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Newsroom Tokyo 2026 03 12 Episode 3 Engsub
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00:12Welcome to Newsroom Tokyo. I'm Yamasawa Rina and I'm Raja Pradhan. Here are the headlines.
00:17A tanker goes up in flames after being attacked in the Persian Gulf as the conflict in the Middle East
00:23continues to widen.
00:25Countries around the Asia-Pacific are feeling the effects of the disruption to global oil supplies as they struggle to
00:33mitigate the impact of soaring fuel prices.
00:36And 15 years after the devastating tsunami that struck northeastern Japan, a mother and father refuse to give up hope
00:43of finding their missing child.
00:47American and Israeli forces are continuing their attacks on Iran and Iranian forces are fighting back.
00:54Now, more commercial ships in the Persian Gulf have been attacked in what may have been Iranian retaliation.
01:02A British marine organization says two tankers were attacked Wednesday off southern Iraq.
01:07Reuters news agency reports the attack killed one crew member.
01:11It says an investigation by Iraqi authorities found the ships had been hit by small boats laden with explosives.
01:18Sources say the boats appeared to be Iranian.
01:22Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines says one of its container ships has also been damaged.
01:28It says crew members on the O.N.E. Majesty heard an impact Wednesday, then found two holes at the
01:36stern.
01:36The ship was about 110 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz.
01:40It can sail on its own, but cannot currently leave the Persian Gulf.
01:45No injuries have been reported.
01:47The crew are all safe.
01:48The company says it's investigating whether the ship was attacked.
01:53France says the G7 leaders are considering providing escorts for ships in the Middle East.
02:00Yuko Fukushima from our business team joins us now.
02:03Yes, France released a statement after the G7 leaders held an online summit meeting on Wednesday.
02:09The country currently serves as chair of the Group of Seven Nations.
02:13The statement says the leaders agreed to coordinate efforts to bring about the restoration of freedom of navigation in the
02:20region.
02:20It goes on to say work is underway to explore the possibility of escorting ships once security conditions are met.
02:28It adds that the G7 encourages energy production in countries that can replace block capacity.
02:34It also stresses that the leaders reaffirm their determination to maintain sanctions against Russia.
02:41In a related move, the International Energy Agency is planning the largest ever release of oil from its strategic reserves.
02:49It's an attempt to stabilize global prices, which have surged in recent weeks following U.S. and Israeli strikes on
02:56Iran.
02:57The IEA is made up of 32 members, including Japan, the U.S., and a number of European countries.
03:03They say they'll release 400 million barrels.
03:07The last time they tapped into their reserves was following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
03:12The IEA says oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have plunged more than 90 percent since the attacks began.
03:21The most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through
03:30the Strait of Hormuz.
03:32The agency says it's watching developments closely.
03:36Well, the conflict in the Middle East has been shaking up businesses around the world.
03:41But even before it began, global trade had been seriously disrupted.
03:46Middle powers like Japan and those in Europe have had to rethink their roles in an environment that has changed
03:52dramatically.
03:53Right since he returned to power last year, Donald Trump has been imposing tariffs on goods from around the world.
04:00Japan, for its part, agreed to invest heavily in the U.S. in exchange for lower levies.
04:06And the U.S. is not alone in changing the rules.
04:09Just last month, China said it will ban the export of items with both civilian and military applications to 20
04:16Japanese businesses and groups.
04:18I had a talk with Adam Ward, a leading expert on geoeconomics.
04:22He began by explaining how middle-sized countries and their companies are rethinking their trade relationships with the big powers.
04:31Well, to a large degree, they'll have to take their cue from their respective governments.
04:36There is a debate going on in the EU as well as in Japan about what kind of balances to
04:41strike in trade relationships between the U.S. and China.
04:44I think, speaking from a European perspective, there's much greater attention given to the need to de-risk both of
04:52those trade relationships
04:53and a greater sensitivity to over-dependence and over-reliance in critical sectors, in technology, in AI and computing, that
05:02there's a desire to ameliorate.
