Kirk here with a COVID-19 update. Kumamoto Prefecture’s alert level has been lowered from 3 (警報; keihou; warning?) to 2 (警戒; keikai; alert?). This is on a scale that starts with 0 as completely normal and goes up to 5. I’m not sure exactly how this will impact daily life here but it’s certainly good news. The numbers of new cases have been very low recently and the lowered alert level reflects that.
By the way, the address of the prefecture’s page on the warning levels is as follows:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
Personally, though, I didn’t find it to be particularly informative – and it’s only in Japanese. It’s even difficult to translate with apps and Google translate etc. because they have put most of the text in low-resolution graphics. Low-resolution graphics may be convenient for those who want to take a table made on a computer and quickly put it up on a web page but it’s the worst possible format for people who are trying to learn Japanese. :( I’ve been at this for 40 years so it’s not a problem for me personally at this point but it would have slowed me down several decades ago.
