Kumamoto International Archive

Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.

Hey everyone, Sean here! It’s been a while.
Just a quick post for anyone interested in expanding their culinary skills—we’ll be offering an Indian cooking class this coming Sunday!
This is your chance to learn authentic Indian cooking from Sirisha. Check out the flyer for details, and if you’re interested, send us a message!

Hi Joe Tomei here. Kirk is working on the Bluesky move, but time keeps on, so I'm passing this job notice. Please contact Greg about details.
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Freedom English School, with locations in Kamitori, Suizenji, and Musashigaoka in Kumamoto City, is seeking a full-time English teacher starting in February or March 2027.
Applicants must be native-level speakers who are comfortable teaching children of all ages, from kindergarten through junior high school. Experience is preferred, but not essential for the right candidate, as comprehensive pre-employment and on-the-job training will be provided.
We pride ourselves on an excellent working environment and offer a competitive compensation package, the details of which will be provided upon request.
If you are interested in joining our growing teaching team and would like to find out more, please contact Greg Howes at [email protected] or 096-322-7100.

Well, it's been a nice ride. Umm. Let me rephrase that. It's been nice at times, frustrating at others, especially in recent years. But, we've finally come to the end of the road of this page as the focus of community building efforts. I'm not allowed to link so if you want more information about how changes in Meta policy have brought me to the breaking point, I'lll have to ask you to click on "Kumamoto International" and read recent posts. You'll see how Meta now makes it virtually impossible to continue sharing links here as we have done in the past without paying hundreds of dollars per month.
The "end to the road" doesn't mean that posts here will end completely. But it means that I will look for an alternative host. When I have found one, I'lll use my very limited number of free links per month to tell you about it. I understand that relatively few of you will be willing to move to or add a new venue to your social media diet. No hard feelings about that to be sure. But continuing here is not an option for me. -- Kirk

Hmmm. This workaround for Meta's new restriction failed. It is as though Meta is trying to prove to the world that Cory Doctorow was on the track when he coined the term "enshitification." -- Kirk

Facebook is killing this page. I recently wrote about my frustration regarding how Facebook downplays links (not showing them to users). Now they are trying to force people to PAY to share links. When I started Kumamoto International as a mailing list nearly 30 years ago, one key idea I had was that, since Kumamoto doesn't have an English language newspaper, it would be good to bring together local news from various sources. This may be the end of the road for that volunteer activity, at least on this social media platform. :( -- Kirk

I made this GIF animation to show how Minamata Bay has changed. The subtitle of the article is: "Japan's most infamous mercury disaster left behind a permanent landfill—and an uneasy question about what happens when the cap eventually fails." Worth a quick read in in my view. -- Kirk
https://spacedaily.com/j-1974-1990-minamata-bay-15m-m3-58-hectare-landfill/

Kirk here. If you are in eye-shot of the castle after midnight, you might notice the difference.
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The castle, located in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto, is usually lit up from sunset to midnight. Officials decided to extend the hours from dusk to dawn following the quake.
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https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/features/japan-focus/20260919-349523/

Kirk here. We've posted about this topic before, but this article provides new information (at least new to me) about the nature of the role of X and X's algorithms / AI in the spread of hateful nonsense.
X seems to be significantly worse than Facebook in regard to the spread of misinformation like this but the Facebook algorithm has its problems too. One issue is that images with text tend to spread better than images and text with a citation about the source of the information. One illustration of how this can play out is the following post by Joe with some comparative comments about this earthquake and the 2016 earthquake.
https://www.facebook.com/1379708514190936/posts/1471486435013143
It's well written and deserves to be spread but, nonetheless, I think Facebook's analytics say as much about the Facebook algorithm as they do about the post: 433 reactions and 28 shares. Facebook is set up so that a post that primarily introduces a link can't get that kind of reaction because the linked article is immediately divided from the post at share time. I can't be sure but I suspect that if Joe had added links to relevant sources that backed his claims that the Facebook algorithm would not have promoted it as much. Here's a link to a source to back up what I am saying (though, ironically, I suspect that adding this source may reduce the "reach" of this post):
https://kellercenter.hankamer.baylor.edu/news/story/2023/boost-your-social-media-organic-facebook-posts
Now, in Joe's case, there's absolutely nothing wrong with lots of people seeing his post; his comments are good and based in fact. But, as a general rule, promoting information that is NOT sourced and downplaying information that is sourced strikes me as a recipe for the spread of misinformation.
No wonder we see MORE misinformation in 2026 than in 2016.
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When The Yomiuri Shimbun examined X posts and reposts containing terms such as “earthquake” and “pork” using social media analysis tool Social Insight, the number of posts surged to over 20,000 on July 29, the day after the earthquake. Despite subsequently declining, the number exceeded 10,000 on some days in August.
X has a feature that uses artificial intelligence to summarize attention-grabbing posts and shows the summaries to users. In early August, it even displayed misinformation that Muslims were complaining about hot meals provided following the Kumamoto Earthquake.
--- end quote ---
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20260916-348953/

