at 18:30 (JST), March 29

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/20220329183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : justice minister
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220329_04/

Japan's government intends to send its justice minister to Poland as a special envoy tasked with laying the groundwork for accepting evacuees from Ukraine. Tokyo may allow some evacuees to accompany the minister when he flies back to Japan.

A plan by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to dispatch Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa as his envoy is part of ongoing preparations to take in Ukrainians fleeing the violence in their country.

Under the plan, Furukawa will depart for Poland on April 1. Upon arrival, he will consult with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about how to support Ukrainians.

Also under consideration is a plan to allow some evacuees to accompany Furukawa on a government plane back to Japan, if they wish to do so.

Foreign ministers from NATO member states and countries such as South Korea and Australia are set to meet in Belgium in early April. Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa is preparing to attend the meeting.

He wants to confirm cooperation with his counterparts on responses to the situation in Ukraine by stressing that any attempt to change the status quo by force would affect not only the order of Europe, but also that of Asia.

Key words : kim develop
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220328_17/

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country will continue to develop "powerful strike means."

North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported this on Monday, four days after the country test-fired what it called a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17.

The paper says Kim made the remark during a photo session with scientists and other people who contributed to Thursday's launch.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency issued a report about the launch citing military and government sources. The sources reportedly said US and South Korean forces have concluded that the missile was a Hwasong-15. That is the same type of missile fired by the North in 2017.

The news report says intelligence, including data from a satellite fitted with infrared thermal sensors, shows the missile launched on Thursday had only two nozzles, just like the Hwasong-15. Footage released by North Korea showed that the Hwasong-17 has four nozzles.

The report says US and South Korean military officials suspect the missile in the latest launch was carrying a lighter warhead to falsely make it appear as if it could fly like the longer-range Hwasong-17.

The missile reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,000 kilometers.

The report also says that the weather conditions seen in footage and a picture made public by North Korea do not match the weather conditions that were observed at the time of the launch.

The officials are said to believe that images from two earlier purported Hwasong-17 launches were used.

Key words : south aiboshi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220328_24/

South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has stressed the need for Japan, the United States and his country to strengthen cooperation to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

Yoon met on Monday with Japan's Ambassador to South Korea, Aiboshi Koichi. The talks were their first since Yoon won the presidential election earlier this month.

South Korean officials say the two exchanged views on the North's launches of ICBM-class ballistic missiles.

They quote Yoon as saying that South Korea, the US and Japan need to cooperate more closely to convince North Korea that it can gain nothing from its nuclear program.

The officials say Aiboshi responded that Japan hopes to continue working closely together with South Korea. He reportedly said North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations pose a serious challenge to the international community.

On Japan-South Korea relations, Yoon said bilateral ties must be improved in a future-oriented way. He stressed that both sides need to make efforts for that.

The meeting was initially scheduled for March 17, but was postponed after the ambassador tested positive for the coronavirus.

Key words : nippon foundation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220328_29/

A private Japanese foundation is to support Ukrainians who make their way to Japan, with plans to provide about 40 million dollars over three years.

Senior officials at The Nippon Foundation announced the plan in Tokyo on Monday.

They say the funds will be distributed to evacuees who are relatives or acquaintances of Ukrainians who have resident status in Japan. They estimate about 1,000 evacuees will be eligible for the financial assistance.

The foundation is to offer about 2,400 dollars per person for travel expense to Japan, with a further 24,000 dollars provided over the course of three years to pay for living expenses in Japan.

The foundation also plans to offer funds to non-profit organizations and volunteers who support the evacuees, including interpreters.

The Japanese government says about 1,900 Ukrainians have resident status in Japan.

Nippon Foundation Chairman Sasakawa Yohei said he has heard that some 900 Ukrainians want to make their way to Japan. He called on Ukrainians living in Japan to inform family and friends about the assistance program.

Key words : strict restriction 24 million
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220329_03/

The eastern side of Shanghai is under strict restrictions on outings as authorities try to stop a surge in coronavirus numbers.

The city of more than 24 million people is being divided in two for a staggered citywide testing program.

Subways heading to the eastern half have stopped after the restrictions went into force there.

The city center is quiet. Police are wearing protective gear.

On Sunday, China's health authorities announced about 6,000 new cases of community infection in the country.
That's around the level seen in February 2020 when infections spread in the city of Wuhan.

Funabashi Ken of JETRO Shanghai said, "Shanghai has the world's largest container handling port. Trucks can't get in or out. There is great concern about the impact on the global supply chain."

Residents of the eastern half of the city are required to take PCR tests by Friday. Those in the western half are to be tested when restrictions are in effect there from Friday to next Tuesday.

Authorities are imposing the restrictions to limit people's movement during the testing periods.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases in Tokyo is up compared to a week ago. Tokyo officials reported over 4,500 new cases on Monday. That's up about 700 from last Monday, for the second straight week-on-week increase.

Officials reported more than 29,000 new cases in the country on Monday.

The number of seriously ill patients stood at around 690.

Key words : railway company
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220328_37/

A Tokyo area railway company said it will operate all of its lines solely on renewable energy from next month.

Tokyu Railways announced its eight lines in Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa, as well as its train stations, will effectively switch to renewable energy from April.

The company will buy a "no-carbon certificate" from its utility for the amount of energy it consumes, which will certify the power is generated from renewable sources.

The railway said that it is the first in Japan to entirely operate all lines with renewable energy. It said it expects to reduce its annual CO2 emissions equivalent to the amount emitted by 56,000 households.

Key words : print run
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220328_30/

A collection of short stories by Japanese author Murakami Haruki now has a cumulative print run of 1 million copies after "Drive My Car," a movie based on one of the stories, won a US Academy Award.

Publisher Bungeishunju said on Monday that the 2014 book hit the milestone with the decision to print a new run of the book after the movie won the Oscar for best international feature film.

The company said orders began flooding in after "Drive My Car" was nominated for four Oscars in February, leading to a print run of 160,000 copies in about a month.

The book has been translated into English under the title "Men Without Women."

Bungeishunju says it hopes the movie's success will prompt people who haven't read Murakami's works to experience them first-hand.