Asian View
Key words : health authorities vietnam
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210530_13/
Vietnam's health authorities say a new coronavirus variant has been found in four people infected with a variant first discovered in India.
A mutation was found in part of the genetic material of spike proteins on the surface of the virus. These play a crucial role when the virus infects human cells.
Vietnam's authorities say the mutation resembles a notable one of the variant first found in Britain.
An official at the World Health Organization office in Vietnam told NHK that the transmissibility of the new variant is not yet known, but that the status of infected people should be closely watched.
Vietnam had successfully contained the spread of the virus, but variants have been found since the beginning of the year. The number of new cases has been rising since the end of April, topping 400 on some days.
Key words : malaysia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210529_04/
Malaysia will enter a full nationwide lockdown from June 1 to 14 due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
The Prime Minister's Office made the announcement on Friday. It says economic activities will be restricted, except for essential services, and that it will later announce which specific sectors will be affected.
It also says the government intends to relax the lockdown in stages, if the spread of the virus is curbed to some extent.
New cases in Malaysia have exceeded 6,000 per day since mid-May. New variants are believed to be spreading.
The situation has shown no sign of abating, despite a ban on dining in restaurants and traveling between states since May 12.
An Oxford University study shows that Malaysia had 211 daily new infections per one million people on a rolling seven-day average, as of Wednesday. The figure compares to 165 in India.
Key words : more people eligible
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210531_01/
More people will become eligible for coronavirus vaccinations at state-run, large-scale inoculation venues in Tokyo and Osaka, starting on Monday. Daily immunization slots at the sites will also increase.
The central government opened the two venues on May 24 to help accelerate vaccinations for elderly citizens.
Officials have so far limited inoculations at the Tokyo venue to people aged 65 or older living in the capital's 23 wards. Residents of Osaka City in the same age bracket have been eligible for vaccinations at the Osaka site.
But starting on Monday, eligibility at the Tokyo venue will cover elderly citizens living in any part of the capital or its neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa. Eligibility at the Osaka site will entail residents of Osaka Prefecture.
The expanded list of eligible people for the Tokyo venue will come one week earlier than scheduled because surplus reservation slots were available.
The daily vaccination capacity will also increase to 10,000 shots at the Tokyo venue and 5,000 at the Osaka site from Monday. The figures are the upper limits set by the Defense Ministry and double the initial capacity.
Doctors and nurses from the Self-Defense Forces have been staffing the venues with the help of medical workers from the private sector.
Key words : myanmar athletes
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210531_05/
An increasing number of athletes in Myanmar are expressing discontent with the military's coup on February 1.
A local human rights group says more than 800 civilian protesters have been killed nationwide in the ongoing military crackdown.
Anti-military sentiment is increasing in the sports world, where political involvement has been traditionally taboo.
Some of Myanmar's football players have refused to join the national squad for a match against Japan in an Asian qualifier for the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Zaw Min Tun was among those who opted out of participating in the match. He had been a member of the national squad for about 10 years.
Speaking to NHK, the footballer said that he boycotted the game because he wanted to stand with the people of Myanmar. He said that he decided to side with justice.
Other soccer players on the Myanmar squad also expressed their opposition to the military's actions. They remained silent during the national anthem before the start of Friday's match with Japan. A bench player gave the three-finger salute that has become associated with the protests.
A leading Myanmar swimmer, who holds the country's national record, and was expected to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games, announced his intention to boycott the Games.
The swimmer said if he competes in Tokyo while the military is in control of the country, his participation would be used as propaganda by the junta.
Key words : leaders and top officials
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210531_02/
Leaders and top officials from countries and international organizations have opened a Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, meeting to discuss environmental issues. South Korea, which is hosting the talks, unveiled plans to increase aid to help developing countries deal with climate change.
About 70 leaders and top officials on Sunday began the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, the second of its kind following the inaugural meeting held in Copenhagen in 2018.
The talks cover topics such as food, water, energy, and other environmental issues.
The agenda for the two-day, online meeting includes ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during the opening ceremony that he hopes the meeting will become an invaluable step toward achieving carbon neutrality for a safer, more sustainable future.
Moon also announced his intention to substantially boost the nation's official development assistance for countries that rely heavily on coal-fired power plants.
He promised that South Korea will quickly and actively join efforts to help the international community overcome the climate crisis.
The participants in the meeting include Japanese Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Key words : about 400 people
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210529_15/
About 400 people took part in a memorial service at a Buddhist temple in central Tokyo on Saturday for a Sri Lankan woman who died while in detention at an immigration bureau in Nagoya in March.
The family of Wishma Sandamali and her supporters laid flowers at an alter and quietly prayed while priests chanted mantras in both Sri Lankan language and Japanese.
Wishma, who was 33, had complained of poor health in mid-January but was only examined by doctors at the facility and was not hospitalized.
The Immigration Services Agency is looking into whether her case was handled properly.
In a meeting, Wishma's family asked Justice Minister Kamikawa Yoko to explain the circumstances leading to her death, and also to release footage of her in detention. But the Immigration Services Agency has rejected their request.
Wishma's younger sister Wayomi said her sister loved Japan, and that she still cannot believed she died under such terrible circumstances.
She said when she returns to Sri Lanka, she will have to answer their mother's question about why her daughter died, and called for help in unveiling the truth.
A man in his 70's said Wishma must have been full of regret to only get to live half as long as he, and that he wants the Japanese government to seriously face the issue surrounding immigration rules and the way people are treated in detention.
Key words : unmanned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210530_12/
China says an unmanned cargo spacecraft carrying supplies has successfully docked with the key module of a space station the country is building.
A rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 was launched from the southern island of Hainan on Saturday.
China's space agency says it docked with the Tianhe module shortly after 21:00 UTC on the same day.
The Tianzhou-2 is 10 meters long and about 3.3 meters in diameter, and can carry up a payload of up to six tons.
The supplies for the astronauts include space suits for activities outside the spacecraft.
China is aiming to complete its space station by around next year, and plans to launch a spacecraft carrying three astronauts as early as next month.
Beijing is accelerating its space development efforts in a bid to become a major space power.
Last year, China brought back rocks from the moon using an unmanned explorer. Beijing also landed a probe on Mars earlier this month to carry out research.
