No.155 Top 10 News of Inagi City in Reiwa Year 6

Last year marked the second year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and one year since the conflict between Israel and the Islamist organization Hamas, leading to a serious situation with no clear resolution in both regions.

Looking back at events overseas, there were a series of important elections. In January, in the Taiwan presidential election, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te was elected, but in the legislative election, the Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority, resulting in a divided parliament with the opposition Kuomintang becoming the largest party. In March, in the Russian presidential election, President Putin was re-elected, and in April, in the South Korean National Assembly general election, the ruling party 'People Power' suffered a crushing defeat, while the opposition 'Democratic Party' increased its seats, leading to another divided parliament.

In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the abandonment of peaceful unification with South Korea in a speech at the Supreme People's Assembly. In May, Russian President Putin announced a joint statement aimed at deepening strategic relations during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. In June, a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty was signed during a summit between Russia and North Korea, elevating the relationship between the two countries to a military alliance. In November, it was revealed that North Korea participated in the fighting in Russia's western Kursk region.

In this context, the world has been divided into three poles: the liberal camp centered around the G7, the group of China, Russia, and North Korea, and the Global South, which maintains a certain distance from them. The United Nations, which should aim to prevent international conflicts, is not functioning effectively.

The Olympics were held in Paris in July, but the anticipated Olympic truce was not realized.

In October, the Japan Council against A and H Bombs was selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. I believe this recognition reflects the long-standing appeals to the United Nations and the international community. I pray that nuclear weapons are not used in the conflicts occurring now.

In the November presidential election in the United States, Mr. Trump won by a landslide, but the world is watching how he will address the divisions both domestically and internationally.

Next, we will look back on events in our country. Last year, the Noto Peninsula earthquake occurred on New Year's Day, marking the beginning of a year focused on disaster response. Despite the efforts of those involved, it seems that the unique geographical factors of the peninsula have caused delays, but we hope for a swift recovery.

In bright news, in January, JAXA's lunar probe SLIM successfully landed on the moon as Japan's first unmanned spacecraft, in February, the new large main rocket H3 was successfully launched, and the Nikkei average stock price in the Tokyo stock market reached its highest level in 34 years, exceeding 40,000 yen in March.

At the March Academy Awards, Takashi Yamazaki's "Godzilla Minus 1.0" won the Visual Effects Award, and Hayao Miyazaki's "How Do You Live?" won the Best Animated Feature Award. At the September Emmy Awards, "SHOGUN" won a total of 18 awards, including Outstanding Limited Series, and Hiroyuki Sanada became the first Japanese actor to win the Lead Actor Award.

At the Paris Olympics, we won 20 gold, 12 silver, and 13 bronze medals, setting the record for the most medals at a Summer Olympics held overseas.

We achieved excellent results at the Paralympics, winning 14 gold, 10 silver, and 17 bronze medals.

The most notable figure throughout the past year was Shohei Ohtani of Major League Baseball. He achieved the historic feat of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, won the home run title for two consecutive years, became the first Japanese player to win the RBI title, and received many awards including the league MVP, entertaining fans in both Japan and the United States.

In the House of Representatives election held in October, the ruling parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, lost their majority, while the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People made significant gains. The future actions of Prime Minister Ishiba, who is leading an unstable government with a minority ruling party system, are concerning.

Now, let's look back at the events of Inagi City.

1. Three Athletes Compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympics
   Paralympic table tennis player Kazuki Nanano won 5th place, while goalball player Naoki Hagiwara and women's individual road race cyclist Yoshiko Sugiura won gold medals. Hagiwara and Sugiura were awarded the Citizen's Honor Award.
2. Inagi City Development Support Center Branch "Respo Inagi Omaru" and Inagi City Facility for Children and Adults with Severe Physical and Intellectual Disabilities "+laugh Inagi" Opened
   Due to the increase in consultation cases at the Development Support Center within Friend Hirao, the establishment of a branch was desired, so the old Fourth Nursery School building was renovated and opened, along with the establishment of a facility for individuals with severe multiple disabilities.
3. Abolition of Income Restrictions for Medical Expense Subsidy Program for Compulsory Education Students and High School Students
   Starting from the fiscal year 2023, the medical expense subsidy program for children up to 18 years old has income restrictions under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's funding assistance system. However, the city has independently abolished these restrictions from the fiscal year 2024, advancing parenting support for all children aged 0 to 18.
4. Holding of the "World Children's Future Conference Supporting the United Nations in INAGI"
   24 sixth graders from 12 elementary schools in the city participated, dividing into 6 groups to discuss the theme of "A Future Inagi City Where People Can Continue to Live" and presented their findings in the city council's main chamber. One group, awarded the grand prize, will advance to a conference where representatives from across the country gather, and if further selected, will have the opportunity to present at the United Nations.
5. Omaru Yatogawa Drainage Gate Electrification Work
   In response to the lessons learned from the dangerous experience of manually closing the gate during Typhoon No. 19 in the first year of Reiwa, it has been upgraded to an electrically operated system that can be remotely controlled.
6. Designation of the "GOOD CYCLE JAPAN Cycle Tourism Promotion Model Route"
   The section of the city that served as the course for the cycling road race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been designated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as the "Tokyo Tama 2020 Legacy Road" with the cooperation of eight cities along the route.
7. Odayoshi Land Readjustment Project Association Dissolved
   After 12 years since the project approval in 2012, the construction and land readjustment have been completed, and the governor has granted approval for the dissolution of the association, successfully concluding the project.
8. Development of Digital Archives
   We have started a project to database cultural properties that are not fully introduced in the local materials room and are stored away or not publicly accessible, and make them available on the internet.
9. Efforts for Reforming Physicians' Work Styles
   At the City Hospital, we are advancing work style reforms aimed at the strict application of limits on overtime work, having received designation as a "Specific Labor Management Target Institution B" from Tokyo, and we have made efforts to minimize the impact on the provision of medical services.
10. Relocation of the Community General Support Center Koyodai
    In order to effectively utilize the space that became available due to the downsizing of Kiraboshi Bank Koyodai Branch, the city, Kiraboshi Bank, and Earth Support Co., Ltd. have concluded an agreement for public-private partnership, allowing for an expanded relocation.

These are the top 10 news stories of 2024.

As a side note, Mr. Ryoichi Ishikawa, who served as mayor for 20 years over five terms since 1991, passed away on June 16. Due to the vacancy left by the current Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member, a by-election for the assembly was held in conjunction with the gubernatorial election on July 7. The unexpected and urgent election caused difficulties for the Election Administration Commission.

As mentioned above, there were various events both domestically and internationally last year, but we will continue to strive for the stability and development of the City Administration this year as well.