Hello, welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yamamoto Miki in Tokyo.
Pope Francis has died. The Vatican says the 88 year old passed away a little after 7:30 AM Monday local time.
The cause of the death has not been announced. He appeared briefly just the day before for Easter Sunday. Francis was born in Argentina and became the first Pope from Latin America when he was elected in 2013. During his papacy, he spoke against widening inequality.
He worked to support the poor and urged protection for refugees and migrants. He also called for action on climate change.
He visited Japan in 2019, becoming the first pope to do so in 38 years.
He went to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. And he urged peaceful resolutions to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Francis was known for his modest lifestyle and approachable personality. In recent years, his health had been a concern. He was hospitalized several times, and from February, he had been receiving treatment for bronchitis for about a month.
Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has commented on US President Donald Trump's presence at the first Japan-US trade talks. He says it shows how seriously the US leader views relations with Tokyo. Ishiba spoke during an upper house budget committee session focused on tariff negotiations with the US. A member of Ishiba's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party asked the prime minister for his thoughts on the talks, and he highlighted Trump's direct involvement.
I think Trump's involvement shows two things. Firstly, it indicates that he values speaking with Japan. Secondly, it shows the president intends to make decisions through his own leadership.
Ishiba points out that Japan is a US ally, its largest foreign investor and its top job creator. He plans to keep championing their partnership as the negotiations continue. The opposition pressed him on why senior officials from Japan's defense and agriculture ministries did not go to Washington last week. Ishiba says the talks were not that wide-reaching.
We did not expect that these talks would cover specific policies involving areas such as defense and agriculture. It is my understanding detailed discussions around these topics did not take place.
Meanwhile, Japan's government says it may review a policy which the US has called a non-tariff barrier for American auto companies. It is considering a review of its charging standards for electric vehicles.
Washington claims those standards impede US automakers' access to the Japanese market. It highlights differences in vehicle safety regulations and how the government handles EV charging standards.
Tokyo and Washington are in the process of renegotiating their bilateral trade.
But Japan is likely wary of making dramatic changes to its auto industry rules because that could impact the domestic car industry. The Japan Automobile Importers Association also reports US vehicles did not account for a high percentage of the foreign cars sold in Japan last year. The association says dealers sold roughly 227,000 foreign brand imports in 2024. That was just 5% of the market.
US automakers made-up a small slice of that share, accounting for fewer than 17,000 sales. Dealers say it's no surprise. They say American cars are too big for Japanese roads and not very fuel efficient. Jeep had around 9,600 sales. The US automaker comes under the umbrella of the European automaker Stellantis.
General Motors Chevrolet sold about 600 cars, and for Cadillac, the number was just shy of 450.
Tesla does not publicize its number for Japan, but industry figures suggest the US EV giant probably sold more than 5,600 cars. The most popular imports were German cars.
Mercedes-Benz sold more than 53,000 vehicles. BMW followed with over 35,000, then Volkswagen with around 23,000. Now, amid the debate about barriers to American car imports, President Trump has dredged up a debunked claim about Japanese regulators, he said.
The test They test the body strength of foreign vehicles with a bowling ball.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump listed eight types of what he called non-tariff cheating by US trading partners. He said Japan's bowling ball test is an example of protective technical standards. Trump also made the claim during his first term in 2018 he alleged. that a bowling ball is dropped on the hood of a car from a height of 20 feet in a Japanese test of foreign vehicles. The president insisted that if the hood dents a little bit, the car does not qualify.
The White House press secretary at that time said Trump was obviously joking.
Still, a US fact-checking organization investigated the claim and concluded it was false.
Sunday marked three months since President Trump returned to the White House. Since then, he's enacted a slew of policies, including tariffs. It's keeping both Americans and the international community on their toes.
The golden age of America begins right now.
Trump returned to office, promising to cut government spending and boost the American economy. To that end, Elon Musk has been slashing the federal service under the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. But Americans are split on their approach.