05:04The European Union is thinking very much of trying to sustain trade relations on a cooperative basis, but not to
05:12expose themselves to vulnerabilities.
05:14German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited China last month and met with President Xi Jinping.
05:20They pledged to strengthen their economic cooperation.
05:24British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Beijing in January to firm up ties, including trade.
05:30Ward says it's not just about governments.
05:33Multinational companies need to do a lot more than just manufacture things and sell them to foreign markets.
05:41Companies, I think, need to equip themselves as best they can with an awareness, a situational awareness of what is
05:47going on in the world
05:48and to be conscious of the fact that there are often transmission effects from the geopolitical to the economic that
05:56previously would not have been anticipated.
05:58So the corporate strategy function has become more important, the legal function in terms of compliance risks, in terms of
06:07sensitivity to abrupt changes in regulation, awareness of that needs to grow.
06:11And corporate leaderships, CEOs, no matter how big or small the company, really need to develop a kind of an
06:18international perspective and to be conscious of their potential vulnerabilities.
06:24So how do you envision this new global trade system to be like?
06:30Well, I think it might almost be too much to describe it as a system.
06:34You know, in the international sphere, we've moved from a rules-based international order to a deals-based international disorder.
06:43And those deals are often very transient and temporary.
06:47So I think we have to brace ourselves for a continued period of turbulence in terms of trade relations as
06:54well as geopolitical relations.
06:56There's no way around that. Companies can't control what happens in the world outside, but they have to think hard
07:03about resilience, risk mitigation and other strategies such as that.
07:08Is there any possibility that this free trade, you know, agreements or a system could be built away from the
07:17U.S. or China, you know, among European and Japanese and Japan?
07:22I think there's an appetite among different countries that are like-minded, have similar economic models, similar political models, to
07:29explore that to the greatest degree possible.
07:32The European Union is looking to diversify its trade relationships in Latin America with Mercosur, in the Asia-Pacific region
07:40with India and with others.
07:43And they're trying to reshape the trading system in that sense.
07:47At the same time, it has to be admitted that the institutions underpinning the trading order, like the World Trade
07:53Organization, are still in a state of paralysis.
07:57They are not decisive in terms of dispute, arbitration or management or prevention.
08:02And in rule-setting even, it's difficult to arrive at a new consensus.
08:09That is not going to change quickly.
08:11But it is possible for countries who think alike to act alike in terms of trade policy.
08:18Howard says the middle powers may be able to unite to create a new trade order, but it will take
08:24a great deal of time and effort, no matter what path they follow.
08:28And now to the markets.
08:30Well, currency traders were busy as the yen weakened against the dollar to a level not seen in one and
08:35a half months.
08:35That was when the Japanese and U.S. authorities were seen to have conducted what are known as rate checks
08:40to calm the rapid slide of the yen.
08:43Investors are worried the conflict in Iran will not end anytime soon.
08:47And here's how the pair is trading now.
08:50And to stocks.
08:51Well, the key benchmark in Tokyo, the Nikita 2.5, fell more than 1%.
08:55Traders sold as they worried the oil supply will not be enough.
09:00That was even as the IEA announced a major release of reserves.
09:03And the sentiment was shared by the rest of Asia.
09:07Some are concerned higher oil prices will stoke inflation.
09:11This comes as the WTI Global Oil Index again jumped above $100 a barrel.
09:16The Hansen in Hong Kong has slipped 7 tenths of a percent.
09:20And the Sensex in India was down more than 1%.
09:24And that's the news for this Thursday.
09:28The New York Times reports the U.S. military was at fault in a deadly strike on a school in
09:35southern Iran.
09:36It says a military investigation indicates the school was targeted based on outdated information.
09:44Iranian officials say the February 28th strike on an elementary school in Hormosgan province killed more than 160 people, mostly
09:54children.
