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Last Week in Japanese News 08/28/2022-09/03/2022 [1]

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Date: 2022-09-05

Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN, and this is Last Week in Japanese News, where I translate articles from the Easy section of the Easy Japanese news reader app. My grasp of grammar is about halfway through JLPT N3, which intermediate between JLPT N5 (Beginner) and JLPT N1 (Advanced), my vocabulary is small but runs the gamut from N5-N1, my speaking practice is nonexistent except for making Anki cards, my listening practice is practically nil, my writing practice consists of the occasional poem and replies to a Japanese cat owner on Twitter, I have just restarted kanji study, and that is not a problem due to the way the app works. Most of the words are links to dictionary definitions added by an algorithm, there's a dictionary for when it has not been added due to the word having been conjugated, grammar explanations at the bottom, and those are the relevant features.

On with the show!

August 28, 2022:

100% legume-based noodles available for limited time at stall. (Asahi)

This 100% yellow pea noodle is an environmentally friendly noodle made from all parts of the pea including the skin, which is usually discarded. Reportedly, it has 30% less sugar than increasingly expensive wheat noodles and is gluten free. Rintaro Nishimura of ZENBJAPAN: "Various foodstuffs are getting more expensive, so these healthy, delicious noodles can be offered." This stall is offering these for a limited time until August 31 in front of Yurakucho Station in Tokyo and their entire menu consists of ¥100 items.

August 29, 2022:

"Holiday Rapid Kamakura" to have status elevated October 1, internet reservations currently 35% off. (Ameba)

East Japan Railway Company will establish a temporary limited express line called Kamakura on October 1 that will run between Yoshikawa Minami Station and Kamakura Station. It will run on October 1, 2, 8-10, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 and November 3, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27. It leaves Yoshikawa Minami at 7:48 AM and arrives at Kamakura at 9:38 AM. It leaves Kamakura at 5:21 PM and arrives at Yoshikawa Minami 7:09 PM. The railroad cars consist of 5 E257 units and all seats require a reservation. Until September 25, the extra rapid Holiday Rapid Kamakura will run through the same cities, but it is believed that starting in October, those same cars will be upgraded into the limited express. A new creation has been put together and a ticketless express ticket that one can apply for online up until departure time and carries a 35% "online station special price" discount has been established. For instance, the fare for the Yoshikawa Minami-Kamakura route, which is ordinarily ¥1,890, would be ¥1,220 and that of the Musashi Urawa-Kamakura route, which is usually ¥1,480, would be ¥960. A separate passenger ticket is required. The target period is 10/1/2022-03/31/2023.

National funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to be held for ¥250,000,000. (NHK)

The government plans to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27 at the Nippon Budokan. The Japanese government is thinking of covering the entire cost. The Japanese government calculated the cost of things like the venue, taking into account that they would be inviting about 6,000 people. As a result of this, it decided to spend ¥250,000,000 at a meeting on August 26. The plan is for a large number of people including those from foreign governments. The plan also entails creating a space for members of the general public to lay down flowers and pray. There is also opposition to the idea of a state funeral. Due to this, the Japanese government said that it will continue to carefully explain such matters as the fact that it will pay for the funeral and how it will be conducted.

August 30, 2022:

Japan fallen to No. 12 in terms of countries whose papers have been cited. (NHK)

A Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) research institution investigated scientific papers from around the world from 22 scientific fields. When papers are cited frequently, they are thought to be good. The average number of highly-cited papers from Japan for each field was 3,780 in a 3-year period leading up to 2020. Within this 3-year period, there was a slight increase until 2019, when Japan dropped from 10th place to 12th, putting it below South Korea. This is the first time since measurements began in 1981 that Japan was not in the top 10. According to MEXT, 1 reason is that university research budgets haven't increased. And fewer people are doing research and becoming professors. An expert said, "Even if you become a professor, there isn't much work. It will be necessary to think hard about how to solve this problem."

Long COVID: Percentage of people with cough, sluggishness increased. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolis investigated long COVID. The symptoms of 119 people who went to area hospitals while the omicron variant spread between January and June of this year were studied. Compared to when the delta variant was spreading, 46% of people report feelings of sluggish versus 40% previous to this. Also, the percentage of people with chronic cough rose from 14% to 22%. By contrast, the percentage of people with shortness of breath fell from 19% to 10%. Loss of sense of smell fell from 16% to 10% and loss of sense of taste fell from 12% to 8%. Long COVID symptoms appeared within 1 month of infection and appearance of the original symptoms 82% of the time. It took over a month 18% of the time. A person with the Tokyo Metropolitan government said, "If you think you might have long COVID, don't wait, get to a specialist clinic."

August 31, 2022:

Prime Minister Kishida: "We want to increase the number of international students to over 30,000." (NHK)

Up until now, the Japanese government capped the number of international students at 30,000. Prime Minister Kishida told Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Nagaoka, "Make a new plan in order to raise the number of international students above 30,000." And then he said, "Please also think about a program that would allow people such as international students who studied in Japan and Japanese students who studied abroad to work in Japan after graduating." Japan will host the G7 conference, which brings together the leaders of 7 countries, etc., next May. Minister Nagaoka said, "We are hosting this conference, so I want to make a plan."

3rd Pfizer shot to be given to 5-11-year-olds. (NHK)

Vaccination of children aged 5-11 years against the novel coronavirus began in February. As of August 29, about 20% of children have received 2 shots. Japan decided to give children aged 5-11 years a 3rd shot on August 30. This is the first time it has decided to give children a 3rd shot. It has not yet decided when to give it. The plan is to make it accessible to those who have had their 2nd shot over 5 months ago. Japan is ordering the vaccination of as many children as possible due to the fact that the effects have come to be understood.

September 1, 2022:

"Please eat Japanese apples and peaches." Introduction in India. (NHK)

JETRO, which works to popularize trade with Japan, held in New Delhi to introduce apples and peaches grown in Japan. At the event, the assembled people ate apples grown in Aomori Prefecture and peaches from places like Okayama Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture. They prepared desserts with apples and peaches. One of the people who ate them said, "These are sweeter than Indian apples and peaches." Until now, Japan was not allowed to export apples to India over concerns about insects. However, they can be exported if they are disinfected starting this year. JETRO wants to sell large quantities of Japanese fruit in India because of its large population. A person with JETRO said, "We think Indians will enjoy Japanese fruit."

September 2, 2022:

Over 2000 items including candy to have prices increased in September rush. (Asahi)

Tomorrow is September. The cost of raw materials, energy, etc. continues to rise and it is predicted that the prices of over 2000 food items will be raised. The items affected are things like potato chips, confectioneries such as chocolate, curry roux, margarine, frozen pasta, coffee and shochu. The causes include a sudden jump in the prices of things like raw ingredients and packaging materials and rising logistics costs. According to Teikoku Databank, the expectation is that over 2000 items will have their prices increased in September by an average of over 15%. Over 6000 food items are reportedly already slated for October price hikes. The possibility of the current state of affairs ending has also been identified.

That's all for now.

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