Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo.
US: China’s Nuclear Buildup of ‘Great Concern’ to World
The United States says China's buildup of nuclear weapons is of great concern to the region and the world.
This comes as Washington recognized a test launch by Beijing as an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile.
A State Department spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the US monitored the launch.
Thomas Pigot said the missile came from a submarine and landed in the Southern Pacific Ocean.
He added that at a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite.
Pigot pointed to the international concern about what he called Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup.
He said the US will continue to urge China to engage in meaningful arms control talks.
The Chinese navy announced on Monday that a nuclear-powered sub test-fired a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead.
It said the missile landed in international waters as planned.
Beijing insists the test complied with international law and that concerned countries were informed.
The Global Times, affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, cites domestic experts as saying the test may have used the Zhu Lang-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The launch has drawn reactions in places including Japan and Australia.
The test also came as the Chinese and Russian militaries conducted joint maritime exercises near Qingdao.
Iran Conflict US Media: Iran Fires at Ships Near Strait of Hormuz
A US newspaper says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired missiles at two commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
A series of recent incidents, despite a ceasefire, have raised concerns about the ongoing negotiations to end the fighting. The Wall Street Journal report cited a senior US official.
It said one of the vessels involved in the incident on Tuesday appeared to be a liquefied natural gas tanker owned by a Qatari farm.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said earlier it had received a report of a tanker being hit in waters off Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire.
The Marine Security Group said there were no reports of casualties.
The latest report follows other incidents near the strait.
A cargo ship came under attack on June 25, and a tanker was hit on June 27.
These came after the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding took effect.
The US military said it had conducted retaliation strikes in Iran.
Both sides have accused each other of ceasefire violations.
Washington and Taiwan are expected to resume talks toward reaching a final agreement after Iran concludes the funeral events for its former spring leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The ceremonies are due to continue through Thursday.
War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy Urges NATO to Help After Strikes on Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asking NATO for more help.
His plea comes after Russia's overnight attack on Kyiv, which killed over 18 people by Monday morning.
Zelenskyy posted a message on social media the day before the NATO summit in Turkey.
He praises what he called his warriors for intercepting drones and cruise missiles.
But he says they didn't have enough interceptors to take down the ballistic missiles.
He urged NATO to help shore up Ukraine's air defense system.
Russia's defense ministry says it targeted Kyiv and other locations.
And the move is in response to what it calls Ukraine's terrorist attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.
The attacks came just days after a wave of missile and drone strikes killed at least 31 people in Ukraine.
Trump Heading to Turkey for NATO Summit
US President Donald Trump is set to visit Turkey to join NATO leaders for a summit meeting. This comes as Washington's relationship with the alliance remains tense.
The two-day summit will start on Tuesday in the capital, Ankara.
Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO over defense spending.
He says member nations should do more.
He has also criticized some of them for their lack of support on Iran.
And he told NATO chief Mark Rutte last month that he wanted more loyalty from them.
Rutte has pushed back against the US pressure.
He says NATO members are closing the spending gap.
00:05:33 話者 2/Mark Rutte/NATO Secretary General
After years of underinvestment, we are producing real capabilities.
European allies and Canada are now on a trajectory to equalize the defense spending with the United States.
00:05:46 話者 1
Rute says NATO countries will announce 10s of billions of dollars in new contracts at a defense forum on Tuesday. They're also expected to confirm a support package for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also been invited to the summit.
Analysis: NATO Allies Expected to Appease Trump at Summit
And earlier I spoke to NHK World's Antoine Mouteau at the venue in Ankara.
What will the main focus of the summit will be this year?
00:06:18 話者 3/Antoine Mouteau
It will be an important moment for NATO members to show unity and solidarity.
A major focus of the discussions will likely be members contributing more to NATO, which, of course, has been a frequent talking point for Trump and other members of his administration.
Last year, allies agreed to raise defense and related spending to 5% of the GDP.
At this year's summit, European NATO countries are expected to give more details on that increased spending to demonstrate that commitment Trump has been calling for.
00:06:57 話者 1
So what can we expect NATO allies to offer to appease Trump?
00:07:05 話者 3
They are going to present him with some big numbers.
A recent talking point for NATO Secretary General Mark Rutter has been the fact that NATO allies have spent more than a trillion dollars on defence over the last decade.
He calls it the Trump trillion.
Rutter is expected to play a significant mediating role at his summit.
He's been called NATO's Trump whisperer, and he's faced a lot of criticism in Europe for being too submissive to Trump, for example, by calling him dirty at last year's summit.
