from recent news in Japan

観光船沈没で　知床半島沖にて２６人死亡　その運航会社の社長が　海上保安庁に、運行中止義務怠り、　業務上過失致死の疑いで、逮捕された　

A sightseeing pleasure boat " KAZU 1" was subsided off the Shiretoko Peninsula, in Hokkaido in April,2022, and as many as26 passengers and crew members were killed or became missing. Regarding that accident, Seiichi Katsurada, 61, president of the ship-operating company Shiretoko Yuran-sen, was arrested by the First Reginal Coast Guard Headquarters on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and endangered traffic. It is believed that he should have stopped providing a sightseeing service for passengers due to the bad conditions of the ship. The captain of the pleasure boat, who was dead at the accident and aged 54 then, is to be sent to prosecutors on paper, too. The matter has developed into a criminal case two and five months after the accident.

from recent news in Japan

基準地価　３年連続で上昇する　　全用途の価格が対前年比で１．４％上昇　３３年ぶりの高水準となった　大都市圏がこの流れを先導している

According to the data on the land prices nationwide released on Tuesday by the land ministry, the land prices at decided points across the country in all the three types of areas that is residential, commercial and industrial ones, as of July 1, 2004, was up 1.4% from the previous year on average. This is the third consecutive year of increase with its margin 0.4 % larger than last year. This figure 1.4 % is large enough for the first time in 33 years, meaning it has been the largest since 1991 in the bubble economy. This trend is what has been preceded in the metropolitan areas.

from recent news in the world

トランプ氏　再び暗殺未遂　けがはなし　場所はゴルフ場で　銃口向けられる　５８歳も容疑者は拘束される

It is learned that Donald Trump, the Democratic Party's candidate for the US presidential election in this fall was on the verge of being killed again. He was playing golf at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on the afternoon on September 15 in US time, or at dawn on the 16th in Japan time. A security guard for him found a gun from a bush was being aimed at Trump and fired a gun at it. The culprit tried to get away from the scene, but was arrested by the authority. He is aged 58. The police are investigating the case as an attempted assassination. Donald Trump remains uninjured.

from recent news in Japan

自民党総裁選で　高市、石破、小泉氏の３氏が競る　読売新聞調査によれば　　決選投票の公算が大である
支持理由は「政策に期待できる」が最多

The Yomiuri Shimbun carried out a survey regarding the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election whose voting and vote counting is to be held on September 27. The survey asked the party's members including its affiliated supporters and the Diet members which candidate they are choosing.

As a result of their answers tallied, the top three ones are Sanae Takaich, 63, the economic security minister, Shigeru Ishiba, 67, former general secretary of the party, and Shinjiro Koizumi,43, former environment minister. These three are vying for the top position. The most referred reason for their choosing these candidates are " we can expect much from his or her policies."

If there's no one who can secure the majority of the voting at the first ballot, the decision is carried out into a runoff between the top two candidates. Then it is highly likely that the new president will be elected in a runoff. But about 20% of the people have not decided whom they would vote for, so it is still unclear who would remain at that runoff.

from recent news in Japan

自民党総裁選で　政治改革、経済とについて　論戦が展開　解散時期については　見解が分かれる　９氏が公開討論会に参加した

There was a panel discussion among the 9 candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race held at Japan National Press Club on Saturday. The debates continued for about 2 hours on the issues like political reform, economy, energy and others. Regarding the issue when the House of Representatives should be dissolved there was a difference of opinion among some participants. The voting and vote counting is to be held on September 27.

from recent news in the world

女性抑圧を　犯罪規定に　ノーベル平和賞受賞者　モハンマディ氏が訴える　イランの獄中から　手記を読売新聞本社へ投稿
国連へ要望　先進国協力を訴えた　

According to the news on the morning edition of today's Yomiuri Shimbun, the 2023 Nobel laureate for Peace Narges Mohammadi, 52, a journalist and a human rights movement activist in Iran, sent her article written in the prison in Teheran to the headquarters of Yomiuri Shimbun in Tokyo. As she has been seeking to protect the human rights for women who are being under suppression, in the article she is wanting United Nations to define the "gender apartheid" or discrimination based on sex to be the crime. And she asks the advanced countries including Japan to exercise their influences in reaching the goal.