Many feel the cuts were hasty and indiscriminate. The frustrations boiled over earlier this month when thousands took part in large-scale demonstrations across the country. Trump has also turned his eye to other nations. He imposed tariffs on most countries.
including Japan. Speaking about their relationship, Trump wrongly accused Japan of having a 700% tariff on rice.
In Japan, our friend charges us 700%, but that's because they don't want us selling rice another thing. Who can blame them?
In reality, every privately imported kilogram of rice is subject to a 341 yen tariff. That's about $2.5 per kilo. Experts estimate that's about a 220% tariff, far below Trump's claim.
The president also criticized Japan for allegedly not buying American produce.
But according to the US's own Bureau of Industry and Security, that's not true.
It says Japan imported nearly $15 billion worth of American agriculture products in 2022. Cars have also been a point of a contention.
Trump says American-made vehicles aren't sold in Japan, but that is also false. About 16,700 American cars were sold in Japan in 2024.
While the number is admittedly small, dealers say it's because they may not be appealing enough to the market. They say American cars, with their bigger sizes, aren't popular with Japanese drivers.
While the tariffs were aimed abroad, Americans are also feeling it at home.
Cheryl Mose is a bag designer based in Pennsylvania. Her products were manufactured in China, but with a combined 145% tariff, she said that's just not viable anymore.
It's a tariff that I can't afford, so I can no longer import from China.
I wouldn't be profitable. It's not even something that I can pass on to the customer. I hope they fix the tariffs. I hope they reduce it.
NHK spoke to people in front of the White House. There were mixed feelings about Trump's strategy.
I think the tariffs are pretty straightforward. Retaliatory tariffs, y'all are going to tax us, we'll tax you. I mean, I think that's that's pretty common sense.
It's very difficult to understand the direction he's heading in when he changes back and forth. The tariff enactment that he'sHe's put forth has had an impact on our retirement, our nest egg, very concerning for us.
One poll suggests few Americans think the TAVRs will help the economy. A whopping 72% think they will have a negative impact in the short term.
They aren't helping Trump's approval ratings either. They've been gradually declining since he took office. As of April 18, the majority of those surveyed weren't happy with his administration. An expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a US think tank, said some fear the tariffs will lead to higher prices.
It's all very, very confusing. It's turmoil, it's uncertainty, and Americans don't like that, and that probably explains the decline in his overall approval rating.
Bowman says Trump's approval rating hasn't seen a significant decline, but she says the discontent is real, and it's something the White House needs to listen to.
A ceasefire with Ukraine declared unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin has expired. Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of ignoring the pause in fighting, which was called to mark the Easter holiday.
Putin ordered his forces to stop all military activity against Ukraine on Saturday. He said the ceasefire would last from 6 p.m. that day through Sunday, Moscow time. Russia's state-run TASS news agency quotes Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying the ceasefire would not be extended. Russia's defense ministry claims its forces followed the order, but says Ukrainian troops struck Russian positions over 400 times with guns and motors. It also says Ukraine carried out 900 attacks with quadcopter-style drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media claiming Russian forces shelled Ukrainian troops more than 1,800 times. He says Putin's words about the ceasefire were empty.
Zelenskyy is calling on Russia to accept a Ukrainian proposal for a full ceasefire that would last 30 days.
The New York Times says the US Defense Secretary shared information with his family members about airstrikes in Yemen in a second chat on a commercial messaging service. Pete Hegseth reportedly started the chat on the Signal app. The New York Times quotes sources as saying that more than 10 people were in the group, including Hegseth's wife, younger brother, and personal lawyer. The information reportedly included details about forthcoming strikes on Houthi rebels in March. It included flight schedules of the attack aircrafts used in the operation, the paper says. Heck Seth.
used his private phone to access Signal.
It says his brother and the lawyer currently work at the Department of Defense, but it adds that neither they nor his wife had any apparent reason to be briefed on operational details of a military operation as it was getting underway. The report follows another revelation of the apps used by Hexeth and other key Donald Trump administration officials. In a separate chat that day, they exchanged information about the same operation against Houthis. The latest news raises further questions about Hexet's adherence to security protocols.
