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/20240111183000_english_1.mp3
Key words : death hardest noto
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240111_03/
An expert has warned that living conditions at evacuation centers that opened following the Noto Peninsula earthquake in central Japan threaten the health of people staying there. He is calling for swift improvements.
Ueda Shinsaku at Japanese Red Cross Ishinomaki Hospital, who heads the Society for Disaster Shelter and Refuge Life, visited the hardest-hit Ishikawa Prefecture with eight staff members of the hospital from last Thursday to Sunday. They worked at three evacuation centers in Suzu City.
Ueda said seniors account for more than 90 percent of people staying at some shelters, and that many evacuees are sleeping on blankets and sheets on the floor. He said they keep their shoes on indoors to ward off the cold.
Ueda pointed out that wearing shoes indoors raises the risk of developing pneumonia and other diseases because people may inhale dust from shoes while sleeping.
Ueda said his team persuaded evacuees at one shelter to refrain from wearing their shoes inside, and that they asked local officials at each center to set aside a room where children can play.
Ueda said many of the disaster-related deaths were caused by poor living conditions in shelters, based on the experience of the huge earthquake that hit northeastern Japan in 2011 and other cases.
He added that support is also needed to improve the living environment and hygiene conditions of people who are staying in places other than shelters, such as their homes.
Key words : isolated noto peninsula epicenter
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_02/
Rescue efforts continue in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck on New Year's Day.
Officials in Ishikawa Prefecture say 202 people are confirmed dead and over 100 remain unaccounted for.
Police have mounted an intensive search for the missing after a fire near the quake's epicenter in Wajima City. The blaze is estimated to have burned 48,000 square meters and destroyed more than 200 buildings.
A resident who lost her home and is now staying at a shelter said, "My next-door neighbors on both sides and behind me are all missing. I'm afraid they are all buried here. I hope they will be found."
Among the quake victims was five-year-old Nakagawa Kanato. He was burned by a boiling kettle on a stove when the quake hit.
His mother said their home was damaged so they waited in a hospital lobby for one night, before going to a relative's house.
The mother said, "The doctor said my son's burns weren't considered serious enough, so he wasn't admitted to the hospital."
She said Kanato's condition suddenly worsened, and he died two days later.
She said, "He was a thoughtful child, and he was kind to everyone. I want him back. I wish I had played with him more. I'm full of regret."
Ongoing relief efforts are being hampered by damaged roads and winter weather.
As of Tuesday evening, more than 3,000 people in the northern part of the peninsula were still isolated.
Water and electricity remain cut off in some areas.
A group of Vietnamese technical trainees working at a local inn spoke to NHK about the difficulties they are facing getting drinking water.
They are relying on a nearby spring for cleaning, but the water is not drinkable.
Over 26,000 people are staying at temporary shelters.
At a shelter in Wajima, concerns over hygiene and garbage disposal are mounting.
A garbage collection worker said, "My house has been damaged. But I need to keep working to get everyone's life back to normal."
Some people have opted to sleep in their cars.
Among them is Kakuto Giichi, whose weak legs make a shelter-stay difficult. His daughter brings him water, food and medicine.
Kakuto said, "I've never had such a hardship in my 75 years of life."
Heavy rain or snow is forecast for the disaster-hit areas on Wednesday.
Officials are advising evacuees to take precautions against hypothermia.
Key words : nuclear authority study
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_21/
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has discussed problems that occurred at a nuclear power plant after it was hit by the devastating January 1 earthquake.
The authority called for studying whether it is necessary to review anti-quake measures of the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture and other plants.
The quake hit Shika Town on the Sea of Japan coast, home of the nuclear power plant. The quake in the town registered 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, the highest level possible.
The quake damaged the piping of transformers used to supply power from outside to the plant's two reactors, resulting in the leaking of oil for insulation and cooling. Part of the power supply system remains unusable.
The plant's operator Hokuriku Electric Power said the plant has used other means to supply power to critical equipment, such as those used to cool the spent nuclear fuel pools.
NRA members expressed their views at a meeting held on Wednesday.
One member noted that potential damage to the surviving transformers from future aftershocks must be considered. The member added that the cause of the problems should be clarified, while efforts to get damaged equipment functioning again should be expedited.
Another member said cases where power cannot be supplied due to malfunctioning inside the plant have not been considered. The person called for studying whether relevant measures should be tightened or not.
The NRA secretariat plans to accelerate the restoration of damaged transformers and identify the cause of the problems. It also intends to study whether to review anti-quake measures.
Both the No.1 and No.2 reactors at the plant were taken offline long before the quake.
Key words : learned pilot brake
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240111_04/
NHK has learned that the pilots of the passenger plane that collided with a coast guard aircraft at Haneda Airport on January 2 said the plane was uncontrollable after the crash.
The Japan Airlines Airbus A350 collided with the coast guard De Havilland Canada Dash 8 on a runway immediately after touching down at the airport in Tokyo and burst into flames. All the 379 passengers and crew members aboard the JAL plane had evacuated within 18 minutes. Five of the six crew on the coast guard plane died.
