It's a Friday evening here in Japan. I'm James Tengan in Tokyo. Welcome to NHK Newsline.
WILDFIRES SPREAD TOWARD TOWN CENTER IN IWATE PREF.
Two wildfires are still raging in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Iwate.
The flames are now spreading toward the center of Otsuchi town.
More than 3,200 residents are under an evacuation order.
Firefighters were working throughout the night.
Helicopters resumed water drops Friday morning.
As of 7 a.m., 309 residents were taking refuge in evacuation centers.
The fires broke out sometime Wednesday afternoon.
Since then, they've burned at least 1,100 hectares of land, including eight buildings.
So far, no one has been injured by the blaze.
But the spread prompted municipal officials to expand the evacuation order.
Firefighters on the ground released this video Thursday.
It shows knee-high flames rising from what look like leaves on the ground.
The local weather isn't expected to help.
Only small bouts of light rain are expected over the next week.
The dry air advisory will likely remain in place.
OTSUCHI RESIDENTS WEARY AFTER WILDFIRES, EARTHQUAKE
For more on this, NHK World's Murata Riho was in Iwate Prefecture for us.
She told us about how residents there are coping with the blaze.
00:01:29 話者 2/Murata Riho
I'm standing on the hilltop overlooking Otsuchi outside one of the evacuation centers.
You can see the town behind me.
The fire is burning in the hill on the other side of the valley.
Strong winds are blowing smoke across the valley in this direction.
I can see and feel the ash in the air.
There's an intense smell of burning, and many people are wearing masks.
There's been a steady stream of helicopters flying overhead all day carrying water to dump on the fire.
And while I was reporting here, I heard people saying that another house had caught fire.
Some people told me they could even smell the smoke in the neighboring city of Kamaishi.
There are currently four evacuation centers open in the town, but one of them had to be relocated to another site as the fire drew dangerously closed.
00:02:25 話者 3
It would be best if it rained. There are a lot of places that even the helicopters can't reach.
00:02:32 話者 2
An earthquake struck the same area on Monday, triggering a tsunami warning, and there's still an advisory in place for a possible earthquake.
The evacuation center on this hilltop is already close to full capacity.
I was able to talk to one of the residents who came to check on the situation.
She was worried about whether she would be able to evacuate if another tsunami were to occur.
Otsuchi town also suffered devastating damage from the tsunami during the Great East Japan earthquake 15 years ago. Many people lost their lives or lost their houses.
After a Monday tsunami warning and now this wildfire, residents here are feeling a lot of fatigue and anxiety, with no end in sight.
Murata Riho, NHK World, Otsuchi.
TRUMP PUSHES TO ACCELERATE MINE CLEARING
00:03:30 話者 1
US President Donald Trump says the Navy will be ramping up mine-clearing efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict with Iran has paralyzed the flow of oil through the waterway.
Trump wrote that the efforts are now at what he calls tripled up level, and he says he's ordered commanders to attack any boats putting down mines.
But the Washington Post reports that the mission may be difficult to complete.
It says the Defense Department has informed Congress there may be more than 20 mines laid around the strait. It says finding and removing them could take six months.
But a department spokesperson disputes that timeline.
He told NHK that closing the strait for so long would be completely unacceptable.
US forces are at the same time maintaining their blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump has described the operation as a tremendous success.
But the Financial Times reports that 34 tankers linked to Iran have passed through the blockade. It says it got that data from a group that tracks the movement of cargo.
Iran's foreign minister is stepping up efforts at diplomacy.
Abbas Araqi met with an envoy from South Korea in Tehran.
He reportedly blamed the instability in the region on aggression by the United States and Israel. And he spoke by phone with his counterparts in Italy, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.
TRUMP: ISRAEL, LEBANON AGREE TO EXTEND CEASEFIRE
President Trump also spoke about Israel and Lebanon.
He says the two sides agreed to extend a ceasefire that took effect last week for three weeks more.
