Thank you for joining us. From our studio here in Tokyo, this is NHK Newsline.
Japan Defense Minister Seeks US Talks over Okinawa Murder Case
Japan's defense minister says he's stepping in following the arrest of a US Marine in Okinawa last week for suspected murder.
Koizumi Shinjiro told Okinawa's governor that he intends to speak with US officials and come up with a plan to deter future incidents.
US Marine Corps Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, aged 20, is accused of killing a 39-year-old local woman at a hotel in Naha City on Saturday.
Authorities say Ballard also stole her wallet and other belongings.
Ballard is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and was arrested on Sunday.
Koizumi and Okinawa Governor Kocha Genta met in Tokyo Wednesday to discuss the alleged murder.
00:01:10 話者 12/Koja Genta/Okinawa Governor
The incident is extremely vicious and has caused great anxiety among Okinawa residents.
It is totally unacceptable.
I call on the central government to take effective, fundamental measures.
00:01:24 話者 13/Koizumi Shinjiro
I am outraged by the heinous nature of the case and the arrest of a US service member in connection with it.
I will speak with US representatives about substantial steps that can be taken to prevent similar incidents.
00:01:39 話者 1
Koja also called on the central government to speed up talks with Okinawa prefecture about ways to reduce the burden of hosting US bases.
Koizumi said he hopes to listen carefully to what people in Okinawa have to say.
In recognition of the seriousness of the situation, the US military has ordered all forces in Okinawa confined to their bases during a 48-hour halt to operations and a subsequent month-long curfew.
Lieutenant General Benjamin Watson, Okinawa Area Coordinator of US Forces, issued a notice titled Standards and Discipline late Tuesday and posted it on social media.
All US service personnel in Okinawa have been ordered to halt unit operations for 48 hours from noon Wednesday.
Additionally, off-base liberty is canceled and alcohol consumption is prohibited.
This will be followed by a month-long curfew requiring all military personnel to remain in their quarters from midnight to 5 a.m.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru referred to the US military's announcement at a news conference on Wednesday.
00:02:59 話者 14/Kihara Minoru
It is my understanding that this indicates the US forces are taking the incident seriously
and are moving quickly to tighten discipline and prevent a recurrence.
Germany's Far-Right AfD Wins State Parliament Speaker Election
00:03:27 話者 1
A state parliament in Germany has elected a member of the Alternative for Germany party as its speaker.
This is reportedly the first time since the end of World War II that a government-designated far-right party has secured the position of speaker in a state parliament.
AfD candidate Tobias Rasch won the post in the eastern state of Saxony on Halt on Tuesday. He received sacking from some opposition party members.
The vote was held during the first parliamentary session since the AfD's victory in the state election in September.
The party advocates hardline opposition to immigration and refugees.
Hundreds of citizens gathered around the state parliament to protest the party's rise.
The AfD will next run in the state premier election set for December.
If it wins, the party could form the state government.
Thousands Join High School Students in France Protests
Thousands of people have joined high school students in protests across France.
They're calling on the government to improve conditions at crumbling and understaffed schools.
The high school students have been demonstrating since September.
They're demanding more teachers and improvements to school facilities.
On Tuesday, large crowds, including labor union activists, gathered in central Paris.
They then marched through major streets and chanted for greater school funding.
The interior ministry says more than 250,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country.
Some of the protests were marred by violence.
People threw objects at police and set fires in the streets.
About 500 people have been detained.
Israel Media: Flydubai Co-Pilot Says Gaza Was Motivation
Israeli media say a copilot accused of trying to crash a Flydubai passenger plane bound for Israel told investigators he acted out of revenge for Gaza.
The reports say he wanted to die as a martyr.
The incident happened on September 30 on a flight from the United Arab Emirates.
The copilot is believed to be an Omani national.
He is accused of attacking the captain with an axe and trying to bring down the aircraft.
An Israeli television network reported details of his latest statement.
He is said to have told investigators he carried out the attack as revenge for Gaza and wanted to die as a martyr.
The latest round of fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group began after Hamas attacked Israel three years ago.
It has been nearly one year since the ceasefire agreement took effect.
But humanitarian conditions remain severe, with the Israeli military continuing intermittent attacks.
Israeli authorities say they are still investigating whether the copilot acted alone.
Japanese Firms See Growing Number of Cyberattacks
Even more Japanese companies have announced leaks of personal information this week, adding to a growing list of recent corporate data breaches.