JAL interviewed the pilots of the jet on what happened before and after the crash.
According to the airline's report, the pilots said they saw "something" momentarily immediately after the plane landed normally and felt a strong impact. They said they then felt the aircraft was skidding.
The report says the captain tried to operate the brakes, tail rudder and the steering mechanism, among other actions, but they did not function.
Asked about the situation after the aircraft came to a stop on the grass apron by the runway, the pilots said the cockpit was pitch black and that they immediately realized an emergency evacuation would be necessary.
But they said the light to indicate the spraying of fire extinguishing agents on the engines has been completed was not on. They added that the system for instructing flight attendants to carry out an emergency evacuation was not working either.
The government's Transport Safety Board is also investigating events from the collision until the evacuation.
Key words : government reinforce seabed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_20/
The Japanese government has started work to reinforce the ground at a planned relocation site for a US military base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.
The government plans to reclaim land off Henoko in Nago City to transfer the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station. The station is currently located in the densely populated city of Ginowan, also in the prefecture.
The Okinawa prefectural government has opposed the relocation plan and refused to approve the necessary work to reinforce the soft seabed at Oura Bay.
Construction crews began work after the central government won a court ruling last month that allowed the land ministry to override the prefecture's objections.
A work vessel loaded with stones and power shovels were observed on Wednesday morning at the planned site of an offshore construction yard. Two shovels began dumping stones into the water shortly past noon.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said he was briefed by the Defense Ministry that the work had started. He added that Wednesday marks the beginning of the project, which is expected to be finished in nine years and three months.
He said he expects talks between the central and Okinawa governments over the construction project will continue to be held appropriately, but the work started on Wednesday is outside the consultations.
Asked about whether the project is necessary amid the opposition from the prefecture, Hayashi said the government believes that relocating the US base to Henoko is the only solution to allow the return of the Futenma base and avoid possible danger in the neighborhood.
He also said the government will continue to provide detailed briefings to local residents and make the utmost efforts to reduce the prefecture's burden of hosting US bases.
Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny told reporters on Wednesday that this is something the government is doing for its own convenience, and it is extremely regrettable.
Key words : transfer futenma
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_20/
The Japanese government has started work to reinforce the ground at a planned relocation site for a US military base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.
The government plans to reclaim land off Henoko in Nago City to transfer the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station. The station is currently located in the densely populated city of Ginowan, also in the prefecture.
The Okinawa prefectural government has opposed the relocation plan and refused to approve the necessary work to reinforce the soft seabed at Oura Bay.
Construction crews began work after the central government won a court ruling last month that allowed the land ministry to override the prefecture's objections.
A work vessel loaded with stones and power shovels were observed on Wednesday morning at the planned site of an offshore construction yard. Two shovels began dumping stones into the water shortly past noon.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said he was briefed by the Defense Ministry that the work had started. He added that Wednesday marks the beginning of the project, which is expected to be finished in nine years and three months.
He said he expects talks between the central and Okinawa governments over the construction project will continue to be held appropriately, but the work started on Wednesday is outside the consultations.
Asked about whether the project is necessary amid the opposition from the prefecture, Hayashi said the government believes that relocating the US base to Henoko is the only solution to allow the return of the Futenma base and avoid possible danger in the neighborhood.
He also said the government will continue to provide detailed briefings to local residents and make the utmost efforts to reduce the prefecture's burden of hosting US bases.
Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny told reporters on Wednesday that this is something the government is doing for its own convenience, and it is extremely regrettable.
Key words : operator preparation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_32/
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has started preparations to remove nuclear debris from one of the three reactors that suffered a meltdown in 2011.
The debris is a mixture of molten nuclear fuel and parts of the reactor structure. Its removal is the biggest challenge in decommissioning the plant.
The government and the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, plan to conduct a test retrieval of a small amount of debris from the No.2 reactor by March.
Technicians will deploy a remote-controlled robotic arm. But they first need to remove accumulated sediment blocking the pipe to the reactor containment vessel.
On Wednesday, workers used a bar-like tool to break down the sediment at the entrance of the pipe.
They plan to spray high pressure water to clear it. But it's not known whether the process will go as planned, because the operator is yet to confirm how solid the remaining deposits are.
TEPCO says it may use another device instead of the robotic arm if the sediment cannot be removed. This could delay plans to start removing the fuel debris by March.
Key words : india biggest forum
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240110_33/
In India, the year's biggest business forum began on Wednesday.
Government officials and business leaders from over 130 countries and regions are gathering for the three-day event in Gandhinagar, in the western state of Gujarat.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for investments in advanced technologies his government is committed to fostering, like semiconductors.
India now has the largest population of any country in the world. Its economy is steaming ahead, attracting attention from global investors.
The government says total investment commitments made by companies on the event's first day topped 86 billion dollars.
About 30 Japanese firms are taking part. They are promoting technologies in fields such as semiconductors and renewable energy.
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