at 18:30 (JST), August 26

Asian View

"Asian View" is a five-minute news segment broadcast by NHK WORLD-JAPAN. It features the latest news and deep analysis from Japan and the rest of Asia. Listen to "Asian View" and get the latest information from a region that's playing an increasingly important role in the world.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20210826183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : US officials control airport
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Key words : self-defense nationals embassy staff
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210826_21/

Japan has dispatched a fourth plane to Pakistan to assist the evacuation of Japanese citizens and local embassy staff from neighboring Afghanistan.

The Boeing 777, operated by the Air Self-Defense Force, left Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture for the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Thursday afternoon.

The plane is being sent to speed up the transportation of SDF personnel and equipment for the evacuation operations. The aircraft is not expected to carry any evacuees.

Japan has already dispatched three SDF transport aircraft to Islamabad to evacuate Japanese nationals, local embassy staff and others from Afghanistan.

Key words : taliban spokesperson called on
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210825_23/

A Taliban spokesperson has called on the United States to stop encouraging Afghans to leave the country, saying Afghanistan needs experts, such as doctors and engineers.

Zabihullah Mujahid made the remark at a news conference on Tuesday.

He said the Taliban are trying to reduce the number of people swarming the airport in Kabul.

He assured Afghans that they can return home and live peacefully.

Key words : takeover economy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210825_24/

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is having an impact on the country's economy and people's lives.

Most banks in the capital, Kabul, have been closed since the group took control of the country on August 15. On Wednesday, citizens were seen gathered in front of banks, waiting for their services to resume.

Prices of goods are surging. A grocer says prices of flour and apples have risen by about 50 percent in the past week.

One shopper said life is getting tough because of rising prices.

On Monday, the Taliban announced the appointment of a new acting governor of the central bank.

They said the appointee had been in charge of the group's financial affairs.

But a former central bank official says most of the bank's assets are held by the US Federal Reserve. The former official says unless those assets are made available, the Taliban can only tap a fraction of the bank's assets.

The International Monetary Fund has suspended financial assistance to Afghanistan. The Taliban will likely face a challenge of gaining international economic aid as they prepare to launch a new government.

Key words : health ministry suspend
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210826_04/

Japan's health ministry says foreign substances were found in some doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by US firm Moderna. It has decided to suspend the use of about 1.6 million doses of the vaccine.

The ministry says foreign substances were discovered in 39 unused vials at eight vaccination centers in the country from August 16.

The ministry says it has received no reports of health damage.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, which handles the vaccine's distribution and other tasks in Japan, says it has yet to identify what the substances are.

Takeda says the doses in question were produced in Spain in the same time frame.

The company is asking Moderna to conduct an investigation.

Takeda says it will take swift responses in coordination with Moderna and the health ministry.

Key words : vice president underscore
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210825_22/

US Vice President Kamala Harris has underscored the need to pressure China on its actions in the South China Sea in a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Harris held talks with Phuc in Vietnam on Wednesday. She was in the country after visiting Singapore.

In the meeting, Phuc said Vietnam is contributing to peace and security in the region and the world, and that the United States is an important partner. He added Hanoi wants to enhance cooperation with Washington.

Harris raised the issue of China's territorial claims and increasing military activities in the South China Sea. She said, "We need to find ways to raise pressure on Beijing to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to challenge its bullying and excessive maritime claims."

Vietnam has overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea.

The administration of US President Joe Biden attaches importance to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's influence.

Observers see Harris' tour of Southeast Asia as aimed at keeping China in check by boosting ties in the region.

Vietnam apparently wants to strengthen relations with Washington to keep Beijing's moves in check. But it is also expected to watch and see if the Biden administration can curb China's activities.

Key words : 13 prefectures
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210825_40/

Japan's prime minister has officially expanded the coronavirus state of emergency to cover 8 more prefectures where infections are spreading rapidly. As Tokyo hosts the Paralympics, nearly half of Japan's prefectures will be under the measure.

