at 18:30 (JST), January 18

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/20240118183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : hundreds of students more than 15,000
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240118_02/

Hundreds of students are temporarily leaving areas in central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa hit by a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day. Officials are encouraging other residents to relocate as well, given the amount of time required to rebuild infrastructure.

One of the students is Miyawaki Mizuki, who attends a junior high school in Wajima City. He plans to take exams in March to go on to high school. With his current school being used as an emergency shelter, he decided to leave his family to stay in Hakusan City, a two-hour drive away.

He confesses to being a little worried about the move, but says the facility there is well equipped.

The group evacuation is expected to last for about two months. Teachers from Wajima schools will be responsible for the students at the new site.

Mizuki's father, Manabu, said he can only tell his son to do his best. He said he hopes his son will "grow up a bit and come back."

More than 15,000 people are still staying at temporary shelters, such as school gymnasiums and community centers.

Self-Defense Forces personnel have been evacuating people from communities cut off by damaged roads. The evacuation of more than 300 people in the Nishiho district of Wajima is almost complete. Elsewhere, as of Wednesday, more than 50 people remained stranded there.

Some 140 people have registered as volunteers in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa. They are supporting evacuees by keeping shelters clean and distributing meals and relief supplies.

Some are working at a shelter in an area of Kanazawa that escaped damage. Elderly people, pregnant women and others who need special care can stay there before moving to secondary facilities.

The US military in Japan is also lending a hand. On Wednesday, a US Army helicopter transported 100 boxes of food and daily necessities to the disaster zone.

Lt. Col. Nicklaus Franck, commander of the army's Aviation Battalion Japan, said, "All of us here are just humbled to be able to help, at any time something like this happens."

US Forces Japan previously carried out relief missions known as Operation Tomodachi following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. They also transported aid supplies after strong earthquakes in Kumamoto in 2016.

Key words : immigration authorities
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240117_34/

Japan's immigration authorities have taken measures to support foreign nationals affected by the January 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake.

The Immigration Services Agency is extending their residence status in Japan until June 30 without the procedures usually required.

The agency is also taking special measures on working until the end of June.

If technical intern trainees and other foreign workers find it difficult to continue their work due to the earthquake, they will be allowed to find a job of types other than the one stated in their residential certificate.

For such a change, applications by themselves or the businesses that they now belong to are necessary. They will be able to do the new job for up to three months after gaining permission. They are required to return to the original workplace after the period.

Permission is not necessary for the time being for technical trainees to engage in recovery work, such as removing debris, at their workplace.

The deadline is being eased for businesses to report that it has become difficult to continue the technical training program. Support is available on procedures to change trainees' workplaces.

For further details, regional immigration services bureaus provide information on residence and working status. Regarding the technical trainee program, the website of the Organization for Technical Intern Training shows consulting services in eight languages, including Vietnamese, Chinese and Indonesian.

Key words : philippines remote island
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240117_35/

The Philippine military says it plans to build infrastructure on remote islands and reefs it effectively controls in the South China Sea.

The chief of staff of the Philippine military says the development will include equipment for military personnel to live there.
He added that the country will deploy more ships, aircraft and radar equipment in the future to strengthen its defenses.

The Philippines effectively controls a total of 9 islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The country is trying to update its facilities there, partly due to typhoon damage. China is also building a huge artificial island nearby.

In December, the Philippines set up a new Coast Guard station with radar and ship-tracking equipment on Thitu Island. It's the largest territory controlled by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands.

Since last year, tensions between Manila and Beijing have been rising over a series of incidents in the South China Sea amid conflicting claims of sovereignty.

Key words : thailand myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240117_36/

Amid the fighting in Myanmar, neighboring Thailand is reportedly working with the junta to bolster assistance for displaced people along the border.

Myanmar state media says that Thailand sent a senior military official to the capital Naypyitaw for a meeting with the military's top general. The outlet says a high-ranking general of the Royal Thai Army met with Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday and discussed how to stabilize the border. The two reportedly agreed to enhance military exchange.

Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara attended a meeting in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the Myanmar situation. He said Thailand aims to boost humanitarian aid to the border region, adding that both sides have agreed to set up a working group to make assistance more effective.

The humanitarian situation in Myanmar has been deteriorating since the 2021 coup. Thousands of people have fled to Thailand amid fighting between the junta and armed ethnic groups together with democratic forces.

Sources say the Thai government will report on the humanitarian cooperation with Myanmar's military at the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Laos later in January.

Key words : north reaffirm
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240118_03/

North Korea says its foreign minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed close ties between their countries during their latest meeting in Moscow.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui visited Russia from Sunday through Wednesday and met with Putin on Tuesday.

The North's state-run television reported the details of their talks late on Wednesday.

The broadcaster said Choe delivered a "warm greeting" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Putin, who reportedly responded with a New Year's greeting for Kim.

The report said Putin and Choe reaffirmed their position that the two countries seek to open up a new heyday of their "traditional" friendly relations.

Kim has invited Putin to North Korea, but the broadcaster did not comment on whether the Russian leader will visit the North.

Choe also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They reportedly discussed strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation in economy, culture and other fields and agreed to act together in a proactive manner to address the situations in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

Choe was seen leaving a hotel in Moscow around noon on Wednesday. Multiple blue bags bearing the logo of Russia's defense ministry were also seen being pushed on a trolley in the hotel lobby.

Observers say the bags may have been handed by the Russian side to North Korea's delegation.

Key words : explosion thai firework
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240118_05/

Thai police say an explosion at a firework factory in central Thailand has killed around 20 people.

The blast occurred in the province of Suphan Buri on Wednesday.

Workers at the factory were reportedly making fireworks at the time, and they are believed to have been caught up in the explosion.

Footage taken at the site shows the factory building reduced to a skeleton and debris scattered over a wide area.

Local media say a fire broke out at the same factory in 2022, causing casualties.

Thai authorities are investigating how the explosion occurred and if there was any problem with the factory's safety management.

Key words : chitose korean air left wing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240116_42/

Officials at New Chitose Airport in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido say a Korean Air plane clipped a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while taxiing to a runway on Tuesday. Nobody was injured.

The officials say the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. when the Korean Air plane with more than 280 passengers and crew members on board was being pushed by a taxiing vehicle ahead of its flight to Seoul.

The plane then hit the Cathay Pacific aircraft, which was parked after all its passengers from Hong Kong had disembarked.

NHK video footage shows that the tip of Korean Air plane's left wing was broken and the rear part of the Cathay Pacific aircraft was damaged.

Airport officials say there was no fire or fuel leak.

Korean Air officials say the towing vehicle skidded on the snowy tarmac, causing the incident.

Key words : visitor spent
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240117_27/

New data shows that foreign visitors to Japan spent more money than ever in 2023. The total surpassed pre-pandemic levels and the government's annual target of 5 trillion yen.

Preliminary figures from the Japan Tourism Agency show that travelers from abroad spent nearly 5.3 trillion yen, or about 36 billion dollars, during their stays in the country. The total includes accommodation fees.

The amount was up almost 10 percent from the previous record, set in 2019.

Average spending per visitor stood at 212,000 yen, or around 1,400 dollars, up one-third from 4 years earlier.

The Japan National Tourism Organization estimates the number of overseas arrivals was just over 25 million last year. That's nearly 80 percent of the 2019 record and a roughly 6-and-a-half-fold rise from 2022.

Visitors from mainland China used to make up the largest group by country or region. But they are still visiting and spending below pre-pandemic levels.