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The new Reiwa Era will start on May 1.It might be the second Era for almost of all international friends.Here is the news about the person who live through 5 Eras. Congrats!ーAtsuko(*Ü*)
Japanese centenarian 'full of emotion' to see fifth era name of his lifetime
Ahead of the start of the forthcoming new era, Reiwa, on May 1, a centenarian in the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, says he is "full of...

A while back, William wrote a post about this based on a Japanese newspaper article.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2559214370818646?__tn__=-R
Here's a link to an English-language article that may be of interest.
-- Kirk
Statue Sites Picked for One Piece Charity Statues in Kumamoto
Last year, Kumamoto native and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda gifted the earthquake stricken Kumamoto prefecture 800 million yen (US$8 million). Kumamoto...

GW is coming soon! Do you have any plan to go?
Do you know where it is? Tuetate Onsen? Tuetate is very famous of its lots of Koinobori. But, No, too bad, Zannen!
It's in Kumamoto city. The river is Tsuboi river. Yes, these Koinoboriこいのぼりare decorated near the Takahashi Inari Oohashi高橋稲荷大橋. Of course it's near Takahashi Inari Jinjya 高橋稲荷神社. You might enjoy the beautiful shrine and tasty Karashirenkon near the view point. Hoping enjoy Golden WeekーAtsuko(*Ü*)
https://m.facebook.com/takahasiinari/?locale2=ja_JP

In our neighbor to the south, Kagoshima, lies the town of Tarumi (垂水 - Yes, that's how it's read - It's Kagoshima, Jake), best known for its land-bridge to Sakurajima, its really big beets, and the fact that a female had never, ever been elected to its local assembly - until the other day.
Yuka Ogata has been written about by Kirk. Now we have another champion, Misuzu Ikeda: A small step for man, a giant leap for womankind. - William
Japanese city gets its first ever female politician
Misuzu Ikeda becomes first assemblywoman in Tarumizu as record numbers of women elected nationwide

A rash of watermelon thefts has occurred in Ueki, with some 500 of the fruit recently snatched from several farmers. In addition to sales losses of 1.5 million yen is damage done to greenhouses and the trampling of carefully tended plants. Ueki is just off the Kyushu Expressway; my guess is that the watermelon thieves are from areas further afield - local retailers would be circumspect about origin. JA and the police are stepping up patrols. - William
生産者ら怒り、大玉スイカ盗難相次ぐ　熊本市 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
熊本市北区植木町で、出荷時期を迎えている特産の大玉スイカが狙われた盗難が相次いでおり、生産者や地元Ｊ...

Joe Tomei here, and I wanted to lift up a post made by Jacky Bencke at Kyushu Lutheran College. (I don't see it on the main page, and I'm not sure how other people would see this. If you are seeing this twice, apologies) Anyway, she writes:
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Who is up for a challenge? We, at Kyushu Lutheran College, are hosting the Wartburg College Wind Ensemble for an entire day in mid-May. 55 American college students will descend upon Kumamoto for a full 24 hours, and we would like to find interesting activities to fill about 5 of those hours, including dinner time. What would you recommend? Remember, 55. American. College students. Go!
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The students already have homestays, so some ideas for occupying the group for one day are sought. Please post your suggestions in the comments!

A note from the Kumamoto International Mascot Desk (it's difficult to type in our costumes): Peko-chan, the mascot of the confectionery company Funiya, has become BFF with Kumamon in order to market Kumamoto agricultural ingredients in their products. And you know that, once you've made friends with Peko-chan, you're moving up in the world. Kumanichi has the details. - William
くまモン、ペコちゃんがタッグ？　不二家と熊本県などが農産物利用で協定 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
菓子メーカーの不二家（東京）と県、ＪＡ熊本経済連、ＪＡ熊本果実連は２２日、県産農産物の利用促進に関す...

