2025年1月8日水曜日

at 18:00 (JST), January 08

 

Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ross Mihara in Tokyo with the stories at this hour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be losing some of his country's confidence. An opinion survey has shown public trust in him at its lowest point since Russia invaded the country in 2022. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on Tuesday released the results of the poll it conducted in December. 52% of respondents said they trust Zelenskyy.
That was down seven percentage points from the previous survey in September.
39% said they do not trust the president, up two points from the past poll.
Ukraine was supposed to have held a presidential election in March 2024, but it postponed it due to the imposition of martial law following the invasion. A Ukrainian media outlet reported on Monday that Zelenskyy says he believes the delayed vote will take place immediately after martial law ends in accordance with the law.

Ukraine is also bracing for the impact of a new face in the White House in just a few weeks. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says his NATO allies should pay more for defense.

They can all afford it, but they should be at 5%, not 2%.

NATO states have a defense spending target of 2% of GDP. Trump says that's not enough and routinely claims other members of the alliance are not paying their fair share. The US spends about 3% of GDP on its military. Trump has also called on European countries to boost their contributions to Ukraine's fight against Russia.

Elsewhere, Denmark is pushing back on Trump's professed desire to claim Greenland for the US. Trump says security concerns make Greenland strategically important to the United States.

You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We're not letting that happen.

He says he'd consider imposing tariffs on Danish imports if officials there resist the U.S. takeover. But Denmark's leader has said the territory is not for sale.

yeah I want to encourage everyone to respect that the Greenlandic people are a people, a population. It's their country that we're talking about here. And in my eyes, it is only Greenland that can decide and define its future.

Trump's comments come on the same day that his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a visit to Greenland for sightseeing. Trump has also said the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed.

We're going to bechanging the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it's appropriate.

The president-elect also emphasized Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into the U.S. Trump has already said he intends to impose a steep 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico.
Observers believe Trump's remark was an attempt to express his displeasure with the way Mexico has been handling the border control and trade issues.

Indonesia has become the latest member of BRICS. The multinational group was originally made-up of just five emerging economies, but has since doubled in size.

Brazil holds the BRICS presidency this year and welcomed Indonesia into the fold Monday. In a statement, Brazil said they share a goal of reforming global governance and deepening cooperation. Indonesia said the move reflects their efforts towards a more inclusive world order.
The country does not join military alliances, but seems to be keen to strengthen food and energy security.
BRICS started with just five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Four more joined last year. Indonesia is the tenth member and the first from Southeast Asia.
According to the World Economic Forum, the group represents over 40 percent of the world's total population and over a third of the global economy, outperforming the G7. Last October, 36 countries participated in a BRICS summit in Russia,despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. With so much interest, BRICS introduced the idea of partner countries. Malaysia and Thailand are both considered BRICS partners, though Indonesia is the region's only full-fledged member.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted the group's efforts to shift away from the US dollar. 65% of BRICS trade was done using members' local currencies. US president-elect Donald Trump has criticized the move and threatened 100% tariffs in response.

For more on why BRICS welcomed Indonesia now, NHK World spoke with Shinoda Hideaki, a professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Shinoda notes that Indonesia is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. He says it makes sense that BRICS would invite Jakarta to join.

Indonesia is quite important, as well as larger than other countries, as one single country. But obviously, in addition to that fact, Indonesia is the leader of ASEAN countries.
So this is a very much geopolitical move to invite uh entire ASEAN community to the side of the BRICS.

But he cautioned that countries joining BRICS aren't necessarily dropping their Western ties. He said it's possible for some countries to do both.

We tend to interpret BRICS as the bloc against the Western camp, which is not untrue, though to some extent it is true.
But we should not misunderstand the orientation of the BRICS. Obviously, countries like Indonesia do not want to lose the connections with Western countries, too. So  they are all constantly saying that they pursue the membership of BRICS as well as the membership of OECD, for instance.

