at 18:30 (JST), July 15

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/20220715183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : state funeral eight years promoting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220714_37/

Japan plans to honor former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo with a state funeral. He was killed in a shocking attack last Friday.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says the funeral is scheduled for this autumn.

Kishida said, "By holding a state funeral, we will mourn former Prime Minister Abe and show our unwavering commitment to upholding democracy and never giving in to violence."

Kishida noted Abe was in office for eight years and eight months, serving longer than any other prime minister in Japan's history.

He said Abe achieved results in diverse areas, such as rebuilding the region hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, revitalizing the Japanese economy and promoting relations with the United States and other countries.

Abe was shot and killed during a campaign event just two days before the Upper House election. Candidates and party leaders continued their campaigns amid tighter security.

Abe will be the second former prime minister to be given a state funeral since the end of World War Two, following Yoshida Shigeru, who died in 1967.

Key words : pacific island closely
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220714_34/

The Pacific Islands Forum has ended its annual meeting, with leaders agreeing to cooperate more closely on climate change and security issues.

The 18-member forum, including Pacific island nations and Australia, held a closed-door summit on Thursday to wrap up the four-day meeting in Suva, the capital of Fiji.

Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, who chaired the summit, told reporters that the region is facing complex challenges, and unity is the overriding focus. He said there is no doubt about the importance of working together on climate change and other shared challenges.

The closed-door leaders' meeting also reportedly discussed security issues, with China's growing influence in the region in mind.

According to the forum's secretariat, the leaders confirmed that they will share information before going ahead with security pact talks with other countries.

This year's summit took place following the announcement from Kiribati that it would leave the forum, over differences with some other members last year regarding the election of a new secretary general.

The leaders of six other countries and regions were absent, citing reasons such as local elections.

Concern is being raised that the disarray among the members of the Pacific Islands Forum could allow China to further strengthen its presence in the region.

Key words : inflation indonesia price
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220715_02/

Finance chiefs and central bank governors from the Group of 20 economies will open their two-day meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali on Friday.

The meeting's agenda will include inflation, which Western nations say has been accelerating worldwide due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Another major factor that has been contributing to the spike in energy and food costs is supply chain and distribution disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Data released by the US government on Wednesday show that the country's consumer prices surged 9.1 percent year-on-year last month to the highest level in about 40-and-a-half years.

Prices have also been climbing steeply in other parts of the world despite central banks raising key interest rates. This has been putting further pressure on people's lives.

The rate increases in major economies have been denting the value of emerging countries' currencies, fueling concerns that investors may move funds away from them.

The US and European countries accuse Russia of contributing to the soaring inflation by launching the invasion. But Russia blames sanctions imposed by Western nations on the country.

The G20 framework includes countries with close ties to Russia, such as China and India. Observers are watching to see whether delegates to the meeting will be able to cooperate to address the inflation and other issues.

Key words : new initiative blue pacific
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