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The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Japan — A group of local youngsters and adults have been learning first-hand about Van Wert’s Sister City: Sumoto and will now explore other cities in Japan The local delegation left Van Wert on July 18 for O’Hare Airport in Chicago delegation members met with Sister City representatives from Sumoto and then traveled to Awaji Island south of Osaka the delegation was treated to a number of activities The local youngsters have also been on Japanese television and have been treated to cookouts and other fun activities One of the coolest things about a Sister City visit is that local residents live with host families and interact with them socially while in Sumoto That allows Van Wert youngsters and adults to really experience Japanese culture first-hand Tuesday night was the delegation’s last night in Sumoto but the group will now spend several days sightseeing in Japan The first day will be spent traveling by bus and bullet train to Hiroshima the delegation will travel by bullet train to Kyoto for more sightseeing and then leave on July 28 for a daylong visit in Tokyo before returning home on July 29 POSTED: 07/24/19 at 7:24 am. 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Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1049885 Second language learners tend to focus more on learning the meaning of vocabulary than on how to use it in their speech and writing Although comprehensive vocabulary knowledge is necessary for understanding sentences productive vocabulary knowledge may also have a positive impact on sentence comprehension Most studies examining the relationship between production and comprehension have compared these abilities between participants or evaluated unrelated criteria between tasks which may be insufficient for examining the direct effects of productive knowledge on sentence comprehension Our study investigates changes in sentence comprehension speed during listening and we used a within-subjects comparison to examine the effect of productive vocabulary knowledge or the lack thereof We applied generalized linear mixed models to investigate productive vocabulary knowledge effects by partialing out other influential factors The results showed that the sentences with a producible phrase were processed faster than the sentences that included phrases with only comprehensive knowledge or no comprehension The effect of productive vocabulary knowledge on the speed of sentence comprehension was directly examined with a within-subject comparison This study emphasizes the value of productive vocabulary knowledge acquisition in enhancing the speed of sentence comprehension This difference in comprehension proficiency might be related to the presence or absence of productive vocabulary knowledge. In second language acquisition research, it is widely accepted that comprehensive vocabulary knowledge is acquired before productive knowledge is acquired (Read, 2000), and according to Segalowitz and Hulstijn (2005) processing speed quickens as vocabulary proficiency develops Although there is no doubt that acquiring comprehensive vocabulary knowledge is essential for sentence comprehension the effects of productive knowledge may also have an impact on sentence comprehension and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for reading proficiency the vocabularies were not consistent throughout all the measurements sharing the same target words in both productive and comprehensive vocabulary knowledge measurements is an effective way to investigate a learner’s knowledge level for each vocabulary—that is whether a learner has both productive and comprehensive knowledge of the target word or cannot comprehend the target word at all we designed the sentences in our comprehension test to contain target words of different vocabulary levels the effects of which were directly examined through within-subject comparisons Understanding the effects of varying vocabulary knowledge on sentence comprehension may lead to concrete pedagogical suggestions and an emphasis on productive vocabulary knowledge acquisition Other influential factors in the speed of second language sentence comprehension might exist, such as confidence, frequency of target words, and stimulus duration. For example, Shen and Jiang (2013) have claimed that learners’ confidence may speed up language comprehension we tested the contribution of vocabulary knowledge to sentence comprehension using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to partial out the effects of other influential factors Individual differences among second language learners might also reflect a mixture of unmeasured variables, such as the starting age of second language acquisition, learning methodologies, personalities, and cognitive styles (Fan, 2000; González-Fernández and Schmitt, 2015; Yang et al., 2015) These individual differences might affect the variables of present interest (vocabulary knowledge we considered individual differences that are unable to be measured directly in this study in the GLMM analysis as a random intercept and random slopes to enhance the soundness of within-subject comparison analysis We were able to demonstrate a relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and sentence comprehension and identify the extent to which productive vocabulary knowledge improves the speed of comprehension In this study, 37 undergraduate and graduate students at Kyoto University (17 males, 20 females) participated. Initially, the sample size was determined by a power analysis for a one-way repeated measure ANOVA, but the main analysis was conducted by GLMM. The results of the one-way repeated measure ANOVA are reported in Supplementary material Because we applied the novel approach of a within-subject comparison the expected effect size could not be found from previous studies a medium effect size with a one-way repeated measure ANOVA was calculated for knowledge only The rest of the parameters followed the default settings of GPower (Version 3.1.9.6) The required number of participants for the statistical analysis was 28 participants and this was decided before the experiment via a power analysis using GPower with the following criteria: α = 0.05 corr among rep measures = 0.5 and the number of measurements = 3 (productive knowledge This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Kyoto University Psychological Science Unit (approval number: 1-P-2) We adopted a formulaic sequence as the target for the tasks We selected adverb and adjective phrases of three or four words that can be placed at the end of sentences as formulaic sequences Certain phrases were omitted from the target selection to control the difficulty of comprehension and retrieval: phrases that have word repetition (e.g. and phrases that include possessive pronouns depending on a sentence (e.g. We referred to two corpora to extract a wide frequency range of phrases (range: 7–36,475 appearances in the Corpus of Contemporary American English and 2–6,875 appearances in the British National Corpus) The top reflects the exploratory study and the bottom reflects the full-scale study The screening phase included a translation task to measure the productive and comprehensive knowledge of various phrases All the stimuli in the screening task were presented visually The main task included a listening comprehension task All the stimuli in the main task were presented in an auditory format but we advised the participants to answer 100 questions in 30 min An example question from the screening task The top includes an example question from the production task The Japanese sentence corresponds to the English sentence The bottom includes an example question from the comprehension task we decided that only the participants with knowledge of at least 30 or more target phrases in each of the three different vocabulary knowledge from the screening task should proceed to the main task of which at least 30 were selected from each of the three types of vocabulary knowledge with additional questions selected depending on the results of each individual participant’s screening task an English sentence was presented in which the last three or four words consisted of the target phrase The participants were asked to press the space key as soon as they comprehended the sentence Response time was defined as the time between the onset of the last word and when the participants pressed the space key Participants were informed that they could even press the space key as the audio was playing when participants