at 18:30 (JST), August 20

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/20210820183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : government state of 13 prefectures
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210820_01/

The Japanese government expanded the coronavirus state of emergency on Friday to cover a total of 13 prefectures. It also increased the number of prefectures under quasi-emergency measures to 16. Both arrangements will continue through September 12.

The list of areas under the state of emergency now includes seven more prefectures: Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka. The emergency declaration has already been in place in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures as well as Osaka and Okinawa.

Quasi-emergency anti-infection measures are newly taking effect in parts of 10 more prefectures. They are Miyagi, Yamanashi, Toyama, Gifu, Mie, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kagoshima.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide asked the leaders of three major business groups to help reduce people's movements through telework and other steps.

The government is also calling on people to halve their outings to crowded places, such as shops.

It plans to continue making these requests through social media and other means.

The government says coronavirus vaccine rollouts have been effective in lowering the death rate despite high daily counts of infections in recent weeks. The death toll was roughly 400 last month, compared with more than 2,800 in May.

Based on this and other data as well as discussions by experts, the government will likely consider reviewing indices that are currently used to assess infection situations.

The government may look at revised indices to decide when to lift the state of emergency and the quasi-emergency measures.

Key words : toyota
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210820_02/

Toyota Motor has announced that it will reduce global production for next month by 40 percent from its previous plan. It cited parts shortages stemming from the spread of the coronavirus.

Toyota said on Thursday that it will suspend September production at overseas factories and 14 plants in Japan to cut output by 360,000 units. Some production lines will be closed for the entire month.

The firm is facing difficulty securing parts from Southeast Asian suppliers that have suspended operations amid the surge in coronavirus cases. Shortages of chips are another factor.

Two other Japanese automakers -- Honda Motor and Nissan Motor -- also suspended some production for the same reasons.

Vehicle sales have been brisk in the United States and China, where demand has rebounded sharply thanks to progress in coronavirus vaccine rollouts.

Analysts say carmakers hoping to capitalize on the trend need to put their production lines back on track quickly. One possible strategy is consolidating their supply chains.

Key words : paralympic committee no direct
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210819_19/

The chief of the International Paralympic Committee has marked the significance of the incoming Tokyo Paralympics amid the coronavirus pandemic. He says holding the Tokyo Games is important for making voices of people with disabilities heard.

The Tokyo Paralympics are scheduled to open next Tuesday with some 4,400 athletes from 160 countries and territories participating.

IPC President Andrew Parsons told an online news conference from Tokyo on Thursday that societies across the world have failed to provide sufficient services to protect them from the pandemic. He said they have been left behind, so their voices must be heard now.

Parsons said people with disabilities amount to about 1.2 billion people, accounting for 15 percent of the world's population. He said the Paralympics are vital for them.

The IPC head explained how anti-coronavirus measures are being taken thoroughly for the Tokyo Paralympics. He said 88 to 90 percent of those involved will be fully vaccinated before arriving in Japan. Parsons said they will abide by the anti-infection measures in the Games' Playbooks, and be tested for the virus every day.

Japan saw a drastic surge in coronavirus cases during the Olympics. But Parsons said there were no direct relations between the Games and the infection spike. He said the rate of infection among those related to the Olympics was low and those who tested positive were isolated immediately.

Because of the pandemic, some Paralympic athletes have been unable to go through classification by degree of impairment. Parsons said to enable them to compete, classification will be carried out for 116 athletes in eight sports starting Friday.

Key words : coronavirus spead rapidly Kentaro Iwata
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