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Calbee to Switch Some Packaging to Black and White Over Middle East Tensions

TOKYO - Major snack manufacturer Calbee will switch the packaging of some of its products to black-and-white designs as instability in the Middle East disrupts the procurement of printing ink and other materials.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Calbee plans to replace the usual orange and yellow packaging used for some of its flagship products, including lightly salted potato chips, with simplified two-color black-and-white packaging.

The company has already informed retailers of the change and said the revised packaging will apply to shipments distributed from May 25th onward.

Concerns are also spreading across the broader snack industry, with other major manufacturers reportedly acknowledging the need to reconsider ink usage and package designs in order to maintain stable product supplies in the months ahead.

Source: 日テレNEWS

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Typhoon No. 15 caused growing disruption to Japan's Obon holiday travel on August 11, with dozens of flights canceled and railway services suspended as the storm made landfall in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at around 8 p.m.

Typhoon No. 15 (Chan-hom) made landfall in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at around 8 p.m. on August 11, marking the first typhoon landfall in the prefecture since official statistics began in 1951, as strong winds and heavy rain spread across eastern Japan.

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

The Tokaido Shinkansen operated its first overnight service ahead of the Obon holiday period, offering travelers a 15,000 yen trip from the Tokyo area to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka while allowing them to save on hotel costs and arrive earlier than the first regular morning trains.

Typhoon No. 15 is expected to approach and likely make landfall somewhere in the Kanto region on August 11, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that could disrupt conventional rail services, expressways and flights while also affecting a wider area extending into Tohoku.

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