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This majestic 400-year-old cherry tree is reported to be in full bloom in Aso now. -- Kirk
http://japan-magazine.jnto.go.jp/en/1403_sakuraphoto.html
Going to see beautiful cherry blossoms | JAPAN Monthly Web Magazine
The people of Japan eagerly await the blooming of cherry blossoms when spring comes. Cherry blossoms are in bloom for only a week where they can be found, but

"On April 14, 2016, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit the Kumamoto region, followed by a 7.3-magnitude quake two days later. Both temblors registered the highest seismic intensity reading of 7 on the 10-point Japanese scale in some Kumamoto locations."
-- Kirk
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003638521
NPA: Most Kumamoto earthquake victims trapped on 1st floors
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Nearly 80 percent of the victims taken out by police from under collapsed wooden houses after the April 2016 earthquakes in and near Kumamoto Prefecture had been trapped in tiny spaces on the first floors, an analysis by the National Police Agency showed Thursday.

"April 14 marks the first anniversary of the beginning of the Kumamoto Earthquake disaster, which saw a pair of temblors register up to 7 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale."
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170413/p2a/00m/0na/007000c
Editorial: Kumamoto quake anniversary a reminder to prepare for disasters - The Mainichi
April 14 marks the first anniversary of the beginning of the Kumamoto Earthquake disaster, which saw a pair of temblors register up to 7 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale.

The article contains a link to the group's blog. You can download a pdf of the booklet there. Good reading -- and timely too! Tomorrow is the anniversary of the first Level 7 quake in Mashiki.
-- Kirk
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/04/10ee7340f74a-foreign-students-compile-booklet-on-kumamoto-quake-experiences.html
Foreign students compile booklet on Kumamoto quake experiences
A group of foreign exchange students at Kumamoto University has compiled an English booklet rec

If Kumamoto is the belly button of Kyushu, Misato-cho is that weird part in the center of your belly button that kind of rises up and you normally don't notice unless someone comments on it. The area did, though, make a short film which won third place in the National Promotional Film campaign sponsored by some organization that I don't feel like trying to translate and you wouldn't care about even if I had.
Anyway, it is a cute, short film of how old love came together amongst ancient bridges and a whole lot of stone stairs that begat new love that comes together amongst ancient bridges and a whole lot of stone stairs. Some things never change. (Trust me here - my wife is from Yabe.)
The film can be viewed at the link. ー William
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N636IYaQfk&t=24s
熊本県美里町ショートフィルム「恋スル 美里」 本編
熊本県美里町プロモーション動画 美里町で生まれ育ち自然がこの上なく好きな女の子「みさと」は、あるとき都会から来た一人の男の子「広大」と不思議な出会いをする…。 美里町を舞台としたラブコメディ短編映画です。ぜひご覧ください。 ■音楽 今回のショートフィルムのために作ったオリジナルです。 オープニング タイトル：風の...

With over 70 people responding (thank you all!), the following is the most popular answer to the question of whether or not adding -san to foreign names should be the default as it would be with Japanese: "When speaking Japanese, follow the norms of Japanese (use suffixes like -san) when addressing the foreigners / 日本語で話している場合には、日本語の慣例に従って「さん」などの敬称を名前につける."
I was moved to do this little survey because I have been unable to convince a local television personality to abandon her "foreign = yobisute (no -san, etc)" approach to interviewing expats living in Kumamoto. I wanted to see if I was unusual in objecting to this and, judging by the survey results, I'm not. I'll write up the results in more detail later and convey them to the TV personality in question. I'm hoping to get her to adopt an approach that the majority of foreigners (and Japanese for that matter) seem to view as preferable. If she changes her approach, she'll be a better model of how to interact with foreigners to the young TV audience her program is targeting.
-- Kirk
P.S. If you'd like to respond to the survey, please click on the following link:
https://goo.gl/forms/ZkSLMjU34XIgdYUD2

This year the cherry blossoms bloomed late and the weather was largely overcast or rainy, but there were some pretty flowers to enjoy.
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170410/p2a/00m/0na/002000c
Photo Journal: Seasonal selfie - The Mainichi
Visitors take a selfie on the premises of the Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto, where cherry trees are in full bloom, on April 9, 2017. The castle has been closed since it was badly damaged by the April 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, but the Miyukizaka area of the castle grounds was temporarily opened on Apri...

