Welcome back to NHK Newsline. Here's the latest we have for you at this hour.
US Surveillance Flights Surge Near Cuba
US television network CNN says its analysis shows a number of US military intelligence-gathering flights around Cuba has surged.
This comes as the United States has tightened economic sanctions on the country.
CNN examined publicly available aviation data.
It found the US Navy and Air Force have carried out at least 25 such flights off the coast of Cuba since early February using manned aircraft and drones.
The report on Sunday said most flights took place near the capital Havana and the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba. Some came within about 60 kilometers of the coast.
CNN says the military flew only a handful of surveillance aircraft off the country in all of last year.
President Donald Trump has hinted at taking steps against Cuba once US military operations in Iran end.
CNN says the number of surveillance flights near both Venezuela and Iran rose before the US launched military campaigns on those countries.
The report says the increase is likely to be unsettling for Cuban officials.
Stalled US–Iran Negotiations and Regional Tensions
And now to the latest on negotiations between the United States and Iran.
President Trump has shot back at Tehran's latest offer, calling it unacceptable and inappropriate. Iran's proposal was reportedly sent to Pakistani mediator Sunday.
It's a response to Washington's latest peace plan.
A news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had some details.
It says Iran called for an immediate end to the conflict on all fronts.
That includes ending Washington's maritime blockade and its sanctions on Iranian oil.
In a social media post, Trump said the proposal was totally unacceptable.
The president also shared his thoughts with US news outlet Axios Sunday.
While he did not provide details, he claimed the offer was inappropriate.
Trump also said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran's proposal. He said it was a nice call and said they have a good relationship.
But Trump reaffirmed that negotiations were firmly his own jurisdiction.
On the Iranian side, the state broadcaster claims Tehran rejected the US plan.
It said accepting it would mean surrendering to what it called Trump's greed.
OFFICIAL: TRUMP TO 'APPLY PRESSURE' ON CHINA OVER IRAN
Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.
A senior official in the Trump administration says the president will apply pressure on China over Iran.
The official noted Trump has spoken to Xi multiple times about the revenue and dual-use goods China provides to Iran, as well as the potential of weapons exports.
The official added he expects those talks will continue.
Those could also include the US sanctions placed on Chinese firms Washington believes are supporting Iran.
Regarding the issue of Taiwan, the official said there has been no change to US policy and none expected in the future.
Trump and Xi are also expected to discuss the launch of a new framework to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and investment.
They're also expected to exchange views on the aerospace, farm products and energy sectors.
ANALYSIS: WHAT'S NEXT FOR US-IRAN PEACE TALKS?
For more on all of this, I spoke with Sakanashi Sachi.
She's an expert on contemporary Iranian politics at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.
00:03:56 話者 1
Now, there's certainly a lot to riding on these negotiations between the United States and Iran, but it seems like, at least, that there's been very little progress so far.
Would you agree to that?
00:04:08 話者 3
Well, I think progress is being made behind the scenes.
It's just that the priority of both sides are different.
US priority is nuclear issues, whereas Iran's priority is ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, and also the end of the blockade that is suffering Iran.
00:04:30 話者 1
So the priorities for both sides has been different, but you think there is progress, progress where?
00:04:39 話者 3
Yes. For example, we see many numbers like Iran has insisted that it has the right to enrich uranium, but US has demanded that it stops enrich uranium.
And then they've been talking about numbers like stop for 15 years or three to five years.
And now they are talking about like 12 years.
So I think these numbers hint that the negotiations are actually going on, but it's just that they haven't reached any conclusion yet.
00:05:08 話者 1
Right. Well, reports do suggest that one of Iran's conditions, and as you've been saying, is that the US ends its maritime blockade and also the sanctions on Iranian oil.
Why are these goals so important for Iran?
00:05:23 話者 3
Well. Because I think Iran is fighting in order to ensure survival of their political system, Islamic Republic, and in order to make sure that the political system survives, ending of the blockade and ending of the sanctions are essential. I think that's why.
00:05:43 話者 1
And here, we should not forget Lebanon, I believe this is also part of Iran's goals.
00:05:50 話者 3
Oh, yes. Ceasefire on Lebanon has been also one of the things that Iran has insisted, because Iran needs ceasefire on Lebanon as well, because Lebanon, I mean, Iran's ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon is very important for Iran.
And they just cannot ignore them being attacked by Israel again and again.
And also, Iran has been also attacked again and again by US and Israel.
And so they won't complete ceasefire. That includes the end of blockade and sanctions.
00:06:23 話者 1
Right. Well, you know, Trump has claimed numerous times that the United States has essentially destroyed Iran's military capabilities and its national leadership.
How much of that is true?
Can we really say that the military capabilities have been, well, impacted, and also the national leadership?
