I'm James Tengan in Tokyo. Welcome to NHK Newsline.
Chinese State Media: Xi to Visit N. Korea Next Week
China's state-run media is reporting that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from Monday to Tuesday next week. This would be Xi's first visit to the country since 2019.
Experts say the North's decision to boost ties with Russia strained its traditionally friendly relations with Beijing. But there are signs of improvement.
Leader Kim Jong-un visited China last year to attend a military parade.
It's believed that China is trying to bolster relations with North Korea as part of efforts to demonstrate its diplomatic influence on the world stage.
Last month, Xi hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for separate summits in Beijing.
Meanwhile, observers say North Korea is hoping for more economic cooperation from China. Beijing is seen as its main backer.
Pyongyang also seeks to coordinate with China as the US president has expressed willingness to hold talks with Kim Jong-un.
US Sanctions Cuban Targets Including President Diaz-Canel
The US is further ratcheting up pressure on Cuba.
The State Department says it's imposing sanctions on five entities and five individuals related to the country, including Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel.
The State Department announced the move on Thursday.
It said it's part of a push to end the Cuban regime's decades-long campaign of political, ideological and institutional warfare against the United States.
The sanctions also target the son and a grandson of former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
The Trump administration has already imposed sanctions on Cuba.
This is pressuring its government to carry out drastic political and economic reforms.
Last month, the US indicted Castro. It accused him of being linked to the 1996 downing of two civilian planes by Cuban fighter aircraft. Castro was defense minister at the time.
Donald Trump was asked on Thursday for his view on whether Cuba is close to collapsing.
He said Cuba is sort of collapsed.
00:02:27 話者 2/Donald Trump
We're going to handle that as soon as we've finished.
I like to do one thing at a time, and we'll take care of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
And as soon as that's done on our way back, we'll just make a little brief stop.
00:02:43 話者 1
Diaz-Cunel has denounced the new sanctions.
He posted on social media on Thursday that they're designed to harm the Cuban people.
He added the aggression of the US government will clash with Cuban determination to resist the imperial onslaughts.
Japan to Join US Govt. AI Project
Japan is joining a US government project that will use artificial intelligence and supercomputers to drive scientific research and tech innovation.
Japan will be the first international partner for the so-called Genesis Mission.
00:03:13 話者 3/Dario Gil/Under Secretary for Science, US Energy Department
I can tell you that this is the defining moment for the next era of science.
00:03:20 話者 1
The two governments will each invest $500 million over five years.
The US President launched the project last November.
A statement of intent was signed by officials from the US Department of Energy as well as two Japanese government ministries.
The partnership will bring together US laboratories and leading Japanese research institutions such as Riken and the National Institute for Materials Science.
The aim is to boost collaboration to seek breakthroughs in areas such as quantum information science, fusion energy, and biotechnology.
00:03:59 話者 12/Kakita Yasuyoshi/Japanese Science and Technology Vice-Minister
Japan has abundant quality data resources obtained through its own research and development.
We hope to boost the capabilities of Japan's researchers by combining the resources and new outcomes of artificial intelligence development in the United States.
00:04:21 話者 1
The move is also seen to aim at strengthening the partners' global competitiveness in science and technology with China in mind.
Bear Attacks Leave 4 Dead, 21 Injured Since April
25 people have been killed or injured in bear attacks around Japan in just over two months.
That's according to data compiled by NHK covering April through noon on Thursday.
There were attacks in nine prefectures, and the Environment Ministry reports that four people lost their lives.
A bear injured four people on Tuesday at a factory and in a residential area in Fukushima City, northern Japan.
The bear then holed up in a company office and escaped. Officials are still looking for it.
A 73-year-old woman was found dead the same day in a mountain forest near her home in Akita City.
Authorities concluded she had been killed by a bear based on an autopsy and the state of the body.
00:05:20 話者 24/Yamauchi Kiyoshi/Associate Professor, Iwate University
A growing number of bears now recognize areas of human activity as part of their habitat.
Such bears may regularly come into populated areas regardless of whether there's any food there.
Bears need to be routinely hunted and steps taken to keep them away from populated areas.
00:05:41 話者 1
The Environment Ministry is urging people to carry radios or bells to frighten bears off and to stay in groups when going out.
It's also calling on people to make loud noises in areas with poor visibility and avoid leaving food waste that could attract bears.
The ministry advises people to check the latest information on bear sightings from local governments.
Customs Officers Wage War Against Online Counterfeits
Every day, millions of packages cross international borders fueled by the growth of online shopping.
The e-commerce industry is expected to be worth nearly $10 trillion globally by 2035.
But for all of its convenience, there's one sticky issue with buying from the Internet.
