at 18:00 (JST), September 12 (CC > Copilot ++)

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20240912180000_english_1.mp3

The Liberal Democratic Party has officially kicked off. Nine people are running, a record high under the current system. The winner is expected to become the country’s next prime minister. The candidates are Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae, former Economic Minister Kobayashi Takayuki, Hayashi Yoshimasa, Shinjaro, Kata Katsunobu, former Secretary-General Ishipa Shigeru, and Motegi Toshimitsu. 

Takaichi said the first thing to do is transform the party into one that the people can truly trust and where the LDP can continue to win elections at national and local levels. 

Takayuki wants to restore hope and dreams and says Japan will become an independent country not affected by activities of other nations. 

Hayashi says he’s diligently carried out his duties and decided to run to make best use of those experiences and achievements for Japan, which he loves more than anything else, as well as for his party. 

Koizumi says if he becomes prime minister, within one year he would carry out three major reforms: political reform, regulatory reform, and expanding people’s choices. He also expresses intention to dissolve the lower house as early as possible. Kamikawa said she will create a new Japan alongside the public without shying away from challenges. She’s determined to strengthen the economy and expand opportunities. 

Kato said now is the time to double people’s incomes, accelerate reforms, and create a new Japan together. He stressed he’s determined to realize these outcomes, and that is his mission. 

Koehne emphasized no country can maintain peace or regional stability on their own. He stressed now is the time to share this understanding with the public and communicate Japan’s role and responsibilities to the world. 

Shiba said he’ll protect the country from natural disasters and will do his best to thoroughly explain his decisions to restore trust in politics. 

Motegi said he wants to restore the attractiveness of evening Rhiannon in the country. He wants to work with the people to create a Japan where everyone can live 100 years with a sense of security and hope for the future. 

The race is set to decide the successor to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who announced last month he’ll not be running for LDP leadership again. Vote-counting will take place September 27.

And for more on this, I earlier spoke with one of our reporters. A record number of candidates are running. Why so many?

Reporter: Yeah, the biggest factor is how big the factions are. Factions have played a big role in LDP. In the past, the factions used to decide who would run and who they would support, but many factions chose to dissolve in the wake of the LDP political fund-raising scandal. So this time, anyone can run so long as 20 other lawmakers endorse them. Also, Kishida encouraged his current cabinet ministers, saying they shouldn’t hesitate to debate the issues. That’s having an impact. Five sitting cabinet ministers and party officials decided to run.

So now that the race is under way, what’s the process for actually getting elected?

Sitting lawmakers and the rank-and-file party members and supporters will have a say. As of Thursday, each of the 367 LDP lawmakers will get a vote. Then, there’s another 367 votes that will go to party members and supporters across the country. LDP headquarters will find those through proportional representation. If no one wins a majority, there will be a runoff between the two top candidates. The Diet votes would carry more weight in that scenario. Since there are nine candidates this time, I think it’s unlikely anyone will get a majority in the first round. Each candidate is moving forward; there will be a runoff.

And one of the big issues the candidates will be focusing on?

Whoever wins the race to lead the LDP will de facto become Japan’s next prime minister. Each candidate needs to show they can lead the country. They will likely discuss the cost of living, including Kishida’s push to raise wages. Foreign policy and security and defense spending will also be in the spotlight. There’s also expected to be a debate over surnames in marriage. In the past, one spouse had to change their surname to the other. In the past, the issue was trust in the party that was rattled by the fund-raising scandal. Every candidate said they will work to turn that around. I think many will be watching this race to see if the LDP will choose change under the new leader. 

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A Japanese widow has pleaded not guilty in a murder case that first made headlines six years ago. The victim was her husband who claimed to have a list of lovers running into the thousands and likened himself to fictional Spanish womanizer Don Juan. The woman is charged with killing 77 president company preponderance Koiksy in May 2018. He was found to have ingested a lethal amount of stimulants at their home in Wakayama Prefecture. The first hearing took place on testified and she testified she did not kill her husband or give him any stimulants. Prosecutors accused her of marrying for money. She said the online searches months prior to the incident included drugs and perfect crime and ordered stimulants through an illicit sales website. Her husband said in his memoir he had affairs with 4,000 women and gave them tens of millions of dollars and married Suda three months before his death.