But A NATO official told me that Rutter would be the only one able to calm things down, as he did, for example, during the recent dispute about Greenland, or when Trump has seemed reluctant to continue supporting Ukraine.
00:07:57 話者 1
Right, Antoine. So on that topic, what might we see come out of this summit in terms of NATO's support for Ukraine?
00:08:07 話者 3
One of the main expected outcomes is to have financial support for Ukraine, Britain in the summit declaration.
NATO member states are set to allocate 70 billion EUR worth of military assistance to Ukraine this year and at least an equivalent amount in 2027.
But it's important to note that all of this money would come from European countries and Canada.
Under Trump, the United States has decided to drastically reduce its military support to Ukraine.
US military equipment that flows for Ukraine is now paid for by the Europeans.
And they're intending to show the US that money is secured to continue buying weapons for Ukraine in order to keep the Americans on board and delivering source weapons.
00:09:01 話者 1
Well, how much tension is there among European NATO members about their relationship with the US right now.
00:09:11 話者 3
For a bit, the Europeans' biggest challenge at this summit would be to show the Americans that they are listening to Trump and leading his demands, despite the president's anger over their hesitation to support his recent military campaign against Iran.
There is growing concern about security in Europe in this era of growing aggression from Russia.
But even if most European leaders are convinced that there is no other choice,
for now than appeasing Trump you can still hear some at NATO's headquarters in Brussels raving the dissatisfaction about the lack of respect shown by the US Administration towards it long its longtime allies in the long run that Trump fatigue could grow and feed the desire of European allies to become more independent from Washington.
Business
00:10:10 話者 1
And now for our business stories, here's Ramin Mellegard.
00:10:14 話者 4/Ramin Mellegard
Thank you very much indeed.
Japan’s Shizuoka Governor OKs Maglev Line Construction
Now, the governor of Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture says he intends to sign an agreement that will allow construction of a high-speed maglev train line.
The line is seen as a next-generation transport artery in the country, but it had stalled due to environmental concerns raised by the previous governor.
Central Japan Railway is laying the linear Chuo-Shinkansen Line between Shinagawa in Tokyo and Nagoya in Central Japan.
It crosses Shizuoka, which sits between Tokyo and Nagoya.
Shizuoka Governor Suzuki Yasutomo said he plans to sign a natural environment preservation agreement with JR Central on July 18.
This would open the way for construction to start in the prefecture.
00:11:06 話者 5/Suzuki Yasutomo
Local residents have received explanations and environmental impact assessment procedures.
After considering this and other factors, I decided that the understanding among prefectural residents and relevant organizations is sufficient enough for the signing.
00:11:24 話者 4
Shizuoka's former governor refused to allow construction in the prefecture, citing environmental and other concerns.
As a result, JR Central abandoned a plan to start services on the line in 2027.
The railway company presented measures to address concerns about water resources and other issues raised by the prefecture.
A prefectural panel endorsed all the measures by March this year.
Japan Real Wages Rise for 5th Straight Month
Inflation-adjusted wages in Japan grew for the fifth straight month in May.
This was partly due to an increase in base pay.
The Labor Ministry's preliminary figures show real wages grew 1.4 % from May last year.
The data comes from a nationwide survey of more than 30,000 businesses with at least five employees.
Looking at the actual figures, the average monthly wage, including base pay and overtime, was slightly more than $311,000 yen, or about $1,900.
That's up 3.2% from a year earlier. The figure has climbed for 53 months in a row.
Now, base pay was also up, rising 3% to roughly 276,000 yen, or about $1,700.
The figure has increased by at least 3% for five straight months.
The ministry says the steady growth of base pay is partly the result of the annual spring wage negotiations, and it says the increase in real wages can be attributed to a stable level of price hikes.
Samsung’s Q2 Operating Profit Jumps 19-Fold to Set Record
South Korea's Samsung Electronics says its operating profits surged 19-fold in the April to June period from a record earlier
To a record from a year earlier to a record quarterly high, the electronics giant is seeing a jump in demand for semiconductors used in AI-related services.
According to provisional figures, operating profit came in above 89 trillion won, or around $58 billion.
That exceeds the company's total operating profit of about 83 trillion won for the last three years.
Sales for the quarter more than doubled year-on-year to 171 trillion won, or about $112 billion. That's also a record.
South Korean media reports Samsung is now focused on expanding its semiconductor production capacity.
Coffee, Made in Japan
Although Japan's coffee lovers make the country the world's fourth-largest consumer of the drink, almost all its beans are imported.
