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00:12Welcome to Newsroom Tokyo. I'm Yamasawa Rina and I'm Yoshikawa Ryuiichi.
00:18U.S. and Israeli forces are set to intensify their attacks on Iran.
00:23They have killed the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
00:28but they aren't stopping there. U.S. President Donald Trump now says the
00:34fighting could continue for another four weeks. Combat operations continue at this time in full
00:41force and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved. We have very strong
00:48objectives. In a video posted on social media, Donald Trump referred to the deaths of three
00:56U.S. service members. He says there could be further casualties.
01:02America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have
01:08waged war against basically civilization. Trump claims the U.S. has destroyed nine Iranian naval ships.
01:18He has handed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps an ultimatum, lay down arms and receive full
01:26immunity or face certain death. And he urged the people to rise up now.
01:32I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold,
01:41be heroic and take back your country. America is with you.
01:46Trump told several media outlets the operation is progressing more smoothly than planned. A Fox News
01:54reporter posted a quote from the U.S. President,
01:58nobody can believe the success we are having. 48 leaders are gone in one shot.
02:04Trump also spoke with The Atlantic magazine, claiming he has agreed to a request for talks with Iran's new leadership.
02:14Iran is striking back with large-scale attacks of its own and is now being joined by Hezbollah.
02:21Together, they have reportedly hit targets in Israel and across the Middle East.
02:28Israeli media say an Iranian ballistic missile hit a residential area near Jerusalem on Sunday.
02:35Nine people were killed. And Hezbollah claimed on Monday it had attacked a military facility in northern Israel.
02:44The Shia Muslim group says it was in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei.
02:50The Associated Press and other outlets reported on Monday that fire and smoke were seen inside the U.S. embassy
02:58compound in Kuwait following an Iranian attack.
03:02And the U.S. outlet Bloomberg says Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company has halted operations at a refinery following
03:10a drone strike.
03:12The Iranian president has released a video statement. It's his first appearance since the attacks began.
03:24The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are taking action with great strength to destroy the enemy's bases.
03:40Meanwhile, Oman's foreign minister says he's received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Arachi.
03:49He says Arachi stressed Iran is positive about efforts to prevent escalation and restore stability.
03:56Oman had been mediating talks between the U.S. and Iran.
04:01Iran's Red Crescent Society announced on Monday that 555 people had been killed across the country.
04:10The government is setting up an extraordinary council to manage national politics until the next supreme leader is elected.
04:20Western powers are reacting to the escalating violence.
04:25France, Germany and Britain released a joint statement condemning Iran's attacks.
04:31The three countries say they will defend their interests and those of their allies in the region,
04:37possibly by enabling defensive action to destroy Iran's capability to fire missiles and drones.
04:46British Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a video confirming support for U.S. forces.
04:51The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose.
05:07We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region,
05:17killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.
05:27German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also issued a statement supporting the U.S. and Israel's attacks on Iran.
05:34He said he plans to hold talks with President Trump on Tuesday.
05:39Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae says Japan will work with the international community to try to de-escalate the situation.
05:48We strongly urge Iran to stop actions that destabilize the region,
05:53including nuclear weapons development and attacks on neighboring countries.
05:58We also call for a diplomatic solution through negotiations and other means.
06:04Takaichi spoke at a parliamentary committee Monday.
06:07She said Japan is working closely with other nations to collect information.
06:13One issue they are looking into is the Strait of Hormuz.
06:18There are reports the key transport channel has been effectively closed.
06:23Takaichi said there is conflicting information on the matter.
06:27She added Japanese vessels in the region are being closely monitored.
06:32Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu also spoke before the committee.
06:36He said the government is in touch with nearly all of the 200 or so Japanese nationals in Iran.
06:44So far, none of them have been harmed.
06:47He said the government has begun preparations to evacuate them.
06:52A survey shows more than 40 percent of U.S. citizens oppose the strike against Iran,
06:59and only about one in four approves.
07:03Reuters news agency and research firm Ipsos conducted the poll from Saturday to Sunday,
07:10starting soon after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks.
07:15More than 1,280 people responded.
07:19The results show 43 percent oppose the strikes and 27 percent approve.
07:26About 29 percent are unsure.
07:31More than 50 percent say they would likely oppose any continued military action if U.S. troops were killed or
07:39injured.
07:40About 45 percent say they would likely oppose a wider conflict involving many nations in the Middle East.