from recent news in Japan

自民党総裁選が　告示されて　最多９人が立候補して　混戦模様　政治改革、経済が争点に　２７日に投開票される

The Liberal Democratic Party officially started its presidential election race on Thursday and as many as nine people, whose number has ever been the largest in the party history, stood as a candidacy for the race deciding the successor to the outgoing prime minister Fumio Kishida. Voting and vote counting are scheduled for September 27. The focal point would be political reform, economy and others, and the race would become so close.

from recent news in the world

初対決が実現　白熱の応酬が繰り広げられる　米大統領選挙　ハリス氏とトランプ氏のTV討論会
経済、中絶、外交などで　違いが鮮明になった 　　両者による討論会は初めてである
投票まで２カ月を切った選挙戦は支持率が互いに拮抗しており　接戦となっている

As the November US presidential election has been approaching, the debate on TV was held on Tuesday, US time, or Wednesday, Japan time, between Vice President Kamala Harris,59, from the Democratic Party and former President Donald Trump,78, from the Republican Party, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That was the first time event between the two of them. Heated debates continued on a lot of themes like economy. As only less than two months is left before the election vote, the election race has become very close with the supporting rates being neck and neck. In that TV debates, the difference between the two sides has become clear on the subjects like economy, abortion, foreign policy and others.

from recent news in Japan

10日、東京電力は、、福島第一原子力発電所２号機で溶け落ちたデブリ（核燃料）の試験的な取り出しの採取に再び着手した。当初は８月２３日に開始の予定だったが、同日、手順のミスが発見されて中断していたものである。だから、３週間遅れの再開である。成功すれば、２０１１年３月の原発事故以降で最初のデブリの取り出しとなる。東京電力は２週間かけてこの作業を行う。

On Tuesday Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings resumed its experimental work of getting the melted nuclear fuel-debris- out of the No.2 reactor at its Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. On its original schedule the company should have started its work on August 23, but it stopped the job because an unexpected mistake in the procedure was found on the same day. Then the work was resumed three weeks after the first trial. If this trial is successful, it would be the first time for the fuel to be removed from the reactor after the nuclear reactor's accident in March in 2011. TEPCO is going to remove a slight mount of debris from the reactor taking about 2 weeks.

from recent news in Japan

長崎で、「黒い雨」による被爆について　初の認定が下る　地裁判決により　　原告の一部に　被爆者手帳の交付を命じた

As many as 44 people, including 4 people already dead, who experienced the Nagasaki nuclear bombing in 1945 at the place out of the area that the central government defined and later used to determine government support for the victims, had filed the lawsuit against the Nagasaki prefectural and city governments seeking to ask them to issue the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificates, the ruling was handed down at the Nagasaki District Court on Monday. The presiding judge Shinsuke Matsunaga recognized that the black rain containing radioactive substances fell at the eastern part of Nagasaki city, admitted the 15 plaintiffs, including 2 already dead, are the bomb victims, and ordered the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificates should be issued to them. The remaining 29 people were in the area except the eastern part of the city and their complaints were dismissed.

国が定めた地域以外で原爆にあった被爆体験者４４人（うち４人死亡）が長崎県と長崎市に対して被爆者手帳の交付を求めた訴訟で、判決が下りた。長崎地裁でである。裁判長は長崎市の東部で放射性物質を含んだ黒い雨が降ったと認定して、１５人（うち２人死亡）に被爆者手帳の交付を命じた。東部以外の地域にいた残りの２９人については訴えは退けられた。

from a recent news in the world

日本製鉄のＵＳスチール買収計画　不可解な動きである　　安全保障上の問題があるとする　けれども買収策が実現しなければ、工場閉鎖や労働者の雇用打ち切りにもつながりかねない　

どうするアメリカ 　決着は今秋の大統領選挙の後になるのではあるまいか（このパートは私の推測）

It is said that the US president Joe Biden would stop the buy-out plan of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel because of economic security.
This policy is hard to understand, as this business deal is going to be done with a company in Japan, an ally with the USA. Nippon Steel Corporation announced its plan to buy U.S. Steel up for about ￥2 trillion last December.
But, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the screening body in the US, examined the deal, and is reported that it is going to issue the recommendation they would not admit the deal, saying " There is a high possibility that would cause an inevitable national economic security concern." These kinds of recommendation have been issued so far mostly to Chinese companies, not to any Japanese company.
Given such conditions, the Biden administration is likely to ban this deal. But actually, if the deal is not concluded, U.S. Steel has to shut down some plants in the USA and cut down some parts of its workforce.

