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It's good to know that citizenship won't have a negative impact on the scheduling:
"Foreign residents in Japan who are registered as residents of a municipality, as well as diplomats, will be eligible for vaccinations."
By the way, this article talks about dispensing "from Wednesday." After living in Japan a long time, I sometimes get confused so I'd appreciate it if some other native English speaker can give me a realty check. Wouldn't that normally be "such and such to begin Wednesday" in most English speaking countries? The "from Wednesday" phrasing sounds rather Japanese to me but then, on the other hand, I recognize that it's not exactly wrong. Thanks in advance. Just curious.
-- Kirk
Japan gives OK to Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, with rollout to begin this week
Up to 20,000 front-line medical staffers at state-run hospitals are set to be the first to receive the vaccines, followed by 3.7 million other health care workers.

Hi friends.
It's windy now but I felt comfortably warm in the spring sun this afternoon.
I drop into a plum grove next to 熊本県護国神社 Kumamoto prefecture Gokoku Shrine.
It is also next to 藤崎台球場 Fujisakidai baseball stadium.
There are lots plum trees, red, white, pink blossoms. The blossoms are not in full bloom yet, 三分咲きthey are still one-third in bloom.
How about taking a walk to feel Kumamoto early Spring? ーAtsuko╰(*´︶`*)╯

Kirk here. This is only tangentially related to Kumamoto but I think it's interesting (and, unfortunately, rather disturbing) nonetheless.
Today I searched Google news for "Kumamoto" to see if there was anything I should share on this page. The following article came up because of a Twitter post with a Photoshopped image of a Lion prowling the streets of Kumamoto that became an issue after the 2016 quakes. The Lion prank caused people who had already been traumatized by the quakes additional worry and so I can understand why the poster was punished.
The case reported in this article, however is far, far darker. In 1923, baseless rumors about Koreans poisoning wells after an earthquake led to the murder of significant numbers of innocent Koreans living in Japan. Some hate-filled person or persons seem to have been intent of spreading the same kinds of vile rumors almost 100 years later. The article says that the rumors "filled Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets." I'm not sure if they have been taken down or not but I wasn't able to find them. By the way, I should point out that Black people . . . who probably don't even live the area in any significant numbers . . . have been made an addition target.
As I say, I'm not sure how many people participated in this latest activity. Hopefully, it was a small number of deranged idiots. But I think it's important to note that the issue of what happened in 1923 remains part of contemporary Japanese politics. Tokyo's governor, KOIKE Yuriko, may not be actively spreading negative rumors about Koreans but she's certainly not interested in encouraging people to learn from history:
"A committee organizing the ceremony commemorating the post-quake Korean massacre issued a statement saying the governor's response is 'saying that murder victims and those who lost their lives in a natural disaster are equivalent and thus she does not need to send a tribute.'"
Tokyo governor skips tribute to Koreans murdered after 1923 quake
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/09/6ac88cff4a6a-tokyo-governor-skips-tribute-to-koreans-murdered-after-1923-quake.html
There are many more articles about Koike and criticism of her. I chose the one above because it refers to her official reasoning. The article says "equivalent" but the explanation I remember from Japanese was that there was no need for a separate ceremony just for the murder victims -- all victims of the quake are remembered in the city's ceremony. I won't bother to try to point out the flaws in this excuse.
English article on most recent hate speech
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210215/p2a/00m/0na/016000c
Japanese original
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210214/k00/00m/040/249000c
False rumors spread again following recent earthquake off northeast Japan - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- Discriminatory remarks and unreliable information filled Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets following a magnitude-7.3 earthquake

Kirk here. At least one reader asked about whether or suspect in the Yatsushiro murder had been found. Now, the answer is yes but the details are still sketchy.
The article I'm linking to is in English, though the photo seems to be in Japanese.
Kumamoto cops: Man found hanged possible suspect in murder of woman
A man found hanged in a mountainous area of Yatsushiro City on Sunday is possibly a suspect in the murder of a woman last week

