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Newsroom Tokyo 2026 04 15
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00:12Welcome to Newsroom Tokyo. I'm Kumei Ayako and I'm Yoshikara Ryuichi. Here are the headlines.
00:20U.S. President Donald Trump says a new round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran
00:25could happen within days. We speak to leading political scientist Ian Bremmer. He shares his
00:32views on Trump, Iran and more. The International Energy Agency says oil supplies fell by about
00:4010 million barrels a day in March and it warns demand is likely to fall next.
00:48The U.S. and Iran appear to be edging closer to another round of talks before a ceasefire ends
00:55next week. Negotiators met last weekend in Pakistan and they could be set for another round within days.
01:06U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York Post Tuesday that talks were imminent. He didn't say
01:13who would represent the U.S. but sources told CNN the vice president is expected to leave the
01:20delegation again. J.D. Vance said Tuesday that the first round fell short of a deal because Trump is
01:28aiming for a broader agreement. What you're seeing is what the president wants to make, he doesn't want
01:35to make like a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain. Vance said Trump wants to ensure Iran
01:43has
01:43no nuclear weapons and isn't sponsoring terrorism. The New York Times says they proposed a 20-year
01:51suspension of nuclear activities. It says the Iranians countered with an offer of up to five years.
02:00Pakistan is still acting as mediator. Prime Minister Shabbat Sharif is visiting Saudi Arabia and Turkey
02:07this week to try to gather momentum for the peace efforts. U.S. forces are also maintaining pressure
02:15through a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command says no ships made it past in the
02:23first 24 hours. It says six merchant vessels followed orders to turn back to an Iranian port
02:30on the Gulf of Oman. The Wall Street Journal reports the blockade could cost Iran around $435 million a
02:40day. The Central Command says the mission involves more than 10,000 service members. More than a dozen
02:47warships have been deployed along with over 100 fighter jets and surveillance aircraft.
02:54Lebanon and Israel have held their first direct talks in decades. The meeting was brokered by U.S.
03:01Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And it comes amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed
03:09Shia Muslim group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Yehil Leiter and his Lebanese
03:20counterpart Nada Hamadeh Muawad attended the meeting on Tuesday. A State Department official says these are
03:28the first direct high-level diplomatic talks between the two countries since 1993.
03:35All of the complexities of this matter are not going to be resolved in the next six hours, but we
03:41can
03:41begin to move forward to create the framework where something can happen, something very positive,
03:45something very permanent, so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve,
03:49and so that the people of Israel can live without fear and be struck by rocket attacks from the terrorist
03:55proxy of Iran. After the meeting, the State Department released a statement calling the discussions
04:04productive. It also said all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and
04:12venue. Hezbollah had called for the meeting to be canceled, describing it as pointless. Iran has
04:20repeatedly called for Israeli attacks on Lebanon to stop. Developments in the fighting in Lebanon could
04:27affect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. Italy will not renew a years-long defense pact with
04:38Israel. The moon comes with bilateral ties believed to be under strain. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made the
04:47announcement on Tuesday. Italy ratified the agreement in 2005. It covers the exchange of military equipment
04:55and technological research and was designed to be automatically renewed every five years. The next
05:03renewal was scheduled for this month. Israeli Foreign Minister Giden Saar responded on social media. He called the
05:11agreement a memorandum of understanding that never contained any real substance. He said Israel's security
05:20would not be harmed. Meloni is widely seen as a close ally of U.S. President Trump, but she has
05:28been clear
05:28that Italy would not get involved in the military operation against Iran. And last month, U.S. military aircraft
05:35were reportedly denied permission to land at an airbase in Italy. Earlier this week, Meloni described remarks
05:43Trump made about Pope Leo XIV as unacceptable. The U.S. leader called the pontiff weak on nuclear weapons.
05:52Trump also spoke to an Italian news outlet about Meloni on Tuesday. He said,
05:59she's the one who's unacceptable because she doesn't care if Iran has a nuclear weapon. He added,
06:06I thought she was brave, but I was wrong. As global tensions continue to simmer,
06:13Beijing and Moscow seem to be strengthening ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russia's foreign
06:20minister Sergei Lavrov for talks Wednesday. In the face of the turbulent and changing international
06:28situation, the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly valuable.
06:36China's state media says Xi called for stronger strategic coordination to defend their shared interest.
