Here's something for those of you interested in teaching opportunities.
-- Kirk
Here's something for those of you interested in teaching opportunities.
Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.
A note from the Kumamoto International desk of improbable realities: There is apparently a village south of Hitoyoshi called 相良村 (Sagara Mura) which contains a location with a name containing an improbable number of "kawas" - 川辺川河川敷 (improbably pronounced "Kawabegawa Kasenjiki" - we'll report later on the difference between 川 and 河) - but that's not the point.
Mari (below left) and Koro (right - I think; let's face it: they look pretty much the same) are simply following their dream of becoming police dogs, but they both had the misfortune of being born toy poodles. While their larger canine brethren laughed at them, they trained and trained and yesterday took their test in 川辺川河川敷 which involved navigating an obstacle course and finding their handlers hidden in thick brush within 10 minutes (Mari did it in 10:30, Koro in 6:55). Toy poodle police dogs are rare in Japan, and if these two pass (results will be released in March), they'll be the first in Kumamoto and will begin work in April.
A police official said that the Kumamoto quakes have demonstrated the need for small dogs able to navigate the cramped spaces of collapsed buildings to alert their handlers of survivors. Standard poodles were originally bred as retrievers, and their diminutive cousins retrain that trait, so perhaps it is not as improbable as it seems. Dog speed, Mari and Koro! - William
https://this.kiji.is/200128234382099956?c=92619697908483575
"The city of Kumamoto suffered the third-largest net outflow of 1,540, and the Kumamoto Prefecture town of Mashiki, hit hardest by the powerful quakes, saw the sixth-largest net outflow of 1,319."
-- Kirk
Population influx into greater Tokyo slows down
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of people who moved into the greater Tokyo area exceeded that of people moving out by 117,868 in 2016, marking a net population inflow for the 21st consecutive year, the internal affairs ministry said Tuesday.
Hi everyone! The Sojo University Teaching and Learning Forum is tomorrow. Check out our program here. - Levy
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxlxSAjh7BDmX3RKcTNTdjJ2RkE
[Kumamoto UNESCO Association］2/12(Sun) Try and enjoy the Noh performance at the workshop!! | Consortium Kumamoto
I like Kumamoto by I'm repulsed by the seedy areas near Shimotori. The allegations in this article are particularly repulsive.
-- Kirk
Kumamoto cops: Hostess club employed middle school girls | The Tokyo Reporter
Police started receiving tips about employment of young girls in November
"The Building Standards Law only sets out the bare minimum standards for builders, so it does not guarantee that a house will be entirely safe. However, during the Kumamoto Earthquake [in 2016], we also saw a clear difference in the degree of damage inflicted on houses built in different periods. According to a report by a commission of experts set up by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, only 5 percent of wooden houses built before 1981 in the center of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, escaped damage. This rose to about 20 percent for houses built from 1981 to 2000, and about 60 percent for houses built in 2000 and beyond. This supports the idea that if no effort has been made to add quake resistance to a house, it will collapse more easily."
Quake-resistant housing vital for saving lives
The Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 1995 destroyed or severely damaged about 250,000 houses and residential buildings. About 90 percent of the deaths in the earthquake (see below), excluding those who died later of secondary earthquake-related causes, were killed when houses collapsed or caught…
Another teaching opportunity. -- Shared by Kirk
急な用事や病気でレッスンをお休みしても、振替レッスンができるから安心。 カフェスタイルの待合室. 待合室はいつでもご利用頂けます。レッスン以外でもお気軽にお立ちより下さい。
Kumamoto University is looking for staff to work in their Global College. They require fluency in both English and Japanese. The pay is not great but, depending on your situation, it might be worth considering.
http://www.c3.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/college/recruit/
-- Kirk
Shindo 3 (magnitude 3.8) in Yatsushiro a few moments ago . . .
http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/quake/20170126233747495-262334.html
-- Kirk
Sorry for the late notice but tomorrow a couple of lectures will be given in English at Kumamoto University by two world-class scholars. Anyone who is interested is encouraged to attend. The titles of the lectures are in English and a Japanese note indicates that the lectures will be in English "for the most part" (原則として）.
For more information go to
http://ewww.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/en/event/11/
-- Kirk
Here's another article about the Nadeshiko soccer game.