We had a small one this evening -- perhaps number 130,001.
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170410/p2a/00m/0na/003000c
Kumamoto Pref. sees 130,000 quakes since disaster: meteorological institute - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- Approximately 130,000 earthquakes have occurred here in the year since the double earthquake disaster in April 2016, the Meteorological Research Institute of Japan's Meteorological Agency has found.

This from Woody Hodgson
'I thought you might want to put this up regarding our Red Bull X athlete Rik Brezina in Amakusa: <http://ricksxalps.blogspot.jp/2017/04/foreigners-who-love-kumamoto-richard.html>
He needs some promotion to help get him to the X-Alps games in a couple of months in Europe.'
Foreigners who LOVE Kumamoto- Richard Brezina
Red Bull X-Alps 2017 Team Canada athlete Rick Brezina trains for the ultimate paragliding adventure race

Here's some more detailed information in English about the quake I posted about a few minutes ago:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/740/20170409214339495-092139.html
-- Kirk
Japan Meteorological Agency | Earthquake Information

Kumamoto City had a Level 3 earthquake at 9:39. It felt pretty strong to me but it was only a 3. The magnitude was 3.5. Here's my Japanese source of information:
http://www.anshin.pref.kumamoto.jp/rireki/saigai/1-21324.html
The Central, East, and West Wards of Kumamoto City and Mashiki and Kashima were at level 3. Surrounding areas were at 2 or lower.
-- Kirk

「外国人＝呼び捨て」についてどう思いますか？
In response to this open-ended part of the survey . . .
"Please feel free to add any thoughts you may have on this question / この問題についてご意見などがありましたら、ご自由にお書きください"
. . . we've received four comments thus far (I've checked to make sure that they is nothing that might lead to the identification of any of the writers -- I won't share anything that might compromise the privacy of the writer):
1. Personally, I don't mind if people I'm fairly close with, like my friends and coworkers, leave off the -san. But if strangers do it, it feels really rude, because why are you treating me different from anyone else? Also, strangers don't know where I'm from and what my first language is - it's entirely possible that I could have grown up in Japan and have Japanese citizenship. Just because I look different isn't a reason to treat me different. If we're speaking Japanese, we should follow the rules of Japanese. If we're speaking English, we should follow the rules of English.
2. Addressing foreigners without the san or Mr. /Ms. shows not only lack of respect, but also discrimination (referring to them as something lower than a pet animal that would get a - chan)
3. You should follow the rules of the language you are speaking regardless of the nationality or race of the interlocutor. Would you refer to another human as an 'it', if they were different to you?
4. If speaking Japanese, they should also follow the custom of [family name]san and not assume that because a stranger is a foreigner, they want to be called [given name]san. (Which would never be done with native speakers of Japanese)
So far, all those who took the time to write a comment have been on the "follow the norms of the Japanese language" side but that may change. Divergent opinions are welcome! 日本語もOK!!
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1401580143248747
-- Kirk
How to address a foreigner in Japanese
日本語で会話する場合、外国人をどう呼ぶべきか

外国人を呼び捨てにすることに関するアンケート
日本の方も、ぜひお答えください
The number of responses is still small but so far most people are saying "follow the norms of the Japanese language" when deciding how to address a foreigner (whether or not to add "san" etc. to the foreigner's name). Regardless of your position please respond:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1401580143248747
After we get about all of the responses we are likely to get I'll post the results, including the breakdown by cultural background and skill level in Japanese.
-- Kirk

Higo Journal reminds us that, along with the cherry blossoms, Kumamoto Castle's main keep (てんしゅかく、天守閣) will vanish come May as scaffolding envelopes both it and Idamaru - so get those photos now as the scaffolding is not expected to come down until 2019. A graphic is shown below, and more info is at the link. - William
http://higojournal.com/archives/kumamotocastletower.html

5 earthquake evacuees have died in Kumamoto while living alone in temporary housing - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- Five people have died while living alone at private apartments that the Kumamoto Municipal Government has been leasing for earthquake evacuees as temporary housing, city officials said.

