CHINA COURT SENTENCES JAPANESE MAN TO OVER 3 YEARS FOR SPYING
A court in Beijing has sentenced a Japanese businessperson to three years and six months in prison for involvement in espionage. The man has already been detained in China for more than two years. Japan's ambassador to China, Kanasugi Kenji, was present at the court during the ruling.We were calling for him to be released as soon as possible, so it is regrettable that he was found guilty.
Kanasugi says the Japanese government will continue at various levels to urge China to promptly release other detained Japanese nationals. The man in his 60s worked in China for many years as an employee of the Japanese company Astellas Pharma. He was detained by Chinese security authorities for alleged spying in March 2023, shortly before his planned return to Japan. He was later indicted. Beijing introduced an anti-espionage law in 2014 and has been stepping up monitoring of foreigners. So far, 17 Japanese nationals have been detained. Five, including the businessperson, are still being held in China.JAPAN WEATHER OFFICIALS WARN OF TORRENTIAL RAIN ON PACIFIC COAST
Japanese weather officials say torrential rain could hit eastern and western parts of the country, especially along the Pacific coast through Thursday. They are urging people to be on the alert for landslides and flooding.The meteorological agency says a high-pressure system will stretch westward through Thursday, bringing localized torrential rain as moist air flows into eastern and western Japan. In the 24 hours through Thursday moon, up to 250 millimeters of rain is forecast in Shizuoka Prefecture, 200 millimeters in central Japan's Tokai region, 180 millimeters in the Kanto-Koshi region, including Tokyo, and 120 millimeters in the Shikoku region in western Japan. The downpours are expected to continue later into the week. The agency is calling on people to be on the alert for landslides, flooding and swollen rivers. It's also urging caution against lightning and severe wind gusts, tornadoes and hail.
HIROSHIMA OPENS UP VAULT HOLDING ATOMIC BOMB VICTIM REMAINS
Officials in Hiroshima City have opened up a vault housing the remains of atomic bomb victims for the first time in a decade. It's part of a renewed effort to find the relatives of the hundreds of people whose remains are still unclaimed by family members. This summer will mark 80 years since the bombing.The vault at the atomic bomb memorial mound was shown to journalists. The vault contains the remains of about 70,000 people who were killed, including 812 whose remains have been identified but not claimed.
Urns labeled with individual names are kept on shelves in the vault. City officials maintain a list of the names at a municipal office and have posted it on the city's website. But the discovery of relatives has become rare in recent years.
I want to spread the word about this mound so we can find the relatives of the 812 people whose remains are unclaimed.
Umemoto urged people to contact the city if they have information related to the unclaimed remains.RISE IN FOREIGNERS BECOMING HOT-BUTTON ELECTION ISSUE
As Japan gears up for this Sunday's upper house election, the rising number of foreign nationals in the country is becoming increasingly politicized, especially online. Some parties are pitching better integration, while others are pushing for tighter rules. Here with me to break it down for us, NHK World's political correspondent, Kikuyama Kengo. So Kengo, what's driving this conversation?Japan is also expanding its foreign workforce to make up for labor shortages.
That number has grown for 12 years straight, hitting a record of more than 2.3 million foreign workers last year.
There are also international students, a smaller group, but still adding to the total. As of May last year, there were over 336,000 people from abroad who had come to study in Japan.
That was up about 21% from the year previous. I spoke with a Chiba University professor, Mizushima Jiro, who says, up until now, a policy discussions around foreigners have been limited.
That's despite their growing presence and the fact that some workers and students may decide to stick around.
There is still a lingering perception that foreign residents are temporary and eventually return to their home countries. This election has exposed the disconnect between the reality of Japan's growing foreign populationand society's readiness to respond to that change.
This disconnect is only going to get more pronounced if Japan's economy grows increasingly reliant on foreigners due to a shrinking populations.Right. So what's creating enough friction to make this an election issue for some Japanese?
Others say they're worried about safety and security. Japan's National Police Agency says the number of offenses committed by foreign visitors and short-term residents exceeded 21,000 last year.
That was an increase from the previous year, though still down from the all-time peak of 47,000 cases in 2005. I should also note that the total number of crimes in Japan was over 730,000 last year.
Professor Mizushima points out a few notable cases have led to some bad publicity for foreigners.
Recently, traffic violations and certain crimes involving foreigners have come under the spotlight. It seems to have resonated with the public's growing sense of anxiety.
