at 18:30 (JST), September 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/20230925183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : one month passed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_09/

One month has passed since the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began releasing treated and diluted water into the Pacific Ocean.

The first round of the release ended on September 11.

The nuclear plant suffered a triple meltdown in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Water used to cool molten fuel has been mixing with rain and groundwater that seeps into the damaged reactor buildings.

The accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances, but still contains tritium. The treated water is stored in more than 1,000 tanks.

Before releasing the treated water into the ocean, the plant's operator dilutes it to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water.

The operator says it discharged 10 tanks or nearly 8,000 tons of treated water in the first round.

The storage tanks were 98 percent full before the release. But following the discharge, the amount of stored treated water decreased for the first time since the 2011 accident from 1.345 million tons to 1.338 million tons.

Ever since the start of the release, Tokyo Electric Power Company as well as central and local government officials have been testing seawater and fish samples from multiple points offshore from the plant.

As for the seawater, they say the concentration of tritium has been 10 becquerels per liter at the highest so far. This is far below 700 becquerels per liter, the level set by the utility for suspending the release.

Analyses of fish samples also showed all below the detectable level of 10 becquerels.

The utility plans to carry out four rounds of the water discharge during the fiscal year that ends next March. A total of 31,200 tons of water will be released -- the equivalent of 40 full tanks.

Key words : seafood tumble
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_10/

Wholesalers at Tokyo's Toyosu market have seen sales tumble due to import restrictions imposed by China in response to the release of treated and diluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

China suspended all imports of Japanese seafood following the start of the discharge operation in August. Hong Kong and Macao have since banned imports of marine products from 10 prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo.

One wholesaler at Toyosu exports premium fish to more than 20 countries and regions. In the past, about half of its shipments went to Hong Kong and some went to mainland China.

Now the firm says its monthly sales have fallen by hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the import suspension, among other reasons.

The firm had hoped to rely on exporting seafood excluded from the ban to Hong Kong and elsewhere.

But it says customs inspections now takes longer than in the past.

That makes it impossible for the firm to have fresh fish caught in the morning shipped to customers by evening for higher profit margins.

The firm is now considering exploring markets in the Middle East and elsewhere, as well as strengthening its sales in Japan.

But the path to recovery is uncertain, as it is not easy to find new business partners and domestic demand for expensive fish is limited.

The president of Yamaharu says his company is at a loss.

He says he hopes Japanese politicians would do a better job persuading China and Hong Kong to rethink their policies.

Key words : effort persuade world trade
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_12/

Sunday marks one month since the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began releasing treated and diluted water into the Pacific Ocean. Japan's government plans to step up calls on China to end the suspension of Japanese seafood imports that it imposed in response.

The first round of the release started on August 24.

Since then, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has been taking every opportunity to expound the scientific safety of the water release to leaders from around the world.

Many countries have expressed their understanding and support for Japan's decision.

Kishida said his efforts have paid off.

China, on the other hand, remains adamant about its opposition and is showing no sign of budging.

The Japanese government says it will continue its effort to persuade China to lift its restrictions in any way possible. It is considering utilizing the frameworks of entities such as the World Trade Organization.

Key words : xi willing to resume resumption
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_01/

The Chinese president has told the South Korean prime minister that he is willing to resume holding annual trilateral China, Japan, South Korea summit meetings at an appropriate time.

Xi Jinping met with Han Duck-soo in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday. Han is visiting the city to attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games. The event kicks off on that day.

A high-ranking South Korean government official said Xi told Han that Beijing appreciates Seoul's efforts to bring about a resumption of the three-way summits. The meetings have been suspended for four years.

The official quoted Xi as saying that a summit meeting held at an appropriate time would be welcome.

Han told Xi that South Korea will take steps to ensure that a summit can be held promptly. He reportedly said that his country will start by hosting a high-level trilateral meeting in Seoul in the coming days.

Han said Seoul wants to hold top-level talks by the end of this year. South Korea is set to assume the rotating chair of the next trilateral summit.

The prime minister also urged Xi to play a constructive role in resolving the situation on the Korean Peninsula. His comments come as Russia and North Korea have recently taken a step closer to cooperating on military and other matters.

