0:09

Hello, and thanks for tuning in to

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NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshio Gasuara. We

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begin in Tokyo, where Japan's foreign minister

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has reacted to a discussion in the

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U.S. Senate that touched on

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the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and

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Nagasaki. They were invoked

0:26

during a debate over U.S. military

0:28

support for Israel in its fight

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against Hamas. It

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happened during a Senate subcommittee

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hearing on Wednesday involving the

0:37

partial suspension of American arms

0:39

shipments. Republican Senator

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Lindsey Graham has urged weapon

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deliveries be resumed, referencing

0:46

the atomic bombings in 1945. Give

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Israel what they need to fight the war they

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can't afford to lose. This is

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Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.

1:00

At one point, Graham pressed senior

1:02

U.S. defense officials on whether

1:04

they thought the use of nuclear weapons

1:06

was justified. In

1:09

hindsight, do you think that was the right decision

1:11

for America to drop two atomic bombs on the

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Japanese cities in question? Well, I'll tell you, it

1:15

stopped the World War. Okay, well,

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so do you agree, General Austin, if you'd

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been around, would you say drop them? I

1:25

agree with Chairman I On

1:30

Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamiko Ayouko was asked

1:32

for her thoughts on those remarks

1:34

by a reporter. Here's

1:37

what she said. Hiroshima,

1:40

OYOBI, Nagasaki, and Yukon-Sudahatsugae-Owa.

1:44

I believe those remarks about

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Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not

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appropriate. Japan is

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aware that the atomic bombings

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of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took

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so many precious lives and

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caused an extremely regrettable humanitarian

1:59

situation� in which

2:01

people suffered indescribable hardships due

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to illness and disabilities. Also,

2:07

as the government has been saying for a

2:09

long time, we believe the

2:11

use of nuclear weapons does not

2:13

match the spirit of humanitarianism, which

2:16

is the ideological foundation of

2:18

international law, because of

2:20

their tremendous destructive and lethal

2:22

power. Kamikawa

2:26

says Japan's government conveyed that view

2:28

to Washington, as well as

2:30

to the office of Senator Graham. Japan's

2:35

diet has passed a bill to

2:37

set up a security clearance system

2:39

for access to economic information deemed

2:42

critical to national security. It

2:44

was enacted in an upper house plenary

2:46

session on Friday. The

2:50

law limits access to the information

2:52

to people with government clearance, including

2:55

some employees of private sector companies.

2:58

The bill was revised in the

3:00

lower house through consultation between ruling

3:02

and opposition parties. The

3:04

law requires the government to provide the

3:06

diet with annual reports on

3:08

how it conducts security clearance checks.

3:12

These reports will also include

3:14

why the government decided to

3:16

classify or declassify information. The

3:18

law stipulates classification should be

3:20

based on operational criteria. The

3:23

government plans to set up an expert

3:25

panel to discuss these criteria soon. The

3:32

enactment of this law will give Japan an

3:34

information security system similar

3:36

to its allies in other countries. There

3:38

is a sense of trust that comes with this. The

3:48

U.S. Department of Defense,

3:52

and the U.S. Department of Defense, has

3:55

dismissed its own security chief after

3:58

two other members of the State Protection Service over

4:00

a suspected assassination plot. Zelensky

4:04

announced on Thursday that he had

4:06

dismissed Serhiy Rood as head of

4:08

the Corps that

4:10

protects the president and other VIPs.

4:14

No reason for the dismissal was provided.

4:17

Earlier this month, Ukrainian security

4:19

authorities detained two colonels from

4:21

the department on suspicion of

4:23

leaking classified information to Russia's

4:25

Federal Security Service and

4:27

being involved in an assassination plot.

4:31

The head of military intelligence,

4:33

Karelo Budanov, Zelensky and others

4:35

were apparently the planned targets.

