Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki in Tokyo.
JAPAN: CHINA NOTICE AHEAD OF RADAR INCIDENT "INSUFFICIENT"
Chinese state-run media has posted audio on social media to support a claim that a Chinese Navy ship had notified a nearby Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel of a training exercise.
But Japan's defense minister says the notice provided by the Chinese military did not include enough information.
The post follows an incident on Saturday in which at least one Chinese fighter jet intermittently aimed radar at Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft.
00:00:46 話者 2
This is China Navy warship 101. Our formation organizes shipboard aircraft flight training as planted over.
00:00:57 話者 3
Chinese warship 101, this is Japan warship 116. I copy your message.
00:01:06 話者 1
The social media post also claims the Chinese side detected radar from the Japanese aircraft. Japan's Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro told reporters on Wednesday a Chinese vessel had notified an MSDF destroyer on Saturday about flight drills.
He added that he was briefed on the notification.
But he said the information was inadequate.
00:01:30 話者 4
The Self-Defense Forces had not been provided with specific information about the scale of the exercises or the airspace in which the Liaoning's carrier-based aircraft would be conducting them.
There was no aeronautical information indicating the training times or specific latitudes and longitudes, nor were navigation warnings for vessels issued in advance.
Consequently, there was insufficient information to avoid danger.
00:01:59 話者 1
Koizumi also denied that ASDF fighter jets used radar on aircraft operating from the Liaoning carrier.
The United States has criticized China's actions in relation to the incident.
A State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability.
SCHOOLS RESUME, OFFICIALS PREPARE AFTER NORTHERN QUAKE
Communities across northern and eastern Japan are trying to get back to normal after Monday's powerful earthquake.
But as tremors continue, authorities say there's still a chance of a possible mega-quake.
The magnitude 7-point-5 quake struck off Aomori Prefecture's eastern coast late Monday night. It triggered a tsunami warning and has left 51 people across three prefectures injured so far.
In Aomori's Hachinohe city, most schools managed to reopen Wednesday.
In this class, a teacher was asking students if they had any injuries.
When shortly after, yet another tremor hit. The kids hid under their desks to protect themselves.
00:03:12 話者 4
We don't know when an earthquake will happen, so we want to be prepared so we can protect ourselves.
00:03:20 話者 1
The Japan Meteorological Agency says a possible mega-quake could follow.
They said it could be similar to the 2011 earthquake that struck almost 15 years ago.
As of late Wednesday morning, at least 20 earthquakes have occurred. The areas highlighted in pink are under an advisory for a possible subsequent mega-quake.
Officials say people from Hokkaido to Chiba should stay vigilant over the coming week.
Some areas are preparing for the worst.
Rikuzen Takata City in Iwate Prefecture has opened a voluntary evacuation center.
Those worried about a mega-quake can pre-evacuate there.
It's equipped with heaters, tents, baby beds and blankets.
City officials say the facility will be open until next week.
LOTS TO REPAIR IN HACHINOHE FOLLOWING QUAKE
Earlier, I spoke with NHCR's Endo Yuka, who is in Hachinohe.
She has been seeing firsthand the quake's impact, including how young foreign residents managed during that terrifying night.
00:04:29 話者 4
There is still a lot of damage to assess, but the extent is becoming clearer day by day.
And it's clear that there's a lot to repair here at Jojasan Shinra Shrine.
This comes at an especially difficult time. New Year's is coming up.
That's high season at shrines. Officials say they will try to repair things in time.
Repairs will also be needed at a school not far from here.
HOW FOREIGN STUDENTS MANAGED DURING QUAKE
Cracks on the walls, broken seams. This is some of the damage discovered so far at the National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College.
The school reopened Wednesday after being closed due to the quake.
It has about 850 students, including 26 from abroad, many of whom are not used to this kind of disaster.
00:05:23 話者 5
I was playing my smartphone on the bed, and then the earthquake happened.
Yes, I was really shocked because this was the most big earthquake I ever faced too.
00:05:41 話者 4
Pitaya Chotiwom Papigan is from Thailand. She says she went to the leader of a dormitory for guidance and was told to grab her coat, passport and wallet.
They also checked on other dorm members before heading to a safer place.
Every year, the school and the dorms hold one drill each. Students and staff also communicate in a group chat to check up on each other and ask questions.
