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Last Week in Japanese News 01/22/2023-01/28/2023 [1]

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Date: 2023-01-28

Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN and this is Last Week in Japanese News. Here is where I translate articles from the Easy Japanese news reader app and usually just the Easy section. The articles there are shorter and the vocabulary is less advanced.

My listening comprehension is currently good enough for me to slowly make my way through the first episode of Darker than Black with the intent of becoming capable of understanding the original dialogue and understand both the audio recordings of Easy Japanese articles and Asahi News Network videos on YouTube if I can a transcript and look up the words in various Japanese-English dictionaries and the grammar elsewhere. I am able to read the second manga for this franchise with a Japanese-English dictionary.

Both of those are aimed at 19-30-year-old men who could reasonably be expected to have adult vocabulary and prodigious understanding of grammar. I have repeatedly watched the anime, usually with the original Japanese audio and the English subtitles; I refuse to watch the second season or the second OVA; they are garbage.

On with the show!

January 22, 2023:

Daihatsu recalls 340,000 vehicles over faulty parking brakes. (Asahi)

Daihatsu Motor has reported to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism that it has recalled about 340,000 vehicles due to defective parking brakes. The vehicles targeted are 8 kinds including Daihatsu Tafts, Tantos, Thors, and Rockys; and Toyota Roomys made between May 2020 and August 2022. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, there is concern about a bug in the software that controls the electric parking brakes that would make it impossible to release them. 401 instances of defective parking brakes have been confirmed but there have been no accidents associated with them so far. Daihatsu notified vehicle owners using methods like direct mail and plans to debug the program.

Burden on nurses to be reduced with toilet with sensor that detects defecation. (Asahi)

Panasonic Holdings has announced a service that installs sensors in toilets, which allows urination and defecation to be automatically recorded, thereby reducing the nursing burden. The excretion sensor is installed in toilets and what it can detect includes the moment the room is entered, the amount of time on the toilet, and the number of times the user urinates and defecates automatically. It is assumed that this will be used in places like nursing homes to allow staff to guage things such as how difficult defecation is and the form the feces take thereby allowing staff to make such determinations as the disease state and whether a medication is suitable. It is common to rely on verbal descriptions of excretion by elderly patients who do not use diapers and these sensors will reduce the burden on nursing staff by automatically detecting and logging excretion.

January 23, 2023:

Try not to let your water supply freeze as temperatures plunge. (NHK)

According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), the forecast is heavy snowfall and strong winds in places like the Sea of Japan side starting on January 24. There is concern that outside of places where there is usually little snowfall like the mountains of Kyushu and Shikoku, snowfall will be heavy. It is possible that in places with heavy snowfall, highways and large roads will be frozen up. Please check news related to roads before heading out. Temperatures will also plunge to very low levels. The forecast for January 25 is -5°C for Okayama City, -4°C for places including Kochi City and Kumamoto City; and -3°C for Tokyo. If temperatures fall below -4°C, then the water supply will freeze more easily. Please be careful in case the water supply outside a building freezes. Please wrap water pipes in things like towels and release a little water in advance. If the water supply is completely frozen, please wrap the pipe in something like a towel and pour warm oil on it. Using hot oil would destroy it.

New traffic regulations for e-scooters to go into effect in July. (NHK)

Electric scooter usage is on the rise and there is concern that accidents will rise as well. The Japanese government has devised traffic regulations in order for them to be used safely. The newly-regulated e-scooters will have to have a maximum speed of 20 km/h and will have to have lamps displaying their current speed. A driver's license will be unnecessary, but riders will be expected to try to wear a helmet as often as possible. Children under 16 are barred from riding them. They can generally only be ridden on roadways if they are to be ridden at all. However, if they maintain a speed of 6 km/h or less, then they can be ridden on sidewalks just like bicycles. It is illegal to use a cellphone or drinking alcohol while riding them. The new regulations will go into effect on July 1.