The leaks have included sensitive information like addresses and even driver's license photos.
00:07:14 話者 22/Yamaguchi Akio/Chairperson, Japan Association of Corporate Executives
These days, cyberattacks and system outages can have significant effects on economic activities.
00:07:21 話者 5
The chairperson of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives has expressed strong alarm over a recent series of cyberattacks.
On Tuesday, GMO Research and AI said more than 940,000 records of information had been leaked.
Discount store operator Mr. Max Holdings said its membership information had been leaked, with as many as 1.73 million members potentially affected.
Japanese watchmaker Citizen also said the personal information of about 100,000 people could have been leaked.
The cybersecurity firm Magnica says information leaks have become more frequent since July, with nearly 120 cases so far this year.
In the first half of 2026, the firm was seeing an average of about six suspected breaches of corporate websites, app systems, and other channels a month.
Since July, that number has jumped to 23.
In the case involving the car-sharing service Park24, 6.6 million records were leaked.
That included addresses and images of driver's licenses that could be used as identity verification documents.
The company sent an e-mail to its customers on September 29, apologizing for the leak.
NHK spoke to a university student who received one of these emails.
00:08:52 話者 23/University student
I didn't hesitate at all because I was confident that the firm had tight security measures in place, but now I'm worried and I wonder what will happen if a criminal group gets my data.
00:09:03 話者 5
One expert said there are significant risks when records like driver's licenses are leaked.
00:09:12 話者 24/Uehara Tetsutaro/Professor, Ritsumeikan University
Basically, leaked information has monetary value.
It will be circulated on underground markets.
Images of drivers' licenses appear to be circulated as a package or sold along with other information.
00:09:30 話者 5
The security firm Josis in Tokyo detects leaks of corporate information on the dark web.
The firm says a survey found that over the past three years, 96 percent of companies listed on the Nikkei 225 have experienced a data breach.
It says businesses must respond quickly before attackers use compromised information to access core systems.
00:10:00 話者 25/Nishine Hirotake/Japan GTM Head, Josys
Attackers that gain access to system software spend several months gathering the company's data.
Detecting attacks in real time and taking thorough measures early can help prevent leaks.
00:10:16 話者 1
For more on this, I earlier spoke with NHK's Kinugawa Chiharu to cover cybersecurity.
So Chiharu, what seems to be behind this recent trend of data breaches at Japanese companies?
00:10:32 話者 3/Kinugawa Chiharu
At this point, there doesn't seem to be any common patterns in the attack methods or the companies that have been targeted.
The security firms and experts we've spoken with have said that the rapid succession and widespread nature of these incidents suggests the attackers are likely using AI to search for system weaknesses anywhere they can find them.
Stealing credit card information from shopping sites has been a common type of attack for some time now, but what's new here is the targeting of personal information across a wide range of industries.
Breaches announced in recent months have affected transportation companies, energy companies, and even a restaurant chain.
We heard earlier that these incidents have been on the rise since July.
In a notable number of these recent cases, the attackers gained access through vulnerabilities in websites or apps.
One security researcher told us he's never seen anything like it.
00:11:39 話者 26/Sejiyama Yutaka/Security Research Center, Macnica
I don't recall a time when personal information leaks occurred in such rapid succession.
This is an unusual situation.
Even without advanced AI, one person with moderately skilled AI can now use it to target anywhere from 30 to 100 different targets, which broadens a pool of potential attackers.
00:12:05 話者 1
So these are new threats. So what should companies do to protect their information?
00:12:11 話者 3
Security experts say the first thing companies should do is check for any vulnerabilities in their systems, and they should prioritize fixing any that they find.
Experts also say companies should not collect or keep any unnecessary personal information, and they should strictly manage the information they do retain.
That way, there is less at risk if a security breach does happen.
00:12:38 話者 1
Right, and if your own personal information has been breached, what should you do?
00:12:44 話者 3
We asked Professor Uhara about this, one of the experts we heard from earlier.
He said people should be extra careful of scam emails or text messages that might make use of your stolen personal information.
He also recommended frequently checking your credit card statements and other records for any charges you don't recognize.
And he said that if you reuse passwords for different accounts, it's important to change them.
Business
00:13:34 話者 1
And now for more business stories, here's Yuko Fukushima from the Biz Desk.
00:13:39 話者 6/Yuko Fukushima
Thanks, Kyoko.
