Transcript

Welcome to the Japan Daily News for April 6th, 2023. Today, the Environment Ministry has presented a new national strategy to protect diverse species by securing conservation areas of over 30% in both land and sea by 2030.

In response to the sinking of a tourist boat off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has extended the disclosure period for companies that have received administrative guidance to five years and expanded the range of companies to include aviation and railway operators.

In a recent theft case, a suspect who was arrested for stealing a wooden statue of the “Binzuru Bodhisattva” from the Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City has confessed to having a grudge against the statue.

Two months after the Turkey-Syria earthquake in February, approximately 2.5 million people are still living in tents, and the reconstruction of the lives of the victims is still far from complete.

The Japanese Defense Ministry is continuing to monitor a Chinese naval vessel sailing in the waters between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan.

In Osaka’s Nishinari Ward, two men died in a fire that broke out in a shared apartment building.

According to a meeting of experts advising the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on measures against the novel coronavirus, the number of new infections has plateaued nationwide, but there is a possibility of an increase in Tokyo and other areas during the upcoming Golden Week holidays.

The second meeting of the “International Wise Men’s Conference,” where experts discuss nuclear disarmament, was held in Tokyo. The participants agreed to compile a proposal to maintain the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for the summer.

In a theft case involving the “Binzuru Bodhisattva” statue, the police found the statue in a car in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, about 60 kilometers away from the Zenkoji Temple, and arrested a 34-year-old man from Kumamoto Prefecture on suspicion of theft.

The Imperial Family has visited the Imperial Palace’s livestock farm in Tochigi Prefecture for the first time in about three years and eight months, where they enjoyed a peaceful conversation. That’s it for today’s Japan Daily News. Thank you for listening, and we’ll be back tomorrow with more news updates.