(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Last Week in Japanese News 03/05/2023-03/11/2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-03-13 Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN, and this is Last Week in Japanese News. Here is where I translate Japanese articles about Japan from the Easy Japanese news reader app for Japanese language learners, usually just the Easy section. My grasp of grammar is just over the midway of JLPT N3, which is intermediate, with bits from N2 and N1 with N1 being native level. The lowest level is N5 and JLPT stands for Japanese Language Proficiency Test. My vocabulary runs the gamut from N5-N1, common words not in any of those categories and uncommon words, but not all the words in each category. My reading comprehension is my strong suit but is weak enough that I often struggle to make sense of sentences with me words. My writing ability is... not great because I rarely practice. When I do, it's mostly doggerel. My speaking practice is non-existent because I'm too lazy to use the speaking practice feature on the app. My listening comprehension is bad because I still translate in my head, which would be alleviated by speaking practice, especially with another person. On with the show! March 5, 2023: Proof-of- concept study done of robotic delivery as logistics' "2024 problem" approaches. (Asahi) In the midst of a labor shortage affecting the logistics industry, convenience store major 7-Eleven has made a proof-of-concept study of using robots to deliver goods. The study being performed is for the use of a service that delivers goods to a designated location when they are ordered with a smartphone. On a given day, there will be 2 robots and they will deliver goods like bread and coffee while using an elevator. 7-Eleven has decided to study expanding robotic delivery to places like offices, hospitals, and university campuses. As demand for home delivery goes up due to an expansion of online mail, the "2024 problem" to be caused by the imposition of overtime hours limits on truck drivers scheduled to go into effect in April of next year and the large expansion of robot delivery continues. Cabinet decision made on bill to suppress increase in vacant homes due to "mismanagement". (Asahi) In the midst of an increase in the number of vacant homes no one intends to live in, the Japanese government made a cabinet decision on a bill to curb this. Until now, because the reduction of property taxes by the considerable adverse effect of "designated vacant homes" on their surroundings was targeted, they were excluded, but the Act on Special Measures concerning Taxation that the cabinet decided on March 3 targets the exclusion of properties designated as unmanaged vacant homes because mismanagement raised the danger of them collapsing due to abandonment. Municipalities will lead owners to take measures like making repairs and feeling trees in cases where the property is deemed to have been mismanaged. Also, areas have been prepared to encourage the use of vacant houses and things like repair are being promoted. World Bank investigates economic gender equality throughout world, places Japan at 104th. (Asahi) The World Bank has announced the results of its survey of the gender gap with regards to financial aspects of 190 countries and regions and Japan has gone down, the lowest in the developed world. The report published by the World Bank on March 2 used an index to determine how much each country has done to correct gender disparities. 14 countries including Germany, France, and Canada scored 100, which indicated by a complete absence of gender gaps, while Japan scored 78.8. This is the lowest out of the 38 member nations of the OECD. Although it scored 100 on things like "pension", "assets", and "childcare", it scored 50 on "workplace" and 25 on wages and these are particularly low. There lack of progress on developing laws to rectify the gender equality. March 6, 2023: Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture enjoys parade of people dressed like youkai. (NHK) Shigero Mizuki, who wrote the GeGeGe no Kitaro manga, was raised in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture and died in 2015. Sakaiminato holds an event every year in his honor in March, the month he was born. This year on March 5, Mizuki's 101th birthday was celebrated. A parade of 350 people including those dressed as youkai enjoyed marching to music. It was temporarily stopped due to the pandemic. Mizuki's family also came and they celebrated with cake. A woman from Aichi Prefecture said, "It has been a long time since I could meet Mizuki fans. I was glad that I could celebrate with everyone." Gathering held to listen to stories of those who experienced Great Tokyo Air Raid 78 years later. (NHK) On March 10, 78 years ago, American warplanes dropped lots of bombs on Tokyo. Roughly 100,000 people died in the Great Tokyo Air Raid. On March 5, the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage held a gathering to hear the stories of those who experienced the air-raids. About 100 people attended it. A woman who was a 6th-year elementary at the time escaped with her younger siblings ahead of her parents. The woman said, "As the fire spread, I saw lots of corpses. I thought my parents died, too. When I was able to see them again, I screamed and cried." And then she said, "Japan is peaceful, but terrible things are happening all over the world. I want a world without war where we talk to each other." A specification for the Center stated, "Even though we did not experience it, we can still imagine it, so it is important to tell these stories. Conveyer belt sushi shop uses AI camera to shoot troublemakers. (NHK) Customers at conveyer belt sushi shops opening the soy sauce containers, tasting the soy sauce, and posting of themselves doing this on the Internet has become a problem. Conveyer belt sushi company Kura Sushi has created a camera system that uses AI in order to spot troublemakers. When customers make trouble after returning sushi plates that came off the conveyer, the AI detects it and notifies headquarters. The company says it notifies the police when the person who this terrible thing is there. According to the company, this is the 1st time such a system has been used a conveyer belt sushi shop and they have begun using it at all of them. A spokesperson for the company said, "We want our customers to feel relieved and come to our shops." Japanese movie The First Slam Dunk draws audience of over 3.81 million in South