Posts

Kirk here. The Emperor and Empress visited Kumamoto virtually to offer moral support to the victims of the flooding last July in the Hitoyoshi area.
Emperor, Empress meet disaster survivors online | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have made an online visit to Kumamoto Prefecture, which last year was hit by torrential rains that left scores of people dead or missing.

Congratulations, Joe Biden, 46th US President!
This is a message video from Japanese ジョーバイデン, the Mayor of 山都町Yamato cho.
His name is 梅田穰［うめだゆたか］but if you read his name with ONYOMI, Chinese sounds, it becomes Joe Biden.
It's a good opportunity lots people in US might know the beautiful town.
Please check it, you too.ーAtsuko(｡•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧
２０２０年１１月、熊本県山都町長　梅田穰（うめだゆたか）の名前を音読みで欧米表記にすると偶然にもジョー・バイデン大統領候補と同じ名前であることから、SNS等で瞬く間に話題となりました！日本国内のみならず、...

Hi! Kirk here with a bit of self-promotion. I've been asked to talk about this forum by "CROSSROAD KUMAMOTO," as explained in the attached image. The event will be online and anyone interested is encouraged to participate. Also, please feel free to share this with anyone who might either be interested in participating in this particular event or who might like to join the CROSSROAD KUMAMOTO group.
I feel a bit guilty about talking about Kumamoto International after having neglected it over the past year but I have some things to say about my experience running and promoting the page in the previous two decades (including the period when Kumamoto International was a mailing list).
I'll also talk about a new project I'm working on. At the risk of being overconfident, I'm hoping that my new project will eventually develop into an internet community that is significantly larger than this one.

Kirk here with a quick summary of what Japanese people think about the national government's response to COVID-19, according to a recent government survey:
1) Overall assessment is leans negative
2) Most people think the government has been too late in declaring a state of emergency
3) The vast majority of Japanese people think that more areas, if not the whole country, should be declared to be in a state of emergency
Personally, I agree with the majority on these points.
NHK世論調査 内閣支持率 | NHK選挙WEB
NHKが毎月行っている世論調査のうち、内閣支持率については2013年の第2次安倍内閣発足以降の推移が一目でわかります。また調査結果をお伝えしたニュースに基づいて、そのほかの内容も掲載します。

Joe Tomei here with an important update from Prefectural JET advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland.
=====
Hi Kumamoto,
Yesterday, Prime Minister Suga extended the State of Emergency to Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka Prefectures.
Although Kumamoto Prefecture was not included in the national government's official State of Emergency which is based on the Act on Special Measures against Novel Influenza, the Prefectural Government has decided to declare an independent state of emergency, with equivalent measures to the areas subject to the national government's State of Emergency.
Please read on for more information about the measures and additional news.
Independent State of Emergency in Kumamoto - New Measures
The following measures apply to the entire prefecture, not just to central Kumamoto City:
① Avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings, especially after 8pm (effective 14 January 2021 - 7 February 2021)
② All food and drink establishments in Kumamoto Prefecture will be asked to close after 8pm, and not serve alcoholic beverages after 7pm (effective 18 January - 7 February) (Currently a small portion of central Kumamoto City is subject to closure requests from 10pm, but the whole prefecture will be subject to the request starting Monday next week, from 8pm onwards.)
③ Events, regardless of whether held indoors or outdoors, should be limited to under 5000 people, and the number of participants should be 50% or under the capacity of the venue.
https://kumanichi.com/news/id63523
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210114/k10012813671000.html
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81481.html
A bit more background of what led to the declaration to declare an independent state of emergency
In comments at a press conference held yesterday (13 January), Governor Kabashima revealed that the prefectural government was coordinating with the national government in an attempt to have the national government call a state of emergency for Kumamoto on the same basis as was being planned for Fukuoka. The Governor then received a phone call from Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of the government's COVID-19 response, saying that regardless of requests from prefectural governors, the national government would decide where to call a state of emergency, and believed that the situation in Kumamoto did not merit one being called, pointing out that although the number of new cases and most other criteria aligned with "Stage 4", the number of severe cases in hospital did not yet reach Stage 4 levels (currently only 30%, rather than 50% for Stage 4).
However, given the fact that many of the recent clusters have occurred at long-term care facilities with many high-risk individuals, the Prefectural Government is of the opinion that the number of severe cases could increase beyond 50% at any time. Furthermore, Kumamoto and Fukuoka have strong ties and there is much movement between the two prefectures. Both were contributing factors in Kumamoto Prefecture's decision in declaring an independent state of emergency.
https://kumanichi.com/news/id64239
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81481.html
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2021011301199&g=pol
What will happen after 7 February?
The national government says that it will lift the state of emergency if the situation in the affected areas can be reduced from "Stage 4" to "Stage 3", specifically, a reduction to 25 cases per 100,000 population (rolling one-week average) -- in Tokyo this means about 500 cases/day.
https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_politics/articles/000203397.html
Shigeru Omi, the head of the government's subcommittee on COVID-19, said that if no improvement, or only very slight improvement, is seen with the current measures by 7 February, stronger measures may need to be implemented.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210114/k10012813661000.html
Other prefectures which have declared their own independent states of emergency include Miyazaki and Mie prefectures.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812471000.html
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/653ce4e34ee3f570d77a47f390bbae50ec9750f5
Will schools close?
The current consensus seems to be that the uninterrupted provision of education for Japanese students is essential. MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) said that it does not intend to request a nationwide school closure as it did in March this year. Furthermore, MEXT also currently no longer recommends regional school closures/individual school closures. School entrance exams will be held as planned, even in prefectures which are covered by the State of Emergency. https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2021010500560&g=soc
Tokyo and the surrounding area, which has been in an official State of Emergency for a week, has not moved to close schools but has introduced measures such as staggered classes/cancellation of certain higher risk activities such as chorus clubs or school trips. Fukuoka is currently considering similar measures as a state of emergency was declared there yesterday: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210114/ddl/k40/040/222000c
Returning Japanese nationals and foriegn residents of Japan asked to sign "pledge" to respect 14-day isolation on return
All travellers returning to Japan from overseas, including both Japanese and foreign nationals with an existing status of residence, will be asked to sign a document pledging to respect the 14-day self-isolation period, which includes not using public transport for the first 14 days upon return to Japan. From today (14 January) resident foreign nationals returning to Japan who are found not to comply with the isolation requirements may have their name and nationality published and their status of residence revoked.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP1F6QX3P1FUTFK00F.html

