All the frozen sections of the Yellow River, the second-longest river in China, entered the break-up period on Saturday, marking an end of the river's ice-jam flooding season.
Ice-jam floods are a common occurrence on the Yellow River in both early winter and spring when changing temperatures cause freezes and thaws. Such ice flows can damage or flood river banks and structures.
The ice regime in the Yellow River remained generally stable during this year’s ice-jam flooding season, with no major emergencies recorded, according to officials from China's Ministry of Water Resources.
"The characteristics of the ice regime in the river this year are as follows: The overall temperature is relatively high, with significant fluctuations; freeze-up occurred in the upper and middle reaches of the river, but the length of the freezing was relatively short; the freeze-up process in the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia section was slow, the ice layer was thin, and the increase in the channel storage was small," said Wang Zhangli, an official from the Department of Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention of the Ministry of Water Resources.
Moreover, the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia section entered the break-up period 11 days earlier than normal, and six days earlier than the average of the past decade.
The water resources authorities intensified monitoring and forecasting during this year's ice-jam flooding season. Using the "space-air-ground-water-engineering" integrated monitoring perception system, they tracked the information on ice floe density, freeze-up period length, and other ice regime conditions on a daily basis.
Over the thawing period, water level of major reservoirs along the river have been lowered, creating additional flood control storage capacity and ensuring the smooth passage of ice flows.
Yellow River thaws as ice-jam flooding season concludes
The Japanese society should do soul-searching regarding its history of aggression and adhere to the pacifist constitution, said Shiradori Hiroshi, a professor of the Hosei University, in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Tokyo on April 30.
He said the government's recent move to discuss revising the three security documents deserve particular attention as the country's foreign and security policies have already witnessed major changes.
"People outside of the country hold that Japan's post-war image as a 'peace state' is now facing a major shift. Against the backdrop of tremendous changes in its foreign and security policies, the revision of the three security documents deserves particular attention. There lacks public debate in terms of the procedure, with policy changes decided unilaterally at Cabinet meetings. It is necessary to fully explain to the public as to whether such a practice is proper," said Hiroshi.
The Japanese government held its first expert panel meeting to discuss revisions to the three security documents at the Prime Minister's Office on April 27, local media reported.
Japan's current National Security Strategy and two related documents, formulated in 2022, were designed to cover the next 10 years, but the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to move up the timetable to accelerate the revision process.
Increasing defense spending is one of the key topics of the meeting, according to Kyodo News.
Hiroshi said this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, or Tokyo Trials, and the Japanese society must do soul-searching regarding its history of aggression in WWII, when it brought enormous catastrophes on Asian countries.
"Eighty years have passed since the opening of the Tokyo Trials. Japan inflicted enormous suffering on Asian countries during WWII, which should serve as an opportunity for the soul-searching. It is exact on the basis of countless sacrifices that Japan's post-war pacifism and its identity as a 'peace state' took shape. On this 80th anniversary, it is necessary for Japan to re-examine and do soul-searching regarding its history," said Hiroshi.
The Japanese government's effort to revise the pacifist constitution is widely opposed by the public.
On Sunday, around 50,000 people gathered at Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park, chanting slogans and holding banners against the government's push for constitutional revision and military expansion, the largest turnout of its kind in recent years.
Japan should adhere to pacifist constitution: scholar