00:05:07 話者 10/Donald Trump
We had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and very high officials of Israel, and we think that the President of Lebanon and the Prime Minister of Israel over the next couple of weeks will be coming here.
00:05:22 話者 1
The original ceasefire was scheduled to last for 10 days.
But the Israeli military and Hezbollah both acknowledged they attacked each other.
The Iran-backed Shia Muslim group has called the ceasefire meaningless.
The US has been mediating negotiations to permanently end the fighting.
Tehran has suggested a ceasefire in Lebanon is part of its own deal with the US.
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS HEAD TO NPT TALKS AT UN
A Japanese group representing atomic bomb survivors is headed to New York.
They will attend a review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.
Nihon Hidankyo is also known as the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Survivors, Sufferers Organizations.
It is sending eight delegates to the forum, which kicks off Monday at the United Nations headquarters.
Among the topics to be discussed: the current direction of nuclear disarmament.
The delegation includes Nihon Hidankyo's Secretary General, Hamasumi Jiro.
His mother was pregnant with him in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped.
00:06:32 話者 13/Hamasumi Jiro
We hope everyone will keep in mind what happened when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 81 years ago.
We want to stress that nuclear weapons and humans cannot coexist.
00:06:49 話者 1
The delegation will be in New York for about a week.
Hamasumi is expected to deliver a speech at an NGO session. The delegates will also hold talks with representatives of several nations, including those with nuclear arms.
EXPERT: NPT REGIME AT RISK AND MUST BE PRESERVED
The NPT has been the cornerstone of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime for decades, but experts say it's now under threat.
191 countries and regions are part of the treaty.
All members get together every five years for a four-week review process.
The goal of these reviews is to unanimously reaffirm the treaty, but an agreement hasn't been reached since 2010.
00:07:32 話者 21/Gustavo Zlauvinen/Former President, NPT Review Conference
Unfortunately, I was informed of only one state party's specific objections to date at noon.
00:07:41 話者 1
Russia opposed the draft in 2022.
The Kremlin was in the initial months of its invasion of Ukraine at the time.
Nagasaki University Professor Nishida Michiru is an expert in the field of nuclear nonproliferation and has been involved in negotiations at NPT conferences since his time as a diplomat.
Nishida will attend this review as an advisor to the Japanese government's delegation.
He points out that the review comes as the US and Israel are in conflict with Iran, and as the only nuclear arms reduction pact between the US and Russia expires.
He says the NPT regime itself is currently at stake.
00:08:25 話者 25/Nishida Michiru
We are now in an era where what was once taken for granted is unraveling.
So this means that the norm of nuclear non-profession, for example, may be seriously eroded and could even collapse, which has been basically unthinkable until recently.
So this is a very serious situation.
00:08:49 話者 1
Nishida says it won't be easy to adopt a substantive final document during this review.
But he says it may be possible to reach a basic agreement in which members can at least reaffirm their commitment to the NPT regime.
00:09:04 話者 5
The Japanese government should remind the states parties of the humanitarian consequences of the use of a nuclear weapon.
And then government should convince them to set aside their differences in their priorities.
00:09:20 話者 1
Nishina warns that right now, the risk of a nuclear attack is the highest it's been since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
And that means hearing from atomic bomb survivors is more important than ever.
00:09:34 話者 5
Only atomic survivors can give a first-hand testimony of the horrible consequences of a nuclear weapon, so their message carries even more weight.
in the current world, and people should listen to their message more attentively than before.
NUCLEAR TREATY UNDER THREAT AS ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS CONTINUE ADVOCACY
00:09:53 話者 1
We turn now to Hiroshima, where many of those survivors are from.
NHK World's Takada Miho brings us this report.
00:10:01 話者 6/Takada Miho
Here, in the first of only two places to ever experience a nuclear attack, atomic bomb survivors say their concern is growing.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki have called for total nuclear abolition for decades.
But survivors say recent global events are undoing that work.
Sugino Nobuko was exposed to radiation from the bomb when she was just a year old.
After a lifetime of advocacy, she will attend the review conference for the first time this year.
