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Newsroom Tokyo 2026 03 30
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00:10Welcome to Newsroom Tokyo. I'm Kumei Ayako. Glad to be with you.
00:15And I'm Yoshikawa Ryuchi. Here are the headlines.
00:19The United States sends mixed messages about the conflict in Iran.
00:24We asked an expert about Tehran's options.
00:28Heightened tensions over the Middle East hit stocks in Tokyo.
00:33And we take a closer look at Indonesia's ban on ex-Instagram and other social media platforms for kids.
00:42First, Iran and mixed messages from the United States.
00:46President Donald Trump insists negotiations are going extremely well.
00:52But Washington has also dispatched a massive warship and paratroopers could soon be on the way.
01:00I just have lots of alternators. We have tremendous numbers of ships over there. We don't need them all.
01:07Trump did not say if he plans to deploy ground troops in Iran.
01:12He says Tehran has allowed 20 ships carrying oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
01:18He called the decision a sign of respect from the regime.
01:23Iran's state-run media quoted Parliamentary Speaker Muhammad Bagar Galibaf as saying Iranian forces are ready to respond to any
01:32U.S. ground troops.
01:34He accuses enemy forces of secretly planning a ground invasion while saying they want to negotiate.
01:43Iran and Israel continued to exchange fire on Sunday.
01:47In Israel, media say missile parts have fallen in the south, causing a fire.
01:53Israeli military officials say they have ordered massive airstrikes in Tehran.
01:58A factory that makes parts for ballistic missiles was reportedly among the targets.
02:05A television studio in Tehran was also hit.
02:09The local bureau of Qatar-based outlet Al Arabi suffered damage during a live broadcast.
02:16Ten people were reportedly injured.
02:19Al Jazeera quoted Iran's health ministry as saying more than 2,000 people have been killed and over 26,000
02:28injured so far.
02:29The death toll reportedly includes over 200 children.
02:35Pakistan's foreign minister said on Sunday that his country would be honored to host meaningful talks between the U.S.
02:43and Iran in the coming days.
02:45The Associated Press says there was no immediate response from the U.S. or Iran, adding it is unclear whether
02:52any dialogue would be direct or indirect.
02:57For more, we're joined by Sakhanashi Sachi.
03:01She's an expert on contemporary Iranian politics at the Institute of Energy Economics Japan.
03:07Thank you for joining us.
03:09Let's start with those mixed messages.
03:11President Trump says talks are already going well, but the U.S. is also sending warships and more troops.
03:18What must Iran be thinking?
03:21I think Iran is very skeptical about the U.S. true intention.
03:27And I think Iran is thinking that they can never trust the United States again because they were attacked during
03:36the negotiation as many times as twice.
03:38First time was June last year, and this time the end of February this year.
03:44They were in the midst of the negotiation with the United States, but they were attacked suddenly.
03:49So I think they are thinking that same thing, similar thing might happen this time as well.
03:53So if it is hard for Iran to trust the U.S., how likely is it that Iran may actually
04:00enter serious discussions with the U.S.?
04:03I think Iran knows that they need serious discussion in order to end this war because the whole point of
04:11this operation done by Iran is to end this war.
04:15But if the United States does not stop attacking Iran, Iran will eventually need to negotiate.
04:23But maybe they are thinking that it is not now.
04:26They will wait until they put as much pressure on the United States so that they will stop fighting against
04:34Iran.
04:35But maybe it won't happen, and at that time, Iran will decide that they need to negotiate.
04:40So sort of in line with what you just said about Iran having a difficult time trusting the U.S.,
04:46one top Iranian official accuses the U.S. of showing a willingness to talk while secretly planning a grand invasion.
04:55What do you think would happen if the U.S. did send troops to Iran?
05:00I think they would try to fight back as much as they can to take back any land that was
05:07taken by the U.S. troops.
05:09Because nobody likes to be occupied by foreign troops.
05:14And even the people of Iran that are strongly against the current government in Iran will support Iranian effort,
05:23the military effort to take back any land taken by the United States.
05:29Well, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtava Khamenei, is yet to appear in public.
05:35Could you tell us more about who is making decisions in Tehran?
05:39Well, actually, we don't know much about that.
05:42I mean, we don't really know who is making decisions in Iran at the moment,
05:46because most of the political elites in Iran have been eliminated by U.S. and Israeli attack during the past
05:55month.
05:56So we don't really know who is making decisions.
05:59But I think it is a group of elites of the Islamic Republic who are trying their best to survive
06:06as a political system.
06:09So do you think that Iran is hiding on purpose, keeping their identities hidden?
06:17I mean, the current decision makers, do you think they are doing that on purpose or not?
