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00:12Welcome to Newsroom Tokyo. I'm Yamasawa Rina and I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki. Here are the headlines.
00:18Talks or no talks? Conflicting responses coming from the U.S. and Iran on a plan to end the
00:24conflict. Japan begins tapping into national oil reserves to stabilize the supply. It's expected
00:32to be the largest ever released when combined with private sector stockpiles. Social media
00:39use is on the rise among Japan's older generations and it's unlocking new creative interests.
00:47As the Iran conflict approaches its fifth week, Washington and Tehran have reportedly
00:54outlined their conditions for peace. But there's contradictory information about the kinds of
01:00discussions taking place and what's on the table. For now, the U.S. shows no signs of ending its
01:07offensive. Admiral Brad Cooper, chief of U.S. Central Command, said in a video posted Wednesday that his
01:14country's forces have struck more than 10,000 military targets in Iran. A U.S. Defense Department
01:21official tells NHK that airborne troops are being deployed to support military operations in Iran.
01:27They include a combat brigade. Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohamed Bagheir-Galibov has also been posting
01:34updates. He says there are indications that Iran's enemies are preparing to occupy one of its islands
01:41with support from a regional country. And he warns Iran will attack the vital infrastructure of that
01:47country if it takes any action. U.S. President Donald Trump claims he's holding talks with the Iranian
01:55side. U.S. and Israeli media say Washington sent a 15-point plan to Tehran via Pakistan to end the
02:02fighting. It reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and placing restrictions on missile programs.
02:11They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say
02:15it
02:16because they figure they'll be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us.
02:23But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denies any talks are happening. He has told state media his
02:30side received a message from the U.S. side through an intermediary a few days ago. But he says this
02:37doesn't constitute negotiation or dialogue, simply an exchange of a message. And he says Iran will
02:44continue to resist and protect the country. Reuters news agency quotes a senior Iranian official as
02:51saying Tehran is still reviewing the U.S. proposal aimed at ending the conflict. But a security official
02:58quoted by Iran's press TV on Wednesday said Tehran had dismissed the draft. The official also reportedly
03:05outlined Iran's own set of conditions. They include a complete halt to acts of aggression and
03:12assassinations, reparations, and the recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
03:20Japanese Prime Minister Takahichi Sanae spoke during a plenary session of the lower house on Thursday
03:27about her summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump last week.
03:31She said she has gained his understanding on the feasibility of dispatching Japanese vessels to the
03:38Strait of Hormuz.
03:41I had explained in detail that there are actions Japan can and cannot take within the framework of
03:48Japanese law. President Trump listened to me seriously and I had the impression that he understood my
03:54explanation. But she refused to elaborate saying that mutual trust is essential for the two leaders to
04:03continue to candidly engage. Takahichi also said that a remarkable result of the meeting was that she and
04:11Trump reaffirmed specific cooperation in a wide range of areas to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance to further
04:19the heights. She added that the two leaders shared the view that the situation in Iran needs to be
04:25de-escalated as soon as possible and that it is important to secure safe navigation in the Strait of
04:32Hormuz and stable energy supplies. On the issue of stable energy supplies, the Prime Minister said that the
04:41trade ministry and private businesses are working together to diversify their sources of petroleum
04:47products. She mentioned not only the United States but also Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada,
04:56Singapore, countries in Central Asia and South America.
05:09Global oil prices have been hovering at high levels amid the uncertainty in the Middle East.
05:16The Japanese government started releasing oil from national reserves on Thursday to stabilize supply.
05:22Yuko Fukushima brings us the details and much more from the world of business. Yuko.
05:26Thanks, Hiroaki. Well, the release is expected to be the largest ever when combined with private
05:31sector stockpiles. Those supplies started flowing early last week. The industry ministry says crude
05:37deliveries to Japan have fallen sharply since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. It's
05:43planning a major discharge from reserves to stabilize supply. Officials say national reserves will first be
05:50tapped in Imabari City, Ahime Prefecture in western Japan. All of the country's 11
05:56storage facilities will be accessed by the end of April. A total of about eight and a half million
06:02kiloliters will come into circulation. That's equivalent to roughly one month of consumption
06:07nationwide. The government plans to sell the oil to four major wholesalers through a direct
06:13no-bit contract for about 540 billion yen or over three billion dollars. It'll be refined into gasoline and other
06:21products and supplied to the market. Aside from this, the government will provide about five days' worth of
06:27consumption in cooperation with oil-producing countries that have stockpiles in Japan. That's set to happen by the
06:34end of the month. And next, we have some news related to electric vehicles. Well, two of Japan's best-known
06:41companies are pulling the plug on an EV they were jointly developing in the United States.