The Shisei Dayori is a publication put out by Kumamoto City for local residents. Thankfully, the Kumamoto International Foundation translates selected articles into English, Korean, and Chinese. I'm particularly pleased to announce that these translations are made available with the original Japanese. So, if you understand or are a student of Japanese, you can use the English to get a quick sense of the content but then also check the original Japanese if you think the translation is unclear or if you want to learn how to express the idea in Japanese.
The translation published on January 10 (see link below) contains information about multilingual phone consultation about COVID-19, among other topics. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article, you can find the links to the original Japanese as well as to translations in other languages.
https://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/kiji003519/index.html
Kirk
Shisei Dayori January 2021

Kirk here with an update on Japan's COVID-19 policies. As indicated in yesterday's update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland (shared by Joe), the state of emergency was extended today.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210113_31/
In NHK's vernacular coverage, they say that foreigners will no longer be able to enter Japan unless there are extenuating circumstances such as a furneral or childbirth (?):
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812201000.html
What is not clear to me is whether or not residents of Japan with foreign passports who happen to be out of the country now will have difficulty returning. NHK's wording in Japanese makes it sound as though they will be shut out, though they don't refer specifically to foreign nationals who are legal residents. I looked for up-to-date information on the government's website but came up empty handed. It may be too early -- the prime minister has just made his announcement.
Kumamoto was not included in the national government's new list prefectures in a state of emergency. Unwilling to wait for permission from above, Governor Kabashima annouced Kumamoto's own state of emergency which will last until February 7:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210113/k10012812701000.html
熊本県 14日に県独自の緊急事態宣言 政府の対象地域と同等対策 | NHKニュース
【NHK】熊本県は、政府の緊急事態宣言の対象地域になっていないものの、新型コロナウイルスの感染が急拡大しているとして14日に県独自…

