at 18:30 (JST), December 14

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/20231214183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Kishida replaced four
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231214_35/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is dealing with the fallout from a political money scandal. It involves a party faction once led by one of Kishida's predecessors, the late Abe Shinzo. Kishida is trying to find a way ahead, and as part of that, he has replaced four members of his cabinet.

The new ministers went to the Imperial Palace Thursday evening to be endorsed by Emperor Naruhito. They have officially taken office.

Hayashi Yoshimasa is now chief cabinet secretary. That means he is also the government's top spokesperson.

Saito Ken is the minister for economy, trade and industry.

Matsumoto Takeaki is the minister for internal affairs and communications.

Sakamoto Tetsushi is the minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The reshuffle comes during an investigation by prosecutors. Their focus is the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The investigators believe the offices of party members in a faction named after Abe underreported kickbacks from sales of fundraiser tickets.

Prime Minister Kishida has been promising to try to regain public trust.

Some senior officials in the Liberal Democratic Party are also on the way out. Policy chief Hagiuda Koichi, diet affairs chief Takagi Tsuyoshi and secretary-general for the Upper House Seko Hiroshige have submitted their resignations.

They all belong to the Abe faction. Prime Minister Kishida says he will appoint replacements as early as the end of next week.

Key words : nakajima
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_34/

A Japanese medical doctor has talked to reporters in Tokyo about the dire situation in the Gaza Strip in which she was really aware of the possibility of her own death.

Nakajima Yuko was providing emergency medical service and anesthesia at a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis for about three weeks. She belongs to the international non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders.

Nakajima entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt on November 14 and left the enclave on December 7.

She said at a news conference on Wednesday that military attacks were particularly fierce on November 23, just before a pause in the conflict, and on December 1, after the resumption of fighting.
She referred to a description she wrote in her smartphone diary that she could die anytime in such a situation.

Nakajima said the hospital had accepted a total of 5,166 injured people during the period from October 7, when the conflict broke out, through December 10. 1,468 other people were dead on arrival at hospital.

She noted that about 20 people were rushed to hospital at once following the resumption of fighting, and operating rooms were always full and corridors and lobbies were packed with patients and evacuees.

Nakajima said that although she had been working in Syria and other places, she has never perceived the devastating power of war of Gaza's intensity. She said in tears it is the first time that she has felt weakened to such an extent in her activities so far.

The doctor said she has received a message from the people in Gaza that asks her to convey their situation to the people in Japan, and not to forget them.

She said she will continue to inform what she has experienced there and seek an immediate ceasefire.

Key words : discovered species
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_31/

A fossil found in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, has been identified as that of a new species of mosasaur -- the apex ocean predator during the Cretaceous period.

The six-meter-long fossilized skeleton was discovered in 2006 in a stratum dating back to about 72 million years ago.

A research team led by University of Cincinnati Associate Professor Konishi Takuya examined the fossil in detail, and announced its findings this month in a British paleontology journal.

The fossil has features not seen in other mosasaur skeletons, such as well-developed front flippers and a possible dolphin-like dorsal fin, judging from the shape of the spine.

The new species has been named Wakayama "blue dragon," or "Wakayama Soryu," after where it was found.

The new species of the extinct giant marine reptile is thought to have swam around the oceans like turtles, using its front flippers.

The team describes the fossil as a valuable reference that shows the diverse evolution of mosasaurs.

Misaki Akihiro, of the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History, found the fossil 17 years ago. He is now a member of Konishi's team.

Misaki said the place where the new species was unearthed is where he had been digging for fossils since he was in grade school. He added that he is profoundly moved to learn it was a new species and named after his home prefecture.

Key words : top officers ground self
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231214_05/

Top officers from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the US, Australian and Philippine armies have confirmed they will further strengthen cooperation for stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The officers met at Japan's Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.

GSDF Chief of Staff Gen. Morishita Yasunori said he hopes the meeting serves peace and deterrence in the region by discussing what defense cooperation the four countries can arrange in the Indo-Pacific region.

Gen. Charles Flynn, commander of the US Army Pacific, said the multilateral talks helped participants create bonds and find unity in their efforts toward the future.

The officers discussed defense cooperation, including exercises among their countries.

It was the first time for officers in such senior positions from the four countries to hold talks. The meeting comes at a time when China is stepping up its maritime activity.

The GSDF and the US Army held a large-scale command post drill from November through Wednesday, aimed at boosting preparedness for the defense of Japan. Australia joined the exercise for the first time, and the Philippines inspected it.

Key words : 86
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_24/

A member of the Chinese Communist Party leadership condemned the deeds of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military, but stressed the need to forge stable relations with Japan at a ceremony to mark the 86th anniversary of the Nanjing Incident.

China designates December 13 as the day to mourn the victims of the incident.

The Chinese government says atrocious acts were committed after the Japanese military entered Nanjing in 1937.

The Japanese government says it is undeniable that the killing of noncombatants occurred, but it maintains that it is difficult to determine the exact number of victims.

Li Hongzhong, a member of the Chinese Communist Party politburo and a vice chairperson of the National People's Congress, attended Wednesday's ceremony in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

He claimed that 300,000 compatriots were killed, and criticized Japan's actions as having left a dark page in the history of human civilization.

But Li also noted that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

He called for efforts to establish constructive and stable bilateral ties that meet the needs of a new era.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed at their summit meeting last month efforts to promote a mutually beneficial strategic relationship. They also agreed to maintain close communication at all levels.

Key words : un report opium
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_23/

A UN report says Myanmar has become the world's largest source of opium due to the country's instability and a plunge in production by previous top supplier Afghanistan.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, released this year's Southeast Asia Opium Survey on Tuesday.

The report says Myanmar's area of opium poppy cultivation is estimated to have grown to 47,100 hectares, up 18 percent from last year. It adds that the country's opium yield for this year is estimated at 1,080 tons, the most since 2001.

The report notes that cultivation areas have expanded by 20 percent in the eastern Shan State, where fighting between the military and armed ethnic minority groups has intensified.

It says farmers in Myanmar now earn about 75 percent more from opium poppy growing, as the flower is being sold for 355 dollars per kilogram, up 27 percent from last year.

The report says the growth in cultivation came after farmers turned to the lucrative cash crop to survive after the country's military coup in 2021.

The report also says opium poppy production in Afghanistan is thought to have plunged by 95 percent this year. It adds that the Taliban, which now control the country, have imposed a strict ban on the flower's cultivation.

Key words : ealth ministry 30s
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_36/

Japan's health ministry says a man in his 30s has died from mpox. This is the country's first known death from the viral disease formerly called monkeypox.

The ministry says the man was a resident of Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. It says he was also infected with the HIV virus and immunocompromised.

Mpox is a viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever and rash. Many patients have mild symptoms and recover naturally. But children, pregnant women and people with reduced immunity are said to be at risk of serious illness.

Japan's first case of mpox was confirmed in July last year. The health ministry says 227 cases were confirmed until December 3.

People can be infected with the virus through contact with blood or other body fluids of infected persons or animals, or extended exposure to droplets at a close distance.

The health ministry urges people to take basic anti-infection measures such as sanitizing their hands, and to consult medical institutions if they develop fever, rash or other symptoms.

Professor Morikawa Shigeru of the Okayama University of Science says the mortality rate for mpox patients is said to be less than 1 percent.

But he says cases have been reported overseas in which mpox patients with compromised immune systems due to HIV infection or other illnesses experienced severe symptoms or died.

The professor says those at high risk of becoming seriously ill and suspected to be infected should seek immediate testing and treatment if their health conditions deteriorate.