at 18:30 (JST), September 27

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/20210927183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : chinese government report population
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210927_05/

The Chinese government has released a report claiming to show a growing Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The government on Sunday issued a white paper on Xinjiang's demographic development which it says is based on a once-in-a-decade census held last year.

The document says the region's total population stood at 25.85 million, with Uyghurs making up 45 percent, or 11.62 million.

That represents an increase of 1.62 million in the Uyghur population from the previous census conducted in 2010.

The white paper says the Uyghur population has maintained a relatively high growth rate since the foundation of the People's Republic of China.
The document emphasized that Xinjiang's demographic development marks the success of a unified multi-ethnic country in ensuring the healthy population growth of its ethnic minorities.

The white paper also apparently refers to accusations from Western and other countries that Beijing has been conducting genocide in Xinjiang.

The document says anti-China forces have fabricated stories of genocide in Xinjiang to deceive the international community and impede China's development and progress, but says these malicious efforts will not succeed.

The Chinese government is believed to be seeking to prevent a rise in international criticism of its actions in Xinjiang ahead of the Beijing Olympics in February.

Key words : taliban hung
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_05/

The Taliban in Afghanistan have hung the bodies of alleged kidnappers in public, as what they call a warning.

Reports, including ones from local media, say that four men who had tried to kidnap a man and his family in the western city of Herat were killed in a gunfight with Taliban fighters.

The four bodies were brought to a central square and crossroads in the city and hung from a crane on Saturday.

A local Taliban commander said that it was meant to put all criminals on the alert.

When the Taliban were previously in power, they carried out severe punishments, such as public executions and amputating limbs in accordance with an extreme interpretation of the teachings of Islam.

Since taking power in August, the Taliban caretaker government has promised that their rule will consider human rights within the limits of Islamic teachings.

But such actions as the public display of bodies may deepen concerns both inside and outside the country.

Key words : main ruling
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_16/

Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party will vote to pick a new president on Wednesday. The winner is virtually assured of replacing Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the helm of the government.

The four candidates wrapped up a 4-day online debate on Sunday. Analysis by NHK suggests none are on course to win a majority in the first round.

There are a total of 764 votes. Half come from lawmakers, and half come from rank-and-file party members.

The lawmakers apparently favor former LDP Policy Research Council chairperson Kishida Fumio. Sources say about 30 percent will give him their votes.

Regulatory Reform Minister Kono Taro is likely to secure about 25 percent.

And former internal affairs and communications minister Takaichi Sanae is likely to secure about 20 percent.

LDP Executive Acting Secretary-General Noda Seiko is supported by around 20 lawmakers.

And some LDP lawmakers are still sitting on the fence. More than 10 percent have yet to make their stance clear.

Kono is expected to get the largest number of votes from rank-and-file party members and supporters, followed by Kishida and Takaichi. Kono and Kishida are leading in overall votes. Takaichi is just behind, and catching up.

If none of the candidates win a majority in the first round, the top two are certain to progress to the final round.

The head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party says the public has a negative view about the LDP election amid the media's extensive coverage. Edano Yukio also says people understand the need for a fundamental political shift in Japan.

Key words : hong kong tiananmen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_01/

A Hong Kong pro-democracy group that organized annual vigils for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident has decided to disband, amid an intensifying government crackdown.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China reached the decision at an emergency meeting on Saturday.

The alliance was established in 1989 just before the Tiananmen Square incident with the goal of showing solidarity with student protesters.

The group was banned from holding its annual June 4 vigil last year and this year.

Alliance leaders, including Lee Cheuk-yan, have been jailed for organizing rallies without permission.

On September 9, police charged the group and three of its senior members, including Lee, with inciting subversion in violation of the national security law for Hong Kong.

Representing the alliance, Richard Tsoi told reporters that he believes the group's basic belief has taken root in the hearts of Hong Kong people.

The alliance had been a symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement for more than 30 years. It is the latest of pro-democracy unions and other organizations to decide to fold.

Key words : xi taiwan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_17/

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory message to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang.

The party says Xi sent a letter to Eric Chu on Sunday using his title of general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. Chu was chosen in a vote on Saturday.

In the letter, Xi says that based on the common political foundation of upholding the "1992 Consensus" and opposing "Taiwan independence," the two parties have promoted the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and achieved notable results.

Xi says, "At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim."

He expresses expectations that the two parties will adhere to the common political foundation and "maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait and achieve national reunification."

The "1992 Consensus" refers to what's described as a confirmation between Kuomintang and China that the two sides belong to one China. Kuomintang was in power at that time.

A possible review of the consensus was debated in the previous Kuomintang leadership election in 2017 amid a heightened sense of vigilance among the people of Taiwan toward China.

Xi did not send a congratulatory message to the winner of the election, breaking a tradition.

Chu had met Xi in Beijing in 2015 when he was the Kuomintang leader.
Chu has said he will adhere to the "1992 Consensus."
But he has also indicated he will work to enhance ties with the United States.

Xi's message is seen as an attempt to draw the Kuomintang closer to China, as Taiwan under the Democratic Progressive Party administration has been deepening ties with Washington.

Key words : research team
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210927_02/

A Japanese research team says it has developed an artificial intelligence system that can quickly scour numerous chemicals to determine candidate medicines for illnesses. It says the program has determined a candidate drug for the new coronavirus.

The announcement came from a group led by Distinguished Professor Nakayama Keiichi of Kyushu University's Medical Institute of Bioregulation.

Conventional mainstream methods to discover candidate drugs take time and effort as they involve experimenting with many chemicals one by one.

The group says its AI software learned more than 2.5 million combinations of pathogenic proteins and chemicals that can curb their effects.

It says the system can now search roughly 6,000 kinds of chemicals per minute and determine suitable drug candidates.

The group says the program came up with a former glaucoma medicine as a candidate drug for coronavirus. It says a cultured cell experiment confirmed that the drug can block viral infection.

Nakayama said the AI system can identify candidate medicines 10,000 times faster than humans. He added that he hopes the program will also make it quicker and easier to develop drugs for cancer and other illnesses.

Key words : mount fuji
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210926_06/

Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, drew the smallest number of hikers during the summer climbing season in 40 years.

Between July 1 and September 10 this year, 65,519 people went up the mountain on the trail that starts in Yamanashi Prefecture.

The number is the lowest since the earliest available records from 1981, and 120,288 less than the figure from two years ago.

The summer climbing season was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The city of Fujiyoshida counts trekkers at the sixth station of the trail.

City officials say that limited use of the road and the smaller capacity of cabins were factors in the declining number of visitors.

The toll road connecting the foot of the mountain and the fifth station was open only between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. It had been open around the clock during the climbing season before the pandemic.

The officials are grateful for all the cooperation to open the season this summer even with the pandemic ongoing. They hope to see an increase in visitor numbers next year.

There are other paths up Mount Fuji from Shizuoka Prefecture.