06:21Well, that is also possible because I think as soon as it is clear who is leading the decision making
06:31process in Iran today,
06:33Israel might come again to assassinate that person. And I don't think it would be good for Iran.
06:38So it is possible that they are intentionally hiding the identity of the decision makers in Iran today.
06:46But it is also possible that all famous decision making people are now gone.
06:52And we just don't know who are the remaining elites inside the Islamic Republic.
06:57And you sort of touched upon it a little bit. But what about the Iranian people?
07:03Many are not fully aligned with the hardline regime, right?
07:09Well, I think the Iranian people, the priority of them at the moment is try to protect their life as
07:17much as possible from the attacks from the US,
07:20attacks by the US and Israel, and also from the government of Iran, because they are under attack.
07:27And I mean, they were under attack in January by their own government.
07:31But now they are under attack by Israel and the United States.
07:35So I think their priority now is to protect themselves by any attacks, by whoever it may be.
07:42So if their priority is the never surrender attitude, if you may, but actually to put that into practice,
07:51how much actual, you know, firepower do they does Iran have left to keep up the fighting and also to
07:59maintain their, you know, effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz?
08:03Yes, it is the official position of the Islamic Republic never to surrender.
08:08And we actually don't know much about how much missiles or how much drones they still have in their stockpile.
08:16But I think they can keep fighting, even though their missiles have run out, because if they have like drones,
08:26they can effectively disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
08:30And they, the tankers that want to go through the Strait of Hormuz will find it dangerous to do that.
08:38And then it will end up as an effective blockade, and it won't improve the situation.
08:44So Iran can keep putting pressure on President Trump.
08:49And finally, many countries are extremely concerned about their energy supplies.
08:55And Japan is trying to transport oil via the Red Sea.
08:58But can that be done now that the Houthi rebels in Yemen have entered the conflict?
09:04Yes, I think the Houthis can disrupt shipping in the southern part of the Red Sea.
09:09But Japan can still use the northern part of the Red Sea.
09:14I mean, if the ships go out of the Suez Canal, and then go through the Mediterranean, and go all
09:20around Africa,
09:23and then we can still import Middle Eastern oil through all the routes around Africa.
09:32But I think it will take much longer time, and it will be much more expensive,
09:37and it will affect the daily lives of ordinary people in Japan.
09:41So it will be very difficult for Japan in that situation.
09:46Well, thank you for your insight.
09:59The conflict in the Middle East is hitting businesses and jolting financial markets.
10:05Let's bring in Yanaka Marie from our biz team for more.
10:09Let's start with the markets.
10:11Tokyo shares tumbled on Monday.
10:13Concerns are growing that the Middle East conflict could drag on,
10:17driving crude oil prices even higher and damaging the global economy.
10:22The Nikkei 225 ended the day nearly 2.8% lower at 51,885.
10:30The sell-off was across the board, with the index giving up more than 5% at one stage.
10:36The benchmark has retreated by almost 12% since setting an all-time closing high on February 27th.
10:44That was the day before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
10:48Now, the Iran conflict isn't just disrupting oil shipments.
10:52It's also cutting Japan's automakers off from lucrative markets in the Middle East.
10:57The situation is forcing them to develop strategies to adapt.
11:02Toyota and Nissan slashed production this month.
11:06Honda may also reduce exports to the region from plants in Japan, the U.S. and Thailand,
11:12to compensate its raising output for those markets instead.
11:17Toyota Motor President Sato Koji is also chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
11:24He recently said that taking a route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope is another way to reach the Middle
11:30East markets.
11:31This avoids the Strait of Hormuz near Iran.
11:34The association has described the Middle East as a vital market.
11:39It says Japan shipped about 800,000 vehicles to the region in 2025.
11:44That's an export value of about 2.4 trillion yen, or nearly 15 billion dollars.
11:53Meanwhile, analysts are waiting to see the impact of the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices on corporate confidence
12:01in the upcoming Tankan survey.
12:03The Bank of Japan is due to release the results on Wednesday.
12:07The survey of about 9,000 companies took place in March after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks
12:14on Iran.
12:15Ten research firms are already projecting what the survey is likely to show.
12:19First, for the headline index of business sentiment among major manufacturers.
12:26Six anticipate a slight improvement from the previous survey in December.
12:30Two predict sentiment will be unchanged, while two expect it will be worse.
12:36However, all ten firms expect sentiment to deteriorate over the coming three months.
12:41That's due to the spike in crude oil prices and the potential knock-on effect for supplies of petrochemicals and
12:48related products.
12:50Last, a check on stock markets in the Asia-Pacific.
12:54Many investors shared those concerns over higher oil prices.