Joe Tomei here with our first bulletin of the year from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, Prefectural JET program advisors.
=====
Hi Kumamoto,
We hope everyone has been doing well and had a chance to enjoy the snowfall we had.
As you all already know, last week, Prime Minister Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, giving limited emergency powers to the governors of those prefectures between 8 January until 7 February. He is expected to extend the state of emergency to Kansai as early as tomorrow.
The situation in Kumamoto Prefecture is not much better, with multiple clusters and persistently high numbers of new cases since our last update. Yesterday (11 January) Governor Kabashima announced that Kumamoto Prefecture has entered Stage 4 - Explosive Growth in Infections. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Stage 4 means that the health care systems are at risk of collapsing from an explosive rise in infections, with bed occupancy at 50 percent or higher. (https://corona.go.jp/news/pdf/jimurenraku_0811.pdf)
On Sunday (10 January), Mayor Onishi of Kumamoto City declared at a press conference on Sunday that Kumamoto City is now in a "Medical State of Emergency", with 95.7% of hospital beds allocated for COVID-19 patients in Kumamoto City now filled.(https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/corona/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=26562、https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/680559/)
When the capacity of the whole prefecture is factored in, the use rate is 60% as of today. There are currently 252 hospitalised (https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/207/50626.html).
Below you'll find a selection of updates that hopefully shed some more light on the situation in Kumamoto:
Kumamoto Prefecture extends request for businesses operating in central Kumamoto City to shorten hours of operation
At the end of last year (30 December), Kumamoto Prefecture issued a request to food and drink establishments located in a central area of Kumamoto City to close after 10pm every day until 11 January. The Prefecture is extending this request for businesses to close early until 24 January.
Here is a description and map of the area to which the request to shorten business hours applies: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/80991.html
Financial assistance is available for co-operating establishments (up to 40,000 yen/day) -- information about this is available on the Prefectural Government's website: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/58/79647.html
Avoid all non-essential/non-urgent travel outside the Prefecture
There are now 25 prefectures for which there are over 15.0 new cases per 100,000 in the preceding one-week period (4-10 January), including Kumamoto, which had 525 cases in the past week (30.0 cases/100k pop). As of 12 January, the prefecture is asking all residents to avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent travel across prefectural lines at this time.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
Other requests from the Kumamoto City and Prefectural Governments
In addition to the above measures, the following requests are in place from Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Prefecture. Please note your municipality may also have other specific requests that apply to residents/municipal employees.
Kumamoto Prefecture:
- Avoid outings in central Kumamoto City after 10pm.
- Avoid dining in groups of over 5.
- Be thorough about the implementation of basic measures to prevent the spread of infections.
Kumamoto City:
- People at high risk of developing serious cases such as the elderly or those with comorbidities, as well as their family members, should avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings and contact with others.
- Avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings after 10pm.
-Increase telecommuting of rotation of shifts to reduce the number of employees in the office at any given time by 50% (excepting essential workers). Be particularly careful when moving to places such as break rooms or changing rooms.
- Avoid dining with others except for those who you live with.
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/corona/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=26562
When will there be a State of Emergency for Kumamoto?
The Governor of Kumamoto announced (11 January) that since Kumamoto Prefecture has entered "Stage 4", we have reached the stage at which the prefecture should consider whether to ask the central government to declare a state of emergency for Kumamoto.
However, since there are extremely high numbers of new cases ongoing in neighbouring Fukuoka and Miyazaki, it is not likely that infections will decrease in Kumamoto if a state of emergency is declared for Kumamoto alone. As a result, Kumamoto is currently in negotiations with neighbouring prefectures in Kyushu about whether or not to request the national government to declare a state of emergency for all of Kyushu.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20210111-OYT1T50154/
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/0/81013.html
Kumamoto Prefecture is also adding a third hotel for convalescence, adding 90 additional rooms for a total of 230, and increasing the number of hospital beds by 13, for a total of 533. In addition, The prefecture is cooperating with medical institutions to facilitate transfers of patients across a wider area of the prefecture in order to decrease the burden on medical institutions in Kumamoto City.
If there are any developments regarding a State of Emergency for Kumamoto, and what it would entail, we will let everyone know.
【1月11日更新】新型コロナウイルス感染症対策本部会議（第20回）本部長（知事）訓示 - 熊本県ホームページ
当サイトはJavaScriptを使用したコンテンツや機能を提供しています。ご利用の際はJavaScriptを有効にしてください。

Hi friends.
How is today's terrible cold weather?
These days Corona patients news and this cold weather might make you blue just like me.
I would like to share beautiful and powerful Kumamoto city video.
Lots places are Kumamoto residents' favorite ones. It's not major but many people who have lived in Kumamoto might love.
Some might miss because of its nostalgia.
Please be safe, keep warm,
take care and be careful,
and be powerful as Kumamoto residentsーAtsuko.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
https://higojournal.com/archives/kumamotocity-prdougakansei.html
https://youtu.be/zbM0PlfxQ8k
KUMAMOTO CITY -DEEP SIDE-　熊本市PR動画
市民の皆さんから集めた声をもとに、熊本市の魅力を深堀りした動画です。日常の中にある熊本市の魅力をどうぞご覧ください。【BGM】熊本県立熊本北高等学校　吹奏楽部【撮影場所（順不同)】湯らっくす明午橋から大甲.....

Kirk here. Happy new year! I'm sharing a "new year's card" (nengajo) made by my daughter. This year is the year of the cow (or ox or buffalo?) in the Chinese zodiac, so that explains the bovine theme.
2021 may be the year of the cow in more ways than one. I think we are all hoping that the COVID-19 vaccines, which have an import cow connection, will help us return to a more carefree, maskless lifestyle. The cow connection is that the word "vaccine" comes from the Latin "vaccinus" ("derived from a cow"). As you may know, vaccines began with the practice of inoculating people with cowpox virus in order to prevent lethal smallpox. It seems that the cowpox virus is similar enough to the smallpox virus to evoke an effective immune response, but not as dangerous.
While I'm on the subject of cows, I'd like to make a note about cows in Kumamoto. It is frequently noted (in Japanese, at least) that the field's in Aso have been burnt each spring for over 1,000 years in order to facilitate the grazing of livestock. Currently, you see more cows grazing in the Aso area than horses. As far as I can tell from Japanese-language web pages, however, the cows are relative newcomers. The following page, for example, says that as early as 905 the Aso area was know throughout Japan for the horses raised there but cows don't appear in this chronology until the Meiji period, probably as a result of the introduction of Western culinary culture:
https://www.aso-sougen.com/now/01/keep_02.html
At any rate, happy new year! I was mostly AWOL in 2020 but I hope to do a little better in 2021. Yoroshiku!

