at 18:30 (JST), January 19

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/20240119183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : fujitsu action
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240119_02/

Japanese tech firm Fujitsu has announced that it will take "appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation" in a scandal in which British Post Office branch managers were wrongly prosecuted due to the firm's faulty accounting software.

The Fujitsu Group released a statement on Thursday, Japan time. The move came after a Fujitsu executive said before the UK Parliament on Tuesday that the company has a "moral obligation" to compensate the victims.

The statement says Fujitsu "offers its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families."

It also says Fujitsu will be working with the UK government on steps it should take, based on the findings of a public inquiry being held in Britain on the issue.

The UK government indicated that it will ask Fujitsu to shoulder part of the compensation if the inquiry holds the company accountable.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 British Post Office branch managers were prosecuted for offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting after Fujitsu's software, Horizon, indicated money was missing from their branches.

In 2019, a UK court found the software flawed in a lawsuit filed by a group of postal managers and others.

The scandal came back into the spotlight after a British TV drama about it earlier this month.

Key words : iran and pakistan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240119_N01/

Iran and Pakistan have exchanged a series of strikes and counterstrikes along their border. Global leaders are urging them to exercise maximum restraint.

On Tuesday, Pakistan was struck by missile and drone attacks that killed two children. On Thursday, it launched retaliatory attacks on targets in southeastern Iran. Pakistani officials say they conducted "precision military strikes" on what they called a "terrorist hideouts."

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed the attacks. He said, "Based on the information we received, four children, three women and two men, who were non-Iranian citizens, were killed in an explosion in a village."

Each side has accused the other of harboring terrorists. Both spoke of having "good neighborly relations."

Earlier this week, Iran also fired missiles at targets in Syria and Iraq.

On Thursday, protesters gathered on the streets of Iraq's Dohuk. One man said, "We are calling on the central government -- where is the sovereignty? Where is the sovereignty of Iraq?"

Officials at the White House said they do not want to see any escalation. President Joe Biden commented on Thursday that the latest clash shows that Iran is not "particularly well-liked" in the region.

Key words : north south 196
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240119_03/

Seoul says nearly 200 North Koreans defected to the South in 2023, almost tripling from the previous year. It also says younger people made up over 50 percent of the total while the number of elite escapees also grew.

The Unification Ministry says 196 North Korean defectors arrived in the South last year. There were 63 in 2021 and 67 in 2022.

The ministry partly attributes the rise to the easing of coronavirus movement curbs as most of the defectors reached South Korea after spending an extended period in transit countries, such as China.

More than half, or 99, of the defectors were in their 20s or 30s.

Ministry officials say these younger North Koreans have been enduring government controls while receiving few benefits from the regime, with the rationing system long gone.

The officials add that such North Koreans have "different levels" of trust in the regime compared with older generations.

The ministry also says the defectors included about 10 elite individuals, the most since 2017.

South Korean media say the elite in the North include diplomats and nationals based overseas. They suggested that as countries began loosening their coronavirus border restrictions, elite North Koreans who were recalled to their home country may have grown concerned about their future and decided to defect to South Korea.

Key words : beauty of piano
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20231205134447959/

Beauty and strength of left-handed pianist

The beauty of piano music lies in the intertwining of melodies. One pianist in western Japan achieves this by playing only her left hand. She has a progressive disease and does not know when she will have to stop performing. This report reflects her passion for playing the piano.