Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoko Nishimura in Tokyo with the latest news.
Torrential Rain Pounds Ishikawa, Toyama Prefectures
We begin with torrential rain in central Japan.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has changed level 5 emergency warnings to level 3 warnings for some communities after the area experienced record rainfall.
Those warnings are on a scale of one up to five.
These emergency warnings for heavy rain apply to five municipalities in the prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama. It has now been changed to level three.
It covers the cities of Hakui and Himi and the towns of Shika, Hodatsushimizu, and Nakanoto.
Some areas in the prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama are still under level four urgent warnings for landslides.
00:00:59 話者 11/Nagayama Ryuji/Japan Meteorological Agency
Even in areas where the rain is currently light, there is a risk of heavy rain of an alert level again toward Friday morning.
Please evacuate appropriately in accordance with evacuation information.
00:01:14 話者 1
In the last 24 hours, over 340 millimeters of rain fell in Himi and Hakui.
Hodatsu Shimizu town saw 260 millimeters. Those amounts broke records.
But prefectural officials in Ishikawa said earlier Thursday morning that they hadn't received any reports of injuries.
However, multiple landslides have been reported as well as overflowing rivers and flooded homes.
Footage out of Hini shows widespread flooding in the streets that has left cars stranded.
00:01:49 話者 12
The water has been rising really quickly, so I evacuated.
I think it's only a matter of time until it's flooded the floor.
00:01:58 話者 1
One house in Himi appears to have sustained heavy damage that crushed its ground level floor.
According to a local volunteer firefighter who shot the footage, a hillside behind the house collapsed, sending mud into nearby homes.
The resident of the house was unharmed.
Hundreds Feared Dead as Floods Hit Nepal-China Border
Rescue crews in Nepal and China are scrambling to respond to large-scale mudslides and flash floods. The disaster in the border region has killed at least 160 people.
On the Nepal side, a catastrophic flow struck the central part of the country on Wednesday. Police say 157 people were killed.
Local authorities are reporting that 403 people, including 341 foreign travelers, are still unaccounted for. Those include 133 Indians 47 Americans and 34 Australians.
South Korea's foreign minister also says nine Korean nationals remain unaccounted for.
The Japanese embassy in Kathmandu has asked Nepali authorities to search for five Japanese believed to have been in the affected area.
Meanwhile, Chinese state-run media says mudslides hit Shigatsu City in the Tibet Autonomous Region, leaving at least three people dead and 558 others, including 260 foreigners unaccounted for.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed officials to search for the missing and treat the injured.
Artist Kusama Yayoi Dies at 97
One of Japan's most internationally celebrated artists has died in Tokyo.
Kusama Yayoi's pumpkins, polka dots and immersive installations made her instantly recognizable around the world.
The foundation that operates her museum announced Thursday that she had died on August 14 at a hospital in the capital.
It said she died of multiple organ failure.
Born in 1929 in Nagano Prefecture, Kusama experienced visual and auditory hallucinations since childhood, which she used as inspiration for her drawings.
She moved to the United States in 1957 where she became known for her avant-garde paintings and sculptures featuring dots and net patterns, as well as installations using mirrors and lights.
After returning to Japan in 1973, she won domestic and global acclaim for works including pumpkin-themed paintings and three-dimensional works.
She was named an officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2003 and awarded Japan's Order of Culture in 2016. Kusama Yayoi was 97.
Iran, Oman Discuss Possible Strait of Hormuz Framework
Iran says it has been holding talks with Oman on new navigation routes in the Strait of Hormuz as well as on the demining process.
But US President Donald Trump has dismissed the latter claim, saying the strait has been completely demined.
Iran and Oman issued a joint statement on Tuesday following talks between their foreign ministers.
The statement says the two sides also agree on the importance of convening joint discussions with Gulf countries.
Iran apparently aims to establish new rules for the strait without US involvement.
Meanwhile, Trump wrote on social media that he had been informed that all mines had been removed from or detonated in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also said that Iran had been notified that any ship found laying new mines would be immediately destroyed.
Netanyahu Faces Challenge in October Election
Political leaders in Israel are gearing up for a general election in October.
And Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is facing a tougher challenge than expected.
He's seen a new party, led by a former military chief, gain support.
Netanyahu has served as leader for more than 18 years.
He visited a polling station in support of a primary election for his Likud party.
00:06:22 話者 23/Binyamin Netanyahu
I say to you, go vote. Go make your voice heard.
Together we will choose a winning team and we will win the upcoming election.
