From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
An official of the prefectural government in charge of the issue responded to the question, saying, “Indeed, as you have pointed out, I feel it is very difficult to convey the message of how serious the harm is with the poster. I will consider fixing the matter.”
Click through to see the curious looking bear that does seem too tame to maul you. Good boy.
Lisa Kim & Chikiro Ishikawa from Nikkei:
The Nikkei Stock Average hit an all-time closing high on Thursday, on the back of a rally in Japanese tech stocks that tracked the artificial intelligence frenzy in the U.S.
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
Molestation cases that occurred in a railway-related setting accounted for 70.0% of the total, including 62.8% that happened on trains. Cases on the streets made up 13%.
Absolutely disgraceful.
Ryoko Kijima & Keiko Shioji from The Mainichi:
In the lawsuit, the man argued that his fear of persecution could be sufficiently recognized, and that he couldn't hope for protection in his home country. The government denied the credibility of his claim, and stated, "It cannot be accepted that there are fears he would be persecuted immediately," and called for his case to be dismissed.
While I am happy for this person for winning his safety in court, it is frustrating that the government, who is trying to boost immigration, fought so hard to send him back to his country of origin. While it is never cited which country he is from, homosexuality in many African countries is illegal and punishable by prison time or worse. Japan should be a beacon for the oppressed, not a wall to climb over.
From Nippon.com:
A recent global survey conducted by Gallup on employee engagement, including job motivation and willingness to contribute to an organization, found that the percentage of employees in Japan who are motivated by and actively engaged in their work was just 6% in 2023, which was among the lowest levels in the world. The result for Japan stands out in contrast to the average of 23% worldwide and 18% in East Asia. Mongolia was the East Asian country with the highest proportion of motivated and engaged employees, at 41%.
Tracks with what I see in my everyday office life.
Yusuke Kato from The Mainichi:
This city's board of education issued a notice to a junior high school that students should stay properly hydrated, after the school established a rule stating that "in principle, it is considered good manners not to drink (water or tea from a water bottle) during classes or tests," the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from the board and other sources.
This is the second story I have posted about insane school rules in Okegawa. Absolute madness to force students to dehydrate themselves because of 'good manners'.
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
When passengers and airport staff speak, the display shows a translation into one of 13 languages, including English and Chinese. This appears on a transparent display, allowing speakers to still see each other’s faces.
Click through to the article to see the photo of how this works. Pretty cool tech and I hope they keep it after the trial period.
From Nikkei:
Nikkei and JPX Market Innovation & Research will remove Lawson, a convenience store chain, from the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 on July 9 due to the company being designated as a stock "to be delisted" by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Lawson isn't going away but it is now co-owned by Mitsubishi & KDDI. But still, good night my dearest.
Kelly Ng from BBC News:
Japan's top court has ruled as unconstitutional a defunct eugenics law which saw 16,500 disabled people forcibly sterilised between the 1950s and 1990s.
The Supreme Court also ordered the government to pay damages to 11 victims, who were involved in five cases that were heard on appeal.
Wednesday's landmark ruling brings to an end a decades-long fight for justice by victims who have been demanding compensation and an apology.
It took almost 30 years from when this horrendous law was repealed for the victims of this tragedy to get some kind of reparation for what was taken away from them. One of the worst crimes of post war Japan.
From Nippon.com:
A study conducted by the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative agency, found that 90,719 foreign students were enrolled in Japanese language schools as of May 1, 2023. This is the largest number since the first JASSO study was conducted in 2011, and an 83.6% year-on-year increase of around 40,000 students.
Also, the article shows that the number of foreign students overall (including universities) is almost at the pre-COVID peak. The vast majority of foreign students come from China and other east/southeast Asian nations so there is still value in the Japanese dream in the region.