed multiple high-rise towers in Hong Kong.
00:39As you can see, black smoke is billowing from multiple apartment buildings.
00:44According to Reuters, Wang Fook Court is a housing complex
00:47made up of eight blocks with close to 2,000 residential units.
00:53Hong Kong's transport department says that due to the fire,
00:56an entire section of the Taipo Road has been closed.
01:00The thoroughfare is one of Hong Kong's two main highways.
01:06Observers expect the current row between Japan and China will drag on.
01:12Beijing continues to urge Japanese Prime Minister
01:14Takai-chi Sanae to retract her recent remarks about Taiwan.
01:18Takai-chi spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone Tuesday.
01:25Trump explained the latest on the state of U.S.-China relations,
01:29including an earlier call he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
01:33I believe we could affirm close cooperation between Japan and the U.S.
01:42Tokyo thinks the talks were significant as they were held at the request of the U.S.
01:47and demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
01:51Meanwhile, Japan's vice foreign minister,
01:55Funakoshi Takehiro, met with Chinese ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao.
02:01Funakoshi is believed to have reported on that conversation at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
02:07The cabinet affirmed the government's conventional view on the circumstances
02:11constituting a survival-threatening situation.
02:15A trilateral summit in Japan with China and South Korea scheduled for January seems unlikely to take place.
02:25Beijing said this week that conditions for holding the summit are not right at the moment.
02:31Tokyo intends to maintain communication with China on many different levels,
02:37but officials are likely to face difficulty in finding a compromise acceptable to both sides.
02:45Following his phone talks with the Japanese and Chinese leaders,
02:49President Trump spoke positively about the situation in East Asia,
02:53but he did not go into specifics.
02:57How was your call with the Japanese prime minister?
02:59Great, it was great. I had a great talk. I have a very good relationship with her.
03:03I also had a very good talk with President Xi of China,
03:07and I think that part of the world is doing fine.
03:10Trump said he spoke with Xi mostly about trade.
03:15He said he asked China to buy more U.S. farm products and to speed up its purchases.
03:21He added that Xi more or less agreed to do that.
03:25Trump also said he expects to be pleasantly surprised by Xi's actions.
03:30He stressed that he has a good relationship with the Chinese leader.
03:34Japan's prime minister also faces challenges at home.
03:49Among them is the rising cost of living.
03:52For more, we bring in Yanaka Murray from our business desk.
03:55Mari, Japan has been trying to raise real wages,
03:58but pay hikes haven't kept up with inflation, which is now at 3 percent.
04:02So how does Takaichi plan to tackle this?
04:05Well, salary increases have more or less centered on big firms,
04:09so she's pushing to change that.
04:12Prime Minister Takaichi wants the wage hike trend at corporate giants
04:17to spill over to small and medium-sized firms.
04:21She explained her policies to business and union leaders on Tuesday.
04:26It was her first meeting bringing together representatives of government, business and labor.
04:32We sincerely ask for cooperation to realize an increase in base pay
04:37that will not be eroded by price hikes.
04:40Needless to say, the government will also work hard on this issue.
04:44Takaichi said the government plans to provide support worth around 1 trillion yen,
04:49or about 6.4 billion dollars,
04:52to help smaller firms make investments that drive growth.
04:55She added that she plans to use government subsidies for municipalities
04:59to make it easier for such companies to raise pay.
05:03The head of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation said after the meeting
05:07she hopes pay trends will continue in a positive direction.
05:14Companies have been able to raise wages by more than 5 percent for two years in a row.
05:19Now we aim to continue that for the third straight year in next spring's wage negotiations.
05:25Takaichi's new economic measures are included in the supplementary budget for the current fiscal year.
05:31It's expected to gain cabinet approval on Friday.
05:36Now it's not just inflation that's up in Japan, but home prices too.
05:41The land ministry's first-ever survey of new condominium purchases
05:44showed foreign ownership is also on the rise.
05:48Their share in Tokyo has doubled since 2024 to reach 3 percent.
05:54The survey covered sales in the first half of the year
05:57across three metropolitan areas as well as four major cities.
