Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on December 14th, 2023. In our first news story, it has been revealed that former Vice Minister of Justice, Mitsuto Kakizawa, instructed his secretary to provide cash to several Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members ahead of the district mayoral election in April. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Department is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding these instructions and the purpose of the fund. Moving on to our next story, a new treatment drug for Alzheimer’s disease called ‘Lecanemab’ has been approved for insurance coverage. While patients are hopeful about this development, specialists are now considering how to explain the drug to patients in a thorough manner, given that it will only be available to a limited number of individuals. In other news, a tragic incident occurred in Rikuzentakata, Iwate, where a residential fire claimed the lives of two individuals. The police discovered the bodies of two brothers, aged in their 60s and 50s, in the remains of the house. The police are currently working to identify the victims and determine the cause of the fire. Shifting gears, the local fishing cooperative in the major nori production area of Ariake Sea is planning to file for a provisional disposition to suspend the enforcement of the Fair Trade Commission’s order to take exclusionary measures against the cooperative. The cooperative is accused of unfairly restricting the transactions of producers. In the ongoing corruption scandal related to the Tokyo Olympics, the former director of the Organizing Committee, Haruyuki Takahashi, will face his first trial today. He is accused of accepting bribes totaling nearly 200 million yen from five companies. His statements during the trial will be closely watched as he denies any wrongdoing. In literary news, the nominees for the 170th Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize have been announced. The Akutagawa Prize has five nominees, while the Naoki Prize includes works by Shigeaki Kato of the idol group ‘NEWS’ and five other authors. Lastly, the top officials from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the United States, Australia, and the Philippines held their first meeting to enhance cooperation and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, the weather will be partly cloudy with a high of 14°C and a low of 10°C. There is a 0% chance of rain and a UV index of 4. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.