09:56The report on Wednesday said preliminary findings suggest it was the result of a targeting mistake by the U.S.
10:04military.
10:05President Trump initially claimed the attack was carried out by Iran.
10:21The report says the U.S. military was conducting strikes on an Iranian military base adjacent to the school.
10:28But it says officers at U.S. Central Command created coordinates using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
10:39In response to an inquiry by NHK, a Central Command official said it would be inappropriate to comment while the
10:48incident is under investigation.
10:52The repercussions from the conflict in the Middle East are increasingly being felt around the world.
10:59Rosalind de Vavalia in our Bangkok studio tells us about the impact the conflict is having on the Asia-Pacific
11:05region.
11:08A Thai-flagged cargo ship was attacked on Wednesday near the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a rescue operation.
11:15Twenty of the 23 Thai crew members on board the vessel, Mayuri Nari, were rescued, but three remain missing.
11:23The Tasnim News Agency, which has links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the ship was attacked as it
11:30tried to pass through the strait in defiance of warnings by the IRGC.
11:34The Thai Navy says it's working with its Omami counterpart in the rescue operation and the repatriation of the Thai
11:42crew members.
11:46The three are engineers responsible for the machinery.
11:52Today, the Navy will expedite coordination to bring them safely back.
12:00Thailand's foreign ministry says it's requested a clarification from Iran's ambassador in Bangkok.
12:07The ministry says Thailand's foreign minister will join a special ASEAN video conference on Friday to discuss the situation in
12:15the Middle East.
12:16Countries around the Asia-Pacific are struggling to mitigate the impact of soaring fuel prices amid the conflict in the
12:24Middle East.
12:24The Philippine government has announced a fuel subsidy for public transportation drivers starting next week.
12:31The drivers of tricycle taxis in Metro Manila can expect to receive 5,000 pesos, or 84 U.S. dollars.
12:39The government plans to later expand the subsidy program nationwide and to include other vehicles such as jeepney buses.
12:51I used to earn 1,000 pesos, but now it's only 500. I'm really feeling it.
12:57Thailand is also bracing for an oil shortage.
13:00The country's Jula-Longkong University has announced energy-saving measures that include setting the temperature of air conditioners in its
13:09facilities at no lower than 26 degrees Celsius
13:12and encouraging people to use the stairs instead of elevators to move between floors.
13:18It's also considering having staff work remotely.
13:24There are some measures that we'll have to adjust to, things we've never done before, so at first I was
13:29a little surprised.
13:30To cool down in Thailand, the easiest thing is to have a cold drink.
13:35For their part, airlines around the region have announced fare hikes and the suspension of flights.
13:41Australia's Qantas Airways says it'll increase the price of international tickets starting this week.
13:47Air New Zealand has announced it'll cancel about 1,100 domestic and international flights, roughly 5% of its total,
13:56from next Monday to May.
13:59Thai Airways also plans to raise fares by 10 to 15%, while Air India is increasing its fuel surcharges.
14:08And that wraps up our bulletin. I'm Rosalind de Bovalia in Bangkok.
14:12Alright, thank you very much for that, Rosalind.
14:14Next, Wednesday marked 15 years since a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the northeastern coast of Japan.
14:21The confirmed death toll from the Great East Japan earthquake stands at 19,711,
14:29including those who died from complications caused by the disaster.
14:33Another 2,519 people are still missing.
14:38Tonight, we meet a mother and father who refused to give up hope of finding their child.
14:44NHK World's Takaya Natsuko has the story.
14:51Every year, on March 11th, Suzuki Miho prepares her two children's favorite foods.
15:13On this day, 15 years ago, Miho and her husband, Yoshiaki, said goodbye to their children as they left for
15:21school.
15:34When the earthquake struck, Kento and Hana were at Okawa Elementary School, about 4 kilometers inland.