00:06:11 話者 6
Disasters come when you have forgotten about them. A bit of time has passed since the Great East Japan earthquake, and honestly, we may have let our guard down a bit.
In that sense, it is a good reminder of past lessons.
00:06:34 話者 4
Pitaya Chodiwon says she still feels she wasn't as prepared as she could have been, and Monday served as an important wake-up call.
00:06:45 話者 5
Yesterday, I prepared my bag, like put the water, the passport and everything in there, like prepare for the next earthquake.
00:06:56 話者 4
No matter how much we think we're ready for them, disasters are complicated, evolving situations. Speaking with people at that school and elsewhere in the city, it's clear that many are more than willing to offer help. The key is staying in contact with each other.
00:07:13 話者 1
An important reminder. Thank you, Yuka.
NHK World's Endo Yuka reporting from Hachinohae.
AUSTRALIAN UNDER-16 SOCIAL MEDIA BAN TAKES EFFECT
An Australian ban on social media use by anybody under age 16 took effect on Wednesday, the world's first limitation of its kind.
A law enacted last year limits use of 10 social media platforms amid growing calls for regulations.
These came after a series of cases of bullying or sexual abuse through social media.
Australia is the world's first nation to introduce a sweeping ban on that age group.
The 10 platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kik, and Reddit.
Under the new law, they have to take steps to prevent users under 16 from keeping or creating an account.
The companies face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars or roughly 32.7 million US dollars in case of non-compliance.
No penalties are set for affected children and their parents or caretakers.
Some parents support the measure as protection of children against harmful content, but many online posts have been made introducing ways to bypass the ban.
Under the new law, age verification is left to the platforms, but questions remain about whether it is possible to precisely confirm this.
HOW WILL THE SOCIAL MEDIA BAN PROTECT KIDS - AND CAN IT WORK?
Earlier, I spoke with NHK World's Jennifer Walpole, who has been covering this story.
How are Australians, especially children, reacting to the new law?
00:09:07 話者 6
Well, opinions are divided, in particular between adults and children.
This morning, I spoke to a 14-year-old lady, Mikayla, who, to her dismay, had her TikTok account blocked.
She told me she was a little bit sad today because all of her TikTok videos are now gone, and some of her friends also lost their accounts.
Her mother, on the other hand, described the ban as a wake-up call for parents, and said it shed light on the dangers of kids' social media use.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been vocal about why his government introduced the ban. He spoke to NHK this morning.
00:09:39 話者 1
Because this is a global issue. Young people around the world, including in Japan, are suffering increased mental health issues, there's increased social dislocation,
Social media can cause social harm.
00:09:54 話者 6
The Australian government seems to be working under a sense of crises.
Given all the cases of bullying and abuse we've seen here, as you talked about a few minutes ago, officials have really taken a hard stance that children are suffering because of social media, and it's not to be tolerated.
00:10:12 話者 1
This idea is spreading to other places, and it seems to be popular among some adults.
But what's the trick to making sure the ban protects children?
00:10:24 話者 6
The world is watching Australia closely right now.
Countries such as Malaysia and Denmark, as well as several states in the US, are moving forwards with plans to span social media.
The biggest challenge is how to effectively implement the ban.
And so far, there have been some hiccups. For instance, while Mikayla had her TikTok account banned, her other accounts are still active.
Mikayla herself called the rollout disorganised, and she even told me she was confident she and her friends could get around the ban.
With that said, the government has ordered social media companies to report their user numbers every month, so they can measure how effective the ban is.
It's clear that lawmakers here have their work cut out for them, but it seems that officials are taking that work seriously because of how severe the consequences of social media use can be.
Governments now have to balance protecting children and freedom of communication, and figure out a way to engage children on this issue.
BUSINESS
00:11:30 話者 1
Now, let's turn to Ramin Mellegard for what's happening in the world of business. Ramin.
00:11:34 話者 3
Thank you very much indeed.
JAPAN CONSIDERING EXPANDING SCOPE OF TAX ON 'ULTRA-RICH'
Now, NHK has learned that the Japanese government and ruling coalition are considering slashing the threshold for imposing a tax surcharge on the country's highest earners.
And additional tax took effect this year for the so-called ultra-rich.
With high annual income that's derived from investments such as shares and property.
The surcharge currently applies to people making roughly 3 billion yen a year or higher or more than $19 million.
