at 18:30 (JST), March 15

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/20220315183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : chinese over 3,000
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 : japanese accept relative
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220315_03/

The Japanese government is preparing to accept Ukrainians fleeing the fighting in their country who don't have relatives or acquaintances in Japan.

The government has already made clear its willingness to accept the relatives and acquaintances of about 1,900 Ukrainians who have residence status in Japan.

It is ready to welcome other Ukrainians on humanitarian grounds as well.

On Monday, Komeito, the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, made proposals on the matter.

They include making it unnecessary for Ukrainians who don't have relatives or acquaintances in Japan to have a guarantor in the country, as well as providing housing and job support.

The government is considering setting up a new framework that would help to match such Ukrainian evacuees with Japanese municipalities or businesses willing to accept and support them.

The Immigration Services Agency is calling on such municipalities and businesses to send information as to what kind of support they can provide.

Key words : medical volunteer
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220315_05/

A team of medical volunteers from Japan is preparing to provide aid to Ukrainian evacuees at a border town in neighboring Hungary.

The team of six doctors and other medical workers was dispatched by the non-governmental organization AMDA and the non-profit group TICO, both based in western Japan.

The volunteers visited a temporary shelter in the Hungarian border town of Zahony on Monday. They met with local medical staff to gauge the needs of the evacuees.

The team plans to start working with local doctors at a clinic near the border on Tuesday. It is also preparing to offer pediatric medical supplies to an aid organization transporting relief supplies to schools and hospitals in Ukraine.

Doctor Shibata Waka said the evacuees are facing enormous hardships. She said some are unsure of where they are headed, so the team hopes to provide them with emotional support.

Ukrainian-Hungarian doctor Erdelyi Tatjana is cooperating with the Japanese team. Erdelyi was thankful for the aid from Japan, saying it will help ensure necessary medical supplies are delivered to Ukraine and the border regions.

Key words : energy myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220314_27/

Myanmar is suffering frequent power outages following last year's military coup and as energy prices rise.

The military-controlled electricity and energy ministry says transmission equipment at hydro-power plants has been destroyed by militant forces.

The ministry also says some natural gas-fueled power plants have suspended operations because fuel costs have surged.

The ministry has warned of a further drop in power supply through Friday because of construction work on a natural gas pipeline in the country.

In the central part of Myanmar's biggest city Yangon, traffic lights are out and stores are using power generators to stay open.
Residents are complaining about the power shortage.
Some say power cuts last all night, preventing them from using fans. They say they can't sleep because it's too hot.

Others are saying that although they have always suffered outages in the hot season, the situation is worse this year.

Officials at the Yangon office of the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO, say some factories operated by Japanese companies are being hit by more than 10 hours of power cuts each day.

Official also say such factories are having to use generators, driving up costs.

Key words : nhk poll seoul
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220315_06/

An NHK poll shows one out of four respondents expects relations between Tokyo and Seoul to improve under South Korea's next president, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol.

NHK conducted the telephone survey for three days through Sunday. It contacted 2,202 randomly chosen people aged 18 or older, of whom 56 percent responded.

The survey asked if they think bilateral ties will improve now that the candidate of South Korea's largest opposition party has been elected to succeed President Moon Jae-in.

Twenty-five percent of the respondents said relations will improve, while 4 percent said they will worsen.

Fifty-nine percent said relations will remain unchanged.

In a survey conducted in May 2017, when Moon was elected president, only 7 percent of respondents expected bilateral ties to improve, while 24 percent said they would worsen.

More than half the respondents in both surveys believed that bilateral ties, which have soured over historical issues and other matters, would not change.

Key words : paper companies
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220315_16/

Japanese paper companies are coming out with more products to replace those made of disposable plastic.

This comes as a new law is set to take effect in April requiring businesses to cut single-use plastic items.

Nippon Paper Industries has developed a special milk carton for school lunches.

It's easy to open, even for small children, so they can drink from it without using a straw.

Nippon Paper says the carton will be used in about 170 municipalities by the end of April. That should cut plastic waste by around 200 million straws a year, or about 100 tons.

Nippon Paper Industries' Masuda Junichi says, "It's important to understand that we use a lot of disposable plastic items every day, and we must do something about this. We think this is a really important step in the right direction."

Meanwhile, Daio Paper is stepping up sales of paper hangers and spoons that are resistant to oil and water.

The company also has a stir stick made of paper. It's being used by a major chain of coffee shops with outlets nationwide.

Key words : nhk world
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220315_19/

NHK World-Japan, the international service of Japan's public broadcaster NHK, now provides the latest news and information in Ukrainian as well as 19 other languages.

NHK's Ukraine-language website, which includes information on Japanese support for Ukrainian evacuees, can be accessed at: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/uk/news/