Latest news with #HideyukiYokoyama
The Mainichi
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: The Osaka mayor says sorry about dirty school lunch dishes
OSAKA -- The mayor of Osaka said sorry on May 20 about many problems with food at a city elementary school. Since April, there have been problems like dirty bowls and hair on the food. Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama said to the Osaka city government, "I am very sorry. This is a serious problem." These food problems started at an Osaka elementary school in April, when a different lunch company began making the food. On April 3, the school principal and teachers tasted the food. They told the city's education board, "The rice was not cooked well. The pork smelled too oily. Teachers could not finish it." Soon, the lunch company got advice from the education board on how to cook rice. On April 11, the school found bowls were not cleaned well. Some bowls still had rice and dirty spots. Because of this, the principal stopped side dishes that day. Students ate only milk and bread for lunch. Later in April, the education board went to check the lunch company's kitchen. Still, problems continued. People found hair in rice, a kitchen worker cooking food with broken gloves, and a worker touching trash and then touching pizza. Someone also found hair in Chinese soup. On May 16, parents and teachers from the school had a meeting. Parents asked if children could bring their own lunches from home and if cameras could check the lunch company's kitchen. From May 19, the principal said children could bring lunch from home if they wanted. On May 19, 35 students brought lunches from home. On May 20, 57 students did so. Some people from the city government want to end the contract with this lunch company. But the city's education head, Katsuya Tada, said, "No students have become sick so far. We must think carefully first." Mayor Yokoyama said, "If problems continue, we may have to stop using this lunch company. But we must also carefully follow rules and laws." (Japanese original by Shunsuke Takara, Osaka City News Department) Vocabulary - mayor: the leader of a town or city. - principal: the person in charge of a school. - education board: a group that helps make rules for schools. - elementary school: school for young children. - contract: a written promise between people or groups to do something. - kitchen worker: a person whose job is cooking or cleaning in a kitchen. - company: a group that provides or sells things or services, like school lunches. - government: a group of people who make rules and lead a city or country.
The Mainichi
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Dirty dishes, hair in food: Osaka elementary school lunches rife with problems since April
OSAKA -- The mayor of this west Japan city apologized May 20 after it came to light that unsanitary conditions for meals served at a municipal elementary school here, such as unclean bowls and hair in food, have been recurring since April. At a meeting of the Osaka Municipal Assembly's education and children committee, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama bowed in apology, saying, "I take this very seriously and deeply apologize." The mayor was answering questions from Hiromi Fuchikami, a committee member belonging to a group affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party. According to Fuchikami and the municipal board of education, the sanitary issues with school lunches began after their supplier was changed in April. The school's principal, after a taste-testing April 3, had told the education board, "The rice is not cooked properly. The pork also smelled oily. None of our teachers could finish the meal." Guidance on rice preparation was given the following day. On April 11, due to rice grains and stains still on multiple pieces of dishware intended to be used for servings, the principal made the call to stop serving side dishes except for milk and bread. In light of the issues, the education board in late April implemented in-person checks of the meal preparation. However, incidents continued. Hair was found in a food can containing rice, and a kitchen worker was found to be continuing to cook with torn gloves. Later, a faculty member found a pizza being cooked with hands that had touched a trash can, and the pizza was discarded. Hair was also found in a can of Chinese soup. The school held a parent-teacher conference on May 16. Parents called for ideas including bringing bento boxed lunches and installing security cameras in the food preparation area. The principal approved students bringing their own boxed lunches from May 19, and of the more than 400 students, 35 on May 19 and 57 on May 20 brought their own lunches. Fuchikami has called for an early termination of the contract with the supplier. "The school's students have not experienced any health problems at this point, so we need to decide carefully," said Katsuya Tada, head of the municipal education board. He added, "We will continue to study the feasibility of various options about the contract." After the committee meeting, the mayor told reporters, "If a situation arises that makes it impossible to keep the contract or causes damage, the contract cannot continue. On the other hand, we have to check the laws. We want to make careful and appropriate decisions." (Japanese original by Shunsuke Takara, Osaka City News Department) Timeline of incidents related to school lunches at municipal elementary school in Osaka April 3: The school principal noted that rice wasn't properly cooked and pork smelled oily during a meal trial. April 10: A delay of 15 minutes was caused by a staffer not knowing how to use the fryer. April 11: Dishes that were wet or with sticky rice and dirt on them were seen, leading the principal to cancel serving side dishes excluding bread and milk. April 17: After cutting a cooking glove, staff concluded there was no further contamination and resumed meal preparation. Hair was found in rice. April 25: A stained ladle was replaced. May 1: A teacher found a staff member handling pizza after touching a trash can, leading to the disposal of the food. May 8: Rice was like porridge and was recooked.
