No. 121 Top 10 News of Inagi City in 2021

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago, with the first confirmed case of a Japanese person on January 28, 2020, we are approaching the second anniversary. Despite the diligent efforts of everyone involved, we are still in a situation where we cannot foresee the end. However, thanks to the widespread vaccination that started in April last year, the fifth wave, which was rampant in August, has subsided, and we were able to welcome a peaceful year-end and New Year.

Looking back on last year, there were no large-scale and significant natural disasters in the country for the first time in a while, and although the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it was a year of gradually returning to normal life.

In sports, there was exciting news such as Naomi Osaka winning the women's singles at the Australian Open in February for the second time in two years, the high school baseball tournament being held at Koshien for the first time in two years in March and August, Hideki Matsuyama winning the Masters in April as the first Japanese player, Yuka Saso winning the U.S. Women's Open in June at the youngest age of 19 years and 11 months, and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels being named the American League MVP in November.

Additionally, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, which were postponed for the first time in history by one year due to the impact of COVID-19, were unfortunately held without spectators, but the results were a great success. The Olympics achieved a record total of 58 medals: 27 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze, while the Paralympics achieved a total of 51 medals: 13 gold, 15 silver, and 23 bronze, marking the second-best performance in history after the 2004 Athens Games.

As for other domestic situations, in April, Prime Minister Suga delivered a speech at a summit on climate change, expressing the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to 2013 levels by the fiscal year 2030, demonstrating a sense of urgency in the area of decarbonization that previous cabinets had not addressed. However, Prime Minister Suga, facing criticism over COVID-19 measures, did not run in the September presidential election and resigned. A new cabinet was formed under Prime Minister Kishida, and in the October House of Representatives dissolution general election, the Liberal Democratic Party secured 261 seats, exceeding a simple majority, allowing the LDP-Komeito coalition government to continue.

Abroad, in the January U.S. presidential election, the Democratic Party's Joe Biden won, and in the September Russian Duma elections, the ruling party United Russia secured 324 seats, stabilizing President Putin's power base. In November, the 6th Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted a historical resolution, granting General Secretary Xi Jinping authority comparable to that of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, marking the beginning of a new power balance in the U.S.-China Cold War.

The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) was held in Glasgow, UK in October, where the "Glasgow Climate Pact" was adopted, incorporating efforts to phase out coal-fired power generation, marking the beginning of a new phase towards decarbonization both domestically and internationally.

Next, let's look back on a year in Inagi City.

1. Promotion of COVID-19 Measures
   With the distribution of vaccines from the government, vaccinations for medical personnel began on April 19, and subsequently, first and second doses were administered in order by age group, achieving the target vaccination rate of 80% by the end of October. The City Medical Association handled individual vaccinations at various clinics, the City Hospital managed group vaccination sites, Inagi Dai Hospital oversaw large-scale individual vaccination sites, Yomiuri Land Keiyu Hospital was responsible for the Friend Hirao site and the Central Cultural Center site, and Nanzan Rehabilitation Hospital managed the Central Cultural Center site and the Comprehensive Gymnasium site. Thank you for your cooperation.
2. 50th Anniversary of City Establishment
   In November 6, we held a commemorative ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary since Inagi Town became a city in 1971, and we presented the "City Song" that was established as part of the anniversary projects.
3. Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
   On July 24 and 25, the cycling road race passed through the city course, with about 300 volunteers, the largest number among municipalities in Tokyo, actively participating. A community live site was held at the Comprehensive Gymnasium. To leave a legacy of Inagi as a cycling town, a cycle cafe was opened along the course in June, and a monument was installed in November.
4. Sister City Partnership with Foster City, California, USA
   An online signing ceremony was held to coincide with the 50th anniversary of both cities. We hope that exchanges at the citizen level will progress through the Inagi City Sister City Friendship Association in the future.
5. Elimination of Waiting Children in Nursery Schools
   As a result of advancing the development of Licensed Childcare Centers based on the Second Inagi City Child and Parenting Support Project Plan, we eliminated waiting children on April 1.
6. Temporary Traffic Opening of the Yomiuri Land Line
   In conjunction with the opening of the Inagi Yomiuri Land Slope Tunnel, temporary traffic was opened on September 27 at 6 AM.
7. Emergency Fire Assistance Team Deployed to Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture
   On July 3, as part of the Tokyo Battalion, the Inagi City Fire Department dispatched fire crews and support teams to the site of a landslide disaster in the Izu-yama area of Atami City. A total of 23 personnel were sent in three phases to engage in rescue and search activities for missing persons.
8. Formulation of the Fourth Inagi City Agricultural Basic Plan
   The third plan will expire in fiscal year 2020, and the next plan has been formulated with the concept of "Connecting to the Next Generation, a Town Living with Agriculture."
9. Development of the Hino, Tama, and Inagi Three-City Collaboration Recidivism Prevention Plan and Holding of Joint Symposium
   The local recidivism prevention promotion plan was developed with the cooperation of the Hino, Tama, and Inagi District Probation Officers Association, sharing a common philosophy among the three cities. A joint recidivism prevention symposium was held on October 29 at the Tama City Sekido Community Center.
10. Implementation of the "Bottle to Bottle" Recycling Project
    In order to achieve a sustainable circular society and promote the SDGs, we have concluded an agreement with the Suntory Group to realize horizontal recycling that returns all used PET bottles back into PET bottles.

These are the top 10 news stories of 2021.
The biggest goal for the first half of this year is the third round of vaccinations. We will work with relevant agencies to promote this and strive to make this a year where we can expect the end of COVID-19.

Mayor of Inagi City Takahashi Katsuhiro