Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikama Ryuichi in Tokyo.
CHINA SENDS ANOTHER LETTER TO UN OVER TAIWAN REMARK
China has sent a second letter to the United Nations chief demanding that Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae retract her remark about Taiwan.
Last month, Takaichi said a Taiwan emergency involving the use of force could be considered a situation threatening the survival of Japan.
Fu Zong is China's permanent representative to the UN.
Fu said on Monday that he had now sent another letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The newest dispatch is an effort to dispute Japan's reaction to China's initial letter.
Chinese officials sent that complaint on November 21.
Fu's letter on Monday said Japan's response groundlessly accuses his country and seeks to shift blame.
He wrote that China firmly opposes that position.
It says the direct cause of the serious differences between the two countries is Takaichi's provocative remark during her diet questioning.
The letter adds that such an erroneous remark openly challenges the post-war international order.
In his reply last month, Japan's permanent representative to the UN said China's claims are inconsistent with the facts and unsubstantiated.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru told the reporters on Tuesday that he is aware of the latest letter.
Japan's position has been consistent.
Japan has repeatedly conveyed to China that its assertions about a change in position are absolutely incorrect.
Tihara added China's arguments cannot possibly be recognized, and the government will continue to respond appropriately.
OVER 1,100 DEAD AFTER HEAVY RAIN IN SOUTH, SOUTHEAST ASIA
The death toll from recent torrential rains continues to rise in Asia.
Over 1,100 people are dead, with more than 600 of them in Indonesia alone.
As of Monday night, Indonesian authorities say 604 people are dead on the island of Sumatra alone.
More than 400 were still missing.
President Prabo Subianto visited some of the affected areas.
He says the government will prioritize bringing in fuel and other essentials.
He also said those without electricity can expect it to be restored soon, saying the situation is improving.
The severe weather began in late November.
It has also left 355 dead in Sri Lanka and 170 dead in Thailand.
RESIDENTS: AUTHORITIES DIDN'T ADDRESS CONCERNS
Survivors of the deadly Hong Kong apartment fire say they expressed concerns about flammable materials used in renovation work, but authorities didn't act on them.
Hong Kong's chief executive says the government will launch an independent probe into the blaze.
John Lee vowed to uncover what caused the fire.
00:03:31 話者 2
I will establish an independent committee to conduct comprehensive and in-depth review to reform the building work system and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
00:03:46 話者 1
The fire killed 151 people and over 30 remain unaccounted for.
Authorities suspect the fire started in protective netting around scaffolding.
Renovations began last year.
Authorities have already arrested more than 10 people, including executives of the companies involved in the construction, as part of their investigation.
Residents said authorities relied on a construction company in charge of the renovations to take appropriate fire prevention measures.
They also said the authorities claimed the netting met fire safety standards and didn't order the farm to stop its work.
They said flammable foam bores used in the renovations may have helped spread the flames.
This architect has been working with residents on the matter.
The government failed to strengthen legal systems and regulations.
It also didn't take measures to prevent problems.
These are the main cause of this incident.
A university student handed out flyers urging people to sign an online petition that demands a probe into possible corruption.
Media outlets say he was arrested for alleged sedition and later released.
Before his arrest, he called the fire a man-made disaster.
JAPAN'S RULING COALITION AIMS TO REDUCE LOWER HOUSE SEATS
Japan's ruling coalition is pushing forward with a plan to shrink the size of the country's parliament.
This is based on an agreement reached between the two parties when they formed a coalition in October that paved the way for Takaichi Sanae to become prime minister.
A bill to reduce the number of lower House seats is expected to be submitted in the current diet session.
Takaichi, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party, held discussions on Monday with Yoshimura Hirofumi.
He is the leader of coalition partner Japan Innovation Party.
The two confirmed that if no conclusion is reached within a year of debate in the Diet, they will call for a reduction of roughly 10 percent to be enforced.
The two parties later compiled an outline of the bill stating that the details should be debated at a council involving all parties and Diet groups.
The bill says if no legislative measure is taken within one year, the Public Offices Election Act will be revised to Ax 45 of the current 465 law warehouse seats.
This would include 25 single-seat constituencies and 20 from the proportional representation segment.
The ruling coalition aims to submit the bill as soon as possible.
It is necessary to gain the understanding of the opposition parties and cooperate with them to pass the bill.
Some opposition parties were critical of the plan as it stands.
I would like to have more explanation about why they want a 10 percent reduction and why they want it done within a year.