pressed the space key during the audio stimulus the response time was recorded as a negative value All the measured times were adjusted to positive values by adding 2,620 ms since −2,618 ms was the shortest response time Nonresponse trials (M ± SE = 19.17 ± 2.00%) were omitted from the data analysis Since we aimed to compare the response times for sentence comprehension which included the target phrases of different within-subject vocabulary knowledge the response times in the main task were sorted according to the screening task grouping we analyzed the data of 30 participants with more than 10 target phrases from each of the three types of vocabulary knowledge The flow of comprehension tasks in the main task The black arrow indicates the flow of one trial The times on the left side indicate the duration of the activities Each trial began with a beep sound and finished with silence that lasted for 1,000 ms RT (represented by the gray arrow) indicates the response time for sentence comprehension The underlined word is the last word of the target phrase An exploratory study was conducted first with the 11 participants who were different from and not included in the 37 participants mentioned in section 2.1 (Participants) Using the results of the exploratory study we determined the criteria for participant selection and fixed the analysis pipeline before the full-scale study five participants did not proceed to participate in the main task because of the results of the screening task two participants who had only 29 incomprehensive phrases were allowed to participate in the main task so that we could achieve desirable statistical power the data from two participants were not included for statistical analysis as the numbers of their data points did not reach the criteria We then analyzed the data from 30 participants All statistical tests were conducted using R (R Core Team, 2021). To investigate whether the response time remained unchanged according to vocabulary knowledge, we implemented a GLMM using the lme4 package (Bates et al., 2022) and multcomp (Hothorn et al., 2008) in R (R Core Team, 2021) to evaluate the potential effects of different types of vocabulary knowledge (i.e. and noncomprehension) and other variables (confidence and stimulation duration) as fixed effects on the speed of sentence comprehension A random intercept and random slopes for these four variables were considered across participants we assumed a gamma distribution for the outcome variable (adjusted response time data) and stimulus duration were scaled by 1:1,000 If the main effects on the speed of sentence comprehension were found using Type III Wald chi-squared tests we conducted Tukey tests for multiple comparisons A GLMM analysis was applied to investigate the contributions of each variable—knowledge, confidence, phrase frequency, and stimulus duration—on the speed of sentence listening comprehension. We especially focused on the contribution of knowledge to the speed of comprehension by partialing out the other variables’ effects. We set eight models, as shown in Table 1 Model 1 consisted of knowledge as a fixed effect a participant-wise random slope of knowledge Subsequent models included greater numbers of variables Model 8 was a full model that included knowledge and stimulation duration as fixed effects with participant-wise random slopes for these variables and a participant-wise random intercept First, in accordance with the work of Barr et al. (2013), we conducted statistical tests based on the full model (Model 8) (Figure 4) The result from the ANOVA Type III Wald chi-squared test revealed a significant main effect of knowledge [χ2(2) = 14.81 confidence [χ2(1) = 5.76 and stimulus duration [χ2(1) = 6.84 p < 0.001] on the speed of sentence comprehension but no significant effect of phrase frequency [χ2(1) = 3.07 Multiple comparisons made using a Tukey test revealed that the sentences with a producible phrase were processed faster than the sentences that included phrases with only comprehensive knowledge or no comprehension (productive knowledge – only comprehensive knowledge: z = 3.137 p < 0.001; productive knowledge – no comprehension: z = 3.616 p < 0.005; only comprehensive knowledge – no comprehension: z = 0.923 The relationship between sentence comprehension speed confidence and stimulus duration based on GLMM Model 8 the point in the middle represents the predicted value of the response time for sentence comprehension at each knowledge level derived from Model 8 The lines indicate the 95% confidence intervals for the predicted values The numbers at the bottom indicate the level of knowledge: 3 The points with different colors show each confidence level from 1 to 5 The graph in the middle shows the result with the mean of stimulus duration The left and rights graphs are based on the mean of stimulus duration with −1 and + 1 standard deviations as it did not significantly affect sentence comprehension speed As for the model comparison, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) selected Model 8, which included knowledge, confidence, phrase frequency, and stimulation duration as fixed effects and all possible random slopes and intercepts across participants. The Bayesian information criterion (BIC) chose Model 2, which consisted of knowledge and confidence as fixed effects with random slopes for these variables and a random intercept across participants (Table 1) It is common for AIC and BIC to select different models as these two criteria select models based on different indicators the most significant point is that all the analyses here signified a reliable contribution of knowledge to the speed of sentence listening comprehension these results collectively revealed that knowledge is a significant key variable in the speed of sentence comprehension implying that a great amount of information could be processed in the span of 430 ms the sentences with only comprehensible phrases and noncomprehensible phrases might have taken longer to comprehend These results were able to be demonstrated without the effects of other influential factors The producible phrases also could have been retrieved as chunks during listening comprehension tasks which would have positively affected the speed of sentence comprehension prediction speed can only be as fast as the comprehender’s production system Producible words and phrases can be predicted by accessing the mental lexicon and retrieving it before the phrases are presented and this process leads to rapid processing Since productive knowledge is essential for prediction the prediction would be limited without productive vocabulary knowledge during sentence comprehension so the results showing a 430 ms difference between producible phrases and only comprehensible phrases might reflect cognitive effects Although the results of the current study show the importance of productive knowledge acquisition for the speed of sentence comprehension we asked participants about their confidence in phrase comprehension during the screening task and not when response time was measured a mismatch might have occurred between confidence in the screening task in which the stimulus was presented visually in which the stimulus was presented auditorily Even though there are some drawbacks to asking participants about their confidence during the screening task so participants indicated their level of confidence in comprehending the target phrases Although they might have guessed the meaning of a target phrase from the whole sentence thereby affecting the level of confidence in comprehension asking about the confidence levels of only the target phrase and not the sentence might have led to a better prediction of confidence in target phrase comprehension asking about confidence in the main task would have made the experiment longer which might have negatively affected the participants’ power of concentration and the speed of comprehension we obtained data about confidence during the screening task we measured the accuracy of vocabulary knowledge during the screening task rather than during the main task Although a discrepancy might have existed between comprehension accuracy in the screening and main tasks the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of already acquired vocabulary knowledge on the speed of sentence listening comprehension the accuracy of listening comprehension is beyond the scope of this project Finally, studies by Segalowitz and Segalowitz (1993) and Segalowitz and Hulstijn (2005) have called for caution in interpreting response time A faster response time itself does not explain