Hi! It’s Jeff Morrow. In about a minute or two we’ll be ushering out a strange and difficult 2020 and welcoming in 2021, which will undoubtedly be incredible! Be well all, and have the best New Year ever!

Joe Tomei with 2020's last(?) update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, JET program prefectural advisors. Thanks to them for their updates all this year.
======
Hi Kumamoto,
We thought we could get away without bothering everyone again until the new year, but it wasn't to be so, and everyone will already have noticed that the situation has unfortunately worsened. Here are a few more updates for you below:
Risk Level remains at Level 5
Kumamoto Prefecture has kept its Risk Level at Level 5 after a week of very high case numbers. From 20 December to 26 December, there have been 245 new cases in Kumamoto.
A cluster at an elderly care facility in Minami-ku Kumamoto is the source of many of the recent cases -- 61 in total among the staff and residents as of 26 December. https://kumanichi.com/news/id43028
The Yatsushiro Area has seen 23 new cases including the cases belonging to a cluster at an Elementary School mentioned in our previous update. Cases of workplace and household transmission have been seen throughout the prefecture.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/124595.pdf
Kumamoto City issues new requests to City residents to avoid dining with others, outings for the elderly, etc.
In response to the worsening situation, Kumamoto City has issued the following requests to its residents:
1. Avoid having meals together with anyone other than the family members, etc., with whom you reside due to the increased risk of transmission.
2. The elderly and those with underlying health conditions should avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings. This is due to the fact that these groups are more likely to develop serious symptoms requiring long periods of hospitalisation and place a further burden on the medical care provision system.
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&type=top&id=32182
Fukuoka added to list of prefectures to avoid travel to
Due to the number of positive cases over the past one-week period being higher than 15 per 100,000 people, Fukuoka has been added to the list of prefectures that Kumamoto is requesting its residents avoid travel to. This is the first time a prefecture in Kyushu has appeared on the list since the request was first announced at the beginning of the month and reflects a recent spike of new cases in Fukuoka.
Kumamoto Prefecture itself has a rate of 14.0 per 100,000, just under the threshold. You can confirm the whole list here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html (in Japanese)
Notice about new immigration restrictions in response to COVID-19
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a notice about new entry restrictions to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19. These new restrictions will apply to entrants from all countries to Japan. The principal measures that will be taken are as follows:
1. From 28 December until the end of January, new entry to Japan from all countries will in principle not be permitted (excluding Japanese nationals, foreign residents of Japan who already possess a valid status of residence, and business track/residence track entrants).
2. From 28 December until the end of January, individuals returning to Japan from short-term business trips abroad (Japanese nationals or foreign residents of Japan who possess a valid status of residence) will be subject to strengthened quarantine measures, including a 14-day period of isolation.
3. With respect to travel overseas, please be aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued Level 3 (avoid all travel) and Level 2 (avoid unnecessary and non-urgent travel) travel advisories to applicable countries.

For further details, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website (Japanese only)
https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/info/pcwideareaspecificinfo_2020C090.html
Flight bookings from UK not possible
Although last week new entries from the UK to Japan were suspended, the booking of commercial flights remained unaffected and Japanese nationals as well as foreign nationals with a valid status of residence in Japan were allowed to return. However, according to travel advice from the British government, from 25 December for an initial period of one week, new flight bookings from the UK are no longer possible.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/japan?utm_source=fe605e38-86e4-460b-9277-1e89177fe2b4&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate
Japan travel advice
Latest travel advice for Japan including how coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting travel and entry requirements at this time as well as safety and security and local laws and customs

Hello friends again.
This is Kumamoto city official information about
Medical institution (from Wednesday, December 30, 2020 to Monday, January 4, 2021) which is available for New Year holidays.
Please be safe, be healthy, be happy
and enjoy New year holidaysーAtsuko(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑
503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

Hello 陣太鼓 lovers!
陣太鼓 Jindaiko is very famous Kumamoto sweets, Kumamoto souvenir.
I like the regular golden package one with cold.
Some of you might have seen lots Jindaiko in big square rock ice at summer festival. Kids try to melt the rock ice and get Jindaiko.
This is an article about new taste 抹茶 陣太鼓 Macha Jindaiko will be sold from 1st January.
It's the first regular different taste of Jindaiko and new regular 陣太鼓 taste has not been sold from 1958.
It has tasty 岳間茶Takemacha. Takemacha is also famous products at Takema area in Yamaga city.
Hoping you enjoy home time, home joy with it.
Go around Minimum but taste Kumamoto MaximumーAtsuko(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
｢緑の陣太鼓｣元旦から発売　熊本県産の抹茶使用 | 熊本日日新聞社
　お菓子の香梅（熊本市）が、熊本を代表する銘菓「誉の陣太鼓」に県内産の抹茶を使った“緑の陣太鼓”を１月１日発売する。期間限定を除く陣太鼓のレギュラー商品としては１９５８年の発売以来、初の新味となる。

