Kumamoto International Archive

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

From the article:
"Yoshimura's NPO is now seeking out supporters for the project. A bottle of shochu will be sent to anyone who contributes 2,000 yen ($20). The money collected will be used to provide assistance to the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network, another nonprofit organization."
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201407220006
Fukushima rice finds a home in Kumamoto shochu - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
The owner of a ramen shop in central Kyushu believes he has just the right elixir for those who are shunning produce grown in southern Tohoku as a result of the nuclear disaster there: Kumamoto shochu made with Fukushima rice.

I have a few thoughts about this:
1. It probably would be nice to have more programing with English subtitles (and subtitles in other languages) but I'm a bit surprised that such a huge adjustment to daily programing in Japan would be made on behalf of those visiting short-term for the olympics. Of course, it would be open to anyone but the article (and a similar article in Japanese) makes it sound like the olympics and the comments of short-term visitors are primary motivations for the change.
2. The article says that Japanese content will be "automatically translated by a system to produce the foreign-language subtitles." Such subtitles might be intelligible for things like a weather forecast, but I can't imagine them being of much use (except as something to laugh at -- because of their poor quality) with variety programs.
3. Instead of making a major adjustment like this to satisfy the whims of short-term visitors, perhaps the money to make this change could be spent to improve the quality of disaster information and disaster warning systems for people who actually live here.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001439680
Japanese:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/it/20140721-OYT1T50025.html
TV shows to get foreign-language subtitles by 2020 - The Japan News
July 22, 2014 Menu Close 4:40 am, July 22, 2014 The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will develop a system to show Japanese TV programs with subtitles in foreign languages, including English and Chinese, to provide a more comfortable viewing experience for foreign visitors, according to…

According to this article, police were trying to discourage drunk driving at this beach in Kumamoto. I don't think the article mentions the name of the beach but it looks like Otachimisaki:
http://www.otachimisaki.com/park/sea.html
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2256014.html
「海水浴客を検問、飲酒運転防止呼びかけ熊本」TBS　News i
　全国各地で飲酒運転での痛ましい事故が後を絶たない中、熊本の海水浴場では、飲酒運転を防ぐための特別警戒が行われています。

The Consortium of Universities in Kumamoto is recruiting volunteers for the Mizuakari Festival, which is held in October. See the following page for information in English:
http://consortium-kumamoto.jp/en/2014/07/17/big-recruiting-announcement-for-the-mizuakari-festival-volunteers/
こんにちは。大学コンソーシアム熊本事務局です。大学コンソーシアム熊本では毎年、10月に開催される市民のお祭り、「熊本暮らし人祭りみずあかり」にボランティアとして多くの学生が参加しています…

The nuclear plant that is scheduled to restart is just 40 kilometers from Minamata. Victims of one environmental disaster don't welcome the risk of another.
http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2014070802000126.html
水俣の叫び　「再稼働反対」　川内原発４０キロ圏
　四大公害病の一つ、水俣病が発生した熊本県水俣市は、再稼働審査が優先的に進む九州電力川内（せんだい）原発（鹿児島県薩摩川内市）から四十キロ圏内にある。

This is about a Kumamoto-based company that has invented a video stabilizer for iPhones. I haven't decided what to do yet but personally I'm temped to contribute $79 and get my hands on a prototype.
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/compact-iphone-camera-stabilizer-launches-on-kickstarter-16-07-2014/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gizmon/elephant-steady-smallest-stabilizer-ever
Compact iPhone Camera Stabilizer Launches On Kickstarter (video)
The Elephant Steady has been designed to offer users the world’s smallest iPhone camera stabilizer and uses the processing power from your iPhone

----- quote ----
In a lecture early this month, Sadao Togashi, a professor emeritus of law at Kumamoto University, spoke of recent recognition that not only coastal residents but also dwellers of upland districts near the Shiranui Sea became affected after eating contaminated fish purchased from vendors.
“The central and prefectural governments have never conducted comprehensive, broad-based health checks,” he said. “Meanwhile, medical research on Minamata disease has focused mainly on patients with serious symptoms, overlooking only mildly symptomatic patients.
---- end quote ----
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/09/national/dont-forget-minamata-disease-say-lobbyists-organizing-major-lecture-series/
Lecture series keeps Minamata in spotlight | The Japan Times
A Tokyo nonprofit organization is launching a major series of lectures on Minamata disease, following a first round in 2012, as part of continuing efforts