Happy Valentine's Day! -- Kirk
"A prefectural official said that Kumamon is receiving fewer gifts this year than usual, but that 'It’s too much for Kumamon.'”
Fans asked to not send Valentine's chocolates to favorite characters due to virus
Video game fans are being asked not to send chocolate to their favorite characters on Valentine's Day amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus. Every

Kirk here. I would prefer to focus on the positive but I thought I should share this because it's local news that's getting a fair amount of national coverage.
Woman fatally stabbed outside apartment in Kumamoto Pref
Police in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, are investigating the murder of a 41-year-old woman who died after being stabbed multiple times on Friday. According to police, Kumiko Hirata was found collapsed in the parking lot beside her apartment building at around 7:50 a.m. Friday, Fuji TV reported.....

Kirk here with some sad news that relates to our discussion of crosswalks in Kumamoto. The English article (linked below) says that the "car, driven by Masanao Yoshida, hit Sueo Yamakawa, 60, and Naoya Hirai, 21" and that the deaths of Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were later confirmed after the two had been taken to a hospital. The article does not, however, discuss the events that preceded the fatal accident -- the reason that Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were together in the road. According to an article published in Japanese by NHK, Mr. Hirai had been hit by Mr. Yamakawa's car when Mr. Hirai was attempting to cross at a crosswalk. Mr. Yamakawa parked nearby and, to his credit, was attempting to assist the injured Mr. Hirai. That's when Mr. Yoshida came along -- at or near the same crosswalk.
If you are interested, please have a look at the following video:
https://www.news24.jp/nnn/news100byxckfzswas6kl21.html
Although the accident occurred at night, visibility at the intersection would seem to have been fairly good.
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/2-men-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-kumamoto-pref-driver-arrested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210212/k10012861931000.html

Kirk here. Chay posted this inquiry about where to get help with a OnePlus phone. I found the following shop in Hikari no Mori:
https://s-phone.jp/kumamoto-yumetown/?item=oneplus#price
I wonder, though, if anyone else has any good ideas about places to get smartphones looked at. If there's a good little shop where someone there can also speak English that would be ideal but I suspect that technical expertise is probably more important than communication skills for Chay.

Hi friends.
植木市 Ueki ichi is held from 8th February to 14th March, this year also.
This article is my post last year.
Hoping you feel and enjoy lots Spring smells, colors, and foods too! ーAtsuko«٩(*´∀`*)۶»
https://kuma-uekiichi.com/

Kirk here. Today I searched for "Kumamoto" to see what would come up and was pleasantly surprised to find that NHK World has a small library of English-language videos that relate to Kumamoto. This one has some beautiful footage of Mt. Aso in the winter. -- Kirk
Stories of Volcanoes - JAPAN FROM ABOVE: UP CLOSE / Co-production between NHK, Gedeon Programmes, ZDF Arte, and Voyage | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand
In this episode, we visit Sakurajima, one of the volcanic islands in Kyushu. Here, we meet a children's book illustrator who wrote a story that depicts the relationship between the volcanoes and the local people.

This link isn't to an "article" -- it's just a headline and a picture as far as I can see. But, I can confirm that I saw the same content on a local TV news show. -- Kirk
Ebene Magazine - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line and dies leaving a police officer's suicide note - EBENE MAGAZINE
- Ebene Magazine - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line and dies leaving a police officer's suicide note - Related title : - Kumamoto Prefectural Police excludes shift from working hours Continues to cross the overwork death line an...

Kirk here. I'm sharing a link to a Japanese news article because I haven't see the same information in English. I won't attempt to translate the details but the gist of it is this:
1. Kyodo Kumiai Urban Planning, a company that arranges for foreign nationals to work as foreign trainees (gaikokujin gino jisshusei) forced a Filipino man who was in Kumamoto to leave Japan against his will.
2. The Kumamoto District Court ruled in the man's favor, ordering the company to pay 5.4 million yen in restitution.
As this should be of interest to foreigners in Japan, I'm surprised the English-language news services don't seem to have picked up on it.
実習生監理団体に賠償命令　熊本、意に反し帰国手続き
熊本県御船町の建設会社で技能実習生として働いていたフィリピン国籍の男性（32）が、契約外の作業をさせられ、強制的に帰国させられようとしたなどとして、受け入れ窓口となる監理団体の協同組合アーバンプランニン....

