at 18:30 (JST), April 25

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/20230425183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : kishida all japanese
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230425_13/

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says all Japanese nationals and their families who wanted to leave Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, have been evacuated.

Kishida told reporters on Tuesday morning that eight more individuals have been evacuated from Sudan. This follows the evacuations of 45 people who arrived in nearby Djibouti on an Air Self-Defense Force aircraft on Monday.

Kishida said he was told that France had helped evacuate the eight people, including Japanese embassy staff. He thanked France for its support.

The prime minister said the evacuation operation is now over for all Japanese citizens in the capital Khartoum, including embassy staff, who wished to leave Sudan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu, when asked by reporters on Tuesday about the evacuation route in Sudan, declined to provide details, citing security reasons.

He said the evacuees traveled from Khartoum to Port Sudan by land with the support of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Matsuno also said there is one Japanese citizen still in southern Sudan, where the situation appears to be relatively stable. The individual is said to wish to flee the country.

Meanwhile, Japan temporarily closed its embassy in Sudan on Tuesday amid the worsening security situation and set up an office in Djibouti.

Japanese Ambassador to Sudan Hattori Takashi and the embassy staff are expected to work at the temporary office for the time being to provide support for Japanese nationals.

Japan's foreign ministry has issued an advisory urging Japanese nationals not to travel to Sudan.

Key words : south future-oriented
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230424_36/

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has reiterated his future-oriented stance to restore Seoul's ties with Tokyo.

He made the remark in an interview with the Washington Post that was conducted before his visit to the United States this week. It was published in the US newspaper's electronic version on Monday.

Yoon said that South Korea's security concerns were "too urgent to delay cooperation with Tokyo," apparently referring to the issues with North Korea.

He said Europe has experienced several wars in the past 100 years but "the warring countries have found ways to cooperate for the future." Yoon added he cannot accept the notion "that Japanese must kneel for forgiveness because of our history 100 years ago."

He said the issue requires a decision.

Yoon was apparently trying to counter criticism by the opposition that he could not make Japan apologize over their historical issues during last month's South Korea-Japan summit.

Key words : japanese transport ship
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230424_38/

A Japanese transport ship sunk in World War II has been found in the South China Sea. More than 1,000 people were on board, most of them prisoners of war from Australia. It's considered the country's worst maritime disaster.

A search team supported by the Australian government announced the discovery on Saturday. The group used an unmanned underwater vehicle to locate the wreckage northwest of the Philippine island of Luzon.

They released photos of the ship lying in waters 4,000 meters down -- deeper than the wreck of the Titanic.
The Montevideo Maru was torpedoed in 1942 by a US submarine unaware it was transporting POWs, including around 850 Australians. For families of the victims, it was a long-awaited discovery.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said finding the vessel "brings to an end one of the most tragic chapters in Australia's maritime history."

The search team said it has no plans to salvage the ship or the victims' remains, and the survey results will be used for future research.

Key words : nhk footage myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230425_26/

NHK has obtained footage of a local hospital damaged in an attack by the Myanmar military. The hospital was built with the support of Japanese aid.

The attack took place on April 18 in a village in the central Magway region. The military, which took power in a coup two years ago, says they were targeting pro-democracy forces allegedly hiding in the area.

The new footage shows the extent of the damage. A medical assistant at the hospital insists the facility should not have been targeted, saying "the facility did not belong to any militant groups. People were banned from bringing weapons in here."

He adds stockpiles of medicines were burned and the hospital's delivery room was damaged. He also says a doctor and a nurse detained by armed forces at the time of the attack are still missing.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, says the facility was built with the aim of improving maternal and child health services. The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar has asked the military for more information but has not yet gotten a response.

Key words : china space agency
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230424_26/

China's space agency has released what it calls a global map of Mars based on images taken during the country's first Mars exploration.

The China National Space Administration unveiled the colored map images on Monday.

The map is based on over 14,000 images taken by a camera on the Tianwen-1 orbiter during its mission between 2021 and 2022. The CNSA stressed that the images will be conducive to deepening understanding of the red planet.

The map contains names of 22 geographic entities, including craters, which were named after historic towns and villages in China.

The Chinese government aims to become the leader in space development by 2030.

In 2021 China became the second country, only after the United States, to succeed with a Mars probe.

And in 2022 Beijing finished construction of its space station.

Key words : lodged a protest prosecutor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230424_21/

Japan's government has lodged a protest with Moscow through diplomatic channels over a Russian ban on a group organized by former residents of the Northern Territories.

Russia's prosecutor general announced on Friday that it had designated the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands as "an undesirable organization."

The move is apparently aimed at stepping up pressure on Japan for imposing sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia controls four islands that Japan claims as its Northern Territories. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu said on Monday that the group has worked to raise awareness in Japan for many years, and supported efforts between Tokyo and Moscow to conclude a peace treaty.

Matsuno said Russia's assertions about the group are extremely one-sided and totally unfounded.

He added that the former residents of the islands, as they grow older, want the territorial issue of the Northern Territories to be settled, and to visit graves on the islands as soon as possible.

Matsuno said the announcement is causing emotional pain for the former residents and their supporters. He said the activities of the group and its members must not be negatively affected.

Key words : the operator nuclear
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230424_25/

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the melted fuel debris likely created holes in the pressure vessel of one of its reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Monday reported their findings to a meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

The No.1 reactor and two others suffered meltdowns in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The containment vessels are filled with water to cool down the fuel.

TEPCO officials said a video taken by an underwater robot shows that a device installed in the reactor pressure vessel's bottom is missing, and there is a dark space where the bottom should be.

The officials also said cooling water is cascading down towards the spot just under the bottom.

They added that the devices that remain inside the reactor appear to be covered with fuel debris.

The officials said these findings led them to conclude that heat from fuel debris created the holes after cooling failed after the tsunami.

TEPCO says it will analyze the footage further.