protection for our planet's biological diversity trailblazing projects. d w dot com slash global ideals. is the daily news live from berlin and tough talk from u.s. president donald trump after he touches down in japan on the first leg of a major tour of asia pacific countries no one no dictator no regime and no nation. here or do us an. american resolve.

we'll speak to our correspondent in tokyo about how trump plans to bolster support from allies to face up to north korea's nuclear ambitions also coming up trump is due to meet with the japanese families of people of ducted by north korean agents and decades ago we have a report on one woman's story of her kidnapped sister. and lebanon's prime minister resigned and takes a shot at iran her eries move took the middle took the middle east by surprise he talked about quote the evil that iran's friends in the region. welcome to the program i'm marrying evanston it's good to have you with us. heightened tensions with north korea are overshadowing a visit by u.s.

president donald trump to five asian countries that has begun in japan trump travel to the japanese capital tokyo on the first leg of a trip that's partly aimed at reassuring allies over appealing gangs controversial nuclear program the u.s. president is due to spend twelve days in the region and also hold talks on trade just after arriving trump addressed u.s. troops stationed in japan let's listen to a little of what he had to say. we will never yield never waver and never falter in defense of our people our freedom and our great american flag. we will seek new opportunities for cooperation and carmen's and we will partner with friends and allies to pursue a free and open in do reach we will see free. and research trade. well for more we're joined now by our correspondent bustin

heartache who's in tokyo first in japan is one of the united states' closest allies what do you think both sides are hoping to get out of trump's visit. well i think prime minister. of japan is looking for reassurance from the united states that they stand firmly behind their commitment to japan especially of course when it comes to the issue of north korea. prime minister abbott himself has been very hawkish and he's been very tough when it comes to this issue so i think he feels very close to trump on this and i think during this visit he will be trying to deepen their relationship also the personal relationship between these two leaders and you can see that they went for a round of golf in this afternoon and tonight they're going to a steak house that the prime minister personally selected for this occasion because

he knows that trump likes to eat steak so he really wants him to feel comfortable here and to feel welcome and trump on the other hand has already reiterated that he that we will be tough when it comes to north korea and that japan is a major ally in this region and so i think they're very very close here when it comes to this issue mariana all right. quite hawkish on north korea trump of course known for his very fiery rhetoric but how do ordinary japanese feel about that. well i think if the recent elections here in japan are any guide has a lot of support for his tough stance on north korea now having said that there are of course also those here who are increasingly worried that this crisis might escalate if you think about the missile tests conducted by north korea two of those missiles flew right over japanese territory and that has people here on edge of

course because they're afraid that something might happen and they're also afraid that this kind of strongman rhetoric that's coming out of the white house could set fire to this tinderbox that this region has become mariana. all right person well apart from visit you've also been looking into a very painful aspect of japanese north korean history tell us more about it. there are dozens of japanese citizens who've been abducted by north korea since the nine hundred seventy s. and that's something that the japanese government has been trying to draw attention to so trump some of the families of these disappeared and a few days ago i met a lady whose sister was abducted by north korea in one nine hundred seventy three have a look at this report. every day in his tiny tokyo studio that's a little more all puts together a very special radio program aimed at

a select audience some one hundred japanese citizens believed to have been kidnapped by north korea since the one nine hundred seventy s. presumably to train spies no one knows how many can hear him but he's convinced that for those who can a few cars a project offers a lifeline of hope to. people who have managed to come back told us they weren't allowed to speak japanese or sing japanese songs in north korea but some were able to listen to our program and there they heard our language and music that gave them strength to carry on and hope that someday they would come home. or died but i was listening to these broadcasts in north korea is strictly prohibited but tomorrow knows some take the risk and tune in anyway in secret and at night. that's why he invites relatives of the disappeared on to the show to send personal messages to their loved ones one of these is to margie takeshita her little sister

nori called vanished forty four years ago she was just eighteen at the time. my mother wanted to meet her at about noon that day to go shopping. but then someone called and said not. i wasn't going to make it. my mother thought she was probably busy with work so she didn't worry that. they haven't seen noriko since the family did all they could to find her but it was years before they heard anything then a crucial tip from a north korean deserted. was alive in north korea. weeks before she was kidnapped i gave birth to my second child a son we don't even have a photo of the two of them together he was born just when not he could disappeared so every time his birthday comes around it reminds me how long she's been gone for one year than five and now it's been forty four years. like nordic or most of those