I've been meaning to share posts from this excellent blog about Kurokawa Onsen but have been a bit distracted lately. This is one of many posts that onsen-lovers should enjoy.
http://kurokawa-onsen.com/onsen-hop-1/
Onsen-hop # 1: `Kurokawaso`
So..... this morning I thought I`d better get to work on trying out some of the outdoor baths or rotenburo ( 露天風呂） and decided to start with an old fa

New facility offers virtual tour of volcanic Mt. Aso in Kumamoto - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
ASO, Kumamoto Prefecture--Visitors to a new facility at an aerial ropeway station here on Mount Aso can now experience seasonal changes in virtual reality, along with a peek into an active volcano.

"Japan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday effectively gave its approval for the restarting of two nuclear reactors in Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, recognizing their compliance with stricter safety regulations created after the Fukushima nuclear accident."
The reactor is not in Kumamoto but it is quite close to southern Kumamoto.
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/108619.php
Japan reactors gain safety clearance
Japan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday effectively gave its approval for the restarting of two nuclear reactors in Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, recognizing their compliance with stricter safety regulations created after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Thanks for sharing this, Jessica!
Jessica And Rob's Adventure : Mt. Nakadake in Aso, Tsujunkyo, and Gorogataki Falls

I shared a picture of a church in Sakitsu (Amakusa) the other day. The Japanese post that contained the picture I shared was prompted by the decision to apply for world heritage status.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/669557379784364
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/108550.php
Here's another article from the Japan Times:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/10/national/japan-recommend-christian-sites-world-heritage-list/
"A government panel on Thursday endorsed churches and other Christian sites in Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures as candidates for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listing in 2016."
Govt to recommend Nagasaki churches as world heritage
The government plans to recommend a group of Christian churches and related sites in the country's southwest to be registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016, officials said Thursday.

It seems that the main attractions at this "Happy Kumamoto Summer Festival" will be Kumamon and a few other yurukyara.
Date: July 20
Time: 17:00 - 20:00
Place: Near Kumamoto Station (see Japanese text for details)
http://kumanago.jp/topics/?mode=detail&id=1119
The picture is from last year:
http://k-topics.blogspot.jp/2013/07/blog-post_17.html
　ハッピーくまもと夏祭り日　時：平成２６年７月２０日（日）１７時～２０時場　所：熊本駅白川口駅前広場（在来線側）●くまモンと一緒にくまモン体操＆盆踊り　盆踊り（山鹿灯籠踊り・植柳盆踊り・六調子音頭など）●くろちゃん、カエルくんなどゆるキャラも大集合●夜市では、生ビールやジェラート、かき氷などを販売●白川口のお土産店熊本銘品蔵内の『くまステ』にてくまモングッズ販売中 ※盆踊りに参加すると金魚すくい券プレゼント※イベント内容や出店ブースは、一部変更する場合があります

