Kumamoto International Archive

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

Butterflies are interesting as they fly in random paths so random that even scientific methods cannot predict them. This is vexing for their would-be predators. Seriously: try to catch one. You will fail. They're also interesting as many species migrate. For example, the Parantica sita (アサギマダラ) goes south to Taiwan and returns for the summer, a bit like the butterfly of my hometown, the Monarch, which shoots between North America and Mexico. Anyway, she's back. - William https://this.kiji.is/629638701255492705?c=92619697908483575 https://this.kiji.is/629638701255492705?c=92619697908483575
アサギマダラ、癒やし届ける　上天草市・維和島に飛来｜熊本日日新聞
海を渡る「旅するチョウ」として知られるアサギマダラが、熊本県上天草市大矢野町の維和島に飛来している。...

Hi again.
This support is only for under 25 years old students.
At my elementary school,It was so busy and confused work to start online classes.
We can rent tablets for students to study.
But University students,high school students might have to prepare their online classes environment by themselves as much as they can.
Japan’s big 3 mobile carriers, Docomo, KDDI, Softbank, waived some data fees for young users.
If you need to increase the limit to 50gb,please check and contact your mobile company.
Education is the right for all students!! ーAtsuko(｡•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧
50GB free for students - Japan Top News
校 School closures are being implemented at various educational institutions nationwide due to the ef

Hi friends.
William has posted about Tsujyunkyo(通潤橋) before.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3562041677202572&id=123734781033296
Tsujyunkyo has reconstructed already.
Unfortunately, because of Corona isolation, Yabe government couldn't hold the ceremony to celebrate its repair work's complation with water beginning to flow again.
They made a video for After Corona, testing to flow. They postponed the ceremony but they hope the video make you enjoy during GW.
I also hope the ceremony will be held soon and we can enjoy the fresh air, fresh splashes and spray in front of the bridge together.
The bridge tells us the study, patience, effort, cooperation make Great works!!!
ーAtsuko╰(´︶`)╯
Original article.
https://this.kiji.is/629279014406472801
https://youtu.be/UJ8d97w_1tE
熊本県山都町は２０２０年５月２日、新型コロナウイルスの影響で、熊本地震からの復旧記念放水を延期している国指定重要文化財・通潤橋で試験的に放水した。

Joe Tomei. I'm sharing this here to reach some folks who don't often go on the usual FB groups, but for whom this might apply.

(ed. Somuka (Home Affairs Ministry) English pdf added]
Joe Tomei here. This is the national website for applying for the COVID monetary support. You need to have your MyNumber up to date, be the head of household, and have resided in Japan for at least 3 months. All in Japanese and not yet connected to the local pages for this unfortunately. But if you cannot wait, you may want to work thru this page.
At my house, we are waiting for the mail application because we don't have our MyNumber card updated, so people who do use the online portal to apply, please post in the comments your experiences.
https://kyufukin.soumu.go.jp/ja-JP/index.html
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000685956.pdf

A note from the KI Stircazy Desk: Apparently, there is an obake, half-human and half-cow, known as "Kudan" 「件（くだん） - the kanji indicates "person cow"」who lives in Ariake Sea and appears when there is great fortune or misfortune (note: now is the latter). He seems to be receiving much attention recently. - William https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%B6

This is an UNOFFICIAL translation of Governor Kabashima's message posted yesterday:
The long holidays are the most important period (to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection). By staying home, let's save people's lives. (May 1)
　
We have repeatedly asked all residents to refrain from going out unless it is necessary or urgent. As a result of your efforts, we have had zero new cases of infection for the past five consecutive days. I really appreciate your efforts.
　
The long holidays will enter the latter half from tomorrow. Let us all not stop this trend but join our efforts and overcome this hardship.
　
Governor's message video (in Japanese)
https://youtu.be/2Ppocz6MQUY
　
Information related to the request for business closure and support measures (in Japanese):
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/kiji_32491.html
==== Original message below====
大型連休が正念場です。「家にいる」ことで、誰かの命を守りましょう。（5月1日）　
　
県民の皆様には、繰り返し、不要不急の外出自粛を呼びかけましたが、その成果として、今日で５日連続、新規感染者がゼロになりました。ありがとうございます。
　
明日から大型連休の後半を迎えますが、この流れを絶やすことなく、県民みんなで力を合わせ、この逆境を乗り越えていきましょう。
　
メッセージ動画はこちら
https://youtu.be/2Ppocz6MQUY
　
休業要請や支援策に関する情報はこちら
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/kiji_32491.html
〇熊本県知事の蒲島郁夫です。新型コロナウイルス感染の拡大防止に向けた県の対策と県民の皆様へのお願いです。県内では、依然として「感染拡大傾向期」にあり、予断を許さない状況にあります。

