at 18:30 (JST), November 30

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/20221130183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : Kishida order gdp
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221129_28/

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is ordering a significant increase in defense spending in five years. It comes as the ruling coalition has been raising concerns about security around Japan.

Kishida met with the defense and finance ministers on Monday. He told them he wants defense spending to rise to 2 percent of Japan's GDP in fiscal 2027.

Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party released a set of proposals this year. It says the security environment surrounding Japan has become severe at an accelerated pace. It sees China and North Korea as threats. The party has been calling for building up defense capability to hit back at an enemy in the event of a missile strike on Japan.

Japan's Defense Ministry says it needs about 48 trillion yen for the next mid-term defense program. That includes mass production of domestically-made "standoff" missiles that can attack targets from outside the range of enemy weapons.

But the Finance Ministry is hoping to keep the total cost in the mid-30 trillion-yen-range.

Japan has long capped its annual defense spending at about 1 percent of its GDP. This increase would put it on par with NATO member nations, who are supposed to spend 2 percent or more.

Key words : covid censorship
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221130_02/

Chinese citizens opposing the zero-COVID policy restrictions are defying government censors by using foreign social media to let people know about their protests.

Authorities are deploying police officers in major cities to suppress civil disobedience after massive rallies occurred in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere.

Censorship is apparently being tightened, as photos and images of the protests disappear from the internet.

The ruling Communist Party newspaper, People's Daily, carried an article on Tuesday that said bad internet information amplifies panic among the populace.

The article urged people to focus on information provided by the government.

Some citizens are resorting to virtual private network software to access foreign social media apps that are out of the Chinese government's reach.

One photo posted shows a sheet of paper with "freedom" written on it.

Another post demands a dictator's resignation, in a tacit reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou, police officers are said to be forcing citizens to delete foreign social media apps from their smartphones.

Key words : judo
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221129_16/

The All Japan Judo Federation is working on a new project to use the sport's techniques to help elderly people avoid falls.

Japan's health ministry says the number of people aged 65 or older who died as the result of a fall has been on rise, with more than 8,800 deaths reported in 2020. That's about four times the number of people in the same age group who died in traffic accidents.

The judo organization says that "ukemi" and other fall-breaking techniques from the martial art can protect people from the impact of a fall and the risk of injury.

Members of the new project plan to work with experts to analyze how people fall.

They plan to consult relevant studies abroad and programs carried out at medical institutions, and aim to compile a manual for protecting elderly people from falling accidents.

They also plan to teach the elderly how to avoid such accidents in around 2025 in cooperation with local governments and medical institutions.

Professor Sogabe Shinya of Konan University, who is also a member of the Judo Federation committee, said judo is a sport in which an athlete tries not only to topple an opponent but also tries not to be brought down.

He said that the use of fall-breaking techniques can be very helpful and effective for maintaining balance and preventing injury from a fall.

Key words : india domestic weapon
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20221107200026986/

India ranks third in the world in defense spending, after the United States and China. It has long relied on Russia for arms imports. But following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Modi administration has been accelerating domestic weapons production.