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.
Article 29 of Japan’s School Health and Safety Act requires every school to prepare a kiken-tō hasseiji taisho yōryō, a manual for responding to dangers. Suited to the conditions of the school, it sets out the specific actions and the steps that the staff must take when a danger arises.
Before the space probe Hayabusa2 first touched down on the asteroid Ryugu, JAXA ran a series of touchdown rehearsals. In one, on October 14 and 15, 2018, the probe descended to about 22.3 meters above the surface to check the accuracy of its navigation and guidance. This test had been planned for an earlier rehearsal, but a sensor failed to switch modes.
In the next rehearsal, from October 23 to 25, the probe fed its laser range measurements back into its control. The first touchdown was postponed to January 2019 or later.
In July 2019, Mizuho completed the move to MINORI, a new core banking system developed after a major system failure in 2011. Between February 28 and March 12, 2021, Mizuho Bank had four system failures.
In June 2021, the bank published the report of its investigation. Among the causes, the report named a lack of training for system failures. It also found causes in common with the failures of 2002 and 2011.
On July 30, 1978, Okinawa switched from right-hand to left-hand traffic, on a date set by a cabinet decision of June 24, 1975. Roads were closed from 10 p.m. on July 29 for eight hours. By 6 a.m. on July 30, the rule had become “cars on the left, people on the right.”
Signs and road markings on 4,974 kilometers of public roads had to be changed. Schools and kindergartens drilled the new rule, and television and radio ran programs on it. Most buses were replaced with new right-hand-drive buses. The day is remembered as Nana-san-maru, seven-three-zero.
Dandori (段取り): the order and steps for doing something, and the preparation for it.
Dandori hachibu (段取り八分): preparation is eighty percent. Good preparation is eighty percent of success.