12:59Seoul's Kospi fell by a similar margin to Tokyo's Nikkei, losing close to 3%.
13:04Both Japan and South Korea import the majority of their oil from the Middle East.
13:10Major benchmarks in the rest of the region weren't hit quite as hard.
13:13And that's the biz for this Monday.
13:24Social media's influence on children has been increasingly scrutinized around the world.
13:33Last week, a jury in the U.S. found Meta and Google responsible for the suffering of a 20-year
13:39-old woman who says she became addicted to social media as a child.
13:44In December, Australia became the first country to impose a sweeping social media ban for children under 16.
13:53Similar regulations are being considered in several European countries as well as Malaysia.
13:58Now, Indonesia is tackling the issue.
14:03Since Saturday, it has banned anyone younger than 16 from having social media accounts on eight platforms including X, YouTube
14:12and Instagram.
14:16Joining us now is NHK's Jakarta Bureau Chief Yoshimoto Akinori, who's been covering the story in Jakarta.
14:23So, Akinori, the measures, they seem quite strict. What is behind the move?
14:32The Indonesian government says it is increasingly concerned children are being exposed to risks in the digital space.
14:39A research firm says the number of social media users in the country increased by 26% to about 180
14:47million last year, more than 60% of the population.
14:51In response, the government has implemented these restrictions to protect children from potential cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
15:03How are people in Indonesia reacting to the move?
15:09Opinions appear to be divided. While talking to the people on the street, many parents supported the major, but some
15:16children voiced strong opposition.
15:21I'm sad because I cannot post videos anymore. Children need entertainment too and can gain a lot of knowledge from
15:30social media.
15:36Some experts say children need to learn appropriate social media use from an early age.
15:41They also said these restrictions could limit young people's ability to voice their opinions on government policies.
15:49So, what happens if the regulations are violated?
15:57The government says operators who do not comply will be subject to administrative measures, including fines and having their internet
16:05access blocked.
16:06But there are many social networking services beyond major platforms, and IT companies warned children may shift to less monitored
16:15sites or services that don't require log-ins.
16:19One parent said burning major platforms alone would not solve the problem.
16:26It's still not enough. Some children can still access social media through their parents' accounts, and their influence is unavoidable.
16:33The government needs to constantly remind parents and companies to be vigilant.
16:38We need to be closely watching what impact this ban on social media will have, and whether it will protect
16:46children in Indonesia as the government claims.
16:50Well, thank you, Akinori. That was NHK's Jakarta Bureau Chief, Yoshimoto Akinori reporting from Jakarta.
17:09And for more stories from the Asia-Pacific, we turn to Rosalinda Vabalia in Bangkok.
17:17Myanmar's junta chief has stepped down as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is expected to become president
17:24of the country.
17:25Min Angkaline was nominated as vice presidential candidate on Monday.
17:30Both houses of the parliament will then choose the country's president from the vice presidential candidates.
17:36The date for the vote has not been announced.
17:39Min Angkaline has headed the junta since leading the coup in 2021 that ousted an elected government.
17:46The military announced on Monday he's handed over his position to his close aide, Ye Win-woo, who's the chief
17:53of army.
17:54Pro-military camps hold more than 80% of Myanmar's parliamentary seats.
17:59This came after a recent controversial general election that excluded pro-democracy parties.
18:05The military claims the country is returning to civilian rule.
18:09But instability in Myanmar is expected to persist under the new administration,
18:14as fighting between pro-democracy forces, armed ethnic minorities and the military shows no sign of ending.
18:23People in India are celebrating the opening of a new international airport built near the capital, New Delhi,
18:30that's expected to become one of the country's largest.
18:33Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the opening ceremony for Noida International Airport.
18:39He said India is growing despite the crisis in the Middle East.
18:46From here, aircraft will fly all over the world.
18:51And simultaneously, this will become a symbol of the region's development.
19:02Phase one of the airport's construction was completed on Saturday with an investment of more than $1 billion from the
19:10government.
19:10There are still three more phases of construction.
19:13Upon completion, the airport will have five runways, a cargo terminal and an aircraft maintenance facility.
19:20It's projected to be able to serve 70 million people a year.
19:24Noida Airport is part of India's efforts to become a global hub for air travel.
19:30It's expected to create many jobs and boost economic growth.
19:34Passenger flights are scheduled to start around May.
19:37And that wraps up our bulletin.
19:39I'm Rosalind Dabovalia in Bangkok.
19:43The head of Japan's National Police Agency has called on officers to ramp up security at diplomatic missions.
19:51This follows an intrusion last week at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo.
19:58It's regrettable the intrusion occurred.
20:00It's unacceptable that such a thing happened.
20:03We need to live up to international trust and take thorough safety measures at diplomatic facilities to prevent a recurrence.
