Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard in Tokyo.
North Korea's state media says the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, has been briefed on the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. Korean Central Television reported on Saturday that Kim inspected a shipyard with senior Navy officials. It didn't say when he visited or where the shipyard was. It said Kim called developing North Korea's Navy into an elite and nuclear armed force an important part of building up National Defense. The report says Kim stressed that North Korea won't idly watch the naval and underwater military activities of enemies that threaten its sovereignty and interests. In January 2021, the North unveiled a five year National Defense Plan, which included the goal to get a nuclear powered submarine.
Trump made the revelation in an interview with Fox Business Network on Friday. He said the US cannot allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon. He also said there are two ways Iran can be handled militarily or you make a deal, adding he would prefer the latter option. After the interview, Trump said he expects Iran will respond soon.
Something's going to happen very soon. Very, very soon. You'll be talking about that pretty soon, I guess. And hopefully we can have a a peace deal.
During his first term in office, Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of an international nuclear deal with Iran. Under the 2015 pact, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said the country had not yet received the letter from the US president.
A UN conference on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons has called for strengthening the commitment toward a world free of nuclear weapons amidst rising global instability.
The third meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took place at the UN headquarters in New York for five days through Friday. In the declaration adopted on the final day, the participants called on every state to join the treaty. The declaration said the growing dangers of nuclear proliferation and potentially devastating nuclear arms race demand immediate and decisive action from the international community.
It warned that emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence that are incorporated into nuclear weapon systems, heighten the risks of nuclear weapon use. The declaration also said the state's parties will continue discussions on the potential establishment of an international trust fund for victim assistance and environmental remediation. The conference comes after Nihon Hidankyo, a group representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, won last year's Nobel Peace Prize. Their call for the elimination of nuclear weapons attracted more attention than in the previous two meetings.
Meanwhile, differences in positions among countries over nuclear deterrence were made clear amid the prolonged Russian invasion of Ukraine.
No NATO member countries which are under the US nuclear umbrella participated as observers this year, unlike previous years. Now, the president of the meeting, Kazakhstan's first Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin, later said the wisdom and decision presented by the participating countries will send a strong message to the nuclear powers.
He emphasized the importance of Japan's role as the only country to have been attacked by nuclear weapons.
I wish my message to the Japanese civil society, please keep being seem active. Same determined and same, you know, you know enthusiastic in trying to make our our world safer and free of nuclear weapons.
A review conference for the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty is planned for next year.
Attention is on whether support for the treaty will grow.
And British Foreign Secretary David Lammy says his country could work with France to protect Europe. The two countries are Europe's only nuclear powers.
NHK spoke to Lamy in Tokyo on Friday. He was visiting for the first economic 2 + 2 talks between Britain and Japan. His comments come after French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for debate on expanding his country's nuclear deterrent, citing Russia's threat to Europe.
In these very dangerous times, it's important that two old and responsible countries like the United Kingdom and France take those obligations, not just not ever to use nuclear weapons, of course, but as a deterrent and to work together to ensure that Europe is safe.
Now, As for Ukraine, Lamy reiterated his belief that peacekeeping troops should be deployed there once a ceasefire with Russia is in place.
I am very confident when you look at the support for Ukraine across Europe and beyond. that there will be a group of countries that are willing to commit troops, willing to commit expertise on land, on sea, and air that brings about the enduring peace that we need to see.
Japan has released its annual prefectural Gender Gap Index. The survey found large regional differences in female representation on disaster preparedness panels. Now, some prefectures are nearing 50% women members, while others are around 10%.
The 4th Annual Gender Gap Index was released on March 8th to coincide with International Women's Day. It was determined by examining the ratio of men and women in politics, administration, education and economy according to 30 indicators. The index has a maximum value of 1, which would indicate total gender parity. Tokyo came on top in politics for the fourth straight year. It has a female governor and is the only prefecture with a greater than 30% ratio of women in its assembly. Tottori was first in administration for the fourth straight year. The prefecture has long strived to elevate women to managerial positions.
The survey found that all prefectures have improved in closing the gender gap in the rate of workers who take childcare leave. The percentage of women sitting on prefectural disaster preparedness panels is one of the indicators in the administration category. Tokushima and Shiga were first and second after they changed regulations to increase the size of their panels and appointed more women.
Professor Miura Mari of Sophia University led the team that compiled the index. She says a larger female representation should only be a milestone. She says the goal.
Is for prefectures to start thinking about the kind of organizations and communities they want.
They say no new blazes broke out in the two days through Friday. The area had its first rainfall on Wednesday since the fires began on February 26. Officials say they lifted some evacuation orders along the bay, but 10% of the city's residents remain subject to the measure. Officials plan to assess the risk of fires reigniting and check on vital infrastructure. The wildfires have burned through about 2,900 hectares, or 9% of the city located in Iwate Prefecture. Officials say volunteer firefighters from local neighborhoods will rejoin efforts to extinguish any smoldering flames from Saturday.
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And that is a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline.
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