Joe Tomei here passing on a part time ALT position. Please contact the address below!
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Looking for a part time (approximately 10 hours a week from Mon-Sat) ALT for a junior high school located in Kumamoto city. Visa sponsorship is possible, but only in limited circumstances. The working contract will be up until the end of March 2020. If you are interested, please contact Kumiko Sakata at [email protected] for more details.

The end of an era - literally, not figuratively - is a week away. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have visited Kumamoto and nearby regions many times. Much fuss was caused by the emperor kneeling, shoeless, with victims of the Unzen volcanic eruption of 1991 as some thought it demeaning. But no: it was oh so meaningful, as was their visits to the mercury poisoning victims of Minamata. A review of the couple's Kumamoto visits is at the link. - William
Imperial dedication to those in need | The Japan Times
Emperor Akihito has devoted his 30 years on the throne to defining his role as "symbol of the state," a new status created under the postwar Constitution.

Here's an interesting article about how the Kumamoto zoo and the animals survived the quake and the reconstruction period.
-- Kirk
VOX POPULI: Network ensured Kumamoto zoo’s survival during 2016 quake crisis：The Asahi Shimbun
The night the Kumamoto quake struck three years ago, veterinarian Atsushi Matsumoto, 46, was working

Hello international friends. Here is Atsuko. Kirk invited me as an editor of this page. I'm not fluent English speaker but it's honor for me. I would like to share you useful and interesting information as a local citizen.
My local friend shared tonight's TV program, ナニコレ珍百景. It will introduce an international person who loves Japanese culture deeply and makes it by himself and keeps the traditional way with living old Japanese house古民家.
The town is my home town, Nagomi- machi. The place is Higo Minnkamura肥後民家村. I've met him before. His love to ..... is strong.
Hoping you also enjoy the program.ーAtsuko(*Ü*)

Jacinda Ardern's selection by TIME Magazine as one of the most influential people of 2019 has two tangential connections to discussion on this page:
1) Although the explicit raison d'être of this page is the exchange of information, I think an implicit objective of a multicultural forum such as this one should be the deepening of intercultural understanding and friendship. In this regard, I agree with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who recommended Prime Minister Ardern, that she has been truly inspirational.
2) Last year, Ardern became "only the second world leader to give birth while in office, the first being Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/21/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-prime-minister-birth-baby-girl
The leadership she has shown since then demonstrates that women can successfully combine work and child rearing -- a topic about which we have had numerous discussions on this page.
-- Kirk
http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567767/jacinda-ardern/
Jacinda Ardern: The 100 Most Influential People of 2019
Find out why Jacinda Ardern is on this year’s TIME 100 list

I saw this news last night on TV but until I got a message from Atsuko Furue suggesting that I post about it here, I didn't realize that Mr. Iwamoto is from Kumamoto. (Thanks Atsuko!)
If you'd like to read a longer article about the project, which was assisted by businessman/philanthropist Doug Smith, I would suggest "Five years after whale scuttled first attempt, blind sailor aims for nonstop Pacific crossing" in the San Diego Union Tribune:
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/san-diego/sd-me-ocean-voyage-20190221-story.html
Or, you can go to the source and check out their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Voyage-of-Inspiration-2185655038131156/
-- Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/20/national/im-happiest-person-earth-blind-japanese-sailor-completes-nonstop-pacific-crossing/#.XLvtBC-B3m1
'I'm the happiest person on earth': Blind Japanese sailor completes nonstop Pacific crossing | The Japan Times
A blind Japanese sailor on Saturday successfully completed a near two-month, nonstop voyage from San Diego to Fukushima Prefecture, making him the first pe

Our friend Eichiro Eddie Fukuoka provided this photo of a wildflower blossoming in an area now devoid of residents in Mashiki three years after the quakes. He titled it, "No surrender!" - William

Almost a week ago now, William posted an item about garbage sorting that generated the following question:
Does Japan do their own recycling or do they ship it to China?
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134/2553223608084389/
I wasn't able to find the answer to that question but my search led me to some comparative statistics that I found interesting. It turns out that Japan's recycling rates aren't as high as I would have imagined as someone who does his best to comply with the sorting requirements each week.
By the way, the statistics on this Wikipedia page are even better (they include landfill and incineration stats) than what is in the Forbes article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_rates_by_country
-- Kirk
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/03/04/the-countries-winning-the-recycling-race-infographic/#62fbcc9a2b3d
The Countries Winning The Recycling Race [Infographic]
Across most developed nations, landfill still remains the primary means of waste disposal. Many countries are attempting to minimise the amount of waste going to incinerators and landfill sites by developing recycling programs. In OECD countries, at least, their efforts have had varying degrees of s...

