Families of Japanese citizens who North Korea abducted are starting yet another New Year without their loved ones at home.
They are urging Japan's government to hold a bilateral summit with the North and hoping the incoming new US administration. Donald Trump will help.
Time is running out for the parents of the abductees. Yokota Megumi's mother, Sakiye, will turn 89 this year. Arimoto Keiko's father, Akihiro, will be 97.
Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister said a visit to the North by then-Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumiya was possible. But Pyongyang later indicated it had rejected the idea and hasn't changed its stance that the abduction issue has been settled. In the first ever US North Korea summit in 2018, then President Trump raised the abduction issue and noted the importance of settling the matter. The abductees families are paying close attention to whether Trump will meet the North Korean leader again. They plan to visit the US to work with the new government to help resolve the issue. The Japanese government says at least 17 citizens were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Five have returned home. But the other 12 remain unaccounted for.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued his appeals to partners for support in order to keep the country's air defense systems up and running.
Zelensky said in a social media post on Friday that Russian forces had attacked Ukraine with more than 300 drones and about 20 ballistic and other missiles in the first three days of the new year. He noted that Moscow's terror is not losing its intensity and stressed that his country needs to constantly replenish its stock of air defense missiles. On Friday, Russian ministry officials said Ukraine had fired U.S. supplied long range missiles in the western Russian region of Belgorod, but all of them were shot down. They added that the Western supported action will not go unanswered. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its troops has seized control of a settlement in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.
NHK has viewed media that purport to show a North Korean soldier wearing a Russian military uniform while taking part in the fight against Ukraine.
The images were obtained from sources close to the matter. They show what appear to be Russian military gear worn by a North Korean soldier who was killed. The soldier's identification tag bears the words Russian military and also includes a personal ID number. A Ukrainian military expert says Russia may want to conceal the fact that North Korean forces are fighting with their soldiers.
Russians always trying to saying that they are fighting by itself without some support from friends.
In December, Ukrainian forces showed military identification documents believed to be the possession of North Korean soldiers who had died in the fighting. The documents lack facial photos, and the place of birth indicates a Russian Republic.
NHK obtained the footage amid reports that about 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed alongside Russian forces in the western Russian region of Kursk. Where Ukraine is waging a cross-border offensive, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has claimed that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in the fighting.
Israeli media reports say negotiations with Hamas on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage releases began on Friday in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The focus is on whether any progress will be made this time after previous failures.
Hamas also confirmed in a statement that indirect ceasefire negotiations would resume. Hamas says it's seriously working to reach an agreement as soon as possible. The group said this round of talks will focus on an agreement that would lead to a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. But Israel opposes a complete ceasefire and seeks the total destruction of Hamas. The Israeli government says it will continue deploying forces in strategic areas of Gaza, even if it agrees to a temporary ceasefire.
Last month, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made stops in Israel and other regional capitals, hoping to help forge a deal before the year end. Israeli media reported on Saturday that there are significant differences in opinions between the two sides. One of the key issues of contention is the process for releasing hostages. There are also reports that Israeli officials have taken a cautious approach on the negotiations.
Dozens of casualties have been reported in the Gaza Strip, despite cease-fire talks resuming between Israel and Hamas.
A Palestinian media outlet said on Saturday that since the early morning, Israeli airstrikesAcross Gaza, Gaza has killed 41 people. Gaza's health authorities said the death toll has risen to 45,717. Israel is planning to put a law into effect in late January banning operations in the country by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA. Israel accuses some of the agency's staff of taking part in the cross-border attacks by Hamas in October of 2023. UNRWA has been active in Gaza to provide medical care, food, and other humanitarian aid. The agency says on social media that the clock is ticking for it to deliver essential services for millions of Palestine refugees. It is calling on Israel to retract the law.
Regions of Japan from the north to the west experienced frigid weather on Sunday morning. Central Tokyo recorded its lowest temperatures so far this winter.
A cold air mass flew in, and with almost no clouds to prevent heat from leaving the ground, surface temperatures plummeted. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the lowest temperature of the day was in Hokkaido's town of Rikubetsu at -24.6 degrees Celsius. Sua and Nagano recorded -6.9 degrees. Central Tokyo in the cities of Hiroshima and Takamatsu also the mercury drop to -0.2 degrees. For Monday, weather officials forecast warmer temperatures and rain over wide regions. That's because low pressure systems on the Sea of Japan side and along the southern coast of the main island of Honshu will pass through the country. Authorities are warning that melting snow could trigger avalanches, especially Aomori Prefecture. The cities of Aomori. Hirosaki recorded over one meter of snowfall on Sunday morning, which is more than triple the average for this time of year.
Traders have started bidding at the first tuna auction of 2025 at Tokyo's Toyosu Fish Market, the top item fetch, the second highest price on record.
Starting shortly after 5:00 AM, bids were made for raw and frozen tuna from across Japan and around the world.
The most prestigious item was a 276 kilogram luffin tuna from Oma in the northern prefecture of Aomori.
A market trader bought the fish for 207 million yen, or about $1.3 million. That is the second highest since comparable data became available in 1999.
The highest bid on record is more than $2 million placed in 2019.
This is a fisherman in Oma, Takeuchi Masahiro, who caught the expensive bluefin tuna, sold at this first auction.
It's really like a dream. I'm 73 years old and always worry about how many more years I can keep fishing. I'm extremely happy. Tuna from Oma has earned the highest price for 14 years in a row. At the first auction at the Toyosu Market and the former Tsukiji Market, the fisherman said he hopes this will continue.
Those were the main stories for this hour.
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And that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani from all of us here at NHK News Line to all around the world. Thanks very much for joining us.
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