Kumamoto International Archive

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

Kirk here with the . . . drum role, please . . . number 1 post of the year in terms of "reach" (people who saw it). It came from William and was about, you guessed it, Russia's war against Ukraine. This post got 51 shares and 6,827 views -- quote a lot for a little page like ours.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0zq8bc6LbnRKxN3dg8JZSXqsMAzT5JgnfzPkHNoBbmEmjeYkrWigNFbCCtDj2AYtMl

Kirk here with bad news about COVID-19. In short, the numbers are up and Kumamoto Prefecture has raised its alert level to three. The screenshots are from
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
The first one says that 98.9% (!) of normal hospital beds are occupied. The occupancy rate is lower (19.7%) for emergency beds; let's hope that situation doesn't get worse. The second screenshot shows how the infection rate (per 10,000 people) is rising by municipality in Kumamoto. Kumamoto City is currently at the top.
Here's a quote from an e-mail I got from the International Foundation:
--- start quote ---
The Kumamoto Prefecture risk level will be raised to Level3 on an emergency basis as result of a comprehensive assessment based on the infection and healthcare situation in the prefecture and opinions of experts.
Many medical institutions are closed during the year-end and New Year holidays.
Kumamoto City has a special medical system to ensure that citizens can receive medical treatment in the event of a sudden illness.
If you are not sure if you need to see a doctor immediately, please use the medical telephone consultation service.
#7400, #8000
For more information, visit the Kumamoto City website "Holiday on-duty Doctors" page.
Holiday on-duty doctor / Kumamoto-shi homepage:
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=102&class_set_id=2&class_id=269&fbclid=IwAR0ED0jr9DRjxxZQCduuoPdctLiBWAPaYuQitN1prvOrgIyTlpobr8pYv28
There are very few medical facilities available however and waiting times are expected to be very long.
To ensure that medical care goes to those who truly need it, we ask that you refrain from making unnecessary and hasty visits to the hospital.
If you suspect a Covid-19 infection, such as fever, consult with the dedicated fever patient telephone line. 0570-096-567(24-hour service)
--- end quote ---
Finally, here's something from a Kumamoto International regular who has gotten COVID-19 recently (slightly edited to protect the identity of the person):
--- start quote ---
I’m now officially afflicted with Covid-19, and so far it’s been like a bad chest cold. I have no other symptoms like pain or fever.
I got a negative antigen test and then a positive serious PCR test. Anyway, I have been urged to go to a hospital for a follow-up check and meds, and I was able to make an appointment for this afternoon.
But that was the 3rd hospital I tried; the situation is getting very difficult with the new year coming on. I was steered to a polyglot language service by the prefecture Covid hotline (096 300 5909) that I turned to today to help me get that appointment.
The English and other languages number is: 092 687 7962. They will call someone for you and stay on the line in a 3 way talk to translate between the main parties. It was quick and very good and I thought you might like to know to maybe post as a resource for others.
--- end quote ---
Stay well!

Atsuko here with information about holiday duty doctor during the year-end and New year holidays. Keep warm and enjoy holidays(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
Access denied
I got an error when visiting www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=102&class_set_id=2&class_id=269.

Kumamoto-i's self-appointed chief escape room correspondent Fiona here, with an end of year treasure hunt. After the Christmas Quest raised over 15,000 yen for Team Tonakai, Tom Taniguchi has set one final puzzle for Kumamoto residents. Good luck!

