Kumamoto International Archive

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

Joe Tomei here with a COVID-19 update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, Kumamoto prefecture JET Program coordinators. As always, thanks for allowing me to share it with the list.
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Hi Kumamoto,
You may already have heard that the national government has extended its state of emergency for 10 prefectures. Today, Kumamoto Prefecture officially announced that it will extend its Independent State of Emergency. For more information, please see the following updates:
Kumamoto Prefecture extends State of Emergency until 21 February
Today, the prefectural government announced that it will extend its independent State of Emergency until 21 February.
However, during the two-week extension, the Prefecture will make adjustments to the existing request regarding the shortening of business operating hours to apply only to a certain central area of Kumamoto City (rather than the whole prefecture) -- the area contained in red here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/image/54585.jpg. From 8 February, businesses serving food and drink in this area will be asked to close at 10pm rather than 8pm as is currently the case.
The prefecture will continue to ask residents who have symptoms or who live with vulnerable family members to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings. Residents should avoid travel to places where infection is spreading (including areas for which a state of emergency has been declared), and to ask friends and relatives outside of Kumamoto to avoid visiting Kumamoto for the time being.
The Prefecture will continue to pay businesses co-operating with the closure requests 40,000 yen per day during the extended state of emergency.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/84592.html
Infection Situation in Kumamoto Prefecture
Most of the indicators used to measure the infection situation in the prefecture have shown considerable improvement, including the number of severe cases in hospital, the proportion of cases which return a positive result, the number of new cases as a proportion of the population, and the number of cases with an unknown link. Although it still corresponds to Risk Level 5, the highest level of Kumamoto's Independent Risk Level, most indicators put Kumamoto at "Stage 3" of the 4-stage scale used by the national government. You can see the chart for all of these indicators here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
In the 1-week period between January 27 and February 2, there were only 4.3 cases per 100,000 population. However, the percentage of occupied hospital beds remains at 36.8%, higher than the target of 25%, resulting in the decision to extend the State of Emergency.
https://this.kiji.is/730187278541750272?c=92619697908483575
If, during the extension, the proportion of hospital beds in use improves, the prefecture may make the decision to call off the state of emergency before 21 February.
Kumamoto Prefecture now allowing home recuperation for light or asymptomatic patients
Since 1 February, Kumamoto Prefecture is now allowing those who test positive for COVID-19 in the prefecture, are under 40 years of age, and have mild or no symptoms to recover at home. In order to monitor the health of those recovering from home, the prefecture will operate a call centre in which nurses are available 24 hours/day, and the center will call twice daily to check symptoms and report to the local health centre. Food delivery services will be provided for those who can't prepare their own meals and pulse oximeters will be loaned out. If sudden changes to the physical health of the patient occur, they will be able to be hospitalised without first going through their local health centre.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP1S76Y5P1STLVB00F.html
National government to conduct free PCR tests to measure community spread incidence
Beginning in March, the national government will be conducting free PCR tests on members of the public in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka in order to gauge the extent of community spread. Every day, hundreds or thousands of people will receive a PCR test. The tests will be free for those chosen to be tested and will take place in a number of locations where people gather such as central business districts, businesses, and universities. In addition to collecting samples on-site, people selected to participate may also submit their samples via post. Participants will be notified of their results but no identifying information will be published.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/81969
More information revealed about vaccine distribution timelines
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has announced their intended schedule of vaccine distribution in an explanatory meeting for local government staff. "Tickets" will be distributed by mail directly to people when they become eligible to receive the vaccine. The first wave of tickets will be mailed in mid-March to residents aged 65 and older, after which there will be a 3-month window for them to receive both doses of the vaccine. However, the number of available vaccines and the provision capacity of various local governments are expected to affect the rollout timeline, so it remains unclear whether vaccine distribution will necessarily proceed as scheduled.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/82011
ワクチン接種券、３月中旬から　厚労省、高齢者対象に配布計画：東京新聞 TOKYO Web
厚生労働省は２５日、新型コロナウイルス感染症のワクチンについて自治体向けの説明会を開き、６５歳以上の高齢者に「接種券」を３月中旬以降に...

