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Minamata survivor to attend conference on treaty to prevent mercury pollution | The Japan Times
A survivor of Minamata mercury poisoning disease will visit Switzerland next month to attend the first conference of signatory states to an international t

William here. Kirk-san posted yesterday about the heat index, which factors in such parameters as humidity and wind. The approaching typhoon seems to be kicking the breeze up a bit, but above a certain temperature, wind has no effect on human cooling. I just ventured outside, and it felt like this:

With the hot weather we've been having, I'm frequently tempted to search on the web to try to find the the peak temperature for Kumamoto. Well, I think I've found a reasonably good site. It's in Japanese but numbers are numbers so that shouldn't be too much of a problem:
http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/amedas_h/today-86141.html
Today's high (near Kumamoto Castle, where the measurements are taken) was 36.8 C (98.2 F), with a relative humidity of 51%. If you're interested, you can take these numbers and plot them on a heat index chart like the one to be found here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_index
to get confirm what your senses are telling you . . . it's REALLY hot!
-- Kirk

From the Kumamoto International Desk of Meteorology and Psychedelic Music (merged due to budget cuts): Seriously, cue up your favorite mind-altering song and open this link. - William
earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions
See current wind, weather, ocean, and pollution conditions, as forecast by supercomputers, on an interactive animated map. Updated every three hours.

"A fully fledged Sumo Run event with about 1,000 runners is planned for Kumamoto Prefecture in October to raise funds for victims of the disaster."
If you have a few moments, check out the video on the article page. I think it will make you smile. :)
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201707310023.html
‘Sumo’ fun run thunders across Fukuoka park for quake victims：The Asahi Shimbun
FUKUOKA--Thundering footsteps of sumo wrestlers running together could be enough to trigger another

Okay, so Typhoon #5, who had no idea where he wanted to go (first west, then east, then west again, then south, then north, now west again) seems to be heading our way, and it appears we'll finally meet around Sunday or Monday. It's not particularly powerful in terms of cataclysmic events but bears watching. (Second photo: bears watching.) - William

An unexploded incendiary bomb was discovered yesterday during waterworks construction near Kasegawa close to the Claire Mall. It was apparently dropped during the American raids that occurred coincidentally almost 72 year ago to this day and is a meter in length and 40 cm in diameter. As the risk of explosion by moving the bomb is high, the SDF will destroy it by a controlled explosion on 8/5; houses within 150 meters of the site will be evacuated and traffic restricted.
That might be fun to watch. More info and a map can be found at the link. - William
https://this.kiji.is/264922423918822908?c=92619697908483575
不発弾、５日に信管除去　熊本市が約40世帯に避難指示へ - 熊本日日新聞
熊本市不発弾処理対策本部の会議で関係機関に協力を呼び掛ける本部長の大西一史市長（中央）＝同市役所　熊本市東区画図町で見つかった不発弾に関し、市は３１日、爆発を引き起こす恐れのある信管を８月５日に除去すると発表した。除去地点から半径１５０メー...

This article includes the following paragraph:
"The push to create the system came from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. During the 2011 disaster, the central and municipal government sent out information separately about the roads each body respectively managed, and it wasn't until 12 days after the initial earthquake that the government summarized all the information so a supply route carrying aid to the disaster-hit areas could be established. Additionally, in the case of the Kumamoto earthquakes, because the main shock occurred in the early hours of the morning, it was impossible to confirm the status of the roads from above in the darkness. It took roughly 16 hours until the central government could issue its first report on damage to the road system."
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170730/p2a/00m/0na/001000c
Gov't develops data system to grasp road conditions for faster disaster response - The Mainichi
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has teamed up with an NPO to create a system that tracks the movements of cars during disasters to grasp road conditions and shorten the time taken to set up rescue and supply lines for emergency responders.

Hey all! This is my first post here at Kumamoto International! I've been following this page since the earthquake last year and I'm excited to contribute. I'm really big on festivals and events, and going to shrines and temples, so you can expect a lot of information about those kinds of things from me.
Therefore, I thought I'd let everyone know that 火の国お祭り (Hi no Kuni Matsuri) is coming up this weekend. This year is the 40th anniversary so there are many things to do. The opening ceremony will be on the 4th, with events all weekend. The biggest event is the dance through the streets of Kumamoto on Saturday night. It lasts from 7:15 to 8:40 and includes 5000 dancers doing the おてもやん総おどり otemoyan dance If you want to come in to town, please be careful as certain roads and areas will be closed off (from 6 to 9:45) and there will be plenty of people all around. I've attached a photo and a video from last years festival. It was really interesting and I recommend it to all!!
Here's a link to the website where you can get more information: https://kumamoto-guide.jp/hinokunimatsuri/#wrapper_about
-- Megan

