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/20230808183000_english_1.mp3
Key words : osaka world expo
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230807_22/
NHK has learned that construction on only about 10 of the 56 pavilions at the 2025 World Exposition is progressing on schedule.
Participating countries and economies are to bear the costs of building their pavilions at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
So far, only South Korea has submitted to Osaka City the documents necessary to start construction.
According to sources, officials of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo say only about 10 exhibitors, including the United States and Canada, have either started or finished selecting contractors and taken other steps necessary for starting construction.
The association held a briefing in Osaka City on Monday for construction companies and interior carpentry firms.
With a majority of participants yet to select contractors, the association urged construction companies to actively take part in the projects.
Negotiations with construction companies are apparently proving difficult because of the complex designs of the pavilions and soaring material and labor costs.
The association says it will urge participants to secure larger budgets and to simplify designs to expedite the work.
Key words : aso taiwan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230808_11/
Former Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro has said in a speech in Taiwan that "a readiness to fight" serves as a deterrence in the region.
Aso, who is vice president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was speaking at an international forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
Referring to China's growing military pressure on Taiwan, he said peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are very important for the stability of Japan and the international community. He said countries around the world are starting to recognize this.
Aso said there has never been another time in history when a readiness to activate an extremely powerful deterrence has been demanded of Japan, Taiwan, the United States and relevant countries.
He said clear communication by those countries of their intention to use their defense capabilities to defend Taiwan would serve as a deterrence in an emergency.
The LDP heavyweight concluded by calling for solidarity. He said he sincerely hopes that the successor to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will be committed to safeguarding the status quo to maintain the livelihood, happiness and prosperity of Taiwan's people. He said, "I hope that we can fight together with the successor, with whom we will share the same values."
Key words : taro meet
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230807_20/
Aso Taro, vice president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has laid flowers at the grave of the former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who fostered close ties with Japan.
Aso, who formerly served as Japan's prime minister, arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a three-day visit.
He visited the military cemetery where Lee was buried in 2020 after his death at the age of 97. Lee contributed to Taiwan's democratization by allowing voters to directly cast ballots in a presidential race for the first time.
On Tuesday, Aso is scheduled to meet President Tsai Ing-wen, as well as deliver a speech on regional affairs at an international forum.
Aso is also due to meet with Vice President Lai Ching-te, who is likely to run as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party candidate in the presidential election in January.
In addition, he will have talks with Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, a great-grandson of Taiwan's first President Chiang Kai-shek.
Aso hopes to highlight the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid China's growing military pressure on Taiwan.
Key words : south factory
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230806_12/
North Korea's media reports that its leader Kim Jong Un has inspected major weapons factories, including those producing shells for large-caliber multiple rocket launchers and mobile missile launchers.
Sunday's edition of the ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said Kim visited the factories between Thursday and Saturday.
The paper carried photos it said were taken at the mobile launch pad factory. They show transporter erector launchers, which are believed to be used for loading intercontinental ballistic-class missiles.
Kim reportedly noted its increased production capabilities.
The report also said Kim inspected the factory that manufactures engines for strategic cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Kim reportedly called for rapid expansion of its production capacity.
The visits come after a military parade on July 27 marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. The parade featured large drones and a new type of solid-fuel ICBM class missile, called Hwasong-18, on a mobile launcher.
The North Korean leader appears to have used the latest inspections to highlight his intention to further enhance the country's defense capabilities, with the United States and South Korea in mind.
Key words : north export unification
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230807_19/
South Korea's Unification Ministry says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited major weapons factories, implying the country has arms exports in mind.
Spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam on Monday referred to Pyongyang's announcement the previous day that Kim had visited factories last week and "set forth the important orientation of the national defense economic work."
Koo said Kim's inspections appear to have been intended to show off the country's achievements in the defense sector. He said other purposes may include responding to US-South Korea military exercises to be held this month.
Koo added that if "national defense economic work" is in reference to arms exports, this would be in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
After Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea last month, a senior White House official suggested the aim of the visit was to persuade Pyongyang to sell weapons to Moscow.
Key words : failure recent
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230808_02/
Some Chinese people have voiced their complaints about what they describe as the government's failure to protect citizens in the aftermath of recent record rainfalls.
They resorted to social media to vent their frustration while Chinese media touts the Beijing leadership's efforts to protect people's lives and livelihoods.