15:43Around 50 minutes later, a tsunami engulfed the school.
15:4874 students and 10 teachers were killed.
15:52Kento's body was soon recovered.
15:55But Hana is one of four children still missing.
16:00Ever since, her parents have returned to the area again and again to search for her.
16:23In the months after the disaster, Miho wrote letters to her missing daughter.
16:30Hana, I want to hear your voice again.
16:33I want to see your smile.
16:36I miss you.
16:40Hana, I'm sorry.
16:42I haven't been able to find you.
16:47There have been small breakthroughs.
16:49A year after the tsunami, Miho found a torn jacket.
16:54Kento had been wearing it that day.
16:57In 2019, she discovered the missing piece at another location.
17:04But Hana still hasn't been found.
17:23For years, police and local authorities joined the search.
17:27But now, those efforts have been scaled back.
17:45For years, Miho had been able to find the missing daughter's remains of another family's missing daughter were finally identified
17:50and returned.
17:52The news strengthened Miho's resolve.
17:58Kento had been able to find the remains of another family's missing daughter.
18:00That was his dad who lives in United Kingdom.
18:04Kento had been reborn before tomorrow, Deanna Fon.
18:05I thought this was sorry that…
18:07When I said goodbye, Yohito would do to say goodbye, Herm jet.
18:14Even though they'd be the real, its real to us this day.
18:21After theinha was retrieved by Daichi 2, a night sü
18:23Go get along, Pana-san!
18:27One more time.
18:29Hana!
18:31Hana-chan, I like the one.
18:34Wow, that's delicious!
18:36Hana-chan!
18:39Do you want to make the winters?
18:44One more time.
18:45Hana-chan, geto-kun, let's eat together.
18:49Everyone is going to eat it.
18:51Hana-chan is going to drink it.
18:53I would like to go to the ground and I would like to go to the ground.
19:02I would like to go to the ground and I would like to go to the ground.
19:08I would like to go to the ground and get rid of that.
19:15We are joined now by NHK World's Takaya Natsuko, who has been covering this story.
19:21I'm honestly lost for words when I think about all that the Suzuki's have gone through over the past 15
19:28years.
19:29So you were with them when they offered the lunch boxes to the sea for their children, right?
19:35Is there anything you can share about how it felt at that moment?
19:40Yes. The beach is a place where many memories come back for the family.
19:46It was where they used to enjoy picnics together.
19:49When Miho and Yoshiaki called out to their children, they didn't look sad.
19:56In fact, they had smiles on their faces.
20:01Hearing Kento and Hana's stories, as a parent myself, left me speechless too at the same time.
20:07So Miho and Yoshiaki, they've been searching for their missing daughter for 15 years now.
20:12You talked to them directly. Could you tell me what's kept them going?
20:17After the disaster, Miho quit her job so she could focus full time on looking for Hana.
20:24And they did not just rely on searches conducted by the police and coast guard and local government.
20:31They have spent every spare moment combing the areas around the school as well as river banks and coastlines where
20:40the tsunami might have carried her body.
20:42They continued even after the authorities decided to dial back searches.
20:48And in recent years, specialists in ground penetrating later joined the search along with many volunteers.
20:56So the support circle has gotten bigger and the searches have become more sophisticated.
21:03But still, they have found no trace of Hana.
21:07Then came the news of the girl whose remains were returned to her family finally 14 years and 7 months
21:14after the disaster.
21:16For Miho and Yoshiaki, that was a lay of hope.
21:20And Miho told me how excited she felt when she heard the news.
21:24So now they have a hope.
21:26But all the same, it must take an enormous toll on them both to keep searching for their daughter for
21:33so long, right?
21:34Yeah, exactly.
21:35They told me that they live in the constant knowledge that their children will never come back.
21:4115 years have been passed now.
21:45And Miho and Yoshiaki are now older now.
21:48And the town has changed as well.
