社会
高齢ドライバーによる事故への対策が進む【Measures against accidents involving elderly drivers advance】
Fatal accidents caused by drivers aged 75 or over, of which there were hundreds in 2020, are in the spotlight. Many are surrendering their drivers’ licenses, testing will become stricter, and new cars are required to have automatic braking. However, a major challenge is that rural areas lack other transportation options.
若い世代が東京から地方移住の先頭に【Youth leading exodus from Tokyo to countryside】
The pandemic has caused many, especially young people and women, to consider escaping cramped, overpriced, and overworked lifestyles in greater Tokyo and moving to rural areas. The government supports this trend, which it hopes will help close Japan’s urban-rural population and income divide.
訴訟が日本の賛否ある死刑運用を明らかに【Lawsuit highlights Japan’s controversial death penalty practices】
Two death row inmates are suing the Japanese government over same-day notifications of executions. Retaining capital punishment makes Japan, like the US, an outlier among developed nations, and the practice of not informing prisoners until the day of their hanging has been a particular target of criticism.
学校制服の選択肢と柔軟性が広がる【Choice, flexibility in school uniforms growing】
More schools in Japan are letting female students choose either uniforms with a skirt or with pants, while proposals for unisex uniforms are also being considered. Increased options are seen as having practical benefits, as well as accommodating non-gender-conforming students or those with body image issues.
過労自殺が過重労働とハラスメントを浮き彫りに【Work-related suicides reveal extent of overwork, harassment】
In two cases, in 2017 and 2019, an engineer and a salesperson at top automaker Toyota took their own lives due to on-the-job pressure including so-called “power harassment” by superiors. The company’s failure to rein in abusive bosses points to wider issues with Japan’s workplace culture.
眞子さまが年内結婚へ【Princess Mako to marry by year-end】
A government source said on Wednesday that Princess Mako and her boyfriend Kei Komuro plan to have a low-key wedding by the end of the year. She will likely decline a lump-sum payment that is usually given to royal women upon their departure from the household.
新幹線運転士が一時的に運転室を離席【Bullet train driver leaves cockpit temporarily】
A driver of a bullet train temporarily left the cockpit to use the bathroom on Sunday while the train was running with about 160 passengers on board. He asked a conductor, who didn’t have a driver’s license, to man the train in his absence.
東京の高校が厳しい頭髪規定【Tokyo high schools have strict hair code】
Nearly half of all high schools in Tokyo ask students with hair that is wavy or not black to submit a document confirming that their hair is natural, according to the information the Japanese Communist Party obtained from the metropolitan board of education.