at 18:30 (JST), August 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.





https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20230803183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : survivor hiroshima
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230803_02/

A survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as well as the current mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have appealed to the world that atomic bombs should never be used again.

The three men spoke Wednesday at the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The meeting is being held in Vienna.

Eighty-one-year-old Ieshima Masashi was at his home in Hiroshima City when the atomic bomb exploded. He was 3.

He spoke about what he and his family experienced at the time. His mother sustained heavy injuries from window glass that was shattered by the bomb blast.

He said nuclear weapons and mankind can never coexist.

Ieshima was followed by Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi. He noted that Russia has repeatedly threatened to use its nuclear weapons, and many policymakers are showing their approval of the expansion of nuclear deterrence.

Matsui said the situation runs counter to the wishes for peace that atomic-bombed cities have long been appealing for.

He called on participating countries to use the ongoing meeting to take a major step forward toward concrete measures for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Nagasaki City Mayor Suzuki Shiro called on representatives to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

He said knowing the realities of atomic bombings is the first step in realizing a world without nuclear weapons and a driving force to change the world.

Suzuki suggested he wants to work with people across the world to make Nagasaki the last place to suffer an atomic bombing.

Key words : thailand coalition
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230802_31/

Thailand's election-winning party has been dropped from a coalition that was supposed to form the next government. The second-largest Pheu Thai Party has announced it will seek a coalition without the Move Forward Party, which emerged as the winner in the May general election.

This decision means the pro-democracy alliance the two formed with six other parties has collapsed.

Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew made the announcement after meeting with Move Forward representatives on Wednesday. He said his party cannot agree with amending lese majeste law that Move Forward is pushing for. The law criminalizes criticism of Thailand's royal family.

Move Forward's leader was initially the alliance's candidate for prime minister. But Pita Limjaroenrat failed to gain enough support from the parliament.

Conservative lawmakers then blocked him from standing for the post in a second vote. Move Forward said it will let Pheu Thai take the lead in coalition talks.

Pheu Thai has since had meetings with the current ruling parties, including pro-military ones. They said they oppose any government framework that includes Move Forward.

The parliamentary vote for prime minister is scheduled for Friday. Pheu Thai says it will nominate real-estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as its candidate.

Move Forward's supporters gathered outside Pheu Thai's headquarters on Wednesday. One supporter said, "I don't need a government from the coup d'etat. It's very wrong. It's Thai politics."

They said the latest development flies in the face of the election result and public opinion.

Key words : cambodia spoiled
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230802_32/

Cambodian election officials say nearly half a million ballots were spoiled in last month's general election.

Some opposition activists encouraged people to deliberately cast invalid votes, while major opposition candidates were disqualified from running.

The election committee officials say about 5 percent of all ballots cast, over 440,000, were invalidated.

They added the number was lower than in the previous election in 2018. Turnout was 85 percent.

The government threatened legal action for people who spoiled their ballots or boycotted the election.

The officials say Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party got 80 percent of the vote in the first preliminary result. The final tally is expected no later than Friday.

The US criticized the election, calling it "neither free nor fair." The main opposition Candlelight Party was banned from running.

Hun Sen's administration also intensified a crackdown on opponents and critics leading up to voting day.

Hun Sen has been in power for almost 40 years.
He announced after the election that he would step down and hand over power to his son, Hun Manet, once the result is finalized.

A new leader is expected to be appointed next week.

Key words : photo exhibition
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230802_27/

A photo exhibition is underway in Tokyo featuring a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korean agents more than four decades ago. Her mother urged the government to help bring her daughter back home while she is still alive.

Yokota Megumi was 13 years old when she was abducted by North Korean agents on her way back from junior high school in 1977.

The event, which started on Wednesday, was organized by her mother Sakie's neighbors to raise public support for resolving the issue.

About 170 items are on display, including her clothes and notebooks she had exchanged with her friends. Many photos were taken by her father Shigeru who died three years ago.
Sakie told visitors that Megumi was a very cheerful and energetic girl. She said she wants to have Megumi set foot on Japanese soil as she believes her daughter is fine. The 87-year-old mother said she wants the government to produce results while she is still alive.

Arimoto Akihiro, the father of another abductee, also spoke at the event. His daughter Keiko was 23 when she was abducted in 1983 while traveling in Europe after completing a study program in London.

The 95-year-father said Keiko used to sit in his lap when she had a fight with siblings. He said she was a hard worker and aspired to get a job using her English skills abroad.

The Japanese government says at least 17 citizens were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Five were repatriated after a bilateral summit in 2002. But the other 12 are still unaccounted for.
Among the parents of the 12 abductees, Yokota and Arimoto are the only ones who are still alive.

A group of Japanese abductees' families earlier referred to humanitarian assistance to North Korea for the first time. The families said they will not oppose Japan providing humanitarian aid to Pyongyang if all abductees are repatriated while their parents are alive.

Key words : health ministry remove
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230802_03/

NHK has learned that an expert panel at Japan's health ministry will decide later this month whether to approve a new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease.

If approved, it will pave the way for the production and sale in Japan of the first drug that removes the abnormal protein that causes the neurodegenerative disease.

Sources told NHK that the ministry will convene the panel on August 21 to discuss whether to approve lecanemab, jointly developed by Japanese pharmaceutical firm Eisai and its US partner Biogen.

The drug is designed to slow the progression of the disease by reducing the accumulation of amyloid beta in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

Eisai says the drug reduced the rate of cognitive decline in patients by 27 percent compared to a placebo in a clinical trial.

The US Food and Drug Administration fully approved lecanemab in July.

Key words : miyazaki
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230803_08/

The Japanese stage adaptation of Miyazaki Hayao's hit anime film "Spirited Away" is coming to London next year for a three-month run.

The anime is about a young girl who inadvertently sets foot in a mysterious world of gods.

It won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003. It was adapted for stage in Tokyo last year.

Production company Toho says the play will be staged at a West End theater from April through July 2024.

The heroine, Chihiro, will be played by Hashimoto Kanna and Kamishiraishi Mone, who shared the role in Tokyo. The entirely Japanese cast will perform in Japanese.

It is extremely rare for a Japanese-language play to be staged for as long as three months abroad.

Toho President Matsuoka Hiroyasu says it's almost unprecedented in the history of Japanese stage performances.

He says he sincerely hopes Chihiro will be loved in theaters around the world.

Key words : nebuta
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230803_01/

One of Japan's biggest summer festivals kicked off in the northeast city of Aomori on Wednesday. The annual event is being held without coronavirus restrictions for the first time in four years.

The Aomori Nebuta Festival features a procession of huge floats called 'nebuta' that depict historic warriors.

The parade began at around 7 p.m., starting with a massive float standing about five meters tall.

Dancers called 'haneto' jumped and shouted to the sounds of flutes and drums around the floats. Last year, the number of dancers was restricted to those who had pre-registered, as an anti-coronavirus measure.

One resident in her 40s said she comes to the festival every year, and seeing all the dancers this year makes a huge difference. She said it feels the summer has returned to Aomori and it made her feel like dancing.

A woman in her 60s who came from Tokyo to perform said she had fun dancing for the first time in four years. She said the dancers, musicians and floats make Aomori's summer complete.

The festival runs through Monday. A fireworks finale will light up the final evening, when floats will also be displayed on the ocean.