at 18:30 (JST), April 03

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.





Key words : sakamoto yellow magic founding
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230403_02/

World-renowned Japanese musician and composer Sakamoto Ryuichi, a founding member of a trailblazing electronic music band, has died. He was 71.

Sakamoto started playing the piano and studying composition when he was a child. He finished his master's course at the Graduate School of what is now Tokyo University of the Arts.

Sakamoto co-founded the band Yellow Magic Orchestra, known as YMO, with Hosono Haruomi and Takahashi Yukihiro in 1978. The group pioneered the use of computers and electronic instruments, such as synthesizers, establishing the genre called techno-pop.

Sakamoto won much-coveted honors, including an Oscar and a Grammy, for scoring the film "The Last Emperor."

Sakamoto was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. He resumed his musical activities after undergoing treatment. But he disclosed his rectal cancer diagnosis in 2021.

His management agency says Sakamoto died on Tuesday.

The company, along with two other entities, issued a statement online saying, "While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow."

The statement adds that Sakamoto "lived with music until the very end."

Key words : sakamoto posted 2022
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230403_34/

Tributes have poured in from around the world for Japanese musician and composer -- Sakamoto Ryuichi.
He died of cancer at the age of 71. He is known for his work with the trailblazing electronic band, Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Sakamoto co-founded the genre-defining group in 1978. YMO's use of computers and electronic instruments, including synthesizers, pioneered techno-pop.

Sakamoto earned global acclaim by scoring films like "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence". He also won an Oscar and a Grammy award for his work on "The Last Emperor."

Beyond music, Sakamoto was a prominent environmental activist.

He campaigned for forest conservation, as well as the abolition of nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants.

After the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in northeastern Japan, Sakamoto devoted himself to helping the victims.

He served as music director for the Tohoku Youth Orchestra -- made up of kids from the disaster-hit areas.

Sakamoto disclosed his rectal cancer diagnosis in 2021. But he continued his musical activities such as an online performance released in December 2022.

On Sunday, his record company announced Sakamoto died while undergoing treatment on March 28.

The story made headlines around the world, including in China, where it was the top-ranked search item on the social networking platform Weibo.

Many musicians have also offered their condolences. Fellow YMO member Hosono Haruomi paid tribute on Instagram. Sakamoto himself posted a similar image after Takahashi Yukihiro -- another founding member -- died in January this year.

Key words : hayashi in-person meeting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230402_08/

Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa has met with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing to discuss issues between the two nations.

Hayashi arrived in the Chinese capital on Saturday as the first Japanese foreign minister to visit the country in more than three years.

In his first in-person meeting with Qin on Sunday, Hayashi is believed to have expressed his grave concern over the situation in the East China Sea. The two neighbors have been at odds over a group of islands.

Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them.

Chinese government ships have repeatedly intruded into Japan's territorial waters around the islands.

Hayashi is likely to have expressed concerns about Beijing cooperating with Moscow to increase military activity around Japan.

He is also likely to have pushed for the release of some Japanese nationals being held in China. They include an employee of a major Japanese pharmaceutical firm who was detained last month.

At the same time, the ministers are likely seeking reaffirmation that both Japan and China will continue dialogue to build constructive and stable relations for the responsible development of the East Asia and the world.

Hayashi is expected to meet later with new Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi.

Key words : left senkaku
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230403_01/

The Japan Coast Guard says Chinese government vessels intruded into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and stayed there for 80 hours and 36 minutes.

That represents the longest intrusion into the waters by such ships since the Japanese government purchased some of the islands from a private Japanese owner in 2012. The previous record was 72 hours and 45 minutes registered from December 22 to 25 last year.

The coast guard says four Chinese government vessels started entering the waters near the islands of Minamikojima and Uotsurijima shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday. They appeared to be following three Japanese fishing boats.

The coast guard says one of the Chinese vessels left the area on Saturday night after one of the fishing boats had done so. It adds that the other Chinese vessels also sailed out of there by 7:44 p.m. on Sunday.

The coast guard remains on the alert and is warning the Chinese vessels not to enter the waters again.

Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. China and Taiwan claim them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory, in terms of history and international law. It says there is no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them.

Key words : ground self-defense
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230402_11/

Japan's defense ministry has marked the opening of a Ground Self-Defense Force camp on the southern island of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture.

The new camp was set up on March 16 as part of efforts to strengthen the defense of the country's southwestern islands.

At a ceremony held on Sunday, Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu said that the defense system of the Nansei Islands, including Ishigaki Island, rests on the shoulders of the personnel.

Camp Ishigaki's commander, Colonel Inoue Yuichiro, said the GSDF will continue to work for stronger ties with local residents and play a key role as a deterrent to protect the island and its people.

Ishigaki Mayor Nakayama Yoshitaka expressed hope that the camp will help prevent an emergency from occurring and protect people's lives.

Equipment such as a surface-to-ship missile launcher was on display at the event.

Some residents of the island worry that standoff missiles which could be used for counterstrikes may be deployed at the camp. Hamada said after the ceremony that the government has yet to decide where to deploy such missiles. He added that he cannot say anything at this stage, but his ministry will work to ease people's concerns.

About 30 people gathered outside the camp for a protest rally. They held up banners and placards with messages opposing a missile base, and calling for diplomacy to avoid war.

Two co-heads of a civic group handed a letter of protest to the camp's commander.

Key words : guatemala strengthen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230401_12/

Leaders of Taiwan and Guatemala have agreed to strengthen diplomatic ties amid increasing pressure by China to isolate Taiwan.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Guatemala on Friday for talks with her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei.

Giammattei later told a joint news conference that Guatemala, as a peace-loving country, is committed to respecting Taiwan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Guatemala are so strong that no one can destroy them.

Tsai expressed her gratitude for Guatemala's support. She said she expects Taiwan and Guatemala to continue to work hand-in-hand based on a strong foundation and mutually develop a "win-win" situation.

Tsai is also scheduled to visit Belize in a bid to strengthen ties with that country.

China has stepped up its efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international community since Tsai became president in 2016. Some countries have cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

On March 26, Guatemala's neighbor Honduras switched its diplomatic recognition to China, severing ties with Taiwan.

Key words : researcher deepest
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230402_15/

NHK has learned that a group of international researchers has captured images of what is believed to be the world's deepest-living fish.

The group includes Professor Alan Jamieson of the University of Western Australia and a scientist from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

The researchers said they filmed a type of snailfish at a depth of 8,336 meters in the Pacific Ocean near the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan, on August 15 last year.

The footage shows the fish is milky white and about 30 centimeters long. Its fins are semi-transparent and the body appears to be covered in soft gelatin.

The previous deepest-living fish was observed at a depth of 8,178 meters in the Mariana Trench.

It had been thought that fish are unlikely to survive at depths of 8,200 to 8,400 meters due to water pressure.

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Dr. Kitazato Hiroshi is the head of the Japanese team. He said it was amazing to discover the deepest-living fish more than 8,000 meters below the ocean surface.

Kitazato said he was able to obtain data to explore how fish can physiologically adapt to such an extreme environment.