Current Affairs Quiz [2024]

Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) has announced that it will end the annual display of its Christmas tree after 2024. The decision was made to create a Christmas event that more people can enjoy, bringing a close—much to the regret of many fans—to a long-standing tradition.

Ichiro

Thanks to his brilliant performance and career achievements, Ichiro has been selected as a candidate for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025. To be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, five years must have passed since retirement, and he first became eligible in 2024. There is keen interest in whether he will be inducted on his first ballot.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is a business leader who heads companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, is known as a supporter of President Trump, and has been chosen to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration. Incidentally, the department’s abbreviation, DOGE, is said to be named after DOGE Coin, the cryptocurrency Elon Musk has advocated.

Insurance card

To promote integration with the My Number Card, issuance of the traditional paper and card-type health insurance certificates will be discontinued in December 2024. The conventional insurance certificates you currently have can be used until December 1, 2025.

Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2

The No. 2 unit at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant was denied approval in the screening for restart by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The decision was reportedly made on the grounds that the possibility of an active fault beneath the Unit 2 reactor could not be ruled out. This is the first time since the Authority was established that it has issued a denial in such a screening.

Yuichiro Tamaki

It was Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People who proposed, as a policy, raising the 1.03 million yen threshold. The “1.03 million yen wall” refers to a system in which part-time workers lose tax benefits such as the spousal deduction once their annual income exceeds a certain amount. The aim of easing this threshold is to support workers’ motivation to work and their livelihoods.

Kiryū Nishinomiya Shrine

Speaking of the Lucky Man race, it’s known for being held every January at Nishinomiya Shrine in Hyogo Prefecture, but in 2024 it was held for the first time at a shrine in the Kanto region. The distance participants ran within the shrine grounds was 230 meters, the same as at Nishinomiya Shrine.