Kirk here with another COVID-19 post. Today I found a useful page that provides COVID-19 statistics for Kumamoto Prefecture in English. The graph you see is from the page. Here's the URL:
https://kumamoto.stopcovid19.jp/en
In response to my previous post, it was pointed out that different levels of testing in different places make comparison difficult. I think that's a good point. On the other hand, I also think that the percentages of people who test positive indicate the extent to which a population is not getting tested enough and, by extension, the overall reliability of the COVID-19 statistics. I would expect higher positive rates in places where only really sick people were getting tested and lower positivity rates where tests constitute a pretty good sample of what is actually happening. According to the following article, the rate of positives in Kumamoto as of a few days ago was 3.8%:
https://kumanichi.com/news/id94167
By comparison, Tokyo was 6.6% and Kanagawa was 9.7%:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210203/k10012848571000.html
A positivity rate of over 10% is one of the criteria for the "Stage IV" level.
Still, I acknowledge that testing levels should be higher in Japan. It's an important issue I may write about later.
Stay safe!

When we see the daily numbers of people who have gotten COVID-19 by prefecture, it's hard to know how to compare them. Sure, Tokyo should have bigger numbers becasue Tokyo's population is huge, right? That's true but, even when taking the population into account, the numbers in Tokyo have been much higher than here in Kumamoto. This graph is from the following page, and seems to be updated daily:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/#latest-weeks-card
It indicates the number of people per 100,000 who became infected during the past week. The numbers for Kumamoto check out with other sources. We've had a total of 91 infections in the last week (down from previous weeks) and the population of the prefecture is about 1,748,000. That's 91 / 17.48 = about 5.2 or so.
Now, comparing these rates with other countries can be tricky because different sites calculate the averages differently.
After having some difficulty finding a good site with comparable data, I finally settled on the following page:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
You can get the number of cases in the past 7 days and the population. The numbers check out for Japan, where the average for the country as a whole works out to be about 14 (Kumamoto is much better at about 5). The USA is about 254.42 per 100,000 per week -- still quite high. New Zealand, on the other and is about 0.14 so Kumamoto still has a long way to go to get to that level. But, as an American, I feel pretty good about waiting out the pandemic here in Kumamoto. ;)
-- Kirk

Kirk here. I'd like to share some old news from our friend and Kumamoto resident, graphic novelist Sean Micheal Wilson. Sean shared this with me months ago, soon after it was published in the Kumanichi Newspaper (Kumamoto's most widely read newspaper) in late October. I neglected to post it then but, as the basic issue remains unchanged, I thought it would be better to be late than not to share it at all.
Sean is writing about the tendency many drivers in Kumamoto have to ignore crosswalks. According to Japanese law, drivers are required to yield when a pedestrian is standing at a crosswalk. Unfortunately, however, many don't. Sean mentions a particularly dangerous intersection in front of Hitsuyukan High School. The newspaper editor follows up with a report from the police confirming that a pedestrian was recently struck by a car there and confirming that, yes, drivers are supposed to stop if a pedestrian is attempting to cross the street at a properly marked crosswalk.
Actually, Kumanichi's statement is so obvious as to be ridiculous. Of course drivers are supposed stop if a pedestrian is attempting to cross. If you actually read the law, it's clear that (1) drivers a required to drive slowing enough that they will be able to stop at crosswalks if necessary and that (2) if someone even looks like that are about to cross (not yet attempting to cross) they are supposed to stop. For those of you who read Japanese, here's the text of the law:
（横断歩道等における歩行者等の優先）
第三十八条　車両等は、横断歩道又は自転車横断帯（以下この条において「横断歩道等」という）に接近する場合には、当該横断歩道等を通過する際に当該横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断しようとする歩行者又は自転車（以下この条において「歩行者等」という）がないことが明らかな場合を除き、当該横断歩道等の直前（道路標識等による停止線が設けられているときは、その停止線の直前。以下この項において同じ）で停止することができるような速度で進行しなければならない。この場合において、横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断し、又は横断しようとする歩行者等があるときは、当該横断歩道等の直前で一時停止し、かつ、その通行を妨げないようにしなければならない。
https://www.takaragaike.co.jp/doukou/s0303b.htm
My experience is that quite a few drivers understand this and observe the law. I take walks and/or jog regularly, so I use crosswalks every day. I am careful to bow and express my gratitude to the considerate people who stop for me, but, alas, they are in the minority.
Kumamoto is not the worst prefecture in Japan in this regard, but, in terms of the percentage of drivers who actually stop at crosswalks when they should, it's on the lower end. The following article says that the compliance rate in Kumamoto is about 11%, below the national average. Nagano Prefecture has the highest compliance rate at 68.6% while Mie Prefectures rate is listed as a dismal 3.4%. Obviously, there are significant regional differences in driving culture.
https://bestcarweb.jp/20191011-koutuuihan
The good news is that compliance is improving. I sense that in my daily walks and statistics on the above page show that too. The national average in 2018 was 8.6% but that jumped up to 17.1% in 2019. Kumamoto's 11% was the figure in 2019 so we were below the national average but I suspect the numbers are on the rise here too.
At any rate, if you drive, watch for crosswalks. You could get a ticket for not stopping and, besides, it's the right thing to do. If you are a pedestrian, don't assume people will stop but it's probably a good idea to send some positive reinforcement (little bows, smiles, etc.) to the people who comply with the law and stop for us.
Finally, here's a link to Sean's website:
https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com

