Welcome back to NHK Newsline. I'm Kanako Sachno.
Japan's Foreign Ministry says a Chinese court has sentenced a man to death for a knife attack on a bus carrying Japanese school children. The attack last June in the city of Suzhou left one person dead.
A man in his 50s stabbed a Japanese mother and her child. He killed a Chinese female bus attendant. Japan's Foreign Ministry says the man was charged with murder. The incident reignited fears about safety in Japanese communities across China and prompted Japanese schools there to tighten security.
Chinese experts have reportedly found no abnormalities after taking seawater samples from near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Water used to cool molten fuel at the Fukushima plant has been mixing with rain and groundwater. The accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances, but it still contains tritium. The plant's operator dilutes that water to reduce the tritium levels to about 1/7 of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water. It's then released into the ocean. Chinese experts collected samples independently last October after the plant began the water release. They wanted to test the concentration of radioactive substances in the sea. The Global Times, which is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, reported on the results on Wednesday. It said Chinese researchers found no indication that marine life has been affected. But it also said a single test has limited value. The report says stakeholders, such as China, will continue to take samples and monitor the situation.
Tokyo has been asking Beijing to begin importing Japanese seafood again. It's unclear if the results will prompt China to change its mind.
We turn now to Japanese entertainment. A former pop star named Nakai Masahiro has long been one of Japan's best-known TV personalities. Now he's embroiled in a scandal involving a woman and says he's leaving show business.
Nakai issued a statement on his fan club website. He says he's retiring but does not believe he's fulfilled all his responsibilities and he promises to face up to problems sincerely. It was reported last month that Nakai had got into trouble with a woman in 2023 and paid her a settlement. He admitted this month there had been trouble.
I've seen him a lot on TV, so I'm a bit sorry to see he's retiring.
Also implicated is the broadcaster Fuji Television Network. It's reported that an employee was involved in the scandal.
Shareholders are demanding staff do more to get to the bottom of what happened.
NHK learned the network's parent company has been asked by a major shareholder named NTT Docomo to launch an investigation. Sources say NTT Docomo asked for progress reports and that it has received a first briefing from Fuji Television's parent company.
One person was killed and two injured in stabbings in Nagano City, central Japan, on Wednesday.
Local police said a man in his 40s was stabbed and later confirmed dead at a hospital. Another male in his 30s was seriously hurt. They said a woman in her 40s was also targeted, but unhurt apart from a minor injury when she fell over.
The attack took place at the city's main train station at about 8:00 PM.
The man was wandering around with a blade in hand, so it seemed more like he was searching for his next target rather than trying to escape.
I never thought something like this would happen in my hometown.
The assailant fled the scene on foot. Investigators say he's slim, around 1.7 meters tall, and appeared to be between his 20s and 40s.
According to images released by local police, the man is wearing what appears to be a white cloth wrapped around his head and something resembling white gloves. The investigators say the three victims were waiting for a bus at Nagano station and do not appear to have known the attacker. They suspect the incident was a random attack.
US President Donald Trump isn't wasting any time since returning to the White House. Talking to taking to social media on Wednesday, Trump ramped up pressure on Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.
The president used his posts to demand an immediate end to the fighting, calling the war ridiculous. He threatened to hit Russian exports with taxes, tariffs and sanctions. Trump has directed similar threats at European countries.
The leaders of France and Germany discussed the issue and called for solidarity.
After the inauguration of a new administration in the United States, it is more than ever up to Europeans, and so to our two countries, to play their role of consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe.
Europe will not duck and hide, but be a constructive and self-confident partner.
On this basis, we will work well together with the US and with the new American president.
Macron and Schultz spoke about which industries could be targeted with tariffs. They mentioned the automotive, steel and chemical sectors.
China has aimed a barb at the US president, saying there are no winners in trade or tariff wars, but it will defend its national interests.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the comments at a news conference on Wednesday. Her remarks come a day after Trump said his administration is discussing an additional 10% tariff on imports from China starting February 1.
Trump said he'll impose the extra levy because China is sending fentanyl to the United States via Mexico and Canada.
Overdoses from the painkiller drug are a serious social problem in the US.
China wants to build bilateral relations with the U.S. in a stable, healthy, and sustainable manner by maintaining communication and appropriately managing differences.
Mao also referred to Trump's suggestion that China is controlling the Panama Canal and his threat to take it back.