Hokkaido tests "ice merry-go-round". (NHK)

The Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau built an experimental "ice carousel", cutting rings in the ice of the Nakasatsunai Village Dam for people to ride around in a circle. An ice carousel is called an, "ice merry-go-round" in northern Europe and they are popular. For the experiment, about 20 tour guides were assembled. The device was made by cutting a ring 10 m deep into the ice. And then people hopped aboard and spun it around. The people on the ring of ice enjoyed taking pictures of the lake and mountain scenery lying on their backs. A person with the Development Bureau said, "We want to create an enjoyable space by creating a diversion at the dam in the winter that had never before been seen."

2 Japanese citizens imprisoned for espionage in China return home after serving their sentences. (Asahi)

2 Japanese citizens who had been arrested and imprisoned since 2017 on suspicion of crimes like espionage have returned home after serving their sentences. According to Japan-China Relations, they consisted of a man in his 70s arrested in March of 2017 in Yantai City, Shandong Province and another man in his 70s arrested in May of that same year in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. The man held in Shandong Province returned home on December 25, 2022 and the man held in Liaoning Province did so on January 17, 2023. The two were accused of offences that included espionage and each sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison. China enforced its Anti-Espionage Act in 2014 and there are 2 more Japanese citizens still in prison over it.

Jonan Shinkin Bank surveys small businesses, finds that over 70% of them do not plan to raise pay. (Asahi)

In the midst of rising opportunities to increase wages in response to rising commodity prices, over 70% of smaller companies answered that they have no plans to raise pay. This month, Jonan Shinkin Bank asked 738 small businesses that were among its clients if they were going to raise pay and 72.8% of them answered, "We have no plans to raise pay." Regarding the reasons, decreased earnings due to increased expenses such as "rising utility costs," and, "increased expenses and increased cost of stocking up on components," stood out. Also, when the businesses that had "plans to raise pay" were asked by how much, 35.4% answered "around 1%," the most common response. 32.8% of them answered that they were "completely" or "almost completely incapable" of passing on increased costs to the consumer, which is considered to be necessary for wage increases.

Prices increases planned for... over 10,000 food items. (Asahi)

Over 10,000 food items are already slated to have their prices increased this year due to rising fuel, raw ingredient, etc. costs. According to a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research, out of 121 staple food makers, a total of 64 of them, which is over half, planned on increasing the prices of a total of 10,036 food items this year. Processed foods like ham and sausage accounted for the largest number of affected foods at 2,906 and the largest percentage at about 30%. The next largest categories were "frozen foods" at 2,289 and about 20% and "flavorings" and 1,755 and about 20%. Tokyo Shoko Research's analysis found that, "Price increases will happen repeatedly during the year and stabilization appears to a long ways off."

Event held to commemorate 2-year anniversary of anti-nuclear weapons treaty. (NHK)

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits the manufacture, possession, and use of nuclear weapons, went into effect on January 22 2 years ago. Japan was not a signatory. An anti-nuclear activist group held an event in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. About 50 people showed up. That night, about 1,500 candles burned and were used to construct English sentences. "Peace for Ukraine" and "No nuke war! 2023" are what they meant. A person with the group said, "Hiroshima must continue to tell the world that bullying with nuclear weapons must not be allowed." After the event, the group stated that it was necessary to oppose nations that possessed nuclear weapons as strongly as possible.

January 24, 2023:

Anime film directed by Shinkai nominated for award at Berlin film festival. (NHK)

Next month, the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the 3 most famous film festivals in the world, will be held in Germany. Director Makoto Shinkai's anime film, Suzume (lit. Suzume's Locking Up), has been nominated for a Golden Bear. The subject of Suzume is the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. It is the story of a high school student who experienced an earthquake as a child and travels to a variety of locations within Japan, shutting doors in order to prevent disasters like earthquakes and her growing up. 21 years earlier, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, no other anime films have been nominated for it until now. Director Shinkai said, "I had a great opportunity to observe for myself how foreigners would react to my movie."

Wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda retires. (NHK)

Shingo Kunieda posted online that he was retiring from wheelchair tennis on January 22. Kunieda is 38 years old and the world's No. 1 wheelchair tennis player. He has a Golden Slam record, having won the championship at 4 major tournaments and the Paralympics. Kunieda wrote, "After winning the Wimbledon like I had wanted to for so long last year, I felt the energy needed to play drop. I think I have done enough." Kunieda had a lengthy career spanning games from around the world. He scored 28 victories at singles at these 4 tournaments, the most out of all the players. He has 3 Paralympic Gold medals from the 2008, 2012, and the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Nara scenery enjoyed from hot-air balloons ridden in the sky. (NHK)

Groups in Nara held events at places like Nara hotels where participants could ride hot-air balloons and enjoy the scenery. Temples that are World Heritage sites like Yakushiji Temple could be seen from above. People who booked flights boarded hot-air balloons with tour guides. The hot-air balloons slowly ascended to a height of about 25 m off the ground. The passengers gazed down upon the rows of historic buildings in Nara from the sky and waved at the tableau from up high. A woman who came with her friends said, "The scenery we have always seen from the ground was gorgeous from above and I am glad that was able to see it." The hot-air balloons can be ridden every Saturday and Sunday until February 5, but reservations are full.

January 25, 2023:

Fair Trade chocolate popular for Valentine's Day. (NHK)

The 14th day of next month is Valentine's Day. A department store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo started selling chocolate at a special sales counter on January 20. Fair trade chocolate sells well at this department store. With fair trade, whether the growers are paid fairly and the cacao is grown properly are verified. A company in Kyoto sells fair trade chocolate. It is teaching Indonesian cacao growers high-yield techniques. The cacao growers' income increased by a factor of 1.5 because of this. A person who bought this company's chocolate said, "When I buy it, I am not only buying something delicious but supporting someone financially properly."

Pants chosen for girls' school uniforms at every prefectural high school in Saitama Prefecture. (NHK)

In April of 2021, only about 30% of the Board of Education of Saitama Prefecture voted for just skirts for the girls' school uniforms for its prefectural high schools. Because of this, the opinion was expressed that it was necessary to consider the feelings of students with things like gender dysphoria. Last July, the Saitama Prefecture Board of Education instructed the prefectural high schools it oversees to allow female students to choose between skirts and girls' pants when putting together their uniforms. Now that preparations have been made, girls can select pants for their uniforms at all prefectural high schools that have them. The Saitama Prefecture Board of Education stated, "We want to make school a place where students with gender dysphoria are not under constant stress."

Hyakunin Isshu playing cards translated into English for children to play with. (NHK)

A game was played with English Hyakunin Isshu playing cards at Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane Prefecture. The Hyakunin Isshu consists of short poems written by people who have long since died. Peter MacMillan, an Irish poet, is the one who translated them into English. The year before last, Irish athletes who came for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games engaged in a cultural exchange in Shimane Prefecture. At the match, about 30 children ranging from elementary school to high school were gathered. When MacMillan began reading the poetry that had been translated into English, the children enthusiastically searched for the corresponding cards and grabbed them. MacMillan said, "It warmed my heart to see these children try with all their might to understand English." A high school student said, "It was difficult but it would be good to keep studying both Hyakunin Isshu and English."

FamilyMart installs high efficiency EV chargers in 100-Watt range that charge up to 4x faster. (Asahi)

FamilyMart officially opened the EV chargers it had installed that might or might not charge faster depending on the EV to the press corps on January 24. The rapid EV chargers that have been installed come in 2 varieties, 1 with an output in the 50-kW range and 1 with an output in the 100-kW range. FamilyMart has installed rapid EV charging stations in roughly 700 stores all over Japan, mostly in the suburbs, and the 5 minutes cost ¥275 and it costs an additional ¥55/minute past that. Most of these are at the 20 kW level and there is a plan to replace the ones at over 30% of its stores with high efficiency chargers in the middle of the 2023 fiscal year. These rapid chargers are said to work up to 4 times faster.

