Drills Because of North Korea’s Ballistic Missile & more –18th July 2023

Konnichiwa from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Japan Update from the 18th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Japan.

On Wednesday the 12th, North Korea launched what Japan’s defense ministry suspects was an intercontinental ballistic missile. It flew for around seventy minutes before falling into the Sea of Japan, though outside of Japan’s territory. This marks the twelfth time North Korea has launched something this year, be it a missile or rocket. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, despite being in Lithuania for the NATO summit, condemned the launch, saying North Korea's repeated missile launches threaten Japan’s peace and security.

Due to the multiple missile launches this year, Japan, South Korea, and the United States carried out drills on Sunday the 16th to prepare for any future ballistic missiles. During the drills all three countries deployed destroyers that are able to chase down ballistic missiles. This drill had been done before in April, but the defense ministry felt a new drill was needed because it looked like the missile that North Korea launched used a new type of solid fuel that made it much faster. The drill also helped to reinforce the three countries’ alliance in the face of increased tensions surrounding Japan and South Korea.

While the military conducted drills, heavy rain battered northeastern Japan over the weekend, finally abating to more intermittent rainfall on Monday the 17th. Some cities in Akita Prefecture experienced record levels of rainfall, causing rivers to overflow and flood certain areas. So far, at least one person has died because the floods wouldn’t let him come out of his car. Officials sent out landslide and flooding alerts in Akita, Iwate, and Yamagata Prefectures, telling citizens to evacuate if their area was at risk.

Unfortunately, the Meteorological Agency expects more heavy rain along the Sea of Japan coastal areas from Wednesday the 19th until Thursday the 20th. While the rain is not expected to be as bad as last week, even a small amount can cause further disasters in Akita Prefecture due to the already loosened ground and swollen rivers. They stated that the rain will be most severe in Niigata and Hokuriku Prefectures, and that people in those regions should pay attention to weather updates.

Don’t let the heavy rain fool you into thinking it’s cold. Temperatures across Japan are getting alarmingly high. On Monday the 17th, in Yamanashi Prefecture, it hit nearly thirty-nine degrees Celsius, or 102 degrees Fahrenheit. The next hottest area was Gifu Prefecture, where it got up to thirty-eight degrees Celsius, or a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Health officials have sent heatstroke alerts to thirty different prefectures, urging people to stay hydrated and avoid exercise and outings during the day when it’s hottest.

In other news, on Friday the 14th, a man assaulted the Georgian Ambassador’s driver and attempted to assault the ambassador himself near the Georgian Embassy in Tokyo. The man allegedly opened the car door and grabbed the driver by the collar, at which point the ambassador began filming. In the video he took, the man thrusts his hand toward the backseat as if to hit the ambassador or possibly take his phone. Police are still investigating the matter and believe that the man could have been acting out of road rage. The ambassador said the man was shouting, “Which country are you from?” so it’s possible the man was straight-up xenophobic or racist. The ambassador later stated that he doesn’t know if the man targeted him because of his diplomatic status, but that violence isn’t okay no matter what.

Violence, of course, isn’t the only source of human misery, and a group of Japanese researchers are looking to address another: the flu.

Researchers recently reported their findings regarding the effects of gut bacteria on flu symptoms. They used mice in the experiment and found that those with a higher body temperature had more active gut bacteria, which in turn kept their flu mild. The researchers first noticed that mice with higher temperatures didn’t seem as sick as those with more “normal” temperatures, and when doing a blood test, found a high amount of bile acids produced by gut bacteria. They confirmed that the gut bacteria was the deciding factor by suppressing the bacteria in mice and seeing their flu worsen, despite having a higher body temperature. In concluding their study, the researchers said that gut bacteria could help with other diseases, including covid-19.

In more international news, Prime Minister Kishida finished his summit meeting with the United Arab Emirates (or UAE) president on Monday the 17th. The two leaders made a joint pledge to work together on decarbonization, while they also agreed that the UAE would provide a steady supply of crude oil to Japan. It’s a bit of a contradictory statement, but perhaps it can’t be helped for the time being. Despite Japan’s recent investments in solar power and other renewable energy sources, they still only account for 15% of energy usage in the country since twenty twenty-two.

Still, it’s important to maintain diplomatic relations. Kishida offered to use Japan’s advanced technological knowledge to help the UAE in some of its industries, such as space, healthcare, and AI. The discussion was probably about an agreement reached earlier this year, which aimed to transfer defense equipment and technology between the two countries.

Meanwhile, chip manufacturer Sumco just got a handsome government subsidy of 75 billion yen, or over half a billion US dollars. The subsidy will help the company build two new plants in Saga Prefecture to make silicon wafers, which are key in making chips. The new plants should ensure a decent supply of semiconductors, which are important to keep the economy strong in today’s digital age. The plants are scheduled to begin production in October twenty twenty-nine.

While Sumco does its best to stay on top of microchip production, the airline industry is also looking to expand.

Japan Airlines recently announced its plans to create a sort of air taxi that uses technology similar to drones. They have at least one prototype so far that looks like a sleek, high-tech helicopter with a dozen small propellers mounted on a circular frame. The president of the airline company hopes that the air taxi will bolster travel in rural areas, which often have sparser public transportation than their urban counterparts. He plans to officially launch the air taxi during the World Expo in Osaka in twenty twenty-five.

In entertainment news, Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and renowned filmmaker, released a new animated movie called “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka,” which translates to “How Do You Live?” Despite Miyazaki’s retirement in twenty thirteen, he said he wanted to make a new film. The studio kept most of the film’s story and information secret during production, only giving out the title and a picture of a bird. It screened on Friday the 14th to largely positive reviews.

Miyazaki isn’t the only one making waves in entertainment.

Japanese actor Ryohei Suzuki won the Screen International Rising Star award at the New York Asian Film Festival on Saturday the 15th. This award is specifically for emerging talent from East Asian countries, and Suzuki said that receiving the award for his performance in the movie Egoist was a great honor. The film festival features over sixty films from various Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Finally, Tokito Oda won men’s wheelchair singles at Wimbledon on Sunday the 16th. This is the seventeen-year-old tennis player’s second big win, the first being at the French Open in June. Oda is ranked number one worldwide in men’s wheelchair singles and managed to beat out the second-ranked player, Britain’s Aflie Hewett. However, when Oda played in wheelchair doubles with his partner Takuya Miki against Hewett and his partner, they lost. It was the first time they lost as a pair after winning the Japan Open in April.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Mata Ne!