William Rather typical for Kumamoto, the governments (prefectural and local) anticipated a problem yet failed to take proactive countermeasures. This time is the issue of roads in and around Kikuyo, where TSMC and related companies will soon employ thousands of workers and new housing is proliferating. Having worked in the area, I’m aware of the single-lane farm roads, where cars must slow to 20kmph to pass - and this traffic is due only to construction. When the fabs open, the situation will undoubtedly worsen. Kumanichi initially reports, but it’s behind a firewall, so here is a summary from a different site (Japanese) and a translation: https://greta.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/poverty/1689636025/l50?v=pc The number of traffic accidents in Kikuyo Town, where TSMC is located, has doubled due to the use of shortcuts by commuters and congestion due to population growth. Entrance to local roads is neverending, and road maintenance cannot keep up. The number of traffic accidents resulting in injury or death is increasing rapidly in Kikuyo Town. The number of incidents has almost doubled compared to last year. Traffic congestion has become more serious as companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) expand and population increases. Narrow community roads and farm roads are being used as shortcuts, and situations in which cars enter villages are a constant occurrence. Road maintenance cannot keep up with the increase in traffic, and residents are racking their brains for countermeasures. From 7:30 am on weekdays, cars enter one after another between the farmlands that spread to the south residential area of Haramizu, Kikuyo Town, heading north to the Semicon Technopark, an industrial park where semiconductor companies are concentrated. Many cars crowd prefectural and town roads around the district. Even near JR Haramizu Station, the narrow prefectural roads passing between private houses are crowded. There was also a road sign with a bent post, probably because a car had hit it. A local resident said, “Recently, the traffic volume has increased again. In the mornings and evenings, commuters fly through the district and along farm roads.”