at 18:30 (JST), October 13

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/20211013183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : humanitarian aid afghanistan online
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211013_04/

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says Japan will provide Afghanistan with humanitarian aid worth about 190 million dollars.

Kishida made the pledge on Tuesday at an online emergency summit of the Group of 20 major economies that discussed the situation in Afghanistan.

He said the fund will be provided by the end of this year through international organizations to help Afghan people facing a serious humanitarian crisis.

The prime minister denounced a bomb attack that killed dozens of citizens at a mosque in Kunduz last Friday. He vowed to step up efforts to counter terrorism, which is a common challenge for the international community, in cooperation with relevant parties.

Kishida said it is essential for the future development of Afghanistan to protect the rights of all Afghans, especially to safeguard an environment where women can study and work.

He said if the Taliban protect people's rights and carry out an inclusive political process, that would bring back necessary human resources, funds and support to rebuild the country. He said the global community should be united to tenaciously persuade the Taliban of that.

The G20 summit was the first international meeting Kishida has attended since he took office last week.

Key words : myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211013_06/

Myanmar's detained President Win Myint has testified that he refused when the military tried to force him to resign shortly before a coup in February.

Win Myint appeared in court on Tuesday. He was detained on February 1 along with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. He has been on trial over multiple charges such as incitement.

In testimony cited by his lawyer, Win Myint said military officials approached him early that day and told him to resign because of ill health.

He said officers warned him that he faced many harms if he refused, but he told them his health was fine and he would rather die than consent.

Myanmar's military has sought to justify its grip on power as constitutional by alleging fraud in last year's general election, which was won by the democratic camp led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

But some legal experts have suggested that detaining Win Myint, appointing the vice president who is a former military officer to replace him, and declaring a state of emergency are unconstitutional.

Win Myint's testimony may give momentum to allegations by the pro-democracy side that the military's moves in the coup are unconstitutional.

Key words : fully vaccinated thailand
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211012_22/

Thailand will re-open to fully vaccinated foreign visitors from at least 10 low-risk countries at the beginning of November.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that such travelers, who still need to show a negative PCR test, will be exempted from quarantine on arrival.

In a televised speech on Monday, Prayut said the selected countries would include China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States.

The announcement came as the government is hoping to boost its struggling tourism industry for the new year holiday season. The industry was badly damaged after foreign tourists were barred in April of last year.

But as the country is still seeing around 10,000 daily COVID infections, some are voicing concern about such plans.

Key words : hakuho retire
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1777/