The Lower House of the Japanese Diet has been dissolved for a general election. Voters are expected to head to the polls on October 27.
The speaker of the chamber announced the dissolution on Wednesday afternoon.
It will be the first Lower House election in three years. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru was sworn in on October 1 and moved forward with his plan to dissolve the Lower House.
It marks the shortest period between a prime minister taking office and the dissolution of the Lower House in Japan's postwar history.
Earlier, four opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion, saying it did not provide enough time for the Diet issues. NoseThose included the supportive issues for the Noto Peninsula before New Year’s Day. But the House dissolved before the motion could be voted on. With the campaign period set to start next Tuesday, one of the main topics is expected to be political reform with political fundraising involving the Liberal Democratic Party. Economic issues dealing with inflation are also expected to be a big focus.
Moving now to Laos, where leaders from the Association of South Asian Nations have kicked off their summit. ..... They will meet with Japan, China, and the United States. Myanmar’s junta is represented by a senior foreign ministry official who took power in a coup in 2021. Fighting between the Myanmar military and pro-democracy forces has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis. One of the top agenda items is whether the ASEAN leaders can find a way to break the impasse between the two sides. The ASEAN agenda is also likely to include the situation in the South China Sea. Beijing has grown increasingly assertive there in territorial disputes with some ASEAN member countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam. Ahead of the summit, NHK has obtained a draft of the ASEAN chairman’s statement. It mentions some countries are concerned that activities in the South China Sea put the safety of all persons at risk. In addition, the draft refers to the situation in Myanmar. It condemns the continued acts of violence against civilians and calls for immediate cessation. The chairman’s statement is expected to be released at the end of the summit.
North Korea has announced it has revised its constitution, but it has not revealed if the changes followed a directive from its leader to designate South Korea as its primary enemy state. The ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that the session was convened to talk about amending the constitution. It does not mention if Kim Jong-un attended. At a session in January, Kim ordered the constitution be amended to name South Korea as the primary enemy state. He also said that the constitution should no longer contain expressions such as peaceful unification regarding the South. Some experts in South Korea say these revisions could have been postponed due to the U.S. presidential election in November. Meanwhile, North Korea’s military announced on Wednesday through state-run media it would completely cut off roads and railways to South Korea and start building defensive structures the same day. The announcement says permanently blocking the border with its principal enemy is a self-defense measure to prevent war and protect the country. It says in areas near South Korea, the risk of war is growing day by day. The announcement says Pyongyang informed the United States on Wednesday morning to avoid misunderstandings and accidental clashes.
It’s been just over a year since Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel. It triggered a conflict in the Gaza Strip, leaving a trail of destruction through the enclave. New data compiled by NHK now shows the scale of the damage. NHK World reports.
Over the last year, the United Nations has used satellite imagery to identify damaged buildings in Gaza. NHK looked at this figure and put it up in chronological order. The red are concentrations of severely damaged buildings. It shows Israeli forces focused their efforts in the north. But the fighting quickly moved south, where many civilians had fled to avoid the violence. As of May, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced. And as of early September, 160,000 buildings have been damaged. That’s about 60% of all the buildings in Gaza. Civilians are usually caught in the crossfire. Schools and hospitals often serve as makeshift shelters. Attacks in such places can lead to civilian casualties. The Israeli military says it takes measures to minimize civilian deaths. Data shows 70% of schools and hospitals were within 30 meters of damaged buildings. Health authorities in Gaza say about 42,000 have been killed since the fighting began. Over 16,000 of them, more than 30%, were children. Many attacks took place in and around the southern city of Khan Younis. This man has seen the destruction there firsthand. He rushed to Khan Younis after an air raid in August. He was reporting with a group of other journalists when an Israeli tank opened fire on them. Their group was wearing vests indicating they were journalists. One person was killed, another was wounded. Reporters Without Borders says at least 130 journalists have been killed in Gaza. It believes 32 of them were targeted by Israeli forces. He told NHK that’s why his work in Gaza is so important.
“The Israeli forces are trying to cover up the truth and silence the voice of justice by targeting journalists. It’s our responsibility as journalists to continue reporting.”
He says he’ll continue to convey the voices and suffering of the Palestinian people to the world.
Next, Japan’s ambassador to Ukraine says Tokyo should keep extending support to Kyiv to help maintain international order. He spoke in Kyiv ahead of his departure. He became the ambassador in October 2021, just months before Russia launched its invasion. He said Japan initially helped Ukraine by taking in evacuees and helped to improve the energy structure and remove land mines. He said Ukraine needed more assistance.
“The time has come to create a cycle of events involving the gradual resumption of economic activities and exports which, in turn, increase revenues.”
He says this restoration process should eventually involve Japanese businesses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently posted this video online showing him giving Matsuda an Order of Merit decoration.
“I wanted very much to thank you, especially you, for building such strong relations between our two nations. We never had such strong relations.”
Zelenskyy also thanked Matsuda for Japan’s support during its Group of Seven presidency last year.
“Supporting Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace in a way that it wants will help and protect and strengthen the international order.”
Matsuda says he’s strongly convinced supporting Ukraine will help with peace, stability, and prosperity for Japan as well.
A large trade exhibition is underway in Afghanistan, heightening the country’s deepening economic ties with Western nations. The seven-day event opens Sunday in Kabul. About 140 exhibitors are taking part. This includes Afghanistan’s support from China and projects carried out in cooperation with Chinese partners. From Iran, 60 companies are taking part. They have used their parts and services including home appliances and mineral drilling technology.
“The economic situation is not good, but many people are coming here and holding business talks, so I think the situation is getting better.”
Western countries are maintaining tough sanctions on Afghanistan, arguing the Taliban oppresses women’s rights.
It’s time now for a check on the world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh. People in Florida are evacuating as Milton prepares to move across the state as a major hurricane. So, Jonathan, what’s ahead?
Hello. We’ve been talking about Milton and the danger it poses for those living in Florida. You’re really running out of time to evacuate out of the area, especially, really, out of the state. Because a good chunk of Florida is in the path of this storm. I wanted to show you some video from the state, as people are preparing for Milton. People are racing against the clock as they are evacuating ahead of the storm. The hurricane could bring life-threatening storm surge of up to 4 1/2 meters and widespread power outages. Millions have been ordered to evacuate, but those fleeing are running into bumper-to-bumper traffic and also having problems getting gas, as the stations are running out of fuel. Here are a couple of pictures coming out from space, as we see the large size of Milton with its really well-defined eye right there in the center. And this storm is packing quite a punch. It’s going to be moving towards Florida and landing there as a major hurricane. We have hurricane warnings posted on both coasts of Florida. To the hurricane state, you’re going to need to get out of the way of the storm, because you are going to be dealing with concerns of life-threatening storm surge, along with heavy rainfall and powerful winds. So make sure you’re heeding the warnings of officials that are there, as the storm comes right through, especially Wednesday overnight into Thursday as it moves out by Friday with some areas seeing rainfall amounts of 300 to 400 millimeters possible over the next couple of days.
Switching gears to Japan, we’re keeping an eye on Maggie. In a 24-hour period due to a stationary front that’s pushing down towards the south and east, we’re going to be seeing more of a drier picture, and then temperatures bumping up a bit. High 20s as you head into the weekend in Tokyo. Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
That’s all for now on this edition of NHK “Newsline.” I’m Raja Pradhan in Tokyo. There’s much more to come on NHK World Japan, so please stay with us.
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