at 18:30 (JST), October 14

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/20211014183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : kishida dissolved vote
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211014_16/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set to dissolve the Diet's Lower House on Thursday for a general election. The government is expected to decide to hold the votes on October 31.

The more powerful lower chamber is expected to be dissolved in the afternoon.

The Cabinet would then set the election, which is expected for the last day of October, with campaigning to officially kick off on October 19.

It will be the first Lower House election in four years.
It will also be the first nationwide voting held during the coronavirus pandemic.

The top issues are likely to be the response to the pandemic and how to rebuild the economy.
Kishida took office on October 4. It would be the shortest period between a prime minister taking office and the dissolution of the Lower House in postwar Japan.

The upcoming election will be an unusually brief battle. The period from the dissolution to the voting day will also be the shortest in the postwar era.

Key words : kishida boris
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211014_02/

Japan's new prime minister, Kishida Fumio, and his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, have agreed on their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two spoke over the phone for about half an hour on Wednesday. It was their first conversation since Kishida took office last week.

Kishida said he wants to further develop bilateral relations, calling Japan and Britain globally strategic partners. Johnson congratulated Kishida on his inauguration and voiced his readiness to strengthen ties.

The two agreed that bilateral security and defense cooperation deepened significantly in recent years.

They noted cooperation has reached a new level with British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth's port call at a US naval base near Tokyo last month.

They also confirmed they will work on an early conclusion to the Japan-UK Reciprocal Access Agreement, which stipulates how to organize joint drills between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the British military.

Johnson also conveyed Britain's readiness to discuss lifting import restrictions on Japanese food products that have been imposed after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Kishida said he hopes the restrictions will be lifted as soon as possible, based on a scientific standpoint.

The two also agreed to deepen cooperation in addressing climate change and responding to the coronavirus.

Britain is to host the UN climate conference known as COP26 later this month.

Key words : cop15 adopted 11 years ago
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211014_04/

Participants in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, have adopted the Kunming Declaration, which pledges to launch a new framework to protect global biodiversity, to replace targets set 11 years ago.

The online meeting was hosted in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming.

The declaration acknowledges "with grave concern that the unprecedented and interrelated crises of biodiversity loss and ocean degradation pose an existential threat to our society and our planet."

It stresses the need for nations to "accelerate and strengthen the development and update of biodiversity strategies and action plans to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity."
It commits to ensuring the adoption and implementation of an effective post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted in 2010 in Japan aimed to halve the rate of loss of natural habitats, including forests, by 2020, among other goals.

But most of the targets were left unachieved. It remains to be seen what ambitious goals COP15 will adopt, as conflicts of interest remain between developed and developing nations.

The UN meeting on biodiversity will be held in two parts.
The second event is scheduled to be held in-person in April and May next year. Countries are expected to finalize and adopt the proposed framework.

Key words : sri lankan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211014_06/

The family of a Sri Lankan woman who died at an immigration facility in Japan has sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, calling for full accountability of the incident.

Wishma Sandamali, aged 33, died in March at the facility in Nagoya, central Japan. She had been detained there for overstaying her visa.

The Immigration Services Agency released a final report in August citing that the facility lacked a system for providing proper medical care to detainees. But her family is not accepting the report as a sufficient explanation of events leading up to Wishma's death.

Wishma's sister Poornima, who is visiting Japan, and a lawyer for the family said on Wednesday they sent a letter to Kishida.

In the letter, she demands that the immigration authorities admit their responsibility for the incident. The family said the letter also includes their strong wish for improvements in the treatment of detainees.

Poornima said she wants Prime Minister Kishida to understand the suffering of the bereaved family and wants to know why her sister died.

Lawyer Ibusuki Shoichi said he wants Kishida to listen, noting that the prime minister stated that he wants to become a leader who listens to the voices of many people.

The family on Wednesday visited the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office and demanded that the law enforcement body investigate the incident as a criminal case.

Key words : north conductor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211013_22/

North Korea's state-run TV has shown footage of an orchestra conductor wearing a T-shirt printed with the face of the country's leader Kim Jong Un.

The broadcaster on Tuesday aired video showing the opening of a defense exhibition attended by Kim in the capital Pyongyang on the previous day.

The footage shows the conductor in the white shirt bearing a large portrait of Kim as the orchestra plays the national anthem.

It is extremely rare for likenesses of Kim or previous supreme leaders of the North to be printed on T-shirts. Damaging such images carries heavy punishment, as the leaders are deified in the country.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the appearance of the shirt may have been intended to show the leader's friendliness. It adds that such shirts are unlikely to become popular among North Koreans because they would be hard to handle.

The defense expo showcased weapons North Korea says it has developed over the past five years. They included equivalents of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Key words : china exports
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211013_26/

China's exports rose sharply in September from a year earlier to mark a 16th straight month of increase.
Recovery in demand from the United States and Europe underpinned the growth.

Chinese customs data show exports jumped 28.1 percent to 305.7 billion dollars.

Shipments of PCs and other electronic devices were brisk amid demand from people who stayed home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Imports rose by 17.6 percent to 238.9 billion dollars. That was mainly due to higher prices of raw materials, such as coal, metals and crude oil.
The surge in materials prices has slowed China's economy. The higher cost of coal has also been one of the triggers of power supply restrictions.

A spokesperson for the Chinese General Administration of Customs said that difficulties linger over the global economic recovery. Li Kuiwen added that the external environment is complicated and severe. He said there are still many uncertain factors remaining for China's trade.

The overall value of trade last month rose more than 23 percent from a year earlier.

Key words : carlos
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211013_01/

Former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn has explained the reason behind his escape from Japan, saying he would not have been able to defend himself in a judicial system where prosecutors have a conviction rate of more than 99 percent.

Ghosn made his case in an exclusive online interview with NHK.

Ghosn, now in Lebanon, is on the International Criminal Police Organization's wanted list, after illegally leaving Japan while he was on bail in December 2019.

He was awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct and aggravated breach of trust. Two US citizens have been convicted for their part in helping him flee Japan hidden in a large container aboard a private jet.

Asked why he escaped, Ghosn said he determined he had no chance of winning the trial, after he learned that prosecutors win in 99.4 percent of cases in Japan. He said he was persecuted together with his family, and that the only way he could defend himself was by leaving the country.

Ghosn said the most critical moment in the escape was when he was in a box before it was brought on board the private jet. He said it was fortunate that the box was not X-rayed, and that was when he knew he would be leaving Japan very soon.

He went on to say that if the Japanese authorities want a trial, they should transmit the accusations to Lebanon so he can be tried there. He claimed Japanese prosecutors do not want to send the files because they are afraid a plot between Nissan and the prosecutors would come to light.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office says Ghosn's allegation that the prosecutors conspired with Nissan is categorically false and completely contrary to the facts. It says it will take all possible measures to bring Ghosn to justice in Japan, working together with relevant authorities.