at 18:30 (JST), September 07

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/20230907183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : top diplomats asean territorial
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230905_24/

Leaders and top diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations kicked off a summit meeting on Tuesday in Jakarta. At the top of the agenda is the situation in Myanmar where battles are intensifying between the military that seized power two years ago and pro-democracy groups.

Peace efforts in Myanmar have dominated the discussions at recent ASEAN meetings, but little progress has been made.

Indonesian president and chair of the summit Joko Widodo reiterated his call for unity.

"Don't make our ship, ASEAN, an arena for rivalry that destroys each other, but make this ASEAN ship a field for growing cooperation, for creating prosperity, creating stability, creating peace," he said.

The summit will also be focusing on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China and some ASEAN members have overlapping claims in the waters. That discussion comes days after Beijing released a new map touting its territorial claims.

Key words : chinese premier conduct
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230906_16/

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has held talks with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Indonesia.

The meeting took place in Jakarta on Wednesday. China's increasing presence in the South China Sea was likely discussed. China and some ASEAN members have overlapping claims in the region.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said at the outset that ASEAN and China must build and maintain mutual trust in order to realize concrete cooperation. He said trust and cooperation can be a positive force for regional stability and peace.

Premier Li said China respects and places importance on its relations with ASEAN no matter what changes occur in international affairs. He said differences in opinion should be settled through dialogue.

The talks took place behind closed doors.

The leaders are believed to have discussed setting a code of conduct for the South China Sea -- a topic the two sides have been discussing for more than 20 years to prevent clashes in the disputed waters.

Exchanges were also expected over China's new map laying claim to most of the South China Sea. Some ASEAN members have reacted sharply to the map, recently published by Beijing.

Issues involving the South China Sea are also likely to be discussed in an ASEAN-US meeting, to be attended by US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is also due to hold a meeting with ASEAN leaders on Wednesday.

Key words : Kishida sideline explained
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230906_33/

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has explained to China's Premier Li Qiang about Tokyo's position on the discharge of treated and diluted water into the sea from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Kishida spoke with Li briefly on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Indonesia on Wednesday.

Government sources say Kishida explained Japan's stance that the safety of the water being discharged is scientifically ensured, and asked for China's understanding. China has been strongly opposed to the water release.

Sources also say Kishida and Li reaffirmed that their countries will aim to build constructive and stable bilateral relations.

Earlier in the day, Kishida explained the safety of the water discharge and sought understanding for it at the Japan-ASEAN summit.

Kishida also attended the ASEAN Plus Three Summit -- a meeting involving the leaders of ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea -- where he referred to China's suspension of all imports of Japanese seafood.

He called China's move extreme, saying he will request scientific evidence-based measures and provision of accurate information.

Meanwhile, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that Premier Li clarified his country's position on Japan's release of the water during the ASEAN Plus Three Summit. Xinhua reported that Li urged Tokyo to handle the matter responsibly.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered a triple meltdown in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Water used to cool molten fuel at the plant has been mixing with rain and groundwater.

The accumulated water is treated to remove most radioactive substances, but still contains tritium.

Before releasing the treated water into the sea, the Tokyo Electric Power Company dilutes it to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water.

Key words : southeast initiative
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230906_20/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced an initiative to promote cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, which includes capacity building projects for 5,000 people over the next three years.

Kishida delivered a speech at the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum in Indonesia on Wednesday.

Kishida said the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific shares fundamental principles, such as transparency and respect for international law, with a free and open Indo-Pacific, which Japan has been promoting.

He said the capacity building projects cover a wide range of areas, including transport infrastructure such as railroads and ports, digitalization, maritime cooperation, and supply chain resilience.

Kishida said Japan will grow together with ASEAN countries by promoting technical cooperation with them and strengthening networks.

He expressed hope to build a future in which "Japan and ASEAN can co-create new social values."

Kishida also mentioned a special summit with ASEAN that will be held in Tokyo in December. He said Japan hopes to launch with ASEAN members a new vision for the general direction of their relations and cooperation in the coming years.

