**Today's news** covers several significant updates. **Yoshinoya Holdings** is entering the ramen industry, acquiring multiple chains to create a restaurant conglomerate as an alternative to the competitive beef bowl market. Simultaneously, **April will bring rising electricity costs and food prices** due to the end of government subsidies, alongside expanded **childcare support**, such as wider access to tuition-free high school and enhanced parental leave benefits. In other news, **local government employees can now undertake side jobs** with new, more flexible regulations from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, intended to boost regional contributions and talent acquisition. Finally, **fresh analysis regarding the origin of COVID-19** suggests animal transmission at the Wuhan market, although the lab leak theory persists according to US intelligence, and an international conference on the matter will be held in Awaji Island, Hyogo in December 2024.