Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on September 2nd, 2024. Recent national research has revealed that approximately 1.7 percent of adults in Japan may be suffering from gambling addiction, particularly with a notable rise in online gambling activities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts are emphasizing the urgent need for measures to address this growing issue. In a related development, various online platforms and apps that specialize in secondhand goods are intensifying their efforts to expand into international markets. As competition heats up among these services, companies are strategizing to enhance their business operations abroad. Additionally, in Mito City, a symposium was held to raise disaster preparedness awareness in conjunction with Disaster Prevention Day. Attendees participated in lectures aimed at improving their disaster readiness. In Aomori, experts have discovered that a traditional fusuma painting housed in an old family home may be closely related to a piece from the Kano school of the early Edo period located in the British Museum. This revelation adds significant cultural value to the local artwork. Meanwhile, in Shizuoka, all evacuation orders in Shimoda City have been lifted, allowing residents to return home safely. On a different note, major supermarkets are initiating a recycling program to collect used cooking oil from households, promoting sustainability through recycling efforts. Lastly, train services on both the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen lines are operating normally from the first trains of the day, with direct services between the two lines resuming. And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, it will be partly cloudy with a high of 32 degrees Celsius and a low of 27 degrees, and there’s a chance of light rain later in the evening. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.