For the first time, Japan has published how it would evacuate Okinawa Prefecture's remote islands during an emergency. The plan calls for transporting more than 120,000 people by air and sea in just under a week.
Officials have been simulating how to quickly bring large numbers of residents and tourists from the Sakishima Islands to parts of western Japan.
20,000 people would be moved each day from five different municipalities. Self-defense Force and Japan Coast Guard vessels would be used, as well as private sector ferries and aircraft. Officials say they would try to keep members from the same community together as much as possible.
We'll consider how we would reopen schools, provide job support as well as medium to long-term accommodations, and make arrangements to look after those who need special assistance if the evacuation period goes beyond one month.
People in Okinawa's remote islands are expected to be evacuated in the event of the regional crisis, such as a contingency involving Taiwan.
Japan's government plans to release basic guidelines for the plan in fiscal 2026.
South Korea is dealing with its worst wildfires in its history. They've killed at least 26 people and forced tens of thousands to flee. Hundreds of structures are destroyed. Earlier, I spoke with NHK World's Kim Chan-ju to get a sense of the disaster's scale.
The situation is still intense and there's no sign it's going to improve anytime soon. But we're getting a better understanding of the damage left behind. It's massive. I'm in Ulsong County, North Gyeongsang Province. One of the wildfires passed through this village on Tuesday. This used to be someone's home, but it's just a skeleton now. It's a similar story all around this area, and many parts are still smoking, making it difficult to breathe.
On our way here Wednesday night, we saw mountain areas on fire next to the expressway. The Korea Forest Service has raised its forest fire disaster warning to the highest level nationwide. Firefighting efforts are underway in multiple wildfire zones. Officials estimate more than 36,000 hectares of forest area have been hit by the wildfires. Ulsong and Andong City are the most severely affected. About 30,000 have to evacuate. The ones who can return say they've never seen such a huge amount of destruction like this before.
As of Thursday morning, about half the fires in Ulseong have been contained.
Right, so the situation is still quite difficult.
Now, we are also hearing of some major losses to the country's cultural heritage. Tell us about that.
Yes, earlier we saw that damage firsthand a short distance from here. Take a look.
This is what's left of Gun Temple. It was built around about 1,300 years ago. I spoke with the temple's deputy monk, and he says he made every effort to save cultural assets until the very last moment.
The horrific situation has left me speechless. Cultural assets, Valuable national treasures, protected for several thousands of years, have burned down.
Meantime, there is also concern for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hawei Folk Village. It's about a 15-minute drive from here. A fire is approaching the area and residents have been advised to evacuate.
Chan-joo, why are these wildfires spreading so much?
Experts and local media say a lot of it has to do with the weather. They say the dry, strong winds have blown embers to other areas.
Trees are also a problem. Coniferous trees such as pine trees are known to contain more thermal energy and sustain flames more than twice as long as broadleaf trees.
Acting President Han Deok-soo says the government is confronting the fires with all available personnel and equipment, but the situation remains dire.
The government says about 6,000 military personnel and more than 100 military helicopters have been deployed so far to combat the wildfires. US forces in South Korea are also providing help.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised a test involving military drones. He then called for a medium to long-term project to enhance their development. North Korea's state-run media reported that Kim oversaw performance tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those involved newly developed reconnaissance and self-destructing drones that country has been producing. A photo shows a large unmanned surveillance aircraft in flight. Other pictures show drones exploding after hitting targets.
The media said Kim supports a plan to expand production. It quoted him as saying the field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be prioritized. Photographs in the report also showed Kim inspecting what appeared to be early warning and control aircraft. Multiple sources told NHK last month that the North reached an agreement with Russia to receive technical help to jointly develop and produce multiple types of drones.
The South Korean military says the North has been sending more soldiers to Russia. It says Pyongyang deployed over 3,000 troops in January and Februarysupport the invasion of Ukraine.
A report by the Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea likely sent about 11,000 soldiers to Russia last year. It adds that about 4,000 of them have been injured or died.
The report also says Pyongyang has provided Moscow with military equipment.
That includes a large number of short-range ballistic missiles 220 self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers. The North failed in its attempts to launch a military satellite in May last year. The report says there are no signs of a launch at that moment.
The saga around the national security group shot continues to plague the Trump administration. The Atlantic magazine released more of the messages as seen by its editor-in-chief.
The Atlantic ran a new article Wednesday.
It published screenshots from the chat, including posts by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They detailed the planned attacks on the Houthis and the timeline of the operation. It also referred to attacks by fighter jets, drone strikes and Tomahawk missiles.
The magazine first reported about the chat Monday. He said its editor-in-chief was inadvertently invited to the group. He then watched as top US officials discussed the military operation in Yemen. In Wednesday's article, The Atlantic suggests there could have been dire consequences. He said the information could have put American personnel at risk.
President Trump is defending the group, claiming they didn't discuss classified information. He also suggested he won't punish National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who made the chat.
There's no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information.
Defense Secretary Hexeth addressed reporters in Hawaii Wednesday, but didn't take any questions. Back in Washington, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt also defended the group.
She said the app in question is approved by the US government. She said the CIA, as well as the Defense and State Departments, all have the app on government phones. She called it a secure and efficient way to communicate.
Reporters continued to press her on it, prompting her to push back.
I have now been asked an answer of the same question using different language multiple times. If anybody has another question, there's a lot of different things going on in the world.
She also said officials were working to see how The Atlantic's editor-in-chief made it into the group. She said tech billionaire Elon Musk, who works with the Trump administration, will also lend a hand.
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It's now time to check out the weather. As we reported, people in parts of Japan are struggling with wildfires. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano will provide details about the upcoming rain.
Widespread showers are expected from Thursday to Friday. On Thursday, people in Yakushima experienced 180 millimeters of rainfall in just an hour. breaking its all-time record. The rain is likely to spread east. This could be welcome news for people in western Japan who are dealing with wildfires. But at the same time, caution is needed for severe weather. There are risks of thundershowers, gusty winds and even tornadoes. People in Tohoku also should watch out for avalanches and fresh fats due to melting snow.
After the rain, a big temperature change is coming over the weekend. It will be 20,16 in Tokyo on Friday, but drop to only 14 on Saturday.
Sapporo and Niigata may see snowfall on Saturday and Sunday, so please bundle up. Moving to North America, back-to-back Pacific storms are bringing wet weather to the northwest, and a couple of low pressure systems are causing severe weather in the plains. In southern Texas, total rainfall could exceed 200 millimeters by Friday, leading to flash flooding. Showers are also expected in Houston and Oklahoma City, but sunny skies are expected in Washington with a high of 16.
People should be able to see the beautiful contrast of blue skies and pink flowers.
Locals and visitors enjoyed picnics and taking pictures under the cherry blossoms in D.C. on Wednesday. Reuters reported from Family Film Philadelphia said they would definitely come back next year for the flowers. According to the National Park Service, peak bloom is usually during the last week of March and the first week of April. That's all for the weather. Have a nice day.
♫～
That's all for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Morishita Erika in Tokyo.
Thank you so much.
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