The government and ruling coalition are discussing lowering the threshold to about 600 million yen, or roughly $3.8 million, as part of their fiscal 2026 tax reforms.
If the change takes effect, it would make around 2,000 people subject to the additional tax, up from roughly 200 or 300 at present.
Officials estimate it would increase tax revenue by around 300 billion yen, or about $1.9 billion.
Income is taxed progressively in Japan, whereas there is a flat rate of capital gains tax on sales of shares and real estate.
Critics have pointed out that means the ultra-rich, with incomes derived mostly from investments, pay a lower effective tax rate than those with high salaries.
CHINA'S CONSUMER PRICES RISE AS DEFLATION CONCERNS LINGER
China's consumer prices rose in November for the second straight month, mainly due to higher food costs. But concerns about deflation remain.
Prices of durable goods, such as cars and smartphones, fell as consumers became more budget-conscious.
The National Bureau of Statistics says the consumer price index climbed 0.7% from a year earlier. That was largely due to higher prices of fresh vegetables and beef.
In contrast, a measure of wholesale inflation fell.
The producer price index declined 2.2% last month.
Domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy has been sluggish on the back of the prolonged slump in the real estate sector.
G7 CALLS ON NATIONS TO HELP SMALLER FIRMS ADOPT AI
The Group of Seven Nations have agreed to promote the adoption of artificial intelligence among small and mid-sized businesses. The aim is to help keep them from falling behind.
G7 Industry, Digital and Technology ministers held two-day talks in Montreal, Canada.
Many large firms are integrating AI into their businesses to streamline operations and offer new services.
But smaller companies have struggled to keep pace for a variety of reasons, including poor infrastructure and adoption costs.
The ministers are calling on governments to invest in broadband build-outs and ease access to capital.
The G7 says countries should encourage companies to develop AI adoption roadmaps.
It also recommends helping them develop AI literacy within their organizations.
The G7 nations believe that economic growth will get a boost from small and mid-sized businesses using AI.
RENAULT, FORD TEAM UP TO DEVELOP EVS FOR EUROPE
France's Renault Group and US auto giant Ford Motor have formed a strategic partnership to develop electric vehicles for the European market.
The company said on Tuesday that the partnership agreement is primarily aimed at producing 2 distinct Ford-branded EVs for European customers.
The new models will be designed by Ford and produced by Renault in northern France.
The first of the two vehicles is expected in showrooms in early 2028.
The companies say they will also explore the opportunity of jointly developing and building light commercial vehicles for both brands.
The announcement said the partnership will enhance the competitiveness of both automakers in what it described as Europe's rapidly evolving automotive landscape.
The tie up comes as Chinese firms are increasing sales of their low-cost EVs in Europe.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association says sales by China's largest EV maker, BYD, more than tripled from January to October, compared with a year earlier.
MARKETS
OK, let's get a check on the markets.
♪
And that's it for business news.
IN FOCUS
00:16:39 話者 1
Next, we go to Shibuya Aki for Newsline in Focus.
She has a report on a little-known story of Japanese-Americans and their plight as hibakusha in the United States.
JAPANESE-AMERICAN HIBAKUSHA'S UNKNOWN SUFFERING
00:16:51 話者 4
The atomic bombs unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki eight decades ago took lives and scarred survivors.
The victims include Japanese-Americans, many of whom returned to the United States after the war.
Although survivors in Japan received medical support from the government, Japanese-American hibakusha back in the US were left to deal with health issues related to radiation exposure on their own.
We follow one hibakusha who led a group of people coping with the same problem to get the specialized medical attention they required.
00:17:31 話者 5
Ernest Satoru Arai is a third-generation Japanese-American born in Hawaii.
While in Hiroshima for schooling, he was exposed to radiation. His shirt on display at the Peace Memorial Museum is a reminder of that fateful day, August 6, 1945.
00:17:58 話者 8
I'm so sorry that. That's OK.
Can't help.
I have no words. Yeah, I have no words.
00:18:11 話者 5
The 10-year-old was blown some distance in the bomb's violent blast and lost consciousness.
(Japanese)
Just 1.7 kilometres from the epicentre, he suffered severe burns to his face, left arm, calf, and hand. He still struggles with the after-effects.
(Japanese)
In the 1950s, Arai moved back to the US, dreaming of better opportunities.
But he did not always feel welcome.
(Japanese)
NHK interviewed Arai in California after he and his family had settled there.