21:50But in photos, the children have remained the same.
21:54Never easing, frozen in time.
21:57They said not a day goes by that they don't remember this painful fact.
22:03At the same time, they keep asking if their children's death could have been prevented.
22:09Yes, experts have said what happened at Okawa Elementary School was avoidable.
22:16So that's cool.
22:16Many lives could have been saved, right, if they had evacuated the students.
22:20Yeah.
22:21In 2019, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that ordered the local governments to compensate families of the children who
22:29died.
22:30The ruling said that school had failed to prepare enough before the disaster.
22:35It sent a strong message to educators across the country.
22:40But the Suzuki's still wonder whether schools today would be able to keep students safe if the same thing happened
22:49again.
22:50That's why they continue to speak out to make sure their children did not die in vain.
22:57And their fight for accountability and change can be heartbreaking.
23:03But they say they will never give up.
23:06Thank you very much for this story, Natsuko.
23:08Thank you so much.
23:10Now, a group of people in Indonesia's Aceh province has attended a ceremony to remember the victims of Japan's 2011
23:17disaster.
23:19Aceh suffered the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and people at the memorial pledged to pass on memories
23:27of the two disasters to future generations.
23:31About 70 people took part in the event, including university students and Japanese officials.
23:37Tommy Mulya-Hasan has been involved in relief and reconstruction efforts in both countries.
23:42He emphasized the importance of sharing the lessons from the two catastrophes.
23:49If we don't pass down the memory of these disasters, future generations will grow up without knowing the true danger
23:58of tsunamis.
24:01The participants then wrote messages in Japanese on paper cranes made by local students in a show of solidarity with
24:08people in Japan.
24:11I hope the survivors' wounds will heal soon.
24:14It's important to remember what happened in the past so as to know how to respond in the future.
24:21The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami left more than 160,000 people in Indonesia dead or missing.
24:29Communities in both countries that have experienced similar disasters have been helping each other to better prepare for any future
24:36tragedies.
24:47We shift gears now to a check on the world weather.
24:50String storms, including tornadoes, are hitting parts of the United States.
24:54And our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details in our world weather report.
25:00Powerful storms swept from the deep south to the northeast, bringing wind gusts and tornadoes.
25:06People in parts of Indiana have been experiencing disruptions.
25:15Violent storms spawned deadly tornadoes across Indiana on Wednesday.
25:20The twisters damaged many homes and businesses.
25:24A local resident who endured the storms said that they took cover in the bathtub.
25:30Several power lines were damaged, leaving more than 20,000 people without electricity.
25:38The system is expected to stretch along the east coast on Thursday.
25:42There is a risk of thundershowers, dusty winds and tornadoes, especially from Florida to North Carolina.
25:50On the other side of the continent, moisture from the Pacific is bringing heavy rain to the northwest with possible
25:58flooding.
25:59Heavy snow is also likely in higher elevations.
26:03Showers expected in Seattle and Vancouver.
26:06The temperature in New York will be 18, but temperatures will drop down in the afternoon with some snow expected
26:14later in the day.
26:15Sunny skies are likely in L.A. with a high of 34.
26:20A heat advisory is in effect through Friday.
26:24Now moving to Japan.
26:25A slow-moving low pressure system is bringing snowfall to parts of Hokkaido on Thursday.
26:31Wet and heavy snow could lead to a risk of avalanches.
26:36Another storm is bringing intense rain showers to southern Kyushu, but it's expected to move away from the mainland on
26:44Friday.
26:45So cloudy weather is likely in Tokyo with a high of only 11, but warm spring conditions are expected to
26:52come back over the weekend.
26:54That's it for now. Have a nice day.
26:56Why are we here?
27:35and that's all for this edition of newsroom tokyo don't forget you can always catch our program on
27:40our website as well i'm raja pradhan and i'm yamasawa arena thank you very much for watching
27:45please join us again tomorrow
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