Hi everyone, Joe Tomei here with a non-Covid related post (imagine that!) The Open Research Center for Minamata Studies has been working on making archival material available on the net and there is an English portal. With the upcoming movie about Minamata and Eugene Smith, you may want to take a look thru some of the materials that have been collected.
水俣学研究プロジェクトの構成と講義プログラム紹介、活動案内

Joe Tomei here with another update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, JET Prefectural Advisors. Want to give my deepest thanks to them for letting me post these updates here this year.
======
Here are some updates concerning COVID-19 in Kumamoto and Japan.
Address from Kumamoto Governor Kabashima
On 18 December, Governor Kabashima addressed the prefecture as the two week period of "concentrated measures" came to a close. The following is a summary of the points he raised:
① Regarding the period of concentrated measures:
- From 3 December until 12 December we have asked residents for the co-operation in a two-week period of concentrated implementation of basic measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- However, the infection situation in the prefecture continues to worsen, and in the one-week period from 11 December to 17 December, 198 new cases were confirmed.
- Furthermore, the number of hospitalised patients was 162, and the percentage of beds being used was 40.5%, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
- As we approach the end-of-year/new year holiday, which is usually accompanied by the concentrated movement of people, it is possible that the infection could spread even more. In response we have decided to extend the period of "concentrated measures" to last until 11 January next year.
- Kumamoto Prefecture's infection situation does not currently meet the national government's criteria for a "Stage 3" Area. However, the Prefecture has decided that if cases continue to increase, and Kumamoto Prefecture becomes a "Stage 3" Area, then prefecture will implement stronger measures such as requesting food and drink establishments in central Kumamoto City to shorten their business hours. With the cooperation of Kumamoto City, the Prefecture is currently considering what areas/districts and types of businesses the restrictions should apply to together.
② Regarding the strengthening of the provision of medical care:
- In order to respond to the rising number of cases, 20 additional hospital beds have been secured for hospitalising COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, the second hotel for mild cases will open on 24 December, providing an additional 80 rooms.
③ Requests to residents of the prefecture:
- In order to prevent the spread of infection, it is important that each individual resident of the prefecture acts cautiously to avoid being infected or infecting others.
- Please continue implementing basic measures to prevent the spread of infection such as properly understanding coronavirus countermeasures, and continuing mask wearing, regular hand washing, and maintaining physical distance between yourself and others.
- We are now heading into the end-of-year/new year holiday. For those of you who live in areas where the virus is spreading, please think about your friends and family in your hometown and avoid returning to Kumamoto during the New Year Holiday.
- COVID-19 is a disease that anyone can catch. We ask members of the public to not under any circumstances, discriminate, be prejudiced against, or say harmful things about people who are infected, their families, or medical professionals.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/124455.pdf
Hiroshima, Okayama, Kanagawa and Kyoto added to list of prefectures to avoid travel to
As mentioned in the previous updates, Kumamoto Prefecture is continuing to ask residents to avoid travel to prefectures in which the number of new cases per 100,000 population over a 1-week period is 15 or higher.
Based on the numbers for the last 1-week period, this now applies to Hiroshima, Okayama, Kanagawa and Kyoto Prefectures, in addition to Tokyo, Osaka, Kochi, Ehime, Saitama, Hokkaido and Hyogo. https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
Entry to Japan by arrivals from the UK subject to additional restrictions
Entry to Japan by individuals arriving from the UK will be subject to new restrictions as of tomorrow (24 December). This is in response to the spread of a variant form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus connected to South East England.
The main points of the new restrictions are:
1. Foreign nationals arriving from the UK and in possession of new visas issued since 1st October will not be permitted to enter Japan.
2. The waiver for the 14-day quarantine period extended to so-called "business-track" travellers will be ended, so all Japanese nationals and foreign nationals with status of residence in Japan returning to Japan, even those on short-term business trips, will have to undergo a full 14-day self-isolation.
3. Japanese nationals and returning foreign nationals with an existing status of residence in Japan will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of re-entry to Japan. Furthermore, arrivals will be asked to agree to save their location information and install the COCOA tracing app when entering Japan.
4. The UK has been subject to a "Level 3, Do not travel" advisory by MOFA since 31 March. The Japanese government reiterates its existing request to all residents of Japan, both Japanese nationals and foreign nationals alike, to exercise self restraint and avoid any short-term travel to the UK with the intent to return to Japan (Japanese wording is 自粛要請 jishuku yosei regarding travel to the UK).
https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/info/pcwideareaspecificinfo_2020C086.html
Cluster at Yatsushiro Elementary School and bars in Kumamoto City
On 21 December it was announced that a cluster of cases have occurred in connection to Sencho Elementary School in Yatsushiro City. 42 students and 31 members of staff were tested, of which 4 students and 1 staff member tested positive. The remaining 68 individuals considered close contacts were tested and found to be negative. The school was closed on the 21st, underwent disinfection on the 22nd, and will remain temporarily closed for the time being. This is the first time a cluster has been declared at an elementary school in Kumamoto.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/124334.pdf
https://kumanichi.com/news/id32249
Additional clusters have been detected at food and drink establishments in Kumamoto City. One is the dining bar/izakaya "ZINO Kumamoto", a restaurant/bar often used for after parties/after-wedding receptions. As of 21 December, 5 staff members and 16 patrons have tested positive.
Another bar, "3Peace" located in Shimotori, has also been established as the center of a cluster of 7 cases--2 staff members and 5 customers. Finally, one additional case has been confirmed in association with the cluster at the host club "Club Zero" bringing the total of linked cases to 27 (16 staff and 11 patrons).
https://kumanichi.com/news/id32249
八代市・千丁小でクラスター　新型コロナ、熊本県内１４人目の死亡も | 熊本日日新聞社
　熊本県は２１日、八代市の千丁小で県内２２例目となる新型コロナウイルスのクラスター（感染者集団）が発生したと発表した。小学校では初めて。県内で１４人目となる感染者の死亡も発表。県と熊本市が同日公表した...