06:44Lavrov reportedly echoed that message, saying they should maintain high-level talks. He also said
06:52they should work together to uphold what he called international fairness and justice.
06:58The meeting took place a day after Lavrov met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. They're
07:04believed to have discussed plans for a summit in China. Russian President Vladimir Putin is
07:11expected to visit China in the coming weeks. Russian media is reporting it will happen before July.
07:19One Hong Kong outlet says it could be as early as May.
07:25Well, all this global unrest may have left you wondering just how did we get here or what might happen
07:32next. And there are few better people to ask than leading American political scientist Ian Brammer.
07:39In January, his consulting firm singled out a political revolution led by Trump as this
07:46year's biggest risk. The Iran conflict began about two months later.
07:53We caught up with Brammer on Monday, and we started by asking him about the recent breakdown in peace
08:00talks between Washington and Tehran.
08:03If the talks were useless, they would have been over in a couple of hours and everyone would have
08:08left. They went on for 21 hours. There were experts sent from both teams. There were substantive
08:14conversations on a broad range of issues and progress was made. And the private briefing that I've gotten
08:22from White House officials is that there was actually significant progress and the Iranians were more
08:31constructive than they had anticipated in the talks. So very different from the readout that you heard from
08:38Trump. And indeed, I fully expect that there will be more talks going forward. I don't know what level the
08:46talks
08:46will be at, exactly what the format will be, but it wouldn't surprise me even maybe later this week.
08:52And the announcement of the blockade and that these talks have fallen apart, I think, is an effort by
09:01Trump to show that he has more willingness to tolerate pain and more military leverage over the Iranians.
09:09So the longer this goes on and the more we see that Trump is not himself internally consistent
09:17and that his threats are not all that serious, the less effective they'll be. It's like the little boy
09:25that cried wolf. Even by his own standards, Trump has been especially outspoken about Iran.
09:33We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them
09:40back to the stone ages where they belong. Earlier this month, he also said a whole civilization will die
09:48tonight, never to be brought back again. An entire civilization will die tonight. When you heard this,
09:56how did you feel? I'm embarrassed. It's obviously unacceptable behavior and commentary from anyone
10:08in a leadership position. And you certainly don't want to see it from the commander in chief. But I
10:15mean, the very fact that this is the way that Trump is engaging, isolates him. It turns other countries
10:23away from him, allies away from him. This is a war that, you know, almost the entire world,
10:30including most allies, are not supporting the United States. They think it's a bad idea. It's causing
10:36economic pain and damage. And, you know, Trump's response has been utterly incoherent. So it's not
10:46clear if you are a foreign leader, it's not clear what Trump is trying to accomplish because he says,
10:51you know, completely different things every day and sometimes even within the same tweet.
10:59And the one that you're mentioning is certainly the most embarrassing of them.
11:06How do you think Iran took that word? Oh, I mean, obviously, without any importance,
11:15it didn't stop them from sending their leaders into Islamabad for 21 hours of talks. So they didn't,
11:25you know, sort of decide that they were going to refuse to engage with this person who said something
11:33completely inappropriate. I mean, the Iranians are focused on survival, and they're focused on
11:40leverage. And the priority survival is first. But they've done a pretty good job surviving as a regime,
11:48many of their leaders are dead. And it wouldn't surprise me if many more are killed. But the ability of
11:56the Iranian regime, the Islamic Republic to persist, despite economic predation, and great security
12:09challenges. Maybe the most important thing Trump has said is when Trump decided to give the first
12:16major speech, the only major speech he's given to the American people about this war over a week ago,
12:24prime time, when he said the war was almost over, it'd be done in two to three weeks. I think
12:30if you're
12:30the Iranian leaders and you hear Trump says the war is going to be over in two to three weeks,
12:34you're
12:34going great. He obviously knows how unpopular it is. He sees how much economic damage is being done.
12:41And he doesn't have the stomach to continue with this war. And of course, that is that speech was
12:48much more consequential than a random post that says, I'm going to destroy your civilization in four
12:55hours, right? Iran's uranium enrichment is said to be the main sticking point in negotiations.
13:04Bremer says Tehran should change its mindset, especially because the regime's stranglehold on
13:10the Strait of Hormuz may only work for so long.
