- 16 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Welcome to New Zealand Tokyo. I'm Yamasawa Rina.
00:16And I'm Raja Prada.
00:17Here are the headlines.
00:19More than 1,400 lives have been lost in floods and mudslides
00:23caused by torrential rain in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
00:28A week on since a massive place ripped through a residential complex in Hong Kong.
00:39159 people have been confirmed dead, with 30 still missing.
00:44And Russian President Vladimir Putin had talks with the U.S. Special Envoy on Ukraine.
00:49We have an analysis on what to expect next.
00:54We start with severe flooding across South and Southeast Asia.
00:59In Indonesia, days of torrential rain have triggered deadly floods and mudslides,
01:05leaving 770 people dead and more than 400 missing.
01:10More than half a million people have been displaced in North Sumatra province amid widespread flooding.
01:17At one evacuation center, heavy rain on Tuesday night flooded a tent,
01:23forcing evacuees to take shelter in a roofed parking area.
01:27This is the worst damage I've ever experienced.
01:33My house was flooded after an embankment collapsed.
01:37I need materials to rebuild and basic daily necessities.
01:42Some residents who have returned home are cleaning up.
01:47One man says he has been unable to work and has lost his income.
01:52He says it is now harder to secure food and daily necessities than at the evacuation centers.
01:59Meanwhile, Japan's foreign ministry says the last of the eight Japanese nationals stranded in Ache province,
02:08a person who had chosen to remain, was rescued by Indonesian authorities on Tuesday afternoon.
02:15Heavy rain has also hit Sri Lanka and Thailand.
02:20Across the three countries, more than 1,400 people have been confirmed dead
02:26and about 800 remain unaccounted for in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
02:33Next, search crews are still at work in Hong Kong,
02:36one week after a massive fire engulfed the high-rise residential complex.
02:41The death toll has risen to 159.
02:45About 30 people remain missing.
02:48The blaze erupted on November 26th,
02:53tearing through seven of the eight skyscrapers in the complex.
02:56More than 2,000 people have been displaced.
02:59Residents of the single structure that escaped the fire
03:02were temporarily allowed to enter it on Wednesday to retrieve their belongings.
03:06Search operations have continued through the buildings,
03:09including the one where the fire is believed to have broken out.
03:13The search of the seven buildings has been completed.
03:19But, unfortunately, we still have not been able to make contact with 31 people.
03:30Mourners continue to visit the area amid deepening public sorrow.
03:33People are asking how the blaze turned so catastrophic.
03:40Residents must be wanting to know the truth.
03:43Why the fire spread so quickly to so many buildings.
03:47officials have revealed protective mesh around the building's scaffolding
03:54did not meet fireproofing standards.
03:57Flammable polystyrene foam was also being used in renovation work.
04:01The government has said it will set up an independent panel
04:04to investigate the cause of the blaze,
04:06issues around safety compliance,
04:08and how the project was supervised.
04:20It's been a couple of years since China's economy lost steam,
04:24and it still hasn't bounced back.
04:26Yuko Fukushima from our business desk is here
04:28to look into what the latest data are telling us
04:30about what's happening with China's economy right now. Yuko.
04:34As you indicated, the economy has not been doing well,
04:38and companies across the board are struggling.
04:41At the beginning of the month, we found out how managers are feeling.
04:45This is called the Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI.
04:50Many managers in the manufacturing sector see business as pretty bleak.
04:54Any figure below 50 points to an economic contraction.
04:59The November index for this group was 49.2,
05:03below 50 for the eighth straight month.
05:06New orders for these firms were slow,
05:08even as the U.S. cut back some of its tariffs on Chinese imports.
05:13The survey covered 3,200 manufacturers.
05:16The readings for large, mid-size and small companies all came in below 50.
05:22The service sector seemed to be doing a bit better, but not great.
05:27Its index was at 49.5.
05:30It was the first time the figure for non-manufacturers fell below 50 since December 2022,
05:37in the midst of the pandemic.
05:39I talked to a prominent China economist about how she sees the current state of affairs.
05:46Tamae Yoshino says the roads in various sectors all stem from a weak property market,
05:51which has been soft since 2020.
05:54She says it still hasn't bottomed out.
05:58The amount of floor space sold in October was half what it was in the same period in 2021.
06:08We calculated how much unsold housing there was compared to how much was actually sold each year.
06:15In September, there was five times more in stock than that sold.
06:19That means it'll take at least two years for the market to get back to where it was before the bubble burst in 2019.
06:30Tamae notes that the government has rolled out various measures to get the property sector moving.