Joe Tomei here with another update from the JET program prefectural advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland. My deepest gratitude for sharing these with us.
=====
Dear Kumamoto,
Kumamoto Prefecture has raised the prefectural Risk Level to Level 5. For more information please read the rest of this e-mail:
Kumamoto Prefecture raises risk level to Level 5
Yesterday evening (14 December), Governor Kabashima announced that the prefecture's independent Risk Level would be urgently raised to Level 5. This is the first time Level 5 has been announced since the new scale was implemented The following are some of the remarks made by the governor in the announcement:
- In the 6-day period from December 8 to 13, 155 new cases have been confirmed. In addition, the percentage of hospital beds currently being used is 30.8%. Both of these numbers correspond to Level 5 in Kumamoto's Risk Level System.

- At present, the infection situation in Kumamoto does not correspond to "Stage III" of the four-stage scale used by the national government in Tokyo. However, large numbers of cases are emerging throughout the prefecture every day, the proportion of cases without a known link has also increased, and the hospital bed usage rate has increased sharply.
- About two thirds of confirmed cases are of residents of Kumamoto City. In addition, there have been new clusters in entertainment clubs/bars such as host clubs, and the number of infected people related to these clusters has reached 32 over the last week. In addition, there are cases where these infected persons are causing further infections in their homes and offices.
- As a result, the prefecture will implement two major emergency measures.
The first is to strengthen infection prevention measures at food and drink establishments with entertainment. Until now, regarding the use of restaurants, etc., we have asked residents of the prefecture to refrain (Japanese: 控える hikaeru) from going to establishments that have not taken infection prevention measures. From now, we officially request (Japanese: 要請する yо̄sei suru) that members of the public do not go to food and drink establishments with entertainment, specifically host clubs and cabaret clubs where infection prevention measures are not being implemented. Please check the implementation status of infection prevention measures by confirming the sticker posted by the establishment or by calling the establishment in advance.
-The second measure is to strengthen the medical care provision system. It is necessary to secure a system to ensure that elderly people and those with underlying illnesses are hospitalized. Currently the bed usage rate in Kumamoto City exceeds 70%. We are currently making urgent arrangements to further increase the number of available beds by 400. Furthermore, today (14 December) we signed a contract to rent a second hotel building to host up to 80 additional patients with mild symptoms.
- Finally, we are requesting the citizens of the prefecture to strengthen the measures they are taking to prevent the spread of infection during this period of "concentrated measures" lasting until 18 December. If further measures are required based on the infection situation in the whole country or prefecture, we will announce them on the 18th.
- If the trend of increasing numbers of infections continues as it is, we may ask for stronger measures, including requests for business to shorten their operating hours or business closures. In order to prevent such a situation, we strongly request that the citizens of the prefecture implement infection prevention measures with even stronger awareness.
See: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/1/77252.html
Go To Travel Campaign to be suspended nationwide from Dec. 28 to Jan. 11
Yesterday the Prime Minister announced that the Go To Travel campaign will be suspended from 28 December to 11 January.
Avoid travel to Kochi and Saitama Prefectures
As mentioned in the previous updates, Kumamoto Prefecture is continuing to ask residents to avoid travel to prefectures in which the number of new cases per 100,000 population over a 1-week period is 15 or higher.
Based on the numbers for the last 1-week period, this now applies to Kochi and Saitama Prefectures, as well as Osaka, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Okinawa, Aichi and Hyogo. You can check the list on pg. 5 of the document here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/123150.pdf

Hi there, I’m Jeff Morrow, and in case you’re not exactly sure who I am, I started Jeff’s World Bar in 1999 and I taught part-time at Kumadai, Gakuendai, and Kendai for many years. I worked full time at Tokai University and now I’m at Kumamoto Kenritsu University where I teach English and research tourism in Kyushu. I’ve had many opportunities to go to Aso both for research and relaxation and over the past two year or two and I’ve been watching the building of the new Aso Big Bridge. I’ve compiled a little slideshow of pictures taken from around the lower paralleling Choyo Bridge (I think that’s its name) and I thought it may be of interest to some readers. It’s an amazing process; it looks like they built it outwardly from the suspended boxes you see in the pictures. It was interesting to watch it progress little by little from the center until both sides were connected. From what I hear we’ll be able to drive over it come March. It’s much higher than the old big bridge and might be pretty scary to go over on a motorcycle on a windy day!