Joe Tomei here with updates from JET Prefectural Advisors Bilal Khan & Lily McDermott
=======
Expert committee acknowledges a nationwide decline in new confirmed cases, but State of Emergency likely to be extended
Last night, the prime minister said that the government is currently planning to extend the state of emergency beyond 6 May. In a session of the diet yesterday, the prime minster explained that there continues to be a significant strain on the health care system and the situation remains serious.
This morning the government's expert committee on COVID-19 met to discuss the effectiveness of the current measures and the observed effects of the state of emergency over the past 3 weeks. The committee agreed with the observation that there has been a reduction in new cases, and that Japan has been able to avoid an "overshoot," or large uncontrollable increase in new cases, as seen in other countries. The basic reproduction number is estimated to now be 0.53 in Tokyo, and 0.71 for the country as a whole.
However, it was observed that the goal of an 80% reduction in interactions was not achieved, and although infections have decreased in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, the rate of decrease is slower than was hoped.
Furthermore, if the current public health recommendations are at all loosened, the rate of infection would quickly increase, and all of the efforts made by the public so far would be in vain. The number of new cases is not expected to reach zero for the foreseeable future, and as a result measures of some kind will need to be in place for at least one year. The current strict public health recommendations should remain in place for the time being, and the decision on whether to loosen restrictions should be made only when there is a sufficient reduction in new cases, the health care system is sufficiently prepared, and there is the capacity to swiftly conduct PCR tests when needed.
In Kumamoto, today marks the fifth consecutive day without a confirmed case.
Despite that encouraging trend, 165 new cases were announced in Tokyo today.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200501/k10012413791000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_001
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200501/k00/00m/040/098000c
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200501/k10012412431000.html?utm_int=detail_contents_tokushu_002
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/realtime/rt0002832.html?utm_int=all_contents_realtime_001
Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare release list of 13 symptoms which signal critical risk
Japan's health ministry has issued a checklist of 13 coronavirus symptoms which indicate when a person should consult a medical expert immediately. The list is designed for patients who are already confirmed to have COVID-19, but with mild symptoms, who are recuperating at designated accommodation facilities or at home. The list includes poor face colour, purple lips, and breathing difficulties such as chest pain, inability to lie down, only being able to breathe in a sitting position, and heaving your shoulders when you breathe. The health ministry says patients and their families should go through the check list twice a day.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200429/k10012410261000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-access_002
Kumamoto Prefecture to rent 600 rooms across 6 different hotels for mild/asymptomatic cases
https://this.kiji.is/628727879778305121?c=92619697908483575
After last month making a public request to hotels/ryokan for bids to host COVID-19 patients, the prefecture announced it will book 600 rooms at a cost of 314 million yen. The rooms are at 6 different facilities across the prefecture. The prefecture is planning to ask patients to move into hotels if the number of cases in the central area of Kumamoto (Kumamoto City and Kamimashiki area) exceeds 100 cases.
Nurses, doctors and prefectural staff will be stationed at the accommodations to carry out follow-up observations and PCR tests for infected persons, and also to support their daily lives through providing meals, etc.
"What I realized through English"
This morning's Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun featured an article written by a 3rd-Year Senior High School student from Nishihara Village. We think it really shows the value of the work that ALTs do in Kumamoto, so if you'd like, please take a look at the translation below (the original article is attached as a photo):