whether the cause is simple acceleration by habituation or processing changes Although examining changes in response time by comparing productive knowledge to the lack thereof would not be sufficient to explain its cause a clear indication exists that something is happening from the change in response time To ascertain whether processing changes occur in cases with and without productive vocabulary knowledge during comprehension we plan to conduct a brain recording experiment This study clearly shows that productive knowledge of second language phrases positively affects the speed of sentence listening comprehension. Second language learners can understand more vocabulary than they are able to use in their second language (Laufer, 2005) These learners tend to focus on learning the meaning of vocabulary rather than the usage and spend more time on input than on output Although acquiring comprehensive vocabulary knowledge is necessary for sentence comprehension Because rapid and stable vocabulary processing is essential especially during online communication and conversation the acquisition of productive vocabulary knowledge is important for enhancing the quality of language comprehension The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found: https://researchbox.org/694 The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Kyoto University Psychological Science Unit (approval number: 1-P-2) The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Nos We would like to thank Shin’ya Nishida for his support and valuable comments Gijsbert Stoet for providing an online experiment toolkit We also acknowledge the participants and the proofreaders of language editing service The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1049885/full#supplementary-material Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing: Keep it maximal Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., Walker, S., Christensen, R. 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Hiroaki Mizuhara, bWl6dWhhcmEuaGlyb2FraS41Y0BreW90by11LmFjLmpw Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Today's print edition Home Delivery With Rika Kihira and Mako Yamashita having moved up to the senior ranks there will be a new titlist crowned at the Japan Junior Championships this weekend at Accion Fukuoka The favorites coming into the competition this year are Yuhana Yokoi and Nana Araki earned the women's bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Armenia last month took third place in this event last year.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); The singles competition starts on Saturday with the short program while the free skate will be held on Sunday Araki will take the ice 22nd in the short program field of 30 while Yokoi is slated to skate 27th following Friday night's draw There will be plenty of challengers for Yokoi and Araki who was third and fourth in her two JGPs this season The Tokyo native impressed while making the podium at the Canada JGP and finishing just off it at the Slovenia JGP is slated to skate 16th in the short program is back to defend his title in the men's event also returns for another shot at the crown Sumoto's biggest challenge may come from 17-year-old Koshiro Shimada who qualified for the JGP Final next month via a second-place showing at the Austria JGP and third-place finish in Slovenia is coached by former two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel in Switzerland Shimada was second in the competition in 2016 The top six finishers in both the women's and men's field will qualify to skate in next month's Japan championships in Osaka Most of the top names in the history of Japanese women's skating have won the Japan junior title Japanese men who have worn the junior crown include Takeshi Honda (1995) In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information Tugboats pull a floating wind turbine from off the coast of Sumoto Port on July 2 2016 at 7:38 PM EDTBookmarkSaveLock This article is for subscribers only.Japan’s ambition to lead in the development of floating wind turbines is facing stiff competition from rivals in Europe -- most notably from France -- as companies and governments press to lower costs and prove the technology can rival other sources of clean energy Wind Power It’s been four years since the last delegation from Van Wert’s sister city but that will change this coming week with a youth delegation that will visit the city for three days includes eight young people ages 16 and 17 and six adult chaperones from Sumoto City Van Wert’s original sister city was Goshiki The area is famous for Naruto oranges and Kobe beef is nearby on the main Japanese island of Honshu The sister city delegation will fly into Fort Wayne and is expected to arrive in Van Wert between 2:30 and 3 that afternoon and will be welcomed by city officials and host families for the teenagers The delegation will then be given a tour of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio by NPAC Executive Director Paul Hoverman and then also tour the high school and middle schools The Japanese students will then accompany their host families to their homes while the adults in the delegation will have dinner with city officials and Sister City Committee members at Willow Bend Country Club the delegation will tour a number of local sites group members will have lunch provided by Pizza Hut at the YMCA’s Camp Clay and then spent the afternoon swimming at the water park on Lake Rotary the group will meet at the Black Swamp Bistro for dinner where delegation members will be introduced prior to the Summer Music Series concert that evening They will then have free ice cream at Main Street Ice Cream before the teens return to their host homes the delegation will receive airplane rides at Van Wert County Regional Airport and then visit the Children’s Garden in Smiley Park The group will later tour First United Methodist Church in Van Wert with a going-away party held that evening at Peter and Anita VandenBerg’s home The delegation will then leave Van Wert at approximately 8 a.m POSTED: 07/20/12 at 6:33 am. FILED UNDER: News Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information Hyogo Prefecture--While large groups of humans have been discouraged against eating together during the COVID-19 pandemic a troop of snow monkeys living here on Awajishima island are under no such restriction Monkeys at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Sumoto were seen huddling up and beginning to eat together as soon as food was laid out on the ground by an employee The food was placed by an employee in the shape of katakana characters for “saru,” the Japanese for “monkey,” thereby forming fluffy “monkey letters.” living on the island has a respect for tolerance a rare quality among animals of the species that is native to Japan beyond the abilities of typical snow monkey groups,” said Yu Kaigaishi a specially appointed researcher of ethology with the Osaka University Graduate School of Human Sciences Studies and experiments conducted over the past several years by scholars from Osaka University have revealed unique peculiarities of the monkey society on this island One behavior symbolic of the peace-loving nature of the monkeys living here is the habit of eating together The Awajishima Monkey Center feeds a population of some 350 wild snow monkeys who come down for food in the morning and go back to the mountains in the evening a troop of snow monkeys has a clearly defined order of ranks low-ranking males who turn up for food end up being chased away or attacked by high-ranking males so troop members remain scattered about instead of forming the shape of characters Awajishima’s monkeys can line up in the form of letters as they feed because members of the group with broadly disparate ranks can eat together Something even more surprising was observed in an experiment undertaken by Kaigaishi in which monkeys were given an opportunity to snatch food by working as a pair to pull both ends of a rope to bring a food tray closer to them The contraption does not allow a single monkey alone to get food simply by pulling one end of the rope Awajishima’s monkeys successfully worked as a pair to obtain food in 59 percent of the 1,488 trials conducted they even learned to wait for a partner to arrive That is in stark contrast to another snow monkey troop from Maniwa where the rate of success was only 1 percent in 198 trials The monkeys in that group could not continue to work together and the rare cases of success were followed by fights “That was the first time it was discovered that snow