at 18:30 (JST), October 21

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/20211021183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : security council closed-door
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_11/

The UN Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting on Wednesday to discuss North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch.

The council convened at the request of the United States and others following North Korea's announcement that it successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Tuesday.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters before the meeting that the North's activities "are in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions and they are unacceptable."

She also said Pyongyang's missile development "destabilizes the region and threatens international peace and security."

Thomas-Greenfield urged North Korea to resume dialogue with the US, saying, "We have offered to meet North Korean officials without any preconditions, and we have made clear that we hold no hostile intent toward the country."

Representatives from France, Ireland and Estonia also condemned North Korea in a joint news conference.

But UN diplomatic sources say the council could not draw up a statement due to opposition from China and Russia.

The Security Council has similarly failed to present a united front against North Korea at two previous emergency meetings after the country's missile launches on September 15 and 28.

Key words : torrential rain nepal
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211020_36/

Floods and landslides caused by torrential rain have left more than 100 people dead across India and Nepal.

Officials in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand say rescue operations are underway to free people stranded by the flooding. Muddy water has inundated large swathes of land after several days of heavy rain.

The military and disaster-management authorities have deployed boats and helicopters but at least 46 people are confirmed dead, with many others still missing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to send his condolences. He also said he's praying for everyone's safety and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, in the southern state of Kerala, a series of landslides have killed at least 27 people. And weather officials are warning of more rain to come.

There have also been dozens of victims in neighboring Nepal. Nepal's ministry of home affairs says at least 31 people have been killed, with over 40 listed as missing.

India and Nepal suffer frequent similar disasters during the monsoon season between June and September, but recent years have seen downpours at other times as well.

Key words : heavily indebted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_15/

Heavily indebted Chinese real estate developer Evergrande Group says talks to sell off its property services unit have fallen through.

Company officials said on Wednesday that the negotiations with another property firm collapsed.

The potential buyer disclosed that it briefly agreed to buy a 50.1-percent stake in the unit for about 2.6 billion dollars. But the two sides could not find agreement over the terms of the deal.

Trading of Evergrande shares had been halted on the Hong Kong stock market pending the negotiations, but it resumed on Thursday.

The property giant has missed a series of interest payments on its dollar-denominated bonds since September 23rd.

The firm argues that a 30-day grace period on debt payment has not expired.

Company officials say, however, that there is no guarantee the group will be able to meet its financial obligations.

Key words : taiwanese two ministers supply chain
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_05/

A Taiwanese delegation led by two ministers has started a tour of three European countries to deepen economic ties.

The delegation left Taiwan on a chartered plane on Wednesday night. The tour through October 30 will take the delegation to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania.

Taiwan's foreign ministry says the team of more than 60 people includes National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin and Science and Technology Minister Wu Tsung-tsong as well as businesspeople from IT, precision equipment and other firms.

The ministry also says that in the three countries, the delegation will discuss trade and investment expansion, cooperation over supply chains and other issues.

The three countries provided Taiwan with COVID-19 vaccines. The head of the Czech Senate visited Taiwan last year. Lithuania and Taiwan are making preparations to set up representative offices on each other's soil.

Last month, the European Union announced its strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, which includes efforts to step up economic ties with Taiwan.

Taiwan's foreign ministry also says arrangements are being made for its minister, Joseph Wu, to visit Europe at an early date.

The development will likely draw a sharp reaction from China.

Key words : number of travelers
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_14/

The number of travelers to Japan fell more than 99 percent in September from the same month before the pandemic.

The Japan National Tourism Organization estimates 17,700 people visited last month.

That's down 99.2 percent from September 2019, when 2.27 million travelers came to Japan.

By country, 4,000 people arrived from China, 2,200 from South Korea, 1,700 from the United States and 1,000 people visited from Vietnam.

Japan has banned the entry of most foreign nationals since January, except for those who have special reasons.

The government is now worried that rising oil prices could make matters worse for the tourism industry.

Wada Koichi, the country's Tourism Agency Commissioner, says "Tourism demand suddenly evaporated because of the pandemic. Now, as we head into winter, higher kerosene prices are going to be a big problem. In addition, rising fuel costs could have an impact on public transportation. "

Wada said the Tourism Agency will be ready to assist with various financial support amid the current situation.

Key words : medical institutions in japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_02/

Medical institutions in Japan and five Southeast Asian countries have launched a database of genetic information on patients with rare forms of cancer. They hope the data will be used to develop new treatments for the diseases.

Japan's National Cancer Center Hospital is taking part in the initiative, along with 10 medical institutions in the five countries -- Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Currently, it is difficult to carry out clinical trials for rare cancers, such as childhood cancer, sarcoma and brain tumors because of the small numbers of patients. Collecting the patients' genetic information is also difficult. As a result, treatment methods are currently limited.

Genetic profiles of Asian patients, who have similar characteristics, will be stored in the database after gaining their consent.

Using the collected data, the medical institutions will conduct international clinical trials for new treatments, including drugs tailored to patients' genetic characteristics.

The Japanese side says information on some 2,000 rare cancer patients in the country has already been registered in the database. Data on more than 1,000 patients in Asia is expected to be added annually in the future.

Nakamura Kenichi at Japan's National Cancer Center Hospital said the database will be significant in advancing research and development of treatments of cancers that are particularly seen in Asia.

Key words : japanese pianist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211021_09/

Japanese pianists have been awarded the second and fourth prizes in the 18th Chopin international piano competition, one of the world's most prestigious classical music contests.

The competition is held every five years in the Polish capital, Warsaw. The auditions of the 12 finalists ended on Wednesday. The jury announced on Thursday that the first prize had been awarded to Canada's Bruce Liu. Japan's Sorita Kyohei and Italian/Slovenian Alexander Gadjiev took the second prize. Japan's Kobayashi Aimi and Jakub Kuszlik from Poland came in fourth.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sorita is from Tokyo. He is studying at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
He has set up an orchestra of young musicians, and launched a paid online streaming service when many concerts were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kobayashi, aged 26, is from Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. She started learning the piano when she was three years old, and performed with an orchestra at the age of seven. She reached the final of the 17th Chopin competition in 2015.

The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is regarded as one of the world's three main classical music contests along with the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

The winners of the first prize in previous competitions include Martha Argerich and Stanislav Bunin. Japan's Uchida Mitsuko won second place in 1970.

Key words : china torch
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211020_26/

China has held a ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic flame in the country ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Secretary of the Communist Party's Beijing Municipal Committee Cai Qi lit a cauldron with the flame during the ceremony on Wednesday. The flame arrived at a Beijing airport earlier in the day after being lit in Olympia, southern Greece, this week.

China will display the flame at the Beijing Olympic Tower before showcasing it from December at related events across the country.

Olympics organizers say they will scale down the route, duration and number of participants of the Games' torch relay to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
They say the relay will be held only for three days through February 4, the date of the Games' opening ceremony.

The organizers said the relay will take place in Beijing and the neighboring city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, with about 1,200 torchbearers scheduled to take part. The two cities are to host competition venues for the Olympics.

The Beijing Winter Olympics is scheduled to take place from February 4th through the 20th, followed by the Paralympic Games in March.