State-run China Central Television reported on Saturday about a pregnant woman thanking rescue workers. She had been isolated in her home in the northern Chinese province of Hebei due to flooding.
The network reported on Sunday that Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing visited Tianjin, near Beijing, and observed workers taking flood-prevention measures and armed police delivering supplies to isolated areas.
People's Daily, a Communist Party organ, published on July 19 an article about an upcoming book that praises President Xi Jinping's achievements in flood control projects.
About 10 days after the article was published, the torrential rain hit Beijing and its surrounding areas including Hebei.
Hong Kong and Taiwan media report that flood victims staged protests in Bazhou, Hebei, on Friday, upset by state-media reports and authorities' inadequate response to the disaster.
On social media, some people blamed authorities, saying outdated drainage facilities led to the loss of civilian lives when some roads were flooded in Beijing.
Key words : crowdfunding museum
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230807_11/
Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science says it will launch a crowdfunding campaign as it is under severe financial strain due to soaring utility costs and other factors.
Museum officials, including its head, Shinoda Kenichi, told a news conference on Monday that they aim to raise 100 million yen, or about 704,000 dollars, through crowdfunding.
The museum preserves more than 5 million items, including animal, plant and fossil specimens from Japan and abroad. The collection is one of the largest in the country.
Some of the items are on display at its galleries in Ueno Park in Tokyo, while most of the remaining materials are stored in a facility in the city of Tsukuba, north of Tokyo.
Shinoda said the museum is facing financial difficulties due to increased spending, including utility costs, as well as a decrease in admission fees due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He also explained that it is difficult to save electricity at the storage facility, which needs to maintain a uniform temperature and humidity.
He added that utility costs for this fiscal year are expected to be more than 2.6 million dollars, up about 1.4 million dollars from fiscal 2021.
Shinoda said this will be the biggest challenge ever. He appealed for support for the museum's efforts to protect its huge collection and ensure it can continue to acquire precious specimens and other materials.
Key words : labor ministry technical trainee
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230805_08/
Japan's labor ministry says it has found that more than 7,200 business establishments violated laws last year regarding their foreign technical trainees.
Japan has a system designed to enable trainees from developing countries to learn skills, technologies, and expertise while working in the country. As of last December, Japan had about 325,000 such trainees.
The ministry conducted on-site investigations of 9,829 establishments across the country last year.
Officials found that 7,247 of them, or 73.7 percent, committed some legal violations.
These are both the most inspections and violations since the ministry began tracking statistics in 2003.
Most of the violations were related to insufficient safety management in the workplace. There were 2,326 such cases, or 23.7 percent of the total.
The second-highest number of violations were regarding failure to pay extra wages, including for overtime work. There were 1,666 such cases, or 16.9 percent of the total.
The ministry says it also found cases where overtime exceeded 110 hours a month, or trainees were not allowed to punch in for work until after morning meetings.
The ministry says it will work to supervise and instruct business operators to ensure that technical trainees receive proper working and safety conditions.
Key words : indonesia analog
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230805_16/
The production of vinyl music records has resumed in Indonesia for the first time in about 50 years amid growing popularity of analog records around the world.
A company based near the capital Jakarta has started the production this month. The manufacturer opened its plant to the public on Saturday.
The company says the plant has a production capacity of up to 30,000 records per month.
Vinyl records have made a global comeback. Last year, the number of records sold in the US surpassed that of CDs. Sales of records topped those of CDs in Britain.
Vinyl records of so-called Japanese "city pop" music released in 1970s and 1980s is proving popular in Indonesia.
The head of the record-pressing company, Clement Arnold, says the Japanese pop music has won a lot of fans in the last 5 to 10 years.
He said the company wants to cut records of not only Indonesian artists but also artists from other Southeast Asian nations.
Key words : temple
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230808_09/
The Great Buddha statue in Nara, western Japan, has been dusted in an annual summer ritual.
The statue at Todaiji Temple is cleaned every year on August 7 ahead of the Bon festival, when people pay respects to their ancestors.
On Monday morning, monks staged a ceremony to temporarily remove the Buddha's soul from the statue.
More than 100 monks and worshippers then climbed the 15-meter-high statue to dust every corner and intricate detail.
Baskets suspended from the ceiling were used to lift some of the cleaners close to the Buddha's face and chest.
A child said it looked frightening to work from such a height, but that he's glad to see the statue get clean.
The head of the temple, Hashimura Koei, said he hopes people watching the cleanup will also feel refreshed.
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