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CNN International: Jet Burst Into Flames, Collides At Tokyo Airport; At Least 48 Killed After Earthquake Hit Japan's West Coast; Ukraine: At Least Five Dead In Russian Strikes; Putin Vows To Intensify Strikes On Ukraine; Main Opposition Party Leader Stabbed In Busan; Supreme Court Strikes Down Controversial Change. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2024 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in Londo.

Just ahead, a passenger jet collides with the Coast Guard plane in Tokyo and burst into flames. We'll have details about what happened next. And also in Japan, homes are reduced to rubble. We'll tell you how the country is dealing with the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

[08:00:07]

Plus, Israel's Supreme Court rejects a key parts of the Prime Minister's judicial overhaul. We're live in Tel Aviv.

All passengers on a Japan Airlines flight are safe after their plane burst into flames upon landing at Tokyo Airport. According to the airline, the plane collided with what appears to be a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft. Public broadcaster NHK reports five Coast Guard crew members died in the collision at Haneda Airport south of the capital.

This video from social media shows some of the 400 passengers and crew evacuating the commercial plane. We'll have more on the fire and the collision in a moment.

Now, CNN's Transportation Analyst Mary Schiavo, also a former inspector general at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and she joins us now. Mary, always great to speak to you. It's a really shocking set of images to be confronted with when you see this plane and the damage that appears to be done to it.

Thankfully, the passengers and crew got out alive, but that is not the case, tragically, for those on the Coast Guard plane, barring the captain we understand. Are we any closer to understanding what occurred? What do we know for sure at this point?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Oh, I think we're very close to knowing what happened and exactly what occurred and what went wrong because, of course, everything is recorded, everything it will be transcribed and will be released in the investigation that follows. It will be a Japanese investigation because it was not an international flight, but this will all be recorded. The aircraft, the Airbus aircraft is very, very modern, has, you know, some of the best cockpit voice recordings and data recordings that there are available. The pilots, although the Coast Guard pilot in critical condition, the Japan Airlines crew all alive, all got off the plane and they will have first-hand statements, they will be able to tell exactly what happened.

And we have video, video from people in the airport, video from people on board. And you can see that the plane touches down the Japan Airlines flight touchdown. So it had obviously been cleared to land by the tower and then struck something on the runway, which we learned is the Coast Guard plane.

Now, whether the pilots misunderstood instructions from the tower, or whether air traffic control made a mistake is what has to be resolved. And I think they probably have that answer almost already.

NOBILO: As far as you know, is this one of or the first major accident involving an Airbus A350?

SCHIAVO: I believe it is of this magnitude. Now, I don't have all the statistics at my fingertips, and certainly for Japan Airlines. This is, you know, it's a rarity for them. They have an unfortunate record of the largest single fatality record of any crash that, coincidentally, was not their fault. It was Boeing's fault and they accepted responsibility for that.

But that was back in 1985. And I think 520 people died on Mount Osutaka. But for Japan airlines, they had a good record. And, you know, Japan air traffic control, I will say has had a good record. When I was inspector general, I actually got to work in Japan, go up in several of the towers and it's, you know, highly organized and, you know, very, you know, tough standards, but this is a wakeup call, not just for Japan, but for the whole world.

Because in the United States, we have had terrible problems with runway incursions. In other words, two planes, you know, at the airport at the same time when they're not supposed to be at the same place at the same time. And here, it appears that's what happened. And in the U.S., the statistics for runway incursions are dramatically up.

And so I think worldwide, we have to look at what's happening at the airport. So since most accidents do happen at the airport.

NOBILO: Certainly a moment to take stock and look at the safety protocols and emergency procedures and see what worked here and tragically what went wrong.

Mary Schiavo, thank you so much for joining us.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

NOBILO: The Japanese Coast Guard plane involved in that collision was heading out to help with recovery efforts following Monday's magnitude 7.5 earthquake in central Japan. The Prime Minister now says it's a race against time to reach victims buried under collapsed buildings. The death toll has been rising too with at least 48 people now reported dead. The quake sparked landslides, fires and triggered tsunami warnings, which has since been lifted. So ground crews have had a hard time reaching the devastated area on the Noto Peninsula. A damaged road has cut access.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery joins us now from the Ishikawa Prefecture. Hanako, how are emergency crews and first responders coping with the challenges like the landslides and limited road access when it comes to trying to save those lives and desperately see if there's anybody who needs rescuing?

[08:05:22]

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bianca. Yes, so the Japanese authorities are currently trying to get to Ishikawa Prefecture's Noto Peninsula. That's where we are right now. And we're actually in an emergency evacuation center where a lot of the survivors of that really powerful earthquake along Japan's western coast are sleeping.

