TOKYO, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
The first-ever dialogue between the executives of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito has been held on whether or not to permit the export of protection gear, together with the “next-generation fighter jet” being developed by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy, to 3rd nations.

The next-generation fighter jet is aimed to succeed the Air Self-Defense Force’s F2 fighter within the mid-2030s.

In the preliminary dialogue held on February twenty first by the executives of the LDP and Komeito, the purpose of rivalry is whether or not to allow the export of the completed merchandise of this next-generation fighter jet to 3rd nations unrelated to its improvement.

Komeito Leader Natsuo Yamaguchi: “If we allow the export of the next-generation fighter jet to third countries without any limitations, it means we are distributing weapons with high killing capabilities all over the world. It could lead to allowing the export of all kinds of weapons.”

Komeito insists on the need of “restraints” for direct exports to 3rd nations, that are at present not permitted below the prevailing system, whereas the federal government and the LDP are taking a proactive stance.

A authorities official: “If we can’t export to third countries, we won’t be able to take the lead in development. This is a line we cannot cross.”

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida additionally said: “I believe that taking a broad and smooth approach to international joint development and production, including the transfer (export) of finished products to third countries, is in our national interest.”

The authorities and the LDP are contemplating a plan that may restrict export locations to nations which have signed agreements on protection gear and exclude nations engaged in fight.

The rush to debate is as a result of discussions on the event framework among the many three nations will intensify from subsequent month.

Although the dialogue on Wednesday aimed for a conclusion inside this month, it stays to be seen whether or not an settlement will probably be reached.

Source: ANN

TOKYO, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
“Debt Completely Forgiven!? – such ads, implying that anybody can scale back their debt, are acquainted to many.

The time period “debt restructuring” refers to a system designed to assist rebuild the lives of these with a number of money owed. However, there have been growing stories of people who, regardless of in search of assist from legal professionals or judicial scriveners, have ended up with much more difficult monetary conditions.

A girl in her 40s, who sought authorized assist after seeing a web based advert promising debt discount, had borrowed 650,000 yen from shopper finance corporations for dwelling bills and was scuffling with repayments. In March 2023, whereas watching a video streaming service on her smartphone, she got here throughout a video advert that includes testimonials like “I reduced my debt!” and clicked on it out of curiosity. She was directed to an internet site providing a free debt discount prognosis and entered her debt quantity and phone data, which led to a name from a legislation agency in Tokyo.

After speaking with the legislation agency’s employees by way of LINE and electronic mail, she was instructed to switch a month-to-month deposit. Since the quantity was about 1,000 yen lower than her earlier month-to-month repayments, she determined to proceed and paid roughly 130,000 yen over eight months. However, in December, she was informed that the settlement with the patron finance firm amounted to 760,000 yen, together with delayed curiosity – her debt had not decreased. Doubting this, she consulted with a shopper affairs middle run by her native authorities and was knowledgeable that she ought to have pursued chapter proceedings. She canceled her contract with the legislation agency by way of a judicial scrivener from a help group, however the cash she had paid, believing it to be a deposit, was not returned because it was thought-about a retainer price.

40-year-old girl: “I believed the video ad with happy testimonials about debt reduction, and I only received a very simple explanation about the payments. I thought it must be legitimate since it was coming from a lawyer. I had a strong desire to reduce my debt as quickly as possible…”

“Beware of Fraudulent Online Ads”

Shinichi Niikawa, a judicial scrivener and deputy secretary-general of the “National Association of Consumer Credit and Life Debt Victim Liaison Council,” a help group for a number of debtors, says that if the lady’s monetary state of affairs had been correctly assessed, debt negotiation would have been inappropriate.

Judicial Scrivener Shinichi Niikawa: “Despite knowing that long-term debt negotiation would not reduce the individual’s debt, the law firm seems to have created a business model that deliberately leads to settlements and fees. Among the online ads used to attract a large number of clients, there are some that border on fraud, and the industry must take collective action.”

“Countermeasures Against Online Ads” Leads to New Organization

In response to such considerations, a brand new group is being fashioned to advance countermeasures. The “National Conference on Secondary Damage Prevention for Debt Restructuring by Mass Advertising Firms” is scheduled to be established in March, comprising legal professionals, judicial scriveners, and supporters of a number of debtors.

At a preparatory assembly held on-line on February 17, about 20 members, together with legal professionals, judicial scriveners, and supporters of a number of debtors, gathered. A person in his 30s, who had requested debt restructuring from two legislation corporations based mostly on web advertisements, shared his painful expertise.

Man in his 30s: “The fees for hiring a law firm for one case were so high that my payment amount increased, leading to the absurd situation of borrowing money from illegal lenders to cover the costs, which only made my life harder.”

What Exactly is “Debt Restructuring”? Debt restructuring strategies embody “debt negotiation,” the place you negotiate with collectors to pay an inexpensive quantity every month, and “bankruptcy proceedings,” carried out in court docket to have money owed forgiven. Lawyers and judicial scriveners tasked with these circumstances are anticipated to supply help tailor-made to the debtor’s dwelling state of affairs. However, a 2022 survey of a number of debtor help organizations nationwide revealed that 37 people had sought authorized help by way of on-line advertisements and, regardless of needing to file for chapter, have been guided in the direction of debt negotiation, which solely elevated their burden.

Among the consultations, there have been 18 circumstances the place the debtor’s debt didn’t lower and 14 circumstances the place they incurred new money owed resulting from funds to the legislation agency. Additionally, 30 out of the 37 people proceeded with their circumstances on-line with out ever assembly a lawyer or judicial scrivener in particular person. The help group launching subsequent month plans to supply free cellphone consultations to help a number of debtors and goals to understand the extent of the harm.