Hi! Here's a post from Carlton McCycle that doesn't seem to have been seen by many people yet. I have a student who has been doing delivery work, though I don't know if it's the same service.
Uber Eats seems to be here in Kumamoto, but I haven't used it yet:
https://www.ubereats.com/jp-en/city/kumamoto-shi-kumamoto
I saw on the news recently that sales of vending trucks (the kind that are big enough to function as a kitchen on wheels) are up, presumably for the same reason that demand for delivered food is up.
-- Kirk

Hi friends.
You might see lots of chocolates in stores because of Valentine's day.Yes, It's chocolates season for Japanese now.
BTW, one of my friend asked me how to use AKAZAKE after new year party. AKAZAKE is Kumamoto favorite, famous local SAKE for new year. ZUIYOU is the maker of it, located Kawashiri (next to my elementary school)
They made and sale special AKAZAKE for ice cream, especially OTONA adult taste, for Valentine's day.
It sounds interesting!
Let's check and try it!!ーAtsuko(*´︶`*)♥️
https://www.facebook.com/293466394014876/posts/4179327628762047/

Joe Tomei here with a COVID-19 update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, Kumamoto prefecture JET Program coordinators. As always, thanks for allowing me to share it with the list.
========
Hi Kumamoto,
You may already have heard that the national government has extended its state of emergency for 10 prefectures. Today, Kumamoto Prefecture officially announced that it will extend its Independent State of Emergency. For more information, please see the following updates:
Kumamoto Prefecture extends State of Emergency until 21 February
Today, the prefectural government announced that it will extend its independent State of Emergency until 21 February.
However, during the two-week extension, the Prefecture will make adjustments to the existing request regarding the shortening of business operating hours to apply only to a certain central area of Kumamoto City (rather than the whole prefecture) -- the area contained in red here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/image/54585.jpg. From 8 February, businesses serving food and drink in this area will be asked to close at 10pm rather than 8pm as is currently the case.
The prefecture will continue to ask residents who have symptoms or who live with vulnerable family members to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings. Residents should avoid travel to places where infection is spreading (including areas for which a state of emergency has been declared), and to ask friends and relatives outside of Kumamoto to avoid visiting Kumamoto for the time being.
The Prefecture will continue to pay businesses co-operating with the closure requests 40,000 yen per day during the extended state of emergency.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/84592.html
Infection Situation in Kumamoto Prefecture
Most of the indicators used to measure the infection situation in the prefecture have shown considerable improvement, including the number of severe cases in hospital, the proportion of cases which return a positive result, the number of new cases as a proportion of the population, and the number of cases with an unknown link. Although it still corresponds to Risk Level 5, the highest level of Kumamoto's Independent Risk Level, most indicators put Kumamoto at "Stage 3" of the 4-stage scale used by the national government. You can see the chart for all of these indicators here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
In the 1-week period between January 27 and February 2, there were only 4.3 cases per 100,000 population. However, the percentage of occupied hospital beds remains at 36.8%, higher than the target of 25%, resulting in the decision to extend the State of Emergency.
https://this.kiji.is/730187278541750272?c=92619697908483575
If, during the extension, the proportion of hospital beds in use improves, the prefecture may make the decision to call off the state of emergency before 21 February.
Kumamoto Prefecture now allowing home recuperation for light or asymptomatic patients
Since 1 February, Kumamoto Prefecture is now allowing those who test positive for COVID-19 in the prefecture, are under 40 years of age, and have mild or no symptoms to recover at home. In order to monitor the health of those recovering from home, the prefecture will operate a call centre in which nurses are available 24 hours/day, and the center will call twice daily to check symptoms and report to the local health centre. Food delivery services will be provided for those who can't prepare their own meals and pulse oximeters will be loaned out. If sudden changes to the physical health of the patient occur, they will be able to be hospitalised without first going through their local health centre.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP1S76Y5P1STLVB00F.html
National government to conduct free PCR tests to measure community spread incidence
Beginning in March, the national government will be conducting free PCR tests on members of the public in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka in order to gauge the extent of community spread. Every day, hundreds or thousands of people will receive a PCR test. The tests will be free for those chosen to be tested and will take place in a number of locations where people gather such as central business districts, businesses, and universities. In addition to collecting samples on-site, people selected to participate may also submit their samples via post. Participants will be notified of their results but no identifying information will be published.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/81969
More information revealed about vaccine distribution timelines
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has announced their intended schedule of vaccine distribution in an explanatory meeting for local government staff. "Tickets" will be distributed by mail directly to people when they become eligible to receive the vaccine. The first wave of tickets will be mailed in mid-March to residents aged 65 and older, after which there will be a 3-month window for them to receive both doses of the vaccine. However, the number of available vaccines and the provision capacity of various local governments are expected to affect the rollout timeline, so it remains unclear whether vaccine distribution will necessarily proceed as scheduled.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/82011
ワクチン接種券、３月中旬から　厚労省、高齢者対象に配布計画：東京新聞 TOKYO Web
厚生労働省は２５日、新型コロナウイルス感染症のワクチンについて自治体向けの説明会を開き、６５歳以上の高齢者に「接種券」を３月中旬以降に...