monkeys have the capabilities to work together with others,” Kaigaishi said “Tolerance of the entire society is key to cooperative behavior.” emphasizes a tradition of peace-loving leaders that is symbolic of the tolerance of the island’s snow monkey population who led a “long-term stable government” for 15 years from 1993 through 2008 Macky stood out by his tolerance even in this troop and he was often seen coming to a feeding ground holding a weak baby in his arms who replaced him as leader when Itchan fell from power only three months into his reign Asatsuyu returned to Macky’s peace-loving line looking after a weakened baby as though it were his own cited two possible factors behind the social tolerance of Awajishima’s snow monkeys which is reflected in the quality of their leaders who is also from the university’s Graduate School of Human Sciences has been doing research in Sumoto since 2008 Some individuals in the Awajishima population have genes for reduced aggressiveness The other concerns the habit of sharing food from the generation of grandparents through that of parents to the generation of children Monkeys were seen sharing food as early as in the first years of the Awajishima Monkey Center “There is a process of social learning that transcends generations which is about spending time together and learning together,” Yamada said No other troop of snow monkeys lives on Awajishima island which is isolated from the rest of the land by the sea Those circumstances may have helped the evolution of the unique quality “If we are to find out why Awajishima’s monkey population alone was able to build a distinctly tolerant society that could offer a clue to understanding why we humans have evolved in such a way that we can give consideration to others and empathize with them,” Yamada said The Awajishima Monkey Center offers on its website (https://monkey-center.jp/) a live view of the scene on its grounds Macaque baby delivered via womb transplant for 1st time Primate monkeys around with student’s phone scientists aim to curb people giving virus to animals reptile fossils in Fukui show diversity in age of dinosaurs Japan’s ‘Bigfoot’ still influences Hiroshima town after 50 years Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent By Hiroyasu Yamaguchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Hyogo — Old stone walls damaged by disasters and aging will be completely repaired at the ruins of a castle on Awaji Island Sumoto Castle is a mountain fortress built on top of Mt Mikuma at an elevation of about 130 meters in Sumoto It was built by a warlord in the 16th century during the nation’s warring states period Most of the castle buildings were demolished by the 20th century after the end of the Tokugawa shogunate What now stands on the top of the mountain is a symbolic castle tower built in the early 20th century to commemorate Emperor Showa’s ascension to the throne The concrete building is not a real castle tower based on historical facts but the stone walls surrounding it are said to have been built between 1585 and 1609 and have great historical value Most of them were made of natural stones from Mt Mikuma that were piled up to form a wall without cutting the stone or other processing The castle ruins were designated as a national historic site in 1999 which stretch about 800 meters east to west convey the romance of history to the present the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake has loosened some parts and cracked some stones in the walls the area near the center part of the castle has been closed to the public due to the high risk of collapse The stone walls were scheduled to be taken apart this summer for repairs The Sumoto city government is working on a 10-year plan starting in April this year The collapsed sections will be repaired in about two years Restoring a stone wall usually means carefully removing the stones one at a time and then putting them back after filling in the missing parts parts of the piled-up rock walls at Sumoto Castle have collapsed and broken apart which will force restoration staff to do more time-consuming work — they will have to fit the collapsed stones together like a puzzle while looking at photos taken before the collapse The basic restoration plan states dangerous areas will be repaired as soon as possible and information boards and rest areas will also be installed The disassembly of the stone walls will begin soon Metal plates have already been laid for heavy machinery to pass through and scaffolding has been erected in preparation for the restoration work The grass in the area has been cut as well Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun Sally Hancox from England creates indigo-dyed fabrics on Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea while working to promote the island’s charms No article or any part there of may be reproduced without the express permission of the Cabinet Office. Copyright inquiries should be made through this form. © 2009 Cabinet Office, Government of Japan Apple logo® and App Store® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc Japan Consul General Mitsuhiro Wada and his wife had a social meeting with Van Wert Mayor Jerry Mazur and Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Stacy Adam to discuss the Sister City cultural exchange program with Sumoto City for 2018-2019 and future economic development potential within Van Wert POSTED: 02/07/18 at 8:06 am. FILED UNDER: News To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page. This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. SUMOTO, Hyogo — Wild monkeys at the Awaji Island Monkey Center gathered together to form the kanji character for rabbit – next year’s zodiac animal. The center which is located in Sumoto, Hyogo Prefecture currently feeds about 350 wild monkeys living in the mountains and surrounding area, and is known as a park where visitors can come to observe them. Getting the monkeys to form letters is a project the center has been carrying out for more than 30 years. On Thursday, staff placed wheat, soybeans and other foods that monkeys eat on the ground to form the kanji “u” for rabbit. The monkeys that were waiting on the sidelines dashed out and started eating the food, resulting in the kanji character being formed by their furry brown bodies. There isn’t a strict hierarchy among the island’s monkeys, and they are generally on good terms with each other, rarely fighting over food. This makes it possible for them to work together to make the kanji. Th kanji event is not open to the public, but the center has uploaded a video of the event on its website at a later date. According to the center, officials arranged the food on the ground about 30 times to find the most effective way to do so, thus enabling the monkeys to make a beautifully, well-formed kanji character. “They formed the kanji neatly, thanks to the practice,” Toshikazu Nobuhara, the head of the center, said happily. “The monkey kanji is possible because they don’t fight for food and allow other monkeys to eat beside them.” Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat. According to the University of Illinois anthropology professor who co-led the study 300 of the world’s 500 primates are threatened or endangered Unless the world focuses heavily on conservation efforts a plethora of species will disappear over the next 25 years “Most of this has gone on in the past 100 years,” Garber said corporations and citizens have to come together to change business as usual there may be a point where humans themselves may not be able to inhabit the areas where primates aren’t surviving since we’re polluting the environment so heavily You can also participate in a Primate Adoption Program at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary — it’s only $5 per month Related: Trump’s Pick for EPA Administrator Says Climate Change’s Effects Are Still Up For Debate SUMOTO, Hyogo — Almost no one knows of the magnificent view on Awaji Island that is comparable to Amanohashidate, a famous tourist destination in Kyoto Prefecture called one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan. The sandbank stretches about 3 kilometers north to south, as if it were a bridge over the sea, and the breathtaking view is no less glorious than that offered at Amanohashidate. Despite this, the sandbank is not well-known even on the island. It is indeed difficult to get to the view, but it turns out there were other reasons for its obscurity. I boarded a boat operated by the municipality from a pier in the southeast of Sumoto, a major city on the island. In just