January 26, 2023:

Beware of heat shock when using cold baths snd toilets. (NHK)

The days continue to be very cold. There is concern that people such as the elderly will experience a heart problem called "heat shock" due to locations within their homes varying in terms of temperature. It occurs when the furo is cold but the room containing it is warm. It can be fatal. At an establishment in Kita Ward, Tokyo Metropolitan Area, the elderly who come there are told to beware of it. It is important to not close the door after entering rooms like the one with the furo and the one with the toilet to ensure as little temperature change as possible. Swiftly getting into the furo up to the shoulders is bad for the heart. It is important to enter such that the water is about stomach level so that the body can get used to the heat. Educating one's family before entering the furo is necessary. Organizations like the Japan Weather Association release "heat shock forecasts" to show the level of danger of heat shock for the day and say to beware of it.

Cold enjoyed at places like ice caverns and snow huts in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. (NHK)

Yabukawa in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture is a very cold place. In the winter, there are also days when the temperatures dip below -20°C. There is currently an ongoing event there where guests can enjoy the cold. There are large ice caverns outside. They were created by pouring water for a month and letting it freeze. The people who came entered caverns built entirely out of ice and enjoyed being inside the strange holes. In addition to this, they can slide down slides made of snow and enter snow huts. At night, they can enjoy a beautiful light show. A man who came with his family said, "This is the first time I have seen this much snow. I want to play in the arch with my children." This event will last until February 26.

Wonderful bronze mirror and long, iron sword found at burial mound in Nara City. (NHK)

A bronze mirror and an iron sword have been found at the Tomio Maruyama Tumulus. This tumulus serves as the gravesite of an important and was built in the 4th century. It is the biggest round tumulus in Japan. Nara City has been studying it since last October. The bronze mirror has a height of about 60 cm and a width of about 30 cm and resembles a shield. This is the first mirror to be found with that form. The back of the mirror has details like a finely detailed pattern and lines. The sword is about 2.3 m long. This the longest sword out of all of those from the same era found in east Asia. An expert said, "With this mirror, we used advanced technology. I think out of all the objects made of metal from this era, this is the most wonderful." Is it still unknown when the mirror and sword can be seen but the tumulus can be viewed on January 28-29.

January 27, 2023:

World Baseball Classic Japanese team all selected, joined by first Nikkei player. (NHK)

The World Baseball Classic, an international baseball game, will be played this March. 18 players have been newly selected for this game. Combined with the preexisting 12 players, they make 30. For the first time, they have included a Nikkei player, Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals. Nootbaar is 25 years old and was born in America to an American father and a Japanese mother. He has strong shoulders and can hit a ball a great distance. He is also skilled at connecting with the ball. Japanese Coach Kuriyama has selected 15 players as pitchers. The coach said, "Pitchers and properly safeguarding them are the main focus of Japanese baseball. I selected a lot of them because of this." The Japanese team is set to begin practicing for the WBC on February 17 in Miyazaki City.

Schoolchildren harvest Sakurajima daikon radishes raised at school in Kagoshima City. (NHK)

At places like Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Sakurajima daikon radish, which is the heaviest radish in the world per the Guinness Book of World Records, is grown. At Tamae Elementary School in Kagoshima City, children under Year 5 have been raising Sakurajima daikon radishes in a field at a school. They harvested 8 on January 25 out of the 92 seeds planted last October after the snow had melted. A schoolgirl who participated in the harvest said, "They were heavy but I enjoyed harvesting things straight out of Okina kabu with everyone." A schoolteacher said, "The children worked hard to raise these daikon radishes. I think it would be a good thing if they had an interest in things like nature and vegetables." The daikon radishes were eaten at the school lunch and put on display at the school. The plan is to enter them into a Sakurajima daikon radish contest.

Environmentally-friendly bus that runs on biofuels begins run in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. (NHK)

A bus that runs on biofuel began to run on January 25 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. 20% of its fuel is biofuel. This biofuel is made from things like oil that has been used for things like cooking and euglena. The oil is made from plants and the euglena is a single species of algae. When the biofuel is burned, carbon dioxide is produced. However, biofuel is thought to be carbon neutral due to the plants taking in carbon dioxide as they grow. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area's prefectural governor, Koike, said, "I think there are people worried about rising electricity costs and problems with energy. I want everyone to use green energy to protect the environment." The plan is to run the bus through 7 routes that include Shinjuku and Ikebukuro for about a month.

That's all for now.

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