06:01The ratio of foreign owners is higher in central areas,
06:06hitting 3.5 percent in Tokyo's 23 wards.
06:10When looking at only six of those wards,
06:12considered the inner core of the capital,
06:15the figure jumps up to 7.5 percent.
06:18The highest is in Shinjuku Ward at 14.6 percent.
06:24The largest numbers of buyers in the 23 wards were from Taiwan,
06:28followed by those from China.
06:31Looking at regional cities,
06:33over 4 percent of new apartments in Osaka were acquired by people based abroad.
06:38In Kyoto, it was 2.5 percent,
06:41and in Sapporo, 2 percent.
06:44The survey also looked at resale trends unrelated to where the owners were based.
06:49It found that 8.5 percent of condos that were new in the first six months of 2024 in Tokyo
06:55were resold within one year of the initial purchase.
07:00That was a jump of 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier.
07:04The ministry plans to analyze the results and discuss if measures are needed against speculative transactions.
07:12People from overseas aren't just buying homes in Japan's capital,
07:16they're booking rooms.
07:18And in the future, they might pay more.
07:21The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to revise a tax on hotel stays.
07:25The amount is fixed at virtually pocket change now.
07:29Tokyo introduced the tax in 2002.
07:33Guests at a hotel or inn are currently charged 100 yen per night
07:37if their room rate is at least 10,000 yen or about $64.
07:42For pricier rooms, it goes up to 200 yen.
07:46The plan is to change it to 3 percent for rooms above 13,000 yen.
07:51The Tokyo government also plans to extend the tax to cover short stays at rented private lodgings
07:58that are currently excluded.
08:01Officials have been reviewing the rules as the growing number of visitors
08:04has driven up administrative costs.
08:08The draft proposal was announced on Wednesday.
08:10Officials plan to seek opinions from the public
08:13with a view to enact the new ordinance after April 2027.
08:17Let's finish with a check on the markets.
08:21Stocks in the Asia-Pacific followed Wall Street higher
08:24as optimism grew about the U.S. economy.
08:28Investors priced in a rate cut from the central bank
08:31after data on consumer confidence and retail sales suggested cooling demand.
08:36Reports that the frontrunner for the next central bank chief
08:39is someone seen as pro-easing added to the mood.
08:42Tokyo's Nikkei average jumped 1.9 percent
08:45and Seoul's Kospi surged 2.7 percent.
08:49China's Shanghai Composite bucked the trend
08:52after bonds of a state-backed real estate developer tumbled,
08:56reigniting concerns about the property market.
08:59And that's the biz for this Wednesday.
09:02Thank you very much for that, Marie.
09:04Now let's go to Rosalind Devavalia in our Bangkok studio
09:07for stories making headlines across the Asia-Pacific.
09:11People in southern Thailand are struggling with widespread flooding
09:17following several days of record rains.
09:20Authorities say 33 people have died,
09:22with more than 2.5 million affected.
09:25Roads and buildings in the southern provinces,
09:28including Songkla and Nakhansi Tamarat,
09:30have been inundated with water.
09:32Many people have been trapped in their houses
09:34and are being rescued by boats.
09:37Weather authorities warn of more rain
09:39and are urging people to stay alert
09:41for flash floods and landslides.
09:44Prime Minister Anutin Chan-were-kun on Wednesday
09:46traveled to Songkla province,
09:49where he instructed officials and military personnel
09:51to beef up rescue and aid efforts.
09:55The monsoon rains have also flooded areas
09:57in neighboring Malaysia.
09:59Disaster management officials say
10:00more than 24,000 people, many in the northern states,
10:04have been forced to flee their homes.
10:07Experts in both countries point to climate change
10:10as the driver behind the increased severity and frequency
10:14of extreme weather-related disasters.
10:18Afghanistan's Taliban authorities say
10:20airstrikes by Pakistani forces
10:22in three eastern provinces bordering Pakistan
10:25have left 10 people dead, most of them children.
10:29Pakistan's military has rejected the claim.
