US BUDGET STANDOFF MAY SHUT GOVT. OFFICES ON WEDNESDAY
Some US government offices may close from Wednesday as Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on spending plans.The House of Representatives passed a stopgap budget bill on September 19 that would fund the government temporarily from October 1. But the Senate rejected the bill as Democrats sought an extension of health insurance benefits. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance met with congressional leaders of both parties on Monday, but they failed to find common ground.
I think we're headed to a shutdown. You don't use your policy disagreements as leverage. To not pay our troops, to not have essential for services of government actually function.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party made proposals to the president on health care funding.
He said a shutdown can be avoided if the president accepts some requests. Such stalemates over the federal budget have become a regular occurrence in Washington. The situation remains tense as the Trump administration is poised to furlough workers if government offices are closed.
YOUTUBE SETTLES TRUMP LAWSUIT FOR $24.5 MILLION
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Trump over the suspension of his account following the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Trump and other parties sued Google-owned YouTube in July 2021, claiming the platform was trying to silence their freedom of speech. Google's parent company, Alphabet, will pay the settlement, and Trump will receive $22 million. The money is to be placed in a trust supporting the construction of the White House State Ballroom. YouTube is the latest major platform to settle with the president. Mehta and X have already settled similar lawsuits filed by him.The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has raked in more than $80 million in payouts from lawsuits he has brought against big tech and media companies since he won last fall's election.
N.KOREAN DIPLOMAT VOWS PYONGYANG WILL KEEP NUCLEAR PROGRAM
A senior North Korean diplomat says his country will never give up its nuclear program. Kim Song Young made the remarks in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.We will never give up nuclear power, which is our state law, national policy and sovereign power, as well as the right to existence. Under any circumstances, we will never walk away from this position.
Kim says Pyongyang's deterrence is proportionate to the growing threat of aggression from the US and its allies. He says it thoroughly contains their will to provoke a war. Kim adds that pressuring North Korea to denuclearizeis tantamount to demanding it surrender its sovereignty. He also claimed the US, South Korea, and Japan are raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula by conducting joint exercises. The drills simulate responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, but the diplomat accused the three nations of rehearsing procedures and methods that could be used in a nuclear attack against the North. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested that he would be open to talks with the US if Washington gives up trying to denuclearize North Korea.
AUSTRALIA HOSTS INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL CONGRESS
The who's who of the space industry is in Sydney, Australia for the 76th International Astronautical Congress.It brings together agencies from around the world, as well as the businesses building the tech needed to reach the final frontier. The five-day event kicked off Monday with the theme Sustainable Space, Resilient Earth.
Participants will discuss a range of emerging issues for the industry, including how to deal with the growing amount of debris from The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is taking part. JAXA is showing off a model of a lunar probe designed to analyze water content in the moon's soil. The mission is set for launch as early as next fiscal year. The event comes as another participant, NASA, is facing an uncertain future. The Trump administration plans to slash the US Space Agency's budget by 24%, or about $6 billion. More than 20% of NASA's workforce, about 4,000 employees, have opted to resign. NASA's acting administrator says his agency still has an important role to play bringing humanity to the moon and Mars.
See, there's a lot that a lot of agencies that can get involved in in climate change and that whole conversation, but only one is human exploration, and that's NASA. We're the only ones who are human space explorers.
At the same time, a growing number of countries are shooting for the stars. Officials and business representatives from roughly 100 countries are involved in this year's Congress.
ANALYSIS: HOW PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE CHANGING THE SPACE RACE
For more on this, I earlier spoke with NHK World's Yokokawa Hiroshi, who was at the conference in Sydney.Hiroshi, what are the big issues facing the space industry right now?
A big question is what role private companies will have in space. For years, governments led the charge when it comes to near-Earth space development.
But now that the technology is widely available, private companies are becoming the main players. Let's take the International Space Station as an example. The government's space agencies built it together. But now it is getting old and scheduled to cease operation in 2030. So what will we place it? The US plans to leave the development to private companies. They are putting forward their pitches for new space stations. And NASA says one or even several of them could be picked to succeed the ISS.
Standing here, it feels like humans are eager to explore space in earnest. But how we do it may be shifting.
Does that mean that space development in general is leaning more towards private companies?
Yes and no. It is true that private companies are becoming the main players for near-Earth activities, like orbiting space stations. But when it comes to destinations far beyond, like the moon or even Mars, governments are still leading the charge.
For years, the US has been spearheading this push. But now, other nations have been stepping up. In recent years, China and India have rapidly closed the gap with the United States. And countries that didn't have a space presence beforelike the UAE and Luxembourg, are here at the event as emerging nations.
With new players entering the space race, Humanity's future in the stars looks like it's up for the grab.
BUSINESS
And now let's see what's happening in the world of business. Here's Ramin Mellegard from The Biz Desk.Thank you very much indeed.