Right now, people are using really thick blankets and masks to keep warm. There's no central heating here. So that's all that they really have. They're sleeping in their coats and their hats and gloves. There's also no running water. So the Japanese self-defense forces are outside this building providing water to locals. And that's just part of the Japanese authorities' efforts to try to get help to the survivors of the very, very powerful earthquake.

As you mentioned, one of the roads leading to Noto Peninsula have collapsed, right? So it's difficult for authorities to get here. The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that all forces have been dispatched, Marine and aerial, meaning that we're just getting as many self defense forces here as quickly as possible.

The Prime Minister has also said that 120 people are still stuck underneath their homes, underneath this rubble. We actually spoke to a couple of people here in the shelter. They still have their house, thankfully, but it's been so destroyed that they can't return. So now they're sleeping here.

They were sleeping in the car last night, but after confirming that the shelter was safe, they're now here. But they're so terrified of the aftershocks that are happening. That they can't stop shaking, and they just keep getting reminded of that very, very powerful earthquake that hit right in the middle of New Year's Day celebrations, Bianca.

NOBILO: Hanako Montgomery, thank you very much.

Turning now to Ukraine, where there was a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks overnight aimed at targets across the country. At least five people were killed and dozens more injured, according to officials in the capital Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv.

The strikes come after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the military would intensify assaults on Ukraine from the start of 2024. Clare Sebastian joins me now. Clare, why this or intensification of Putin's strategy? Is it just because he has a better supply of the ammunition required?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I mean, that's what NATO has said, is that Russia has been building up this stockpile of missiles for winter. And, of course, this is Ukraine's biggest fear. We saw it last winter with the attacks on critical infrastructure, heating, water. We see some of the same effects from the attack today.

But I think, look, part of it might be retaliation. We've seen a lot of that kind -- those kinds of threats throughout this war. One for the attack on the ship off Crimea last week. Two for the attack on Belgorod on Saturday, which killed some 25 people. But this is also very clearly from what Putin has been saying an effort to exploit the gaps in Ukraine's arsenal through the fact that the U.S. is deadlocked over more aid.

And one of those gaps is air defense. I think that's why we see this uptick in attacks. But this was a really large scale attack. This was some almost 100 missiles, 35 attack drones coming in waves towards the two biggest cities in Ukraine. Ukraine did manage to shoot down a lot of them, including 10 out of 10 Kinzhal missiles. This is what Russia calls hypersonic. They said that they were unstoppable. Clearly they're not.

But Putin has said that he's targeting military infrastructure. It's clearly not the case if you look at the pictures. These are residential buildings. And I want you to listen to one woman, Irina. She's a resident of Kyiv. She was jolted awake by the blast. Take a listen to her experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRINA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): It was scary. I didn't know what was going on. The fourth floor was on fire. They couldn't put it out. The eighth or ninth floor, the hydrant wasn't long enough. Then cars started burning and exploding. It was a weekend and all the cars were parked in the yard on two sides. Thanks Putin for a happy retirement. That's all I have to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So she was speaking Russian. She was actually born in Russia. I think that gives you a sort of sense of the overall context here. Ukraine not, it seems, taking this lying down, following on from that attack on Belgorod on Saturday, which they haven't officially claimed responsibility for.

We're seeing more reports today. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that they've shot down some 17 missiles over Belgorod, but the governor of that region saying that one person was killed by shrapnel.

NOBILO: Russia goes to the polls in March. Now those elections obviously neither free nor fair. The main opposition leader in a Siberian camp, the independent media is suppressed. But to what extent might Putin's strategy in Ukraine this year be influenced by needing a victory, not just around the time of the elections, but also the fact that this war will be entering its third year at that point?

[08:10:06]

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I mean, look, he -- it's an election in name only. As you say, it's frankly more like a coronation and most of Russia doesn't really see an alternative to Putin. But I think we're at the point where the Russian population, even though they may believe the rhetoric around, you know, we didn't start the war and the West is waging this war, you know, through Ukraine as a proxy, they, I think, are looking for a way to have it end.

The economy is looking shaky. Inflation has been rising. Interest rates are almost back up to their peak that we saw at the beginning of the war. And I think that Putin is trying to project this sense of calm and control. He met twice on the very first day of the year with Russian servicemen who were involved in the so-called special military operation.

So I do think the optics around the election matter and you do see him, even though it's a foregone conclusion, you do see himself positioning himself as someone who is in control of the situation and repeating over and over again that things are going in Russia's favor.

NOBILO: Clare Sebastian, always good to talk to you. Thank you.

Now to South Korea, where the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party is in the hospital after he was stabbed in the neck during a brazen attack. We warn you that the video we're about to show is disturbing. Here you see Lee Jae-myung walking through a crowd in Busan where a man suddenly strikes his neck.

