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Last week in Japanese news 8/7/2022-8/12/2022 [1]
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Date: 2022-08-14
Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN and in Last week in Japanese news, I review the news of the week from Japan. I use the Easy Japanese news reader app exclusively when doing this because I'm not fluent. While my vocabulary runs the gamut from JLPT N5 (least advanced) to JLPT N1 (most advanced), it is small; my knowledge of grammar kind of tops out at somewhere in the of N3, my speaking and writing practice are nonexistent, and I'm currently not using my kanji study app.
This is my main form of immersion and when I do take lessons, it's through Nihongoal, a YouTube channel based on the Minna no Nihongo textbook.
On with the show!
August 7, 2022:
No articles concerning Japan to be found in the Easy section, which is pretty much the only one I use.
August 8, 2022:
Tokyo Metropolitan Area warns pediatric hand, foot, and mouth disease rising. (NHK)
Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease (HFMD) is a disease caused by a virus spread by things like coughing and sneezing and is especially common in children. Rashes can appear on the hands, feet, and mouth, making eating and drinking difficult. At its most severe, it can also cause brain inflammation. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, 1216 children at 264 hospitals with pediatrics departments were reported to have HFMD in the week leading up to July 31. Greater Tokyo issued an advisory to pay attention due to the unusually large number of cases in children. The last time a warning like this was issued was July 2019. The Tokyo Metropolitan Are a advises, "We want vigorous hand washing , especially in households with children." They also advise that, "It might be hard to go to the doctor because of the pandemic, but if you have severe symptoms see one ASAP."
August 9, 2022:
Toyota's 2nd quarter report shows record sales, fall in profits for 1st time in 2 years. (Asahi)
Toyota Motors has published its earnings report for April-June and it had record high sales due to the cheap yen; however, due to things like the steep rise in the cost of raw materials, profits are down for the 1st time in 2 years. Toyota Motors documented an operating revenue, which corresponds to sales, of ¥8,491,100,000,000, its highest ever, over the course of the period spanning April and June of this year in its published quarterly earnings report against a background of the cheap yen. On the other hand, because of the fall in sales volume due to the semiconductor shortage, net profit is down 17.9% compared with the same period last year representing a decline of ¥736.8 billion compared to 2 years ago. However, the performance outlook for this fiscal year is that the yen will stay cheap and that the bottom line will be revised upward ¥2.36 trillion.
Agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports for first half of year valued at ¥652.5 billion, highest ever. (Asahi)
Agricultural, forestry, and products, etc., exports for the first half of this year were valued at ¥652.5 billion, breaking the record for the second year in a row. Agricultural Minister Kaneko said, "These are record high results for the first 6 months of a year." The value of exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, and of food is up 13.1%, or ¥745,000,000, compared with the same time last year for a total of ¥652.5 billion, the highest ever. In particular, besides items like the fishery products Japanese scallop, Japanese amberjack, and sardine, that of sake and whiskey increased greatly. This is an effect of the combination of the recovery of falling restaurant sales in Europe and America and good online sales and the cheap yen. The top destination was China with over ¥120 billion, and the next biggest was America with over ¥100 billion.
August 10, 2022:
New COVID-19 bivalent vaccine to be given October onwards, protects against original and Omicron variants. (NHK)
Experts met at the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare to discuss a new COVID-19 vaccines. The new vaccines are made by Pfizer and Moderna and contain the mRNA for both the original and Omicron BA. 1 variants. It is believed that even though Omicron variant BA.5 is now spreading through Japan, the new vaccines will be effective. It was decided at the conference that those who had received 2 doses would be eligible for the new vaccines from mid-October onward. Both old and young will be given this shot. The vaccine experts said that, "Infections are currently rising. We want those who have not had their third shot to get a currently available vaccine instead of waiting on these new ones."
Japanese, Tokyo Metropolitan Area populations fall. (NHK)
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, on January 1 of this year, there were 123,223,561 people living in Japan. That represents a decline of about 620,000 people. The population has been declining for 13 years. Last year, 810,000 babies were born, the lowest since the census began. 1.44 million died, the highest since the census began. Last year, the populations of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, which surround it, increased, but this year they decreased. The population of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area had been increasing since 1997, but this year, it decreased. Only the population of Okinawa Prefecture increased. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications believes that the population decreases in areas like the Tokyo Metropolitan Area are due to fewer people moving there due to COVID-19.
August 11, 2022:
There were no Easy level stories about Japan.
August 12, 2022:
Vegetables grown too large due to high temperatures to be sold instead of thrown away. (NHK)
The days continue to be very hot. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF), the hot weather has caused vegetables to grow abnormally large. Although they are edible, they are being thrown away due to their size and form not meeting market standards. A company based in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward began to collect and sell vegetables like this this month. The company has sold 5 items so far, including oversized pumpkin and misshapen cucumber. A company based in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture has been selling fruits and vegetables that do not meet market rules online. The number of companies that want food to be regarded as precious instead of thrown away and to try to help out growers and eaters of vegetables is increasing.
COVID-19: Over 35 hours taken to find, get to hospital. (NHK)
According to the Tokyo Fire Department, a man of about 70 living in Tokyo was taken to the hospital after injuring his leg. When he was examined there, he was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. Because of this, the hospital decided to send him to one that could treat both his injury and his COVID-19. However, a suitable could not be found immediately and the search took 35 hours and 47 minutes. Because of COVID-19, the longest time needed to transport the sick to the hospital expanded to 23 hours and 35 minutes last summer, which was the longest until now. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, it is increasingly common for it to take a long time to get to a hospital even if an ambulance is called. It was 3x as common around the end of last month as it was the same time last year.
August 13, 2022:
Strawberries cultivated at Roppongi bookstore, cutting food miles, making it sustainable. (Asahi)
At a Roppongi, Tokyo bookstore, a proof-of-concept study is being conducted in which strawberries are being cultivated. They can be grown regardless of the weather or location in a plant factory because of things like artificial light and temperature control. Not only can customers see strawberries as they grow, but eat freshly picked ones. Yuma Yamamoto, creative business headquarters business manager of Nippan Platform, said, "In urban areas, strawberries aren't very commonly growing in the summer. We want them to enjoy the rare experience." The promoters are trying to give locals of taste of a sustainable lifestyle and plan to expand into places like offices and other stores.
Mujirushi Ryohin to charge for paper shopping bags starting in September. (Asahi)
Ryohin Keikaku, retailer and wholesaler of Muji brand products, has announced that from September 1 onward it will charge ¥10/bag for its paper shopping bags. In March 2020, Muji decided to get rid of disposable bags in March 2020 in order to cut plastic waste but made paper bags available for the convenience of the customer while calling on them to bring their own reusable ones. When they ran the numbers last fiscal year, over 77% of customers weren't using the free paper bags, so they decided to reduce that further by charging a fee for them. Uniqlo and H&M have already started charging a fee for their paper bags and this is part of a growing effort.
That's all for now.
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