Key words : tokyo 84
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_12/
The Tokyo Metropolitan government says it confirmed 84 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Sunday.
That's up 41 from a week ago, and the 16th straight day of increase from a week earlier.
The average daily number of new cases over the seven-day period to Sunday was 66 people---an increase of 88 percent from a week earlier.
Tokyo officials say 43, or about half, of Sunday's 84 new cases had had received two doses of vaccine.
They say one person is in serious condition, unchanged from the day before.
Key words : omicron tamaki
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Key words : kagawa first omicron
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Key words : north summit
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_09/
This year marks the 20th anniversary of a Japan-North Korea summit that resulted in the return of five Japanese nationals who had been abducted by the North. The Japanese government is under pressure to take concrete steps to have other abductees returned as no progress has been achieved since then.
North Korea admitted its agents had abducted Japanese nationals in the first bilateral summit that took place in September 2002, and allowed five of them to return to Japan the following month.
The Japanese government made it a top priority to resolve the issue, but no progress has been achieved. Eight parents of the 12 abductees who are unaccounted for have died without seeing their kin returned.
A group of relatives of the abductees sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last April, saying that they will not interfere with the normalization of bilateral relations, if all the abductees are returned immediately. The group added that there is a deadline for it.
Iizuka Koichiro, the son of Taguchi Yaeko, who is among those who were abducted by the North, said he cannot allow any more family members to die without being reunited with their loved ones.
Iizuka was adopted by his uncle, Shigeo, who led the group for 14 years before he died last month.
Key words : takuya action group
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Key words : robots fukushima
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_06/
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is planning to conduct robotic probes and collect samples from damaged reactors this year.
The work will be a key step in the effort to decommission the plant.
The No.1, 2 and 3 reactors suffered meltdowns following a major earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Nuclear fuel melted and collapsed into the reactors' containment vessels. It mixed with surrounding metal parts and formed solid fuel debris.
Tokyo Electric Power plans to begin a robotic survey of the No.1 reactor in mid-January. The survey is expected to take about six months.
The robots will use ultrasonic devices to locate and measure the thickness of the deposits.
Utility officials say they also hope to collect samples.
Preparation to retrieve fuel debris from the No.2 reactor is underway with a robotic device that was developed in the UK.
It is now undergoing performance tests in Japan.
Tokyo Electric Power is planning to collect a few grams of debris with the robot by the end of this year. It hopes to gradually increase the amount to be retrieved.
Removal and safe storage of the extremely radioactive debris is thought to be one of the biggest challenges in the decommissioning process.
Key words : fukushima fishers
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_07/
Fishers at one of the northeastern Japanese ports damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami have held a traditional ceremony to mark the New Year.
Ukedo port in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture suffered severe damage to its breakwaters, seawalls and other infrastructure when it was hit by the disaster. Work to rebuild the facility was completed last year.
The ceremony, which is said to date back about 100 years, took place on Sunday, with some 300 people participating. It began with a local Shinto priest performing a ritual in front of fishing boats.
Then, 14 ships carrying fishers and their family members set off, fluttering colorful flags that are usually unfurled to indicate large catches.
The fishers offered ceremonial sake to their boats to pray for good hauls and the safety of their operations over the new year.
The port is situated about 7 kilometers north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which experienced meltdowns when the disaster struck.
Fishers in Fukushima conducted test operations off the local coast after the nuclear accident. They limited the amounts and types of marine products they caught, as well as the frequency of fishing to guarantee the safety of the products.
They ended the test fishing last year and started to increase their catches in stages. But volumes of hauls have remained at roughly 20 percent of levels seen before the accident. A major challenge is tackling negative images about Fukushima marine products.
The representative of the local fishery cooperative, Takano Ichiro, said his organization will work to increase the frequency of fishing so that more people can engage in the industry. He said he wants consumers to eat Fukushima fish as they are fresh and delicious.
Key words : nasa extend operation
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_05/
The US space agency has announced a plan to extend the operation of the International Space Station, or ISS, through 2030.
The administrator of NASA made the statement of the Biden administration's commitment to the ISS on Friday.
"As more and more nations are active in space," said Bill Nelson, "it's more important than ever that the United States continues to lead the world in growing international alliances and modeling rules and norms for the peaceful and responsible use of space."
The ISS was completed in 2011. Its operations had already been extended to 2024. An international partnership that includes the space agencies of the US, Russia and Japan has been providing operational support for the ISS.
NASA is making plans to transition from the ISS to commercial space stations.
It says that extending the operation of the ISS will enable seamless transition to commercially operated space destinations in the late 2020s.
The required funding needs to be approved by the US Congress. It also requires the approval of the other countries that operate the ISS.
Key words : kyoto sugawara
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_08/
People in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto are taking part in an annual calligraphy event at a Shinto shrine that has a more than one-thousand-year history.
The event began at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine on Sunday.
Visitors are writing Japanese words, such as "tora" or "tiger" -- the Asian zodiac symbol for this year.
A junior high school student wrote "gokaku," which means success in a test. He said he composed it with a strong determination to pass an upcoming high school entrance exam.
The shrine is dedicated to the ninth-century scholar and politician Sugawara no Michizane.
He is known in Japan as the "god of academics" and also praised as one of the best masters of calligraphy.
A 5-year-old girl said she felt nervous when writing but enjoyed it.
The event runs through Tuesday.
Key words : crane
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