Hi, Joe Tomei here with another update from JET Prefectural Advisors Lily McDermott and Chase Sutherland
=====
Dear Kumamoto,
Here are your updates:
New: 24/7 Multilingual Phone Interpreting for COVID-19 Consultations
Kumamoto Prefecture has set up a new multilingual phone interpreting hotline which allows residents of the prefecture to speak to the COVID-19 Consultation Center with the help of an interpreter. The service is free and you only need to pay regular phone operator fees.
The number to call for this service is 092-687-7962. 19 languages are supported.
The hotline can advise people who suspect they may have COVID-19 (for example if they have met with a confirmed case, visited somewhere where there is a cluster, or received a notification from the COCOA app etc.), give information about which clinics can perform a test for COVID-19 if the caller develops a fever, and also give general information about the current COVID-19 situation.
Please click through to the page explaining more about this service on the homepage of the Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents:
http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page249.html
Kumamoto Risk Level: Level 4 maintained for another week
Yesterday the decision was made to keep the Prefectural Risk Level at Level 4. In the one week period between 1 and 7 December, an additional 78 cases were confirmed in Kumamoto, of which for 30 the route of infection remains unknown.
Cases of a variety of origins are continuing to occur across many regions of the prefecture. The number of cases for which the route of infection is unknown is also high. In order to be able to see through a peaceful end to the year, the prefecture is asking the public to implement thorough measures to prevent the spread of infection especially during this period of "concentrated measures" which lasts until 18 December.
Kumamoto City has seen the occurrence of clusters at food and drink establishments with entertainment/close customer-service interactions (接待を伴う飲食店, settai wo tomonau inshokuten) as well as many cases of transmission between family members, and between friend groups of university students. Furthermore, within the jurisdiction of the Kikuchi Health Center, many cases have been found in association with dining in groups as well as infections at the workplace.
For a full list of cases updated daily in English, please check the list on the homepage of the Support Centre for Foreign Residents here: http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page156.html
Hyogo added to list of prefectures to avoid travel to
As mentioned in the previous update, Kumamoto Prefecture is continuing to ask residents to avoid travel to prefectures in which the number of new cases per 100,000 population over a 1-week period is 15 or higher.
Based on the numbers for the last 1-week period, this applies to the following prefectures: Osaka, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Okinawa, Aichi and Hyogo. You can check the list on pg. 8 of the document here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/123150.pdf
Meanwhile, in the rest of Japan...
The infection situation in other parts of the country is worsening significantly. Today (10 December), the number of cases in Tokyo exceeded 600 in one day for the first time since the start of the pandemic. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201210/k10012756231000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-social_001
Other highlights include Osaka exceeding 70% of hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients (https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/73198). Yesterday also saw the highest number of deaths nationwide in one-day at 47 (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201208/k10012752941000.html).
Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido, has called in the Self-Defence Forces as medical reinforcements are badly needed following multiple large-scale clusters at hospitals in the City. Over the past month over 197 people have been infected at Yoshida Hospital in Asahikawa City. Asahikawa City is implementing measures such as requesting the public to avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings until 25 December. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13997305, https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/4542bcd68624dda96051c4912ba6cb78ba9d4058
Government lays groundwork for vaccine distribution: Residents to receive vaccine from their local government based on their registered address
With vaccine distribution in Japan expected to start sometime in the first half of 2021, the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare has announced that in general, residents will be required to receive the vaccination from the municipality in which their addresse is registered (based on their juuminhyo 住民票).
Japan has signed contracts to import vaccines from 3 companies which have succeeded at developing a vaccine based in Europe and the United States, with the aim to begin distribution at some point within the first half of next year.
A meeting of experts today considered how the vaccines should be distributed. According to what was discussed at the meeting, in general municipality governments will send a coupon in the mail directly to the homes of all residents of the municipality, in the order in which they can receive the vaccine. After receiving the coupon in the mail, residents can make a telephone reservation and then receive the vaccine at a medical facility or municipal facilities such as community centres or communty gymnasiums at no cost. Priority will be given to the elderly or those with underlying conditions as well as medical staff.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201210/k10012756911000.html
新型コロナワクチン接種 原則住民票登録の市町村で 厚生労働省 | NHKニュース
【NHK】来年前半に接種が始まる見通しとなっている新型コロナウイルスのワクチンについて、厚生労働省は、原則住民票を登録している市町…