The English article contains a link to the original Japanese article. Might be useful for language students as well as those interested in the content of the article. Oh, and there's Arabic too!
رغم تأخره: التحذير المبكر من الزلازل القوية التي ضربت
كوماموتو ساعد المواطنين (أخبار)
-- Kirk
http://www.nippon.com/en/genre/society/l10220/
Early Warnings Work Somewhat for People Hit by Kumamoto Quakes: Study (News)
Tokyo, April 1 (Jiji Press)—Despite a delay, an early warning of the first of a series of strong earthquakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan last year helped some local residents prepare for the subsequent shakes, a Japan Metrological Agency survey revealed Saturday.

As far as I can tell, the alleged crimes occurred in Japan but this local woman was arrested in Thailand:
"Police said Yamabe was arrested on March 30 at a gas station in the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani on a warrant issued by Japan’s Kumamoto District Court. Yamabe is expected to be extradited sometime soon to Japan."
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/05/national/crime-legal/thai-police-arrest-japanese-woman-wanted-pyramid-scheme/
Thai police arrest Japanese woman wanted for pyramid scheme | The Japan Times
Thai police say they have arrested a Japanese woman wanted for allegedly running a multimillion-dollar pyramid investment scheme in her homeland. Immigrati

Kanakuri Shizou (金栗 四三, 1891 – 1983), a native of Tamana and long-time resident of Nagomi, was the first Japanese participant in the Olympic Games when he ran the marathon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics - well, he started in 1912, but as his time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds, he didn't finish until 1967. The reason for this can be read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizo_Kanakuri
He is still revered not just in Kumamoto but throughout Japan. The "KK" of the stadium most commonly known as "KK Wing" stands for "Kanakuri Wing," and many races are named after him.
The reason I bring this up is that NHK recently announced that its 2019 Taiga drama (an annual serial regarding historical figures) will center on Kanakuri. It will be titled "Idaten - Tokyo Olympic Banashi" (いだてん～東京オリムピック噺 - basically, "(Run like) lightening - Tokyo Olympic Tale" - and, yes, I had to look up "いだてん" and "噺" - apparently, the road Kanakuri used to run to and from school is now called いだてんの通学の道).
The role of Kanakuri will be played by kabuki actor Nakamura Kankuro, and much of the filming will be done in Kumamoto. So that's something to look forward to. The Kumanichi article is at the link. - William
https://this.kiji.is/221805805548127733?c=92619697908483575
Shizo Kanakuri - Wikipedia
Shizo Kanakuri (金栗 四三, Kanaguri Shisō or Kanakuri Shizō?, 20 August 1891 – 13 November 1983) was a Japanese marathon runner and one of the early leaders of track and field athletics in Japan. He has been celebrated as the "father of marathon" in Japan.

Karaoke Competition - April 22nd (土) - Supporting the Earthquake Disaster Reconstruction 🎤🎶 Calling all karaoke enthusiasts and fans!! On Saturday, 22nd April (2pm-5pm) Kumamoto City International Center (KIX・熊本市国際交流会館) will host a karaoke competition/festival and so they are looking for performers 📢✨ They'd be especially delighted to have foreign voices so please check the link for the sign-up details 👇 The deadline has been extended to Saturday, April 15th and you can sing (un)accompanied (bring a CD or one musical instrument) in Japanese or your native language as you like!!! Traditional clothes or costumes also encouraged 👢💃💂👟 If you are interested in joining the competition, please contact KIX as per the attachment in the link. http://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/kcic/news/topics_detail.asp?LC=e&PageID=6&ID=10153&type=1 - Ruth
Kumamoto City International Center

Joe Tomei here. We don't have as many trains in Kyushu as I would like, but I love the Japanese rail system and here is one reason why: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-japan-trains?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page
Why Japan's Rail Workers Can't Stop Pointing at Things
A seemingly silly gesture is done for the sake of safety.