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Newsroom Tokyo 2026 04 22
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00:12glad to have you with us on newsroom tokyo i'm rajapada here are the headlines the u.s president
00:18extends the ceasefire with iran but says the blockade will remain in place as u.s midterms
00:26near republicans and democrats are racing to redraw district maps to gain an edge in congress
00:32and for women in rural india soaring demand for wigs has turned their hair into a valuable source
00:39of income u.s president donald trump says he's extending the deadline for the ceasefire with
00:45iran he made the sudden announcement tuesday after telling the media he wanted to stick with the
00:51original wednesday deadline the white house then announced vice president jd vance will hold off
00:57on traveling to pakistan for peace talks trump said he'll extend the ceasefire until iranian leaders
01:04and representatives can come up with a unified proposal he added he's directed his military to
01:10continue its blockade of the region trump says pakistan's prime minister and army chief asked
01:16him to hold off on attacking iran but iran's tasneem news agency which is linked to the islamic
01:22revolutionary guard corps reports iran did not request an extension the agency also says trump's
01:28announcement means he knows he'll not achieve anything through war so he considers this the
01:34best possible way to get himself out of the situation pakistani prime minister shabazz sharif thanked
01:41trump for accepting the request to not attack iran sharif says he hopes both sides will continue to
01:47observe the ceasefire and reach a comprehensive peace deal during a second round of talks in islamabad
01:54during an interview with cnbc trump touched on the recent seizure of an iranian flagged ship by u.s
02:01forces he suggested the ship's cargo may have been a gift from china reuters cited maritime security
02:08sources as saying the vessel the tosca was likely to have carried what washington deems dual use
02:14items that is items with both industrial and military uses reuters sources did not give specifics about
02:22what items were on board but u.s central command's list of dual use goods includes metals pipes electronic
02:30components and more the reuters report says satellite data shows the tosca stopped at southern china's
02:37gaolan port in late march it loaded containers there and then stopped in malaysia in mid april
02:44where it loaded more containers japan's transport minister kaneko yasushi says four japanese crew members
02:52of ships stranded in the persian gulf have been able to exit the area kaneko said his ministry's primary
03:00concern is ensuring the safety of japan related vessels in the gulf and especially their crews he added
03:07he's been informed there are no issues with the health of the floor we will work to stay fully
03:14informed and to promptly share that information with the parties involved while closely coordinating
03:19with the foreign ministry and other relevant government agencies last month four other japanese crew members
03:27on a ship stuck in the gulf were able to disembark they've since returned to japan with the help of
03:32the
03:32government so far three vessels linked to japan have been able to pass through the strait of hormuz
03:38since it was effectively closed by the current conflict 42 other vessels related to japan remain
03:45stranded in the gulf with 16 japanese crew members on board next the head of the u.s indo-pacific
03:53command
03:53has appealed for the deployment of more vessels in the region in light of china's rapid naval buildup
04:00at a senate committee hearing on tuesday admiral samuel paparo spoke about the size of the indo-pacific
04:07command fleet i don't have enough amphibious ships we don't have enough surface destroyers we
04:14certainly don't have enough attack submarines and our trajectory is on the wrong side he also called for
04:21medium and large unmanned surface vessels in a paper he submitted at the hearing paparo said beijing's
04:28increasingly aggressive actions near taiwan serve not just as exercises but as rehearsals for
04:34potential forced unification regarding the participation of japan's self-defense forces
04:40in a u.s philippine combat drill he said the coordination of their missile systems demonstrates
04:46a significant leap in allied firepower the commander of u.s forces korea general xavier brunson also attended
04:54the hearing he was asked if the u.s military has shifted the anti-missile system known as thad from
05:00south korea to the middle east brunson said none of it has been moved and thad remains on the korean
05:07peninsula
05:15the strong earthquake off the coast of northeastern japan on monday sent tsunami to multiple areas of
05:22hokkaido and tohoku a research team says the tsunami reached some areas of iwate prefecture in as little
05:29as 20 minutes the team at tohoku university's international research institute of disaster
05:36science led by associate professor anawat sapasi simulated how the tsunami waves traveled after
05:43the magnitude 7.7 quake when we look at the distance between the epicenter and the coasts of hokkaido and
05:52sanriku the closest landfall is the sanriku coast of iwate prefecture for example the port of miyako
06:04in the research team's tsunami simulation the red color indicates a rise in the sea level creating a
06:10surging wave and the blue color indicates a receding wave the sea level above the epicenter rose
