Key words : inspected apparently
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_07/
Japan's health ministry inspects plant over beni-koji health concern
Japan's health ministry and local officials have inspected a pharmaceutical factory that handles raw materials for dietary supplements containing the ingredient "beni-koji," or red yeast rice. The supplements are apparently linked to kidney diseases and other health damage.
The factory is operated by a subsidiary of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan.
A team of 17 health ministry and Wakayama Prefectural officials arrived at the plant on Sunday morning for an inspection in accordance with the Food Sanitation Act.
The plant, in Kinokawa City, inherited the manufacturing equipment from Kobayashi pharma's aging plant in Osaka City after it was shut down last December.
Spokesperson of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Tomiyama Yuko on Sunday told reporters that the company will fully cooperate with the authorities during the on-site inspection.
On Saturday, health ministry and Osaka City officials inspected the Osaka plant where Kobayashi pharma has identified a substance known as puberulic acid in samples that were produced between April and October last year. A direct link between the substance, often generated from blue mold, and health damage is not clear yet.
The drugmaker says as of Friday, five people had died and 114 others were hospitalized after using the company's beni-koji supplements. Those affected are said to have developed kidney and other health problems. About 680 customers have either seen a doctor due to health issues or wish to do so.
Key words : taiwan food three people
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_10/
Taiwan media: 3 health complaints related to 'beni-koji' supplements reported
A Taiwanese media outlet has reported that three people in Taiwan have now complained of ill health after taking dietary supplements containing "beni-koji," or red yeast rice.
The beni-koji used in the supplements was produced by the Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. Taiwan's Central News Agency carried the report on Saturday. It cited a senior official at Taiwan's principal consumer protection agency of food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics.
The media quoted the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration official as saying that his organization was informed of three cases in which people said they experienced unexpected reactions.
One of the three cases had already been reported. A woman in her 70s who lives in the southern city of Kaohsiung was diagnosed with acute kidney failure in March of last year. She reportedly started taking a supplement made by a Taiwanese manufacturer three or four years ago.
Local media say one of the two new cases involves a woman in her 40s who lives in the central city of Taichung. She reportedly said she had been taking a supplement, made by another firm in Taiwan, from July through December 2022. A drop in her kidney function was apparently diagnosed this January.
Officials at the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration say they will direct experts to look into any possible link between those health complaints and the use of products containing Kobayashi pharma's beni-koji.
Key words : reportedly transfer fighter jet
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_05/
US approves new transfer of weapons to Israel, US media reports
US media outlets have reported that Washington approved the transfer of fighter jets and bombs to Israel, as it continues its military operations in Gaza.
Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized the move, saying, "Demanding Netanyahu to stop killing civilians and supplying him with weapons is an unprecedented principled and moral contradiction."
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the US administration under President Joe Biden this month "quietly" authorized the transfer of bombs and fighter jets to Israel.
The arms package, worth several billion dollars, reportedly includes 25 F-35A fighter jets and more than 2,300 bombs.
The administration, reportedly, did not provide fresh notification to Congress as the transfer had already been approved years ago.
Washington keeps supplying weapons to Israel, despite its concern about further civilian casualties in Israel's planned ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah.
The Israeli military has continued its operations in central and northern parts of Gaza. It said on Saturday in a social media post that Hamas fighters were killed by air strikes and their compounds had been struck.
The health authority in Gaza on Saturday said at least 32,705 Palestinians have been killed including 82 people who were killed in the past 24 hours.
Key words : foreign ministry says release
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_03/
Experts from Japan, China discuss Fukushima Daiichi treated water release
The Japanese Foreign Ministry says experts from Japan and China have held talks in China regarding the release of treated and diluted water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The ministry says the meeting was held in northeastern China's Dalian on Saturday. Japanese government officials, representatives from Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the plant, and representatives from a number of Chinese research institutes took part.
The meeting was held in response to an agreement reached at a Japan-China summit last November.
The leaders of the two countries agreed that they would find ways to resolve the issue through negotiation and dialogue.
This is the first time that the ministry has released information on the talks.