Kirk here with another COVID-19 post. Today I found a useful page that provides COVID-19 statistics for Kumamoto Prefecture in English. The graph you see is from the page. Here's the URL:
https://kumamoto.stopcovid19.jp/en
In response to my previous post, it was pointed out that different levels of testing in different places make comparison difficult. I think that's a good point. On the other hand, I also think that the percentages of people who test positive indicate the extent to which a population is not getting tested enough and, by extension, the overall reliability of the COVID-19 statistics. I would expect higher positive rates in places where only really sick people were getting tested and lower positivity rates where tests constitute a pretty good sample of what is actually happening. According to the following article, the rate of positives in Kumamoto as of a few days ago was 3.8%:
https://kumanichi.com/news/id94167
By comparison, Tokyo was 6.6% and Kanagawa was 9.7%:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210203/k10012848571000.html
A positivity rate of over 10% is one of the criteria for the "Stage IV" level.
Still, I acknowledge that testing levels should be higher in Japan. It's an important issue I may write about later.
Stay safe!

When we see the daily numbers of people who have gotten COVID-19 by prefecture, it's hard to know how to compare them. Sure, Tokyo should have bigger numbers becasue Tokyo's population is huge, right? That's true but, even when taking the population into account, the numbers in Tokyo have been much higher than here in Kumamoto. This graph is from the following page, and seems to be updated daily:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/#latest-weeks-card
It indicates the number of people per 100,000 who became infected during the past week. The numbers for Kumamoto check out with other sources. We've had a total of 91 infections in the last week (down from previous weeks) and the population of the prefecture is about 1,748,000. That's 91 / 17.48 = about 5.2 or so.
Now, comparing these rates with other countries can be tricky because different sites calculate the averages differently.
After having some difficulty finding a good site with comparable data, I finally settled on the following page:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
You can get the number of cases in the past 7 days and the population. The numbers check out for Japan, where the average for the country as a whole works out to be about 14 (Kumamoto is much better at about 5). The USA is about 254.42 per 100,000 per week -- still quite high. New Zealand, on the other and is about 0.14 so Kumamoto still has a long way to go to get to that level. But, as an American, I feel pretty good about waiting out the pandemic here in Kumamoto. ;)
-- Kirk

