Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.
I just removed a post about a criminal allegation against a member of Kumamoto's expat community that is being reported in the local media. In an effort to be discrete, I didn't type the name of the person but the link I shared had personally identifying information in Japanese: the name of the person, the nation of citizenship and the workplace. My thought was that the issue was already public in Japanese so that avoiding identifying information in English was enough to protect the person's privacy while letting the expat community know about what was being said in the Japanese media. That still strikes me as a reasonable approach but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution so I decided to honor the wishes of those who felt it should be taken down. -- Kirk
We've discussed how the series of faults that resulted in the Kumamoto quakes run from Yatsushiro to Aso, resulting in the Tateno Gap (see link below) - without this niche in the caldera wall, Aso would be a big lake.
A similar geologic structure exists on Mars, and NASA will land a rover on it around 3:30 AM Japan time. Though now bone-dry, it once held a large lake, and NASA is hoping to find signs of long-extinct life. The 3:30 AM Japan-time landing will be live streamed at NASA's Website, along with updates on the mission. - William
http://www.aso-geopark.jp/en/geosites/geosite29.html https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
Tateno Gorge Geosite - ASO GeoPARK Official Site
Geologists believe crater lakes repeatedly formed and disappeared in the Tateno Gorge area in relation to activity along the fault that runs under the gorge. The gorge also plays a central role in local creation myths, making this a fascinating geosite both culturally and geologically.
Here's something for anime fans -- a game in which Crayon Shin-chan comes to Kumamoto! ;) Kirk
Crayon Shin-chan Gets Switch Game This Summer
Boku no Natsuyasumi's Kaz Abe directs game centering everyday summer activities
Why Kumamoto's earthquake was worse:
"Waves with a period of one to two seconds tend to cause the collapse of wooden houses and other structures, which was confirmed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 and the Kumamoto earthquakes in 2016. "
-- Kirk
Damage limited from recent earthquake in Japan, thanks to short wave period
The earthquake that struck off Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday caused violent tremors as strong as upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the Tohoku region, as well as milder shaking across wide areas stretching from Hokkaido to the...
Joe Tomei with an update from JET Program Prefectural Advisors Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland that marks one year since the first one went out. As always, I thank them for sharing this newsletter with us.
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Hi Kumamoto,
Today will be the last day of Kumamoto's Independent State of Emergency, four days ahead of the original end date. Have a great Wednesday :)
Kumamoto's Independent State of Emergency to be lifted tomorrow (18 February)
As you know, Kumamoto's Independent State of Emergency was declared by the prefectural government just over a month ago, on 14 January. The prefecture believes that it has been effective at reducing the number of cases, with daily numbers of new cases dropping since the end of January.
In order to ensure the stability of the health care system, the state of emergency was extended on 8 February. Since then, the situation has continued to improve, including the hospital bed usage rate, and on Monday earlier this week, the prefectural government announced that it would end the State of Emergency, with the final day with the state of emergency in effect being today (17 February).
In the one-week period from 9 February to 15 February, 31 cases were confirmed in Kumamoto Prefecture. This works out to 1.8 positive cases/100,000 population for this period.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/84592.html
Requests to the public from 18 February onward
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after the state of emergency is lifted, the Prefecture is asking for co-operation with the following from 18 February:
For Operators of Food and Drink Establishments:
- Make use of the checklists provided by the prefecture, implementing the suggested measures described in them, and place a sticker in an area visible to the public.
(Governmental and industry organisations/business associations will coordinate with businesses and conduct training/provide advice on the implementation of measures to prevent the spread of infection.)
- Businesses should make use of opportunities provided by municipal governments to undertake PCR tests aimed at operators of food and drink establishments.
For other business operators;
- Take measures to prevent the spread of infection within the workplace.
- Put in place a system in which employees must take time off from work even if they have mild symptoms such as a fever.
- Promote teleworking/time-lag commuting.
