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Last Week in Japanese News 02/12/2023-02/18/2023 [1]

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Date: 2023-02-20  

Yogurt is going to get more expensive.

Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN and this is Last Week in Japanese News. Here is where I translate Japanese news articles from the Easy section of the Easy Japanese news reader app. Sometimes I do a bit of the Difficult section.

By the way, ¥1=$0.0078.

On with the show!

February 12, 2023:

South Korean National Assembly member Yoon Mee-hyang fined 15 million won for crime committed while chairwoman of comfort women support organization. (Asahi)

On February 10, a Western Seoul District Court handed down a judgement fining Yoon Mee-hyang, former board chair at Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, 15 million won, which is roughly equivalent to ¥1.56 million. The court's decision regarding the reason, which was Yoon's handling of charitable donations to the organization, for this was, "Recognition of the that the defendant personally embezzled roughly 17 million won stored in an account." Yoon ran for the National Assembly of South Korea during the Moon Jae-in administration under the banner of the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, and won. Afterwards, former comfort women complained about her in 2020 and a prosecutor indicted her without having her arrested. Although Yoon was expelled from her party, she continues to serve in the National Assembly while some criticize her.

Megmilk Snow Brand to increase prices of butter, yogurt, other dairy products. (Asahi)

Megmilk Snow Brand is going to increases prices for things like butter and cheese again. Megmilk Snow Brand has announced that it will increase prices for 137 items intended for household consumption including yogurt, butter, cheese, and fermented milk drinks and this will go into effect with the April 1 shipment. The magnitude of the price increases ranges from 3% to 22% and some items will have the contents of their packages reduced in size. The primary causes include a price increase coming in April for raw milk intended for processing and Meiji and Morinaga Milk are also increasing their prices.

Heavy snow continuing to have effects, close some post offices, delay package delivery. (Asahi)

Japan Post has kept 43 post office counters in Tokyo and Yamanashi closed. Also, it is said that postal delivery has suffered things like delays in post offices in 10 prefectures ranging from Hokkaido to Kanagawa. It is said that Yamato Transport, in addition to abandoning collections of cargo and delivery all over Yamanashi Prefecture, is delaying deliveries in the Greater Tokyo Area and 6 prefectures in the Kanto region and Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata Prefectures. Sagawa Express has suspended collection and delivery of packages for parts of Kanagawa Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, and Nagano Prefectures.

February 13, 2023:

"From March 13 onward it is permissible to go without a mask indoors." (NHK)

The Japanese government has been saying that it is best to wear a mask in situations like standing close to someone or talking in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The recommendation will change on March 13 so that it is up to individual discretion whether to do so. However, they say that in situations such going to a medical facility or nursing home or riding a crowded electric train or bus, it is best to wear one. They have decided to rescind the advice to wear a mask in schools starting April 1. Even before that they were saying it was unnecessary to wear masks at school graduation ceremonies. The Japanese government says it will properly inform the public when it is necessary to wear masks in places like work or school.

Egg dishes less common at university dining halls. (NHK)

Eggs are becoming scarce as bird flu spreads. At university dining halls in various locations throughout, it has become less feasible to cook with eggs. Yokohama National University's dining hall will stop serving 5 dishes that use eggs such as sundubu jjigae and pork kimchi bowl on February 13. Sundubu jjigae is a Korean soup made with tofu and soft-boiled eggs. It is a popular winter dish eaten every year. Saga University's dining hall stopped serving dishes like sugomori tamago, which nests a soft-boiled egg in vegetables, on February 6. Situations in which dishes are not served due to raw ingredient shortages are rare. Students say they are very disappointed.

​​​​Interior of Himeji Castle's biggest gate, Hishinomon, put on special display. (NHK)

Himeji Castle, a World Heritage site, has had its Hishinomon, which was first built around the beginning of the Edo Era, expressly displayed since February 11. Hishinomon is the castle entrance and the largest of the remaining gates. The gate is 2 storeys high and had a room in the 1st storey for people who passed through the gate after being verified. It appears that there was a room in the 2nd storey in which weapons were placed and one could thrust at enemies with a spear or drop stones on them through a hole in the floor. The windows are decorated with black lacquer and gold leaf. An expert said, "The beginning of the Edo Era was a time when many good castles were built. We want visitors to ponder what this gate was built for while looking at it." The interior of Hishinomon can be seen until March 12.