I think the only measure of political reform needed now is a total ban on corporate donations.
Koike added that his party is opposed to reducing the number of seats in the diet.
ANALYSIS: THE US AND CHINA RACE FOR AI HEGEMONY
The power struggle between the United States and China has been heating up, but not just over tariffs and export controls.
The two are duking it out for dominance in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence.
Earlier, I spoke with NHK deputy chief commentator, Ida Kaori.
She explained how the US and China are faring, as well as Japan's position in the AI push.
So Kaori, it feels like every day there's another headline about AI push.
It's hard to keep up.
So where do things stand right now?
00:08:12 話者 3
Well, in short, the US is leading on several fronts while China is racing to catch up.
Let's take a look at one of the major measurements.
the money going into all of this.
This graph shows private sector investments in AI.
The gap is striking.
US companies have poured in over 11 times more than China and a whopping 117 times more than Japan.
But again, China is catching up.
It's pushing hard on technology development and rapid social implementation.
00:08:48 話者 1
And now on development, there are more and more players in the field these days.
Whose AI models lead the pack?
00:08:56 話者 3
Up until recently, it was one of the most well-known models, OpenAI's ChatGPT.
It's been overtaken by Google's most advanced AI model, now ranked at the top of the Global Intelligence Index.
But if you can take a look at fifth place, number five, it's by Chinese startup Moonshot AI, which is backed by Alibaba.
The model ranks just behind Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
What's remarkable is that it's open source and developed at a fraction of the cost compared to the billions spent by US rivals.
00:09:33 話者 1
So that chart shows that most of the top players are US or China-based.
Who are the end users going with?
00:09:43 話者 3
That's a very good question.
Many companies in Tokyo tell me they mostly use US models.
Japan is emerging as an attractive market.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group recently partnered with OpenAI, declaring it will reinvent itself as AI native.
OpenAI says Japan is now the second largest market after the US for enterprise AI adoption.
We aim to continue to provide safe and responsible AI services and products to bring sustainable growth to Japanese society and industries.
In October, OpenAI's biggest rival, Anthropic, opened its first Asian office in Tokyo.
Its CEO shared his excitement in an interview with us.
We see Japan as a really great place to do business.
We focus more on working with businesses and less on the consumer side.
And so our view of this is that there's really an opportunity to create economic value with Japanese businesses.
That said, businesses here in Tokyo also tell me that Chinese models are starting to gain traction.
One of them is run by Alibaba.
The company tells me the model, it's spelled Q-W-E-N, but it's pronounced Kwen or Q-Wen.
00:11:08 話者 1
Okay, so how are Japanese companies performing in the AI race?
00:11:13 話者 3
Japan has long been considered a tough environment for startups, but it's now seeing rapid growth.
A standout example is Sakana AI.
It recently raised 20 billion yen in funding from Japanese investors, along with overseas investors, including the Santander Group of Spain.
That pushed its valuation to 400 billion yen, about $2.6 billion, which the company says is the largest ever for a startup in Japan.
00:11:44 話者 1
Okay, so beyond the private sector, what are governments doing?
00:11:49 話者 3
Yes. Japan, the US, and China are taking different approaches.
Let's start with the US In July, it released its AI Action Plan, which is structured around three pillars: accelerate AI innovation, build American AI infrastructure, and lead in international AI diplomacy and security.
00:12:12 話者 1
From this day forward, it'll be a policy of the United.
00:12:16 話者 2
States to do whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence.
00:12:24 話者 3
China responded in August with its own AI+ initiative.
It's a three-phase roadmap to deeply integrate AI into society and the economy by 2035.
And as for Japan, the government admits it's lagging behind
You can see the AI usage rate by companies at 55.2%, and for individuals, it's 26.7% for Japan, much lower compared with the US and China.
The government says it plans to announce by the end of this month a basic AI strategy to tackle low adoption and limited investment relative to its economic scale.
00:13:09 話者 1
For now, it seems
This is largely a two-way race.
Any idea on who will come out on top?
00:13:17 話者 3
That's the billion-dollar question, I would say.
And here's what a couple of major players in tech recently had to say.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huan told the Financial Times, quote, China is going to win the AI race.
And former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said,
The vast majority of governments and countries will end up standardizing on Chinese models, not because they're better, but because they're free.
And I think that's a very important point.
Money could be the deciding factor.
