Transcript

Welcome to Japan Daily News on May 9th. Here are today’s headlines:

In Chiba Prefecture, a supplementary budget proposal has been compiled to support households with children. The proposal includes a grant of 10,000 yen per child for elementary school students to first-year high school students. This is in response to the continuing rise in energy prices and inflation.

A group of entertainment industry organizations has submitted a request to the Japanese government to disclose the source data for AI-generated content. The group, consisting of actors and musicians, is seeking to protect the activities and rights of those in the entertainment industry. They argue that AI-generated content should disclose the data used to generate it.

The Noto region of Ishikawa prefecture continues to experience active seismic activity. Since May 5th, earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 1 or higher have been observed more than 80 times in the city of Suzu, where a maximum seismic intensity of 6 was recorded. However, there are also movements towards recovery and reconstruction, such as the start of accepting disaster waste, including broken furniture, in Suzu City from May 9th.

Regarding the incident where a can exploded and injured a woman at Nishi-Arai Station in Adachi Ward, Tokyo on May 8th, the Chinese customer who left the can and left has stated that it contained detergent for use at home, and that the explosion was not intentional. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the possibility that the detergent was the cause of the explosion.

In the town of Itayanagi, Aomori Prefecture, where apple production is thriving, a ceremony was held to express gratitude to the “mamekobachi” bees that help pollinate the apple flowers.

An earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 was observed in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture at around 5:14 am on May 9th. There is no concern for a tsunami.

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the robbery of a luxury watch store in Ginza, Tokyo on the afternoon of May 8th. The men are suspected of breaking into another building in Tokyo without permission. The stolen watches could number over 100, and the police are investigating whether the four men were involved in the robbery.

As of May 8th, the handling of the novel coronavirus has been changed from a “designated infectious disease” to a “category 5 infectious disease” under the Infectious Diseases Control Law in Japan. This means that measures to prevent the spread of the virus will be left up to individuals. However, Shigeru Omi, chairman of the government’s expert panel on the virus, emphasized that “the coronavirus has not ended.” He also stated that the virus is a “very cunning virus” and that we need to continue to be vigilant. And that’s all for today’s news. Thanks for listening to Japan Daily News.