Kuma Village in southern Kumamoto was mentioned on NHK's evening news. Earlier today, it got of 63 mm of rain (a couple of inches) in just an hour (or perhaps that was the rate of rainfall at it's peak -- not sure which). At any rate, it must have been raining pretty hard to be picked up on the national news:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170731/k10011081741000.html
-- Kirk

If you're in Kumamoto City (and probably other parts of the prefecture) you don't need me to tell you that there's been an inordinate amount of thunder in the last hour or so. Thunderstorm and heavy rain advisories have been issued for much of the prefecture and warnings have been issued for areas south of Kumamoto City. Check out the JMA's website for details:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/
-- Kirk
P.S. Normally, thunder doesn't bother me too much but even I have found the recent rumblings to be a bit disconcerting.

YOKA is a publication prepared by JETs in Kumamoto, primarily for those here on the JET program but, thankfully, they make it available on the internet for all interested persons, JET and non-JET alike. They always combine interesting writing with aesthetically pleasing graphics. Here's the URL:
http://kumamotojet.com/documents/YOKAs/2017SummerYOKA.pdf
And here's the text summary that came with the e-mail notice I received:
"The 2017 Summer YOKA is here! This YOKA features the following...
Are You All Set for KumAJET? by KumAJET
Kona Kona Café: More than a Trendy Café by Erin Dillon & George Leach
Summer Vacation by Zak Repman
This Year Is Canada by Jamie Jové-Viniegra
Taifuu and You by Jonny Cornish
Confessions of a Gaijin Drama Queen by Sheridan Piltz
Housekeeping: Tackling the Dreaded Kabi by June Ang
Title Unrecovered by Garrett Stanford
Photos by Erika Egner, Tanya Leonard, Laura McGhee, Susannah Roberts"
-- Kirk

Once there was a lil' railroad called the Minami Aso Tetsudo that connected Takamori with the JR line at Tateno so that high school students and company workers could get to where they needed to be.
Then the big bad quakes came along and took out not only their bridge across Shirakawa but also much of their track. So that was the end of that - the local folks have had to rely on buses since then.
But this is not any average lil' railroad. No: It is the lil' railroad that could. It said, "Hey, even if we don't have a bridge to connect to Tateno and over half of our rail line is damaged, we can make do with what we have!" So it did. On July 31, Minami Aso Tetsudo reopened a 7.1 kilometer route between its terminus in Takamori and a central station, Nakamatsu, mostly to be used by tourists and as a charter train.
Repairing the 10.6KM remaining damaged sections - particularly the bridge - is problematic, as the small company has no ability to pay for it. But remember: This is the lil' railroad that could. They will find a way.
Linked article at Kumanichi with maps and other cool info. - William
https://this.kiji.is/264557915006961149?c=92619697908483575
南阿蘇鉄道、部分運行再開１年　集客へ知恵、全線復旧へ腐心 - 熊本日日新聞
熊本地震後の部分運行から１年を迎える南阿蘇鉄道。観光トロッコ列車の乗客は少しずつ戻ってきているという＝２９日、南阿蘇村　熊本地震で全線運休に追い込まれた第三セクター南阿蘇鉄道が、部分運行を始めて３１日で１年を迎える。全線の半分にも満たない区...

Hi! I'm sharing this because, though I was not able to attend the presentation, I just read a Kumanichi article (July 17) about this and wanted to share a couple of points that Mr. Nakashima did not mention in his English summary.
1) Of the 30 foreign-born single mothers interviewed, all had acquired either Japanese citizenship or permanent-resident status before the earthquake. Also, all but one had already lived in Kumamoto for 5 years or more. I think it's important to emphasize that these people are not here temporarily or illegally.
2) None of the women had "regular employee" (正社員) status. The Japanese term ("sei shain") is sometimes translated as "full-time employee" but it's much more than a matter of time. If you are not a "regular" employee of an organization, your pay is lower, you have much fewer benefits to rely on and you have little job security so you are thus much more likely to be hit hard by an economic downturn, as was caused by the earthquake. Natural disasters (like human-caused environmental disasters) tend to affect the lives of the economically less secure more severely.
I think the earthquake amplified economic disparities and injustices that existed before it hit. In this sense, learning about what has happened to these women is important to understanding social problems that need to be addressed regardless of whether or not a natural disaster will strike.
As Mr. Nakashima indicated, a Japanese pamphlet (55 pages) has been published about the interview. I take it from his post that there are plans to translate it into English.
-- Kirk
Multilingual Kumamoto Earthquake Information July 3　"Kumamoto Earthquake! Symposium on Relief Activities for Foreigners"　Japanese flyer　　English flyerKumamoto Earthquake Information Maps

