China's coastal cities intensify efforts to prevent potential damage as Typhoon Pudol approaches

China's coastal cities have stepped up efforts to prevent potential damages from the approaching Tropical Cyclone Podul, evacuating fishermen and fishery vessels ashore to safe areas.

Podul, the 11th Pacific storm of 2025, was formed early Friday over waters north of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean.

According to China's meteorological department, Podul made landfall on the coast of Taimali Township in Taitung County of China's Taiwan region at round 13:00 on Wednesday. At landfall, the maximum wind strength near the center reached force 14, which represents a speed of 42 meters per second, and the minimum central pressure was 955 hectopascals, making it the strongest typhoon to hit China this year.

It is forecast that Podul will enter the Taiwan Strait Wednesday afternoon and will make another landfall on Wednesday night or early morning on Thursday along the coast from Xiamen City in the eastern province of Fujian to Shantou City in the southern province of Guangdong. After that, it will continue to move northwest, gradually weakening in intensity.

In response to the typhoon, Fujian's flood control and drought relief department raised the typhoon emergency response to level II and started a level IV flood control emergency response at 12:15 on Wednesday. Relevant authorities have requested municipal governments to maintain a high level of vigilance and promptly activate or adjust response measures according to actual conditions.

Xiamen has seen continuously increasing wind strength and thickening cloud cover since Wednesday morning.

As of 19:00 on Tuesday, a total of 461 vessels had moored at the Gaoqi Fujian-Taiwan Fishing Port, the largest fishing boat shelter in Xiamen.

To ensure a smooth sheltering process for vessels against the typhoon's impact, local authorities have guided steel fishing boats, public service vessels and yachts, and larger ferries to port in separate areas. Meanwhile, after the anchors were set, the hulls were pulled taut in the opposite direction, and there are bumpers between each two vessels to prevent collisions.

As it is currently the summer fishing moratorium period, all 737 fishing boats in Xiamen's urban area and 2,035 boats in surrounding counties and townships have returned to port to seek shelter from the wind.

Local authorities of Dongshan County in Fujian’s Zhangzhou City assisted fish farmers to reinforce their fishing rafts on Tuesday, while strengthening inspections at key locations.

All 627 registered fishing boats of Dongshan County and 8,120 boats of surrounding townships have returned to port for shelter, and all 1,808 offshore fish farmers have been evacuated ashore.

Guangdong's flood control and drought relief department upgraded the typhoon emergency response to level II at 13:00 on Wednesday.

China's coastal cities intensify efforts to prevent potential damage as Typhoon Pudol approaches

A Japanese lawmaker has raised concerns over Japan's push to expand its military and its nuclear policy.

Responding to some politicians' dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, Takara Sachika, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, said that Japan's push to strengthen its military, combined with what she called a misguided nuclear policy, not only heightens regional tensions but also directly threatens regional security.

"I think this is completely unacceptable. Japan is a country that has suffered atomic bombings and is one of the nations most aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Yet such a country is openly discussing the issue of possessing nuclear weapons and even attempting to revise the principle of not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons, one of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is an extremely serious problem," Takara said.

Takara said the Japanese government's tendency to expand its military capabilities is completely contrary to the Constitution.

"From the perspective of Japan's Constitution, Japan should never have adopted a policy of ensuring security by strengthening military capabilities. Yet today, enormous effort is being poured into military expansion, and that in itself is a serious problem," said the lawmaker.

At a Diet meeting in early November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that what she described as the Chinese central authorities' "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and suggested the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, drawing strong criticism worldwide.

Takara urged Takaichi to retract her erroneous remarks as soon as possible.

"I think there is a very big problem with making such remarks that provoke other countries. It is necessary to thoroughly examine the facts as soon as possible and withdraw the relevant remarks," she said.

Japanese lawmaker criticizes nuclear weapons remarks as threat to regional security