two minutes, I reached my destination, a scenic sandbank on the Narugashima islet. It’s an uninhabited islet people nearby sometimes call “the other side.” To see the sandbank from higher up, I climbed a 50-meter-high mountain at the northern end of Narugashima. I enjoyed a panoramic view of the sandbank, which looks as if it winds along the sea’s surface, from an observation spot near the mountain’s peak. The beauty was naturally created thanks to the sand along the shore. The sandbank is called “Awaji-hashidate,” a reference to Amanohashidate, and comparable to it in terms of size. While Amanohashidate is known to look like a “rising dragon” when seen upside down between one’s legs, Awaji-hashidate looks like a more graceful dragon with a width of only 15 meters at its narrowest point — less than half that at Amanohashidate. Amanohashidate has been known throughout Japan since ancient times. For example, Sesshu, a renowned medieval ink painter monk, depicted it around the year 1500 in a work that is now designated as a national treasure. However, it was forbidden for even elementary school children to sketch Awaji-hashidate before World War II, the locals said. “This was a secret area that was an important military site,” said Koichi Hanano. The 77-year-old leads a group made up of local residents working to beautify Narugashima. The area has long been important for national defense and sea navigation because of its location at the narrowest point in the Kitan Strait, which separates Awaji Island from the Kii Peninsula, now Wakayama Prefecture. In ancient times, the major route from the capital to Shikoku via the Kii Peninsula and Awaji Island was called Nankaido, literally the south sea route, and the area around Narugashima was a key point along the route. The islet, or Awaji-hashidate, was once connected to Awaji Island and was open in the center. Yura Port, a harbor inside the islet, is said to have served as a gateway to Awaji Island. It played the role of a platform for ships coming and going through the mouth. A castle was built on the mountain in 1613. Naruyama Castle once served as the center for ruling Awaji Island. Both the south and north edges of the islet linking Awaji Island were dug from the late 18th to early 19th century for large ships to enter the port. The mouth at the center of the islet eventually disappeared because of accumulated sand, creating the current landform called a barrier beach, or an offshore bar. The importance of such a transportation hub grew in a military sense after 1853, when a U.S. fleet led by Commodore Matthew Perry came to Japan, the locals said. Under the orders of the Tokugawa Shogunate, batteries were erected on Narugashima to defend Osaka Bay. After the fall of the shogunate, the new Japanese government also built batteries on Naruyama. Command headquarters called the Yura Fortress were placed on the side of Awaji Island, and those who worked there exercised control of the entire fortress from the Kitan Strait to the Naruto Strait. Never mind taking photos, even drawing the landscape there came to be banned to protect top military secrets. After World War II, the military facilities were destroyed by the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ). More visitors came to Narugashima thereafter. Hisashi Tsuji, an influential Western-style painter, painted the islet and used the word “Awaji-hashidate” for its title. This led to the erection of a stone monument “Awaji-hashidate” there in 1961. The next year, in 1962, a municipal lodge was opened and began to receive bathers and campers. However, the area lost its liveliness as people’s ideas of leisure changed. The lodge was in business for a quarter of a century before it was closed, and now Narugashima is an uninhabited islet. The regular ferry boat was temporarily suspended though it is now back. “That may have proved for the best,” said Hanano. About 300 species of plants, including rare flora, and more than 500 species of marine creatures live on the islet. I saw small crabs, each about 2 to 3 centimeters in size, moving around tidal mudflats facing the inland sea. The crab, Uca lactea, which has one claw that is much larger than the other, is listed as a vulnerable species. Sea turtles sometimes lay eggs on the sandy beach and on the other side of the sandbank facing the open sea, I heard. Hanano called Narugashima “a museum with no fences.” Its historical depth and natural richness have now become an indispensable treasure. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. An unemployed neighbour has been arrested on suspicion of the killings I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Five people have been stabbed to death by a suspected serial killer who went from house to house in rural Japan. Police found the bodies of two women in their 50s and 60s and the body of a man in his 60s at one house in the western city of Sumoto. A couple in their 80s from a nearby property died after being taken to hospital, according to deputy police chief Keizo Okumoto. He said a suspect, 40-year-old neighbour Tatsuhiko Hirano had been arrested but the motive was unclear and no weapon had been found. Hirano lived with his father and grandmother, Japan’s Jiji Press reported, and locals said he rarely left home and was unemployed. Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, especially in small towns. Sumoto, a city of 44,000 people on Awaji island, is known for its oranges, onions and speciality beef. Japanese television stations showed the victims' homes surrounded by agricultural fields. “Normally, we get one call a day, if that,” Mr Okumoto said. “And usually it's about a bike theft or someone getting beaten up.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Japanese version Hyogo — The number of wild opium poppies found on Awaji Island last year tripled from the previous year to about 10,000 plants The prefectural Sumoto Health & Welfare Office said it removed all the plants and disposed of them Wild opium poppies can be used for producing narcotics The poppies are easy to find from spring to early summer when the plants produce blossoms The office is strengthening patrols and trying to prevent the areas where they grow from spreading further The species of wild opium poppies found on the island is poppy of Troy which is characterized by leaves that wrap around the stem The flower has four petals which are light purple or red One plant can grow to between 50 centimeters and 1 meter tall Because narcotic substances can be extracted from it the Opium Control Law prohibits its cultivation and possession The office found 10,331 wild opium poppy plants in April and May last year through its patrols and reports from local residents This included a large area of natural growth where 3,000 plants were growing It was a significant increase from the 3,746 found in 2021 Officials said that as many plants as possible need to be removed before the start of summer because seeds scatter after the petals fall off According to the Hyogo prefectural government about 59,000 wild opium poppy plants were found in the whole prefecture last year Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Hyogo prefectural government conduct activities to eliminate illegally produced marijuana and opium poppies Because the climate of Awaji Island is warm opium poppies grow faster than in other places An official in charge of the issue said: “Natural growth areas of opium poppies have been spreading to the whole of Awaji Island Reports and requests for advice via telephone are accepted by the prefectural Sumoto Health & Welfare Office’s food and drug sanitation section at (0799) 26-2067 Bragging rights will be on the line when a group of highly successful skaters take the ice on Saturday at the Japan Junior Championships at Tsukisamu Gymnasium Reigning world junior champion Marin Honda Yuna Shiraiwa and Mako Yamashita will all be in the mix as Japan crowns a new junior queen who won the junior title the past two seasons has moved up to the senior ranks.