Transcript

Hello and welcome to Japan Daily News on May 3rd, 2023. Let’s take a look at today’s headlines.

First up, we have news about the Golden Week holiday. As people travel to various destinations, traffic congestion is expected to peak today, with reports of over 30 kilometers of traffic on highways. Trains and domestic flights are also seeing a high number of bookings.

In other news, NHK conducted a survey on the protection of the rights of sexual minorities in Japan. The survey found that only 9% of respondents believed that the rights of LGBTQ individuals and other sexual minorities were being protected, while 42% believed that they were not.

The families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea have arrived in the United States to meet with high-ranking officials and seek support for the early resolution of the abduction issue. This marks their first visit to the U.S. in four years due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A three-year-old boy was critically injured in a playground accident involving equipment with a rope around his neck at a nursery in Saitama Prefecture. Six nursery teachers were present at the time of the incident but none witnessed the accident. The police are investigating the situation further.

A collision between two cars in a tunnel on the Yamagata Expressway in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, resulted in the deaths of three people, including a young boy and two women in their 20s and 70s. The two male drivers were injured and are currently undergoing treatment.

There was misinformation circulating online that Saitama Prefecture was mandating the installation of “all-gender toilets” by eliminating women’s toilets. Governor Ono clarified that this was not the case and that the original intention was to create a society where sexual minorities can live comfortably.

Finally, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has recovered the main body of the helicopter that went missing off the coast of Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The flight recorder was also retrieved to determine the cause of the accident.

That’s all for today’s news. Thank you for listening to Japan Daily News. And that’s all for today’s news. Thanks for listening to Japan Daily News.