at 18:30 (JST), January 04

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/20240104183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : rescue worker
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240104_16/

Rescue workers continue to search for survivors of Monday's devastating earthquake along the Sea of Japan coast. Their efforts are being hampered by ongoing tremors.

At least 78 people have now been confirmed dead after the quake struck, with Ishikawa Prefecture the hardest-hit area.

The Ishikawa prefectural government has released the names and ages of 25 people who remain unaccounted for.

A woman in the city of Wajima was rescued from beneath a collapsed building twelve hours after the rescue operation began. She was unconscious.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has instructed ministries and agencies to put utmost priority on saving lives.

About 30-thousand households in Ishikawa Prefecture were without power as of 5 a.m. on Thursday.

Some 110-thousand households in the prefectures of Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata are still without water.
There have been nearly 600 tremors as of Thursday morning in the Noto area of Ishikawa Prefecture and places along the Sea of Japan coast.

Rain is falling in some of the affected areas, including the Hokuriku region and Niigata Prefecture. Weather officials are warning that the rainfall could raise the risks of further landslides, and are calling on people to be vigilant.

Key words : dramatic evacuation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240103_28/

Japan Airlines officials are shedding light on the dramatic evacuation of a plane that collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft on Tuesday at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. They say all 379 passengers and crew had escaped 18 minutes after landing.

They say Flight 516 arrived from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, landing on runway C at around 5:47 p.m.

The officials say the aircraft collided with the Coast Guard plane immediately after landing, and caught fire.

The plane stopped after traveling about one kilometer, and the people on board escaped from three emergency exits.

The officials say the last person escaped at 6:05 p.m.

Key words : evacuation two exit
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240104_06/

Japan Airlines has provided details on how its crew safely evacuated all the passengers from a burning jet in 18 minutes.

The airline says Flight 516 arrived from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, landing on Runway C at around 5:47 p.m., before colliding with a Japan Coast Guard plane and bursting into flames.

The plane skidded along the runway for about a kilometer before coming to a halt.

The pilots in the cockpit were unaware that a fire had broken out, but the flight attendants noticed the aircraft was on fire.

By then, smoke began to fill the cabin. The flight attendants urged passengers to remain calm.

Of the nine flight attendants on board, the chief reported to the cockpit that the plane was burning as the cabin crew needed permission from the cockpit to open the emergency exits.

There were eight emergency exits. The evacuation began from two exits at the front of the plane.

Only one other exit at the left rear was safe from the fire, but the intercom system was no longer functioning, so the cockpit could not give the go-ahead.

The flight attendants opened the left rear door on their own initiative to allow the passengers to slide down the escape chutes. The decision was made in line with existing evacuation procedures.

The captain was the last person to set foot on the ground from the escape chute. That was at 6:05 p.m., 18 minutes after landing.

JAL officials say everyone was able to escape as the cabin crew continued to ensure the safety of the passengers and took action based on their own decisions.

Key words : 130 cancel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240104_10/

More than 130 domestic flights using Tokyo's Haneda Airport are canceled on Thursday, due to the plane collision on Tuesday evening.

Around 28,000 passengers of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are likely to be affected.

Japan Airlines canceled 66 domestic flights to and from Haneda.

All Nippon Airways scrapped 65 domestic flights.

Air carriers say their schedules may still change. They are advising passengers to stay updated with the latest flight information.

Key words : philippines joint
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240104_07/

The Philippines and the United States have begun a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea.

The Philippine military on Wednesday announced the two-day joint maritime and air patrols with the US military.

This is the second time the two sides have taken part in joint drills in the South China Sea under the helm of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The Philippines deployed four combat vessels while the US deployed the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, two destroyers, a cruiser and multiple combat aircraft, signifying an exercise of a grander scale.

Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said the joint military activity marks a significant leap in the bilateral alliance.

He noted that the alliance is stronger than ever, and that they are advancing a rules-based international order and a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of regional challenges.

The remarks are apparently aimed at countering China's growing presence in the South China Sea.

China has hit back. The Chinese military's Southern Theater Command late Wednesday disclosed it will conduct routine patrols in the South China Sea from Wednesday to Thursday.

It said troops in the area will be on high alert at all times, and will defend China's national sovereignty, security and maritime rights.

Key words : taiwan defense ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240103_21/

Taiwan's defense ministry says it detected four balloons from China crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, with three of them flying above the main island.

The ministry said on Wednesday that it spotted the balloons from morning through evening on Tuesday.

The ministry gives a daily update on Chinese military aircraft that have been spotted near Taiwan over the past 24 hours. Last month, it also began to report the number of balloons that flew from China.

All the balloons the ministry reported in December were detected over the surrounding waters. But the ministry confirmed balloons flew above Taiwan's main island for two days in a row since the beginning of the year.

The ministry had said until Tuesday that it believed the balloons were for weather monitoring, but did not give a view in Wednesday's update.

Some observers in Taiwan speculate that the series of balloon incidents are Beijing's attempt to put pressure ahead of Taiwan's presidential election scheduled for Saturday next week.

Taiwan's defense ministry says it has been aware that the number of balloons flying from China tends to increase in winter due to wind direction.

Officials said that the ministry began a daily report on balloons to let people in Taiwan know that they are keeping an eye on the situation, and to reduce opportunities for China to spread misleading information.

Key words : four men
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240104_05/

Four men on board a train running on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line were injured by a knife-wielding female passenger late Wednesday.

Three were taken to hospital after being wounded in the chest and back. They are reportedly conscious.

Tokyo police arrested the woman on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder after the train made an emergency stop at Akihabara Station. They say the assailant appears to be in her 20s.

Police say the incident occurred shortly before 11 p.m. They say the woman has basically admitted to the charge.

Police confiscated a knife they found at the scene.

A video taken by a bystander shows a person wearing a white jacket surrounded by police in the stopped train.

He said the suspect's head was bowed, and she did not resist the officers.

He said the situation at the scene was extremely tense, with many police officers in attendance and the victims being given first-aid treatment on the platform.

Key words : false tsunami
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240102_11/

Misleading or false information has been spreading online concerning the earthquake and tsunami that hit central Japan on Monday.

Immediately after the quake, videos purportedly showing the damage, as well as rescue requests from people claiming to be trapped under collapsed buildings, were posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

NHK has verified that some of the posts contain fake information. Some posts calling for help included non-existent addresses or unrelated videos. Some of the footage showed the tsunami that hit Japan after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. One such post has been viewed more than one million times.

Some posts include unfounded information on the causes of the quake and the fire in Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture, as well as about the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture. One account calls for donations via electronic money, with the author claiming to have been affected by the disaster.

Fake news tends to spread at the time of a disaster when many people seek information. It could cause confusion at disaster-hit areas and hamper rescue efforts. Social media users should verify the authenticity of any information or media before reposting it.