Kirk here with number 2 in our retrospective countdown. This one got 3,314 views.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid024EFq19GuLBfLAuA7gAkThyGMNgZ8mYWdA3HEgazwFV2Sd8BDfMn9pG83QZGTfwJZl
Tim Cook on Twitter
“Great to be back in Japan! Visited the historic Kumamoto Castle and learned about their work to restore this incredible landmark. 🇯🇵”

Kirk here with number 3 in my little end-of-year countdown. This post from William about the history of Tsuruya Department Store got 3,164 views:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02qoad1viadFe6vxLveM79tnUuG2BfA1Xsd2qQmHyoBhpw9YtSgiqeonCcsByxf8XDl

Kirk here reporting that 2022 has not been a good year for Mr. IDE Nobuo. Just a few years ago (2019) he was made head of the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly:
https://idenobuo.jp/about/
But yesterday he resigned in disgrace after allegedly (according to drive recorder) threatening to kill a taxi driver for making a wrong turn:
Kumamoto prefectural assembly member allegedly threatens to kill taxi driver
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/kumamoto-prefectural-assembly-member-allegedly-threatens-to-kill-taxi-driver
This is the same man who was caught on camera violating rules against smoking and drinking at a Koshien high school baseball game:
Local assemblyman caught violating smoking ban at Japan high school baseball game
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220910/p2a/00m/0na/016000c
I read in a Japanese language news article that he had resigned. I think it's appropriate for him to do so but I can't help but feel sad for him and his family; it must be hard to fall so far, so quickly.
And, though Ide's failures are more obvious and make better media fodder than the missteps of others in the prefectural assembly, I'm not convinced that they are the worst. I'm even more concerned by the cozy relations between members and the Moonies (Unification Church). I'll write more about that some other day.

Kirk here with number 4 in our countdown to 2023. This was posted by Hari and got 3,090 views. Thanks Hari!
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid032un8cUac5hfj7GHYuTfTH47W5fGp732LckPoWwQwMnwWAGqZnBMF9QiA9c8A5DZl

William Sometimes Kumamon appears in Santa gear; sometimes not. Best get your camera ready.

Merry Christmas! Atsuko here.
Are you enjoying winter? I went skating yesterday for the first time in three years at the Aqua Dome in Kumamoto City. Yes, I went there before the Corona Commotion.
Before corona started spreading.
there was a free day on the first day it opened, and I used to go there every year, but the free day seems to have disappeared since Corona. There were times when the ice rink was not open during the years when regulations were strict, but I think it was just the comfortable number of people.
The fee is 1400 yen for adults, 1000 yen for junior high and high school students, 800 yen for elementary school students and younger, and 400 yen for rental shoes. If one adult goes, the fee for elementary school students is halved to 400 yen.
Don't forget to bring gloves and socks.
Knit caps are available if you have them.
Helmets can be rented for free.
Hoping you also enjoy skating!!ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧

Kirk here with post number 5 in terms of "reach" (number of views) this year. Actually, I just deleted it by mistake so I'm posting this without an image. The original image was a map of evacuation notices but I don't want to disturb anyone on Christmas with such an image. By the way, though I accidentally erased the post, I have a record of the text so I'll append that to the end of this post.
The post about evacuation warnings that I erased got 3,036 views and was published on September 18th. This year we had our share (or a bit more than our share?) of typhoon and heavy rain warnings. If I hadn't been posting information to this page, I probably wouldn't have given the ambiguities of the "everyone must evacuate" notices a second thought. But, the care and feeding of this venue forced me to look into it. This post was from September 18th. Just for the record, I'll append the links and dates of other posts on the topic of "Do you REALLY need to evacuate?"
Bottomline: "Must evacuate" messages cannot be taken at face value; you need to evaluate them in the context of the particular area you live in, the building type, and where you live in that building.
September 5 (1)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02JqQAHi2tNSo6HLLBqTqepgJb6VwTtGU9S6BKgBjLa4FzNQ6roYKMCUfxT1SVuhMNl
September 5 (2)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02R41eJvAhr7f7Scb3wEpVHneidQm4H9SedXqfUZuo85GjiEv4jAJRTFi9kK2zgCtCl
September 5 (3)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0Dj7aD6LV8sDuUiv5x1XNQbwJU6FwV7qT1fJtHK2U7afh19E2vKt3okcWsiVHctudl
September 17 (1)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02PpUj8wBDvkdyf1nHwEuJwo2cXSQm32NUa4LXk769itLBx7X89x84hdECfnXieFu8l
September 17 (2)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0zYRYLnnPGAHVQkw5KMMyQTvfGBkFYQYpq1x4WavTwcRdYiPc56cNLXDsRecHP92el
September 18 (1)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02UirwxgWMQBfskBjawjG9UxqkUWkwq4MzvR3QcHMzvYzzok2ZyK3uHw6aQQ8ZZzGtl
September 18 (2)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02t2Srz8kEk97HiciKuYaj9PHkUNJ4UB1H7oPGj5uvrhWszj82mwHcXfmjoSozbpx5l
September 19
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0m16QbQV3Meut22BHGS39ttEqGHFtg7FPwaiFxmwtHcfjT6mZBVvp7N6dAucpJiHKl
September 22
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02Wy9deTuUwpJX2LFuYyNZK6ETzSvKXh3yykp3Sa56bip8fzNG7gXeBrYhTaBWrREBl
P.S. Here's the text of the post, from September 18th, that I erased by mistake:
Kirk again. I didn't plan to post a lot today but I found another resource that I think is useful. Here's the URL: https://portal.bousai.pref.kumamoto.jp/ What you see will be in Japanese but you can select a Google translate option at the top of the page. In the screenshot I've appended to this image, the purple areas are level 4 ("Everyone evacuates from hazardous places") and red areas are level 3 ("The elderly and others evacuate from hazardous places"). You can also use the map to locate shelters (evacuation sites; hinanjo) near you. For more information on the 5-level evacuation warnings, see the following: https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0DdVLZRKzVF3HXGFrxqDnHV63KYwbF327noiad5QeVScyJvVwS2vegbZVGdJXCiB3l

Kirk here. I'm not trying to advertise KFC but, even though I've lived in Japan a long time, I just learned today that there's a strong association of KFC with the Christmas holiday in this country. My wife mentioned the long lines she saw at the KFC in Kengun today "because it's Christmas eve." My first reaction was "what does Christmas eve have to do with KFC?" The answer is in the following article:
How KFC became a Christmas tradition in Japan
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/kfc-christmas-tradition-japan/index.html
--- start quote ---
Christmas was, and still is, a secular holiday in Japan -- a country where less than 1% of the population identifies as Christian -- and in the 1970s many people didn't have established family Christmas traditions. That's where KFC came in. The company launched its "Kentucky for Christmas" marketing campaign in 1974 and the first iteration of the party buckets soon followed. Some reports say that Takeshi Okawara, who managed the country's first KFC and later became CEO of KFC Japan, falsely marketed fried chicken as a traditional American Christmas food to drum up sales. But according to KFC Japan, Okawara went to a Christmas party dressed as Santa. When the kids loved it, he saw a business opportunity.
--- end quote ---
Regardless of which holidays you celebrate and how you celebrate them, I hope all enjoy a happy, healthy holiday season.
How KFC became a Christmas tradition in Japan
Forget turkey. In Japan, Christmas is a time to feast on KFC. CNN Travel explores how the American fast food chain grew to be synonymous with the holiday season.

Kirk here with number 6 on our countdown to 2023. This post from Liz got 2,704 views.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02iLn7naWEJPDEZn4X84EX9kPHLiNW6z892i8suUGmhv1QMTw9qyWMcR2SNF9i16ofl

William Kumamoto received an unfortunate mention in Japan Today: "In 2020 in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, a Vietnamese trainee, who feared being dismissed or compelled to return home, gave birth to stillborn twins and was charged with abandoning the bodies. She was given a suspended sentence but is appealing it to the Supreme Court."
One would hope the burst in economic activity accompanying the start of TSMC and related facilities will result in more thorough scrutiny of how non-Japanese workers are treated.
Quarter of trainees in Japan told to return home if pregnant: survey
Around a quarter of responding female foreign trainees in Japan said they were told to quit their job and return to their home country if they became pregnant, a survey by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan said Friday. The questionnaire is the first such conducted by the government focused…

