at 18:00 (JST), November 20 (Ai-CC by Clipchamp)

 

20241120180000_english_1.mp3

Thank you for joining us. From our studio in Tokyo, this is NHK Newsline.

Japan's prime minister stressed teamwork as he wrapped up a series of summits in South America. Ishima Shigeru expressed his eagerness to develop cooperation with China and other nations.
He held a news conference after attending the Group of Twenty summit in Rio de Janeiro and the earlier summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Peru. Ishiba spoke about one-on-one meetings he had with the U.S., South Korean and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the APEC Forum.

I had frank discussions with world leaders and was able to build and deepen personal relationships with them.

Ishiba says he and Chinese President Xi Jinping found themselves on the same page in discussions. And Japan will work together with China to promote frequent bilateral communication and visits at all levels, including the summit level. He also expressed his hope that such efforts will help to reduce challenges and pending issues, and will enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries.
Ishiba says he stressed the importance of a free and open international order based on the rule of law through the APEC and the G20 summits.
Ishiba says he wants to build a cooperative relationship with U.S. President-elect Donald Trumpby analyzing what the incoming administration's policies will likely be.
Ishiba says it's not confrontation, but mutual cooperation that benefits both countries as well as contributes to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. He says he intends to clearly explain this stance to Trump.

China says the August intrusion into Japanese airspace of one of its military planes was due to force majeure, the Japanese government launched a strong protest after the incident and has repeatedly demanded a swift and sufficient explanation.
Japan's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China explained a military intelligence-gathering aircraft had briefly entered Japanese airspace while its crew was coping with an air current disturbance. The incident took place over waters near Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan.
China said this so-called force majeure, or an event that can't be anticipated or controlled, was the only reason for what happened. It added that the aircraft had no intention of entering Japan's airspace.
Japan's defense ministry said it's hard to imagine a situation where the impact of an air current is so strong that it would force a plane to deviate widely from its route. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa responded on Wednesday.

It's noted that the Chinese side has admitted to the facts. They explained it will make efforts to prevent a recurrence. So we will keep a close eye on China's actions going forward.

Hayashi also said Japan is seriously concerned about intensifying Chinese military activity near Japan. The government will use meetings at various levels, including between national leaders, to call on China to improve the situation.

Separately, China's president appears to be trying to strengthen his country's economic ties with heavyweights in Europe. It comes as the continent's key bloc shows its stance to keep distance from China and as the world prepares for a major shift in Washington.
Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Tuesday on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit. Xi reportedly said their countries share highly integrated economic interests, and bilateral cooperation is an opportunity for shared development.
He also said China regards Germany as an important partner, and it will continue to provide broad market opportunities for German companies. Scholz responded by saying Berlin hopes to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation with Beijingas well as to properly resolve differences.

The European Union and China are at odds over the bloc's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The EU has also agreed to promote de-risking to reduce its dependence on China. The bloc cites the risk of trade and investment in goods that could be diverted to military use, as well as dependence on important mineral resources. Xi also met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Xi expressed hope that their countries will further tap into the potential of economic cooperation, strengthen complementary advantages, and properly resolve differences.
Xi likely has the U.S. president-elect's inauguration next January on mind.
Donald Trump pledged throughout his election campaign to impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

Prosecutors in New York have told the state's Supreme Court that they would agree to a delay in sentencing president-elect Donald Trump for his hush money conviction, but they oppose any attempt by Trump's team to get the case dismissed. In May, Trump became the first-ever former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime when he was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up payment of hush money to an adult film star. But his sentencing has been repeatedly delayed for reasons including possible impact on his presidential election campaign.
Trump's defense lawyers have asked that the case be thrown out.
On Tuesday,District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent a letter to state Supreme Court Justice Juan Mershon to convey the prosecutor's decision. The letter said the prosecutors are mindful of the demands and obligation of the presidency, but also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in the U.S. constitutional system.

Prosecutors also referred to the need to balance competing constitutional interests. The court has not responded to the letter. But U.S. media say the sentencing, scheduled for next Tuesday, will likely be delayed further, possibly until after Trump's new term.
Meanwhile, Trump himself was in Texas Tuesday. He was observing the test launch of a SpaceX ship alongside billionaire Elon Musk. U.S. media say the event shows the growing closeness between the two men. Musk had rallied support for Trump's re-election campaign. He also reported they've been spending significant time at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Last week, Trump announced Musk would co-lead a new organization tasked with reviewing government spending. The billionaire has also allegedly been present during phone calls between Trump and foreign leaders. Reports suggest he's also sat in on interviews, as Trump tries to fill key posts in his administration.