06:17immediately after the earthquake around 20 minutes later the resulting tsunami reached the sanriku
06:22coast including miyako port in iwate prefecture the largest tsunami recorded 80 centimeters and struck
06:30iwate's kuji port about 30 minutes after the quake occurred the japan meteorological agency has issued
06:37an alert for a potential mega quake near northeastern japan the alert covers 182 municipalities in coastal
06:44areas of the prefectures of hokkaido aomori iwate miyagi fukushima ibaraki and chiba people in those
06:54areas should follow the advisory until next monday it does not call for advanced evacuation
07:02more than 120 japanese lawmakers have visited tokyo's yasukuni shrine for its annual spring festival
07:10the shrine honors japan's war dead those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world
07:16war ii its three-day seasonal festival opened on tuesday among those who stopped by was the minister
07:23in charge of japan's growth strategy kiuchi minoru this is the first time a cabinet minister has paid a
07:29visit to the shrine since prime minister takaichi sanae formed her first cabinet last october several
07:36state ministers from takaichi's cabinet also visited senior officials from the ruling liberal democratic
07:42party joined the festival as well they included policy research council chairperson kobayashi takayuki
07:49and general council chairperson arimura haruko takaichi made a private cash offering
07:55a cross-party lawmakers group of 126 lawmakers also jointly attended the group said nearly double the
08:04number of members visited the shrine this time compared to last year's autumn festival which counted 64
08:11the group included lawmakers from the ldp and japan innovation party as well as the democratic party for
08:17the people and san seito san seito president kamiya sohei was among those paying their respects the group is
08:26headed by former ldp diet affairs committee chairperson aisawa ichiro he told reporters the number of lawmakers
08:33visiting the shrine this year was more than usual and he said the visit allowed him to reflect on the
08:38fact
08:39that the peace and stability japan currently enjoys was largely thanks to the people who gave their lives for the
08:45country
08:57we turn now to u.s politics where republicans and democrats are gearing up for the crucial
09:03midterm elections the vote will decide who controls the house of representatives and it has many states
09:09redrawing their congressional districts it's called gerrymandering the idea is to redefine
09:15district lines to benefit one side president trump has been urging republican-led states to do it
09:21not to be outdone the democratic party has struck back but not all democrats believe
09:27fighting fire with fire is the right way to go so let's look at virginia which recently held a vote
09:33to
09:33decide last year virginia saw a change in leadership with the governorship switching from republican to democrat
09:43on tuesday a referendum was held on whether to pursue redistricting that would favor democrats
09:50virginia's 11 house seats are currently split almost evenly with five held by republicans and six by
09:58democrats based on past voting results democrats are proposing a redistricting plan that would give them
10:06ten seats leaving republicans with just one over the past year several republican controlled states
10:14former president barack obama has appeared in advertisements in support of the measure help
10:20us chart a better path forward election day is april 21st vote yes virginia here is how voters are reacting
10:31like we're hoping that that um that we could get enough uh democrats into the congress and into the you
10:39know well
10:40to the senate and the house to keep him from doing some of the things that that um he's already
10:46done now
10:48all of a sudden because they have the power now they want to redraw it to
10:55you know suit their purposes so it's it's not fair what's going to happen
11:04mike johnson
11:08in a sign of growing concern among republicans house of representatives speaker mike johnson
11:14a close trump ally took part in a rally
11:18this is not a deep blue state look half almost half of the state voted for president trump for
11:24president almost that's right almost exactly half the state do you want to see president trump
11:30impeached and removed from office
11:39the latest gerrymandering has drawn criticism not only from republicans
11:43but also from democratic supporters thank you very much for the time one of those raising questions
11:51is brian cannon trump is cannon previously helped establish an independent commission to draw electoral
11:59district boundaries although he is a democrat he is urging voters to oppose the referendum saying the
12:07latest redistricting lacks fairness gerrymandering for political gain is wrong no matter which party does
12:15it i think it's important in a in a democracy how do we protect norms and rules against an onslaught
12:21of
12:22authoritarianism in donald trump a local university hosted an event to examine gerrymandering
12:31uh hey everybody so good to see you all um thank you to the let me start with thank you
12:37to the election law society
12:38on this day cannon engaged in a debate with a democratic state lawmaker who supports the proposal
12:46i think the answer is that everything is at stake in this election if it starts a war in iran
12:52without
12:52talking to anybody getting permission from con from from congress that the voters in the united states of america