Lee was transported to Seoul National University Hospital where he recently underwent surgery. He's now recovering, we're told, in an intensive care unit. The attacker is in custody. South Korea's president expressed deep concern for Lee's safety and condemned the attack.

In northern Europe, it's a good day to probably just stay indoors as severe weather is packing a punch to the region. A round of storms could bring wind gusts of up to 112 kilometers per hour across the southern U.K. and across parts of central and southern Germany. A cold front could have winds reaching nearly 129 kilometers an hour with heavy rainfall too. And parts of northern and central Germany are just still recovering from recent heavy rain as well.

Now still to come for you on the program, in Israel, the Supreme Court has struck down a highly controversial law that had limited the power of the High Court. We'll tell you what it means for the country and Netanyahu in a live report from Tel Aviv. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Israel says its troops targeted and killed dozens of terrorists in central Gaza in an operation at the residence of a Hamas commander. The IDF says its soldiers also discovered and destroyed tunnel shafts and weapons. The latest fighting comes after Israel announced plans to pull back thousands of troops from Gaza, perhaps signaling a new phase in its war against Hamas. The IDF has warned, though, that the war is expected to continue throughout 2024.

Meanwhile, Israel's Supreme Court has delivered a ruling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned judicial overhaul. The court has struck down a controversial plan to limit the powers of the judiciary, a move that could reignite fierce tensions in the country.

[08:15:15]

Elliott Gotkine joins us now live from Tel Aviv. Elliott, how damaging is this for Benjamin Netanyahu's authority?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: Bianca, I think, ordinarily, this would have been incredibly damaging to Prime Minister Netanyahu personally, and also to his government's judicial overhaul plans. But October the 7th, the day that Hamas launched and led those terrorist attacks on Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200, that changed everything and set against what happened on October the 7th and the subsequent war that Israel has been waging against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Supreme Court decision, as unprecedented as it was, needs to be seen in that context. And I think the reactions, or the lack of reactions that we've seen to that Supreme Court decision underline just how much Israel has changed because you and I, you know, last year, this was all we were talking about, was this judicial overhaul.

Every single week, tens of thousands of protesters out on the streets demonstrating against these plans for a judicial overhaul, which they feared would do irreparable damage to Israel's democratic nature. But since October the 7th, we haven't seen those protests. Of course, the only demonstrations we've seen have been to put pressure on the government to bring the more than 100 plus hostages remaining in captivity in the Gaza Strip back home.

So although this is a blow to Netanyahu, although it's unprecedented and although some of his ministers have come out and suggested they're not very happy with this ruling. I think that right now, Israel and Netanyahu have bigger things to worry about. And that if there is going to be a fight and another reopening of this crisis and the divisions in Israeli society, that these judicial overhaul plans created, I think that they will be left until after this war.

And it's also worth noting, Bianca, that Netanyahu not only fighting that battle in the Gaza Strip, but he's fighting for his political life. The latest polls, including from Channel 13, suggested if elections were held tomorrow, he'd be out the job. Bianca?

NOBILO: Elliott, what impact is this judgment from the Supreme Court likely to have, if any, on Netanyahu's ability to prosecute the war against Hamas?

GOTKINE: I think for now, even opponents of the judicial overhaul, such as Benny Gantz, the leader of the National Unity Party, are now fully on board with this war. Benny Gantz was one of the opposition leaders, he's now in the War Cabinet, helping make the decisions that are impacting this war. So I don't think you're going to have any major political issues over it.

And I think it's very instructive that Prime Minister Netanyahu hasn't said a word. We've had comments from his justice minister, who was the architect of this judicial overhaul. We've had comments naturally from Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, saying that this ruling by the Supreme Court is illegal and shouldn't have happened.

But we haven't heard a word, not a peep from Netanyahu himself. And I think that that in itself says it all, because Netanyahu does have other things to worry about. And in a way this has kind of got him out of this crisis with the Supreme Court so we can focus on the other crisis. Because Netanyahu, of course, was in charge on October the 7th.

His reputation as Mr. Security, the man that can protect, the only man that can protect Israelis from all these dangers in the region, particularly Iran, that reputation has now been shredded. And I think set against that, this blow by the decision from the Supreme Court to strike down this amendment to a basic law, the closest thing Israel has to a constitution really is -- pales into significance when said against the events of October the 7th and the ongoing war.

So I don't think this ruling by the Supreme Court is going to have a major impact on the way this war is being run by Netanyahu and his War Cabinet. Bianca?

NOBILO: Elliott, thank you. It is incredible. We did used to speak about these judicial reforms in all of our live shots throughout most of last year, and it just demonstrates how unpredictable the world is and how other events make this pale into insignificance in some quarters. Thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:12]

NOBILO: Welcome back. We want to update you on our top story this hour. A Japan Airlines jet burst into flames as it landed at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. You can see the large fireball barreling down the runway there. Officials say that it collided with a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft headed to help with earthquake relief efforts.