06:46The Afila One would have been the first EV model from the Sony-Honda mobility joint venture.
06:53It was to feature an AI agent and advanced driving support. The model was going to be built at a
06:59Honda
07:00plant in Ohio. It was set for a rollout in California this year with deliveries in Japan next year.
07:06The companies said on Wednesday they will now review the venture's business direction.
07:11Honda says it could post losses approaching 16 billion dollars in the current and next fiscal
07:18years as it rethinks its EV strategy. The companies say in light of Honda's reassessment,
07:25the venture would not have been able to draw on some of the assets and technologies Honda had planned to
07:31provide. Momentum in the EV market is slowing, partly due to policy shifts by the Trump administration.
07:37Other automakers are also taking a hard look at their EV strategies.
07:43The Japanese department store chain Sogo and Seibu is closing its outlet in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya
07:50neighborhood. The company says the Seibu outlet there will close up at the end of September.
07:56It's the last of the nation's big department stores still standing in the district.
08:01It first opened in 1968, not far from the train station and the famous Scramble Crossing.
08:08It soon became a landmark and people came pouring in, but in recent years,
08:12sales started falling off due to intense competition and diminishing customer traffic.
08:19Some shoppers were shocked by the news.
08:28I stopped by almost every time I come to Tokyo. I go there quite a lot.
08:37Really, I didn't know that. It's really sad.
08:42Seibu was the only department store remaining in Shibuya after the Tokyo department store packed up
08:47three years ago. Sogo and Seibu says it failed to extend contracts with the owners of the land
08:53and buildings over redevelopments in the area. The company is owned by the U.S. investment fund
08:59Fortress Investment Group. It's streamlining operations to renovate the flagship Seibu outlet
09:04in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district. And now to the markets. Well, in Tokyo, the Nikkei fell almost
09:11three-tenths of a percent since sold to take profit as the benchmark had risen more than 2,000 points
09:16during the previous two days. Some investors don't see talks between the U.S. and Iran going as the
09:23Trump administration has indicated. Well, the same cautious sentiment was seen throughout the region.
09:28The Shanghai Composite in China lost more than one percent. In Hong Kong, the Hansen was down
09:34almost 1.9 percent. Traders there were uncertain of where the conflict with Iran was headed.
09:40In South Korea, the Kaspi slumped at 3.2 percent, driven down by index heavyweights
09:47Samsung and SK Hynix. And that's what it is for this Thursday.
09:53Moving on, Japan's top court has decided its grand bench will sit to consider
09:58whether laws failing to recognize same-sex marriage violate the country's constitution.
10:04It is expected to result in the Supreme Court's first ruling on the matter.
10:10Six related lawsuits have been heard at courts across Japan.
10:14Five high courts previously ruled the provisions are unconstitutional.
10:19They said the current lack of recognition violates Article 14, which holds that all people are equal.
10:26They also cited Article 24, Section 2. This calls for laws to be enacted from the standpoint of
10:33individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes regarding marriage.
10:39Meanwhile, a Tokyo high court judge ruled last year,
10:43the Constitution does not guarantee same-sex couples freedom of marriage.
10:48All 15 justices of the Supreme Court's grand bench will deliberate the case.
10:54They convene when important decisions are necessary and are expected to deliver their ruling as early as next year.
11:03NHK has found the number of foreign children registered across Japan's municipalities has surged since 2015.
11:13According to Internal Affairs Ministry data, the number of foreign children up to
11:19the age of 14 rose by 117,000 to 299,000 as of January 1st of last year.
11:29At the same time, the number of Japanese children in that age range fell by 2.58 million.
11:37Of the more than 1,700 municipalities in Japan,
11:43985 reported an increase in foreign children, of which 45 percent said it had more than doubled.
11:51The western city of Osaka had an increase of over 6,000,
11:57Yokohama more than 5,000, and both Tokyo's Edogawa Ward and the city of Nagoya over 3,000.
12:06Arif Zaharan came to Japan from Pakistan last September.
12:11He now studies at an elementary school in Kanuma City, north of Tokyo, but still struggles with the language.
12:27I don't know a little bit about it.
12:33Schools in Kanuma City offer what are known as take-out classes where children can learn Japanese privately.
12:41They are provided by specialized teachers sent by Tochigi Prefecture.