00:06:33 話者 1
He's been appealing to supporters that his government has helped Israel avoid imminent threats to its survival. He pointed to military achievements in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
But opposition leaders reject those claims.
They accuse him of failing to prevent the surprise attack by Hamas three years ago.
And they say military operations have dragged on and fallen short of their goals.
Polls suggest the opposition is expected to win more seats than the ruling parties.
And one of them, the centrist Yashar Party, could overtake Likud and become the largest in parliament. It was founded last September by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
00:07:15 話者 24/Gadi Eisenkot
What saddens me is that Prime Minister Netanyahu portrays himself as the commander-in-chief, but not once has he said, 'I take responsibility.'.
00:07:29 話者 1
He's been stressing that he'll focus on security policy, and he's called for an independent investigation into Netanyahu's handling of the Hamas attack.
A Japanese expert on Israeli affairs says Yashar's rise is rooted in growing frustration with Netanyahu.
00:07:47 話者 25/Suzuki Hiroyuki/Project Associate Professor, University of Tokyo
Current Israeli politics is largely defined by competition for votes within the right-wing camp.
This election has largely become a contest over whether Netanyahu should remain in power or not.
00:08:05 話者 1
But he says a change in leadership may not result in a major shift in Israel's general direction.
00:08:13 話者 25
The scale and targets of military operations could change.
But Israel's overall approach of taking aggressive military action to eliminate threats in the region is unlikely to change significantly.
00:08:33 話者 1
He says the election's outcome could affect the situation across the Middle East and in Japan as well.
Business
Now to tell us what's happening in the world of business, here is Yuko Fukushima from the Biz Desk.
00:08:56 話者 5/Yuko Fukushima
Thanks, Yoko.
Chubu Electric Admits Improper Claims for Reactor Costs
The operator of a nuclear power plant in central Japan has admitted improperly claiming costs for decommissioning two of its reactors.
Chuo Electric Power is currently decommissioning the number one and number two reactors at its Hamaoka power plant in Seizoga Prefecture following a 2008 decision to do so.
The company said at a news conference that at least
Rather, Chubu Electric Power is currently decommissioning the number one and #2 reactors at its Hamoka Power Plant in Seizuka Prefecture following a 2008 decision to do so.
The company said at a news conference that at least 14 construction reports from the subcontractors for the 2024 fiscal year were altered.
The reports falsify the amount of material dismantled and the equipment involved.
The altered reports were submitted to the Nuclear Reprocessing and Decommissioning Facilitation Organization of Japan, which manages funds for nuclear decommissioning.
Chubu Electric said that it received a total of about 800 million yen or $5 million.
00:10:08 話者 33/Otsuka Haruhisa/Chubu Electric Power
We offer our sincere apologies for the repeated incidents of improper conduct that have caused inconvenience for the local community and stakeholders.
00:10:24 話者 5
Chubu Electric was previously found to have falsified safety data related to Hamaoka's number three and number four reactors.
That information concerned earthquake assumptions and the government safety reviews required to restart the reactors.
Consortium Opens Facility to Develop Physical AI Systems
A consortium of firms from different industries has opened a facility near Tokyo to develop physical AI models.
The technology allows artificial intelligence to take autonomous control of robots and other types of machinery.
The five companies in the group include an Osaka trading house and a Tokyo pharmaceutical firm.
They gave the media access to the facility in Chiba Prefecture on Wednesday and showed workers training AI-driven humanoid robots.
The partner firms aim to develop physical AI for their respective assembly lines to help ease labor shortages.
They say the collaboration between various businesses can speed up development and spread the huge costs involved.
00:11:24 話者 43/Isobe Munekatsu/Japan Humanoid Robot Training & Implementation
The models will be able to respond and adapt to various movements, so it makes sense to have different industries working together.
It's possible that retailers, healthcare companies and even snack makers may join us in the future.
00:11:41 話者 5
The group hopes to start trials of AI-powered robots during the current fiscal year.
Nvidia's Quarterly Sales, Profit Hit All-Time Highs
US semiconductor maker Nvidia has reported record quarterly sales and net profit thanks to robust demand for chips for data centers.
Nvidia on Wednesday reported revenue for the three months through July more than doubled from a year earlier to $96.2 billion.
Net income also grew more than twofold to $59.7 billion.
The company's products are sought after by major tech firms that have been investing massive amounts in data centers.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huan said there is now what he called a golden age of scaling up by new AI labs and startups.
He added that the construction of AI infrastructure is proceeding at full steam.
While Nvidia's earnings hit all-time highs, some market players are concerned about the company's future growth.
That's because the huge costs involved in AI development are said to be causing financial strain for tech giants.