Key words : rocket successfully large
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230907_14/

Japan has successfully launched an H2A rocket carrying an X-ray satellite, as well as a probe that will attempt to make the nation's first lunar landing.

The domestically produced rocket lifted off on Thursday from the Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima at 8:42 a.m., Japan time.

Shortly before 9 a.m., the rocket put into orbit the space observation satellite called the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM. It was developed jointly by Japan's space agency JAXA, the US space agency NASA and others.

At around 9:30 a.m., the rocket placed the probe -- known as the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM -- into orbit at an altitude of roughly 620 kilometers.
Tasks for the unmanned probe developed by JAXA include demonstrating accurate landing techniques and examining moon rocks.

The probe is scheduled to enter lunar orbit in three or four months' time and attempt a landing in January or February.

If the mission is successful, Japan will become the fifth nation in the world to land a probe on the moon.

This was Japan's first liftoff of a large rocket since the failed debut launch of its new flagship H3 rocket in March.

JAXA had since taken measures to ensure the success of the H2A launch, including stepping up checks on parts shared by the two rockets.

Japan's H2A rockets boast a 98 percent success rate -- among the highest in the world -- when improved H2B rockets are included.

Key words : to meet far east new york times
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230907_04/

NHK has learned that arrangements are being made for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia's Far East.

The information comes after The New York Times reported on Monday that Kim plans to travel to Vladivostok later this month to meet with Putin, citing senior US officials and other sources.

Russian government sources told NHK on Wednesday that candidate sites for the summit include Far Eastern Federal University on an island off central Vladivostok.

At the university, the Eastern Economic Forum international gathering is scheduled to be held for four days from Sunday. Security has already been tightened there.

Sources at the university revealed on Tuesday that students and others entering the campus have been instructed to take coronavirus tests.

Topics in the summit will likely include the North's possible supply of weapons to Russia as Moscow's aggression in Ukraine continues.

The sources said a visit by the two leaders to military facilities in the region is being considered.

But the Russian government sources added that the North Korean side has a history of changing plans, indicating discussions on the meeting will continue.

It would be the second summit between the leaders, following one in 2019, also in Vladivostok.

Key words : taiwanese visiting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230906_26/

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting the Kingdom of Eswatini, the only African country that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and expressed her eagerness to expand ties with the continent.

Tsai is in Eswatini to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the country's independence.

On Tuesday, she met Eswatini's King Mswati III and oversaw the signing of three cooperative documents, including a memorandum on support for female entrepreneurs.

The Taiwanese presidential office says the king thanked Taiwan's support for Eswatini and vowed to continue efforts to have Taiwan join all UN bodies.

Tsai later attended a gathering of Taiwanese from across Africa.

She pledged to steadily implement "Project Africa" to help facilitate the work of Taiwanese in Africa.

She added the next time Taiwan's president visits Africa, countries other than Eswatini could be on the itinerary.

"Project Africa" aims to deepen cooperation between Taiwan and African nations in various fields. It was launched by Tsai after her previous visit to Eswatini five years ago.

Taiwan is trying to counter China's growing influence in Africa. Taiwan has opened a representative office in Somaliland, which unilaterally declared independence from Somalia.

Key words : survivor online
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230903_05/

An online exhibition promoting a nuclear-free world has opened, set up by a group of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Hidankyo, says the threat of nuclear weapons is increasing as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.

The group's Assistant Secretary General Hamasumi Jiro said the world must be informed of the consequences of nuclear weapons now more than ever, amid the heightened risk of nuclear weapons being used.

The exhibition, made up of about 50 panels of photos and texts, was set up by the confederation and other non-profit organizations.

It features items displayed in the past by the group at the UN Headquarters and elsewhere. Online visitors can see images of the devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after the bombings.

The site is available in Japanese and English to highlight the efforts of the survivors and others whose aim is to realize a world without nuclear weapons.

Officials say that the English site has been accessed mainly by overseas viewers in the US.

Crowdfunding is helping to manage the site with hopes of soon making it available in the languages of nuclear states such as Russia and China.