at 18:30 (JST), January 12

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/20230112183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : self-defense british military defense capabilities
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230112_03/

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, have affirmed unity ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.

Kishida flew into London on the third leg of a weeklong tour. He previously visited France and Italy, and will travel next to Canada and the United States.

At the start of the talks, Kishida said Japan and Britain, which are global strategic partners, have the mission to work closely and tackle issues faced by the international community. He expressed readiness to deepen bilateral ties, including on the security front.

Kishida added Japan will be hosting the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima this year, and he hopes to engage in strategic discussions with that in mind.

During the meeting, the two leaders confirmed their unity to make the summit a success as the world faces the situation in Ukraine and food and energy issues.

Kishida also explained Japan's determination to bolster its defense capabilities by revising three key security documents last month.

The two leaders reaffirmed further advancement of bilateral security cooperation.

Following the talks, Kishida and Sunak signed the Japan-UK Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will facilitate joint exercises and other operations between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the British military.

Japan has concluded a similar agreement with Australia.

Key words : kishida spend canada
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Key words : south simulation drill
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230112_06/

South Korea's defense ministry has disclosed plans to hold in February joint simulation drills with the United States based on the scenario of a nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup disclosed the plan to reporters on Wednesday.

He did not elaborate, but South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the exercise is set to take place in the US. The two sides are expected to discuss coordinated responses to a scenario in which North Korea uses nuclear arms.

Lee also revealed a similar tabletop exercise is being planned in May.

The announcement comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his year-end address stressed his country needs to accumulate more nuclear warheads and develop new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Seoul earlier indicated a readiness to allow Washington to deploy strategic weapons more frequently near the Korean Peninsula.

The tabletop exercise is part of South Korea's attempt to showcase America's "extended deterrence" commitment to the South through various means, including nuclear capabilities.

Key words : court philippines
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230112_02/

The Philippine Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional an agreement on oil exploration in the South China Sea concluded in 2005 by the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

State-owned companies from the three nations signed the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking, which allowed them to jointly explore for oil in waters surrounding the disputed Spratly Islands.

The pact expired in 2008, but some opposition lawmakers in the Philippines took the case to court, saying the project was unconstitutional as the Constitution does not allow foreign entities to explore natural resources.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the tripartite agreement violated the Constitution as it allowed foreign corporations to take part in the exploration of oil resources within Philippine waters.

The ruling comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed readiness to seek petroleum and natural gas development in non-disputed waters by resuming negotiations when he met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week.

Marcos also responded by expressing willingness to revive failed negotiations for joint oil exploration with China.

The ruling, however, will restrict joint exploration projects in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and may impact negotiations for that purpose.

Key words : reorganizing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230112_25/

Japan and the United States say they are reorganizing their defense cooperation to be more effective. This comes as Tokyo is strengthening its capability to respond to attacks, and as both countries say they want to counter China's attempts to change the status quo.

Japan's foreign and defense ministers were in Washington on Wednesday. They spoke with their American counterparts about their plans to strengthen the Japan-US alliance.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said, "The joint announcement will present a vision of a modernized alliance that is poised to win. We need to take action with speed to implement this."

Japanese officials discussed their country's goal of significantly increasing defense spending, and acquiring counterstrike capabilities. They say having a "strong deterrence" is indispensable because of the region's "harsh security environment."

The US Secretary of State praised Japan's actions, and said the two countries will continue to work together.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "These new strategies make clear Japan's commitment to invest in enhancing its capabilities to take on new roles and foster even closer defense cooperation with the United States and our mutual partners."

The ministers took time to voice strong opposition to what they say are Beijing's attempts at unilaterally influencing the status quo in the East China Sea.

They have announced plans to reorganize the deployment of US troops in Okinawa in response.

Key words : taiwan defense ministry italy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230112_05/

Taiwan's defense ministry has revealed that its senior military officials have been periodically dispatched to an international military college for NATO nations in Italy.

The disclosure came as the ministry invited the press to an air force exercise held at Hsinchu Air Base in northern Taiwan on Wednesday.

