Last year, I posted this “April Fools” fake news item about Trump buying Kumamoto castle, renaming it “Trump Castle” and renovating it as a casino. I tried to come up with another bit of fake news that readers might enjoy this year but, alas, fake news can be hard. One attempt I made was a piece (fake news, mind you) about Kumamoto’s City Council forcing Yuka Ogata’s son to participate in a “crying sumo” event as punishment for braking the rules against non-members being in the chambers. I meant to satirize what I really believe to have been an overreaction by those in charge. At first I thought it was good but a trusted adviser convinced me that there was a risk of harming Ms. Ogata’s cause and being misunderstood. After thinking about it for a while I had to agree because over the years I found that humor can be good when people can laugh together but that its important to avoid situations where one ethnic group appears to be ridiculing another.
So, no clever “April Fools” piece this year – just a repeat of last year’s gag. I hope you all enjoy the nice April weather. :)
– Kirk