Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikama Ryuichi in Tokyo. Japan's Coast Guard says it has confirmed that a Chinese buoy that was installed in Japan's exclusive economic zone is no longer there. The buoy had been floating in the area since 2023, even though the Japanese government demanded that China remove it. Coast Guard officials said the buoy was spotted in July of 2023 in waters northwest of Okinawa Prefecture's Senkaku Islands in southern Japan.
They said they issued a warning about the buoy to vessels navigating in the area in 2023. After confirming that the buoy is no longer there, the Coast Guard notified vessels of the change. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the installment of the buoy was consistent with both domestic and international laws. He also indicated that China had removed it. He added,
The buoy has completed its task at the site. According to the actual need of science and observation, relevant Chinese agencies have implemented voluntary and technical adjustment regarding the buoy. China's installment of buoys in the waters around Japan has been an issue of contention between the two countries. A new buoy was recently detected inside Japan's exclusive economic zone south of Okinawa prefecture's
Yonaguni Island. Japan's foreign minister Iwaya Takeshi demanded that China immediately remove it when he spoke with his counterpart Wan-I in China in December. Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them. The Japanese government is among the latest to react to a shock move from the U.S. this week.
President Donald Trump decided to slap new 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, and some leaders are promising to respond. Trump signed proclamations on the steep rates on Monday evening. The White House says they'll take effect March 12th. Japanese Trade and Industry Minister Muto Yoji says Tokyo has asked to be excluded from the tariffs. He says the U.S. decision may have sweeping consequences.
The extensive trade restrictions could have a major impact on the entire multilateral trade system based around World Trade Organization rules, as well as on the global economy. Muto says Japan's government will closely examine the effect on Japanese companies and react accordingly. South Korean acting president Choi San-mok says he will discuss response measures with the EU and Japan. And he says his government will prepare necessary assistance for affected companies.
He also announced that a group of CEOs from top South Korean firms plan to visit the US. They say they'll respond in a firm and proportionate way by countermeasures. Tariffs are not only harmful for the trading partners directly involved, but also risk having disruptive effects for many others, as well as the global trading system as a whole. Put simply... The U.S. Department of Commerce said 15 percent of metal imports came from the EU last year.
But Trump may give Australia a pass. He spoke with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by form before the announcement. We actually have a surplus. It's one of the only countries which we do. And I told him that that's something that we will give great consideration to. He has repeatedly claimed that tariffs help protect American steelmaking and jobs. Donald Trump has made some controversial remarks about Ukraine in an interview with Fox News.
they could be interpreted as accepting the cession of Ukrainian territory to Russia. They may make a deal, they may not make a deal, they may be Russian someday or they may not be Russian someday. It comes as the U.S. is exploring a deal to gain Ukrainian natural resources in exchange for continued American military support. Trump highlighted oil and gas, rare earth minerals, and other natural resources. He says the U.S. has spent billions on Ukraine's defense and wants its money secured.
Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia tells Reuters, weapons shipments approved under the former Biden administration are still flowing to Ukraine. Keith Kellogg is expected to visit Kiev sometime soon. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is also scheduled to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Meanwhile, Trump's national security advisor has announced the release in an exchange deal of an American teacher detained in Russia. Mike Waltz said in a statement on Tuesday,
that Mark Fogel was leaving Russian airspace. The White House said later in a social media post that Fogel was back on American soil. US media reports that Vogel taught at a school for English-speaking students in Moscow. He was arrested in 2021 for possession of marijuana that he claimed was for medical use. and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Waltz said that Trump, his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff,
and the president's advisers had negotiated the exchange. He described the deal as a show of good faith from the Russians. Trump told reporters he hoped Vogel's release marked a reset in relations with Russia. that might lead to the end of the war in Ukraine. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.
The administration has not revealed what the U.S. gave up in exchange for FOGO. The King of Jordan is the latest foreign leader to meet Trump in Washington. They discussed the president's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians elsewhere and offer that shocked Middle Eastern leaders.