Reporters filmed French-built Mirage 2000 fighter jets taking off and armaments, including missiles, the jet is equipped with.

Members of the media interviewed three senior military officials at the base. Of them, Lieutenant Colonel Wu Bong-yeng said he attended a course at the NATO Defense College between mid-2021 and January 2022.

Wu said he studied the same six-month curriculum as other officers from NATO member nations and partner countries.

He said the course was an academic exchange, not a military exchange, and that he had spirited debates over Russia's relations with Ukraine as well as the Indo-Pacific region.

The lieutenant colonel said in line with the ministry's policy, an official is dispatched to the college to attend the same course each year. He said the program has been in place for six or seven years.

Taiwan's military is known for its cooperation with its US counterpart. Wu's comments detailing Taiwan's ongoing exchange with NATO marks a rare disclosure.

Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Taiwan last week for talks with President Tsai Ing-wen.

He later told reporters European countries could join training exercises with Taiwan's military forces.

Key words : prime minister parliament communist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230111_43/

Nepal's new prime minister, Puspa Kamal Dahal, has won a formal vote of approval in parliament. He leads one of the country's Communist parties, and appears to favor close ties to China.

Dahal secured almost unanimous support in Tuesday's lower house vote.

Parliamentary elections were held in November, but no party won a majority of seats. That led to negotiations to form a coalition government. The leftist parties reached an agreement, and Dahal was sworn in.

The Himalayan nation shares borders with both China and India. China has been trying to expand its influence through infrastructure and other projects under its Belt and Road initiative to create a huge economic zone.

Dahal has been prime minister twice in the past. He leaned toward China, while the most recent former prime minister was seen as having close ties to India. Balancing relations between the two big powers is a key challenge for the new leader.

Key words : japan 10,000 reported
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230111_13/

The number of people in Japan who died after being infected with the coronavirus has topped 10,000 in just over a month amid the country's eighth wave.

The total number of deaths since the pandemic began in January 2020 was 60,411 as of Tuesday. This means roughly one-sixth of these deaths occurred from December 1 through January 10.

Japan's health ministry says the reported number of people who have died so far in January after getting COVID-19 was 3,145, clearly outpacing the rate in the past few months. The death toll was 1,864 in October, 2,985 in November and 7,622 in December.

Elderly people made up the vast majority of these deaths.

Among the 5,825 people who died between December 7 and January 3 whose ages and sexes were identified, 17.1 percent were in their 70s, 41.2 percent were in their 80s and 33.9 percent were in their 90s.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases says data on 1,168 deaths showed 696 or around 60 percent of them were directly caused by the coronavirus. It says 34 were attributed to heart failure, 31 to cancer, 29 each to old age and pneumonia and 28 to aspiration pneumonia.

An expert panel of the health ministry is warning that the spread of COVID infections at elderly facilities could further push up the death toll among senior citizens.

Key words : 381
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230111_38/

A report by Japan's health ministry shows cluster and other group infections of the coronavirus at elderly care homes remain around the levels recorded amid the seventh wave of the infection in the country during summer last year.

The ministry and many local governments recognize cluster infections based on when five or more people are infected at the same facility and their contact history is clear.

The ministry said on Wednesday that the number of cluster infections recognized by municipalities and other cases involving at least two people at nursing homes for the elderly came to 722 in Japan over the six days through Monday.

That is down by more than 200 from the record-high 954 cases marked in the seven days through December 25. During the nine days through January 3, 861 cases were confirmed.

There were 850 cases in the seven days in August last year, the peak of the previous wave of infections in Japan.

Meanwhile, the ministry said it confirmed 198,873 new cases of the coronavirus and 381 deaths in the country on Wednesday. The number of seriously ill patients who are on ventilators or ECMO heart-lung machines stands at 665, up nine from Tuesday.

The ministry also reported 16,772 cases in Tokyo on Wednesday. The daily tally is up 6,215 from a week earlier. Officials confirmed 31 deaths in the capital.