Kirk here. I'd like to share some old news from our friend and Kumamoto resident, graphic novelist Sean Micheal Wilson. Sean shared this with me months ago, soon after it was published in the Kumanichi Newspaper (Kumamoto's most widely read newspaper) in late October. I neglected to post it then but, as the basic issue remains unchanged, I thought it would be better to be late than not to share it at all.
Sean is writing about the tendency many drivers in Kumamoto have to ignore crosswalks. According to Japanese law, drivers are required to yield when a pedestrian is standing at a crosswalk. Unfortunately, however, many don't. Sean mentions a particularly dangerous intersection in front of Hitsuyukan High School. The newspaper editor follows up with a report from the police confirming that a pedestrian was recently struck by a car there and confirming that, yes, drivers are supposed to stop if a pedestrian is attempting to cross the street at a properly marked crosswalk.
Actually, Kumanichi's statement is so obvious as to be ridiculous. Of course drivers are supposed stop if a pedestrian is attempting to cross. If you actually read the law, it's clear that (1) drivers a required to drive slowing enough that they will be able to stop at crosswalks if necessary and that (2) if someone even looks like that are about to cross (not yet attempting to cross) they are supposed to stop. For those of you who read Japanese, here's the text of the law:
（横断歩道等における歩行者等の優先）
第三十八条　車両等は、横断歩道又は自転車横断帯（以下この条において「横断歩道等」という）に接近する場合には、当該横断歩道等を通過する際に当該横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断しようとする歩行者又は自転車（以下この条において「歩行者等」という）がないことが明らかな場合を除き、当該横断歩道等の直前（道路標識等による停止線が設けられているときは、その停止線の直前。以下この項において同じ）で停止することができるような速度で進行しなければならない。この場合において、横断歩道等によりその進路の前方を横断し、又は横断しようとする歩行者等があるときは、当該横断歩道等の直前で一時停止し、かつ、その通行を妨げないようにしなければならない。
https://www.takaragaike.co.jp/doukou/s0303b.htm
My experience is that quite a few drivers understand this and observe the law. I take walks and/or jog regularly, so I use crosswalks every day. I am careful to bow and express my gratitude to the considerate people who stop for me, but, alas, they are in the minority.
Kumamoto is not the worst prefecture in Japan in this regard, but, in terms of the percentage of drivers who actually stop at crosswalks when they should, it's on the lower end. The following article says that the compliance rate in Kumamoto is about 11%, below the national average. Nagano Prefecture has the highest compliance rate at 68.6% while Mie Prefectures rate is listed as a dismal 3.4%. Obviously, there are significant regional differences in driving culture.
https://bestcarweb.jp/20191011-koutuuihan
The good news is that compliance is improving. I sense that in my daily walks and statistics on the above page show that too. The national average in 2018 was 8.6% but that jumped up to 17.1% in 2019. Kumamoto's 11% was the figure in 2019 so we were below the national average but I suspect the numbers are on the rise here too.
At any rate, if you drive, watch for crosswalks. You could get a ticket for not stopping and, besides, it's the right thing to do. If you are a pedestrian, don't assume people will stop but it's probably a good idea to send some positive reinforcement (little bows, smiles, etc.) to the people who comply with the law and stop for us.
Finally, here's a link to Sean's website:
https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com

Work on the castle continues . . .
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210129_27/
Copied and pasted by Kirk
Quake-hit wall of Kumamoto Castle restored | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Restoration work on the wall of a centuries-old castle in Kumamoto City in southwestern Japan has been completed five years after it was heavily damaged by earthquakes.

Kirk here, making one of my occasionally excursions out of my cave of virtual isolation, squinting from all of the virtual light of the Facebook environment as I do so.
Most denizens of this forum are probably already aware of the Second-Hand Kumamoto group. If, however, you're new or happen to have missed it, check it out, particularly if you live in Kumamoto and think you may either want to sell or buy something.
Now, back to the refuge and solace of my cave . . .
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1147708531973663