Thank you for joining us. From our studio in Tokyo, this is NHK News Line.
The US president says he's working tirelessly to end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. It was one of several big topics Donald Trump touched on in his first major speech since returning to office.
My fellow citizens, America is back.
He praised his administration's achievements and outlined his plans for the future in his joint address to Congress. Trump recently ordered a pause to military aid to Ukraine and earlier had a heated exchange with his Ukrainian counterpart. But he says he's still committed to peace.
Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.
Trump also brought up his desire for Greenland becoming part of the US.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international, world security.
And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it.
And he says his administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.
Those weren't the only controversial parts of the speech. He hurled insults at his political opponents, encouraged fellow Republicans to pass tax cuts, and highlighted one of its favorite economic tools.
April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. Take your seat, sir.
Trump claims the US will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like the country has never seen before.
He faced some pushback early into his address. A Democratic lawmaker disrupted the event and was then escorted out of the room. My colleague Gene Ohtani spoke with Fujisaki Ichiro for his analysis on the speech. Fujisaki served as the Japanese ambassador to the US during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
What stood out to you the most in this speech?
My impression is the president said, America is back, but I thought, Trump is back. Two things.
Never seen such a long speech in Congress. Second, never seen such a divide of response as well. So I really thought it's Trump is back.
You were mentioning about the three Bs, boast, blame, brand new ideas. Did this kind of come into play here?
Yeah, I think so. And two new things that catched my attention was that this reciprocal tariff.
Yes.
And sort of new agreement on Ukraine that he received a letter from President Zelensky just this morning.
That was very, and as for the reciprocal tariff, he mentioned countries like EU, China, India, Mexico, Canada, and Korea.
But, and our country's name was not mentioned.
Japan was not mentioned, yes.
But But maybe it's across the board, so we have to really watch what's he's meaning here. And the other thing that that catch my attention was no real mention of China and North Korea and those other countries which we were paying attention to. And in Japan, regarding Japan, he mentioned Honda and SoftBank as an investor. So I think this Honda switching from Mexico to Indiana is was persuasive to him as a role model example.
And what was new was the shipbuilding, and he's going to make an office in White House.
It's not only steel or aluminum, but shipbuilding itself, he's taking it back. And some of the new areas was were not touched really were space, AI, other ICT technologies, and those new areas, which usually or cyber were not really mentioned. And he was calling sort of people and introducing them.
And so that that was different from usual speeches to Congress or State of Union.
The surprise, other than the ones that we kind of saw, was maybe, as you mentioned a little bit about the Ukraine situation, Trump said that he appreciates Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's message for peace. Now, what is this going to mean, do you think?
I think that means that Mr. Zelensky and his delegation will be coming back to White House to sign an agreement and that try to mend the fence, and I think Mr. Trump and his administration is going to accept it. I think that that is what he means.
Between Russia and Ukraine?
I don't know about peace, but suspension of war orarmistice is going to happen. If it is going to be translated to real peace, that's something to see. And I think we have to have a European presence there, as Britain and France is saying, in order to secure peace, and if Ukraine can get back a lot of territories is something we have to watch as well. So it's not real peace, but ending of the belligerency or attacks or war will be, I think, happening.
Trump called for cutting global aid. What's your take on that?
I hope that would not lead to substantial decrease of US funding to Global South countries, because they'll be very much affected. And what I'm concerned is that some countries, for example, like China, could take advantage of that situation. In view of that, I think Europe, Japan, we have to talk into the United States or really try to do as much as possible to fill the gap. I think this is what we have to be watching very carefully now.
That was our Jing Ohtani speaking with the former Japanese ambassador to the US, Fujisaki Ichiro.
Now turning to China, one of its biggest political events, the National People's Congress, has kicked off in Beijing. The government says it's aiming for around 5 percent GDP growth this year.
Premier Li Chang set the target. It's the same as last year. The country's GDP did manage to hit that 5-percent goal in 2024. The government intends to support the economy and maintain growth, despite recent trade friction with the United States.
The global environment today is increasingly complex and severe.
Unilateralism and protectionism are also on the rise. hindering the international community.
That could have a major impact on China's trade, science and technology.
Among other actions, Beijing plans to promote consumption to boost domestic demand. On defense spending, that budget will increase by 7.2 percent, bringing it to about 245 billion dollars. It shows Beijing will continue to strengthen its military capabilities despite a potential economic slowdown. China has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan and is continuing its maritime activities in the East and South China Sea. For more on this, I spoke earlier with our Beijing correspondent Nakamura Genta.
As we've been saying, China's target will remain around 5 percent. What does that number really tell us?
Well, it says a lot about Beijing's mentality. The International Monetary Fund is forecasting a slowdown, saying China's growth will drop to 4.6 percent. By setting a higher goal, Beijing is saying it will prop up the economy. But whether it can actually hit that target depends on a lot of factors, like the Trump administration. The US lapped tariffs on Chinese imports, which is key for growth. If trade tensions continue, that could mean real trouble in 2025.
So let's say these US-China tensions do continue. What would be Beijing's response?
Well, President Xi is already making some surprising moves. Just last month, he met with top entrepreneurs.
And here's the kicker, Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, was among them. Ma had essentially vanished from the public eye after crashing with the government.
Xi had been cautious about the growing influence of tech companies leading to stricter regulations.
Now, Beijing seems to be shifting its approach. It looks like it wants to rekindle ties with the private sector, especially around tech like AI. But will it be enough for the market?We still don't know.
Umm And what should we be watching for in this session?
One major thing Foreign Minister Wong is news conference. This is one of the few opportunities to hear directly from him about China's foreign policy.
The big story, the invasion of Ukraine.
Last Friday, talks between Washington and Kiev collapsed. Now everyone is waiting for China's next move.
If a ceasefire deal favors Russia, Beijing might see it as a green light to do something similar, say, in Taiwan.
Bottom line. This is a high stakes moment and the world is watching to see what comes next.
Now it's time to check the world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan.
Jonathan, it was another chilly and damp day in Tokyo on Wednesday. Are there any changes for Thursday?
Is moving toward the north and east, so the wrap around will continue to bring some snow into places like Hokkaido and into the Tohoku regions as you go into Thursday. So here's look at the forecast here. Partly cloudy skies. That is a change. And it's slightly warmer by the afternoon, 14. In fact, if you think about it, it's going to really feel a bit warmer compared to what we saw for the past couple of days. 3 in Sapporo, rain in Niigata with a high of 8 as we go throughout the day.
Meanwhile, spring is really showing itself over into the southern areas of the United States. And we're talking about spring storms into places like Texas and Oklahoma. Here's a look at some video coming from those states. A powerful storm brought severe weather to the region, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Officials report wind damage to buildings, trees and power lines, gusts up to 140 kilometers per hour. Multiple tornadoes also touched down in Oklahoma. These severe thunderstorms, they're moving toward the southeast and the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday. That cold front is really marches way toward the east. And so for those of you in the area, especially toward the Carolinas, North and South Carolina, you need to be on the lookout for some strong winds and some strong thunderstorms. As we go through the day on Wednesday, that same low wrapping around some really chilly air. So we're talking more of a winter weather situation up toward the upper Midwest extending into the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes. And so be prepared to see a lot of snow. Another system coming in from the West and that's going to be a story extending eastward into the Rockies as we head toward Thursday.
Quick note in Europe, high pressure in the central portions of the continent, low moving toward the north and now bring some more of an active pattern as we head toward Thursday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～
That's all for this edition of NET News Line. Thank you very much for staying with us.
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