That doesn't mean there won't be friction. Shinoda points to BRICS's use of local currencies, saying the U.S. will likely fight against de-dollarization.

uh Perhaps U.S. is committed to protecting the status of Dallas, but more or less they led the BRICS to handle their own affairs to a great extent. So we will have to see what kind of concrete consequences as a result of ASEAN's move to BRICS in in terms of the de-Dialatization issues. Now the U.S. President-elect Mr. Donald Trump is saying that he is going to introduce 100% tariff against the countries which are going to introduce BRICS currency. Perhaps these dramatic events will not happen.

Shinoda says that as BRICS expands, it will be interesting to see if the group's balance of power shifts.

The power or influence of China is outstanding in a BRICS camp among the BRICS member countries. But it doesn't mean that Russia is weak or India is very happy about the circumstance. At this moment, there are no serious contradictions. We don't know what's going to happen in the future, in the long-term period of time. But at this moment, they are trying to make this balance of power within BRICS member countries too, and it is working very well.

The next BRICS summit is expected to take place in Brazil later this year.

Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru met and congratulated representatives of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winners Nihong Hidankyo at his office in Tokyo.
The organization is made-up of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ishiba spoke with members, including the group's co-chairs Tanaka Terumi, Tanaka Shigemitsu, and Mimaki Toshiyuki, for about 30 minutes on Wednesday.

It is extremely meaningful that you received such a great honor.

I thank you very much for your congratulations.

Mimaki made a request to Ishiba that Japan attend a March meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as an observer. Other members spoke about their experiences as atomic bomb survivors and their hope for the abolition of nuclear weapons. They also called for government compensation for atomic bombing victims.
Tanaka Terumi told reporters after the meeting that there was insufficient time to properly discuss the issues.

I felt it was more like the Prime Minister's stage. It is regrettable that the meeting wasn't so productive, in my opinion.

He added that he will keep asking to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister further.

Japanese weather officials say areas along the Sea of Japan could be hit by heavy snow this week. They are warning of possible disruptions to public transportation.

A powerful cold air mass will create a strong winter pressure pattern, lasting until around Friday. Snowfall will continue mainly along the Sea of Japan, and there could be heavy snow, even in non-mountainous areas.

The Meteorological Agency says snowfall could be particularly heavy in northeastern and central Japan. It says people should be on alert for snow sticking to power lines, entries and falling from rooftops. The Transport Ministry is urging people to refrain from non essential outings. It says the heavy snow could bring Rd. traffic to a standstill or cause Rd. closures.
Heavy snow in central Japan a year ago trapped vehicles on an expressway for up to 34 hours. The transport ministry says people who have to drive should use snow tires or tire chains. It says drivers should carry shovels and other tools and review their routes beforehand.
The heavy snow and blizzards will start Wednesday night. Our meteorologist Yumi Shirano has the latest forecast.

Over 50 centimeters of heavy snowfall has been already reported in the past 24 hours in Gihu Prefecture, but is expected to intensify even more from Wednesday night, due to the coldest air of the season. Additionally, winds are expected to converge over the Sea of Japan. When it happens over the sea, snow crowds can develop quickly, potentially causing heavy snowfall in a short period of time in the same locations. The areas expected to have the heaviest snow are Tohoku, Hokuriku and Tokai. Up to 70 centimeters is possible by Thursday. On top of that, an additional 70 centimeters is also expected by Friday. There is a high risk of traffic disruptions, long-lasting power outages and avalanches. So please stay safe.
Moving to the United States, dry and windy conditions are an issue in the West Coast. We have some video.
A wildfire in Pacific policies has been expanding rapidly due to strong Santa Ana winds. Authorities say the blaze was first reported on Tuesday before noon and burned over 500 hectares by Tuesday evening.
Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for multiple zones. Many highways are currently closed.
Unfortunately, the region will continue to experience strong winds due to being trapped between high pressure and low pressure systems. This low pressure system is expected to move inland into Thursday, bringing snowfall to the southern plains. It could be the first major snowfall for the area.
But sunny skies are expected along the East Coast on Wednesday, but temperatures will stay in stay low in New York and Washington with a high of below 0.
That's all for me. Have a nice day.

I'm Ross Mihara in Tokyo thanks for joining us on NHK news log

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