00:06:45 話者 3
Yes, as President Trump has claimed, most of the national leadership had been replaced because of the assassinations by US and Israel during this war.
And also, I think US has been very successful in destroying Iranian military capabilities.
But the point is that it doesn't mean that Iran will surrender.
On the contrary, the more US attacked Iran, the more Iran got determined that It would never surrender. It would come to an agreement with the US through negotiation, not through pressure, and not through surrendering. That's what Iran has insisted on.
00:07:28 話者 1
Right. We're also seeing impacts on the region, you know, around Iran, of course, the Middle East, but also, you know, the disruption of oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz impacts the entire world.
Now, given how volatile this peace process has been so far, what kind of economic impacts do you think that we'll continue to see?
00:07:50 話者 3
Well, if the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, the impact on economy, the world economy will be enormous.
I mean, Asian economies, including Japan, has been already impacted because of the blockade of the Strait.
And if this continues, it should be disastrous, like oil prices will go up and Asian countries cannot get energy that they need and they used to get from the Middle East.
So I think that's one of the Iran's intentions to make this blockade happen because I think Iran was hoping that these countries will put pressure on President Trump to stop this war because they are suffering as well.
But the problem is that this pressure does not seem to be working very much on President Trump. It is not impacting President Trump's decision.
00:08:41 話者 1
And because of that impact, you know, of course, the international community has been trying to pressure Trump. It's not working.
What then can we expect that could impact perhaps Trump's decisions and also this upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping?
00:09:01 話者 3
Well, we are hoping that some domestic pressure for President Trump might work eventually because I think he needs, he's expecting elections this autumn and he needs his approval rate to stay high in order to win the elections.
And we hear that the oil prices, the gasoline prices inside the United States will impact the president's approval rate.
So it might, it might have some impact on President Trump's decision, but also the upcoming US-China summit in China might also play a part.
I mean, I think US President Trump said he will put pressure on China, but in fact, he might need some help from China in order to make Iran agree to what US demands Iran.
00:09:55 話者 1
The relationship between Iran and China is quite strong.
And because of that, do you really think that these negotiations, the talks between the United States and Xi Jinping, do you think this really could impact these negotiations?
00:10:12 話者 3
Well, Iranian foreign minister visited China last week in order to, I think, explain Iran's stance regarding this negotiation with the United States.
And it seems that China is not too unhappy about what's happening between Iran and the United States, because if United States is stuck with this Iran problem, it will be like, it will put away pressure from China.
I mean, that China would have been expecting from the United States without this Iran incident, Iran crisis.
So it seems that China is not putting enough pressure on Iran as President Trump had been expecting.
So as you mentioned, we might not see like China's pressure working on Iran to surrender to US demands at all.
00:11:05 話者 1
And then again, we also have Israel being a big part of these negotiations.
Israel not really complying with much that has gone on so far.
And of course, we just heard that President Trump has had a nice call with Israel, but does this really mean something? Does this mean that Israel is ready to compromise?
00:11:26 話者 3
Yes, that's a very important point because I think Israel has its own goals that are not necessarily aligned with US goal.
So Israel could derail this whole process of negotiation because it has things that they want to achieve and they think that things are not enough done.
I mean, they have to do something else. So in order to feel completely safe as the state of Israel, so we have to be prepared for whatever that happens in the coming two days before this US-China summit happens.
00:12:04 話者 1
Right.
BUSINESS
00:12:06 話者 1
And now let's see what's happening in the world of business.
Here's Ramin Mellegard from The Biz Desk.
00:12:13 話者 4/Ramin Mellegard
Thank you very much indeed.
NIKKEI 225 INDEX LOSES GROUND AFTER RECORD INTRADAY HIGH
Now, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index ended lower on Monday after profit-taking kicked in.
The benchmark had set a record intraday high earlier in the session, breaking above the 63,000 mark. The index ended at 62,417, down nearly half a percent.
Buying of semiconductor-related stocks led the early gains.
This was driven by a recent raft of strong earnings reports from tech companies.
However, market sources say investors then started taking profits amid renewed concerns about the Middle East conflict.
Others turned cautious ahead of the upcoming release of earnings by major Japanese companies.
Japan’s Fuel Subsidies Rise Amid Middle East Conflict
The Japanese government is handing out subsidies to curb a surge in fuel prices amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Payments reached 180 billion yen, or about $1.1 billion in March alone.
The government has been paying the subsidies to oil wholesalers for regular gasoline shipped since March 19.
The goal is to keep the nationwide average at the pump at around 170 yen per liter, or just over a dollar.
Grants of the same size are also allocated for diesel, heavy oil, and kerosene.
Subsidies of about 40% are being paid for jet fuel.
A government fund set aside for the purpose initially had around $7.4 billion available.