12:58ought to have an opportunity to say hey what's our next chance to put a check on this person's behavior
13:03and the next chance to put a check on this next person's behavior is the midterm elections for congress
13:09nietzsche had a quote uh which basically says in my poor english translation of it basically
13:14when you fight monsters you risk becoming one yourself and i think that applies here um we can oppose
13:21donald trump strongly without adopting his style or tactics we do not have to cheat to win
13:28those who attended the debate expressed a wide range of views these we're the different rules
13:35now you have to fight differently almost and some of us don't feel comfortable fighting differently but
13:42we have to i would say i'm a democrat who will vote no um i don't feel comfortable with with
13:49setting
13:49aside uh with setting aside what i believe in but again i know it's a complicated issue
13:57and god bless the united states with the midterm elections only about six months away interest in
14:03discussions about gerrymandering is guaranteed to rise jordan gravel nhk world virginia voters
14:12narrowly approved a new congressional map on tuesday that lifts the democrats chances to reclaim the house
14:18in november but florida which is a state where president trump holds significant influence is
14:23expected to discuss its own redistricting later this month suggesting the gerrymandering race is far
14:29from over trump's announcement of an extension of the ceasefire with iran may have eased concerns
14:44in financial markets yuko fukushima joins us from the business desk for that yuko yeah that's right
14:49raja well japan's nikki 225 stock index set new intraday and closing highs on wednesday after
14:55investors learned the u.s would extend the ceasefire the benchmark ended the day up four tenths of a
15:01percent at 59 585 the highest ever closed it had an all-time high in morning trading as trump's
15:09announcement removed some uncertainty about whether talks to end the conflict will continue
15:13buy orders for some semiconductor related stocks also supported the index in the afternoon session
15:19analysts say solid demand for ai and chips drove up related shares but they add that many investors
15:26remain cautious about what will happen next between the u.s and iran the cost to rent a studio apartment
15:35in central tokyo soars to a record for the 22nd straight month in march that's the finding of a survey
15:42covering the capital's 23 awards by real estate information firm at home the company says the
15:47average rent for a unit measuring up to 30 square meters rose 13 percent year on year to almost 112
15:54000 yen that's about seven hundred dollars and the highest in yen terms since the survey began in 2015.
16:01the average rent for family units of 50 to 70 square meters climbed almost six percent to nearly one
16:08thousand six hundred dollars at home officials say landlords face increasing costs and took the
16:14opportunity to raise rents as many people moved before april the start of japan's fiscal year
16:21the cool japan soft power push made words like anime and manga part of the global pop culture dictionary
16:28but in thailand it's more than that festivals bookstores and colleges are embracing the genre
16:34and creating a booming market the thai capital bangkok played host to an anime festival from january through
16:44march organized by a streaming company attendance almost doubled from the prior year to about 140 000
16:52people limited edition japanese anime merchandise was on sale and thai fans took the opportunity to take
17:02photos with life-size cutouts of popular characters i love that animation number one the depiction really
17:12is completely different from anime in other countries the characters are excellent rujirat winipon
17:18researches anime culture in both countries she says the genre has been embraced in thailand because of
17:25similarities between the national characters of both countries thailand and japan are very similar in many
17:35ways both culturally and philosophically we're moved by the same anime stories japanese anime contains words
17:44and turns of phrase that really touch the heart
17:51the
17:51one-year-old panyapon homaroon runs a japanese anime and manga store in central bangkok she became a fan
17:59after watching a tv series in the 1980s the store now has 100 000 titles from classics to latest releases
18:08and complete sets of popular series
18:10i think manga and anime are so relatable to children that they really leave a lasting impression
18:18on us in my case i started collecting things i liked and sharing them with others
18:24and before i knew it it had turned into a career
18:30professor winipon says the popularity of anime received a boost from the recent rapid spread of
18:37streaming services on tv and mobile devices according to a survey in countries where anime is popular
18:45thailand had the highest level of respondents 22 percent who said they watch it every day
18:54thais are very active on social media so when they find an anime they like they spread the word far
19:01and wide the merchandise market is also growing and i believe thailand's anime market will continue to expand
19:10some fans are not content with just watching anime they want to create it themselves
19:17a local technical college has 450 students enrolled in a multimedia program that offers an anime
19:25production course students learn basic skills such as character design and 3d animation
19:33some of the students say they hope to work in anime studios in japan to acquire cutting edge skills