SoraNews24
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Fatal flop or fun? What is the 2025 World Expo in Osaka really like?
Let's compare what's being said on the Internet to what's really going on. In the weeks leading up to the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo, a lot has been said about the event being poorly planned, over budget, and even hazardous. Osaka Mayor Osaka Governor Hideyuki Yokoyama alluded to a concerted effort to bash the event for either financial or political gain. Meanwhile, Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto has been spending his online time confronting the chorus of complaints about the event, most notably from Mayor Fusaho Izumi of Akashi City in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture, who called the Expo and its signature Grand Ring 'the waste of the century.' Reading all this from the comfort of my home made me wonder who to believe. Negative press aside, I wasn't really motivated to go to the Expo myself, mainly because there wasn't any especially big draw. The flying car seemed destined to be the centerpiece for a while but got scaled way down to a simple viewing and occasional test flight demonstration. Left without an aim there, I couldn't really justify the 7,500 yen (US$52) admission. ▼ Sure, flying cars are essentially just helicopters or large drones, but I wanted to go up in one damnit… As luck would have it, an opportunity came when I covered Japanese candy maker Glico's exhibits and announcements there recently and I also had some time to go around and really take in what the Expo is and how well it lives up to the negative hype going around online. So, let's look at some of the common complaints. ● No One is Going Leading up to the opening, there was some speculation over whether the 2025 Expo could meet its goal of 28.2 million visitors, which would boil down to about 150,000 visitors per day. Since the organizers reported their one-millionth visitor on the 13th day after the expo opened, that would put them at a little under 80,000 per day, and even with that, there was some speculation that the numbers were being inflated. It's hard to estimate numbers from being there, but it was definitely a busy place. I arrived early in the morning and the train was packed. The crowd streaming out of the station was pretty similar to what Mr. Sato saw on the opening day as well. ▼ When Mr. Sato went on 13 April ▼ When I went on 30 April Because of this, the lineups to a lot of the bigger pavilions were substantial, and without a reservation anyone's chances of getting in are slim to none. On the other hand, the circular layout made it so people never bottlenecked anywhere and it was pretty easy to get around despite the large number of people. Most places had a rather spacious feeling. One thing worth noting is that World Expo attendance historically increases as time goes on, with the final weeks being the busiest as FOMO kicks in. For example, the record-breaking attendance of the Shanghai Expo didn't peak until mid-October, more than five months after it opened. So, even if Osaka is underperforming now, that could easily change in the future. Unfortunately, that might also change the not-so-crowded feeling I just mentioned. ● The Grand Ring is the Waste of the Century I might as well address Mayor Izumi's famous comment too. Initially, I wasn't blown away by the whole ring idea. Despite it being a world-record-breaking architectural accomplishment (recognized by the Guinness organization as the world's largest wooden architectural structure), traditionally built wooden structure, it is, at its core, just a big ring made out of wood. Upon seeing it firsthand, my suspicions were correct. It is indeed a big ring made of wood. That's really about it. ▼ Wood underneath… ▼ More wood on top… There's some grass on top too, and it offers a nice view of the ocean on one side along with a not-so-nice view of Osaka on the other side. I'm not trashing the Osaka skyline and think it's actually quite nice. It's just that from the ring's angle and distance it doesn't look all that hot. The ring is about two kilometers (1.2 miles) around so it would take about 10 to 20 minutes to walk a full lap. Because of this, I think they really should have put more thought into the designs of the tops of the pavilions. From most angles, the inside of the ring just looks like a cluster of nondescript buildings. ▼ Most angles are not especially great. The Italy pavilion looks way better from the ground. ▼ But there are a few sweet spots where you can get a nice shot, thanks to the Turkmenistan, Austria, and Switzerland pavilions looking nice from above. On the other hand, it does get really pretty when the sun sets. When I was there, a large crowd gathered on the ocean side to watch it. ▼ The sun setting from the far side of the ring ▼ If you zoom in, you can even see the dots of people gathering around it. The size of the ring could make for some really good forced perspective shots with a nice enough camera. Another big benefit of the Grand Ring is that when I went underneath it, the temperature must have dropped around five to 10 degrees thanks to the