at 18:00 (JST), November 28 (Ai-CC by Clipchamp)

 

20241128180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Morishita Erika in Tokyo.

Japan's diet has kicked off a new extraordinary session. Key issues for debate are expected to be political funds reform and a draft supplementary budget for a new economic stimulus package.

Taking into account the general election results, I will listen to the opinions of other parties more carefully than before as I manage diet proceedings. I want the public to pay attention to our debates, and I want outcomes that the public finds satisfactory. 

Ishiba was referencing last month's vote. It saw his Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito lose the majority in the lower house. The leader of the largest opposition group, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, stressed he will take advantage of this new political reality.

We succeeded in pushing them into losing their majority. We want to show the public what will happen as a result. The Diet used to be like a subcontractor for debate on decisions already made. I want to create a big change to that situation.

Ishiba is set to deliver his policy speech on Friday. A question-and-answer session will be held for three days starting Monday. He will also face his first budget committee sessions as prime minister next Thursday and Friday.
The extraordinary session is scheduled to run through December 21st.

Diet members went into the session with a tragedy on their mind when that hits especially close to home. A fire tore through a condo unit belonging to a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker. Two of her family members are believed to have died. The fire erupted on the sixth floor of a building in central Tokyo Wednesday evening. The flames were extinguished about eight and a half hours later.
The unit belongs to Inoguchi Kuniko. She serves in the upper house and used to be a minister for gender equality. She represented Japan during United Nations talks around disarmament. She was not home at the time. Two deaths have been reported, including a woman who died in hospital after being rescued.
Inoguchi's husband and her eldest daughter are believed to have been inside the unit when it caught fire. They remain unaccounted for.

The White House says three Americans imprisoned for years have been released from detention in China.
A U.S. government spokesperson said on Wednesday that the three will soon return and will be reunited with their families. U.S. media reports say the individuals had been charged with espionage or drug-related crimes and had been sentenced, respectively, to 10 years in prison, life in prison and death.
Officials have not disclosed details of the deal with China, but the New York Times reports the Americans were freed in exchange for a Chinese intelligence officer who was serving a 20-year prison term in the U.S.
The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden pressed for the return of the Americans when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also pushed for the release when he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi in New York in September. The White House stressed that the Americans were wrongfully detained and are coming home thanks to the administration's efforts and diplomacy with China.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are seeking an arrest warrant for the leader of the Punta in Myanmar. They accuse him of persecuting Rohingya Muslims. The ICC's Karim Khan says Min Ran Plein bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya in 2017.
Khan says this is the first arrest warrant sought for a high-level Myanmar official. He says his office will file more warrant requests over the oppression of the minority group.

We will seek to show that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, deserve and are entitled to the protection of the law.

ICC judges will decide whether to issue the warrant after examining Khan's evidence. Myanmar's military responded by saying the country is not an ICC member and does not recognize ICC statements. In 2016 and 2017, clashes took place between Rohingya armed groups and Myanmar security forces. That led to an estimated more than 700,000 Rohingya people fleeing western Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh.

Moving on to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, envoys from both countries exchanged barbs at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. It was over Moscow's recent use of a new-type intermediate-range ballistic missile. The launch was in response to Ukraine's attacks on Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the West.
The Ukrainian city of Dnipro suffered an attack by an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
Selgi Kislitsa also called on UN member states to condemn what he called Russia's irresponsible nuclear saber rattling. Russia's first deputy permanent representative described the missile as a hypersonic weapon. That American missile defense systems in Europe cannot intercept.

Every wave of escalation from the West is going to be decisively responded to. I will be frank. We believe that it is our right to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries who allow the use of weapons against our facilities.

 Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood asked the North Korean envoy whether Pyongyang had sent troops to Russia. North Korean Ambassador Kim Song declined to answer, saying only that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty between North Korea and Russia fully conforms to international law and the UN Charter.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has created another new position in his administration -- a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. To fill that role, he's nominated a retired general who has voiced support for Kyiv.
Keith Kellogg served as former Vice President Mike Pence's national security adviser during Trump's first administration. He's also co-chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute. Kellogg wrote in April that the U.S. should continue to support Ukraine to ensure Russia will not attack it again. But he also says future military aid should come on the condition Kyiv participates in peace talks with Moscow. And he says Ukraine's potential NATO membership should be put on hold for an extended time to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Kellogg's future boss Trump has said he wants to bring an end to Russia's war with Ukraine as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Trump's transition team says several cabinet picks and administrative appointees have been targeted with bomb threats and swatting incidents. They happened Tuesday and Wednesday.
Brooke Rollins, Trump's choice for agriculture secretary and elite Stefanik, who speak for UN ambassador, say they've been informed about threats against their homes. Trump's team says it will not be deterred by dangerous acts of intimidation and violence. The FBI says it takes all potential threats seriously.

Now it's time to check out the world weather. Although it's Thanksgiving, some areas in the eastern U.S. are facing severe conditions. Our meteorologist Yumi Hino has the details.

A low pressure system and two frontal systems are bringing thundershowers along the east coast. Winter storm weather is likely in northeastern United States to southeastern Canada on Thursday.
Up to 30 centimeters of additional snowfall is possible by Friday afternoon.
Showers are expected in New York and Washington, but sunny skies are covering Chicago, Denver and LA.
Moving to South Asia, a storm system is impacting Sri Lanka. Over 250 millimeters of heavy rain has been reported in just two days in one area in the country. We have some video.

The storm brought severe downpours and damaging winds on Wednesday. Massive flooding covering wide areas can be seen from aerial footage. Police say a tractor killing eight passengers was swept away by the floods. while one woman is reported dead from a matslide. November is one of the major cyclone seasons there.
It's expected to develop more and make landfall in southeastern India this coming weekend. Up to 300 millimeters of rain is possible, and cyclone force winds and high storm surges are also a concern. Stormy conditions are possible in Colombo and even in Chennai. But dry and hazy weather is still an issue in the north, including New Delhi.

Finally across Japan, wet weather is likely along the Japan seaside. Snow and blizzard conditions are possible in Hokkaido. Isolated thundershowers are possible in Hokuriku and Tohoku. But the Pacific side, including Tokyo, will see sunny skies with a high of 18. 

That's all for me. Have a nice day.

♫

Before we go, the snake is next year's Asian zodiac symbol. Cross people in the western Japanese prefecture of Hyogo are busy making porcelain figurines of the reptile.
A pottery studio in the Izushi district of Toyo-oka city has been producing zodiac figurines in a traditional style called Izushiyaki for more than half a century. Workers pour liquid clay into a mold to dry.
Then they retouch the figure's shapes and facial expressions using tools and their fingertips. The craftspeople glaze them after an initial firing.
They then fire them again at high temperatures to create translucent white porcelain. The final design depicts a snake with its head held high. Its dynamic shape symbolizes momentum to keep moving ahead. Nagasawa Hitoshi is a fifth-generation master ceramicist. He explains the key characteristics which make the snake an icon of growth.

As snakes keep growing, they repeatedly cast off their old skin. I am making these with the hope that the new year will be a good one for people's growth.

The Izushiyaki zodiac figurines will be sold at the studio and at souvenir shops in the area.

So that's all for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Morishita Erika in Tokyo.
Thank you for watching.