He spoke about the Hibakusha reality, how they couldn't escape health fears.
Arai's mother had been prone to illness after the bombing and died aged sixty-one.
(Japanese)
By the 1960s, frustrated by the lack of care for people like himself, Arai explored taking action.
He and Japanese-American Hibakusha friends formed the Committee of Atomic Bomb Survivors in the United States in 1971 to seek medical support from the government.
Newsweek magazine featured their struggles and movement in 1972.
One interviewee complains that he spends over a thousand dollars on doctors every year and they can't find a cure for his liver and stomach illness.
In 1974, they appealed to the state of California for medical support.
Arai testified that he was an American citizen in Japan and he was not allowed to return to the US, adding that he was a child.
Despite their desperate pleas, the group's request was denied.
(Japanese)
So, the group turned to the government of Japan, negotiating for the dispatch of specialist medical professionals to the US.
In 1977, it finally happened. Japanese doctors examined hibakusha in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This was crucial. as they were familiar with conditions associated with radiation exposure, like cancer, liver function disorder, and cardiac disease.
Ever since, such examinations have been held every other year by teams from Japan.
(Japanese)
For survivors, the presence of doctors who were experts in their conditions was a massive relief.
(Japanese)
Arai was able to obtain Hibakusha status in Japan in 1988.
as his shirt proved he was a victim.
This would give him free treatment for illnesses, including cancer, though he'd have to get to Japan.
As it happens, after retiring, he and his wife moved to Hiroshima, and in 2007, he began volunteering at the city's Peace Memorial Museum.
At the age of 90, His anxiety over his health has not diminished.
(Japanese)
I'm curious to you.
00:24:06 話者 4
The Hibakusha's health fears are very real, even to this day. Arai's group's efforts led to Japanese medical professionals doing their part by caring for people impacted by the war.
His advocacy continues. He's training to become a Qatari-based storyteller through a program offered by Hiroshima City, and is now compiling his memories.
Having lived in both the United States and Japan, he hopes to narrate his own hibakusha experience.
And that's all from me.
00:24:40 話者 1
All right, thanks, Aki.
WEATHER
It's time to check on the weather with our meteorologist, Jonathan Oh.
So Jonathan, those in the greater Tokyo area have been dealing with really dry conditions leading to some problems. What can you tell us?
00:24:55 話者 2
Hello, we've been talking about snow and rain for the north and northeastern portions of Japan, but it hasn't been particularly dry, especially on the Pacific side of the country, and that's leading to some problems when it comes to wildfires.
Let's take a look at some video coming out from Kanagawa Prefecture as a forest fire broke out on the slopes of Mount Hinata on Tuesday.
While the wildfire was in a weakened state by Wednesday, 3 helicopters have been engaged in the firefighting operation.
So far, no injuries have been reported, and it's been particularly dry in the area.
Only 2 millimeters of rainfall was reported since mid-November.
In addition, a dry advisory has been in place across the prefecture since last Friday, and JMA is urging people to handle fire with extreme care.
And we are still going to be in a dry pattern, at least for the greater Tokyo area, as high pressure continues to be in control.
Areas to the north, you're going to see more in terms of rain and snow as another low pressure storm crosses over the Sea of Japan. So kind of a bit of what's similar
the winter pressure pattern that will start to really pick up as we head toward the latter part of this week.
So snow in Sapporo, rain in Niigata, also in Fukuoka as well.
Partly cloudy skies, dry, high of 15 in Tokyo as we go through the day on Thursday.
Meanwhile, winter really showing its presence across Canada and the northern areas of the United States.
A couple of low pressures rolling over the Great Lakes, maybe talking lake-effect snow into the mid-Atlantic states as we go into Wednesday.
Back toward the Pacific Northwest, Atmospheric river set up, bringing more rain here.
Seattle and Vancouver seeing rain, now snow from Winnipeg into Toronto and Chicago with a high of 3 for Wednesday.
We're seeing a bit of a storming pattern across the northern areas of Europe, impacting the United Kingdom, but now shifting its focus toward the Scandinavian Peninsula.
And so that's going to be the story as we go through Wednesday.
But the cold fronts will be going through to the west, not really cooling things down as we go through the day.
Hope you have a good day, wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
00:27:41 話者 1
And that concludes this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki in Tokyo.
Thanks for watching.
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