at 18:30 (JST), June 02

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/20220602183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : US ambassador
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220602_01/

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has stressed the necessity for Washington and Tokyo to strengthen ties, saying the bilateral relations are at a "critical juncture" now.

Emanuel on Wednesday delivered a speech at an event in Tokyo hosted by an organization promoting Japan-US relations. Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo attended.

Emanuel said the two countries' relationship for the next three years will determine their alliance for the next 30 years in the Indo-Pacific area, not just bilaterally.

He proposed to project the two countries' values, principles and interests into the Indo-Pacific and bring other countries to that concept in a shared way.

Emanuel said President Joe Biden thinks his visit to Japan in May was "tremendous" in solidifying the bilateral relationship. The ambassador referred to agreements made during Biden's visits, including the plan to establish a regional office of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Japan.

Emanuel mentioned the Quad framework, consisting of Japan, the US, Australia and India, and also the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a group of 13 nations. He suggested China sees these groups as a threat "because we have allies, we have friends, we have relationships" while China has "subjects" and "dependents."

He added, "China and Russia are threatened by allies, friends and a common set of values and principles that we uphold."

Key words : and taiwan agreed partnership
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220602_04/

The United States and Taiwan have agreed to launch a new economic partnership.

Meeting reporters late Wednesday, the Taiwanese minister in charge of trade negotiations, Deng Chen-chung, disclosed that Taiwan has reached an agreement to that end with the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The framework will cover 11 areas, including trade facilitation and digital trade.

An inaugural meeting to discuss the initiative is to take place in Washington this month.

The move comes as US President Joe Biden announced plans to launch talks on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF.

The trade framework is seen as a way for the US to counter China's increasing influence in the region.

Washington excluded Taiwan from the IPEF despite repeated calls from Taipei. The decision came as Southeast Asian nations do not want to provoke Beijing.

By including in their trade negotiations most of the areas covered in the IPEF, Washington is showing it attaches importance to Taiwan.

While maintaining Taiwan will continue to strive to participate in the IPEF, Deng hailed the initiative as a historic breakthrough for trade relations with the US.

Key words : in south local election won
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220602_07/

In South Korea, the ruling People Power Party has won 12 of the 17 local elections, giving a boost to the newly inaugurated administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Posts of major city mayors and provincial governors were up for grabs in Wednesday's elections.

The People Power Party's candidates won the mayoral elections in the capital Seoul and the second-biggest city, Busan.

The largest opposition Democratic Party won four races, mainly in its support base in the southwest.

It also edged out the ruling party in the battleground province of Gyeonggi.

In the previous elections four years ago, the Democratic Party, which was then in power, won by a landslide.

That vote was held the day after the first-ever US-North Korea summit.

This time, the People Power Party, which achieved a change of government in the presidential election in March, kept its momentum.

South Korea's National Election Commission says voter turnout was 50.9 percent, down 9.3 points and the second-lowest ever for local elections.

Key words : china combat
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220601_29/

China's military says it has conducted a "combat-readiness patrol" at sea and in the air around Taiwan.

A statement by the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command on Wednesday says it took a necessary move in response to collusion by the United States and Taiwan. It adds that the US has frequently made moves recently on the issue of Taiwan, instigating support for its independence forces.

Taiwan's defense ministry said 30 Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone on Monday. That's the second-largest number of Chinese military planes to enter the zone in a day this year.

US Senator Tammy Duckworth met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden suggested in late May that his country will get involved militarily if Taiwan is attacked.

Key words : myanmar
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220601_12/

A bomb blast has killed one person and injured nine others in central Yangon in an apparently indiscriminate attack that sent shockwaves across Myanmar.

Myanmar's state-run television says the explosion occurred at a bus stop on a busy street in the country's largest city at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Footage from the site shows injured people being carried onto an ambulance.

In Myanmar, the military and pro-democracy groups have continued to clash since the junta took power in a coup last year. But bombings believed to have targeted civilians indiscriminately in public are a rare occurrence.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The state-run television, which is under the military's control, says it was an act of terrorism by pro-democracy forces using explosives.

The pro-democracy forces told independent local media that the military had carried out the attack. They said the military had tried to make it look as if the opposition forces were responsible.

Some Japanese firms have offices near the site of the explosion. Officials at the Japanese Embassy in Yangon have called on Japanese citizens not to go there.

Key words : india economy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220601_36/

India's economy has bounced back from a contraction during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The country's gross domestic product grew in the fiscal year through March, but there are also signs of trouble ahead.

The government said on Tuesday that the economy expanded 8.7 percent in fiscal 2021. That compares to a 6.6 percent contraction the year before.

But the rate of growth cooled in the fourth quarter. GDP increased 4.1 percent year-on-year in the three-month period through March this year, down from 5.4 percent in the previous quarter.

The spread of the Omicron variant and surging inflation weighed on the economy.
Food prices are rising in India after a heat wave hit the production of wheat, one of the country's main farm products.

There is also growing concern about the impact of global supply-chain disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Key words : asakusa
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220601_28/

A rickshaw operator in Tokyo's major tourist spot of Asakusa has resumed English lessons for its staff ahead of Japan's planned resumption of accepting foreign tourists.

Japan plans to accept tourists from 98 countries and regions designated as low-risk areas in terms of COVID-19 infections from June 10.

Tourists will be limited to those on package tours attended by guides.

The rickshaw operator resumed its English lessons last month. It is also again providing rickshaw pullers with local guide materials in English.

The operator has been in the business for about 25 years. It stopped offering rides two years ago, when the number of foreign tourists plunged due to the pandemic.

On Wednesday, a puller who started the job less than a month ago practiced speaking English using a textbook. He said he's looking forward to showing local tourist spots to foreigners, and that he's anxious about his command of English.

The company says that due to the pandemic, sales last year and two years ago were down nearly 70 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

The company's owner, Fujiwara Hidenori, said they hope to work to recover the losses of the past two years while taking adequate antivirus measures. He added that they hope rickshaws will help Japan reunite with other parts of the world.