Four individuals from Australia have visited Kanazawa, central Japan, to participate in a government-sponsored take a look at tour aimed toward resuming the acceptance of overseas vacationers.

Asakusa Shrine Sanja Matsuri 2022

Motion Travel – May 22

Sanja Matsuri is an annual competition (the most important competition of the yr) held at Asakusa Shrine. The competition is held on the third Saturday in May, and this yr it was held from the twentieth to the twenty second of May.

This is Japan’s Pizza Vending Machine

akidearest – May 19

I simply got here throughout a pizza merchandising machine in Japan. The pizza truly appears actually good so I wish to attempt to order a pair issues from it and produce it house to simply see what merchandising machine pizza is like.

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Last month, we reported the weird case of a person who acquired 46.3 million yen in COVID-19 reduction funds of 100,000 yen supposed for 463 households in Abu Yamaguchi prefecture. The mayor on the time apologized for the clerical error and was attempting to recuperate the cash. However, there have been fairly some revelations since then.

Let’s first recall how this incident even began within the first place. The city made a listing of all candidates to execute the switch after which despatched it to the financial institution on a floppy disk. And sure, regardless of their decision to ditch these stone-age units, they’re nonetheless round.

The drawback was, along with the floppy disk, the switch order for the city was additionally despatched on-line. The account of the person in query stood on the prime of this listing. However, it was formatted incorrectly in order that the financial institution mistakenly thought it was a proxy for the truth that all cash needs to be despatched to the primary place after which filtered into the right accounts.

The man noticed the cash in his account on April 8 and thought he had skilled a kind of angels-devil-shoulder moments. But the satan gained rapidly. He started to maneuver quantities of 600,000 yen every day for 2 weeks till he was caught. The city quickly realized what had occurred and began on the lookout for the cash. They tried to contact the person instantly after discovering out the place it had gone however had been unsuccessful.

They lastly met him on April 21. He knowledgeable them that the cash had been taken from his account and he wouldn’t run.

Officials had been in a tough place as they technically gave the cash to him by mistake, and it wasn’t theft. After consulting attorneys and regulation enforcement, they lastly filed a lawsuit towards him on May 12. They sought 51.16 million yen, for the cash he took and authorized charges.

The drawback was that he had already run off 

He emptied his checking account, stop his job and fled his residence when it took for the city to deliver authorized motion towards him. The man was not dwelling in Abu for very lengthy. He had solely moved there by way of the Vacant Bank program in October 2020. These applications enable rural property homeowners to lease out vacant properties whereas attracting younger folks to repopulate the world by way of tax breaks.

Reporters talked to the owner of the home, who described the 24-year outdated man as “a good kid, young, and handsome”. He additionally acknowledged that he has acquired lease for May however is not sure if that can proceed.

This clerical error has created a circus, and newsreaders are shocked and embarrassed by the occasions which have taken place up to now.

If you concentrate on it, Japan has a superb police surveillance system. So that particular person must cover himself to keep away from them, which might require fairly the sum. Thus, the cash he would simply use to cover himself and his concept of operating away may be ineffective.

However, he hasn’t technically dedicated any crime, so maybe the police gained’t hassle on the lookout for him. Nikkan Gendai interviewed a lawyer to verify that the lawsuit would proceed and could be in favour of the city. However, if issues proceed as they’re, the order to pay damages will probably be null after ten years.

Source: JapanToday

Also examine Tokyo Authorities Finally Decide To Stop Using Floppy Disks

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A panel to the Japanese monetary regulator gave the inexperienced gentle Monday for a proposal requiring listed corporations to reveal any gender gaps of their workforce in keeping with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s purpose of addressing Japan’s gender pay inequality, one of many worst amongst developed nations.

Why just one% of Japan’s soy sauce is made this fashion

Business Insider – May 21

It can take 4 years to make one batch of barrel-aged soy sauce. The pure fermentation course of was the norm in Japan for hundreds of years, however when industrialization swept the nation, nearly all of the nation’s wood barrels have been changed with metal ones.

Japan inflation hits seven yr excessive in April

RTE – May 20

Japan’s core client costs posted their largest leap in seven years in April, official knowledge confirmed immediately, as world commodity costs soared and the yen slumped towards the dollar.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday is about to launch a brand new Indo-Pacific commerce pact designed to sign U.S. dedication to the area and handle the necessity for stability in commerce after the chaos attributable to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a gathering with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden mentioned the brand new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework was designed to ship “concrete benefits” for folks all through the area.

The White House says the framework will assist the United States and Asian economies work extra intently on points together with provide chains, digital commerce, clear vitality, employee protections and anticorruption efforts. The particulars nonetheless must be negotiated among the many member international locations, making it tough for the administration to say how this framework can fulfill the promise of serving to U.S. employees and companies whereas additionally assembly international wants.

