Asian View
Key words : olympic 30 gold medals
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210628_22/
The head of the Japanese Olympic Committee has backed off from a target of winning a record 30 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games -- a goal set three years ago.
JOC President Yamashita Yasuhiro was speaking to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
Asked if Japan still pursues that goal, Yamashita replied that he would clearly say "No," as the coronavirus pandemic has widely changed the basis for setting the goal in 2018.
He explained that it took eight months to come up with the lofty goal after carefully scrutinizing information obtained from each sporting body.
Yamashita said that it is difficult now to determine how prepared top athletes from abroad are, partly because they have been unable to take part in international competitions due to the pandemic.
He also said he doesn't know how much value there is in winning 30 gold medals, stressing that there is no time left to review the goal and there is much more to do.
He added he would be satisfied if Japanese athletes strive to do their best to achieve their own dreams.
Key words : biden first lady
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210629_04/
The United States says President Joe Biden will not attend the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. First Lady Jill Biden may lead the US delegation.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the president is not planning to attend the Games. She added, "We will have a delegation from the United States, as we have historically had."
When asked about any plans for a delegation led by Jill Biden, Press Secretary to the Office of the First Lady Michael LaRosa told NHK, "We are assessing feasibility and waiting for the naming of the presidential delegation."
In recent years, the US sent then Vice President Mike Pence to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, and then Secretary of State John Kerry to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Key words : thailand new restriction
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210628_29/
Thailand logged over 5,000 new coronavirus cases on Monday. The government set new restrictions the same day, targeting restaurants and building sites in the Bangkok area for the next 30 days.
Authorities in the capital have reimposed a ban on dining in restaurants and are only allowing takeout or delivery.
A restaurant owner said the new rule caught her unprepared.
"It's too sudden. I've already ordered supplies of food. We lose income when customers can't dine in," she said.
The authorities also told construction sites to close after more than 40 clusters were tied to them. Laborers have been banned from leaving their camps. Authorities are setting up checkpoints to stop them going out of the capital.
Key words : foreign minister netherland
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210629_06/
The foreign ministers of Japan and the Netherlands have agreed to step up cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan's Motegi Toshimitsu and his Dutch counterpart Sigrid Kaag held talks for the first time on Monday in Matera, southern Italy, ahead of their colleagues' meeting of the Group of 20 major economies.
Motegi said that he appreciated the Netherlands' policy concerning the Indo-Pacific region. The country last year issued its own guidelines for strengthening Dutch and EU cooperation with partners in Asia.
Motegi added that Japan wants to further strengthen relations with the Netherlands, its strategic partner with which it shares basic common values.
Kaag responded that her country would like to develop bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas, including politics, security, economy and multilateral partnerships.
The two ministers shared their concerns over China's unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion in the East and South China Seas, and over the situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Motegi also met Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Motegi told her that Japan will support ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar, who will be appointed to mediate dialogue between the country's military and pro-democracy entities. He said Japan will also try to persuade Myanmar's military to hold such a dialogue and free people under detention.
Motegi informed Retno of Japan's intention to deliver a million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Indonesia beginning July.
Key words : china and russia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210629_02/
The presidents of China and Russia have agreed to oppose interference in others' internal affairs "under the guise of democracy and human rights."
China said that President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin also expressed their opposition to unilateral sanctions at an online summit on Monday.
This came after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint communique underscoring the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It also called on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong.
The Chinese and Russian governments said their leaders formally agreed at the summit to extend a friendship and cooperation treaty between the two countries, which was signed two decades ago.
During his talks with Xi, Putin reportedly stressed that coordination between their countries plays a stabilizing role in world affairs amid increasing geopolitical turbulence.
Xi apparently hopes to strengthen relations with Russia, as the United States steps up cooperation with its allies under President Joe Biden's administration.
Key words : olympic committee apologized
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210628_19/
The Japanese Olympic Committee has apologized for announcing a transgender former fencer as one of the newly appointed female board members last week.
Sugiyama Fumino is a transgender rights activist and was a member of Japan's national women's fencing team before coming out as a transgender man.
On Friday, the JOC announced that the ratio of female board members exceeded its target of 40 percent, with 13 of its 30 board members being female, including Sugiyama.
Asked about listing Sugiyama as a woman at Friday's news conference, the committee explained that it had received confirmation from Sugiyama. However, Sugiyama tweeted on Sunday, he never asked to be listed as a female member.
In a statement on Monday, the JOC acknowledged it had not received confirmation from Sugiyama, but from the Japan Fencing Federation that recommended Sugiyama as a board member.
The JOC apologized for not accurately conveying Sugiyama's wishes and thoughts, and spreading the wrong perception about transgender people.
The statement said the fencing federation had no choice but to recommend Sugiyama as a woman candidate in order to fill the female quota, and indicated that this was done with the aim to reflect diversity in sports.
The JOC indicated the latest episode came about as it set up the female quota and recommendation system by simply focusing on the number of women.
In Sunday's tweet, Sugiyama expressed the wish to join the board as a male but left the final decision to the committee, suggesting that gender should not influence any recommendation.
Sugiyama added that there may have been a discrepancy in the communication from the fencing federation to the JOC and then to JOC President Yamashita Yasuhiro.
On Monday, Yamashita told NHK that there was a perception gap between the JOC and the fencing federation about whether Sugiyama should be listed as male or female.
He said the matter is very sensitive, but he misunderstood that Sugiyama's wishes had been confirmed. He offered an apology to Sugiyama.
Key words : kumamoto castle
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210628_18/
Visitors to a centuries-old castle in Kumamoto City, southwestern Japan, are now allowed to enter its key structure for the first time since the 2016 earthquake.
The interior of the main tower of Kumamoto Castle was finally open to the public on Monday after five years of restoration work.
A group of men in samurai warrior regalia, including one costumed as warlord Kato Kiyomasa who built the castle more than 400 years ago, declared the tower open at 9 a.m. About 50 visitors then started a tour inside.
The main tower has six stories above ground, with one basement floor. Restoration work added earthquake-resistant equipment to the structure, as well as two elevators.
The exhibition inside the tower shows the castle's history up until the present.
The uppermost sixth floor commands a panoramic view of the city.
A woman in her 30s accompanying her child says she was sad to see the damaged structure after the quake, but now they are glad to see it fully restored.
Castle office chief Amita Tatsuo says he is relieved the tower is finally open after a two-month delay due to the pandemic.
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