Trump welcomed King Abdullah to the White House and the two spoke to reporters about the situation in Gaza. It's a war-torn area. We're going to take it. We're going to hold it. We're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East. Jordan has rejected Trump's demands to accept resettled Palestinians in their country. but the king has offered to help those in need.
I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2000 children that are either cancer children or in a very ill state to Jordan as quickly as possible. and then wait for, I think, the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president to work on the Gaza challenges. King Abdullah says the Arab world is united in its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians. He says rebuilding Gaza and addressing the dire situation there should be the priority.
Meanwhile, Egypt says it's willing to cooperate with the U.S. toward achieving a just peace in the region by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian cause. The country says it intends to present a comprehensive vision for Gaza's reconstruction, one ensuring Palestinians remain in their homeland.
Researchers say Japan's economy grew only slightly in the October through December quarter as personal consumption slowed. The forecasts come ahead of the government's release of gross domestic product figures next week. Twelve research firms and think tanks all expect that annualized GDP expanded in real terms from the previous three months. Their forecasts range between 0.5% and 1.7%. Four of the estimates are 4 under 1%.
Japan's economy grew at an annualized 1.2% in the July to September period from the previous quarter. that personal spending decreased in the three months through December. That compares with a 0.7% increase in the previous quarter. Private consumption accounts for more than half of Japan's GDP. Analysts say consumers became thriftier because food prices are rising faster than wages. The researchers forecast all project increased corporate capital spending during the quarter.
That's as the country's labor shortage prompted businesses to invest in software and other tools. For all of 2024, the analysts estimate Japan's GDP in real terms shrunk for the first time in four years. It's mainly due to sluggish personal spending. Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported a plunge in annual net profit following a recall of a dietary supplement linked to health disorders.
The profit decline is the first since it went public 25 years ago. Net profit in 2024 fell by more than half from the previous year. to 10 billion yen, or 65 million dollars. The supplement containing yeast-fermented rice known as Benikoji has been linked to kidney ailments and other health problems among users. The firm took an extraordinary charge of $83 million for the recall and to pay compensation.
We place top priority on compensation to customers who have suffered health problems and to business partners that we have inconvenienced. They recall hard sales of the company's overall healthcare products, including other supplements. However, it projects a 4.3% rise in net profit this year. citing demand from inbound tourists. Warmer-than-usual weather is expected in parts of Northeast Asia this week. Our meteorologist Tsitsi Munare has all the details up next.
They were expecting a lot of warm air to come in across the southern part of Japan, surging in towards the Kanto region and moving towards the north, areas that have seen a lot of snowfall. could see high chances of avalanches because there will be some precipitation coming in moving across the Hokuriki region going all the way into Watitohoku and into the Hokkaido regions of Japan. What that will do is it will loosen up some of the... already built up snow and could lead to some
Slight avalanches in certain places. As you can see, the temperatures are quite high. Temperatures for Tokyo, 14 degrees for Thursday. By Saturday, it could even go as high as about 15. Five for Seoul and Beijing, around 10 degrees.
basically warmer towards Ulaanbaatar as well, even though it's at minus three degrees. Moving into South America, we've also seen some high temperatures for the southern half of the continent, but there's now heavy rainfall towards Bolivia. Take a look at this following video. Many people in La Paz are facing some challenges as heavy rainfall caused a river to overflow on Monday. Authorities say 24 people have died and one is still missing.
Local media say hundreds of people have been left without their homes and some took shelter in a church. An alert for Solon Rivers has been in effect since last week due to these downpours. and possibilities of these heavy rains continuing into March. It's quite likely. So people are urged just to be on the lookout. There will be heavy rain once again on Wednesday, spreading from much of Bolivia going all the way through Brazil into that.
Far eastern coastal of South America. For Europe, we've got a chain of low pressure systems from the north spreading all the way towards the south, along with these cold fronts bringing unstable weather conditions. So for now, ahead of those fronts, things look calm for London, much cooler for COVID-3 and snowy weather for people into Istanbul. So please do be careful there as you could be caught in some snowy weather. Bye.
And that wraps up this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo. Thanks for joining us.