Work on the castle continues . . .
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210129_27/
Copied and pasted by Kirk
Quake-hit wall of Kumamoto Castle restored | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Restoration work on the wall of a centuries-old castle in Kumamoto City in southwestern Japan has been completed five years after it was heavily damaged by earthquakes.

Kirk here, making one of my occasionally excursions out of my cave of virtual isolation, squinting from all of the virtual light of the Facebook environment as I do so.
Most denizens of this forum are probably already aware of the Second-Hand Kumamoto group. If, however, you're new or happen to have missed it, check it out, particularly if you live in Kumamoto and think you may either want to sell or buy something.
Now, back to the refuge and solace of my cave . . .
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1147708531973663

Kirk here. The Emperor and Empress visited Kumamoto virtually to offer moral support to the victims of the flooding last July in the Hitoyoshi area.
Emperor, Empress meet disaster survivors online | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have made an online visit to Kumamoto Prefecture, which last year was hit by torrential rains that left scores of people dead or missing.

Congratulations, Joe Biden, 46th US President!
This is a message video from Japanese ジョーバイデン, the Mayor of 山都町Yamato cho.
His name is 梅田穰［うめだゆたか］but if you read his name with ONYOMI, Chinese sounds, it becomes Joe Biden.
It's a good opportunity lots people in US might know the beautiful town.
Please check it, you too.ーAtsuko(｡•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧
２０２０年１１月、熊本県山都町長　梅田穰（うめだゆたか）の名前を音読みで欧米表記にすると偶然にもジョー・バイデン大統領候補と同じ名前であることから、SNS等で瞬く間に話題となりました！日本国内のみならず、...

Hi! Kirk here with a bit of self-promotion. I've been asked to talk about this forum by "CROSSROAD KUMAMOTO," as explained in the attached image. The event will be online and anyone interested is encouraged to participate. Also, please feel free to share this with anyone who might either be interested in participating in this particular event or who might like to join the CROSSROAD KUMAMOTO group.
I feel a bit guilty about talking about Kumamoto International after having neglected it over the past year but I have some things to say about my experience running and promoting the page in the previous two decades (including the period when Kumamoto International was a mailing list).
I'll also talk about a new project I'm working on. At the risk of being overconfident, I'm hoping that my new project will eventually develop into an internet community that is significantly larger than this one.

Kirk here with a quick summary of what Japanese people think about the national government's response to COVID-19, according to a recent government survey:
1) Overall assessment is leans negative
2) Most people think the government has been too late in declaring a state of emergency
3) The vast majority of Japanese people think that more areas, if not the whole country, should be declared to be in a state of emergency
Personally, I agree with the majority on these points.
NHK世論調査内閣支持率 | NHK選挙WEB
NHKが毎月行っている世論調査のうち、内閣支持率については2013年の第2次安倍内閣発足以降の推移が一目でわかります。また調査結果をお伝えしたニュースに基づいて、そのほかの内容も掲載します。

