March 29, Friday, 2024

1. Cherry blossoms started blooming in Tokyo on Friday, five days later than they usually do. The Meteorological Agency announced the start of the cherry blossom season, after it spotted eleven blossoms on a benchmark cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. 2. Japan ‘s health ministry says the number of children who took their own lives remained at a record-high level in 2023. More than 510 reportedly took the action. The total figure is down by 44 from the previous year. Males accounted for 14, 862 of the cases, while females accounted for 6,975 of the cases. The figure for males rose by 116, but the number for females fell by 160.
3. Japan’s internal affairs ministry says tickets for two types of lotteries will go on sale to help rebuild communities affected by the New Year’s Day earthquake. Internal affairs minister Matsumoto Takeaki announced the plan on Friday. He urged people to buy the lottery tickets to help people in the quake-hit areas.