So Professor Mizushima mentioned traffic violations. There were two recent high-profile cases involving foreign motorists. breaking the law.One was caught driving on the wrong side of the road. Another was arrested for a collision that injured 4 kids.
Amid these concerns, Japan's government launched a new body on Tuesday. It's aimed at creating what the government calls a society of orderly coexistence between Japanese and foreign nationals.
So what are we hearing from parties?
ohh Well, there are a range of ideas being presented. Some call for much stricter regulation, for example, around foreigners buying up properties around having access to Japan's social safety nets.
Others want to be more inclusive, promoting anti-discrimination laws, as well as better Japanese language education and job assistance for new residents. This debate could have an impact on the election results, but this national conversation is far from over.
Thank you very much, NHK World's political correspondent, Hikuyama Kengo.
Should Japan accept foreign workers to address labor shortage?
Meanwhile, NHK also surveyed 14 political parties and groups with the question, Should Japan accept foreign workers to address its labor shortage?The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Komeito, Japanese Communist Party, and Social Democratic Party said Japan should accept more foreign workers. Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Japan Innovation Party said the current level is sufficient.
Conservative Party of Japan, the Collaborative Party, NHK Party, and Team Mirai argued they should be limited. Reiwa Shisengumi and Sanseito said Japan should not accept them. And Democratic Party for the People and the Path to Rebirth refrain from answering.
Responses were divided.
BUSINESS
Now let's see what's happening in the world of business here, Gene Otani from The Business. Gene?Thanks.
SOFTBANK GROUP AIMS FOR SELF-PROLIFERATING AI AGENT SYSTEM
In our top business story this hour, Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group says it aims to create a system enabling artificial intelligence to develop another, more efficient AI model. That's through using AI agents, which can perform tasks without human input. Chairman and CEO Son Masayoshi said such a systemWould be the world's first in which AI agents proliferate by themselves.The age when humans program artificial intelligence is coming to an end before our eyes. Our group is in the process of replacing programming by humans with that of AI agents.
Son said he aims to create 1 billion types of AI agents in his group by the end of this year. The company says it's developing them to handle tasks such as schedule management, business negotiations and the preparation of documents for meetings. Japanese electronics firms Fujitsu and NEC are also developing AI agents.NISSAN, MAZDA HALT US PRODUCTION OF VEHICLES FOR CANADA
Japanese automakers Nissan and Mazda will continue suspending US production of vehicles destined for Canada. This may last until the outcome of tariff talks between Washington and Ottawa is known. Canada imposed a 25% tariff on automobile imports from the US This is in retaliation for the same rate tariffs slapped on by the Trump administration.Nissan has halted production of three models for Canada at plants in the US states of Tennessee and Mississippi, including large SUV's since May.
Mazda has also paused production of some models for Canada at its Alabama plant since May. It also shifted manufacturing to US market vehicles.
The automakers say they are taking these measures to minimize the tariff burden,
when exporting products from the US to Canada. Nissan officials said they hoped the two countries would reach a tariff agreement.
Mazda officials have said they will consider flexible and appropriate measures based on the progress of negotiations.
NEXT GENERATION BUILDS UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN JAPAN AND S.KOREA
Japan and South Korea are marking 60 years of diplomatic ties. Business and cultural exchange is thriving. The number of visits between the two countries surpassed 12 million last year, reaching a record high. But with a new president in Seoul, questions remain.Even so, young people from both nations are coming together to learn from each other.
College students studying in Seoul were invited to a university in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. They and their hosts discussed how to contribute to bilateral relations.
Nakaya Reika studies South Korean culture and its relations with Japan. In junior high school, she got into K-pop and television dramas, and that inspired her to study in the country for half a year.
Ties between Tokyo and Seoul have been influenced by political leadership for decades, but things improved dramatically under former President Yoon Suk-yeol. In fact, in a survey last fall by Japan's Cabinet Office, over 56% of respondents said they feel an affinity for South Korea, more than double the ratio. during the previous administration.
But the question is whether that progress will continue. The new president is Lee Jae-myung, who has been critical of Japan in the past.
Nakaya asked the visiting students about their concerns.
Japanese people are somewhat worried since the president has changed. Do you sense a change in the atmosphere in your country?
I think the president will carry out diplomacy so relations with Japan improve.
Another South Korean student brought up issues that have long affected ties.Do you learn about history, about what happened between our countries?
The students engaged in open discussions on difficult matters, including politics and history.
I'm grateful the Japanese students tried to understand things from our perspective even more than I expected.Getting to know people from other countries is very important for improving relations, so.
