at 18:30 (JST), May 27

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/20220527183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : wang tour eight
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220527_22/

The White House says Fiji will join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF -- a US-led new initiative apparently aimed at competing with China.

US President Joe Biden announced the start of talks to launch the IPEF during his visit to Tokyo on Monday. Thirteen countries including Japan, India, South Korea and Southeast Asian nations have said they'll join.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Thursday that Fiji will be the 14th nation to take part and the first in the Pacific Islands to do so.

The statement says, "IPEF now reflects the full regional diversity of the Indo-Pacific."

China is stepping up moves to expand its influence among the Pacific Islands.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began an eight-nation tour of the region on Thursday. His stops include Fiji.

The latest US announcement apparently underscores an intensifying tug-of-war with China to win over the Pacific Islands.

Key words : Solomon Islands continue
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220526_31/

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has visited the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, and said China will continue to provide security assistance to the nation.

Wang arrived in the Solomon Islands on Thursday, to kick off his 10-day tour of Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste.

His visit to the Solomons follows the signing last month of a security pact between China and the nation.

According to China's foreign ministry, Wang said during his talks with the Solomons' Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele that China firmly supports the nation's efforts to defend its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Manele reportedly said Chinese aid has been playing an important role in his country's economic development and efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Wang's visit is widely seen as part of China's efforts to expand its influence in the region, to counter a US-led initiative in the Indo-Pacific region.

Also on Thursday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited Fiji and expressed Australia's renewed policy to increase assistance to Pacific island nations.

The visit came just days after Australia's new prime minister Anthony Albanese took office, and appears to reflect the country's resolve to step up efforts to counter China's growing influence in the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang is due to also visit Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste in his 10-day trip until June 4.

Key words : ended package tour
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220527_03/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has said the country will resume allowing inbound tourism which had been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kishida said on Thursday that Japan will reopen its borders to foreign tourists, starting on June 10. Only visitors on escorted package tours will be allowed to enter for the time being, to prevent the spread of the virus.

The government will double its current cap on the number of arrivals from overseas to 20,000 per day from June 1. The figure will include foreign sightseers.

Japan will let in tourists from 98 countries and territories that are classified as having the lowest coronavirus positivity rates. They will include the United States, South Korea and China.

Visitors from the lowest-risk group will be exempt from virus testing and self-quarantine even if they have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Reopening the border to foreign sightseers is expected to rejuvenate the tourism industry and local economies that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

However, analysts say it will take time for Japan's inbound tourism to return to its pre-pandemic levels, when foreign visitors topped 30 million per year.

Attention is focused on whether the country will be able to let in more foreign tourists while keeping the domestic infection situation under control.

Key words : philippines president millimeter
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220527_02/

The Philippines' president-elect says his administration will hold talks with Beijing over their territorial disputes in the South China Sea based on a 2016 arbitration tribunal decision. The ruling dismissed China's claims to almost all of the waters.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke in an online video uploaded on Thursday, discussing his foreign policy for the first time since winning the presidential election earlier this month. He will officially assume the presidency on June 30.

Regarding the South China Sea, Marcos said he will not "allow a single millimeter" of the Philippines' "maritime coastal rights to be trampled upon." He pledged to "talk to China consistently with a firm voice."

Marcos described the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague as a "very important" one in his country's favor. He said his administration will use the ruling to continue to assert the Philippines' "territorial rights."

His latest comments sharply contrast with his remark in the run-up to the presidential election that the ruling was "not effective."

The Philippines filed the case at the tribunal in 2013. Its victory was based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte did not accept the ruling.

Vietnam, Malaysia and others also have their own claims in the South China Sea.

Key words : fled ukrainian 90-day visa
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20220516161743567/

More than 800 people have fled from Ukraine to Japan. Different levels of government are helping them with housing and living costs. But some evacuees don't have a personal connection to Japan and can't speak the language. In this report, we'll introduce you to a family that's stepping up to help.