February 14, 2023:

"Fire" canned coffee to have price raised to ¥140. (Asahi)

Kirin Beverages Company, Limited has announced price increases for 42 canned coffee items including Fire and Gogo no Kocha to go into effect with the May 1 shipment. The primary cause is the depreciation of the yen and the prices increases include 1 from ¥115 to ¥140 for Fire Freshly Ground Low Sugar and from ¥80 to ¥95 for Gogo no Kocha Straight Tea tax excluded and ranges from 19% to 23%. The last time Kirin raised the price of canned goods and it is one of 4 corporations along with Suntory, Asahi, and Coca Cola raising prices on canned coffee in short cans.

Blood donors given chocolate for Valentine's Day. (NHK)

February 14 is Valentine's Day. In Niigata, students at a vocational school that trains candy makers made chocolates and handed them to people who came to donate blood. Blood donations drop during the winter and this has led to a shortage of blood for those such as the sick and injured. These students give away chocolate to encourage blood donations every year. This year, they made 350 pink ones with strawberries. Those who received it said, "This makes me feel warm and fuzzy," and, "I think this will increase the number of blood donors." A student said, "I was glad to have brought them joy. Doing this in order to increase blood donations makes me happy."

Japanese cedar pollen begins to fly in Greater Tokyo Area, looks to have increased. (NHK)

Japanese cedar pollen was investigated at 12 sites in Tokyo and it has been learned that it has begun to fly at 3 of them. Because of this, they announced that, "Japanese cedar pollen season began on February 10." That is 5 days earlier than last year. It appears that the pollen count for things like Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress will be 2.7 times higher this spring. This is the 2nd time in 10 years the pollen count these things has been this high. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area put the results of this pollen study online to inform the public and it says it wants the public to wear things like masks and glasses when going outside on high pollen count days. A doctor said, "When a large amount of pollen enters the body, it causes hay fever. People who have not had any symptoms up to now can still get symptoms, so they ha better be careful."

1,820,000 foreigners worked in Japan last year and the number is still increasing. (NHK)

When the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare did a study last October, it found 1,822,725 foreigners working in Japan. That represents an increase of about 96,000. The number of foreigners working in Japan has been rising since surveys began in 2007. After the novel coronavirus spread through Japan, the rate fell, but it has since rebounded. The Vietnamese account for the largest slice at about 462,000. The Chinese account for the next largest at about 386,000 and the Filipinos account for the 3rd largest at about 206,000. Technical intern trainees were down 2.4% compared with the previous year. This is the 2nd year of decline and it appears that the cause is the novel coronavirus. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare says, "Entities like companies and factories are collaborating to make it easier for foreigners to work in Japan in spite of the difference in things like language and customs."

Wave of price increases coming for Valentine's Day as chocolate price rises by ¥25 a piece. (Asahi)

The "wave of price hikes" is surging over Valentine's Day chocolate. The average price of brand name chocolate is up an average of ¥25 a piece compared with last year. According to Teikoku Databank, 80 of the 135 brands surveyed raised the price of their Valentine's chocolate to an average of ¥390 per piece, ¥25 greater than last year. The size of the price increase is ¥18 for domestic brands, but for brands from places like France and Belgium, it has climbed by ¥33. It is believed that this is due to the impact of increased raw ingredient, energy, and packaging costs on top of the depreciation of the yen. It is said that the trend of maintaining the sense that the price is reasonable and responding to the consumer's intent to be thrifty by cutting costs by reducing the quantity per package while switching from more protruding shapes like hearts and round shapes has spread to each corporation.

February 15, 2023:

Toyota's next president: "We plan to develop a next-generation EV in 2026." (Asahi)

Tsuneharu Sato, Toyota Motors' next president, revealed an objective to develop a next-generation EV (electric vehicle) in 2026. Next Toyota Motors president Sato: "The target is to develop a next-generation Lexus BEV with the optimum battery, platform, manufacturing process, etc. for 2026." Sato emphasized that in accordance with the objective up till now, "We will use the strategy of offering every choice everywhere," meaning offering options like hybrids as well with an eye towards decarbonization when things like energy regulation and economic conditions vary from 1 country to another. Moreover, it was revealed that detailed plans for "moving faster to a different approach," would be announced around April.

