at 18:30 (JST), June 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/20220627183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Kishida additional gold
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220627_08/

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced additional sanctions against Russia, including a ban on imports of Russian gold.

Kishida and other Group of Seven leaders discussed diplomatic and security issues at their summit in southern Germany's Schloss Elmau on Sunday.

Kishida touched on the situation in Ukraine and said the world stands at a crossroads in history and is being tested on whether it can maintain international order based on rules.

He noted that frameworks such as the United Nations Security Council have not been able to deal with the current situation sufficiently.

The additional sanctions he announced include a ban on imports of Russian gold and on providing accounting, trust and some other services to Russia.

Kishida also said Japan will expand its asset freeze measures to cover an additional 70 Russian individuals and organizations and will implement a ban on exports to 90 military-related organizations.

Apparently with China in mind, Kishida said that Japan rejects a world in which any unilateral change to the status quo by force, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is tolerated.

He pledged commitment to strengthening international order based on the rule of law. He said other countries must not learn the wrong lessons from the Ukraine crisis.

Kishida also mentioned a series of intrusions by Chinese government ships into Japanese waters and a unilateral gas field development in the East China Sea.

He reiterated that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force cannot be accepted.

Kishida pointed out the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and expressed hope to strengthen security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The prime minister also referred to North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs. He said the world must not allow the North to misunderstand that a window for further advancing the programs has opened as the international community is focusing on the Ukraine crisis.

He stressed the need to realize the North's complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction.

Key words : 65 billion
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220627_06/

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has offered more than 65 billion dollars in investment assistance for developing countries to build sustainable infrastructure.

Kishida made the offer during discussions at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday, at Schloss Elmau in the country's south.

He expressed concerns that developing nations are struggling with increasing debts as the international community has been responding to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Kishida stressed the need for the G7 to come up with ways to respond to unfair and opaque loans extended by China under its Belt and Road initiative.

Kishida added that the G7 should address a so-called "debt trap" caused by China's massive loans where borrowers will struggle with repayment.

The Japanese leader pledged to offer more than 65 billion dollars in assistance over the next five years, including private funds, for infrastructure projects in developing economies.

US President Joe Biden announced the launch of a global infrastructure initiative that will raise nearly 600 billion dollars by 2027, in a bid to counter China's growing influence in the developing world.

Key words : advisory energy use fallen
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220627_02/

Japan's government has issued an advisory for possible power shortages in Tokyo and surrounding areas. It is the first such advisory announced under the country's new alert system.

Sweltering heat is expected to continue on Monday in the Kanto region, including Tokyo. Demand for electricity, such as the use of air conditioners, is expected to surge.

Government officials are calling on households and businesses in the areas to cut back on energy use as much as possible, especially between 3 and 6 p.m. on Monday.

But they also ask people to use air conditioners properly to prevent heatstroke.

Under the new alert system established in May, the government will issue an advisory at 4 p.m. That's when the reserve power-supply capacity is expected to drop below 5 percent the next day, even after additional supplies are offered by other regional utilities.

The government estimates that the reserve capacity will fall below 5 percent in the Greater Tokyo area on Monday. The rate will likely drop further to under 4 percent before 5 p.m.

Japan faces potential power crunches during extreme weather conditions due to a decline in power supply capacities at utility companies.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, which services the Kanto region, says the utility's supply capacity has fallen as operations of some power plants in Fukushima Prefecture remain suspended due to the damage caused by an earthquake that hit the area in March.

The country also has aging thermal power plants that have been closed temporarily or permanently.

Key words : daytime high tokyo and many
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220626_14/

Blistering heat gripped wide areas of Japan on Sunday, with daytime highs topping 35 degrees Celsius in Tokyo and many other places in the Kanto region.

The Meteorological Agency says a high-pressure system to the south of Japan has brought intense heat and sunshine to most parts of the country. Temperatures began to rise from the morning across Japan.

Central Tokyo logged 36.2 degrees, tying a record for the month of June. This is also the first time the Japanese capital has experienced a daytime high of over 35 degrees for two straight days in June.

Thirty locations around the country, many of them in the Kanto region, recorded daytime temperatures exceeding 35 degrees.

The mercury rose to 36.8 degrees in the cities of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, and Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. Tokyo's Nerima Ward and the city of Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, both logged 36.4 degrees. The city of Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, had a high of 36 degrees.

The extreme heat is expected to continue in the Kanto region and elsewhere on Monday. A high of 38 degrees is forecast for Kumagaya, as well as Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. Temperatures are expected to reach 35 degrees in central Tokyo, the city of Toyama, and Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture.

People are being urged to take precautions against heatstroke. These include drinking water frequently, using air conditioners properly, and removing face masks outdoors if social distancing can be maintained.