HEAD OF JAPANESE BUSINESS LOBBY RESIGNS AMID POLICE PROBE
Now, one of Japan's top business lobby says its chairperson has resigned. Niinami Takeshi is under investigation for purchasing supplements that may have contained an illegal substance.The Japan Association of Corporate Executives said its board of directors accepted his offer of resignation at a meeting on Tuesday. The directors on the association's membership review committee had previously agreed that Niinami should be urged to quit. Niinami had already stepped back from his duties as the association's chief after the disclosure that he was the subject of a police investigation. He had left it up to the business lobby's board to decide his fate. Niinami's tenure as chairperson was due to expire in April 2027. The association says its senior vice chairperson, Iwai Mutsuo,will take over until a new head is chosen. Niinami resigned as chairman and CEO of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings in early September after he informed the company of the police investigation.
BOJ SUMMARY: POLICYMAKERS INDICATE RATE HIKE NEEDED
The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged in September, but a summary of the meeting shows more policymakers are leaning toward a rate hike in the near future.The summary of opinions released on Tuesday comes from the BOJ's two-day policy meeting that ended on September 19th. Two policymakers at the meeting did propose raising the central bank's policy rate, but they were outvoted. However, the summary shows other policymakers indicated the bank will need to soon consider hiking interest rates. One member said Japan's economic conditions suggest Raising rates in the near future would be appropriate, saying it's been six months since the last increase. Another added that the bank could raise the policy rate to adjust the level of real interest rates because restraining factors from overseas are being resolved.
CYBER ATTACK FORCES BEER GIANT ASAHI TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS
Major Japanese beverage maker Asahi Group Holdings says its domestic operations remain suspended following a cyber attack on Monday. The brewing giant says it cannot tell when production and shipping will resume.Officials say production of beer and other beverages was halted at many of its 30 plants across Japan due to a system failure as of Tuesday morning. The cyberattack occurred at around 7 a.m. on Monday, affecting group companies in Japan. The group has been unable to receive orders, ship products, and handle inquiries from customers.
Asahi says there has been no confirmed leak of personal information or customer data.
Company officials say the group is accelerating efforts to restore operations because a prolonged system failure could affect product supply. But they downplayed the possibility of a shortage of its drinks anytime soon, citing inventories held by wholesalers and retailers.
JAPANESE ENTREPRENEUR BUILDS BUSINESS ON AFRICAN TALENT
Now, countries in Africa are attracting investment from around the world due to their growing populations. Much of it is for infrastructure projects and major sectors, such as health care. But one Japanese entrepreneur is tapping something else, human talent that he hopes one day will help drive the continent's development.Noro Hiroyoshi operates an online school for computer programmers in the city of Yokohama.
Let's learn together the process of publishing a web application.
The students are Japanese, but their instructors are in African nations, such as Rwanda.
A student asks why the formatting of items on a web page appears to be wrong.
The instructor uses translation tools to understand the question and then checks the student's work.
After diagnosing the problem, the instructor writes an explanation in English that's converted to Japanese.
There are no problems communicating and writing. I believe the language barrier no longer exists. The African staff are indispensable to my company.
Noro started looking to Africa eight years ago. Whereas Japan's market was shrinking, he saw potential in a region where the population was growing rapidly.
He started holding online programming classes in Rwanda, where the government was promoting the IT industry. He then went on to over 10 countries on the continent. He hired some of his African students to work as his employees,Assigning them to support Japanese students and carry out programming tasks for his business.
Even though we are in, we are all working from different time zones, Nodasan does a really good job keeping everyone in the loop.
It's just most rewarding part of my work, just seeing growth and progress of the students.
Noro hopes his African staff will go on to build and expand the IT sector in their own countries. He also supports individuals who are tackling social issues in Africa.
One of them is Rwandan Ruzibiza Samantha.
She studied business administration at a Japanese graduate school and is now interning at Noro's company.
She has expressed interest in launching educational services for women, as these are lacking in her home country.
My hope is to actually um contribute to the developmentof my continent. I think if I was to be called, I would definitely help.
I want to build businesses that can make a social impact together with our African staff members.
MARKETS
Okay, let's go check on the markets.♪
And that is it for business news.
IN FOCUS
We go over now to Shibuya Aki with Newsline in Focus, and we'll see a rare collaboration bringing together traditional noh theater and a modern manga story.
NOH MEETS MANGA IN TALE OF HIDDEN LOVE
In August, a much-awaited production sold out every seat at the Kanze Noh Theater in Tokyo. Fans gathered for a very special combination of art forms.Noh and Kyogen are classical Japanese performing arts that are often paired together with over 600 years of history. No is a musical drama that draws on history, mythology, and other traditions, told primarily through chant and dance.
Kyogen, by contrast, portrays ordinary life in the Middle Ages as comedy, and is driven largely by dialogue. Both feature stylized minimalist movement.
The director and star is Nomura Mansai, a renowned Kyogen performer also active in film and television. And in an effort to entice new fans to his ancient art form, he chose an unusual subject for the performance, a popular manga.
On the first day of rehearsals, leading performers from across Japan gather in Tokyo.
Nomura Mansai hails from a theatrical dynasty over 250 years old.
Under his leadership, the cast unites for this new endeavor.
