Transcript

Welcome to Japan Daily News for April 12, 2023. Today, the government’s earthquake investigation committee analyzed the earthquakes that have been occurring in the Noto region of Ishikawa prefecture for over two years and concluded that there is a possibility that fluid movement is involved.

In other news, the search for the missing helicopter of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force continues around Miyako Island in Okinawa. The difficult terrain of the seabed, with many coral reefs and rocks, is making the search challenging.

On April 11, a tree-planting ceremony was held in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, to commemorate the 12th anniversary of a magnitude 6 earthquake that caused a massive landslide and claimed four lives. The ceremony aimed to convey the damage to future generations by planting a ginkgo tree.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning that yellow sand is expected to arrive in a wide area from northern to western Japan on April 12 and 13. The agency is urging people to be cautious about the potential impact on transportation.

In other news, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested 19 Japanese people on suspicion of involvement in a special fraud case. The group, based in Cambodia, was sent back to Japan for investigation, and the police plan to analyze the smartphones handed over by local authorities to clarify the group’s activities.

A new organization has been established to support people born from third-party sperm donation in their pursuit of their “right to know their origins.” The organization aims to connect sperm donors and people who were born through their donations.

Finally, the National Police Agency has instructed all police headquarters in Japan to strengthen measures against molestation, which is often not reported by victims. The agency designated police executives to oversee victim analysis and investigation guidance to eradicate the problem.

In Kyoto’s Maizuru City, an 80-year-old man riding an electric wheelchair was hit by a train at a railway crossing on April 10 and died. The Japan Transport Safety Board dispatched investigators to the site on April 11 to investigate the cause of the accident.

Also, the cause of the temporary suspension of the Tokyo 23-ward northern-line Nippori-Toneri Liner was found to be a malfunction of a device that adjusts the length of overhead wires to prevent thermal expansion.