13:15Right now, the big issue is on the nuclear side and on the willingness of the Iranians to accept that
13:27they will not be able to enrich uranium beyond some kind of civilian use or they won't enrich uranium at
13:38all. And then there's the question of the strait itself. And, you know, frankly, if I were advising
13:46the Iranians and thankfully I'm not, but if I were, I would probably tell them it's easier for you to
13:55give up on the nuclear front than on the strait because you've now shown that you have more leverage
14:01to ensure your own security on the strait than you do on the nuclear side. And the nuclear side is
14:08obviously a huge threat to everyone. And the strait, like as long as you're making money, you can let
14:15all the ships go through and how much you charge and what the mechanism is. And some of that go
14:21to
14:21other countries. And is it considered reconstruction of Iran? There are lots of modalities that can be
14:28negotiated. And of course, the longer this persists, the more you will see resilience
14:33and infrastructure carve outs that will reduce the importance of the strait as a choke point.
14:40And that will undermine the pricing power of the Iranians. So there will be an equilibrium that
14:46the market will find over time. We are not there right now. Bremer's consulting firm is called Eurasia
14:53Group. January's risk report said Trump is attempting to dismantle the checks on his power and that the
15:02United States is unwinding its own global order. Bremer firmly stands by those words today.
15:11You put the U.S. political revolution in top of the first as a top list. Considering everything that
15:18happened since then, just in four months, do you think that ranking still stands?
15:23Well, I mean, is there a is there a number higher than one that we could have put the political
15:27revolution at for 2026? I mean, seriously, maybe bold it, put an exclamation point after it. I mean,
15:37the risk was that the United States has become the driver of global political risk, the driver of
15:45political uncertainty and instability. And I have a hard time seeing how that could have played out more
15:51dramatically than what we've seen in the last six weeks. I mean, Trump has been more constrained
15:59domestically. He's been less constrained internationally. And so I think that the orientation of the risk
16:06has become more global than domestic, as we've seen this play out this year. But I mean, it's very clear,
16:15this was not an Iranian risk. This was a Trump risk. Well, Trump ran on his famous America First
16:26policy. And why do you think he, you know, he felt the need to intervene in the Middle East right
16:32now
16:33in the era of, you know, midterm election coming up? Because he was overconfident. He thought he was
16:40going to get a quick win. I think there are three reasons. The first is Venezuela was incredibly
16:45successful on every front, both in terms of the military operation, but also in the type of
16:51government that that actually succeeded Maduro. I mean, again, his big problem is he can't blame
16:57anybody else. He can't say, oh, actually, it was Israel, and they hoodwinked me. I didn't want to do it.
17:05No. I mean, everyone is saying, Trump, you're the guy. You're the most powerful person. You decide
17:10what the war does, what the war goals are. When it's over, it's all you, sir. So he was hearing
17:16from the circle of people around him, go, go, go. It was bolstering his oversized, his overinflated
17:24sense of confidence that he was going to have success in Iran. And of course, that's a horrible
17:33character to have in a leader. Bremer even says Trump's actions could ultimately be to Beijing's
17:42advantage. For China, it's an economic negative, but it's a long-term positive
17:49because China is seen as a more attractive, more stable government comparatively to the revisionism of
17:58the Trump administration. And long-term, it hurts the United States for the exact same reasons,
18:05because the U.S. is not seen as a reliable, predictable ally. And other countries are trying
18:11to find ways to reduce their exposure to the United States for intelligence support, for defense support,
18:18for economic trade and access. And what do you think Japan should do specifically?
18:24Japan should pay more for the U.S. isn't going to be as involved in the World Health Organization.
18:29The Chinese are spending more. Where's Japan? The Chinese just said that they're prepared to host
18:34the World's Oceans Summit, the COP for that. Japan should say, we want to do that. I mean,
18:40you should not be allowing the Chinese to enter the vacuum that is left by the Americans. I mean,
18:46these are important institutions and Japan needs to do much more. That's where I see weakness.
18:51If you can talk on a bigger picture, will you argue that the global order, as we've known,
18:57is over? And what do you think should take place in the future? How do you see the foreseeable future?
19:03I think it's pretty complicated. I think that economically, we increasingly have a multipolar
19:08order with the United States and China and the European Union. The Orbán loss helps them on the
19:14economic front being more coordinated. I think that militarily, it is still very much a unipolar
19:20order. The Americans are dominant, though that is starting to change over time. China's
19:26expansion of their nuclear capabilities and much greater spend on economically with improved
19:32technology. But then the technology order, the digital environment is increasingly technopolar,
19:38where companies are actually acting as sovereigns in the digital space, especially outside China.