Suga Yoshihide said on Wednesday, "The number of new infections across the country remains at a record high. The figure is especially high in the Aichi area. The highly contagious Delta variant is posing serious threats. I call on the public to cooperate more to overcome the crisis."

13 prefectures -- Okinawa, Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka -- are currently under the state of emergency.
From Friday until September 12, the measure is to cover eight more: Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Okayama and Hiroshima.

So-called quasi-emergency measures will be in effect in 12 other prefectures: Ishikawa, Fukushima, Kumamoto, Toyama, Yamanashi, Kagawa, Ehime, Kagoshima, Kochi, Saga, Nagasaki and Miyazaki.

Officials plan to urge restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol and impose stricter procedures such as limiting the number of people allowed at shopping malls and events. But Japan's measures do not resemble the strict lockdowns imposed in other countries.

Earlier on Wednesday, officials confirmed that the Delta variant continues to sweep across the nation.

Hospitals are under enormous strain, with more seriously ill patients than ever. Officials say many people don't know where they got infected.

Officials plan to introduce anti-infection measures at schools, but not to force them to close. They also plan to give teachers and other staff priority access to vaccines and provide schools with virus test kits.

Key words : more than 24,000 new infections
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Key words : shigeru
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210825_15/

The head of the Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel said that some local governments should consider pushing back the start of the new school term in order to curb the spread of infections.

Omi Shigeru made the comment at a Lower House health committee meeting on Wednesday.

Omi said that infections are spreading in Tokyo at a slower speed, but that the number of new cases has not declined by much. He noted that it is too early to determine when the number of infections will dramatically go down.

He pointed out that the strain on the medical system and the high number of patients with severe symptoms will likely continue for a while.

He said that the reopening of schools could trigger a further spike in the number of infections and place a burden on the medical system.

Omi said effective and convincing measures must be implemented with an abundance of caution. He also noted that local governments should consider delaying the start of the new school term.

Omi was asked why the medical system has come under serious strain. He said the government and the advisory panel shared a sense of crisis, but that the government's analysis at times may have been slightly more optimistic than that of the experts.

Omi questioned the wisdom of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach's visit to Japan for the Paralympic Games, which opened on Tuesday.

He wondered why Bach could not have delivered his remarks online, as the Japanese government has been asking people to telework. He said that was just a personal thought he had as a member of the general public. He added that Bach went to Tokyo's Ginza shopping district when he visited Japan for the Olympics.

Key words : operator tunnel ocean
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210824_24/

NHK has learned that Japan's government and the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plan to release treated water from the facility into the ocean through an undersea tunnel.

The government officially decided in April that the treated water will be diluted to well below national standards and will then be released into the sea beginning in about two years' time.

The government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company have since been studying two methods. One is to dig a tunnel under the sea to release the water about one kilometer off the coast. The other is to discharge the water directly from the coastline.

Sources told NHK that the government and TEPCO are now planning to create a tunnel so that the water would better diffuse into the ocean.

The sources say TEPCO is set to start a magnetic survey of the seabed as early as next month before conducting a boring survey of geological features.

The company is to work to complete the tunnel by early 2023. It aims to submit the plan to the Nuclear Regulation Authority as early as next month for screening.

There is strong opposition to the plan to release treated water into the environment, mainly from local fishermen.

The government and TEPCO are hoping the tunnel can minimize reputational damage that could affect the local fishing industry.

Water is used to cool molten nuclear fuel at the plant. It mixes with rain and groundwater seeping into damaged reactor buildings.

The water undergoes a treatment process that removes most radioactive material, except for tritium.

The government said in April that the treated water will be diluted so the tritium concentration is well below national standards and about one-seventh of the level the World Health Organization suggests is safe for drinking water.

The International Atomic Energy Agency supports the plan, noting that the method is in line with international practice.