She said an increasing number of people don't know the terror of nuclear weapons.
And don't understand how much atomic bomb survivors have suffered.
She wants as many people as possible to know just how inhumane these weapons are.
Survivors like Sugino have spent decades building up the idea of the nuclear taboo by speaking about their experiences.
But their average age is over 86.
It's becoming more difficult for them to travel and share their wisdom.
That means that, at a time when the NPT is facing an unprecedented crisis, it's not clear what direction future conferences will take.
US ACCUSES CHINA OF IMPROPERLY LEVERAGING US AI MODELS
00:11:37 話者 1
The White House has accused foreign entities mostly based in China of engaging in industrial-scale activities to extract capabilities from cutting-edge AI models developed by US companies.
The White House released a memo on Thursday claiming foreign entities were distilling US-developed AI to build their own AI systems at a fraction of the cost.
Distillation is a method of posing questions to the state-of-the-art AI developed by US firms and collecting the responses as data.
The memo alleges such distillation activities are intended to systematically undermine American research and development. It calls the practice unacceptable.
It also claims the activities pose security risks to the US.
The White House pledged to work with American AI companies on preventive measures, and consider various steps to hold the foreign actors accountable.
Regarding AI distillation activities, Bloomberg reported that US tech companies OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are working together to respond to the moves by their Chinese rivals.
Meanwhile, the Global Times, affiliated with China's Communist Party, quoted one expert as calling the US firm's accusations a direct expression of technological hegemony anxiety and saying so-called distillation techniques are an inevitable part of AI's development.
CHINA TO SEND PANDAS TO US ZOO
China is planning to send two giant pandas to a zoo in the United States.
The announcement comes weeks ahead of US President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to Beijing in May.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association announced on Friday that a pair of pandas, male and female, will be loaned to a zoo in Atlanta, Georgia.
The pair will come from a giant panda research center in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
They will reportedly be leased to the zoo, the US Zoo, for 10 years for a joint research program focused on panda conservation.
The move is aimed at improving bilateral relations by taking advantage of so-called panda diplomacy.
Giant panda twins born and raised at Japan's Ueno Zoological Gardens were returned to China in January this year amid worsening relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
For the first time since 1972, there are no pandas in Japan.
30-YEAR PRISON TERM SOUGHT FOR EX-S.KOREAN PRESIDENT
Prosecutors in South Korea are seeking a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Sun-yeol on national security charges.
Yoon is accused of ordering the military to dispatch drones to North Korea during his time in office.
Yoon allegedly gave the order around October 2024.
Prosecutors argue it was an attempt to create a pretext for the declaration of martial law two months later.
The Seoul Central District Court held a trial partly behind closed doors on Friday.
The prosecution claims Yoon tried to create a wartime situation on the Korean Peninsula.
They called it an anti-state crime meant to endanger national security, and say it seriously undermined military interests.
Prosecutors also demanded a 25-year prison sentence for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyeon, who they say discussed martial law with Yoon.
In a separate trial at a district court, the former president was sentenced to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection.
He has appealed that decision, and a high court trial is scheduled to begin next month.
IN-FLIGHT USE OF PORTABLE CHARGERS BANNED IN JAPAN
Japan's transport ministry has banned the use of portable chargers on flights departing from and arriving at Japanese airports.
The move comes after a series of incidents involving lithium-ion batteries catching fire or emitting smoke on board.
The new rules went into effect on Friday.
Recharging smartphones and other devices with portable chargers and charging the batteries at power outlets in the cabin are prohibited.
People who charge their portable chargers on board, or bring in more than the allowed two chargers, could face a prison sentence of up to two years, or fines of maximum 1 million yen, or roughly $6,300.
Airlines put up information on portable chargers at their check-in counters.
Being unable to use portable chargers during flight is inconvenient, but it cannot be helped because fires have occurred.
The International Civil Aviation Organization revised its rules in March to ban in-flight use of portable chargers.
BUSINESS
It's time now for a check on what's happening in business and finance with Yuko Kushima.