For long-term care facilities:
- Implement measures to prevent the spread of infection using materials such as the Prefecture's Online Training materials.
- Put in place a system in which employees must take time off from work even if they have mild symptoms such as a fever.
- If any employee or resident has symptoms, put in place a system in which they can be tested immediately, as well as make use of opportunities for mass-testing in order to uncover cases of infection as early as possible.
To all residents of the prefecture:
- Avoid travel to places outside of the prefecture where the virus is spreading.
(*This is defined as, avoiding travel to areas where the rate of infection per 100,000 population in the preceding one-week period is 15 people or higher, or there is a state of emergency declared in that prefecture. Currently the only prefecture with higher than 15 cases per 100,000/week is Tokyo--however, a State of Emergency is still in place in Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo, Aichi and Kyoto Prefectures. https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/85714.html)
- When making outings, thoroughly implement measures to prevent the spread of infection.
- If you have any mild symptoms at all such as a fever, stay home from work and seek medical examination immediately.*
(*If you have a fever, please first call the office/clinic that you usually go to ahead of time and make an appointment. If you are uncertain about which medical institution to go to, please call the "Fever Hotline" (TEL:0570-096-567) https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/59582.html)
When visiting a restaurants/dining in groups:
- Follow the "four steps" to avoid infection, even when drinking at home or attending events (https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/129431.pdf)
- Do not talk when eating, and wear a mask when having a conversation
- Avoid actions which could result in the spread of infection, including drinking late into the night, not only in Kumamoto City but anywhere in the prefecture.
- Do not go to establishments that are not implementing measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/85714.html
Construction of a new hospital in Tamana completed
Construction on Kumamoto Kenhoku Hospital, one of the largest principal hospitals in Kumamoto, located in Tamana City, was completed on 14 February, and is expected to open in March. The hospital will have 56 beds designated for COVID-19 patients.
https://kumanichi.com/news/id114250
First vaccines in Japan given to medical workers
Today, the first doses of the vaccine for COVID-19 developed by Pfizer were given to health care workers across the country. Approximately 40,000 health care workers are expected to receive the vaccine in this initial distribution.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210217/k10012871711000.html
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has decided to implement a wide-scale ongoing follow-up study beginning in April, in order to determine the prevalence of side-effects. The Ministry aims to elicit responses from about 1 million recipients of the Pfizer vaccine via social media. If the Moderna and Astrazeneca vaccines are also approved, the government is expected to conduct the same survey on recipients of those vaccines, bringing the total survey sample to over 3 million.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210216/k10012869241000.html
New law passed stiffening penalties for businesses and individuals
The Diet approved amendments to the Act on Special Measures against Novel Influenza earlier this month, and went into effect on 13 February.
It gives the government various new powers to impose fines or imprisonment for violations of measures taken in the name of public health. For instance, if another state of emergency is declared, it gives the government the ability to levy fines against businesses that ignore government orders to shorten their hours or close to prevent the spread of infection, or individuals who refuse hospitalization after testing positive.
In addition, if a person who tests positive after entering Japan refuses to self-isolate, they may be criminally charged and subject to a fine of up to 1 million yen or imprisonment up to 1 year.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210203/k10012847221000.html
【詳細】コロナ対策の改正特別措置法など成立 その内容とは？ | NHKニュース
【NHK】新型コロナウイルス対策の特別措置法などの改正案は参議院本会議で採決が行われ、自民・公明両党や立憲民主党、日本維新の会など…
It's good to know that citizenship won't have a negative impact on the scheduling:
"Foreign residents in Japan who are registered as residents of a municipality, as well as diplomats, will be eligible for vaccinations."
By the way, this article talks about dispensing "from Wednesday." After living in Japan a long time, I sometimes get confused so I'd appreciate it if some other native English speaker can give me a realty check. Wouldn't that normally be "such and such to begin Wednesday" in most English speaking countries? The "from Wednesday" phrasing sounds rather Japanese to me but then, on the other hand, I recognize that it's not exactly wrong. Thanks in advance. Just curious.