Hi Joe Tomei here with another update from the JET Prefectural advisors, Lily McDermott and Chase Sutherland
———-
Dear Kumamoto,
We hope everyone's Monday is off to a good start. Here are some updates regarding the situation in Kumamoto and Japan:
Kumamoto Risk Level raised to Level 4
Kumamoto Prefecture's independent Risk Level was raised to Level 4 on 1 December, the second highest level on the 6-stage scale (0 being the lowest and 5 the highest). This is the first time Level 4 has been announced since the new scale was announced on 28 October.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/122587.pdf
We have attached the translation of the new Risk Levels to this email if you would like to reference them again.
The following points were mentioned in materials released to the press by Kumamoto prefecture:
- The number of cases for which the route of infection is unknown has increased to 28, making up 47.5% of cases (up from 39.1%) in the previous 1-week period.
-Nationwide, there are regularly over 2000 cases per day. Although until relatively recently the number of cases in Kyushu has not seen such a dramatic increase, unfortunately the number of new cases is increasing and as a result increased vigilance is necessary.
-If residents have any symptoms such as a fever, the prefecture asks for them to stay home from work and contact their regular physician or the fever hotline as soon as possible.
Since the risk-level increase, the Prefecture has announced some additional requests, as well as explained some of the new measures that are being implemented. The whole document is rather lengthy (you can see it here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/122522.pdf) but if you don't want to read all of it you can read on for some of the highlights.
New request from Kumamoto Prefecture concerning domestic travel
Ever since the general request to avoid any travel to other prefectures was lifted on 23 September, the prefecture issued a general request to all residents to avoid traveling to prefectures in which COVID-19 is spreading, but did not specify which particular prefectures that applied to.
In light of the Risk Level being raised to Level 4, the prefecture is issuing the following request to residents concerning avoiding domestic travel:
Please avoid travel to prefectures in which the number of new cases per 100,000 population over a 1-week period is 15 or higher. If you must travel for unavoidable reasons, the prefecture requests residents to thoroughly implement measures to prevent the spread of infection and to avoid the 3 Cs at their destination.
The prefecture will compile a list of the case totals and per 100,000 population for all 47 prefectures and publish it on the prefectural website for residents to refer to.
For the 1-week period between 25 November and 1 December, 5 prefectures exceeded the 15 cases per 100,000 cutoff given by Kumamoto Prefecture. They are as follows:

Hokkaido - 1,500 cases (28.6 per 100,000)
Osaka - 2,451 cases (27.8 per 100,000)
Tokyo - 3,114 cases (22.4 per 100,000)
Okinawa - 322 cases (22.2 per 100,000)
Aichi - 1,198 (15.9 per 100,000)
(For comparison the number for Kumamoto is 45 cases, 2.6 per 100,000)
Furthermore, the Human Resources Division of Kumamoto Prefecture has issued a request to prefectural employees to avoid business trips and personal travel to these prefectures. The corresponding division of your own contracting organisation may have issued a similar request for their employees that applies to JETs also.
Other new measures implemented by Kumamoto Prefecture
There are some new announcements regarding measures the prefecture is taking to address the infection situation.
- 609 different medical institutions have now been designated as able to treat and test patients, enabling a quicker response to cases in which individuals present with symptoms such as a fever.
- 15 different patient information centres have been established in 15 different regions of the prefecture in order to be able to refer people to one of the 609 institutions in the case they have symptoms.
- In addition to PCR tests, implementation of simplified antigen test kits will allow a daily testing capacity of approximately 8,600/day.
- The number of hospital beds designated for coronavirus patients has been increased to 400, and the number of hotel rooms for patients with mild symptoms has increased to 1,430.
- 31 medical institutions have been designated as "focal medical facilities" in order to quickly admit patients who test positive.
National and prefectural governments: 'Take "concentrated" measures over the first two weeks of December'
Over the end of year holidays, it can be anticipated that the number of gatherings will increase. The government is conducting a public awareness campaign with various bits of advice concerning how the public should go about conducting these gatherings.
Most of the guidelines will sound familiar (for example, avoiding the 3 Cs, wearing a mask when not eating, not attending if feeling unwell, visiting places with good ventilation). In addition, the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare requests that if you are going to consume alcohol with others, please (1) do it in small numbers over a short period of time, (2) drink with people who you are usually together with (3) avoid heavy drinking and visiting more than one establishment in one outing.
A similar message regarding this has been uploaded to the website of the Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents, so you can read about it here in English:
http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page230.html
http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page234.html
【English】All residents are asked to take particular care during the coming holiday period to prevent the spread of infection. / 熊本県外国人サポートセンター / 熊本県国際協会
【English】All residents are asked to take particular care during the coming holiday period to prevent the spread of infection. 最終更新日：2020年11月30日 【English】All residents are asked to take particular care during the coming holiday period to prevent the spread of infection. Y.....