A shanshan sōkai is a shareholders’ meeting that ends in a short time, with no real discussion and no questions.
A Japanese legal journal writes that shareholders’ meetings were once called shanshan meetings, and that obtaining a valid resolution, free of defects, in a short time was considered desirable. A money magazine adds that at the time, a shanshan meeting was considered a good shareholders’ meeting.
In Tokyo, a developer who plans a mid-rise or high-rise building must put up a sign on the site that announces the plan. Under Article 5 of a Tokyo ordinance of July 1978 on preventing and settling disputes over such buildings, the sign goes up before the developer applies for building confirmation.
Under Article 6, the developer must explain the plan to neighbors who ask for it. The neighbors are the people within a distance of twice the building’s height from the site boundary. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government advises holding the explanation even before anyone asks.
On May 30, 2018, the Japan Sumo Association held its ranking committee and then an extraordinary meeting of its board. The board approved the promotion of Tochinoshin to ōzeki by unanimous decision.
Then messengers from the association went to his stable. Izutsumi Oyakata told him: Zenkai itchi de ōzeki ni suikyo saremashita. “You have been recommended for ōzeki by unanimous decision.” Tochinoshin answered with a formal speech of acceptance, the kōjō: “I humbly accept. I will keep my stable master’s teaching and devote myself to training, so that I become a model for wrestlers.”
Japanese ministries have shingikai, advisory councils. A Japanese encyclopedia notes that the councils have no research bodies or secretariats of their own and depend on the ministry. Some critics therefore say that the ministry sets the direction of its councils.
Another encyclopedia warns that the council system can become a kakuremino, a cloak of invisibility, for the administration, and can leave its responsibility unclear.
Suriawase (すり合わせ): rubbing together. Comparing several proposals or opinions and adjusting them to one another. A dictionary of everyday expressions adds: adjusting the differences in people’s opinions and perceptions until they share an understanding and a direction.
Jinarashi (地均し): leveling the ground. Preparing in advance so that something goes smoothly, as in iken chōsei no jinarashi o suru, leveling the ground for coordinating opinions.
On June 26, 1962, trial runs began on the Kamonomiya model line of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. The section was about 30 kilometers long. It was built so that prototype trains and new equipment could be tested in real conditions before the whole line was finished.
On March 30, 1963, a test train reached 256 kilometers per hour on the model line. In February 1964, the model line became part of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.
September 1 is Bōsai no hi, Disaster Prevention Day. It was established in 1960. The date is the anniversary of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. It also falls near nihyaku tōka, the 210th day counted from the start of spring in the traditional calendar, a time known for typhoons.
Since a cabinet understanding of 1982, the week around September 1 has been Disaster Prevention Week. The government calls for disaster drills during that week.
Ishibashi o tataite wataru (石橋を叩いて渡る): to tap on a stone bridge before crossing it. Even a bridge that looks solid is checked for safety first. Doing things with caution on top of caution.
Sonae areba urei nashi (備えあれば憂いなし): if prepared, no worries. A person who is always ready for an emergency need not worry when one happens.
Nen ni wa nen o ireyo (念には念を入れよ): add care to care. In important matters, take great care that no mistake happens, and then check once more.
On December 2, 2024, Japan stopped issuing new health insurance cards. Patients were to use their My Number identity card, registered for health insurance, instead.
The old cards could still be used until December 1, 2025. People who have not registered their My Number card receive a shikaku kakuninsho, a certificate of eligibility, from their insurer. It is free of charge, and no application is needed.
An amendment to Japan’s Flood Control Act took effect on July 1, 2005, after a series of heavy rain disasters in 2004. It obliged the mayors of municipalities with areas expected to flood to inform residents, with flood hazard maps, about how flood warnings are passed on and where to evacuate.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism expected the number of municipalities required to make such maps to roughly double, to about 1,800. On March 31, 2005, 375 municipalities had them.