Joe Tomei here with an important update from Prefectural JET advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland.
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Hi Kumamoto,
Yesterday, Prime Minister Suga extended the State of Emergency to Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka Prefectures.
Although Kumamoto Prefecture was not included in the national government's official State of Emergency which is based on the Act on Special Measures against Novel Influenza, the Prefectural Government has decided to declare an independent state of emergency, with equivalent measures to the areas subject to the national government's State of Emergency.
Please read on for more information about the measures and additional news.
Independent State of Emergency in Kumamoto - New Measures
The following measures apply to the entire prefecture, not just to central Kumamoto City:
① Avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings, especially after 8pm (effective 14 January 2021 - 7 February 2021)
② All food and drink establishments in Kumamoto Prefecture will be asked to close after 8pm, and not serve alcoholic beverages after 7pm (effective 18 January - 7 February) (Currently a small portion of central Kumamoto City is subject to closure requests from 10pm, but the whole prefecture will be subject to the request starting Monday next week, from 8pm onwards.)
③ Events, regardless of whether held indoors or outdoors, should be limited to under 5000 people, and the number of participants should be 50% or under the capacity of the venue.
https://kumanichi.com/news/id63523
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210114/k10012813671000.html
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81481.html
A bit more background of what led to the declaration to declare an independent state of emergency
In comments at a press conference held yesterday (13 January), Governor Kabashima revealed that the prefectural government was coordinating with the national government in an attempt to have the national government call a state of emergency for Kumamoto on the same basis as was being planned for Fukuoka. The Governor then received a phone call from Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of the government's COVID-19 response, saying that regardless of requests from prefectural governors, the national government would decide where to call a state of emergency, and believed that the situation in Kumamoto did not merit one being called, pointing out that although the number of new cases and most other criteria aligned with "Stage 4", the number of severe cases in hospital did not yet reach Stage 4 levels (currently only 30%, rather than 50% for Stage 4).
However, given the fact that many of the recent clusters have occurred at long-term care facilities with many high-risk individuals, the Prefectural Government is of the opinion that the number of severe cases could increase beyond 50% at any time. Furthermore, Kumamoto and Fukuoka have strong ties and there is much movement between the two prefectures. Both were contributing factors in Kumamoto Prefecture's decision in declaring an independent state of emergency.
https://kumanichi.com/news/id64239
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81481.html
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2021011301199&g=pol
What will happen after 7 February?
The national government says that it will lift the state of emergency if the situation in the affected areas can be reduced from "Stage 4" to "Stage 3", specifically, a reduction to 25 cases per 100,000 population (rolling one-week average) -- in Tokyo this means about 500 cases/day.
https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_politics/articles/000203397.html
Shigeru Omi, the head of the government's subcommittee on COVID-19, said that if no improvement, or only very slight improvement, is seen with the current measures by 7 February, stronger measures may need to be implemented.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210114/k10012813661000.html
Other prefectures which have declared their own independent states of emergency include Miyazaki and Mie prefectures.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812471000.html
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/653ce4e34ee3f570d77a47f390bbae50ec9750f5
Will schools close?
The current consensus seems to be that the uninterrupted provision of education for Japanese students is essential. MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) said that it does not intend to request a nationwide school closure as it did in March this year. Furthermore, MEXT also currently no longer recommends regional school closures/individual school closures. School entrance exams will be held as planned, even in prefectures which are covered by the State of Emergency. https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2021010500560&g=soc
Tokyo and the surrounding area, which has been in an official State of Emergency for a week, has not moved to close schools but has introduced measures such as staggered classes/cancellation of certain higher risk activities such as chorus clubs or school trips. Fukuoka is currently considering similar measures as a state of emergency was declared there yesterday: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210114/ddl/k40/040/222000c
Returning Japanese nationals and foriegn residents of Japan asked to sign "pledge" to respect 14-day isolation on return
All travellers returning to Japan from overseas, including both Japanese and foreign nationals with an existing status of residence, will be asked to sign a document pledging to respect the 14-day self-isolation period, which includes not using public transport for the first 14 days upon return to Japan. From today (14 January) resident foreign nationals returning to Japan who are found not to comply with the isolation requirements may have their name and nationality published and their status of residence revoked.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP1F6QX3P1FUTFK00F.html

The Shisei Dayori is a publication put out by Kumamoto City for local residents. Thankfully, the Kumamoto International Foundation translates selected articles into English, Korean, and Chinese. I'm particularly pleased to announce that these translations are made available with the original Japanese. So, if you understand or are a student of Japanese, you can use the English to get a quick sense of the content but then also check the original Japanese if you think the translation is unclear or if you want to learn how to express the idea in Japanese.
The translation published on January 10 (see link below) contains information about multilingual phone consultation about COVID-19, among other topics. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article, you can find the links to the original Japanese as well as to translations in other languages.
https://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/kiji003519/index.html
Kirk
Shisei Dayori January 2021

