News Headlines - 09 December 2020

▽Japan town's sole female councillor ousted after accusing mayor of sexual assault | The Guardian

The only female member of a town assembly in Japan has been voted out of her seat after she accused the mayor of sexual assault, in a setback for the country’s nascent #MeToo movement.
Shoko Arai, until Monday a councillor in Kusatsu, a popular hot spring resort north-west of Tokyo, lost her seat after more than 90% of residents voted to recall her, saying she had damaged the town’s reputation, Japanese media reported.
Her plight has highlighted the male domination of local and national politics in Japan, which performs poorly in international comparisons of female representation in politics.

▽The Crown: Netflix has 'no plans' for fiction warning - BBC News

Netflix says it will not warn viewers of The Crown some scenes are fiction.
Responding to calls for a warning from Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, the streaming giant said the series has always been billed as a drama... Mr Dowden earlier said younger viewers "may mistake fiction for fact" when watching the fourth series, which shows the breakdown of the marriage between the Prince and Princess of Wales.

▽Andhra Pradesh: Unidentified illness hospitalizes more than 300 people in India - CNN

An unidentified illness has hospitalized more than 300 people in southeastern India, including one who has died, according to local officials investigating the cases... This comes as India continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, with the world's second-highest number of infections. Andhra Pradesh is one of the worst-affected states, and currently has more than 800,000 confirmed cases.
But Covid-19 wasn't the cause of the mass hospitalizations over the weekend.

▽Fallen tempura at store blamed for man slipping, hurting himself : The Asahi Shimbun

A slice of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) tempura that dropped on the floor of a busy Tokyo supermarket was blamed for a customer's injury after he slipped on the fried vegetable.
The Tokyo District Court on Dec. 8 ordered the supermarket to pay about 580,000 yen ($5,570) in compensation to the man.
Presiding Judge Ayako Nagatsuma noted that the incident occurred “at a peak hour” and the supermarket “should have been more vigilant” in ensuring customer safety.

▽Nestle Japan to Suspend Sales of Milo Malt Drink - JIJI PRESS

Nestle Japan Ltd. has announced a decision to suspend sales of all of its Milo chocolate malt beverage powder products due to difficulties meeting a surge in demand partly caused by social media posts.
The unit of Swiss food giant Nestle SA saw Milo demand grow seven-fold year on year following Twitter or other social media posts, including one saying that "it helps you wake up better" and another saying "It's good for anemia." The products also attracted attention from people staying home due to the coronavirus crisis... Milo started attracting strong demand in Japan around July on the back of the social media posts.
The company halted sales of the mainstay 240-gram product in September. Although its shipments were resumed on Nov. 16, Nestle Japan continued to see demand far exceed its supply capacity and decided on the full sales suspension as a result.