who were abducted are still missing little is known about their fate but. hasn't given up hope she's convinced that one day she a norty call will be reunited so she comes here every month to let her sister know she hasn't forgotten. do you know erica this is your sister tamagotchi how are you do you have enough to eat i hope you're not sick. it's impossible to know whether nordic or has ever heard her. talk ishita will continue to broadcast her dedication she says she can feel that somewhere out there her sister is listening so. a. very tragic story indeed mariana and the fate of these families apparently also move president trump which is meeting somewhat which is why he's meeting some of

these families on monday very unhappy you know indeed a very powerful story bust and heartache of reporting for us from tokyo thank you. well turning now to lebanon where the prime minister has unexpectedly resigned taking a shot at iran as he went saad hariri accuse tehran and its allies in lebanon of spreading chaos strife and destruction throughout the middle east every re also suggested political enemies were targeting him for assassination iran has rejected his accusations calling them unfounded the lebanese prime minister saad hariri his resignation came as a shock to the country in the television address from saudi arabia the lebanese leader plame dhahran and its lebanese proxy group hezbollah for what he called its meddling in the region. leave iran i would like to say trayvon and its followers

that they will be losers in their intervention in terrible terrorist our nation will wake up as it did in the past and their hands in the region will be cut off. every reason i thought the referee could also be dry minister of lebanon he was assassinated in an explosion in two thousand and five which several members of being tried in the absence in the hague saad hariri said he to do now feared for his life the prime minister's resignation has sharply divided opinion. everybody has decided to steer lebanon away from danger it's a hard step taken at a difficult time. i support the resignation the government and country are frozen most of the country is collapsing and the government's targets have not been met. every decision to quit leaves lebanon facing

uncertainty not least the question of who could replace him. now to some of the other stories making news around the world and saudi arabia has a rested dozens of princes and government ministers in a major high level purge the first arrests sanctioned by king solomon under a new anti corruption body he's put his son in charge of the move is seen as cementing crown prince mohammad's power in the kingdom. former u.s. president george h.w. bush has told a historian that he voted for hillary clinton in that last presidential election bush described u.s. president donald trump as a quote blowhard who lacked commitment to public service bush's son george w. bush said he left his ballot paper blank in the vote. belgian authorities are still examining a european arrest warrant for ousted catalan leader carlos pushed a moment but is catalans

a way to see one direction the bid for independence will go other spanish regions are also watching to see what happens next one of those is the basque country in northern spain the region has seen violent struggle against the central government in madrid in the past and it was the scene of a large demonstration in support of catalan independence. past and cataloged flags together in show of support for independence the bass county has its own separatist movement and like a two lonia before my trip imposed direct route is an autonomous region with his own police force and institutions. one basque separatist leaders said the protest was necessary to oppose moderates heavy handed pressure on catalonia. catalonia has begun a new era where jailed cattle and political prisoners now exist half of the government is now in jail and their president is subject to european arrest warrant . the elsa castle and president countless push demand and four of his aides fled to

belgium after spanish authorities fights to cut a line government and took control of his institutions the central government in madrid is now trying to get them arrested there is who stayed behind and appeared in madrid scores last thursday have been jailed pending a potential trial they are facing charges of rebellion sedition and then bassam and for their roles in pushing regional lawmakers to declare catalonia as independence last month. now these past nationalists cooling spain fascist and imperialist this also called for a no to moderates direct route over catalonia and put stress on democracy and citizens right to decide spain faces its worst political crisis in forty years morella's of this kind are expected to come. some sports news now

and in the bundesliga match day eleven brought the blooper of the year mine's keeper robinson or received a pass from his defender and looked comfortable until he realized the ball wasn't quite where he expected it to be. we'll have more on this and of course the german classy cobras had dortmund vs buying munich coming up after the news in our show the bundesliga. and before we go a rather explosive story from southern germany an eighty one year old pensioner there called the police after spotting what looked like an unexploded bomb from world war two sitting right in his garden well when the officers arrived this is what they found instead it was a zucchini weighing five kilos quite early for everyone involved police suspect this someone may have thrown the jumbo size of vegetable into the men's garden

a quick reminder now the top story we're following for you u.s. president donald trump has arrived in tokyo on the first leg of his asia tour he's hoping to bolster support from allies in the region that to face up to north korea's nuclear missile program. you're up to date now on d.w. news will be back again at the top of the hour from all of us here in berlin thanks for watching. every journey begins with the first step and every morning when each of the first word i would think of the cohesive germany for. this is just why not.