Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Fuji Sand Control Office announced on April 9 that it had observed that the snow near Mt. Fuji at an altitude of about 2,000 meters had melted, and the snow water had swept into the surrounding sediment and caused a "mud avalanche" for the first time this year, and there were no injuries or damage to homes so far.
According to NHK, the total rainfall on Mt. Fuji from April 8 exceeded 130mm, and the concentrated heavy rain caused the snowmelt sleet to collapse down with mud and swell like a wave, reaching speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. Fortunately, the sediment was intercepted in the sand control facility and did not flow to the foothills.
According to the Fuji Sand Protection Office, it is necessary to strengthen the vigilance against avalanches in the coming days, and people working at downstream construction sites must also take countermeasures to avoid secondary damage.
Although similar mud avalanches occur on Mt. Fuji in the rainy March~May months when the temperature rises in previous years, combined with the sudden situation of "snow melting overnight" at the end of last year, the "Mt. Fuji eruption theory" has once again attracted people's attention.
At present, it is not officially clear whether Mt. Fuji will erupt, but Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, has decided to distribute evacuation maps to residents in April when the danger of eruption of Mt. Fuji rises.
The map is color-coded with six evacuation areas according to the urgency, and there is a list of what to bring on foot except for areas with a high degree of urgency.
Friends in Japan should remember not to believe rumors or spread rumors, and always have some necessary evacuation items at home in case of emergency. Comparatively speaking, the following news has a greater impact on our lives.
The Japanese government has decided to stop issuing paper health insurance cards from December 2 this year, and will instead use the "マイナ保険証" system that is combined with an Individual Number card.
As of March this year, the number of insurance cards used exceeded 10 million for the first time, but the utilization rate was only 5.47%.
In order to increase the usage rate, the government will implement measures intensively from May ~ July, distribute leaflets at medical institutions to urge patients to use them, and pay a temporary subsidy of up to 100,000 yen for clinics that increase the number of users and up to 200,000 yen for hospitals.
For Japanese nationals, there are the following benefits to using a health insurance card when visiting a medical institution:
1. When registering, you can automatically check the health insurance and confirm your identity, simplifying the procedures;
2. There is no need to renew the health insurance card when you are employed, job-hopping, moving, or getting married, and you can use it at any time;
3. If the part of the monthly medical expenses exceeds the limit, as long as the certificate of application of the limit is obtained in advance and presented, there is no need to pay the part that exceeds the limit;
4. You can check the past prescription history, health examination, hospitalization experience and other information through the APP "マイナポータル";
5. The tax return can be automatically submitted for medical expense reduction and exemption to reduce the trouble of tax avoidance declaration.
In fiscal 2025, the Japanese government plans to issue a new card for foreign nationals who are staying in the medium to long term, which will unify the residence card and My Number card, in order to further simplify the procedures for living in Japan.
In 2026, the Japan Digital Agency will introduce a new design and new features for My Number Cards, which will remove gender markers, change the date of birth from the year to the Gregorian calendar, and extend the validity period of electronic certificates on IC chips from the current 5 years to 10 years.
What do you think about the "Mt. Fuji eruption theory" and what problems have you encountered in Japan, please leave a message and talk to us!