Welcome back to NHK Newsline. Here’s the latest we have for you at this hour.
Lawmakers are ushering in a new period in Japanese politics with a familiar face in the Diet. They’ve elected Ishiba Shigeru as the country’s leader.
“Based on the results of the vote, this chamber has hereby decided to designate Mr. Ishiba Shigeru as Prime Minister,” said a translator.
Members voted him in on Tuesday. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party leads the coalition that controls both the upper and lower houses. The 67-year-old held several cabinet roles before, including Defense Minister. He replaces Kishida Fumio. Kishida announced in August he would not run for party leadership again. That came following a political fundraising scandal. Ishiba is set to convene his first cabinet meeting later in the day. Before that, he is expected to hold a news conference to lay out his priorities. We plan to carry it live with simultaneous interpretation.
Let’s take a closer look at Ishiba Shigeru and his political career. Ishiba was first elected to the lower house in 1986 from Tottori Prefecture, western Japan. He was 29 years old at the time, making him the youngest member in the Diet.
“I think people have struggles and sorrow inside of them. I would like to represent them to the central government,” he said.
He is known for being a railway fan. He often takes overnight trains back to his hometown, hundreds of kilometers away from Tokyo. But he wasn’t always a member of the LDP. In 1993, he left after supporting a no-confidence motion against his own party’s administration. The issue stemmed from political reform legislation. He later returned to the LDP in 1997. Then in 2002, he was appointed to the cabinet for the first time under the former Prime Minister. He served as Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency, later known as the Ministry of Defense. After the party regained power in 2012, Ishiba was named Secretary General to the late Prime Minister Abe. He later served as the first Revitalization Minister in Abe’s cabinet, but the two became distant over the years, stalling Ishiba’s career. After running for the LDP presidency five times, he finally won in what he said would be his last race.
“I used to be in and out of this room a lot but could never sit in this seat. It is good to finally be sitting here,” he said.
Next, Ishiba is set to add one last role to his resume, Prime Minister of Japan. Fresh from the LDP leadership election, it will soon be campaign season again, this time for lower house lawmakers. Ishiba announced on Monday he will call a snap election for October 27th. The decision is attracting criticism from the largest opposition. The Constitutional Democratic Party says there should be more debate in the Diet than currently expected before the country heads to the polls.
“Ishiba had said he would provide people enough information through debate in the Diet before seeking the public’s mandate. I thought he was a politician who would be open to debate, but he ran away from it. I’m deeply disappointed,” said a representative.
They also took issue with the fact that he announced the schedule for the snap election before becoming Prime Minister.
The Israeli military says it has launched a ground operation against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. It calls the offensive limited, localized, and targeted, but the fighting is fueling concerns the conflict will grow wider. Israeli troops began the attack before dawn Tuesday with blasts hitting Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon. The U.S. State Department says it was given prior notice of the operation.
“They have at this time told us that those are limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border, but we are in continuous conversation with them about it,” said a spokesperson.
Earlier, the Hezbollah Deputy Leader issued a statement saying his group will continue to fight. Regarding a ground attack, he says his forces are ready. The incursion follows a recent string of Israeli airstrikes targeting senior Hezbollah leaders, including one which killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. Meanwhile, the need to dismantle Hezbollah’s attack infrastructure along Israel’s border is necessary so the group cannot conduct October 7th style attacks on northern Israel. The U.S. Defense Department revealed the two talked by phone on Monday. While the U.S. side appeared to back allowing Israel to attack Hezbollah’s facilities along the border, it warned that the fighting should not be prolonged. Washington affirmed the stance that Israel should seek a diplomatic solution at an early date. They also discussed serious consequences for Tehran should they launch direct attacks on Israel. Both sides have been urged to step back from the brink of war. Before the operation began, peacekeepers deployed to southern Lebanon have been unable to do their jobs. U.N. personnel have had a presence near the Israel-Lebanon border since 1978. As of last month, 10,000 troops were stationed there. The U.N.’s spokesperson says right now they can’t carry out their mandate.
“They’re not able to do patrols in most of the area of responsibility given the intensity of the fire going on both sides of the Blue Line,” said a spokesperson.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary expressed concern over Israeli actions.
“Japan calls for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to prevent the situation from worsening further,” he said.
Hayashi urged Israel to take precautions against civilian casualties. He says there are about 50 Japanese nationals in the area, and Japan is working to secure their safety.
It has been nine months since an earthquake devastated communities on Japan’s Noto Peninsula. The New Year’s Day quake killed 378 people and more are dying from post-disaster causes. Survivors are struggling to rebuild their lives, including businesses built around the area’s famous hot springs. Known as one of Japan’s hot spring resorts, before the coronavirus pandemic it would draw about 700,000 visitors each year, but the local hotel association says most of its member businesses have been unable to resume regular operations since the quake. They’re relying on a temporary government subsidy program to cover wages. Managers say guaranteeing employment for staff has become a major challenge.
“I need to stand up and work hard or all of the Noto region will be unable to recover. The government subsidies are very important for us,” said a manager.
Businesses have also faced issues contracting construction firms to help rebuild. One hotel says it may take as many as two years to fully reopen.
Emergency crews in the southeastern U.S. are racing to reach people caught in Hurricane Helene’s trail of destruction. The storm has killed at least 120 people. 600 others are still unaccounted for. Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm then made its way through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Across the region, floodwaters washed out roads and inundated people’s homes.
“Right there, it just breaks your heart. It just devastates you,” said a resident.
Residents of many communities have lost drinking water, electricity, and cell service. They’ve been left waiting for help.
“Rescue boat had to come and pick us up. There were 2 1/2 feet of water at the door when they came. It was rushing in,” said another resident.
President Joe Biden says he will visit the region later this week.
“I’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will be there with you as long as it takes,” he said.
Thousands of federal personnel have been sent to help aid workers get supplies to people struggling in the wake of the storm.
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And it is time for us to check the world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh. People in parts of South Asia are having to deal with severe flooding. Jonathan, what is the latest situation?
Hello. We have been reporting to you about the situation in Nepal where areas in the country have been dealing with significant rainfall, leading to some massive flooding. But we are also talking about eastern portions of India, also dealing with real problems on the ground as well. Here is a look at some of the video to give you an idea of the situation. Severe flooding forced the evacuation of thousands of people in eastern India on Monday. The floods caused many to lose their belongings and submerged a local power station that provides them with electricity. The government has launched relief and rescue operations and set up shelters for the victims. The story is not quite over yet. We are still talking about even more rainfall extending from Nepal down toward India and even into Myanmar as well. So this constant heavy rainfall can lead to more extended flooding problems as we go throughout not just Wednesday, but for the next several days as well.
Over to New Delhi where it is not only dry but also hot. The temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s as we go through Wednesday. Looking at what is happening towards the east and eastern portions of Asia, there’s a tropical system that’s going to scoot by near Japan and no longer be a real story for us, but we are really keeping an eye out on this other storm right near Taiwan. This storm named Krathon will bring hundreds of millimeters of rainfall not just for the rest of what we saw on Tuesday but going into Wednesday as well. Because of the mountains in the area, the storm is going to just plant itself and get stuck and just dump rain over and over, so we’re still talking about some massive flooding problems in the area. We will have to watch to see if the storm can actually make it past the area, but in the meantime, it is something we will be watching out for as we go throughout the next few days.
Taipei is looking at wet weather. We have a cold front pushing through the continental eastern areas of Asia. Tokyo will have partly cloudy skies, topping out at 31°C, way above average for this time of year as we go through Wednesday. Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
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That brings us to the end of this edition of NHK Newsline. We will have more for you soon. Thank you very much for joining us.
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