Lawyer Mikami Rii on the preparatory assembly: “We want to consult with people who sought help from lawyers through online ads without proper interviews or explanations and ended up without a resolution or in a worsened situation. With misleading terms like ‘government-approved debt relief program’ flooding the internet, we also want to address the nature of online advertising.”

Disciplinary Actions Over Exaggerated Advertising

Cases have arisen the place legal professionals’ exaggerated promoting has been deemed worthy of disciplinary motion. The Chiba Bar Association is reviewing a case involving a lawyer in his 70s who marketed sufferer reduction for funding and romance scams with claims like “Leave everything to us, and we’ll solve it completely” and used logos of the Consumer Affairs Agency and the Financial Services Agency in on-line advertisements. In June 2023, the lawyer was judged to have probably violated the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ rules in opposition to “exaggerated advertising or advertising that creates excessive expectations,” and the content material of the disciplinary motion is underneath evaluate. The Japan Advertising Review Organization (JARO) additionally stories that it has acquired roughly 200 complaints annually for the previous three years about ads for session companies from legislation corporations, together with these with deceptive expressions suggesting the potential for cash being returned.

Where to Consult?

For these scuffling with debt, there are numerous session companies out there, reminiscent of free authorized recommendation from the Legal Support Center (Houterasu) and free session classes organized by native bar associations. However, it has been famous that fewer persons are attending these session classes lately. Lawyers interviewed for this report expressed concern that the quantity of people that search debt restructuring by way of on-line advertisements and find yourself in larger hardship could also be growing. Consultation companies for a number of money owed can be found by way of bar associations and judicial scrivener associations in every prefecture, shopper affairs facilities run by native governments, and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ Sunflower Hotline.

Japan Federation of Bar Associations Sunflower Hotline: 0570-001-240 (Weekdays 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM)

The help group advises people to first seek the advice of these out there companies.

Source: NHK

TOKYO, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan are making preparations to go to Ishikawa Prefecture late subsequent month to console the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

According to sources, Their Majesties are being coordinated to go to the earthquake-stricken areas of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture in late February.

The plan entails flying from Haneda Airport to Noto Airport in Wajima City on a particular plane, then switching to a Self-Defense Forces helicopter to enter the catastrophe space and go to evacuation facilities, contemplating a day journey schedule to reduce the burden on the native space.

Their Majesties have been deeply pained by the injury because the earthquake’s incidence and have expressed their intention to go to primarily based on the acceptance state of affairs and folks’s emotions. On February sixth, they acquired a proof from authorities officers together with their eldest daughter, Princess Aiko.

If realized, this will likely be Their Majesties’ second go to to a catastrophe space since their go to in December 2019 to Marumori Town in Miyagi Prefecture and Motomiya City in Fukushima Prefecture, which had been affected by storm injury.

Source: NNN

Nagakute, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
Aichi Medical University has introduced that because of a pc error in the course of the admissions course of utilizing the outcomes of the unified college entrance examination, 80 candidates who ought to have progressed to the second stage of the medical faculty entrance examination have been mistakenly deemed ineligible.

The college has knowledgeable all 80 people that they’re certified to take the second-stage examination scheduled for the twenty second, and is contemplating offering another date, such because the twenty fifth of this month, for individuals who are unable to take the examination on the designated day.

According to Aichi Medical University, situated in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, a pc operation error occurred in the course of the medical faculty admissions course of, which makes use of the unified college entrance examination outcomes. The error led to the mistaken willpower that 80 candidates, who have been really eligible for the second-stage examination, didn’t qualify. The eligible candidates for the second-stage examination have been introduced on the eighth of this month, however subsequent posts on social media raised questions, with some college students stating, “According to my self-scoring, I had a higher score than a friend who passed, so why was I deemed ineligible?”

Upon investigation prompted by these issues, the college found on the nineteenth that there had been an error when inputting candidates’ scores, offered by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, into the college’s designated format. The college contacted the affected college students on the twentieth to tell them of the error.

The college has conveyed to the affected college students that they’re eligible to take the second-stage examination on the twenty second and is contemplating choices for individuals who can’t take the examination on that date, together with the potential for taking it on the twenty fifth of this month. Aichi Medical University has issued an apology to the examinees for the inconvenience brought on and has acknowledged its intention to assessment and enhance its checking system to forestall such errors from occurring once more sooner or later.

Source: NHK

TOKYO, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
The beloved duo KinKi Kids has launched an authentic dwell efficiency video of their hit track “Aishiteru Yori Aisaretai” on YouTube. The monitor, which debuted as their second single in November 1997, gained reputation because the theme track for the drama “Bokura no Yuuki: Miman Toshi,” starring Tsuyoshi Domoto and Koichi Domoto.

The dwell video showcases the duo performing the track that, after 27 years since its launch, continues to resonate with followers. Viewers can now benefit from the present efficiency of KinKi Kids with “Aishiteru Yori Aisaretai -YouTube Original Live-” obtainable on-line.

In associated news, Tsuyoshi Domoto just lately introduced his marriage to Kanako Momota, expressing his need to cherish day by day. Meanwhile, Koichi Domoto starred within the remaining efficiency of “SHOCK,” which concluded with a grand five-month nationwide tour. Additionally, KinKi Kids have been energetic on TV and radio, together with a collaboration with King & Prince on “MUSIC STATION” and an look on the second evening of the “FNS Music Festival,” amongst different packages.

KinKi Kids have additionally been within the highlight with the discharge of their seventeenth album “P album,” which items collectively their 25-year profession. Moreover, their new single “Schrodinger,” penned by Aoi Yamazaki, has been launched to the general public.

Source: Natalie