I’m really bad at English. There’s too much to memorize for vocabulary and grammar, and for someone who has bad memory like me, it’s too high a wall to scale. It really worried me that even spending time and effort on mock exams and term exams didn’t provide any results.
It was at that time that 2 new ALTs came to my high school. Until then, I didn’t have many opportunities to interact with ALTs. However, the new ALTs got closer to us students by doing things like coming to watch us during our club activities, and we had more opportunities to interact with them.
At first, my aversion to English prevented me from speaking much, but slowly and steadily I found myself able to speak about club activities and things that happened at school, albeit in mostly childish English. The English I speak is more or less at the level of a junior high student, and my usage of grammar and vocabulary is messy. Even so, when I saw my ALTs trying hard to understand what I was saying, I was able to feel comfortable speaking English.
From talking with my ALTs, I noticed something. I realized the importance of English as a language, as another tool for communicating with people. Before that, English existed largely as just study material for me. However, as I talked in English more and more, and became conscious of the usage of English for conveying and understanding things, it hit home to me that English is a language like any other.
Though this experience I came to understand the point of studying more grammar and vocabulary—it helps with understanding a wider variety of materials and makes the process of understanding and being understood easier. From now on, I want to study English through the lens of communication.

Please be careful and have a good, safe Golden Week.

I had to go out to Yabe today to visit some relatives. This time, my brother in law drove, so I had a chance to view the scenery, which is stunningly arboraceous. A friend of mine and I visited the camphor trees behind the baseball stadium yesterday. If you have a chance, go. - William

Joe Tomei here. A good friend of mine highly recommends this and it sounds like just the thing for these lockdowned times!
Experienced and passionate Japanese Chef Shuji Ozeki offers hands-on cooking classes in English.
A Japanese Master Chef Shuji Ozeki offers in English to chefs and hobby cooks hands-on cooking classes on authentic Japanese cuisine including seasonal healthy home cooking, soba and udon noodle making, kaiseki, shojin Zen cooking and bento lunch/dinner.

Joe Tomei here. This is an English translation of the Japanese information located at https://note.stopcovid19.jp/n/n47f8a80f5967
How to spend time with children
We are doing this in order to pass on the information that is coming out in Japanese. While the translations are done to the best of our ability, please be aware that we take no responsibility for any issues that may arise based on actions taken on account of these translations. We are doing this in English, but would welcome help not only for that, but also for translations in other languages. Contact me off list if you can help.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQtsOV7z_hF4mY__LXaNcqKGfds241Wp/view?usp=sharing
_How to have a time with children .docx

A note from the Kumamoto Desk of Sheltering In: You can get out if you self-distance. Kumamoto Castle recently launched a new route on their elevated walkway around the main keep from the south side of the castle tower, connecting the north side of Bizen moat to the south side of Honmaru Goten, allowing a novel perspective of the castle. - William
特別見学通路、熊本城に新たな視点　新型コロナで一般公開延期｜熊本日日新聞
熊本市は２９日、熊本地震で被災した熊本城の城内に完成した特別見学通路を報道陣に公開した。復旧の様子を...

A note from the Kumamoto International Meanwhile Life Goes On Desk (we look for sparks): Rice is grown in three stages: vegetative, reproductive, and ripening. The first is usually done in greenhouses, from which the seedlings are transplanted to a paddy. I always notice because the planting results in much sediment, making Shirakawa muddy in color. Now is that time. - William
「実り多い年に」　阿蘇谷で田植え始まる｜熊本日日新聞
好天となった２９日、阿蘇谷で田植えが始まった。平野部より約１カ月早い。１０品種を手掛ける熊本県阿蘇市...

There are festivals that you're cool with, and then there are those that you're not. The main shrine in Kumamoto, Fujisaki Hachiman Gu, which holds that festival where they drive horses through the streets to celebrate Kato Kiyomasa's victory over Korea, is arguably the latter. The shrine has cancelled the festival for this year, much to the relief of the horses. - William
＜速報＞「神幸行列」中止へ　藤崎八旛宮秋季例大祭、新型コロナ影響　｜熊本日日新聞
藤崎八旛宮（熊本市中央区井川淵町）が、例大祭の「神幸行列」を中止する意向を示していることが、総代らに...

