Kirk here with an article about a sightseeing trolley train（トロッコ列車）in Minami Aso:
2023-03-25 22:49 JST 2023 Kirk here with an article about a sightseeing trolley train（トロッコ列車）in Minami Aso: Sightseeing trolley train starts running in Kumamoto | NHK WORLD-JAPAN NewsA trolley train is offering passengers a leisurely ride and majestic views of the mountains of Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230320_14/ ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 17 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 1 ← 2023-03-24 21:43 JST 2023-03-26 13:19 JST → Around this time … 2023-03-27 17:57 JSTKirk here with a photo I took of the cherry blossoms not far from Kumamoto Prefectural University. There are lots of famous spots but, when the weather is nice, if you can get out and cycle or walk you'll probably find plenty to enjoy in your neighborhood. :) 2023-03-27 17:57 JSTKirk here with something about the Janes Mansion (Janes Residence; ジェーンズ亭) and German prisoners of war in WWI. The color photo is of the reconstructed Janes Mansion, which is looking quite nice now and will be open to the public this fall, as I understand it. For background on the historical importance of the residence see the following:Reconstruction efforts begin Birthplace of Japanese Red Cross Society, "Janes' Residence"https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/jrc_news/170401_004771.htmlThe second image is of German prisoners of war relaxing on the porch of the Janes Residence in during WWI. It's a screenshot of the following page:https://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20221129003101.html?iref=pc_photo_gallery_5They got to stay in the Janes Residence because they were officers. Also, it seems that Japan was generally quite careful to adhere to the Hague Convention and not abuse POWs:A Forgotten Tale of World War I: Life for German POWs in Japanese Campshttps://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03303/So, it seems that German officers had particularly nice accommodations in which to wait for the war to end.P.S. It if often rendered the "Janes' Mansion" with an apostrophe to indicate the possessive, but that seems odd to me. Of course, "L.L. Janes' Mansion" is fine but when the family name modifies a word like "mansion" or "estate" in the name of a site, it seems to me that the possessive is out of place. As a case in point, it's the Vanderbilt Mansion, not the Vanderbilt's Mansion:https://www.nps.gov/vama/index.htm 2023-03-27 10:53 JSTKirk here with a share from Msn.com. Naturally, Mt. Aso is at the top of the list. Even if you live here and have been to the Mt. Aso area many times, a nice spring day like today might be a good occasion to take in the scenery in a new way -- perhaps a hike in an area you've never walked through. :)https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/10-reasons-why-kyushu-is-worth-visiting-best-things-to-do-kyushu-japan/ar-AA1962x110 Reasons Why Kyushu Is Worth Visiting: Best Things To Do Kyushu, Japan 2023-03-26 18:18 JSTKirk here with a report about research conducted at Kumamoto University. Kumamoto International editor Hari Devkota is one of the co-authors of the academic paper that led to this article being written but, unfortunately, the article fails to mention his contribution. :( Here's a link to the academic article (currently, the entire article is available free of charge):https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/3/581And here's a link to a post on Hari's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/devkotahp/posts/pfbid02Qk9okE1WYZ9RUJSsz2R59StWH1K8Ktm4WtKCFLibGkeyNQZgpQbtt8kWMBWuqhjJlFinally, here's a post about an earlier stage in this research that I wrote in 2019:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02UgwvipBMUveM142gG16aVE8X1XkU3hPL14VhfRLKPg6cEweaHfuMprQorcJUaZcKlhttps://www.earth.com/news/matcha-tea-relieves-symptoms-of-depression/Matcha tea relieves symptoms of depression 2023-03-26 13:19 JSTKirk here with an English-language article and some comments about Ms. Linh's exculpation by the supreme court.https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230324/p2g/00m/0na/032000cFirst, I'd like to point out that I learned today that Google news searches are not as good as I thought they were. It seemed odd to me searching for "Kumamoto" via Google news failed to bring up any articles on this case so I tried DuckDuckGo. Well, DuckDuckGo was MUCH better. So, from now on, I'll check DuckDuckGo when looking for articles to share here.Second, I read some Japanese-language articles on the ruling today and felt I came to understand something that I'd missed so far so I'd like