Discrimination is a broad topic - it may be gender-, sexual-identity- or racial-based, among others. The topic has exploded globally, not because discrimination has become more pervasive but because it has been brought out of the shadows.
Japan Today had an article on discrimination, and the comments were informative. Over my decades of living abroad, I've learned to recognize three personality types: xenophiles, neutral, and xenophobes. It appears that Japanese discrimination tends to be regional, with the provinces (such as Kumamoto) more accepting.
Your thoughts on this matter would be appreciated. - William
Half of foreigners in Tokyo have experienced discrimination: survey
Nearly half of the foreigners living in Tokyo have experienced racial discrimination, according to a survey released Tuesday by a civic group. In the survey conducted by the Anti Racism Information Center, a group organized by scholars, activists and university students, 167 of 340 respondents inclu...

Oda Eichirou, born in Kumamoto and creator of the long-running hit manga and anime "One Piece," has generously funded several statues of his characters to be placed in areas affected by the quakes. After fierce competition, the prefecture has made its decision on location as shown on the below map. Kumamoto Governor Tsujishima said "Decisions were based on facilitating tourism for both domestic and foreign visitors and the relationship with the earthquake disaster museum."
Given the widespread, deep popularity of One Piece, this is likely to draw many tourists to Kumamoto. Below are links to a Kumanichi article (Japanese) and an English article (Japan Today). - William
https://japantoday.com/category/national/new-statues-of-one-piece-characters-to-boost-recovery-in-kumamoto
https://this.kiji.is/491382887096075361?c=92619697908483575
ワンピース像、益城町や南阿蘇村などに　熊本県が設置８市町村公表 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
熊本県は１７日、人気漫画「ＯＮＥ ＰＩＥＣＥ（ワンピース）」に登場する主人公ルフィの仲間のキャラクタ...

With privatization plans for Kumamoto Airport proceeding, the Transportation Ministry has laid out some benchmarks for bidders. One is to make the airport a central Kyushu hub for East and Southeast Asian travel [cute how it was phrased: "ゲートウェイ（玄関口" )], with routes to 13 locations including several in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Another benchmark is increasing freight handling capacity. The article also discusses the planned rail link with JR's Sanrigi Station.
All of this will take much time, but it's nice to see those in charge are thinking ahead to cement Kumamoto's position as the bellybutton of Kyushu. - William
熊本空港民営化　東アジア13路線誘致、九州中央の玄関口に ｜ 熊本日日新聞
国土交通省は１５日、熊本空港の民営化に関する入札で優先交渉権者に選んだ企業グループの提案概要を公表し...

I learned about this from NHK evening news. It was the top story on their national broadcast.
-- Kirk
16/4/2019 18:40 JST - Mt.Aso Small Eruption
A very small eruption occurred on the night of the 16th on Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, and the fumes rose to a height of 200 meters from the crater. The ...

The photos you see are the winners of the 7th annual "Iyashi no Sato Kikuchi" photo contest. They will be on display on the first floor the Kikuchi City Hall building from April 22nd to May 24th. The photo on the top is of Kikuchi Gorge (Kikuchi Keikoku). According to the following website it opened on first of this month but the shops (places to eat, etc) are closed because those buildings are to be rebuilt. However, the toilets have been repaired and are available to the public. There are also some vending machines where one can purchase drinks. But remember, pack it in, pack it out! ;)
https://kikuchikeikoku.jimdo.com
-- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/kikuchicity/posts/2280752415321377?__tn__=-R