You don't know for sure that what you're spending your money on is the real deal.
NHK World's Miyamoto Rikuya reports on how Japan's customs agents are countering the counterfeits and sharing their expertise with the wider world.
00:06:49 話者 5/Miyamoto Rikuya
This endless stream of parcels tells us one thing for sure. E-commerce is booming.
But amid all this success, Tokyo customs agents have been busy tackling a growing issue.
Phony products packaged up like the real thing.
It's a problem for businesses, economies, and the consumer safety.
But Japan has a secret weapon.
This high-tech system pairs X-rays with the sender's past data.
It helps customs officers screen the mass of shipments that come through here every day.
The unique technology allows them to detect illegal goods quickly and accurately.
It helps them decide whether a package needs to be opened.
The items they seize include everything from counterfeit luxury bags to knock-off brand-name shoes.
Tokyo Customs has been sharing its expertise with countries battling the same issue.
This class is made-up of visiting customs officers from around the world, including Jamaica, Mongolia, and Bhutan.
They are here to learn how to sort the real items from the fakes.
00:08:24 話者 35/Tokyo Customs officer
If we determine that a closer inspection is needed, the parcel is transferred for manual examination, including opening the box.
00:08:32 話者 36
For the trainees, the message is clear: the technology here at Tokyo Customs is a key part of enforcement.
00:08:43 話者 5
Among the participants is Ram Doji, a customs officer from Bhutan.
He says Bhutan relies heavily on imports, and some of its neighboring countries are a major source of the counterfeit products he encounters.
It wreaks havoc on local retailers and hurts Bhutan's economy.
00:09:04 話者 37/Lam Dorji/Trainee, Bhutan customs officer
Whenever we visit the shop, whether it's Adidas shop or Nike shoe or Nike shop or wherever, we find the business people are saying, second, you have a second copy, third copy. These all are counterfeit goods.
00:09:19 話者 5
Trainees study here for a year and bring what they've learned back home.
But the fight doesn't end at the border.
The companies whose products are being faked also have a role to play.
This well-known camera manufacturer is one of them.
Its ink cartridges and even electronics are often copied.
To tackle the problem, the company created a special label for its products so consumers know it's authentic.
When the product is tilted, the label's color and pattern change.
They also get their hands on the fakes to take a closer look for themselves.
00:10:07 話者 38/Toyoda Jin/Canon
Both are fake cameras.
We don't produce these types of cameras anymore, and we don't have this pink color.
00:10:17 話者 5
The company sends its findings to law enforcement directly.
and says it's helping to disrupt the black market.
00:10:28 話者 38
The quickest way to stop counterfeits is to identify the manufacturers at the source and help police take them down.
00:10:41 話者 5
For Doji, another lesson stands out: the importance of cooperation.
00:10:48 話者 37/Lam Dorji/Trainee, Bhutan customs officer
I think that after having this kind of strong learning session from one of the developed countries like Japan, I can be sure that I can contribute much to my countries to enhance the situation.
00:11:04 話者 1
To understand a little more about the war on counterfeits, Sai spoke with Miyamoto Rikuya, who covered the story.
We saw what's basically a crime stopping program for customs officers in your story just now. Just tell us a bit more about that.
00:11:20 話者 5
Yeah, it's a unique program put on by a university in Tokyo and the World Customs Organization. And the Japanese government is supporting it with other partners.
So far, more than 100 customs officers have completed the program.
It helps them learn about Japan's expertise so they can apply it at home.
As we saw, Lam Dorji was one of the people learning from the program.
He said it's important to tap into advanced machinery, but for countries that might not be able to afford that technology, he stresses that it's just as crucial for border agents and police and companies to all work together.
Now, because counterfeit goods move across borders, no single country can address this issue alone, even if they are using the most advanced techniques.
So that's also why this program is important, because if everyone gets better at customs control, it will help prevent those fake products from entering markets like Japan in the first place.
That's important to protect Japanese brands to make sure markets remain fair and healthy, and of course, to protect consumers.
Imagine you spend hundreds of dollars on a purse and it turns out to be worthless, or you buy a battery from a brand you trust, and it explodes.
So there are some big risks to the consumers themselves, and that's what this program is looking to tackle.
00:12:52 話者 1
Rikuya, despite clear efforts around the world to stop the counterfeit market, it's still spreading. Why is it such a hard problem to solve?
00:12:59 話者 5
Yeah, people are buying more stuff online, and those products come from all over the world. It's a result of globalization and the normalization of online shopping.
It's led to a massive increase in small parcels sent directly to consumers, as opposed to bulk shipments sent to retailers.
The transformation makes customs inspections terribly hard to handle and very time consuming.
