No.27 Top 10 News of Inagi City in 2013

(Inagi Newsletter January 15, 2014 issue)

Last year, there were blizzards in Hokkaido in March, and record heavy rains in Yamaguchi and Shimane Prefectures in July, as well as in northern Tohoku in August. Taking these lessons into account, the Japan Meteorological Agency began the operation of special warnings. However, in September, tornadoes occurred in Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, and in October, a large-scale debris flow disaster occurred on Izu Oshima due to the impact of Typhoon No. 26, claiming precious lives.
In April, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province, China, in May a tornado struck Oklahoma, USA, and in November, damage was caused by Typhoon 30 and storm surges in the Philippines, making it a year where we felt the threat of natural disasters.
On the other hand, in March, successful test extraction of methane hydrate was achieved from the seabed off Aichi Prefecture, in May, the People’s Honor Award was presented to Mr. Shigeo Nagashima and Mr. Hideki Matsui, in June, UNESCO registered Mount Fuji as a World Cultural Heritage site, and in September, there were also bright news such as the successful launch of the new rocket Epsilon.
Now, let's look back at the events of Inagi City.

1. The elevation of the JR Nambu Line northbound towards Kawasaki has been completed. On December 23, the elevated switch construction will be carried out, giving birth to "Inagi, a town without level crossings." This will be the 7th town in Tokyo and the 3rd in the Tama area to have no level crossings.
2. The complex facility Friend Hirao will have a renewed opening in April. The Hirao Festival was held simultaneously with the Second Cultural Center in November.
3. Establishment of the Development Support Center "Respo Inagi" and the Education Center. Both functions will be co-located within Friend Hirao, providing seamless developmental consultations from preschool age, school enrollment consultations, and post-graduation life consultations.
4. The presentation ceremony for the title of Honorary Citizen of Inagi City (Mr. Shige Yoshitomo Tominaga) was held in June, a monument was established in Inagi Fureai Forest, and the unveiling ceremony was held in November.
5. The Sports Festival Tokyo 2013 (68th National Sports Festival) was held. A total of 868 people participated in the unihoc on September 15, including 492 athletes and coaches, and a total of 5,668 people participated in the soft baseball from October 4 to 7, including 224 athletes and coaches. High-level intense matches were held, and there was also hospitality provided by citizen volunteers with pork miso soup and free drinks.
6. Inagi Nashinosuke made a great leap in the Yuru-Chara Grand Prix. He ranked 30th out of 1,580 characters nationwide and 1st in Tokyo.
7. The Inagi Fureai Health and Medical Festival was held. With the cooperation of related organizations, a new event themed around health and medical care was conducted at the City Hospital main building, the health checkup outpatient building, and Owens Health Plaza. The cumulative number of users at Owens Health Plaza, which opened in May two years ago, surpassed 100,000 in August.
8. Conversion to LED for security lights and others. All replaceable lighting in the City Hall, fire station, security lights, and park lights have been converted to LED in a single fiscal year. This has resulted in reduced power consumption and environmental impact.
9. Start of subsidies for the introduction of residential renewable energy equipment. A subsidy system has been established for the purchase costs of solar power generation systems, EneFarm, home storage batteries, etc., with the primary purpose of preventing global warming.
10. Introduction of the Public Facilities Reservation System. It started operating in April, allowing reservations for facilities from home or on the go, regardless of weekends or evenings.

The top 10 news stories for Inagi City last year are as follows. Due to the improvement in the real estate market, which had been sluggish since the Lehman Shock, the standard price in the city has either remained stable or started to rise, and the revenue from Municipal Resident Tax and Tokyo Metropolitan Resident Tax is also showing an increasing trend. We will continue to actively promote Community Development and, together with everyone, aim for a vibrant and energetic Inagi.