Countries signing on to the framework had been to be introduced Monday throughout Biden’s go to to Tokyo for talks with Kishida. It’s the most recent step by the Biden administration to attempt to protect and broaden U.S. affect in a area that till not too long ago seemed to be beneath the rising sway of China.

Kishida hosted a proper state welcome for Biden at Akasaka Palace, together with a white-clad navy honor guard and band within the entrance plaza. Reviewing the assembled troops, Biden positioned his hand over his coronary heart as he handed the American flag and bowed barely as he handed the Japanese customary.

Kishida, in short remarks, mentioned he was “absolutely delighted” to welcome Biden to Tokyo on the primary Asia journey of his presidency. Along with Biden, he drove a tricky line towards Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying it “undermines the foundation of global order.”

Biden, who’s within the midst of a five-day go to to South Korea and Japan, known as the U.S.-Japanese alliance a “cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific” and thanked Japan for its “strong leadership” in standing as much as Russia.

The White House introduced plans to construct the financial framework in October as a alternative for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the U.S. dropped out of in 2017 beneath then-President Donald Trump.

The new pact comes at a second when the administration believes it has the sting in its competitors with Beijing. Bloomberg Economics revealed a report final week projecting U.S. GDP progress at about 2.8% in 2022 in comparison with 2% for China, which has been attempting to include the coronavirus by way of strict lockdowns whereas additionally coping with a property bust. The slowdown has undermined assumptions that China would robotically supplant the U.S. because the world’s main financial system.

“The fact that the United States will grow faster than China this year, for the first time since 1976, is a quite striking example of how countries in this region should be looking at the question of trends and trajectories,” mentioned White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan.

Critics say the framework has gaping shortcomings. It does not provide incentives to potential companions by decreasing tariffs or present signatories with higher entry to U.S. markets. Those limitations could not make the U.S. framework a horny various to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which nonetheless moved ahead after the U.S. bailed out. China, the most important buying and selling accomplice for a lot of within the area, can be looking for to affix TPP.

“I think a lot of partners are going to look at that list and say: ‘That’s a good list of issues. I’m happy to be involved,'” mentioned Matthew Goodman, a former director for worldwide economics on the National Security Council throughout President Barack Obama’s administration. But he mentioned in addition they could ask, “Are we going to get any tangible benefits out of participating in this framework?”

It is feasible for international locations to be a part of each commerce offers.

Emperor Naruhito and U.S. President Joe Biden pose for a photograph previous to their assembly on the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Saul Loeb/Pool by way of AP

Biden’s first cease Monday was a non-public assembly with Emperor Naruhito of Japan at Naruhito’s residence on the luxurious grounds of the Imperial Palace earlier than the talks with Kishida.

The two leaders had been additionally set to fulfill with households of Japanese residents kidnapped by North Korea a long time in the past. The Japanese premier took workplace final fall and is seeking to strengthen ties with the U.S. and construct a private relationship with Biden. He’ll host the president at a restaurant for dinner.

The launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, also called IPEF, has been billed by the White House as one of many greater moments of Biden’s Asia journey and of his ongoing effort to bolster ties with Pacific allies. Through all of it, administration officers have saved a detailed eye on China’s rising financial and navy would possibly within the area.

In September the U.S. introduced a brand new partnership with Australia and Britain known as AUKUS that’s aimed and deepening safety, diplomatic and protection cooperation within the Asia-Pacific area. Through that AUKUS partnership, Australia will buy nuclear-powered submarines, and the U.S. is to extend rotational drive deployments to Australia.

The U.S. president has additionally devoted nice consideration to the casual alliance often known as the Quad, shaped through the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 folks. Biden and fellow leaders from the alliance, which additionally consists of Australia, India and Japan, are set to assemble in Tokyo for his or her second in-person assembly in lower than a 12 months. The leaders have additionally held two video calls since Biden took workplace.

And earlier this month, Biden gathered representatives from 9 of the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington for a summit, the primary ever by the group within the U.S. capital. Biden introduced on the summit the U.S. would make investments some $150 million in clear vitality and infrastructure initiatives in ASEAN nations.

Sullivan confirmed on Sunday that Taiwan – which had sought membership within the IPEF framework- is not among the many governments that will likely be included. Participation of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its personal, would have irked Beijing.

Sullivan mentioned the U.S. desires to deepen its financial partnership with Taiwan, together with on excessive know-how points and semiconductor provide on a one-to-one foundation.

Biden will wrap up his 5 days in Asia on Tuesday with the Quad assembly and one-on-one talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australia’s new prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

The center-left chief of the Australian Labor Party this weekend defeated incumbent Scott Morrison and ended 9 years of conservative rule.

Modi, chief of the world’s largest democracy, has declined to affix the U.S. and different allies in levying sanctions towards Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. In a video name final month, Biden requested Modi to not speed up its buy of Russian oil.

