Economic Package & more – 7th Nov 2023

Konnichiwa from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Japan Update from the 7th of November twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Japan.

On Thursday, the 2nd, the Japanese government approved an economic stimulus package to mitigate the impacts of increased prices and promote wage growth. The stimulus package has measures worth over seventeen trillion yen, or 113 billion dollars. It includes tax cuts to income and resident taxes by about 260 dollars that will go into effect by June twenty twenty-four. Low-income households will be exempt from income taxes altogether and will also receive 460 dollars. The government will extend energy subsidies until April twenty twenty-four, and the government will also offer funds to support the long-term growth of small- and mid-sized businesses.

The stimulus package was called into question since even though tax cuts are always welcome, it might not make a difference, as it’s only 260 dollars.

The government also hasn’t yet figured out how it’s going to pay for the stimulus package, but it will submit a budget plan to the Diet later this month.

The “how” of paying is definitely a concern since eight different research firms have crunched the numbers and said that Japan’s GDP shrank from July to September. The government won’t release the official numbers until the 15th of November, but many of the firms said that since both consumers and businesses weren’t spending a lot these past few months, at most the GDP will go up by around 0.4%, or else it will decrease by a little over 1%. This is very different from last quarter’s increase of nearly 5%, which was mainly bumped up thanks to exports, but the current prediction is that there would be the same decline experienced in the same period last year.

While we’re on the subject of economics, Japan has decided to use a good chunk of its foreign aid budget on Gaza. On Friday the 3rd, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa went to Gaza and spoke with the Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister. She promised sixty-five million dollars of humanitarian aid to Gaza in addition to the ten million Japan had pledged last month. She condemned Hamas’ actions and said that the Palestinian authorities should focus on giving the people the help they need. She emphasized that Japan hoped for a two-state solution, with Israel and a future independent Palestine living peacefully side by side.

Even as the country attempts to help mediate the Middle Eastern conflict, Japan, the United States, and South Korea work together to counter cyberattacks from North Korea. Security officials of the three nations had a meeting in the US on Tuesday, the 31st. North Korean hackers have been launching cyberattacks and stealing cryptocurrency—last year, they stole 1.7 billion dollars this way.

The US, Japan, and South Korea believe the attacks are being used to fund North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The three countries agreed to start a consultation group to take measures against the cyberattacks.

In local news, a forest fire broke out in Ozu City, in Ehime Prefecture, on Wednesday the 1st. They spread for the next two days, lessening on Friday the 3rd and finally dying out on Sunday the 5th. Officials had urged locals to evacuate because the fires got close to residential areas, and the firefighters had trouble keeping them under control. The local government had to request help from the Self-Defense Force, which sent a helicopter to spray water from above.

One fifty-nine-year-old man suffered minor burns, but the only other damage seems to be some water pollution in one of the mountainous regions in Ozu where the fire spread. Ozu’s local government and other neighboring cities are sending tankers with drinking water to the district until it clears.

Another tragedy unfolded in Japan this week. On Friday the 3rd, Hirose Shrine held its annual festival in Izunokuni City, in Shizuoka Prefecture, but canceled it when one of the large floats toppled over during the parade. The accident killed one person and injured eighteen others. Police said that the people pulling the float lost control as it went down a hill and crashed onto its side.

Not all tragedies are accidents, though. On Monday the 6th, Nara officials said that the government-funded Nara Deer Preservation Association hasn’t been taking proper care of its deer. The association is in charge of Nara Park, which attracts many tourists every year seeking to see the 200 deer living in the park up close. Earlier this year, after a veterinarian reported that the deer was weak from hunger, the government carried out an investigation. They found that the association didn’t meet international standards on properly feeding the deer and that the facility, Nara Park, was overcrowded and didn’t have enough resting space for the animals.

Nara officials acknowledged that they bear some responsibility since they’re funding the association, but they didn’t even know what was going on. They’re now seeking advice on how to fix things from experts like veterinarians and farmers who are well-versed in animal welfare. They may need to change current rules or adjust the city’s budget for the deer.

Moving onto technology, ambitious company iLabo held an event to launch a three-month trial for their hydrogen-fuel engine truck. They’ll use the truck to transport cargo to and from Haneda Airport on a Tokyo road from now until January in a test to see how it measures up against diesel-powered trucks. As part of the test, the hydrogen-engine truck will refuel at H2 stations in the city. The government has offered its support to iLabo, and if the test goes well, the environment ministry said it would help decarbonization efforts.

Speaking of the environment ministry, the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting began in Nagoya City, in Aichi Prefecture, on Friday the 3rd. The meeting involved environment ministers from Japan, China, and South Korea, who all pledged to work together on various challenges, like climate change and marine conservation. They talked about the treated water released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean. Japan insisted the release was safe and that they were being as transparent as possible to the global community, but China said they wanted to consult neighboring countries first. That issue aside, they agreed to work together to protect the ocean and marine ecosystem.

While such measures are important, nature has a way of bouncing back. After the nuclear meltdown in twenty eleven in Fukushima, the government had to ban access to certain areas of the prefecture due to the radiation levels. However, a group of experts conducted a survey on the area and found that the radiation had gone down. So, as of Monday the 6th, government officials said that they would lift the ban on the 30th of November.

The mayor of the city said he hoped that this would jumpstart the town’s revival and that they could work with the central and prefectural governments to restore residents to their former homes.

In business news, Nippon Steel dropped its patent infringement lawsuits against Toyota Motor and Mitsui & Co. on Thursday, the 2nd. The company said it didn’t want its beef to dull Japan’s competitive edge in such an important market.

In twenty twenty-one, Nippon Steel filed lawsuits against the two companies and China's Baoshan Iron & Steel for infringing on their patent for electrical steel sheets used in electric and hybrid vehicle motors. Although it won’t be going after the Japanese motor companies anymore, Nippon Steel will still pursue its lawsuit against Baoshan. Baoshan was allegedly the company that made the steel sheets, which it then sold to Toyota and Mitsui.

Meanwhile, in some interesting scientific news, a new islet spawned out of the ocean from an underwater volcano near Iwojima. A scientist from the Earthquake Research Institute first noticed the eruptions on Monday the 30th, spewing smoke and rocks off Iwojima's coast. He suspected there were two or more undersea volcanoes at work, which spewed enough magma to create the islet just north of the smoke. The islet is still getting bigger but won't pose any danger to anyone.

Do you want to avoid having ads in these updates? Well, experts say that if you recommend us to everyone you know, then we won’t have to include ads in the shows. You see, the bigger the audience, the fewer the ads because we won’t need them to finance the show! So spread the word about these updates. Don’t blame us, it’s science.

We need to get the listeners' numbers up. Give us a hand!

Subscribe in any of the platforms you are listening to us in, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Amazon, it would really help.

Mata Ne!