at 18:30 (JST), October 18

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/20211018183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : kishida autumn
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211017_09/

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to mark the start of its autumn festival on Sunday.

Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after World War Two.

Kishida sent a potted plant to the shrine under his title of prime minister.

Sources say Kishida had never offered potted plants to the shrine before, and that this time, he followed what his two predecessors, Abe Shinzo and Suga Yoshihide, did.

Kishida is on a two-day tour through Sunday of three northeastern prefectures hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. He is not expected to visit the shrine during the festival.

Two other members of Kishida's Cabinet, health minister Goto Shigeyuki and expo minister Wakamiya Kenji, also made ritual offerings to the shrine.

Key words : kishida protested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211018_02/

South Korea and China have protested Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday, saying the South Korean government expresses "deep disappointment and regret that Japan's responsible leaders again sent offerings or repeated their visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which glorified Japan's past wars of aggression and enshrined war criminals."

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said that China urges Japan to face its history of aggression squarely, engage in deep self-reflection, keep a distance from militarism and gain trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community through action.

Key words : myanmar invited
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211016_15/

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has decided to exclude the leader of Myanmar's military, which seized power in February's coup, from a group summit later this month.

Brunei chaired an emergency foreign ministerial meeting on Friday and announced the outcome of the online discussion in a statement.

The statement said the summit, which will get underway on October 26th, will invite a non-political representative of Myanmar and not military Senior General Min Aung Hlaing who heads the military.

Diplomatic sources say it is thought that a senior foreign ministry official will be invited instead.

ASEAN appointed Brunei's second foreign minister Erywan Yusof as a special envoy to mediate between the military and pro-democracy forces, and has been urging Myanmar's military to allow access to all relevant people.

However, he has not been able to visit Myanmar two months after his appointment, as the military has refused to allow him to meet the leaders of pro-democracy forces, including ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The statement calls on the military to allow Erywan access to all parties concerned, and says the ASEAN ministers are concerned about the impact of the Myanmar crisis on regional security and about the unity, credibility and centrality of ASEAN.

The move is unusual for ASEAN which has traditionally observed a policy of non-interference.

Key words : afghanistan food shortage
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211016_16/

People in Afghanistan are struggling to secure enough food amid the economic confusion since the Taliban took control in August.

The country's economic situation has sharply deteriorated as the Afghan government's overseas assets have been frozen, resulting in a shortage of cash. Many workers have not been paid or have lost their jobs.

Food shortages in the country have worsened due to this year's drought. Humanitarian aid has also stalled as countries are waiting to see how the Taliban governs the country after seizing power once again.

The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that 95 percent of Afghans are currently not getting enough food to eat daily, up from 80 percent before the Taliban took over.

It also says about half of Afghanistan's children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of this year, and that as many as one million could die.

The WFP says it is short of about 100 million dollars to provide humanitarian aid through the end of the year. It is calling on the international community to provide emergency support.

Key words : chinese record
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211018_12/

Chinese officials have released the country's latest GDP figure. It shows the country's economy grew in the July-to-September period at a slower pace than in the previous quarter.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday that GDP growth was plus 4.9 percent year-on-year, marking the sixth-straight quarter of expansion.

But the rate of growth was slower than the 7.9 percent figure seen in the April-to June quarter.

China's GDP grew at a record pace in the first three months of the year as the economy rebounded from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Key words : natural gas new record
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211017_13/

Prices of liquefied natural gas are more than 10 times more expensive than a year ago. An unexpectedly cold winter may force Japanese power companies to buy large amounts for spot prices, which could push up the cost of electricity.

Asian spot prices hit a new record on October 6. China's shift from fossil fuels to LNG, which emits less carbon dioxide, is a factor behind the price hikes.

The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation says China imported more than 58 million tons of LNG from January to September, exceeding Japan's 56 million tons to become the top importer for the first time.

The higher spot prices will not have an immediate impact on Japanese utility firms, as they secure about 80 percent of their demand through long-term contracts.

But the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is advising them to secure extra inventories as a contingency measure.

Key words : olympic feedback
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211017_08/

The International Olympic Committee has welcomed positive feedback from athletes about test events for next year's Beijing Olympics.

The IOC held an executive board meeting on Saturday in Athens, Greece.

The board members talked about the ongoing test events in China that started with international speed skating trials on October 8.

More than 2,000 athletes and team officials from China and other countries are taking part in the events being held at Olympic venues till late December.

Following the meeting, IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell told reporters in a virtual news conference that the events are being held under strict COVID measures.

He said the feedback from athletes has been all positive and that excitement over the Games has been building.

Games organizers have decided that only spectators from China's mainland will be allowed at events, and participants will be permitted to travel only between their accommodations and Olympic venues. Also, all Games-related personnel will be required to get tested daily.

The 2022 Winter Games kick off next February.

Key words : jupiter
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211018_01/

A Japanese astronomer reports he has observed a bright flash on the surface of Jupiter. He says there have been only eight such recorded observations on the planet.

Kyoto University Assistant Professor Arimatsu Ko spotted the roughly three-second-long flash some distance away from Jupiter's equator at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Japan time.

Arimatsu said an initial analysis indicates that a meteor measuring several meters across may have slammed into Jupiter and radiated the strong light.

He said he has been observing Jupiter since last month to study impacts between astronomical objects.

The astronomer said he was surprised to see the flash because it's rare to observe such a phenomenon. He said the flash is estimated to have been momentarily about as bright as the Sun.

Arimatsu added he will continue to collect data on the frequency of astronomical object collisions to help unravel how the solar system formed.