Kirk here thinking that it's pretty cold out these days. I saw a national (!) news report this afternoon about cars and trucks stuck in traffic in the Minamata area. I'm not sure if they were talking about the traffic jam that you see in the picture, which occurred in the Minamata area this morning but, in either case, it's clear that snow and ice caused significant problems in Kumamoto Prefecture today.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/354920f94c3f1ea1f41014d458b0cda9c0a093f5

Kirk here, continuing the countdown to 2023. This is number 7 (in terms of "reach") with 2,627 views. It was posted by Atsuko, whom I think we were all happy to have back as a healthy editor. Kudos again to Julie for her fine work.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0C2w4mBuo1n2UwDpbWkhBz1LYG1WK6PiB3nFdCPQ5LmkxY8opdSdET6Qj34gLgeqHl
I wrote to the Kumanichi about the use of the word "YOU" to mean "foreigner" (as in "Hey you, foreigner!"?) and, thankfully, they published what I wrote. Here's a link to that:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0grW56kc2xf8grbJeV8ggzyUk8dtXdqUDVbZCdspAuDAeq6EWo8ANfV1maZUEgAsml
毎朝ごみ拾い、YＯＵは何者？　5種類の分別袋にマジックハンド　英語講師のウオーターマンさん　「生徒が掃除」するＪＡＰＡＮに驚き｜熊本日日新聞社
　熊本市内で毎朝「自転車に袋を積んだ外国人女性がマジックハンドを使い、雨の日も風の日もごみ拾いをしています」との情報が、同市の70代男性から「SNSこちら編集局」（S編）に寄せられた。周囲の注目を集めるこの女...

Kirk here with number 8 in my retrospective countdown to 2023. This one by William is about Kumamoto's streetcars (or trams or trolleys; 市電 [shiden] in Kumamoto but generally referred to as 路面電車 [romen densha] in Japanese) and got 2,627 sets of eyeballs.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0XzfhZxwK98REpKn1JgsRJ616aviTpwjWhrtXGDYrgY9RCrwfUYtD1mamkS7hpms6l

William My wife will receive a blood transfusion at Kumamoto University Hospital tomorrow as part of her cancer treatment. Usually we walk - it's only a mile - but considering her schedule and the weather, I thought a taxi would be best. I'd called our local taxi company for a reservation; they said they were booked. Other companies I called said the same thing.
So I walked over to Kotsu Taxi, a short distance, and talked with a very compassionate female driver who said she would be pleased to drive us at 8:00 tomorrow.
Lesson: if you REALLY need a taxi in Kumamoto and do not get results over the phone, show up in person. That transcends most aspects of life.

Kirk here, continuing my retrospective countdown to 2023. This post got 2,535 views, making it the 9th most viewed post of the year. Here's hoping the earthquake it discusses never occurs:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0377zynH6AWqPDuDTV7cAqQMj5oQDqcoKhkVJdiEWPUX719Bpjh4gZk5ZPkuPuPTT3l
P.S. If you want to read my post, please click on the URL above. Clicking on the photo will take you to the NIPPON.COM article.
A Disaster to Dwarf 3/11? The Predicted Nankai Quake
Experts believe there is a 70% to 80% probability of a severe Nankai Trough earthquake within 30 years. More than 70 years have passed since the previous such quake in this region, which sees a major shake every 100 to 150 years.

Kirk here with the beginning of a retrospective on Kumamoto International's year. I rearranged the posts from the past year in order of "reach" (the number of people that Facebook says viewed them) and thought I'd go through the top 10 at a pace of one a day. Here's number 10 in the countdown with 2,288 views:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02dMv3f7Pjj1sX7jsGFmroXVKsy6obnxYs82heri8p6RXgr1YiQeUm8He8foSJnvx8l