at 18:30 (JST), August 23

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/20220823183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Kishida told sanction
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220823_18/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has ordered the government to continue providing support to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia by closely coordinating with other Group of Seven partners.

Kishida gave the instructions at a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers on Tuesday, on the eve of six months into Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The prime minister, who is now isolating due to catching the coronavirus, attended the meeting online. Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu, Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi were among those who took part.

With no end to the war in sight anytime soon, participants shared the latest updates about the fighting as well as diplomacy and trends of global commodity and consumer prices affected by the invasion.

Kishida instructed the ministers to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals still in Ukraine.

He also told them to make sure Japan's energy supply is stable and to build a defense posture capable of handling the global security landscape.

After the meeting, Finance Minister Suzuki told reporters that the G7 has closely coordinated efforts and imposed broad financial sanctions that have hurt Russia's economy, but not enough to end the invasion.

Key words : north invading
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220823_10/

North Korea has condemned the joint military drills by the United States and South Korea, calling them an exercise by aggressor forces and threatening a corresponding military response.

The regular drills, based on a scenario assuming an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, are scheduled from Monday of this week through September 1.

The website of North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland carried an opinion piece on Monday about the drills.

The article describes them as an exercise based on the premise of invading North Korea, and says they push the situation on the peninsula into danger.

It warns that an unintended military clash could lead to an all-out war.

It also criticized South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol by name, saying that the more he clings to playing with war, the more it will become apparent who is the main culprit intensifying the situation.

North Korea has called for the cancellation of the joint drills, describing them as a hostile policy. It has also justified its nuclear and missile development, claiming that the drills are a military threat to the country.

Key words : drought
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220823_07/

An extreme heat wave and a drought in China have lowered water levels in the Yangtze River, revealing three Buddhist statues that have long been submerged.

Reuters news agency reported that the statues were found on the highest part of an island reef usually below the waterline in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

Reuters quoted China's state media Xinhua as reporting that the statues are believed to be 600 years old.

A local man said he came to visit the site to see the statues, believing that they would disappear under the water once the river returns to normal. He called them cultural properties left by ancestors.

Key words : defense ministry 14
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220823_08/

Japan's Defense Ministry says 14 Russian naval vessels sailed through a strait between Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and Sakhalin island.

The ministry said Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel confirmed four Russian warships in the Sea of Okhotsk, about 260 kilometers east-northeast of Cape Soya on Saturday.

Another convoy of 10 Russian vessels, including frigate and supply ships, was spotted about 80 kilometers east-northeast of the cape the following day.

Officials say all 14 vessels entered the Sea of Japan following their passage through the Soya Strait.

Ministry officials suspect the ships could be on their way to the Vostok military exercises. Russia's military announced that the quadrennial drills will kick off on August 30 in the country's Far East.

Key words : defense ministry budget
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220822_16/

NHK has learned what defensive items will be funded under the Japanese Defense Ministry's demand for budgetary appropriations for the next fiscal year.

The Defense Ministry has compiled the budget request to drastically enhance Japan's defense capabilities over the next five years, without showing the total cost.

The ministry plans to start mass production of new long-range standoff missiles that can attack targets from outside enemy range and could be used for counterstrikes.

They include an improved version of the Ground Self-Defense Force's ground-to-ship missile and high-speed glide bombs to defend remote islands.

The ministry also plans to develop unmanned aircraft that can be used not only for surveillance and information gathering but also to launch an attack.

The ministry says it will construct vessels equipped with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system as an alternative to the scrapped plan to deploy the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system.

The vessels will have the capability to respond to ballistic missiles as well as to hypersonic glide weapons, which are said to be more difficult to intercept.

Besides the cost for such weapons and systems, the ministry plans to demand a budget for the next fiscal year that will cost a record amount of nearly 5.6 trillion yen, or about 40.8 billion dollars.

Key words : medical system strain
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220823_02/

In the latest on the coronavirus situation in Japan -- the medical system is under further strain as more people get back to work after the summer holidays.

This clinic in Tokyo sees people who have a fever.
It examines more than 50 patients a day, about five online. The company that provides the online system says the number of users jumped more than seven-fold to a record high last month.

On Monday, officials across Japan confirmed more than 141,000 new cases and 245 deaths.

An expert on infectious diseases says many people travelled and had contact with others during the holidays and this may lead to another upward trend.

Tokyo Medical University Hospital Professor Hamada Atsuo says that with so many cases around, a lot of people got infected even if they were being very careful.

Hamada says schools and employers need to make sure students and employees know they should take time off if they aren't feeling well.

Key words : hino
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220822_28/

A data-falsification scandal at Hino Motors has widened.
Officials at the Japanese truck and bus maker confirmed that government inspectors have found that the misconduct included a model of small truck.

Hino has responded to the latest findings by stopping domestic shipments of the model. That means almost all of the company's models are no longer being shipped due to the scandal.

The transport ministry has found that Hino had been applying for certification for the trucks' small-sized engines without carrying out the required number of emissions tests.

Shipments of the Dutro model were suspended from Monday. The automaker says the falsification affects about 76,000 trucks sold since 2019.

Hino had already stopped shipments of models of medium-sized and large trucks due to the scandal.

Hino had been falsifying emissions and fuel economy data on certain types of engines for at least the last 20 years. Earlier this month, the transport ministry launched on-site inspections at Hino facilities.

The automaker is a unit of Toyota Motor. The parent is also affected by the scandal, as it outsources the production of the Dyna model of small truck to Hino.

Toyota suspended shipments of that model from Monday.