And of course, when you buy something you see on the internet, you as the buyer can't hold it and examine it first.
So you don't know what you're getting. This is all happening on a large scale.
But as we saw, companies are fighting back.
They work with online retailers to make sure fakes are not listed in the first place, and they are using social media to teach consumers about how to identify counterfeits so they do not get scammed.
00:14:01 話者 1
A big thanks to Miyamoto Rikuya for that.
Business
Let's move on to business and financial news with Yuko Fukushima.
00:14:09 話者 7/Yuko Fukushima
Thanks James.
Japan's Foreign Exchange Reserves Post Largest Drop
Japan's foreign exchange reserve saw the largest monthly drop in May since 2000 when comparable statistics became available.
Data released by the finance ministry on Friday shows that official reserve assets stood at $1.3 trillion at the end of May. That's a drop of more than $77 billion.
Securities, including US treasuries were down by $75.5 billion from the end of April.
The government and the central bank stepped into the currency market between April 28 and May 27.
It was the largest intervention in a single month to halt the yen's decline since 1991.
Japan Gears Up for Hydrogen-Powered Transport Network
A Japanese public-private council has announced a policy to build a long distance truck transport network that runs on hydrogen fuel cells.
The newly launched council unveiled the plan at its first meeting.
The members hail from the industry, transport and environment ministries and a wide range of sectors such as automakers and financial institutions.
They're planning a 1300-kilometer transport network between the prefectures of Fukushima in the northeast and Fukuoka in the southwest.
Carbon-free hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles will be used.
Participating companies will build 30 additional hydrogen stations along expressways and other key roads over the next ten years with government subsidies.
Around 1500 fuel cell trucks will be used in the project.
00:15:40 話者 44/Sato Koji/Vice Chairman, Toyota Motor
Countries around the world are eyeing hydrogen from the perspective of energy security to secure a range of energy sources.
Progress is being made in public-private efforts on the issue and Japan wants to work hard on that.
00:15:54 話者 7
One big challenge is hydrogen's high price.
The council aims to encounter this by expanding its use in a variety of fields.
Biz Picks
Next, NHK World's Gino Tani is here with BizPix.
00:16:14 話者 8/Gene Otani
Let's take a look at the key business and economic stories for the week ahead.
On Monday, Japan announces revised GDP numbers for the January to March period.
The consumer price index for May is released in the US on Wednesday,
SpaceX IPO Prepares for Liftoff
and Elon Musk's SpaceX venture is expected to go public.
Estimates put the company's market valuation as high as $1.8 trillion after the IPO.
It would be the largest public offering ever. SpaceX was established in 2002.
It is known for its rocket launches and the Starlink satellite internet service.
Musk's artificial intelligence startup XAI was acquired by SpaceX in February.
That added a vast supercomputer data center and AI outsourcing services to its business.
And in May, a successful test launch of the firm's Starship was achieved.
The spacecraft is part of a reusable transportation system designed to reach the moon and Mars.
The chief equity strategist at NLI Research Institute points out SpaceX is no longer seen as just a rocket developer.
Ide Shingo says investors are focusing on its potential as a business that operates in space.
00:17:42 話者 54/Ide Shingo
The company is building a space transportation network using rockets.
It is planning to use space to provide communication, defense, AI, and other services.
That's what makes it highly evaluated as a comprehensive space infrastructure business.
00:18:00 話者 8
Ide says SpaceX's edge comes from the extremely high brand power of founder and CEO Musk. He says this helps attract investment capital from around the world.
00:18:14 話者 54
Musk is not only a poster boy for his business, but also part of the firm's value.
He has the ability to raise funds and attract people.
Looking back, Tesla and SpaceX were among the companies that achieved what had previously been deemed impossible. We cannot overlook this point.
00:18:35 話者 8
Ide sees another possible impact from the SpaceX IPO.
He says it may cause funds to temporarily move away from other large cap stocks, something that could disrupt Japanese financial markets.
00:18:51 話者 54
Japanese stocks could be sold to raise funds for the purchase of SpaceX shares.
That may cause downward pressure to a certain degree.
And those funds would need to be exchanged from the Japanese currency to the dollar.
That potential concentration of yen selling and dollar buying could cause the yen to weaken temporarily.
00:19:15 話者 8
SpaceX is just one mega firm that is expected to go public in 2026.
It is also reported that OpenAI aims for an IPO as early as September, and another AI giant Anthropic plans to do so by the end of the year.
I'm Gene Otani, and that's this week's Biz Picks.
00:19:36 話者 7
The expert in the report indicated the SpaceX IPO could lead to yen selling and dollar buying, but in our earlier broadcast we translated otherwise.
We apologize for the confusion.