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On Thursday, throughout U.S. President’s journey to Tokyo, a particular collaboration aim to make a moon touchdown by a Japanese astronaut grew to become public, in response to shut sources.

The announcement, which will probably be made by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Vice President Joe Biden as a component of the Artemis undertaking, is a multi-national effort led by the United States to advance analysis on the moon and in the end ship astronauts to Mars.

According to sources, the doc, which will probably be launched following the leaders’ convention on Monday, will even embody a proposal to signal a pact by 2023 to broaden the cooperation between international locations in house exploration for the subsequent couple of years.

Two governments have been engaged on preparations to outline this settlement as a truth sheet laying out the bilateral relationship, sources instructed.

A New Space Station On The Moon

The new Artemis is a NASA initiative and a sequel to the Apollo. The plan will comprise the development of a small house station referred to as Gateway, which is able to orbit the moon with houses and energy era amenities and an orbiter on the moon’s floor.

Both international locations are attempting to verify with an official assertion that will probably be public concurrently with the truth that the Japanese crew will probably be a part of the spaceship’s crew.

In 2019, Japan needed to hitch the undertaking and purpose to be the second nation to launch an astronaut on the moon. Being promoted from Europe, Japan plans to maneuver provides on crewless provide vessels as a part of the plan.

“We want to see a lunar landing by a Japanese astronaut during the second portion of the 2020s”. Kishida instructed a panel dialogue of the federal government’s house improvement methods in December.

The journey, from Sunday to Tuesday, was Biden’s first journey since he grew to become a president; the president may think about visiting an area facility in Tokyo, diplomatic sources have said.

The United States has intensified its rivalry within the face of China and Russia about high-tech and house which can be more and more vital within the financial and army areas.

Source: Kyodo

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Japan plans to start out requiring massive corporations to reveal their gender wage gaps as early as this yr as a part of efforts to handle systemic disparities within the office.

Yoon rushes to enhance ties with Tokyo

asiasentinel.com – May 16

South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol is speeding to fix years of troubled relations with the nation’s key neighbor Japan, however the street forward to reconciliation is affected by detritus of historical past that received’t be simple to barter.

Japan grants emergency meals support to Yemen

arabnews.com – May 10

The Japanese authorities on May 10 prolonged an Emergency Grant Aid of $10 million, in response to the meals disaster in Yemen, and stated this help was anticipated to be delivered to roughly 2.5 million individuals.

Will Korea, Japan have the ability to reset fraught ties?

koreaherald.com – May 09

A Japanese international minister arrived in South Korea for the primary time in 4 years on Monday forward of the presidential inauguration ceremony for Yoon Suk-yeol, elevating hopes for potential enhancements in relations with the incoming conservative administration.

One of Tokyo’s largest and most famous conventional festivals returns after a break of two years; nevertheless, the length is decreased to solely two days this 12 months. It was first held in 1312; it commemorates the lads who created the Asakusa’s Sensoji Temple. In the pre-Covid period, it could entice greater than 1 million guests to the world all through the competition.

The most memorable a part of the competition happens on Saturday when three Mikoshi (transportable shrines) are transported throughout Asakusa. Local residents sometimes take turns and generally struggle to see who will get the respect to hold the Mikoshi. However, this 12 months, the Mikoshi might be carried by a unicycle to keep away from enormous crowds. On Saturdays, there’s normally an occasion known as the Chonai Mikoshi Rengo Togyo. Around 100 Mikoshi from 44 districts throughout the area are gathered to be cleansed within the Asakusa Shrine, adopted by a procession of monks, musicians, and others. This 12 months, nevertheless, it’s not taking place. Mikoshi’s conventional parade might be round Asakusa Shrine from 1 pm.

Note {that a} small portion of Japan that isn’t usually accessible to vacationers is now open to the general public on this location. The competition is most well-known (overseas) as a result of many sheer Yakuza who’re current and participate – so If you occur to see a gaggle of closely tattooed, oft-shirtless Japanese, each ladies and men be sure to don’t piss them off and make sure to request for permission to snap photos. In common, they’re within the occasion to showcase their energy and their tattoos and seem to understand the eye they obtain.

Tokyo’s Biggest Festival Where Yakuza Flex Their Tattoos 

Tattooed ladies  may also be on the streets on their underwear to show their physique paintings proudly to the general public.

Tattoos are the image of bravery and power for the Yakuza. Images of dragons, samurais, and koi fish as a few of the extra well-known tattoo designs.

Yakuza-style tattoos do NOT normally garner the approval of all classes in Japanese society, with many public baths or “onsens” excluding tattoos totally in an effort to discourage the gang members from going.

Sanja Matsuri competition and parade that takes place through the third weekend of May annually. It’s function is to bless the world with luck and prosperity for town of Asakusa and its residents.

Source: Albawaba , TimeOut

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