Kumamoto International Archive

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

Charmaine here...the latest from Kurokawa Onsen and a special campaign: http://kurokawa-onsen.com/30-years-of-nyuto-tegata-onsen-passes-in-kurokawa-onsen-/
30 years of `Nyuto tegata` Onsen passes in Kurokawa Onsen!
To celebrate 30 years of their `nyuto tegata` onsen-hopping passes,Kurokawa Onsen have brought out a special commemorative edition! The cost is the usual 1

Today, I spoke with Ms. Mayumi Murata, Chairman of the Organization of Test of English for Early Childhood Educators (Hoikueiken Kyoukai) about this. She told me that she and her organization are interested in helping foreigners find work in the Kanto and Kansai areas. It is clear that they are interested in finding people who would like to work with preschool children but I'm not sure if they can help with other kinds of job searches. If you would like to know more about their services, either contact them via phone or e-mail or make arrangements to talk with them in person at the International Center in downtown Kumamoto.
-- Kirk
------ message from the organization ------
Hoikueiken Supports Gaikokujin in Kumamoto
Kumamoto City and Hoikueiken collaborate and setup Kumamoto Career Gaikokujin Support Desk at Kumamoto City International Center (KCIC). The Support Desk assists and helps foreigners find employment in the Kanto and Kansai area by utilizing the Hoikueiken's network. If you know any of your friends who are facing challenges finding a job please contact us.
Here's the link for more information
http://www.hoikueiken.com
Period : Wednesday, May 25th, 2016 - Sunday, June 12th, 2016 10:00-16:00
Location: Kumamoto City International Center (KCIC) 2F
Special Dates: Saturday, June 4th ・Sunday, June 5th ・Sunday, June 12th* (Pre-registration required)
*HR from school(s) in the Kanto will be at the desk for any inquiries and interviews.
Contact: Organization of Test of English for Early Childhood Educators (Hoikueiken Kyoukai)
Email: [email protected] (English or Japanese)
Tel: 0800-100-7419 (Free Toll)

Quake victims in Kumamoto still stay in garages, greenhouses：The Asahi Shimbun
MASHIKI, Kumamoto Prefecture—Shinichiro Yoshino and his wife, Hiroko, have been living in a greenhou

This is a Japanese article about the impact of the earthquakes on Kensey Phillips, an exchange students at Kumamoto Gakuen University, and about the role that this page, Kumamoto International, played in putting out information in English.
The article says that, in both Japanese and English, there was a good deal of misinformation on the web related to the earthquakes and/or the situation in Kumamoto. It also quotes me (correctly) as saying that I saw almost nothing that struck me as misinformation or hate speech (except something from one person posting in Japanese about "dubious foreigners" that Sara shared with us). So, since I seemed to have missed it, I'd be curious to learn about any misinformation that any of you might have noticed.
-- Kirk
http://www.j-cast.com/2016/05/31268243.html
【熊本地震とインターネット（5=最終回）】「真夜中の激震」その時外国人は...　SNS発信の情報が一気に拡散した
熊本地震では、日本語が不自由な外国人向けにインターネットで多言語による情報発信をしている熊本市国際交流会館の取り組みを、連載2回目で紹介した。

Summer is approaching - do you know where your air conditioner remote control is? As I prepared my daughter's room for her return from college, the answer was negative (for an air conditioner about her age). Considering my options, I ordered the below from Amazon based on its star number and low price - only 300 yen! One hassle is that, as it is a universal remote, you have to find your code and enter it using the temperature control up/down button, but a search of the Internet and some fiddling around enabled even a geezer like me to do it. I sit now with a smug smile as I type this, supremely annoying my wife. Geezer. - William
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3-K-1028E-%E5%90%84%E7%A4%BE%E5%85%B1%E9%80%9A1000%E7%A8%AE%E5%AF%BE%E5%BF%9C-%E3%82%A8%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E7%94%A8%E3%83%A6%E3%83%8B%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%83%81%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A2%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3-%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E6%A4%9C%E7%B4%A2%E6%A9%9F%E8%83%BD%E3%82%82%E6%90%AD%E8%BC%89-520012-K-1028E/dp/B000V4OBBE?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_492632_231641572_TE_3p_dp_1
各社共通1000種対応エアコン用ユニバーサルマルチリモコン自動検索機能も搭載!!-520012 K-1028E
●1000種対応各社共通のエアコン用ユニバーサルマルチリモコンです。 ●サンヨーSANYO、SANYO NEC、三菱電機MITSUBISHI、三菱重工、コロナ、富士通Fujitsu、シャープSHARP 東芝 TOSHIBA、日立 HITACHI、ナショナル National、ダイキン DAIKAN、サムスン SAMSUNG LG、他、世界各国100社に対応しています。 ●大きさは約135×50×20mm、手のひらサイズ英文簡易マニュアル付きとなります。 ●表示記号は左より、自動・冷房・除湿・送風・暖房になります。(MODEで切り替え) ※エアコンによって稀に設定が異なる場合もございます...

