Hello, this is RWPOINTWOMAN, and reading the news in Japanese is pretty all I'm doing for immersion aside from watching Japanese otter videos, ShiliTV with Japanese subtitles, occasionally watching Cult Cinema Classics with Japanese subtitles, very occasionally watching Jojo's Bizarre Adventure on Netflix, watching Darker than Black with English subtitles and the original Japanese audio, and peeking into the 1 raw manga I own. My grasp of grammar includes everything from JLPT N5, at least most of N4, maybe midway through N3, and a smattering of N1 & 2. My vocabulary is not that great and leans most heavily towards N5, least heavily towards N1, and I still haven't learned enough N4 to pass the JLPT N4 practice test at Easy Japanese without hitting a dictionary.
I get very little speaking practice, almost no listening practice, negligible writing practice, and I can translate news articles accurately if they come from the Easy section of the Easy Japanese news reader app. It provides furigana and makes as many of the necessary words as it can into links to the Mazii dictionary it uses. Mazii is an online Japanese dictionary from Vietnam that may have derived its definitions from Jim Breen's old EDICT file but that doesn't sound right.
I still have enough listening practice that if I am intimately familiar with all or most of the words of a sentence, I can understand it even with the phone flipped over, but not while I'm concentrating on something. If there are enough unfamiliar words, it may take repeatedly listening to it before I can really hear it.
It will be a good while before you get links anywhere else.
Anyway, on with the show!
Prima Meat Packers to increase prices of 400 items including KO-KUN on September 1. (Asahi)
On June 28, Prima Meat Packers announced price increases for about 400 items including KO-KUN Arabiki Pork and Shinsen! Single use Roast Ham starting September 1.
Prima Meat Packers has raised the price goods like its ham and sausage twice this year, and the rise ranged from 5%-20% for products aimed at the consumer market while it ranged from 5%-30% for those meant for the commercial one.
Also, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan is raising the price of a total of 9 items including lemon sour "Lemon-Do Classic Lemon 350 mL can" and nonalcoholic "Yowanai Lemon-Do 350 mL can" by 4%-7% starting with the October 1 shipment.
The main cause of each price increase is rising raw and other materials costs.
2 chosen from "Shareholders who say something" as board members. (Asahi)
Toshiba held a shareholder's meeting and elected 2 board members out of "Shareholders who say something."
At a shareholders' meeting on June 28, Toshiba proposed accepting 2 new outside board members from the "Shareholders who say something" investment fund, which has kept up its opposition.
Before the meeting, 1 of the outside board members alone objected, saying, "It's not fair to the other board members," but 13 board of directors candidates were still chosen by majority vote.
It is believed that the Shareholders Who Say Something want to remain delisted and are gathering observations of the business restructuring measures.
Calls for brownout as nightly electricity usage grows to roughly 97% capacity in TEPCO jurisdiction.(Asahi)
Because of the intense heat, electricity usage was predicted to be about 97% on the night of June 29 in TEPCO's jurisdiction. The Japanese government issued a "electricity supply and demand tightening warning" and called for a conservation of electricity usage of reasonable scope.
It was predicted at 10:20 AM that on June 29, electricity usage would be about 97% of capacity in the TEPCO jurisdiction from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM due to the continuing heat wave.
The Japanese government issued a "Tightening of electricity supply and demand warning".
In particular, it called for such electricity saving measures as turning off unnecessary lights while using the air conditioner between 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM due to the decrease in sunlight for solar power.
Additionally, TEPCO plans to do things like increasing the use of pumped storage power plants at night.
Prices of things like "Caramel Corn" and MAMA frozen pasta to increase. (Asahi)
On June 29, Tohato announced that it was going to increase the prices of 27 items including the snack foods "Caramel Corn", "Poteco", and "Nagewa" by 10.6% starting with the August 29.
The internal capacity of the "Caramel Corn" has also decreased from 80 g to 75 g.
Nisshin Seifun Welna is going to increase the price of 19 frozen foods intended for household consumption such as "MAMA Very Fresh, Rich Carbonara", which is from the MAMA series of frozen pastas, by about 9% starting September 1.
It is assumed in both cases that this is not only due to the rising costs of raw materials and logistics, but a steep rise in the cost of packaging, which is in turn the result of a steep rise in the cost of crude oil.
Kikkoman Foods to raise prices of things like yakiniku tare sauce and mirin. (Asahi)
Kikkoman Foods announced on June 30 that it will raise the prices of 75 items including tare sauces like "Kikkoman Wagaya wa Yakiniku-san" and mirin sauces like "Kikkoman Manjo Noko Jukusei Hon Mirin" from the October 1 delivery onward.
The price increases range from 4%-11%.
These are reportedly effects of the rising costs of their main ingredients like soy sauce and alcohol and of crude oil.
Kikkoman Foods explained, "Our company is in a situation in which cost reduction efforts are not enough to allow us to absorb those costs."
Ginza Cozy Corner and Kewpie to increase prices of 24, 250 items. (Asahi)
Price increases for choux à la crème, mayonnaise, Vienna sausage, canned coffee, and wrapping meant for food are coming at the same time.
Ginza Cozy Corner is going to raise the prices of 24 Western sweets including jumbo choux à la crème and shortcake starting with the August 1 shipments.
Kewpie is raising the prices of a total of 250 items including mayonnaise and sauces intended for both household use starting with the October 1 shipments.