Xi reportedly responded that China has always supported inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation. He is said to have added that Beijing will continue to work to bring about peace and stability on the peninsula.

Key words : southeast exercise rising
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_03/

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have strengthened cooperation in maritime security through their first-ever joint military exercise on Indonesian islands in the South China Sea, where China has been increasing maritime activities.

Indonesia hosted the military drills that took place from Tuesday through Saturday on the Natuna Islands and elsewhere. Jakarta holds this year's rotating chair of ASEAN.

Four member nations, including Indonesia and Singapore, sent naval vessels to conduct maritime patrols, and rescue operations.

The last day's drill was based on a scenario of a large-scale disaster occurring on an island. The participants confirmed their cooperation on such activities as delivering relief supplies by military aircraft.

The joint exercise came amid rising tensions with Beijing over the South China Sea.

Last month, Beijing published a new map claiming most of the South China Sea, including disputed waters, as Chinese territory. That sparked protests by several ASEAN members.

In recent years, Chinese ships have entered Indonesia's exclusive economic zones.

Indonesia's military chief, Yudo Margono, said the gathering of naval vessels from various countries will have a strategic impact on regional stability.
He apparently had China in mind, although he avoided mentioning the country by name.

Some media outlets reported Indonesia initially planned to conduct the joint exercise in waters near its EEZ, but changed the location, saying it was not a combat operation.

The relocation was apparently made to avoid excessively provoking China, which is ASEAN's largest trading partner.

Key words : job fair india
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230925_04/

Japanese companies have taken part in a job fair for students at one of India's most prestigious scientific colleges in the hope of recruiting talent in IT and other fields.

The event was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad on Sunday. It was organized by the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO.

Officials from 20 Japanese firms participated, including a major electronics maker, a flea market app provider and a startup.

More than 200 students listened to presentations. Many of them asked questions about hiring schedules, future career options and other matters.

The head of a plant equipment manufacturer in Gifu Prefecture said the firm is eager to employ graduates from the world's top class college. He noted that the company's low name recognition is making it hard for the firm to hire engineers in Japan.

A student who attended the fair expressed interest in Japan, saying the country is making the world better through technologies. He said he wants to choose the company to work for not by salary but by the technologies it owns and the projects it works on.

Key words : health ministry aftereffects
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230923_11/

A Japanese government survey has found that about 10 to 20 percent of adults infected with the coronavirus had aftereffects, including cough and fatigue, for more than two months after infection.

A team from the health ministry surveyed about 195,000 residents aged five to 79 in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, Yao City in Osaka, and Sapporo City in Hokkaido. About 30 percent of them responded.

The percentage of adults who replied that they had been infected by last September and suffered from post-COVID symptoms for more than two months afterwards was 23.4 percent in Sapporo, 15.0 percent in Yao, and 11.7 percent in Shinagawa.

The team surveyed children aged five to 17 in Sapporo and Yao.

The rate of those with post-infection symptoms was 6.3 percent in both municipalities -- lower than in adults.

A member of the team, Doctor Iso Hiroyasu from the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, said the large-scale survey confirmed that many people infected with the virus are suffering from prolonged symptoms.

He also said that such symptoms apparently have an effect on lives of some people. He added that he will further study how symptoms change with the passage of time, in addition to continuous treatment.

Key words : asahi shuzo
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230924_11/

A Japanese sake maker known for its Dassai brand opened a brewery on Saturday in Hyde Park in New York State.

Asahi Shuzo, based in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, built the facility. Its Dassai Blue brand sake will hit New York store shelves on Monday. A 720-milliliter bottle will go for just under 35 dollars.

The brewery says it will use sake rice imported from Japan at first, but there are plans to use Arkansas-grown rice in the future.

Asahi Shuzo CEO Sakurai Kazuhiro said at a news conference that he wants to increase the presence of Japanese sake in the United States.

Sake is growing in popularity in the United States. In May, a US firm opened a large-scale sake brewery in Arkansas. An industry group says there are now more than 20 such establishments in the country. The New York Times has published a report stating that "Sake is booming in America."