shade and channeled ocean breeze. There are also a lot of benches and some free water dispensers. I'm not sure how well this will hold up when the full force of summer hits, but it definitely helps. It also acts as a symbol for the event. Gov. Hashimoto described it as containing so many different countries, some of whom are currently at war with each other, all in the same confined space and working together peacefully. In that sense too, the Grand Ring can be seen as a good representation of the event itself. So, I wouldn't go nearly as far as saying the Grand Ring is the 'waste of the century', but as the centerpiece of the event, they could have put a little more into the experience of being on it. ● It's Going to Explode! Hmmm… There's not much I can say about that since I didn't blow up personally, nor have their been any explosions reported aside from that one that happened long before the expo opened. The landfill underneath the Expo emitting methane gas has been the cause for some visitor cancelations, but I have to think they are taking that matter as seriously as possible for the simple fact that a deadly explosion would be really bad for business. ▼ Water does periodically erupt from fountains inside the ring that are projection mapped on at night. Then again, Governor Hashimoto does remind me a little of that mayor in Jaws who refused to close the beaches despite the threat of a giant shark. If they really want to put these worries to rest, full transparency about what they are doing to channel the methane gas away from the venue safely would be a really good idea. ● They're Hanging Boulders over the Restrooms! I must say that is a complete fabrication. The boulders are hanging over an information center and some vending machines. The restrooms are located safely next to it. There were also some complaints that the restrooms lacked privacy, with configurations like child toilets with no stalls. I did notice a few facilities that seemed a little lax on privacy, and it did feel a little out of place at an event meant to showcase cutting edge culture and technology. But there were also many options for restrooms and I was never too far from one with more sufficient privacy if it bothered me. ● Stuff there is too expensive! Yup, that one is absolutely correct. I'd wager that everything I saw from food to souvenirs was about three to five times their price outside the venue. Acrylic keychains sold for about 850 yen ($6) and one food court was advertising a small plate of octopus balls for 900 yen as if someone would walk past that and say, 'Wow! What a deal!' ▼ For comparison, you could easily get octopus balls for around 300 yen in various places around Osaka. The one positive I noticed was that bottled water and other drinks from vending machines we not horrifically overpriced. I saw bottled water for only 130 yen, which is higher than the average Osaka vending machine but not as bad as places like Universal Studios Japan. However, that could be because they're competing with free water from the dispensers. Overall, I don't think the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo deserves a lot of the flack it's getting for its attendance and construction. It does, however, deserve the flack for being overpriced. Sure, these premium prices are common for such events, but to truly represent Osaka, respect for the sacred bargain that the city is known for ought to be upheld too. Regarding whether it's worth buying a ticket for, that would also depend how interesting you'd find the things to see and do there, which I'll also cover in an article coming very soon. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Asahi Shimbun
28-04-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Organizers to preserve a slice of Grand Ring at Osaka expo site
The Grand Ring on Yumeshima island in Osaka's Konohana Ward on April 21 (Asahi Shimbun file photo) OSAKA—The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition plans to preserve part of the Grand Ring, deemed the symbol of the Osaka Kansai Expo, after the event's conclusion. Its board is expected to officially approve the wooden structure's preservation at its June meeting. The proposal was made at a working-level meeting hosted by the association on April 24. Representatives of the central government, the Osaka prefectural and city governments, business federations and other member entities also attended. An agreement was reached to preserve part of Grand Ring in the redevelopment of Yumeshima island, the location of the expo, after the world fair ends. The association will make arrangements with the Osaka city government, which owns the man-made island. Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama and Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) Chairman Masakazu Tokura are among members expected to gather as early as May to confirm the plan. Should discussions progress, the association intends to revise contracts with builders that stipulate the full demolition of the Grand Ring after the expo's close. Sources shared that the 10 percent, or 200 meters, to be preserved will likely be the ring's northeastern portion from the Kansai Pavilion to Pop-up Stage Inner East. In its entirety, the ring, which is 30 meters wide, has an outer diameter that stretches to 675 meters, with varying heights of 12 to 20 meters. The decision to turn a portion of the Grand Ring into a monument is based on a redevelopment proposal chosen by the city government after the private sector submitted ideas. At the working-level meeting, members from the economy ministry said that preserving part of the Grand Ring 'would be appreciated in terms of leaving an obvious legacy from the expo.' Other members from the Kansai Economic Federation said, 'We can expect it to play a role as a visible expo legacy.' However, none of the members said they can afford the preservation and maintenance costs. As the island's owner, the Osaka city government is expected to work out the logistics of this and calculate the expected cost. The results of an expo visitor survey were also reported at the working-level meeting. When asked about their satisfaction with 23 of the venue's facilities, 61.3 percent of 51,000 attendees who responded by April 21 said they were 'very satisfied' with the Grand Ring, and 25.1 percent said they were 'somewhat satisfied.' Meanwhile, 36,000 of the 42,000 expo-goers who shared which venue facilities most impressed them placed the Grand Ring far ahead of other attractions, such as pavilions. Architect Sosuke Fujimoto, who was in charge of designing the entire expo venue, came up with the idea to build the Grand Ring, which earned a Guinness World Records title in March as the world's largest wooden building. The Grand Ring cost about 35 billion yen ($244 million) to build and used around 27,000 cubic meters of wood from Japan and overseas.
The National
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Expo 2025 Osaka opens after huge success in Dubai
Three years after the gates closed at Expo 2020 Dubai, celebrations have begun for the opening of Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan – the first to be held 'on the sea'. This is the second time the port city of Osaka is hosting a world expo. The commercial hub also hosted the 1970 expo – the first in Asia – and attracted more than 64 million visitors, making it the most visited expo of the 20th century. Orchestral performances, cultural dances and songs were part of the opening ceremony on Saturday, on artificial island Yumeshima in Osaka Bay. Japan's royal family took part in the celebrations of an expo that brings together more than 160 countries and international organisations. The site opens to the public from April 13 until October 13, on the theme Designing Future Society for Our Lives. Hideyuki Yokoyama, mayor of Osaka, said he hoped visitors would learn how to be future-ready after experiencing immersive technology at the 'first expo on the sea'. 'I hope that young children will come into contact with technology exhibited at the expo site, learn and be inspired to change the future for the better,' he said. 'We are excited the expo is finally opening. This will be the first expo on the sea. The Grand Ring is part of our vision and expo legacy as we welcome the world. We look forward to sharing this unique space with people from Japan and overseas.' Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions, which organises world expos, referenced the previous time Osaka hosted the world fair. 'Fifty-five years ago, Expo 1970 Osaka showcased a world in transformation, where new technologies redefined societies and connected lives,' said 'Now countries are convening once again in Osaka to share their perspectives and engage in meaningful dialogue to shape a better future for all.' The UAE has described participating in the Expo 2025 Osaka as historic and embodying the country's goals of international co-operation and teamwork. More than 9 million tickets have been sold, with the number of visitors over the six months expected to reach more than 28 million – about 150,000 people daily. The expo is being held on a 155-hectare site within the Grand Ring, the largest wooden architectural structure in the world. Countries have set up their pavilions within its 2km circumference. World expos have usually been held every five years since 1851, when the first great exhibition was held in London. Expos are planned as a global gathering of nations to find solutions to the pressing challenges of the day, in which countries, cities, non-governmental organisations and companies participate. The expo in Dubai was postponed by a year due to the pandemic but kept the title Expo 2020 Dubai. It was the first world expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region and brought together more than 200 participants from more than 190 countries on a 438-hectare site in Dubai South. More than 24 million visits were recorded for the Dubai expo, which took the theme Connecting minds, Creating the Future. It ended on March 31, 2022. The UAE won praise for staging such a huge event amid Covid-19 protocols that needed to be frequently updated and for providing testing facilities on site to keep visitors safe. After Osaka, the next expo will take place in Riyadh from October 2030, under the theme, Foresight for Tomorrow.