00:16:43 話者 7
Yeah, thanks, James.
NIKKEI 225 STOCK INDEX SETS RECORD FOR CLOSING HIGH
Well, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index set a record for a closing high on Friday.
Semiconductor-related shares drove the gains on bullish expectations for the AI industry.
The benchmark gained almost 1% to end the week at 59,716.
The index set an intraday high the previous day when it briefly crossed the 60,000 mark.
Market analysts say investors were positioning themselves for next week when major US
technology companies are expected to announce strong earnings.
Meanwhile, shares of companies vulnerable to higher crude oil prices lost ground in Tokyo due to uncertainties about peace talks between the US and Iran.
JAPAN'S CONSUMER INFLATION ROSE 1.8% IN MARCH
Japan's inflation accelerated in March, with the consumer price index climbing 1.8 percent from a year earlier as the cost of food rose sharply.
Data from the Internal Affairs Ministry show the index, excluding fresh food, was up two-tenths of a percentage point from February's 1.6 percent.
That's the first gain since October.
The main driver for that was the price of gasoline amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Inflationary pressure remained elevated for food, excluding perishables, with prices rising by more than 5 percent last month.
The cost of coffee beans surged 54 percent and chocolate was up 24 percent.
Experts are speculating that prices of a wider range of items will increase, especially those made from petroleum-based materials, if oil prices continue to rise.
BIZ PICKS
Next, NHK World's Gene Otani is here with BizPix.
00:18:33 話者 8/Gene Otani
Here's a look at the week ahead in business.
BOJ GRAPPLES WITH TOUGH CHOICE AMID IRAN CRISIS
The upcoming policy decisions from the Bank of Japan, the US Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank are drawing close attention.
Rising inflation pressures, along with geopolitical uncertainty, have investors watching carefully for signals on how central banks will respond.
Now, let's turn to the challenges facing the BOJ.
The central bank has left rates unchanged so far this year, following its decision in December to raise the benchmark to around 0.75 percent.
Kato Izuru is a chief economist at Totan Research.
He expects BOJ policymakers to keep rates on hold again on Tuesday.
Kato adds that recent comments from Governor Ueda Kazuo offered no clear hints of an April rate hike.
00:19:28 話者 4/Kato Izuru
The governor noted that there are both upside and downside risks to underlying inflation, as households and businesses across Japan are concerned about short-term cost pressures from soaring crude oil prices.
His reference to the risk of prices falling, as well as rising, suggests that the BOJ will take a cautious stance for the time being.
So I expect the bank will not raise interest rates at the policy meeting this month.
00:19:57 話者 8
Japan's central bank is grappling with a dilemma.
Leaving rates unchanged could allow consumer price increases to accelerate.
But a tightening policy to fight inflation would likely weigh on economic expansion.
Slower growth means weaker corporate profits and could undermine the virtuous cycle of rising prices and wages that the bank has been trying to establish.
Kato says the BOJ may eventually face pressure to raise rates to avoid further depreciation of the yen.
00:20:33 話者 4
Japan's policy interest rate is too low compared with other major countries.
So if the BOJ waits much longer, the yen will weaken further.
That could lead to a rise in import prices.
But it's putting pressure on people's daily lives and slowing down consumption.
00:20:54 話者 8
The yen has lost value against other currencies.
The nominal effective exchange rate, which measures the currency's competitiveness against rivals, shows the extent of the decline.
The chart shows the yen is significantly weaker than its peers.
Kato says this is pushing up the cost of living in Japan.
00:21:18 話者 4
When calculated in yen terms, crude oil prices rose more than 110% from 2020 to April 20.
But when looking at dollar-denominated prices, they only rose by more than 50%.
In other words, we have been hit by a double punch of rising crude oil prices and a weaker yen.
00:21:48 話者 8
The BOJ faces a tough call as uncertainty over the Iran conflict deepens.
Analysts will focus on how the governor addresses concerns over the weak yen and rising prices, even if rates are left unchanged at the upcoming meeting.
