at 18:30 (JST), March 14

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/20220314183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : paralympic peace
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220314_06/

The Beijing Paralympics concluded on Sunday night. The Games were unusual as Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to participate because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The very last event took place at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.

Flag bearers from each team including Ukraine entered the venue. About 600 athletes competed in 78 events. The International Paralympic Committee had banned Russian and Belarusian athletes the day before the opening ceremony.

The Paralympic flag was passed on to the 2026 joint hosts, Milan and Cortina in Italy.

The head of the IPC gave the closing speech. Andrew Parsons praised the Paralympians as "beacons of hope and champions for peace," saying their "actions spoke way louder than words."

He called for peace by saying "the feeling of hope is part of human experience." He said the Paralympic movement hopes world leaders will be inspired by the actions of "proud Paralympians."

Key words : hacker
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220313_23/

A group of hackers says it has stolen classified data from major Japanese auto parts maker Denso and is demanding a ransom.

Information security firm Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions told NHK that a group called Pandora posted a message on the dark web on Sunday afternoon, Japan time, saying that it had stolen more than 157,000 items.

The group says the 1.4 terabytes of data belonging to the Toyota Motor group firm includes purchase orders, emails and drawings.

Pandora is believed to carry out cyber-attacks to encrypt data and demand money in return for decryption. It also threatens to release data if the demand is not met.

Denso told NHK that it had confirmed unauthorized access to the network of its business base in Germany and is looking into whether the access would affect operations.

Toyota had to suspend operations at all its plants in Japan last month after one of its suppliers was hit by a cyber-attack.

Key words : foreign minister visit
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220314_18/

Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa is expected to visit Turkey and the UAE this weekend to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Government sources say Hayashi is expected to meet key government officials from the two countries.

In Turkey, Hayashi will share the latest information on Ukraine. He will also tell Turkish officials that Japan hopes to work with the country in diplomatic negotiations to realize a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Turkey is a member of NATO and is believed to have close ties with Russia. The Turkish government brokered a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine last Thursday.

In the UAE, Hayashi is expected to exchange opinions with key officials about stable energy supplies.

The UAE is a member of the OPEC Plus grouping of OPEC members, Russia and other oil-producing countries. Earlier this month, the UAE voted in favor of a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the UN General Assembly.

Key words : taiwan training
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220313_01/

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has viewed a training exercise of military reservists. She called for the unity of Taiwanese people for their defense, referring to the situation in Ukraine.

Taiwan's defense ministry introduced a new program this year to bolster the skills of reservists, doubling the duration of their training to 14 days.

The first training session under the new program started on March 5.

Tsai watched reservists firing guns and inspected a camp area at a unit in a northern region on Saturday.

The president said, "The recent situation in Ukraine once again proves that a country needs to rely on the unity of all of its people, in addition to international assistance."

She thanked participants who wanted to train at all costs even though they had to take a long leave from their work or had a wife who was about to give birth.

The Tsai administration expects external support, such as from the United States, in the event of a contingency.

But it has repeatedly emphasized that Taiwan needs to bolster its determination and capability for its defense, given Ukraine's resistance against Russia without direct military involvement of other countries.

Key words : taipei
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220314_02/

Hundreds of people in Taipei marched in the streets to show solidarity with Ukraine on Sunday.

A civilian group of Ukrainian nationals in Taiwan and their supporters organized the event. The group said about 1,500 people took part.

They walked about 2 kilometers from a park in Taipei through the neighborhood where the presidential office is located, chanting support for Ukraine.

A man in his 20s said he thinks Taiwan needs to stand together with Ukraine, as both are being threatened militarily by strong neighboring countries.

A woman in her 20s said the war provoked by Russian President Vladimir Putin has to end right now, as it is hurting people in Ukraine and Russia.

Key words : china restriction remotely
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220314_13/

China has reported over 3,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus. Authorities are tightening restrictions across the country and calling on people to remain indoors.

Chinese health authorities say that on Saturday 3,122 community transmission cases were confirmed. They also say some of the infected people did not have symptoms.

It is the first time that the figure has surpassed 3,000 since February 2020. The virus was spreading in the inland city of Wuhan in Hubei Province at that time.

Health authorities in the northeastern province of Jilin say infections began spreading on March 1. They say the total number of cases had surpassed 3,500 by Saturday. They add that most people are infected with the Omicron variant.

A strict curfew was implemented in Jilin's central city of Changchun on Friday. The city has 9 million residents.

The city of Shenzhen is located in the southern province of Guangdong. Most businesses there have been instructed to suspend their activities or to have employees work remotely for a week starting on Monday.

Shenzhen has a population of about 17 million. It is home to many tech-related companies. People in the city have been told to stay indoors.

China has maintained a zero-COVID policy since the pandemic began.

Key words : researchers
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220313_13/

A group of researchers says a laboratory test shows that three anti-viral drugs for COVID-19 treatment are effective against the BA.2 Omicron subvariant.

The BA.2 subvariant is said to be more transmissible than the original Omicron variant, and has been spreading in Japan and other countries.

The group led by Kawaoka Yoshihiro, project professor at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science, published its findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers used a number of drugs on cultured monkey cells infected with the BA.2 subvariant.

They confirmed that the drugs molnupiravir, nirmatrelvir and remdesivir were effective against the subvariant. But they said they had to increase the concentration of the drugs about three times to achieve the same level of effectiveness they had with an early strain.

The researchers also found that two other drugs approved as COVID-19 treatments in Japan were effective to a certain extent, but their efficacy dropped to around one-fiftieth to one-sixtieth compared to other strains.

The group says it will further examine the efficacy of drugs through animal experiments and other means.

Professor Kawaoka said it is important to establish a system to facilitate access to the three antivirals, as their effectiveness has been demonstrated.

Key words : slowly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220313_09/

The number of new coronavirus cases in Japan is slowly trending downward.

Quasi-state of emergency measures remain in place in 18 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka.

The restrictions are set to expire on March 21. Some government sources believe that most of them could be lifted that day as scheduled.

Over 9,100 new cases were reported in the capital on Saturday. That is about 1,600 fewer infections than the capital recorded one week ago.

The central government plans to monitor the situation as hospital bed occupancy rates remain high in some prefectures, such as Osaka and Kanagawa.

It will seek the opinions of local government officials to decide whether it will lift the measures or not. It will also take case rates into account before a final decision is made.

The authorities recorded over 55,000 new infections in Japan on Saturday. They also recorded 141 deaths. More than 1,200 people were reported to be seriously ill.