Kirk here with an update on Japan's COVID-19 policies. As indicated in yesterday's update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland (shared by Joe), the state of emergency was extended today.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210113_31/
In NHK's vernacular coverage, they say that foreigners will no longer be able to enter Japan unless there are extenuating circumstances such as a furneral or childbirth (?):
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812201000.html
What is not clear to me is whether or not residents of Japan with foreign passports who happen to be out of the country now will have difficulty returning. NHK's wording in Japanese makes it sound as though they will be shut out, though they don't refer specifically to foreign nationals who are legal residents. I looked for up-to-date information on the government's website but came up empty handed. It may be too early -- the prime minister has just made his announcement.
Kumamoto was not included in the national government's new list prefectures in a state of emergency. Unwilling to wait for permission from above, Governor Kabashima annouced Kumamoto's own state of emergency which will last until February 7:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812701000.html
熊本県 14日に県独自の緊急事態宣言政府の対象地域と同等対策 | NHKニュース
【NHK】熊本県は、政府の緊急事態宣言の対象地域になっていないものの、新型コロナウイルスの感染が急拡大しているとして14日に県独自…

Joe Tomei here with our first bulletin of the year from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, Prefectural JET program advisors.
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Hi Kumamoto,
We hope everyone has been doing well and had a chance to enjoy the snowfall we had.
As you all already know, last week, Prime Minister Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, giving limited emergency powers to the governors of those prefectures between 8 January until 7 February. He is expected to extend the state of emergency to Kansai as early as tomorrow.
The situation in Kumamoto Prefecture is not much better, with multiple clusters and persistently high numbers of new cases since our last update. Yesterday (11 January) Governor Kabashima announced that Kumamoto Prefecture has entered Stage 4 - Explosive Growth in Infections. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Stage 4 means that the health care systems are at risk of collapsing from an explosive rise in infections, with bed occupancy at 50 percent or higher. (https://corona.go.jp/news/pdf/jimurenraku_0811.pdf)
On Sunday (10 January), Mayor Onishi of Kumamoto City declared at a press conference on Sunday that Kumamoto City is now in a "Medical State of Emergency", with 95.7% of hospital beds allocated for COVID-19 patients in Kumamoto City now filled.(https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/corona/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=26562、https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/680559/)
When the capacity of the whole prefecture is factored in, the use rate is 60% as of today. There are currently 252 hospitalised (https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/207/50626.html).
Below you'll find a selection of updates that hopefully shed some more light on the situation in Kumamoto:
Kumamoto Prefecture extends request for businesses operating in central Kumamoto City to shorten hours of operation
At the end of last year (30 December), Kumamoto Prefecture issued a request to food and drink establishments located in a central area of Kumamoto City to close after 10pm every day until 11 January. The Prefecture is extending this request for businesses to close early until 24 January.
Here is a description and map of the area to which the request to shorten business hours applies: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/80991.html
Financial assistance is available for co-operating establishments (up to 40,000 yen/day) -- information about this is available on the Prefectural Government's website: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/58/79647.html
Avoid all non-essential/non-urgent travel outside the Prefecture
There are now 25 prefectures for which there are over 15.0 new cases per 100,000 in the preceding one-week period (4-10 January), including Kumamoto, which had 525 cases in the past week (30.0 cases/100k pop). As of 12 January, the prefecture is asking all residents to avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent travel across prefectural lines at this time.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
Other requests from the Kumamoto City and Prefectural Governments
In addition to the above measures, the following requests are in place from Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Prefecture. Please note your municipality may also have other specific requests that apply to residents/municipal employees.
Kumamoto Prefecture:
- Avoid outings in central Kumamoto City after 10pm.
- Avoid dining in groups of over 5.
- Be thorough about the implementation of basic measures to prevent the spread of infections.
Kumamoto City:
- People at high risk of developing serious cases such as the elderly or those with comorbidities, as well as their family members, should avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings and contact with others.
- Avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings after 10pm.
-Increase telecommuting of rotation of shifts to reduce the number of employees in the office at any given time by 50% (excepting essential workers). Be particularly careful when moving to places such as break rooms or changing rooms.
- Avoid dining with others except for those who you live with.
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/corona/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=26562
When will there be a State of Emergency for Kumamoto?
The Governor of Kumamoto announced (11 January) that since Kumamoto Prefecture has entered "Stage 4", we have reached the stage at which the prefecture should consider whether to ask the central government to declare a state of emergency for Kumamoto.
However, since there are extremely high numbers of new cases ongoing in neighbouring Fukuoka and Miyazaki, it is not likely that infections will decrease in Kumamoto if a state of emergency is declared for Kumamoto alone. As a result, Kumamoto is currently in negotiations with neighbouring prefectures in Kyushu about whether or not to request the national government to declare a state of emergency for all of Kyushu.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20210111-OYT1T50154/
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81013.html
Kumamoto Prefecture is also adding a third hotel for convalescence, adding 90 additional rooms for a total of 230, and increasing the number of hospital beds by 13, for a total of 533. In addition, The prefecture is cooperating with medical institutions to facilitate transfers of patients across a wider area of the prefecture in order to decrease the burden on medical institutions in Kumamoto City.
If there are any developments regarding a State of Emergency for Kumamoto, and what it would entail, we will let everyone know.
【1月11日更新】新型コロナウイルス感染症対策本部会議（第20回）本部長（知事）訓示 - 熊本県ホームページ
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Hi friends.
How is today's terrible cold weather?
These days Corona patients news and this cold weather might make you blue just like me.
I would like to share beautiful and powerful Kumamoto city video.
Lots places are Kumamoto residents' favorite ones. It's not major but many people who have lived in Kumamoto might love.
Some might miss because of its nostalgia.
Please be safe, keep warm,
take care and be careful,
and be powerful as Kumamoto residentsーAtsuko.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
https://higojournal.com/archives/kumamotocity-prdougakansei.html
https://youtu.be/zbM0PlfxQ8k
KUMAMOTO CITY -DEEP SIDE-　熊本市PR動画
市民の皆さんから集めた声をもとに、熊本市の魅力を深堀りした動画です。日常の中にある熊本市の魅力をどうぞご覧ください。【BGM】熊本県立熊本北高等学校　吹奏楽部【撮影場所（順不同)】湯らっくす明午橋から大甲.....