12:47But one teacher is often responsible for multiple schools, and the city is concerned about growing costs.
12:57Teachers are providing detailed and warm guidance for a wide range of children,
13:03but it is difficult to provide more support.
13:08An expert on policies on foreign nationals says it is necessary to improve Japanese language instruction to promote integration.
13:20Next, social media use is on the rise among the older generations in Japan,
13:25and Instagram is providing particularly popular.
13:29Proving?
13:30Yeah, it's proving particularly popular.
13:32Yeah, sorry, providing particularly popular.
13:35According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,
13:39the number of people in their 60s and 70s who use the platform has tripled over the past five years.
13:46And some of the most enthusiastic users are even older.
13:51Our next report meets a man who's showing age is no barrier to being an Instagrammer.
14:02Yoshi may not fit the image of a typical Instagrammer.
14:12The resident of Central Japan takes videos of his hometown and posts them together with original haiku poems.
14:26He does all of the editing himself.
14:32I'm going to use a dissolve here so the wave footage gently fades in.
14:41A video of fallen leaves at a former school captures a sense of sadness.
14:48Another haiku conveys the melancholy of growing older
14:52and realizing he no longer remembers how to write the complicated characters for Rose.
14:59He goes out to shoot videos every two or three days.
15:03His favorite spot is a park with views over Lake Hamana.
15:28He goes out to shoot videos every two days.
15:38He goes out to shoot videos every two days.
15:38She goes out to shoot videos every two days.
15:40Yoshi's post captures the changing seasons.
15:42the taste of spring in the air. There's a reason why sharing videos of his
15:49hometown comes so naturally to him. In decades past he used to do PR work for
15:57the local government, taking photos and videos of the area. Two years ago a friend
16:04introduced him to Instagram. He saw it as a way to carry on sharing what he loves
16:09about his hometown. But first he had to learn some new tricks. He signed up for
16:17classes on how to use a smartphone. Not everything in the lessons stuck, but he
16:22never gave up. And through repeated practice he slowly got the hang of posting
16:27on Instagram. My neighborhood never seems to change because I'm seeing it every
16:34day. But shifting the perspective reveals new discoveries. It feels like there are
16:39still plenty of things worth shooting. I just have to look.
16:44Yoshi has now clocked up more than 400 posts. And his family are happy to see him
16:49thrive as an Instagrammer.
16:56You may be getting older, but you're getting born more passionate too, aren't you?
17:05I'm happy to hear that.
17:09Yoshi has no desire to go viral. He's just focusing on how to preserve a record of his life.
17:19Every day I'm using my smartphone to capture moments that serve as proof that I'm alive.
17:27I want to carry these traces of myself today and tomorrow. It's important work for me and
17:35something that I truly love doing.
17:41It's amazing to see how he's found his own voice on social media. You know, posting images with
17:47haiku is a really unique approach and I think a lot of people would appreciate his style.
17:52Right. It's wonderful to have something that brings you a sense of fulfillment no matter how old you are.
17:59Right. And for Yoshi, it was Instagram, but it could be anything.
18:04Right. Right.
18:05Having something you enjoy can make life feel that much more special.
18:09Absolutely.
18:12And move on. Now let's go to Tratira Khao-san in our
18:16Bangkok studio for stories making headlines across the Asia Pacific.
18:22Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Min Chin has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
18:29The two sides plan to work together in areas such as energy, including oil and gas.
18:36Vietnam state media says the leaders agreed on Wednesday to designate priority areas for cooperation.
18:43These include energy sectors as well as science, technology and infrastructure.
18:50Vietnam is facing the risk of energy shortages and oil supply disruptions due to the Iran conflict.
18:58The Southeast Asian country imports much of its crude from the Middle East.
19:03The bilateral talks come after the two countries agreed on Monday to build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
19:11Putin reportedly pledged to have the agreement swiftly implemented.
19:16Vietnamese state media says Prime Minister Chin affirmed the importance of friendship between the two countries.
19:23He also invited Putin to visit Vietnam and the Russian leader accepted.
19:30Australia's government says it is blocking Iranians with temporary visas from entering the country for six months.
19:37The measure went into effect starting Thursday.
19:42Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced the move in a statement on Wednesday.
19:47It says the conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some Iranians may be unable or unlikely to depart
19:56when their visas expire.
19:58The measure reportedly blocks more than 7,000 people already with tourist visas from entering the country.
20:06It does not apply to some, including spouses of Australian citizens or Iranian parents of children under 18 currently in
20:15the country.