07:49Also, 48 percent say they are more likely to support the strikes if Iran's nuclear program comes to an end.
07:58And 56 percent believe President Trump is too willing to advance U.S. interests using military force.
08:05That compares to 35 percent, who say his willingness was at about the right level.
08:14For more insight, I spoke with Professor Tanaka Koichiro from K.O. University.
08:20He is an expert on the Middle East.
08:25So, Professor Tanaka, there was talk that the U.S. and Israeli military action lasts only days.
08:33But now we hear President Trump saying four weeks.
08:37What does that tell us about his aims?
08:41Well, first of all, I'm really puzzled.
08:43Because initially, it sounded as though that it's going to be a piece of cake dealing with the Iranians.
08:49But now when he starts talking about four weeks, like an extended military campaign against the Iranians,
08:56we have to look into what he's trying to achieve.
08:59Of course, the aim.
09:01I do not doubt that his ultimate aim or the goal is for a regime change in Iran.
09:09That's for certain.
09:11But beyond that, what is he trying to achieve?
09:13Well, I think what I can tell here is that he's going for an extensive military campaign to dismantle all
09:20the military facilities,
09:24nuclear installations, and missile components, whatever he can find or the Americans can find on the ground.
09:31Maybe that could be the reason that he's going for the four-week military campaign.
09:37So you're saying that Trump will not settle for anything less than regime change?
09:45Yeah, I think that that's kind of a homework that he has left and also Mr. Netanyahu has left since
09:51the military campaign back in June 2025.
09:54When initially things were going extremely well for them, good for them, or even excellent for them.
10:01But then all of a sudden the idea of regime change was inserted.
10:05But then eventually they failed to achieve that.
10:09And they considered that, both of them considered that as long as the Islamic Republic is in charge in Tehran,
10:16Iran,
10:16then the entire region would still be at stake or that they would not be able to see a stable
10:26Middle East.
10:27So they do want to see the Islamic Republic gone.
10:33President Trump reportedly suggests that Iran's new leaders want to talk with him.
10:40Do we have any idea about this new leadership in Iran?
10:44Well, after eliminating Ayatollah Khamenei, where the Iranians are now trying to find a way on how to deal with
10:54the situation.
10:55And what they have come up with, according to the Constitution, is to establish an interim leadership council
11:03that would take care of the matters during the absence of the supreme leader.
11:10So that is happening now.
11:11But this does not mean that they have a new leadership.
11:16Well, they have to elect and select and also to approve a new supreme leader.
11:23And that is going to be done by the Assembly of Experts.
11:27And this Assembly of Experts hasn't convened yet a session for them to decide.
11:35And as long as the Assembly of Experts, with the fear that they will be targeted as well,
11:41cannot convene and hold a session, the, well, interim leadership have to take the matters in their own hands.
11:51So while the interim leadership is not quite certain what they're going to do,
11:57I would have to just say that we need to see what they really want to say.
12:02I mean, they haven't issued any statement yet.
12:05So we haven't really heard anything specific about this possible new leadership of Iran.
12:11And I now want to touch upon people of Iran a little bit.
12:15How do you think the people of Iran feel about this possible regime change that might be on their way?
12:23I'm asking this because so much is going on, but perhaps not from the perspective of the people.
12:28Right. Yeah, I think that is quite true.
12:32And I believe that for the people who have been taken on the streets and trying and also to demanding
12:38the fall of the Islamic Republic,
12:43if the interim leadership council is going to take the matters in their own hands,
12:49and then they select a new leader, that would mean that the Islamic Republic is there to stay.
12:55And if the Americans are only saying by words that they are going to support the people,
13:01but actually doing nothing, that could mean that the people would be really, really deserted and disappointed eventually
13:08that things are not going to change despite the elimination of Ayatollah Khomeini.
13:17Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they have already hit back with strikes across the Middle East,
13:25some newer spaces in the Gulf region.
13:27Do you see them escalating their own attacks going forward?
13:32Well, at least I can say that they are going to strike back when they are struck.
13:36So as long as the Americans and the Israelis are there to attack Iran, they're going to strike back against
13:43either Israel directly
13:45or to the military bases and the countries that are hosting the American bases in the region.
13:50And one thing that I see is that they're going to try to use this as an opportunity to exhaust
13:56all the missile interceptors
13:58that the Americans have transferred into the region.
14:02And then eventually, if they are really exhausted, that there are no longer any stockpiles left,
14:08then they could easily target Israel directly.