-- Kirk
Japan gives OK to Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, with rollout to begin this week
Up to 20,000 front-line medical staffers at state-run hospitals are set to be the first to receive the vaccines, followed by 3.7 million other health care workers.
Hi friends.
It's windy now but I felt comfortably warm in the spring sun this afternoon.
I drop into a plum grove next to 熊本県護国神社 Kumamoto prefecture Gokoku Shrine.
It is also next to 藤崎台球場 Fujisakidai baseball stadium.
There are lots plum trees, red, white, pink blossoms. The blossoms are not in full bloom yet, 三分咲きthey are still one-third in bloom.
How about taking a walk to feel Kumamoto early Spring? ーAtsuko╰(*´︶`*)╯
Kirk here. This is only tangentially related to Kumamoto but I think it's interesting (and, unfortunately, rather disturbing) nonetheless.
Today I searched Google news for "Kumamoto" to see if there was anything I should share on this page. The following article came up because of a Twitter post with a Photoshopped image of a Lion prowling the streets of Kumamoto that became an issue after the 2016 quakes. The Lion prank caused people who had already been traumatized by the quakes additional worry and so I can understand why the poster was punished.
The case reported in this article, however is far, far darker. In 1923, baseless rumors about Koreans poisoning wells after an earthquake led to the murder of significant numbers of innocent Koreans living in Japan. Some hate-filled person or persons seem to have been intent of spreading the same kinds of vile rumors almost 100 years later. The article says that the rumors "filled Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets." I'm not sure if they have been taken down or not but I wasn't able to find them. By the way, I should point out that Black people . . . who probably don't even live the area in any significant numbers . . . have been made an addition target.
As I say, I'm not sure how many people participated in this latest activity. Hopefully, it was a small number of deranged idiots. But I think it's important to note that the issue of what happened in 1923 remains part of contemporary Japanese politics. Tokyo's governor, KOIKE Yuriko, may not be actively spreading negative rumors about Koreans but she's certainly not interested in encouraging people to learn from history:
"A committee organizing the ceremony commemorating the post-quake Korean massacre issued a statement saying the governor's response is 'saying that murder victims and those who lost their lives in a natural disaster are equivalent and thus she does not need to send a tribute.'"
Tokyo governor skips tribute to Koreans murdered after 1923 quake
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/09/6ac88cff4a6a-tokyo-governor-skips-tribute-to-koreans-murdered-after-1923-quake.html
There are many more articles about Koike and criticism of her. I chose the one above because it refers to her official reasoning. The article says "equivalent" but the explanation I remember from Japanese was that there was no need for a separate ceremony just for the murder victims -- all victims of the quake are remembered in the city's ceremony. I won't bother to try to point out the flaws in this excuse.
English article on most recent hate speech
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210215/p2a/00m/0na/016000c
Japanese original
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210214/k00/00m/040/249000c
False rumors spread again following recent earthquake off northeast Japan - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- Discriminatory remarks and unreliable information filled Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets following a magnitude-7.3 earthquake
Kirk here. At least one reader asked about whether or suspect in the Yatsushiro murder had been found. Now, the answer is yes but the details are still sketchy.
The article I'm linking to is in English, though the photo seems to be in Japanese.
Kumamoto cops: Man found hanged possible suspect in murder of woman
A man found hanged in a mountainous area of Yatsushiro City on Sunday is possibly a suspect in the murder of a woman last week
Happy Valentine's Day! -- Kirk
"A prefectural official said that Kumamon is receiving fewer gifts this year than usual, but that 'It’s too much for Kumamon.'”
Fans asked to not send Valentine's chocolates to favorite characters due to virus
Video game fans are being asked not to send chocolate to their favorite characters on Valentine's Day amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus. Every
Kirk here. I would prefer to focus on the positive but I thought I should share this because it's local news that's getting a fair amount of national coverage.