Japan's Beer Majors Raided over Cartel Allegations
Four major Japanese beer makers have been raided by the Japan Fair Trade Commission on allegations of violating the country's anti-monopoly law.
They're suspected of forming a cartel to coordinate beer price increases.
Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries and Suntory Spirits are all Tokyo-based companies with over a 90 percent share in the domestic beer market.
Sources say they are suspected of conspiring to decide when and how much to raise beer prices when shipping to wholesalers.
They raised prices in October 2022 and April last year citing soaring raw material costs.
The timing of the announcement coincided closely.
All four firms are members of the Brewers Association of Japan.
Sources say the association holds monthly meetings and section chief level officials met behind the scenes to coordinate prices.
Beer like drinks were included in the discussions.
Each company has said it will fully cooperate with the investigation.
The JFTC Secretary General commented on the case.
00:14:52 話者 34/Iwanari Hiroo/Japan Fair Trade Commission Secretary General
I do not deny that an investigation is being conducted today, but I'd like to refrain from commenting on the details as a preliminary review is underway.
Our first priority is to establish the facts of the case.
00:15:08 話者 6
Iwanati said each business operator should independently set prices based on its own strategy as pricing is an important means of competition.
He added he hopes each industry will take precautionary measures to prevent such cases.
The JFTC has indicated its policy to strongly deal with cartels that take advantage of a wave of price hikes.
The commission apparently takes the case seriously as beer is a product closely related to daily life, and the cartel was allegedly formed by companies with an overwhelming share in the market. Criminal complaints with prosecutors are a possibility.
Kawasaki Heavy Unveils Prototype Shipbuilding Robot
Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries has unveiled a prototype shipbuilding robot that harnesses physical AI technology.
The debut comes amid a decreasing number of experienced engineers.
The four-legged robot measures only 60 by 44 by 29 centimeters, but it can make decisions autonomously and carry out welding work.
At the shipyard, engineers generally weld and assemble large prefab units using high-reach vehicles.
This robot can stick to the ship's hull using electromagnets.
It checks seams with sensors and cameras to decide how much welding is needed.
The company notes the lack of experienced welding engineers in the shipbuilding industry.
It hopes their robot will help offset this and also enable ship production in high summer temperatures.
Hitachi, Fanuc Team Up in Physical AI
Meanwhile, Hitachi is teaming up with major Japanese industrial robot maker Fanuc and physical AI to develop machines that can handle complex operations.
They aim to put AI-equipped robots in the manufacturing, logistics and agriculture fields from fiscal 2027.
Hopes are high that physical AI will lead to greater productivity and help solve labor shortages, but replicating human know-how remains a challenge.
Markets
And now let's get to the latest on the markets.
♪
And that's it for biz for this hour.
00:17:54 話者 1
Thanks for that Yuko.
Preserving Culture through Textiles
A century-old traditional Japanese silk textile, oshimatsumugi, originates from an island in southwestern Japan.
It used to be the area's main industry, but has struggled in recent years due to changing fashion styles.
Now, a Ukrainian living in Japan has a special reason for highlighting the tradition.
NHK World's Nagahuchi Sakura has more.
00:18:21 話者 4/Reporting Nagafuchi Sakura/NHK World
Koriyama Nika is in a kimono that features the colors of her home country's slack, Ukraine.
She's been selected as this year's Oshima Tsumugi Queen and is active in promoting Kagoshima's traditional textile.
00:18:39 話者 7/Koriyama Nika/Ukrainian Name: Rudolf Veronika
I want to convey the importance of preserving the culture.
I want to spread Oshima Tsumugi, the culture of Kagoshima, throughout the world.
00:18:49 話者 4
Oshima Tsumugi has a history of about 1,300 years, but production has decreased to just 1% compared to its peak due to modern fashion and the shortage of artisans.
Koriyama, who came to Kagosima City 10 years ago, has a special reason for wanting to share the appeal of this traditional textile.
Her home town, Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, has suffered repeated attacks since the Russian invasion began. Her parents' home has become unlivable.
00:19:35 話者 7
I haven't been able to accept reality. I feel like, what's going on in this world.
00:19:42 話者 4
As the war drags on, Koriyama has become more aware of the importance of tradition.
One example is a traditional Ukrainian attire called Vyshyvanka.
Koriyama wore it at a cultural exchange event in Kagoshima City.