Major banks, etc. make emergency loans totaling ¥400 billion to TEPCO. (Asahi)

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and other major banks made a total of ¥400 billion in emergency loans to TEPCO, which had had its management worsened by factors including rising fuel costs. TEPCO took on ¥650.9 billion worth of debt from April 2022 to December 2022 due to high fuel costs. According to a person connected to this, not only the government-run Development Bank of Japan but ones like Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank adjusted course and loaned TEPCO a sum total of ¥400 billion. TEPCO has petitioned the government of Japan to raise the regulated rate for the greater than half of all households contracted to have it and is believed to be aiming to improve its cash flow due to its debt.

Police: online info about dangerous illegal being erased. (NHK)

In Japan, robberies have been continuing since last year. Groups that has carried them out has been posting notices of lucrative part-time jobs and expanding its membership with SNS online. These jobs are called yami baito and are connected with crime. Until now, the National Police Agency has been instructing entities such as SNS companies to remove dangerous information related to crimes from the Internet. It started additionally instructing these same entities to remove information related to yami baito, robbery, murder, bomb-making, etc. on February 15. The use of a euphemism for "robbery" has been known to occur. It also checks for words like that. The National Police Agency has instructed those who find information about yami baito to report it to them.

Panda to be returned to China as Valentine's Day present very soon. (NHK)

Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture gifted the return of a panda to China next week as a Valentine's Day present on February 14. What is being given is a male panda named Eimei. Eimei are bamboo lined up to form arigatou and delicious panda-shaped dango made with bamboo flour. Adventure World currently has 7 pandas and is returning 3 of them next week. They are Eimei and 2 female cubs, Ouhin and Touhin. The 3 pandas leave Japan for Sichuan Province, China on February 22. A person caring for the pandas stated, "I think Eimei was delighted. In order to keep him healthy on his way to China, we want him to be healthy during the short time until departure as well."

46% of youth think they "will raise children in the future." (NHK)

Low birthrate is a big problem in Japan. The Nippon Foundation asked 1000 17-19-year-olds about raising children. 46% answered, "In the future, I will raise children," less than half of them. When asked what their worries about raising children were, "money," was mentioned by 69% of them and, "will I be able to keep working?" by 54%. A university student said things like, "The Japanese government would have to spend a lot of money to make it easy to raise a child here," and, "I want it to be possible to raise a child while working." An expert said, "It will be difficult to increase the birthrate when the young think they cannot raise children without concerns cropping up."

February 16, 2023:

Event held to warn middle schoolers to be careful with SNS. (NHK)

An event was held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area on February 15 to warn children to be careful when using SNS on the Internet in order to prevent them from being victimized. 400 middle schoolers attended it. At the event, police officers presented a quiz on such cases up to now. They explained types of harm like someone met through SNS saying, "send nude photos of yourself," or using data sent by SNS to learn the location of a student's school in order to stalk them that children have suffered. The police officers said that not only have people been victimized but they have also been arrested for posting videos they thought were playful. Such persons had also had to pay considerable amounts of money. A student stated, "I knew about the danger, but I will try to be vigilant."

Braille blocks installed in middle of railways to ensure safety of visually impaired people. (NHK)

Last April, a visually impaired was hit by an electric train and killed while in the middle of a railway track in Nara Prefecture. Railway tracks do not contain Braille blocks, which exist to keep visually impaired people safe. After the accident, Japan changed the rules and made it so Braille blocks have to be installed inside railway tracks. This has started at places frequented by those such as the elderly and the handicapped. On February 14, Braille blocks were installed near the JR Kashiba Station in Kashiba City, Nara Prefecture. The Braille blocks change form when one goes from outside the tracks to inside, making it possible to determine whether one is inside them. This is the 2nd place to have these installed since the accident in Nara Prefecture. The 1st was JR railway tracks in Kansai.