And for countries like Japan, the challenge is to balance the appeal of cost and convenience with the need to safeguard.
data protection, and national security.
And as for the US and China, it appears that tensions over this will escalate.
In fact, some experts are now calling this the AI Cold War.
BUSINESS
00:14:16 話者 1
And now let's delve more into what's happening in the world of business.
Here's Gene Ohtani from the BizDesk.
00:14:24 話者 4
Yuichi thanks in our top business story this hour.
AGRICULTURE MINISTER: SPANISH PORK SUSPENSION COULD HIT JAPAN
Japan's agriculture minister says domestic pork supplies could be hit by the suspension of imports from Spain.
That was after African swine fever was detected there last week.
00:14:43 話者 1
We have a strong sense of crisis that the risk of this entering Japan is rising.
We will continue to take all possible prevention measures.
00:14:53 話者 4
The suspension of imports of Spanish pork and processed items began on Friday after the fever was found among wild boar.
No cases have been confirmed in Japan and there is no effective vaccine.
The ministry says about 178,000 tons of pork were imported from Spain in the latest fiscal year.
That made it Japan's third largest supplier, accounting for 18% of the total.
Minister Suzuki said most of the supply was used for bacon, ham, and sausages.
He said such process items could be hit especially hard.
3 JAPANESE FIRMS JOIN US SYNTHETIC METHANE PROJECT
Japan's two major gas utilities, along with a leading trading house, say they will be part of a project to mass-produce synthetic methane in the United States.
Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Itochu have signed a contract to churn out the so-called e-methane in the Midwestern state of Nebraska.
France's Totel Energies has already been running a study on this since 2023 alongside Belgium's Tree Energy Solutions.
E-methane is created from recovered carbon dioxide and hydrogen made from renewable energy, such as sunlight.
It is considered a highly promising resource because of its potential to drastically reduce CO2 output.
The project aims to have e-methane from the US exported to Japan.
The Japanese firms hope to start production in fiscal 2030.
The three are planning an investment that will give them a combined one-third stake in the project.
It is expected to be part of Japan's commitment to purchase $7 billion worth of energy from the US annually, as agreed during recent tariff negotiations.
JAPAN MAY CLASSIFY CRYPTOCURRENCY AS INVESTMENT, CUT TAX RATE
Japan's Financial Services Agency is considering to reclassify Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
as financial products putting them on par with stocks and bonds.
The move is expected to also lower the tax rate on profits from cryptocurrency investments.
Japan has seen an increase in use of digital currencies, with more than 13 million accounts registered in the country.
Cryptocurrency trading is currently regarded as a financial transaction, but the agency says the virtual currencies are increasingly used as investments, so a reclassification is needed.
This will make digital currencies subject to insider trading rules and will require fuller information disclosure from issuers.
The agency plans to submit a draft bill to the Diet next year to revise the law.
The reclassification may also affect tax rules.
Currently, taxes on crypto profits can reach as high as 55%, depending on income.
After the change, gains will likely be taxed at a flat 20%.
The government hopes to implement the revisions in fiscal 2026.
MARKETS
All right, let's have a look at the markets.
♪
And that's a look at business news.
Yu Ching, I'm going to hand it back to you.
00:18:42 話者 1
Thank you, Gene.
GUTERRES: 15% CUT TO 2026 DRAFT UN BUDGET
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has proposed a draft budget for next year that is significantly smaller than this year's budget.
The revised plan was submitted to the UN General Assembly Budget Committee on Monday.
The draft budget of just over 3.2 billion dollars is a 15 percent reduction from this year.
While the proposal reductions are substantial, they have been carefully calibrated to preserve balance across the three pillars of the organization: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.
Guterres said he has exempt the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, from any reductions.
The UNRWA provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, including in the Gaza Strip.
A representative of the US, which has been calling for UN cost cutting, said the proposed budget is a necessary first step for the United Nations to get back to basics and to rebuild trust across the world.
Meanwhile, a representative of Iraq expressed concern over the disproportionate reduction related to international cooperation for development.
Iraq currently chairs the group of 77 developing countries.
Further discussions are expected, yet the draft budget is slated to be adopted by the end of the year.
RUSSIA CLAIMS CAPTURE OF STRATEGIC CITY OF POKROVSK
Russia claims its forces have captured the strategic city of Pokhorovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says intense fighting continues in the area.
The Kremlin said on Monday that President Volodymyr Putin was informed of the battlefield gains the day before by Russia's military.