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); Sakamoto and Shiraiwa are expected to contend next season for spots on Japan's Olympic team for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games so they will come into the event as slight favorites who became the second junior after Mao Asada to land a triple axel in competition during the Junior Grand Prix season and 13-year-old Yamashita could make the podium here depending on how the other skaters fare The singles competition will begin Saturday with the short program Sakamoto and Kihira have all qualified for the JGP Final in Marseille who finished second in both of her JGP assignments this season She was a disappointing sixth at last season's junior nationals but rebounded to find glory months later at the world juniors in Hungary "This season has not been so good for me," Honda said after Friday's draw which will see her skate 17th in the short program "Kaori and Rika are also from the Kansai area and I have not beaten them this season Honda said she has been training hard in recent weeks "I have been practicing my spins and steps again because I have lost some points on them this season," Honda commented The Kyoto native made it clear she was here with a firm goal in mind "I have never made the podium at this event so I will be satisfied if I can do it," Honda added did not make the JGP Final despite coming in second and fourth in her two JGPs this season came in first and second in her two JGPs this season This included a victory over Honda at the Yokohama JGP in September booked her spot at the JGP Final with a first and second in her two JGPs "This rink is easy to skate in,"noted the 14-year-old from Nishinomiya "I will aim for a triple axel/triple toe loop combination in my free skate I want to focus on each jump one at a time." didn't hide her ambitions for the competition "I want to get the best score in the short and free and take first place," Kihira said "There are a lot of good skaters here and they are my rivals who was ninth at the junior nationals last season posted two impressive third-place finishes in her two JGPs but did not qualify for the JGP Final The outlook on the men's side is not quite as clear cut was Japan's top scorer in the JGP campaign He will be in contention for the crown along with Koshiro Shimada and Mitsuki Sumoto Shimada was fourth at last season's junior nationals Nearly all of the biggest names in the history of Japanese skating have won the Japan junior title Kanako Murakami (2010) and Satoko Miyahara (2012 Japanese men who have worn the junior belt include Takeshi Honda (1995) Tesla's Model 3 is expected to fuel the growth in Panasonic's electric-car battery sales OSAKA -- Panasonic's business with electric-vehicle batteries has entered the fast lane thanks in large part to the supplying of lithium-ion batteries for the cars made by Tesla Motors The Japanese company expects sales in this area to more than double over the next three years rising 120% from fiscal 2015 to reach 400 billion yen ($4 billion) in fiscal 2018 Rika Kihira continued Japan's fine start to the Junior Grand Prix season on Saturday when she finished a close second at the event in Ostrava Close second is almost too ambiguous to describe how narrowly she missed topping the platform in her JGP debut who led after the short program by more than three points (66.78 to 63.51) lost to Russia's Anastasiia Gubanova by just 0.08 of a point (185.59 to 185.51).googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); The defeat came because Kihira exhibited fortitude in her free skate by trying to open with a triple axel (a jump she has been landing regularly in practice since last year) when she could have played it safe by doing a double and walked out of the arena with the gold medal Kihira went crashing hard to the ice on the triple axel but gamely skated on to complete her program already has those in the skating community buzzing with her future potential with the difficult triple axel which she also does in combination with a triple toe loop Kihira's short program to "Tzigane" in a burgundy outfit was nearly flawless She looked very polished and earned just a single negative score from the nine judges It was an impressive effort for her first time on the ice in a JGP ISU announcer Ted Barton summed it up best when he stated at the end of Kihira's short program Looking forward to seeing her free program." stayed in tune with the music throughout her short program "It was the detail by which she performed to every phrase of the music," Barton stated "She paid attention to the notes and to the phrasing Kihira performed to "Rhapsody in Blue" in the free skate and came back strong after her opening fall She stumbled and under-rotated the double loop at the back end of a three-jump combination late (triple flip but showed good determination throughout the program Barton was effusive in his praise of Kihira after her free skate She is a brilliant performer and she is a brilliant competitor," Barton said "That was a tough start at the beginning of the program and she just knocked it all off after that." When Kihira saw how close she came to winning she just threw her head back in exasperation and smiled placed fourth in the competition with a total score of 155.79 She set personal bests in both the short (56.60) and free (99.19) Aoki is in her second season on the JGP circuit She placed seventh in her lone assignment last season in Latvia Barton made clear how moved he was by the exceptional ability of Japanese skaters something that Ice Time has been citing for years "There always seems to be something special some special quality about in all the Japanese skaters," Barton noted came in fifth in the men's event that was won by Russia's Dmitri Aliev Sumoto was seventh in his JGP assignment last year in the United States "He has some very nice basic skating skills especially jumping," Barton commented after Sumoto's short program to "Singing in the Rain." "He is really well centered and rotates fast Spins are a little bit slow and needs work on positions." Hot commodity: Kihara's performance in Ostrava was the latest feather in the cap of Hamada who continues to display a golden touch with her young skaters She is also the coach of world junior champion Marin Honda and rising junior star Yuna Shiraiwa as well as 2015 world silver medalist Satoko Miyahara Prior to the start of the competition in Ostrava the 56-year-old Hamada spoke briefly with Barton in a video interview and provided some insight into her philosophy as a mentor When asked if she liked to coach juniors or seniors the Kyoto Prefecture native was diplomatic with her reply Even I like very much to teach little kids," she told Barton She was questioned on why she takes the time to teach all levels when she has elite skaters in her camp "I enjoy to see their development — each step," Hamada said When queried about why she decided to go into coaching after her own skating days were over "I have an ideal — I want to make good skaters Up next: The JGP circuit comes to Japan this week for the third of seven stops on the tour starting Friday at the Shin-Yokohama Skate Center The event will provide fans their first chance to see Honda in competition at home since she won the world junior title last season in Hungary Joining Honda in the women's field will be Mako Yamashita Sena Miyake and Yuto Kishina are slated to skate for Japan in the men's event Honda spoke to the media in Nagoya about the upcoming season at a training camp with her fellow juniors She had earlier competed in a camp with the senior skaters in Karuizawa where former two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland was an instructor "I was the youngest skater at the senior training camp so I had a lot to learn from my senior skaters as to how they perform and practice," stated Honda "But (at this junior camp) I'm not the youngest and mentally it's not easy and I kind of have to lead others Honda will skate to "Smile" for her short program this season and was asked her thoughts about the selection I would like to perform with smiles," she said "I've been able to jump better compared to last year and I'm going to do even better going forward Honda has chosen the theme from "Romeo and Juliet" for her free skate I have always wanted to use 'Romeo and Juliet' for years so I feel like I have finally been able to use it I think that the program will become one that will excite even myself." "I would like to increase the number of tournaments in which I will perform better." Honda is aiming to join the senior ranks next season for the Olympic year "I have wanted to move up to the senior group once I become eligible so I hope to go to the senior competition next year," she commented I will have to have better results this year This is going to be my last junior training camp to be in American Nathan Chen captured the lead after the men's short program at the Grand Prix Final on Thursday night with a solid if not spectacular performance champion landed a pair of quadruple jumps on the way to establishing a nearly two-point advantage over Shoma Uno Chen skated to "Nemesis" and began with a big quad