hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. we begin with the violent attack that shocked the nation. police in nagano prefecture have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of homicide. two police officers and two women were killed. the crime scene is still off-limits. nhk got as close as 250 meters

from the scene. >> reporter: the area looks like the last place you could expect an incident like this could happen. a beautiful countryside surrounded by farms, fields, and houses has turned into a shocking crime scene. there is a police presence here still but few residents are out. and a blue sheet behind me is covering the police vehicle in which the two officers who were killed while driving. they're believed to have been shot there. >> police received a report on thursday afternoon that a man had stabbed a woman in the city of nagano. when they arrived at the scene, the man opened fire at police officers. the suspect then holed up inside his house. the man's mother and aunt were able to escape the house overnight. the man emerged early friday morning. he was then apprehended by police. another woman was found near the

scene and was confirmed dead. the suspect runs a local farming business. he's been arrested on suspicion of killing one of the police officers by shooting him in the chest with what appeared to be a hunting gun. police say aoki has admit today the killings. they have not yet confirmed a positive motive, but investigative sources say aoki told police he believed he was spoken ill of and thought he might be shot dead by officers. >> translator: he was growing grapes. he was a quiet person. i really don't know why he did such a thing. >> gun-related crime is very rare in japan. last year nine incidents were reported nationwide resulting in four deaths. this is believed to be the first time since 1990 that two police officers have been killed in a

single incident. nagano police say aoki was licensed to own for hunting guns. it's been almost a week since ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy stunned the world a surprise trip to the g7 summit in hiroshima. today nhk world spoke with ukraine's ambassador to japan about the impact the visit had on the ukrainian leader and how japan could inspire his country's future. >> he said his trip to hiroshima was only confirmed to him several days before it happened. he admits it was risky, but zelenskyy could not miss an opportunity to speak with it leaders of the g7 nations, india, and other countries face-to-face. >> to see a president that far from home at a time of war, this is a big challenge and a big

opportunity. >> an opportunity as well to visit monuments to one of the worst human tragedies of the 20th century. he said zelenskyy was moved by what he saw during his tour of the city's peace memorial museum. the ukrainian leader's speech even seemed to take inspiration from one of the most striking artifacts left behind by the bomb. >> translator: i came here from a country that because of the war may have been left as no more than a shadow on the stone of history. >> he said he could not speculate on zelenskyy's thoughts but said the image is a powerful reminder to all who see it. >> it is absolutely stunning to see that just minutes ago that was a human being, and after explosion you have just a shell of this person imprinted on the

stone, and that is again and again a message that should not be repeated. >> zelenskyy also said to him the aftermath of the atomic explosion in hiroshima resembles what's been done to ukrainian cities with conventional weapons. >> translator: i will tell you how i honestly feel. when i look at photos of how hiroshima was destroyed i'm reminded of the city of bakhmut. >> because the battle of khmut - imagine onhe ale of destrucon, t sufferg of peoe who left. so it isefinitel you see simirity. but he ss ukrne is also

taking inspiration from hiroshima's miraculous recovery. he says his country hopes to tap into japan's extensive knowledge gained from over a century of rebuilding from disasters both natural and man made. >> we are now preparing for the victory, for the reconstruction phase. and no country in the world has a better and thorough experience of reconstruction efforts, different kinds of reconstruction efforts than japan. >> he says that's why japan is set to play a key role in those efforts. he says they've spoken to the japanese government about hosting an international conference dedicated to charting out the rejuvenation of ukrainian infrastructure. korsunsky says japan's

reemergence from war is a path ukraine wants to follow. a stronger earthquake struck japan's kanto region around 3:00 p.m. local time. the jma is investigating the epicenter. if it was under the seabed there could be a tsunami. if you're in an affected area keep away from areas that could overflow. the intensity was recorded on 3 or above on the japanese scale of 0 to 7. these areas recorded a lower 5 on the scale, southern ibaraki prefecture, and north eastern shibara prefecture. these areas registered for northern ibaraki prefecture and north western shiba prefecture. once again a strong earthquake struck japan's kanto region 7:03

p.m. local time. the jma is investigating the location of the epicenter. if it was under the seabed there could be a tsunami. the jma says there is no tsunami threat. once again, the jma says there is no tsunami threat from the earthquake that struck japan's kanto region. the jma says the epicenter was off chiba prefecture's eastern coast. the estimated magnitude of the quake was 6.2. the jma says there's no tsunami threat. once again, the jma says there is no tsunami threat. these areas recorded a lower 5 on the japanese seismic intensity scale of 0 to 7. in ibaraki prefecture and shoshi city in chiba prefecture.