Preserving Yamanashi Prefecture's 'Fruit Kingdom'
Yamanashi Prefecture is known locally as Japan's fruit kingdom.
It leads the country in the production of grapes, plums and peaches.
However, production of its prized peaches has steadily declined.
With so much at stake, the prefecture has come up with a promotional campaign it hopes will turn the situation around.
00:13:06 話者 6/Reporter: Muramatsu Azusa/Narrator: Carolyn Miller
In May, Yamanashi Prefecture appointed official supporters to its new peach sommelier initiative to promote locally grown peaches outside the prefecture.
Receiving certification were 12 people, including chefs, pastry chefs, and a grower.
They will help raise awareness of the program.
The decline in peach production is the driving force behind this effort.
While the prefecture has maintained the top production volume in Japan for about 60 years, output has been decreasing.
The gap with second-ranked Fukushima Prefecture at one point narrowed to a mere 2,000 metric tons.
The main factor behind the decline in production is a shortage of young people to step in as new growers.
Yamanashi Prefecture has been promoting the relocation of young growers from around Japan.
It provides them with education and guidance on cultivation techniques with the aim of nurturing the next generation of growers.
Sotta Kouki has been in charge of providing technical guidance for many years.
He is one of the official supporters of the peach sommelier program.
00:14:29 話者 57/Sotta Kouki
Peaches have fairly high unit price, so it's certain that we can make a profit as long as we produce high-quality fruit. I think we can make a decent living as farmers.
00:14:42 話者 6
Newcomers with high hopes of becoming producers are also showing interest in the peach sommelier certification program.
00:14:50 話者 58/Fushimi Mana
I actually found peach farming to be enjoyable. I feel that achieving the precision required of a sommelier might improve my skills even more.
00:15:01 話者 6
Yamanashi Prefecture has a significant advantage with its development of high-quality peach varieties.
This is Yume Toka, a type developed by the Yamanashi Fruit Tree Experiment Station and registered as a product six years ago.
It's popular with consumers because the fruit is large, has a high sugar content and doesn't soften too quickly.
On the other hand, for farmers, the benefits include a long harvest period and minimal fruit damage.
00:15:38 話者 57/Sotta Kouki
If there are more varieties that are easy for newcomers to grow, I believe the peach industry will bounce back.
00:15:47 話者 58/Takahashi Kosei/Yamanashi Prefecture official
There are 20 main varieties alone, so I want the peach sommeliers to experience as many of them as possible, find a favorite peach they want to promote, and then actively promote that peach in their respective fields of expertise.
00:16:04 話者 6
Yamanashi's peach sommelier program carries the prefecture's hopes for saving this key industry from its current crisis.
Markets
00:16:14 話者 5
Let's get your check on the markets.
♪
That's the biz for this hour.
Zainichi Korean Director Explores Identity, Roots in New Film
00:16:52 話者 1
A film directed by a Korean living in Japan explores the struggles of longtime residents with generations of history as inside outsiders in the country.
There are hundreds of thousands of such zainichi.
Director Som Yong-ah tells us about her film Trophy.
00:17:12 話者 8/Reporting Hayashi Kumiko/NHK World
The coming-of-age story is set in a school for Koreans in Japan.
It depicts the journey of the 14-year-old as she navigates questions of identity, family and belonging.
The protagonist, Sohee, is a fourth-generation Zainichi.
The director, Son, drew on her own experience attending a school for Koreans as the third generation in Japan.
While at school, Son looked up to friends who devoted themselves to traditional Korean dance.
But she was uneasy with the way many Japanese saw Korean dance as something exotic.
00:17:58 話者 4/Son Myong A/Director
Korean schools are often viewed negatively, simply because of their perceived ties to North Korea.
Korean traditional dance is beautiful in its own right, but I always wondered why it was often viewed through the lens of political conflict and prejudice.
00:18:19 話者 8
In the film, Sohee grows close to a Japanese student her own age through an exchange event with a Japanese school.
...
The two bond over a shared enthusiasm for K-pop.
Son says she wanted to juxtapose K-pop and traditional dance to help audiences move beyond preconceived ideas.
Sohee's father is a school principal. He places great importance on ties to what he sees as his homeland and within the Zainichi community.
Later, she discovers a medal that her father cherishes.
...
Sohee sells the medal online to attend a K-pop idol concert with her friend.
Later, she is found out.
The tensions between father and daughter come to the fore.
00:20:04 話者 4
That line, if you hate Japan so much, why don't you just go back to North Korea, was actually something I used to say to my own parents.
