A simulation video created by the Cabinet Office confirmed giant quantities of volcanic ash falling over the skyscrapers of Shinjuku, illustrating the potential scale of injury if Mount Fuji have been to erupt.

Estimates point out that ash accumulation in central Tokyo might attain as much as 10 centimeters, elevating considerations over widespread disruption, together with logistics delays brought on by transport paralysis, suspension of railway providers, and main outages in electrical energy and communications.

In response, the Cabinet Office and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government convened the assembly with non-public firms for the primary time to coordinate preparedness measures.

Morikubo Tsukasa, a senior official on the Cabinet Office, stated: “It is extremely meaningful for infrastructure operators, lifeline providers, and various administrative bodies to come together and discuss a unified direction.”

Participants agreed to focus future discussions on sustaining each day life at dwelling, making certain mobility and evacuation, and managing the elimination and disposal of volcanic ash.

Source: TBS

The prepare, which appeared round midday at Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture, featured a modified Tohoku Shinkansen “Yamabiko” formation, with specifically designed vehicles connected behind it that differed in look from commonplace passenger carriages. Inside, there have been no seats—solely stacks of cardboard bins loaded for transport.

The service is a part of an expanded rollout of the “Hakobyun” rail freight initiative, with newly developed vehicles devoted solely to cargo. Designed to accommodate roll-in cage carts, the system permits for the environment friendly transport of huge volumes of products in a single journey.

On its first day of operation, cargo was loaded from the morning at a rail yard utilizing unmanned transport autos to streamline the method. Inside the vehicles, packages had been organized in an orderly method and secured with hooks to stop motion throughout transit.

Each carriage can maintain 24 carts, with every cart able to carrying six bins weighing round 20 kilograms every, enabling a seven-car prepare to move roughly 1,000 bins per journey.

Shimaka Yuichi, president of Marutomo Shimaka, a seafood firm utilizing the service, mentioned: “Today we are transporting about 30 cases of scallops from Sanriku. The biggest advantage is that they can be on store shelves at restaurants and supermarkets by the evening of the same day.”

The service is meant for items that require each pace and stability, together with contemporary meals, blood for transfusions that’s delicate to temperature and vibration, and precision gear.

The prepare accomplished the journey from Morioka to Tokyo in about 4 hours, roughly half the time sometimes required by truck, which takes round eight hours.

With tighter limits on driver additional time underneath the so-called 2024 logistics rules elevating considerations about labor shortages, expectations are rising that such providers may assist ease the burden on the transport sector.

Logistics journalist Ryōhei Sakata mentioned: “From a consumer perspective, if you want to eat fresher products like sashimi or fish, this kind of high-speed rail transport offers clear advantages. With fewer goods able to be carried by trucks due to the 2024 regulations, this could serve as an important complement.”

Meanwhile, new supply fashions that don’t contain direct handoffs are additionally rising. From April, unmanned pickup factors are set to be put in at business services and stations in Tokyo, Osaka and different areas.

Under this method, supply corporations merely drop off parcels at designated pickup areas, permitting customers to gather them at their comfort whereas avoiding the stress of in-person supply or the chance of unattended packages being misplaced.

Tomomi Ishido, a director at Every WiLL, mentioned: “Access is managed באמצעות QR codes, so records remain of who entered and when. Surveillance cameras are also in place to monitor for any suspicious activity.”

As Japan grapples with labor shortages, logistics providers are anticipated to proceed evolving by means of innovation and new supply fashions.

Source: FNN

The 29-year-old wrestler, whose actual identify is Byambachuluun Khagvasuren and who hails from Mongolia, belongs to the Otowayama steady and had been competing on the rank of sekiwake within the east division.

His return to ozeki marks a comeback after 12 tournaments.

Source: Kyodo

The system permits riders to easily faucet their bank card at ticket gates to board trains and switch between taking part railway networks with out the necessity for conventional tickets or transportation IC playing cards.

However, fares are calculated in 10-yen increments, making them barely dearer than these charged when utilizing IC playing cards. Despite the upper value, the service is anticipated to attraction notably to inbound vacationers by providing higher comfort and eliminating the necessity to buy or recharge transit playing cards.

Okada of Tokyu Corporation stated that IC playing cards are anticipated to stay the first methodology of fee for home customers, including that railway operators will proceed working collectively to enhance providers by way of collaboration.

Source: テレ東BIZ

Another landmark is ready to fade from the guts of Shibuya.

Located within the middle of the bustling district, Seibu Shibuya has lengthy stood as a key fixture of the world.

A reporter famous that the shop will shut on the finish of September, drawing the curtain on practically six a long time of operations.

The firm cited its lack of ability to succeed in an settlement with the land and constructing house owners over lease phrases tied to redevelopment plans within the Shibuya space.

Seibu Shibuya was as soon as recognized for its daring repositioning in 1995, when it underwent a significant renovation costing 3 billion yen beneath the idea of an “adult department store,” increasing its goal past younger buyers within the youth-driven district in an effort to spice up gross sales. It additionally performed a central position in shaping Shibuya’s id as a hub of trend and tradition.

In current years, nevertheless, a wave of redevelopment in Shibuya has led to the opening of quite a few new industrial complexes close by, eroding the shop’s competitiveness.

With the choice now made to shut, many guests expressed a way of loss.

One buyer stated the shop held particular recollections, recalling visits there as a baby with household.

The space has already seen the closure of Tokyu Department Store’s predominant department in 2023, which had been a fixture for greater than half a century.

With the shutdown of Seibu Shibuya, traditional-style department shops will quickly disappear from the Shibuya district.

Source: TBS