FANCY ONIGIRI SELECTED AS JAPAN'S 'DISH OF THE YEAR'“今年の一皿”にご馳走おにぎり

A Japanese firm that researches the restaurant industry has selected “onigiri,” or rice balls, as the “dish of the year.”
The company notes that the normally simple items have been evolving into elaborate and colorful creations, featuring shrimp and other high-end toppings.
Onigiri are plain rice wrapped with dried sheets of seaweed and contain fish or other items.
The company says the number of restaurants in Japan specializing in the new gourmet-style items is growing rapidly in large cities.
It notes that sales are on the rise and the items are even appearing in countries outside Japan
The company announced the annual award on Monday. It is given to foods that symbolize social trends of the past year.
The selection is based on search numbers for gourmet websites and consumer surveys.

◆evolve into　～に進化する  

Daily Vocabulary(2023/12/20）

31566.if you like～,you might like〇〇 (〜が好きなら、〇〇気にいるかもしれません）
If you like nature, you might like Hokkaido. 
31567.be in the mood (～の気分）to feel that you would like to do something

I like coffee. But I'm in the mood for the some tea this morning. 

31568.a touch of(ほんの少しの、ちょっとした）a small amount of something 

All this room needs is a touch of paint. 

31569.initiation (儀式 ）the process of officially introducing someone into a club or group, or of introducing a young person to adult life, often with a special ceremony 
The club has an initiation ceremony for new members. 

31570.meticulously（細心の注意を払って）very careful about small details, and always making sure that everything is done correctly

The book describes his journey in meticulous detail. 

GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES配送効率向上へ 商品の小型化広がる

Delivery businesses across Japan are grappling with a severe driver shortage.
They will have another problem to contend with next year, when limits on driver overtime take effect.
Companies that rely on delivery trucks to get their goods out are responding by focusing on efficiency.
They're making their products more compact so they can load more of them onto a truck.
Daily goods maker Unicharm says it used special technology to reduce the packaging size for its diapers for elderly people by 10 percent.
Officials say this will likely slash the number of 10-ton trucks needed for deliveries each year by about 1,000.
Another daily goods firm, Kao, has taken a simpler approach.
The company made the packaging for its cleaning wipes smaller by taking out some of the air.
Food and daily products maker CGC Japan trimmed the height of its cooking oil bottles by four centimeters without reducing volume.

◆grapple with　（問題・課題など）に取り組む、立ち向かう 

◆contend with（問題など）に取り組む、対処する 

◆slash　（予算、値段、人員などを）大幅に削減する