10:32A spokesperson for Afghanistan's interim Taliban government
10:36said in a social media post
10:38that Pakistani forces bombed a house
10:40in Khost province on Monday night,
10:43killing nine children and one woman.
10:46He said airstrikes also hit targets
10:48in the provinces of Qunar and Paktika,
10:51injuring four people.
10:53He said a necessary response
10:54would be taken at the proper time.
10:56According to local media,
10:58a Pakistani military spokesperson
11:00denied the attacks occurred,
11:03saying Pakistan does not target civilians
11:05nor kill them.
11:07Pakistan initially backed the interim Taliban government,
11:10but ties began to fray over Pakistani extremists,
11:14using Afghanistan's border areas to set up bases.
11:18Relations between the two sides
11:20are now said to be at the worst ever
11:22with repeated military clashes.
11:24In October, Afghanistan's interim government
11:27and Pakistan agreed on an immediate ceasefire,
11:31but negotiations on a lasting peace ended in failure.
11:36As tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan mount,
11:40people living along the border between the two countries
11:42are expressing increasing concerns about their future.
11:47NHK World's Nazarul Islam reports.
11:49Nazmin and his family live in a village
11:54near the Pakistan border.
11:59That place was hit by a shell.
12:02My son was sleeping there.
12:05Nazmin says his home was shelled
12:08by the Pakistani military in October.
12:11His 18-year-old son Dawood was killed.
12:15Nazmin worries the conflict may resume
12:25and he fears for his family's safety.
12:29We are scared the shelling may start again.
12:35I demand that they stop shelling and bombing us.
12:39In the border area on the Pakistan side,
12:46local businesses are suffering.
12:49The closure on the outskirts of Peshawar
12:51has created a long line of trucks
12:53bringing logistics to a standstill.
12:58Our truck has been stuck here for almost a month.
13:03We aren't getting any money while we sit idle.
13:06Afghan fruits and vegetables once filled the markets,
13:12but now they are empty.
13:16The border closure has also sent produce prices soaring.
13:24Tomatoes have jumped from 20 cents a kilogram to over a dollar.
13:30Onions now cost eight times more than before.
13:33The conflict is hitting Afghan refugees in Pakistan hard.
13:40The Pakistani government has tightened residency rules
13:43and stepped up crackdowns on refugees
13:45under the pretext of counter-terrorism measures.
13:50The refugee issue has a long history.
13:53In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
13:57After the 9-11 attacks,
14:00U.S.-led forces carried out military operations in the country.
14:04As a result,
14:05more than 2.3 million Afghans are still in Pakistan.
14:11One refugee, Ruhullah,
14:13lives with his family in the outskirts of Peshawar.
14:17He fled to Pakistan 45 years ago.
14:21Now Islamabad has ordered him and his family to leave.
14:25There are no jobs,
14:30no schools,
14:31no place to live in Afghanistan.
14:34Nobody's leaving by choice.
14:36We're being forced to leave.
14:40A stream of trucks loaded with refugees' belongings
14:43trundled toward the border with Afghanistan.
14:46Despite calls for a diplomatic solution
14:51between Kabul and Islamabad,
14:53no resolution is in sight.
14:56People called in the crisis continue to long
14:58for peace and stability.
15:01Natural Islam, NHK World, Islamabad.
15:06And that wraps up our bulletin.
15:08I'm Rosalind Abavalia in Bangkok.
15:10Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki has reached a new milestone
15:23in his lightning-fast rise in Japan's national sport.
15:26The 21-year-old who fled his war-torn country
15:29just three years ago
15:30has been promoted to Oozeki,
15:33sumo's second-highest rank.
15:34Oozeki-anani, hajinu yo,
15:42また,
15:44さらに,
15:45ueを目指して,
15:46shoujin itashimasu.
15:51Two messengers from the Japan Sumo Association
15:54delivered the news to Aonishiki
15:56and his Ajigawa stablemaster on Wednesday.
15:59The association decided on the promotion
16:01at an extraordinary meeting of his board of directors
16:04earlier in the day.