lutz/triple toe loop combination jump before going on to hit a quad flip and a triple axel for a total score of 103.32 points The 18-year-old is seen by many as a primary challenger to Yuzuru Hanyu for the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); Uno competed to “Winter” and opened with a beautiful quad flip then landed a nice quad toe loop/triple toe loop combo Russia's Mikhail Kolyada is third at 99.22 despite receiving poor marks for the grade of execution on his opening quad lutz who was second behind Hanyu at last year's GP Final admitted that his performance was not without flaws "I made a couple of mistakes on the landings of both quads but the triple axel is improved from Skate America," Chen stated "I'm happy with that and looking forward to tomorrow." The Salt Lake City native was asked about his ongoing challenge with multiple quads "I have tried to push the technical elements I put the (quad) flip in the second half of the program and it has worked for me." Uno's fall on the triple axel was most unfortunate as he appeared to have done it cleanly only to fall awkwardly at the very end of the landing Despite the mishap he is still in position to make a run for the gold medal in Friday's free skate who has taken home the bronze at the last two GP Finals was bemused by his miscue in front of his hometown crowd "I made a 'new type of mistake' today," Uno said "The triple axel is a jump I know I can land I felt I didn't take off in the way I usually do So I tightened myself hard in the air and I don't know what happened In addition to a one-point penalty for the fall Uno was also docked another point for running his program over the allotted time Uno made small changes following the Internationaux de France which requires more time for his step sequence "I changed the music a bit and started today's program slightly earlier," the 19-year-old stated but I was more surprised by the two-point deduction." Germany's Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are on top following the pairs short program with 79.43 Russia's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (78.83) are second while China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong (75.82) stand in third ahead of Saturday's free skate France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (82.07) hold a slight lead over Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (81.53) following the short dance Americans Maia and Alex Shibutani (78.09) are in third with the free dance slated for Saturday Russia's Alexandra Trusova tops the leaderboard after the short program in the women's Junior Grand Prix Final with a tally of 73.25 ahead of compatriots Alena Kostornaia (71.85) and Anastasia Tarakanova (67.90) scored a personal best of 66.82 and is fourth Kihira skated to "Kung Fu Piano" and began with a beautiful layback spin triple flip/triple toe loop combo and a triple lutz while appearing determined throughout "I was doing very well in practice so I was not as nervous as last year being able to concentrate on each element I do," Kihira noted "I built my confidence today with this short program so I hope to do well on my long as well." is counting on the top weapon in her arsenal — the triple axel — in Saturday's free skate to vault her onto the podium this year landed two huge triple axels two weeks ago to win the Japan Junior Championship in Maebashi "I have been focusing a lot on my performance but of course I would like to land my triple axel," Kihira commented so I want to relax and enjoy my free skate American Alexei Krasnozhon leads the men's JGP Final after the short program with 81.33 Russia's Alexey Erokhov is in second at 78.39 Mitsuki Sumoto gave a solid performance to "Singin' in the Rain" and is third on 77.10 then added a triple flip/triple toe loop combo The 16-year-old Sumoto said he was inspired by skating in front of the home fans "I could hear the audience cheering for me and I was able to change that into my power," Sumoto commented "It felt like a dream seeing all the Hinomaru after I finished." Sumoto said he has been working hard since winning the Japan junior title last month "I have been struggling with my triple axel during practice but I was very happy to land it in competition," Sumoto stated The Osaka native expressed a confident tone ahead of Friday's free skate "For tomorrow's free skate I want to express the music and perform so it will touch the hearts of the audience," Sumoto said The senior women's short program is set for Friday Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp Be greeted by the sight of 1.5 million tulips when you step into Gosen’s Sumoto region in Niigata Prefecture Springtime in tulip territory is a kaleidoscope of blooms that culminates in the Gosen City Tulip Festival in mid-April bulbs from Holland were recently brought in to give the Festival’s blooms an additional splash of color Getting to Sumoto is a 10-minute taxi ride from Gosen Station on the JR Banetsu West Line or a 10-minute car ride from the Yasuda IC on the Banetsu Expressway call the Gosen Agriculture and Forestry Division at 0250-43-3911 Browse the JNTO site in one of multiple languages Along with surfing and skateboarding culture,RVCA.The origins of the company can be found in martial arts we have been vigorously supporting fighters One of them is martial arts legend Tokuiku "Kid" Yamamoto have been close friends since he was a member of the UFC a special collection born from the bond between the two has been released the gym that Yamamoto established before his death and "Luca" will release three collaborative wear items and sweatpants with a bold print of the word "Crazy Bee," the symbol of "Krazy Bee The heroic and galloping logo placed throughout the lineup seems to express Yamamoto's uncommon strength and speed To celebrate the release of this collection a pop-up event will be held at the gallery space on the second floor of "RVCA STORE SHIBUYA" from January 8 (Fri.) The event will feature a collection of rare photos of Yamamoto as well as collaboration items with Bruce Lee and "EVERLAST" martial arts enthusiasts can't afford not to visit Police inspect a house where a stabbing murder took place in Sumoto You must be logged in to post a comment Since its inception in 2008, the tax donation program known as furusato nōzei has seen steady growth in contributions from taxpayers who are enticed by gifts and tax deductions But until recently, foreign residents had difficulty taking advantage of the program due to a lack of information in languages other than Japanese.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); Believing that furusato nōzei would be popular with non-Japanese taxpayers if it were more accessible, a Tokyo-based startup has launched what it claims to be the first multilingual website that enables non-Japanese taxpayers to make donations on Wednesday. Called Furusato Japan with other languages to be added in the future Advocate Arif Khan Makki says “The rationale behind the Suo Moto actions of the High Courts and The Supreme Court is the desire to deliver justice to everyone even to the people who might not able to afford it.” “The courts by taking Suo Moto cognizance have many times put themselves in the shoes of the legislature and executives by supervising them. Policymaking is a realm of the legislature and the executive, however, through judicial activism that line has been blurred,” adds Advocate Arif Khan Makki. The Indian courts have taken Suo Moto cognizance in the following instances: The Supreme Court also took Suo Moto Cognizance and asked the Central Government to work with companies like Google and WhatsApp to suggest a list of keywords to block explicit videos that depict rape An NGO named Prajwala wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India in 2015 and sent a pen drive containing two videos The letter asked the court to take appropriate measures against the culprits who were committing gang rape in a video The Supreme Court converted the letter into a PIL The High Courts and Supreme Court have started to play a predominant role in highlighting various social issues and taking swift legal action against them on their own The courts have become chief social activists by giving interest to society’s paramount importance and instituting legal actions against the State’s failure to uphold and protect the rights of its citizens Judicial Review is the power of the Courts to determine the constitutionality of the Legislative actions It is the power which allows the court to declare any legislative or executive actions of the government as void