4:38

Meanwhile, the general staff of the

4:40

armed forces of Ukraine told NHK

4:42

that Russian troops crossed

4:44

the border from the north and

4:47

entered the eastern Ukrainian region of

4:49

Harky. The said fighting

4:51

is continuing in the region and the

4:53

Russian military has advanced one kilometer beyond

4:56

the border. The

4:59

Philippine National Security Council has called

5:01

for Chinese diplomats to be expelled

5:03

from the country. It

5:06

accuses them of spreading false information about

5:08

the South China Sea. The

5:11

Philippine National Security Advisor released a statement

5:14

about the issue on Friday. It

5:16

alleges China's embassy in Manila

5:19

has been involved in repeated

5:21

acts of engaging in and

5:23

dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and

5:25

malinformation. It adds the embassy

5:28

was trying to sow discord,

5:30

division and disunity among the

5:32

people of the Philippines. The

5:35

statement refers to China's claim that the

5:37

two countries had reached an agreement in

5:40

January over supply missions to

5:42

a Philippine military hub in the South

5:44

China Sea. The hub

5:46

is located in the disputed 2nd Thomas

5:48

Shoal, which the Philippines

5:50

effectively controls. Manila

5:53

says even if a conversation did

5:55

take place, an agreement had not

5:57

been concluded. China

5:59

rejects the Philippines' claims. The

6:04

statement made by the Philippines side proves

6:06

they have become weak in the face

6:09

of facts and evidence. The

6:12

spokesperson also said Beijing requests

6:14

the Philippines ensure that Chinese

6:17

diplomats are able to perform

6:19

their duties normally. Maldivian

6:24

Foreign Minister Moussa Zamir held

6:26

talks with his Indian counterpart

6:28

Subramanyama Jai Shankar in New

6:30

Delhi. It's the

6:33

first high-level visit since the

6:35

Maldives pro-China president, Mohammed Muizu,

6:37

came to power last November on an

6:39

election pledge of India out.

6:43

Today, we will be reviewing the

6:45

various dimensions of our ties. It is

6:47

in our common interest that we reach

6:50

an understanding of how best we take

6:52

our relationship forward. The

6:56

talks came a day ahead of the

6:58

May 10 deadline set by the Maldivian

7:00

president for India to withdraw its troops

7:02

from the island's nation. Since

7:05

taking office, Muizu has been reviewing

7:07

the pro-India policy of the previous

7:09

administration and is stepping up

7:11

his pro-China stance. He

7:13

maintains that excessive military cooperation

7:16

with India could erode the

7:18

Maldives' sovereignty. India's

7:20

Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that

7:22

it had replaced some 80 soldiers on

7:25

the Maldives with civilian technical

7:27

personnel. Indian

7:30

troops were there to provide

7:32

humanitarian and medical evacuation services

7:34

to local residents with helicopters

7:36

donated by New Delhi. The

7:40

island's nation in the Indian Ocean lies

7:42

in the middle of a strategically important

7:44

sea lane and plays a vital role

7:46

in regional dynamics. Both

7:49

India and China have been vying

7:51

to expand their influence over the

7:53

Maldives. China

7:56

is also increasing its influence in the South

7:58

Pacific and major powers. in

8:00

the region are trying to curb

8:02

such moves. This includes a new

8:04

security memorandum that Australia has struck

8:07

with the island-nation of Tuvalu. The

8:11

two countries signed the document on

8:13

Thursday that includes an extension of

8:16

Australia's security guarantee to Tuvalu. It

8:19

followed the pact last year that

8:21

virtually allowed Canberra to veto any

8:23

security deal Tuvalu signs with another

8:25

country. Some critics accused

8:27

Australia of undermining Tuvalu's sovereignty.

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The new document says Tuvalu still needs

8:33

to agree with Australia before it signs

8:35

a security deal with a third party,

8:38

but it also says Tuvalu does not

8:40

need Canberra's permission to enter talks

8:42

with other partners. The

8:44

two sides agreed that there's only

8:46

a narrow set of circumstances where

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such cooperation could be of concern.

8:52

Australia also announced it will provide more than $70 million

8:54

in aid to Tuvalu. The

8:58

money will be used to fund

9:00

an undersea cable, a land reclamation

9:02

project, and a national security center.

9:05

The South Pacific has seen more

9:08

countries switching diplomatic relations from Taiwan

9:10

to China. Nauru was

9:12

the latest to do so in January. That

9:15

left Tuvalu, one of only three

9:17

remaining Pacific island nations, that still

9:20

have ties with Taiwan. Fileti

9:23

Deo, who became Tuvalu's new prime

9:25

minister in February, has

9:27

reaffirmed his country's commitment to

9:30

maintaining relations with Taiwan. A

9:34

U.S. media outlet reported President Joe

9:37

Biden's administration is planning

9:39

to announce new tariffs on some

9:41

strategic Chinese products as soon

9:43

as next week. Bloomberg

9:47

reported Thursday the levies will

9:49

focus on electric vehicles, batteries,

9:51

solar cells, and other items.