Fitting the world of this manga comic into the form of no on the stage is a huge challenge for all of us, but we must try our best if we're really going to satisfy our audience.
The source material is called Hiizuru Tokuru no Tenshi, known in English as the Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun by Yamagishi Ryoko. First published in the 1980s, it was a sensation in manga magazines for young women.
The protagonist is Prince Umayado, a historical royal from the 6th and 7th centuries who was later credited with major political reforms in Japan.
Amid a royal power struggle, the manga portrays Prince Umayado's unfulfilled love for a male aide through a mysterious poetic lens.
Nomoda felt that this imaginative world, which departs from history, could be brought to life through Noh's stylized simplicity.
In Noh and Kyogen,We don't explain everything.
Instead, we leave much of it to the audience's imagination.
The essence of no is maximum impact through minimal means.
I want people to feel that it's not hard to understand.
It's a space to play and imagine more freely.
One scene Nomura centers on surrounds the death of Omayado's father as spirits arrive to drag him into the afterlife.
To evoke the ominous advance of the spirits, he turns to the Kane, a small gong used in No and Kyogen.
I want it to sound dissonant. I need the combination to feel unsettling.
One challenge that goes beyond classical known performances. involves a key storyline from the manga.
A love scene between the prince and his aide is shown as a mystical experience, as if the two are ascending to the heavens together.
But in traditional Noh, direct expressions such as an embrace are never shown on stage. Nomura struggles with how to stage it. as the performance draws near.
In the end, he chooses to use this stage prop in a way not seen before in Noh.
As fans of the original manga fill the seats, the show gets underway.
The encounter between Prince Umayado and the aide is brought to life through Noah's distinctive dance and music.
The spirits creep closer to the Prince's father. And finally, the love scene.
The bond between the pair is expressed in silhouette.
Some people might find it too raw, but if they can feel that it was necessary, then I think that's fine.
I was deeply moved. The music and sound were beautiful and even beginners could follow it easily. They moved through the story much faster than the original, but it still came through clearly. That was wonderful.
I was glad to see how much the audience enjoyed it. For me, this is about expanding Noah's possibilities. and not waiting inside the Noh world, but reaching into an area such as comics that has built-in fans. I hope the audience's eagerness to see the world of the manga and our wish for them to experience Noh and Kyogen as classical theater can create a positive synergy.
Nomura says it's important to keep performing the classics while also creating new works that speak to today.
That's how Noh has survived for nearly 700 years. His production was so well received, a second performance has been scheduled for Tokyo in December. And that's all from me.
♪
WEATHER
It's time to check the weather with our meteorologist, Jonathan Oh. SoJonathan, signs of autumn are appearing in parts of western Japan. What can you show us?Hello, as we see the temperature starting to fall across Japan, suddenly saw a much cooler day and not just a place like Tokyo, but also places West as well.
I want to show you some video coming out of Hiroshima, where in the morning hours on Tuesday we saw this beautiful sea of fog appearing over the city. And it marked the arrival of autumn. In the morning the temperature dropped below 19 degrees Celsius and the combination of cool sunny weather and light winds created this stunning scenery. Now the fog was seen flowing through the mountain valleys since before dawn into the morning. Now if these same conditions continue that setup, the sea of fog can be seen appearing in the mornings. Until early spring. So yeah, it's a sign of autumn, but really more sign of the cooler months as we go forward in time.
High pressure is helping to bring down those temperatures and you woke up this morning, you're going, oh, it feels good, but it's going to get cooler for places like Tokyo as we go through the day. On Wednesday, what's happening is we have some moisture pushing on through for the eastern side of Japan. So the cloud decks in place, the rains in place and so it's going to feel more like normal for this time of year and Wednesday 23 for the high in Tokyo 21. In Sunday 22 Niigata, but places back for the West near 30, so we'll see those temperatures still keeping back up again as we go through the middle of the work week.
Meanwhile, across Europe, we have this kind of low pressure system across the eastern side of the continent with a ginormous high toward the north. That calm will bring in some really chilly air. We're talking about temperatures topping off at 10 in Moscow on Tuesday with rain from Warsaw and to keep Istanbul looking as a wet weather with a high of 22 as we go through Tuesday.
Quick note on North America, eastern side of the United States, we have this stationary front in place with a couple of systems offshore that's really bouncing against the front. So we're talking about a wet pattern going on forward through today on Tuesday. Look out for the coastal areas that go forward in time. Wet weather also for the Pacific Northwest for the day.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
HOKKAIDO TOWN PROMOTES SEASONAL SPECIALTIES
Before we leave you, people flocked to an event on Sunday in Hokkaido, northern Japan, to enjoy some autumnal delicacies.The event is held annually in Oumu Town to promote seafood and other local cuisine.
Horsehair crabs and salmon were sold at the venue.
Visitors were able to take part in an auction and bid for seafood.
I made three bids at auction. I'm so glad.
Children also fished for salmon that were placed in a pool.
I was glad I got it into the basket and caught it. It looks fresh.
That's autumn really kicking in. That wraps up this edition of NHK News. We'll have more for you soon. Thanks for watching.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