at 18:30 (JST), May 11

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/20220511183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : hayashi handed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220510_34/

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol have affirmed close communication between their governments as a way to improve bilateral ties.

At the start of their meeting on Tuesday in Seoul, Hayashi handed Yoon a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Yoon expressed hope of working with Kishida to improve ties, and of meeting him at an early date.

Hayashi stressed the urgency of improving relations in the current international situation, when order based on rules is under threat.

To that end, he said, wartime labor and other outstanding issues must be resolved.

Yoon said he attaches importance to Japan-South Korea relations, and that he intends to cooperate to make them better.

Hayashi later said the meeting was a crucial opportunity to directly convey Japan's unwavering stance to South Korea's new administration.

Hayashi added he hopes to invite incoming Foreign Minister Park Jin to Japan for talks.

Key words : okinawa cancel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220510_33/

The governor of the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, Tamaki Denny, has called on Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to abandon a plan to move a US base in the prefecture.

Tamaki handed a document containing proposals from Okinawa to Kishida in Tokyo on Tuesday.

This comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan from US rule on May 15. Before the reversion, the local government in Okinawa also compiled a set of proposals for the central government.

The new document says the prefecture and the central government shared the goal of making Okinawa islands of peace at the time of the reversion, but that the goal has still not been achieved.

The document calls on Tokyo to cancel the relocation of the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in the prefecture. It also calls for a fundamental review of the status of forces agreement between Japan and the US.

Kishida said his government takes the proposals seriously and will continue working to reduce Okinawa's burden of hosting US bases and to raise residents' income.

Tamaki told reporters after the meeting that reducing the burden of hosting US bases will no doubt lead to the development of Okinawa. He also said he hopes Prime Minister Kishida will squarely face the wishes of Okinawa.

Key words : shanghai dropped
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220510_28/

In China's locked-down commercial hub of Shanghai, new cases of the coronavirus have dropped below 3,000 for the first time in more than six weeks.

Shanghai authorities say 2,858 new cases, most without symptoms, were confirmed on Monday.

The last time the daily tally was below 3,000 was on March 26, before outings were tightly restricted.

Meanwhile, social media users have been criticizing what they describe as forced isolation, in which residents are taken to a quarantine facility against their will just for living in condominiums with infected people.

A professor at a university in Shanghai who is an expert on the country's constitution posted on social media that forced isolation is illegal. The post was deleted and the professor's social media account was suspended.

Authorities explained at a news conference on Tuesday that people sharing kitchens or toilets in condominiums could be forcibly isolated.

But they added that risks would be determined on a case-by-case basis, apparently to deflect criticism.

Key words : toyota 14 assembly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220511_12/

The strict coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai is affecting Japanese companies, with Toyota Motor announcing that it will put production on hold at some of its plants in Japan due to the difficulty in procuring parts from China.

Toyota says 14 assembly lines at eight domestic plants will be shut down starting Monday of next week, but the measure will last no more than six days.

Toyota expects its global production in May to come to about 700,000 units, down by about 130,000 from its original projection. That decrease includes reductions made earlier due to semiconductor shortages.

Toyota officials say it's still difficult to predict the situation several months in the future, but they will continue to do their best to deliver vehicles as soon as possible.

Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi are also closing plants on a temporary basis or are taking other steps to cope with difficulty in acquiring parts.

Key words : india buyer russian weapon
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20220413194805049/

India has been the biggest buyer of Russian weapons for decades. New Delhi has mostly stayed silent about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and abstained from voting on UN resolutions criticizing Russia. Some Indian experts say their country should rethink this dependence on Russian arms. A former member of India's national security team gave his view on this to NHK World.