theTokyoBill Japan news brief

theTokyoBill Japan news brief, November 13 2024

In this episode: Korean naval vessels visit Yoskosuka; JMSDF minesweeper catches fire, sinks; Russian navy making presence known; Premier League investigating abuse towards Japanese player; Forgotten WW2 ceramic coins discovered in warehouse; Chinese scams elderly woman record amount via social media; Tsuruga nuclear plant fails to qualify for restart

Duration:: 5m
Broadcast on:: 13 Nov 2024
Audio Format:: other

A short (3-5 min.) English language news brief; stories from in and around Japan.

Music is Motivate by Wavecont, care of Pixabay.com.

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[Music] Welcome to the Tokyo Build, a short news brief on recent events in and around Japan. [Music] Last week, the Republic of Korea Navy, ROKN, joint training task group visited the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces Yokosuka base with three ships, including the Doktoa class amphibious assault ship, ROKS Marado. Japan's Defense Minister, Gen Nakatani, attended the arrival ceremony, marking the first time the Japanese Defense Minister bore today's South Korean warship. This visit symbolizes an improvement in bilateral relations which had deteriorated since a 2018 target-in incident. The current interaction between the two navies reflects closer cooperation and addressing regional security challenges. This week is also a busy week in naval news. On Monday, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Minesweeper, JS Ukushima, capsized due to an engine room fire, with one crew member missing. Efforts to contain the fire on the Ukushima were unsuccessful, leading to the current surge by divers for the missing crew member. The incident occurred during a joint mine warfare exercise with the U.S. Navy. Meanwhile, the Russian Navy also completed drills with the Indonesian Navy before possibly moving to the South China Sea. Elsewhere, in a first, a Russian Yasen-class cruise missile submarine was sighted 80 kilometers off of Hokkaido. Crystal Palace Football Club are investigating reports of racist abuse towards Daiichi Kamata during a match against Fulham. The Japan midfielder was verbally abused by spectators at Selters Park after receiving a red card for a challenge. The club has a zero-tolerance policy towards abuse and will take strong action against the perpetrator. Kamata, who joined Palace from Lazio in the summer, has struggled to make an impact. You will miss the next three games due to the red card. Palace are currently 18 in the Premier League standings. Our company in Japan discovered thousands of so-called "fantom" coins. Rare ceramic currency believed to have been destroyed after World War II. Shofu, Inc., a dental equipment manufacturer contracted to make the coins, found 15 wooden boxes in a warehouse in Kyoto in August 2023. These coins were mass-produced in July 1945 during World War II, but were never issued and were destroyed instead, giving them their name. Mint officials discovered over 500,000 of these coins in the boxes, totaling about 15 million in existence. The finding is considered extremely rare, and officials plan to study them further for a better understanding of the currency at the end of World War II. A Chinese national was arrested for scamming a 71-year-old woman in Japan out of 809 million yen in a social media-based investment scam. The woman, a company executive in Iberaki Prefecture, was lured into the scheme through a fake line messaging app account impersonating Japanese economic analyst Takuro Murinaga. The scammer, Wen Jolien, is suspected of coordinating cash couriers. The woman transferred a total of 799 million yen over 47 transactions to the scammers after being persuaded to invest by someone claiming to be the analyst assistant. Wen is believed to have conspired with others to deceive the woman and directed cash couriers to collect money from her in person. Japan's nuclear watchdog has determined that a reactor in Central Japan failed to pass a safety review required for restart, marking the first instance of such a case since the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. The decision was based on concerns that an active fault lies underneath the offline number two reactor at the Tsutiga plant operated by Japan atomic power. In quake-prone Japan, building facilities above faults is prohibited. Of the 35 reactors nationwide, 27 have applied for safety reviews and 17 have been approved. The decision comes after Japan revamped its regulatory system in response to the Fukushima disaster. This has been the Tokyo Bill. These stories and more you can read at thetokyobill.com. I've been and remain Tokyo Build. Thank you for listening and take care. (upbeat music)