at 18:30 (JST), December 13

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/20221213183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : agreed counterstrike security concern
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221212_33/

Japan's two governing parties have agreed on draft revisions to the country's three key defense documents. The government plans to make arrangements for the Cabinet to approve the revisions.

Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito reached the agreement on Monday.

One of the draft documents, the National Security Strategy, names Russia, along with China and North Korea, as security concerns. It says China poses the biggest strategic challenge ever, in line with the United States' strategy.

The National Defense Strategy, which replaces the current National Defense Program Guidelines, says that Japan will possess the capability to launch counterstrikes against facilities such as missile-firing sites and other enemy targets.

It says such counterstrikes could only be exercised with the minimum defense capability, and never be used preemptively.

A plan that replaces the current mid-term defense buildup program says that Japan will secure 43 trillion yen, or about 315 billion dollars, in defense spending for the five-year period starting in fiscal 2023.

The 10-year plan includes spending in the area of so-called "standoff" defense capability to attack targets from outside the range of enemy weapons.

The National Defense Strategy mentions China's launch of a ballistic missile in August that fell within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The two governing parties are discussing a line that says "it was considered by Japan and people in the region to be a threat."

Komeito said that wording would be detrimental from a diplomatic standpoint. The current draft document says that the launch was considered by people in the region to be a threat.

Key words : islamic
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221213_06/

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Armed men stormed the hotel in central Kabul on Monday. The hotel, which is known for catering to Chinese and other foreign nationals, was brought under control by security forces after a shootout.

A Taliban official said three attackers were killed by security forces, and that two foreigners were slightly injured while trying to escape by jumping from a hotel window.

The Islamic State group issued a statement later in the day, saying that its members stormed the hotel and carried out the attack.

In Kabul, a number of facilities related to foreign countries have been targeted in terrorist attacks.

In September, a suicide bombing outside the Russian embassy killed six people, including two embassy employees.

An attack on the Pakistani embassy earlier this month left a guard injured.

Key words : beijing 16
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221213_02/

Fever clinics in Beijing saw 16 times more patients on Sunday than a week earlier -- a sign that the coronavirus was rapidly spreading following the easing of measures to reduce infection risks.

City officials told reporters on Monday that the number of patients visiting fever clinics in Beijing rose 16-fold to 22,000.

Last week, the Chinese government pared back some of their stringent COVID-19 control measures.

Negative PCR test results are no longer required to enter many public places. Individuals with no or mild symptoms are allowed to self-isolate at home, instead of being sent to hospitals or quarantine facilities.

Faced with the surge in cases, city authorities are planning to increase the number of outpatient departments handling fever cases in Beijing from 94 to 303.

City officials also released 25 million COVID-19 antigen test kits on Monday, as they had become hard to find in the capital.

Key words : japanese researcher
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221213_07/

Japanese researchers say they have created artificially enhanced immune cells from iPS cells for use in immunotherapy cancer treatment.

A group led by Professor Kaneko Shin at Kyoto University's Center for iPS cell Research and Application made the announcement Monday at an online news conference.

In current chimeric antigen receptor-T, or CAR-T, immunotherapy for blood cancer patients, immune cells are removed from the patients, genetically modified to boost their ability to attack cancer cells, and then returned to the patients.

The researchers say they derived the immune cells from induced pluripotent stem cells rather than from the patients' cells.

They artificially enhanced the anti-cancer properties of the iPS-derived immune cells and infused them into mice implanted with cancer cells.

Kaneko's team said the treatment effectively prevented the cancer cells' growth.

The researchers noted their method costs less than the current CAR-T therapy. They said it enables them to create immune cells efficiently from iPS cells at a lower cost that can then be used for many patients.

Kaneko said new immunotherapies can be developed by combining his method with existing therapies, such as those using anti-cancer drugs.

Key words : relatives time
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221213_01/

South Korean and UN officials monitoring human rights in North Korea have met with the relatives of Japanese abductees, including the mother of Yokota Megumi.

South Korea's envoy for North Korea's human rights, Lee Shin-hwa, and Elizabeth Salmon, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the North, had separate meetings with the relatives in Tokyo on Monday.

The relatives included Yokota Sakie, whose daughter was abducted by North Korea in 1977 while on her way home from junior high school in Niigata Prefecture.

During the closed-door meetings, the relatives reportedly stressed the urgency of addressing the issue quickly, since abductees' parents are aging and don't have much time left for a reunion.

Lee offered words of sympathy and signaled Seoul's readiness to work closely with Tokyo to resolve the issue, according to attendees.

Salmon said the international community is ready to help them achieve a breakthrough. Salmon also told Yokota Sakie that it feels like she is her own mother.

Yokota Takuya, the leader of the relatives' group, later said human rights are the last thing Pyongyang want to be criticized over. He added that Japan-South Korea cooperation and a global move to pressure Pyongyang over the abduction issue could provide momentum to resolve the issue.

Key words : heart transplant
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221212_13/

A support group for a one-year-old Japanese girl who needs a heart transplant says it has raised enough money for her to have the operation in the United States.

Sato Aoi from Tokyo developed serious heart failure after undergoing surgeries to close holes in her heart wall.

Last month, her parents and supporters launched an appeal for donations so that Aoi can receive a transplant at a US hospital.

On Monday, the support group said the target amount of 530 million yen, or about 3.9 million dollars, had been raised.

High medical fees in the US and the weaker Japanese currency have pushed up the estimated cost. Aoi will need to use a chartered aircraft as she has an auxiliary artificial heart.

The group says preparations will be made for Aoi to travel to the US next month or later.

Aoi's parents expressed gratitude for people's kindness and enthusiasm, and said they could reach the starting line to keep her alive.

There have only been 31 organ transplants in Japan from donors aged 10 or below in the 10 years through 2021. The number of donors decreased during the pandemic. As of the end of October, 44 patients under the age of 10 were waiting for heart transplants.

Key words : potter
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221213_04/

The Japanese arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment says an amusement facility themed on the Harry Potter films will open in Tokyo's Nerima Ward next summer.

Construction has been underway since May of last year at a plot where the now-defunct Toshimaen amusement park was located.

Toshimaen closed for good in 2020, after the Tokyo metropolitan government decided to buy the site and turn it into a public park. Officials say the new park will also serve as a base for relief operations in the event of a disaster.

Metropolitan government officials say they hope the new park, coupled with the Harry Potter facility, will help attract people to the area.

The park is scheduled to open in fiscal 2029, but three areas of the park, including a square featuring flowers and a riverside promenade, will open next May.