on the basis of unconstitutionality if the court cannot Suo Moto decide the constitutionality of any government action unless moved by an aggrieved party and also unless the determination of unconstitutionality be necessary for the decision of the case The legislature itself being the maker of law is not competent to determine the constitutionality of any legislative Act An unconcerned independent and impartial body like the court is the proper authority to look into legislative lapses This is necessary for the maintenance of the spirit of democracy Suo Moto exercised the power of Judicial review where it came to the conclusion that certain orders have been passed illegally and in an arbitrary manner The Suo Moto has its genesis in the concept of “Epistolary Jurisdiction” which emerged in the late seventies through judicial activism in order to make the judicial process more accessible to poor socially and economically disadvantaged sections of the Society Suo Moto cases are instances wherein the High Courts and the Supreme court of India using their inherent powers initiate a hearing by taking cognizance of any matter on its own without anybody filing any appeal or writ petition It is the article Article 32 and Article 226 of the Indian Constitution enable the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively to issue any directions to do or refrain to do an act By virtue of these two Articles and also the emergence of Public Interest Litigation has allowed these Courts to take up Suo Moto cases The rationale for such actions also draws upon the desire of the courts to broaden the reach of justice to those who might not be able to access the court using its jurisdictional powers and issues a Suo Moto writ on the grounds of blatant violation of the law to prevent the gross constitutional violation The Suo Moto cognizance virtually presupposes the public at large as one of the parties Therefore after the court takes cognizance of a matter it usually appoints amicus curiae to assist the court In what cases can the court take Suo Moto action One such example is that when the Supreme Court took Suo Moto cognizance of Delhi air pollution The courts in many instances have also taken Suo Moto cognizance of contempt of court where ever the dignity of the court has been challenged or where someone had tried to obstruct the delivery of justice.  The Court has the Suo Moto power to bring a case under its own jurisdiction if it feels there has been grave injustice done one such example is the recent Unnao rape case The powers granted to the courts under Art 226 and Art 32 of the Indian Constitution is so wide that there cannot be made an exhaustive list of the instances where the court can take Suo Moto cognizance She is notable for her appearances in Alice in Borderland(2020) and the Japanese drama Sekai no Owari Kara(2023) she has appeared at several fashion events for the Kobe Collection and Tokyo Girls Collection The Japanese actress has received a few awards including the 2014 DHC Cinderella Award as well as the 2015 Sanai Swimsuit Image Girl As one of the multitalented actresses who is putting the Japanese film industry on the list of global entertainment giants she has found ways of managing her career and marriage She is married to the Japanese actor and radio presenter many are captivated by Aya’s fascinating screen roles she started life in Sumoto which is located on the beautiful Awaji Island to parents whose identity she has not revealed Aya was born in one of the most notable years in Japanese History a catastrophic earthquake struck off the shore of Kushiro and killed about two people while leaving many injured Though Kuchiro lies more than 4 thousand miles away from Sumoto her place of birth is important to her life story as she attended schools within the area she was very active in sports during her elementary school till her third year of High school She graduated from the Hyugo Prefectural Sumoto Jitsugyo High School She is a UNESCO ambassador of Awaji Island and as part of her campaign she works hard to promote the people’s culture and history through entertainment Following her graduation from high school, the actress worked as a midwife’s assistant at the local women’s department. She spent a year and a half there and gained experience that she later used when portraying the character of Manami in Red Shoes she was expected to act the part of a boxer who lost her daughter and has to struggle to gain her back after an accident The Sumoto native revealed that she did not have experience raising children but used her work experience to translate her role Though she collapsed for three consecutive days during the production of the work her experience as a midwife’s assistant was a highly commendable one Known as the Nine-Headed Beauty due to her great looks, it was only necessary that such a description fit into a modeling career. On her own, she had a dream of becoming a model right from elementary school she was inspired by the singer Maki Goto who featured in Morning Musume she even wrote about wanting to join the show at her elementary graduation collection Another source of inspiration for her came after watching Paradise Kiss a manga based on a girl who wanted to become a top model Aya would one day reach such heights and even win prizes But first here is how she was able to do this Aya started doing event modeling at a young age and was later scouted the country’s capital to get more work she found herself working at the Ikushima Planning office she participated in the Cinderella Awards organized by the cosmetic brand Aya made quite an impression and this earned her the Grand Prize She has made many notable modeling appearances whether as a  runway model Aya wrote about her dream of becoming a model in her elementary school yearbook and years later This time around she has added to this dream by making her photo albums Her first photo book Aya Darake-Aya Asahina’s First Photo Book was released on October 28 This was followed two years later with the self-titled Aya which Wani Books released on February 3 Aya is a woman who wears many career hats and one of them is acting she made her acting debut in 2017 when she appeared in Tokyo Alice She appeared in 12 episodes of the manga series which started streaming on August 17 of the same year it helped to popularise her to people who did not know her from modeling Since then she has made several screen appearances she had 9 acting credits at the time of writing this report Aside from the screen roles that Aya takes and photo shoots involved with modeling she loves to share other details about her lifestyle on her YouTube channel The Sumoto native started the channel on her 27th birthday and has since attracted thousands of followers Aya is said to have built a room for streaming in her home Aya is quite the captivating beauty that is sure to make many admirers wish to be in her life The pair got married sometime in July 2021 Yamashita has an impressive career record as a dancer He is a member of the Japanese Pop group Sandaime J Soul Brothers DIY projects as well as collecting sneakers The pair are said to have met through a mutual friend and soon found out that they were deeply attracted to each other Their relationship was still going strong when the Covid-19 pandemic struck While it was a trying moment for many people around the world the lovers saw the positive side of remaining together and decided to build their relationship even stronger through common interests Yamashita had revealed his intention to start a family when he eventually found the right partner they quietly got married before making a public announcement about the union on July 26 See Also: Lotus Juice- 10 Things You Never Knew About The Japanese Singer From what we have gathered, the Japanese multi-talented entertainer is not a mother it is not unusual for celebrities to keep such details quiet she may be taking her time before making such a big decision about motherhood Considering her husband’s past remarks about starting a family we may not be surprised if they choose that route as a pair Yamashita has hinted that he is going to be a great dad because he was alone for a long time during which he cooked and cleaned after himself The implication is that these are skills he will use in his family he may likely also use his passion for DIY if they eventually have kids © 2023 JukeBugs - A Property of GlassWorks Media Please enter your username or email address to reset your password © 2023 JukeBugs - A Property of GlassWorks Media Last Updated on December 14, 2023 by Jitte John-Longji