20:16NPA Commissioner General Kusunoki Yoshinobu met with about 70 officers from 12 prefectures that host foreign embassies and consulates general.
20:26This comes after a ground self-defense force member was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of trespassing at Chinese embassy
20:35compound in Tokyo.
20:37Investigative sources say Murata Kodai entered by climbing over a barbed wire fence from a neighboring building.
20:45They say he has admitted to the allegation telling investigators he arrived and looked around the site for about one
20:53hour before breaking in.
20:54At Monday's meeting, Kusunoki urged the officers to talk to embassy and consular officials and come up with concrete security
21:04plans.
21:04He also called on them to visit the missions in person to check where police officers are deployed and to
21:11monitor the progress of their measures.
21:14Kusunoki added the officers should not assume the diplomatic missions in their regions are safe just because there have been
21:22no intrusions yet.
21:25China's foreign ministry is imposing sanctions on a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
21:32Furia Keiji heads a cross-party group of lawmakers who promote exchanges with Taiwan.
21:41The ministry made the announcement on Monday.
21:45It says Furia has repeatedly visited Taiwan and colluded with independence forces.
21:51The sanctions include bans on entering China and transactions with organizations and individuals in the country.
21:59The ministry says the measures take immediate effect.
22:06We share fundamental values with the people of Taiwan, such as the rule of law, respect for basic human rights
22:11and democracy.
22:12I won't change my stance in the future.
22:16Furia says the sanctions will have no effect because he has no assets in China and has not been there
22:23in decades.
22:24He visited Taiwan in October and met with President Lai Chinta Furia, presented a letter from LDP President Takahichi Sanae,
22:35who became Japan's prime minister later that month.
22:38He made another trip earlier this month and once again met with Lai.
22:44A major Chinese airline has resumed flights between Beijing and Pyongyang for the first time in six years.
22:51The move comes after North Korea leader Kim Jong-un positioned tourism as a bigger part of his plans.
23:01Air China started operating the route again on Monday.
23:05It was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
23:09North Korea's state-run Air Koryo restarted flights between the two countries in 2023.
23:16China's foreign ministry said earlier this month that the resumption helps promote friendly exchanges.
23:23North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un said at the ruling Workers' Party Congress last month that he plans to promote
23:30tourism.
23:31The country opened a beach resort in the eastern city of Wonsan last year.
23:38Passenger train services connecting China and North Korea resumed on March 12th.
23:43But North Korea has not yet begun accepting Chinese tourists.
23:48The resumption of direct flights is expected to boost travel between the two countries.
23:54¶¶
23:56¶¶
24:25It's time for a look at world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh.
24:30Hello. For those of you who were able to go out over the weekend in Japan, it was dry
24:35to where we were able to see the cherry blossoms. Now, changes are on the way as we look at
24:41the
24:41bigger perspective across Northeast Asia. We have this low-pressure system that's pushing
24:45out of the Yangtze River region out of China, bringing some rain into South Korea and the
24:49western areas of Japan. And that will spread toward the east as we go throughout the day
24:54on Tuesday. And so for those of you hoping to catch the cherry blossoms later this week,
25:01just be forewarned that with the rain, some of it could be heavy, especially in a place
25:04like Shikoku. That could cause some of those blossoms to really start falling to the ground.
25:10So it's just that season where we get to see the flowers, but at the same time as the blossoms
25:14show up, the rain also becomes a part of the story as well. And that rain story does not
25:19end. More of the wet weather developing down to the southern areas of China as we go into
25:24Tuesday. Shanghai and Hong Kong looking at some rain. Seoul at 21. And Tokyo looking at
25:29the wet weather as we go through Tuesday. Speaking of some wet weather, real problems
25:35taking place over into Afghanistan. I want to show you some video that's coming out from
25:39the country. As a third of the provinces there were hit with heavy rain that led to deadly
25:45flooding and a landslide during the weekend. A spokesman for the National Disaster Management
25:49Authority reported that at least 17 people were killed. He added that roads, farms and businesses
25:54in western and central parts of the country were destroyed, affecting at least 530 families.
25:59Authorities are warning residents to stay away from rivers as more heavy rain is expected
26:03to spread into the eastern part of the country Monday. So yeah, we'll see over the next couple
26:08of days the rain pushing toward the east, maybe even some cold enough air into higher elevations
26:13to also bring some of the more winter-type precipitation. Back toward Europe, toward the west,
26:18we're seeing even more rain as a part of the story as a cold front sweeps on through. So
26:24we're talking about rain sending from Stockholm to Berlin, Rome at 16 as we go through Monday.
26:29Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
26:32Música
26:34Música
26:36Música
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