A study by Japan's space agency shows that ice cover in the Arctic Ocean was the smallest on record in 2025.
Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the National Institute of Polar Research use a Shizuku satellite to monitor the spread of the Arctic ice. They say the coverage for this year reached a maximum of 13.79 million square kilometers on March 20.
The figure was 130,000 square kilometers less than the previous record in 2017, and thesmallest ever based on data going back to 1979. The area of the ice mostly expands from October through March. The scientists also say the average of the ice area in each of the months from December 2024 to February 2025 was the smallest on record.
The head of the space agency expressed his concern at a news conference.
This phenomenon is related to climate change and is feared to affect both weather and the marine environment. We'll continue to monitor and analyze the situation.
Analysts, including those at the agency, cited higher than average temperatures as a reason the spread of the ice was hindered.
Now let's go to Gene Ohtani for business stories. Gene?
In our top business story this hour, traders are growing more bullish on the yen ahead of a key meeting of Japan and the US finance chiefs this week. A surge of buying on Monday drove the Japanese currency to the 140 range against the dollar, its highest level in seven months. The shift comes after a social media post buy.
US President Trump, who described currency manipulation as a non-tariff trade barrier. Japan has repeatedly denied that it has a policy to devalue its currency. Market players expect the US will pressure Japan to take steps to reverse the weakening of the yen against the dollar. The issue is likely to be on the agenda when Japanese Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu meets Treasury Secretary Scott Besant in the US later this week. Investors are buying the yen in anticipation of those talks.
Japan has altered the wording in its monthly economic report for the first time in eight months, using the term uncertainty in reference to US trade policies.
The government report for April maintains the baseline assessment that the Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace. It describes consumer sentiment as showing a weak tone, but adds that there are signs consumption is picking up amid improving job and wage conditions.
The report says exports have gained some traction due to stronger shipments of autos and other goods. But looking ahead, it says US tariffs could affect the business plans of Japanese manufacturers. The report includes a corporate assessment of business conditions, and this was downgraded for the first time in three years and one month from improving to flat. Reflecting the shift, reflecting the shift, the government has set up a council of all cabinet ministers to discuss the US tariffs, the government says it will take all necessary measures to respond.
Japan's catch quota for the bigeye tuna in the Indian Ocean is said to be raised from 2026 for three years.
That's because projections are showing the species is at sustainable levels in the area.
Big-eye tuna are popular in Japan. They are commonly eaten raw as sashimi.
Japan cut more than 28,000 tons in 2023. Over 3,500 tons came from the Indian Ocean. Japan's annual quota of Indian Ocean Big-eye tuna will rise by 15 percent to over 4,200 tons from next year until 2028. The decision came at a conference for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission held from April 13 on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
Commission members discussed quotas for big-eye, yellowfin and other kinds of tuna. The group has imposed limits for big-eye tuna for participating countries and territories since last year to stem declines in stock. The conference has decided to raise quotas based on projections showing populations of Big-I at sustainable levels in the ocean, bordering India, Africa, Indonesia and Australia.
Japan's annual quota for Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna will remain unchanged at a little over 4,000 tons.
Japan is home to over 3,000 public libraries, but the shrinking population and financial difficulties are putting them at risk. NHK World's Hojo Kanako reports.
Until recently, this Tokyo suburb had six public libraries. But by the end of March, half of them had closed. I don't even hear the word library around me anymore. I feel like young people don't go these days. In fiscal 2015,Over 220,000 people borrowed books in Kiyose. But eight years later, that number had fallen to about 150,000 In an effort to reverse the trend, the city has started a book delivery service.
Patrons can request books online or by phone, then receive them as soon as the following day. The delivery service also picks up books when users are finished with them. The delivery project has a budget of 100 million yen, or about $700,000.
The costs are covered by savings from the branches that closed, so the overall financial burden hasn't increased.