And one of those new appointments is a prominent Wall Street banker. Trump has tapped Howard Lutnick to be his next commerce secretary. Lutnick is the billionaire head of a financial services firm. He's also the co-chair of Trump's transition team.

Ludnick has been charged with carrying out the incoming administration's trade agenda. He's considered a vocal supporter of Trump's plan to impose sweeping tariffs, particularly on goods from China.

COP 29 climate change negotiators remain divided over new funding targets to fight global warming despite the commitment of G20 leaders to take urgent action.

We are grateful for the support they have pledged for the COP29 presidency.
We appreciate the signal that they have sent of their intention to accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture.

Azerbaijan holds the presidency for the UN Climate Conference, which is being held in the capital, Baku. The lead negotiator, Yao-chin Rafiev, said Tuesday one of the key points of discussion is how to promote the use of private funds in financial support for developing nations. Delegates are struggling to set new funding targets.
There are divisions over how much money advanced economies should provide to developing nations and how to share the costs. Rafiev said delegates are aiming to produce a full draft of the financial deal by Wednesday evening.

Officials in Moscow say Ukrainian forces have struck Russian territory with long-range missiles made by the United States. The attack comes days after U.S.
President Joe Biden reportedly authorized Ukrainian use of the weapons.
The Russian defense ministry announced that six attack-coms missiles were fired into the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday. It said five of them were downed. But fragments of the six fell on a military facility, causing a fire. The fire was put out quickly, and no casualties were reported.
Ukrainian military said it had struck an ammunition depot, causing 12 explosions. But it did not specify the type of weapons used.
Local media reported that this was the first time Kyiv has used attack-ems for an attack inside Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the U.S. and Ukraine at a news conference in Rio de Janeiro.

We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and we will will react accordingly.

The New York Times on Tuesday quoted senior U.S. and Ukrainian government officials as saying Ukrainian forces had carried out the first attack on Russian territory using the US made missiles.

Now check on the world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan. Oh, Jonathan, it felt like December outside in Tokyo Wednesday. Are we going to stay cold the next few days?

Hello. We knew that is going to be colder as we went through Wednesday, but. It's still a little bit of a shock to the system when you step outside and only reach a high of 8.8 degrees in Tokyo, which is more like December as opposed to November.
If you're looking for slightly warmer weather, it's going to be here for at least a couple of days. Now we still have that. Wet and cloudy feeling that's going to be lingering due to a low pressure system South of the Kanto Koshin region, but we'll see a little bit of a southerly flow that's gonna help push up those temperatures just a little bit. So we're talking about highs in the mid to upper teens in Tokyo.
Again, some showers during the early part of Thursday. We'll see a little bit more sunshine that we'll see temperatures that are going to hover around average as we head into the weekend, but overnight lows still the single digits, so still a bit on the chillier side. Looking some snow in Sapporo as we head toward the weekend, it looks like we're seeing temperatures are going to be in the mid teens for highs from Osaka to Fukuoka as we go through the rest of this week.
Speaking of some cold, you're feeling it over into northern areas of Europe. I want to show you some video coming out of the United Kingdom where folks in Scotland are seeing some snow and people across the UK waking up to bitterly cold and snowy weather Tuesday, with traffic becoming an issue in parts of Scotland as roads were slippery that led to a car crash. The Met Office issued a yellow warning for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with local media saying almost 200 schools were closed.

Due to bad weather, we have this massive cold from the swinging on through from the north and that's hoping to really usher in some of the northerly flow that's bringing in the chilly, frigid air and the snowy weather even up to the north in the Scandinavian peninsula. Now looking forward for the next day on Wednesday, showers from Berlin to Vienna, but overnight lows are going to be chilly, close to freezing with snow into Stockholm and Moscow. As we go through today on Wednesday, Speaking of frigid Pacific Northwest in the United States and also to portions of Canada, massive low bring in some of the wintry weather situation, some of it on the stormier side for the higher elevations. You need to be on the lookout for that as we go through today on Wednesday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.

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That's all for this edition of NHK News Line. Thank you very much for watching.
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