If you've got nothing to do and it occurs to you that strolling through a field packed with a gazillion sunflowers might be kinda fun, Tawarayama Koryukan has got you covered. - William
http://www.moenosato.net/

Though a high of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) had been predicted for today, I heard on the news that the actually temperature in Kumamoto City was only (!) 36.5 C (97.7 F). This hot weather can be dangerous. In order to avoid heatstroke you should get plenty to drink and avoid exerting yourself in the sun for extended periods of time. -- Kirk
https://weathernews.jp/s/topics/201707/300045/
熊本は昨日まで4日連続、大分県日田は5日連続の猛暑日になるなど、厳しい暑さが続いており、今日も九州の広い範囲で35℃を超えてきそうです。

Dear readers,
I started this page as my own little pet project but now I am just one of several "editors" who post to the page. I would like to spend a little time on the page each day but that is not always possible. During the past week, for example, my work load led me to neglect the page for about 5 days. Thankfully, William, one of several people who have kindly come aboard to contribute to the care and feeding of the page, posted several interesting items during that time. Having several people who can contribute to the page when they have a free moment or find something particularly interesting that they want to share, improves the overall quality and value of the page. This was particularly true during the Kumamoto earthquake, when there was far more information that needed to be shared than any one person could handle alone.
So, if you think you might want to be empowered to post directly to the page from time to time, please get in touch with us by sending a message to the page. It's not necessary to post as often as I do or as William does. Editors who can only post occasionally are also welcome.
Thanks!
Kirk

I posted about this (same article; different photo and publisher) but this time, I noticed a section that I missed the first time:
"2. Big data analysis service for tourist site
The system identifies devices in the Kumamon Square that have Wi-Fi installed, and recognizes the locations that the device was carried to, including places other than Kumamoto, that the device was carried to. This anonymous information help to understand where visitors originate from, and trends in visits."
So, you take your phone to Kumamon Square and because it's Wi-Fi capable (?), your phone then gets followed "anonymously" wherever you take it? Am I misreading this or what? This doesn't exactly make me eager to take my smartphone to Big Brother, er, "Kumamon" Square.
-- Kirk
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=211129
Toshiba Digital Solutions is helping Overseas Visitors to Kumamoto Prefecture Multi-language translation provided by Communication AI RECAIUS Service
Overseas tourists in Kumamoto, the Kyushu city known for its castle, cherry blossom and other attractions, will soon be able to get more out of their trip, thanks to a new interactive tourist information system. Based on RECAIUS, Toshiba AI communication service, the system has been provided by Tosh...

A silver lining of living in a prefecture fractured by faults and full of mountains with a tendency to succumb to gravity during its frequent torrential rains - plus, a volcano - is that the government decides it's probably not the best place to store nuclear waste.
Map legend:
brown - not suitable due to faults
blue - not suitable due to erosion
light green - cool! Let's store it here!
dark green - even better as it has adequate transportation links!
So everywhere in Kumamoto looks safe except, for some reason, Yatsushiro, which is at the tail end of a major fault that has yet to rupture. Go figure. (Notice that the entire Tokyo region is brown. That's probably where the guys who made the map live.) - William
https://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-gov't-says-70-of-land-suitable-for-nuclear-waste-disposal

Preparations to remove that symbol of Kumamoto resilience following the quakes, Ippon Ishigaki - that single corner of stone that held up the Iidamaru Turret until it was stabilized by a giant green cantilever - were completed today as a triple-branched support structure was moved along a track to a position where it can support the cantilever. Actual dismantling of the wall is scheduled to begin in mid-August. The linked article is Japanese but contains several images which demonstrate how the process works (pretty impressive - have a look). The article notes that the structure will soon be wrapped in soundproofing material, so 7/30 is your last chance to catch a glimpse of Ippon Ishigaki.
But it will be back, stronger than ever. - William
https://this.kiji.is/263471488550045175
「１本石垣」解体へ　30日で見納め　熊本城飯田丸 - 熊本日日新聞
飯田丸五階櫓を支えるため、仮受構台（上部の緑色の鉄骨）に代わって新たに設置された受構台＝２７日、熊本市（高見伸）飯田丸五階櫓を支える受構台の設置作業。仮受構台下部の灰色の鉄骨の下に、赤い鉄骨を移動させた＝２７日午前、熊本市（高見伸）　熊本市...