Beijing has not taken part in managing or operating the canal, and consistently respects Panama's sovereignty.
Mao said China agrees with Panamanian President Jose Raul Molino, who says his country's sovereignty and independence are non-negotiable.
Coinciding with the launch of Trump's second term, the World Economic Forum gathered in Davos this week. Harvard political scientist Graham Allison was among the thought leaders taking part. We caught up with him and asked what he thinks Trump 2.0 means for America and the world.
I think it's going to be rocky. I think it's going to be chaotic. I think it's going to be confusing. I think it's going to be frightening. I think it's going to be exciting, but I think it's going to be some positive elements.
Graham Ellison says he's optimistic about Trump's return to the White House. He says the businessman turned reality TV star turned politician is no longer an amateur at being the president. While he can still be outrageous, his intentions are clear.
Watch the antics, watch the show, because he's a showman, he plays a political theater.
One of the rules Trump wants to take on is that of a president who ends more wars than he starts.
But he thinks he wants to be a great peacemaker. He thinks war is horrible. He knows nuclear war would be catastrophic. He believes he can prevent these things happening. And I think we saw already in the ceasefire in the Middle East when the situation was stuck, he said this is going to end by the inauguration day or there's going to be hell to pay for everybody, threatening both the Israelis and the and the Hamas. And lo and behold, we now have the current. I think we'll see in the next six months an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine.
About a decade ago, Allison coined the term Thucydides trap.
It describes the inevitable tendency for rising powers to clash with established ones. He's warned that the U.S. and China are on the path towards falling into that trap. But Trump could disrupt it.
If I were betting it that the relationship between US and Chinawill be better this time next year than it is today. And I think it'll be better because Trump actually does respect Xi, and Xi respects Trump. They both think of themselves as great men who do great things. And Trump seems willing to share the mantle of peacemaker with Chinese President Xi Jinping when it comes to Ukraine and Russia.
He says China can help. He didn't say Japan can help, or UN can help, or Europe can help. He said China can help. What does he mean by that?I think he believes that Xi can, because he's so crucial as a supporter for Putin, can be part of both persuading Putin to come to a reasonable inclusion.
Allison says there's other aspects to Trump's persona that have relevance to Japan and Asia. Trump does not subscribe to the orthodox view of U.S. alliances that emerged after World War II.
Which includes security guarantees to key countries, particularly Japan and South Korea. And the question for Trump is, in a more short-term view, how is this good for me?
That means U.S. allies, like Japan, will have to rethink how they interact with the Trump administration. Learn how to fish the benefits of good relations, whether it's strong investment ties or other means. Because with Trump, it's all about making deals, regardless of whether you're a friend or a rival.
Trump said in his first part for press covers in January, he said the US and China working together can solve every problem. So he thinks this is negotiable.
And I think there's, you know, negotiating space for them to together, to work together.
Alison says he's optimistic this will help the US and China avoid a potential conflict, at least for now. After all, Thucydides' trap dictates violent clashes between these kinds of powers are the rule, meaning peace is the exception.
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It's time now to check the world weather. People in the southeastern US have experienced historically cold weather and rare snow. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
A historic winter storm that hit the Gulf states also brought heavy snow to parts of the Carolinas on Wednesday. Areas not used to seeing snow were blanketed in white, including beaches. Parts of the coast of North Carolina received more than 20 centimeters. Officials expect Arctic air is lingering in the southeast into Thursday and warn of dangerously cold weather.
Fortunately, the snow system is moving offshore, but the South lacks snow cleaning equipment, so the impact may last longer. Please stay careful of icy roads.
Temperatures will stay well below the average in many cities such as Houston, Atlanta and Chicago, but they are expected to go up gradually over the weekend. Sunny and warm weather is expected in LA, but critical fire conditions are a concern again.
Moving to Japan, a small but active low pressure system will move across Hokkaido and Tohoku into Friday. There are risks of scattered thunderstorms, gusty winds, and lightning. But elsewhere in Northeast Asia, sunny and warmer than usual conditions will continue. The highs will be 13 in Tokyo, 9 in Seoul. Beijing may get 7, which is 5 degrees higher than the average. But the strongest cold mass of the season is expected to cover much of China over the weekend. So daytime highs in Beijing will drop to zero or less next week. Please be careful of the big temperature change. That's all for me. Have a nice day.
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That wraps up this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Kanako Sachno in Tokyo.
Thanks very much for joining us.
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