Kirk here. Happy new year! I'm sharing a "new year's card" (nengajo) made by my daughter. This year is the year of the cow (or ox or buffalo?) in the Chinese zodiac, so that explains the bovine theme.
2021 may be the year of the cow in more ways than one. I think we are all hoping that the COVID-19 vaccines, which have an import cow connection, will help us return to a more carefree, maskless lifestyle. The cow connection is that the word "vaccine" comes from the Latin "vaccinus" ("derived from a cow"). As you may know, vaccines began with the practice of inoculating people with cowpox virus in order to prevent lethal smallpox. It seems that the cowpox virus is similar enough to the smallpox virus to evoke an effective immune response, but not as dangerous.
While I'm on the subject of cows, I'd like to make a note about cows in Kumamoto. It is frequently noted (in Japanese, at least) that the field's in Aso have been burnt each spring for over 1,000 years in order to facilitate the grazing of livestock. Currently, you see more cows grazing in the Aso area than horses. As far as I can tell from Japanese-language web pages, however, the cows are relative newcomers. The following page, for example, says that as early as 905 the Aso area was know throughout Japan for the horses raised there but cows don't appear in this chronology until the Meiji period, probably as a result of the introduction of Western culinary culture:
https://www.aso-sougen.com/now/01/keep_02.html
At any rate, happy new year! I was mostly AWOL in 2020 but I hope to do a little better in 2021. Yoroshiku!

Hi! It’s Jeff Morrow. In about a minute or two we’ll be ushering out a strange and difficult 2020 and welcoming in 2021, which will undoubtedly be incredible! Be well all, and have the best New Year ever!