00:20:14 話者 8
The film traces Sohee's journey as she struggles to understand who she is, confronting her roots and embracing her identity.
00:20:26 話者 4
I've always carried some inner conflicts and unresolved feelings about my identity, and I feel like making this film has allowed me to find some closure.
00:20:40 話者 8
Son hopes her film resonates with audiences across Japanese society, where people with roots in other cultures live side by side with a broader community.
Volcano Experts Join Symposium at Foot of Mt. Fuji
00:20:56 話者 1
Experts from around the world have gathered at the foot of Japan's most famous volcano to share disaster preparation strategies.
The symposium looked at how communities can prepare for future eruptions, including at Mount Fuji.
About 170 people took part in the event Wednesday in Yamanashi Prefecture's Fuji-Yoshida City.
It was organized by the Mount Fuji Research Institute and other bodies to coincide with Japan's Volcanic Disaster Prevention Day.
A researcher from Mexico described lessons from an eruption there in 2000
when more than 40-thousand people were evacuated.
Authorities used evacuation routes, hazard maps and other plans drawn up before the eruption.
Participants also discussed the active Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima.
The head of the local disaster preparedness institute explained how simulations helped them identify who should evacuate when seismic activity increases.
An expert based in Yamanashi, one of the prefectures hosting Mount Fuji, spoke about the challenges of preparing for something no living person has experienced.
00:22:11 話者 73/Yoshimoto Mitsuhiro/Mount Fuji Research Institute
I would like to learn from participants from other countries about measures they are taking and apply those lessons to improve our response to future volcanic eruptions.
00:22:21 話者 1
He said the volcano may not have erupted for three centuries, but they still have to prepare for the day that changes.
Humanoid Robots Beat Bolt's 100-Meter Record
Robots have run 100 meters in under nine seconds.
The machines beat the human record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
More than 2,000 robots from 16 countries took part in the event held for five days through Wednesday.
That's four times the number that competed last year.
The robots competed in 51 events, including sports such as track and field and soccer.
and serving food and beverages.
In the 100-meter final, a Chinese robot crossed the finishing line with a time of 8.64 seconds.
The other four competitors also finished in under 9 seconds, beating the human world record of 9.58 seconds set by Usain Bolt.
Some robots made unexpected moves, catching visitors and the media off guard.
00:23:37 話者 82
I'm very excited. Science and technology is progressing very fast.
00:23:44 話者 81
I think engineers will develop even smarter robots to meet people's needs.
00:23:50 話者 1
China is stepping up the development of humanoid robots.
Attention is focused on the role they will play in people's daily lives and at workplaces.
World Weather
As we have been reporting, heavy rainfall has been hitting the Sea of Japan side of the country.
Our meteorologist Jonathan Oh gives us an analysis as we head into the overnight hours and also into Friday in this weather update.
00:24:41 話者 7/Jonathan Oh
Hello, we have been monitoring the heavy rainfall situation in the Hokuriku region and along the Sea of Japan as we went through today on Thursday with that level 5 emergency warning that was called because of the heavy rainfall.
And we are still looking at the wet weather with the tremendous amounts of precipitation continuing because of the stationary front that lingers in the area with the southerly flow of the moisture. That collision is what's causing all of this wet weather to continue.
We've already reported more than 300 millimeters of rainfall in some of these locations around Ishikawa Prefecture, into Tokyo Prefectures, but another 200 millimeters of rainfall is possible going into the day and through the day on Friday because we still have all that moisture in place.
And that can lead to some real concerns when it comes to landslides.
And also we've already talked about the flooding.
That will continue to be the concern as well.
So make sure you know how to be in your safe place, whether evacuation plan or within your house, especially as night falls, keep up with the latest weather warning alerts.
Let's look at what's happening across South Asia.
We've been following the story in Nepal and also over into China as this big flash flood took place, not due to heavy rainfall, but rain is going to be a factor now going forward because the southwest monsoon is located in the area and that's going to hamper efforts for rescuers trying to go into the area because the terrain is already hard enough.
But when you have thunderstorms in the forecast with rain, that could also make things much more precarious in areas where the sediment is already loose.
And so this is not good news for those located in the area as we go into Friday.
Wrapping things up with a look at North America, the southwestern portion of the United States, it's going to be hot again as we go through Thursday.
We're looking at temperatures pushing up into the upper 30s as we go through Thursday.
Meanwhile, the eastern seaboard lighting up with some thunderstorms for the day.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
00:27:41 話者 1
And that's it for this edition of NHK Newsline.
I'm Yoko Nisumura in Tokyo. Thanks for joining us.
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