Korea, breaking record. (Asahi) Japanese anime film The First Slam Dunk drew an audience surpassing 3.81 million in South Korea, a record for a Japanese film. The First Slam Dunk, an anime movie based on Takehito Inoue's popular manga, Slam Dunk, was released March 5 and drew a total of around 3.818 million viewers in South Korea. It has overtaken Your Name, which previously had drawn the most viewers in South Korea out of all Japanese movies released there. Ever since it was released in South Korea on January 4, it has been a huge hit across multiple age groups and a social phenomenon the manifestations of which include the ability to generate long lines outside its limited run goods store day after day. South Korean media have been telling about the impacts of this hit movie such as a resurgence in popularity of the original manga and an increase in the number of people taking basketball lessons. Last year's number of cases of counterfeit branded goods at about 27,000, high level. (Asahi) Last year, roughly 27,000 cases of prohibited counterfeit branded goods ordered online were detected by customs, the 3rd time in 3 years that it exceeded 25,000 and a high level. Last year, there were 26,942 cases such as those of counterfeit branded goods prohibited from being imported due to intellectual property violation. There was an explosion in the number of counterfeit FIFA World Cup uniforms and water filter cartridges. For the 1st time in 3 years, the cutting of counterfeit goods seized by Tokyo Customs has been presented. In the past 3 months last October, the number of cases of counterfeit goods being imported for personal use has fallen 20%. 11 countries including Japan, Australia, and 9 in Southeast Asia will, "cooperate on decarbonization." (Asahi) Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia announced a joint declaration that they will, "promote further cooperation on decarbonization," at a joint ministerial meeting on energy. 11 nations including Japan, Australia, and the nations of ASEAN excluding Myanmar participated at the 1st ministerial meeting of the Asian Zero Emissions Community (AZEC). The joint declaration affirms their plan to continue cooperating on things like securing energy independence and building up a green hydrogen and green ammonia supply upon deciding that each nation should advance its decarbonization and economic growth in tandem according to their circumstances. Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Nishimura displayed an intention use things including Japan's technology and capital and to cooperate. Consumer Affairs Agency requests improved school inspection from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. (Asahi) Having decided that things like school are being overlooked as a cause of fatal accidents, the Consumer Affairs Agency has requested that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) do a review of the way school safety inspections are done. Over a 10-year period ending in March of last year there were 9 cases of fatal accidents in which the victim was a elementary or middle school student and the cause was something like falling out of a window or getting pinned down under a fallen goal post meant for soccer on school grounds. The Consumer Affairs Agency is said to have investigated over 1000 schools and found that most of them had signs of danger like shelves next to windows that could be climbed over and lockers that could accumulate without being affixed to the wall once they shifted through their data. The Consumer Affairs Agency has requested that MEXT do things like standardizing inspection items that differ for each school and supporting inspection using outside experts. March 7, 2023: 200 students given scholarships to study abroad in Japan gather in Taiwan. (NHK) Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. On March 5, the association held a gathering in Taiwan for students who had received scholarships to come to Japan from Taiwan to study abroad. About 200 people attended it. A spokesperson for the association said, "Japan and Taiwan have continued a heart-to-heart exchange. We will continue to do this in order to strengthen ties between Japan and Taiwan." At the gathering, 30 students who were going to study abroad in Japan. A woman who is going to Tokyo University next month said, "I want to study what Japan is doing about its agricultural labor shortage." In 1972, Japan began normalizing its relations with China and stopped inter-country relations with Taiwan. Afterwards, the association began providing scholarships for Taiwanese people who wished to study abroad in Japan. Event held in Skis Prefecture to pick cabbages under snow. (NHK) On March 5, Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture held an event for picking cabbage under the snow in a cultivated field. About 270 people attended it. The cabbages became the right size for picking last fall, but there was also winter snowfall. The snowfall makes them sweeter. When bitten, it makes a crunching sound and tastes delicious. About 5,000 cabbages were left in the field. Families, etc. used tools to pick them one-by-one. A woman who came with her offspring said, "I think this is also a good experience for my children. It was like looking for treasure and we had fun." The person who threw the event said, "When I started this event, it was so people could have fun while experiencing farming. I want them to eat cabbage sweetened by the cold." March 8, 2023: Mos Burger, KFC prices rising since last July. (Asahi) Mos Burger has increased is prices by 70% and Kentucky Fried Chicken has increased its own by 90%. Mos Food Service has announced that it will revise the price for 78 out of the total of 106 items it sells on March 24. Out of these 78, it will increase the price of 73, including one from ¥410 to ¥440. Also, the Salad Set will have its price lowered from ¥470 to ¥450 for the sake of making everything on the set menu ¥450. KFC Holdings Japan will raise the prices of all of the roughly 50 items on their storefront menu up to 24% starting March 8. The retail prices of flagship products Original Chicken and Tokutoku Pack 4 Piece will be raised from ¥260 to ¥290 and ¥1,390 to ¥1,490, respectively. The causes of each include a steep increase in the cost of raw ingredients and this has been happening since last July. That's all for now. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/13/2156369/-Last-Week-in-Japanese-News-03-05-2023-03-11-2023 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/