Japanese troops wrap up effort in quake-hit Kumamoto | The Japan Times
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced Monday that the Self-Defense Forces will be pulled out of Kumamoto Prefecture, 1½ months after the area was hi

This is another example of the role Kumamoto plays in high-tech production in Japan. Kyushu is sometimes called Japan's "silicone island." See the following pdf for a detailed discussion of that aspect of Kyushu's economy:
http://www.siiq.jp/en/pdf/map_of_major.pdf
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2016/05/27/ricoh-warns-of-possible-production-delays-in-wake-of-kumamoto-earthquakes
Ricoh warns of possible production delays in wake of Kumamoto earthquakes
Planning to purchase a new camera or lens from Ricoh or its Pentax brand? If so, you might want to get your order in pronto unless you want to be stuck waiting, as the company has today warned of potential production issues for…

I hope everyone still experiencing emotional trauma from the quakes can get the help they need and find effective ways to deal with the stress.
If you are still feeling the emotional effects of the quake, you may want to contact the Kumamoto City International Center for information about when and where consultations are being held:
Kumamoto City International Center
Address: 4-8 Hanabata-cho, Kumamoto-shi, 860-0806
Telephone: 096-359-2121
Fax: 096-359-5783 / 5112
E-mail: [email protected]
-- KIrk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/29/national/social-issues/ptsd-sufferers-increasing-in-quake-hit-kumamoto/
PTSD sufferers increasing in quake-hit Kumamoto | The Japan Times
Children and adults in parts of quake-damaged Kyushu are showing increasing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

History and airplane fans, pen this in for your Tuesday, May 31 schedule.
Ishitsuka Masahide, 55, an entrepreneur who renders sheep into flight jackets (company Website here http://www.thefewmfg.com/top.html ), has lived in Christchurch, New Zealand for 30 years, so he certainly is no stranger to earthquakes. His business has apparently been sufficiently lucrative to afford him the purchase in 2010 of one of the few remaining functional Zero fighter planes from a collector in America (the photo at the link shows the plane flying over California; more photos here http://tinyurl.com/hgnm2b8 ). After being transport back to Japan, the plane took its first test flight over Kagoshima in January of this year. He had planned to first publicly exhibit the craft in April, but the Kumamoto quakes caused a rethink.
Instead, the plane is now scheduled to make the 30-minute flight from Kagoshima to Kumamoto airport, arriving around 11:30 on Tuesday, May 31. After checks, the plane is expected to depart at 13:00 for a flight over Mashiki and Minamiaso. Ishitsuka-san, whose factory suffered damage in the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake, said, "I know that the continuing aftershocks stain the soul with fear. Psychologically, it is a difficult time. I hope the sight of the Zero will be of some help to alleviate this."
Kumamoto has a deep relationship with Mitsubishi, the builder of the Zero, and while that model was never built here, others were. I'll introduce this in a future post. - William
http://this.kiji.is/109471712255016969?c=92619697908483575
被災地の空、ゼロ戦飛行を計画　 - 熊本日日新聞
　熊本地震の被災者を勇気づけようと、ニュージーランド在住の会社社長石塚政秀さん（５５）は３１日、所有する旧日本海軍の零式艦上戦闘機（ゼロ戦）の飛行を益城町や南阿蘇村上空で計画している。　石塚さんは２０１０年、米国人コレクターが所有していた...

Those familiar with Kamitori know well the Kappa statue which has welcomed guests to the Marubun book store since 1970. Though constructed of fragile bronze, light enough to be lifted by a single person, and not affixed to its base, the statue fared far better during the quakes than did the store itself, which has suffered severe structural damage and is not expected to reopen until August at earliest. In the meantime, the Kappa statue has become a symbol of the resilience of Kumamoto, with fans affixing notes to the lowered store shutters encouraging the store's revival.
Kappa are known Anglophiles, so notes written in English would also be welcome.
http://this.kiji.is/109471724423217158?c=92619697908483575
シンボル　かっぱ像、奇跡の鎮座　被災の上通の老舗書店 - 熊本日日新聞
営業再開を目指す「金龍堂まるぶん店」の従業員たちと名物のかっぱ像。小型の２体を含め無傷だった＝熊本市中央区　熊本市の上通アーケードで「かっぱの本屋さん」として親しまれている老舗書店「金龍堂まるぶん店」が、熊本地震で被災し、長期休業している...

Despite sustaining a fair amount of damage in the earthquake, Honmyouji Temple is still a lovely place to visit.
- Celia
http://promotekyushuproject.blogspot.jp/2016/05/earthquake-damage-at-honmyouji-temple.html

Yuji Hashimoto, when not playing a mean sax, spends his time promoting Kumamoto food. He was recently photographed and quoted in a Nishinihon Shinbun article at a Thailand exhibition promoting Kyushu cuisine. "Thailand has a noodle-eating culture, and is thus a very attractive market. Our exports to the country have doubled," he said.
Yuji-san can be found wherever fine jazz is played.
http://qbiz.jp/article/87582/1/
九州の味をタイへ　国際見本市に地場４社出展
　【バンコク浜田耕治】東南アジア最大級の国際食品見本市「タイフェクス２０１６」が、タイのバンコク郊外で開かれている。世界各国から食品メーカーや商社など計約１６００社が参加。九州の地場企業４社も ...

