Japan's Prime Minister Ishima Shigeru has arrived in the Philippines on the second leg of a Southeast Asian trip. He will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and is likely to discuss security issues. Ishiba left Vietnam and arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday. He's first scheduled to meet with people of Japanese descent, whose fathers were Japanese and mothers were from the Philippines. Many of these people were left behind in the confusion of World War II and have often been marginalized since.
Ishiba and Marcos are expected to discuss China's increasing maritime assertiveness in the East and South China Seas. They're likely to agree on opposing attempts to change the status quo unilaterally by force or coercion, and to boost security cooperation. One plan is to start talks towards an agreement on the provision of supplies and services between Japan's self-defense forces and the Philippine military. The two leaders are also expected to discuss. The possible impact of US tariff policy on the global economy, as well as the multilateral free trade system.
Yokota Takuya and Izuka Koichiro will stay in Washington until May 3rd.
They plan to meet US government officials and lawmakers of both chambers of Congress. Yokota Takuya is the younger brother of Yokota Megumi, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents at the age of 13. Izuka Koichiro's mother, Taguchi Yaeko, was abducted by the North when he was one year old.
We have been asking that all abductees be returned home while their parents are still alive. We regard this as a time limit. We will reiterate to key US officials that we are running out of time. In order to save our family members, strong support from the US is essential, and we will strongly appeal for it.
In 2018, during his first term, Trump raises the issue of abduction to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the first ever US-North Korea summit. The abductees' families are asking senior US government officials to support their efforts to bring their loved ones back to Japan as early as possible.
They also want Trump to emphasize the need to resolve the issue if he holds another summit meeting with Kim. The Japanese government has so far recognized 17 citizens as having been abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
Five returned home, but the other 12 are still unaccounted for. The mother of Yokota Megumi, 89 year old Yokota Sakye, is now the only surviving parent of the remaining 12 victims.
We live in a world of heightened nuclear risks. that the threats posed to the disarmament and non-proliferation regime are not static. They continue to evolve.
Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi has called for unity.
We are seeing accelerating moves that run counter to the progress of nuclear disarmament or threaten nuclear non-proliferation. Such as a rapid buildup of nuclear capabilities in an opaque manner.
Now Russia lowered its threshold for using nuclear weapons in 2024, and North Korea is pushing forward with nuclear and missile development. You I mentioned that at the past two review conferences, parties failed to adopt outcome documents and the framework for international cooperation, including the NPT faces difficulties. He called for dialogue and cooperation at next year's review conference. Iwaya also referred to Nihon Hidankiyo, a group representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that won the Nobel Peace Prize. He said calls for achieving a world without nuclear weapons are becoming louder than ever, and the NPT must respond.
I have really high expectations that the countries will hold concrete talks and can work on the issue.
Looking at the current situation, it's not clear when the talks will move forward. I hope everyone will hold more discussions and continue next year.
Some of our Asian trading partners have come with very, very good deals. We're evaluating those, and President Trump's going to have the final say on all of them.
Bessent didn't specify which country he thinks will become the first to sign a deal with the US. Now, among those negotiating with the US is Japan. The government plans to send its top negotiator, Akazawa Ryose, for a second round of talks with Bessent in Washington later this week. Akazawa vowed not to back down.
We have been strongly demanding that the Trump administration remove all new tariffs, and there is no change to our stance. That is our main focus, and we will not budge on it.
Akazawa says he's seeking a deal that would be acceptable to both countries by reaching an understanding on investment and other economic initiatives. Akazawa insists that Japan has made massive investments, creating creative jobs for Americans, and has made efforts to reduce the US trade deficit with Japan.
Now, a Japanese earthquake expert has found that high-rise buildings in Bangkok swayed up to 1.6 meters during a massive tremor that hit neighboring Myanmar in March.
Japan's Meteorological Agency earlier pointed out that long period ground motion from the magnitude 7.7 quake shook the high-rises in Thailand's capital, a distance of over 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter. Chiba University professor Maruyama Yoshihisa analyzed data from seismometers set up in Bangkok. As 60-story buildings appeared to have been mostly affected by the jolt, he theorized that the floors in such structures wobbled horizontally by up to 1.6 meters.
I was really surprised that a strong long period ground motion 1000 kilometers from the epicenter caused severe damage.
Long period ground motion involves strong tremors from powerful quakes traveling great distances. Water from rooftop pools on skyscrapers cascaded down onto the streets below.
Maruyama also said that the data from seismometers in Bangkok. Suggests the swing lasted nearly five minutes.
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And that's a wrap for this edition of NSK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard. Thank you very much for joining us.Hi there. It's time for Easy Japanese from NHK World Japan. I'm Eriko Kojima and I'm Michael Rhys. Let's have fun learning Japanese together.
Today we bring you Lesson 5. On expressions for explaining how you study Japanese.
The main character of our skit is Tam, a student from Vietnam who now lives in Harusan House. Today is her first day of classes at the university. She's been nervous since waking up. Harusan, the robot landlady, notices something's wrong. Listen to the skit for Lesson 5
Hai, nasiyo deben kyo si master.
Let's review the skit line by line.
Haru-san speaks to Tam. Tam-san, kyo karagako desne. Tam-san, your school starts today, doesn't it?Tam replies, Ai.
Yes. Haru-san's sensor detects something wrong, and her cheeks start glowing in light blue.
Oh.
What's wrong?Tam replies anxiously.
I'm nervous about my Japanese, Haru-san says.
Tam-san, your Japanese is fine.
Tam humbly replies.
No, it's not good enough. Haru-san asks, You studied it in Vietnam, right? Tam replies, Yes, I study by listening to the radio.