06:36Some have included local governments buying up unsold apartments and converting them into housing for low-income families.
06:45Local governments have also been supporting property developers financially,
06:49so they can finish their projects and hand the apartments over to buyers who have already paid for them.
06:55But Tamae says these initiatives are progressing slowly because local governments are in charge.
07:04Local governments sell the rights to use the land to housing developers.
07:11The money they get from selling land or from usage rights, along with taxes from the sector, make up about 30 percent of the government's finances.
07:20If the property market isn't doing well, coffers come under strain,
07:25and the authorities can't actively press ahead with measures like buying up housing from developers.
07:30Tamae says there are some similarities to when Japan's bubble burst in the early 1990s.
07:39But there are important differences too.
07:42In Japan, the collapse of the property bubble led to the collapse of financial institutions,
07:51which in turn led to a prolonged economic slowdown.
07:55But in China at the moment, we are not seeing the downturn in the property market triggering a shake-up in the whole financial system.
08:02The ratio of bad debt held by banks is only about 1 percent.
08:08She also points to how the situation among households is quite different between Japan and China.
08:15Per capita GDP in China right now is about $13,000.
08:22When the bubble burst in Japan, the income level was already pretty high, around $30,000 to $40,000 per person.
08:31That means about three times that of China now.
08:35So, we can say China still has room to grow.
08:40Tamae says there's much unmet demand in China's economy,
08:45especially in rural areas where living standards can improve.
08:48She says it's going to be up to the government to come up with policies to channel that demand
08:53in ways that get the economy moving again.
08:56And now to the markets.
08:58Well, in Tokyo and South Korea, the main stock index both rose more than 1 percent.
09:03Following the rally on Wall Street overnight, investors expect President Trump to soon nominate a candidate
09:09who banks for their rate cuts to be the next Federal Reserve Chair.
09:13FINDEX in the Philippines did almost 1.5 percent as the head of the central bank said
09:18economic growth this year could be lower than expected.
09:21And that's the news for this Wednesday.
09:23Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff for talks on ending the fighting in Ukraine.
09:39It's unclear if any breakthrough was reached.
09:42Witkoff was joined by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
09:48They met with Putin and his foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov as well as Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev.
09:57It's likely the two sides had a discussion based on the U.S. drafted peace proposal.
10:03They have not disclosed the plan's details.
10:08Putin demanded last month that Crimea and two eastern regions be officially recognized as Russian territory.
10:17But Ukraine has not shown a willingness to make concessions.
10:22The Kremlin said on Monday its forces have captured the strategic city of Pokorovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk.
10:32From this springboard, from this sector, the Russian army can easily advance in any direction deemed most promising by the general staff.
10:46Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's waiting for the results of the discussion in Moscow and that he's prepared to receive all signals.
10:57It is important that all this is fair and open so that there is no game behind Ukraine's back.
11:04So that nothing is decided without Ukraine, about us, about our future.
11:09Zelensky added that he's ready to hold talks with Trump.
11:13For more on this, we are now joined by former NHK Moscow bureau chief Anma Hideo.
11:20So Hideo, Russian officials said they couldn't find points to compromise on.
11:25So can you give us the background on this?
11:27Well, let's look at the original peace proposal drafted by the Trump administration.
11:32It reportedly included 28 points, many of them seeing as favorable to Russia.
11:39But after strong objections from Ukraine and several European countries was revised down to 19 points.
11:48And this change appeared to have displeased Moscow.
11:52Please, Moscow.
11:53I think the core sticking points are clear.
11:58The status of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia and security guarantees for Ukraine, including possible NATO membership.
12:09Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Monday that the most critical issue is the territorial question.
12:19This, of course, concerns Crimea annexed unilaterally by Russia, as well as territories Russia occupies in two eastern and two southern regions of Ukraine.
12:31Russia insists these areas must be recognized as its treaties, while Ukraine sees them as essential to its sovereignty and cannot accept such demands.
12:44On security guarantees, Russia demands a permanent pledge that Ukraine will never join NATO.
12:53Ukraine argues that such commitment is impossible.
12:59Realistically, NATO membership for Ukraine remains elusive.
13:04So Ukraine is instead seeking robust security assurances from western countries.
13:12And Hideo, the head of Ukraine's presidential office was just fired over a major corruption scandal, right?
13:18How do you think this could impact the Zelensky administration?
13:21Well, it's an extremely serious development coming at a sensitive time.
13:26This is a fallout from a major scandal in November, when ministers resigned after siphoning off roughly $100 million from the state-owned nuclear energy company.