Post

Traditional Japanese buildings are roofed with very heavy tiles. The advantages are that they are typhoon-resistant and long-lasting; the disadvantage is that they put a disproportionate amount of weight at the top of the building, leading to danger of collapse during earthquakes.
Here is a fascinating, short video on the restoration of Kumamoto Castle focusing on the roof tiles. I was out there the other day and saw crate after crate of roof tiles waiting for re-installation. After watching this video, I learned why they would reuse them. Tip o' the hat to our reader, Masaki Koreishi. - William
Restoring a Region’s Symbol – Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle, a much loved landmark for over 400 years, was extensively damaged in 2016 by a major earthquake. When restoration work began, a serious prob...

Our friend Sean Benward recently forwarded this stunning photo of the castle. Sadly, reconstruction efforts have been suspended during the pandemic. But a walk through the grounds yesterday reminded me that the keep (tenshukaku, 天守閣) reconstruction is a piece of cake compared to the walls. We've got a long, tough slog affront of us for several areas. However, noting beauty is good for health.. - William

We're supposed to stay home but Suizenji jojuen (the traditional garden) is open -- and you're more likely to meet wildlife there than other humans. I enjoyed watching these hunters today. Unfortunately, I don't have any footage of either of them catching their prey but I can assure you that they are not starving. -- Kirk

I read this article about a festival in Yamaga called "Ingo Hyotansai" (犬子（いんご）ひょうたん祭). It means "puppy gord festival", and they don't use the kanji for "hyoutan" (gord) because it's written so: 瓢箪 (it may be on the test). As a dog lover, I had to check it out.
It turns out that it refers to a festival about a gourd containing a thumb-sized amulet made of a rice grain held by a puppy. The story is this: a puppy came out of nowhere to the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto during a plague of the Edo period. When a priest gave the tired puppy sake from his gourd (my dog's ears just perked), the pup recovered, and the plague subsequently subsided. Obviously, this quickly became a symbol of plague recovery.
Generally, the festival is held on June 15, but the Yamaga festival has been cancelled this year due to the corona virus.
Kinda ironic. - William
「犬子ひょうたん」にコロナ終息祈願　山鹿市｜熊本日日新聞
熊本県山鹿市山鹿の大宮神社で２７日、新型コロナウイルス感染症の鎮静祈願祭があり、疫病を鎮めるとされる...