to share that. From the outside, rulings found Ms. Linh guilty because the way she handled the tragedy was, supposedly, not in keeping with public sentiment (in Japan) about what it means to treat a corpse with proper respect. This seemed very odd to me, particularly because I didn't think it was reasonable to expect Ms. Linh to know about what is considered normal and proper in Japan. It turns about that this criterion, while not clearly spelled out in the criminal law itself, has long be applied in cases like this as a matter of judicial custom. Here's how it is presented on Wikipedia:公衆の敬虔感情、死者に対する敬虔感情 https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%BB%E4%BD%93%E6%90%8D%E5%A3%8A%E3%83%BB%E9%81%BA%E6%A3%84%E7%BD%AAAnd here's a DeepL translation:Public pious feelings, pious feelings toward the deadNaturally, Ms. Linh's lawyers complained that this was too vague and not clearly defined. But, conversely, the fact that the criterion is rooted in "public feelings" may have made the supreme court justices that much more inclined to consider the many voices of support for Ms. Linh and the wide-spread public disapproval of her convictions. So, I think this is a case where taking a few minutes to sign a petition really may have made a difference. :)Japan top court acquits Vietnam trainee of abandoning stillborn twins - The Mainichi 2023-03-25 22:49 JSTKirk here with an article about a sightseeing trolley train（ …Sightseeing trolley train starts running in Kumamoto | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News (this post) 2023-03-24 21:43 JSTFiona here, passing along an opportunity for English teachers who wish to become Cambridge English testing examiners. The training takes place at the International Centre on April 1st and 2nd, and requires registration and relevant experience. 2023-03-24 18:10 JSTKirk here. The opening of the new airport terminal was yesterday. Please see the NHK video (in English) for details.By the way, this is my first time to view Kumamon in the context of airline travel. He's pretty wide. I wonder if they make him pay for two seats? ;)New terminal building opens at Kumamoto Airport | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News 2023-03-24 15:33 JSTKirk here. Le Thi Thuy Linh has been found innocent, reversing the Kumamoto judgment. :) For background see this post:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0G16ByzPssrQkTibLYjthwrxC7KyuLoBtGQ64hsLnkfn4wP68UZyf4b8c1G8cWDA8lベトナム人元技能実習生に逆転無罪判決 死産児遺棄の罪 最高裁 | NHK 2023-03-23 20:18 JSTKirk here. Tomorrow is a big day in the case of Le Thi Thuy Linh, who has been convicted (wrongfully convicted in my opinion and the opinion of many) of abandoning the bodies of stillborn twins she gave birth to while alone at home. This case is one of several cases that have come to be viewed as indicative of the extent to which the human rights of non-citizens are or are not protected in Japan. For an article on that aspect of the case, see the following:EDITORIAL: Human rights of foreign residents need protection in Constitutionhttps://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14614807Newborn Abandonment Case Highlights Fears Among Foreign Traineeshttps://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/crime-courts/20230322-98963/--- start quote ---More than 90,000 signatures were submitted to the court by Japanese supporters and trainees demanding an acquittal, on the grounds that if Linh’s appeal is rejected, other women in similar circumstances may be charged with crimes.--- end quote ---Newborn Abandonment Case Highlights Fears Among Foreign Trainees 2023-03-23 11:16 JSTKirk here with a share from Kumamoto Japan Tourism about Okoshiki Kaigan -- arguably Kumamoto's best spot to photograph a beautiful sunset.The post recommends days to get a good view. Ideally, low tide should come at about sunset. That's what reveals that beautiful pattern you see in the photo. But, of course, there are other factors to consider -- the weather, your own schedule, etc. So, you might want to look up the tide times yourself and decide weather or not to go. You can do that here:https://tide.chowari.jp/43/432113/20456/In 2016, a friend of mine who is an outstanding photographer came and we went to Okoshiki Beach to see and photograph the sunset. As I recall, the conditions weren't ideal but the tide was fairly low when the sun set so we got some good shots. You can see a post about that day here.https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0GjTnCvK8ZpefC9ZCnFbUCWkCuoby9WuTWjbwPWQVF5dvJfAzSeNt4JYGMPiqgeWClhttps://www.facebook.com/kumamoto.en/posts/pfbid02MiyeYyDWF1sY3k7U3fxcj4dZAsyErsRjE95tvmSnSv1NN9iLKjJAyBVzMdDGdoVEl
