Transcript

Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on June 26th, 2023. In today’s news, the trial for the suspect involved in the indiscriminate attack on the Keio Line train two years ago has begun at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court. The incident, which shocked society, involved a passenger being slashed and the train being set on fire. The defendant’s testimony regarding the indiscriminate attack on a moving train is highly anticipated.

Moving on to our next story, a symposium on fatherhood during the pandemic was held in Tokyo. Fathers discussed the challenges of raising children during these difficult times and expressed the opinion that they should have been more conscious of spending quality time with their families and children.

In other news, a tragic incident occurred in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, where a male middle school student drowned while trying to save his younger sister who was playing in a river. Despite being taken to the hospital, the student unfortunately did not survive.

A Tokyo Shimbun employee has been sent documents on suspicion of committing indecent acts against a female acquaintance. The employee allegedly touched the woman’s body inappropriately.

In Saitama, an Indonesian man drowned while playing in a river. The police are investigating the incident, suspecting that the man drowned while engaging in river activities.

At JR Shinjuku Station, there was a report of a person with a knife inside a Yamanote Line train. As a result, passengers evacuated the train, and three people were injured in the ensuing chaos. The individual claimed to be a chef and explained that the knife, wrapped in a towel, was accidentally exposed inside the train.

The number of bankruptcies of companies that received ‘zero-zero loans’ has been increasing, accelerating due to high prices and labor shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘zero-zero loans’ were intended to support small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the pandemic, providing interest-free and unsecured loans. However, it has been revealed that 236 companies that received these loans have gone bankrupt by May this year, which is 1.5 times higher than the same period last year.

Finally, it has been one month since the hostage incident in Nagano, where four people, including two women, were killed. People have been seen paying their respects at the scene by offering flowers. The police are planning to re-arrest the suspect, who is currently in custody for the murder of two police officers, on suspicion of killing the two women as well. And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, the weather will be sunny with a high of 25°C and a low of 23°C. And that’s all for today’s news. Thanks for listening to Japan Daily News.