Joe Tomei here with another update from Bilal Khan & Lily McDermott, the Prefectural JET advisors.
=======
more updates:
Kumamoto Prefecture extends school closures
Kumamoto Prefecture has extended the closures of prefectural schools until 31 May, and is requesting private and municipal schools to do the same. The prefecture is allowing schools to put in place special designated days on which students can come to school "登校日" (toukoubi) if necessary, but attendance days are to be restricted to the smallest number of days possible.
The prefectural board of education has also released model timetables/examples of home study tasks using textbooks, encouraging the proactive use of school webpages and submission of assigned homework on designated school attendance days.
https://kumanichi.com/news/1445101/
Stricter health observation to be enforced for recovered patients
Earlier this week, it came to light that a previously discharged individual was confirmed to be positive again for COVID-19. As a result, Kumamoto City has decided to study options for strengthening health observations of patients even after they test negative and are discharged, due to the possibility of the virus remaining in the body for extended periods of time.
Patients are to be observed continuously for 4 weeks after discharge, and will be required to fill out a check sheet of symptoms including fever, cough, malaise, sore throat, etc, as well as answer phone calls from health care workers once or twice a week during the 4 week period. Patients are being asked to stay at home for at least one week after being discharged from the hospital.
https://this.kiji.is/627686027436885089
Kumamoto City announces new testing centre
Kumamoto City announced plans to open a "Regional Outpatient Testing Centre" (地域外来検査センター, Chiiki Gairai Kensa Sentaa) in order to expand testing capacity. Some tests are to be outsourced to private inspection companies contracted by the city.
The City Medical Association is planning to rent land from the city for construction. The location and the start of construction remain undecided, but drive-through sample collections are being considered. Patients will be able to undergo tests at the Regional Outpatient Testing Centre without going through their public health center (保健所) as long as they have a referral from a medical doctor.
https://this.kiji.is/626017519394538593?c=92619697908483575&fbclid=IwAR1dKZPr679YO2BrfRQnPrNvxLeBUzUf1fUuokYb3qJbv2kMQpyHle57kzY
Nagasaki cruise ship situation
The number of cases reported in Nagasaki increased to 164. This large increase in confirmed cases is attributed to an outbreak on a foreign cruise ship. The number of cases in Nagasaki, excluding those on board the ship, is 17.
The cruise ship, called the Costa Atlantica, arrived in Nagasaki at the end of January for repairs and maintenance (even before the infections on the Princess Diamond cruise ship at Yokohama Port came to light). There are 632 people on board, and a request was made for those on board to avoid leaving the ship and going into Nagasaki City.
However, 40 new passengers boarded the ship beginning on 15 March, and it has been acknowledged that there were instances in which crew members left the ship. Mitsubishi Shipbuilding is currently conducting an investigation on the movements of all crew members, as well as on taxi companies which are believed to have accepted passengers from the ship.
It's believed that someone aboard the ship was infected in late March. So far, 148 people on board are confirmed to have been infected. Severe cases are being treated in hospitals in Nagasaki Prefecture, which has asked the national government for additional support. Everyone else on board is currently staying in a single-occupancy cabin, while crew members delivering food and medical services to cabins are required to wear personal protective equipment. The government is currently trying to arrange for crew members who test negative to return to their home countries.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200426/k10012405981000.html
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASN4W6R93N4WTOLB001.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to permit dentists to conduct PCR tests
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has announced a new policy in which dentists will be allowed to collect PCR test samples in order to expand test capacity.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200426/k10012406561000.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare informs local governments that mild cases should be put in hotels
The national government has instructed local governments that, if hospital beds are unavailable, mild or asymptomatic patients should be put in hotels with 24-hour health monitoring in place by default. This decision came following the death of a man in Saitama Prefecture who had tested positive but later died in his home after being told to convalesce there. https://www.sponichi.co.jp/society/news/2020/04/24/kiji/20200424s00042000292000c.html
In the case of parents who must look after children, self-isolating at home remains possible. Some local governments are rolling out "home-care packages" (自宅療養セット) with food and supplies so that patients do not need to leave home during their isolation. https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASN4T73QWN4SUTIL045.html
Some businesses introducing new measures
While a small number of non-cooperative pachinko parlours have flouted closure requests (https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO58529350X20C20A4AC8000/), other businesses are introducing stricter measures to control the spread of COVID-19. For instance, convenience store Lawson will no longer be allowing customers to use in-store toilet facilities (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/shutoken-news/20200428/1000048115.html) and McDonalds will be closing in-store dining nationwide, not just in large cities where the state of emergency was originally declared. (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200428/k10012408481000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_001)
Stay Home Video Website
The Tokyo Metropolitan government has launched a website with many free videos for people to keep themselves entertained while at home over Golden Week.
Many of the videos have English and Chinese subtitles. Governor Koike also announced that a collaboration video with Marie Kondo will be released and distributed through the Tokyo Douga website.
https://tokyodouga.jp/
https://www.koho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/diary/news/stay_home.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/shutoken-news/20200424/1000047967.html
MEXT considering shift of Japanese school year to begin in September
At a press conference earlier this afternoon, the The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said that MEXT is currently entertaining the option of shifting the beginning of the school year to September. Currently, 90% of schools across the country remain closed. With the co-operation of local governments, school closures could be extended to September to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and re-open in September, potentially creating a new school year system for Japan. The minister said that this had been considered internally for some time, and making the change now would bring the Japanese school year in line with many other countries, potentially making international exchange easier. However, he explained that any such change could not be implemented from within the ministry itself, and would require the widespread co-operation of the entirety of Japanese society.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200428/k10012408711000.html
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO58570110Y0A420C2MM0000/
【新型コロナ】県立学校の休校延長を決定　熊本県教委 | 熊本のニュース | ニュース | 熊本日日新聞社
　熊本県教育委員会は２７日、新型コロナウイルスの感染が県内で拡大しているとして、５月６日までとしていた県立学校の臨時休校を５月３１日まで延長すると決めた。県内の各市町村教委と私立学校にも、県立学校と同...