Episode 12: The Moritomo Gakuen scandal and the disclosure of the ‘Akagi’ file that tells it all

In Japan, a nine-year-old boy has won an online sumo wrestling contest. This is the first time Japan is holding a nationwide virtual sumo wrestling contest with participants not having any contact with each other, in line with coronavirus restrictions. Our resident news anchor gives us a brief glimpse into the world of sumo wrestling in Japan.  - Summary 相撲について - A brief history of sumo in Japan 相撲の歴史 - What is banzuke 番付 - Japanese words with origins in sumo wrestling 相撲の影響  - Conclusion まとめ Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! http://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-EwkV8BGvpxM --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. “一人相撲”で優勝の9歳少年　ガチンコ相撲でもかなりの実力者! https://youtu.be/EwkV8BGvpxM FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

Japan is the only country in the world known to have a law forcing married couples to share a surname - a provision that is more than a hundred years old. Although Japanese laws do not stipulate which partner must change their surname to match the other, about 95% of married couples in Japan currently have the woman adopting her husband’s surname. (Japanese marrying foreigners in Japan are able to keep their Japanese family names.) In July 2021, the Supreme Court in Japan ruled against three couples’ appeal to legally marry while keeping their separate surnames, refuting the claim that prohibiting separate surnames for spouses is unconstitutional. The couples had first brought their requests to keep separate surnames to court in 2019, and appealed to the Supreme Court after their requests were dismissed in the Tokyo Family Court and Tokyo High Court. Our resident news anchor explains the policy of spouses sharing a surname in Japan, and the difficulties associated with it: - Summary 夫婦別姓問題 - Japan’s system on sharing a surname after marriage 現在の日本の制度 - The disadvantages of changing one’s surname after marriage 夫婦同性のデメリット - Why it is hard to push through a policy for separate surnames for spouses in Japan なぜ夫婦別姓にならない？ - Conclusionまとめ --- FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

In Japan, food products have deadlines within which they should be shipped to stores. Products that miss these delivery deadlines get discarded although they are still well within their ‘best by’ dates. To combat this problem of food waste, Nestle Japan and startup Minatoku have worked together to install vending machines which sell food products like KitKat and Nescafe which are past their delivery date but still perfectly consumable.  Our resident news anchor helps you to understand the two ways in which food waste is mainly created in Japan, and the various measures the country is taking to reduce food waste. - Summary 食品ロス問題OP - What is food waste and how is it created? 食品ロスとは - The environmental impact of food waste なぜ食品ロスを削減する必要がある？ - What is Japan doing to combat food waste?日本の食品ロス対策 - Conclusionまとめ --- Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! https://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-qvG2Jdj4v_k --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. ネスレ 食品ロス削減の無人販売機　出荷できない「キットカット」など https://youtu.be/qvG2Jdj4v_k FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

On June 7 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Aducanumab, co-developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai and U.S.-based Biogen to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The drug is effective in removing amyloid beta, a protein which accumulates in large amounts in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.  Our resident news anchor delves into the current treatments for Alzheimer’s, and how the latest drug developed by Eisai and Biogen is different. - Summary エーザイが共同開発した新薬、FDAで承認へ - About the drug Aducanumab アデュカヌマブについて - Current treatments for Alzheimer’s これまでのアルツハイマー治療薬 - Dementia among the Japanese elderly 日本の認知症患者数 - Conclusionまとめ --- Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! https://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-u1vl8p6oN6U --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. エーザイなど共同開発のアルツハイマー病治療薬　世界初 米FDAが承認 https://youtu.be/u1vl8p6oN6U FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

A new paternity leave bill passed by Japan’s House of Representatives in June 2021 allows new fathers to take a total of four weeks off within eight weeks of a child’s birth. Up to 80% of their salary will be guaranteed under this law. Japanese companies with more than 1000 employees will also be required to report the take-up rate of paternity leave among their employees from April 2023.  Our resident news anchor digs deeper into why many fathers currently find it difficult to take childcare leave in Japan. - Summary 男性も産休を - An introduction to maternity and childcare leave in Japan  産休とは - Reasons for legislating paternity leave in Japan なぜ男性版産休制度がつくられた？ - Towards gender equality in Japan ジェンダー平等へ --- Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! https://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-rYBZF26TH3g --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. “男性版産休”新設 改正法成立　育休取得を後押し https://youtu.be/rYBZF26TH3g FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