People in Ukraine now often wear it in daily life as a symbol of their identity, although it had once being on the decline.
00:20:15 話者 7
It wasn't until war broke out and our culture was on the verge of being wiped out that we Ukrainians realized how important it really is to us and we must truly protect it.
00:20:27 話者 4
Similar to Vyshyvanka, Oshimatsumugi is a tradition passed down over time.
Koriyama was captivated by the technique and the spirit conveyed fluid textile.
She felt it also needed to be preserved.
00:20:48 話者 7
Because of the war, everyone in Ukraine is suddenly trying to rediscover and promote the culture. But that's really difficult when traditions are slowly fading away.
I want to prevent that from happening.
00:21:03 話者 4
Koriyama now shares ways to style oshimatsumugi together with western fashion on social media. She hopes that people of all ages give it a try.
00:21:20 話者 7
Just wearing oshimatsumugi, changes my self-esteem and boosts my confidence. I hope people can feel the energy of something made with love.
00:21:30 話者 4
Living up to her title.
As the Oshimatsumugi queen, Koreama continues to promote the charm of both Kagoshima and Ukraine's traditional cultures.
Nagafuchi Sakura, NHK World.
♫～
00:22:48 話者 1
To check out more of our latest news, please access NHK World Japan's website.
♪
World Weather
And now to world weather.
High waves were concerned along the eastern coast of Japan Wednesday, but things are expected to be calmer as we go through the second-half of this week.
Our meteorologist Jonathan Oh has more.
00:23:38 話者 8/Jonathan Oh
Hello, Choi-wan was coming awfully close to Japan's eastern side at least in terms of the outer bands as it did so it kicked up some higher waves along the eastern side of the country.
But, it is now on its way out expect to weaken and no longer be of concern as we go forward in time, so calmer weather is picking up across Japan and I want to go over to Hiroshima prefecture by looking at some video because we see something seasonal around this time of year as colder mornings in Sera town have drawn over 100 people Wednesday to a seasonal phenomenon.
During sunrise the morning sun bathes a sea of clouds and a bed of cosmos with a stunning glow.
Now this occurs as the valleys surrounded by the peaks of about 500 meters they significantly cooled they also have calmer winds and that creates a temperature contrast higher up that form these clouds.
Tthe view prompted the opening of a tourist farm for people to enjoy the stunning view and will remain open until November 3.
So it looks like the pleasant calm weather will continue across the country as we go forward into the next few days, temperatures for daytime highs in the 20s overnight lows dropping off a bit so yeah we have a little temperature spread taking place but it's dry and looks like it's going to be the case to what is considered a holiday weekend here coming up.
Meanwhile looking what's happening across North America down to Florida some heavy rainfall stormy kind of pattern continues to remain in place as a stationary front just kind of sits over the area.
We do have a developing tropical system down south from there and elsewhere. we're talking really high pressure controlling the weather it's hot though over in Los Angeles though coming up on Wednesday highs popping off at around 37 32 local city 28 in Denver.
Wrap things up with a look at Europe western portions of the continent have a couple of low pressure systems that will be coming on board and that will bring some wet weather anywhere from London to Paris 24 in Rome Madrid at 21 dry toward the east that's look at your forecast hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-Day Forecast ～♫
Mothers Talk to Students about Challenges, Rewards of Parenthood
00:26:45 話者 1
And one more story.
A high school in Western Japan has given its students a chance to learn about the challenges and rewards of parenthood.
It invited 10 mothers to the classroom to speak about their experiences.
About 20 students in Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture took part in the class.
The mothers brought along their children, who ranged in age from five months to six years old.
The students first read to the children before performing The Three Little Pigs with paper puppets they made themselves.
Afterwards, the mothers talked about their pregnancy and child-rearing experiences.
Some showed the students their ultrasound images.
00:27:34 話者 44
I want to learn different values and find the right way to connect with each child.
00:27:45 話者 1
This has been NHK Newsline. Thank you for watching.
checked.
NHK World
00:28:01 話者 99
This is NHK World Japan English radio service.
Here's a frequency notice.
The broadcast at 14 hours UTC for Southeast Asia is on 11.800 MHz.
Once again.
The broadcast at 14 hours UTC for Southeast Asia is on 11.800 MHz.
For more details of our programs, please check our website at nhk.jp/rj.
nhk.jp/rj
We're always pleased to receive your comments and suggestions through our website