13:40And the top official leaving their post now includes Zelensky's closest aide, presidential office head, Henri Yeomark, resigned due to the scandal.
13:53He was a top negotiator in the peace talks.
13:57In short, this scandal strikes at the very heart of the administration.
14:03Until now, Zelensky has maintained strong public support, but this incident is deepening public distress and could have significant consequences for his own political future.
14:16Hideo, we are also seeing signs of a US-Russia rapprochement. How could this influence the toll?
14:23Well, any rapprochement may face challenges by the clear differences within the Trump administration over policy toward Russia.
14:32Figures such as Vice President Burns and Witkoff are pushing for swift ceasefire, advocating a pragmatic approach that accepts certain concessions to Russia.
14:47In contrast, Secretary of State Rubio warns against being exploited by Moscow and stresses the need to defend Ukraine's sovereignty.
15:00But President Trump still appears to favor Witkoff's approach, driven by his desire to secure a deal quickly.
15:11This has raised concern in Congress that the President may lean too far toward accommodating Russia.
15:19Putin, on his part, shows no sign of compromising.
15:23He has not moderated his stance recently, seizing Pokrovsk, a key transportation hub.
15:32Ukraine's peace talks are caught between principles on one hand and harsh strategic reality on the other.
15:40At the same time, there is a corruption scandal.
15:43A meeting between Trump and Zelensky will likely occur sooner or later.
15:50But depending on how the situation evolves, Zelensky may be pressed into making extremely difficult decisions.
16:02This is a critical juncture for Ukraine's leadership.
16:06Right. Thank you very much, Hideo, for all your insight.
16:08That was NHK World's Anma Hideo.
16:23And now let's go to Choropan Sanarula in our Bangkok studio for stories making headlines across the Asia-Pacific.
16:31NHK spoke with Connie Wigner-Raja, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme.
16:39She's now in Sri Lanka, where she says the flooding is beyond anything she has seen before.
16:44Wigner-Raja calls the destruction devastating, with heavy loss of life and widespread damage to infrastructure.
16:51She says insufficient preparedness contributed to the severity of the disaster.
16:56Look at flood management systems and infrastructure.
17:01These have to be done with materials and with design and technology that can withstand much, much harsher climate action.
17:13Sri Lanka, like many other countries, needs to strengthen its infrastructure to prepare for increasingly severe disasters.
17:21But official development assistance is shrinking.
17:24Vigner-Raja says stronger regional cooperation is essential to reduce inequalities and to strengthen public goods locally and globally.
17:33Pakistan has been facing a serious challenge to deal with unlicensed doctors.
17:38Authorities estimate more than 600,000 have been examining patients and prescribing medication.
17:44The underlying causes for why patients visit them include widespread poverty and harsh economic conditions.
17:50NHK World's Syed Mudabir Rizvi has a story.
17:55Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, is said to have about 80,000 fake doctors, the highest number in the country.
18:05Patients complaining of pain and sexual dysfunction arrive one after another at this room in a mixed-use building.
18:16The room was filled with various medicines.
18:25This 42-year-old man says he has been performing medical procedures for 25 years.
18:33He claims he sees nearly 30 patients a day.
18:37My father ran the clinic before.
18:41I started running it after he died.
18:43Patients with sexual, orthopedic and other diseases come daily.
18:46Patients with sexual, orthopedic and other diseases come daily.
18:50The man admitted after more questioning that he had no qualifications, but he claimed that because he had many years of experience, he could perform medical procedures properly even without them.
19:18But some people have suffered serious health damage from being treated by people like him.
19:29A 50-year-old man living in Karachi went for a medical consultation three years ago due to an infectious disease and sexual dysfunction.
19:41After taking the prescribed medication for about a year, the color of his urine gradually became abnormal.
19:50Symptoms such as pain and inflammation also started appearing.
19:55A specialist told him his kidneys had been seriously affected.
20:03His monthly income is about $100.
20:07So he ended up seeing a fake doctor, as it cost about one third of what a real doctor would charge, including a prescription.
20:17Hundreds of thousands of people visit them because of inflation and poverty, and everyone thinks it's cheap.
20:27Government officials should do something about these fake doctors.
20:32We need to see that, brother, why are these two people sitting here?
20:39Sindh province health authorities have shut down over 11,000 clinics run by unlicensed doctors in over seven years up to early November.
20:51But eliminating them is hard as new clinics quickly spring up.
20:58Unless we hit the root causes of the quackery, we will not be able to finish or eliminate quackery just by closing down the outlets.