Final decision might be delayed after the presidential election in November in the US. That is my guess.

from recent news

立憲民主党の代表選挙に4氏の出馬が決定　野田、枝野、泉、吉田の4氏で、23日に選出される

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan officially announced its leader election campaign on Saturday with the four members running the race. They are former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, 67, former party leader Yukio Edano, 60, current leader Kenta Izumi,50, and the House of Representatives member Harumi Yoshida, 52. The focal points are how to forge out major policies related to economy and energy as well as how to create the joint struggle tactics in cooperation with other opposition parties, with the chance for the change of the government at the next general elections for the lower house of the Diet in their minds. The CDPJ's new leader will be decided on September 23 at the party's extraordinary conference held the same day in Tokyo.

立憲民主党の代表選挙が火ぶたをきり、4人が立候補した。前総理大臣の野田氏、前代表の枝野氏、現代表の泉氏、それに衆議院議員の吉田氏の4人である。争点は、経済、エネルギーにかかわる重要政策をどう考えるか、それに次期の衆議院選挙で政権交代の期待もかかっており、他の野党との共闘をどうするかとなどである。新代表は23日に決まる。

from recent news

小泉氏　出馬を正式に表明　自民党総裁選へ　最多６人目の名乗りとなる　早期の衆議院解散を明言した

Regarding the Liberal Democratic Party president election, which is to officially start on September 12 with the vote held on the 27th of the month, Shinjiro Koizumi, ex-minister for the environment, expressed his candidacy on Friday at the press conference in Tokyo. He is the 6th candidate in the election, whose number has been the most in the party's history. At the press conference, he made clear his intention to dissolve the lower house as soon as possible and have general elections if he is chosen to be the party's president and then the prime minister. He referred to the "three reforms" consisting of political reform, deregulation, and expansion of options for working practices. And he said these reforms would be implemented within a year.

自民党総裁選に関連して、元環境相の小泉進次郎氏が６日東京都内で記者会見を開いて立候補することを表明した。自民党史上最多の６人目の立候補者となった。会見でもし総裁、総理に選ばれたならば、早期に衆議院を解散して総選挙を行いたいと明言した。そして、政治改革と規制緩和、働き方などの選択肢拡大の「三つの改革」を１年以内に実施すると述べた。

From recent news

車大手４社　　EV電池で１兆円投資するとのこと　経済安全保障の一環として　国も３５００億円を補助するとのこと

It is learned that four Japanese major automobile makers, such as Toyota, SUBARU and Mazda, and battery makers plan to add as much as about ￥1 trillion to their investments in their domestic facilities by 2028 in order to mass-produce batteries for EVs, electric vehicles. The issue is regarded one of the nation's economic securities, the government is planning to aid ￥350 billion, the third of the cost, to the project. The aim is to establish the supply chain for materials for the EV market expected to grow globally from now on, not depending overseas.

自働車大手４社と電池メーカが2028年までに、EV用の電池の量産に向けて、新たに国内で１兆円の投資を行う。これは安全保障上の問題であるので政府もその費用の三分の一にあたる3500億円を補助する。目的とするのは、世界的なEV市場の拡大に備えて、海外に依存しないサプライチェーンを確立することである。

Recent News

富士山降灰　広域予報　気象庁　噴火備え　数年内に　予想量を　３段階で明示

Mt.Fuji is now regarded to be a dormant volcano, which doesn't mean it would not erupt again in the future. On the contrary, there have recently been growing concerns that there might be a huge scale eruption from the mountain. Given such conditions, Japan Meteorological Agency decided to make clear its prediction for volcanic ash fall, which is expected to spread to wide areas and last long. Some estimate says there will be the ash would fall to the ground as high as 30 centimeters at the most in some places, causing a tremendous damage like the collapse of houses and disruption of traffic networks. Therefore, the agency's prediction would help start disaster-prevention measures sooner than before in many municipalities. Starting in the next fiscal year, the agency will begin developing the new prediction system and start its new prediction system in several years. The agency says the prediction will be provided with the three stages in accordance with the seriousness.

富士山は現在休火山となっていますが、将来噴火しないというわけではありません。反対に、いつか噴火が起こるのではないかという懸念が増しています。そうした状況下で気象庁では降灰の広域予報を出す方針を固めました。最大３０センチメートルの火山灰の堆積もあり得て、家屋の倒壊や交通の寸断などの甚大な被害が予想されますので、迅速な対応が求められます。来年度がら予測システムの開発に着手して、数年後を目途に開始したいとのことである。