Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on December 21st, 2023. In our first news story, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun an on-site inspection at the headquarters of Daihatsu in Ikeda, Osaka. This inspection is in response to the issue of Daihatsu obtaining certification from the government through fraudulent means. The ministry aims to confirm the detailed facts by examining the test data and conducting interviews with the personnel involved. Moving on to our next story, a fire broke out at a scrapyard in Ichihara, Chiba in the early hours of the 21st. The fire, which started in a pile of scrap metal, is still burning and firefighters are working to extinguish it. Now let’s turn to international news. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it will conclude the COVAX Facility, an international framework aiming for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, by the end of this year. This initiative was launched to ensure fair access to vaccines for all countries. Shifting our focus to a local incident, a two-story apartment building in Chikushino, Fukuoka caught fire early in the morning on the 21st. Two residents are currently unaccounted for, and the police and fire department are investigating the situation. As winter sets in, heavy snowfall continues on the Sea of Japan side. Snowfall is concentrated in western and eastern Japan along the Sea of Japan coast. There is a risk of heavy snowfall and icy road conditions from the 23rd onwards, so please exercise caution when traveling. Moving on to technology news, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government introduced AI generation technology this summer to improve administrative services. However, only 10% of eligible staff members are currently utilizing this technology, citing reasons such as uncertainty about its applications. Finally, in labor news, the labor union federation, RENGO, has decided to set a target of gradually raising the minimum wage to exceed 1,600 yen per hour by 2035. This goal surpasses the government’s target and aims to address income disparity. That’s all for today’s news. Thank you for listening to Japan Daily News. And now for the weather. The weather in Tokyo today is going to be sunny with a high of 25 degrees Celsius. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.