(Fiona) Here's some information about an upcoming conference that's taking place at Kumamoto Prefectural University on November 1st. The event is a great opportunity for anyone involved in education to meet teachers, textbook authors, creators and publishers. It's also possible to submit a proposal and present on topics related to Materials Writing and EdTech.
To find out more and register for the event:
https://mwsig.jalt.org/

Joe Tomei here. Was on my way back from Costco and noticed a police car that said Yamanashi ken. When I commented on it, my wife said that police from all over the country have been dispatched to Kumamoto after the earthquake. Here's a Japanese article about the Yamanashi contingent
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/yamanashi/news/20260808-GYTNT00096/
They are apparently coming in shifts (there are several other articles from other local issues about dispatch) and my wife said that they are staying in Aso, because so many reservations have been cancelled.
So, keep your eyes open for them and if you get a chance to talk to them, say thanks!

The article doesn't provide any information about how to actually benefit from the discounts but perhaps you could ask about them when you call to inquire about making a reservation. -- Kirk
Quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture to offer travel discounts
The discounts, which will be offered from Tuesday, will apply to overnight stays in Kumamoto between Oct. 1 and Dec. 25.

I wasn't aware that this sort of research was being done at Kumadai but, now that I think of it, it's related to right-to-know and privacy issues that have come up in relation to the "baby hatch" at Jikei Hospital. -- Kirk
https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/1150497

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Tetsuya Chiba, best known for his "Ashita no Joe" series, and others have started a crowdfunding campaign to deliver temporary housing to people displaced by a massive earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in July.
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-- Kirk
Japanese Manga Artist Launches Crowdfunding for Kumamoto
Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, best known for his Ashita no Joe series, a…

Congratulations Andrew! Japan Focus is a good journal. -- Kirk
https://apjjf.org/2026/9/mitchell

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This year, an event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the UNESCO inscription was planned, but it has also been called off.
“We want to proceed with the restoration toward next year while considering the role of shrines and festivals in the area,” said Katsuhiko Kobayashi, 42, chief priest of Yatsushiro Shrine. The shrine has begun a crowdfunding campaign to restore damaged buildings.
--- end quote ---
Copied and pasted by Kirk
Iconic fall festival parade in Yatsushiro canceled in wake of Kumamoto quake
This is the third time the parade has been canceled, the previous cancellation was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and heavy rain in 2020.

Ajisen Ramen continues its international success story. -- Kirk
"Ajisen Ramen is a Japanese restaurant chain founded in Kumamoto, Japan, in 1968. The chain is known for its Kumamoto-style tonkotsu ramen, made with a pork-bone broth. It has hundreds of locations worldwide, including restaurants in Japan, China, Canada and the U.S. "
Shin-Line to bring Japan’s Ajisen Ramen to Kazakhstan
The company will form a joint venture with the brand's Japanese owner and plans to open up to 50 restaurants

Not exactly my cup of tea, but wrestling fans may want to mark your calendars:
December 13 – World Tag League 2026 Finals – Grand Messe Kumamoto in Kumamoto
-- Kirk
https://www.tpww.net/2026/09/njpw-announces-full-schedule-for-world-tag-league-2026/

Andrew has been busy lately. ;) -- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/kumadaiquake/posts/pfbid02QPg9WB9Lh3NbBGzqu2J7XvrqCmYganjA6iqEt7VTkQYYcs7VsJ9nBMjgbzHpGLhhl

This article is behind a paywall but the title itself has some informational value. -- Kirk
Japan's Kumamoto Airport plans flights to Thailand
International cargo operations also being expanded to cater to TSMC and Sony plants

Loosing a pet is like loosing a family member. I'm sorry so many people suffered that kind of loss in addition to everything else. -- Kirk
272 lost pet reports filed after M7.1 Kumamoto quake, less than half found - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) -- Animal shelters in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto had received 272 reports of missing pets as of Aug. 25, after the