Now, however, one firm is cultivating the crop far from the tropical regions where it usually grows.
00:14:08 話者 5
Just north of Tokyo, this greenhouse is filled with coffee trees, each more than two meters high.
The first coffee farm in Saitama Prefecture. It's the brainchild of Azuma Hideo.
Azuma runs a company that recycles industrial waste.
In 2024, he decided to turn his hand to growing coffee.
Farmland he had inherited from his father-in-law was sitting unused.
00:14:54 話者 6/Azuma Hideo
I felt it would be a waste to leave the land like that. I've always enjoyed taking on new challenges, and I wanted to do something nobody else was doing.
00:15:05 話者 5
But Saitama's climate is far from ideal for tropical crops.
Azuma and his employees set about building custom greenhouses tall enough for coffee trees.
And he used his contacts in the recycling industry to keep initial costs down by buying boilers and other essentials secondhand.
00:15:29 話者 6
These are our coffee beans.
00:15:32 話者 5
After two years of hard work, Azuma finally had a partial harvest and plans to begin sales next year. He's already fielding inquiries from coffee buyers and cafe operators.
He says that reflects not only rising global coffee prices, but also growing interest in domestically produced beans.
00:15:55 話者 6
We started from zero, but I'm glad we took that first step.
It's become a meaningful opportunity, both for me and for many others, too.
00:16:06 話者 5
Azuma's work is also attracting attention from an unexpected quarter.
Teachers from Saitama high schools have come to learn more about the venture.
They hope to teach their classes about self-sufficiency.
00:16:21 話者 12
We often tell students that Japan faces serious challenges when it comes to food security.
This allows us to take the discussion a step further and talk about possible solutions.
00:16:34 話者 6
Something I started is now being learned by others. Seeing it spread from one person to another makes me feel there's real meaning in what I've been doing.
It takes time, but moments like this make all the hard work worthwhile.
00:16:50 話者 5
Azuma's dream of putting Saitama on the coffee map is bringing people together in the name of a tasty, homemade brew.
Markets
00:17:01 話者 4
Okay, let's check the markets now.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped more than 2% on Tuesday.
Investors sold AI and semiconductor-related shares to take profits.
Now, the selling was triggered in South Korea, where the main index fell sharply on selling of shares in the country's major chip makers.
Other indices in the Asia-Pacific region also lost ground. Let's take a look at the numbers.
♪
And that is it for business news.
World Cup 2026: Trump: Asked FIFA to Review Suspension of US Striker
00:18:04 話者 1
Turning now to the men's World Cup.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he asked Global Soccer's governing body, FIFA, to review a US player's red card suspension.
The organization later announced it was deferring it.
Trump admitted he called FIFA President Johnny Infantino regarding a red card given to US national team forward Folarim Balgan.
But Trump denied any involvement in FIFA's decision.
00:18:34 話者 7/Donald Trump
Yeah, I did. I spoke to Johnny, who's highly respected. I didn't tell him what to do.
I can't tell him what to do. But and I don't believe he made the decision.
I think it was a committee that made the decision.
And they made the right decision because, number one, it wasn't a foul.
00:18:50 話者 1
Balgin was red-carded for stepping on a player's foot on Wednesday during the US's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Under FIFA rules, a player is automatically suspended for their next match after receiving a red card. But FIFA later announced his suspicion would be delayed for one year.
On Monday, Balgin started for the US in its 4-1 loss to Belgium in the second round of the knockout stage.
Prior to the match, the chairperson of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued a statement.
It said the decision to delay the suspension came after considering all the available evidence and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
It also argued reviewing red cars is nothing new in the modern game.
Meanwhile, the Union of European Football Association, or UEFA, also issued a statement saying FIFA's decision crossed a red line.
UEFA also said football is the most loved sport in the world because it is played everywhere with the same laws.
World Cup 2026: South Korea’s Football Association Chief Resigns
And the head of South Korea's National Soccer Association has resigned amid an uproar over the country's failure to advance to the knockout round in the Men's World Cup.
Chung Mong-gyu stepped down as president of the Korea Football Association on Monday.
This follows the resignation of national team head coach Hong Myeon-bo.
South Korea was eliminated in the group stage with one win and two losses.
Despite expectations among home fans, the team would make it through to the next round.
Criticism has focused on player selection and the lack of transparency in appointing Hong as head coach.
The South Korean government launched a committee on Monday to reform the Football Association.
The committee is due to discuss ways to make the national team more competitive.
These include committing more to player development and adopting the latest technologies.
