at 18:30 (JST), July 25

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/20220725183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : myanmar lawmaker first execution
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220725_17/

Myanmar's state-run media says four people, including democracy activists, have been executed. These are the country's first executions in decades.

The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on Monday that the executed people include democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, and National League for Democracy lawmaker and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw.

The four were reportedly charged under the counter-terrorism law and the penal code.

Key words : sakurajima most active
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220725_13/

Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted on Sunday evening, spewing ash and stones and triggering an evacuation order. Officials are keeping a close watch on one of the country's most active volcanoes.

The meteorological agency does not expect another major eruption. But it has raised its alert to the highest level of 5. It is the first time that level 5 has been issued at the volcano since the system was introduced in 2007.

The eruption expelled large volcanic rocks as far as 2.5 kilometers away. There were no reports of damage or injuries. But officials issued an evacuation order to dozens of residents of two nearby towns.

An official at the meteorological agency, Nakatsuji Tsuyoshi, said, "Volcanic activities of Sakurajima are becoming intense. People in residential areas should be on the highest alert for large volcanic rocks falling nearby."

Officials are warning that large rocks could fall in areas within 3 kilometers of the volcano's craters. They have also advised residents living within 2 kilometers about the potential for pyroclastic flows.

People in those areas have evacuated. A woman said, "I didn't hear the eruption myself. I found out about it online. It's a bit scary."

One of the volcano's largest eruptions happened in 1914, killing 58 people.

Officials said rain was expected in the area on Monday, but they did not expect it to cause mudslides.

Key words : china launched space station
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220724_12/

China says it has successfully launched the second module of its space station that is due to be completed by the year-end.

State-run China Central Television reported that the Long March 5B rocket carrying the laboratory module Wentian lifted off from the southern island of Hainan on Sunday.

Wentian is to dock with the core module Tianhe. The broadcaster said astronauts will conduct life science experiments in Wentian, including research on the growth of plants and animals in a space environment.

Another lab module is scheduled to be launched in October as the last part of the space station.

China is stepping up efforts to become a leading country in space development, sending probes to the moon and Mars in addition to constructing the space station.

The government is believed to be stressing the progress of the construction, as President Xi Jinping aims to secure an unprecedented third term at the Communist Party Congress this autumn.

This is the third time China has launched the Long March 5B rocket.

When the rocket re-entered the atmosphere after the first launch in 2020, it was reported that what appeared to be its debris fell onto the West African nation of Cote d'Ivoire and damaged buildings.

Key words : gunman philippines
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220725_04/

Three people have been shot to death on a university campus in the Philippines' capital region.

A man opened fire ahead of a graduation ceremony at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Sunday afternoon.

Investigative authorities say the dead include the former mayor of a southern city and a security officer.

They add that the gunman engaged in a shootout with a campus security officer and tried to escape by car before being detained by police.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is due to deliver his first State of the Nation Address on Monday at the House of Representatives' building, which is about 7 kilometers from the campus.

The incident happened despite tough security arrangements that had been in place in the capital region, including a ban on carrying guns and setting up checkpoints.

Marcos has banned protest rallies near the lower house building during his speech although such demonstrations were traditionally allowed. He also stationed more than 22,000 police personnel around the venue.

Marcos expressed shock and sadness over the fatal shooting on his Twitter account.

Key words : monkey attack
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220725_09/

Wild monkeys have attacked residents in the city of Yamaguchi, western Japan, injuring eight people over the weekend.

Police say a monkey bit a teenage girl's leg early Sunday morning. The monkey left the room once but it came back by breaking through the screen window. The monkey also bit her mother's leg.

Later in the morning, a monkey sneaked into a room on the fourth floor of an apartment building in the same neighborhood, and bit a woman on her hands.

At around the same time, another woman who was outside nearby was attacked by a monkey from behind. Her left leg was bitten. The monkey reportedly ran away when she swung an umbrella.

In the same area, two men and two women were also attacked by a monkey between Saturday and Sunday.

The neighborhood has reported a series of monkey attacks, with a total of 38 people injured since early July.

Yamaguchi City officials began a hunt using a tranquilizer gun on Sunday.

Key words : pro-progress
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Key words : 1,500
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220724_10/

Japan's Immigration Services Agency says only about 1,500 foreign tourists entered Japan in the month since the country re-opened to sightseers on June 10.

Japan was effectively closed to foreign tourism for over two years due to the pandemic. Last month, visitors from 98 countries and territories were allowed back in.

The agency says during the month up to July 10, around 484,000 people entered the country in total. The figure translates to 12,000 per day, or about 60 percent of the upper limit of 20,000 that had been set by the government.

Sixty percent of them were Japanese citizens, and most of the foreign nationals who entered the country were business travelers or students. Only about 1,500 of the foreign entrants came for sightseeing.

The agency and the Japan Tourism Agency attribute the low number to the time-consuming process needed to travel to Japan. Tourists are required to obtain a sightseeing visa and show a negative PCR test result. They can only travel on group tours, which are less preferred by Western tourists.

Rikkyo University researcher Tamai Kazuhiro says such a low figure was unexpected, but may be due to tighter restrictions that include visa requirements ensuring proper quarantine systems are in place.

But he also says entry rules should be eased since tourism is essential to rebuilding the Japanese economy, which is hit hard by the pandemic.

Tamai added that the recent surge in cases in Japan has caused anxiety among the public about more freely accepting foreign tourists.

He says the medical system needs to be enhanced to gain people's understanding about allowing more foreign tourists to enter the country.

Key words : 68 countries entry visa
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Key words : treated water preparation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220722_23/

Japan's nuclear regulator has authorized a plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority held an extraordinary meeting on Friday during which it discussed and gave final approval of the plan drawn up by the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, in line with a government decision.

Reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered meltdowns in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Water used to cool molten fuel mixes with rain and groundwater. The accumulating water is treated to remove most of the radioactive materials and stored in tanks on the plant's premises.

The filtered water still contains tritium. The government plans to dilute the water so that its tritium level falls below national regulations and start releasing it from around next spring.

The nuclear regulator approved the plan drafted by TEPCO in May and invited opinions from the public.

NRA officials received a report from its secretariat on the public opinions during their Friday meeting. Of the 1,233 responses, 670 were about technical matters such as the measurement of the concentration of tritium in the treated water and the plant's ability to withstand earthquakes.

The officials discussed the opinions and concluded that what TEPCO has done so far with the treated water and its plan are reasonable.

The regulator says that going forward, it will check whether the operator is making preparations as scheduled.

TEPCO began work last December on construction of an undersea tunnel to be used for the release of treated water.

It also plans to build a facility to dilute treated water after winning agreement from Fukushima Prefecture and the plant's host municipalities. The utility hopes all the construction work will be completed around mid-April in 2023.

But concerns persist among locals, including fishers, about potential reputational damage for products from the region.