19:45So, plenty to worry about and plenty of unknowns. But still, one of the world's best forecasters
19:52believes we, the people, can eventually pull through.
19:57I'm never pessimistic. It's great to be alive. You know, it's a world of opportunity and
20:04when things are difficult, that's when we expect more from human beings.
20:09The conflict in Iran is having a massive impact on one of the world's smallest countries.
20:16Tuvalu in the South Pacific has declared a 14-day state of emergency due to fuel shortages.
20:24The order came down Monday. It covers the main island, Funafudi, home to the capital and half the
20:31country's population. The government says it will allow for immediate action to safeguard public
20:38welfare, ensure access to services and maintain national stability. Tuvalu reportedly spends about
20:47a quarter of its GDP on imported petroleum. New Zealand's public broadcaster says the measure will
20:54allow the government to control supplies and services. That includes fuel and electricity use.
21:02Tuvalu isn't the only country suffering from an energy shortage.
21:07The Philippines declared its own national emergency last month, saying it was facing a crisis.
21:15Now, let's take a look at business news, starting with the stock market.
21:19That's right. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose for second straight session on Wednesday. Buying kicked
21:27in on views that the U.S. and Iran will resume peace talks soon. The benchmark ended at 58,134,
21:35up 0.4%. It recovered to the 58,000 mark for the first time since March 2nd. Analysts say investors
21:44picked up shares such as semiconductor-related firms, but some locked in profits. The rally followed a
21:51plunge in New York crude oil futures overnight. WTI briefly dropped to a three-week law in the $86
21:59a barrel range, but it's still about 30 percent higher than that before the U.S. and Israel began
22:06attacking Iran at the end of February. The International Energy Agency said attacks on infrastructure and
22:14other disruptions in the Middle East caused global oil supplies to plunge in March.
22:20The IEA report released on Tuesday says daily supply fell by 10.1 million barrels to 97 million in the
22:30month. The agency also said shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely restricted in early April.
22:38Loadings including crude oil and refined products averaged around 3.8 million barrels a day.
22:44They were more than 20 million barrels a day in February before the crisis emerged.
22:51The IEA noted that Asian petrochemical producers have reduced operating rates as feed stocks run short.
22:59It estimates global oil demand will decline by 80,000 barrels a day on average this year.
23:07The IEA says prospects for the U.S. and Iran to reach an agreement remain unclear. It adds that if
23:14the
23:14conflict is prolonged, the world will need to brace for significant energy supply disruptions in the months to come.
23:22And now, taxi fares in central Tokyo are set to rise on Monday. Higher fuel and labor costs are factors
23:31behind the first such increase in three and a half years.
23:35The change will apply in the capital's 23 wars and two adjacent cities. It will be done by shortening fare
23:43increments rather than raising the base price.
23:46The maximum flag fare for standard-sized taxis will remain at 500 yen or about $3.10. But that will
23:55only cover the first kilometer or about 100 meters less than under the current rules.
24:02Additionally, fares will go up every 232 meters. That is about 20 meters less than the practice now.
24:10The fare increase is aimed at helping operators cope with rising fuel expenses and to pay for raises for drivers.
24:19Preparations for the hike have been underway since last July.
24:25Nissan Motors' next step in its recovery strategy leans heavily on vehicles powered by artificial intelligence.
24:33A long-term plan released by the struggling automaker says AI will be in 90 percent of its future models.
24:40The Japanese company says the AI features will include autonomous driving. It will also cut its global lineup to 45
24:50from 56 models and reallocate investment in profitable vehicles.
24:56A year ago, we launched the re-Nissan plan to make us more agile, leaner, and more relevant to our
25:03customers.
25:05As we reach its midpoint, this is the right moment to sharpen our long-term vision.
25:11Not as an ambition, but as a guide for action.
25:16Nissan says the long-term strategy redefines the roles of its lead markets in Japan, the U.S., and China.
25:23The company aims to increase sales in Japan to 550,000 vehicles a year by fiscal 2030.
25:31That is up about 20 percent from fiscal 2024.
25:35And that's the business news for this Wednesday.
25:40The U.S. Spanish
25:41The U.S. Spanish
26:32Let's take a look at weather forecast for cities around the world.
27:07Let's take a look at weather forecast.
27:35Let's take a look at weather forecast.
27:44Let's take a look at weather forecast.
27:48Let's take a look.
27:54Let's take a look at weather forecast.
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