at 18:30 (JST), April 11

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/20230411183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : ceo
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230411_03/

More and more people around the world are using the artificial intelligence chatbot known as ChatGPT. The CEO of the app's developer OpenAI visited Japan on Monday. Sam Altman suggests in an exclusive interview with NHK that ChatGPT will improve our lives in ways we may never have imagined.

He said, "We wanted to come here first. Japan has been an extremely exciting country for this whole wave of AI. It's also a country that has such geopolitical importance and a sort of strong democratic foundations."

Altman also says he would like to open a new business base in Japan.

ChatGPT can create texts that read almost as naturally as if they were written by a human. And it has been rapidly catching on in Japan.

A college student said, "When I have to do presentation in English in a class, if I give ChatGPT a summary, it will draw up the whole script for me."

The AI technology opens up various possibilities depending on how it is used. But a number of countries say they are concerned ChatGPT will have a negative impact on education and poses a risk to user's personal information.

Altman says there is a need to continue discussions on AI to check for possible problems.

He said, "Most technologies have both tremendous upside and significant downside. I believe that these tools are going to enhance our creativity."

He indicated that more regulations will be needed as AI becomes more developed.

Key words : chinese activist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230411_07/

A court in China has sentenced two prominent Chinese activists to more than a decade each in jail on charges of plotting subversion.

The court in Shandong province on Monday handed a jail term of 14 years to human rights activist Xu Zhiyong and 12 years to former lawyer Ding Jiaxi, according to sources and a website that supports human rights activities in China.

Xu and Ding were detained in December 2019 after holding a meeting in Fujian province to discuss politics.

Both were key members of the New Citizens' Movement, which calls for civil participation in politics.

The government led by President Xi Jinping has been intensifying a crackdown on dissent.

A number of people have reportedly been detained after they took part in protests across China against the country' zero-tolerance COVID policy last November.

Key words : 11-year-old ballet
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230410_16/

An 11-year-old Japanese ballet dancer won a top prize in the Youth America Grand Prix in Florida on Sunday.

Mitoma Shinji won first place in the men's classical dance category for performers aged nine to eleven.

Mitoma said in an online interview that he danced with gratitude for all the people who have helped him. He said he wants to be a dancer who can make everyone feel happy.

Other Japanese winners included 10-year-old Takahashi Anne, who was placed second in the women's classical category for performers aged nine to eleven.

Thirteen-year-old Okubo Yuzuki tied for second place in the women's classical category for dancers between the ages of 12 and 14.
The finalists were selected from preliminary rounds held in more than 10 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, France and Spain.

Youth America Grand Prix is considered one of the world's most prestigious competitions for young ballet dancers, along with the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Key words : china military pledged
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230411_04/

China's military has pledged to crush any form of Taiwanese independence after ending three days of patrols and military drills around Taiwan.

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on Monday said they comprehensively tested the troops' capabilities for joint operations under real combat conditions.

It added that the troops are well prepared to fight at all times and will resolutely crush separatist attempts for Taiwan's independence and foreign interference in any form.

The military maneuvers, which started on April 8, featured the country's first domestically-made aircraft carrier, the Shandong.

Taiwan's defense ministry says a total of 91 activities by the Chinese military aircraft were detected around Taiwan in the period from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson earlier indicated that the operations are in retaliation for the meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week.

Beijing ratcheted up pressure on Taiwan following a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei. Chinese military aircraft have since then been frequently detected crossing the median line, an unofficial boundary in the Taiwan Strait.

The latest three-day operations ended as scheduled. The military drills that followed Pelosi's trip to Taiwan were extended and lasted seven days.

Key words : dalai
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230411_01/

The Dalai Lama's office says he offers his apology over a viral video showing the Tibetan spiritual leader kissing a boy on the lips.

Indian media outlets said the video was shot at a Buddhist gathering, where the boy reportedly asked the Dalai Lama to hug him. It shows the spiritual leader kissing the boy and sticking out his tongue and apparently encouraging him to suck it.

It is unclear when and where the footage was taken. The video clip has sparked a wave of online criticism.

The office said in a statement on Monday that the leader "wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused."

It added that the Dalai Lama "often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras."

The Dalai Lama established a government-in-exile in northern India, where he fled after an uprising against Chinese rule failed in 1959.

In 2019, the leader came under fire after he made comments involving the possibility of a woman succeeding him during an interview with British broadcaster BBC. He later apologized.

Key words : nhk opinion poll
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230410_28/

An NHK opinion poll shows that the approval rate for Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's Cabinet rose one percentage point to 42 percent. The disapproval rate fell by five points to 35 percent.

NHK conducted the telephone survey involving 2,557 randomly chosen people aged 18 or older over the weekend, and 1,232 of them responded.

Of the respondents who support the Cabinet, 48 percent said it seems a preferable alternative to other possible Cabinets.

Twenty-one percent said it's a Cabinet of political parties they support, while 14 percent said they trust Kishida.

Of those who disapprove, 51 percent said they have no expectations for the Cabinet's policies.

Twenty-four percent said the Cabinet lacks the ability to implement policies, while 10 percent said it's not a Cabinet of parties they support.

Key words : nurses
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230410_08/

The Japanese Nursing Association says that one in 10 nurses hired by hospitals nationwide after graduating from school quit their jobs within a year. The information covers the fiscal 2021 period.

A total of 2,964 hospitals took part in a survey conducted by the association.

The survey results show 11.6 percent of full-time nurses quit work in the year to March 2022. That's up one percentage point from the prior year.

The results also show 10.3 percent of nurses who were hired soon after finishing school left their jobs less than a year later. The figure is up 2.1 points from the previous year and the highest since a survey using the same method began in 2005.

Thirty-eight percent of the hospitals said the coronavirus pandemic was behind the rise.

The association says a higher percentage of nurses may have quit because turmoil triggered by the pandemic prevented sufficient practical training at medical institutions. It says it was also difficult for nurses to get enough support at work to address their concerns.

The association stresses the need to step up efforts to ensure that nurses can work in good health without concerns.