Luffy's birthday! -- Kirk https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/manga-anime/20260506-326093/
2026-05-06 15:29 JST 2026 Luffy's birthday! -- Kirk https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/manga-anime/20260506-326093/ ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. ← 2026-05-05 12:16 JST → Around this time … 2026-05-06 15:29 JSTLuffy's birthday! -- Kirk (this post) 2026-05-05 12:16 JSTKirk here. The Kumamoto Keizai article I cited in the first post in this series (what might be called "Hate at the International Center") says that the group held its first event at the Center in February. To see my original post click/tap on the following link:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02i2uLiaL26yCg3TS4FzpwvtJP3Dpa1qndZjQ8j8SLVQgCK3QZ2yExujtzKKkrXXe1lIn this post, I'd like to report on an announcement of that first event that was published on X by Mr. Saeki, the person mentioned in the Kumamoto Keizai article. His announcement can be found here and it features the posters / graphics I've attached to this post.https://x.com/trdTqT5df153351/status/2025246342868787541Here's a summary of the content of the image on the right that Claude (my go-to AI service) helped me prepare:--- start summary of graphic ---This is an anti-immigration manga-style illustration focused on Kumamoto, Japan. The top panel presents a sinister looking figure in a suit and tie that is labeled "multicultural co-existence" (多文化共生) and surrounded by pro-immigration buzzwords — multicultural co-existence (多文化共生), technical intern trainees (技能実習生), domestic support foreign worker acceptance (家事支援外国人受け入れ), and one-stop business startup procedures (起業手続きワンストップ). The figure calls for more foreign workers to address labor shortages (人手不足). The middle panels then present these policies as threats, with shocked reaction shots accompanying three "alarming" scenarios: Southeast Asian foreigners (東南アジア系外国人) stealing bonsai plants and copper wire; Muslims praying near Kumamoto Castle with the caption suggesting there were too many to hold the event in the Islamic Center (イスラミックセンター); and the Aso Mega Solar (阿蘇メガソーラー) project, portrayed as harming local livestock farmers while raising electricity costs (foreign connection not explained but there's a conspiracy theory behind its inclusion here). The bottom section shows a young woman voicing concern that "too much consideration is being given to foreigners (外国人に配慮しすぎ)" while taxes go to foreigners rather than Japanese people, and a figure in a military-style cap warning that Japan will end up like "immigrant-overrun European countries" if nothing is done. The illustration ends with a call to action (声を上げよう) urging readers to contact Kumamoto Prefecture and local government websites, with sample messages like "Please stop easily accepting foreigners (安易な外国人受け入れをしないでください)" and "Can public safety be guaranteed if the number of foreigners increases further?" The X (Twitter) account @kumamono385 is promoted at the bottom.--- end summary of graphicIn regard to this event, it didn't get any support or publicity from Mr. Miyazaki or Kumamoto Keizai. But this history should have been known to Mr. Miyazaki, the reporter. Since he helped publicize the second event (see https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0oLDoQ73yy8GFnPHMfMLn9ZCXbpK3DT2qRujayT5zPEXzxRoxAqtHh3JbNzr1kvFPl) he should have investigated how the organizers were promoting themselves — including on X. It was easy enough for me to find the announcement; a diligent journalist should be equally adept at such research.This repackaging of hate as an innocuous event (poster announcing the tea-drinking meeting) is a known technique that far right groups use to recruit new members. Here's a report about similar activities in the U.S.:--- start quote ---More than any other white nationalist group operating today, Identity Evropa has attempted to frame their views in ways that appeal to mainstream conservative audiences. They downplay the extreme nature of their ideas, like referring to their ideal society as “ethno-pluralistic” rather than segregated. They push for a clampdown on immigration and stress nativist talking points that they believe will appeal to Trump supporters. They carefully manage their public image, holding only unannounced demonstrations where they hold banners with innocuous-sounding slogans like “Make America Beautiful Again.”--- end quote ---But don't be fooled by the marketing.--- start quote ---Despite Identity Evropa’s efforts to differentiate themselves from other segments of the white nationalist movement with their tony aesthetic and faux-academic jargon, their Discord chats show that their views were essentially the same as any other group in the alt-right. Members toed the party line and avoided using racial slurs or other crude language, but they still engaged in Holocaust denial, vilified Jews and black people, and read crudely racist content like the Daily Stormer.--- end quote ---https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/white-nationalist-group-identity-evropa-rebrands-following-private-chat-leaks-launches/ 2026-05-05 08:41 JSTKirk here. Sorry I couldn't give you a heads-up about this event in advance. Come to think of it, aggregating event information has always been a lot harder for me than aggregating news. Perhaps someday I'll figure out a way to do it more efficiently and more effectively.Tainan mayor promotes city culture at Taiwan festival in Kumamoto | Taiwan News | May. 4, 2026 19:05 2026-05-04 15:17 JSTKirk here. This survey has been promised for a very long time:--- start quote ---The survey on residents of the Shiranui Sea coast in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures will be conducted for the first time under a special law that took effect in 2009 to provide relief for victims of the disease, which was officially recognized in the Kumamoto city of Minamata on May 1, 1956.--- end quote ---The "under a special law" part means that the government committed to doing the survey when they made the law. So far, the only data about health effects is from those who have come forward to request certification, etc. -- despite fears of social stigma and discrimination. The government has been dragging its feet because revealing the extent of the damage reveals the extent of its own negligence (failure to protect the health of people living in the area). Now after 17 years, the government is finally starting the survey but their methods are not what patient groups are asking for.Japan to begin Minamata disease survey as early as this year 2026-05-03 10:16 JSTAnother place to visit if you have a car during GW (or any season) is Kurokawa Onsen, on the border between Kumamoto and Oita. There are a multitude of onsen, including one in a cave, It's said to be the inspiration behind many Miyazak Hayaoi films. You can buy a pass that lets you visit multiple inns, walking around cobblestoned streets in yukata, eating eggs boiled by onsen water. My wife had fertility problems, but a visit to the onsen solved that (we have two children now). It's healthy and very scenic. - William 2026-05-02 19:44 JSTI thought this article by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) was interesting. The title is "'Messy' US Chip Fab Outperforms Japan’s Textbook Model" and it includes this paragraph:--- start quote ---Yet a year into production, a startling reality has emerged: The “messy” American venture is turning out to be a financial success, while the “perfect” Japanese project is struggling to stay afloat. In 2025, TSMC Arizona posted over $500 million in profit; during the same period, the Japanese operation racked up more than $300 million in losses. Industrial policy can build a factory, but it cannot manufacture demand, and the US factory picked the chips customers prized, while the Japanese factory did not. --- end quote ---I'm not quite sure what to make of the comparison between Arizona and Kumamoto but I think it's interesting to note that in the extremely capital intensive world of chip fabs, TSMC in Kumamoto has yet to turn a profit -- this despite huge governmental support. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future.https://cepa.org/article/messy-us-chip-fab-outperforms-japans-textbook-model/