16:06Aonishiki earned his first grand sumo tournament title
16:09in the Kyushu tourney that ended last weekend.
16:12He has notched 34 wins over the past three tournaments
16:16and achieved his new rank in just 14.
16:20Aonishiki left Ukraine in 2022
16:23to escape the Russian invasion.
16:26He moved to Japan to pursue his passion for sumo,
16:29training first at Kansai University
16:31before joining the professional stable.
16:34He made his brown sumo debut in September 2023
16:37and has rocketed through the ranks.
16:40Aonishiki is now just one step below Yokozuna
16:43and the first person from his country
16:45to climb so high.
16:49Major league baseball superstar
16:51Ootani Shohei said
16:53he's looking forward to playing for Japan
16:55for the second time
16:56at the World Baseball Classic.
17:01I played in the previous competition
17:03for the first time
17:04and thought it was great.
17:07I think next year's WBC
17:09will be even more wonderful.
17:11I'm honored to be selected as a member,
17:15so I'm looking forward to the competition.
17:18Ootani had earlier announced on social media
17:21his plans to take part in the WBC next year.
17:25He spoke at an online news conference
17:27for Japanese media on Wednesday.
17:33There are many great players
17:34and teams from around the world,
17:37not just from major league baseball.
17:41Representing Japan
17:43will be a different experience
17:45from playing in the MLB.
17:49Ootani was asked
17:50whether he will both pitch and hit
17:52as a two-way player during the games
17:55and if he will join Japan's team for training.
17:59He responded he hasn't yet decided
18:02and he would discuss it
18:03with Dodgers staff members.
18:05Ootani said he would prepare
18:07for multiple scenarios
18:09regardless of whether or not he pitches.
18:1180 years after the end of World War II,
18:25few who actually have experienced the war
18:28are still alive to share their memories
18:30directly with the younger generations.
18:32But a theater project started in Okinawa,
18:36the site of one of the fiercest battles
18:38of the Pacific War
18:39has a fresh approach to peace education.
18:42Anishika Royal's Yotsumoto Jun has more.
18:44The Battle of Okinawa claimed more than 200,000 lives
18:57as Japanese and American forces clashed
19:00and civilians were caught in the crossfire.
19:04Young actors from Okinawa
19:06bring to life this dark chapter of the war
19:09through what they call peace theater.
19:13Their performance is more than just a play.
19:15What makes it unique
19:17is the learning that comes with it.
19:20Schools across the country
19:22are hosting performances
19:23as a potential new model
19:25for peace education.
19:28Because the play comes after
19:30students learn the background,
19:32they can understand it better.
19:34It's far more effective
19:35than just showing them
19:36the play without context.
19:39For years,
19:40the core of peace education in Japan
19:43has been school trips
19:44to places like Hiroshima,
19:46Nagasaki, and Okinawa.
19:49But travel agencies
19:51organizing those programs
19:53increasingly struggle
19:54to find survivors
19:56to share their memories,
19:58longer key component
19:59of the experience.
20:02A school asked to hear testimony
20:04from an atomic bomb survivor
20:06living in Nagasaki,
20:08but no one was available.
20:11This agency is changing
20:13the structure of peace education
20:15in school trips.
20:17Starting from December,
20:19they will trial
20:19a new immersive experience
20:22with peace theater
20:23at its center.
20:24It feels as if you're right there,
20:30experiencing the raw human reality,
20:33the emotions,
20:34and the tension.
20:36I can experience it.
20:38It feels as if you're right there,
20:40Okinawa native Nagata Kensaku
20:46created the play.
20:48Nagata says he used to think
20:50the battle of Okinawa
20:51was just a sad piece of history.
20:54But an encounter
20:55with an energetic
20:5687-year-old survivor
20:58changed that.
21:00She shared her philosophy
21:01with him.
21:02She said,
21:06I lost so many classmates,
21:09friends, and family
21:10during the battle of Okinawa.
21:12If I stop speaking,
21:14the proof that they once lived
21:16will also disappear.
21:19That's why I can't die easily.
21:23I have a mission.