Former Fujian president Alberto Fujimori has died. His daughter made the announcement on Wednesday. Fujimori was the first person of Japanese descent to become the president of the country. He is credited with improving the domestic economy and security. In the ’90s during a major hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima, Fujimori oversaw a military operation that ended the more than four-month standoff. 

Translator: Japan will never forget that thanks to the efforts made by former president Fujimori and Peruvian government officials the hostages were released without giving into terrorism. 

Hayashi also highlighted Fujimori’s work to strengthen ties between the countries, but Fujimori was a divisive figure. He faced criticism for his heavy-handed rule and fled to Japan in 2000. He was also accused of ordering security forces to murder civilians when he was in office. In 2010, Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He received a presidential pardon on health grounds, but the Supreme Court later overturned the decision, and he was sent back. He was released last December after the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the appeal to restore a previous pardon. His daughter Keiko said he died after a long fight with cancer. She says his body will be laid to rest at the country’s Museum of the Nation starting Thursday. Fujimori was 86 years old.

We turn now to developing news. A South Korean expert says North Korea may have fired so-called super large rockets Thursday. Tokyo is condemning Pyongyang for the launch. Japan’s defense ministry said the North fired missiles towards the northeast in the morning. Two traveled an estimated more than 350 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of about 100 kilometers. Officials say the missiles may have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. There are no reports of damage. A South Korean expert says based on flight distance, altitude and speed, the missiles were what Pyongyang call 600 millimeter super large rockets. It fired the same kind in May, stressing it aims to show it will not hesitate to carry out preemptive attacks. The Japanese government says it’s launched a protest in North Korea over the latest launch.

Translator: This is clearly a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, and we strongly condemn it. 

The prime minister says Japan will work with the United States and South Korea to deal with the situation.

In other news, California has declared a state of emergency in its southern counties as wildfires tear through the region. Fire authorities in the state said hot, dry, windy weather stoked flames that scorched more than 40,000 hectares in a matter of days. This satellite footage taken Monday through Tuesday shows smoke rising from the area. Wildfires that broke out on Sunday outside the city of Los Angeles have grown in size by more than 12 times. Local media said at least 13 people have been injured and more than 30 homes have been destroyed. About 2,500 structures are threatened by the fire.

You can see fire coming over the ridge now. We’ve had flames coming up. It’s getting a little scarier now.

Reuters news agency reported the area of land burned in California this year has already doubled that of 2023.

And it’s time now for a check on the weather with our meteorologist Yuumi Hirano. People here in Tokyo and across Japan are dealing with another wave of extreme heat. So Yuumi, will this trend continue through the weekend?

Reporter: People from western to northern Japan saw record breaking temperatures for September and some experienced mixed summer-like conditions with a high of over 34. Unfortunately, the situation is not expected to change into the weekend. The temperature in Tokyo will be 35 and 37 in Kumamoto so, please, stay hydrated, but the people in Okinawa should watch out for another issue. A severe tropical storm is expected to intensify into typhoon status by Sunday and approach several areas and gusty winds and heavy winds are likely across Waterloo region so stay alert. Meanwhile in Europe, continuing dry weather is a concern in Poland. We have some video. Many European countries are experiencing sharp drops in river levels due to hot weather. In the capital Warsaw the water usual is 100 to 250 centimeters, but that’s now only were 20. Several companies have had to change its routes and in Europe critical droughts are affecting droughts and vegetation. Now frontal systems are moving across central Europe bringing isolated heavy rainfall so flash flooding is a new risk for the drought areas. Behind the system, cooler air is coming in, so temperatures will be 15 in London and 16 in Paris. Some areas experienced over 30 on Monday but 16 on Thursday. That’s it for me. Have a nice day.

That’s all for this edition of NHK "Newsline." I’m Raja Pradhan in Tokyo. There’s much more to come on NHK World Japan. So, please, stick with us.