14:11I think that is sort of a tactical approach that they're taking right now.
14:16Right.
14:18Now I want to move on to a little bit of the wider implications of this conflict.
14:23Wider spread fears say that the strait of harmors is now effectively closed.
14:28What sort of repercussions do you see this situation having on the wider world?
14:35Well, the spike of oil prices is going to follow, I believe.
14:39And if the closure is going to be extended more than for two weeks, I think it's going to also
14:43affect the trade of LNG,
14:46liquefied natural gas.
14:47This is vital for the countries like Japan, also for the East Asian countries, South Asian countries like India.
14:55And we also have to look into the European countries following the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022.
15:05And subsequently, the Europeans have suspended their importation of natural gas through pipelines from Russia.
15:12And what was, what was, say, imported there, has been imported there, is the LNG coming out from either the
15:23United States
15:23or from countries like Qatar and the UAE.
15:27So if the suspension of the trade of LNG out from the Persian Gulf is going to be sustained for
15:33more than two weeks,
15:34I think that's going to have an impact on the world economy.
15:38What about oil?
15:39Well, oil, yes, the prices are going to surge.
15:42So like countries like here in Japan, we're going to see higher oil, gasoline prices for sure.
15:47And eventually LNG prices would also be affected because of the higher oil prices.
15:53But if we are talking about volume, it's more about LNG that we should be concerned about.
15:59Okay.
16:00So finally, Professor, so how do you ultimately see this all panning out?
16:07Yeah, that's a really tough question to answer.
16:11But what I can say here is that because of the, well, illegal military attacks conducted by both Israelis and
16:20the Americans against Iran,
16:22the world has now been sucked into a condition where rule of law has lost its credibility.
16:29And also that sort of a, and contrary, the law of the jungles are now prevailing.
16:36And if that is the case, we have to say goodbye to a stable international community or a stable world
16:44that we have been cherishing for like 80 years or plus since 1945.
16:51Well, thank you very much.
16:54That was Tanaka Kouichiro, a professor at K.O. University and an expert on the Middle East.
16:59You're welcome.
17:10Next, let's take a look at how financial markets are reacting.
17:15Inaka-Marie from her business team has the details on how the first major burst to open after the attack
17:20performed.
17:22Tokyo stock's nose-died from the open.
17:25Investors sold across the board on reports the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, choking off crude oil supply from
17:33the Middle East.
17:35The Nikkei average lost 2.6 percent at one point.
17:39But after this knee-jerk reaction, the benchmark paired some of its losses.
17:44The Nikkei finished 1.4 percent lower at 48,057.
17:49Airlines were hit hard.
17:52Japan Airlines tumbled 5.9 percent after announcing flight cancellations.
17:58ANA lost 5.4 percent despite not operating flights to the Middle East.
18:03Investors are worried about fuel as much of Japan's energy comes from the region.
18:09Analysts say investors are concerned that a rise in energy prices could drive up global inflation.
18:15They add that trading could be volatile for some time until an end to the conflict comes into view.
18:23The impact of the attacks was also felt in Japan's commodity markets.
18:28The price of oil surged to a 13-month high due to those supply concerns.
18:33And investors bought gold as a safe haven.
18:37Middle Eastern crude for July delivery rose above 72,000 yen, or over $460 per kiloliter in Tokyo.
18:47That's up roughly 9 percent from Friday's close, and the highest since January last year.
18:54Gold prices in Tokyo hit a record high.
18:57Bullion dealer Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies said the retail price briefly jumped about 5.5 percent from Friday.
19:05It exceeded 30,300 yen, or more than $190 per gram.
19:13Now, Japan relies on the Middle East for more than 90 percent of its crude oil imports.
19:19So, it's especially vulnerable to any disruptions to shipping through choke points like the Strait of Hormuz.
19:26Right now, Japanese firms are keeping their vessels well away from the key waterway.
19:33Mitsui OSK Line says it's ordered its vessels sailing near the Strait to proceed no further and wait in safe
19:40waters.
19:41That was after confirming an Iranian radio announcement that no vessels are allowed to pass through.
19:48NYK Line is also staying clear.
19:50It's told its vessels in the Persian Gulf to stay put and await further instructions.
19:56One analyst told NHK that a prolonged halt to passage through the Strait could have a major impact on Japan's
20:04economy.
20:08If it becomes prolonged, prices for gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene would, of course, rise.