21:24Nagata feels
21:34he must continue
21:35that mission.
21:37The former actor
21:38chose to bring war memories
21:40to life
21:41through the power of theater.
21:43He has collected stories
21:45from 14 war survivors.
21:48One of them,
21:4992-year-old
21:50Ooshiro Yuichi,
21:52was just 11 years old.
21:54The play draws
21:55on what happened
21:56when his family
21:57took shelter in a cave.
22:00A Japanese soldier
22:01hiding there
22:02threatened them
22:03if they tried to surrender.
22:07You Okinawans
22:08are all spies.
22:10I will throw a grenade
22:11from behind
22:12and kill you.
22:14Don't you forget it.
22:21Soldiers had been trained
22:22that suicide
22:23was more honorable
22:24than surrender.
22:26Ooshiro told Nagata
22:27that the soldier
22:29in the cave
22:29expected them
22:31to die too.
22:32Nagata inserted
22:33Ooshiro's vivid memory
22:35into the play
22:36word for word.
22:37To bring more realism
22:54to the play,
22:55Nagata wanted
22:56to see the cave
22:57where Ooshiro
22:58took refuge
22:58before surrendering.
22:5980 years ago,
23:03the terrain
23:03was bare
23:04and rocky.
23:06Now,
23:06it is thick
23:07with vegetation.
23:09Nagata is unable
23:10to find the cave.
23:12But coming here
23:13brings home
23:14to him
23:14that this island
23:15paradise
23:16was once
23:17a living hell.
23:18Nagata knows that
23:40memories must be shared
23:41or they will be forgotten.
23:44It's a mission
23:45he feels compelled
23:46to continue
23:47despite the emotional toll.
23:49After the play,
24:06Nagata also speaks
24:07with the students.
24:11Peace isn't something
24:13that simply exists
24:15like water
24:16or air.
24:17It's something
24:18that countless people
24:19whose faces
24:20and names
24:21we'll never know
24:21have worked together
24:23to protect.
24:25That's
24:25what peace truly is.
24:29It was so powerful.
24:32It really hit me
24:32in a way
24:33that what we learn
24:34in class
24:34never could.
24:37When we go out
24:38into society,
24:40we should have
24:40a strong will
24:41to get rid of war.
24:43And from now on,
24:44I want to work hard
24:45and study
24:46to get involved
24:47in making that happen.
24:48Nagata says
24:50he took the baton
24:52from war survivors
24:53and,
24:54through peace theater,
24:55is passing it
24:56to children
24:57to do the same.
24:59Educators
24:59and businesses
25:00with the same goal
25:01are joining in,
25:03exploring new approaches
25:04to keep war
25:06from ever happening again.
25:08Yotsumoto Jun,
25:09NHK World.
25:10The peace theater program
25:14consists of
25:15pre-study,
25:16the play itself,
25:18and workshops
25:18after the play,
25:20providing inquiry-based
25:21peace education.
25:23Students interact
25:24with the content
25:25to develop empathy
25:26and determine
25:28what peace means to them.
25:30A bit of efforts
25:31to pass on
25:32the lessons of war,
25:33from AI to gaming,
25:35eyes are on
25:36how this
25:36Okinawa-born theater
25:37will impact
25:38peace education.
25:39a very small
25:41of the school
25:41and to become
25:42very small
25:44to build such
25:44a good area
25:45and to be prepared
25:46and to change
25:46and to make it
25:47to become a new
25:47person.
25:48And so,
25:48that's one of
25:50much more
25:51to be prepared
25:51and to be prepared
25:52and to be prepared
25:52for all the things
25:52that's been
25:53going to be prepared
25:53to go to that
25:54and the niets
25:56and the point
25:57of the night
25:57at night
25:58Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
26:28Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
26:38Now 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.
27:00Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
27:06And that's it for this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:23You can catch this program on our website.
27:25I'm Yanoguchi Hiroaki.
27:26And I'm Yamasawa Arena.
27:28Thank you very much for watching.
27:30Please join us again tomorrow.
27:36We'll see you next time.
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