Asian View
Key words : 47 pro-democracy court
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_24/
Thousands of protesters gathered outside a Hong Kong court on Monday as it opened a trial for 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in violation of a national security law.
The defendants are on trial over unofficial primary elections to choose pro-democracy candidates for a Legislative Council election scheduled for last September. The vote was postponed.
The defendants include pro-democracy leader Joshua Wong and former Legislative Council member Au Nok-hin. Wong has already been sentenced to prison on charges relating to massive demonstrations held in 2019. Au was arrested after he returned to Hong Kong from Japan, where he had been studying at a graduate school of the University of Tokyo.
The defendants were seen arriving for their first hearing.
Several thousand citizens came to the court early in the morning and formed long lines in hopes of watching the proceedings.
They chanted slogans calling for the release of political prisoners and for opposition to tyranny.
Supporters were not allowed in the courtroom and watched the proceedings through a monitor from another room.
Last week, Xia Baolong, the head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, called for reforming Hong Kong's electoral system. The Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, reported the issue will be discussed at the National People's Congress opening in Beijing on Friday.
Key words : myanmar human rights dead
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_03/
Security forces in Myanmar opened fire on protesters Sunday, the day before the one-month anniversary of the February 1 military coup. More than 10 people were reportedly killed.
Mass protests have been taking place across the country following the power grab. In response, security forces have been stepping up their crackdowns.
Local media reported that over 10 people have been killed by security forces who fired on protesters in the largest city of Yangon, the southern city of Dawei and elsewhere.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement, saying it has received "credible information" that the crackdown on Sunday left at least 18 people dead.
Key words : emergency lifted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_21/
Mobile phone data show that foot traffic has slightly increased around some of the major railway stations in six Japanese prefectures where the second coronavirus state of emergency has been lifted.
NHK analyzed big data collected by telecom carrier NTT Docomo to see how many people were around the stations between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Monday. The company collects data while protecting users' privacy.
The state of emergency imposed in January ended on Sunday in the prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka.
Compared with the Monday average in January and February, foot traffic increased by 5 percent around Umeda Station in Osaka and Sannomiya Station in Hyogo.
People's movements grew 4 percent around Hakata Station in Fukuoka.
Pedestrian traffic was little changed around Kyoto Station, as well as Nagoya Station in Aichi, while crowds shrank by 5 percent around Gifu Station.
Compared with the Monday average between January and February of last year, when the spread of the virus was relatively limited, foot traffic fell by between 9 percent and 27 percent around these stations.
Key words : operator
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_02/
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station has announced that it completed the removal of all remaining nuclear fuel assemblies from the storage pool of a reactor building for safe storage in a facility in the plant's compound.
This is the first time the firm has relocated all fuel units from any of the plant's three reactors that suffered a meltdown following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Company made the announcement on Sunday after removing the last six fuel assemblies from the pool of the No.3 reactor building earlier in the day. The removal is part of efforts to decommission the plant.
In April 2019, TEPCO launched work to relocate all 566 unused and spent fuel units that had been left in the pool on the building's highest floor since the 2011 accident.
The start of the removal operation came four years and four months later than initially scheduled. It had taken longer than expected to clear debris and radioactive substances scattered by a hydrogen explosion at the building in the early days of the nuclear disaster.
Despite the decontamination procedure, areas around the pool still registered high levels of radiation, prompting TEPCO to deploy specially-designed remote-controlled equipment to lift and remove the fuel units.
The company had completed the removal of all fuel assemblies from the storage pool of the No.4 reactor building in December 2014. That reactor did not experience a meltdown.
TEPCO plans to begin relocating fuel units from the storage pools of the No.1 and No.2 reactor buildings as early as fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2024, respectively. Both reactors suffered a meltdown.
TEPCO said it will place top priority on ensuring safety and make the most of lessons it learned from the removal work on the No.3 reactor building when it transfers fuel units from the No.1 and No.2 reactor buildings.
Key words : yamada
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_11/
A senior public relations official for Japan's Cabinet has resigned. Yamada Makiko was treated to an expensive dinner by a satellite broadcasting firm while she held a high post in the communications ministry.
Yamada handed in her resignation as Cabinet public relations secretary, and the Cabinet approved it on Monday.
She was criticized for having been wined and dined by the firm's officials, including the eldest son of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. The meal is said to have cost 700 dollars per person.
She was a vice minister for policy coordination of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry at the time.
The ministry has administrative jurisdiction over the broadcasting industry.
Yamada apologized when she appeared at a Diet panel as an unsworn witness last Thursday.
She said she deeply regretted undermining the people's trust in public servants. But she said the firm did not ask her for any favors and that she did not intend to step down.
Prime Minister Suga said last week that he hoped she would continue to fulfill her duties.
But opposition party members demanded her resignation, saying her explanation was not sufficient.
Yamada was scheduled to attend a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee on Monday to answer questions.
But she was absent because she has been hospitalized since Sunday.
Key words : Monday marks one year washing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210301_04/
Monday marks one year since the US government and the Taliban signed an agreement to bring peace to Afghanistan. But prospects for success remain unclear.
The deal was struck in Doha, Qatar, on February 29 last year. It commits Washington "to withdraw from Afghanistan all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners" within 14 months following the announcement of the agreement.
The accord calls for the Taliban to "prevent any group or individual, including Al-Qaeda, from using the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies." It also binds the Taliban to instruct their members "not to cooperate with groups or individuals threatening the security of the United States and its allies."
As of January this year, the US had reduced its force levels in Afghanistan to 2,500.
But fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban combatants have still been erupting across the country. Acts of terrorism by extremists, such as members of the Islamic State militant group, have also been continuing.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has revealed its intention to study whether the Taliban have been honoring their commitments under the deal sealed by the administration of his predecessor Donald Trump.
A senior member of the Taliban is demanding the complete pullout of US forces from Afghanistan. He says that his side has been complying with the accord.
Key words : taiwanese
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_19/
China's customs authorities say imports of Taiwanese pineapples will be halted from Monday after claiming that pests had been detected.
Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which has many supporters in the southern region where the tropical fruit is grown, says China's decision has led people to question its "political motive."
Taiwan's Council of Agriculture told reporters on Friday that it had received China's "unilateral notice" the day before.
The council says no pests had been detected since measures were stepped up last October, expressing its regret about China's move.
China imported 97 percent of the more than 45,000 tons of pineapples Taiwan exported last year.
China's decision could have a serious impact on Taiwan's pineapple producing regions where full-fledged harvesting is about to start.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said in a Facebook post that "China sent an ambush-like notice", and that "this obviously was not a normal trade decision."
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