Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on November 1st, 2023. In our first news story, the mayor of Tokyo’s Koto Ward is under investigation for allegedly running paid advertisements on a video-sharing platform during the election period, which is prohibited by the Public Offices Election Act. The mayor claims to have been recommended to do so by former Vice Minister of Justice Kakiwaza. In response to the scandal, Kakiwaza has resigned from his position. Moving on to our next story, fake advertisements resembling news programs have been circulating on social media. These videos, created using AI technology, imitate the voices and movements of real news announcers. The videos promote registration on an investment information website. The television network Japan TV, whose program was imitated, has issued a warning regarding these fake videos. Now let’s turn to the topic of food price increases. This month, over 130 food items have experienced price hikes, the lowest number since January last year. This decrease in the number of price increases is attributed to companies refraining from further raising prices due to the increasing consumer focus on saving. Shifting gears, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has announced plans to address the shortage of staff in after-school care facilities. The ministry intends to increase subsidies for facilities that have two full-time staff members per class, aiming to secure personnel and stabilize operations. These measures may be included in next year’s initial budget. In other news, two men were injured after being attacked by a bear while hiking in Fukushima Town, Hokkaido. Fortunately, their injuries were minor. Moving on to the Halloween celebrations in Shibuya, Tokyo, the area experienced heavy crowds on October 31st, but thanks to the deployment of hundreds of riot police officers by the Metropolitan Police Department, no major incidents occurred. Lastly, an 86-year-old suspect who barricaded himself in a post office in Warabi City, Saitama Prefecture, was arrested by the police after approximately 8 hours. Prior to the incident, there was a shooting at a hospital and a fire at the suspect’s residence, prompting the police to investigate any possible connections. That concludes today’s news from Japan Daily News. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow. And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, the weather will be mostly sunny with a high of 22°C and a low of 18°C. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.