japanese officials say they're going to impose additional sanctions on russia. the move would be in line with a pledge by a group of seven leaders who agreed in hiroshima to maintain and strengthen their measures to put pressure on russia over its invasion of ukraine. the japanese government says 24 individuals and 78 organizations will be added to an asset freeze list. one of the people is the commander of russian paratrooper units. japan will also prevent its exports to machinery factories with ties to the russian military. construction and other services in connection with the country will also be banned. a cabinet meeting on friday decided on the latest round of

measures. >> we'll continue to work with g7 members and the international community to improve the situation surrounding ukraine. >> the g7 leaders also agreed to work together to prevent the invasion and surcomvention of sanctions by third countries. united nations prosecutors say they've arrested a former police officer involved in the 1994 rwandan genocide. he'd been on the run after being charged with organizing the massacre of more than 2,000 people in a church. the u.n. special tribunal announced he'd been arrested in south africa in a joint operation with local authorities on wednesday. he's accused of leading a group

that used a bulldozer to destroy a church with refugees inside. about 800,000 ethnic -- was killed in the genocide which lasted about three months. the tribunal's chief prosecutor said the arrest proves that justice will always prevail no matter how long it takes. in march a taiwanese publishing house editor-in-chief was detained by chinese authorities while visiting shanghai. his company had released books critical of the chinese government's treatment of ethnic minorities. now an inner mongolian researcher in japan who published through the company shares how the influence continues to follow him. >> reporter: his company published a book called genocide on the mongolian steps. it is a history of human rights violations in the inner mongolia autonomous region.

the book was written by shizuoka university professor ya yang hiying. young is an expert on the modern history of the region. the chinese communist party has taken away pastorial grasslands from nomads and forced nomads to assimilate. protests from police have forced harsh crack downs. young wrote the book in japanese and published it in japan. the chinese translation was released by the publishing company in taiwan in 2014. >> translator: lee always said if china becomes a country with even the slightest freedom it's 1.3 to 1.4 billion people will have the opportunity to come across these books, and he wants to do what he can to prepare for when that time comes.

>> reporter: in 2016 when young visited china authorities briefly detained him. they warned he'd be arrested if he ever spoke out to issues related to ethnic minority issues again. this made him worry his publisher li could be at risk when he traveled from taiwan to mainland china. >> li tried to warn him, but he said that he publishes academic books and the viewpoints expressed in them belong to the authors. he said that he only prepared and issued them so he should be okay. >> reporter: but that wasn't the case. >> translator: he's being investigated by authorities on suspicion of engaging in endangering national security. >> reporter: with no further

information on li's detention yang is worried about his well-being but also worried about the intention. >> it will also make publishers critical on releasing books in china. i think we'll see fewer of them. >> reporter: even in japan yang feels pressure from china. last year a number of suspicious letters were addressed to his university. one was written in the name of yang's sister-in-law admonishing him for not returning to the country. yang has made it very clear to his family why he cannot come back, so he believes his sister wrote the letter under severe pressure from chinese authorities just like what he faced during his detention. >> translator: this is what they

said to me -- don't think you're safe in japan, the country is within our sphere of influence. i realized i was being monitored without knowing it. i felt a chill run-d down my spine. >> reporter: the detention of a taiwanese editor has had far reaching effects that are now impacting people in japan. beijing censorship is casting an ever growing shadow over freedom of speech across east asia. a strong earthquake struck japan's kanto region at around 7:03 p.m. local time. that's about 12 minutes ago. the jma says the epicenter was off chiba prefecture's eastern coast. its depth was 50 kilometers. the estimated magnitude of the quake was 6.2. the jma says there is no tsunami threat. once again the jma says there is no tsunami threat. the following areas recorded an

intensity of lower 5 on the japanese scale of 0 to 7. southern ibaraki prefecture and north eastern chiba prefecture. and if you are in a quake hit area stay calm and protect yourself. take great care in assessing the damage around you, wear something on your feet to protect against broken glass and other debris. these areas recorded a 4 on the japanese scale of 0 to 7. northern ibaraki prefecture and north weather chiba prefecture. once again if you are in these areas stay calm and protect yourself. pay attention to the situation around you as falling objects may pose a danger. and now here's your three-day world weather forecast.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching and do stay

with us for more. this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. overall prices in the japanese capital remain high as people continue to pay more for food and some services. tokyo's consumer price index is released ahead of figures for all of japan. it is considered to be a leading indicator of inflation nationwide. the internal affairs ministry says the index for tokyo's 23 wards in may roads 2.3% from a

year earlier. the figure excludes prices of fresh food as these fluctuate widely according to the weather. the index was down 0.3 points from april. it is the first time the figure has slowed in two months. prices of food excluding fresh items soared almost 9% from a year earlier, continuing to rise at the fastest pace since june, 1976. prices of eggs jumped more than 30%. cooking oil along with hamburger prices at restaurants also soared. toilet paper saw an increase of almost 16% while taxi fares jumped close to that amount, and charges hotels clylebed on the back of a recovery in travel demand. investors around the world are waiting for a sign that the bank of japan is ready to adjust its ultra-easing policy and start raising interest rates.