19:41then they plan to return to thailand to help develop the local industry
19:48thailand lacks the infrastructure of japan's anime industry
19:52our production techniques are still underdeveloped however our students can help build a foundation
19:58for thailand to produce new anime and help shape this industry
20:04and that's the biz for this wednesday thank you very much for that yuko so let's move now to thailand
20:09rosalind devavalia at our bureau in bangkok fills us in on what's making headlines in other parts of the asia
20:14the pacific rosalind thailand's foreign minister has visited myanmar and met with the new president
20:22of the country's military-backed government he relayed thailand's commitment to restoring ties
20:27between myanmar and asia siha sakpongkit kao on wednesday met min on klein a former military chief who
20:35became president earlier this month after a disputed general election thailand's foreign ministry says both
20:42sides agree to increase cooperation in trade investment and energy security the ministry
20:49says they also plan to step up efforts to address cross-border issues such as online scams and the
20:56drug trade siha sak expressed thailand's support for peace in myanmar and his country's willingness to
21:02build bridges with asian the regional association has barred myanmar from sending leaders to its main
21:09summit since a coup in 2021 some southeast asian countries including thailand have congratulated
21:17myanmar's new government but there are differing stances within asian this year's chair the philippines
21:23issued a statement on the day min on klein was elected calling for an end to violence in the country
21:31turning to india where the rapid expansion of the middle class has led to the rise of a new kind
21:37of
21:37industry a growing number of people are now outsourcing housekeeping and beauty care to professionals
21:43who come straight to their homes home services companies offer at home assistance booked through
21:50smartphone apps this woman uses a firm based in a new delhi suburb the company offers more than 60 types
21:57of services including home cleaning appliance repairs and beauty treatments such as haircuts she places an order
22:05on the app and the staff quickly arrive at her home prices vary by service with nail treatments
22:11at around 7.5 us dollars and haircuts at roughly six she says home services are now an essential part
22:20of
22:20her daily life it's very convenient for me because as i'm a working woman and having two kids not possible
22:28for me to go outside the home services market is projected to reach about 100 billion dollars by fiscal
22:362030 experts say the growth will be driven by rising incomes in the middle class and the increased
22:43participation of women in society the population of india is now over 1.4 billion and the middle class
22:51is expected to account for 60 percent of this total within the next 20 years india's human hair
22:58industry is booming fueled by soaring demand for wigs and extensions the country's export value has
23:05nearly tripled in five years with over a thousand businesses now in the trade india's lustrous black
23:12hair dubbed black diamond is prized in western markets nshk world's abhishek dhulia reports from andhra pradesh
23:20one of the production centers the supply chain begins far from the cities collectors go door to door in rural
23:34villages gathering hair that women have saved from daily combing
23:49the trade offers modest but meaningful income around 13 dollars per 100 grams of hair
23:59i'm happy because i've gotten enough money for my hair when my hair falls out i don't throw it away
24:06i collect it from there the hair moves to processing centers like this one here skilled local workers many
24:18of them women sought clean dye and prepare it for export i can say human hair products is one of
24:26the
24:26uh niche markets of uh india and it's also generating the foreign currency the foreign exchange
24:36wanka is now focusing on a coveted type known as temple hair it is priced for its long uniform strands
24:47some worshippers at hindu temples donate it when they shave their heads as an act of devotion
24:55the hair is offered in gratitude for answered prayers such as a safe child birth a marriage or career success
25:07i'm very happy people make vows when they pray and once their wishes come true they come here to donate
25:13it's very common for devotees
25:17the hair commands around 300 dollars per kilogram at the wholesale level
25:27much of this premium hair finds its way overseas
25:33wanka's company is expanding its network and now exports to over 30 countries including in europe as well
25:43as the united states and china we are expanding our capacity and we are also expanding our product list
25:53by expanding the new by introducing the new products
25:58but the industry's rapid growth has a dark side reports of illegal sales and the exploitation of women
26:07persists the question now is whether india's black diamond can keep its luster ethically and sustainably
26:17abhishek dhulia nhk world andhra pradesh
26:23and that wraps up our bulletin i'm rosalind de bovalia in bangkok
26:30so
27:03Next, a 3-day outlook on the weather for selected cities across the globe.
27:35And that's all for this edition of Newsroom Tokyo.
27:38Don't forget, you can always catch our program on our website as well.
27:41I'm Rhonda Pradhan.
27:42Thanks for watching and please join us again Thursday.
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