20:17I think it could spill over into electricity and gas bills.
20:21Higher costs for agriculture and fisheries could push up the prices of fresh food.
20:28But Akuta says Japan has enough oil reserves to cushion the impact over the short term.
20:35For more on how the Middle East tensions could hit Japan's economy, NHK spoke to an economist at a leading
20:42research house.
20:44He said rising crude oil prices could lead to a real setback.
20:49Kiyuchi Takahide from Nomura Research Institute says the most likely scenario is a drawn-out conflict.
20:56That does not bode well for crude oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
21:00He calculates that a 30 percent jump in crude prices will stoke inflation and reduce Japan's real GDP by nearly
21:08a fifth of a percent.
21:12If prices keep rising, the level of personal consumption cannot be sustained, and the Japanese economy could enter a period
21:19of deterioration.
21:20So the extent to which crude prices rise will have a great impact on the economy.
21:26Kiyuchi adds that if the situation gets really bad, the government could start discussing measures to curb rising prices.
21:33It could also force the Bank of Japan to hold off from raising interest rates.
21:39Let's check on stock markets in the Asia-Pacific.
21:42I earlier said the Nikkei closed at 48,057, but it was actually 58,057. Apologies.
21:50Now, most other benchmarks fell as investors avoided risk.
21:54Hong Kong and Singapore both lost over two percent.
21:59Australia's Commodity Heavy Index, though, managed to eke out a marginal gain to a record close.
22:05Energy stocks and gold miners were among the strong performers.
22:08The Shanghai Composite also finished higher.
22:11The index fell with many of its peers in the morning.
22:14But investors later turned to buying on hopes that the annual parliamentary meeting starting this week will announce stimulus policies.
22:22And that's the biz for this Monday.
22:25Thank you, Marie.
22:27And now we go to Rosalind de Bavalia in our Bangkok Bureau with the latest on how the U.S.-Israeli
22:33attack on Iran is affecting neighboring Pakistan.
22:38Thousands gathered to offer funeral prayers for protesters killed in clashes outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi.
22:47Mourners turned out in the early hours of Monday, a day after a demonstration in Pakistan's largest city left 10
22:55dead.
22:56Many called for an investigation into the actions of the security forces.
23:00The rally held to protest the attack on Iran quickly turned violent.
23:06Police reportedly opened fire after demonstrators breached the mission's premises.
23:11Violence has spread across Pakistan.
23:15Reuters reports that two people were killed in clashes between police and demonstrators in Islamabad.
23:21It says another 11 died in the northern city of Skardu.
23:26Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, but it also has one of the largest Shia Muslim populations after Iran.
23:35Border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated sharply since Thursday, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties.
23:45Pakistan's information minister said Sunday, 415 Afghan militants have been killed and more than 580 wounded.
23:57In a post on X, the minister said Pakistani forces have destroyed 182 Afghan outposts, captured 31 others, and knocked
24:08up 185 Taliban tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery pieces.
24:13Pakistani airstrikes have reportedly hit 46 locations across Afghanistan.
24:20The interim Taliban government says its forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and seized two bases and 19 posts.
24:29Tensions rose last month after Pakistan bombed what it said were Afghan extremist strongholds.
24:36Those strikes reportedly killed and injured dozens, including women and children.
24:41The latest violence comes despite earlier ceasefire efforts mediated by Qatar and Turkey.
24:49Media in Myanmar say military airstrikes killed more than 20 people on Sunday.
24:55Concerns are mounting over continuing violence after the contentious general election in December and January.
25:03Reports say the bombing hit a trading site in Magwe region, where locals exchanged goods with traders from neighboring Rakhine
25:12State.
25:13Myanmar's military, which seized power in a coup five years ago, is reportedly intensifying aerial attacks in Rakhine State,
25:22much of it controlled by the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic rebel group.
25:26Media say 17 people were killed in a separate market attack last Tuesday.
25:32UNICEF expressed alarm in a statement last week saying children were among the victims.
25:38It called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
25:44And that wraps up our bulletin.
25:46I'm Rosalind Debovalia in Bangkok.
26:16I'm Rosalind Debovalia in Bangkok.
26:18So thank you.
26:32ORGAN PLAYS
27:01Now let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
27:35And that's it for this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:37You can catch this program on our website.
27:40I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi.
27:42And I'm Yamasawa Rina.
27:43Thank you very much for watching.
27:45Please join us again tomorrow.
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