The balance had dropped to roughly $6.2 billion by the end of April.
A private think tank says if payments continue at the current pace, the fund will likely be depleted in June.
China’s Consumer Prices Increase for Seventh Month
And consumer prices in China rose in April for the seventh straight month as the Iran conflict pushed up gasoline and other fuel costs.
The National Bureau of Statistics says the consumer price index was up 1.2 percent from a year earlier. Increased travel drove up service costs.
But consumers were generally more budget conscious and automobile prices declined As a result, the producer price index rose 2.8% year on year, reaching the highest level since July 2022.
Rising crude oil and other energy prices could squeeze corporate profits and dampen consumer demand.
Analysts are watching to see how far businesses in China will go to pass on the rising costs to customers.
Tourism-Driven Cross-Bound Trade in Japan
And Japan has been attracting a record number of visitors in recent years.
A city in the eastern prefecture of Ibaraki is looking to tap the boom now as a way to boost exports of local products in the future. Officials there call it their cross-bound strategy.
NHK World's Fujita Rikako explains.
00:15:22 話者 5/Fujita Rikako
Visitors from abroad arrive at the home base of a soy sauce maker in Tsuchiura, in Ibaraki Prefecture. The business goes back more than 330 years.
They watch the traditional brewing process that's done in wooden barrels.
They taste the soy sauce, too.
00:15:54 話者 6/Shibanuma Hideatsu/President, Shibanuma Soy Sauce
This product is for Dubai in the Middle East. It's a light soy sauce that is alcohol-free.
00:16:02 話者 5
The company markets products specifically for export and has joined trade fairs overseas.
By recounting its history to visitors and showing the process, the company hopes to win a loyal following.
00:16:25 話者 6
We want the taste and experience people have here to stay with them, to be taken away as a memory.
Then, one day, they may see the product in a high-end supermarket in their home country and buy it again. We believe that's how long-term sales can begin.
00:16:44 話者 5
Tsuchiura has become known to tourists for the cycling low that passes through it.
Officials aim to appeal to such visitors with a tour, including the soy sauce company.
But few local producers are as advanced in overseas distribution.
Officials are looking into other local products that may appeal in foreign markets.
Lotus root, or renkon, is a local specialty used in various dishes.
It goes into beef cutlet sandwiches and fried tofu.
00:17:38 話者 16/Taiwanese tourist
It was very tasty. I enjoyed trying renkon in a dish for the first time.
People in Taiwan are interested in Japanese food so I think it's appealing.
00:17:53 話者 5
The tourist group that board the boat on the lake they taste Japanese ice fish also a local speciality.
00:18:03 話者 17/American tourist
I've never been here actually I have never heard of it until recently the videos look really beautiful with all the the scenery the Sakura and everything like that so I hope to come back here again maybe in April or May yeah.
00:18:18 話者 18/Miyazaki Kohei/Tsuchiura City Tourism and Products Section
We want more people in Japan and overseas to know what makes Tsuchiura special.
We hope this will lead to exports and wider recognition.
00:18:31 話者 5
The initiative still faces challenges, like identifying new products and developing online sales channels.
But the city plans to keep running the tours with the aim of making Tsuchiura a pioneer in cross-bound trade.
Fujita Rikako, NHK World.
MARKETS
00:18:57 話者 4
Okay, let's get a check on the markets.
♪
And that is it for Business News.
Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship Sparks Global Response
00:19:36 話者 1
Passengers have begun leaving a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak.
The World Health Organization says there is a low risk to the public.
The vessel anchored off Tenerife, one of Spain's Canary Islands, on Sunday morning.
The operator said there had been about 150 people from 24 countries on board.
Spain's health minister says health screenings were conducted on the ship.
00:20:05 話者 7/Monica Garcia/Spanish Health Minister
Officials went onto the ship to check the condition of the passengers and crew members.
We are working with the WHO and experts to carry out an epidemiological assessment, and no one is showing symptoms.
00:20:24 話者 1
The minister said 14 Spanish nationals got off first.
A bus took them to the airport to be flown to the capital, Madrid.
There, they will undergo quarantine and testing at a hospital.
More passengers and crew later disembarked.
They were then set to board airplanes chartered by their countries.
Japan's foreign ministry says one Japanese passenger has arrived in the United Kingdom.
But some of the evacuees are reportedly showing symptoms.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecorneu says one of the five French evacuees became symptomatic during the flight. All five have been isolated.
And the US Department of Health says initial tests suggest one of the 17 American evacuees contracted the virus. Another is showing mild symptoms.
According to the World Health Organization, three people have died since the outbreak began.
BESSENT TO MEET JAPANESE LEADERS AHEAD OF US-CHINA SUMMIT
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hold talks with Japanese leaders ahead of the upcoming US-China summit.
