Chinatsu 's blog

 These days, rice price goes up. Therefore, Family Mart has indicated a policy of selling rice for 400 yen per kilogram. However, The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that the applicant was not among the confirmed applicants. Family Mart plans to apply again. Family Mart said that if stockpiled rice was available, it would be individually packaged in 1 kg bags and sold for 400 yen without tax starting in early June, assuming that most convenience store users are singles.  After reading this article, I am surprised that they are trying to sell rice in convenience stores. I was curious as to why Family Mart is trying to sell rice. I also wondered how many people would buy rice if it were sold at convenience stores. I would also like to know why they were unsuccessful. Reference Yahoo news. (2025, May 29). Family Mart plans to sell government stockpiled rice for 400 yen per kilogram, but was “unsuccessful” and will reapply.  https://news.yahoo.co.jp/...

  The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry  announced that the fixed subsidy payment for gasoline will be 7.4 yen per liter as a measure against high prices. Gasoline prices will gradually decline and will be reflected in retail prices about two to three weeks ahead. There is still inventory in the tanks at the gas station before the price drop. The price may not come down until these are sold out. Also, whether the price will go down or not depends on the store. I found the mechanism more difficult than I had expected. I hope the price of gasoline will go down because a car is an essential means of transportation. Experts said there is a possibility that prices could go up, so I hope such a thing will not happen. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b3d5865118f1ea005b89a1c7d4d4e65b9f7b9b86       

There were three main takeaways from this presentation that I think are important. First, we learned that there are four important elements to starting a new project. Those four elements are like, good at, money, and demand. These four elements must be met when starting a new project. The second is to focus on what is local. In recent years, many of the things around us have been imported from abroad. This means that we consume large amounts of energy. This has a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, we have learned that it is important to focus on local products. The third is to create a conduit to call in the presentation, the key to attracting foreign customers to Japan is to create a conduit like that of foreign restaurants, travel agencies, Japanese companies, and their regions. As I said in the previous paragraph, I thought finding locally available items could be applied to this project. This also ties into the SDGs. I also think it is important to consider a company ...

  I read a news that  Roadside Station which costs 3 billion will be built.  They are planning to construct a “Roadside Station” on an area of approximately 4.3 hectares, or about the size of the Tokyo Dome. The roadside station is scheduled to open in 2028. It is planned to have a farm products direct sales shop, a food court, and other facilities.  The total project cost is 3 billion yen. However,  some citizens oppose this plan. There are those who object that the budget would be better spent on other things.  I often hear that roadside stations are popular these days. I thought it was a good idea because it will lead to the revitalization of the region. However, the management of roadside stations is difficult and often fails. I heard that the key to success is people and goods, and I am wondering how this plan will be carried out in the future. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c1e1028280a3c657c0e8323772ba51c0e3b6f2eb?page=1

   I saw a news that Open AI has decided against converting to a for-profit company. Open AI was founded in 2015 as a non-profit organization, operating Chat GPT.  AI development requires a huge amount of money and in 2019 they established a for-profit subsidiary. In December 2024, Open AI announced that it would remove the for-profit company from NPO. However,  Elon Musk was opposed to the idea, saying it neglected safety and public interest.  From this, I would like to know the clear reasons for abandoning commercialization. I hope the development of AI would be done with safety and public interest in mind, as AI technology can be abused.  　　　　　　　　 https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a30d10b3bb48f86e625cd34860d8421fb480f8d1

  Increase in The Price of Rice  These days, I often watch the news that the price of rice is rising. It is believed that it is taking time to distribute the stockpiled rice.   The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has released the results of its report on the sales volume of stockpiled rice. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "only 2,761 tons, or 1% of the 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice that was delivered to wholesalers from Zen-Noh and Zen Shuren between March 17 and 30, was sold".   In Japan, rice is the most eaten food. Thus, increase in rice prices affects our lives. You may have to change staple foods. I would like to see prices go back to normal as soon as possible.　I  hope that the government and others will work to ensure that stockpiled rice is available. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/eb76ebd5d202aec3e6d7014745e73fb6c279ddd6

 Self-introduction Hello. I'm Chinatsu Waki. I'm a second year student. I am from Niigata city. Looking back on my first year, it seemed like time passed very quickly. I learned a lot of things about economics. In terms of English skills, I am now able to  read English  books smoothly and my listening ability has improved.  Furthermore, my favorite things to do is basketball and kyudo. I joined basketball club when I was a junior high school student. In high school, I joined kyudo club. I like to play basketball and kyudo very much.  I also like watching movies and dramas.  In addition, I sometimes take a walk in Niigata Prefectural Botanical Garden. I went there last week. At that time, I took picture of the cherry blossoms. The picture below was taken at that time. There were so beautiful.