Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on July 9th, 2024. In today’s news, the Tohoku region of Japan is experiencing extremely heavy rainfall, prompting landslide warnings and heightened vigilance. Due to the influence of a stagnant front, rain clouds have developed primarily on the Sea of Japan side, leading to intense rainfall in parts of Tohoku. The front is expected to remain stationary until the 11th, bringing heavy rain to Tohoku and Hokuriku regions. The Japan Meteorological Agency has urged strict caution against landslides and other potential disasters.

Moving on to our next story, Akita Prefecture’s Senboku City has issued evacuation orders to 677 people in 293 households in the Nishinagano district of Kakunodate Town. This is due to the risk of the Inemine River, which runs through the city, overflowing. The information corresponds to Level 4 on the five-level alert system, indicating a high risk. The city has opened evacuation centers at the Kakunodate Onsen Hanayoka Hotel and is calling for all residents to evacuate from dangerous areas.

Now let’s turn our attention to the weather. Today, the Kanto region and the Pacific side of western Japan will experience scorching heat and clear skies. Some areas have even issued ‘heatstroke alert’ announcements. It is important to continue taking precautions against heatstroke and use air conditioning without hesitation.

In education news, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has announced plans to fully transition the ‘National Academic Achievement Test’ for 6th graders in elementary school and 3rd graders in junior high school to online format starting from the fiscal year 2027. This move marks the abandonment of paper-based exams.

Moving on to defense news, it has been revealed through interviews with defense ministry officials that multiple members of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) have been receiving allowances for diving activities without actually performing the dives. These allowances are provided for rescue operations of stranded submarines and other diving-related training. The total amount of fraudulently received allowances is estimated to be in the tens of millions of yen, and dozens of MSDF members are expected to face disciplinary action.

In other news, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has found that the percentage of working mothers reached a record high of 77.8% last year. However, the survey also revealed that 65% of households with children reported living in financially difficult circumstances.

And finally, in international news, researchers from the University of Tokyo have announced that the H5N1 avian influenza virus, which was detected in dairy cows in the United States, has the ability to infect ferrets through airborne transmission. This finding was based on experiments using ferrets, which are related to weasels. The discovery sheds light on the nature of this virus and its potential for cross-species transmission.

That’s all for today’s news. Thank you for listening to Japan Daily News. Stay informed and have a great day! And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, the weather will be mostly sunny with a high of 35°C and a low of 27°C. There is a 97% chance of high temperatures and an 88% chance of dry conditions. The UV index is 10, indicating very high sun exposure. Enjoy the day! Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.