20:15The move comes after seven members of the Iranian women's soccer team were offered asylum by the Australian government.
20:25But five of them changed their minds and have returned to Iran.
20:29Burke said that the bloc was a move to protect the integrity and sustainability of the Australian migration system.
20:38On the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, devastating rains last November triggered deadly floods and mudslides that killed over 1
20:48,200 people across three provinces.
20:52Many residents are still facing hardship from damage to the land and the impact of the disaster on the economy.
21:00Four months after the downpours, Ache province in the northern part of Sumatra is still reeling from the damage.
21:09The floods have also caused supply chain disruptions, leading to food shortages and a sharp rise in prices.
21:16Tensions in the Middle East are also believed to be contributing to the situation.
21:22This orphanage is one facility that has been severely affected by the economic turmoil.
21:27It needs to feed about 30 growing children.
21:31Staff are managing as best they can by adding cheaper ingredients to bulk up its meal portions.
21:37The orphanage relies almost entirely on donations to keep it running.
21:42But many of its donors have also been affected by the disaster.
21:45A drop in income is making it difficult to take in new children.
21:53If the current situation continues, our orphanage could be forced to close.
21:58I really hope that does not happen.
22:01The disaster is also impacting students in the province.
22:06Sharif Mourana is a university student whose dream is to work for a food company.
22:12However, his parents' rice paddies and farmland were buried under landslides,
22:18and they are no longer able to provide sufficient financial support.
22:23Sharif now finds himself short of the funds needed to complete his education.
22:30I had planned to graduate this year, obtain my qualifications and work in the food industry.
22:37But now, I'm unable to pay for even the costs required to get those qualifications.
22:47To get some crucial help, Sharif is turning to a national vocational training center for working adults.
22:54In a new initiative, the center is giving students like him free assistance in finding a part-time job.
23:02Prospective participants are told that, over the course of several days,
23:06the training program will teach them practical skills to become part-time workers.
23:11These skills could include barista work or machine maintenance.
23:15Depending on the field, students can obtain government-recognized certifications as well as job placements.
23:25Industries in Ache are very limited, so finding work requires considerable effort.
23:31This training program allows participants to continue their studies
23:35while helping them supplement their own income and that of their families.
23:43I'm interested to work as a barista and want to obtain the certification offered here.
23:50Rather than putting my dream on hold, I want to work through any difficulties I face,
23:57earn money for my living expenses, and complete my studies.
24:03With training on the cards and the prospect of part-time work to follow,
24:08Sharif is determined to take his future into his own hands.
24:15And that wraps up our bulletin. I'm Kha Chira Kalsan in Bangkok.
24:29Now it's time for a look at world weather with our meteorologist, Yumi Hirano.
24:34A storm system is moving across northern Africa to the Middle East, affecting parts of Egypt.
24:44Severe storms lashed Kaila on Wednesday, dumping a month's worth of rain in a single day.
24:50Thunder roared in the gloomy skies over the empty streets, giving the city a whole different scene.
24:57In between spells of the downpours, boards and trees could be seen amidst the strong winds.
25:04This rare sight prompted the government to close schools for two days.
25:10Now the system is bringing intense rainfall to the Middle East.
25:14A heavy rain warning is in effect in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
25:19There is also a risk of thundershowers and gusty winds.
25:23The storm will shift toward Iran by Friday.
25:27Now moving to Australia.
25:29A severe tropical cyclone was just upgraded to Category 4 on Thursday.
25:35The storm is expected to approach Western Australia and make landfall over the weekend.
25:40The biggest concern is strong winds.
25:43More than 270 km per hour are possible, potentially causing power outages and infrastructure damage.
25:52Finally, across East Asia, a stationary front is lingering along southern China, and a low pressure system is bringing widespread
26:00showers to eastern and northern Japan.
26:04The rain is expected to taper off as the system moves away from Japan, but showers are still likely in
26:10southern China on Friday.
26:12Wet weather is also expected in Chongqing and Taipei.
26:18The high in Beijing will drop to 20, but it's still much warmer than usual.
26:23Sunny skies will return to Tokyo, but there is a slight chance of evening showers.
26:29That's it for now.
26:30Have a nice day.
26:32Have a nice day.
27:01Have a nice day.
27:35And that's all for this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:38You can catch this program on our website.
27:40I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki.
27:41And I'm Yamasawa Rina.
27:43Thank you very much for watching.
27:44Please join us again tomorrow.
27:58Ghanaian Kartman.
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