The South Korean government also plans to launch a special audit into how the Football Association is managing its operations.
People in Ehime Remember Victims of 2018 Rain Disaster
People in Ehime Prefecture have gathered to remember those who died in the July 2018 rain disaster that hit wide areas of western Japan.
Thirty-three people across the prefecture lost their lives, including those from causes related to the disaster. Ozu City set up a flower offering stand at City Hall.
About 40 people, including the mayor, observed a moment of silence.
The heavy rain in 2018 caused landslides and flooding of a local river.
Five people in the city died.
This man was working as head of the Ozu Fire Department at the time.
He said he offered flowers while thinking about the suffering of the victims.
00:22:03 話者 22/Goto Shigeru/Former head of Ozu Fire Department
Fresh disasters are still expected. We will continue to take all possible measures.
00:22:11 話者 1
At a park in Uwajima City, bereaved families and others visited a stone monument that describes the disaster. They offered white flowers and prayers.
Thirteen people in the city died.
A woman in her 70s who lost three relatives, including her sister, said she thinks of them whenever it rains.
She says she regrets not being able to save them and wonders what more could have been done.
Plan to Up Train Capacity for Narita Airport Goes Ahead
Japanese officials are going full speed ahead on a plan to nearly double service at Narita Airport. A government panel approved a plan to up capacity over the coming years.
The airport is one of two major hubs serving Tokyo, and authorities have proposed increasing the number of flights coming and going by around 50 percent.
At that pace, some peak-hour trains would exceed 150 percent capacity.
The panel unveiled the plan to address the issue Monday.
Officials say they will upgrade the single-track sections on certain rail lines to double tracks.
In addition, the Keisei Electric Railway will launch a new express train linking Narita and Haneda airports that would cut down travel time between the two and would enter operation by the 2030s.
Hayabusa2 Sends Back Detailed Images of Asteroid
Japan's space agency has released close-up images of an asteroid captured by a probe about 100 million kilometers from Earth.
Hayabusa-2 flew past the asteroid named Torifune at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday, Japan time.
The craft was traveling at a speed of 5 kilometers per second at the time.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, revealed the pictures to the public on Monday.
An image taken one second before Hayabusa-2 came closest to Torifune shows the snowman-shaped asteroid with many rocks on the surface.
A video created by connecting still images makes it appear the asteroid is heading toward the probe.
JAXA also observed the asteroid with other devices, including a camera that can measure surface temperatures.
The agency said it will be sending all the data from the probe back to Earth.
00:24:49 話者 1/Mimasu Yuya/Team leader, JAXA
I didn't expect to be able to take such detailed photos. I'm extremely happy.
00:24:56 話者 1
Mimasu also said he wanted to tell Hayabusa 2 that it did a good job.
And now to the world weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh.
00:25:08 話者 8/Jonathan Oh
Hello, we continue to monitor Bavi as it makes its way toward the west, is clearing the Mariana Islands and setting its eyes toward places like the far southwestern islands of Japan and also into Taiwan.
But even those located in the northern portion of the Philippines could see impacts of this as we see the swells picking up as well as the enhancement of the monsoonal rain across the country.
This storm has backed off a little bit in its intensity, but it has a possibility of actually getting back into a violent category as we go forward in time.
Now, we really have to keep an eye out on what's happening toward the weekend.
That's when it's expected to be right over places like Ishigaki and Miyakojima.
And as it moves toward the north and west, it's going to bring a lot of intense winds and rain again, the swells also a wide area of impact possible because of how large the storm is.
The influence of this system is going to be something that we have to really look out for as we go throughout the next several days.
Meanwhile, in the western portion of Japan, we are seeing temperatures that are quite warm.
Here's a look at some video that's coming out from first in Fukuoka Prefecture.
A summer heat was in full force in Kyushu Tuesday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the high rose about 35 degrees Celsius in Dazaifu City.
People were using parasols and hydrating themselves in order to beat the heat.
Over in Miyazaki, the combination of heat and humidity prompted government officials to issue the first heat stroke alert of the year for the prefecture.
JMA is urging people to take precautions against heat stroke as the brutal conditions are expected to continue through the week.
High pressure is the big reason why we're seeing that heat.
It will continue to move toward the east. And guess what?
Heat will also increase for places like Tokyo as we go later on during the next few days.
Now up to the north, Saporo seeing a dry day on Wednesday, but then we'll see an influence of a front that's going to bring some rain starting on Thursday and going into the weekend.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
00:27:45 話者 1
And that's it for this edition of NHK Newsline.
I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo. Thanks for joining us.
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