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub for Ukraine to transport troops and supplies.
Moscow has launched a pitched battle there as it views the city as a major foothold for expanding its area of control.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy said on Monday there are undoubtedly intense battles taking place in Pokrovsk and in other front sections.
He made the remark to reporters while on a visit to France.
Losing the eastern hub would be a blow to Kyiv.
Calls are growing in the US for an explanation from the administration of President Donald Trump over its strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug smuggling vessels.
This comes as a report claims the military conducted a follow-up strike on a boat to kill survivors of an initial attack.
Experts say the killing of people who are no longer able to fight is a violation of international law.
US DOUBLE BOAT STRIKE RAISES QUESTIONS OF LEGALITY
The Washington Post reports the military conducted a second strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in September.
The attacks were carried out on a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth to kill all on board.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt defended the legality of the strike, saying a naval commander had ordered it to eliminate a threat.
Admiral Browley worked well within his authority in the law.
He directed the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat of narco-terrorists to the United States was completely eliminated.
Meanwhile, writers quote sources as saying Trump demanded Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro step down in a phone call on November 21st.
He also said Maduro had to leave his country within a week.
Maduro reportedly rejected the demand.
Reuters says this prompted Trump to claim on social media that airspace over and around Venezuela had been closed in an attempt to ramp up pressure on Maduro.
It's time to check on the weather with our meteorologist, Jonathan Ah.
So Jonathan, as we move through December, people in the greater Tokyo area are still able to check out the fall foliage.
So what can you share with us?
00:23:16 話者 2
Hello, we are still seeing some yellow colors from some of the golden leaves of ginkgo trees in the Greater Tokyo area and I want to show you one of those located over in Chiba Prefecture as you take a look at this video.
You can see right there that if you happen to be walking in the Kashika Hachimangu Shrine one night in Ichikawa City, you might find yourself at the foot of a towering 22 meter ginkgo tree filled with golden leaves and what may be even more impressive
is that the tree is estimated to be 1,200 years old.
Its trunk has a circumference of 10 meters.
The tree is called the Ginkgo of 1,000 trunks because of the numerous branches that come from the base where the thick trunk was hit by lightning.
The peak of its autumn color is expected to remain through mid-December.
Now, if you are interested in heading out, you'll need to bundle up because after seeing daytime high temperatures that are above average for this time of year, they're about to come really crashing down.
We have cold air coming in from the
north snow up toward Hokkaido as we go into the day on Wednesday.
And yeah, we're going to talk about temperatures that are going to be close to normal for this time of year.
14 for the high in Tokyo on Wednesday, 11 for Thursday.
Overnight lows are dropping down in the process as well, so you'll need to bundle up.
Snowflakes possible to Fukuoka and plenty of snow to talk about in Sapporo for the rest of this week.
And so yeah, it looks like that December is really starting to wake up.
Meanwhile, as we go down toward
Indonesia and the surrounding area, we've been following the aftermath of that tropical cyclone hitting Sumatra, and it looks like that it's a tropical area, which means more wet weather will continue to be a part of the story here, and that's going to make these even more difficult for folks who are trying to recover from the disaster.
Still seeing that rain pattern continuing as we go throughout the day on Wednesday.
Quick note, North America, chilly with snow, plenty of it in the northeastern portion of the United States, and so we're looking at that to be the case as
from Tuesday into Wednesday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
FIRST OF SEASON TOP-GRADE YELLOWTAIL FETCHES 4 MILLION YEN
00:26:16 話者 1
And just one more story before we go.
The season's first auction of top-quality winter yellowtail caught off Ishika Prefecture, central Japan, has been held.
One prize fish fetched a record-tying 4 million yen, or nearly $26,000.
The prefectural fishery cooperative starts shipping highest-grade winter yellowtail under the brand name Kirameki every December.
To qualify for that appellation, the fish must weigh at least 14 kilograms.
The cooperative also pays special attention to ensuring the fish's freshness.
The four-million-yen yellowtail came from the town of Noto, which was hit by a purple earthquake last year.
A company that operates supermarkets across the Ishikan prefecture bought the 14.5-kilogram kirameki-branded fish.
00:27:21 話者 2
Disaster recovery is still ongoing, and we'd like to help revitalize Noto by delivering good food.
00:27:29 話者 1
The company is displaying the pricey yellowtail at one of its supermarkets and will put it on sale on Wednesday.
And that wraps up this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo.
Thanks for joining us.
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