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Kirk here with a little more information about last night's earthquake. Though it was big, there was relatively little damage, thankfully. It seems that a few people were hurt but that there were no fatalities.
The following article (in English) has a summary of what happened:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/8ffee7f69134-urgent-m64-quake-hits-southwestern-japan-no-fear-of-tsunami.html
The end of this article talks about how damage from an earthquake in the Nankai Trough could far exceed damage from recent earthquakes, including the 2016 Kumamoto quake. But, it doesn't explain what the Nankai Trough is or how it relates to what we felt last night. That made me curious so I did a little searching and found some information. Here are two points:
1. You can learn about where the Nankai Trough is and why it is so feared here:
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/fnn20190524001/a-disaster-to-dwarf-311-the-predicted-nankai-quake.html
2. Last night's quake was in the area of the Nankai Trough but the moving and shaking was caused by a deeper plate, not the one that people are most worried about. I learned this from the following article in Japanese:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/8ffee7f69134-urgent-m64-quake-hits-southwestern-japan-no-fear-of-tsunami.html
A Disaster to Dwarf 3/11? The Predicted Nankai Quake
Experts believe there is a 70% to 80% probability of a severe Nankai Trough earthquake within 30 years. More than 70 years have passed since the previous such quake in this region, which sees a major shake every 100 to 150 years.

William That quake you felt had an epicenter on the eastern side of the island, just offshore of Oita Prefecture, and was a M6.4 (ours years back was a 6.2). I suspect they are having some trouble over there now, but at least it's not raining. Stay alert nonetheless.

Kirk here, hoping that we've past the peak in Kumamoto.

Fiona here, sharing some information on how to make donations to help with disaster relief work in Tonga.

Kirk here with a note about a local company that produces biodegradable straws from bamboo fibers -- a great alternative to plastic straws.
In the short term they are durable, flexible, and don't dissolve in your drink -- even if left in it for days. In the long term, however, they are consumed by micro-organisms and return to nature in about six months if left outside. Pretty cool! I saw this on RKK today but they didn't share a video so I wrote this up instead.
Here's a web page about the company:
https://amica-terra.com/2021/09/28/国内初のmodo-cellストロー製造工場を益城町で稼働/
P.S. This is the second time Ithis week I had to write my summary all over again because Facebook "lost" it (it disappeared when I hit save :( ). I'd better write on a text editor and then copy and paste to Facebook.

Reihoku is a speck of a hill, rising abruptly from the tip of an 80s-necktie-thin peninsula at the northwestern corner of the main island of Amakusa, roughly equidistant across the sea from Nagasaki's Shimabara and Nomozaki peninsulas, which once formed a corner of the Christian activity that eventually resulted in the Shimabara Rebellion due to its isolated position. Its beaches will be introduced in a later post. In the meantime, Kumanichi reports that the Kōtsufukae Yasakajinja held a festival this morning called the "Naked Festival" (裸まつり hadaka matsuri - though, as they're wearing loincloths, or fundoshi, they're not technically naked) during which participants carried a mikoshi, housing gods no doubt equally shivering, out to sea to pray for aid against illness and disaster in the coming year. Not sure if bathing in the sea midwinter is a good way to aim for that, but let's all hope it works.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/534031

Kirk with an update on Ms. Linh's case. A verdict was rendered in her appeal. The judge threw out the "abandonment of corpses" verdict issued in Kumamoto but found her guilty instead of "hiding corpses" and issued a slightly lighter sentence. Her lawyer said that they would take the case to the supreme court.
You can see RKK's news segment here:
https://rkk.jp/news/index.php?id=NS003202201191747070111
Links to previous posts on this page about Ms. Linh's case are here:
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Linh
In regard to the second photo, the signs show the numbers of people who signed the online petitions calling for her to be found innocent:
Red is the petition on Change.org.
Blue is a separate petition in Vietnamese.
There were also 7870 handwritten petitions.

Kirk here with news of 711 positives and some clusters, including one at Luther High School (volleyball team). The link is to a video report by NHK. In addition, though the specific schools are not mentioned, "class closure" (gakkyu heisa; 学級閉鎖) is being undertaken at quite a few primary and secondary schools. My understanding is that "class closure" means that pupils in thoses classes will not attend school until the class is reopened. I assume that this means that entire schools will not shut down (at least not right away) but that certain classes within them are being shut down in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19. By the way, my university is quickly transitioning to nearly 100% online classes. We need to notify the university if we want one of our classes to be an exception to this policy for some reason.
熊本県 新型コロナ 過去最多の７１１人感染確認｜NHK 熊本県のニュース
熊本県では１９日、新たに７１１人が新型コロナウイルスに感染していることが確認されたと発表しました。 これは、１８日の６００人余りを上回り…

Kirk here with confirmation that the status of Kumamoto is now officially "pre-emergency." As I have written before, pre-emergency status is also referred to as "quasi-emergency" status in English, "man'en boushi tou juuten sochi" (まん延防止等重点措置) in Japanese, or "mambo" for short.
11 prefectures to be added to those in pre-emergency measures | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
The central government is preparing to expand COVID-19 pre-emergency measures to 11 prefectures amid a rapid surge in cases of the Omicron variant, according to sources.

"Mitsubishi Electric is currently considering expanding production capacity for power semiconductors and turning its LCD panel plant in Kumamoto, Japan into a power semiconductor manufacturing facility, according to Japanese media reports." -- Kirk
Mitsubishi Electric considers expanding power semiconductor production
Mitsubishi Electric is currently considering expanding production capacity for power semiconductors and turning its LCD panel plant in Kumamoto, Japan into a power semiconductor manufacturing facility, according to Japanese media reports.