Woman fatally stabbed outside apartment in Kumamoto Pref
Police in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, are investigating the murder of a 41-year-old woman who died after being stabbed multiple times on Friday. According to police, Kumiko Hirata was found collapsed in the parking lot beside her apartment building at around 7:50 a.m. Friday, Fuji TV reported.....
Kirk here with some sad news that relates to our discussion of crosswalks in Kumamoto. The English article (linked below) says that the "car, driven by Masanao Yoshida, hit Sueo Yamakawa, 60, and Naoya Hirai, 21" and that the deaths of Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were later confirmed after the two had been taken to a hospital. The article does not, however, discuss the events that preceded the fatal accident -- the reason that Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were together in the road. According to an article published in Japanese by NHK, Mr. Hirai had been hit by Mr. Yamakawa's car when Mr. Hirai was attempting to cross at a crosswalk. Mr. Yamakawa parked nearby and, to his credit, was attempting to assist the injured Mr. Hirai. That's when Mr. Yoshida came along -- at or near the same crosswalk.
If you are interested, please have a look at the following video:
https://www.news24.jp/nnn/news100byxckfzswas6kl21.html
Although the accident occurred at night, visibility at the intersection would seem to have been fairly good.
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/2-men-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-kumamoto-pref-driver-arrested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210212/k10012861931000.html
Kirk here. Chay posted this inquiry about where to get help with a OnePlus phone. I found the following shop in Hikari no Mori:
https://s-phone.jp/kumamoto-yumetown/?item=oneplus#price
I wonder, though, if anyone else has any good ideas about places to get smartphones looked at. If there's a good little shop where someone there can also speak English that would be ideal but I suspect that technical expertise is probably more important than communication skills for Chay.
Hi friends.
植木市 Ueki ichi is held from 8th February to 14th March, this year also.
This article is my post last year.
Hoping you feel and enjoy lots Spring smells, colors, and foods too! ーAtsuko«٩(*´∀`*)۶»
https://kuma-uekiichi.com/
Kirk here. Today I searched for "Kumamoto" to see what would come up and was pleasantly surprised to find that NHK World has a small library of English-language videos that relate to Kumamoto. This one has some beautiful footage of Mt. Aso in the winter. -- Kirk
Stories of Volcanoes - JAPAN FROM ABOVE: UP CLOSE / Co-production between NHK, Gedeon Programmes, ZDF Arte, and Voyage | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand
In this episode, we visit Sakurajima, one of the volcanic islands in Kyushu. Here, we meet a children's book illustrator who wrote a story that depicts the relationship between the volcanoes and the local people.
This link isn't to an "article" -- it's just a headline and a picture as far as I can see. But, I can confirm that I saw the same content on a local TV news show. -- Kirk
Ebene Magazine - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line and dies leaving a police officer's suicide note - EBENE MAGAZINE
- Ebene Magazine - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line and dies leaving a police officer's suicide note - Related title : - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line an...
Kirk here. I'm sharing a link to a Japanese news article because I haven't see the same information in English. I won't attempt to translate the details but the gist of it is this:
1. Kyodo Kumiai Urban Planning, a company that arranges for foreign nationals to work as foreign trainees (gaikokujin gino jisshusei) forced a Filipino man who was in Kumamoto to leave Japan against his will.
2. The Kumamoto District Court ruled in the man's favor, ordering the company to pay 5.4 million yen in restitution.
As this should be of interest to foreigners in Japan, I'm surprised the English-language news services don't seem to have picked up on it.
実習生監理団体に賠償命令 熊本、意に反し帰国手続き
熊本県御船町の建設会社で技能実習生として働いていたフィリピン国籍の男性（32）が、契約外の作業をさせられ、強制的に帰国させられようとしたなどとして、受け入れ窓口となる監理団体の協同組合アーバンプランニン....