The Kumanich supplied a handy chart showing number and intensities on the shindo scale of quakes since the first on April 14. The article notes that May 23 marked the first day since then during which quakes of shindo 1 (considered the lowest noticeable to humans) or higher marked less than 10, with numbers continuing in single digits since.
The article also notes, though, that history shows this number may fluctuate over several months after such a large quake, and authorities call for continued caution.
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160526010.xhtml
１日当たり地震回数、３日連続１桁　気象庁－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

If you are interested in listening to high-quality audio documentaries and, after the Kumamoto earthquakes, would like to learn about problems associated with recovery from a disaster in the United States, you may enjoy this.
https://soundcloud.com/frontlinepbs/business-of-disaster?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FrontlineAudiocastPbs+%28FRONTLINE+-+Audiocast+%7C+PBS%29
You can download the mp3 here
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FrontlineAudiocastPbs/~5/gavvX8v5mCo/265851073-frontlinepbs-business-of-disaster.mp3
Business of Disaster
Who profits when disaster strikes? FRONTLINE and NPR investigate.

FedEx delivers aid to earthquake affected Kumamoto, Japan
Air Cargo News, Airlines Newsletter, Aviation News, Logistics News, Air Cargo World, Cargo News Asia, Airlines Breaking News, Priority Cargo, Airlines News, Pharmaceutical Exports

Not cool . . .
http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2016/05/24/civic-employee-sent-to-kumamoto-used-offical-car-to-visit-love-hotel-with-hooker/
Civic employee sent to Kumamoto used offical car to visit love hotel with hooker | The Tokyo...
Takeo City employee parked an official vehicle at a love hotel in Kumamoto and ordered a 'delivery health' prostitute

Our dear friends Helen Mcnamara and Liz Suenaga shared this:
"This is a very short video about the shrine a friend and I are trying to help. Every click on the video will give a teeny tiny donation to Aso Shrine, and we want to get as many views as possible, so please watch on repeat and share with as many people as you can and help send this around the world!
(If you click on settings you will be able to activate the English subtitles.)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKp_zR6Ukbc&sns=fb
#1【阿蘇神社権禰宜内村泰彰さん】Hiroaki Uchimura -Aso Shrine Gonnegi-
4月16日未明に発生した熊本地震により阿蘇神社が甚大な被害を受けました。阿蘇神社で神職を務める内村泰彰さんに復旧に向けてお話を伺いました。 The huge earthquake hits Kumamoto prefecture on April 16. The simbolic two-storey tower...

Traffic access through Aso is improving, according to the Kumanichi, with a 6.6 kilometer stretch of Yamanami Highway blocked by landslides reopened and a road from Kikuchi to Aso now clear (both indicated by blue on the linked map - red is still no-go). http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160525012.xhtml
If you have never driven Yamanami Highway in the sunshine - where the days are longer, the nights are stronger than, well - check it out here (substitute Ventura Highway and you'll get the gist). It is a lovely drive that you will never forget. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQCjHC0m54E

Here's a link to an article and a question about capitalization. The article begins "The east of Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu . . ." I've seen "Kumamoto city" several times since the quakes. I think this is a mistake that should follow the following examples:
New York City (not "New York city")
Kumamoto High School ("high school" is capitalized because it's part of the name)
Boston Marathon (not "Boston marathon" because "marathon" is part of the name)
etc., etc.
Am I missing something or were the people writing "Kumamoto city" in this and other articles just not paying attention in school?
-- Kirk
http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160524/1040134449/japan-earthquake-damages.html
Japan to Suffer Up to $41.8Bln in Damages From Deadly April Earthquake
Damages from last month’s deadly earthquake in southern Japan are estimated at 2.4 trillion yen to 4.6 trillion yen ($21.8 billion to $41.8 billion), according to government data published in the Japanese press Tuesday.

Kumanichi reports on the evacuee tent village set up primarily by Tokyo-based mountaineer Noguchi Ken in the area around Athletic Park in Mashiki, where some 600 evacuees currently reside. Concerns regarding rising temperatures and the approaching rainy season have led authorities to begin nudging evacuees to move to six indoor evacuation centers, primarily the gymnastic arena located in the park, and plan to close the tent village by the end of May. Mashiki town officials visited the tent village to gather opinions, many of which expressed a desire to remain in the tents. The following were reported.
"I'm afraid to sleep indoors."
"The area is spacious and ideal, but the single-sheet partition between living areas makes me anxious."
"My husband and daughter arise early for work and school, and I do not want to trouble others."
"If I cannot overcome my fear of earthquakes, I may return to living in my car."
Noguchi noted his understanding of safety issues behind the move, but also said, "All efforts must be made to prevent a return to living in cars. We can create an environment allowing escape from midday heat. I am currently searching for a private site where the tent village can be relocated."
- William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160524011.xhtml
テント村「まだいたい…」　閉鎖予定の益城町－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。