at 18:30 (JST), August 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/20220818183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : accepting bribe three others
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220817_22/

A former director of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes. Prosecutors in Tokyo also arrested three others related to a clothing company that had sponsored the Tokyo Games on suspicion of bribery. Prosecutors have not revealed whether the four have admitted to the allegations.

The arrested individuals are former organizing committee executive Takahashi Haruyuki, former chairman and founder of business suit retailer Aoki Holdings, Aoki Hironori, Aoki's younger brother who is a former Aoki Holdings vice chairman, as well as a former president at a subsidiary company.

Prosecutors suspect that Aoki's side asked Takahashi to provide favors in relation to sponsorship and licensing contracts.

Takahashi is suspected of having Aoki send money totaling 51 million yen, or about 380,000 dollars, to his firm's account from October 2017 through March this year. He is said to have denied any wrongdoing before the arrest.

Sources close to the matter say Aoki's asset-management company signed a consulting contract with Takahashi's company in 2017. Aoki's firm became a Games sponsor in 2018 and sold suits and other items as officially licensed products.

Key words : new company
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220818_01/

NHK has learned that a newly established Russian company taking over the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project is proposing the same conditions on price and supply amount to Japanese buyers as the previous one did.

Russia established the company on August 5 to take over the project in the country's Far East. About 9 percent of liquefied natural gas supply in Japan comes from the project. Japanese buyers include JERA and Tokyo Gas. JERA is a wholly owned subsidiary of TEPCO Fuel & Power, Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co.

Informed sources say the new Russian company has asked the Japanese firms to sign a contract under the same conditions as before, including the purchase price and the procurement amount.

The Japanese companies are expected to consider signing a contract with the new firm.

Meanwhile, two Japanese trading houses, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation, have stakes in the Sakhalin-2 project. Russia is urging them to say whether they will participate in the new company within one month of its establishment.

The Japanese government has asked the trading firms to positively look at keeping their stakes in the project, saying the project is important to ensure stable energy supplies in Japan.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi told reporters on Wednesday that the government wants to protect Japan's interests through joint efforts by the public and private sectors.

Key words : head of myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220818_09/

The head of Myanmar's military has met with a United Nations special envoy for the first time since the military coup in February of last year.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, met with military chief Min Aung Hlaing in the country's capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday.

The UN says Heyzer called for an immediate cessation of all forms of violence, full respect for human rights and the rule of law, and the release of all detainees.

Her request for a meeting with ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was reportedly denied.

The UN has been trying to set up a visit to Myanmar by a special envoy since last year's coup in an attempt to break the deadlock through dialogue.

The two sides agreed to continue an open dialogue.
But critics say a UN special envoy's meeting with Myanmar's military chief could be taken as recognition of a military government.

Heyzer stressed in a statement that her visit is to convey the concerns of the United Nations, and that "UN engagement does not in any way confer legitimacy."

Key words : south in 2018 court
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220817_13/

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has stressed his intention to resolve the wartime labor dispute before relevant Japanese companies' assets in his country are liquidated under a possible finalized court order.

Yoon spoke at a news conference to mark his first 100 days in office on Wednesday.

He said he talked with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on the sidelines of a NATO summit in June. Yoon said the foundation of future-oriented bilateral ties has now been built and stressed that he will work to quickly restore and develop relations with Japan.

Yoon referred to the pending wartime labor issue with Japan.

South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to compensate people who say they or their relatives were forced to work for the firms during World War Two.

Following the move, district courts have ordered the liquidation of assets seized from the Japanese companies.

The Japanese government says any right to claims was settled completely and finally in 1965, when Japan and South Korea normalized ties.

Yoon said he is considering ways for plaintiffs to receive compensation without clashing with the sovereignty issue Japan is concerned about. He added that he is optimistic.

He said he believes that if the two countries strengthen future-oriented relations, the bilateral historical disputes can be settled more peacefully and sooner through concession and understanding.

Key words : south korea north yellow sea
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220817_21/

South Korea's military says North Korea appears to have fired two cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula.

Military sources say the missiles seem to have been launched from Onchon in South Phyongan Province on Wednesday morning.

They say they are working with US forces to analyze the missiles' flight distance and altitude.

The launches are the latest in North Korea's string of tests this year. North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles from outside the capital Pyongyang and elsewhere in June. It also reportedly fired rockets toward the Yellow Sea on July 10 and 11.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday offered to provide large-scale assistance to North Korea if Pyongyang moves toward substantive denuclearization.

The South Korean military is scheduled to begin regular joint drills with US forces next Monday.

They plan to resume full-scale field maneuver exercises for the first time in four years, which is likely to draw backlash from the North.

Key words : health ministry review
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220817_20/

Japan's health ministry plans to consider reviewing its nationwide coronavirus case-counting system, in hopes of reducing the burden on medical institutions.

Health minister Kato Katsunobu on Tuesday informed the National Governors' Association of his intention to fulfill their request to mull a review.

Experts have proposed that the government be notified only of cases where patients are at risk of becoming seriously ill.

They also suggested that designated medical institutions could regularly report case counts, as is done with the seasonal flu.

If the system is changed, health authorities will face the challenge of creating a system which will allow them to grasp the situation of infections by prefecture, so that they can take appropriate anti-infection measures.

Experts have also noted that discussions should be held on the current practices of asking all patients to isolate themselves and having the government shoulder all costs for tests and treatment.

The health ministry plans to make adjustments while hearing opinions from the Japan Medical Association, which is made up of doctors, and the prefectural governors' association.

Key words : passenger
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220817_27/

The number of passengers on domestic flights in Japan during the "Obon" summer holidays this year was about 1.7-times the figure for the same period last year, when a coronavirus state of emergency was in place in six prefectures.

Eleven Japanese airlines say more than 3.3 million people took domestic flights between August 6 and 16.

At the peak of travel at the end of the holidays on August 14, about 248,000 people took flights on either All Nippon Airways or Japan Airlines. Both carriers reported the highest passenger number per day since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The number of passengers on ANA and JAL flights recovered to around 80 percent of the figure marked during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

ANA and JAL say the pace of reservations slowed after mid-July, when infections resurged nationwide, but it began to recover this month.

The two airlines say many people appeared to have made reservations immediately before their travel by assessing the coronavirus situation.

About 276,000 people took international flights during the holidays, or about 4.7 times the figure for last year.
The increase is attributed to the relaxation of quarantine for travelers in many countries. Demand is said to be recovering mainly on flights to resort destinations.

Key words : mori died new york
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220818_06/

World-renowned Japanese fashion designer Mori Hanae has died at the age of 96. She was known for her signature butterfly motifs.

Mori was born in the western Japanese prefecture of Shimane in 1926. She took the first step in her long career with the opening of a studio in Tokyo's Shinjuku district in 1951.

After making a number of costumes for Japanese films, she won international acclaim with a collection presented in New York in 1965 that was dubbed "East meets West."

Mori became the first Japanese to be listed in Paris as an official designer of "haute couture."

She also designed costumes for opera and ballet performances at La Scala, Milan, and the Paris Opera.

Mori's work featured Japanese-style color combinations and traditional designs, and had a major influence on Japanese women's fashion.

Mori designed the uniforms for Japanese athletes who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

She was awarded the Japanese Order of Culture in 1996. She received France's highest order of merit, the Legion of Honor, in 1989 and 2002.

Mori held her last fashion show in 2004 in Paris.

Sources say Mori died on August 11 of natural causes.