21:10The health authorities say they aim to toughen measures against fake doctors.
21:17Ensuring that patients can access safe and proper medical care will require sustained long-term efforts from all parts of society.
21:28Sayyid Madhabirizvi, NHK World, Karachi.
21:33That wraps up our bulletin. I'm Cholop Hansa, Naveela, in Bangkok.
21:38We now look at what might become a breakthrough therapy for people worldwide who suffer from a rare genetic disorder.
21:46A university hospital in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, opened a gene therapy clinical trial for patients born with an intractable disease that causes seizures.
21:57Now, this case is gaining attention as research into gene therapy in Japan is seen to be lagging behind the United States and other Western countries.
22:05NHK World's Hirama Kazuaki has the story.
22:11Kanemaru Yuya is a 27-year-old man who's been suffering a rare genetic neurological disorder called GLUT1 or Glucose Transporter 1 Deficiency Syndrome.
22:22It's a condition that's left him with physical and mental disabilities.
22:26He also suffers from frequent seizures.
22:29There's no easy treatment, but now Kanemaru is undergoing gene therapy clinical trials.
22:36saying no to a clinical trial was not an option.
22:41I'd always hoped there would be an opportunity to undergo such therapy.
22:45GLUT1 deficiency patients suffer a lack of energy due to insufficient glucose in the brain, mostly resulting from gene abnormalities.
22:56In the gene therapy, a special virus that's produced artificially is injected into the brain.
23:03The virus is expected to urge the impaired gene to function properly and improve a patient's symptoms.
23:10Two months after the injection, a team of doctors discussed Kanemaru's progress.
23:22He's one of six patients in the clinical trial.
23:25We don't see any changes in his bouts of seizures, but we do see improvement in his physical and emotional condition.
23:38We will make an official evaluation six months post-injection.
23:46GLUT1 patients are hopeful about the future use of genetic treatment.
23:50There are believed to be about 100 patients across the country, and severity of the symptoms varies depending on the individual.
23:59Furuta Minori and her mother Tomoko are also watching closely to see if there's a breakthrough in the trial.
24:07Minori is on a dietary therapy, the only symptomatic treatment for GLUT1.
24:14It consists of a high-fat and low-carbohydrate intake.
24:19This helps create an alternative source of energy.
24:23Minori's mother uses special milk with a high-fat content to cook steamed bread.
24:29It's Minori's stable food, rather than rice.
24:34She adds cooking oil into the soup.
24:40In this way, Minori can more efficiently absorb high-fat content.
24:49Minori has been on this diet for 17 years since she was five, and will continue into the foreseeable future.
24:56Her dessert was only half a potato chip.
25:01Chips are too high in carbohydrates.
25:05I wish I could have more, but I can't.
25:11The photos are hoping Minori can be released from diet therapy if genetic treatment is put into practical use.
25:23I can't do anything to make it delicious.
25:30I can't add sweet things.
25:33I think doctors have come up with the gene therapy because they are now aware that dietary therapy is tough on patients.
25:44I really appreciate that.
25:51Pediatricians at Jiichi Medical University Hospital are also conducting research on genetic treatment for other intractable diseases.
25:59There are about 340 children such illnesses recognized as such by the government.
26:05Doctors say many of them have genetic issues.
26:10But pharmaceutical makers are reluctant to produce what they consider to be unprofitable medicines,
26:15because the number of patients is relatively small.
26:20It's frustrating.
26:23We have the methods to produce the drugs, but can't implement treatments.
26:28Doctors have started making demands to the government.
26:33At this forum, where doctors discussed how to advance gene therapy,
26:38a government official attenegate sought understanding of the time it takes to ensure safety before practical use.
26:46The new treatment may not come tomorrow or next year or even the year after,
26:51but the government is providing support, including basic research.
26:56Doctors also highlight the need to nurture personnel and venture capital.
27:02We should all be determined to work together, the government and medical staff,
27:10to make Japan-made medicines available worldwide.
27:17Patients and their loved ones are waiting for the day.
27:21The gene therapy's safety and efficacy are fully assessed and the treatment becomes available.
27:27Hirama Kazuki, NHK World.
27:31And that concludes this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:34Make sure you catch our website, our program on our website as well.
27:37I'm Rajapada.
27:38And I'm Yamasawa Rina. Thank you very much for watching.
27:42Please join us again tomorrow.
27:44Please join us again tomorrow.
27:46Please join us again tomorrow.
27:47Take care.
Be the first to comment