Senryu is a type of traditional Japanese poetry originating in the Edo Period, made up of three lines of five, seven and five syllables respectively. Every year, Japanese life insurance company Dai-ichi runs a poetry contest, encouraging Japanese salarymen to submit their often humorous and satirical poems. In 2021, the competition attracted 60,000 submissions, many of which inspired by the change in work circumstances due to the coronavirus.  Our resident news anchor discusses the top 10 poems Japanese salaryman have come up with this year, as voted by the Japanese public. - Summary サラリーマン川柳OP - The Top 10 Salarymen Poems 今年のサラリーマン川柳ベスト10 - Conclusion まとめ --- Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! https://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-vd8V517jEiY --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. 悲哀しみじみ サラリーマン川柳　コロナ色濃く反映 https://youtu.be/vd8V517jEiY FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

Plans to pass a bill protecting LGBT individuals in Japan were shelved by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan in June 2021. The ruling party’s conservative lawmakers were reported as making discriminatory remarks against sexual minorities during the discussion process, sparking protests by the LGBTQ+ community in Tokyo. Many had hoped the bill would be passed ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in line with Japan’s pledge for a “diverse” Olympics. However, the wording of the bill’s title, which can be loosely translated to mean “promoting correct understanding” of LGBT individuals falls short of its intention to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Our resident news anchor discusses why this is so in this episode: - Summary  - The Japanese understanding of the term LGBT  LGBTとは - LGBT legislation: from “anti-discrimination” to “promoting correct understanding”  LGBT理解増進法案 -  LGBTへの差別をなくそう --- FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

Local residents rejoice as Japan looks to welcome Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, as well as the northern part of the main Okinawa Island and Iriomote Island in Okinawa Prefecture as new natural World Heritage sites designated by the UNESCO in late July 2021.  Our resident news anchor discusses the number of World Heritage sites in Japan and gives an introduction to the four islands currently recommended to be added to the list by the International Union for Conversation of Nature.  - Summary - What are World Heritage sites? 世界遺産とは - Introduction to the islands in Southwestern Japan 奄美、徳之島、沖縄島北部、西表島 - Becoming World Heritage sites 世界自然遺産に向けて Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! http://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-_0jGjIqOAH0 --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. 「奄美・沖縄」世界遺産へ　登録勧告に“喜びの舞” https://youtu.be/_0jGjIqOAH0 FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

Moritomo Gakuen is a Japanese private school operator located in Osaka, Japan, which found itself at the center of a scandal in 2017 involving a steep discount given by the Japanese Finance Ministry’s Kinki Bureau on the sale of the plot of the formerly government-owned plot of land which the elementary school would be built on.  Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie Abe, was found to be named honorary principal of the elementary school before it was built, sparking allegations that the steep discount worth more than 800 million yen was offered due to the school operator’s relationship with the then First Lady.  The issue resurfaced in June this year when the Osaka District Court finally disclosed the documents compiled by deceased Finance Ministry bureaucrat Toshio Akagi detailing instructions he received to falsify public records relating to the sale of the plot of land. The document, dubbed the “Akagi file”, includes documents on instructions given in the period between February to April 2017 to alter records regarding the sale of the plot of land, as well as email exchanges between the Financial Bureau’s ministerial headquarters in Tokyo and the local finance bureau in the Kinki region. Toshio Akagi committed suicide in 2018 after allegedly suffering from depression due to having to follow orders to falsify the documents.  Our resident news anchor discusses the development of the scandal from 2016 to the present. - Summary  - What is the Moritomo Gakuen scandal about? 森友学園問題とは - What is the Kakei Gakuen scandal about? 加計学園問題 - The truth behind these scandals 事件の真相は --- FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/

As Japanese adults embrace remote work due to COVID-19, their children also get their taste of working remotely with family entertainment center operator Kidzania, which allows children to role-play adult jobs. Our resident news anchor discusses how the nature of work will change in the future. - Introduction to Kidzania キッザニアで初のリモート体験OP - What do Japanese kids want to be in the future? 今の子どもの将来の夢は？ - How will jobs change due to remote work and artificial intelligence? リモートワークやAIによって仕事は変わる？ - The future of work これからの仕事は？ Watch the news video with Japanese transcript here! http://perapera.ai/watch/youtube-iwGFd_VDFQQ --- This podcast episode is best listened to in conjunction with the following news video from FNN Prime Online. キッザニア“初”リモートワーク　人気の「映像クリエイター」体験 https://youtu.be/iwGFd_VDFQQ FNN Prime Online YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FNNnewsCH Disclaimer: News Anchor Japanese is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Fuji News Network, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official FNN Prime Online website can be found at https://www.fnn.jp/