central bank governor ueda kazuo has reiterated maintaining inflation of 2% is under consideration. ueda told reporters on thursday that he is not targeting wage growth itself. >> translator: if prices continue to increase by 2% in a sustainable and stable manner, wages will naturally rise. so when making policy decisions, we must see whether consumer prices are rising sustainably and stabeally by 2%. >> ueda says he expects inflation to slow down before picking up again. he said he needs to continue to monitor the situation closely. wage growth will still be key in achieving the doj's goal. ueda said the central bank will examine whether pay increases are sustainable and widespread and base its assessment on data

and demand as well as reports from doj branches across the country. ueda also indicated the boj may scale back monetary easing even if the inflation level is back towards 0.7%. and says if the crease is stable rather than focusing on the number to the first decimal place. japan's latest white paper on agriculture for the first time features a special focus on how to improve the country's food security and calls for a reduction in the nation's reliance on imported farm products. the annual report was approve by the cabinet on friday. concerns about a global food crisis are growing due to russia's invasion of ukraine and other challenges. the white paper says that international wheat prices reached an all-time high in march 2022 due to growing demand in china and the war in ukraine. it says they remain at high levels. japan is heavily reliant on food products and fertilizers from a

few countries. the notion -- the nation, rather, imports over 99% of its wheat from the united states, canada, and australia. the paper says that import prices of a key fertilizer ingredient, urea rose to record highs and fluctuating widely. 90% of the needs comes from abroad. the white paper stresses the need to expand domestic production. it says japan should establish a stable supply of good quality domestic crops including wheat and soybeans and also calls for ties with countries exporting these products to be strengthened and the range of suppliers to be diversified. the japanese government plans to require oil wholesalers to make sustainable aviation fuel or saf account for 10% of their supply to domestic airports by 2030. the council for government officials, oil refineries and major airlines adopted the

proposal on friday. saf is made from biomass or waste oil. its output of carbon dioxide is 80% less than carbon jet fuels. the regulations on oil wholesalers are a way to help achieve the goal. global production of saf is limed at this time. the government plans to step up support for domestic companies willing to invest in equipment to secure a stable supply. a major exhibition venue in tokyo has started to power some of its facilities with hydrogen generated in the nearby prefecture of yama nashi. the prefecture signed an agreement with the tokyo metropolitan government last year to expand the use of its

so-called green hydrogen. yamanshi has been carrying out trials to produce the fuel from renewable energies such as solar and wind since 2016. >> translator: the cooperation with tokyo will effectively demonstrate the viability of yamanashi's green hydrogen. >> it aims to produce its system as well as abroad. yanaka marie is here with biz picks. every friday we bring you the latest in business with biz picks. let's kick things off with a wrap of the tokyo markets this week. the nikkei average closed at 30,916 on friday, may 26th. the bench mark was pushed up by a weaker yen. the dollar traded above the 140

threshold at one point during tokyo hours. looking back, the nikkei marked its eight consecutive day of gains until monday and closed at the highest in 33 years on strong corporate earnings. the middle of the week saw some profit taking. for the week the index gained a third of a percent. next, a look at what's happening in the week ahead. on wednesday we'll get china's pmi. and then on friday u.s. employment data. but our featured biz pick this week is japan's stats data for april due on tuesday. japan's unemployment rates for march stood at 2.8%. you can see that it's been considerably lower than that of other developed nations for some time. i asked saito taro of nli research institute why.

>> translator: japan's population is aging. companies want to hire young people but that demographic is reducing in number. in keeping with that, japan has long had a labor shortage, which leads to a low unemployment rate. >> looking ahead, saito points out that the tourism sector is on the rebound, and that could worsen the labor shortage. this airport is near a popular tourist spot in japan's northern most prefecture of hokkaido. direct flights from taiwan has just made a comeback for the first time in more than three years, and the planes are tapped. >> my son's recommendation is this event. >> with the return of in bound tourism, many facilities are having difficulties getting enough staff. this shop in hokkaido's largest

airport is no exception. >> translator: we're always putting out employment ads, but we can't find people who can work at the times we need. >> labor shortages could push up wages, saito notes, especially as japan is finally seeing inflation. the country long known for low unemployment but low wages may finally be at a turning point. >> translator: in the past companies didn't need to raise wages because prices didn't go up and actual salaries remained steady. however, now pries are going up. people are aware they will struggle with the higher cost of living unless their wage goes up. >> with the cost of living expected to keep rising, the mind-set of people in japan appears to be changing to expect wage gains. just how much may depend on how severe the labor shortage gets.

the data for april due tuesday could give us an idea. i' i'mia yanaka marie and that was this week's biz picks. >> and i'm gene

♪ mohammed: can the current cease-fire in the fighting in sudan? the country has been embroiled in war for more than a month. despite many agreements, battles are raging in khartoum and other areas. so what will it take to persuade the warring sides to stop? this is inside story. ♪ mohammed: hello and welcome to the program. i'm mohammed jamjoom. for more than a month, fighting in sudan has turned once