-- Kirk
http://kyodonews.net/news/2017/01/24/97521
Soccer: Nadeshiko Japan to play Costa Rica in April friendly | Kyodo News
Former women's world champions Nadeshiko Japan will play Costa Rica in a friendly in Kumamoto city on April 9,
Coming to Kumamoto! (but not all of the players you see in this photo ;) )
-- shared by Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/01/24/soccer/nadeshiko-japan-host-costa-rica-april-friendly/
Nadeshiko Japan to host Costa Rica in April friendly | The Japan Times
Former women's world champion Nadeshiko Japan will play Costa Rica in a friendly in Kumamoto on April 9, the Japan Football Association said Tuesday. The m
Not Kumamoto specific, but of interest to many expat residents, I suspect.
-- Kirk Masden
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/23/national/japan-simplify-residency-process-foreigners-online-service/
Japan to simplify residency process for foreigners with online service | The Japan Times
The government has decided to launch an online service to allow foreign nationals to apply and update their residency status in Japan from fiscal 2018, one
One of today's main Kumamoto-related stories is that, although there will continue to be an "Aso campus" of Tokai University, it cannot be reconstructed completely. As I understand it, many of the heavily damaged buildings are located on faults that preclude complete reconstruction.
Fields, pastures, etc will continue to be used for hands-on instruction in agriculture but I take it that the bulk of the classroom instruction will need to take place on the campus in Kumamoto City.
-- Kirk
P.S. Tomorrow (this morning?) is projected to be the coldest of the year so far -- unusually cold for Kumamoto. Bundle up if you're going outside!
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170124/k10010851581000.html
熊本地震で被災の東海大キャンパス 存続も全面再建は不可能 | NHKニュース
一連の熊本地震で被害を受け閉鎖されている南阿蘇村のキャンパスについて、東海大学は農業の実習場所として存続させる方針を明らかにしました。一方、…
There have been a couple of posts to this page about English teaching opportunities:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1292859824120780
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/10154459766068871
If you happened to have missed them and are interesting in such jobs, please take a look.
-- Kirk
Personally, 936 yen for this Kindle edition strikes me as a bit pricey. It is a collection of photos, mostly (as far as I can tell from the preview) of scenes that have become fairly familiar to readers of this page. It doesn't include the stories found in the Japanese edition. The Japanese edition, moreover, is available in softcover for about the same price as the English digital edition. Also, "Emergency Publication" appears in red toward the top of the cover but the Japanese version came out in May of last year. If the money were going to a charity, that would be different but I don't see any such indication.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/18/national/english-edition-kumamoto-earthquakes-photo-book-released-download/
English edition of 'Kumamoto Earthquakes' photo book released for download | The Japan Times
A collection of photos taken after the earthquakes that rocked Kumamoto Prefecture and its vicinity last April has been released for download in English. T
The Agricultural Festival (ueki matsuri, 植木祭) will open Saturday at a new location due to the quakes. It used to be held on the Shirakawa riverbank, which was a great location; it then moved to Toshima, which was terrible. This year, it will be held at Jozan Park (Jozan Koen, 城山公園 - map at the link), which I hope will be an improvement. It's a good chance to catch a glimpse of plumb blossoms while enjoying a bowl of steaming horse offal stew (馬ホルモン煮込み - yum! My favorite!) Another, larger festival should open soon at Agricultural Park in Koushi Machi, but the JA Website is, typically, down, so I can't confirm the date. Spring is just around the corner!
http://kuma-uekiichi.com/
A note on terrible publicity concepts: Someone in our neighboring prefecture to the west, Nagasaki, who really at this point should be jobless, came up with this advertising slogan for JR (warning - NSFW): "Kiss my Nagasaki." Important here is that "Nagasaki" literally means "long peninsula" and the ad is accompanied by a photo of some boy band ... uh ... boys. It doesn't take Fellini to figure this out.
Fortunately, we in Kumamoto have our G-rated Kumamon. Any ideas on a G-rated mascot for Nagasaki? 99-Shimamon? - William
http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/kissmynagasaki/
KISS MY NAGASAKI | JR九州
キスマイのメンバーが長崎をまるっとご紹介。それぞれが旅したマイナガサキや、ラッピングトレイン、TVCMなどの情報盛りだくさん！
From the department of things that make you wonder at humanity: vandalism. Two guide signs at Kumamoto Castle were discovered vandalized early yesterday morning. I'd guess a couple of drunk yahoos. Remember, if you ever see vandalism in progress, discretely dial 110 and report it to the police.
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20170118003.xhtml