I'm Gene Otani, and that's this week's Biz Picks.
US MEDIA: META, MICROSOFT TO CUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS
00:22:09 話者 7
And in other business news this hour, US media reports say technology giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft plan to cut thousands of jobs.
Both companies say they need to slash costs as they miss billions of dollars in AI development.
Bloomberg and other outlets say Meta will shed about 8,000 employees in May.
That's 10% of its global workforce.
The reports on Thursday say the company will also leave 6,000 positions unfilled.
Meta reportedly issued a staff memo saying the cuts are needed to improve efficiency and offset investment costs.
Microsoft is said to be offering voluntary retirement packages to about 8,700 employees, or roughly 7 percent of its US workforce.
Local media say the scale of the buyouts is the largest ever for the company.
Shrinking headcounts are a growing trend at US technology leaders.
Amazon said in January that it plans to eliminate 16,000 jobs worldwide.
And now to the markets.
Or rather, that's biz for this hour.
WEATHER
00:23:24 話者 1
People in Tokyo might be able to see a relatively dry weekend, but we do need the rain.
Our meteorologist, Jonathan Oh, has a look at the forecast in world weather.
00:23:35 話者 9/Jonathan Oh
Hello. We have been dealing with some rain back toward the western portions of Japan, but across the east, maybe some clouds, but not much in terms of rain.
But we're having issues with wildfires because of the dry pattern.
And it looks like that, at least in Tokyo, we're not talking about rain for the weekend.
We will see, however, a low pressure system that will be developing already bringing rain for the western portions of Japan, eventually moving back up to the north and east.
And as it does so, it's going to introduce some rain.
So we'll go through some wet weather on in western portions of Japan.
Then we go into Monday, and places like Tokyo will be seeing some of that rain in the forecast.
And so it looks like you're going to have to have the umbrellas nearby, depending on where you're located.
But again, it looks like we're going to start off relatively dry in terms of the weekends.
Sapporo looking at high of 15, 20 in Tokyo, Osaka looking at mid-20s.
Then the rain comes in from the west, and so Osaka and Fukuoka will pick up on the rain.
Spray to the north and east by Monday and Tuesday next week.
Meanwhile, across North America, we're looking at some strong thunderstorms, tornadoes being reported along a cold front that's been pushing through the central portion of the United States.
Now this pattern is expected to bring some more strong to severe thunderstorms as we go into Friday and Saturday as we see a stationary front and a cold front all attached together from the southern place up into the Great Lakes.
So that combination could bring the potential for some more strong to severe thunderstorms.
And yes, because the system already has a history of producing tornadoes, it could be something you really need to look out for.
Up toward the north into the upper Rockies, looking at some snow coming up as we head through Friday and Saturday.
Showers from Denver down to Oklahoma City with thunderstorms eastern seaboard by Saturday looking awesome rain as well.
Looking at what's happening across Europe, we have some snow into the northern portions of the continent, high pressure controlling the central portions of Europe, and that's helping to bring some dry and sunny weather with highs topping off in the low 20s here from Paris into Rome, Vienna at 22 as you go through Saturday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
KYOTO TEMPLE OFFERS PEACEFUL GREEN REFLECTION
00:26:44 話者 1
A Buddhist temple in the ancient capital of Kyoto is now aglow with fresh greenery, and visitors on rainy days can enjoy the contrast between its tranquil atmosphere and vivid shades of nature.
A polished black floor mirrors the lush green maple leaves in the garden of Jisoin Temple.
It's known as Yukamidori. a seasonal visual delight.
A temple official says some people choose to visit on cloudy or rainy days when the site becomes especially vivid.
00:27:21 話者 31/Iwaya Taisuke/Jissoin Temple official
The fresh green leaves of this season are deeply soothing.
We invite visitors to take in the temple's peaceful atmosphere.
00:27:40 話者 1
And with that verdant note, we end this edition of NHK Newsline for all of us here on the program. I'm James Tengot in Tokyo. Thanks for watching.
NHK World
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