Besant said on social media on Sunday that he will meet Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki on Tuesday.
The two sides are expected to talk about responses to the Iran situation and stronger bilateral cooperation on critical minerals, including rare earths, in light of China's dominant market share.
They are also likely to exchange views on developments in foreign exchange markets amid the yen's continued weakness against the dollar.
Bessent said he will then head for South Korea on Wednesday to hold discussions with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Lifang, who oversees China's economic policy.
The Chinese side also said Hu and other officials will talk about economic and trade consultations with US representatives.
Japan Secures Oil Supply Despite Global Disruptions
The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global oil supply, but Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae says that Japan has secured enough to meet demand.
She says there are no plans to ask the public to reduce further consumption.
Takaichi made the comments at an upper house audit committee meeting Monday.
An opposition lawmaker had asked if the public should be using less oil.
00:22:41 話者 7/Mori Yuko/Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
Japan is not in a place where we can say it's okay to consume gasoline freely.
If we only tell people to cut back after the reserves run out, it will be too late.
We urge this policy be changed.
00:22:55 話者 11/Takaichi Sanae
Japan has secured enough crude oil and oil products to meet overall demand.
Calls for energy conservation are made every year during periods of increased demand, such as in summer and winter.
We are not at the point where we need to ask the public to do more.
00:23:16 話者 1
Takaichi says Economy Minister Akasa Barryose is taking charge of the issue.
She says he will address distribution imbalances and slowdowns as they come.
She added the government will keep a close eye on the situation and she says nothing is ruled out so officials can be flexible in how they respond.
SINKHOLE IN WESTERN JAPAN FORCES ROAD CLOSURE
A sinkhole about 3 meters wide has appeared in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan.
No injuries were reported, but it has forced a temporary closure of the road near the site.
The collapse occurred near an intersection in Settsu City on Sunday.
Police initially received a call to report subsidence in the road.
City officials say the sunken section later developed into a sinkhole roughly 3 meters deep.
They say it was caused by damage to part of a manhole connecting to an underground sewage pipe.
CONSTRUCTION WORK CAUSES ROAD TO SUBSIDE IN YOKOHAMA
Work is also underway in Yokohama to fix ground subsidence that was found on Friday.
City officials say a four-meter stretch of road running through downtown areas near Yokohama Station has sunk about 15 centimeters.
Workers have been drilling next to the road to construct for a new building when an iron plate to retain the soil gave way.
Officials say the restoration work will be completed by the end of Monday.
Weather Patterns Shift as Rainy Season Begins in Okinawa
And it's time now for our check on the weather with our meteorologist, Jonathan Oh.
So, Jonathan, while we saw some summer-like weather here in Tokyo, it's rainy season in southwest Japan. What's the latest?
00:24:50 話者 8
Hello, as we went through this day in May, it felt more like June in many places.
Temperatures are moving past the 20 degree mark across the country and it looks like it will be like that for the next few days.
Now down to the south, we have the rainy season in front in place and that's bringing some wet weather into the area.
Let's take a look at the video coming out of Okinawa Prefecture.
As rainy season there started a week ago and has brought heavy rain and unstable weather to Okinawa.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that Ishigaki received
over 27 millimeters of rain in just one hour Monday morning.
Staff at the local weather bureau also spotted a water spout near the island's observatory building.
The agency is warning of lightning, strong gusts, including tornadoes and landslides across the prefecture through Tuesday.
I mean, we talk about the rainy season front around this time every year, but in Okinawa, it's about a week ahead of schedule.
And so, yeah, we're talking about the impact continue to be in place as we go throughout the next several days.
Now, we do have a low pressure system moving across South Korea, moving toward the western portion of Japan, and that's going to bring a chance for some wet weather as we go forward through the day on Tuesday.
So now looking at some rain, see a lot of 20s on the board here.
That's the case, right?
Even Sapporo's getting in on the action on Tuesday before a little bit below that 20 degree mark on Wednesday and Thursday, but still definitely seeing summer like weather pattern now taking place across the country.
Meanwhile, across Europe, couple of cold fronts in the western portions of the continent rolling on through and ahead of that, triggering some strong to maybe even some severe thunderstorms as we go through the day on Monday.
So be on the look out for that. Plenty of rain from Paris to Berlin, thunderstorms to the Warsaw with a high of 23 on Monday.
Quick note on North America, southwestern portion of the United States as hot, upper 30s in some locations.
Meanwhile, strong thunderstorms in the southeastern portions of the United States here.
And yeah, we're talking about temperatures moving up to 31 degrees in Denver with sunny skies as we go through Monday.
That's Look at Your Forecast. Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
00:27:35 話者 1
And that is all we have for this edition of NHK Newsline.
We'll have more for you soon. Thank you very much for joining us.
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