Haru-san reassures her with, Then you'll be okay. Tam was worried about conveying herself in Japanese smoothly. Haru-san senses whenever her residents are having any trouble, and we'll talk them through it.
Today's key phrase is, I studied by listening to the radio.
By learning this pattern, you'll be able to tell people how you study Japanese.
Now, let's review the meaning of this phrase. Rajio is radio. The following de is a particle which indicates the means in this situation. Benkyo shimashita is a verb meaning I studied. In our previous lesson, we learned that when you want to say what you're going to do, you use verbs in the masu form. That means those that end with masu. But in today's skit, the verb ended with mashita.
Right. O Here's the difference.
Today's point changing the. end of the masu form of a verb from masu to mashita expresses something you did in the past. The past form of I'm going to study, benkyou shimasu, is benkyou shimashita.
By the way, in today's key phrase, the subject watashi-wa and the object nihongo have been omitted because they're clear from the context. Okay, are you ready to give it a try?Listen and repeat.
OK. Were you able to say it well? Now, let's listen to a conversation about how someone studied Japanese. If you travel to Japan and see a few words in Japanese, you might be asked this question.
Huh Nihongo doyatebenkyo shimashita? Now, here it is, part by part.
Ah, nihongo. Oh, Japanese. Ah, meaning oh, expresses surprise.
Nihongo is Japanese.
Doyate benkyo shimashita ka?How did you study?Doyate is an interrogative, meaning how.
Benkyo shimashita is studied.
By adding the particle ka at the end and raising the intonation, it becomes a question.
Intanetto de benki oshimashita. I studied online. Try saying it after the question.
Do ya te benki oshimashita ka? Intanetto de benki oshimashita.
Intanetto de benki oshimashita.
Try a few more ways. What would you say if you studied by watching anime? Anime is anime.
Anime. Now give it a try.
Anime de benkyo shimasata.
Anime de benkyo shimasata.
Today's bonus phrase is what Tam said when she was told her Japanese is good.
Memorize it and make it yours.
Ie, mada, mada desu. Ie, mada, mada desu. No, it's not good enough is a humble expression you can use when someone praises you. Iye means no. Now, listen again and repeat.
Iye, mada, mada desu.
Good, I'm sure you did fine.
Okay, let's listen to today's skit one more time.
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.
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And that brings us to Harusan's bag full of advice. Today, expressions of humility.
Now, Mike, I have a quiz for you. Okay.
If someone compliments you saying your Japanese is good,How should you answer? Choose one of these three options.
Number one, thank you very much.
Number two, no, it's not good enough.
Number three, yes, I studied at the university. Well, I'd say... Well, number one, thank you very much. Arigato gozaimasu. Being complimented feels good, I know, but most Japanese people would answer. No, it's not good enough, or iye madamada desu in cases like this. Okay, I guess they're just being humble. That's right. Japanese has lots of humble expressions. For example, even when you've prepared a table full of delicacies, you tell your guests, We have nothing but this. Oh, really?Is that so?Mm-hmmLearning humble expressions will boost your Japanese skills.
We hope you enjoyed today's Easy Japanese and join us again next time.
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Japan has various kinds of landmarks that fascinate visitors. They range from cultural and historic locations to modern buildings created with cutting-edge technologies. What led to their creation and what were the challenges involved?The backstory of Japanese landmarks brings you the stories behind these amazing places. In this episode of the Backstory of Japanese Landmarks, we feature the world's tallest broadcast tower, Tokyo Skytree.Tokyo Skytree is 634 meters tall. Other landmarks, such as the Tokyo Tower and Paris's Eiffel Tower, have wide bases. But Tokyo Skytree is slim and more like a spire.
Its color, named Skytree White, is based on the lightest shade of Japanese indigo blue. The tower can be seen from a great distance, but when people first see it, some think its form is rather simple.
Tokyo Skytree was built using state-of-the-art Japanese technology, but that's not all. Traditional skills, respected and handed down over generations of craftspeople, also played a vital role in its construction.
The base of Tokyo Skytree is triangular in shape when seen from above. This was designed to let people enter from the three sides of the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, the two observation decks at the heights of 350 meters and 450 meters are round. and offer a 360 degree panoramic view.
This means the cross-section of the tower's base is a triangle, but becomes round toward the top.
Looking more carefully, Tokyo Skytree's outline is not made of straight lines.
The lines are actually slightly curved.
Depending where the tower is viewed from, some parts of the tower warp inwards, while other parts bulge outwards.
This comes from traditional Japanese architecture. The inward warp is called sori, or the outward curve is called mukuri. Tokyo Skytree's towering outline is a combination of sori and mukuri. A particularly important feature of Tokyo Skytree is its earthquake resistance.
The tower's construction began in 2008. Three years later, in 2011, a massive earthquake struck eastern Japan. After overcoming a number of challenges posed by the disaster, the tower was completed in 2012 Tokyo Skytree has an outer frame and an inner column. The two are structurally detached. During an earthquake, the column acts as a weight and moves in the opposite direction as the outer frame.
This reduces the impact of tremors.
This anti-seismic structure was inspired by a traditional Japanese structure, the five-story pagoda.
Five-story pagodas of Buddhist temples have a column at the center, similar to Tokyo Skytree. Due to their excellent quake resistance, there are no records of any wooden pagodas collapsing in an earthquake in Japan's history.
Japan's oldest five-story pagoda is in Horyuji Temple in Nara, built more than 1,400 years ago. The wisdom of ancient people lives on in today's advanced technologies.
Thank you for tuning in to the backstory of Japanese landmarks. We hope you have a chance to visit these landmarks and see for yourself what makes them so special.
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