at 18:30 (JST), August 17

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/20230817183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : set up hotline
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230817_05/

A senior US official says the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea are expected to agree to set up a three-way hotline when they meet at a trilateral summit on Friday.

Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, made the remarks at a think tank event in Washington on Wednesday. The summit will take place near the capital.

He said the US relationship with Japan and South Korea would be a "defining trilateral relationship for the 21st century."

Campbell said the leaders will announce "a very ambitious set of initiatives that seek to lock in trilateral engagement, both now and into the future."

He said the three are also expected to reach an agreement to make the trilateral summit an annual event, and to deepen cooperation in a wide range of fields, including security, technology and education.

Key words : north two buses
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230816_36/

Two buses purportedly with North Korean athletes heading to a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan have crossed the border into China from North Korea.

This is apparently the first time that North Korea is sending delegates to an international sports event since 2020, when it tightened border controls due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The buses crossed a bridge at the Chinese border city of Dandong from North Korea's Sinuiju on Wednesday.

The delegation of about 80 athletes and staff wore matching pale pink shirts. They went through procedures in a customs facility on the Chinese side.

North Korea is also expected to send athletes to the Asian Games that will be held in September in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Observers are focusing on whether North Korea will fully open its borders.

Key words : afghan crime british
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230816_23/

UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown has called on the International Criminal Court to open a probe into the Taliban over a crime against humanity.

Brown, a former British prime minister, was speaking at an online news conference on the second anniversary of the takeover of Afghanistan by the Islamic group on Tuesday.

Under Taliban rule, girls are barred from attending secondary schools, and female staff members of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations are prohibited from going to work.

Brown said the ICC "should recognize this gender discrimination as a crime against humanity and investigate it with a view to the arraignment and prosecution of those responsible."

He revealed that he sent a legal opinion to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to request an investigation into the Taliban.

Brown said, "This is the worst example of the abuse of human rights against girls and women around the world." He added, "If we allow this to happen and continue with impunity, then others may try to do exactly the same."

He demanded that the Taliban lift their restrictions on women's rights and also called for international support for women in Afghanistan.

Key words : wto obligation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230817_03/

The World Trade Organization has ruled that China acted inconsistently with WTO obligations by imposing additional duties on US imports in retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The international body's dispute panel revealed the finding in a report issued on Wednesday.

In 2018, the administration of former US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent duty on steel imports and a 10 percent duty on aluminum imports from China.

In response, China imposed duties on a wide range of imports from the US, including pork, fruits and scrap metal.

In December, the WTO ruled that the US move had violated WTO rules. But the administration of President Joe Biden has kept the metal tariffs in place.

China's commerce ministry said in a statement that it is studying the WTO report. The ministry criticized the US and justified Chinese measures. It demanded that the US immediately lift the tariffs.

Meanwhile, the Office of the US Trade Representative welcomed the WTO report.

The statement said that the United States is "pleased" with the report as it recognized that US actions on steel and aluminum are "security measures" and that China "illegally retaliated with sham 'safeguard' tariffs."

It went on to say that "issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement."

Key words : fishing boat
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230816_29/

Fishing boats have set sail all together from Chinese ports, as authorities lifted an annual ban on fishing in parts of the East and South China seas on Wednesday.

The Chinese government had put the ban in place since May. It says the ban is aimed at protecting marine resources.

A large number of boats headed out to sea from a port in Quanzhou in the southern province of Fujian, and they set off firecrackers as they moved offshore.

The parts of the East China Sea where China lifted the ban include waters off the Senkaku Islands.

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

The Chinese government vessels have often sailed in the contiguous zone just outside Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. Chinese ships have also repeatedly entered the territorial waters.

The parts of the sea where the fishing ban was lifted also include waters near Taiwan.

China has conducted military drills around Taiwan, increasing military pressure.

Taiwan is set to hold its presidential election in January next year.

Some of the local fishers said Chinese authorities had issued a notice calling on them not to approach waters near Taiwan.

The question now is how China will keep the fishing boats under control, considering relations with Japan and Taiwan.

Key words : fund recycle
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230817_02/

The Japanese government and the United Nations Development Programme have agreed to build facilities to recycle rubble left by Turkey's major earthquakes in February in a Japan-funded project.

The disaster killed 50,783 people and destroyed more than 310,000 buildings in southern Turkey. Workers still continue to demolish and remove damaged buildings.

Japanese Ambassador to Turkey Katsumata Takahiko and UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Louisa Vinton signed the agreement in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Wednesday.

Japanese embassy officials said the UNDP will build two facilities to recycle rubble into construction materials in the coming year with grant aid of 700 million yen, or about 4.83 million dollars, from Japan.

Officials also said the new facilities will safely remove hazardous wastes, such as asbestos, from the rubble.

Ambassador Katsumata said that more countries are looking to Japan, with its technologies and experience with earthquakes, for assistance. He added that Japan will continue to help Turkey rebuild.

The UNDP estimates that the Turkish quakes generated more than 200 million tons of debris, which is more than six times the volume resulting from the earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan in 2011.

Vinton said the UNDP intends to show that rubble can be properly processed through the project. She also hopes to systemize the procedures and make them applicable anywhere.

Key words : hayashi red cross
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230816_30/

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa says Japan will provide some 2 million dollars of assistance for those affected by the wildfires in Hawaii.

Hayashi told reporters on Wednesday that the assistance will be used to secure shelters and offer food through the American Red Cross and a Japanese non-governmental organization.

The wildfires on the island of Maui, which broke out on August 8, has left more than 100 people dead. Many people have taken shelter.

Hayashi said that at this most difficult time, Japan stands with the people of the United States, which he called the only ally Japan has deep ties with.

He pledged his country's proactive support to provide relief for affected people in Hawaii and help disaster-hit areas recover as soon as possible.