The price of mayonnaise has been increased 3 times since last year.
Additionally, Nippon Ham is leaving the prices of ham and sausage such as Schau Essen alone while decreasing the internal capacity and Dydo Drinco will increase the prices of 68 items including canned coffee and bottled drinks starting with the October 1 shipments.
Furthermore, Kureha, a chemical company, has announced that it is raising the price of such packaging materials for household and commercial use as its New Krewrap series starting with the October 1 shipments.
In the case of each corporation, this is happening due to rising raw material costs and the rise in logistics costs due to the rising costs of crude oil.
iPhone price in Japan, once world's cheapest, raised. (NHK)
On July 1, Apple increased the price of its iPhones, etc., in Japan. The iPhone13 is the cheapest type at ¥117,800. It is ¥19,000 more expensive than before.
In June, a survey company investigated the price of things like iPhones in 34 countries and regions including Japan, America, China, and Thailand. The iPhone13 was the cheapest type, costing ¥98,800. In other countries, the average price was ¥126,433.
A survey company spokesperson said, "The cost of an iPhone in Japan has become the lowest in the world. The value of the yen has fallen steeply. We think Apple raised the price due to them being bought more cheaply in Japan and then sold abroad."
https://easyjapanese.net/detail/4631b2e43fa985657c5379086cf92ea7
"President Zelenskyy gives speech to university students in Japan." (NHK)
On July 4, President Zelenskyy gave an online address to students attending Toyo University in Tokyo. After Russia attacked Ukraine, Toyo University admitted 10 Ukrainian students. About 350 university and foreign students gathered to hear it.
"Right now, it would be miraculous to have skies free from missiles and bombs, family and friends not dying, or to have families unbroken. Ukraine is fighting to become a peaceful nation," said President Zelenskyy.
The Japanese university students had questions about Zelenskyy's strength. He said, "Many things can be turned into weapons. Information is 1. Everyone, if you do not want to use more than words as such in the future, pray."
The address can be viewed at the university website.
I don't know what went wrong, but I couldn't create another link. Is this a defense against spam?
Unused diapers gathered, given to people in need in experiment. (NHK)
Kannonji City, Kagawa Prefecture is running an experiment in collecting unused diapers and delivering them to needy people. The experiment will be run in partnership with companies that make things like diapers until September 30.
The city will place the unused diapers in a box called a "diaper bank" at a childrearing support center. After a determination of need is made, needy people will get them.
There will also be a diaper bank with new diapers straight from the companies at the same center. They are free for use by users of the center. One of them said, "Taking large numbers of diapers with me when I travel adds a lot of weight to my luggage, so this has been a godsend."
The City of Kannonji said, "We want to support people raising children."
Ukraine: "We want Japan to tidy up our ruined buildings." (NHK)
The Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, Kuninori Matsuda, of the Japanese embassy in Ukraine was interviewed by NHK. Ambassador Matsuda fled to Poland and now continues his work there.
Ambassador Matsuda said regarding returning Ukraine to what it was before the Russian invasion, "President Zelenskyy wants Japan's help. I think Japan can do that."
And then he said, "Because of the attack, many of their buildings are rubble. Ukraine has said that it wants Japan's help clearing it. Japan has extensive experience with the damage from things like earthquakes. We are thinking thinking of helping to repair things like important roads and railroads."
Ukraine reconstruction conference draws to close. All participating countries to cooperate on ¥101 trillion reconstruction plan. (Asahi)
An international conference held in Switzerland to support the reconstruction of Ukraine that has come up with a roughly ¥101 trillion plan to cooperatively reconstruct Ukraine drew to a close on July 5. About 40 countries including Japan and various Western countries participated in the "Ukrainian Recovery Conference", which was held in Switzerland starting on July 4.
The Ukrainian government was also in attendance and appealed for the allocation of roughly $750 billion (about ¥101 trillion) towards its reconstruction.
Afterwards, all countries in attendance adopted the Lugano Declaration, the document where such principles as transparency of spending of the funds intended for rebuilding Ukraine are outlined, and affirmed they would cooperate in the future.
As the conversation shifted to guaranteeing enormous sums money, Premier Shmyhal proposed, "We must use the Russian assets that have been seized."
Creater of popular manga Yu-Gi-Oh Kazuki Takahashi dead. (NHK)
Kazuki Takahashi, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh , which is popular worldwide, has died in Okinawa. He was 60 years old.
Takahashi was found in the waters off of Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture at about 10:30 AM dead and wearing a snorkel. According to the Okinawa Coast Guard, he came to Okinawa alone.
Kazuki Takahashi was born in Tokyo and published his first manga in 1986. Yu-Gi-Oh was a story about highschool students battling it out with games. It was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 1996-2004. Over 40 million copies of it were printed and it was adapted into anime and movies.
The trading card game that was inspired by this was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as World's Most Popular Trading Card Game.
Former Prime Minister Abe shot, killed while giving speech. (NHK)
On July 8 11:30 AM, former Prime Minister Abe was shot while giving a speech in Nara City in support of House of Councillors candidates.
According to the fire department, Abe was transported by helicopter to a university hospital, but he still died. He was 67 years old. According to the police, when he was taken by ambulance, he could still talk.
A nearby NHK reporter said that they could hear 2 shots and that Abe bled as he fell.
The police arrested a 41-year-old man in Nara City and investigated things like his gun.