Joe Tomei with 2020's last(?) update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, JET program prefectural advisors. Thanks to them for their updates all this year.
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Hi Kumamoto,
We thought we could get away without bothering everyone again until the new year, but it wasn't to be so, and everyone will already have noticed that the situation has unfortunately worsened. Here are a few more updates for you below:
Risk Level remains at Level 5
Kumamoto Prefecture has kept its Risk Level at Level 5 after a week of very high case numbers. From 20 December to 26 December, there have been 245 new cases in Kumamoto.
A cluster at an elderly care facility in Minami-ku Kumamoto is the source of many of the recent cases -- 61 in total among the staff and residents as of 26 December. https://kumanichi.com/news/id43028
The Yatsushiro Area has seen 23 new cases including the cases belonging to a cluster at an Elementary School mentioned in our previous update. Cases of workplace and household transmission have been seen throughout the prefecture.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/124595.pdf
Kumamoto City issues new requests to City residents to avoid dining with others, outings for the elderly, etc.
In response to the worsening situation, Kumamoto City has issued the following requests to its residents:
1. Avoid having meals together with anyone other than the family members, etc., with whom you reside due to the increased risk of transmission.
2. The elderly and those with underlying health conditions should avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings. This is due to the fact that these groups are more likely to develop serious symptoms requiring long periods of hospitalisation and place a further burden on the medical care provision system.
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&type=top&id=32182
Fukuoka added to list of prefectures to avoid travel to
Due to the number of positive cases over the past one-week period being higher than 15 per 100,000 people, Fukuoka has been added to the list of prefectures that Kumamoto is requesting its residents avoid travel to. This is the first time a prefecture in Kyushu has appeared on the list since the request was first announced at the beginning of the month and reflects a recent spike of new cases in Fukuoka.
Kumamoto Prefecture itself has a rate of 14.0 per 100,000, just under the threshold. You can confirm the whole list here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html (in Japanese)
Notice about new immigration restrictions in response to COVID-19
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a notice about new entry restrictions to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19. These new restrictions will apply to entrants from all countries to Japan. The principal measures that will be taken are as follows:
1. From 28 December until the end of January, new entry to Japan from all countries will in principle not be permitted (excluding Japanese nationals, foreign residents of Japan who already possess a valid status of residence, and business track/residence track entrants).
2. From 28 December until the end of January, individuals returning to Japan from short-term business trips abroad (Japanese nationals or foreign residents of Japan who possess a valid status of residence) will be subject to strengthened quarantine measures, including a 14-day period of isolation.
3. With respect to travel overseas, please be aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued Level 3 (avoid all travel) and Level 2 (avoid unnecessary and non-urgent travel) travel advisories to applicable countries.

For further details, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website (Japanese only)
https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/info/pcwideareaspecificinfo_2020C090.html
Flight bookings from UK not possible
Although last week new entries from the UK to Japan were suspended, the booking of commercial flights remained unaffected and Japanese nationals as well as foreign nationals with a valid status of residence in Japan were allowed to return. However, according to travel advice from the British government, from 25 December for an initial period of one week, new flight bookings from the UK are no longer possible.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/japan?utm_source=fe605e38-86e4-460b-9277-1e89177fe2b4&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate
Japan travel advice
Latest travel advice for Japan including how coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting travel and entry requirements at this time as well as safety and security and local laws and customs

Hello friends again.
This is Kumamoto city official information about
Medical institution (from Wednesday, December 30, 2020 to Monday, January 4, 2021) which is available for New Year holidays.
Please be safe, be healthy, be happy
and enjoy New year holidaysーAtsuko(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑
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Hello 陣太鼓 lovers!
陣太鼓 Jindaiko is very famous Kumamoto sweets, Kumamoto souvenir.
I like the regular golden package one with cold.
Some of you might have seen lots Jindaiko in big square rock ice at summer festival. Kids try to melt the rock ice and get Jindaiko.
This is an article about new taste 抹茶陣太鼓 Macha Jindaiko will be sold from 1st January.
It's the first regular different taste of Jindaiko and new regular 陣太鼓 taste has not been sold from 1958.
It has tasty 岳間茶Takemacha. Takemacha is also famous products at Takema area in Yamaga city.
Hoping you enjoy home time, home joy with it.
Go around Minimum but taste Kumamoto MaximumーAtsuko(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
｢緑の陣太鼓｣元旦から発売　熊本県産の抹茶使用 | 熊本日日新聞社
　お菓子の香梅（熊本市）が、熊本を代表する銘菓「誉の陣太鼓」に県内産の抹茶を使った“緑の陣太鼓”を１月１日発売する。期間限定を除く陣太鼓のレギュラー商品としては１９５８年の発売以来、初の新味となる。