Asian View
Key words : fourth emergency tour
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210712_02/
Tokyo enters its fourth coronavirus state of emergency on Monday, with bars and restaurants being requested not to offer alcohol as part of efforts to prevent infections.
The government also extended the state of emergency for the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa and intensive anti-virus measures for Tokyo's neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as the western prefecture of Osaka.
The emergency declarations and focused anti-infection measures are scheduled to continue through August 22.
The duration includes the Tokyo Olympics between July 23 and August 8 and the Obon holiday period in mid-August when many people usually visit their hometowns or tourist spots.
The government is urging people to take thorough anti-virus measures out of concern that an increase of people's movement could spread infections. Officials are also concerned about the spread of the Delta variant first detected in India.
To prevent infection at bars and restaurants, the government is urging those establishments in the designated areas to stop serving alcohol and close early.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu said in an NHK TV program on Sunday that the government will consider providing subsidies more quickly to make it easier for pub owners to cooperate.
The government has been pushing ahead with its vaccination drive to curb infections and reduce the risk of patients becoming seriously ill.
It plans to consider lifting the emergency declaration earlier if the situation improves and the strain on the medical system is eased.
Key words : coronavirus myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210712_36/
Myanmar is facing a shortage of medical oxygen as coronavirus cases spike in the country.
In the largest city of Yangon, people with oxygen tanks line up at refill stations.
Many COVID patients must recuperate at home because hospitals are not functioning properly due to confusion after the military coup.
On Sunday, state-run media reported over 3,400 cases and more than 80 deaths. Those figures set record highs almost every day last week.
Local media suggest the actual numbers are far higher as testing is limited.
State-run media said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing agreed with the Russian government that Moscow will give Myanmar 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Min Aung Hlaing said Russia wants to help Myanmar make its own vaccine, and a Russian team will visit Myanmar this month to inspect its production plant.
Authorities have imposed stay-at-home orders on about 20 more townships in Yangon and elsewhere. People must work from home, except for essential workers.
Key words : south baseball
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210713_01/
South Korea's professional baseball league has suspended its ongoing regular season after players tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Korea Baseball Organization held an emergency board meeting on Monday and decided to call off all games scheduled for Tuesday through July 18.
It said the five players from two clubs had contracted the virus. More than 50 other players and staff members who came in close contact with the infected are reportedly being asked to self-quarantine.
The decision means a one-month hiatus for the league. No games had been scheduled between July 19 and August 9 because of the Tokyo Olympics.
The KBO plans to reschedule the cancelled games and ensure that every club plays 144 games in the regular season as planned.
Last week, the country saw its daily case count top 1,300 for the first time, amid the spread of the Delta variant first confirmed in India.
Key words : mudslide return briefly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210713_02/
Authorities in the city of Atami, central Japan, have suspended plans to allow people who evacuated their homes following mudslides to return briefly.
The city in Shizuoka Prefecture started a three-day program on Monday to allow residents to return home.
But officials decided to not allow visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, after people returning on Monday disrupted search operations. The officials plan to reschedule the visits.
Powerful mudslides in the city's Izusan district on July 3 damaged about 130 structures.
Ten people were confirmed dead and have all been identified. The search continues for 17 others still missing.
In much of the affected areas, rescue workers are using their hands to clear mud and debris. A seasonal rain front is expected to bring more rain to the region on Tuesday.
Key words : government solar power
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210713_12/
Japan's government predicts solar power will be the cheapest source of electricity in under a decade, mainly be thanks to the falling prices of solar panels. Nuclear power has so far been considered the least expensive way to generate electricity.
The new forecast was announced by the Industry Ministry on Monday. It estimated the costs of power generation in 2030, assuming new plants will be built.
The ministry says the cost of solar power for businesses would be around 8 to 11 yen per kilowatt-hour. Nuclear power would be 11 yen or more.
Thermal power from liquefied natural gas would cost around 10 to 14 yen. Coal-fired power would be the most expensive, as high as 22 yen per kilowatt-hour.
An estimate done six years ago found nuclear power to be the cheapest. But growing safety costs have pushed prices up.
Solar power used to be considered uneconomical. But ministry officials say other factors need to be considered.
Different forms of power generation need to be maintained, however, because electricity from solar fluctuates widely, depending on the weather.
Key words : industry ministry wage
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210713_13/
The Japanese government is asking the domestic apparel industry to check for human-rights violations among suppliers.
A report by the Industry Ministry notes that many companies in Japan use foreign interns in production stages, from spinning to sewing.
It points to legal violations. These include employers paying less than the minimum wage and illegally forcing the interns to put in overtime.
The report says the apparel companies are responsible for grasping the entire situation along their supply chains.
It asks them to set a new guideline in cooperation with the International Labour Organization to confirm whether the suppliers are involved in human-rights violations.
The Japan Textile Federation is planning to consider what details to put in the guideline.
The move comes amid worldwide criticism over allegations that cotton products from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are made by forced labor.
Key words : health ministry cocktail
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210713_07/
Japan's health ministry will determine whether to approve an antibody cocktail as a COVID-19 treatment on Monday next week.
Chugai Pharmaceutical had applied in late June for the combination of two virus-neutralizing antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab.
The cocktail, initially developed by US-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, won emergency use authorization in the US last November. It was used on then President Donald Trump when he was hospitalized with COVID-19.
Chugai says a large clinical trial staged overseas has confirmed that the antibody drug can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 70 percent.
The company says it seeks the Special Approval for Emergency.
If approved, it will be the fourth treatment to be authorized for coronavirus patients in Japan. The others are the anti-viral drug remdesivir, steroid dexamethasone and anti-inflammation drug baricitinib.
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