An expert on library management says, In the future, there will likely be fewer small libraries.
The shrinking population and financial difficulties mean that the construction of new libraries has dropped off somewhat. In some regions, smaller ones are being closed and integrated into central ones.
But these facilities still play an important role in communities.
The city of Tokoname in central Japan closed its public library in 2021 because the building was aging and not resistant to earthquakes.
Due to great demand, a private one was established by citizens. A disused factory was renovated and the citizens donated books.
But because of a shortage of staff, it is open only two days a week.
Still, people come to read, relax, and connect with each other.
Public libraries have such a wide variety of books. I think it would definitely be better if we had one in our community again.
Having heard the voice of our citizens, the city has decided to rebuild its public library.
But the location and the schedule had not been set.
Another community is increasing users by meeting needs other than lending books.
This library in Gifu Prefecture was renovated 10 years ago to include a hall and a cafe. The number of users is up more than 10 halls. The motto here is children's voices are the voice of the future. And while a typical library insists on silence, This one welcomes children's laughter and even crying.
(Japanese)
At night, the space is for working adults with lectures on local history and culture that start at 7 PM.
There are so many things you can't get to know in detail, even if you live here.
It's a good opportunity to learn something new.
As libraries face a threat of closure, some are surviving by becoming more than just places to read books. And that can expand their roles in the community.
Hojo Kanako NHK World.
And that's a look at business news. Miki, I'm going to hand it back to you.
Thank you for the latest, Gene.
Volunteers have cleaned up the Totori sand dunes along the Sea of Japan ahead of the upcoming spring holiday period.
About 2,800 people from 74 companies and organizations gathered at the sightseeing spot on Sunday. They picked up garbage on the dunes in the nearby beach. This included what appeared to be fishing equipment such as nets and ropes, as well as plastic and glass bottles.
As a resident, I would like to improve the environment so that many people can visit Tottori's tourist attractions.
Tottori City says over 180,000 people are expected to visit the dunes and surrounding areas during the spring holidays, which begin next week.
♪
Let's bring in our meteorologist, Jonathan Oh for weather updates. So Jonathan, it was a sunny Monday in Tokyo, but it's starting to get quite warm. How are things looking for Tuesday?
We talk about high pressure as a good weather maker and that's going to be the story for Tuesday in terms of fair weather, in terms of Sunny skies, maybe a few clouds from time to time. But again with the sunshine, we'll be seeing temperatures moving into the mid 20s, which is more typical for summertime as opposed to springtime. And so if you're not used to the sudden warm up, make sure you stay hydrated and make sure you wear loose clothing to make sure that helps you stay a little bit ventilated with all the warm air that's in place. The chains that I mentioned are coming from the West. We have a couple of low pressure systems coming out of China and that's going to help. Bring some wet weather as you go into Wednesday, though areas back toward the western portions of Japan and also into North and South Korea. You'll be dealing with the rain on Tuesday.
Fukuoka looking at 25 for showers on Tuesday, 26 in Osaka, 24 in Tokyo, even into the mid to upper teens into Hokkaido as you go through Tuesday. Now Speaking of Hokkaido, you're still kind of sitting there going. Where's the cherry blossoms?
So as you go into the next few days, we're likely going to see those first blossoms popping up as you go throughout this week and into next week.
But we're looking at first blossoms already into the Tohoku region at the far northern areas of the Tohoku region to Aomori as it went through this past weekend.
Looking at what's happening across North America, we had some strong thunderstorms down toward the southern United States. That cold front is moving toward the east. We'll see a little bit of a reprieve, though we may still see some thunderstorms along the cold front.
But with watch out for another low pressure system coming out of the Rockies, it's going to drive itself down into the central plains by the time we're going to Tuesday, and that could lead to some strong thunderstorms. So be on the lookout for that. But for Monday, at least like in Oklahoma City, the hazy high of 24 for the day.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～
That's all for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yamoto Miki in Tokyo. Thank you for joining us on NHK World Japan.
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