Markets
And now to the latest in markets.
♪
And that's the biz for this hour.
00:20:23 話者 1
Yuko, thanks.
Japanese Restaurant in Shanghai Navigates Choppy Situation
As China's economy slows and it continues to limit imports of Japanese seafood, Japanese restaurants in the country are struggling.
In recent years, the number of these businesses has dropped nearly 20 percent.
For one restaurant owner in Shanghai, finding ways to source fresh fish locally is a matter of survival.
00:20:46 話者 9/Narrator: Yoshino Mika/Reporters: Yamamoto Koji, Hirai Katsumasa
This Japanese restaurant is r/enowned for serving high-quality seafood in Shanghai.
The most popular item is fresh sashimi.
The restaurant also serves hot pot dishes made with a high-end grouper known as kueh, a Japanese luxury. It used to source about half its ingredients from Japan.
But as it is now effectively impossible to import seafood from the country, they have been mainly using Chinese products.
00:21:26 話者 64/Japanese customer
Just as good as the Japanese version.
00:21:30 話者 65/Chinese Customer
There aren't many restaurants in Shanghai where you can enjoy ingredients of this caliber.
00:21:36 話者 9
The owner, Ito Takashi, prides himself on serving dishes made with the freshest ingredients for 18 years.
He personally visits ports and markets across China to source seasonal seafood.
On this day, Ito travels four hours by plane and car to Fujian province, which faces the Taiwan Strait.
00:22:06 話者 66/Ito Takashi/Japanese restaurant owner
It is actually quite fresh. If you look closely, it's quite good.
00:22:13 話者 9
He walks around a variety of ports and markets. When he finds wild horse mackerel, he judges it good enough for sashimi and buys it on the spot.
00:22:40 話者 66
Although I source fish from the Shanghai market, which comes from various places, I can't rely on this to consistently serve delicious dishes.
Traveling to different markets to hunt for treasures, that's what sets my restaurant apart.
00:22:57 話者 9
He brings the fish to a delivery company near the market to airlift them.
Ito says he can serve the fish in his restaurant the following evening.
When shipping by air, preparing the fish to maintain its freshness is key.
Ito carefully guides his staff through the process.
It's an essential skill for serving fresh sashimi.
00:23:22 話者 66
Since supply of Japanese fish has become limited, I've been actively traveling all over the place and establishing a wide variety of supply chains.
I want people to understand I am doing this so I can continue to deliver high-quality fish to my restaurant.
00:23:37 話者 9
Amidst China's slowing economy and Beijing's import restrictions, local Japanese restaurateurs like Ito are doing their best to weather this uncertainty.
Weather
00:23:50 話者 1
Now for a look at world weather.
Parts of India may have to brace for intense thunderstorms.
Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
00:23:59 話者 11/Yumi Hirano
The monsoon season officially started in southern India on Thursday, a few days later than usual. A heavy rain alert is in effect through next week. There is a risk of flash flooding.
For the north, the monsoon has not yet arrived, but a low pressure system is bringing isolated downpours.
Thunder showers are also possible in New Delhi, but the rain may ease intense heat and the high will be under 40.
Moving to the Philippines and Taiwan, a tropical depression is intensifying downpours.
One location in southern Taiwan saw over 230 millimeters of rain.
A heavy rain advisedly is in effect in much of Taiwan on Friday.
The storm is expected to move northward toward Japan's Okinawa and eventually approach Kyushu to Kanto over the weekend.
Heavy rain is likely from Okinawa to Tokai on Sunday.
The area has already received downpours this week, so people should watch out for more flooding and landslides.
Showers expected in many cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka on Sunday and may persist into Monday.
But before the rain, it will be on the dry side on Saturday and people could enjoy seasonal flowers.
Beautiful hydranges in Kamakura are in bloom, bringing in thousands of tourists and locals to the city.
Over 300 varieties can be seen along streets and parks, at least for another week.
In Nagasaki, many people brave the rainy weather to similar colorful spectacles.
That's all for now. Have a nice weekend.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
Unique Dental Lesson for Kids in Western Japan
00:26:45 話者 1
Children visiting a zoo in western Japan got a chance to interact with a beloved animal and learn about dental care at the same time.
About 30 local preschoolers participated in the event at Himeji City Zoo on Thursday.
They saw a 42-year-old female hippopotamus named Kiboko get her teeth cleaned.
The children fed the hippo her favorite food of apples and carrots.
After the treat, a keeper began to clean the animal's teeth using a special toothbrush more than a meter long.
You don't have to say open wide to Kibuko, that's for sure.
I'm James Tengan, thanks for watching this edition of NHK Newsline.
checked.
NHK World
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