Kirk here with more sad news. There was a major fire in Yamaga, not too far from Yachiyoza, the Toro Museum, and other places of historic and cultural significance. Fortunately, no one seems to have been hurt and none of those iconic facilities were directly affected.
The aerial image of the fire is from the following news page, on which you can see a video:
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/301084
What I saw in the video (including a simple map) helped me find the location of the fire on Google maps. I've added a screenshot of the Google map I looked at with a little clipart fire image to show which part of the downtown area burned.

Kirk here with more COVID-19 statistics. The governor is calling for stricter measures. I should be able to report on that later.
P.S. In view of all of the movement associated with the implementation of university entrance exams over the weekend, and considering that Omicron seems to be spreading more quickly among the young (the age groups that takes such tests), I doubt that 608 will be an all-time high for us, though it is the highest number to date.

Fiona here, sharing a post from one of Kumamoto's most prolific authors. Graphic novels are a great, accessible way to explore some of the classics of Japanese literature.

William. Looking into any relationship between volcanic activity in Kagoshima and Kumamoto resulted in "probably not" - and also a pretty illustration of Aso clearly showing the Tateno gap, created by the same fault that caused the seismic unpleasantness a few years ago, without which the caldera would be a lake. As the schematic shows, the Kagoshima and Beppu-Shimabara graben (a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults) are distinct, though their relationship with volcanic activity is still unclear. If you have a free afternoon, websurfing this topic is rather interesting.

Carlton. Those with non-Japanese names like mine who are waiting to reserve for a 3rd booster shot for Covid-19, here is what you should be getting in your mailbox depending upon your vaccination status and eligibility. Kumamoto is going with the "first jabbed, first boostered" rule it would appear so if it hasn't been 6-7 months since your 2nd shot you will need to wait for that date before you can expect a mail out.
Not surprisingly this is an A4 size packet chock full of very detailed information.

Kirk here. In looking for some sort of information about Kumamoto on the web I happened to find this website. It has quite a lot of information about onsen in Kumamoto -- not just what you see in this picture. It also has a page of information about tatoo-friendly establishment, including several onsen in Kumamoto.
By the way, I've been to the onsen in the photo on the lower right. This unique spot is in Manganji, in the Oguni area. You undress and bathe without privacy -- men and women together. I think it's a vestige of traditional Japanese bathing customs.
The 10 Onsens You Should Visit in Kumamoto — THE ONSEN MAGAZINE
We've selected the 10 best onsens in Kumamoto. If you are planning to visit Kumamoto, read this article to know must-go onsens there!

Kirk here with some notes on the tidal surge warnings we had here in Kumamoto and throughout Japan's Pacific coastline.
It turns out that this was a new sort of phenomenon and that even the pros in the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) were caught off guard.
The illustration you see with this post is the same as what I saw on NHK's 7 PM news program. It seems that the surges that occurred in Japan were mostly the result of atmosphereic pressure waves (waves that travel OVER the ocean), not of waves that were tranmitted directly THROUGH the water, as is normal. This confused the experts because it is the first recorded instance of the phenomenon occurring.
Normally, waves transmitted through the water will be bigger at points closer to the source. In this case, however, Japan had some surges that were considerably larger than those observed at the Pacific islands located between Japan and Tonga. The reason for this is that the effects of atmospheric pressure waves on the water tend to accumulate.
Another point that confused the experts was that atmospheric pressure waves propagate more quickly than waves that move though the water. So, the normal predictions about when waves might arrive were way off.
Confusion about these issues led the JMA to issue "no big deal" statements early on and then have to scramble to call for national tsunami warnings later as the actual messurements started to come in.
(This summary is based primarily on my understanding of what I saw on TV. I hope I got it basically right.)
P.S. Despite the warnings, there wasn't any damage in Kumamoto as far as I know. I think, though, that surges caused some relatively minor problems in other parts of Japan.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220116_36/
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/cf82db4e9f53-urgent-japans-pacific-coast-hit-by-tsunami-after-tonga-eruption.html
Atmospheric pressure changes observed across globe | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Sudden changes in atmospheric pressure and sonic booms were observed around the world after a massive underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga on Saturday.

Kirk here. I made a little graph to illustrate how the numbers of positive tests in Kumamoto have been rising. On the one hand, this is a new record, but, on the other, the pace of the daily increases seems to be slowing. Here's hoping for the best.

William. Kumamon reminds all pet owners to tag your pets by the collar or with microchips. The former is easier as owners are then generally called by the local koban; the latter requires a trip to the animal welfare center (Kumamoto Doubutsu Aigo Center - 熊本動物愛護センター) - which also has a plethora of lovely animal available for adoption. For some reason, Kumamon made no mention of neutering, which the animal center does not provide - seems there is an understanding between the center and vets to allow the latter the profitable procedure. For any pet-related questions, please let us at Kumamoto International know. (And, no, masks are not required for pets.)

Kirk here. Kumamoto's COVID-19 number today is 415, a new record but not a huge jump from yesterday. The image is from a TKU news segment that aired yesterday in which it was reported that, with one exception, the number of people who can sit together at one table in a restaurant or bar will be limited to 4 beginning Monday. The exception is that in establishments that have received some special certification from the prefecture (? 県の認証店) and where customers must present proof of vacination or a recent negative test result (? ワクチン接種証明書や陰性証明書), up to 5 at a table can be permitted. (I've inserted question marks because I don't understand the system well, though I'm pretty sure that my translation accurately represents the meaning of the Japanese text in the article.)
熊本県飲食店での新たな対策を発表【熊本】（TKUテレビ熊本） - Yahoo!ニュース
熊本県は先ほど「飲食店での感染防止対策を強化する」と発表しました。 【木村副知事】 「飲食店での人数制限について踏み込ませていただきたい」 熊本県は、会食によるクラスターの発生を防ぐため来週１７日・