at 18:00 (JST), July 20

 

20250720180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Gene Otani in Tokyo. 

M7.5 QUAKE STRIKES OFF COAST OF RUSSIA'S KAMCHATKA

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has notified Japan's Meteorological Agency that a magnitude 7.5 earthquake has struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
The quake occurred at around 6:49 a.m. UTC on Sunday.
The agency says there's a possibility the tremor leads to changes in tidal levels along the coast of Japan, but it is unlikely to cause any damage.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred in the same area about 20 minutes earlier. 

JAPAN VOTES IN UPPER HOUSE ELECTION

People across Japan are having their say in an election for the upper house. All eyes are on whether the ruling coalition can keep their majority after losing its grip on the lower house last year.

Voting began at 7 AM Sunday and is open until 8 PM, except for areas such as remote islands. There are more than 44,000 polling stations nationwide. Over 21 million people voted early. That's more than 20% of the total electoral and 5 million more than three years ago. The Diet's upper chamber has 248 seats, with half up for grabs every three years. 125 are contested this time, including one vacancy, a now former lawmaker who was elected in 2022.
More than 500 are gunning for a seat in electoral districts or by proportional representation. The rising cost of living is front and center. Other big issues include Social Security, the population decline and foreign policy issues.
The stakes are especially high for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner Komeito. They lost their majority in the lower house last year. This time, they need to secure a combined 50 seats to retain an overall majority in the upper house.

Our special coverage of the election starts just before 8 p.m. Tokyo time.
Catch Japan Decides for the latest results, analysis, and more.

HEAVY RAIN TRIGGERS FLOODING, LANDSLIDES IN S. KOREA

Heavy rain in South Korea has left 14 people dead and 12 missing. Downpours over the past week have triggered landslides and flooding in parts of the country. 

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety released the numbers as of 10:00 AM on Sunday.
South Korean media say a total of 800 millimeters have pounded Sangcheong in the southern region of Gyeongsannam-do over the past five days. Reports say more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Some roads have been flooded, and power outages have struck Songchang and neighboring areas. Recovery efforts are ongoing. 

RUSSIANS ON JAPAN-CLAIMED ISLAND CLEAN JAPANESE GRAVES

Residents on one of the four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories have cleaned the graves of the ancestors of former Japanese residents. Programs to allow the descendants to visit the site remain halted over the past years.
The grave visits and a visa free exchange program for the former islanders came to a halt due to factors including the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There is no prospect for a resumption at this time. A memorial service at sea is to be held starting Sunday, in which former residents will offer their prayers on board a ship near the island. In mid June, Russian islanders cleaned the grave sites for the former residents who are unable to visit the graveyard on the western coast of Kunashiri Island, controlled by Russia. After mowing the grass, they restored fading Japanese letters on a sign pillar by referring to information provided by the Japanese side.

I understand the situation of the neighboring Japanese who were unable to visit the graves. We were helping them as much as possible. We took care of the Japanese cemetery, just like our own.

The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War II. The Japanese government plans to work on the resumption of the exchange program while continuing to uphold its. policy of resolving the territorial issue and signing a peace treaty with Russia. But Russia unilaterally suspended peace treaty negotiations after its invasion of Ukraine and says the lifting of sanctions should precede such talks.

REFLECTING ON TRUMP'S FIRST SIX MONTHS OF SECOND TERM

Sunday marks six months since US President Donald Trump took office for the second term. He has rolled out major policies based on his America First stance. This has had major impacts both inside and outside the country. Make America great again.
Trump has imposed strict tariffs and is holding trade talks with friendly nations as he tries to reduce trade deficits. Japan is one of the trade partners Trump says has a trade imbalance with the US, especially with cars. And Trump has been ramping up pressure, threatening to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Japan starting August 1. Trump has also criticized NATO for relying on the US for defense, calling the situation unfair. Last month, NATO members agreed to raise defense spending to 5% of their GDP.
Regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in a heated argument at the White House. But recently, Trump has been increasing pressure on Russia with the aim of achieving  a ceasefire between the two countries.
On domestic issues, Trump has prioritized dealing with illegal immigrants. Last month, the crackdown sparked protests in Los Angeles. The National Guard was deployed to bring the situation under control. The city's mayor and California's governor say the move escalated tensions. Trump also proceeded with mass firings of federal workers and government funding cuts as part of a push to slash spending. Paul Sracic, an expert on US politics, says people should have taken Trump more seriously when he said the US would be done if he didn't start making major changes.

If you think it's so many different areas, from the budget to foreign policy to trade policy, we've just seen sort of a radical, you know, change of direction. It really is striking the change.

Trump's approval rating has dropped slightly. Shortly after his inauguration, it was slightly over 50%.
But in March, that started to reverse, and as of Saturday, 45.8% of the people approve, while 51.5% said they disapprove of the president's job. Sracic says there has been some backlash, but a steady economy up to this point has prevented Trump's approval rating from falling sharply. He warns if the impact of Trump's tariffs is felt on the economy, his approval rating could be affected.

You could see inflation increasing. You could see companies laying off workers, that the economy is the number one issue for people. And I I don't think President Trump's approval numbers can survive a downturn in the economy. 

Those were the main stories for this hour.

♫～　3-DAY FORECAST　～♫

And that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani from all of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the world. Thanks very much for joining us.