Sources say the participants exchanged opinions from technical points of view.
They say the Japanese participants provided explanations based on scientific evidence. The Japanese side reportedly described the system that is being used to monitor the release of the treated and diluted water. The sources say the Japanese participants also explained that they are committed to ensuring that the work is being done safely and with transparency.
In order to monitor the safety of the operation, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been conducting its own sampling survey in Fukushima since the plant's operator started releasing the water into the Pacific in August of last year.
The Japanese government plans to continue to hold bilateral talks of this kind. The government also intends to keep calling on China to lift the suspension that it imposed on seafood imports from Japan.
Key words : media outlet ohtani
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_08/
Ohtani Shohei's former interpreter still has unpaid gambling debts, source says
A US media outlet has reported major League Baseball star Ohtani Shohei's former interpreter still has gambling debts with a bookmaker.
The Orange County Register has quoted a source associated with Mathew Bowyer -- an alleged illegal bookmaker -- as saying Mizuhara Ippei still has unpaid gambling debts. Bowyer reportedly declined comment to the media when reached by phone on Wednesday.
The Orange County Register reports that Bowyer's relationship with Mizuhara began in 2021, when they met through a mutual friend in a hotel lobby in San Diego, California.
It says the friend introduced Mizuhara, who was placing a bet on his cell phone with another bookmaker, to Bowyer, saying, "This is the guy you need to be betting with."
It says Mizuhara started betting small amounts on international soccer, basketball and football, but never baseball. It also says as his losses grew, so did his bets, according to the source.
US media had reported that at least 4.5 million dollars was transferred from Ohtani's bank account to an associate of Bowyer's. Ohtani's lawyers have accused Mizuhara of wiring the money. Mizuhara told US media and others that the money was meant to repay his sports gambling debts.
Key words : human speech
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_01/
US firm develops generative AI capable of reproducing a human voice
US venture firm OpenAI says it has developed generative artificial intelligence technology that can recreate human speech by using a short recorded voice sample of the original speaker.
OpenAI revealed its newly-developed AI "Voice Engine" on Friday.
The company says "Voice Engine" uses a 15-second audio sample and inputted text to generate human speech. "Voice Engine" reads the inputted text in a voice that closely resembles the original speaker's.
The firm says the new model can also translate the AI-generated speech into foreign languages. The model can reportedly preserve the native accent of the original speaker as it does so.
OpenAI says the AI technology can be used to support people who have trouble speaking, due to disease or other reasons. The firm says businesses can also use the AI technology to transmit information to foreign countries.
But there is concern that this kind of chatbot could be used to spread fake information during election campaigns or in other situations.
OpenAI said, "We recognize that generating speech that resembles people's voices has serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year."
The company says it does not plan to widely release the technology for the time being, because of the possible risks.
It says it still needs to take steps to prevent the technology from being misused. It cited the generation of the voices of celebrities as one type of misuse.
Key words : prices food and drink
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240331_06/
Prices of 2,800 food items to rise in April in Japan
Prices of food and drinks in Japan will rise in April reflecting increasing labor and transportation costs.
A survey of 195 food and beverage makers nationwide by a private research firm Teikoku Databank shows that the prices of 2,806 items will increase next month. Some will cost the same but the volume will be reduced.
It is a 48.1 percent drop from the number of items of which prices were increased a year ago. Last April, prices of 5,404 items were raised. But the increase this April is the largest since the beginning of the year.
Over 2,000 of them are frozen food and other processed food, including hams and sausages. Price increases are also planned for nearly 370 condiments such as broth products and ketchup, and about 290 alcoholic and other beverages.
The average rate of increase is about 23 percent in yen terms. It shows a moderate rising trend from one or two years ago.
Teikoku Databank says that the makers are passing labor costs on as wages rise.
Transport costs are also expected to rise as a cap on drivers' work hours will be imposed from April and that will worsen the driver shortage and possibly shrink the nation's shipping capacity.
The research firm expects more increases in the coming months, which stem from higher import costs due to the weaker yen and rising raw material costs because of global climate problems.
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