School rewrites rule stating that students cannot wear jackets even on cold days." (NHK)

On a very cold day last month, a male student attending Hiroshima Public Middle School went to school in a jacket. However, his teacher said that jackets went against the school dress code. He also went home without his jacket and the next day he developed a fever and took the day off. His family insisted that the dress code be changed. The school decided to change the rules for wearing jackets on cold days. And then they distributed letters to all the students on February 13. It wrote that for the time being, it is permissible for families that think things like sweaters and mufflers are not enough to put things like windbreakers on top of the school uniforms. It has requested that these jackets be small enough to fit in a bag because there is no place to hang them.

February 17, 2023:

Nishiki Market in Kyoto trials paying customers to throw away own trash. (NHK)

Nishiki Market in Kyoto draws large crowds of tourists. There are about 130 shops that sell food and people enjoy eating while walking. However, it is costly to pick up the trash left by the customers. Store owners began a trial of giving money to customers to pick up the trash in cooperation with travel companies on February 10. It dispenses ¥100 for every use of a QR code located at a trash bin. There are 8 trash bins. The same experiment was run last year, but it only collected ¥1,100 over the course of a month. Due to this, this year there is a picture of a maiko throwing away trash made clearly visible to everyone. A store owner said, "I think it would be best if the experiment were to continue nicely in order to keep Nishiki Market a fun place to be."

Benefit concert for earthquake victims with Kurdish instruments. (NHK)

On February 18, a woman who owns a bar in Asakusa, Tokyo will give a concert with Kurdish instruments. The woman is Erika Ueda. 5 years ago, she traveled to Turkey, where she stayed with a Kurdish family and learned things like their language and culture. In Japan, she studied Kurdish matters and plays a Kurdish instrument called the saz. Ueda's friends in Turkey lost their house and essentials to this month's earthquake. She threw a concert at her bar and collected money for Turkey. For a fee, the concert can also be enjoyed online. Ueda says, "I hear that in Turkey, the biggest hardship is the cold. I think it would if I helped them."

Egg prices ascend to highest level yet. (NHK)

Egg prices continue to rise. According to JA Zennoh Egg, on February 16, the price of M-size eggs sold in Tokyo was ¥335, the highest yet. This is ¥55 higher than last month and nearly twice as much as last February's ¥175. One reason for the price increase is the rising cost of chicken feed due to factors like the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the depreciation of the yen. Another is the massive chicken culls due to avian influenza causing an egg shortage. It will be necessary to watch for avian influenza until around spring. Eggs might stay expensive for some time due to it taking time to restore populations of egg-laying hens to their former size.

February 18, 2023:

Japanese Electrical, Electronic, and Information Union requests ¥7,000/mo wage increase during spring labor offensive, highest level in 25 years. (Asahi)

At this year's spring labor offensive, a major electronics manufacturer's union submitted a written request for the equivalent of a wage increase of ¥7,000/mo to management. This is the highest in 25 years. The objective of the Japanese Electrical, Electronic, and Information Union, which is a combination of unions for companies like Hitachi, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi Electric, is to request a wage increase equivalent to at least ¥7,000/mo. Each of the unions comprising JEEI submitted a written request with this demand to management on February 16. This comes at a time of historic commodity price increases and is not only the highest since 1998 but over twice as high as last year. Negotiations between the union side that confidently published the request and the management side are proceeding at full tilt with an eye towards a response in the middle of next month.

Toyota recalls 200,000 vehicles representing 14 models including Noah and Voxy. (Asahi)

Toyota Motors has reported to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, Tourism that it is recalling roughly 200,000 vehicles due to concerns that faulty programming would its collision avoidance system fail. The targets consist of 196,984 vehicles representing 14 models including the Noah, the Voxy, the Sienta, the Carolla, and the Crown manufactured between September 2021 and January 2023. Reportedly, there is a fear that a programming defect that would prevent the collision avoidance system, which operates according to data from devices like sensors and cameras, from working. 6 cases of vehicles having this defected have been identified up to now, but there have been no accidents. Toyota Motors has decided to debug the programming of vehicles whose users contact them in ways such as direct mail.

That's all for now.

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