9:54

Last month Biden instructed trade officials

9:56

to consider raising tariffs on Chinese

9:58

steel and steel. and aluminum to more

10:01

than 20% or three times current levels. Observers

10:06

say Biden's recent stance against

10:08

China is an attempt to

10:10

show his commitment to protecting

10:12

domestic industry and employment ahead

10:14

of the presidential election in

10:16

November. Chinese

10:20

President Xi Jinping is in Hungary,

10:22

the final stop on his European

10:25

tour after France and Serbia. The

10:27

leaders of the two countries have

10:29

agreed to bolster bilateral relations through

10:32

China's Belt and Road Initiative. Xi

10:36

said on Thursday that Beijing and

10:38

Budapest are ready to push bilateral

10:40

ties into a golden voyage after

10:43

meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

10:46

The two leaders reportedly agreed to

10:48

go ahead with the construction of

10:51

a railway connecting Hungary and Serbia

10:53

under the initiative. They

10:55

also affirmed that the two nations

10:57

will boost ties through investments by

10:59

Chinese companies. Orban

11:01

told reporters that the world is

11:03

now multipolar and that

11:06

one of the pillars of this new world

11:08

order is China. The Prime

11:10

Minister also mentioned expanding cooperation with

11:12

China to the field of nuclear

11:14

power generation. While

11:17

most European Union nations are de-risking

11:19

relations with China by reducing economic

11:22

reliance, Hungary is stepping up its

11:24

ties with the country. Budapest

11:26

is set to hold the rotating presidency

11:29

of the EU in the

11:31

latter half of this year. Extreme

11:58

heat is baking parts of... of Mexico,

12:00

including the capital. Our

12:03

meteorologist, Jonathan O, has the details

12:05

in world weather. Hello,

12:08

we've been dealing with some really hot

12:10

weather across Mexico as a heat wave

12:13

has been gripping the country. Mexico City,

12:15

one point showing a temperature high of

12:17

34.3 degrees on Thursday, which is all

12:20

time record. And yeah, the heat is

12:22

impacting other parts of the country as

12:24

well. Here's a look at some video

12:26

to show you the situation on the

12:29

ground. The country is experiencing its second

12:31

heat wave of the spring season. So

12:33

people were wearing hats or using power

12:36

saws for protection and trying to get

12:38

into the thousands. In fact, to try to get

12:41

some relief from the scorching sun, electricity demand has

12:43

caused power outages in at least 15 states

12:45

and drought levels, bringing down the waters

12:48

near dams. And so that is also causing a

12:50

bit of a problem. Look

12:52

at more heat to be a part of

12:55

the story in Mexico as you go forward

12:57

throughout the day on Friday. So be on

12:59

the lookout for that. We're talking about stormy

13:01

weather up toward the north. We've been dealing

13:03

with this frontal system that

13:06

really marches way across the century United States all

13:08

the way toward the east over the past few

13:10

days. I mean, this has been a long story,

13:13

a multi-day severe weather event. Look

13:15

at the possibility on Friday from

13:18

the Carolinas and down

13:20

toward Florida, we're going to Saturday and the

13:22

low will bring some wet weather up

13:25

toward the north and east. So be on the lookout for

13:27

that. Heat is the story back toward the west here. I

13:29

mean, Seattle looking at high of 27, some

13:31

locations in Oregon getting close

13:34

to 30 degrees. And so take it easy

13:36

outdoors if you have to be outdoors and

13:38

try to get some relief by staying indoors

13:40

and staying in the shade as much as

13:42

possible. Look at what's happening across Europe, roughly

13:44

dry except for a low that's moving into

13:46

Turkey. That's a chance for some rain in

13:48

a place like Istanbul as we go into

13:50

Saturday with a high of 15. Japan

13:53

looking at a dry start to the

13:56

weekend. We're looking at high pressure for showing the

13:58

weather with sunny skies across the country. Rain

14:00

now comes into the picture as we head

14:02

into Sunday. That's the picture forecast. Hope you

14:04

have a wonderful weekend wherever you are. That's

14:31

all for this edition of NHK Design.

14:37

I'm Yocha Gassouar in Tokyo. Thanks

14:46

for tuning in.