Exchanges like this are valuable.
All right, let's have a look at the markets.
And that's it for business news.
IN FOCUS
Next, we go to my colleague Shibuya Aki for Newsline in Focus. She has a report on the current situation in South Africa.SOUTH AFRICA'S LINGERING RACIAL DIVIDE
More than 30 years have passed since South Africa abolished apartheid, a system of segregation and discrimination against the black majority under white minority rule. But racial imbalance still exists, including disparity in land ownership. White people, who account for only 7% of the population, own 70% of South Africa's farmland.Amidst such inequality, a party that calls for seizing land from white owners has been gaining support. With such tensions rising, US President Donald Trump recently decided to grant asylum to white farmers to escape what he called genocide. But South Africa's government says that violence in the country does not constitute genocide. President Cyril Ramaphosa had this to say to Trump.
People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity, are not only white people. The majority of them are black people.
In the following report, we visit South Africa to speak with people there about what's actually happening.This is a rural area in northern South Africa. The white crosses standing here are said to be for white farmers who were killed. About 3,000 crosses bear the names and ages of white farmers who were killed since the early 1990s when apartheid was abolished.
It's a very slow genocide, but it's a genocide that's going on against farmers, Afrikaner farmers in South Africa.Kobus De Lange, who manages the site, says around 50 crosses have been added annually over the past four years.
The main thing is it is racial orientated, the farm murders. Most of the time it's it's only the brutal. murders that took place and the the torture, up to nine hours, six hours that the farmers are tortured before they are killed.This cross bears the name of Niki Janssen von Rensburg, who was killed three years ago at the age of 35. He was attacked at his home by a group of five men.
He died in front of his fiance, Veronica Grobler.
She says the attackers were black and that they were driven by hatred of white people. Black men.
They want the white homers out of the land. I think it's good that personal Donald Trump is turning in, because our White people is suffering because we we fear for our life when is the next one.In South Africa, worsening security has become a serious social problem. The country has around 27,000 murders per year. And it's not just the white population falling victim to the violence. Police announce that six agricultural workers were killed in the first three months of this year. And that five of them were black, while only one was white.
The police rarely provide such race-related data. Some are spreading the word that black people are victims too.
Mahabo Moraba is a farmer near the capital, Pretoria. He says he's been attacked three times in the past 15 years. The other one was here, but we'll come back to it.
They broke this window. We just, we just said pow. And I was in the bedroom. Who's that?He just come out, come out. He was fighting, fighting. Come out. He was a screwdriver with it. Once you come out, he stabs you to death. They don't attack only whites. They attack everybody. More blacks have been attacked than whites.
After each attack, he put up more barriers to protect himself and his family at great personal expense. He says it's harder for him financially to ensure security compared to white farmers.
Even now, they're the only most of them are the commercial farmers. We cannot reach that. Most of them, they've got money. They've beefed up their security.
Yeah, and they've got firearms. They can defend themselves.
This one was a group for everybody, whites and blacks. We share information.
Even the day we were attacked here, we sent, I called her. Immediately she sent some patrolas to come and help.
On this day, a black farmer visits her for some advice. His mother was killed in a robbery two years ago.
Thank you. OK, but be strong.
And you are strong. I can see even your sister. Yes. OK. Thank you.
We do fight. Because we are a family, you fight. And afterwards, you will solve the problem and move on. No space for it. Space for working together and unite.
While South Africa's security situation remains fragile, Kobi and like-minded individuals in her community are taking a courageous step forward. And their group is not the only one. Others in the country are doing the same, thinking beyond color lines and coming together to help each other out.WEATHER
And it's time for weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh. So Jonathan, we've been reporting about the on and off heavy rain that's still lingering in parts of Japan. Tell us more about how things are looking for Thursday.Here's a look at some video that's coming out from the region as fire continues to cause serious problems as they rage out of control in the Four Corners region. Wildfires broke out in Colorado's Black Canyon National Park after lightning struck late last week. An interagency information system reported that by Tuesday, over 16,000 hectares had been scorched is not just Colorado in Arizona, a spokesperson at the Grand Canyon National Park said that the Dragon Bravo fire grew to nearly 35,000 hectares, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and about 70 other structures. And we are going to still see that dry pattern down in the area while rain and storms are going to up toward the north into the upper plains. So be on the lookout for that. Denver and Chicago looking at thunderstorms for Wednesday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
And that's NHK Newsline for this hour.I'm Yamamoto Miki in Tokyo. Thanks for staying with us.
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