Five crew members on the Coast Guard plane were killed and the captain was badly injured. All passengers and crew escaped the commercial plane.

Will Ripley has been following this story from the very beginning, and he joins us now live from Tokyo. Will, what has the reaction been in the country at large to this shocking event? WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's just -- it feels like one after another, Bianca. I mean, my crew and I were flying in here to Japan to cover the massive earthquake that created a very devastating situation in the central western part of the country.

First from a 7. 5 quake that rattled people just as hard for some. It felt just as hard as it did on the day of the 2011 earthquake, which triggered a massive tsunami and then, of course, the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. That's what was on everyone's mind when this earthquake happened just hours after ringing in the New Year.

And this Japan Coast Guard plane that collided with a Japan Airlines jet. It was on its way to go deliver relief supplies for people who desperately need them, as the number of dead is now in the dozens. And I know that we have a crew on the scene there, but that's what we came here to cover. That's what this Coast Guard plane was on its way to go help.

And yet there was some sort of a miscommunication. Something happened, whether it was in the control tower or it was a computer error. You know, the airport was already jam packed. This is a very, very busy travel weekend. This plane was coming in from Sapporo in northern Japan, which is a tourist hotspot, especially over the holidays, especially this time of year. It's their prime season.

So you had around 400 people packed on this airliner. You had half a dozen hardworking Coast Guard crew members. And for whatever reason, these two planes ended up exactly where they should not have been on the same runway at the same time, and it resulted in a fiery and violent collision. And it was terrifying to look at when you see it on screen.

I remember we were watching the live pictures before I spoke with you, Bianca, on the air just minutes before thinking, you know, how is it possible that people could survive this looking at how bad the fire was. And yet, what was so extraordinary is that 367 passengers, including eight children under the age of two were safely evacuated by 12 crew members on that Japan Airlines jet.

Even though passengers are saying that black smoke was filling the cabin, they were terrified. They didn't think they were going to make it. There were mother -- there was a mother holding her young child, thinking that, you know, she and her child weren't going to see the light of day the next day, and especially because the back in the middle exits on the plane were not functional.

And yet all of these hundreds of people were able to get off the plane. People didn't take their suitcases with them. They weren't, you know, trying to grab whatever, they just got off the plane in an orderly manner. And everybody survived. 17 people out of those around 400 people are recovering from injuries.

And you have tragically those five Coast Guard crew members who are confirmed dead and the captain who is fighting for his life in a hospital. But gosh, Bianca, considering everything that's happened here in Japan, it is an extraordinary moment, and we -- certainly the families of all those people are grateful that they're alive, even though if the pastors themselves might very well be in some shock trying to wrap their heads around what they just walked away from.

NOBILO: And as you mentioned, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has lent his condolences to the families of those who have lost lives in the Coast Guard plane. Will, what more have we learned, if anything, at this stage about the role that the crew on the plane played to get everybody out safely?

[08:25:10]

We've talked quite a bit on our air about the plane and the materials and how that was helpful to avert further disaster. But what do we know about what actually went on?

RIPLEY: So we're learning a bit from passengers who are starting to share their stories. Some of the videos that they're posting on social media, and I know we've been playing them for you. And if your control room has the sound from one of the passengers queued up. Let me know in my ear if you guys have the sound because I'll play it for you.

But that actually you can hear in this particular passenger's voice. Just a, you know, a description of what happened. And clearly it's the voice of somebody that didn't think that they were necessarily going to make it. And that was a sentiment that was expressed by a lot of the passengers who've been speaking to Japanese media.

We also have a crew at the airport, you know, trying to find people, trying to hear their stories. There was one mother as I mentioned, who was basically was clutching her young child, saying that her only thought in that moment was how do I keep my child alive?

And I don't know if we've actually been able to hear yet from the crew members because they're probably being debriefed. But really, these 12 people who were able to take in a fully loaded aircraft with around 400 people and some of the exit doors apparently not functional, according to passengers, and to get them in an orderly manner.

I can tell you as someone who lived in Japan, I mean, if you are not paying attention to the video that they play at the beginning of the flight, when you're flying a Japanese airliner, the flight attendant will come over to you and say, hey, you need to watch this. That attention to detail, that diligence when it comes to safety certainly has apparently paid off for the people who were inside that plane.

But a lot of questions, Bianca, now moving forward about how this happened, how this at a Japanese airport, considering their attention to safety and public transit, how this happened and what needs to happen, what needs to change so that it doesn't happen again.

NOBILO: Will Ripley, thank you so much for all of your reporting on this.

And thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London and World Sports with Patrick Snell is up for you next.

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