One reader (who shall remain nameless because the message came to me privately) opined thusly:
"news from your page are flooding my newsfeed with the Taifoon information. Please remember The Boy Who Cried Wolf story. "
It turns out that the reader didn't intend to imply that I was exaggerating or distorting the information that I was introducing. Still, I didn't appreciate the reference to "crying wolf" because, in the story, the problem was NOT that the boy delivered too many factual reports about actual wolf sightings and argued too often that precautions should be taken. The problem was that the boy lied and claimed that there was a wolf nearby when there wasn't. An important difference, I think.
Nonetheless, the reader was probably not alone in thinking that I posted too often. Perhaps so. But it's hard to know in advance exactly what information will be considered to be useful and what won't. As a matter of fact, a link to an article describing the evacuation of Amakusa earlier this week, something that I posted as an afterthought, not thinking that it was particularly useful, turned out to be the most popular post of the week; several people chose to forward it and it wound up getting over 3,000 views. Though I try to avoid posting junk, I think I'd rather follow a "when in doubt, share on the page" policy and let readers sort out what they do and do not find to be of interest.
Well, if I didn't "cry wolf" perhaps Japanese officials did. There were some comments about last night's evacuation notices being overreactions. Of course, in retrospect, the evacuations were not necessary. On the other hand, given the information available at the time, I think the officials probably made a good call for two reasons. 1. Storm systems are chaotic systems, which means that their course, where and how much water they dump, etc. cannot be predicted with complete accuracy. 2. I know that at least one of the areas that was evacuated, Hitoyoshi, is very flood-prone and has a history of serious (and deadly) floods. Heavy rain can produce very different results in different places.
By the way, one issue that got a good deal of coverage on TV was a premature rescinding of a warning in Okinawa. As I recall from what I saw on TV, the storm system seemed to have passed but after meteorologists rescinded a warning a very narrow band of intense rain appeared over a populated area. I think the point is that when you are dealing with the weather, prediction is a very difficult business. Personally, I would rather that pubic officials err on the side of caution.
I learned a few other lessons in the process of trying to maintain the page this week but I think I'll stop writing for now. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

There are no more "warnings" for Kumamoto, only "advisories."
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/349_table.html

This little video of changes in satellite images shows the storm dissolving.
http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/digital-typhoon/region/japan/1/
Storm warnings, however, are still under effect.

The probability that Kumamoto City will get hit with winds of 50 kts or higher has increased dramatically in the last few hours:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/storm-349.html?t=1408
Amakusa is already being hit with 50 kt winds.

I got this via e-mail at about 11:00 PM
=============
NW Pacific: Storm Alert issued at 9 Jul, 2014 12:00 GMT
Tropical Storm NEOGURI (08W) currently located near 31.8 N 127.8 E is forecast to strike land to the following likelihood(s) at the given lead time(s):
-- snip --
Yellow Alert City(s) and Town(s)
-- snip --
Kumamoto (32.7 N, 130.7 E)
probability for TS is 85% within 12 hours
-- snip --
Note that
Yellow Alert (Elevated) is CAT 1 or above to between 10% and 30% probability, or TS to above 50% probability.
CAT 1 means Typhoon strength winds of at least 74 mph, 119 km/h or 64 knots 1-min sustained.
TS means Tropical Storm strength winds of at least 39 mph, 63 km/h or 34 knots 1-min sustained.

I just posted about the probability of 50 knot winds in Kumamoto City:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/669017166505052/
The situation in Amakusa is predicted to be considerably worse and the high winds are likely to begin fairly soon and continue through tomorrow morning.

Google translation of evacuation notices for Minamata and Sagara
1. Minamata
Minamata disaster countermeasures office
To 19:10 July 9, 2014, I issued an evacuation advisory to Minamata all regions.
Because due to the approach of typhoon No. 8, future, damage caused by landslides storm, high waves, storm surge, heavy rain due is expected, it was announced the evacuation in Minamata entire city.
Residents of the target area, please evacuate to a safe place as soon as possible.
Contact: Minamata Administration Division Phone 0966-61-1604
水俣市災害対策本部
平成２６年７月９日１９時１０分に、水俣市全地域に避難勧告を発令しました。
台風８号の接近に伴い、今後、暴風、高波、高潮、大雨による土砂災害による被害が予想されるため、水俣市全域に避難勧告を発表しました。
対象地域の住民は、速やかに安全な場所へ避難してください。
お問い合わせ先：水俣市総務課　電話０９６６−６１−１６０４
2. Sagara
Sagara village evacuation
To the entire village, I have issued the evacuation.
Currently, as a shelter, we are opening up Youra village center, Sagara north elementary school gymnasium, Forestry Research Center, riverside structure improvement center, pine Baba village center, a gymnasium training room.
Immediately, please refuge in a nearby shelter.
Contact: Sagara Village Administration Division Phone (0966-35-0211)
村内全域に、避難勧告を発令しました。
現在、避難所として、上四浦集落センター、相良北小学校体育館、林業総合センター、川辺構造改善センター、松馬場集落センター、総合体育館研修室を開設しています。
ただちに、近くの避難所に避難してください。
お問い合わせ先：相良村総務課　電話（0966-35-0211）