Key words : taliban sanction
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220626_12/

The Taliban's foreign ministry spokesperson has called for the lifting of sanctions on the Islamist group as well as the release of Afghanistan's frozen overseas assets, so it can support victims of an earthquake that hit eastern part of the country.

More than 1,000 people were killed and over 1,600 injured in the magnitude 5.9 quake that struck the provinces of Khost and Paktika on Wednesday.

A non-governmental organization said it is working with the Taliban's interim government, but damaged roads leading to the area are hindering quick transportation of the relief aid.

The Taliban's foreign ministry spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said in an interview with the Reuters news agency on Saturday, "The Islamic Emirate is asking the world to give the Afghans their most basic right, which is their right to life."

He called on international governments to lift sanctions on Taliban executives and unfreeze the central bank's overseas assets.

The United States and other countries froze the assets after the Taliban returned to power last August.

The UN Security Council last year adopted a new resolution which says provision of funds for humanitarian aid would not violate the sanctions on the Taliban.

The Taliban is now demanding that sanctions be eased so it can deal with the aftermath of the quake.

Key words : state-run xi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220625_12/

China's state-run news agency said President Xi Jinping will attend a ceremony next Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China.

The visit would be Xi's first trip outside mainland China since the January 2020 coronavirus lockdown on Wuhan near the country's center.

Xinhua News Agency also reported on Saturday that Xi will attend the inauguration of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

July 1 will mark 25 years since Hong Kong was handed over to China from British rule. It will be a halfway point of the 50-year period that Beijing promised would be marked by a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" framework.

Xi is expected to tout Beijing's success in governing Hong Kong. Pro-democracy movements and media have been suppressed in Hong Kong under a national security law for the territory.

Hong Kong media reported that participants of events commemorating the 25th anniversary have been required to be quarantined at hotels for one week.

The Xinhua report did not say whether Xi would attend the ceremonies in person or online.

Key words : close to sideline
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220626_16/

Sources close to South Korea's presidential office say a three-way summit among Japan, the United States and South Korea will take place on June 29 on the sidelines of a NATO gathering in Spain.

This will be the first summit of the three countries since September 2017. The leaders are expected to confirm their cooperation in dealing with North Korea, which is accelerating its nuclear and missile development.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to leave for Madrid on Monday to attend the NATO summit. It will be his first overseas trip as the country's president.

Yoon will meet Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio face-to-face for the first time since he took office.

But the sources say a bilateral summit between Japan and South Korea is unlikely as it will be difficult to make progress on the pending issues between the two countries under the circumstances.

The sources say it is better not to hold a one-on-one meeting if tangible results cannot be expected.

Key words : north anti-US
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220625_08/

People in North Korea staged a series of anti-US rallies in the lead-up to Saturday, which marks 72 years since the start of the Korean War. It is the first time in five years that the North has reported that such rallies have taken place.

The war broke out on June 25, 1950. Pyongyang designates the occasion as the day of the struggle against the United States.

The Saturday edition of the ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, ran an editorial titled "The spirit of protecting the homeland is a weapon of victory."

The newspaper also reported on anti-US rallies that took place in the capital, Pyongyang, on Thursday and Friday.

In Friday's demonstration, university students and other participants accused the United States of continuing war drills to invade North Korea. They went on to say that if the United States blows the clouds of war onto their homeland, they will mercilessly conquer it.

The anti-US rallies appear to be the first since 2018, when leaders of the two countries held their first-ever summit. Since then, Pyongyang has taken a more hostile stance toward Washington as a stand-off between the two over Pyongyang's nuclear program has intensified.

The United States has also been working with Japan and South Korea to strengthen their deterrence capabilities.

Earlier this year, North Korea resumed intercontinental ballistic missiles launches. It has also been accelerating its nuclear and missile development programs.

Key words : cambodia landslide
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220626_11/

Cambodia's ruling party has scored a landslide victory in the commune council elections that were held on June 5.

The National Election Committee announced on Sunday that the Cambodian People's Party candidates now hold the chair positions of 1,648 commune councils from a total of 1,652.

The ruling party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, also won more than 80 percent of the local council seats. The main opposition Candlelight Party won fewer than 20 percent.

Cambodia holds council elections every five years. In 2017, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party won a majority in 30 percent of the councils by attracting support from voters unhappy with Hun Sen, who had held power for over 30 years.

Hun Sen's government cracked down on the CNRP after the elections, arresting its leader and forcing it to disband.

Hun Sen's party won all the parliamentary seats in the general election in 2018.

The results of this month's local elections show the opposition party has been severely weakened by the government's crackdown.